Greetings folks & Happy Friday!
Spirit engagement is a topic of serious worth, both inside and outside the context of Serpent Sorcery. In this day and age of Internet resources, copious quantities of spiritual & occult books, rote memorization, and pathfinding done by others, we find that magic is seldom an area of much exploration. Folks do spells here and there to succeed at an exam, to gain at work, or to improve their love lives, but little in the way of serious spiritual engagement is achieved in most circles. 

When I’ve been involved in Kindreds or covens, either peripherally or as a full member, this lack of spiritual engagement has held true. One might call a deity by name to get their attention, but it is decidedly rare that one works to develop either a one-on-one or group-focused relationship with a nonphysical entity. We talk about it pretty commonly as a society by making TV shows and movies that discuss this practice, but that is not the same as actually putting in the work to do so yourself. Lip service and forging actual connections with Deity are two very different things, yet we forget this all too often.

Some of the resistance towards fully-realized, deeply spiritual practices involving discarnate entities boils down to fear. We've been taught that everything that isn't within one realm or another is evil or scary, and as such it’s understandable that one might not feel entirely prepared to engage with these entities in a personal way.  That’s fair, as there are substantially manifest dangers that exist on the road for those who do interact with spirits in this way. However, this fearful awareness also acts as a substantial roadblock to magical growth and success. It stifles magicospiritual development and renders one's practices stale, dull, and uninspiring. Serpent Sorcery requires the willingness to leave these limitations behind as a means of becoming comfortable with and ultimately embracing the unknown. 

It can be frightening, but it can also be exciting, engaging, and fascinating. The folks who write book after book after book about this kind of information can only convey so much (*myself included*), as the acts and experiences had with spirits are deeply personal. Sure, I can launch into everything one spirit or another has taught me over the years, but this contains no context. There's no way for the sum totality of those experiences to be relayed to another person without a loss of context and other crucial details.

This is the exact reason why it becomes so bloody important for the neophyte to break free of their shell. This is the very reason it is so important that you become cognizant of and conversational with the beings that exist in your neighborhood, on your land, in your office, and in other places you frequent. This awareness of that which exists in your immediate vicinity automatically primes you for being ready to connect with these entities, and this in turn shows a certain dedication to this process of magical development. When you take someone else seriously, they are more likely to take you seriously, and this very much applies to spirits and spirit work. When these beings make contact in meditation or in ritual, take note of them and begin to interact with them.

Maintain your safety and sanctity, but learn what makes these beings tick. Come to understand who they are as "people" in their own right and you’ll come to understand where you fit into your engagements. Coming to this place of understanding around what you do for both your family and the community around you (physical and spiritual) influences your own personal growth and expands your consciousness to match. This expansion of awareness then directly influences your ability to grow beyond the limits of what you've been doing day by day.

In addition, the more comfortable you get with such engagements, the more you'll learn from these beings. You'll become wiser, more practiced, and more capable, as some of these beings can teach extremely useful truths.

This process starts off slow at first and rapidly begins to snowball, pulling you in to further and further spiritual engagements that then increase your realizations and awarenesses, essentially teaching you how to become more than you already are. 

Do not make the mistake of sleeping on this or otherwise trying to avoid engaging with Serpent spirits. What I’ve shared with you here is only a fraction of what you can get up to or learn with entities of this kind, and what you learn directly from these beings is often stronger than any magical practice you could learn from another human being.  The more you invest into yourself and your work along this vein, the more you’ll get out of it. 

So do drink deeply if this well & use that draught to further your practices. Engage with these spirits, learn them and their ways, and then use those newfound connections to further improve your life and the lives of those around you. Be the change you want to see rather than simply reading about it in books or watching it on the telly.

Working with spirits can be dangerous, yes, but its also quite rewarding. As we take off our shackles and throw ourselves into the mix, we tend to find that there are others doing the same. This then allows us to network with like-minded human beings and spiritual forces alike for the sake of creating monumental changes that we can be proud of.

Have a wonderful weekend.
​-Chris

Greetings folks, my last post focused on the cultivation of magical links via the forging of a chain of intention through mantraic recitation. Today, we're going to discuss doing this with physical links to a target or intended goal, as that seems appropriate.

When building the Serpent's Spine in this way, you're creating a series of connective points between yourself and the target of your choosing. If you have access to physical goods representing your end goal, you can utilize the creation of the Serpent's Spine to empower the link itself and draw you nearer to your goal by extension.

Case in point, a common wealth spell involves the use of dirt from four banks, either mixed in oil with the appropriate herbs or used fresh with the correct additional ingredients. For the sake of discussion, we'll be using the oil-creation methodology. This is not a particularly complicated rite, but its powerful, and that alone renders it appropriate to discuss within this context.

With this in mind, you've got your dirt from four banks, chamomile (wealth cultivation), mugwort (energy movement), and cinquefoil (grabbing what blessings are presented to you) all mixed into an oil and appropriately consecrated. Now that this has been done, you're about to start working your magic & that's where building the Serpent's Shrine comes into place. 

Hold the bottle containing the oil in your hands and focus upon this physical vessel. Feel it within your grasp and have some sense of what's within, as this connection will be built by this process. From there, begin to chant a mantra or enn of your choosing and feel the words wrap themselves about this bottle, empowering the oil and bringing it to life.

*For spells like this, I'd suggest using a mantra/enn for Dzambhala, Tara, or Bune. They're all wealth-creation entities, so it comes down to what you're looking to work with.*

Here, I'll use the White Dzambhala practice, as it resonates with me & its mantra has a strong beneficial juju to it.  So with this oil in hand and the mantra "Om Padma Krodha Arya Jambhala Hridaya Hum Phat" in mind, begin to chant these recitations over and over again, feeling the words slip into and around the jar, filling it up and making the oil itself feel whole bodied and powerful. Continue this practice until you feel that oil humming with energy - if you don't feel it, you're not done. 

When you've reached that point where the energy is palpable, makes you tingle, and really *sings* to you, that's when you can go about constructing the ritual. Anoint a single candle, cover it in oil, and while being mindful of fire risks, place around it small clumps of basil (adds energy and vigor), rosemary (creates a sense of surface tension), and a touch of rue (adds force to the spell) if you're feeling adventurous. 

Then, spark a light and pull the trigger on the spellwork. Feel your words and breaths fine-tuning the spell and connecting it to your being. Congratulations, you've now done some serious rootwork with simple tools and mental focus.

You'll likely feel pretty exhausted after this, and often folks report feeling light-headed and a little giggly. Eat some chocolate and ground, then go about your day. Don't leave the flame unattended for long, and be sure to check in on it regularly. Watch how the candle burns, as the wax formations that run off can be indicative of any successes or lacks on your part. ;)

Blessings,
Chris

Hello everyone! I hope the week finds you well after the long weekend in the States. I am now freshly returned from my travels & getting caught up. While I was away, my distance from my tools allowed me to touch base with and delve more deeply into a practice which has been a part of my life since the early 90s. 

This is near and dear to me and I hope to see widespread use of this tech, as it is quite powerful. 

When we discuss ensorcellment and the idea of being enwrapped in faultless Powers, pulling the world’s ebbs & flows into our control, and cultivating great change, invariably the topic of circles and loops come into play. Circles are important in magic on account of their shape and the way energy flows about them. When one is created, it can be used to constrict and direct energy of all kinds, and they can be used to withstand energy.  This is their essence, and thus essence is quite flexible in its applications. 

Dropping for a moment any ritual considerations around a perfectly constructed circle, how might we go about encircling something animate? How might we create active enclosure of an attainable goal, person, place or thing?

We build this magical loop ourselves through intentional acts. We erect this as a monument to our success and intended goals. One way to do this is through mantra and focused intention. 

By working into Creation a chain of syllables, we piece together links and in turn construct a means of constraint. We engage and enwrap another in our intent, circle them with our minds, and bathe them in our wills. This can be used for great good or gray-area magical acts alike, as the focal point does not matter: only the building blocks do. 

Let us say that your goal is creating wealth, and you are looking to bring greater gain to yourself and your home. You might recite an appropriate mantra, a demonic enn, a conjuration of a wealth-creation spirit, or a heartfelt prayer to the universe as a plea. When you choose to do this, consider every utterance as the creation of a building block or “link” to this end goal. 

As every link provides a tie and each link builds a chain, you do exactly this through your words. Your tongue becomes the anvil upon which your mettle will be tested and your mouth becomes the forge which reshapes the steel of your mind. As you do this, focus on your intention and hammer it into the flow of what is to be. Draw it to you as you feel this chain tighten around your intention. Feel it bind and clamp, tightening and strengthening your hold on this goal and your achievement. 

Build the chain, then use it to tether you to your goals. ;)
-Chris