Rufus Opus

Posts by frredactumopus

Author: frredactumopus

  • Magickal Conundra

    I never cease to be amazed at how many people will bull-headedly argue that their interpretation of some aspect of magick is “right”, quoting from Abramelin, Agrippa, and Robert Fludd as if that made them correct. I’m leaning towards the belief that there’s pretty much no factoid about ceremonial magick that should ever be debated in terms of “Right” and “Wrong”.

    Raphael’s location on the Tree of Life is a perfect example.

    I got really interested in where Raphael belonged by way of the LBRP. I was reading through a Thelema-based book, and saw that Crowley had once stated that the LBRP puts the mage at the crossroads of Samekh and Pe on the Tree. I thought, great! So I looked at the Tree to see just where exactly that was, since I haven’t memorized the paths at all.

    Samekh lies between Yesod and Tiphareth, and Pe lies between Netzach and Hod. To understand it better, I wanted to see which Archangels were in the sephiroth. Raphael was attributed to Tiphareth, so you’re facing Tiphareth when you do the LBRP. Gabriel is in Yesod, so Yesod lies behind you. No problem. Michael is in Hod, and he’s in the south, so that’s over on the right. I got a little confused until I figured out you’re standing head-inwards into the Kircher diagram of the Tree of Life. It was still (sorta) making sense.

    Then I get to Netzach. That’s all that’s left, but there’s nothing about Uriel being the Archangel of Netzach. Ok, sez I, Uriel isn’t the Archangel of Netzach, it seems to be some guy named Haniel, or Anael in some people’s texts. What gives? Why don’t we call Haniel instead of Uriel, if Crowley’s right?

    My first response was that Crowley must be wrong, no biggy. But if the LBRP isn’t based on the tree of Life, where does it come from? So I researched it until I found that it comes from the Bedtime Sh’ma, a little prayer that Jewish people said before they went to bed at night. The archangels are the four archangels that surround the Throne of God. That’s why it’s Uriel, has nothing to do with the Sephiroth at all.

    I was a little disappointed to find out that this banishing ritual I’d been using for years, that had worked wonders at clearing out sacred space, foiling clumsy magickal attacks from the people I pissed off in my bi-polar approach to existence, and banishing a myriad of entities was nothing more than “Now I lay me down to sleep” with some pentagrams thrown in.

    But I’d stumbled across something ELSE in my efforts. I ended up going over the attributions of angels to sephiroth going from 777, Bill Heidrick’s Magical Correspondences, on back to Agrippa’s 3 Books of Occult Philosophy and the writings of Robert Fludd, a contemporary of Agrippa. Bill Heidrick pointed out that the attribution of Raphael and Michael flip according to the source, and I figured if I went back far enough, I’d find a definitive answer.

    But no one had an authoritative basis for their claim. It was all hearsay. Agrippa recorded in one set of books what was available to ceremonialists of his time, but it was based on hearsay more than practice, and he says at some point, if you find I’m wrong, by all means, go with what you find.

    Eventually, I figured I’d just evoke Raphael and ask him. I started with the LBRP, then “drew” his name in Hebrew letters the way you “draw” the pentagrams in the LBRP, and waited for him to show up.

    When I told someone how I was doing the ritual, they said I was tainting my results by doing the LBRP first, and I should just do a straight evocation, with no prejudice. For three or four nights I did this, and got really wonderful visions from Raphael explaining where he belongs.

    (Hod, by the way. He directs the flow of the energies of Mercury into Malkuth through Yesod.)

    So what I learned from all this, besides where Raphael belongs, is that it doesn’t matter who said what, or what logical paths people have put together to get to the conclusion that Entity X “IS” in Sephiroth Y. You can’t trust anything in print to be the bottom line truth, and anything you find out on your own is subject to being only as much of the truth as you really need to know at the moment.

  • Not to be mixing belief systems


    Ok, so I know, a lot of my friends thought I was nuts for playing with Tezcatlipoca. (The skull is in transit to his new owner, may he find all he seeks.) I got a lot of emails and IMs that questioned my sanity. Not directly, but more like… “I dont know what you’re intent is, but good luck…”

    I got sucked into Tezcatlipoca’s imagery and mythology while researching the Crystal Skull phenomenon in general. What I found was that the crystal skulls are deeply entrenched in the whole Mexican prehistoric religions, and to make the talisman more potent, Tez seemed an obvious choice.

    My thanks to St. Faust for pointing out the Coyote relationship to Tez. My earliest researching hadn’t indicated that particular sode of the god, focusing instead on his roles in the creation myths and his role as the patron deity of Sorcerors. Knowing he was invoked to see visions in the Aztec Mirrors was enough for me to work with him.

    However…

    I’m a Christian. There’s a harmonic resonance to my Spheres from all the Work I’ve done with the Logos, Christ, and the archangels. Tezcatlipoca is not now, nor ever has been an angel. “Like” an angel, maybe, in the same way that Hermes or Mercury was “like” an angel, but he’s definitely his own manifestation of God, and is not particularly fond of being worked with from a different system’s rules. Or at least, he didn’t like me and the way I worked with him much. Or maybe I just didn’t like him. Who knows?

    I’m writing this up as a successful experiment, but going forward, I’m sticking with the Christian Neo-Platonic systems’ spirits that have worked so well with me in the past.

  • “Found” Wealth

    I was looking at our budget lately, and “found” a lot of cash that I was spending way over and beyond sanity. I’m a Taurus, and what can I say, I like to eat out. This was WAY too much though, and putting a brake to that and some other odd spending habits I had developed unawares, I’ve managed to save about a grand a month. Wouldn’t you like to get a $1,000 a month raise?

    I get them all the time, because I’m cool.

    Just kidding. I get them because I use magic. And that is pretty cool.

    I found the money by going over my portfolio through my online bank. It groups things together for me based on how I use my Debit Card. Since that’s pretty much all I use to spend money these days, it works out pretty nicely. I was doing a periodic budget check, just to see where we were at compared to our goals, and also to figure out why we seemed to have such a shallow pool of funds to dip into for extravagant summer vacations.

    The Great Work needs a periodic check-up too. Every once in a while, we need to sit down and see how our Philosopher’s Stone is coming along. What Work have we been focusing on over the last few months? What results have been coming out? Has this brought us closer to our long-term goals as magicians, or has it been a distraction? Has our recent Work provided insight requiring us to adjust our long-term goals?

    I ran a quick check-up on my own progress in the Work lately, and found some wealth I could have by making a few minor alterations in the way I use my resources. It got me thinking about how I apply the techniques I’ve learned in my secular life to my magical practices, and specifically to the Great Work in general. I started thinking about what is required to be able to do what I do, and I realized there’s a whole SERIES of blog posts I can write about this. How many people are trained in applying the best practices of Project Management to the Great Work?

    Obviously, we’ll need to have a few things in place to be able to do this kind of thing effectively. We’ll need to have a long-term goal, for example, and a plan to get from where we are to where we want to be. We’ll need a way to review our recent Work.

    The Long-Term Goal for most magicians is the accomplishment of the Great Work. Most folks have a general idea of what this means, and chances are I’ve posited a few interpretations of my own over the years on this blog. Essentially, the Great Work is modeled after the Alchemical process of turning a base element into a finer, more purified substance which then is capable of transmuting other substances on contact.

    This process has a few stages to it. We can use these stages as mini-goals within the overall goal, and chart our progress accordingly. Off and on, I’ll be adding details to this particular line of thought. At the moment, I’m thinking it will cover:

    • The Great Work, yet another definition
    • The Stages of the Alchemical Great Work
    • How to Accomplish Anything Successfully Every Time

    The last one will be huge.

  • The Intelligent Communication Between the Spheres

    Shit. You’re catching me mid-satori at the moment, so forgive me if I ramble.

    Ok, so I’ve been doing the Neo-Platonic/Merkavah (NPM) rite my HGA and I pow-wowed on. I’m talking to my friend Fr. Bone Head today about some of his dream journals, and we get into the topic of Tiphareth consciousness out of Crowley’s notes (Point III) of Liber Samekh, the sentence in the text that has footnote 8 in it, and the preceding paragraphs:

    “…the Tiphereth-consciousness alone is connected by paths with the various parts of his mind.”

    The image of the Tree of Life was illustrated in my mind in great detail, showing all the paths from Tiphareth to the other spheres. In a flash of insight, I had the image of myself doing the NPM rite, and I saw myself traveling through all the spheres as I progressed from the realms of matter to the highest heavens. In the image I was like a “Little Mercury,” and by doing that rite I was delivering communications between the spheres.

    In a moment, I saw that magicians doing the Great Work are all sort of doing the same job. We become the messengers between the planetary governors, in a way, linking them and strengthening their ability to work together as a team.

    When we Work with each planetary intelligence, our sphere is tuned to the vibration of the sphere it represents. When we travel to the next sphere, that sphere’s Intelligence is directly aware of the impression in our sphere left by the previous sphere’s intelligence. We become part of the communication that occurs between the spheres when we perform the act that is described in the Emerald Tablet of Hermes.

    This mini-satori explains why my Daimon included the trip back down through the spheres. By going up and then returning down, each sphere receives interaction with every other sphere. If we only went up through the spheres, the Intelligence of the Moon would miss an opportunity to see the recent impact of the Intelligence of Saturn on one magician’s sphere.

    It’s almost like we’re Sparks traveling the neural networks of an interplanetary Intelligence’s brain.

  • 4-11-06

    Introduction

    Welcome to the Head for the Red blog. The title comes from the four stages of the Alchemical Great Work, Black, White, Citrine and Red. In the Red Work, the final stage is reached, and the base elements are transformed into the Philosopher’s Stone.

    That’s my goal, to reach the Red Work, and this blog is going to record my thoughts, ideas, and experiences along the way. I hope to play the Hierophant here, or at least to record the wanderings of one Hermit and his experiences. I figure I’m still at the Black stage, and I’ve got quite a ways to go before I get to Red, if I ever do, but I have no qualms in striving.

    Fr. R. O.

  • A Spirit Pot for a Duke of the Goetia

    After years of having people ask me where to find similar pots to the one I used with Bune, I’ve decided to put together a basic “kit” to build your own spirit pot. I found a brass hinged potpourri holder at a second hand store, and I’m engraving it with the appropriate language to make it a Brass Vessel.


    I’ve also gathered the herbs together that one would put inside the pot for a Duke.

    I’m creating a silver Pentacle of Solomon, and a copper blank suitable for a Duke’s Seal. If someone has a specific Duke they want to work with in mind, I’ll engrave the seal on the blank for them with my dremel tool, or they can engrave it themselves.

    I’m thinking of offering this kit on eBay. I’m not sure how interested people would be in it. The silver seal alone should probably go for at least $50, even though it’s not fine craftsman quality. I melted it myself and hammered it into a piece large enough…

    Anyway, I’ve got some other ideas I may have to implement on that front. It’s over an ounce of 99.999% pure silver, and it’s going to have a few hours worth of work done on it before I’m finished.

    If this blog post generates enough interest, I’ll go ahead and offer the kit on eBay, and the highest bidder can have it. I’m open to suggestions on what the starting price should be. Email your questions or comments by clicking this link, or just comment below.

  • A Spirit Pot for a Duke of the Goetia

    After years of having people ask me where to find similar pots to the one I used with Bune, I’ve decided to put together a basic “kit” to build your own spirit pot. I found a brass hinged potpourri holder at a second hand store, and I’m engraving it with the appropriate language to make it a Brass Vessel.


    I’ve also gathered the herbs together that one would put inside the pot for a Duke.

    I’m creating a silver Pentacle of Solomon, and a copper blank suitable for a Duke’s Seal. If someone has a specific Duke they want to work with in mind, I’ll engrave the seal on the blank for them with my dremel tool, or they can engrave it themselves.

    I’m thinking of offering this kit on eBay. I’m not sure how interested people would be in it. The silver seal alone should probably go for at least $50, even though it’s not fine craftsman quality. I melted it myself and hammered it into a piece large enough…

    Anyway, I’ve got some other ideas I may have to implement on that front. It’s over an ounce of 99.999% pure silver, and it’s going to have a few hours worth of work done on it before I’m finished.

    If this blog post generates enough interest, I’ll go ahead and offer the kit on eBay, and the highest bidder can have it. I’m open to suggestions on what the starting price should be. Email your questions or comments by clicking this link, or just comment below.

  • And it’s gone.

    That went fast. The skull is on its way to its new owner, and is no longer available.

    May the new owner enjoy their experiences.

  • A Spirit Pot for a Duke of the Goetia

    After years of having people ask me where to find similar pots to the one I used with Bune, I’ve decided to put together a basic “kit” to build your own spirit pot. I found a brass hinged potpourri holder at a second hand store, and I’m engraving it with the appropriate language to make it a Brass Vessel.


    I’ve also gathered the herbs together that one would put inside the pot for a Duke.

    I’m creating a silver Pentacle of Solomon, and a copper blank suitable for a Duke’s Seal. If someone has a specific Duke they want to work with in mind, I’ll engrave the seal on the blank for them with my dremel tool, or they can engrave it themselves.

    I’m thinking of offering this kit on eBay. I’m not sure how interested people would be in it. The silver seal alone should probably go for at least $50, even though it’s not fine craftsman quality. I melted it myself and hammered it into a piece large enough…

    Anyway, I’ve got some other ideas I may have to implement on that front. It’s over an ounce of 99.999% pure silver, and it’s going to have a few hours worth of work done on it before I’m finished.

    If this blog post generates enough interest, I’ll go ahead and offer the kit on eBay, and the highest bidder can have it. I’m open to suggestions on what the starting price should be. Email your questions or comments by clicking this link, or just comment below.

  • Done with the skull, now get it out of here…


    Well, me hearties….

    I’m done with the crystal skull of the DEAD!!! bwahahahaha…

    I’m satisfied with the results, and I’m confident that the skull image and the spirit conjuration during the rite has successfully created a pretty powerful talisman that will cause strange dreams and visions for the owner.

    And now I’m ready for it to be out of the house.

    A friend from one of the lists sent me a pdf that talked about the “Black Dog” apparitions and mentioned Tezcatlipoca. If you get into the earliest recorded descriptions of the beliefs of the Aztecs in Mexico (as recorded by priests looking to have a record of native beliefs in case they made a resurgence that needed stamping out), you can see that Tezcatlipoca was among other things a manifestation of the “trickster” deities. He’s a lot like Coyote or Loki. Buy the stone and I’ll forward you the pdf.

    Anyway, anyone interested in buying the crystal skull should be into two things: necromancy in some form, and trickster deities in general.

    By necromancy, I mean anything having to do with communicating with dead spirits. It would make an excellent addition to a medium’s collection. If you’re a working Sorceror, like Moloch, this is the kind of thing I’d expect to find in your collection somewhere. Not only does it work to commune with specific dead people (I met with Agrippa), it also aids in seeing the shades of the dead that populate our life invisibly. It can get a little… creepy.

    If you’re one of the growing community of spiritual healers, like Nita Hickok at Astral Healer, this kind of tool would be very useful in dealing with spirits troubling your clients. It would aid in Exorcisms (via the Bune-spirit) or in dealing with Curses, Hexes, or other Crossed Conditions (via Tezcatlipoca).

    By being into the trickster deities, I mean that you should have an affinity for working with that particular kind of entity. Tezcatlipoca brings warnings, sends visions, and aids sorcerors in eliminating other sorcerors’ curses.

    He also is a bit of a prankster. Things have gone missing since I activated this particular spirit’s influence in the skull, electronics have gone somewhat haywire, and I’ve had a lot of peculiar dreams. I’ve “lost” my favorite pocket knife, and I’m hoping getting rid of this thing will result in its return.

    Also… Well, I’d be remiss in not mentioning it, but Tezcatlipoca doesn’t mesh well with a neo-platonic Christian environment. I wouldn’t call the skull “cursed” because nothing terrible has happened, but it is definitely not a particularly friendly entity towards the whole Judeo-Christian belief system.

    So I’m selling it.

    It’s $45, and is currently available on my Products and Services Page. That includes shipping to the US.

    First come first served.