Rufus Opus

Category: Blogspot Archive

Category: Blogspot Archive

  • Chthonic vs. Celestial

    Jake Stratton-Kent wrote the following explanation of his views on the Goetia as a genre (not just a grimoire in a grimoire). I’ve found the information Jake presented really useful in discussions with Goetic and Celestial entities alike since first reading it, and he was kind enough to let me post it here.

    Chthonic versus Celestial
    by Jake Stratton-Kent

    All ancient religions differ from modern religions in several major respects. We’re used to seeing things from a cultural perspective at least partly defined by what is known as *Revealed Religion*, in which *Revelation* (ultimately in the form of a Book) is received from on high (what we might term the *Celestial* region). The centre of gravity of this type of religion is the Celestial region, even though other realms of experience are considered – such as Earth, Hell and the physical universe in general.

    Ancient religions, and ‘primitive’ religion generally, is significantly different. Collectively they are termed Natural Religion (not to be confused with Nature Religion) which in contrast with Revelation from the Celestial realm evolves from the ground up, via deductive reasoning and observation of the world, including perceived supernatural components. It’s centre of gravity is Chthonic – it is notable that the Greeks at every stage of religious development considered the Earth the source of oracular power (contrasting Oracles with Revelations). Note again that this centre of gravity does not exclude consideration of other regions of experience, and thus gods of
    thunder, Sun, Moon etc. are not excluded by this focus.

    In the subsequent development of Greek religion the Celestial gained in importance, while the Chthonic powers for a long time retained divine status (notwithstanding some unpleasant characters in the underworld and elsewhere). My comparison of goetia with African Traditional Religions is intended to reflect this earlier status, and the chthonic ‘centre of gravity’ from which it evolved. The comparison is part of an effort to provide a position from which the pre-devaluation form of goetia may be understood in something like its own terms. In the past – whether in traditional sources, later publications or in discussions on the internet – goetia and dealing with the underworld has almost invariably been seen and described in terms of the later ‘Revealed Religion’ and has assumed the Celestial centre of gravity. That this gives an entirely false idea of how goetia originally operated – prior to devaluation – is obvious once this is taken on board. Otherwise it is very difficult to get past the perspective of Revealed Religion etc. which has prevailed in our culture for upwards of 2000 years.

    Additional perspective may be useful: the ‘goetia’ implicit in my usage is what Cumont called the ‘coarse and ancient goetia’; rites which preceded the adoption of supposed Persian ‘magic’ by the Greeks. That one survived alongside the other does not detract from the fact they had different frames of reference. In later magic goetia is not understood in its own original terms, having become a survival within a host tradition with another perspective. My use of chthonic and
    celestial refers to this aspect of the discussion, and as should be obvious I’m interested in recovering the perspective of goetia rather than of the host tradition (with which we’re all familiar in various guises).

  • Daimon vs. HGA

    Recent conversations about the Holy Guardian Angel (HGA) have reinforced my belief that the term “HGA” has too much misinformation applied to it to be used in public conversations.

    Most people think that having Knowledge and Conversation with the HGA (K&CHGA) is the end-all be-all goal of the Great Work, which it isn’t. They equate it with Eastern Mysticism’s enlightenment, which it isn’t. They think it makes them an Ipsimus, which it can, but it takes a while, it’s not an instant transformation.

    The “HGA” is a resource. It’s a helper spirit. It grants authority over most spirits (I haven’t found any that it doesn’t grant authority over). It tells you information. It can tell you what possible outcomes for a situation are. It can tell you what you should be studying. It WILL tell you how many times it saved your ass. It can also grant you other helper spirits. It protects from magickal attack by warning you, and actually shielding you to a large extent, if you ask it to. It guides you through the Planetary spheres. It tells you the truth.

    These traits were better understood in my opinion as the traits of the Daimon of the Greek culture. The Daimon was a personal spirit, and it was said that Socrates’ Daimon spoke with him all his life, and could be seen and spoken with by others. Almost like the mythical Don Juan of Castaneda’s creation, except it never told Socrates what to do.

    So going forward, I’m going to try to not use “HGA” when I reference this wonderful helper spirit. I’m going to try to stick with Daimon, but the term “Genius” can also be applied. If too many poeple start equating Daimon with either the Evil Daimon from Pymander or “demons” from Christian pop-culture, I’ll switch to Genius. The point of public communication like this is to be undertood by as many folks as possible.

  • Daimon vs. HGA

    Recent conversations about the Holy Guardian Angel (HGA) have reinforced my belief that the term “HGA” has too much misinformation applied to it to be used in public conversations.

    Most people think that having Knowledge and Conversation with the HGA (K&CHGA) is the end-all be-all goal of the Great Work, which it isn’t. They equate it with Eastern Mysticism’s enlightenment, which it isn’t. They think it makes them an Ipsimus, which it can, but it takes a while, it’s not an instant transformation.

    The “HGA” is a resource. It’s a helper spirit. It grants authority over most spirits (I haven’t found any that it doesn’t grant authority over). It tells you information. It can tell you what possible outcomes for a situation are. It can tell you what you should be studying. It WILL tell you how many times it saved your ass. It can also grant you other helper spirits. It protects from magickal attack by warning you, and actually shielding you to a large extent, if you ask it to. It guides you through the Planetary spheres. It tells you the truth.

    These traits were better understood in my opinion as the traits of the Daimon of the Greek culture. The Daimon was a personal spirit, and it was said that Socrates’ Daimon spoke with him all his life, and could be seen and spoken with by others. Almost like the mythical Don Juan of Castaneda’s creation, except it never told Socrates what to do.

    So going forward, I’m going to try to not use “HGA” when I reference this wonderful helper spirit. I’m going to try to stick with Daimon, but the term “Genius” can also be applied. If too many poeple start equating Daimon with either the Evil Daimon from Pymander or “demons” from Christian pop-culture, I’ll switch to Genius. The point of public communication like this is to be undertood by as many folks as possible.

  • Helping Others in the Great Work

    I hope this blog has helped others in their pursuit of the Great Work. I’ve sold a couple books here and there, done some attunements on people, and have provided a lot of the information that has helped me. I hope reading it was as fun as learning about it.

    But this post isn’t about helping people like that. This post is about helping people along in their Work because you can’t stand how they behave.

    Surely you know the types. You love them, they’re sweet, but there’s just something about them that you can’t stand, and it keeps you from being able to enjoy the fullness of your relationship. You see their character flaws clearly, and so does everyone else, but there’s no way that they ever acknowledge that you’re right in your assessment of their behavior.

    Fortunately, you’ve done the ritual Work required to attain Adepthood, and you’ve been through the wringer yourself so many times with dealing with similar issues that you know exactly which spheres trigger the results you want to see in the other person’s sphere.

    I don’t know how ethical this is, by the way. It’s magick for the Great Work, and it might just backfire on you (or me) when you (or I) try to do it. Time will tell, though, time will tell.

    Say someone is, oh, I don’t know, hardhearted, jealous, and prideful, and because of this, they can’t seem to see you for who you really are. What do you do?

    Well, the Sun is the Sphere of revelation, and enlightenment, and that always leads to compassion. When you can’t seem to get someone to see your point, a solar working makes sense.

    Michael the Archangel of the Sun is who I’m planning on conjuring. This Archangel is good for almost everything, from wealth to exorcisms to initiations. It’s hard to beat Michael in terms of being there for you when you need him.

    Ok, so you’ve got the Spirit, go to the Magical Calendar and get the seal for Michael. (I believe the Magical Calendar places Michael in Mercury and Raphael in the Sun, but that’s not "right" for me. You still use the seal of Michael, and disregard the placement in the Magical Calendar.) Next you create a little shrine to Michael. A statue of Michael slaying the Dragon would be great for this, but I’m buying a house, and can’t afford to purchase statuary at the moment, so I’m going to make a lamen with his name and seal in it. Around the outside, I’ll write the Name of God that corresponds to the Sun (Eloah va-Da’at) and the symbol of the Sun (circle with a dot in the middle). I’ll include the names of the angels associated with the Sun (Melakim) and the name of the Sphere in the KBL (Tiphareth) Then I’ll include the Planetary Sigil from the Magical Calendar.

    In the center of the circle of the names and symbols, I’ll draw a Star of David, and in the center of that the Name Michael in English with his Seal below that. Above the Star of David I’ll write out his name (MKAL) in Celestial script, and around the Star of David I’ll draw four pentagrams, with the names of the Four Elemental Kings inside (Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel Clockwise, beginning in the East). I’ll draw all this out in gold ink from an 18 carrot gold leaf pen on a Sunday in the Hour of the Sun. I’ll mount the lamen on an ease-type thing I make out of dowel rods or something, so that the Lamen is mostly vertical. I could put it on a mantle or create a shelf on the wall for it too. Then I’ll place a picture of the people I’m wnating to change in front of the lamen, with the changes I want to see written on the picture in gold ink, like "compassion, enlightenment, caring." Then I’ll conjure Michael in his appropriate hour, and ask for him to do what I desire. Assuming he complies, I’ll then light gold or white candles in front of the shrine, and burn Frankincense sticks until the change is complete.

    I’m pretty sure there’s no harm in this kind of magick, but you never know what kind of gross stuff comes out of a person when they begin to integrate the energies of the Sun into their sphere, eh?

  • How to be an Uber-cool Magician and Never Pay Taxes Again

    Ha! Yeah right.

    Anyway, here are some random thoughts about why I haven’t experienced the same level of creeping chaos in my life as I’ve been working with Goetic spirits.

    Generally, I think, people who have the creeping chaos had the seeds for it already there in their lives before beginning their Goetic Work.

    Most magical traditions in the West have a methodology of identifying the parts of the self that are out of harmony with the rest of the universe and bringing them into harmony. In the Golden Dawn, for instance, this can take the form of initiations. In Alchemy, there is the Black stage where the impurities of the base ingredients are brought to the surface, the White stage where the impurities are burned to ash, and the Red stage, when the essence of the original ingredients is purified and transformed into the Philosopher’s Stone.

    This purification process is essential, in my opinion. It happens as you do the Work. When you begin the Work, you’re supposed to start where you’re at, and then ascend through the heavens to your Source, and then return to the earth in great power. That’s the methodology laid out in the Emerald Tablet of Hermes. The human being descends from the heavens through the elements into the flesh of the Earth. Through theurgical rituals, we ascend through the spheres of the heavens. As we do, the impurities get burned away, and when we return to the earth, we do so in power, and from this process the universe is continuously created.

    I didn’t jump ahead in the process. I started with making contact with my HGA. Based on the translation of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin by Mathers, I thought that after I had made contact with my HGA I was required to conjure the Four Kings of Hell, and all their servants, and get four familiars. Since that translation didn’t have all the seals of the demons you’re supposed to work with, I thought I would substitute the Goetia, as it’s more complete. Or so I thought at the time.

    Since my HGA was the only spirit I’d ever conjured, I figured I’d get my feet wet by Working with the Archangels of the Sephiroth. I looked for a quick and easy conjuration method, and found Trithemius’ Art of Drawing Spirits into Crystals. This technique is pretty straightforward and readily adaptable. It also only focuses on the seven Planetary Archangels. I was learning more about neoplatonism at the time, and this fit my personal understanding of the universal cosmology and spiritual hierarchies anyway, so I went with it.

    As I conjured each of the Archangels, I asked them to “purify the tincture of my sphere.” I went through various issues as a result (although honestly, it wasn’t that hard to deal with). I also built up my own sphere by interacting with these beings over a period of about a year. By the time I got back to the Goetic entities, I had already performed the ascension part. I knew where I belonged in the cosmic hierarchy, understood my race and value from an eternal perspective, and was ready to assume my role as the administrator of my physically manifest realm. There was no room for the Goetic spirit to cause chaos. There was no reason for it to, either.

  • Daimon Brainstorming Sessions Part 1

    So in the post “The Weirdest Bune Thing Yet” covered my most recent joy-ride in the occult. I’d like to talk a bit about how my Daimon and I brainstormed a way to make sure it didn’t happen again.

    For starters, the first thing I did when I got the explanation of what was going on was to verify it with my Daimon. I simply cocked my head to where he usually resides, behind me and a little on the right, and asked him if this was legit. I got a nod from him, and I confirmed the next step was to do my own divination.

    So I shuffled my mini-Rider-Waite deck while specifically asking out loud “What is the source of my illness?” I use the 15-card layout that is suggested in the little book that comes with Crowley’s Thoth deck. It’s always worked well for me.

    Current circumstances indicated that the oracle was right. I had the Five of Wands in the center significator spot. Cards surrounding it indicated I was fighting the results of a smug person stealing knowledge, and a confirmation from my Daimon that the coin oracle had described what happened accurately. I then had two options to deal with the problem. Magickal counter-attack aimed at the person who had done it in the first place, or rising above it and putting the forces that were at work in my sphere into their proper place as the second option. I had been considering the first option, mainly, because I was pissed. however, the cards indicated I’d run into more fighting and eventual sorrow or regret at taking that path.

    The second option showed me how I could permanently conquer this kind of strife by putting things right that were wrong in the moment, and by behaving in a different way in my personal practices. These cards were the King of Wands on the right, the Hierophant in the center, and the six of wands on the left. The six of wands indicated peace and victory after putting down the current strife in the five of wands. From the King of Wands, I got the image of no longer having to fight because I had established the hierarchy in the realm of Wands one must in order to be the King.

    The Hierophant was the primary image of this grouping. It coalesced the other two cards, representing the path that I needed to take to achieve present victory (6 of wands) and lasting Lordship over this kind of strife (King of Wands). I have a long history of the Hierophant popping up representing me, in readings I perform for myself and readings performed by others. That and the much better results made it clear which option I should take.

    The next step was to plan out the actual ritual Work I would need to do in order to clear up the current mess and make sure it wouldn’t happen again. The coin oracle indicated that “my” Bune (the spirit in the Bune Spirit Pot I made) would be able to fix the current mess, so I confirmed that with my Daimon. He indicated that was the way to go.

    It’s in keeping with the role of the Hierophant to be the go-between with the spirits on behalf of people who have messed things up. The priest or shaman is called to perform the exorcism, the man or woman with the divine connections is there for the people. I think this is why the Rider-Waite Hierophant is pointing up with his projecting (right) hand and the receptive (left) hand is projecting over the monks in front of him, holding the symbol that represents (in my opinion) the Caduceus, or his ability to travel through the higher spheres, the heavens, or sephiroth, however you want to perceive it.

    So I went to my spirit pot and asked Bune to put any spirits that were causing me illness back into their proper place. This is one of his talents he revealed to me (it’s in the description in the Goetia, but I didn’t understand it). Bune agreed, and I lit five tea light candles in front of his Pot in thanks for his actions.

    I woke up healed the next morning, as stated in the earlier post. I still had to figure out how to overcome things like this happening again though, so I planned another Daimon brainstorming session for the next night. That will be Part 2.

  • Daimon Brainstorming Sessions Part 1

    So in the post “The Weirdest Bune Thing Yet” covered my most recent joy-ride in the occult. I’d like to talk a bit about how my Daimon and I brainstormed a way to make sure it didn’t happen again.

    For starters, the first thing I did when I got the explanation of what was going on was to verify it with my Daimon. I simply cocked my head to where he usually resides, behind me and a little on the right, and asked him if this was legit. I got a nod from him, and I confirmed the next step was to do my own divination.

    So I shuffled my mini-Rider-Waite deck while specifically asking out loud “What is the source of my illness?” I use the 15-card layout that is suggested in the little book that comes with Crowley’s Thoth deck. It’s always worked well for me.

    Current circumstances indicated that the oracle was right. I had the Five of Wands in the center significator spot. Cards surrounding it indicated I was fighting the results of a smug person stealing knowledge, and a confirmation from my Daimon that the coin oracle had described what happened accurately. I then had two options to deal with the problem. Magickal counter-attack aimed at the person who had done it in the first place, or rising above it and putting the forces that were at work in my sphere into their proper place as the second option. I had been considering the first option, mainly, because I was pissed. however, the cards indicated I’d run into more fighting and eventual sorrow or regret at taking that path.

    The second option showed me how I could permanently conquer this kind of strife by putting things right that were wrong in the moment, and by behaving in a different way in my personal practices. These cards were the King of Wands on the right, the Hierophant in the center, and the six of wands on the left. The six of wands indicated peace and victory after putting down the current strife in the five of wands. From the King of Wands, I got the image of no longer having to fight because I had established the hierarchy in the realm of Wands one must in order to be the King.

    The Hierophant was the primary image of this grouping. It coalesced the other two cards, representing the path that I needed to take to achieve present victory (6 of wands) and lasting Lordship over this kind of strife (King of Wands). I have a long history of the Hierophant popping up representing me, in readings I perform for myself and readings performed by others. That and the much better results made it clear which option I should take.

    The next step was to plan out the actual ritual Work I would need to do in order to clear up the current mess and make sure it wouldn’t happen again. The coin oracle indicated that “my” Bune (the spirit in the Bune Spirit Pot I made) would be able to fix the current mess, so I confirmed that with my Daimon. He indicated that was the way to go.

    It’s in keeping with the role of the Hierophant to be the go-between with the spirits on behalf of people who have messed things up. The priest or shaman is called to perform the exorcism, the man or woman with the divine connections is there for the people. I think this is why the Rider-Waite Hierophant is pointing up with his projecting (right) hand and the receptive (left) hand is projecting over the monks in front of him, holding the symbol that represents (in my opinion) the Caduceus, or his ability to travel through the higher spheres, the heavens, or sephiroth, however you want to perceive it.

    So I went to my spirit pot and asked Bune to put any spirits that were causing me illness back into their proper place. This is one of his talents he revealed to me (it’s in the description in the Goetia, but I didn’t understand it). Bune agreed, and I lit five tea light candles in front of his Pot in thanks for his actions.

    I woke up healed the next morning, as stated in the earlier post. I still had to figure out how to overcome things like this happening again though, so I planned another Daimon brainstorming session for the next night. That will be Part 2.

  • Daimon Brainstorming Sessions Part 1

    So in the post “The Weirdest Bune Thing Yet” covered my most recent joy-ride in the occult. I’d like to talk a bit about how my Daimon and I brainstormed a way to make sure it didn’t happen again.

    For starters, the first thing I did when I got the explanation of what was going on was to verify it with my Daimon. I simply cocked my head to where he usually resides, behind me and a little on the right, and asked him if this was legit. I got a nod from him, and I confirmed the next step was to do my own divination.

    So I shuffled my mini-Rider-Waite deck while specifically asking out loud “What is the source of my illness?” I use the 15-card layout that is suggested in the little book that comes with Crowley’s Thoth deck. It’s always worked well for me.

    Current circumstances indicated that the oracle was right. I had the Five of Wands in the center significator spot. Cards surrounding it indicated I was fighting the results of a smug person stealing knowledge, and a confirmation from my Daimon that the coin oracle had described what happened accurately. I then had two options to deal with the problem. Magickal counter-attack aimed at the person who had done it in the first place, or rising above it and putting the forces that were at work in my sphere into their proper place as the second option. I had been considering the first option, mainly, because I was pissed. however, the cards indicated I’d run into more fighting and eventual sorrow or regret at taking that path.

    The second option showed me how I could permanently conquer this kind of strife by putting things right that were wrong in the moment, and by behaving in a different way in my personal practices. These cards were the King of Wands on the right, the Hierophant in the center, and the six of wands on the left. The six of wands indicated peace and victory after putting down the current strife in the five of wands. From the King of Wands, I got the image of no longer having to fight because I had established the hierarchy in the realm of Wands one must in order to be the King.

    The Hierophant was the primary image of this grouping. It coalesced the other two cards, representing the path that I needed to take to achieve present victory (6 of wands) and lasting Lordship over this kind of strife (King of Wands). I have a long history of the Hierophant popping up representing me, in readings I perform for myself and readings performed by others. That and the much better results made it clear which option I should take.

    The next step was to plan out the actual ritual Work I would need to do in order to clear up the current mess and make sure it wouldn’t happen again. The coin oracle indicated that “my” Bune (the spirit in the Bune Spirit Pot I made) would be able to fix the current mess, so I confirmed that with my Daimon. He indicated that was the way to go.

    It’s in keeping with the role of the Hierophant to be the go-between with the spirits on behalf of people who have messed things up. The priest or shaman is called to perform the exorcism, the man or woman with the divine connections is there for the people. I think this is why the Rider-Waite Hierophant is pointing up with his projecting (right) hand and the receptive (left) hand is projecting over the monks in front of him, holding the symbol that represents (in my opinion) the Caduceus, or his ability to travel through the higher spheres, the heavens, or sephiroth, however you want to perceive it.

    So I went to my spirit pot and asked Bune to put any spirits that were causing me illness back into their proper place. This is one of his talents he revealed to me (it’s in the description in the Goetia, but I didn’t understand it). Bune agreed, and I lit five tea light candles in front of his Pot in thanks for his actions.

    I woke up healed the next morning, as stated in the earlier post. I still had to figure out how to overcome things like this happening again though, so I planned another Daimon brainstorming session for the next night. That will be Part 2.

  • Daimon Brainstorming Sessions Part 1

    So in the post “The Weirdest Bune Thing Yet” covered my most recent joy-ride in the occult. I’d like to talk a bit about how my Daimon and I brainstormed a way to make sure it didn’t happen again.

    For starters, the first thing I did when I got the explanation of what was going on was to verify it with my Daimon. I simply cocked my head to where he usually resides, behind me and a little on the right, and asked him if this was legit. I got a nod from him, and I confirmed the next step was to do my own divination.

    So I shuffled my mini-Rider-Waite deck while specifically asking out loud “What is the source of my illness?” I use the 15-card layout that is suggested in the little book that comes with Crowley’s Thoth deck. It’s always worked well for me.

    Current circumstances indicated that the oracle was right. I had the Five of Wands in the center significator spot. Cards surrounding it indicated I was fighting the results of a smug person stealing knowledge, and a confirmation from my Daimon that the coin oracle had described what happened accurately. I then had two options to deal with the problem. Magickal counter-attack aimed at the person who had done it in the first place, or rising above it and putting the forces that were at work in my sphere into their proper place as the second option. I had been considering the first option, mainly, because I was pissed. however, the cards indicated I’d run into more fighting and eventual sorrow or regret at taking that path.

    The second option showed me how I could permanently conquer this kind of strife by putting things right that were wrong in the moment, and by behaving in a different way in my personal practices. These cards were the King of Wands on the right, the Hierophant in the center, and the six of wands on the left. The six of wands indicated peace and victory after putting down the current strife in the five of wands. From the King of Wands, I got the image of no longer having to fight because I had established the hierarchy in the realm of Wands one must in order to be the King.

    The Hierophant was the primary image of this grouping. It coalesced the other two cards, representing the path that I needed to take to achieve present victory (6 of wands) and lasting Lordship over this kind of strife (King of Wands). I have a long history of the Hierophant popping up representing me, in readings I perform for myself and readings performed by others. That and the much better results made it clear which option I should take.

    The next step was to plan out the actual ritual Work I would need to do in order to clear up the current mess and make sure it wouldn’t happen again. The coin oracle indicated that “my” Bune (the spirit in the Bune Spirit Pot I made) would be able to fix the current mess, so I confirmed that with my Daimon. He indicated that was the way to go.

    It’s in keeping with the role of the Hierophant to be the go-between with the spirits on behalf of people who have messed things up. The priest or shaman is called to perform the exorcism, the man or woman with the divine connections is there for the people. I think this is why the Rider-Waite Hierophant is pointing up with his projecting (right) hand and the receptive (left) hand is projecting over the monks in front of him, holding the symbol that represents (in my opinion) the Caduceus, or his ability to travel through the higher spheres, the heavens, or sephiroth, however you want to perceive it.

    So I went to my spirit pot and asked Bune to put any spirits that were causing me illness back into their proper place. This is one of his talents he revealed to me (it’s in the description in the Goetia, but I didn’t understand it). Bune agreed, and I lit five tea light candles in front of his Pot in thanks for his actions.

    I woke up healed the next morning, as stated in the earlier post. I still had to figure out how to overcome things like this happening again though, so I planned another Daimon brainstorming session for the next night. That will be Part 2.

  • The Weirdest Bune Thing Yet

    Ok, now I’ve been posting my Bune rites and rituals here along with results for over a year. Spirit pot, sigils, copper medallions, Jupiter-Sagittarius-OK-only-Venus, blah blah blah. From wealth to exorcisms, I’ve talked about the things this spirit can do and has done in my life on this blog.

    But this one takes the cake. It’s totally beyond anything I’ve experienced with Bune, and if anyone told me the following anecdote and the role Bune played in it, I’d tell them that based on my experience to date with Bune (up until yesterday), they were frankly completely full of shit. Just goes to show there’s always another wrinkle up the sleeve.

    Ok, so I’ve been sick. Really sick. For a few weeks. Bad. Fever, coughing, all the flu symptoms, the common cold symptoms, and sinusitis symptoms you can imagine. A sore throat, multi-hued phlegm, and my coughing muscles were literally sore from the non-stop coughing that had been going on. The doctors told me it was a virus, and that they couldn’t do anything but treat the symptoms. I got a $200+ bill for an inhaler (I’m not asthmatic), some prednisone, and a tiny little bottle of cough syrup that had morphine in it. Knocked me on my ass last weekend, from Friday afternoon when I got it until Monday morning when I had to quit taking it to be able to work. All I did was sleep and sweat and hallucinate from the fever. And cough.

    Ok, enough background. I was really sick. I was complaining to a friend in email who unfortunately asked how I was doing. I told them in such detail that they couldn’t finish their banana bread. I mentioned I was going to do a divination to see if someone was spiritually attacking me or if there were some crossed condition, as soon as I felt up to it.

    Whipping out their favorite oracle, a flippin‘ coin (get it, flippin‘!?) , they performed a quick divination and sent me the results. They said that a student had performed some healing rite using the techniques I’d taught them, but they had used a Bune spirit for some ignorant fucking reason. As a result of some stupid spiritual connection to me(!), their stupid failed rite ended up with me getting into a crossed condition, and that I could appeal to “my” Bune spirit in my spirit pot and get it to set things right.

    Ok, that sounded like horse shit to me. I don’t believe in that kind of backlash on teachers, first of all. Second, I’m no one’s fucking teacher. I had a guy I was teaching Samekh to, and my particular brand of Christian Magick, but he just sort of vanished in an electronic poof after doing Samekh for a few weeks. And I never had him doing anything with Bune, that I can remember, and I’m sure he’s bright enough not to try to use a WEALTH and EXORCISM spirit of the UNDERWORLD to do a stupid ass HEALING ritual.

    So if it wasn’t him, chances are it was the one complete fucking MORON that reads my work online (the rest of you are, of course, geniuses). MORON, however, was thinking about ME during their fucking ritual with BUNE and ended up fucking up my life.

    Look, I shouldn’t have to say this, but when you’re doing a ritual, THINK ABOUT THE RITUAL YOU’RE DOING!!! Not me, or whoever mentioned the techniques you’re using. If you do any magick based on something you read here, motherfucking don’t do it while thinking about me. All you need to be thinking about is your ritual, listening for the voice of the spirit, and maybe contemplating your role in the cosmic hierarchy in the midst of the Heavens emanating from the Source. Got it? Good.

    Ok, so like I said, horse shit. On a whim, I quick checked with my HGA, and got the go-ahead to do a divination on it. I whipped out my mini-Rider-Waite deck and shuffled and asked a specific question. Shockingly to me, it totally confirmed what my friend had said. I thought, no way, this isn’t how Bune works!

    But I don’t ignore friends, divinations, and my HGA all at the same time. Most days. The tarot spread had filled in some gaps from the coin-flip divination, and I followed the advice that got me past the particular feedback I was getting on the spiritual wire. Then I went straight to my Bune spirit pot and spoke to Bune directly about the situation, got confirmation again from him that he would fix it, lit five candles as an offering in front of the Spirit Pot, and went to bed, still not entirely convinced.

    And then I woke up this morning feeling a million times better. Lungs are still hurt, and I’m a little weak. Mildly dehydrated, but man, I felt good for the first time in literally weeks.

    So there you have it. You go on your way now and think about it, because that’s certainly something I’m going to be doing.

    In closing, if you learn any magick from me, you just remember I learned it for free on the internet, and from some spirits, and it’s got nothing to do with me except that I happened to write it down and post it here or something.

    DON’T THINK IT HAS SHIT TO DO WITH ME, IT DOESN’T!!!!

    It’s all about you, and God. Leave me out of it. Or I’ll kick your ass. I’ll curse the living SHIT out of you if you use my techniques and fuck things up in my life, even if you do it accidentally. Capiche?

    Good night, and Good Magick.