Rufus Opus

Tag: RufusAstraCheck

Tag: RufusAstraCheck

  • Magic Just for Fun

    It’s funny, I get into the habit of doing magic only when I need something, or only when I want to learn something. I mean, I think we all do, right?

    But what about just hanging out with the spirits? When I first started doing magic, I thought they were cool, and I liked the stuff I learned and received, but it was the thrill of being in the room with the spirits that drove me.

    Over time, I guess I just got used to it. So I sort of did the rising through the spheres thing, and burned the occasional candle near Bune’s sigil, or conjured some Goetic spirits to address certain parts of my life…

    But they’re there for more. You know? We’re friends with the spirits. That’s why they do what we want, in part. They love us. Love is important. Friends are important. Establishing relationships with the spirits is important.

    Maybe it’s because I don’t have a big social life, but I never really realized that people like to hang out together. It may be shocking, but I really don’t particularly like people much. They tend to do stupid things. I’m not saying I don’t do stupid things, but that’s just it. I don’t want to hang out with people as prone to stupidity as I am, and on the whole, most folks I’ve met in life are pretty darned prone to being stupid.

    But the spirits! They’re cool just to hang out with. And you can’t help but be raised to their level, or at least closer to it, just by hanging out with them. The Greeks had it right, they’d totally hang out with the spirits, share a beer or jug of wine with them, and just talk. They Worked with them too, of course, how can you not, but they enjoyed their time with the spirits.

    So with that in ind, me and my handy dandy Box are spending more time hanging out with the spirits. I’m putting the seals I have in metal of the spirits I need to work with the most across the electrodes and letting the battery run down while the light projects through the sphere. I’m conjuring them and just hanging out, not doing anything but talking with them, enjoying their company, and hopefully giving them a chance to enjoy mine. Maybe it’s like Jason’s offering technique, I dunno, but it’s been a lot of fun. There’s no urgency, so there’s more time to just hang out and discuss things. there are no distractions, because it’s something I can do while I’m falling asleep. I suppose it’s a lot like meditation or rising through the spheres, but it’s more of an approach without any agenda. Old friends getting together.

  • From a Friend’s Status Message i

    I found out today that people from both Arab and Jewish cities in Israel are accessing my blog frequently. I can't thank you all enough. The really neat thing is that the Great Work is about transcending the boundaries we see here from an earthly-perspective and seeing the unity underneath, or at least that's one of its effects. If you're an Arab or a Jew, someone in one of those other cities is studying the Great Work, just like you.

    Hopefully they don't leave their computer after reading this and pick up a gun and shoot at you, eh? 🙂

  • Is it as boring as it looks?

    Seriously, was the post about the RO Spirit Model as boring to read for you as it was for me? I figured it would be useful to lay it all out, but on rereading it, it was like… uh… dry.

  • 1.3 – Spirits: Why we Work with ’em, How we Work with ’em

    Now we get to the meat of the matter. This is the post I’ve been looking forward to the most. Unfortunately, I’m short on space. My posts don’t look that big when I’m writing them, but then they’re huge on the blog. So I’ll keep it brief. I did finally break down and get a web page hosting service, so as soon as I find some nifty templates and do some quick-and-easy plug and play stuff, I’ll have a web site with the space for the huge rambling dissertations I’m fond of writing. 😀

    1.3.1 Why we Work with Spirits

    In the NP system, we work with the Spirits to get closer to God. This is called theurgy. Iamblichus, a student of Plotinus, taught that working with the Spirits was a means to purify the sphere of the magician, to make it more like the creator and less like the created. He recognized that when you conjure up a Spirit of Mars, you’re working with something on a higher level, and that something has emanated something into what eventually manifested as you. As it is more pure, its very presence close to your sphere purifies your own sphere, restoring a bit of the awareness of your own divinity as it relates to the powers over which that particular spirit presides.

    From the Thomas Taylor translation of Iamblichus’ Theurgia (Section IV, Chapter II):

    “in all theurgical operations the priest sustains a twofold character; one, indeed, as man, and which preserves the order possessed by our nature in the universe; but the other, which is corroborated by divine signs, and through these is conjoined to more excellent natures, and is elevated to their order by an elegant circumduction, this is deservedly capable of being surrounded with the external form of the Gods.”

    1.3.2 How we Work with Spirits

    The chapter I quoted from is in the context of how Iamblichus taught that we are to interact with spirits. He was addressing an argument from Porphyry, another of Plotinus’ students, who asked why a mortal man in the flesh would be conjuring a “superior” being, and then turn around and command it to act in such-and-such a way. (I’m paraphrasing.)

    The answer is that while yes, we are in matter, we are of two parts, the divine and the flesh. The divine aspect of the self has existed since before time within the One, God, who emanated down through all the spheres and beings and elements and stuff-ness of everything. The flesh part is the temporary shell of the divine spirit, and while it is lower in the cosmic hierarchy, the spirit within is still in authority. Therefore, the magician surrounds the material part of themselves with the symbols of the divinity within, and petitions the higher spirits to appear using the classic conjuring orations from such sources as the grimoires.

    The Spirits (and I’m including the “gods”, angels, daemons, elementals, or whatever else you would call them in your branch of the Western Mystery Tradition) appear in response to the conjurations because they have a vested interest in us. They are also aspects of the One within us. However, they are of a different form, and in that form they don’t have the same capacities that we do. Once they appear, the differences in the nature of our emanation place us in a position of authority over the spirits, and we are therefore able to “command” the spirits to do our bidding.

    Now, the basic formula for conjuring the spirits is pretty simple. You surround yourself with the things the spirit has an affinity for. Each Spirit is responsible for emanating an aspect of the One into the material realm. Michael, Archangel of the Sun, is responsible for emanating the things that manifest with a solar nature in the material realm. You surround yourself with the things that have solar properties to get his attention, and conjure him in the name of God that describes his function. Now, as a ceremonial magician, the best thing you can have that Michael has emanated into the material realm is his Arch-angelic Seal that he revealed to magicians. His Name itself is the means he revealed himself to this realm. The names of God that are associated with him are also revealed by Michael into this realm in order to establish contact with him.

    So to conjure Michael, you would burn some solar incense, wear the seal of Michael, and conjure him in the Name of God associated with the Sphere of the Sun, “Eloahv Da’at.” (Your spelling may differ.)

    When Michael appears, you explain your need, remembering that yes, he is superior to you in some ways, but at the same time, you are his boss (in a VERY spiritual way). That is to say, the Logos within you is the same Logos Michael receives his orders from.

    If you’re commanding the Spirits from the authority of the part of yourself that is the flesh, you’ll get no results. As a Christian, I know that I have been “Born of the Spirit,” and my work with my HGA has resulted in certain “initiations” that grant me the awareness of my Roles and Responsibilities in the cosmic Hierarchies, so I’m getting pretty consistent results. Not always pleasant from the mundane perspective, but always beneficial.

    So the proper order for conjuring the spirits is:

    1. Be right with God. Know your place. “Thou hast cleansed me with hyssop, oh Lord!” and so forth. (Remember in the Exorcist, the priest kept chanting, “It is not I, but Christ that commands you…”)
    2. Have the seal of the spirit.
    3. Call the spirit (“Thou spirit Michael, I conjure thee here in the name of the Most High God, in the Name of the Logos-Christ within me, in the name Eloahv Da’at, to appear before me in this crystal…”)
    4. Explain what you want from the Spirit. (It’s a good idea to get confirmation that it understands, and have it tell you how it will do what it agrees to.)
    5. Thank the Spirit, and bid it to go and do as it agreed.

    Pretty simple, eh? The rest of the details of the various grimoires and such are cultural necessities. That means that when the Almadel has you make a Beeswax Angel Conjuring Device, you make a Beeswax Angel Conjuring Device if you expect to work with the spirits of the Almadel. If you’re OK with working with something that MIGHT be LIKE the spirits of the Almadel, you’re free to make your own adaptations, but the results are not guaranteed. I must stress, you have to know the rules before you can break them.

    The three stages of Classical Education are Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric. Grammar teaches the basic building blocks, Logic teaches how the building blocks are assembled, and Rhetoric is the stage where you demonstrate your understanding of the pieces and parts by assembling them in new ways.

    The Grimoires themselves contain the elements of the Grammar stage. Lists of spirits. Means of contacting them. Performing the instructions in the Grimoires brings you in touch with the Spirits, who teach the Logic stage. After you’ve been “initiated” you advance to the Rhetoric stage, and you can make things up based on your knowledge and understanding gained from research AND experience. I’m not advocating Chaos Magick, but I’ve grown to recognize the elements of Chaos Magick that are true in certain contexts. What gets on my nerves is that Chaos Magick doesn’t give magicians the context necessary for success. :sigh: I’ve ranted on that elsewhere.

    So much for keeping it brief. 🙂

  • Super Secret Occult Book: Heaven and Hell

    So the book I was published in is currently available to the public. The title is Heaven and Hell, and is a collection of Thelemic works, primarily. It’s a general blend of writings by people of various grades of initiation. They can’t TELL ME their degrees, the ones I’m most interested in knowing, but apparently I rank in by their degree system right where I’d consider myself.

    Anyway, the blurb says:

    A collection containing four issues of Heaven and Hell, along with additional material. Articles contain a wide variety of material from various authors of interest to magicians, occultists, mystics, Thelemites, Gnostics, and spiritual seekers.

    I’ve read it, and while it’s not even close to being a traditional grimoire/spirit model-based approach, I can say it’s totally written by magicians doing magic. The editor has this thing about expecting magicians to do magic, so he didn’t include any writings by people who think and study more than they do. I expect the Fras. and Sors. authoring the work to go on to greatness, and I’m privileged to be among them.

    Speaking of being among them, this is the first book ever published to have my name on the cover. It’s totally a collectible.

    As I said the other day, this is the most occult book I’ve ever seen. The book itself is a work of experimental publishing, and I’m interested in seeing how the editor’s choices in non-traditional layout and structure play out in the spheres of the owners.

    I think its primary value is in the fact that it’s written by practicing magicians. It’s a collection of the thoughts and beliefs of those who are experiencing the results of pursuing their magical paths, their “True Wills.”

    Buy it, read it, enjoy it.

  • Published: Secret Occult Printing

    I’ve been published in a secret occult collection of essays that may be publicly available soon. It’s not the kind of place one would expect to find my work published, but it’s totally cool. I’m even on the cover. I saw a proof of the book today, and it’s got to be the most occultish book I’ve ever seen. I’m shocked that I made it in.

  • Advice to As

    When asked for advice from an aspiring artist, H. R. Giger’s agent wrote an excellent reply. It can be found under the last entry, scroll down towards the bottom.

    Aspirants to the Great Work would do well to interpret this and apply it to their own lives. Mysel

  • The Gospel and the Zodiac

    I just enjoyed a lecture given by Mnsgnr. Scott Rassbach on the Gospel and the Zodiac. He’s cool.

  • Recent Talismans

    I took advantage of the Alkaid election posted recently by Chris Warnock of Renaissance Astrology, and made myself a primitive silver talisman. The image of a melancholy man is beyond my capabilities, so I stuck with the image of a Bull.

    It’s not particularly beautiful, but I like it a lot. You can see, sort of, the image of Ursus Major engraved between the bull’s horns. I spent the afternoon preparing the talisman for the engraving, and that was my usual fun time of heating and beating the silver until it was large enough to give me the room I needed to engrave the horns and the rest of the bull freehand. I practiced a lot with different images of a bull on paper before deciding on the final image.

    I conjured the spirit of Alkaid to consecrate the talisman, and it was a very smooth spirit to work with. I felt a coolness, a very comfortable coolness of spirit. It’s not like other silver talismans I’ve made, and I like it a lot. I plan on using it with the Box to interview the Intelligence of Alkaid.

    I also made a Moon Talisman of Gabriel relatively recently. I did it during the Mercury Retrograde, but I haven’t felt any ill effects from it. On the contrary, this is my favorite Gabriel Talisman I’ve ever made.I was going to use the image from Considerations for Monday from the Heptameron, but I checked the comparison link from the Golancz folio, 35a in Joe Peterson’s comments and I liked it better. It felt right, and even though I was a little concerned about trying to engrave the two 6 images, I decided to take a chance. In the Hour of the Moon on a Monday, I engraved it free hand, and it went so smoothly I was shocked. In trying to engrave the image from the Magical Calendar, I ran into a lot more difficulty.

    One thing I’ve noticed about this talisman is a complete lack of tarnish. The Alkaid talisman is a week or so younger, but it is already beginning to darken, as silver talismans do. They don’t turn black over night or anything, but they are shiny bright when first beaten out and polished with a dremel tool attachment, and then sort of … get darker. They lose their shiny newness.The Gabriel talisman almost glows in the dark. I used the same dremel, and I believe they’re both from the same silver coin that I melted and cleaned out magically a while back. (I have lumps of various planetary metals scattered around my garage.)

    I’ve used this talisman with the Box already, and the presence of Gabriel was tangible in the air. He spoke in a clearer voice than I’ve heard him use before.

  • Some sample feedback on the Angel Grimoires…

    I received a bit of feedback this morning from on the grimoire from one of the recipients. He said some generally kind and praising things, and then said:

    "Now the criticism part of the e-mail.   I would have liked some more angels in the grimoire or maybe some magical advice or guidance the archangels have themselves given to you.  Have you tried lesser angels in this system?  If so record what you did and your results so that the readers can experiment for themselves. "

    I think this is excellent advice, and would be a worthy addition to future revisions.

    Now I’m mentioning this because the guy went on to say, "I hate handing out negative advice I am always afraid someone will take it the wrong way."

    I want to tell everyone who got a draft of the grimoire: I write for a living. I have VERY thick skin. Satan is a kind and gentle friend compared to the editors I’ve worked with in the past.

    This is NOT negative advice. This is constructive criticism. I need honest feedback to make it the best it can be. I’ll be charging for this thing, and I want it to be worth the money.