Rufus Opus

Tag: RufusAstraCheck

Tag: RufusAstraCheck

  • Tezcatlipoca and Dee’s Aztec Mirror


    Mr. Doctor Professor Patrick (OMG, total Spongebob moment… hang on… whew, ok…) Brought up a question on the previous blog that ought to be further expounded upon.

    Dee’s Aztec Obsidian Mirror came to Europe between 1527 and 1530, according to the British Museum’s notes on his magic mirror.

    I don’t know if he ever used it in scrying the Enochian stuff, but he did use it for scrying some things.

    So, Tezcatlipoca…

    He’s been popping up across my searches, weaving his smoke and mirrored way into my reality. I just sort of felt lead to put the mask on the skull, and it looks nice.

    Tezcatlipoca, among other things, is the God of the night. He appeared in the form of a jaguar in many tales (get it, jaguar tales… tails…), and did other cool stuff that I can’t remember. It’s a cop out, I know, but Wikipedia’s got a big article on him here, and I’m exhausted from putting together my garage today. Pulled all the accumulated crap out, and then neatly put it back in after sweeping. It doesn’t SOUND like an 8-hour job, but it was.

    The Garage, with all its cool space and alchemistical stuff is now officially “The Lab.” I may be running local workshops on making talismans out of copper and tin. Eventually.

    Anyway, I’m tarred (that’s “tired” for the yankees). So no more typey.

  • Witchdoctor Joe and St. Faust

    I had the fortune of meeting Witchdoctor Joe on a Fresno Magical list run by Frater Bone Head, also known as Fr. POS, who authors the “Doing Magic” blog. Joe’s a former Native American pipe carrier, a Wiccan-ish guy, and he’s got an interest in the occult in general. He’s been blogging about the tarot lately, and I love his style. Some people write information using words, and others tell stories. Joe is definitely a story teller.

    For those interested, his blog is here:

    http://witchdoctorjoe.blogspot.com/

    St. Faust is a peculiar breed of magician, the likes of which I’ve never run into before. His primary focus was chaos magic for a while, but it seems not to have driven him completely mad. He’s the one who tipped me off to the Coyote aspects of Tezcatlipoca. I find his perspective on things to be very interesting.

    For those interested, his blog is here:

    http://vonfaustus.blogspot.com/

  • Crystal Skull 1 – Roughly Finished


    Behold the BLURRY CRYSTAL SKULL OF DOOOOOOOM!!!

    The best camera in the house is my daughter’s cell phone camera at 2.0 megapix. And she’s twelve. But hey, I gots pictures! I ain’t complaining!

    For size comparison, that is a twelve-year-old girl’s hand holding the crystal above a hardwood floor. The wood planks are about two inches wide, if that helps. It’s rather … smallish.

    My spouse said it was “cute.”

    Nevertheless!!! It’s awesome. I had worked after conjuring my Agatha Daimon and the Goetic spirit Bune. I was tingling from the whole experience, physically, and spiritually.

    Quartz has some pretty cool occult properties on its own. Carving quartz is delicate work, it cracks and shatters. That’s partially why it turned out so small. It’s my first effort, and I learned a lot.

    The heat from grinding it down was all focused at the tip of the crystal point, while it had one. I also dowsed it using a pendulum before carving it, and I’ll be dowsing it when it’s all the way finished too. It still needs more polishing, and the “mask” needs more work.

    The mask, by the way, is a reference to the Aztec God of Sorcerors, Tezcatlipoca. I remember it by repeating Tez-Cat-Lip-Polka. His name translates as “Smoking Mirror,” and he was the god they would work with to perform scrying acts in their obsidian mirrors. The god was often depicted either wearing the mirror, or having it for a foot. He had lost the foot luring the crocodile from the waters that he and Qetzelcoatl made the land out of in some of the Aztec creation myths.

    The mirror used by John Dee was one of these Aztec Mirrors made out of Obsidian and brought from the New World. Chances are pretty good that it was at one time used by someone of high importance under the auspices of Tezcatlipoca.

    So, we’ve got a nod to the god of scrying from the Aztec cosmology. Why? Because. The Google expedition on crystal skulls in general lead me to very specific skulls that were masks of Tezcatlipoca. I also got engrossed in Aztec creation myths, and I read most of the Popul Vu codex. Comparative theology never ceases to entertain me.

    Since beginning to carve the skull, it has appeared unasked for in a visit to my astral temple, sort of like Bune was just there one day after I put my spirit pot together for him. I’m not surprised, as Bune has worked on this skull with me, laying down a communications network for the spirits of the dead. My Agatha Daimon was also on hand to imbue it with pure Divine Light, so it’s more likely to draw whomever uses it towards God rather than away.

    I’m going to keep this for a while and play with it, see what comes out of my Work with it. I performed some basic psychometry on the crystals before choosing them, and found the ones that would be the best candidates based on their “vibe.” I’ll be testing them again, and maybe even writing up some of the Great Work lessons I learned from grinding the skull itself. Shaping a brittle crystalline matrix using a rotary tool and diamond bits requires a finesse and a strength combined that is hard to explain off the top of my head.

    Sorry if I’m all over the map on this post, I’m kind of excited.

  • Crystal Skull 1 – Roughly Finished


    Behold the BLURRY CRYSTAL SKULL OF DOOOOOOOM!!!

    The best camera in the house is my daughter’s cell phone camera at 2.0 megapix. And she’s twelve. But hey, I gots pictures! I ain’t complaining!

    For size comparison, that is a twelve-year-old girl’s hand holding the crystal above a hardwood floor. The wood planks are about two inches wide, if that helps. It’s rather … smallish.

    My spouse said it was “cute.”

    Nevertheless!!! It’s awesome. I had worked after conjuring my Agatha Daimon and the Goetic spirit Bune. I was tingling from the whole experience, physically, and spiritually.

    Quartz has some pretty cool occult properties on its own. Carving quartz is delicate work, it cracks and shatters. That’s partially why it turned out so small. It’s my first effort, and I learned a lot.

    The heat from grinding it down was all focused at the tip of the crystal point, while it had one. I also dowsed it using a pendulum before carving it, and I’ll be dowsing it when it’s all the way finished too. It still needs more polishing, and the “mask” needs more work.

    The mask, by the way, is a reference to the Aztec God of Sorcerors, Tezcatlipoca. I remember it by repeating Tez-Cat-Lip-Polka. His name translates as “Smoking Mirror,” and he was the god they would work with to perform scrying acts in their obsidian mirrors. The god was often depicted either wearing the mirror, or having it for a foot. He had lost the foot luring the crocodile from the waters that he and Qetzelcoatl made the land out of in some of the Aztec creation myths.

    The mirror used by John Dee was one of these Aztec Mirrors made out of Obsidian and brought from the New World. Chances are pretty good that it was at one time used by someone of high importance under the auspices of Tezcatlipoca.

    So, we’ve got a nod to the god of scrying from the Aztec cosmology. Why? Because. The Google expedition on crystal skulls in general lead me to very specific skulls that were masks of Tezcatlipoca. I also got engrossed in Aztec creation myths, and I read most of the Popul Vu codex. Comparative theology never ceases to entertain me.

    Since beginning to carve the skull, it has appeared unasked for in a visit to my astral temple, sort of like Bune was just there one day after I put my spirit pot together for him. I’m not surprised, as Bune has worked on this skull with me, laying down a communications network for the spirits of the dead. My Agatha Daimon was also on hand to imbue it with pure Divine Light, so it’s more likely to draw whomever uses it towards God rather than away.

    I’m going to keep this for a while and play with it, see what comes out of my Work with it. I performed some basic psychometry on the crystals before choosing them, and found the ones that would be the best candidates based on their “vibe.” I’ll be testing them again, and maybe even writing up some of the Great Work lessons I learned from grinding the skull itself. Shaping a brittle crystalline matrix using a rotary tool and diamond bits requires a finesse and a strength combined that is hard to explain off the top of my head.

    Sorry if I’m all over the map on this post, I’m kind of excited.

  • Crystal Skull 1 – Roughly Finished


    Behold the BLURRY CRYSTAL SKULL OF DOOOOOOOM!!!

    The best camera in the house is my daughter’s cell phone camera at 2.0 megapix. And she’s twelve. But hey, I gots pictures! I ain’t complaining!

    For size comparison, that is a twelve-year-old girl’s hand holding the crystal above a hardwood floor. The wood planks are about two inches wide, if that helps. It’s rather … smallish.

    My spouse said it was “cute.”

    Nevertheless!!! It’s awesome. I had worked after conjuring my Agatha Daimon and the Goetic spirit Bune. I was tingling from the whole experience, physically, and spiritually.

    Quartz has some pretty cool occult properties on its own. Carving quartz is delicate work, it cracks and shatters. That’s partially why it turned out so small. It’s my first effort, and I learned a lot.

    The heat from grinding it down was all focused at the tip of the crystal point, while it had one. I also dowsed it using a pendulum before carving it, and I’ll be dowsing it when it’s all the way finished too. It still needs more polishing, and the “mask” needs more work.

    The mask, by the way, is a reference to the Aztec God of Sorcerors, Tezcatlipoca. I remember it by repeating Tez-Cat-Lip-Polka. His name translates as “Smoking Mirror,” and he was the god they would work with to perform scrying acts in their obsidian mirrors. The god was often depicted either wearing the mirror, or having it for a foot. He had lost the foot luring the crocodile from the waters that he and Qetzelcoatl made the land out of in some of the Aztec creation myths.

    The mirror used by John Dee was one of these Aztec Mirrors made out of Obsidian and brought from the New World. Chances are pretty good that it was at one time used by someone of high importance under the auspices of Tezcatlipoca.

    So, we’ve got a nod to the god of scrying from the Aztec cosmology. Why? Because. The Google expedition on crystal skulls in general lead me to very specific skulls that were masks of Tezcatlipoca. I also got engrossed in Aztec creation myths, and I read most of the Popul Vu codex. Comparative theology never ceases to entertain me.

    Since beginning to carve the skull, it has appeared unasked for in a visit to my astral temple, sort of like Bune was just there one day after I put my spirit pot together for him. I’m not surprised, as Bune has worked on this skull with me, laying down a communications network for the spirits of the dead. My Agatha Daimon was also on hand to imbue it with pure Divine Light, so it’s more likely to draw whomever uses it towards God rather than away.

    I’m going to keep this for a while and play with it, see what comes out of my Work with it. I performed some basic psychometry on the crystals before choosing them, and found the ones that would be the best candidates based on their “vibe.” I’ll be testing them again, and maybe even writing up some of the Great Work lessons I learned from grinding the skull itself. Shaping a brittle crystalline matrix using a rotary tool and diamond bits requires a finesse and a strength combined that is hard to explain off the top of my head.

    Sorry if I’m all over the map on this post, I’m kind of excited.

  • Cool Stuff

    Someone on the lists is selling off a bunch of stuff to fund a move. It’s neat. Check here:

    http://search.ebay.com/W0QQsassZheatherc717

    One of the really cool items is this Phoenix Scepter:

    As you may know, I’ve got kids. That means an ever-handy excuse to watch Cartoons. One of our family favorites is Tutenstein. It’s from the Discovery Channel and integrates real archaeology with a fun supernatural plot line. Spoiled teenage brat zombie megalomaniacs. How can you go wrong?

    One of the things the boy-king has because he’s the Pharaoh is the “Scepter of Was.” I couldn’t help but notice the similarities. Heather, the person selling the Ceremonial Magic stuff, is a really detailed artistic person with a former passionate history for the whole Egyptian Thing. I’d be willing to bet there’s a real scepter of Was that she based her image on. If the Phoenix Wand could do half the things Tutenstein’s Scepter does, I say God Damn! Buy that bitch!

  • Cool Stuff

    Someone on the lists is selling off a bunch of stuff to fund a move. It’s neat. Check here:

    http://search.ebay.com/W0QQsassZheatherc717

    One of the really cool items is this Phoenix Scepter:

    As you may know, I’ve got kids. That means an ever-handy excuse to watch Cartoons. One of our family favorites is Tutenstein. It’s from the Discovery Channel and integrates real archaeology with a fun supernatural plot line. Spoiled teenage brat zombie megalomaniacs. How can you go wrong?

    One of the things the boy-king has because he’s the Pharaoh is the “Scepter of Was.” I couldn’t help but notice the similarities. Heather, the person selling the Ceremonial Magic stuff, is a really detailed artistic person with a former passionate history for the whole Egyptian Thing. I’d be willing to bet there’s a real scepter of Was that she based her image on. If the Phoenix Wand could do half the things Tutenstein’s Scepter does, I say God Damn! Buy that bitch!

  • Belial’s Gold Leaf Seal

    I’m working on a new method for making the golden seals for the Kings of the Goetia. New for me, anyway. I don’t know, maybe other magicians have been doing this for years. As far as I know, it’s all my creation though, so I’m taking credit for it.

    I carved Belial’s seal into an ordinary two-inch wooden disk, the kind you get from a craft store. I used the smallest little round carving ball dremel attachment I could find in my box. It may even have been intended for this.

    Oh, diamond grinding bits are great for quartz, not wood.

    So after carving the seal, I mushed it into Sculpey, some plasticene clay you can buy. You bake it at 275 (F) for fifteen minutes, and it turns to this weird harder-plastic that doesn’t bend or mush anymore. I pulled the wooden disk out, and had a nice little mold.

    I baked the mold for about an hour. I should have put it on a baking pan, but being the lazy magi that I am, I threw it on a piece of parchment paper (the baking kind) laying on the oven rack. Then I took it out and let it cool. Then I mixed up some plaster, and poured it in the mold, and let it set for a while.

    Sculpey has to be sealed with something water proof to make it water proof. Like paint or something. I didn’t do this, so all the water in the plaster just seeped out through the bottom of the Sculpey mold. I think it helped. I was able to pop out the plaster seal in an hour or so. One thing I noticed was that while baking, the Sculpey was still slightly malleable. Because this is the largest piece of Sculpey I’ve ever baked, it sort of drooped while it was baking, slightly misshaping the mold. So there’s a slight warp to the seal.

    I let it sit over night, and then I cleaned it up with a sanding bit for the dremel, drilled a hole in the top, and proceeded to attempt to leaf the damn thing in gold.

    With varying degrees of success. I bought this foil leafing kit that has a bottle of glue (they call it “size” but I swear it’s glue), a roll of foil, and some other stuff that doesn’t come into play right now. You put down the glue, wait for it to dry “clear” and then put the foil over it. You peel back the foil, and this plastic tape stuff comes away, and the foil is supposed to stick to the glue. Plaster, as you may know is white. It’s not easy to tell when a white glue has dried “clear” on white plaster. As you can see, it sort of almost worked.

    Also, the gold leaf is supposed to get into all the carved out cracks, right? But the foil stuck to the flat bits. So I used the handy 18 kt gold leafing pen. It turned out alright. Not great, but alright. I like the shininess of the leaf foil over the paint pen, but the paint pen has some real gold in it, while the leaf foil doesn’t.

    I really need to get a doggone working digital camera. I’ve been using my cell phone camera for this stuff, and it just doesn’t provide the clarity I want. It’s on my list of things to buy, as soon as the kids have all their back to school stuff, and things have quieted down on the home front.

    So, I will be trying again. There are some inherent caveats in this. It’s not all gold, for one thing, and that makes me less than happy. It’s plaster. It weighs hardly anything, and I’m afraid it’s going to break if I drop it, or chip, or something. It’s convenient for a one or two-time use, I suspect, but for a long-term relationship with this spirit, I’d probably suggest something a little more durable. Even gold-leafing the wooden disk would probably make for a sturdier talisman…

    Duh! I should have done that instead. Huh.

    Oh well. If I wanted to mass produce these things, I have the means, at least. Anyone want to buy some gold-painted plaster seals for the Kings of the Goetia?

  • Bune Update

    As I mentioned in the Crystal Skull post, I’ve been Working with Bune on making the carved skull into a tool to aid in speaking with the spirits of the dead in general.

    In addition, I changed out the stuff inside the pot. It’s been over a year since I last did that, and the raisins and dates were mostly turned to dust. I took out some sweet grass I had put in, and I removed about a thousand little steel BBs. I have no idea why I put them in in the first place, maybe something to do with them being brass-colored or something, but in retrospect it was pretty stupid. Iron is anathema to the spirits of the Goetia.

    So now my Pot contains the following:

    • Dirt and rocks from the local branch of my bank
    • Four Herkimer Diamonds
    • One Orgone Generator
    • Lignum Aloes
    • Decayed bio-matter from various raisins and dates mixed in with the dust
    • Mistletoe (Venusian Herb)
    • Vervaine (Venusian Herb)
    • Coltsfoot (Venusian Herb)
    • Three Rosehips (Venusian Herb)
    • Myrtle (Venusian Herb)
    • Three pinches of Abramelin Incense (Traditional from Soma Luna; It has Cinnamon in it, an herb of Venus, and he always likes it)

    Now, it took me a couple of weeks to research these herbs and ingredients, track them down, order them and then have them get here. I bought a stone mortar and pestle to grind up the herbs together. On the day of the changing of the herbs, I cleansed the old stuff, picked out the uck, and re-interred everything.

    During the time I was working on gathering and researching Venusian herbs, and then after I had ground up all the herbs together and placed them next to me in the pot, I noticed some results.

    I attribute these generally passive results to just working with the herbs of the planet in a magical capacity. I don’t attribute it to Bune specifically.

    Regarding Bune, he seemed pretty happy with the changes. Less than a week later, I received a job opportunity through email that could result in a doubling of my income for at least three months. One cannot beat that with the proverbial stick.

    Assuming all goes well with the interview (the first two interviews have gone swimmingly), I’ve just got to point out that even in the midst of a really bad financial time with Jupiter in Capricorn, here I am making a fortune. If I land the job and everything goes well, it will be a couple of weeks to a month before the income actually doubles. Maybe that’s part of waiting for the expansion in measured steps that the Jup-Cap placement requires, but it’s also how things manifested when Jupiter was in Sag.

    So I’m more convinced than ever that the astrological timing doesn’t apply to the spirits of the Goetia. They are sub-lunar in my cosmology, and this result seems to reinforce that. A friend’s HGA told him specifically to ignore the astrological timing when working with Bune, so this kind of confirms that.

  • Captain OBVIOUS!!!

    Greetings faithful (and faithless hell-bound-heathen) readers! I should probably start a regular series of Captain Obvious posts. I do seem to make a lot of mistakes that in retrospect turn out to be pretty hard to have missed in the first place.

    Today’s is a simple lesson I learned while Mercury was Retrograde.

    I’ve had a rough Mercury Retrograde. It wasn’t too terribly bad with technological issues, but communications were sucky on many lists. And two or three times I got pissed at someone on a message board and wanted to curse them. :sigh:

    After years of doing the Work now, at a pretty clipped pace, I’ve gotten to a point where I really take it for granted that I’m a sane, rational, and pretty emotionally well-balanced person. So when I found myself thoroughly ticked off at really stupid things, I was a little surprised. I conjured Kammael on a Tuesday to fix whatever was messed up in my Martial sphere, and things settled down quickly.

    Anyway, I’ve learned a valuable lesson. I didn’t curse anyone, and instead behaved politely and respectfully, and apologized even, when I was wrong or at least rude about being right. And guess what? These people I wanted to “teach a lesson to” all turned out to be friendly when the dust settled.

    Yes folks, that’s right! If you’re nice to people, they can be your friends!

    Ok, so Captain Obvious gets a Sesame Street Lesson out of life. Only without the muppets.