Heavens Within Earth

Some Changes

2012-02-12T11:26:00.000-08:00

Ave,

The vast majority of my work of late--well, the entirety of it--has been in the Palo tradition. I took initiation into the tradition a little while ago, and have found it perfect for me as something I can live...my alchemical knowledge and hoodoo all mesh into existing understanding in Palo. Which makes sense; hoodoo is rooted in the Congo, and I've found that the wisdom of roots and herbs is applied in extremely similar fashion between the two traditions. Instead of a red flannel bag, we wrap our works in corn husk (which we have a tratado, a pact with). The importance of different earths and powders is the same, as is the relationship with Spirit. I feel that studying hoodoo is especially useful for American Paleros, as it adds wisdom about herbs and palos local to the land we currently live in, as opposed to Africa and Cuba. As for alchemy, I've already posted about the depths of the alchemical knowledge available in Palo here. Tremendously interesting stuff.

I've taken to doing most of my recent posting on tumblr, at http://www.palomayombe.tumblr.com. I find it is easier and more natural to post up daily, picture based posts using that blog than this one, in which I'll continue to post broader alchemico-magical thoughts and the like. I tend to write long-ass essays here, and do pictures and quick words there. So, if you are interested at all in that sort of practical work go ahead and giv'er a look.

In LVX,

AIT

The Sea of the Dead

2011-12-30T15:54:00.000-08:00

The Dead are everywhere.

People say this but don't seem to delve much deeper into the meaning of it. They say that they work with "spirit", as if this is something that is not the dead. There is not a square inch of this planet that isn't permeated with the Dead. With Spirit.

In Alchemy there is the concept of Azoth, the great sea of mind which exists as a reflection into creation of that Great Mind that is un-created and the source of existence. We find that man is a reflection of that same mind into physicality; it stands to reason that the dead are a reflection of that Mind into the world of spirit. The world of Spirit--the realm of the Dead--teems and boils and churns, and permeates all things. Where it coagulates into life we have matter, always pregnant with the Dead. Life is a coagulation, and death a Sublimation. There is only one thing, though. One thing upon which these changes take place.

There are permutations of the dead that play varying roles in the life of the person, and even more so that of the alchemist/sorcerer.

The Ancestral Dead

These are our near-dead. The dead who are often closest conceptually and spiritually and are most accessible to us and amenable to our requests. These are the dead that stand at the threshold of life and death, for us; they are the first dead we address for protection, for wisdom. They radiate from us and inter-penetrate us. Their nature in spirit makes up our closest spiritual "atmosphere"--location-wise they are the internal dead; the vulgar ideas about bloodline and how it affects fate are rooted in the ancestral spirit and the effect on our environment their combined nature and virtue has. Like attracts to like.

If we look to the Greeks, we can see great concern over the fate of improperly buried ancestors--the agony and displeasure experienced by that spirit, who would be close to his relatives, would coagulate into the lives of it's family members. This impression in the Azoth would attract manifestation in accordance with it's nature, and these manifestations would express themselves in the locale of the Spirit, which in the case of the Ancestral Dead is the body and lives of it's line. The wisdom and pain of the ancestors is expressed within the coagulation of their natures, which is their living descendants. Their bodies, their lives. Our lives. There is no understanding the dead without coming into understanding of the importance of the ancestors. Their nature has a direct effect on the well-being of the person. The relationship with the ancestral dead can be expressed as "fate". It can tinge the life of the person in a beneficial or negative fashion. It's here that the nigromancer begins to work the fates.

The Ambient Dead

In Palo Mayombe our bilongo ("workings") are concentrated substances of a particular virtue. Just like in our classical European magics, Hermetic principle applies. Like is attracted to like. This is the same principle that fundamentally powers hoodoo's practical work as well. We gather a range of ingredients that "heat" the dead and attract a certain potential or effect. The dead are this potential, and they are the root cause of the effect.

For instance, a hoodoo powder for getting rid of an enemy (a hot-foot powder) could be made using Graveyard dirt (to attract/effect the Dead--spirit), red pepper (to "heat" the dead and make them volatile), Dirt Dauber nest (so that the dead will sting and harass the enemy) and sulfur (it's hellish associations used to attract dead of a certain sort.). This powder is then laid across their doorstep, blown into shoes, placed in their food...it's made to permeate the spiritual atmosphere around the enemy, and change the nature of the ambient dead that surround him.

This atmosphere boils around the enemy, the dead that surround him, the spirit, is continually working to coagulate and manifest. This is the impetus given the dead by the Sulfuric Fire that permeates them. The Sea of the Dead--Kalunga--interpenetrates and surrounds the coagulated Salt, the Earth. Our bodies and all other matter. The Fire of Heaven, the Sulfur is only communicated through the medium of the Water, as the Water carries the Fire. The Dead bring the fire to ground--they are a Vital force-- and their very nature affects the nature of the World that they permeate.

The circumstances that arise in our existences are intimately affected by the dead that surround us. This is why we cleanse and purify, this is why the call "HEKAS, HEKAS, EST BEBELOI" was wielded by the wise old Goets of the Western tradition. Understanding the nature of the dead surrounding us is key to growth as a theurge or thaumaturge.

The Ambient Dead are the dead (the Spirit) that permeates a given area or person. It is a sea of consciousness. The dead that are in our homes, our food and drink, the air we breath, the tools we use....when we consecrate our tools, we change the nature of the Dead within them so that they are permeated with the virtue we require.When we make a talisman, the dead within an object are given a consecration of meaning and virtue that work for the effect we desire. This concentration in virtue tinges the nature of the Sea of Dead we are permeated with, so that the desired thing is drawn toward us.

Dreaming, the Moon

It is with the ancestral and ambient dead we contend with when we sublimate from our bodies, and enter into the Sea of Death for a time in our dreams. In Hermetic work we find this realm represented by Luna, through whom all other spiritual forces must pass in order to manifest on the physical. The realm of the dead is truly like a sea, it has tides and fluctuations that can be tracked by the state of the moon, the same way we observe changes in the other powerful natural forces by viewing the heavenly bodies in Astrology. Dreaming is a steeping of ourselves within that Sea; oftentimes powerful messages from our ancestors are communicated through them. Sometimes we find ourselves viewing the life of another, who has since passed into the realm of death and is ambient to us. Powerful spiritual work that concentrates virtue in a given room is often observable in dreams; the Sea of Death in the area has been tinged by the work, and the sublimated person experiences it. We find our fears manifest in the realm of dreams, our constant worryings and brooding having tinged our atmosphere. The concentration of the mind and spirit is a powerful thing, and the dead are a malleable and liquid substance.

The Holy/Heroic Dead

Here we have Saints, powerful Spirits and entities that are old and concentrated. The greater the Fire within a concentration of Being the more powerful its ability to mold the Sea around it and manifest it's nature into the physical realm. The Holy Dead have, in their perfection, refined and concentrated the fire of life within them beyond that of the average person/thing. There are powerful Dead that don't come from humans; they have among them representation from every thing that exists, and therefore make up entire realms within the Sea of Death.

Here we find our great amalgations of Spirit, our Goetic Kings with their followers, our Angelic Beings and their Hierarchies, all within the great Sea.

Like attracts like, so within the Sea there are realms of heavenly and beautiful things, and also of dark and terrible things. Concentration of Virtue, which can be seen as places, but also as entities in and of themselves.

The Powerful Dead

These are entities like Gods--things that are direct expressions of the fundamental creative force. Even they, in all their power, must express themselves in the world through avenue of the dead. They are a pure Fire, a pure Virtue an incredible concentration. They are often acquainted to natural forces (mpungo in Palo) which are physical manifestations of fundamental spiritual forces. Here we have Love, that is Venus, that is Aphrodite, that is Gravity when fully coagulated. We have Time/Space, that is Saturn, that is Chronus, that is physicality and matter. And so on. The Sea of Death is full of dense concentrations of principle and consciousness, and it must be understand. In my opinion.

There are, of course other opinions on all this. If you have on of them, please share in ye olde Comments section! This subject must be addressed, I feel, and there is too little proper understanding of it.

AIT

Enochian experiment results

2011-12-12T23:14:00.000-08:00

Ave,

So, the work with the Enochian angels has been very interesting. I've stripped away everything but the calls for this particular operation (with a censer for incense, of course) and a bit of holy water I use for purification before.

For this work I began by using the First 18 calls to imitate the Creation and call the Angels that put the wheels into motion. If you move through the temple with the calls --they give you specific direction with certain calls--you find that you are creating a Spiral of sorts, out from the center, like one of those Fibonacci deals. The first seven calls align you with the Creator, invoke the Archangels of the Seven and the Twelve, and then call the entities of the four Winds. The Eighth call invokes the entities that guard against the hard-boys of the Angelic world, who are great and terrible. They are, of course, invoked in the next whirl of Calls, rotating around the center again as they take up their position on the outer edges of the Spiral.

The 19th call invokes the angels that Are the Aethyrs and opens the gates of the various "worlds". In Leitch's work we see the connection between the Enochian work and the 50 Gates of Wisdom of the Qabalah--the enochian Calls are supposed to be a similar work, something used to enter into direct communion with the Creator itself. To become like Enoch. I decided I'd go ahead and give it a try.

I used the first 18, creating that Spiraling madness that is existence, in imitation of the Creator in it's work. Using the Calls I spoke with it's authority. I then opened the Gates, beginning with the First Gate--again, in imitation of the Creation--and opening them all down through the 30th Gate. From LIL to TEX. Then I used an incantation built from the Names of the Aethyrs to first enter into deep trance, and then to move up through the opened gates experientially. I was hoping to rise up through them and enter into the wisdom of the 0 Gate, behind which is the Creator itself. This is like hoping to win the damn lottery, but whatevs. You don't win if you don't try, haha.

I lay down after opening the Gates and began the incantation. I didn't stop and enjoy the scenery; I've traveled through all of the Aethyrs at this point in my previous visionary work. This time I am not interested in visionary experiences; my aim is for direct theurgic experience, or direct thaumaturgical result. I incanted the name of each Aethyr until I'd "entered" it. This wasn't difficult to perceive, luckily, as I'd had gnosis of the states of the various Aethyrs before. I went all the way to the top, and was in for a surprise.

I went to LIL, and then I went past LIL, into a blackness. A living blackness. Each Aethyr is a realm, and a door. None are meant for people to simply dwell in; they are gates of Wisdom, like those of Binah for the Qabalists. This blackness was an empty but pregnant place/state--clearly not past the 0 Gate, as I was obviously not become Enoch, haha. I sat in silence for a moment, and then the gnosis of where I was began. This area was of Saturn; his glyph hummed a deep, almost black purple, and then was gone. The phrase "Chamber of Creation" arises in my mind. Interesting. This is the "room" from which the Creator stood--expanded--and created all that is. It is pure potential, un-manifested. Uncreated potential, which is mirrored into physicality. I'm not sure I'm explaining this very well, but it was a thing of Saturn. It was a strange place to be. I thought about how I could apply this, and "pop", a useful little thaumaturgic method came into mind, some interesting things involving lamps, spirit pots, and written spell-papers, wax poppets, the works. Going to experiment with those over the next couple of weeks, see how it works. I imagine they came this way because of my own sorcerous proclivities. Thought worked out great for this, so I thought about how I could enter into the zero Gate. The answer was "Sit here in the darkness forever and long for nothing else, only Union with the One". So, yeah. The Calls can take you right up onto the doorstep. Into the Void, as it were. Can't get past without eliminating any desire that differs from Union with the source. Even the smallest hint of desire for the Other, and the door remains closed.

There's some useful stuff available once ascending into the Chamber of Creation. You can make shit there, and then pull it down back through the Aethyrs with you. This works especially well if you already have a "body" in which to ground the principle prepared in the physical. There are keys to making this work, thaumaturgically. The key in this instance is the Blood of the alchemist; whatever is conceived in the Chamber is expressed in the flesh when the mind returns fully to it. The basis itself --I've used wax and paper so far--needs to be baptized with a small measure of blood. This allows the thing created in the Chamber to find expression in the outside world; in the body, the skin is of Saturn, and is the barrier between yourself and the outside world. Piercing it to allow some blood to escape, allows the thing within to escape from the uncreated state into the world of manifestation.....it's interesting stuff. a bunch to it, of course. I'll write more on it later.

I'm obviously not John Dee, so don't feel like I'm saying my methods here are anywhere near how Enochian should be defined. This method is going to avoid visionary experience entirely, with an aim for direct gnosis, and results based magics. No SDA or any of that; DuQuette has already done the Vision method, and done it very well. Amazingly well. This is more of a conjure approach, or at least my conjure approach, hahaha.

I'll talk more later, hope all are well.

Palo Mayombe

2011-12-06T09:53:00.001-08:00

Ave,

I've been engaged in a deep study of Frater Nicholaj de Mattos Frisvold's work Palo Mayombe, and have been steadily amazed at the deep understandings within it. For a long time I've known some small measure of what Palo is--that it is a worship-centered religion, that it is necromantically powerful. I've also known what it isn't-- Palo is not just black magic, it isn't a club an African/Afro-Latino sorcerer wields to beat people over the head. That being said, engaging in metaphysical contests with it's practitioners is generally un-wise....they don't mess about. Palo Mayombe is a fierce religion, but it Is a religion.

What I didn't know was the true depths of it's Wisdom and alchemical understanding. That's right, alchemical understanding. Palo Mayombe isn't a simple practice. It's a multi-layered and living religious and alchemical practice, and it's grasp of the forces of life are unparalleled. It's spiritual technologies are very sophisticated as well. The divinatory system is empowered, relying on a deep relationship with Spirit, and not randomness/chaos alone. The Nganga itself is a masterwork of combined alchemical and magical understanding, necessary for powerful necromantic work, in my opinion, because working with and manipulating the three Alchemical priniciples is only possible with understanding of their natures. Necromancy, in the end, is alchemical and evolutionary, a metaphysical Art of life. Giving life to the Dead, and creating a communion between them, an Ouroboros of mutual existence and understanding, is a formula of immortality.

A beautiful dance that can be seen in the growth of the Ti-Bon Ange in Voudon through regular expansion and communion with the Gros-Bon Ange and work with the Lwa. In the Western traditions our Spirit-Books have become separated from our Alchemies and our Astrology; in the RR et AC the work of the 6=5 in addressing the Spirit-world (if done correctly) creates this understanding, but how many even make it to this grade? How many orders have a living understanding of necromantic rites, untainted by unsophisticated Victorian ideas? There is a basic understanding of the life-mysteries, of the dance of Sulfur, Mercury, and Salt that has had to be revitalized in the Western traditions but has never ceased in the African Traditional Religions.

Palo has this understanding. It's basic teachings, if translated into Western terms and imagery, wouldn't be out of place in the Hermetica at all, nor among the Tantras. It is applied wisdom, not theoretical understanding, which is a wonder. Like the hidden operative alchemical orders of the West, it is a tradition that requires initiation into it's practice and the understanding of Gnosis; no amount of reading will make you a Palero. This is a tradition that carries the Fire, if one has the eyes to recognize it. Reading of it and it's understandings sent shivers up my spine, of joy and recognition.

The difficulty with coming to a proper perspective of Palo is in it's reputation. It has a fearsome reputation among practitioners, and the plethora of horns and sigils, the skulls and sticks in the prenda....you can imagine how the ignorant Western public views it. Colonialist ideas about all things African abound; I get to deal with that shit on a regular basis. Dark fellows dancing in the darkness, with veve's drawn on the ground and a witches cauldron filled with death, lit only by flickering candle flame...add in rhythmic drumming and devil-horned statues and you've got a recipe for public relations issues.

Much of the problem comes from Western cultures failure to deal with death. It's externalized, othered, and pushed away into the graveyard. The dead are either inert, a ghostly nothing-ness, or a malignant threat. This attitude leaks into our own expressions of necromantic understanding--just take a look at how the spirits of our own traditions have been demonized, at how necromancy has come to be perceived as evil. Our own beloved dead as things to be feared; looking at a cultural religious practice that actively venerates and works with the dead is bound to result in negative association from that perspective.

Nicholaj has written a masterful work that dispels many of these misconceptions about Palo; that show it for the vibrant and alchemically powerful and operative religion that it is.I've read a number of works on Palo, and none hold a candle to the clarity with which the ideas in Palo are expressed in The Garden of Blood and Bones.

Coming into union with Palo is only possible through initiation, but reading this book is literally the closest you can come to understanding of this tradition without knowing a Palero. I would whole-heartedly encourage everyone to read this book. It has a lot to offer Western alchemists and magicians in understanding our own traditions, viewing them through eyes that see the Art through a powerful living tradition.

AIT

New Approach to Enochian

2011-12-03T01:37:00.001-08:00

Been working much on the Enochian rites, and today went "live" with a new approach (for me at least, don't know if anyone else is approaching it this way) that is centered primarily on treating the calls themselves as the Book of Logoaeth and as the primary ritual tool. No pentagrams or hexagrams, no speeches about Watchtowers, no SDA yet. No wand. Just a censer on the altar, with the tablet of Nalvage, and my tablet. Was a bit, uh, concerned going in. Attempted to memorize the calls, but even reading them in my mind dials the phone, as it were. Discovered that any one call on it's own--depending upon the nature of the call--can be powerfully unbalancing. Each call contacts a certain series of entities according to their nature, and the First 8 calls in particular, in my opinion, hold efficacy in creating a balanced and powerful state, with the Quarters called and the Angels that guard against the "stooping dragons" invoked. Kept it simple; called the First three to align myself with the Great One, invoke the attention and authority of the Angels of the Seven and the Zodiac, calling down connection with the Holy Spirit/Galvah. Turned to the South for the Fourth Call, the West for the Fifth, the North for the Sixth, and the East for the Seventh, invoking the angels of those quarters respectively. Then called the Eighth, in order to summon those terrible angels (all 26 of them?) who guard against the stooping dragons. Felt like there were eyes watching me, after about the third call. Tremendous waves of spirit in the subtle body, in addition to random shaking and shivering, during the performance of the calls. I incant them in song, while visualizing the Enochian letter--then I read the meaning of the call in the silence of my mind. This method seems to be very effective. Vibrated the names of the Tablet of Nalvage, then sat down to vision.

Angels come from each quarter in vision to tell me something--Angel from the North was like a pillar, hardly human-seeming at all. Like an obelisk. Showed me a statue of a Pharoah in a thick brown stone frieze. I asked for clarification, and the stone became thicker. Ahh. They can make men Kings of the earth, of the physical.

Angel from the South was tall and angular, almost insectile, and not human-ish at all. It used a thin needle to penetrate my arm in three place, then it stepped forward and blew into them, which led to an ecstatic feeling. They gave me the sense that they can make the bodies subtle, that they fill things with the spirit.

Angel from the West appeared, and was somehow feminine and alien. Feathers and hips. Flowed and undulated, and the whispered. The impression arose that her ilk could inspire spiritual trance and Ecstasis. Oracular and divinatory.

The Angel in the East come forward and draw a fiery crescent moon, and I get the meaning that their works are deeply affected by the phase of the moon. I believe the "28" in the 7th call is a reference to the mansions of the moon, so this makes sense.This entity looked almost human, all be-winged and the like. Face not quite visible, all aglow and white.

I asked if my tablet was necessary, and they said no. All that I need was the calls and understanding. Very interesting--the last method I practiced required all kinds of paper images and wax tablets and metal talismans.....and this entity was telling me that wasn't necessary. Enochian allows us to create, to stand in harmony with the creater as the created. The LOGOS, the word is all that is needed. This is a fully incantatory and ecstatic system of magic. The first series of calls creates connections with the Angels that are operant in creation, and the calls of the Aethyrs are there to complete creation, in a way--in the first calls we mimic the creator and speak the world into existence, with the second half we move the created back up the aethyrs into contact with the Creator. Ouroboros. Very alchemical in its working.

The SDA and the Great Tablet are complicated phone books. They were given to Dee in the fashion they are organized so that the hierarchies of these entities could be understood at a glance (once the ever-necessary code was given, which was necessary because of the way Dr.Dee's mind worked). The SDA gives us the planetary Hierarchy, and the Great Tablet the hierarchy of the Directions/Winds. The Tablet of Nalvage is the Wheel of creation, with the Four Worlds of creation/Four States of existence surrounded by the Angels that animate the Ouroboros of life, moving things from subtle into the Material, and back again. These are not entities that need to be internalized, or forces that need balancing within. They are great and powerful spirits, and not merely expressions of internal reality. Enochian magic should not be approached in the same way we've traditionally used our symbol-heavy Qablistic based magic, in my opinion. Or combined with it at all. No QC, no LBRP, none of that. Just the Calls, and then the conversations and relationships with powers. No need to "ground" forces, in a material basis, I was the talisman and the center of power myself. Strange that no one seems to be approaching Enochian as conjure/Spirit-work....it is. Totally is. I'm fully amazed by it. Reveived a simple method for invoking the power of one of these angles for specific tasks which came through in a very hoodoo way...these entities clearly use what's in the channel of the magician to communicate their truths

The Heptarchia Mystica is a straight-up spirit Grimoire. Kings, princes and all, but "heavenly" instead of Cthonic.

More to come. I hope all are well!

p.s. Do not incant Enochian Calls without specific purpose. They call Things--those things get pissed if their time is wasted. Then you get your ass kicked, especially if you haven't said the correct calls to align yourself with the correct powers. I say this from horrible experience. Yesterday.

AIT

I feel absolutely fantastic after the rite. Powerful. No shakes or craziness, no misplaced furniture...tranquil. Balanced. Which is nice, because I was terribly concerned I was sticking my finger in an electric socket.

Alchemical Synergy between External and Prima Materias

2011-11-27T10:39:00.001-08:00

Ave,

There was some discussion recently on the fora about the nature of Alchemy, and whether our alchemical forbears were referring to internal substances or primarily to external substances. One of the gentlemen involved is a well known external alchemist, with a tremendous amount of scholarship under his belt. While I respect his contribution, the idea that there is any such thing as purely external alchemy is entirely incorrect.

***added for clarity. Thank you Mr.Faust! The gist of the argument being made was that there was no evidence/truth to traditional Alchemy being "internal" in Nature, and that the Basil Valentines, Flamels, and Philalethes' of our tradition where speaking to purely physical processes. Which I, uh, completely disagree with.

Yup. There is no such thing as strictly "external" Alchemy. If an alchemical process doesn't reflect into the Body, it isn't alchemy. Archemy, yes, and sometimes Spagery, but not Alchemy.

"External" is a handy term we use to describe a piece of the complicated process, a process that can be seen in many of the Emblems--especially in those of Daniel Stolisces' "Hermetic Garden". We see a Sun in the Sky, a Sun in the Sea, and a Sun in a cave in the Earth. This process is symbolic of complete alchemical practice, which is triune, reflective and co-operative.

The Prima Materia is, always has been, and always shall be the Body of the alchemist, the Self of the alchemist. Any process that doesn't have some involvement with the Prima Materia is play-acting. The confusion comes from those who have read the old manuscripts, and derived true chemical processes from them. They make the mistake of thinking that, because an Alchemist may use an external Materia within his lab-ware, that the Prima Materia is other than the body. This is due to lack of initiation or lack of Hermetic understanding; all alchemical processes are meant to work upon the Prima Materia that is the body--we use the lab in the same way we use the tools of ceremonial magic in Lunar alchemy (Lunar alchemy=Theurgic Ceremonial Magic). What happens within the glass is analogous to the process we wish worked upon our bodies.

I think the best way to understand this is to compare "external" alchemy to ceremonial magic. Both are processes that use analogy and symbol in order to work upon the substance of the alchemist/magicians Self; both are Theurgic and both are Lunar, in that they operate upon the Prima Materia analogically instead of directly. They are not actually different things, they are different approaches to the same method of Art.

In theurgic ritual magic, we find that we invariably have a Circle of Art. This is the Symbol of the Body--it delineates the limits of the alchemist's personal sphere in the same way that the Skin does the physical body of the Alchemist. Within the Lab, this would be our External glassware, our Retort.

In theurgic Ritual magic, we have our symbols for the Elements--the subtle Parts of the alchemist--and invocation of those forces in balanced measure into the Circle. These external symbols are analogous to the Senses and humours of the physical Body in direct Internal alchemy. Within the lab, this would be the physical substance of the analogous Materia we are working with--say Cinnabar, for instance. The physical substance in the glass is representative of the mixed substances within the Alchemist, the lymph and nerve-force and matter that dwell in various stages of coagulation within body. This is why we see so often that mercury-sulfides like cinnabar are used as the Materia in laboratory alchemy; their composition makes for powerful and straight forward analogous connection to the Alchemist, whose body is composed of Salt-Mercury-Sulfur. When we understand the Salt-Force as that which causes the coagulation into physicality and the Mercury and Sulfur forces as Spirit and Soul respectively, we see that a mercuric sulfide is a perfect Materia to serve as an external symbol of the Prima Materia. Spirit and Soul made literally solid.

In theurgic Ritual Magic, we find all is powered by subtle virtue and LVX--this is the Dragon/Internal Fire of direct Alchemy, and the chemical fire/external burner (depending upon wet or dry method) of the lab-work. This is the "heat" used to refine the matter.

The processes of "External" alchemy are meant to work upon the Prima Materia; it is absolutely pointless to practice external alchemy without creating a connection between the Prima Materia and the First Matter in the glass. Observing chemical changes without connection in Spirit is a pleasant mental exercise, but it isn't Alchemy.

Creating that connection isn't difficult at all. What joins all together is our Menstruum, our Mercury, within which we dissolve the Prima Materia and the External matters, regardless of practice. They must both be held by the Spirit and Awareness. Baptism of the External matter is one method which I've found efficacious. Look to the transubstantiation practiced in the Christian Eucharist for guidance there. The Bread is become the Body (Salt), and the Wine the Blood (Spirit). The Holy Spirit (in this case Sulfur) descends with the priest's prayer, and the Eucharist is born as a fully alchemical body, that of the solar Christ. A spark of Gold. The priest then consumes this body, which, after the truly alchemical process of digestion occurs, disperses that gold throughout the body of the priest, lifting the nature of the Priest's body and refining it. A gentle calcination. This is an old alchemical method, an amalgam Way, combining Lunar (use of analogous substances to refine Virtue) with Solar (direct change worked upon the physical Prima Materia, in this instance through digestion.) So, the Key here in many ways is prayer.

Just as there is no such thing as Ritual Magic without a magician, we can't have Alchemy without the alchemist! External alchemy works upon the Prima Materia; if it doesn't then it is just archemy, perhaps chemistry. Where archemists fail is in neglecting to properly understand the purpose of the process and of the materias involved.

Classic alchemical practice becomes confused for moderns without initiatory or Hermetic understanding because of the nature of the Language of the Birds. An alchemist can speak of the Prima Materia in one sentence, and be referring to the analogous/lunar Matter in the lab glass, and in the next be referring to the direct Prima Materia that is the body. Over and over, our forebears state that our matter isn't "vulgar" and our Mercury isn't "common", but of course these things are overlooked.

It's also worth noting that using external matters in combination with internal practices is a Key to the Art; there is a feedback that occurs between the "External" matter in the glass and the Internal substances of the Alchemist that is incredibly useful. It is also difficult sometimes to measure internal states...when there is proper sympathy between the external matter and the Internal, changes to both happen in turn, and the external is much easier to observe. It becomes a visual record of the internal changes occurring during the process. When looking at particular methods--such as the Wet Way espoused by the FAR+C--we can see how the changes the external matter experience can be keyed to the changes experienced in the Prima Materia, and how we can guide both matters forward in changes with Hermetically sealed operation.

The External work is only half the process; if not done in sympathy and simultaneously with the Internal work it is a dead thing. If it were otherwise, archemists would have no problems completing the Work.

Feel free to disagree with me in the comments! =)

AIT

Opening the Book of Lambspring

2011-11-25T06:59:00.001-08:00

Ave,

Hadean Press has just published a pamphlet I've written which serves as a solid introduction to internal Hermetic alchemical thought. In "Opening the Book of Lambspring" each of the emblems is delved into, in a straight-forward and clear fashion. It's a great deal at only 3 pounds,and makes for interesting reading for alchemy-loving folk. Even the well-versed in alchemy may find it interesting;they could rant about how their reading of the emblem is completely different than mine, and get a few quality "harrumphs" or grumbles in....which is an important part of the alchemical tradition,haha. Anyway, go buy it! You will definitely enjoy it.

Purchase your copy here.

In LVX, AIT

I'm a ...Pagan?

2011-11-02T21:48:00.000-07:00

Ave,

So, I was chatting with a fellow Alchemist and dear brother of mine, who was pointing me toward the Feri tradition, an American-born Witchcraft tradition that incorporates elements of Huna and Hoodoo (Which is bloody awesome. Because I incorporate those elements too.) Seems like something I should know about, and I'd never heard of it until he brought it up in one of our recent correspondences. Doing some research for it led me to a blog called The Wild Hunt, which I've read once or twice, but haven't followed closely.

It would appear that I'm the only magician on the planet who doesn't follow it closely. The writing is quite good. Reading it gave me pause, as it's directed at Pagans, and I'm not a Pagan.

Right?

Or am I? Hmm. I'm an Alchemist and a conjurer. I worship the One that is All and is None, as we all do one way or another, and I am a devoted Sacerdos Saturni. I work with the Christian Trinity and Saints/Heroic Dead, and with the ancient Planetary Gods. What do you call someone who works within the Current with eyes open? Is this Pagan?

Wikipedia says that the widest definition of Pagan is one not adhering to the Abrahamic faiths. When one gets deep enough into esoteric practice and study, one becomes aware that the stream at root of all these differing religions (as Fra RO puts it in this excellent post) is the same stream, manifesting differently according to culture and time. Does the word Pagan even have any meaning, at this juncture? Do magicians still define themselves based on their views about modern Christianity? I mean....Jesu, as Horus, son Of Jupiter/Jehovah/Jove, as Dionysus (or brother to Dionysus, more accurately in my opinion)...all of it is interlinked. Lillith has her place in Judaism and Christianity, even Astaroth has a place in the modern religion. The Christians appropriated entire pantheons, for heavens sake, and the dominant Roman culture before them had done much the same. What do these labels even mean, now?

I don't think of myself as Pagan. Strange. I also don't think of myself as Christian/Jewish/Islamic; my "religion" is my devotional and alchemical practice. Also....it has to be said. I was at Pantheacon and literally saw only 3 other black people both days I was there. I felt out of place at Pantheacon (although I thoroughly enjoyed it!). Unfortunate that that matters, but it does, if only for the sake of not feeling "othered". Intensely ironic as well, when seeing all the ATR/Diaspora traditions being celebrated. It was great to see that, though. I'm not one of those who think you need to be Black to work our traditions. That's silliness. You need only be respectful and Human....but I digress. I've never felt that the Pagan community was speaking to me, or for me. Again, strange. My dearest friends are for the most part avowed Pagans, and I'm a huge fan of the Pagan community. Am I a part of this community, though? I suppose I can dance there, the same as I dance at the churches and the like. Definitely be in good company.

I'm beginning to think Paganism is a poor label--it seems silly to define yourself based on your opposition to Christianity. Why should that define you? I feel this label should be done away with, and that it is without real meaning. A Witch isn't a non-Christian; she should be defined by what she actively does, not what she doesn't do. A Witch is a Witch. Defining yourself by what you are not--a Christian--puts you in the position of validating Christianity as the standard. Words have power, and language has power; Pagans having to fight to be recognized by the military and prison-systems and the like is an effect of this sort of language, that makes Pagans "other", compared to the "normal" Christians. Why would you accept the label another religious culture gave you, anyway? Especially one that has no respect for you--just doesn't make sense to me.

Sometimes it's cool to be the "other", but obsession with that is some teenage shit. Better to be equal than be other. I know Pagans who wear all kinds of crazy shit in public, reveling in the "otherness" that makes them feel superior to the asshats who tortured them when they were younger. Time to grow up. While you are reveling in otherness, other religious understandings are reveling in actual social power. Perhaps instead of defining these traditions in their juxtaposition to Christianity, they should be defined by the nature of their worship and understanding--worship of the Old Gods? Perhaps something could be stolen from Lovecraft?

...just kidding about that. Still, I think this label is a dangerous one to keep. Not that my opinion is all that important, about it, haha. Just thought I'd throw it out there, and inquire about what other people think about all this.

AIT

Vision-Chat with Saturnus, some observations.

2011-10-24T11:59:00.000-07:00

Kairos..the Supreme Moment

Ave,

This Saturday I did a nice long ritual working; I've been crazy-busy the last couple weeks with family matters, and so hadn't done a proper check-in with the Old Man. I'd noticed some things in myself that seemed to be the result of an over-heavy Saturnian hand; nothing huge, but noticeable change in temperament and movement that I needed to sort out.

This is something to be aware of; continued practical and devotional work with a single entity will show in your life, in your body and in your mind. We are what we continually do, and if your time is spent working with Saturnus, you'll find more and more a resemblance between yourself and Him. It's not a literal and gross change--you probably won't take to Serpent-riding or scythe carrying...although I will declare you immediately awesome if you do--but a subtle and perceptible change that is recognizable in the way the World relates to you, and in the way you relate to it. By "you" I mean the unified you. There is a Saturnian understanding of the self that differs from the norm, in that the body, mind and spirit are no longer perceived as entirely separate things. They aren't of course, but having practical gnosis and intellectual knowledge are two different things.

You can feel particular re-occurring tensions in the body, which reveal themselves as concerns you've dwelt on, memories you've obsessed over and knots of stagnant LVX when held with the awareness. It is all of those things at once; the self is manifest. There is no true separation, all is one. Within the Body all is coagulated and joined, and so it has a primacy that cannot be ignored.

You learn that working on the Body is working upon the Mind/Spirit and Soul. You can change how you feel by changing your posture. You can eliminate an old hate with touch, and re-kindle an old love with the same. You can purify and sactify; everything that is done is done through the body. You can move your way into Gnosis of this or that; you can dance into wisdom. You can eat your way into wisdom, for heaven's sake. There are alchemical methods designed purely around the digestive fires, and they work. The body is this important to spiritual matters. Relaxing your body is liberating your self from ailments and stresses. A half-hour massage everyday is far more useful for the spiritual well-being of a person than, say, a half-hour of meditating. Yeah, I just said that. Massage is more important than meditation. Think I'm wrong? Meditate for a half hour, and note how you are immediately after. Do the same after a proper massage; you'll see that after the massage you feel renewed in mind, body, and spirit, you feel whole. Imagine the benefits if you did such a thing once a day, instead of twice a year after your husband/wife gets you a gift certificate.

You become aware that the body is constantly speaking through sensation, and that you've been ignoring this subtle singing for ages. When the sages speak of living in the eternal moment, the body-awareness is a key that is often left unspoken. You aren't a soul inhabiting a body, a spirit bound in matter. No. You are not. You are your body, which is also your spirit and your soul. These things are not separate. They differ only in coagulation. What of the mind? The mind is an emanation of the body, rising from the Spirit/Water-permeated Earth like a fog. The existence of the mind is a function of the body. This doesn't mean that we only have minds when we are physical; it means that this is how Mind works at our level of coagulation. Your mind's functioning in our current realm--that of Time/Space-- is absolutely dependent upon the Body (observe a person with extensive brain-damage, and see that this is just the plain truth), which is absolutely dependent upon the Mind as well. There is no separation. You are small Soul emanated from the great Soul, animated by Spirit and Coagulated in Body, governed with Mind...which is governed by Body, which is animated by Spirit, which is emanated from Soul. Inside out, outside in, a great Ouroboros of being. All is one thing, existing in different states simultaneously.

When traveling in the Spirit (after having whitened the Prima Materia) we aren't "leaving the body". In Time/Space, we Are the body! What we are doing is exploring existence in the more subtle realm of Spirit, which isn't coagulated in Time/Space. You never leave your body "here", you become aware of the you that exists in the Spiritual realm and roam about. The physical you is a focal point, a coagulated point of being; it is a part of the Greater you, but certainly not the limit of your existence.

Anyway, it changes you. This has to be examined to be deeply understood.

Ritual

Saturday's rite was an amazing experience; I haven't detailed one of these in a bit, so here we go.

Went upstairs about halfway into the Saturnian hour (my wife works with St.Cyprian, and Saturdays are his day as well. He is partial to the number 9, and that also happens to be about when the Saturnian hour was getting going out here in California on Saturday. Let her go first with her Work, knew I'd be at it for longer.) I performed my cleansing first, followed by banishing of unwelcome spirits, and then the Qabalistic Cross to center myself. Lit the candle at my Saturn altar, and lit his incense. Meditated for a moment upon his Image (which I keep next to a Kamea of Saturn, which is underneath the black candle) to make a connection. Felt the connection, returned to small altar in center of the room. I keep my Lotus wand and bronze censer here, next to a bowl of holy water. Burned my Come Here, Angel powder, and then created the Tower of Art. Performed the Holy Yeheshua Rite, Lemnian Fire Rite, and then the Antimaquis Rite for Saturn. Candle burns out immediately after finishing Antimaquis rite. Momentary concern that perhaps I'd been too long between rites, and was about to get chewed out. Turns out Saturn's hour ended at that very same moment as well. What are the chances of these things occuring at once? Ahh, magic. Lit a new candle and burnt another incense-offering for Saturn, and performed the Sign of the Enterer on image. Felt myself being pulled at, and closed my eyes, falling into vision.

Find myself in a rocky and mountainous clearing under a bright purple night-sky. Stars are bright and throbbing, and there are tall and ancient-looking trees all about me. Before me is Saturn. He isn't huge or ominous looking; he wears a simple deep-purple robe. His face isn't entirely clear to my vision, as if it were back-lit. His beard is greyish-white, and his hands look strong. I sense that this figure in front of me in the vision isn't just Saturn, but a convenience. The entirety of the landscape is Saturn, the entire Vision is Saturn. I ask him if I'm doing things correctly, and I feel him turn his awareness on me. I was immediately filled with Grace. It rushed through me like a river, and I was near to weeping with the beauty of it. It was simply incredible. I haven't felt such a thing before. Not in this measure. He is such a stern figure; I find myself desiring his approval and dreading his disappointment. I'm not unaware of how the whole sky-father deal works, hahaha. His being a God of Death adds a certain flavor to the dreading part, I have to tell you. He took a minute to teach me a lesson about Existence, as he's done for each of our rites together. He also made it clear that I don't need to call him each week for conversation like clockwork; he is timeless. I need to live in the Saturnian body--to do so with the Saturnian awareness--and then, every moment is worship. This is difficult to translate into regular words....It's always a sea of impressions directly after a Vision, and it looses something when it coagulates fully into memory, I think.

I've worked with any number of Gods, but never in this way. The devotional way; like any relationship, you reap what you've sewn.

In LVX,

AIT

Review: Crossed Keys by Michael Cecchetelli

2011-10-18T15:41:00.000-07:00

Ave,

Finally finished going deep into this lovely tome, and I have to say that it is very impressive. I've not worked the Black Dragon (grimoire) or done much with the Enchiridion before, so this was a double joy for me. I'm going to break the review into a couple of sections, make it easier to order my thoughts.

Authenticity

Mr.Cecchetelli has done something that I think will start to become a standard for modern grimoiric Magicians who choose to write--whether they are re-approaching a classic or communicating their own Grimoire. He's included a sample of his own working journal that notes his results and observations in the work, including preparations he takes before beginning the work. This part is invaluable I think, to both experienced and newb magicians. This ain't my first rodeo, as it were, and reading Mr.Cecchetelli's journal was useful for me because his results told me that he'd actually done the Work.

He wasn't bullshitting; I've spoken with some of these entities and experienced some similar things (like their absolute hatred of the traditional Threat-based evocatory incantations) and so I find that I trust his work and value it. Trust is important in this case, because he's provided re-worked and improved versions of some of the mangled Seals. Lot easier to jump right in and do some work when you know the research involved in it's creation has been done by an actual practitioner.

Another interesting thing you get by delving into his journal, for the beginner, is an understanding of how communication with these entities is supposed to work. When I was young and first beginning, I had no idea how this was supposed to go. Would I hear them audibly? See them in the glass or scrying bowl? Would it be within my mind's eye, or on the scrying medium itself? Will I get my guts ripped out if I summon a bunch of demons? You know, the standard stuff one thinks about when first delving into work with the Grimoires. I would have loved this book when I was first starting out. I love it now.

Catholicism

I grew up in the Catholic Church. These grimoires seem like they were made specifically for me; un-surprisingly so, because they were likely utilized by clergy and the like. The Orisons in the Enchiridion and the incantations in the Black Dragon all make copious use of Catholic Saints (who are the Christian version of the Heroic Dead) and the Holy Trinity and Blessed Mother. This all works just fine for me; my various initiations within the Church (baptism, confirmation, communion, etc etc) leave me feeling that I have a right to call upon the Catholic pantheon, regardless of my opinion of the structure of the public version of the religion.

This probably creates a lot of cognitive dissonance for a number of modern magicians, many of whom have developed a strong anti-Christian streak. (I feel that they are only robbing themselves of power by ignoring the most powerful stream in Western civilization; babies and bathwater...you don't have to approach this current in the way any of the churches tell you to.) There is a point in the book where Mr.Cecchetelli discusses that the entities arrive under the power of the Kings, and not of Yeshua. That's one hundred percent true in my experience as well.

In my personal opinion, the practical role of working with Yeshua in Evocatory magic is different and more subtle than the obvious (making the Magician, who is probably a Priest and likely fearful of dire consequences for working with Demons, feel good about what he is doing.) I think that in truth Yeshua serves as a key between the spiritual world and the mundane--his personal descent into hell in the mythology of Christianity give him precedent for serving in a Hermes-like role as Psychopomp. Clothing oneself in heavenly authority is one of our oldest tricks as magicians, and many of the old Christian magics require we do exactly that. The invocation of the Holy Guardian Angel is common nowadays, but there is plenty of precedent for the role the HGA plays for modern magicians--protector and advisor when working with the world of Spirit--being carried out by Yeshua, who is often directly invoked with the Holy Spirit and called upon to protect and glorify the magician in our traditional grimoires.

An understanding of how Christian magic works is important to getting the most of these Grimoires. The grimoiric tradition is, in many ways, the reality of practical Christian magic. It is a Christian Tradition, to be frank. Written by priests and performed by priests. The people doing this magic weren't heretics or outsiders, they were the folk who administered the religion.

That isn't to say that you need to be a Christian to do any of this! However, if the roles of the Christian entities called upon for protection and authority are to be kept intact, you can't revile them. The exoteric religion and the entities aren't the same thing. Yeshua was a Jew, along with most of the disciples. It isn't about the religious structure, it is about the current that powers the thing.

I mention all this because I find the use of Psalms in the Enchiridion to be incredibly interesting; I wonder what power the words themselves have without connection to the current? They feel powerful and meaningful to me--would they be of the same use to someone who grew up outside of the Church? I'm no Christian in the modern sense of the word--I give no authority over my spiritual practices to any church, and I don't take any of this evangelical business seriously either. I do, however, have a relationship with Spirit, with various Saints and with Yeshua. I just cut out the middle-man, haha. Be interesting to hear peoples experiences.

Method

Some of these entities in the Black Dragon, regardless of whether they were "demonized" and are not actually entirely historically malefic, will still work you over if you don't have any sense. This isn't the entities fault, of course. No one working with cthonic-type entities should be surprised that they work for their own interests. They are old and strong, and they aren't our slaves. They are honored and powerful entities, and need to be respected...and part of that respect is knowing that they can be dangerous. They may want you to do something a certain way--that doesn't necessarily mean that you should. I would have liked to see Mr.Cecchetelli delve deeper into the nature of blood-offering, and how that works in the context of these grimoires. I also would have loved to see a chapter written that explored why he differed in personal practice from the plain instruction of the grimoire in the areas where he did.

His results as communicated are outstanding. Through his journal he shares what worked well and what didn't for him, and that alone makes the book a treasure.

Conclusion

This is an excellent, well written book that brings new light into the grimoiric magical tradition. You can buy it at Scarlet Imprint. Damn thing is beautiful; great work, here. Mr.Cecchetelli also writes here, make sure to follow him.

AIT

Spirit-based Empowerment

2011-09-29T11:58:00.000-07:00

Ave,

In the old African Hoodoo (and if properly practiced and studied) the Hoodoo of today, it is understood that the power of the herbs and roots we use come from Spirit. This isn't like some sort of spiritual electricity, it is sentient and living virtue; these spirits can be communed with, and propitiated to do the work for us.

It's worth noting that Spirit empowers more than plants; they empower minerals, words, they can empower methods. There is precedent for this in Western Magic as well.

In my own book (Kameothic Internal Alchemy) I give my small Ordo's ( the Ordo Octopi Nigri Pulveri, not the Golden Dawn) method of Solomonic-based healing magic that uses the Spirits of the Deacons/Faces (for example, the First, Second, and Third Faces of Aries all have a particular Spirit, from whom certain effects might be had) to create cures for ailments. The methods given in the Solomonic text would be completely ineffectual without the spiritual empowerment; for example, one method involves writing a word on a piece of paper and laying it across the forehead, or somesuch, to cure an ailment. This done without first creating a relationship with the Spirit of the Deacon to whom the method is associated is a waste of time and worse than useless. The method given in the text is a key the Spirit gave to the original author, and it opens the door to the Virtue of the associate Spirit.

If the Spirit isn't communed with first, you open the door to find nothing behind it. This is especially true of empowered methods, in my experience. You can get by without making much effort to commune with the Plant-Spirits because the virtue is intrinsic to the plant; of course you'll get much better results if you develop a relationship with each plant's Spirit. Methods that connect to the power of a Spirit using ritual and abstract movement or sound to accomplish a task require that first that Spirit be evoked and a relationship created. You couldn't use my name as a reference if we hadn't worked together, for example, and my authority would be useless in getting what you wanted accomplished (in this case a job).

One of my students asked me whether he needed to evoke the Spirit before attempting the healing method given in our manual, and I thought it useful to discuss in general. I hope all are well!

AIT

Bodywork and Alchemy

2011-09-27T15:21:00.000-07:00

Ave,

So, I've made no bones about my interest in various healing systems. The further I grow in alchemical practice, the more important the physical body has become in my Work. I don't think people discuss this enough, or understand it well; the physical body and it's state are of incredible importance to your spiritual work.

An alchemical practice that includes some sort of regular relaxation/exercise/bodywork is far more effective than one that does not. Look no further than our Eastern brethren for evidence of that; their Neidan addresses the physical element in magnificent fashion (with body movements meant to relax the body and to stimulate the Internal fires). Don't think that the Western does not! I'm not at liberty to discuss what exactly the Western practices are, as this aspect of ours is still held under the Rose, but the fact of the body's importance is a public matter at this point. Alchemy that doesn't address this component is incomplete. It's been made clear by myself and any number of practicing Alchemists that the Prima Materia is the physical body. Preparing the Materia, the Temple, takes more than bathing and being pleasant.

It isn't a matter of being fat or thin, just so we're clear. General good health is of course important, but the spiritual potency that we work with Analogically in ceremonial magic are held within the physical body in the Direct work that is Alchemy. The condition of the Earth has a real impact. Applying the Hermetic Axiom makes this clear. Spiritual difficulties are held in the body, emotional issues and stresses are bound up and imprisoned within the muscle and ligament and bone, like the Titans of old.

The Inner Fires are not purely spiritual. You aren't imagining the sensations you feel when you set them alight. They are real, and they are held within the vessel you were blessed with at birth. Now, I'm not the first one to say that by any means--GH Fra LES has been pounding this point for years. This means that the "facts on the ground" are important for the development of these fires, and their work in calcining and refining the Body/Earth/Prima Materia.

A recent experience brought this whole thing home for me.

I study a martial art called Ku'i Lima Kenpo. It is an amalgam of Hawaiian Karate and Danzan Ryu Ju-jitsu, Hawaiian Lua, and Filipino Kadena de Mano. We have a healing method from one of our founding fathers--Professor Okazaki--called Seifukujitsu. It's a combination of Hawaiian Lomi-Lomi massage and traditional Japanese massage, and works directly on the body in order to manipulate the Inner-Fire. We cleanse the body of physical and Mana/LVX related toxins, removing muscular tension and stress-related dis-alignment. We have techniques for closing the Gates at the hands and feet, and for opening them. We have techniques for flushing impurities from the body, moving muscle and Mana. They don't call this Alchemy, but it is, of a sort; it's Alchemy you learn to work on other people. Projection, ya'll! Well. Of a Sort. Physical work that facilitates alchemical changes in another. With facility in manipulating the Fires, you can get things moving quite well. This is, in my opinion, the truth of the powder of Projection. It isn't primarily a substance made in an External Glass; you can certainly make it using analogical Materia, but only after you have it Internally. I've said before that External Alchemy as a separate path is an equivalent path to the Internal; I simply do not understand that to be the case, anymore. External Alchemy is valid and useful, but doesn't hold a candle to what can be accomplished with Internal Alchemy as a separate path. It is in the end a mirror, a Lunar work...if it is treated as a separate thing from the Inner Work. When they are done together, as simply Alchemy, then the External is very efficacious and the thing itself a Wonder. The External Work without the Internal is lifeless.

I had my first experience receiving and giving Seifukujitsu massage this weekend, and I was ASTONISHED at what occurred. I'm no slouch when it comes to moving the Fire; I found that after the massage, it was measurably and noticeably easier to do so. Just as the Hindu, Tibetan, and Chinese alchemists have said, physical stiffness in the body is an impediment to the rising of the sacred fires. The effects were tremendous, beyond even the general feeling of well-being. There is no separation between the Heavens and the Earth; by manipulating the flesh we can effect the emotional and spiritual parts of our beings as well. When I performed our first massage Kata on my partner, the effect was clear and powerful, on multiple levels. The body is the Prima Materia and the Stone is within it. Take care of the body! Get regular massage, exercise, and use that sauna/steam room. Get the body relaxed, release your cares, and be supple, "like unto a child", as Yeshua said. Then the Fire can move about freely.

So, consider your body. That was the lesson I learned. It is your god-given tool for the Great Work.

The Unity of External and Internal Alchemy

2011-09-09T19:05:00.000-07:00

Ave,

On the HOGD/AO forums, a discussion has been going on about whether Sendivogius (a famous alchemist whose work is well-known) is teaching Internal or External Alchemy. It's interesting to watch, as one of the alchemists is known for his External work and the other for his deep understanding of the Internal Work (who also works the external). The argument was fundamentally an old one; alchemists have been going back and forth with this sort of thing for ages. The most profound point (made by our Internal alchemist) given in the argument was the simple truth that it does not matter. A properly understood, initiated External Alchemical process--given using traditional alchemical language--will also work if translated to the Internal. If it does not, then I contend it is not a true process. Alchemy is Alchemy; whether the Glass involved is made of silica, or more subtle matter, the work of Alchemy is the same, as a mirror of Nature.

I would go so far as to say that the external and internal processes can be checked against one another; a known Internal process can be worked externally with an analogical first Matter...assuming we choose a matter suitable for the Work. The First Matter in the Internal Way is extremely personal and perfect for the Art; the external Matter must also be chosen with care (with proper understanding of how the Three Alchemical Principles relate to one another in the substance), if we are to be able to use it to do nature's work analogically. We just have to be sure to match the methodology of the processes. An Internal Wet process may be mirrored in an External Wet Way, but we wouldn't be able to test a Wet internal method against a Dry External Way. Now, there are going to be refinements of process depending upon the Alchemist who has discovered and promulgated it, but the root will be the same.

I've been blessed with an Alchemical maestro (the aforementioned Internal Alchemist), and Spirit (and years of toil, hahaha) has seen fit to bless me with thorough understanding of certain Internal Wet and Dry methods....not perfect understanding, but who is perfect but God? I've used this understanding to explore and test the External method's that I've been given from another of my teachers. I've discovered that the two Ways work together; substances created using the External method can be applied and consumed (in Spagyric Alchemy; consumption of the Mineral products isn't recommended) in order to aid the Internal Work. Success with the Internal Work is mirrored in the external Glass, and then the product of that glass can move the Internal Work forward as well.

Now, there are some alchemists who cringed when I suggested consumption of the refined matter created in the External method; this is because they are not stupid, haha. Many of us have died from consuming vulgar Mercury, including various emperors of China. If we were to consume the External Mineral product, the Key to this would be dosage--the tiniest part of the refined External product contains the Virtue of the thing entire. As for safe consumption of a product, we need look no further than the good Paracelsus:

""All things are poison and nothing is without poison; only the dose makes a thing not a poison."

Not that I'm advocating any such thing. In my personal practice, I use Spagyric elixirs in combination with the Internal Way for great effect. The External mineral method is of course of value as what occurs in the External glass can occur through sympathy within the Internal Glass, if one knows what one is doing, but direct consumption can be truly dangerous, and needlessly so when one knows the Internal method as well. Anyway, the majority of the effect the Alchemist will experience with the External method occurs while the Work is being done, when the Matter is in the Glass. Consumption isn't necessary.

That's just my personal opinion, though; I am by no means an alchemical authority.

In LVX,

AIT

Innovation and the Golden Dawn

2011-08-23T22:31:00.000-07:00

Ave,

I've been reading with interest the Golden Dawn forum of GH Fra Zalewski (don't know his motto, and Google isn't giving up the goods.) If one can stomach all the bickering and bullshit, there are some thought-provoking things going on in the community.

It seems that groups who don't have Third Order contacts are developing their own material...not even necessarily basing their material on older papers, but applying their own understanding of Magic and Alchemy to the structure and culture of the Order to create new methods and vehicles.

This is awesome. Variety=Growth, man.

There have been only two ways to move the GD toward completeness, and one is to have contacts with the Third Order, which is, I understand, a group of Adepts who've kept the fire of the Hermetic tradition lit in a continuous link since back in ye olden days. This is the best if you can get it; there are some things in Alchemy you just are not going to learn if you don't have an Alchemical master to instruct you. This isn't an elitist thing, it's just the truth. Not because many of the secrets cannot be communicated through written material, but because there are fundamental components that have been held close that aren't necessarily encoded in the Emblems or even the written works. Things that have only been communicated mouth-to-ear. There are some things that require a particular kind of initiation to understand. We aren't the only ones for whom this is true; the Tibetan, Indian, and Chinese masters all understand this. "Transmission" refers to more than simply paper, it refers to an actual Transmission.

This doesn't mean you can't get a solid Alchemical practice going without this. What is out there now will get you there, if you do the Work. Do enough of the Work, and you can get what you need to complete the Great Work through invocation and communication with entities like Tzadqiel, who teaches the Royal Art. There are a number of different alchemies, and any number of different valid practices, some of which are completely public. There are simple alchemical methods that are public understanding that will get the job done if worked at diligently over one's lifetime. They may not be the best methods available, but they'll get you there. You don't need an engineering degree from MIT to be an engineer...

A physical analogy would be the martial arts; you can learn to defend yourself without having all the hidden bunkai your Art has to offer. You won't have Mastery of that particular Art, though, the Keys to that particular tradition. You'll be strong, and you'll get the job done...but. You won't have gnosis of that Art's tradition, and that is something worth having, in my opinion.

The other method for moving the Golden Dawn forward is to go ahead and add to the Tradition with understanding gained from years of practice. Application of understanding to the culture of the tradition to develop it further. If you don't have contact with the Third Order, you must do this if you're to be part of a living tradition; you have no real choice. Either sit around and re-hash old shit or innovate. I'm pleased to see both of these options being exercised by my Fraters and Sorors of the Golden Dawn.

This Order is living and breathing.

It is growing.

In my own Order, GH Fra LES has received transmission of new occult systems and the keys to traditional Hermetic Internal Alchemy...this is awesome. Some of this stuff is mind-blowing, and incredibly rich. Powerful in application, from what I understand. We have a fully developed Second Order, with un-profaned content that has great potential to enrich the practices of the Magicians who work it. Awesome.

In other Orders, reading this forum, we find that the Order heads are working to complete their Second Orders and to develop content for a Third. No one is sitting still. No one is saying that what's in the old books is all there is, that what's in the original Order's papers is the only knowledge of worth for the Golden Dawn. Even though I believe the transmissions our Order has received would enrich them further, I'm glad to see these other branches of the Golden Dawn growing the tradition in their own way regardless of whether they take David's offer to learn the new transmissions from our Third.

The tradition is being filled with innovation and new understanding right now, and this makes me ecstatic. We've lasted longer with our bickering and bullshit then any other modern Western occult movement. Not the largest of the lot, but there's quality in there. Good times.

AIT

Obsidian Glass--Creating a Talismanic Mirror

2011-08-21T12:16:00.000-07:00

Ave,

This one'll be short; just wanted to share a useful method I received for working and communicating with Saturnian entities in particular.

Obsidian is a fine tool for accumulating the virtue in Saturn; the Mysterium Sigillorum recommends it's use in creating a specific talisman (one I made yesterday for my father-in-law to help heal his gout; also part of a homework assignment for Christopher Warnock's Astrological Magic Course...worth taking, ya'll. Worth every penny) that is efficacious against Saturnian illnesses. So, there is classical precedent for it's use in addition to my personal experiences.

One particular use that I'm fond of is the Talismanic Mirror. Obsidian being volcanic glass, it makes a fine mirror if burnished on one side, and being Saturnian it can be loaded with Virtue and aligned with the nature of a Saturnian spirit. If there is an entity that you have a long-standing relationship with (such as Cassiel or Tzaphqiel...two extremely worthwhile fellows to get to know) then this is a fine way to create a lasting link that is also useful for direct communication.

The method is simple:

On Saturday, during Saturn's hour, light a black candle, and burn some incense that is dedicated to Saturn. Purify the front of the talisman with Holy Water, and then in the fire of the black candle.
Incant the Orphic Hymn or that from the Picatrix for Saturn, and ask for his blessing and virtue to lie within the Obsidian talisman.
Take up the talisman, and upon it's back draw the Saturnian Kameothic square, using a lead pencil.
Cense the talisman again.
If you are working with an Angel, use the hebrew alphabet for the Square, and draw the entities Sigil by connecting the letters upon the square.
If you are working with an entitiy from the Picatrix or another grimoire (that may not have a sigil) draw it's name first in an appropriate magical alphabet, and then draw the square over the name. I prefer the alphabet of Honorius, myself. It can be found in Agrippa's Three Books, but also in Jake Stratton-Kent's Geosophia, Book I.
Having drawn it's name or sign, reach out and connect with the entity, and request it's presence within the Talisman and Mirror. Ask it to bless this medium when it appears. You'll find that it's image comes quickly to the inner eye when staring at the mirror, and that speaking through the talisman requires no lengthy incantation. Simply look upon it, call the entities name, and speak.
It needs to be maintained and fed, like any other talisman. Smoke and for strengthening it's subtle Virtue, and a dab of Holy Water to keep it pure and clear, at least once a week during Saturn's hour.

I wouldn't recommend doing this with an entity you work with on a part-time basis any more than I would suggest you create a spirit-pot for a short-timer. This will give the entity a foothold into your life; be sure that's something good for you. It is for communicating with an Ally, and not for the entity you only ask the random question of. It is most definitely not for doing just to see if you can do it....It works very well, though.

AIT

Arithmancy, part V

2011-08-18T19:26:00.000-07:00

(please read previous posts for continuity)

I've found it useful to use the numbers of the Planetary Squares to invoke the Planetary virtues, while using the primary numbers to induce states of mind that are harmonious with Number. For instance, the sum of the Saturnian square is 45; I would use the mudra for 45 to summon the Virtue of Saturn, but would use the mudra for the number 2 to enter into a trance that allows for communion with that number, also assigned to Saturn. Use the primary numbers to alter personal state of mind, and the sum of the Planetary Square to engage the macrocosmic force related to the Planet.

The sums for the Planetary Squares are as follows:

Saturn: 45

Sol: 666

Luna: 3321

Mars: 325

Mercury: 2080

Jupiter: 136

Venus: 1225

To form the mudras for each Planet, build the number one section at a time; for Venus, first you would perform the mudra for 1000, then for 200, then 20, then 5. The final mudra is held for as long as you wish the Virtue to be invoked. For example, if you were to invoke Venus, and use her song to fill an area with her virue in order to distract wild animals from attacking you, you would perform the Mudra and Song, make your petition/statement of intent after completing the song, and would hold the mudra for as long as you wished the effect to last. In this Arithmatic magic, the mudra is the material basis which holds the concentrated virtue in place; when it is released, so is the virtue, to dissipate back into the Azoth.

The Scales of the Planets

Agrippa in his Three Books of Occult Philosophy gives us yet more insight, sharing with us the scales that are harmonious with the Planets, which we might use to fill an area with their virtue and presence. In Chapter XXVI, Agrippa notes that tone goes a far measure toward matching the nature of the Planets; for instance, he says that "Saturn hath sad, hoarse, heavy and slow words, and sounds, as it were pressed to the center; but Mars rough, sharp, threatening great and wrathful words.." In crafting the Songs of the Planets, the tone and nature of the song is of more import than the notes used, or even the scale. It stands to reason, though, that combining the correct tone with the correct scale would be even more useful, and in my experience it is.

To Sol is attributed the Dorian mode, ( E F G A B C D E)

To Mars goes the Phrygian mode, (C Db Eb F G Ab Bb C)

To Jupiter the Lydian mode, (C D# E F G A# B C)

To Saturn the Mixolydian mode, (C D E F G A Bb C)

To Mercury the Hypophrygian mode, (G F E D C B A G)

To Venus the Hypolydian mode, (F E D C B A G F)

To Luna the Hypodorian mode, (E D C B A G F E)

To the Stars, the Hypomixolydian mode. (D E F G A B C D)

A better way to understand how this works for those without much musical training is to think of the modes as a series of rising or descending movements in pitch, with each mode being a certain pattern of movements. It gives each mode a mathematical and musical proportion, which is worth studying in it's own right. Where T is a whole tone, and S is a semi-tone, and TS is a whole tone and a half, the modes look like this:

Sol/Dorian: T-S-T-T-T-S-T

Mars/Phrygian: S-T-T-T-S-T-S

Jupiter/Lydian: TS-S-S-T-TS-S-T

Saturn/Mixolydian: T-T-S-T-T-S-T

Mercury/Hypophrygian (descending): T-T-S-T-T-S-T-T

Venus/Hypolydian (descending): S-T-T-S-T-T-T

Luna/Hypodorian (descending): T-T-S-T-T-T-S

The Fixed Stars/Hypomixolydian: T-S-T-T-T-S-T

In order to use these proportions to create our songs for the Planets, we need only refer to our sources for incantations (Picatrix, Three Books) and take from either the Orphic Hymns, the Songs of Circe (which we have from Giordano Bruno) or the incantations of the Picatrix to sing the virtue of the Planet while making the appropriate Mudra. Another powerful part of using the mudra in this instance is that it makes the entire business a magical act; we may read the incantations of hymns at any point, but we only Sing them while making their sign when we are doing the Work.

I prefer to use the Orphic Hymns, as given below; the Hymns are sung with each sentence being dedicated to a Note; they are between a song and a chant, similar to the way the famed Gregorian monks intoned their hymns. It makes sense that the Hymns would be sung, and this is the most straightforward and efficacious method I know of. The bold letter is the note with which the verse following it is sung. It's the proportions that make the Songs align with a Planet; it matters not which note you end on, so much as that the proportion between notes in the scale has been acknowledged. You may choose yourself whether to sing a repeated tone at the same octave as the one already sung or at a new octave; again, it's the proportion that is important in the pattern sung, and i would recommend not jumping octaves, but keeping with the pattern of steps given in the scales themselves.

The Hymn to the Sun

E With matchless sight illumines all the sky. Native, unwearied in diffusing light, And to all eyes the object of delight:

F Lord of the Seasons, beaming ight from far, Sonorous, dancing in thy four-yok'd car.

G With thy right hand the source of morning light, and with they left the father of the night.

A Agile and vig'rous, venerable Sun, Fiery and bright around the heavn's you run,

B Foe to the wicked, but the good man's guide, O'er all his steps propituous you preside.

C With various sounding golden lyre 'tis thine to fill the world with harmony divine.

D Father of ages, guide of prosp'rous deeds, The worlds commander, borne by lucid steeds.

E Immortal Jove, Flute-playing, bearing light, Source of existence, pure fiery bright;

F Bearer of fruit, almighty lord of years, agile and warm, whome ev'ry power revers.

G Bright eye, that round the world incessant flies, Doom'd with fair fulgid rays to set and rise;

A Dispensing justice, lover of the stream, the worlds great master, and o'er all surpreme.

B Faithful defender, and the eye of the right, of steeds the ruler , and of life the light;

C With sounding whip four fiery steeds you guide, when in the glittering car of day you ride,

D Propitious on these mystic labours shine, and bless thy supplicants with life divine.

The Hymn to the Moon (the notes are descending, as they are for Mercury and Venus)

E Hear, Goddess queen, diffusing silver light, Bull horn'd and wand'ring thro' the gloom of Night.

D With stars surrounded, and with circuit wide, Night's torch extending, through the heav'ns you ride:

C Female and male, with silv'ry rays you shine, and now full orb'd, now tending to decline.

B Mother of ages, fruit-producing Moon, whose amber orb makes Night's reflected noon;

A Lover of horses, splendid queen of night, all-seeing pow'r, bedeck'd with starry light,

G Lover of vigilance, the foe of strife, in peace rejoicing, and a prudent life.

F Fair lamp of Night, its ornament and friend, Who give'st to Nature's works their destin'd end.

E Queen of the stars, all-wise Diana, hail! Deck'd with a graceful robe and ample veil.

D Come, blessed Goddess, prudent, starry, bright, come, moony-lamp, with chaste and splendid light,

C Shine on these sacred rites with prosp'rous rays, and pleas'd accept thy supplicants' mystic praise.

The Hymn to Mars

C Magnanimous, uncounquer'd, boistrous Mars, in darts rejoicing and bloody wars

Db Fierce and untam'd, whose mighty pow'r can make, the strongest walls from their foundations shake.

Eb Mortal destroying King, defil'd with gore, Pleas'd with war's dreadful, tumultuous roar;

F Thee, human blood, and swords, and spears delight, and the dire ruin of mad savage fight.

G Stay, furious contests, and avenging strife, whose works with woe, embitter human life;

Ab To lovely Venus, and to Bacchus yield, to Ceres give weapons of the field;

Bb Encourage peace, to gentle works inclin'd, and give abundance with benignant mind.

The Hymn to Mercury

G Hermes, draw near, and to my pray'r incline, Angel of Jove, and Maia's son divine;

F Prefect of contest, ruler of mankind, with heart almighty, and a prudent mind.

E Celestial messenger of various skill, whose pow'rful arts could watchful Argus kill.

D With winged feet 'tis thine thro' air to course, O friend of man, and prophet of discourse;

C Great life-supporter, to rejoice is thine, In arts gymnastic, and in fraud divine.

B With pow'r endu'd all language to explain, of care the loos'ner, and the source of gain.

A Whose hand contains of blameless peace the rod, Corucian, blessed, profitable God.

G Of various speech, whose aid in works we find, and in necessities to mortals kind.

F Dire weapon of the tongue, which men revere, Be present, Hermes, and thy supplicant hear;

E Assist my works, conlude my life with peace, Give graceful speech, and memory's increase.

The Hymn to Jupiter

C O Jove, much honoured, Jove supremely great, to thee our holy rites we consecrate,

D# Our pray'rs and expiations, king divine, For all things to produce with ease thro' mind is thine.

E Hence mother Earth, and mountains swelling high, proceed from thee, the deep and all within the sky.

F Saturnian king, descending from above, magnanimous, commanding, sceptered Jove;

G All-parent, principle and end of all, whose pow'r almighty shakes this earthly ball;

A# Ev'n Nature trembles at thy mighty nod, Loud-sounding, arm'd with light'ning, thund'ring God.

B Source of abundance, purifying king, O various form'd, from which all natures spring;

C Propitious hear my pray'r, give blameless health, with peace divine, and necessary wealth.

The Hymn to Venus

F Heav'nly, illustrious, laughter-loving quenn, sea-born, night loving, of an awful mien,

E Crafty, from whom necessity first came, producing, nightly, all-connecting dame;

D Tis thine the world with harmony to join, For all things spring from thee, O pow'r divine.

C The triple Fates are rul'd by thy decree, and all productions yield alike to thee,

B Whate'er the the heav'ns, encircling all contain, Earth fruit producing, and the stormy main,

A Thy sway confesses, and obeys thy nod, awful attendant of the brumal God:

G Goddess of marriage, charming to the sight, Mother of loves, whom banquetings delight;

F Source of persuasion, secret, fav'ring queen, Illustrious born, apparent and unseen:

E Spousal, lupercal, and to men inclined, Prolific, most-desir'd, life-giving, kind;

D Great sceptre-bearer of the Gods, tis thine, Mortals in necessary bands to join;

C And ev'ry tribe of savage monsters dire, in magic-chains to bind, through mad desire.

B Come, Cyprus-born, and to my pray'r incline, Whether exalted in the heav'ns you shine,

A Or pleas'd in Syria's temple to preside, Or o'er th' Egyptian plains thy car to guide,

G Fashion'd of gold, and near its sacred flood, Fertile and fam'd to fix thy blest abode,

F Or if rejoicing in the azure shores, near where the sea with foaming billows roars,

E The circling choirs of mortals, thy delight, or beauteous nymphs, with eyes cerulean bright,

D Pleas'd by the dusty banks renown'd of old, to drive thy rapid, two-yok'd car of gold;

C Or if in Cyprus with thy mother fair, where married females praise thee ev'ry year,

B And beateous virgins in the chorus join, Adonis pure to sing and thee divine;

A Come, all attractive to my pray'r inclin'd, for thee I call with holy, reverent mind.

The Hymn to Saturn

C Etherial Father, mighty Titan, hear, great fire of Gods and men, whom all revere;

D Endu'd with various council, pure and strong, to whom perfection and decrease belong.

E Consum'd by thee all forms that hourly die, by thee restor'd, their former place supply;

F The world immense in everlasting chains, strong and ineffable thy pow'r contains;

G Father of vast eternity, divine, O mighty Saturn, various speech is thine;

A Blossom of Earth and of the starry skies, Husband of Rhea, and Prometheus wife.

Bb Obstetric Nature, venerable root, from which the various forms of being shoot;

C No parts peculiar can they pow'r enclose, diffus'd thro' all, from which the world arose,

D O, best of beings, of a subtle mind, propitious hear to holy pray'rs inclin'd;

E The sacred rites benevolent attend, and grant a blameless life, a blessed end.

This method is very, very simple, but it preserves the proportions in the numeric patterns and works well. Using either an instrument, or an app for a smartphone, the arithmancer can play the tone for the line and then incant it, doing so for each line until the incantation is complete. Eventually it will be memorized, of course, and then more lovely. The way the notes are sung should be tuned by the nature of the planet; intone Saturn as a melancholy dirge, Venus in a sensuous manner, etc.

If desired, the arithmancer could certainly sing multiple lines of the hymn at one tone in order to end on the Tonic; I personally enjoy the small bit of variety changing tones each line allows us. I think it is important to avoid making over-complicated songs here; these are holy hymns, magical devices that create audible proportion, and not melodic pop fair.

We are also given modes to work the elements and humors with--the Phrygian to Choler and Fire, the Lydian to blood and Air, the Dorian to Water and Plegm, the Mixolydian to melancholy and Earth. I use Eliphas Levi's hymns to the Elements to build songs for working with them. They can be used to alter mood, to adjust the humours of the body. There are many applications.

With just this much, we can create powerful incantatory song, in combination with mudra and arithmatic technique to divine connection through number and invoke the Virtues of the heavens into our spheres and environments.

Use the above patterns to create tonal chants for the Elements on your own.

OK! No more posts for a while, I promise! I totally understand if you have to tl;dr on all this, but there are some useful bits in there. Hope you are all well.

AIT

Arithmancy, part IV

2011-08-18T19:10:00.000-07:00

(please read previous posts in this series for continuity)

Practical Method of Arithmatic Magic—the Mudra

Agrippa teaches in his Three Books of Occult Philosophy about the power of certain movements of the fingers and hands, which the Magicians of old used to silently signify “words unknown by sound, various with numbers, yet of great virtue, by their fingers joined together, and sometimes changed, and did the sacred silence worship the Gods that rule over the world”. This is an allusion to the use of Mudra, bending and twisting the fingers into shapes that signify numbers, that themselves are used to invoke the power of the Planets and the fundamental virtues of the primary numbers. Using Number we invite into our spheres and into objects the power of the Seven themselves, containing their virtue through sympathy and echo.

The Magical Gestures (Mudras) of Number

To make the number 1, bend the little finger of the left hand and touch the middle of the palm.

To make the number 2, bend the ring finger of the left hand so that it joins the little finger in the middle of the palm.

To make the number 3, bend the middle finger to join the other little and the ring finger in the center of the palm.

To make the number 4, the previous fingers stay upon the palm as aforementioned but for the little finger which is lifted up.

To make the number 5, lift up the ring finger as well, so that only the middle finger is touching the center of the left palm.

To make the number 6, lift up the middle finger as well, and then place the ring finger alone in the center of the palm.

To make the number 7, place only the pinky finger so that it its tip hovers over the root of the palm, with the rest being lifted up.

To make the number 8, place only the ring finger so that its tip hovers over the root of the palm, with the rest being lifted up.

To make the number 9, place only the middle finger so that its tip hovers over the root of the palm, with the rest being lifted up.

To make the number 10, bend the index finger so that the nail touches the inside middle joint of the thumb, with the rest of the fingers being raised.

To make the number 20, bend the middle finger and place it against the index finger, with the tip touching the thumb’s middle joint.

To make the number 30, touch the nail of the thumb to the forefinger while keeping the other fingers raised.

To make the number 40, touch the inside of the thumb to the outside of the index finger.

To make the number 50, bend the thumb so that the tip points as close as possible toward the center of the palm, forming what looks similar to the letter “G”.

To make the number 60, keep the thumb bent as before, and bend the index finger so that it wraps over it.

To make the number 70, keep the index finger bent as before, and place the thumb over it.

To make the number 80, keep the index finger bent as before, and toucth the middle joint of the index finger with the nail of the thumb.

To make the number 90, straighten out the thumb and place the nail of the bent index finger at its root.

To make the number 100, make the figure of ten upon the right hand.

To make the number 200, make the figure of twenty upon the right hand.

To make the number 2000, make the figure for 2 upon the right hand.

To create 1000-9000, simply create the numbers for 1-9 on the right hand.

To make the number 10,000, put the lift hand upward on the chest, the fingers all pointing up toward heaven.

To make the number 50,000, lay the thumb of the right hand pointing sideways, while on the navel.

To make the number 60,000 hold the left thigh with the right hand in a fashion similar to fifty.

To make the number 70,000, the thumb points up. The rest of the fingers are closed.

To make 80,000, the above mentioned thumb is place upon the the same downward on the thigh.

To make 90,000, hold the loins with the above hand, turning the thumb downward.

To make 1,000,000, bring the hands together with fingers interlocked, and clasp them together as if in prayer.

Using mudra to build symbols works so well because it links physical action with mental concept and spiritual Virtue; the levels of Being symbolized by the number 3 and representative of our manifest reality. The only thing missing, in my opinion, from this equation is the vibration of sound. My method of Arithmatic magic addresses this using the traditional scales of the numbers to Sing a certain Virtue into an area or environment.

Arithmancy, part III

2011-08-18T19:07:00.000-07:00

The Character, Heart, and Social Numbers

These numbers are calculated from a person’s name, and give us insight into their nature and circumstance. They are also giving us a number to use as a link to work upon those things in the person. We don’t stop with Arithmancy to divine general circumstance; we continue with Arithmatic magic in order to alter that circumstance in a positive or negative fashion according to our wishes. This is where Arithmatic Magic excels; it allows for a strong link to be created with a magical subject with nothing other than the name.

In order to calculate the Character number, we use the method given above, adding up the numbers for each letter of the complete Name of the subject, and then joining the numbers left if there is more than one number. The Character number is representative of the personality/waking mind of the subject. It can give us insight into the person’s strengths and weaknesses, their natural tendencies.

In order to calculate the Heart number, we combine the numbers of the vowels only, joining the final number together if it is more than one numeral as necessary. This gives insight into the desires that motivate the person.

In order to calculate the Social number, we combine the numbers of the consonants only, joining the final number together if it’s more than one numeral as necessary. This gives us insight into the public persona of the person, and their standing among their peers and community.

We use our charts delineating the Virtue and character inherent in each number to pull meaning from the numbers we calculate from names.

Calculating Lucky Days

Arithmancy can be used to calculate lucky days for a person or action; the method for this is simple. To find a person’s lucky days, simply calculate their Number and then match the days of a given month that are equal to or multiples of that number; for example, if your number were 8, the lucky days for action would be the 8^th, 16^th, and 24^th.

Arithmantic "Astrology"

Arithmantic Astrology is an extremely simple Astrological method that still has much efficacy, as it requires neither software nor ephemeris. It is the only astrological method I know of that can be conducted in the moment. It doesn’t make astrological connection through the positions of the Planets or Houses, but through the fundamental numeric connection that these things have. So, it is connection through number and the Intellectual plane upon which these values reside that this art does its work. It is especially effective for understanding mental motivations, determining which Planet’s virtue operates like a hidden (or sometimes not-so-hidden) hand in a person’s mind or in a situation, and choosing lucky days for doing important things. By no means is it anywhere near as accurate or powerful a method as classical astrology (seriously); it is useful in a pinch, though, and is definitely worth the small effort required to learn.

Were I picking a day to apply for jobs, I would first calculate my number using my name. Then I would calculate the number of the Company, and I would join those numbers together to pick a day that was harmonious for all three numbers.

The method doesn’t give the depth of understanding available in classical Astrology, but serves perfectly fine for electing “lucky days” and the simple analysis possible through understanding of the significance of the Rising Sign; much of worth can be gained by calculating the Signs through the Houses for a person, with the Rising House being the Number for the querent's name (in this case we alter the method to allow for the numbers 10, 11, and 12 without further reduction) which is possible with only the Rising sign being known.

It cannot stand against classical Astrological method, as it allows for no means to calculate the places of the Planets or their aspects…it also requires much less in the way of information to work and provide some analysis, needing neither birthdate nor time. Not using this information is, however, exactly why it barely has any business calling itself Astrology. It is useful, and is worth learning, if only for those times when no other information beyond the name is available.

The perspective granted is not equal to that of traditional Astrology; it connects primarily through the Mental Plane, the intellectual Plane and through Number. Its insights are into idea and fundamental motivation, into the shape of things and the words at the heart of their creation. This is a simple astrological method that pairs well with practical and intuitive magics like Hoodoo or Geomancy, as it is useful for creating magical links and for altering the subtle enivornment.

Testing Spirits

Arithmancy can also be used to determine the veracity of a given Spirit that has been summoned or has addressed the arithmancer; determine the number of the Spirit's name, and hold the mudra for that number. Ask it what number is it's name, and it should be identical to the one you pre-determined. If it lies at all during speech, and you hold the mudra, those lies will be transparent to your perceptions. Numbers are beautiful little truths.

Arithmancy, part II

2011-08-18T18:23:00.000-07:00

(please read part I so all is in context!)

Divination by Number—Arithmancy

Method

Arithmancy is easy. In order to use Number to connect with something/someone, we need to link Word with number; we don’t think in number, and we Name in Word, so it is necessary to translate word into pure number, so that Named things may be grasped and understood according to our lore. In order to transform name into number, we begin with the Alphabet—in this Art, we use the modern Latin alphabet as our base. The assignation of number to letter couldn’t be simpler. They are as follows:

Number	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Letters	A,J,S	B,K,T	C,L,U	D,M,V	E,N,W	F,O,X	G,P,Y	H,Q,Z	I,R

We determine the numerical value of a thing by addition, and then joining. For example, the Name “AGRIPPA” consists of the numbers 1,7,9,9,7,7,1. Added together, we have 41. We would then join the two letters together to give us a single number. In this case 41 is made up of 4 and 1, which create 5 when joined together. The number for the name Agrippa is 5. Having the number gives us a starting point for both divination and magical work using number.

Divination in Arithmancy is conducted in a fashion similar to Horary Astrology, but very much simplified and more general in result. In order to determine the general answer for a particular question, we first determine if the number of the Question and that of the Querent are harmonious; if the nature of both numbers when added together is the Odd (which numbers Agrippa tells us are beloved by God in Chapter VI of Three Books) then the answer is affirmative, positive. If the nature of the numbers is Even (as is the number 2, given over to the Malefic planets of Saturn and Mars by Agrippa), then the answer is negative.

These are snapshots of a moment in time, and it must be remembered that the link in Arithmancy is a link based on the power of number, mental and fundamental.

If the question is about how someone feels, use the heart numbers of the Querent and the person asking the Question. If it is about money, use the Social number. the Character number is useful for most other questions.

To delve deeper into questions, compare the character number of the Querent with the heart and social numbers of the Quesited, if a person is referenced. If it is not a person, then the emotional and social ramifications of the situation may be delved into this way.

Arithmantic Trance

True divination requires us to bring the intuition into play; the number associations are only the starting point. For deeper understanding the light trance must be entered into, and from there revelations of the truth of a situation can be revealed by Nature through the link and agency of the Number that is at the essence of the situation. Entering the Arithmantic Trance is straight forward; the Arithmancer need first make the Mudra that connects to the principal of the number (given in this manuscript). Then, with eyes shut, he meditates upon the shape that coincides with the combined Number of the querent and quesited (this shape is determined by it's number of sides; One is the point, Two is the line, Three is the Triangle, etc. etc.) When the mind is quiet and the shape has been held (the amount of time varies per person, but a slightly altered state of mind is invariably the result of this) the question is asked into the stillness within that the Arithmancer has created. Now the mind is allowed to become blank.

After a moment, subtle impressions will arise that are connected to the Question. These should be written down and examined, and will provide further insight in the way of evocative imagery (similar to the way the Tarot can stimulate understanding using the artwork upon the cards).

Arithmancy, part I

2011-08-18T18:15:00.000-07:00

Ave,

So....arithmancy. No one uses it anymore, and it's one of the old-school divinatory arts. An interesting and useful art, and a shame that it isn't utilized more. At least, I've thought so. I went ahead and did something about it and have written a pamphlet about Arithmancy and Arithmantic magic. I'm going to release it in parts as blog posts, and then the lot will be downloadable from here. Hope you find something useful in it!

Arithmancy

Arithmancy is a method of divination rooted in number and numerology; it was known to the Chaldeans and Greeks, and of course to the Renaissance Magicians. As with many of our modern divinatory and magical methods, Henry Cornelius Agrippa is our primary source of wisdom in its use and method.

In his Three Books of Occult Philosophy, Agrippa gives us the occult meaning of Number, and understanding as to its use and application in divination and magic. The text itself is sometimes difficult to understand for those who aren’t familiar with the style of English written at the time. This text aims to present the art of Arithmancy in a way that straight forward to understand.

The method presented here will be rooted primarily in the Agrippa method, with changes and alterations made by myself in the course of creating a practical and working Arithmantic practice. For the pure method of Agrippa, or reference the Chaldean method, I recommend study of those primary texts.

There is a special power in number, in that it allows us to discover hidden connections to things that we may otherwise not have been able to work upon.

The Power of Numbers and their Use

In Chapter III, Book II of his “Three Books of Occult Philosophy” Agrippa expounds upon the virtue inherent in number, and it’s efficacy in both the natural and the supernatural. He states:

“…simple numbers signify divine things: numbers of ten; celestial: numbers of an hundred; terrestrial: numbers of a thousand; those things that shall be in a future age. Besides, seeing the parts of the mind are according to an arithmetical mediocrity, by reason of the identity, or equality of excess, coupled together: but the body, whose parts differ in their greatness, is according to a geometrical mediocrity, compounded: but an animal consists of both, viz. soul and body, according to that mediocrity, which is suitable to harmony: hence it is that numbers do work very much upon the soul, figures upon the body, and harmony upon the whole animal.” Pg.240, Book II Chapter III, Three Books of Occult Philosophy Henry Cornelius Agrippa

It’s important to note that “mediocrity” in the above quote referenced an average measure, something commonplace and regular; quite different from the modern use that alludes to something below average or of little worth.

In the above we have the whole of existence being signified by number, and as we can create effect through the power of sympathy, we can make connection with all things through the symbols and meanings inherent to number. Agrippa also says:

“…that all things which were first made by the nature of things in its first age, seem to be formed by the proportion of numbers, for this was the principal pattern in the mind of the Creator. Hence is borrowed the number of the elements, hence the courses of times, hence the motion of the stars, and the revolution of the heaven, and the state of all things subsist by the uniting together of numbers. Numbers therefore are endowed with great and sublime virtues.”pg.237, Book II Chapter II, Three Books of Occult Philosophy, Henry Cornelius Agrippa

From Pythagoras, who has said “Number is that by which all things consist”, to Agrippa who has gone at length to give understanding of the value of number, we find that our wisest minds appreciate the efficacy of number in thought and in practical use. My intention is to communicate a simple system of Arithmancy for Divination and Arithmatic Magic for thaumaturgy and theurgy, so that the magic of number is put to use in our age as it was in ages past.

(continued in next part)

Full Moon Hoodoo--Rope work!

2011-08-17T22:27:00.000-07:00

Ave,

Haven't done this sort of thing in a while, so I thought I'd share a bit of interesting conjure I practice with a few old friends...rope-work, which is a kind of knot-magic.

Why a rope, you ask, when candles are more common and work well for a lot of things? Because Candles are expensive, rope is cheap, and I was broke. Hahaha. Rope work is a great alternative to candles, but requires a certain amount of ingenuity to use well. It doesn't have the built-in engine of the fire, so dressing and loading are very important, and getting great results requires a powerful link. There are a couple of methods I use for making this powerful link, namely the Evil Eye and "catching" their name. See below, if interested.

Creating the Connection

The "Evil Eye"

The gaze is a powerful tool for connection; only spend a few minutes staring at the backs of stranger--and watching them turn around to note you--and you will see. The Evil Eye requires an unblinking intensity while it is being performed. As you stare at the targeted individual or object, reach out with your awareness and hold them. This is the Key; it's not enough to simply look, you have to look and then grasp with your Spirit. Reach out and swallow them into your Awareness, and completely capture them with your eyes. Once you feel they are "caught"--if they turn toward you, all the better! Don't turn from them, Own them with your gaze and grasp them with your awareness, and tie that knot up quick!--tie the naming-knot in the rope (as described below).

Catching the Voice

This is a fairly traditional method; call out the name of the person you are working on. When they reply, catch their voice by tying the naming-knot down tight. This makes for a powerful link, just as powerful as the Evil eye.

Using the Name

This is effective but not as strong a link as using the Eye or catching the voice; simply incant from the heart "N., I tie you up in this knot!" (where N. is the name of the person being worked upon) and tie the knot up strong. This works in a pinch, but is no where near as solid as the other two methods given.

The Material Basis

We use slender and not-so-slender lengths of rope to enchant with this method. We don't use flimsy string because it makes for flimsy enchanment. Climbing rope works perfectly fine for our purposes, and is readily available. It is best to use rope made of natural fibers, as they hold the "charge" much better. We can soak the rope in loaded and enchanted oils in order to impregnate it with our intent. We can dye rope different colors that align with our intent. We can cense the rope with incense that aligns with the Virtue of the force we wish to bring to bear upon our subject. There are many methods available for working with his material basis.

The Shears

This is the tool used to release enchantment and end the work a particular Rope is doing. They are aligned with the number 2, and represent separation and destruction (see Agrippa, Book II Chapter 25, pg.245 for reasons why) . We use this to shear the knots--and especially the Naming Knot--apart and free the subject from a work.

Dressing the Rope

Knot-Magic (rope work) is both a mental and a materia magic rooted in this case in the methods of Hoodoo; we use the god-given power of plants and minerals, in addition to the subtle power of Number, to create magical effect.

We dress ropes in domination oil for work to give us power over enemies, with Angelica powder, lodestone dust, Five-finger grass and blessing oil to do good works, and so on. Dressing the rope is covering it in powders and oils to empower it for the effect we want to create.

The Naming Knot

The Naming Knot is the first action we take (after dressing the rope) in working Knot-Magic. If the Eye is being used to create our connection, we reach out and grasp the subject and, once the connection is made intone "I tie you up in this Knot" while tying a permanent Overhand knot. This binds the subject to the rope in subtle connection, and is the basis upon which all further work is done. If we are enchanting an area, and not a person, we intone the name or description of the area while tying the Naming Knot. Until the Naming Knot is sheared apart, the rope will be intimately connected to the subject. Some conjurers have been known to tie ropes for folk they work/live with ahead of time, just in case they may need it. I certainly wouldn't be that cynical, of course...

The Working Knot

This knot is that which we use to work upon the subject of the Naming Knot.

Gaze should be locked onto the Subject. Person should be intensely beheld. Then the conjurer needs to reach out with his awareness and "hold" the person with it and their gaze. Now, if the name is known, the arithmancer chants the name while tying the first knot, which should be a simple knot of only One (to catch their fundamental nature. See Agrippa's Three Books, Book II Chapter 24) loop and stating "I tie you up in this knot". Use a slip knot if it is a short term thing (although the Conjurer need only take up a pair of shears to slice away the "name-knot" and end the effect of the rope-work).

There are a number of different knots that are used depending upon the work being done. Below are a number of working examples of knot-work which are very useful in my own work. I would encourage folk to obtain books with root-lore in them, so that dressing-oils for ropes can be made by hand and a wide variety of materia can be used to enrich his practice.

Below are some examples of rope-work....I generally feed rope with whiskey and smoke, especially for long term work, but give more specific instruction for the feeding for these two works as they involve some planetary virtue.

It should be absolutely clear that my conjure practice is a syncretic one; there are many elements that aren't exactly traditional. Conjure isn't a dead art, but a living one...I doubt there are many working conjurers who don't innovate in their personal work. So, if the method of rope-work you learned was different from what I was taught and developed in my practice, don't be alarmed.

For bringing two people together in Love

Tools:

Red rope

Venus oil

To make a Venusian oil, during sunrise on a Friday, pluck and bruise Sage, Thyme, and Lavender from your garden/supply of herbs. Place them within a light oil (I prefer grapeseed) in a Mason jar and store in a place with lots of sunlight. Pray over the jar, and request that the virtue of Venus accumulate within the Oil, in her name. The Venusian incantation from the Picatrix should be used as part of that prayer. After 1 week it can be used for conjure-work, and it will continue to accumulate virtue as time passes, especially if the Jar is blessed and censed regularly at Venus' hour on Fridays.

Lodestone powder/magnetic powder

Angelica powder

The rite:

Begin with a short prayer to the One. If you aren't praying before you work, then you aren't working it right.

Now, take up the rope. Dress it with the oil while concentrating upon your intent, and then blow the powders upon it while doing the same. Be sure to knead the oil into the rope; it will feel pregnant with virtue after you have done so.

Our intent has now been thoroughly instilled into the material basis, the rope. Now we will tie the Naming Knots; in most work there is only one, but in this case there are two as we're working the same effect upon both individuals. If the individuals are within range of our Eye, we use that; otherwise we use the naming technique for our link.

Tie a knot for both names, and tie them right next to each other on the rope. Use a permanent overhand knot. Finally, we use a loop-knot called the True Lover's knot to bind the intent in the rope to the Naming knots. This knot is two overhand knots tied into one another; I make sure the knots for the Lovers end up within the Lover's Knot itself. A quick google search will give up a method for tying the Lover's Knot....if you're planning on doing rope-work, a knot tying guide is essential.

The rope should now be placed upon the altar, and censed daily with perfume or sweet-smelling incense on the hour of Venus, until the desired goal has come to pass. After the work has been completed, give the rope to one of the Lovers in a Mason Jar filled with rose petals and lavender, as a bottle-spell. They should cense it and say a short prayer to Venus at least once a month; this will help to keep the love rich and strong.

For placing an Enemy under your control

Black rope

Domination Oil:

Master root, Calamus root, and Dirt-dauber's nest all added to a heavier oil (I prefer olive oil for making malefic Oils) on a Saturday or Tuesday at sunrise. A bit of red-pepper (a little goes a long way) to add some urgency and heat to the oil is necessary as well. Some would add John the Conquereor here, but I use that plenty in oils that increase my own power against domination and obstacles; once we've given the rope it's naming-knot, it's like we're dressing the Person with that oil, and I don't want anything in there that gives anybody power. That's just my way, however. In conjure there are many methods.

The rite:

Begin with prayer as before, dress the rope with the Domination oil, and then create the Naming-Knot using the method best suited for this situation. For the Working-Knot with this bit of rope-work, we use a Monkey's Fist Knot, which swallows up the Naming-Knot and keeps the person clasped in the dominating Fist of our making.

Use the shears to free the person from domination (assuming you ever wish to do so). Feed the rope with tobacco smoke and whiskey on Tuesdays or Saturdays at dawn to keep it full of power and working on the subject who has been named.

Anyone else working with rope this way out there?

AIT

Method and Results: Kronus and the Elysium

2011-07-28T17:12:00.000-07:00

Ave,

After having done my research, I planned the ritual for the second hour of Saturn on Saturday. Nice and twilight-y. I made some special materials in order to connect with Kronus though offering...in the old days, they sacrificed to Saturn by throwing a pig into a deep cave. Having neither pig to slaughter, nor deep cave, I improvised by creating a deep hooded bowl for offering out of clay, which had a small raised area for burning offerings and two small indentations, one for incense and the other for liquid offering (honey or wine). This sat in the center of the altar with an image of Kronus, the materials for the offering and a Saturnian spagyric elixir, and my tablet (from which I would read the incantation). I cleansed myself with holy water and then anointed myself with a holy oil, as the hour came around. I censed the room with my banishing incense, and gave the ole' "HEKAS...etc.etc." Room was lovely and clear, felt holy. This was good.

Next I built the Tower of Art (this particular ritual is one of the Ordo Octopi's, meant to call purified and balanced Virtue into the sphere of sensation while invoking the presence of the Holy Daimon. ) so that I had a proper place to stand during the Incantation. Also important in this instance because I'm attempting to Travel to a place that only allows Heroes and Demi-Gods entrance....and I'm not either. So, the good hand of my H.Daimon may provide entrance where otherwise there was none. Maybe. After this is done, I intone the Orphic Hymn to Saturn. I usually use the incantations from the Picatrix for my planetary work, but thought the Orphic Hymn was especially good for this situation, visiting a mythic Greek place. I burn the offeratory incense, and then burn a chunk of pork belly in the offering bowl (my substitute for the pig carcass). I take the elixir (which is made with Grappa and certain Saturnian herbs) to encourage by Virtue and by Grappa (haha) the light trance. I make my requests to Kronus, and sung of my intent to travel to the Elysian Fields. I planned to wrap up the rite from here and go walking, and let the vision of the Fields materialize in the world about me, but instead felt deeply lethargic, and the desire to sit for a moment. I did so, and closed my eyes, and found myself there.The vision was very intense, with a richness that surprised me.

Verdant green fields, with rolling hills. Trees filled with jasmine-scented white flowers, that whispered in the wind. The light was golden and somehow thick, as if the air itself where honeyed. A truly beautiful place, this was. There were two entities before me, who seemed both welcoming and silent. And strange. A one-eyed fellow with a huge and simple smile, and a grey haired fellow who looked vaguely Japanese. Interesting. I called out to Kronus. Kronus spoke to me with the wind, as if the Isle of the Blest was made of his substance. I didn't get to travel about and see more, unfortunately. I suspect that the Isles are similar to the Enochian Aethyrs, in that you need to meet certain requirements to be able to penetrate. The traditional requirements for entering the Isles is being a Hero that has died honorably after living a blameless life...and returned thrice to Earth. So, yeah. Helluva red rope, there. Feel lucky that I was able to see it, and converse listen to Kronus speak on the air.

Came out of the trance with a feeling of euphoria and lightness. It was an interesting bit of work. The rest of that day my perceptions were slightly altered, so that all had the golden glow of the Isles. It was subtle, but there. Lovely! All in all a worthwhile experience. It was absolutely wonderful to connect with Kronus/Saturnus in a way that was entirely pleasant!

AIT

Sons of Saturn, Traveling to Mythic Places

2011-07-20T11:37:00.000-07:00

Ave,

As alchemists, as magicians and conjurers, our relationship with Saturn and his entities is--in my extremely biased but relatively learned opinion--of the utmost importance, especially if we aim to complete the Great Work in this lifetime. It is by traveling through Saturn that we can become as demi-gods ourselves. We need only look to his most famous Son, the holy Hermes Trismegistus, for a fine example. See the Divine Pymander for this understanding, in which it is given that Hermes Thrice-Greatest--much like Jupiter and other august Gods--is a son of Saturn. The difference we see in the Thrice-Greatest is that he is also a Man. He is our template, the Great Example of what can be accomplished by men born of earth. Also, if you haven't read the Divine Pymander yet and you are a practicing Western magician...get on that shit. You need this like a Christian needs a bible. This applies to conjurers of the West as well.

I was led toward Tartaros--a hell-ish Abyss-- by my HGA, to further understand my patron's Nature and to have a clearer, personal line of "connection" from him. (This is where Jupiter bound him, in lore.) To come to him directly, and then to ground what gnosis I'm blessed to receive here in the manifest realm. In what form remains to be seen; I'm working on integrating the rites he has given me into my small Alchemical order, which he seems fine with. He has a specific method for enabling the completion of the Great Work, which of course comes through filtered with the lens of my training and understanding. I was pondering the alchemical work in general when work that some of my brothers where doing, and some proper divination, led me in this direction.

So, not being a fool, I did some research and then connected with my Patron.(Wouldn't you, if you were going to attempt to visit/enter into gnosis of a hellish environment in which Titans are imprisoned?) Turns out, Tartaros is not where I needed to go, I needed to research Tartaros to learn of my next step; I could connect with Saturnus there, but it wasn't the connection I needed. I'd had that part of the gnosis already, apparently. I read further into Saturn's lore, and learned some startling things.

**A quick note--"travel" to mythic places in which Patron Gods/Godesses abide isn't a matter of jaunting around in an astral or mental body and having a vision...at least, not necessarily. That can be done in order to induce a vision that increases understanding, but that isn't true Traveling; it's like sending an email--with all the possible mis-interpretations of text-only communications--instead of visiting someone at their home physically. True traveling is acquiring a State of Being, entering into commune with a Place. Tartoros is one such state, one such place. So. When next you wish to travel to some mythic place, and to do so as an Adept should, you will invoke it and use whatever Key your God has given you. Then, you will look about your world and find you are seeing from the Mythic place, that it all about you. This is similar to the spirit-walking technique you see in Native-American lore.....I have definitely already been to Tartaros. This is how we approach mythic places while still in the flesh, they are filtered through Saturn's gate into material experience, just like everything else.

Saturnus isn't just "in" Tartaros, as far as mythic places go--in lore, Jupiter later freed him after binding him there. He rules a land in the Underworld called the Isle of the Blest. It is the Elysium, where those who've ascended into Heroic status go to live among beauty and plenty after death. In order to gain entry into these Elysian fields, one had to die and be reborn three times, in such away that each life was judged exceptionally pure and just. It is over these persons that Saturnus rules. Tremendously interesting. I would not have known that were it not for my work with a certain gentlemanly group of Jovian enthusiasts. I'm planning a working involving sacrifice to Saturn, descent into the underworld and arrival at the Elysian Fields on Saturday. I plan on staying there the entire day...will be sure to share what I can of the experience.

AIT

Embracing Nothingness and Rebirth

2011-07-03T22:59:00.000-07:00

Just had to write some thoughts down...

Old Man Saturn continues to work on me. I'm grateful for this, and I feel altered, expanded. Refined. Yesterday I worked my Saturnian rite, and asked for his continued blessing and favor. It was a successful rite, and I felt the power of Spirit. Today, during his hour, I found myself within the Nothingness that his meditative rites can engender. No stream of past or future played in my head, and I didn't live in that stream. I just existed. It was curious, because I'd never simply found myself in that state before--I had to create it through meditation. Ritual. This time, people spoke with me, and it didn't disappear. I noticed that standing from within that state I could consider things in a fashion different from when in normal states of consciousness. I could consider things without being prey to my usual personal preferences. Things that would normally necessitate a reaction left me absolutely unmoved. I could see how they would move me, should move me, but instead I observed them. Not only did I observe things, I observed myself, and was able to walk my reactions back to there root cause. This was unpleasant. My wife asks me to re-dry some laundry--this immediately irritated me because it could imply that I was incompetent. This was not her intention at all, she just didn't want to have to re-wash the laundry. But, being prideful, my natural reaction was mild affront. I watched this feeling arise, and then disappear when I failed to engage with it. My sense of self-importance--a bulwark first built against the insults and loneliness of childhood (my family was loving, but my peers found me strange)--was at the root of the reaction. What was especially interesting to me was understanding that this reaction, and others exactly like it, could make up my entire existence if I wasn't Aware. If I let myself slip back into the past/future trap. Being truly self-aware frees us from the trap of the reactive mind, which is formed by reaction to how the external world meets the needs of the young person as it forms. We dance to strings outside of our awareness, lost in our past. Even that is a trap, because there is no personal past; truly, the past lives within us as the reactive mind, and for the non-aware pulls our strings. We react instead of act, because the past is truly alive in our reactive mind. This leaves us weak. The illusion of self-control is worse than slavery...at least with outright slavery, we can see the one we should kill. Existing in the present isn't just about paying attention to your kids 10 minutes into a Sponge-bob inspired soliloquy; existing in the present requires us to hunt down and ruthlessly murder the past, and to regard the future as the illusion that it is as well. We have to let this mind die in order to become our selves, to free ourselves from this slavery. We have to inure ourselves against our passions, temper them. More little deaths, little gifts from Saturn, each like a sacrifice burnt at his altar. It wasn't the first time I'd experienced this, of course, but it was the first time it solidified as part of my day-to-day consciousness. I woke up a long time ago, but hadn't learned to destroy the past until now. That's the trick; you have to observe and follow the reaction until you get to it's root, and then drag that out into the light of your awareness. Think of these things as vampires--the more light you shine on them, the closer they are to doing. It requires pure honesty, and it's brutal, because a lot of these reactions are rooted in fear. Most of them, I would say. Fear of being weak. Fear of being unloved. Fear of being too strong, fear of hurting and being hurt. This is valuable because it enables truly deep communion with yourself.You become aware that your personality isn't you. This refinement is brought about first by the Nothingness of the Death Card, then the guidance and blessing of the Angel of Temperance, the tempering of the Passions in the Devil Card, and the endless destruction of the reactive-mind in the Tower. Each time the Tower is built it is built of finer Stone. At some point, through the grace of your Angel, you come to realize that the mars-force is destroying something, but that something isn't you. Soon the reactive-mind becomes an airy and light structure, through which the light of your True Self might shine. Instead of a prison, it becomes a temple. Then you can be reborn.

If you are lucky, and you know another who is Aware in this way, it can enable true communion with them as well--a rare thing, as most of us are sleeping in the past/future mind, and unable to truly see another through our own reactions. How can we see someone else when we can't see ourselves? A terrible thing, that men die without having known themselves, and even sadder that they might not have truly known another--seen them with eyes unclouded by their own needs, seen their actions outside of the fear-based reactions they clothed themselves with to survive in the world.

Just some thoughts.

I hope all are well.

AIT

Working with Hadean Press!

2011-06-27T13:32:00.000-07:00

Ave,

Awesome news--the fine folks over at Hadean Press (Erze and Dis) have accepted my manuscript for publication! They publish a variety of interesting occult material, and also make fine hand-bound editions of some of their works. Which is fantastic; it says a lot about their dedication to their Art.

They've been instrumental in reviving the pamphlet in occulture, describing them as such on their website:

"Hadean Press adheres to the second idea of the radix of the word Pamphlet… that it takes its derivations from παν, all, and φιλεω, I love, signifying a thing beloved by all; for a pamphlet being of a small portable bulk, and of no great price, is adapted to every one’s understanding and reading."

Excellent stuff, ya'll. Go and check them out, if you haven't yet.

There will be much additional content and expanded practical material in this edition; I'm pretty excited about it. It works, and it works well. We have a lot of work to do before printing; I'll post updates as they come available, and will give a release date when we have one.

In the meantime, go to Hadean Press and treat yourself to some occult goodness.

AIT

Omens, Magic, and Death

2011-06-21T12:08:00.000-07:00

Ave,

The day before my youngest son died, I was taking a short walk around the area where we live. Checking the mail, doing something simple. It's California in summertime, so the day was gorgeous. A golden haze hung about everything, with the smell of pine and water. I came near the end of my walk, and was before the entrance to our home. I look up, and there are 5 crows sitting in a tree above me, on the lower branches. Crows are old man Saturn's birds. When I saw them, I felt a chill and a terrible sense of dread. They flew away after looking at me for a moment; and I did my damndest to stamp down my silly thoughts about this meaning literal death in my home.

And then I went about my day, shortly after which the world grew thin for me. I joined yet another semi-exclusive group; this one, unfortunately, is the one no one wants a part of, the fear of which dwells in the heart of every loving parent.

I've spent the last five months working with Saturn at the subtle urging of my HGA--while doing my regular Planetary work, he called to me, and communed with me--growing to the point that Saturn took me under his wings, and told me I should be his Priest. One of them, anyway. A strange and terrifying honor, that. He gave me Birth and Death rites that I could perform, with the work of the primarily Saturnian-kamoethic internal alchemy he helped me develop to be done in between. He encouraged me to create simple devotions--easy and poignant--for those not magically inclined. He taught me how to clothe myself in his essence, and see things as they truly are. A sea of black velvet, a glowing blackness. He taught me about the nature of existence, of Life itself, and destroyed many of my illusions--especially the structures I'd built for comfort. He does not tolerate that in his folk. As I don't want him to become bored, I strive daily to craft new illusions for him to destroy in the future. Ha. The Alchemical Salt is constantly creating that veil; as long as I live in this coagulated form, there will be substance to feed that particular Fire.

He lead me to steep myself in understanding about the Gate of Death--which is also the Gate of Life--and to grow in understanding of the Necromancy of my people, which is primarily the ancestor and graveyard-work Hoodoo. He taught me how to dream-walk (Oneironautics, lucid dreaming) so that I might commune with my lad in that world as well. He taught me how to use hoodoo to bring peace and comfort to my home and family, the practice of which provided a raft upon which we could navigate the river of grief.

He prepared me for this horror, which is not a horror. It simply is. This is life, which is death. Every day I see an image of my boy, or recall his giggling and his grin, and I'm filled with grief. A flowing river of grief, and not a stagnant lake, or a damn-bursting torrent. The up-welling of love for the Dead. This is a good thing. Where I not prepared, instead of flowing upon this river I would stand against it, and I would break. Right now it's at it's height, the Nile rising above it's banks to fertilize the land, to make it rich. This will pass, and it will flow gently again, in time.

Saturn taught me how to send his Spirits to honor my son in his passing, and to guide him through the realm of the Dead. He taught me to call upon the angels of Mercurius to give him voice in the Heavens that he was not blessed with on Earth, to call up Jupiter's angels to clothe his spirit in Majesty, to call on Venus' angels to surround him in the love that is God. He bid me to summon Mars' angels to do battle for him, so that he might go about freely without worry, to call upon Luna to teach him the Mysteries of the realm within which he now finds himself. To summon the angels of Sol, to fill his soul with light and the warmth of the Holy Spirit. He taught me how to use this wisdom, which I've worked my whole life to acquire, for something that is truly worthwhile.

Saturn taught me the truth of time, that the very idea of past and future are convenient illusions of the Alchemical Salt force, which is Saturnian in nature. He taught me that one moment can be Realized, so that that illusion is bent, and it can seem to go on forever. I've had those moments with my boy, and the thought of them is a great comfort. Looking back on them fills my heart with joy, because I know that I spent some time truly alive with him, who I loved so. There is no such thing as boredom or banality in this life, only a failure to engage. Every moment is a rich and living thing, especially if you have the little treasures that children are.

This work with occultism is more than a hobby, more even than a passion. It is a living Art that is primarily concerned with Death and Life; misunderstanding the importance of the spiritual work robs us of understanding it's true facility. This tragedy has brought me to understanding this. Dealing with the Gate of Death is what takes occultism out of the realm of interesting hobby and into that of true importance personally and culturally. What separates the ancient Shaman and Priests--our true magical forebears--from many that practice today is engaging with the Death, which gave them cultural importance and relevance outside of their own heads. If we are to truly do our work, we take up this burden with them, and work for the living And the dead.

There is something to be said for devotion. For having a Patron. For concerning yourself not with Technique, but with Experience. The guidance of the HGA is also priceless; it truly works to bring you that which you need.

Just wanted to share some of this that I've learned. I hope that you are all well, and I pray that you are given the vision of Saturn's wings shrouding every thing that you love. Constantly, unceasingly. Because it is a blessing, and it is the Truth. Nothing that we hold close will be here forever, and the sooner we start to live our lives with that painful awareness, the better. When Saturn comes around and reclaims the moments that we have borrowed, if we have allowed ourselves the illusion and comfort that he is far off we will be filled with sorrow and regret. His Death Rite was the most valuable gift that I've ever been given.

When my son passed away, I looked back, and remembered the times that I'd spent holding and playing with him...moments I went out of my way to create because of the Vision of Saturn's touch upon all the persons that I loved. Moments I spent absorbed in his laughter, or cursing at him for waking me up at 3 in the bloody morning...and loving him then, too. I was Present for those moments, and every one is a treasure. Be sure to create your own treasures every single day. Use some small measure of the Time you've been allotted. This way your tears of sorrow will be sweet, and not bitter. A wonderful gift, because those tears will come.

In LVX,

AIT

Do you study the Qabalah? (short post)

2011-05-30T12:44:00.000-07:00

If you do--at all--you should be reading the good Frater AM over at Light of a Golden Day. It's like a Master's course in Qabalistic theory and understanding. Go and read him. His level of understanding is very high, so it may be difficult for the beginner to grasp everything he's giving... but it's completely worth applying yourself and trying. Excellent blog.

Working with Gods

2011-05-17T16:06:00.000-07:00

So. There are God-Forms, and there are Gods.

God-Forms bring the magician into sympathy with the current of the God, with it's nature. This is very useful in Ceremonial Magic.( See: the entire Golden Dawn system of Magic). It's a bit like clothing yourself in the God's nature, without fully invoking the God itself into your being. This can lead to an affinity with the God, and an understanding of how that God's virtue is manifest materially and immaterially...all to the good. Fantastic technique for magic, tremendously effective when one knows the deep nature of the Gods involved and has a genuine understanding of the goals of the ritual. You certainly don't want to go taking God-Forms on willy-nilly.Ha.

Now, actual worship and communion with Gods is an entirely different deal. It isn't a part-time thing; you cannot be involved just for magical result. The Gods don't exist for our use.

Let's say, for instance, that you regularly invoke the Planetary Gods. Not taking on their forms and coming into sympathy, but full on Invocation and prayer, and communion. Your practice involves regular invocation and worship of these Gods. Let's say, then, a particular God takes a shine to you. Err, a Titan, actually. And then let's say he ....suggests....you take up a certain role, a certain mode of practice. Then, let's say--because you are very, very stupid--you hesitate in taking up that role, and don't follow through with that gentle suggestion, excusing your hesitation by pretending the communication wasn't clear enough, or that you were being presumptuous and feeding your ego.

You will quickly discover that Titans don't generally go around making "suggestions". That you need to get on board the train, or he will Put you on the train, and not so gently. So, yeah.

Shit can go sideways. Quickly. Once you're on board, though....it's glorious. There is a Sea of understanding and power available to you, a veritable Mer de Noms.

Working with the Gods isn't something to be approached casually. They are bigger than us. Much bigger. And they aren't people. This is important to understand. They aren't just super-big People, they are complicated entities with their own Wills. A God isn't simply a personified Idea or a pack of correspondences; people who imply this have never entered into true communion with one of them. Their nature may align with a particular idea, but that doesn't mean the God didn't exist before the idea. That's a bit like saying I am fundamentally a pair of blue jeans, because the jeans I'm wearing fit me very well. A God is a being, not some Human construct.

Nor are they simply Microcosmic. People treat the Planetary Gods as if, because their virtue is reflected into the Microcosm, they are somehow in service to the Microcosm. This is foolishness. Like saying, because our bodies are made of the Solar energy we consume, the Sun serves us, and exists to do so. Madness.

That all being said, they do enjoy communion, and have specific things they wish to accomplish with people and in the world. They are accessible, and oftentimes willing. They aren't, however, necessarily friendly.They're like Angels, in that way. They're not emotional, but their virtue inspires waves of emotion that align with their nature when we interact with them. This is part of subtle communication.

Anyway, when you've told them what you want, be ready to receive it. Because they'll give it to you, and not always in the way you hope. You won't be disappointed in the end, though.

In LVX,

AIT

Hoodoo is a Healing System

2011-05-14T11:14:00.000-07:00

Ave,

There doesn't seem to be much talk about how conjure was used most often in our recent past, and that was as a system of healing. Root doctors tend to be more affordable than Western doctors and are often willing to barter with the folk who live in their neighborhood with them, serving as a source for the healing of common ailments within the community. Especially before the advent of cheap mass-produced medicines like Aspirin. Nowadays it seems folk only talk about conjure for making hands and laying tricks; these are important aspects of the art, certainly, but they are not it's entirety. Not even it's main thrust! Folk would be far more likely to call upon the local conjurer for a cure for sore teeth, or an aid against the pain of kidney stones (or "gravel", as it used to be called) than for a hand to use against enemies, or a solution for a court-case problem. Well. That holds as long as we don't include work done for good luck in gambling. That Five-Finger Grass got quite a work-out, back in the day....

I've always found Conjure methods of healing ailments interesting in their approach.While the root doctor is often well acquainted with herbalism, many of the old tricks used to cure folk only resemble herbalism in that sometimes plants are involved, haha. In Conjure the plant is useful for it's god-given virtue; often it is neither prepared a certain way or consumed, but is used in a talismanic fashion. We are as likely to use a plant in healing work as we are the powdered bones or organs of an animal. I find this fascinating when looking at some of the recipes we find in the Picatrix which take a similar approach in the use of virtue from the animal kingdom for spiritual effect.

The organs and bones aren't hard to find these days..the butcher at your local Safeway probably has most of what you need.

In Hoodoo we approach healing as spiritual first. The spirit and the body aren't treated as separate things, and prayers can be as efficacious as the natural virtue of a particular plant. If the problem is in the spirit, then treating the body alone don't fix it. We find in Hoodoo much of the natural magic of old Europe; books like "Pow Wow or the Long-lost Friend" had and still have a huge effect on the root-doctor and many of our traditional cures have their roots in old Germany. This is simply a fact.

The system of healing in conjure is very sophisticated and multi-leveled; it is practical. There are cures for ailments that use only sympathetic magic, cures that rely on prayer, and cures that rely on the natural healing properties of a given substance. The root doctor has a lot of tools at his or her disposal.

What's even more interesting about many of the conjure methods of healing is that they tend to work. I've found some of the simplest cures hugely efficacious, and even simple tricks can have a huge result. That is, of course, if you're a conjurer and you know what you're about.

The ubiquity of cheap medicines like aspirin and the like have led, from what I've seen, to folk seldom relying on a root-doctor for cure. This is a shame, because the approach of the root-doctor is valuable. The root-doctor heals the spirit And the body, not just the body. Western medicine is clearly awesome, but has a huge deficiency in not treating the whole person and taking a mechanistic view of the body.

Anyway, just thought that was something worth thinking about.

AIT

Inspiration by Jove

2011-04-23T16:02:00.000-07:00

Ave,

Good Jupiter and his Archangel Tzadqiel have seen fit to bless me with some inspiration and direct knowledge....and have pointed me in the direction I need to finish the book I'm working on (which, of course, has material I've created myself and from public and published sources). Which is beyond cool. I've been working hard and doing a TON of research into the roots of Alchemy--learning different methods that have been used to complete the Great Work by Adepts of different cultures (David White's "The Alchemical Body" is an absolute must read, by the way. Thank you's to my dear brother VH Fra SR for the recommendation!), and trying to penetrate into the process behind all of the different practices. The fundamentals, the roots of the Work. I have been blessed with an excellent Alchemical Master, who instead of simply saying this=this, has given me small keys and nudges so that I'd discover as much as possible on my own. This has been invaluable. One of the gentlemen I consider a mentor and I were discussing Philalethes on Facebook the other day, and he offered a completely different analysis of the text (The Font of Chemical Truth) than my own. This wasn't disheartening, it was fantastic! I know my analysis is correct and consistent with the hidden principles of Alchemy....but so is his! It doesn't matter to me one whit whether Philalethes practiced the Dry Way (as my good brother put forth) or the Wet Internal Way (which is what I put forth), what blew my mind was that either interpretation could be correct. The nature of the Alchemical language is such that, if you have proper understanding of the process, any of the Alchemical writers can give up the Gold regardless of the particular path they follow. Just as Aleister Crowley once wrought occult truths from nursery rhymes, an initiate who's grasped the Language of the Birds can find alchemical keys in almost any of the texts. This is plainly awesome. I've gone back and re-examined texts of Alchemists I'd disregarded--because they practiced a different Way than the one I considered true--and found them to be rich with meaning and useful Alchemical processes. How foolish I was to discard them in the first place!

I also realized that there are many, many Alchemical methods for getting the job done. Some do it faster, some much slower, but many get it done. Not everyone is following the same system in the old texts; many alchemists vary in the amount of steps they use, the style of work...even the imagery they may use is often only truly consistent internally. I wasted a lot of time--and disregarded perfectly usable methods and texts--because they didn't fit perfectly with the idea I had of what the process should be. It all comes down to choosing the First Matter you are working with--whether it will be an analogical matter such as in the Dry Way or Wet Way (which are much slower, but still efficacious), or a Solar and direct Matter as in the Internal Wet Way (such as used in the Great Rite)--and calcining it. There are variation in technique that different traditions have created to help along Nature's hand, but everything comes from the Calcination. You could do nothing but Calcine as your entire practice, and if the heat is regular, the matter will be refined. There's nothing simpler. You'll observe changes in the glass if you're observant, just as our forebears have done. If you aren't looking, and you don't see all the changes and you're still gently Calcining..you will still complete the Great Work. If you're looking for consistency in method between schools of Alchemy, stop wasting your time. They all seem slightly different, but the heart and soul of Alchemy is the application of Heat to the Matter. Changes occur to the matter at different temperatures, and after different amounts of time in the process...often this is what the Emblems describe. You don't have to recognize all the different changes in a certain way, or perceive them in a certain order. You only need to discover the Matter, and then Calcine it gently. That's it, that's Alchemy.

The thing about the Alchemical process is that it's happening to you anyway...but moving glacially slowly, as Nature is in no rush. If we help her hand along, even a little, than our Alchemical practice has value.

Now, this isn't to say that anyone attempting Alchemy is necessarily actually practicing it. Intent and deep understanding are important. If the Alchemist is actually practicing archemy, and only wishes to transform literal physical metals into literal mineral physical gold for material purposes, than they are wasting their time. Puffers. Ironically the only way one could conceivably make that transformation is to accomplish the True alchemy, which is not a thing done for physical and temporary wealth, but for lasting Spiritual wealth.

So, my current work is creating an Alchemical process that is internally consistent. Something built from my own experiences and understandings. The challenging part is that I can't use the stuff I've been taught directly due to my vows and personal honor...I have to use the principles that I've learned to create a valid alchemical practice. Then, I'm going to send a copy to all the awesome Alchemists I know and challenge them to tell me why they think it wouldn't work. The process is slower than that of, say, the Arcanum Arcanorum, because it doesn't directly utilize certain substances which are especially efficacious for this work and because it is a solitary Path. It'll still get the job done, though.

It will work, and it will work well--hell, it has worked, because it's built upon the same principles as the Alchemy I've been lucky to learn. It will be tremendously interesting to hear what other Alchemists have to say, regardless of whether they agree with me. If I'm lucky, and they discover error in my thinking or processing, I'll have the opportunity to learn. What could be better?

It's peer review, haha! I imagine I'll learn quite a bit about Alchemy--and even more about modern Alchemists--from the reviews my brothers and sisters in the Art have for me. Should be fun.

I think that students of Alchemy should be challenged to create their own alchemical practice in this same way as a proof of understanding of the material and Art. It is often this way in the Martial arts. A student has to contribute to the lore of the field and create his own innovations within the system--often creating a new branch of that system--in order to display his mastery of the things he has been taught. I can't think of a better way to plug any holes in the understanding.

In LVX,

AIT

Attn: Hermetic Alchemists

2011-04-07T09:48:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note. There are a ridiculous amount of Alchemical writings that are packed with nonsense. It's min-boggling. So.....I think we're duty-bound to share with each other the available and published texts that are clearly written by an initiate. The ones with proper understanding of the substance and the goal. The one's I've found to be particularly solid are Philalethes, Ripley (especially his 12 Gates), Paul Foster Case, and Basil Valentine. Lu-Yen's Secret of the Golden Flower pretty much nails it as well.

This is from the perspective of one working Hermetic Internal Alchemy, and not external analogical Alchemy. Which is still awesome and still effective; just not as effective nor as powerful in the working as direct Internal Alchemy...from what I've surmised. My primary Alchemical mentor has experience with Spagery, Internal Mineral, and External Mineral alchemies, and seems to have found value in the lot. For external alchemy, I can't imagine it gets much better than Fulcanelli. There is also Jean Dubois' course on mineral Alchemy given with the Philosophers of Nature. I've got both of their writings, but must admit to very little work with external Mineral Alchemy.

AIT

The Death-Litany of Saturn, Putrefication

2011-03-26T21:23:00.000-07:00

Ave,

So, in some Alchemical systems, there is a very important step that involves the rising of the Saturnian force from the interior Metal at the base of the spine. (This relates to the 8th operation, and the Sign Scorpio within the system outlined by Paul Foster Case.) This step is the Putrefication, during which the personality is reduced into the Black Powder, and "destroyed". This step is an important one before Incineration, which is referred to as the Invocation of the Holy Guardian Angel in Magical circles. This isn't quite as horrifying as it sounds at first blush. What it does is destroy the Soul's identification with the personality as the Self; in the end you are still You--as you have always been--but you become aware the "You" isn't your personality, but that you operate through the personality. It's important to understand that this isn't a purely psychological thing; it is a phenomena that involves the nerve-centers that correspond with the metals Saturn and Mars in the physical body, the corresponding energetic centers, and the Mind of the Alchemist. Alchemical operations work upon the First Matter on every level that it manifests through the planes. When this happened to me, I was not prepared, and didn't know what the hell was going on. I'd been studying Alchemy and Magic for some time, but my understanding hadn't extended this far yet. I knew of the Kundalini force in general, but knew little of our own Western Way of working with the rising Serpents.

**On a quick off note, if you don't have access to an Alchemical Order, or a Master to apprentice with, Paul Foster Case's "Hermetic Alchemy" in combination with and meditation on the emblems within Daniel Stolices' "Hermetic Garden" are in my opinion the best tools to build a practical Alchemical practice out of. If you've attained the Keys through hard work and prayer, you'll find just about everything you need here. There are a number of different Alchemical processes within the Western system alone, that enable one to complete the Great Work, and this one will get you there. PF Case only creates the outline of a practice, and helps with understanding. You'll need to do the rest yourself.***

I was in Las Vegas on vacation. I'd been very active in my energetic work at the time, working toward making my bodies "subtle", filling them with the LVX. I laid down to rest, and after an indeterminate amount of time awoke startled in the darkness. There was a thunderous vibrating and buzzing occurring at the root of my spine. I could hear it and feel it, even the sound was "physical", although I'm sure it was an internal phenomena. I was immediately confused, as there was no sensation of heat or cold...which is what I expected. Instead, somehow I'd loosed a hive of bees into my spine. I was terrified, at first. Then it began to move up; it rose steadily up my spine vibrating and humming all along. No temperature, just pressure. I couldn't move while it happened. When it reached my head, lights out. Complete blackness, but so black that there was light. Yes, that makes no sense....I'm aware, but it's true. It was a a black void that was packed with Something, permeated with it. There was nothing but this Thing, and I attempted to look at myself, and saw nothing there either, and then I realized the truth of the One thing. You're left like a newborn child, aware at that moment of the truth of things before the Salt-force completes the illusion of separation from the One. I'm not sure how long I stayed in that State, but it was a while. Or a moment. One of those deals. This is Saturn devouring a person, who is reborn as a child. You'll find this in many of the Alchemical Emblems.

It took a long time for me to realize what had happened. The full fruits of this sort of thing aren't immediately clear when one is working without a roadmap. It's important to meditate and divine soon after, and to write down the details while they are fresh in your mind. I've since created/been inspired to create an operation that results in this experience--the Death Litany of Saturn. Which Saturn prefers I communicate to persons on a one-to-one basis. Persons who've worked with him, created a relationship. If you're such a person, and you would like the ritual, please feel free to send me an email, and I can give you the ritual. I'll need to do a horary to confirm you're one of Saturn's initiates, and that this is for you. It isn't an extremely complicated ritual, but it can be terrifying and life-changing if you stick with it. You know how Saturn rolls.

You could certainly just go directly to Saturn for a ritual, of course!

Some inspiring words from Tool, in "the Grudge":

Saturn comes back around to show you everything
Let's you choose what you will, will not see and then
Drags you down like a stone or lifts you up again
Spits you out like a child, light and innocent

More perspectives on the Energy Debate

2011-03-03T15:47:00.000-08:00

Ave,

Fraters Argent and theScribbler have some interesting new points and opinions to make about this debate, as does VH Fra SR. I'm pretty much in total agreement with Fra Argent. (You should be reading his blog, if you aren't yet, and Fra Jow's as well). Also, in partisan fashion I just posted links to the dudes I primarily agree with. Here's another set of perspectives. Also, check out Fra RO for interesting input as well. I think Patrick Dunn's insistence that there is no such thing as magical "energy" is incorrect--not because his ideas aren't sound, or because his model doesn't work. His ideas are sound, and they do make sense if one is working from a definition of the term "energy" that is the same as that of modern science, and completely bereft of context. Which would be silly....in my opinion. What we are really debating is whether subtle energies are an actuality. The inner fires, the Holy Ghost, the spiritual Virtue. Ha...or perhaps that's what I'm really debating, and who the hell knows what the other fellows are talking about? I can't think of a way to remove subtle energies from the equation without magic--of every sort--falling apart. What are the Spirits that we work with composed of? Mind? Azoth? The stuff of God? Well then, what is that? The Alchemical literature and tradition (and my own experience) are clear about the answer to this.....Light. Not physical Light, but subtle Light, which can manifest as physical light and matter on the physical plane; we are able to perceive this non-physical light because we are not purely physical beings, we are integrated, multi-layered entities composed of Light/LVX manifesting on all the different levels of our being in the manner appropriate for the plane/realm it moves in. And what is subtle light if not a subtle energy? Perhaps this is a debate of definitions, perhaps it's circular.

Perhaps I'm arguing this the wrong way. It seems to be a matter of perspective and understanding. I have to ask myself, what is existence composed of, fundamentally? This is at the root of the whole "energy" thing anyway, in my opinion. It it at root abstraction and Idea, made manifest through our perspective as humans? Or is it a purely physical, mechanistic thing, in which all that exists can be weighed and measured? I say, of course not. My experiences make that very clear; I've experienced the non-measurable planes of existence using the Mind and Spirit, non-measurable parts of myself that operate at the same level of existence as this subtle light. I understand all things are made of and spring from the substance of the Source, and that the material world is built upon, of, and is inter-penetrated by this same subtle Light. This isn't some shit I made up, this is what I've come to Know and grasp through Experience. This is the Qabalistic/Alchemical understanding of the world. It is, of course, not the only one. Fra Ro, who is a Hermetic Neo-Platonist (warning, this is a gross simplification, forgive and correct me if I'm wrong, Fra!) understands these things we experience differently, to be manifested Idea, for example. Does this work to describe existence? Well, yes it must, dude is a very skillful and experienced Magician and is accomplishing the Work in his way. Where does that leave us? With different perspectives that work.

I think that we are using a whole bunch of complicated and varied structures to re-describe what our forefathers described as the Sacred Fire, the Inner Fire, the Holy Ghost and the Hidden Virtue. However, saying that there is no such thing as subtle energy, in the face of such broad experience as the entire Western and Eastern Alchemical corpus and the modern Eulisian/Rosicrucian understanding seems plainly incorrect to me. I mean...do some of this work. Set the Inner Fire alight, and then describe it to me. It isn't an abstraction, it is visceral and can be directly perceived. It seems almost bizarre to me that there is so much argument about this, because it is so easy to experience. That being said, I'm not entirely sure if anyone is actually saying that....well, except for Patrick Dunn, haha. Anyway, that's enough for today. This conversation is like Scylla and Charybdis, and the shores are rocky. I'm super-stoked about how high the level of discourse has been, though. Well done gents (no Sorors have chimed in yet....I think)!

In LVX (that's a subtle energy, fyi),

AIT

Initiation into the Great Rite

2011-02-22T18:07:00.000-08:00

Ave,

This was the highlight of Pantheacon and a major landmark in my magical career. An absolutely incredible experience! My wife and I took Initiation into the Great Rite on Sunday, and both the teachings and the current are rich and powerful. I'm somewhat at a loss to communicate all my feelings about it. It opened doors for me on a number of levels.

The Great Rite initiation is built around empowerment and instruction in Inner Alchemy. The techniques of Western Inner Alchemy are not imaginative, they aren't pure visualization. They are physical and visceral. They work directly upon the physical body to refine the Prima Materia, and they are wonderfully effective. It was a wondrous moment for me; having all of the emblems and manuscripts I studied over the years open up in new ways....beautiful. I was able, without ceremony or ritual, to manipulate my body's energies and enter into ecstatic states. I can do so at will, using the practices I have learned--nowhere near as well as my teachers, but well enough to see that the road is clear. I've had access to trance-states at will for years with the use of mudra and incantation, but those weren't ecstatic states; they weren't filled with the Universal Love which allows us to lose ourselves in the One. Absolutely incredible! The techniques are powerful, and have the power to transmute not just the Self, but also the loving relationship with the partner. They aren't about intercourse at all--more "Love" Magic than "Sex" Magic, although the polarity-sex forces are of course involved. These aren't re-hashed techniques from elsewhere, either....a deep and powerful Western Tradition, one that has been subtly empowering Western movements for millennia.

This is such an important thing for the Western Tradition, I don't think it can be over-emphasized. Much of what Westerners had gone to the East for--thinking our own tradition missing these important practices-- is now available for everyone. Not just for those of us who've spent decades toiling away in study (although, that study is rewarded when Alchemy is put into practice, as it gives deep insight into what's going on within), but for any who make the effort in good faith. No need to be in the Golden Dawn, it doesn't matter what your spiritual "denomination" is. I was amazed--and still am--at the wisdom and warmth High Priestess Diana and High Priest Dianus extended all of us in attendance. They have a presence; Dianus a warm teacher, and Diana was a force. She was beyond gracious, and lovely. Filled with a deep and subtle power. I've never encountered an Adept with her nature. She was filled with Goddess, . Ahh, I can't express it well. She was like a hurricane in a tiny, smiling bottle. I felt humbled. This was a first for me.

I've worked with folk esoterically and exoterically with high spiritual standing...from Adepts to Catholic Bishops. None could compare. I've never experienced someone like this, or something like this.

Dianus was powerful in his own way as well, immediately comforting complete strangers with his wit and aura of welcome. He had none of the arrogance associated with powerful people, but was gentle and supportive. Amazing people.

Lupercus and Aegeria were excellent facilitators, teaching by example and providing translation for the High Priestess and High Priest.

I couldn't have asked for better initiators.

I'm gushing here, but that's because this was awesome. If you are at all interested in Western Alchemy or Theurgy I would thoroughly encourage you to take initiation into this Rite.

Pantheacon 2011; Good times

2011-02-21T17:19:00.000-08:00

Ave,

So, I took a much-needed break from all this energy jibba-jabba (which I'm guilty of starting...been a great conversation though!) with my peers to attend Pantheacon. Gentleman, pardon me for not replying and joining in the latest conversation on your blogs (VH Fra SR, Fra Jason, Fra RO, and Fra Jack), I've been super busy. Anyway, I think enough's been said for everyone to know everyone else's position. We'll all just call it what it is, and we'll argue about it again in a couple of years. Haha. Veles just posted an awesome Terry Pratchet quote: "The plural of Wizard is Wizards, the plural of Witch is Arguement." Hilarious and true, except Wizards (or Magicians, or Sorcerers....) should be right there with the Witches. Some insightful things said. I'm going to resist writing another essay about why my viewpoint is clearly more awesome than yours, and move on.

Them's is jokes, ya'll.

Panthecon was a very interesting experience. I've never been a part of the Pagan community (although my work with and veneration of the Planetary Gods would place me under the Pagan umbrella...), and so didn't have any idea what to expect. It was awesome. I definitely need to reach out and participate more in the pagan community here in the bay area, there are some interesting folk from all walks of life involved.

The folks who worked at Pantheacon were very helpful and friendly, outside of one spectacularly rude incident, which I'm sure was an aberration. And so colorful! All kinds of crazy-looking outfits and the like. It was a pleasant change from the everyday.

I stood out like a sore thumb; I'll need to get into the spirit a bit next year, so that folk are more comfortable. Wear something fun, carry a staff....something. It would be nice to be easily identifiably. It would also be nice to receive fewer confused looks from my people.=) If there is a "look" for the modern pagan, I don't have it. Demographically or otherwise--not super important, but with representatives from Black religions and practices like Hoodoo and Voudon teaching, I would have expected more African faces. I believe, counting myself, there were around 4 there, wandering about. This is over multiple days and hours at the convention. This is no fault of the Pagan community, which was beyond accepting and friendly. There are events that the Black community of Sorcerers, Conjurers and Magicians holds which aren't well attended by those outside of that community. There's seldom much marketing about them. Perhaps it's because our community is so insular; I wonder what I could do to encourage more inter-mingling of the communities? Can't really complain about it, as I'm not very active with either community. Going to have to change that. It would be a good thing, I think.

Also, beards. Lot's of 'em. And corsets. Fantastic!

They had a great variety of programs, and I unfortunately missed a lot of the stuff that I wanted to see because too much good shit was scheduled all at once! If there were any complaint to make, that would be mine...there's just no way to see everything, and no one was documenting these talks via video, which seems like madness to me. We outta be able to document these things, report about them. Tech blogs are all over MWC or CES, and our equivalent get nothing....no video, little text, and no audio. Just a damn shame. The explanation I received was that people could lose their jobs over attending.

....really?

That seems like a stretch these days. Barring the illegality of firing someone over their religious preference, times have changed. There are certainly some places and circles where Pagans are shunned, and people do have a right to privacy. Seems to me that they should avoid attending public events, then. I'm sure it's complicated. I think that we lose a lot in not sharing the great things that happen at these events. Just my opinion.

The best part for me was my initiation into the Great Rite. I'll be posting about it soon, I need to internalize some more. It was an absolutely amazing experience. Will talk about it soon!

In LVX,

AIT

No Photograpghy at PantheaCon. Lame!

2011-02-18T15:28:00.000-08:00

Goodness.

Half of the fun just got sucked out for me. Damn. I was looking forward to getting beautiful, high-res photos of some of our occult luminaries. This sucks....because people have cell phone camera's now, and they will take photos. No one's identity is being protected....now they'll be outed with crappy photos instead of nice ones. Ha. Oh well, what can you do?

If your personal practice doesn't include energy work, it is bullshit.

2011-02-14T21:16:00.000-08:00

Ave,

Just a quick note for anyone who thinks ritual and initiation alone are the key to power. It is not. It's very easy in the Western work to fall into the trap of learning myriad arts--and spending the majority of your time doing so--and treating meditative energetic work as the second priority. It should be your first. It is more important than all of the GIRP's, GIRH's, sigil work, God-worship.....yes, even more important than you're work with your Gods. Without the energy work, we'll never be like them. Please consider reversing the order of importance if it is possible for you. Instead of an hour of practical work and ten minutes of middle pillar stuck in there somewhere, reverse it. Streamline your intent-based work, incorporate mudras and incantations that can do lengthy things for you faster. Spend as much time immersed in the Sea of Mind as possible.Quit making excuses and putting things off. Every moment spent outside of meditation is a moment wasted, if you wish to become one of the Immortals. Our St.Germain, our Nicholas Flamel--our Eastern brothers' Liao Tsiu and He Xiangu....invested decades of lifetime spent in deep daily practice to raise themselves. Not a paltry--and it is paltry!--hour a day, which is the best-case scenario for many of the modern Adepti. An hour a day would be a beautiful dream for me, I'm lucky to get a half-hour in. Which is bullshit. My own practice, in comparison to the greats, has paled in comparison.

This is fine. We all have different goals with our work, and if a slower rate of development is what works for us, than that's good.

It is only an issue if I wish to become an Immortal. I do. So, I need to make some life-changes. These changes mostly revolve around not being a lazy bastard.

If you are dreaming that you will attain the Stone with part-time practice, you will continue dreaming through your death and start again in the next life. Attaining the Stone is a lifestyle. You can work toward it, and gain many things of beauty, including refining yourself and the Metals within. But without accumulating the raw power of LVX within your bodies, you will accomplish little.

Problem with clairvoyance? Can't see very well? You need more energy work. Problems with Evocation? Energy work. Poor manifestation of your results from telesmata? Energy work. Feel stuck, in a rutt? Energy work. Difficulty making progress escaping bad habits? Energy work. Not an Immortal yet? No Lunar Body? No Solar Body to jump into when you pass on? Energy work. It always comes back to meditation. It is the heart of spiritual practice.

In the olden days, energy work was simply "prayer". Our fathers in Alchemy extort us over and over, without prayer our vessels are empty.

It must be understood that ritual is meant to be an aid to meditation. Yes it is a powerful tool. Understand that it is a tool for the Magician, that it is not what you are, simply a tool that helps you do what you do. Which is Meditate!Active Prayer! A mechanic doesn't look at his wrench and say, "this is what makes me what I am." Don't wed yourself to ritual and define yourself by their operation. Meditation is where all the real work is done. Ritual without meditation is like a car with no gas. You aren't getting anywhere.

Something else to be worked on is pride. I personally have not been a huge fan of adopting Eastern meditative practices...because I'm a Westerner. Damn it, our Alchemy is just as good as that of the Chinese, or of the Tibetans! Unfortunately, the fact is that until very recently, the deep practices of our tradition have only been available to a very few. The Eastern brothers have long since given enough of the keys for powerful practice to all. GH Fra LES has said previously that they still guard they're most secret keys, and I imagine they do. But they've released enough. Enough to get you pretty damn close, assuming my understanding of Alchemy is solid. It is. If you've had no luck penetrating the Western Alchemical tracts, and are unable to undergo initiation in an Order with this knowledge, then read our texts side-by-side with the Eastern texts. Think of them as a Rosetta stone. Read this, and these. Then read Taoist Yoga by Lu K'uan Yu/Charles Luk. Also read Taoist Cosmic Healing by Mantak Chia. Now, WORK. Meditate, meditate, meditate. You'll learn enough of the Language of the Birds (should you meditate upon the emblems as well!) to suss out the root and heart of Alchemical practice. It will be harder without the helpful push of Initiation (ye olde shaktipat), but even the basics done consistently will move you forward. Just do it. Quit bullshittin'. Aim for four hours a day, and cut back from there. Spot where you're making excuses. They don't have to be consecutive hours. Wake up one hour early and meditate for an hour. Put in a half hour at your lunchbreak. Go to sleep an hour later, and use that hour to meditate. Give up an hour of facebook time, and meditate. The time is there. I'm blessed with a 7 year old and twin three year olds, one of whom is severely disabled...and I know I can find this time. So can you.

Quit bullshitting, or accept that you will not acquire the Solar body. I'm trying to myself......we'll see how it works.

In LVX,

AIT

Pantheacon this year is going to be Special

2011-02-04T17:17:00.000-08:00

Ave,

So, things have gotten interesting on the American Occultism front. There are some key personages joining us from Italy--Arch Priestess and Arch Priest Diana and Dianus of Stregheria del Bosco Sacro of Benevento...a family of Italian Stregha practitioners.

Now, you may be saying to yourself "I'm not a Witch. How is this in any way important?"

It's important because they are bringing into the Pagan tradition the rites of Inner Alchemy.

Not just the knowledge of the Great Rite itself--sex magic--understanding of which every occult order under the Sun should have incorporated as bare minimum by now. The full-on Egyptian tradition of Inner Alchemy that has been the highest of the Western Mysteries for centuries. The secret traditions that were occulted from even other Occult organisations, the Western route to the hidden power. This is incredibly important, because it's seeding America--and our largest Mystery movement (alas, this is not the Golden Dawn by a looooong shot)--with transformative power that has previously been held primarily by European orders. Even my own Order, which is said to have these secret Rites, is rooted in Europe and received these mysteries from European Adepti. This endeavor of the Streghans, if successful, is going to reshape and invigorate an already vigorous and growing movement.

The Pagan movement is a recognized religious entity. They have Pagan priests serving in official capacity in the military, for heaven's sake....and that is awesome. If the self-evolution that we practice is to become a large part of this nation's fabric, it's going to happen through this movement. Having the Pagan movement further empowered with the legacy of the Western Tradition's Egyptian forebears is Huge. A coming of Age of sorts, a passing of the Torch. The Christian movements and the hidden occult Orders have previously held the keys to this crown of the Western Tradition, and so have held an authority and an importance in the Western occult world that the Pagan movement frankly has not. The Pagan movements have drunk from the magical Cup of the Christian and Occult orders as part of their re-birth. A couple of thousand years dominating Western thought will do that. Now, with this final draught, the Pagan Movement will have all that the Hidden organisations have to offer without the baggage of millenia of dogma. With every practitioner having a direct hand. (Best case scenario).

Assuming, of course, that enough people are actually trained in the Art.

Coming from an aged dame like the Catholic Church, in which I grew up, the Pagan movement in America feels very young. Yes, I'm well aware of the roots some traditions may have in pre-history, etc etc. This is not in anyway implying that age equals validity. The Pagan traditions are most assuredly valid and valuable. That being said, there is a gravitas missing that comes from age.The desire for this gravitas is evident in many Pagans' need for the system they practice to be seen as ancient. If it works, why does the Age matter? Because everyone wants respect, and our institutions are in many ways reflections of ourselves as Humans. When you are young, you burst to be respected and seen as an equal. When you are old, you don't need to be seen as an equal. You simply are, no need for trying. Old people oftentimes show little respect for the young, and Old established religions are no different.

Many Pagan Adepts that I've encountered have a youthfulness about them that practitioners of the older active systems often (in my observation) misinterpret as naivete, but which seems to me to be more of an expression of the relative youth of their movement's modern rebirth. The folks I've encountered without this have usually trained in other systems as well. Mind you, these impressions are purely observations made through my own filter of personality...your milage may vary.

The approach these Streghans have taken, the attitudes that they present remind me more of the Tibetan practitioners I've encountered in feel than the modern Pagan...there is a natural respectfulness for the other, and a genteel formality that gives the impression that not only is the Other respected, but that they expect respect for themselves as their right. The feel of the Adept. The feel of someone who respects others because he respects himself, and has experienced the spiritual revelation of losing the self. (Whether in ecstasy or oblivion, the effect on the personality seem to be the same.) They feel Old in the best ways, is what I'm saying.

I have yet to meet them physically, but assuredly will do so at Pantheacon. We'll see if my impressions are correct. Regardless, I think this is a good and important thing.

In LVX,

AIT

Blogging Pantheacon

2011-01-10T21:03:00.000-08:00

Ave,

So, I live maybe 10 minutes away from where Pantheacon is held, and I'm going to be all up in it. I'll be photo and video blogging throughout the conference .***This is your warning, beloved peers. Best brush the crumbs out of your beard, cuz you're going on the internets.***

I'm planning on interviewing folk when I can, and will live blog some of the events. Definitely will tweet the hell out of them, anyway.

I've never been to a Pagan conference of any sort, definitely looking forward to it.

Some alternatives for Expensive Planetary Metals

2011-01-08T01:39:00.000-08:00

Ave,

As part of my studies I've been working with Agrippa and the Picatrix quite a bit lately, and often you'll find that metals required are crazy expensive, or worse dangerous (such as mercury or lead). Many of us use paper for our Planetary images, and it does work, but doesn't in my opinion or experience make for a talisman that can long contain the Virtue of a planet. I've got a couple of fixes that I use to deepen the power of the paper talisman when I'm unable to afford the metal, and of course I'll share them.

My reasoning for experimenting with some of these methods was that, as Names are descriptions of a given entity/thing and as such have power over the thing, a proper and true description may serve well in the place of a thing. May even Be the thing, as far as Magic is concerned. I also reasoned that the Virtue of the planet is the important thing, and that the metal served as a container of that virtue and That is why it was valuable in my Magic; not because of the physicality of the Metal, but because it serves as an excellent container and Body for the virtue to inhabit because of it's nature.

I've found that properly Fixed paper will hold the virtue of a Planet nearly indefinitely; I've yet to have a talisman made from Fixed paper lose it's virtue or efficacy over time alone. (De-consecration is of course a different matter).

Fixing the paper isn't easier than using the metal--it is in fact more difficult, it is only less expensive in currency. It is more expensive in time and understanding. I find that the extra research and magical work--time--spent on fixing the paper makes it as valuable to me as the currency I could spend on the metal alone, while re-enforcing the correspondences and links that make the Magic. You aren't cutting corners, you're using an equally valid alternative.

My method for Fixing the paper is usually twofold, sometimes threefold--First I use Electional Astrology to Elect a time that is good for the Planet (The Planet needs to be in it's Exaltation or Rulership, and in it's Planetary hour, preferably with the Moon unafflicted and no Square or Opposing aspect) and take up a good piece of vellum. The paper should be of better quality than lined or regular printer paper. I light the appropriate incense and Candle, and then recite the Hymn to the Planet--usually a Planetary invocation as found in Picatrix of late, although I've gotten plenty of use from the Orphic Hymns--and then meditate upon an Image of the Planet as given in Agrippa or Picatrix. Now that the atmosphere in the temple is pregnant with the Planet's virtue, I take up the paper and draw a Circle on it, signifying that I want to contain within that which will be placed in the circle. Inside the circle I place a thorough and accurate Description of the Metal....I use the atomic number, weight, and electron configuration of the Metal as found in the Periodic Table (for example, my description of gold would be as follows:

196.9665

[Xe]6s¹4f¹⁴5d¹⁰

I grew up with the idea that this is the root of what the metal is, it's very nature. It works like a charm. Why not put it to work?

If I haven't been able to find a solid Election, I use a Spagryic Elixir to fix the paper with the Planetary power, and then create the circle and Description of the Metal as described above. I thank the Planet and close, and put the Gold away somewhere special.

Just thought I'd share; I'm sure there are a number of interesting methods that folks use, and I would love to hear them!

In LVX,

AIT

De-constructing the Ritual Battery

2010-12-23T00:54:00.000-08:00

Ave,

It's worth taking a moment every season or so to examine your daily-ish ritual battery. What are you doing? Why are you doing it? Does it actually do what it's supposed to do?

I had to sit down and take a good hard look at my battery the other day, and examine it's contents against what I was trying to accomplish. That part is key.....it isn't good enough to feel better, you have to be better. And what is "better"? Is better for you a matter of improved elemental/planetary/astrological balance, and if so, what does that look like? Is better increased awareness of/connection with the spiritual (these are not the same things)?Is better a closer relationship with your spiritual contacts (the Gods and Angels with whom you regularly commune)?

.......What exactly are you doing? And Why are you doing it?

One wonderful thing about the Golden Dawn is that we've got a full toolkit for pretty much whatever you want to accomplish. It just requires study and having direction.

More than once in my career I've found myself doing Magic for the sake of doing Magic......just doing what I do, with no real goal in place. The only thing that changed then was my skill with Magic. In the periods when I have a goal to accomplish--a single, focused goal--I've experienced real growth in Understanding and change. I'm sure that sounds obvious to many, but it hasn't always been to me. It's easy to forget that empowering each ritual requires intent; statements of intent aren't just for Talismans. There should be an awareness of what you want to accomplish before beginning any ritual action, and that intent should inform the ritual and be part of the weave. This is a danger that many intermediate and advanced Magicians face; familiarity breeds contempt.... knowing the rituals perfectly well makes it possible to do them by rote, on autopilot. It's the difference between running on a treadmill, and running an actual race. One is just exercise.

One real stand out for me is the Adoration of the Lord of the Universe. Have you ever taken the time to ask the why's for that particular ritual (perhaps our most important?) Why do we face the East? Why are we projecting LVX in that direction, establishing a current? What does it mean to be one whom "Nature hath not formed?" To be "Lord of the Light and of the Darkness"? This is a ritual that is lacking in any vibratory or visual formulae--the "why" of which is important to understand as well. It's a ritual that doesn't give up it's fruit without proper understanding. They are all that way; there are layers of understanding, and approaching the rituals from a single side will give limited results.

I'm sure it's no surprise to anyone that the Qabalah is key to understanding our rituals, but it may be a surprise to some to learn that understanding the Western Alchemical tradition is equally important. Fundamental Alchemical understandings--such as that of Azoth, which is key to understanding the Adoration of the Lord of the Universe--illuminate the rituals. These understandings are keys that unlock the real power of the rituals.

Have a happy Christmas!

AIT

The Bain of the Magician...dreaded Burn-out

2010-12-10T12:14:00.000-08:00

Ave,

Pardon my lengthy silence.....I have been as un-magical a fellow as I could be the last two months. This was not, in the beginning, a choice. I've spent them re-balancing my family life (things got a little crazy, and I had to take care of business. Everything else took a quick trip to the backburner) and approaching the Art from a different angle. A slightly more grizzled angle, with lot's of five o'clock shadow and parchment-colored eyes. (This was the more pleasant description my wife gave me, haha. It seems I have a tendency to overdo the studying bit.) I've had to learn to be present in my relationships, which are the actual drama of one's life.....and this is not the first time. Being a family man and an active Magician is a balancing act, and I'm not always the best at it. Sorry if I haven't been responsive in my communications, Fraters and Sorors; life decided it needed my full attention.

That being said, I've learned some really cool shit. And I am going to share. Hope you are all well!

Oh, and also....Helen Miren is playing Prospera in the Tempest. How awesome is that?

AIT

Quick Conversation with Saturn

2010-10-26T15:49:00.000-07:00

Ave,

So...I found myself concerned with things going on at work, and wanted to summon assistance from Saturn. Interestingly, as I turned my mind toward the idea, the hour of Saturn came around.

I took up a purple candle and incense, put them on a stand. Cast a quick chart, turns out Old Man Saturn is in his Exaltation. He is also trine the Moon, as benevelont an Aspect as your getting with him. The Moon is the general significator for eventsts in Horary, and as the question was one of work/livelihood it fell under Saturn's purview. This isn't his day (it being Tuesday) so I dress the candle in Honey to sweeten him up a bit. Lord knows he doesn't have much sweetness on his own. It's Mars' day as well, and the last thing I need is a combatitive Saturn. Dealing with these Planetary Gods is always a bit nerve-wracking.

I further dressed the candle with Five-Finger grass for good luck and Cast-off Evil powder for....well, casting off evil. Performed the Qabalistic Cross. I lit the candle, and took out my Kamea and Image of Saturn. I lit the incense and suffumigated the Image & Kamea, and then closed my eyes in prayer. I incanted the Orphic Hymns to Saturn, and turned my mind towards the Image of Saturn. I held the image for a moment, and then released it. It began changing almost immediately. The image I use is from the Picatrix (drawn by artist Nigel Jackson), and is of an antlered deer-headed man riding a dragon, with an arrow in hand and stars behind. It changed into the figure of an old man, still antlered, but white-bearded and black robed, sitting astride the Dragon. I greeted him, and he just looked at me, like I was nothing. Oh, Saturn. I asked my question, which was basically "What will come of the mistake I've made at work (nothing big, but I work in a politically complicated environment...and I absolutely Hate making mistakes at work)", and he answered in the ALL-CAPS godvoice you get when speaking to the Planetary Gods "YOU WILL BE PUNISHED". Well, shit. "How so?" I asked. He answers "WITH THE GUILT YOU HAVE SUFFERED". Oh. I have perhaps been a little extra hard on myself, as I tend to be. I asked for his blessing in work matters, and he gave it.

I had planned on making a talisman, but turns out it was unnecessary.

Thank you again, Lord Saturn.

Just though I'd share; I hope you all are well.

In LVX,

AIT

Talkative and tricksy Salamander

2010-10-20T15:14:00.000-07:00

Ave,

I've been working feverishly on refining my personal system (based in and informed by the Golden Dawn, with tentacles wrapped about Hoodoo and Bardonian Magic, which are my roots), and in an effort to do so have taken to conducting some experimental Magic. Nothing that's going to blow any minds, just putting things in practice. I think there is a tendency among some magical writers to write about theoretical magic as if they'd put it into practice because the principals upon which their theory is based are sound. I say this because, more than a few times, my own experiences with magical work have come out somewhat different from what the Writer has written, often in subtle fashion but sometimes in a more pronounced way. I'm planning on being extremely thorough, because I'm writing for two very important reasons. One being that this is going to be the manual of instruction I use for my children, who are mostly quite young...but getting close to teaching age. A little bit here, a little bit there....I can't give the entire lot to a 7 year old, but I can start laying the groundwork. Their mother is already compiling a gorgeous and personal grimoire of her own practices that they can inherit(she is a Witch, and so has her own system of practice that is quite different from mine), so if I'm to have my mark I need to get the lead out, haha. I don't want them to have to stumble through, and make all of the same mistakes I did early on. Better they learn from their old dad's folly. So, accuracy and work that has been done is Key.

The second reason is that I want to have something to offer the Inner when it is time for my own raising into that College. It is such an honor, so meaningful to be included in that Fraternity of Adepts. I've been invited, but have a few important tasks that need to be completed before I can be initiated, which gives me time to prepare. I don't want to show up empty-handed. While it may be no huge thing, it'll be a lovingly crafted and complete system, a delightful magical curio. Art.

I think it's important for me to do now, as there is absolutely no risk of profanation. Once I enter into the Inner, I imagine the Magical practices I learn will permeate and weave into my personal system. That would mean no writing about details, no specific sharing. This way I can write about the Magical and Alchemical practices I have been blessed with to understand without any danger of profanation. A love-letter written to our community, before I move behind the veil of Hermetic silence.

I've read that a bit of important magical research is often required of applicants to the Inner. I am no researcher, but I am a Magician. So, I'll give them Magic. Which means I have to do a lot of testing and debugging, to use some dev-speak.

The rite that I use daily to gather Elemental Power uses a combination of techniques that are mostly, if not completely, portable. I use Bardonian pore-breathing and Mudra (which he calls 'rituals') in combination with Golden-dawn incantation and symbol-visualization to create a "Gate" of sorts to the Element's plane, and then use intent to focus on inhalation of the Element into my sphere or exhalation of the Element into a room or area. The ritual proper uses candles that are dressed with element-appropriate herbs that are filled with that element's virtue, and then charged using Golden-dawn techniques. I've done plenty of the inhalation, of course, because that was the whole point of the rite in the first place. I theorized about using it to impregnate a room, but hadn't actually gotten around to it until today on the train-ride in to work. The results were very interesting.

After creating the Gate (I use the Hebrew letter, tone, and Golden-Dawn color and flashing color as the Gate itself) to the Fiery elemental plane (conducting the incantation part mostly silently....yes, people were giving me the side-ways look) I began to inhale Fire into the Gate and exhale it into the train-car proper. I've done plenty of charging rooms and the like using strictly Bardonian technique in the past, and so wasn't unfamiliar with it. I was, however, unprepared for how quickly this worked and to what intensity. The room was, after about five Breaths, swimming in red and all a-tingle. My solar plexus and heart center where dancing in my chest, and I wondered at the time if I would have similar sensation in the appropriate centers when using the other Elements. I stopped for a moment to watch, feeling and witnessing some change take effect among the other passengers. People speaking a bit louder, a few new conversations struck...the place felt a bit like a coffee shop, instead of a train car. A goodly number of them (3 or 4, out of twenty or so) kept glancing in my direction, although that may have more to do with me being a large fellow mumbling to himself with contorted hands than the charging, haha.

Kidding. I stopped mumbling well before all the glances.

Then, to my surprise, what I assumed to be a Salamander formed out of the red haze. An entity with a man-ish shape, a red human core consumed in dancing flame. A fellow named "DH****". I am used to having to request that sort of appearance.... I suppose opening a gate to a plane is like throwing a block party, everyone from the neighborhood gets to make an appearance. He wandered about at first a bit manically, flitting here and there in the train car. Then he saw me, and sat across from me to speak. I strove to not look like a nut-job while speaking with the thing (in the mind, of course), but even if you don't talk aloud it's difficult to appear completely together when staring intently at what appears to be empty space. Good thing this was public transportation, and everyone assumed everyone else was crazy anyway.

The entity was beyond excited. A little too excited. It wanted to go about touching people, it was quite strange. We spoke for a moment about the train car, with it asking me if I would leave the "atmosphere" when I got off the train. He made an effort to make that happen, going so far as offering me his service if I would do so. What that service would be was unclear. It was obvious to me that he wanted to stick around, and that he required the charged environment to do so.

All around me people are fidgeting about and talking; this car has become full, while the second car remains quite.

I was still holding the Mudra, which seemed sufficient to keep the environment as it was. The Salamander-like figure (I was not entirely sure at this point, after it showed up without direct invitation and struck up a conversation that it was simply a Salamander) continued to plead for me to leave the environment as it was. It was articulate and subtle. I asked it why it wanted that, and it gave me a complicated answer involving image and word that pointed toward it wanting a foot of influence in the World. That it could project power by gently influencing the people it touched on the train-car. A little push here, a touch there.

......this wasn't sounding like a great idea. My personal Deity, with whom I have the strongest connection with, made a quick "appearance" (this was more like a mental text-message) to advice against that, with a little smirk on his face. He has a somewhat dry wit.

I asked the entity if he was a Salamander, and he gave me one of those complicated spirit-answers, that are simultaneously "yes/no/of sorts". He was an entity of the Fire realm, which made him a sort of Salamander, but he wasn't of the simpler ranks of Elementals. I thanked him for the visit, and then--much to his disappointment--performed the Mudra for dissipation of an elemental force. The red fire-haze cleared away in a couple of breaths.

It's worthwhile to have reminders that spiritual beings have their own lives and agendas, and aren't monolithic. One Salamander is not necessarily like another.

Took a couple of things away from this experience: one, (yay!) the rite works as expected. Hell, better than expected.

Two, that not every oddball you find on a train is of the human variety. Fitting that I have my strangest experience with an Elemental entity riding public transportation.

In LVX,

AIT

The disastrous effect of Pornography on Theurgy

2010-10-09T14:48:00.000-07:00

Ave,

First off.....I'm no Puritan. I'm a huge fan of sex and its healthy expression. I'm a 31 year old American fellow; I practically grew up on the interwebz, and that means plenty of nudity and porn. Especially during my relatively barbaric early twenties. Lots of men my age will tell you they never enjoyed porn, or rarely watched it when they were young. These men are filthy, filthy liars. It didn't become so mainstream because it was watched so seldom. There may be the occasional gent who avoided partaking, but I give him no credit; that sort of avoidance, built on fear of discovery and hidden shame, is shameful in itself. Like with most things, better to dare, be burnt, and learn than to sit in front of the fire with a trembling cowardice in the face of overwhelming curiosity. Just stay off of /b on 4chan, and you'll come out alright.

The issue with pornography isn't a Moral issue. As long as everyone involved is a willing participant, morality doesn't come into it. The issue is an Energetic one, a Magical and Theugic one, a matter of Power and mastery of the hidden Virtue.

A basic understanding of how the sexual force works and how it is connected to Thaumaturgy and Theurgy is necessary to come to a full understanding of the uselessness in regular consumption of pornography. To keep it very simple, the sexual force is directly connected to the vitality, magical and otherwise. Sexual potency and magical potency are almost a synonym. When you are drained and exhausted sexually, you are drained of vitality, of a particular Virtue that is a hidden hand in all of your magical work. This has little to do with the physical performance of sexuality; you can be sexually vital and strong, but still absolutely terrible in bed...

This is a stored and generated force, that is only limitless during very altered states of existence. In normal waking life, it is a resource that is limited but renewable.

Watching ponography is like putting a struck match to gasoline; it burns through this force. It uses it up for no purpose behind fueling a continued fascination with the pornography itself. When porn is used in the context of a relationship, it is not so disastrous; sexual power is raised by the interaction between the partners. The pornography is then an aid to the directed desire of the couple, and not both the focus and consumer of the desire. During a magical working that explicitly involves the sexual energies (they all involve the creative sexual energies, at one level or another), the sexual power is raised and used to fuel the goals of the working Magicians. The power is raised and the goal is concentrated upon (this is, of course, the super-simple version), and the sexual forces invigorate and empower that goal, be it thaumaturgic or theurgic. This is all well and good, and quite useful.

However, when watching pornography usually the only goal is pleasure-and there is nothing wrong with pleasure for pleasure's sake!-but more often than not the focus becomes the pornography itself, and the pornography becomes empowered by the sexual act. More and more often it is resorted to. If it's grip is strong, it desensitizes the Operant, making it more difficult for internal and external arousal to occur without it's stimulus. It fills the mind with gloriously impossible acts, and gloriously gorgeous participants. It becomes more difficult to be aroused by the common beauty that is available, and this is another danger. There is nothing wrong with fantasy, but having sex with your partner and fantasizing about someone else has a number of deleterious effects. It changes what is literally a magical act into a simple act of pleasure; instead of the mind focusing on the goal of the union and empowering it, the sexual force empowers the fantasy. It reduces the partner into a masturbatory aid of sorts, which is terribly unfair. This would be disastrous for an act of sexual magic. Mutual fantasy eliminates this problem, of course, if fantasy must be resorted to. The key understanding, I think, is that sexual union with a partner Generates sexual force, refines it, and even when used for pleasure it works to strengthen the bond of the participants when done correctly. Mutual respect and admiration is key; without those, it is simply masturbation with a partner. Watching pornography creates an artificial arousal that desensitizes in a way very similar to that of a drug; using it can make you dependent upon it. That is akin to being magically and sexually crippled.

Now, I'm not saying that using pornography is always dangerous; it should be approached the way alcohol or any other strong intoxicant is approached. Very carefully.Yes, it is an intoxicant, and yes it can be addictive. It can have a terrible effect on your personal magic and the state of your energy body. The state of arousal, when focused on the pornography, empowers the pornography at the expense of your own reserves of vitality. Get in the regular habit of watching porn, and find yourself with reduced energetic reserves. The dream life dries up, as your various energetic bodies are deprived of sustenance and are left with little power. Your regular arousal, channeled into the medium that created that arousal, exhausts your Virtue. The dreams that where once vibrant and rich become muddy and faint, difficult to remember. Sex with your partner becomes less connective. There are many dangers, and they are insidious because they are subtle and magical dangers. They are not Moral, they are energetic. The magic of Adepts is no place for prudes-the sexual forces have to be understood and mastered. The effect is slow building but powerful. There is literally no point in bothering to evolve your energetic body if you are going to waste all of the vitality it needs to function. Your sexual power, your hidden Virtue, must be respected and wielded wisely.

I felt the need to address this because watching pornography is pretty much normalized for my generation, and even more so for the younger fellows. The magical dangers are very seldom spoken of, however, and they are important to address because for the Magician there is no moral reason not to partake. It becomes a matter of taste (or distaste), but these aren't enough. I find the method in which foie gras is produced extremely distasteful; I also loooooove me some foie gras and consume it occasionally. I certainly couldn't eat it every day, but it is a nice treat every now and again. I think that is a healthy attitude for pornography as well.

Just be aware. Getting wasted regularly on alcohol would have a disastrous effect on your magic; don't think for one second that pornography, as a stimulant, won't do the same. Cuidado, Fraters and Sorors. Achtung!

I'm sure folk are going to take issue with a lot that I've said here; the nature of the subject almost guarantees that. I welcome any well thought-out argument.

In LVX,

AIT

The Golden Dawn, Intoxicants/Entheogens, and the Consequences of Fueds

2010-09-19T15:43:00.000-07:00

Ave,

So....this is something that's always bothered me a bit, which I'm going to go ahead and address now. There is a consensus in the Golden Dawn that all use of intoxicants or entheogens is completely negative and terrible, and will result in horrid and deleterious consequences like possession, a weakening of the will, service to the Old Ones and the rising of Great Cthulhu......you get the picture.

I think there are a couple of reasons this is so, and I think that unfortunately they are not primarily based on effectiveness in Magic. Because Golden Dawn Magicians use entheogens pretty often (mostly unaware that they are doing so, much in the way Roman Catholics are unaware of the Ceremonial Magic they witness once a week) and there is a long standing tradition of doing so in the Western Mystery Tradition.

Within my Order we teach that using intoxicants as a substitute for discipline is unacceptable, and with good reason. My superiors within the Order are quite clear on this, and in this case I completely agree. It is best to learn to acquire magical trance states through meditation, will, and discipline as much as possible. I teach this to my students, because it is true, and it is safer for them. Many entheogens can be poisonous if consumed unwisely.

While I was thinking on this subject the other day, one of my students asked me a question about Spagyric Alchemy, and I taught him what I knew. I encouraged him to commune with the spirits of the Plants, to consume carefully prepared Tinctures and Elixirs.... and then thought about what was truly happening. An Elixir is an Entheogen, period. An entheogen is a psycoactive substance used in ritual or spiritual context.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entheogen). If your Elixir isn't psychoactive, you aren't doing it right.

What we are doing is little different from what the Shamans/Priests who consumed (in the proper magical fashion, and not the purely entertainment based way that entheogens are often consumed in America) and communed with "plant spirits" in the form of Peyote, Salvia, Marijuana, or Alcohol did in our past and present. Frankly it is not different at all; we just have a tendency to use plants that have less spectacular immediate effect; and that's only the modern way. We Western Magicians have a long tradition of using certain entheogens in magic--see henbane, belladona, mandrake, Syrian rue...the list goes on and on. I tend to think of the use of entheogens as akin to the the use of vehicles. (Time for a lengthy analogy!)

Yes, you absolutely must be able to travel on your own legs when possible. If you over-rely on your car, you will face consequences that are disastrous to your long-term health and ability to travel under your own power (such as weight gain, loss of athleticism, health risks...etc).

It is the same with trance work and magic. If the only way you can attain a magical trance is with the use of incense, or consumption of a plant-spirit or other tool, you will be less able then if you can attain trance through breath and mind alone.

That being said, there are some places that are very difficult to reach without a vehicle. I could walk and exercise regularly and still have no chance of reaching the Bahamas under my own power. Sometimes you have to buy the plane ticket.

...and while most people travel safe, every now and again a plane goes down. There is risk in traveling, and greater risk in traveling in faster vehicles. An Elixir made with Garlic may be equivalent to a fast bicycle, and one made of Peyote may be a rocket ship. You can get to the Moon with the rocket, but not everyone makes it back. Neither Magic nor Travel are risk-free enterprises.

In my own magic, I am perfectly capable of deep trance states through breath and discipline....but they do not begin to compare to what I can attain with the aid of incense, a properly outfitted temple, candle light and some tools. We have these technologies for a reason. They work. Entheogens are powerful vehicles, and their use as a magical technology is as old as man. I was going to state that I've never used an Entheogen in Magic, but I've been using Spagyric Elixirs for years, and to great effect.

The use of Elixirs and Tinctures in Spagery aren't done to replace the discipline of meditation, but often tune the meditative faculties of the Operator toward the forces that are inherent in the plants Nature. This will result in Visions and often subtle communication. I stand by this as both traditional, good, and necessary. We are careful to use mild plants in Spagery, and that makes for responsible and mostly safe use of entheogens....in my opinion.

A real problem here is that competition between Golden Dawn Orders makes it difficult to have a nuanced stand on controversial things. It is easy to take something like this and twist it out of context.....rest assured that if I were to say that we did any less than prohibit the use of entheogens in our Order, competitors would shout from the roof-tops that "Griffin's Golden Dawn Encourages Drug Use!!!111!!!1", and we would never hear the end of it, despite that being completely untrue.

I wish we could present an official, nuanced stand on this matter. Instead we MUST teach our students to avoid these things no matter what, and are leaving a big chunk of our heritage on the threshing room floor.

If you want an example of why, take a look at all the foolishness surrounding our addressing the Sexual Mysteries in the recent past. I've never seen so much breathless, foolish commentary. This is a real problem, and an example of why public discord between Orders can result in a stifling and constraining of magical knowledge. We seem to be moving in the right direction, which is good, but there's a long way to go.

There is also the serious matter of health issues--imagine if I were working with one of the more dangerous western Plant Spirits like henbane, or belladonna, and injured myself through unwise consumption? Where would that leave the Golden Dawn, if we taught people to use this and it were part of the curriculum? Nowhere good, I can tell you that. We have to think of the safety of our Fraters and Sorors, of course. In this modern day and age, there are real liabilities and risks that older hidden Orders didn't need to worry about. The modern Order is often a corporation, it can be sued. In the past, there was nothing to Sue-the Order existed as an egregore and association, not as a public entity within the grasp of Law. An order that gets sued out of existence teaches no-one anything...except by example.

I'm not exactly sure where I'm going this....I just want to encourage some thought and conversation about this matter. Every single Golden Dawn order that I know of absolutely prohibits the use of Intoxicants in Magic (my own included), and they also all practice some form of Spagery within their ranks. It's interesting.

In LVX,

AIT

The Golden Dawn as a School of Magic

2010-08-27T13:33:00.000-07:00

Ave,

I've had an interesting last couple of weeks; I've been doing a fair bit of energetic exploration (although not enough full on ceremonial), and have found myself in a bit of an odd place. The vast majority of the Magic I perform at this point in my life is informed by the Golden Dawn, but not actually the traditional rituals. My rituals for raising and balancing the LVX are rooted in the visual/vibrational method of the Middle Pillar, but aren't actually the Middle Pillar. My ritual for summoning the Archangels and gently invoking the balanced Elements is rooted in the methods I learned performing the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram, but again, are not actually the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram. Hardly a single ritual has been left unscathed in my personal practice. Although I've evolved my personal system in directions that are improvements for my own development and system of magic, I recognize the rituals I learned from the Golden Dawn as foundational to my practice.

When I first began making small changes, I felt a definite pang, as if I were insulting the tradition by presuming it could be improved....and I was concerned it reeked of ego. Who am I to change these rituals? I was lucky to know them at all, haha. This lasted for some time, but didn't stop me. Because as I changed and grew, the rituals I used in my evolution needed to change as well. So. Despite my misgivings, I did what needed to be done. Suprisingly, this was not always a change that led to increased complication; I found that once I could enflame myself at will, simpler rituals were more efficacious than the drawn-out lengthy ones, as I learned to recognize the delicate balance between trance states and ritual required for true and effective Spiritual magic. (Learning this balance is also key to powerful Conjuring and Divination! Unsurprisingly, it comes quite naturally to Folk-Magicians and Conjurers, who seem to mostly learn through performing Thaumaturgy, and spend little time in meditative states.) I learned that spontaneous invocations and invocations pre-written by the Operant were far more effective than those read from a manual and written by another Magician.

I had to change my perspective. I'd been seeing the Golden Dawn as a sort of Orthodoxy; I'd always thought it important not to alter the foundation rituals, and to teach them as accurately as possible to our new students. I still believe this is true, but not just because. I think it is necessary for them to learn these rituals because it is teaching them how to perform magic. They aren't supposed to be the only Magic our Magicians ever do. They are the foundation. The Arts of Invocation, Prayer, Incantation, Vibration, Visualisation...all of these are covered by the basic rituals, and repeated performance of the rituals takes you to a point where you have Gnosis of how to perform the Art of Magic. You understand what the different structures/movements/states are for, and learn how to craft them yourself. Not just intellectually, which is useless, but intuitively and emotionally as well. Personal innovations shouldn't be undertaken until the student has, in my opinion, evolved their introspective and divinatory abilities enough to perceive and understand the effects their Magic will have on their lives.

This is part of why I find there to be little danger (but much sadness) in the profanation we've experienced. You could memorize the profaned documents, and if you weren't a Magician (and not a person training to become a Magician...there is a line that is crossed after some experience is gained that has nothing to do with Grade or Title) they are absolutely meaningless. How many non-GD Magicians have had success with the Z-2 formulae, for example? (Ha....how many actual GD Magicians have, at that?) The crowning stone of the entire Order, as far as Ceremonial Magic is concerned, and I would bet that the vast majority of GD Magicians haven't touched the thing, and don't quite understand it irregardless. It takes deep study and practice to grasp the flow, the Spirit of it. It's not enough to give it a try once, you have to get in there deep. To do that, you have to have a grasp of the symbolism inherent to the Neophyte ceremony, and that takes study and meditation as well. It's somewhat like if someone left the plans for a nuclear weapon in a Starbucks. There aren't a whole lot of people who would know what to do with it even assuming they new what it actually was when looking at it. There is, of course, the problem of the damage down to a carefully nurtured egregore by persons hijacking it's ritual and symbol set. (Take a look at the Fylfot Cross, for instance, as an unpleasant but perfect example). That just plain sucks.

Anyway, I think it's important to see the Golden Dawn as a system training people in Magic. A GD Magician isn't limited to just GD ritual and magic....perhaps this is obvious to everyone, but I think the focus on doing the rituals perfectly and unwaveringly in the early years of practice might lead one to think otherwise. No one expects an

In LVX,

AIT

Hermes, Communications, Lord of HTML , CSS and PHP

2010-08-12T15:59:00.001-07:00

Ave,

One of my gentleman-sorcerer friends (the good Jack Faust, who's excellent blog may be found here)has been working on further tuning up the visuals he has going. This being the interwebz, that means fun with programming languages. As a web designer/developer I regularly have to stare at flickering screens searching for errors in the code that I write, and spend even more time searching around for code I can use to solve problems/add features to clients' websites.(This is when I'm not working my regular job as a Chef/Manager). It never occurred to me until recently that I should get Magic involved in this process.

Hermes, God of Communication, is perfect for this. If you find yourself stumped take a moment to request his help. Below is a quick method I use:

Light a sweet-smelling incense.

Say the following prayer to Hermes, whilst meditating upon an image of him:

Orphic Hymn to Hermes

Angel of Zeus,
son of Maia,
you judge
every competition.

Good shepherd,
priest and sage,
celestial messenger
of a thousand techniques,

you lulled and slayed
hundred eyed Argos
to give the peacock
gorgeous feathers.

Gracious prophet,
guide and guardian,
you love gymnastics,
secrets and tricks.

Giver of good things,
ready helper,
your gifts are
casually found treasures.

You give gain,
honest or dishonest.
Doorways, roads
and borders amuse you.

Wings on your feet
you soar through space
singing all music
in every language.

With a touch
of your wand
you bring sleep,
a dream or demise.

We honor you, Hermes,
help us in our work.
Give us eloquent speech
and eager virility.

Give us our necessities
and sharp memory.
Give us good luck.
Close our lives in peace.

Call upon Hermes and state your request.

Take a libation of Mead or Ethiopian Tej (both made of Honey), after asking for his blessing, and drink it in His honor.

It is, of course, wise to do this during the Day and Hour of Mercury. Any time during when Mercury isn't afflicted will do.

Oftentimes Hermes will visit you in your dreams, (be they of the day or night variety), and inspire a solution. Be sure to thank him with more Tej if when he does!

Keeping Moving, Secrecy, Cookies

2010-07-29T13:01:00.000-07:00

Ave,

So, I'm in a strange position as far as my development in the Alpha et Omega go. I've completed the Outer Order work, having balanced and brought into awareness the forces of the Four Elements, the 12 Signs, and the Planets Saturn, Luna, Mercury, and Venus within my life and personality. It has been brutal and beautiful. There is of course regular maintenance necessary...don't think for a minute you can balance a force within your self once, and then forget it. Regular maintenance is required, but the nudges are gentle and light in comparison to the first time.

There was a point when I would dread moving forward into the next Grade, knowing all the upheaval in my life that would come with it. As I've progressed, the changes have been more gentle; turns out that when you're paying attention, you notice that there are many opportunities to learn the primary lesson an element/force may teach you. The longer it takes for you to figure it out, the grosser and more dense and intense the teaching comes. Perhaps that is just how my own tutelary force works, but I suspect it's the same for many Magicians. We invoke a force and ask for wisdom and understanding about it's nature, and it tells us first in whispers and then in shouts. If we are wise and attentive, we learn from the whispers. The sensitivity to subtle currents within the self mark a major difference between the Neophyte and the Philosophus; as a Neophyte (even one who'd been a practitioner for years at that point) my awareness was more gross. I perceived things in their thickest forms, and missed many of the subtle vapors and emanations that moved about them. Awareness of the subtle emanations make for effective divination, and powerful Magic--and the awareness of these emanations isn't taught with words and paper, but with work, study, and silent contemplation. You can't teach someone into raised states of consciousness, only show them how it's done. They have to make the leap. I think this is why two individuals, with the same curriculum, can vary so much in the results of their work. Magic is like reading the Bible; if you stick to the dead letter, that's exactly what you get. The important lessons each give are written on your soul as you work them, in Gnosis. The dead letter and ritual practice are there to inspire that state of understanding, so that the true lessons can be communicated in the Silence within.

My understanding of time and consciousness were less; I believed that there was such a thing as a Past and a Future. I acted accordingly. Now, I do the things of great import to me in the eternal moment, and find myself without regret. We have to Be what we will to be; placing accomplishment or understanding in the nebulous "Future" puts them always out of reach.

Standing about 4 years in, and looking back toward who I was when I began with the Golden Dawn, I find that I'm profoundly changed. Not in that I'm a different person, but that I am more myself...if that makes sense. I've had experiences and understandings that have changed my understanding of reality, and altered my static point of view. I'm both more present and active in my life--I'm Awake, more often than not--and also a half-step detached. Not in a negative, self-delusional or not-dealing fashion, but in the awareness of who I am at core, of what I am. My personality is not who I Am, nor is my body, nor is my job....the mutable parts of my self don't hold as much sway. They run shit, make no mistake, but awareness of and contact with that part that is Not mutable is enough to change Everything. Instead of reacting to Things that Occur, I watch myself reacting, from that Holy half-step above, and choose. I'm not explicitly bound by my "personality", by my likes and dislikes. I can choose other things. I often don't, mind you--oftentimes I react to things and find myself amused at myself, in bizarre fashion, despite also experiencing the emotion connected with the action. I'm not bound by my emotions and prejudices as explicitly as I was when I began. Where my emotional reactions may have been a prison before, now they're a well-trodden rode; certainly easier to take because of their familiarity, but not my only option. I can take other roads at will. That's a good thing. I still find myself moved by the same things, but now there is that half-step.....and there has got to be a better way to put that, but I can't seem to pull the words out.

I'm at a point where I have to wait, and hope, for the invitation to the Inner, to the Portal and beyond. This is a tricky place to find myself; I am certainly loyal to my Order, and hope that I have shown so. No one, however, is given absolute assurance of an invitation to the Inner. There is no guarantee. I may have shown myself worthy of that sort of inclusion, or may need to accomplish more. There may be administrative hurdles, there may be new disciplines I need to master. I may not be able to say that I've received such an invitation if it arrives, depending upon our Inner Order's culture and vows. There are even political concerns, especially in this age of constant profanation. My Order has done a lot of work, and been blessed with guarded transmissions, in order to form a Second and Third Order that aren't profaned, with a carefully nurtured egregore. How much more careful must they be with an individual with a decent-sized presence in the on-line and magical community? I imagine they must be extremely careful, and I don't fault them one bit. I'm in no rush; I would rather I not receive the transmissions personally at all than see the Tradition itself fatally compromised. There's enough already out there to occupy a lifetime; there is enough in Agrippa alone to take one to the heights. Everything you need to know is already published--the private Inner Orders have every right to keep their material private. No one is being left out of spiritual evolution itself because of the secrecy involved with Inner Orders, and it's a selfish thing to splay the living secrets of others about.

****See GH Fra LES's post here on secrecy. I think some very important points are made; if you are an organisation that feels deeply that secrecy is paramount, would you feel confident in giving current Golden Dawn Orders material you want to remain secret? To be frank, I would not.***

Whether I receive this invitation or not, I have to say....I've made out pretty good. I've learned things that folk a few generations ago would have risked their lives to learn, and I've gotten Far more from the Golden Dawn than it has gotten from me. I've got a pretty clear path as far as my continued spiritual evolution goes, and have already taken an active role in deciding the direction of my training as a Magician. So, there won't be any bitterness for me, whether I get that invitation or not. I'm just going to keep working.....that being, said, If I Do get the invitation, everyone in our Inner Order is getting home-baked cookies. Just throwing that out there.

In LVX,

AIT

Jack's New Digs, Plus Gordon, and RO's course

2010-07-24T19:57:00.000-07:00

Ave,

Fra Jack Faust has a new blog space, which is definitely worth checking out here. Also, check our Fra. Gordon's blog here. I think these fellows are great examples of where modern Magic is going, or should be going. Lots of deep thinking, lot's of practical work. I especially enjoy that Jack has studied Neoplatonism and Astrology--dude is setting a good example for the young'uns. If you don't know anything about the Neoplatonic/Hermetic world view, you have no business calling yourself a Magician. Sorcerer, maybe ...but definitely not Magician. And Heavens knows, not Wizard. You may not accept it, but you need to know of it, because that is where the roots of our Magic in the West lie. "Tech" is not enough.

On that note, if you are interested in learning this stuff the right way, check out Frater RO's new course. He's been up and down the Spheres (and has documented a good chunk of it), and that's the only kind of person qualified to teach. It's a great opportunity to learn from a dude who you know isn't talking out "the side of his neck", as my folk like to say.

Another great course to take, which I am currently taking and which feels like a graduate course in Hermetic Magic, is Christopher Warnock's course on Astrological Magic here. I'm currently taking the course, and can tell you from experience that it is challenging and worth every penny. I'll be sure to let ya'll know when I have graduated, and ascended in Glory to the august rank of Astrologicus Magos.

Because that just sounds cool....and this course is so challenging and thorough, so full of Practical work, that when finished it'll be more than a title, it'll be an accurate description!

In LVX,

AIT

The Traditional Understanding of the Elements

2010-07-24T01:34:00.000-07:00

In the modern Magical world view, it is common (from what I have observed) to view the Elements as a force operating below or separate from the Higher; we speak of Elementals existing on their own plane and as part of our own, but rarely consider that the Elemental Virtues penetrate the Heavenly Planes as well, being part of God itself on All levels. There is a tendency to view the Planetary and Astrological forces as "higher", and the Elements as the visceral, manifesting force. I think this sort of thinking is rooted in over-simplification, not just of the Traditional world view but also the Qabalistic view that is more studied in the Western Tradition these days. The inter-penetration of existence by the Elements, whose virtue is expressed differently depending upon the Soul in which it manifests, is made clear in the Traditional texts. Henry Cornelius Agrippa teaches:

"It is the unanimous consent of all Platonists, that as in the original, and the exemplary world, all things are in all; so also the elements are not only in these inferior bodies, but also in the heavens, in stars, in devils, in angels, and lastly in God, the maker, and original example of all things." Henry Cornelius Agrippa of Netensheim, 1531, as translated by James Freake and edited by Donald Tyson, 1993 Chapter VIII pp26.

So, it is clear in the traditional world view that, as all things are in all, so the Elements are in all things. The manifestation of the Elements appear to differ depending upon the Soul and nature of the thing in which it manifests; as Agrippa says:

"Now in these inferior bodies, the elements are accompanied with much gross matter; but in the heavens the elements are with their natures, and virtues, viz, after a celestial, and more excellent manner, than in sublunary things. For the firmness of the celestial Earth is there without the grossness of Water; and the agility of the Air without running over it's bounds; the heat of Fire without burning, only shining, and giving life to all things by it's hear." Henry Cornelius Agrippa of Netensheim, 1531, as translated by James Freake and edited by Donald Tyson, 1993 Chapter VIII pp26.

The Elements in their Celestial natures are of a purity that is natural to celestial things, and in the sublunar planes manifest in more gross--but appropriate--fashion. Understanding the Elements the way they were understood traditionally by our forebears is essential if we are to understand how the various Virtues are manifest throughout the World, both Inner and Outer. The various forces aren't entirely separate and inter-penetrate each other; the Planets have their Elemental aspects as do the Signs, and being aware of this inter-penetration translates to Magic on a number of levels. If the forces all inter-penetrate on the various planes, it makes sense that things on our plane have been inter-penetrated by Celestial forces. Because of this inter-penetration we have access to natural things that have affinity to the differing Celestial forces, and these things can be used to attract those forces though the method of Astrological Magic, which combines Celestial Forces through knowledge of Astrology with physical things that have a natural Affinity for the Celestial Forces, using Sacred Ceremony as was written by Agrippa.

The Soul of the World

2010-07-24T00:34:00.000-07:00

In his book "On obtaining Life from the Heavens", Marcilio Ficino of Florence teaches the Hermetic understanding of the World Soul, and the nature of soul in general. He makes reference both to the soul as a plastic entity that conjoins the Intelligence and the Body and to the Soul as a spiritual force that joins all things together, including the Heavens and the Earth. This understanding is particularly enlightening for the modern Magician and student of the Western Mystery Traditions in that it becomes clear that a proper understanding of the Alchemical Texts--known to be incredibly difficult to understand, but full of our culture's Hidden Wisdom--requires understanding of the Traditional world view. I personally struggled for years to penetrate the alchemical emblems and texts, and the hard-won success I attained (what there has been of it) was enabled by changes in my own world view that brought it closer to the world view of our Western forebears. In the aforementioned text, Mr.Ficino states:

"If there were only these two things in the universe -on one side the Intellect, on the other the Body- but no Soul, then neither would the Intellect be attracted to the Body (for Intellect is absolutely motionless, without affect, which is the principle of motion, and very far away from the Body), nor would the Body be drawn to the Intellect (for Body is in itself powerless, unsuited for motion, and far removed from the Intellect).
But if a Soul which conforms to both were placed between them, an attraction will easily occur to each one on either side. In the first place, Soul is led most easily of all, since she is the Primum Mobile and movable of herself, of her own accord. Moreover, since, as I have said, she is the mean of things, in her own fashion she contains all things and is proportionally [Intellect: Soul: : Soul: Body] near to both.
Therefore she is equally connected with everything, even with those things which are at a distance from one other, because they are not at a distance from her . For besides the fact that on the one side she conforms to the divine and on the other side to the transient, and even turns to each by desire, at the same time she is wholly and simultaneously everywhere." "On obtaining Life from the Heavens", Marcilio Ficino of Florence, Chapter I

Mr.Marcilio is at once describing the Soul of the World, and it's mirror in the Microcosm, the Soul of Man; an understanding of the Soul as described by the good Mr.Marcilio makes the leap to understanding that the Alchemical Mercury is the Soul (as traditionally described) much simpler.Examine the following segment from Philalethes' Three Treatises, "Metamorphisis of the Metals", and replace the word "Mercury" with "Soul":

"It is a fact that the Mercury which is generated in the bowels of the earth, is the common substance of all metals -- since this Mercury will enter into combination with every kind of metal -- which could not be the case if it were not naturally akin to them all. Mercury is a water that will mix with nothing that is not of the same nature. By Art, the handmaid of Nature, Mercury can be so successively concocted with all metals, that one and the same under the same colour and flux, may subalternately shew and express the true temperature and properties of them all. Moreover, all metals are capable of being resolved into running Mercury -- and surely this could not be if it were not their common substance. Again, the Mercury of lead may become that of iron, the Mercury of iron that of copper; while the Mercury of tin may even be transmuted into that of silver and gold -- a fact which triumphantly demonstrates the substantial affinity of all the metals. From antimony, too, a good Mercury is obtained, which some of our Artists are able to change into metallic mercury. It is also a well-established fact that the Mercury gained from any metallic or mineral body possesses the properties of assimilating common Mercury to its own nature; thus common Mercury may become that of all metals in turn. Do not these arguments clearly shew that there is one Mercury, and that in the various metals it is only differentiated according to their different degrees of digestion or purity?"Philalethes, "Metamorphosis of Metals".

Much of the struggling non-initiates experience when studying the ancient alchemical texts and emblems is the result of differing language. Without having the Traditional world view as the basis of understanding, even texts written in English become obfuscated. It isn't enough to have Qabalistic understanding, or even to be adept at symbol-analysis in the way Adam Mclean is; understanding Alchemy requires understanding the World in the same way that the ancient writers did. Hermetic magic of any sort should be rooted in this understanding, and Astrological Magic as a Hermetic discipline requires this same Traditional (pre-"enlightenment" era) world-view.

Occult Virtue-Homework!

2010-07-22T20:37:00.000-07:00

The classical understanding of the word virtue differs in important ways from the modern meaning of the word. Proper understanding of the word as it is meant by the classical authors, in particular Henry Cornelius Agrippa, is extremely important if we are to lift the deeper meaning from the classical texts.

Occult Virtue is extremely important in the classical view, and seems to have occupied for our forebears some of the same territory that modern concepts like "energy" and "vibration" do in the current popular magica lingua. It is so important, in fact, that it is the first thing addressed in Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy. He gives the Key to Astrological Magic on the very first page of the first Chapter of the first Book, saying:

"Hence it is that they seek after the virtues of the elementary world, through the help of physic, and natural philosophy in the various mixtions of natural things, then of the celestial world in the rays, and influences thereof, according to the rules of astrologers, and the doctrines of mathematicians, joining the celestial vertues to the former: moreover, they, ratify and confirm all these with the powers of the divers intelligencies, through the sacred ceremonies of religion." Agrippa von Nettesheim, Heinrich Cornelius. "Three Books of Occult Philosophy" 1531, as translated by James Freak and edited and annotated by Donald Tyson, 2005 pp 3.

If the modern practitioner isn't careful, he/she can easily miss the importance of what was said in the above paragraph; the archaic style of the language makes casual reading dangerous. Understanding that virtue refers to the spiritual quality/energy of a given force, or to a particular spiritual force, it becomes clear that we've been given the basic formula for the practice of celestial magic. Agrippa, in plainspeak, is saying that the Magician seeks out the virtue of the celestial world through the "rays" according to the rules of Astrology, and joins those rays to "mixtions of natural things" through sacred ceremony. That the celestial powers are discovered through observing the Heavens and joined to physical things through holy action and intent. It's also important to note that virtue is also found in the "mixtion of natural things"; Agrippa is saying that naturally occurring things contain virtue, referring to natural philosophy as the key to extracting that virtue of the elementary world, which in this case I understand to refer to our own physical world. To materia, the roots, herbs and minerals used in the various magical practices of the Western Tradition, such as Hoodoo and Druidry. It also can be understood from this statement that the celestial virtues are joined to natural things whose virtue has been discovered with natural philosophy. It isn't a huge leap to determine that the Magician uses materia of similar virtue, that is harmonious with the celestial virtue, in order to obtain it's use.

Longboarding, Duke Kahanamoku, and Magic

2010-07-18T15:02:00.000-07:00

Ave,

So...I'm an avid longboarder (of the concrete-surfing variety.) I picked it up a while ago. I spent many of my formative years in Hawaii, and I sorely miss it. I long for it. Hawaii is more than a place...anyone who's spent some real time with her knows what I mean. Living on the mainland has it's joys, but there is something in Hawaii that is no where else. I can't take up surfing. The ocean has made it clear that it wants to eat me, and I can't fully trust her in the fashion that makes for great surfers. I'm a Taurus, and my nature is earthy and dense--ever seen a bull swim? He might, but not for long...

I use my longboard to commute, but also to reconnect me with the spirit of Hawaii. Everytime I ride, even a short ride, it feels like home. I was reading a biography of the good Duke Kahanamoku, Father of Surfing and therefore all Boarding sports and I got to thinking....Why not reach out to his Spirit? Why not honor him, for giving us this, that we love so much? I'm a Magician, everything seems to come back to Magic one way or the other.

Duke is an inspiration, his life was exemplary and he lived Aloha. You could have far worse as a Patron, and in the spirit of Aloha he would certainly bless your journeys on your Board. Of course, should you call him and ask for his blessing, you'll need to take your Boarding and treat it as an honored exercise. The Board itself should be annointed and maintained well, the boarding done with Joy. While out boarding, you need to treat people with Aloha. If you don't know what that is, look it up. You'll need to have Aloha in your spirit when you Board in order to properly commune with Duke Kahanamoku. Now, this has absolutely nothing to do with Hawaiian shamanism, or any traditional Hawaiian magic. Just so we're clear. This is a modern longboarder reaching out to the father of the modern boarding Tradition.

So, in honor of Duke, here's a formulae for calling him:

You will need the following:

One Koa Wood Bowl
Red Dirt from Hawaii
Sand from Waimea Beach
Water from the Ocean on the North Shore
Sandalwood incense

Paint the inside of the Koa Wood bowl a deep indigo/blue. Be sure to seal it so that it is waterproof.

Conduct this ritual right before sunrise. When you are ready to commune with Duke Kahanamoku, first light the incense, and face the East. Add the red dirt and Sand to the bottom of the bowl, and then fill it up at least Half-way with the sea water. Vibrate the following Hawaiian Prayer, called E Ala E:

E ala E
Ka la i Kahikina
I ka moana
Ka moana hohonu
Pi'i ka lewa
Ka lewa nu'u
I Kahikina
Aia ka la.

E ala E!

(in English, it means:

Awaken/Arise
The Sun in the East
From the Ocean
The Ocean Deep
Climbing to the Heaven
The Heaven Highest
In the East
There is the Sun
Awaken!)

Call to Duke, and scry within the bowl, where you will see him rising from the Sea like the Sun. Greet him with Aloha. Convey to him your joy in boarding, and express your deep appreciation for the work he did in his life. Ask for his blessing, and thank him with a Mahalo.

Daub your head, hands, feet, and heart with the Water in the bowl, blessed by the good Duke. Anoint your board as well. Go out and Board and live Aloha, riding that day in his honor.

Before you begin a day of boarding, anoint yourself with the water and say the above prayer, facing the East, with Aloha in your heart, in honor of the good Duke Kahanamoku. You will have great result, much happiness and kindness in your life.

This is me saying thank you to Hawaii and to Duke Kahanamoku for all they've done to enrich my life. Aloha, and Mahalo!

In LVX,

AIT

The ocean deep
Climbing (to) the heaven
The heaven highest
In the east
There is the sun
Awaken!

Western Healing System

2010-07-04T14:06:00.000-07:00

Ave,

I've decided to go ahead and post my small pamphlet on healing "The Book of the Blossoming Flower". I wrote it because I felt we were lacking in an organized system for energetic healing. ( I have read and used Isreal Regardie's Art of True Healing...I think it's a nice start, but found it lacking. It comes down to "Raise energy, and then communicate you're healthy energy state through alchemical contagion/proximity". That just seems lazy to me; we can do better than that. Instead of bitching about it, I figured I'd try my hand and contribute.) We have herbalism, but that is more a body of knowledge than a multi-layered system, and I wanted to include the ceremonial methods I've learned as a Magician of the Golden Dawn.

It's short, but incorporates parts of my personal practice that I think may be of use to others. It's written for folks familiar with the Golden Dawn ritual battery; if you do read it and have any questions, feel free to email me or post them in the comments. This is entirely my own work (inspired by IMHOTEP, to whom I express deep gratitude!) and is not an official Order paper or anything of that sort. So, here's a reasonably complete Western style of energetic healing. Enjoy, Fraters and Sorors! Let me know what you think; I will grow and revise as my own practice develops, and am always open to ideas.

In LVX,

AIT

Books/Papers

2010-07-01T19:22:00.000-07:00

Ave,

So, I've created a few short works on magic-namely a small pamphlet with instruction on Kameothic Magic, and another pamphlet detailing my healing method, The Book of the Blossoming Flower (which I've only released to a few fellow Magicians almost a year ago....mostly to get some peer review.) I've got a little distance from them now, and decided to take a look back at them. I learned a few things:

1. I am a little over-zealous in my self criticism.
2. I am a bit of a lazy writer.
3. Both pamphlets are good, because they work.

I'm planning on continuing to create small pamphlets (the size of a few book chapters), and hope that I'll look up and have written a book about my personal system of practice without really having had to Write it.

Examining Why someone writes these sort of things--when there are plenty of books teaching magic already--is interesting. I feel it is important for me for a number reasons. I want to be able to teach my sons and daughter, when they're old enough, a consistent system which they can feel is their own. Which will save them the years of thrashing about that I did, the years of toil in dusty books (I suppose it would be "sight-blinding PDF's" these days....), the uncertainty... this would be a real inheritance. They can make their own money. I would have traded every dime I had to have something like this from my father.

I also feel obligated to contribute. Not because I am some authority on Magic (I certainly am not!), but the relationships I have with the persons and Entities who I've learned from seem to have come with that expectation. Plus, I love magic, and making even a little corner of it in my own image is irresistible. 'Cuz that's what we do with the world, isn't it?

The recent posts by Fras Gordon, RO, and Jason are full of great tips on getting on the writing train. Thanks Gents!

In LVX,

AIT

Steampunk Enochian Keyboard

2010-06-27T15:34:00.000-07:00

Ave,

I though I'd share another interesting piece of gear I've been blessed with. I commissioned this a couple of years ago from a gent named Datamancer; I had an idea about typing Enochian incantantions using it as my Wand....I was experimenting at the time with using electronic communication to work magic.

This first experiment involved an attempt to communicate visionary information electronically. The idea was to communicate/induce visionary experiences within the recipient. I thought this would be especially valuable for a cell-based modern Order that I'd been batting around, where there are no Lodges, just webs of interconnected Magicians, much like our current Blogosphere. More of an Association than a proper Order, I suppose. Perhaps I'll write the idea up, it needs much more fleshing before I could. The technique involved creating a Sigil with the description of the planetary/astrological/elemental vision, empowering it with the Enochian incantation, and then sending the Sigil and incantation to the recipient over email. The recipient would read the incantation internally, then meditate upon the Sigil. From there, hopefully, the vision would unfold. I haven't done enough experiments with others to say one way of the other whether the technique is very effective, but it did work the one time I tried it. I do think it would be useful to have the ability to induce powerful visions in persons who aren't yet skilled in Ceremonial Magic or Scrying.

Anyway, I digress-keyboard in all it's brassy, leather-y goodness below!

In LVX,

AIT

Materia Magic, Catherine Yronwode, etc

2010-06-23T18:51:00.000-07:00

Ave,

Outside of the rituals I need to do for my gradework as a Golden Dawn initiate (the GIRP's and GIRH's), the vast majority of my personal magic involves using Materia. My personal rituals are a combination of Bardonian-style power raising, Ceremonial-style Incantation (stop saying "mantra", westerners! Our word is cooler), Vibration, visualization, and Materia magic (Hoodoo). I create summoning powders, use candles to activate Kamea for planetary works, use anointing and blessing oils...almost all of the work I do uses materia.

I believe and have experienced the efficacy of materia magic (Hoodoo for me, although there are other traditions available in the West), and have noticed that my evocations and invocations create more powerful connection and manifestation when I burn Summoning powders and utilize their inherent power. There is power intrinsic in certain things that have come down from the Hoodoo tradition, and learning from this tradition would add tremendously to the efficacy of other forms of Western Magic. Just as working with the Energy bodies has been a wondrous contribution within the Western framework by the Golden Dawn (before the Middle Pillar and it's variants, what had the West contributed to energy work in daily practice? Very little, from what I've understand. The grimoires do not address energy work at all.), working with Materia as taught by Hoodoo could add incredible value to the Ceremonial Magic tradition. Now, Hoodoo has been working with Ceremonial Magic for centuries--the Conjurer has no problem with working with the grimoires of our tradition. Our British-born magical tradition has done little to learn about Hoodoo, however, and that's a loss and a shame.

I'm well aware, of course, that Witchcraft blends Materia Magic and Ceremonial magic. I'm sure that the Witches use Materia and use it well......this use has had little effect on the Golden Dawn. I've yet to encounter the Flying Roll that details the use of powerful herbs and oils in Magic. This hole in our work in the GD is, in my opinion, part of the reason we've been almost entirely eclipsed by Witchcraft in popularity within the Western Tradition.

I'm not saying that Witchcraft is superior to the Golden Dawn--modern Witchcraft is arguably a descendant of the GD system (look up Gardner and Crowley if this is a shock to you) and so owes some of it's success to the same British/Masonic roots that we do.

I'm sure some will argue that we haven't been eclipsed, and if they do they're probably drunk. If we had 1 new Mage for every 30 new Witches made in a year we'd need to unionize. They have Witches as chaplains within the Military for heaven's sake...I've yet to hear of an official Sorcerer or Magician working for the Government as such. We have a wonderful system for Spiritual Evolution, but very narrow interpretations of what Magic within the Golden Dawn should be. This leaves us without room for growth. It's not necessarily a bad thing, as our tradition within the Golden Dawn is full of Gold. The gap in what the GD offers creates a cultural difference that's profound; whereas someone is a Member of the Golden Dawn a Witch is a Witch. No one is a "member" of Hoodoo, one is a Conjurer. Most of the GD'ers I know are also part of other magical traditions, because the strict lines of our tradition make that necessary for them.

I'm not suggesting that the Golden Dawn itself should be teaching Hoodoo, which is a wonderfully absurd idea. The Golden Dawn is the Golden Dawn. I am saying that Ceremonial magicians, individuals within our tradition, should seek Hoodoo out and learn Materia Magic. If you are an American, it's practically your birthright. There is a gap in your magical education if you do not know anything about using Materia in magic, plain and simple. There's more to it than burning incense.

Catherine Yronwode

I just wanted to mention her, as her Lucky Mojo Curio co has become a giant in occult supply and a curator and propagator of traditional African-American magic that is unparalleled. When I first started out, I used my family's own traditions as far as Hoodoo went, and what I learned was very modest compared to the vast body of knowledge that Catherine Yronwode has acquired. She has a huge body of knowledge readily available, and that's just in her book. Her course in Hoodoo is another treasure. (I believe Frater Balthazar is a graduate. If he is representative of the general quality of her students, than she is a living treasure.) Her store provides me with materia it would be a huge pain to acquire elsewhere or create on my own.....her value to Hoodoo, and therefore the Western Mystery Tradition ( Hoodoo is part of this, folks) is inestimable. If you want to learn Hoodoo, to work with the practical and powerful Materia magic, you could do much worse than to learn from her.

In the spirit of this post and of giving, I thought I'd share one of my own formulae for Materia Magic-my "Come Here Angel" Summoning Powder. It's nothing that anyone couldn't have created themselves, but it works very well in Evocation and Invocation.

I use it to summon the Angels who assist in my Circle of Protection--I'll post that ritual up later if anyone's interested.

Come Here Angel Powder

to use, add to burning coals within censor before invoking/evoking Angelic entity.

Ingredients:

Angelica Root (powdered)
Dried Rose Petals
Black Pepper
Dried Jicama (powdered)
Sea Salt
Magnetic Dust

Combine equal as possible measure of the ingredients into Mortar and Pestle on a Sunday during the hour of the Sun, and grind into as fine a powder as possible. It will be gritty; this is fine. It has a...distinctive....aroma. That's just part of it's charm...

Intone Psalm 91:11-91:13 over the mixture to consecrate, and it will bring Angels to you as you require. Psalm is as follows:

For he will command his angels concerning you

to guard you in all your ways;

they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;

you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

In LVX,

AIT

My glorious Wand

2010-06-12T17:03:00.000-07:00

Ave,

Jason and some other mages in our circle of association have talked a bit about the creative wands they've made....so I thought I'd show off my pride & joy in that particular department!

Here she is, in all her bronze and coppered glory...

It's made primarily of brass and copper, some tin alloy. There are two additional spots within the Wand that accept crystals, and all of the crystals and their compartments are connected by copper wiring. Everything is nicely conductive, haha. Cost me a ridiculous sum, but worth every penny. It's acquired a presence over the last couple of years, a weight. Using crystals and metal, in my opinion, allow for a Wand/Tool that can "take a charge" in a fashion beyond what the dowels at Home Depot have to offer.

I have always loved the idea of the Magical tool as not just a focus, but as a participant in the magic being done. In order for that to happen, it has to be singular, it has to begin to take on a personality of sorts. You have to be able to connect with it. You need only tough it, and you're in an altered state of consciousness. It becomes, of course, a talisman, with a living spirit. I created the spirit for this wand as a servitor Bardonian style, and it's become a useful and powerful assistant.

...and yes, it looks like a lightsaber. That's how deep my nerd runs, gentle men and ladies. Gaze upon it, in all it's glory my friends. Shout and pull your hair, wailing in lamentation!

It's obviously not a purely GD-wand, but there has always been room for innovation in our tradition. (See this blasting rod.)

Just thought I'd share--I find peoples personal tools, especially if they are something creative, to be extremely interesting.

In LVX,

AIT

Chaos

2010-06-09T21:55:00.000-07:00

Ave,

Lot of talk lately about Chaos magic lately (see Fra Jack's excellent blog)...which got me to thinking. This is the style that I started with; it was the most accessible. I was a teenager, and the first book I read and attempted to use for magic was Crowley's Goetia. Uhh....yeah. This was not such a good thing...I knew nothing of magic at the time, and wholeheartedly expected dudes to show up physically and start bargaining. I did a few conjurations before moving on. I was not aware of the subtleness of contact between physical beings and spirits, and assumed because no one physically showed up and appeared before my open eyes, that nothing happened. I suspect I was more successful then I realized; that time was full of bizarre mood swings and rages. Mind you , I was a teenager at the time, so those swings could have been natural. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a little bit of push there, though.

I made my way to Chaos through Liber Null and Liber Chaos...the classics, haha. I also grew up reading Elric of Melnibone, so that shit was speaking to me, son. I split my time between creating servitors, deep energy work, and Sigil work. It was a glorious time. My "banishing" ritual was entirely self made, my energy work was getting incredible results-I felt powerful. Almost all of the physical/physical seeming manifestations I've had were during this period. I would see waves of gold and purple over my vision, open eyed, while meditating. I had entities just show up while I was meditating, visible to my open eyes and freaking me out. I basically felt like a black Constantine, and was an arrogant little bastard.

I was a mess. All that my sorcery did was aggravate the issues I already had in life. If I wanted more money, I'd do magic and get it....and then waste it the same way I'd wasted the money I had before. I would attract women to me, and then repel them with my arrogance and defensiveness. I was lacking in empathy and compassion. It was like all of my worse flaws were magnified and aggravated by my work with sorcery. This isn't sorcery's fault, and not the Chaos style's fault, to be clear. Giving me sorcery at that time was like giving a kid who'd been a pauper his entire life a fortune. Use without discernment, power without any wisdom.

Chaos Magic is a great enabler. I mean that in ways obvious and subtle.

I think it gets a bad rap because a lot of the people who practice it are/were like I was when I first began. Disconnected from the popular culture, black sheep, on the outside. And young. Then empowered, with egos blown waaayyyy out of proportion. Chaos magic doesn't require religion, money or friends. No need to find a temple, no need to worship anything. No need to prostate oneself before any power, to bow to any authority. This makes it perfect for beginning occultists here in America, who often find their way to the hidden sciences through rebellion. This also makes it easy to tar the system, when so many of it's practitioners are going through this stage.

I eventually found myself at the crossroads, and started to look within. I found my way to Initiation into Hermetics (Bardon), and started working some Theurgy with my Thaumaturgy. Literally changed my life for the positive. I got to grow. Found the Golden Dawn, and the structure and discipline were exactly what I needed to reign my personal madness in. It has worked out. I've been working on creating a portable system for myself, something consistent and useful that didn't require a half hour of work to get results (I'm looking at you, beloved GD ceremonial system!) I mean, I've been actively working on this. Creating a notebook with the symbol sets I use (Kamea, Enochian Tablets, Astrological Signs) to contact the major forces so that I could do magic in the endless now. So that I could act immediately. I've been trying to shrink the ceremonial system down into a nicely pocketable package. What I've got works, but it wasn't necessary. The sigil magic that I began the Work with would accomplish most of that just fine, especially if I combined my new understanding with the old tech. Why was I trying to re-invent the wheel, when I had a system at hand that would do the job?

I think what it comes down to is that I discarded Chaos magic when I became skilled at Hermetic magic. I came to see complication as I sign of depth, of value. The relative lack of complication in Chaos magic made it suspicious to me. How could anything so simple be truly effective (despite the Years I spent working it and experiencing it as wonderfully effective....)? Well, a hammer is simple, and does it's job just fine.

As strange as it seems, I find that my own magic grows more simple as I grow in my Practice. Things do not require as many layers of symbolism. Contact can be made directly, with a few symbols to tune. It's getting down to the basics. Symbol. Directed Intent. LVX. Gnosis. That's it, that's all there really is. Ceremonial distills down to the same thing, if you think about it. The structures are more complicated, which is necessary sometimes. Big buildings need broad foundations, and the same can be said for magical work. I wonder if this is the same for everyone? Does Theurgy regularly reduce complication in a person? I feel as if I've been honed down into....something.

Anyway, I've added the Sigil work back into my toolkit, and gratefully. It's the right tool for many jobs. If you haven't worked it in a while, I'd recommend taking a second look, with new eyes. It doesn't do everything that ceremonial does, but it isn't supposed to. It does what it does. Got to see the various styles as tools, and not the ends themselves I suppose.

In LVX

AIT

Invocation of Venus

2010-06-03T10:57:00.000-07:00

Ave,

Performed the Invocation of Venus, and had a couple of significant things occur. After lighting my sweet-smelling incense, and giving myself a good purification and consecration I stood before my altar and said a short prayer. The richly green candles on the altar gave of just enough light. The temple felt comfortable and warm, like a hug. There was a frission, within the room; it felt like the moment immediately before you're about to kiss a new potential love for the first time...a kind of sultry intensity. I worked through the battery of rituals, and came to the point where one invokes the Goddess Hathor. This was very interesting. I sang a short song in her honor, and felt great energetic rushes into my heart center from below. I created the astral form, and then went to step within it. My eyes were closed, and within my inner eye a blossoming of the form occurred. What was at first a 2-dimensional Egyptian style image of the Goddess became 3-D and lifelike. Her head was not a drawing anymore, it was like a full on Cow's head, I could see the individual hairs, the soft eye's. Her hands were graceful and adorned with bangles and bracelets, and She felt instantly warm and welcoming. I don't know that I've ever gotten such a warm greeting from an Egyptian God. Perhaps it was the joyful singing in her honor that did. I'll have to try the same with other Gods in the future.

The invocation itself set my light-bodies on fire. It was very intense.

In LVX,

AIT

Digimob

2010-06-01T15:14:00.000-07:00

Ave,

SO.........Digimob. I'm conflicted about these gents. On the one hand, they're doing the community a great service, as they've made texts that were impossible to find even a couple of years ago available to practitioners. That part of what they do is awesome. Classic texts, texts that are out of print and impossible to find, all put together in one tidy package. I love that.

But.

In their latest release, I found there were books by modern occult writers. Dudes who are trying to make a living, and that sucks. Nineveh, David, Lon.....it's terrible that these gents, who aren't millionaires, are having their works pirated. Yes, it sucks that people can't always afford to get their books. Well, too bad. Go to a library. Join a mailing list. Do the research they've done for yourself (unless we're talking Nineveh's stuff, which is likely in Arabic. In that case, you just need to save your pennies.) There are options. Folks won't be able to keep writing if their in poverty. No Fra RO or Jason on their yet, but it's just a matter of time. One more reason why being a Magician isn't a profession in our society. Bad enough we don't have people and State supported temples, Tibetan-style, now it's nearly impossible to make a living in Western-capitalist style as a wizard. Better love traveling and talking to strangers, because book sales ain't doing it anymore.

Almost Overwhelming

2010-05-28T16:22:00.000-07:00

Ave,

I've been cultivating this newfound awareness of the Eternal Present, and the results have been interesting. When I tune in sharply, it is almost overwhelming. The colours are especially hypnotic. I never noticed how alive colour is, how magnetic. How it pulls at the mind. Scents can be the same way. I was walking through my neighborhood (in a semi-urban area, Campbell,CA) and a wave of Jasmine, Rose, water-smell just blossomed within my mind. The same plants and smells that likely where there before, only now I am blessedly aware of them. I'm experiencing the world in a new way, it's like the world itself is new again. I don't know how it is I was ever bored; all I had to do was look about me. We are surrounded by wonders...although it seems that the true wonders are the natural things, the things wrought directly by the Source. Man-made objects stand out stiff and alien against even the simple bushes and trees available within a city. They have a beauty, but it's different. It's the lack of life within them, I think. The colors are different than nature's as well. The gradations of color in natural things are incredibly more rich than what we have two offer, which is bold and simple. Powerful, but lacking the elegance of the colors in nature. If you really look at them and see them, anyway.

I had to stop and close my mind to the intensity, after a while. It was overwhelming. I hope I can get used to it.

Made me think of why I love machines, and all things Steampunk. The machine is a tribute, a homage--an imitation of the processes of life, and that most glorious of machines the Human Body. I look at an engine, and I see Art. Perhaps my love of technology and computing machines is rooted in the same.

In LVX,

AIT