Greetings, Bibliophiles!

From the Llewellyn Magick Blog, Jan 15, 2018:

I would like to talk about grimoires. Not a specific grimoire, like the Key of Solomon, or Heptameron, or Lemegeton. This isn’t even about their contents, or their history. No, what I want to talk about are the actual physical grimoires – those dangerous things made of paper and cardboard, with arcane scribbles of ink on their pages. Books that at various time and places (including to this very day) could get you arrested and worse. That pretty thing you might like to display prominently on your bookshelf, or perhaps hide away from prying eyes. Most of what we know about the medieval and Renaissance Solomonic tradition comes from those books, and they continue to be a treasure trove of new insights (and magical formulas) as more and more texts are discovered and translated into English (or other modern tongues). They are truly the heart and soul of the modern Solomonic movement; the foundation upon which the tradition ultimately rests.

But the modern movement has lost something that was paramount to the old-world Solomonic tradition: the grimoires themselves. And, once again, I’m talking about the actual physical read-y things that require manual page-flipping to fast-forward or rewind them. You see, in the medieval era, it was believed that a book containing magical spells, names and descriptions of spirits, seals and characters was itself an object of magical power. There were even spells intended to empower and enliven your grimoire – as preserved in books like the Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy and the Key of Solomon. However, common thought at the time was that such a ritual was not necessary for a grimoire to be possessed by the spirits listed within it, or even a living demon in its own right. There are medieval records of public occult book-burnings, where witnesses swore they heard the screams of the spirits issuing from the flames as the books were consumed.

Read the Rest at:  https://www.llewellyn.com/blog/2018/01/grimoires-and-the-solomonic-tradition/

Greetings, Sliders!

From the Llewellyn Magick Blog, Jan 9, 2018:

Back in the 1990s, a ritual called the “Tesseract Working” appeared and was in vogue for a while. Based on the concept of multiple co-existing universes, it promised to allow one to jump from one universe to another at will. (Yes, like that old TV show Sliders—though that didn’t yet exist.) Frankly, the ritual wasn’t that mind-blowing. It had a Neopagan structure, and basically took you ritually through the entire Major Arcana of the Tarot. (The GD has been doing that for a hundred years…) At the time, I didn’t see what it had to do with jumping to another reality.

Over the years, however, I have experienced what I came to call “reality jumping” many times. You go through a major ritual (where a LOT of energy is raised) or experience a traumatic event, and suddenly you start noticing little differences around you. You might notice a few landmarks—like roads, buildings, or even natural features—have changed, vanished, or even appeared where they were not before. Maybe a different actor starred in a popular movie. You may remember events happening that others do not, or vice-versa. Maybe even someone who was dead is suddenly alive.

Read the Rest at:  https://www.llewellyn.com/blog/2018/01/reality-jumping-or-the-mandela-effect/

Greetings Gaiman-ites!  (Is that a thing by now?)

 

From the Llewellyn Magick Blog, June 28, 2017:

I’m willing to bet, if you are reading this blog, you have already watched every episode of the new hit TV series American Gods. Or, if you haven’t, you’ve probably heard a ton about it from your Paganfriends. And, seriously, *WHY* haven’t you watched it yet?? The first season is complete, and only eight episodes, so you can easily binge-watch the whole thing.

[…]

 

I strongly recommend both the book and the show. If you can read the novel first, and then watch the series, do so! However, this blog entry isn’t a review of either one. Instead, I want to delve into one specific aspect of the story’s underlying philosophy: where the Gods came from.

Read the Rest at:  https://www.llewellyn.com/blog/2017/06/american-gods-and-where-gods-come-from/

Greetings Fellow Witches!

 

From the Llewellyn Magick Blog, April 4, 2017:

Herbal washes and waters are among the most popular tools used in traditional forms of shamanism and folk magick around the world. They have existed for as long as humans have known how to make herbal teas, but their uses go far beyond medicinal beverages. In fact, they are exceptionally powerful tools in any witch‘s arsenal—it might just be easier to list the ways in which herbal waters cannot be used than to list all of their diverse applications. Visit any botanica (shops that cater to African and Caribbean Traditions, such as Santeria, Voodoo, and Hoodoo) and you will typically find several shelves fully stocked with herbal washes for as many purposes as you can imagine.

Yet, for some unfathomable reason, they have been slow to work their way into modern forms of witchcraft. Perhaps this is due to the less-than-amicable relationship between most indigenous folk traditions and modern Neopaganism. In past decades, some aspects of the older systems (such as their focus on the dead and underworld, and their use of animal sacrifice) made many Neopagans uncomfortable. As a result, many things—even very useful things—that originate in those traditions were overlooked by Western practitioners.

Today’s witches and ritual magicians are much more open to magical items that might be found on shelves next to skulls and coffin nails. However, some of these, like herbal washes, are new and mysterious to modern students, who are often unsure exactly how they are intended to be used.

Read the Rest at:  http://www.llewellyn.com/blog/2017/04/many-magical-uses-of-herbal-waters/

Greetings Fellow Wielders of Magick!

From the Llewellyn Magick Blog, March 23, 2017:

Regardless of whether or not an individual spell mentions the involvement of some entity, I would be hard-pressed to find a single operation that is not *greatly* enhanced by invoking the participation of my familiars, helpers, and patrons. Whether they are communicating with me (often telling me how to make the spell better), opening the Gates for me, arguing in my favor on the other side, carrying my spells to their targets, guiding me through some astral realm, or simply standing beside me in my Temple performing a ritual along with me—my spirits are involved in everything I do.

So there is the usual debate, and where I stand in it. Nothing really new there. But, then, tonight I heard something entirely new. Apparently, there are those who believe working with spirits can be detrimental to your magical and spiritual practice! It was suggested that relying on them serves as a kind of crutch, stopping you from developing your own spiritual and psychic “muscles.”

Read the Rest at:  http://www.llewellyn.com/blog/2017/03/are-spirits-detrimental-to-your-spiritual-path/

 

 

Greetings Hardworking Conjurors!

 

From the Llewellyn Magick Blog, November 28, 2016:

 

Telling a magician they are “fake” because they don’t have money is like telling a doctor they are “fake” because they caught a cold. In other words, you absolutely don’t get how either magick OR money works. [—me]

Nothing gets occultists and skeptics alike talking more than the subject of money and magick. Without question, this is the primary point of attack for skeptics who want to believe magick is a fantasy, and anyone purporting to possess magical power is merely a deluded fool (at best) or an outright fraud scamming innocent dupes for cash. They point to mages throughout history, and even right here in the modern world, reminding us that occultists always tend to be poor or in need of cash. “If you are so powerful,” they ask, “then why aren’t you rich?”

I find these questions humorous, mainly because they are so pointedly disingenuous. The skeptics look at history and see the fact that occultists are not typically rich, and even that magick (especially sorcery) tends to proliferate in impoverished areas—but instead of making the obvious conclusion that magick probably doesn’t have anything to do with getting rich, they make up their own conclusion: “Magick isn’t real.” This would be like investigating Olympic sprinters, discovering that not a one of them can run a mile in two minutes, and thereby concluding professional sprinters are all fakes. After all, there is a cartoon mouse that can do a mile in far less time…

It’s not simply the fact these types are jumping to a ridiculous conclusion that makes this funny to me. It also speaks to something I’ve noticed across the board with atheists and skeptics (especially the outspoken ones): they always adopt the most outlandish and fantastical views of anything spiritual or mystical—taken entirely from Hollywood and fantasy fiction—and apply those views to the real thing. Hence, if Mickey Mouse can use a grimoire to conjure hoards of animate brooms to clean his master’s lab, then why can’t you conjure gold bars when you need them? Wizards in the Harry Potter stories can conjure food, shelter, clothing, and other necessities at will, so why can’t you? Doctor Strange doesn’t call on help from an “occult community” when he is in need or in danger, so why are you setting up a crowd-funding campaign? Shouldn’t the Dark Forces be taking care of you?

Read the Rest at:  http://www.llewellyn.com/blog/2016/10/demons-and-pagan-gods/

Greetings Goetes!

 

From the Llewellyn Magick Blog, October 4, 2016:

If you’ve been following my posts lately, you likely know I am in the middle (or, maybe, just the beginning) of an adventure into the realms of goetia.  It is, to be completely honest, my first time exploring this side of things. That’s not to say I haven’t made a few scouting missions into the underworld—believe me, I have stories!—but I have always considered myself primarily an “angel worker.” […]

When I wrote Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires I was still viewing the world through the lens of dualism. In that book, I describe a universe firmly divided between the celestial and the “infernal” (I wasn’t using the term “chthonic” yet). From that stance, I made a rather strong argument against the common occult idea that demons (or at least a number of them) were originally Pagan deities who have been demonized by Church propaganda. […]

But, what if we remove dualism from the equation?

 

Read the Rest at:  http://www.llewellyn.com/blog/2016/10/demons-and-pagan-gods/

Greetings Angelophiles!

 

From the Llewellyn Magick Blog, September 12, 2016:

Here’s another one from the Solomonic FB Group files! Somewhat recently, occult scoundrel and esoteric hooligan Nick Farrell posted the following comment to a thread about the Holy Guardian Angel (or “HGA”):

“I think the HGA is a big dumbed down modern con-trick. Sure Abramerlin featured him, but it was more of a gimmick, It was a pick part of Crowely’s ideas and of course Crowley was right about everything especially when it comes down to livestock. Now you get everyone asking you about HGA as if it is a vital thing… or worse your divine self (it really isn’t). I know… not a popular thought but there you are.”

Not a popular thought indeed! It was hardly just Crowley behind the HGA push in the Western Mystery Tradition. Israel Regardie picked up that flag and flew it in his work, and from those guys it was picked up by—well pretty much everyone else. (Except the Neopagans—but we’ll get back to that in a bit.) Especially among the Golden Dawn and Thelema crowds, the concept of achieving “Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel” became paramount. It was billed as the highest achievement of the adept, the “thing” toward which we should all be working. Without it can nothing else be accomplished! It is our Western version of Enlightenment.

That’s a very lofty philosophy, and I can’t blame those early Golden Dawners (yes, including Crowley) for sensing something vastly important at the heart of the Abramelin Rite. I certainly did!

[…]

But now we run into a snag. As wonderful and transcendent as the HGA may be, we don’t actually find him everywhere, do we?

 

Read the Rest at:  http://www.llewellyn.com/blog/2016/09/re-evaluating-our-re-evaluation-of-the-holy-guardian-angel/

Greetings Readers!

 

From the Llewellyn Magick Blog, July 6, 2016:

Greetings Aspirants!

I live a double life. Well…let me rephrase that slightly: I live a double occult life. If you add my mundane working existence to the mix, it could be said I live a triple life. But that’s really beside the point. My point is that, as an occultist, I’m burning the ritual candle at both ends.

Not that this is exactly news to some of you. I’ve seen the discussions in some of the forums: “Is Aaron Leitch a sorcerer, or a ceremonial magician?” Cases are made for both possibilities. There is certainly no discounting my deep involvement with the grimoires and Solomonic conjure. I talk quite a bit about the Old Magick, shamanism, the ATRs, and the return of pre-Golden Dawn occult philosophy. One of my greatest teachers was/is Ochani Lele, the famous Santo and author. I have let go of the 19th Century-born psychological model of magick. (Note that says “psychological model of magick,” not “psychology in its entirety.”) And, where it comes to this kind of magick, you won’t see my quoting from Mathers, Crowley, or even Regardie. I call down angels, conjure spirits, gather herbs and dirts and special waters; let’s face it, this is more a kind of witchcraft than it is “ceremonial” magick.

And yet…

I am a member of the HOGD. That’s the Cicero Order—straight down the initiatory line from Israel Regardie himself—and you’ll find me right in its’ Mother Temple. That is technically ground zero for the modern Golden Dawn movement, and the very embodiment of the magickal current that was born in the Victorian era. Mathers, Crowley, Regardie—even the Ciceros themselves (who, like Ochani, are among my greatest teachers)—are the very people you don’t see me quote in my Solomonic writings. Shouldn’t this current represent everything I say I left behind as a practitioner?

 

Read the Rest at:  http://www.llewellyn.com/blog/2016/07/a-sorcerer-in-the-golden-dawn/

Greetings Aspirants!

From the Llewellyn Magick Blog, June 6, 2016:

The ritual use of offerings, especially in (but not limited to) the form of food items, is one of those “lost secrets of Western magick” you’ve likely heard me talk about before. A lot. It is an art I learned very slowly, over many years, but it was more than worth the effort. Knowing what to offer, what not to offer, when to offer, how to offer, and how all of these things will influence the spiritual being I am working with has been a “game changer” in my practice—as well as the practices of many others who have explored this method of magick.

In my writings on the subject, I have tended toward describing ritual offerings as a form of payment to the spirit. It not only shows fairness toward the entity, but also provides it with the energy necessary to accomplish your goal. I’ve compared it many times to hiring a contractor—you must negotiate a deal and make the payment, or else why would the contractor do any work for you? Even if you pay the spirit after the work is done—a common practice is to make a small offering before, with the promise of a larger payment afterward—it still acts as an energy exchange that gives the spirit what it needs to make changes in the physical world.

But, of course, not everything is so simple. A member of my Solomonic Group on Facebook recently pointed out an anomaly in the spirit-conjuring grimoire called the Goetia. Apparently, the mighty president Malphas should not be given “sacrifice,” as he will accept it “kindly and willingly, but will deceive him that does it.” This strikes me as counter-intuitive on the surface: is it saying that Malphas is willing to work for free, and will react negatively if you do try to pay him??

Read the Rest at:  http://www.llewellyn.com/blog/2016/06/when-not-to-make-offerings/