For they shall be called the Children of God.

Fr. BH and Jason expressed disapproval of people trying to make peace. I agree in part with what Jason and BH said, people don’t have to get along to like each other. I haven’t talked to Jason personally (besides leaving comments here and there) since calling bullshit on his obviously WRONG opinion of things, but, he’s right, we’re both enjoying it and not antagonistic about it. I’ve been finding so much in common with him lately that it’s damned refreshing to have something to differentiate ourselves on for a change.

And neither of us have to be right about this to perform magic.

Anyway, at the same time, I understand why people are trying to make peace between us. They’re used to seeing people argue on the internet and have it blow up into something hugely unhappy, ruining friendships, destroying the safety net they’ve managed to find among the fucking belligerent online occulture. They like the camaraderie we’ve got, and they don’t want it to get fucked.

And they have something intrinsic in THEIR belief systems that makes them want to point out the harmony between apparent opposites. I do that a lot in my own Work, and I’m sure Jason does too, and Bone Head. Bone Head not as much, cause he’s a Leo, but god bless him anyway. Everyone can’t be an enlightened Bull.

But I disagree with any condemnation of those who are compelled to make peace between people. For one thing, they can’t help but try. It’s their calling. For another, there’s absolutely NOTHING wrong with trying to bring peace and harmony. It’s very much what magic is about. They are being magicians, harmonizing elements and bringing together arcane bits for their talismans in their efforts to bring a bit more of the Heavens down to the Earth.

So to those who tried to bring peace and harmony, understanding between apparently opposing viewpoints, thanks, appreciate it, way to go. You’re real Children of God. It shows in your actions, you demonstrate the caliber of your soul. Don’t let the crusty free-will-believing unenlightened folks bring you down. You’re the Heroes of the Pagan classical myths, the Nephilim of the Old Testament, and my personal fave, you’re Jesus. Keep up the Great Work.

Well, I’ve been not writing the Practically Agrippa series all week long! Hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I have.

Seriously, my brain power’s about kaput, but I’m planning a reload this weekend. Maybe I’ll get to it Saturday and schedule the series to come out through the week. Five basic rituals based on five chapters shouldn’t be too hard. Maybe something not based on chapters, but on subjects even. Self-Initiation, Conjuration, Remote Viewing, Divination, and I dunno, Agrippinian Chaos Magic, what the hell.

I’m test flying a new initiation procedure on a somewhat informed and charmingly willing victim. Those of you who experienced my Solar Sphere Initiation failures (your fault, you didn’t do the follow up Work), or if you’re one of the folks that burned out while I was having you Samekh your way into the Sun, you’re aware of the issues that arise in jumping directly into a Solar initiation right out of the gate. So I’m experimenting with a new method to soften and loosen up some of the crap that turns into flaming projectiles when you go straight to the Sun. In the Alchemical process, the Black Stage comes from steady, lower-temperature heat applied to the base material. The negative crap rises to the surface in preparation for burning into White ash in the White Stage. Maybe pushing folks into the Sun out of the gate isn’t as efficient, so I’m starting sub-lunar now.

If he lives past tomorrow, I’ll eventually publish the methods.

I’m really too tired for this right now, but it’s either respond to Jason’s (and now Fr. BH’s, and now Monsignor Rossbach’s) post, or copy-paste yet more text from a word doc into a spreadsheet that will be morphed into yet another word doc in a few weeks.

Clearly, I am predestined to write this now.

In my comment on Jason’s post, I began with my favorite expletive. “Bullshit!” It’s totally apt for a number of things I run into in life. I’m adept at recognizing it. I am a Taurus. And I believe firmly that bullshit makes the flowers grow, but then again, I’m a predestinationalist. The bullshit is there TO make the flowers grow, on PURPOSE.

Now, I’m not just a predestinationalist, I’m a full-fledged Calvinist. TULIP, five points of Calvinism, baby. I waffle on limited atonement on occassion; right now I suspect the internet-runners that are as bright as a bag of hair when it comes to white horses being horses have no fucking soul. Overall though, Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Iressistable Grace, and Perseverance of the saints, that’s me at the core. It seems pretty out-dated in this new-fangled world that has so blithely accepted the illusion of free will. I don’t really care how hip it is.

Long ago, and far away, I got a Vision. The Universe stretched out before me into infinity, and I saw that everything was moving like clockwork, together in perfect harmony. I saw that “now” unfolded endlessly before me, according to all that had come “before.” I saw the Angels dancing and singing and doing their thing, I saw the demons laughing and playing and doing their thing, and I saw crowned above it all a King. Who smiles all the time. (Good Omens reference, 13 points if you got it.)

Cabalists of the GD persuasion might say I received a Vision of the Mechanics of the Universe, the spiritual vision of Yesod. I wouldn’t argue, but I’d also point out that it wasn’t just the engine parts that I saw, but also the harmony of the movement, and the role of mankind as an angel working in harmony with all other things. There was the Vision of the Harmony of the Universe mingled in with it, the Vision that they assign to Tiphareth in the Sun. Its father is the Sun, and its mother is the Moon (Emerald Tablet reference, score 7 points for that one). And on their Tree of Life, the path between is Samekh, as in the Liber, and there’s a damned good reason.

Now I don’t pretend that it doesn’t SEEM like we have free will. I don’t use it as a cop out or anything that the ignorant so often accuse me of. The ignorant will say, “if it’s all predestined, nothing I do has any meaning…” All I can answer is that everything you DO has meaning because it is in complete accord with the rest of the harmony and mechanics of the spheres and their entities. It wouldn’t unfold the way it’s supposed to without you.

The marvelous thing about it is that we have the illusion of free will. It seems like we get to make our own decisions. Smarter folks than I have argued and pondered the implications. Fr. S.L. is consistently using dice theory and other mathematics to demonstrate that even though only one thing can happen at any given moment experientially, that doesn’t mean a thousand (well, 36 sometimes, if I remember right) other things COULDN’T have happened… He’s quite convincing.

But I just know he’s wrong. I saw it. I live it. I don’t get left empty in the acceptance of that at all, instead it’s really cool. It makes me eager to discover What Happens Next (Great and Secret Show reference for 22 points). I live in ignorance of the future, and I know that the way it unfolds is by my actions. Even though my decisions are predestined and are a given, I remain ignorant of what they are and am able to experience them as if I actually made a difference. And I did. It’s through our choices that the divine plan set in motion and locked in stone at the beginning of time unfolds. And that’s awesome.

When some relatively local nut went on a rampage and shot some Amish kids in a little school house in Pennsylvania a couple of years ago, someone suggested that I go in and tell them that the fact that their kids were killed is beautiful and part of god’s plan, let’s be all joyous that our children’s blood is on the walls. His issue was that evil, bad shit, and suffering are part of the overall harmony too. I’m sorrowful, a tone that brings pain and longing for freedom and oneness, on his behalf, for the bitterness he carries over the idea that he’s meaningless if he wasn’t the only part of himself making the choices he makes. But that’s beautiful … too.

Why does any of this matter? Why are we stuck reaping the consequences of actions we didn’t set in motion? How is it fair?

It ain’t. It’s just life. Sometimes it feels good and sometimes… not so much.. Two adult friends had grandmothers go into the hospital in the past week. One is recovering from surgery on the flesh suit, and one is recovering from her time in the flesh suit. Both are every bit as much existant as they were before. The difference is that part of one is done with her time here, part of one is still finishing up some shit that has to be done. Who got the better end of the deal? The one that doesn’t have to drink metamucil to take a dump ever again, or the one who gets to hold her great grandchildren a couple more times? Who knows?

The reason it seems so fucking unfair to free-will believers is that they just don’t have a perspective on life from the standpoint of ETERNITY. Ultimately, if half the shit we know is right in our hearts is really right, we’re all going to be hanging out in the Elesian Fields, the Summer Lands, Heaven, New Jerusalem, and maybe the Mormons really do get theri own planets where they are Gods and their many wives become their choirs of angels. Doubt it, but it could happen. Point is, everyone knows it’s etter to stay alive while we’re here, and even better than that once we’re gone.

But I guarantee that anyone (even me, I’m no perfect schmo who lives what I’m saying all the time) who is suffering, sad, angry, depressed, anxious, or upset has SOLID lost sight of eternity, and needs a refresher course pretty badly.

Where’s the proof? Somewhere between the Moon and the Sun. It’s right there. Samekh. Temperance. Art. And it’s beautiful.

(If you got all the points and caught the reference of your final score, score youreself another 376!)

Couple things to point out, I don’t have a lot of time.

First, there’s some neat graphics about the current Mercury Retrograde that shows where mercury is relative to the Sun throughout this retrograde. Interesting interesting stuff:

http://www.alphalifetrends.com/MercuryRetroGraphs-Jan09.pdf

Second, I’ve started writing up some practical magical rites and rituals based on Agrippa’s information. Someone pointed out that the tables of information don’t tell you how to do the magic. Oopsie!

So, I’ll write five or ten simple rituals that demonstrate how to use the Three Books of Occult Philosophy in practical magic, focusing on both Ascension magic and mundane manifestation magic. To begin, I’ll start with the elements, then the planets, the geomantic and other planetary figures, and some Angel magic. Most likely I’ll focus on books 2 and 3, but who knows?

Do you ever wonder why the stupid fucks get to live? The ones that just don’t get it?

They’re all made “in the image of god,” they all have the potential to accomplish the Work, and between now and eternity, they will all come to grace/enlightenment/attainment/unity with god, or whatever. Eventually. SOMEfuckingDAY.

It would take way too long to kill them all. The logistics alone are overwhelming. The ethics are questionable. And the smell of the cities afterwards…

Those are the two reasons I usually come to in my contemplation of why the pinheads get to breathe. I find myself contemplating this when I read about how it takes months to figure out that a white horse is not a horse, and what that means, and how it applies to life. It’s a big fat giant “No fucking shit!” when you get to the “right” answer.

I struggle with humility. I get prideful and arrogant. I get knocked on my ass when I argue with my betters because I think I know better than they do. It happens a LOT.

Why?

Because the world is full of morons! Folks with all the spiritual awareness of a bag of hair. Less, because at least the spirit of the bag of hair is aware. Most folks want to drink their cold Coors Light and catch a rerun of Mork and Mindy, and they’re fine people, but do you think they know that logic and rational mind is there to point out that there’s something bigger than the sum of the parts?

These are the things I usually think about when I try to figure out why muggles are here.

But tonight, I had a brilliant flash of insight! I finally “grok” what is going on, and the purpose of people like that! Without them, there would be no oil refined into gasoline or plastic, there would be no playstation, no guitar hero, and no flushable toilets. There would be no Network Operating Centers, no Data Warehouses, no fiber-optic networks. There would be no dynamic IP, no electronic fund transfers, and no online banking.

They’re here because…

Someone has to keep the internet running!

The local occult book shop sells these neat little Egyptian Perfume Bottles. They’re made of hand-blown glass, and are really pretty. Ever since seeing them, I’ve wanted to make one into a spirit pot. They look a bit too much like a Genie bottle to pass up.

I bought some in bulk, and I’m grinding the herbs now. I’m going to be putting together everything you need for a Goetic Spirit Pot (bottle) for a Duke of the Goetia. I’ve got a blend of Venusian herbs that I use with Bune, which I’ll put into the bottle. You’ll also get a blank copper talisman forged in a Venus hour that you can inscribe with the spirit’s seal of your choice.

The following table lists the Dukes of the Goetia, and links to their seal on Joe Peterson’s www.esotericarchives.com web site. The links are to his bookmarks on the page, and some of them aren’t perfectly accurate; you may have to scroll up or down a bit to get to them.

As you can see, the Dukes are pretty handy fellows to have on your side. If you’re interested in purchasing one or more, please visit my Products and Services page at the Rufus Opus web site. I have ten total available.

I never got around to having Barbatos reconcile the Africans that were having issues. It wasn’t important enough to me, and I don’t know if that’s a failing on my part, or a message in itself. My world, mine, is very small and very personal. Not private, necessarily, but personal.

I have, however, been working with Barbatos. I like the name, for one thing. It conjure images of pirates and the Carribean. Arr. I also have a plethora of pets in my house.We have several goldfish, three ferrets, two cats, and until a couple of days ago, one dog. We had to get rid of the dog because the allergies were killing us.

I love having a dog. I was working with Barbatos, and I developed a communion with the dog. She and I got along really well, and she was brilliant. Training was going great, except for crapping in the house, but that was because when we first got her, I yelled at her when she crapped in the house. She learned crapping was bad, and to hide it. After a while, I realized this was the wrong tactic, and stopped making a big deal when she pooped inside, and made a really big positive deal when she did it outside. Things were getting better, she had at least begun pooping BY the door, and I think a couple more weeks and we would have gotten things straightened out. Figuring out what she was thinking and feeling became really easy when I started Working with Barbatos. She didn’t understand me any better, but I was able to understand her in new ways.

I also developed a communion with the ferrets. When Rosco passed away, we got a couple of friends for Badger. One is his “wife,” and the other… well, he’s this HUGE fat ferret, older than Badger, and kind of mean spirited. He’s pure white and beautiful, but he’s just mean. He dominated Badger, and wouldn’t let him eat. Rosco had done the same. So the fat mean one is on the way out. Fuck him.

The other night, my daughter came running in with Badger, all in tears. He wasn’t eating, and he wasn’t playful. I told her he was depressed, and needed to be separated from the fatty, given lots of attention, and his own food. No, she wailed, he’s sick and must go to the vet hospital. :sigh:

$165 later, the vet explained that he was depressed, should be separated from the dominant male, and played with. I knew that was the problem, without having any training in animal psychology or anyhting, I just had this communion with the ferret. I took one look at him and knew what his deal was.

And then there’s the goldfish. They’re easy to forget about. The other night I dreamed they were dead. Specifically this really cute little frog, one of my favorites. In the morning, I went down to check on them, and the frog was alive, but VERY HUNGRY. We hadn’t fed them in a couple of days, as my wife has been ill. She usually asks each night before the kids go to bed if anyone fed the fish today, and since she’s been sleeping by the time they go to bed, I have been derelict in her duties.

So the fish were communicating with me, or Barbatos sent me a dream about the pets, I dunno.

His powers of Reconciliation aren’t quite universal. He seems to be best at reconciling people in positions of authority. There’s a manager here at work who doesn’t get along with another manager at all. They are career employees, have worked here for years, and have disliked each other for most of their time together. I’m working with Barbatos on them, as I’ve been pulled in to take notes on a meeting between them, and they’ve managed to get along well enough so far on this project.

However, I recently had a person join the RealMagick yahoo group who conflict revolved around. Whatever residual reconciliation powers might be residing in my sphere from my work with Barbatos weren’t enough to bring peace and harmony to that particular person. Not that it was a great loss, and maybe if I cared enough I’d send Barbatos to influence her directly, but honestly, she’s too annoying to worry about. It was nice to have a fresh voice on the list though.

In case you’re wondering, not ONE person sent me a dollar. By the time I was done with the Remote Viewing part of my previous post, I was in a zone, a mental state that I can only describe as highly tranced out. I figured reading it would make you trance out too, and that you’d send me a buck given the proper motivation.

Experiment FAIL. So much for my AMAZING POWERS OF MESMERISM!!!

Jason wrote a great blog post explaining Strategic Sorcery in Action. I think it’s a must read for all magicians who wonder what the Great Work looks like when you’re doing it.

Another friend of mine, Fr. Servitor Lucem, wrote a series of articles at Rending the Veil (the archives STILL aren’t up, if you know web administration and have some free time, email Sheta there) about his own attempts at strategic magic. While he got exactly what he asked for, he learned a lot in the process.

When I perform manifestation magic, I tend to contact a single spirit, state my request, and then let the spirit handle any additional details. While this is effective, it is only effective to a degree. The things I have happen that are truly awesome usually involve working with multiple spirits, and have a bit of planning involved.

I am paying attention to this fact.

A book I read, The Four Hour Work Week, taught me that the key to wealth isn’t a single job (no kidding), or a single investment. It comes from setting up multiple streams of income. They don’t have to be huge sources of income, they can each provide a hundred or so dollars a month. After setting up enough of them, you’re bringing in a few thousand a month, and some are more effective than others, and some less. You cultivate the ones that pay well, and you keep on growing until you’re getting what you want.

This is a principle that applies to the Great Work as well. I’m in Project Management for my day job. That gets things done and keeps everyone working on the project focused on what they are supposed to be doing. It involves analyzing specific requirements, designing solutions, executing the design, implementing the solution, and then monitoring and controlling the solution while it is being used. The final stages are closeout and lessons learned, which feed into future projects.

As a Magician accomplishing the Great Work, I need to apply these techniques to my magic as well. I have some health issues to address, and there are friends and family that could use my help as well. I have a couple of “You: out of my Universe!” projects going on at the moment that I can use this information on. There are a few things I want to accomplish using the spirits of the Pseudomonarchia. There’s this guy I’m planning on turning into a first-class active full-time magician with something to contribute to the world.

The gold brick project … I’m still wanting to stick to a single spirit at a time on that one because it’s a hobby. I have ACZINOR of the Earth Tablet, and probably whichever Senior rules the Sun as well to Work with on that, and if they don’t work, there are the gnomes that I can send to fetch me one. I don’t want to mix systems on that particular front because it is a more controlled experiment. I don’t NEED a gold brick, I just want one.

Then there’s just my own personal life that this can be applied to as well. Work, home improvement projects, wardrobe, diet, exercise, parenting… What is it we’re talking about here? Taking responsibility for controlling your life as it manifests around you. Planning, reasoning, and then acting on the decisions made, following up on it, making it happen, taking care of it, and then learning from everyhting. Progression, action, building, making, doing, creating, Rising and Descending in Power, by this were all things created.

Strategic Sorcery: The Great Work in Action. Jason rocks.

(Jason Miller, also known as Inominandum, is the author of Reversal and Protection Magic. Again I say, if you don’t own the book, buy it, it’s about more than Protection and Reversal, it’s about doing magic.)