That’s how the Light gets in…

Ok, so you know how the final stage of the Great Work is Projection, right? After you’ve made the Philosopher’s Stone, you’re not finished with the Great Work until you’ve taken the stone, ground it up or distilled it down, and then started using it to provide longevity, cure ills, and generally increase the purity of the world. That’s the true goal of the Great Work: To Make the World a Better Place.

Personally, I think the The Stele of Jeu the Hieroglyphist sums up where we end up as we progress in the Work pretty well.

“I am the headless daimon with sight in my feet; I am the mighty one who possesses the immortal fire; I am the truth who hates the fact that unjust deeds are done in the world; I am the one who makes the lightning flash and the thunder roll. I am the one whose sweat falls upon the earth so that it can inseminate it; I am the one whose mouth burns completely; I am the one who begets and destroys; I am the Favor of the Aion; my name is a heart encircled by a serpent; come forth and follow.”

Now, many of you know I can’t stand a lot of the parts of existence. I’m sure there are things you can’t stand too. Some forms of hatred can be noble. The hatred of evil, like racism, torture, and tyranny. The hatred of ignorance. The hatred of the idiots we share the road with.

In the Stele, it’s presented as hatred of the fact that unjust deeds are done in the world.

I just realized the path of the statement above traces a spiral on the Kircher Tree of Life. Starting at Immortal Fire in Tiphareth, the Sun, you then hit hatred of injustice in Geburah/Mars, thunder and lightning in Chesed/Jupiter, inseminating sweat in Netzach/Venus, the burning mouth of enflamed prayer and energetic communication in Hod/Mercury, the begetting and destroying or waxing and waning of Yesod/The Moon, and ending in the Favor (or Fortuna, Fate) of the Aion in Binah/Saturn. And then you’ve got the Heart encircled by a Serpent.

Interesting little things like that are neat. I don’t know if it means anything, it’s pure speculation and observation of possibly related things. Pretty cool though.

Anyway, everything’s cracked. Look around, and there’s a ton of shit to hate, plenty of opportunities to see things that could use improvement. Calvinsim, my favortie brand of Christianity, explains it all with the Total Corruption of the manifest world. I think that’s pretty harsh, personally. I don’t think all of existence fundamentally sucks. I’ve been high on a mountain in Colorado too many times to think existence itself is fundamentally flawed. It’s just too beautiful to be basically broken.

But it needs to be managed better. Who among us hasn’t thought, “If there is a God, he’s fucked UP to create an existence like this!” I mean, all of us hit that point sooner or later. Those of us who do the Hermetic Work of getting through the spheres get a somewhat more useful understanding of the Fucked Up nature of existence. Shit’s mostly fucked up because PEOPLE have forgotten Who they Are, Where they Came From, and Why They’re Here. So no one is making sure things work out the way they’re supposed to.

Humans are part of the hierarchy of entities who have a role to play in the manifestation of all that is. As we progress through the Spheres, receiving initiations and getting the powers of each integrated into our daily lives, we are able to see the process of manifestation and how things could work better. Being in the World, the realm of the Spiritus Mundi, we have an insight into the way things feel when they actually get here that the spirits of the higher planes don’t necessarily have. We can finesse and finagle the final stages of the waxing and waning of manifestation here on Earth. We can do the Right Action at the Right Time to inseminate the world with our sweat, because we’ve seen the Visions of the Spheres, met the entities that manage manifestation, and can provide feedback from “in the field” to our co workers further “up” the chain of manifestation.

Our “Charge to the spirit” phase of conjuration is the part of the rites where we provide feedback from on the ground. A fully initiated, consciously aware human can be on the scene painting the target with the laser beam that guides the laser missle to the right target at the right time. We need finances, so we do a rite, but we tell the spirits not only what we want, in amounts, but how we want it to manifest because we can see it, we can feel it.

All those gifts we get in the spheres, the psychic powers to do remote viewing, or psychometry, all that stuff is there for a reason, and it’s not entertainment. We’re supposed to develop those things so we can participate in the creation of the world more fully. You scan an object to get more information in how to direct forces to fix the cracks where they appear. You use the favor of Kings to change political policies that are unjust. You use the health and longevity to accomplish long-term goals that take years to complete. Every gift or power received from your initiations into the spheres is given to you so that you can do your job. The results of the purification and transformation is a being, a human being who can coordinate the forces of the manifest and unmanifest realms to create a complete and better world.

That’s what Projection is all about. You take the cracks, and project the Light into it and make it better, a cleaner, more just, more empowered, more harmonious version of what it was, closer to the Idea that spawned it.

Man’s awareness of “shit that sucks” is a tool to be used, an indicator, the same way pain is an indicator that something’s wrong with the bodies we live in while alive. Magicians end up with very acute senses of things that are right and wrong.

Which can suck terribly when you’re not doing regular magic. I’m thinking now of Jow’s recent post about sharpening the tools but not using them. He mentioned that irritation that builds up when you’re always doing the maintenance, but you’re not using the techs or forces you’re conjuring up to do anything.  We get angsty and irritable, bored and annoyed.

When you get those feelings, do what Jow did, recognize it for what it is and figure out something you should be doing. If you can’t think of anything, here are some suggestions:

• Figure out what your major obstacles in life are. What’s blocking your ability to accomplish your goals? Once you’ve got a list, ritually destroy them with a little gunpowder rite. KABOOM is a magic word.
• Do some strategic Sorcery. Figure out what you want, and then break it down into phases, and then into specific steps. Do the magic for each step, cover your bases, and see how it works out.
• Politics always offers good targets for working out injustices. Somewhere near you, right now, there is a corrupt official waiting to be exposed.
• Social causes: racism, gender/sexual orientation discrimination, bullying in general, there are all kinds of things you could focus on in the daily news. 

For the more patient, compassionate, and wise among us (don’t know how close I qualify on this, but… sigh, here it is anyway), there’s also what I think of to myself as “Hermetic Counseling.”

One of the things I’ve learned over the years of doing magic is that the insight I’ve gained through the Great Work makes other people’s problems, and the solutions, pretty easy to figure out. I’m too emotionally attached to myself to regularly be able to solve my own issues, but when it comes to others, I’m spot on.

The Work provides us with not only the wisdom and insight to identify people’s problems, but also access to the forces that manifest reality so we can change people’s lives. Not everyone is called to be a magician, and those of us who are (who are also gifted with the ability to stand listening to other people’s problems) are in a position where we can actually help people in more esoteric ways to have a better life.

This is not for everyone, and should come with lots of caveats, because really, most people aren’t equipped to help others out until they’ve done some serious work on themselves. It takes years of Work and refinement to be able to help people, and to know when you can’t, no matter what.

But we can conjure the Geniuses of the clients’ natal charts and just ask them what’s going on, we can bind the Evil Daimons who are bringing challenges to them, we can direct the ministries of the Spirits on behalf of those who need it. It’s like the Sorcery for Hire stuff a lot of us already do, but it’s more objective. We won’t necessarily do only what the client asks, we’ll also do what the spirits and our experiences and insights indicate needs to be done for them. We’ll divine the true causes of their suffering, and take appropriate action on their behalf.

This particular effort comes with a lot of dangers, though. A lot of us (self included ) can be blind to our own ignorance, and with the best intentions in the world, completely fuck someone else up. If we lack the discipline to perform divinations regularly, to see past the dollar signs to the things that really need to be done, we’re not ready to help others regularly. Offer sage advice, but include the warning that you could be wrong. Offer to do magic you think is right for the client, but don’t just do it all willy-nilly. If you think something is good for someone, but also suspect they’d fail if they tried it out where they are right now, don’t push them into it anyway with the assumption that the fires released that consume their lives will also refine them enough to take the next step on their own. Sometimes when people’s lives are consumed in a refining fire, they just quit while their lives are still in ashes because they weren’t ready to face the issues you’ve tried to deal with for them. You can seriously fuck some shit up.

But really, this is the kind of thing a magician is best equipped to do. Fill in the cracks. Make the world a better place. Help one another.

Jesus, it sounds so … nice. And really, it is. For those who are more into magic to get rich, get ahead, or whatever, all I can say is that urge to acquire and advance is a really good thing, but I’ve personally found that the only way to consistently assuage that urge is to use your magic to make the world a better place. That includes getting rich and meeting your personal ambitions, because then you’re in a better position to use your knowledge and skills effectively. Those who conjure spirits to get in good with local politicians and leaders will be in better positions to help communities struggling with poverty and crime. Those who conjure up their soul mate will have their emotional and sexual needs met, and have all that time they would otherwise spend pursuing gratification free to put to proper work.

And the Work we do is the most fulfilling thing we can do in life. It’s pretty awesome.

How I’ve missed you! I haven’t been able to blog regularly in weeks. It’s killing me.

This too shall pass.

In the mean time, let’s all pretend I’m writing really deep and insightful blog posts about really interesting things.

Halloween came and went, and I didn’t conjure up my spirit pot of deadites as planned. I got tired and went to sleep instead. I was rawther disappointed with myself, but I am a loving and forgiving self, and have absolved myself of all remorse. Some day I’ll get around to it, on a smaller scale though. The plan is to subject the nepheshim to a series of alchemical processes, using the spirit remains as the Prima Materia, and seeing what I end up with after walking them through a series of consecrations and purifications in each of the Spheres.

I figure there are two possible outcomes:

1. An awesome and powerful spirit assistant with a well-rounded set of skills, and the human empathy to be able to accomplish some tasks with a little more focus on what I want instead of what I say.

2. The dissolution and reabsorption of the spirit’s essence into the Prima Materia, cause it’s mortal and should have returned to the dust it was formed from.

er…

Three! Three possible outcomes.

3. Something unanticipated entirely.

But for now, time is at a premium and I don’t have much to spare. When I get some, I’m usually sleeping the sleep of the overworked and underpayed, and that’s ok right now. So this project is back-burnered until further notice, though anyone interested in performing it themselves is welcome to, of course, and I’d love to correspond about the results as time permits. And I’m only telling you about it because a couple someones asked. Otherwise I’d merrily move along and forget I’d mentioned it until I got back to it.

Like those Shem angels I’d planned on Working through 4 years ago.

Someone in the blogosphere posted something about why we got into magic in the first place, and how magic turned out to be something different than what we expected, but what it really turned out to be was freaking awesome so we stuck with it anyway.

That might not be the exact words, but that’s how I remember it. I can’t find the freaking post though, and I’d love to link to it (and re-read the post because now I think I’m mis-remembering it altogether and I want to verify the context, and see how the author put it together and all that).

Does anyone remember reading something like that recently, or writing something along those lines? A link in the comments would be much appreciated.

Excellent piece today over at Rune Soup.

After reading it, though, I couldn’t help but think, yeah, ancestors, thanks SO MUCH for everything, assholes. We come from a lot of really prick people. Serious major dick heads. Unenlightened violent thieves, rapists, and murderers. And CANNIBALS.

And we wouldn’t BE HERE if it weren’t for them. We wouldn’t have to deal with trying to remember we’re free from all suffering at all if they’d just kept their dicks in their pants. Fuck wads.

I found out a little about the Bodhisattva vows recently. You swear to keep on incarnating until everyone reaches Enlightenment.

Fuck. That. Shit.

Human beings have a racial history of being stupid, mean, and vile. Especially to people who try to teach them how to not be stupid, mean, and vile. I’ve even done it myself, so what does that say about the sad state of affairs?

So I’m putting together a “raise an army of the dead” ritual for Halloween (it’s been in process for a couple of weeks, was going to post it, but likely won’t finish until a few minutes before I do the rite anyway). I’ve got dirt from various graveyards around the area, and some other stuff from haunted places, and it’s all going into a big old huge fucking Spirit Pot that will be home to my Army of Deadites to send around and do whatever petty shit needs to be done.

The level of spirit I’m aiming for in the rite is pretty base, the shades who haven’t managed to dissolve into the parts that make them up, the Nepheshim. Individually, they’re pretty weak.

In large numbers, I’m hoping they can do more than just drop the temperature of the room a few degrees when they show up. My hopes and expectations are decidedly low, though, because they’re only human after all, and not even the thinking or eternal parts at that. Just some damned souls left to howl in the night when the veils are thinnest.

And why am I doing this? Because like my ancestors, I’m a fuck wad asshole prick who would eat human flesh to survive if necessary. And magic is fun. And who WOULDN’T want an army of the dead to send out at whim to curse the local 7-eleven owner for running out of BFC Monsters when you really need one?

So that’s how I’m honoring the dead this year. I’m giving them something to do, and I’m keeping the family tradition alive.

Now your nightmare comes to life…

Ok, so this is a fun song and all, but the lyrics aren’t exactly 100% accurate. However, it’s still pretty cool. When I dropped demon magic, I found all kinds of stuff touched on in the lyrics of this song just sort of went away. Borderline personality disorders, mental illness afflictions and such just faded. Even a learning disability my daughter had evaporated into nothing, and she’s doing great in school this year, with no particular changes in how we do things at home.

Money is coming in and actually staying in for a change. No major catastrophes are leaving us all broke every time we get a windfall.

And I’m over a lot of personal issues that plagued me for years. A friend commented that I’m calmer than ever, even though I’ve managed to retain my wit. Personally, I don’t know how witty I am, but as long as I’m not getting less witty, I’m happy. I was a little concerned about that, since Bune had made me more eloquent. I was afraid I’d end up less loquacious, or dull.

I do write less on the blog, but that’s because most of my attention and writing is going into courses these days.

Anyway, I thought the song was fitting. One of the things about demon magic is that people heavily into it are living nightmare existences, one drama or crisis after another, all the time… and they think it’s normal. It’s not! Life doesn’t have to be shit, all the time. Into each life a little shit must fall, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not supposed to be all the time, every month, year after year.

Now, some magicians seem to be able to work with demons with either no problems, or they’re at least adequately prepared to accept the consequences. Hey, if that’s you, more power to you. Awesome.

For the rest of us, if you’re sick of the drama, but you’re hooked on the power and apparent control of your life the demon magic brings, the RO Guide to Demon Magic Recovery is for you. It provides a way to get clean, and to replace the perks of being a magician that you’ve grown accustomed to with better allies and sources of power. Cleaner stuff. The “good” stuff.

Recent conversations on Evocational Magic had me reviewing my position on demons this week. I mean, I’m kind of the poster child for the guy who gets into demon magic, has bad shit happen, and then goes all anti-demon as a result. There are lots of explanations about why that happens online, and when I was into demon magic, I even wrote a few myself. My take was people weren’t initiated enough, or something.

After carefully re-evaluating my position, I’ve come to the conclusion that demon magic still sucks, but I’ve clarified my use of the term “demon.” Demons are any spirit who is designed to bring destruction or delusion. Focalor, who sinks ships and brings disease, is clearly a demon. Maybe every spirit listed in the Lemegeton’s Goetia is not necessarily a demon, but I think enough of them are to make it a poor resource for finding spirit allies. Instead, I advocate working with the Planetary Governors/Intelligences directly, the “Winds,” the Princes of the Spirits, and the Genii Loci. I recommend creating your own list of spirits the old fashioned way, finding them, getting their details, and recording their contact information in a Spirit Book.

Be a Goes magician practicing Goety by all means! After all, that wouldn’t be an inappropriate description of my own Work, from certain perspectives. But avoid any spirit whose primary role in existence is the manufacture and maintenance of suffering. Putting them to work for you is effective, but it comes with a price. For most of us, anyway.

When you are free from all suffering, it does not necessarily mean you will never again suffer. However, once you are free from all suffering, suffering will never be able to imprison you again.

You are free to leave the prison of suffering any time. The gates are not locked.

The question faced while suffering occurs is no longer “Why am I suffering,” but “Will I suffer through this or not?”

It’s that most wonderful time of the year: Halloween! Samhain! All Saints! Walpurgisnacth! Raise the dead, joke with the damned, walk the Paths of Hel, Hella, Hades, shudder in dread in the shadow of Cromm, and dance to the maddening beat of vile drums and the thin monotonous whine of accursed flutes!

I suggest a Hunting Party. Gather up some heathens, a couple of coolers full of ice, and camp out at a farm of an accommodating friend of similar beliefs, or who will at least turn a blind eye and deaf ear to a night’s revelry. You’ll need a bonfire, and some hay bales to sit on. You’l need sparsely wooded “wild” areas to wander through in the dark, and a shallow stream someone can fall into and laugh about later. You’ll need shadowed hidden places near enough to see the fire, but secluded enough for lovers to have their quality time together without intrusion.

Conjure up the Master of the Hunt. (Did I mention the Master of the Hunt?) You’ll definitely need some Hunt Master. Also known as der Jaegermeister, this charming concoction must be stored in the coolers with the ice. Shot glasses are optional, because alcohol kills germs. Figure a minimum of a pint per attendee, and a chaser per person, and you’ll bring about enough. I prefer Fraoch Heather Ale as the chaser. So good.

Meet at dusk and pitch the tents. (Did I mention the tents?) Note: pitch the tents BEFORE you start drinking. For serious.

Light the fire, cook some bratwurst on sticks. (Did I mention the bratwurst?) Crack the Ale, pour the first round of shots, and together toast the Spiritus Mundi, the Spirit of the World. Pour one shot on the ground. Another round is poured, and together toast the Genii Loci, the Spirits of the Land. Pour one shot on the ground. A third round is poured, with great solemnity, in silence, and the final toast is made to those who have come before, the honored dead who have passed over. Pour one shot on the ground.

After a moment of contemplation and somber reflection on the dead (which gives the alcohol time to permeate the blood stream), break out the fiddle and the bow, the flute and the drums, and let the drunken revelry commence! (Did I mention the fiddle and the bow and the drum and the flute?)

Note: At no point should anyone perform a conjuration as part of the Hunt Party. This ritual honors the Spirits, but is primarily a celebration for the living. Raise an army of the dead on your own time, with no booze involved.

Man, it is fucking GREAT to be doing magic again!

Hoo-ah! Ha.

I’ve spent the last few months mostly stuck in an astral temple. Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve buckled down and started getting my shit together, rebuilding my altar talisman collection, putting my weapons together, and getting my ass in gear. Well, getting the gears installed so I can at least … uh, no, no gears installed in my ass… uhm.

Look, I made some magic stuff so I can start doing magic again, and it’s going great! That’s what I mean

On one of the lists, there was some conversation about the substance vs. intent, and we all agreed that it’s more than just those two pieces, and you can’t lean too much on any particular side, and I might visit the topic in a blog post eventually, but I can definitely say, having the talismans makes a difference in the sphere of the magician who makes them. Substance adds substance. Form brings coalescence. It’s an Important Thing.

So anyway, I had someone get in touch with me today looking for some magical work on their behalf, and it went super good so far. Getting back into magic again feels good. It’s like having your shoulders pop after you start working out again after taking a break. And man, the power! I forgot what it feels like, it’s been so long. What a fucking rush.