Archive for the ‘spirits’ Tag
Greetings, Spirit-Workers!
From the Llewellyn Magick Blog, Jan 23, 2018:
[…] For certain, there is a time and a place for personal gnosis. When students begin asking me if I think their spirits will like this, or be offended by that, I tell them to ask their spirits. If someone was inspired to write a ritual, and they want me to critique it, I tell them to let their own spirits critique it. Where it comes to how you interact with your spirits, it’s entirely between them and you. My opinion means very little in that regard.
But there is a problem with personal gnosis when it comes into conflict with academic research. There is, in fact, a good reason why we need the books after all. The problem with asking the spirits directly is that YOU may lack the necessary knowledge they would need to convey the ideas to you…
Read the Rest at: https://www.llewellyn.com/blog/2018/01/grimoires-and-the-solomonic-tradition/
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 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 Angel Lovers!
Bernini’s “The Ecstasy of St. Teresa”
A rather interesting (and likely controversial) subject has come up on my Solomonic Group at Yahoo, and I couldn’t resist sharing it with you here. I think the title of this blog really says it all, so I’ll just get right into the posts. First, here is the question that was asked on the group:
I am a married father of four who is aged in his fifties.
I am also a theology student and a school teacher.
Two years ago I was studying the Old Testament and noticed how Solomon and David both had many wives. This made my very curious and also quite envious.
Because at that time my marriage was lacking intimacy, and so out of desperation I prayed to God for a concubine or a second wife.
I didn’t think much of it, but about two weeks later a spiritual entity connected with me in an intimate way. This has conintued regularly for the last two years. It honestly feels like God has answered my prayer.
I did read somewhere that monks experiences similar types of connections with angels. Has this sort of phenomenon ever been reported before? Do you think that the biblical descriptions of Solomon and David having many wives may have been alluding to spiritual or angelic wives and concubines?
I find it rather intersting that – given this person’s particular sub-culture, which would not tolerate adultery or polyamory – he was able to find a spiritual solution to his problem. That aside, I decided to answer his specific questions:
Ok, first to answer your question about the prophets and their multiple wives: no, that was not an allusion to them having spiritual wives. They in fact had multiple physical wives and concubines. It is still practiced, in various ways and to various degrees, in many cultures around the world.
As for your other question:
Are you kidding?? Angels are all *about* the sex, man! 😉
(NOTE for those outside the US: The phrase “…all *about* the…” is an American idiom that basically means “like it a lot.”)
Occult and religious lore is chock-full of spiritual beings mating with humans. Stories of Succubi and Fairies producing offspring with human partners abound – including Lilith (who, in the form of the Queen of Sheba, is said to have indeed slept with Solomon). Some Jewish funerary rites are intended to banish all the deceased “demon children” who might otherwise appear at the funeral to demand their inheritance.
Pagan Gods – who are basically the same species of being as Angels – seem to have taken mortal mates on a regular basis – hence the existence of Demigods (half-human, half god) like Hercules and Perseus.
Also note the “Sons of God” described in Genesis, who descended to Earth and traded the secrets of heaven in exchange for sexual favors. This is an extension of the above Pagan concept – as the Bible offers this as the explanation for superhuman heroes and the “Nephilim” or giants. God supposedly flooded the world to get rid of them. (Though it wasn’t entirely successful, as Noah was rumored to be one of these offspring – effectively making *all* of us part-Angel today.)
Biblical legend also suggests that Eve mated with Satan to give birth to Cain.
And don’t forget Dee and Kelley’s (in)famous wife-swapping episode, which they undertook at the direction of their angelic contacts. (Though they didn’t mate with the Angels themselves, it was still the Angels who showed an interest in human sexual activity.)
Shamanic vocations often involve the shaman obtaining a “spiritual spouse” – literally marrying his or her Patron Deity to establish a life-long relationship.
An example of this is found in the Book of Abramelin – my own preferred grimoire – which promises “Knowledge” of one’s Holy Guardian Angel. This is an archaic term for “having intimacy with.” (Such as the Biblical term “He ‘knew’ his wife.”)
My own Guardian Angel has most certainly been my spiritual wife – and one of my earlier and most intense experiences with her was an extremely sexually charged encounter. Plus, once she was bound to me physically, she spent some months ravenously seeking out sexual and other physically pleasurable experiences. (It seemed to be part of her adjusting to suddenly having access to physical sensation.)
On that same note, there are many religio-magickal operations in which a divine being is called into the body of a human host in order to perform a sexual act with either a Priest or Priestess alone, or with one who has also drawn down a divine being. Such as the Wiccan Great Rite – where the High Priest and High Priestess become vessels for the God and Goddess to physically mate.
Plus there are several grimoiric spells intended to evoke beautiful spirits for the express purpose of having sex with them.
The examples could go on and on – this is a theme that permeates Western religion, mysticism and occultism. I have a feeling Jake [Stratton-Kent] will also respond to this, with many examples of magickal practices and operations that involve sexual contact with spiritual beings.
LVX
Aaron
And Jake did, indeed, respond as well:
happy to oblige 🙂
well an obvious road sign is the Comte de Gabalis:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/eso/cdg/
big influence on some published and manuscript grimoires.
Also the close relations of Lamiae (such as Lilith/Sheeba) and the Sibyl or sibyls is central to our magical traditions. Consider too the narrow line between ‘angels’ and ‘demons’.
From there to the Testament of Solomon, and gendered spirits at the root of Solomonic magic, despite later appearances/assumptions, places the theme pretty centrally.
Jake
This is why I love the Solomonic Group. So often, people get real touchy and defensive whenever sex and spirituality are mentioned in the same breath.
There certainly are groups out there that make use of sex and magick to abuse young naive aspirants. (See, for example, the “Theocratic Unity” group run by the Horos couple in the early 1900s.)
Yet, as we can see in the above examples, sex has been an intimate (pun intended) aspect of Western occultism for a very long time. And it goes beyond the usual subject of “sex magick.” Shamans, priests and wizards have been marrying themselves off to (that is to say, intimately bonding with) spiritual entities in order to learn occult secrets since the earliest tribal shamanisms.
UPDATE: A member of the Solomonic Group asked me a good question about the Holy Guardian Angel and the subject of physical sensation. I’ll share that question and my answer here with you as well:
> I had thought the Holy Guardian Angel was part of the transcendence of the
> flesh and its desires often associated with the Judaeo-Christian tradition.
>
> Aaron, may I ask why an angel of that class would want to enjoy sexual and
> physical experiences? I thought they are supposed to come from a realm
> where such needs have been transcended?
I feel the reason is *because* they come from such a transcendent realm. You take such a being from a place where there is no such thing as sensory input, then suddenly thrust them into a human host with full access to such alien sensations as physical pleasure (and, for that matter, pain), and I think it would be quite natural to want to explore and learn about these new things. Add to that the fact that they have not spent a lifetime learning how to regulate such desires, and it can result in behavior similar to an addict seeking out a fix. lol
I suspect this is the kernel of truth behind the stories of the Watchers and other divinities who were willing to trade all the secrets of heaven with mortals in exchange for sex. While “in the flesh”, the Watchers were willing to chance the Eternal Punishment of God for just a few hours of intense physical pleasure.
For a good visual example, check out the movie “Michael” starring John Travolta in the title role.
Of course, this state was only temporary for my Guardian Angel. Over time she seemed to adapt to her new state of being bound to a physical body, and the intensity of the experience finally balanced out. After that is when she got down to the business of training me – but she certainly had a much better understanding of what it is like to live down here, which was important for the relationship to grow.
LVX
Aaron
Witch and Devil – Jos A Smith (From “Witches” by Erica Jong , 1981)
Greetings Faithful Followers!
The time is drawing near for the Florida Pagan Gathering Samhain Festival! And I have once again been offered the honor of attending as a “headliner.” That means I’ll be hosting three lectures/workshops over the course of the festival – in between sessions of drumming and generally cavorting like a heathen. 🙂
My last experience at the FPG turned out to be a deeply moving spiritual experience that took me back to my Neopagan roots – besides being one helluva lot of fun. My fellow headliners were some of the top names in their various fields and practices, and I made more than one new lifelong friend while I was there. I expect this trip to be no different.
So I am inviting each and every one of you to come and join me for this awesome event! You can attend my workshops, ask me questions and then we can hang out in the various campsites and around the bonfire late into the night. I dare say we will not be disappointed by the experience!
Here is the info on the Festival:
Samhain 2012 – Out of the Darkness
Oct 31- Nov 4, Camp Ocala, Altoona, Florida
Welcome to the Forest! Set up camp, commune with nature, relax, visit the vendors, attend workshops, and evening events.
Headliners
Musical Headliners
This is a full-fledged festival – with an entry fee – so make sure you contact them to register today! Then get your camping gear together and enjoy a few days out in nature away from the modern world. Or, just come by for a day of lectures, food, shopping and fun!
Here is the info on the workshops I will be hosting. Right now I don’t know exactly when these workshops will take place, but I’ll update this post as soon as I find out:
Working with Spirits and Ancestors
Working with lesser spirits (jinn, demons, familiars, etc) and the spirits of our ancestors are two of the most ancient forms of witchcraft. (Properly called “goetia” – but not to be confused with the medieval grimoire of the same name!) However, the practice fell into disrepute after the rise of the urban “city-state” in the Classical era – and was outlawed entirely after the rise of mainstream Christianity. This resulted in a cultural break in our mystical Western heritage that has remained with us to this very day. Even in Wicca and other Neopagan traditions, spirit-work is often frowned upon, and ancestors are merely recognized at specific times of the year.
However, that doesn’t mean the practice was lost to history! Folk magickal traditions around the world have preserved these mysteries, and an ever-growing number of today’s Pagans and occultists are reviving these ancient and often misunderstood practices in our modern systems.
This workshop will focus upon *what* spirit- and ancestor-work really is, and *how* to go about doing it yourself to empower your spells and your spiritual path. We will cover the benefits and the dangers, how to erect altars, build spirit pots, invoke the spirits, make offerings and more.
This will be an open discussion workshop, so bring your own ideas and opinions and be ready to share them with us!
Magickal Offerings
One of the foundational practices of the most ancient forms of magick was the Ritual Offering. While this included the sacrifice of animals (and in some cases humans!) that certainly isn’t the whole story. Offerings were made in many fashions – from food to toys to tools and weapons, to incense and fire and much more. Such offerings were made to feed and empower the spirits and, in many cases, to provide the spirits with necessary tools to accomplish the magickal goals of the shamans who provided them.
Sadly, the art of the Ritual Offering was all but lost in the West after the rise of Judeo-Christiainity. Sacrifice and offerings were declared a form of devil-worship, and misrepresented as a method of “appeasing” angry and vengeful spirits who would otherwise harm the humans who invoked them. Even today’s modern occultists often hold to this erroneous idea.
This workshop will bust the myths about Ritual Offering, and explain its true meaning of magickal empowerment. We will cover how to properly make offerings to various classes of spirits and gods, along with the “do-nots” and “why?” behind the practice.
This will be an open discussion workshop, so bring your own ideas and opinions and be ready to share them with us!
Making and Enlivening Talismans
Quite often, when a modern occultist says the word “talisman”, he or she is talking about a piece of paper with symbols drawn upon it. But the art of Talismanic Magick is much broader than that! And the power of a talisman goes far beyond the inscription of the right names, properly colored inks and the recitation of the right prayers.
In the Old Magick, talismans were living beings in their own right. They were physical houses for spiritual entities who actively participated in the rituals with the magician. And they weren’t just jewelery or inscribed disks or scrolls – they were also the magickal tools, the robes and regalia, the furnishings of the temple and more. A true magician’s sacred working space is a thriving environment of spirits, angels and even gods who each play a vital role in the magick worked therein.
Likewise, magickal tools and furnishings are not merely “props” or objects we find convenient to use. Each and every physical object utilized by the magician is a living symbol of something greater – either a reflection of something in the outer universe that the magician wishes to “draw down” into his or her temple, or an embodiment of something deeply personal and powerful to the magician – or both.
In this workshop, we will discuss these aspects of talismanic magick. Plus, we will cover how to find and/or create your own talismans and “bring them to life” to work for you.
This will be an open discussion workshop, so bring your own ideas and opinions and be ready to share them with us!
I hope to see you there!
Zorge,
Aaron
Ananael (The Secrets of Wisdom) 