Since we are all human beings, each of us experience anxiety & stress. We've got quite a lot to worry about, as we're seeing very real threats develop in front of us. We're bombarded with clickbaitey media on a day to day basis, and the news parades the latest hairfire in front of us to garner attention and viewership. Its all well and good to stay informed, but there's a point at which this can all become too much to process.

I seek to discuss this point a bit and give you some tools to handle it so that what was once too much becomes manageable and well within your control. To this end, if you find yourself stressed out without an obvious cause, take some time to quiet the mind. When you've achieved that state, ask yourself "what's bothering me right now?" and listen for an answer, whatever it may be.

There are times where that fear or concern is entirely legitimate in nature, and there are times where that internal response is laughable. If its a valid reason to be concerned, the next thing you want to ask yourself is "what can I do to take steps to remedy this situation?" and again, listen for answer. Repeat this process until you have an idea of what needs to be done next so that you can make yourself more comfortable.

You might find yourself in a situation where you're banging your head against a wall because there's no end in sight, but that's going to be relatively rare. This rather simple meditative exercise gives you a tool to first determine what's upsetting you, and secondly gives you the ability to brainstorm and respond to that perceived threat in a rapid fashion instead of simply agonizing over it. As you then take the steps necessary to resolve the trouble, you should begin to notice less fear and anxiety in response.

If, however, the trouble is something that you cannot make mundane steps to resolve, can you, through magical works, begin to create a situation in which steps can be taken? If so, do that, and then begin to take mundane steps in conjunction with the magical remedies applied, as you'll then make it possible to work against what was once an insurmountably difficult hurdle.

Seems pretty simple when written out in this way, no?

If you, however, find yourself in a situation wherein the stress is neither valid nor useful, you can take steps to minimize the fear itself. To do so, calm the mind then mix together benzoin, sage, and neroli (or substitute dried citrus peels). Use a mortar and pestle to pulverize the mixture, and then place the mixture in a dish. Place upon it a candle, light it and say the words "Stress from within me, I acknowledge you and lessen the loudness of your voice. You are valuable and wanted, but I have heard your words and make this choice."

When the candle has burned down, take the herbs and place them into a jar. Fill the jar with oil and consecrate it. Whenever you find yourself in a stressful place of mind, anoint your forehead with the oil and then go back to focusing on your endeavors. This creates a mental link, a magical link, and a mundane link to the point at which you've taken action against your stress, freeing you up to use the aforementioned exercise to deal with actual stresses instead.

Just something to think through and work with. Its a surprisingly handy tool.

Blessings,
SE

​Hey folks, this is a life hack and a useful tip towards success. When you find yourself stuck and frustrated, without an end in sight, find a way to win. You’re not going to walk into all situations and walk out victorious, so when that doesn’t happen, find a way to create a benefit from that situation. 

If you’re getting fired from your job, use it as an opportunity to gain the support of coworkers & as a means of finding greener pastures somewhere else. 

If your wife is leaving you and there’s no remedy in sight, make your peace with it and use it as an opportunity to learn a lesson or three. Then, when you’ve hit the gym and redefined yourself and your standards, let that new person come to you. If you play your cards right, you’ll end up with an upgrade. 

The same goes for any other kind of trouble. There’s always an “out”, but it’s up to you to find one. If you become too mired to see that exit strategy, talk to someone who can help you find your way. 

I don’t expect people to enjoy terribly this post. It’s a life lesson and it’s not meant to be pleasant. When magic cannot achieve your aims, it’s clear that you are making the wrong choices in life. Don’t make the mistake of falling in love with potential. Instead, take the memo your guides are dropping for you and move forward with your life. 

Don’t let your pride or insistence become your undoing. 

Blessings,
SE

​Every tradition has its own Day of the Dead or like holiday during which our ancestors and holy dead are acknowledged and plied with offerings. For me, one of those times is the end of the year, right around Christmas: specifically, for the week of Yule and the remainder of the year, up through December 31st.

When this time is upon us, I like to take time to reflect on them, their virtues, and what I know of them. I tell their stories, I share alcohol and food with them, and I pay them homage. This is a pertinent form of spiritual practice. Our ancestors are the bits that make up the sum of our beings, and thus they probably have the most vested interest in our success and happiness. As a result, this process of Ancestor Worship is right up there with divination and meditation, representing no small importance.

 If you'd like to get in on this and honor those that came before us, I would recommend procuring the following: a beer your family would enjoy (or beer you yourself would enjoy if you're not familiar with their tastes), hard liquor (scotch or rum), tobacco, apple cider, and baked goods (your choice). Set it out upon a place that won't be disturbed by the living, and say the following prayer:

"Lady Hela, we ask that you cast open the veil and allow our ancestors near.
Let them close to the fire, to partake and to hear.
They are valued by us, and represent the core of our beings,
Please let them through, to sit with us this season.
Ancestors mine, recent and ancient,
Share with us your wisdom and enjoy this placement."

Sit with this some, and be aware that you have guests. At the close of the festivities, be sure to dismiss them and thank them for joining you and your family.

Blessings,
SE

PS: For those unaware, Hela is the Norse Goddess who is in charge of the dead and their placements. It is she who can open the road to communicate with her, and she has nothing to do with the concept of Hell.

Greetings and salutations folks, I hope you've had a fantastic day.

In the same vein as my prior update to Ghob's sigil, I've also elected to work with Anael and modernize her sigil as well. I do a fair bit of love work, and she's been asking me to do this for quite some time, so it seemed appropriate to oblige.

Here it is, in all it's glory:

Anael is a spirit of Venus, and thus influences the nature of romantic relationships in the future, present, and past. While soft in demeanor and quite divine in nature, she is a potent spirit with angelic leanings and should be respected as such.

If you're looking for advice around your love life, up to and including what you can do to improve upon it, I would recommend giving her a shout.

Blessings,
​SE

Greetings folks. Hope you guys and gals had a great weekend. :)

As a continuation of the last topic (on one's mindset), I'd like to talk a bit about how we put our minds in order.

By now, you folks are probably pretty aware of how our mindset is rather important. When we're up in a tizzy, it tends to mess with us a fair deal. What gets us into this semi-frenetic state isn't so important, as life is full of stresses; instead, getting out is important.

If you're a mess and need to sort yourself out, the following list of tips should help you.

This might seem a bit over-the-top, but if you're in a bad situation that has heretofore prevented you from sorting yourself out, its time to withdraw. Take a step back for a time, stop playing the game that's upsetting you, and adopt a wider view.

There's a overwhelming tendency to over-commit to something because it seems like the only path to joy. If it is, then this advice won't work for you. If it isn't, which is considerably more likely, taking a step back and focusing on you is key.

Much of our stress comes from an overwhelming lack of much-needed clarity. When you're too close to the situation, you're more than likely going to lose the forest for the trees.

Use the distance you created with step 1 to collect your thoughts. If you're not sure what to make of something, seek advice. You can talk to a trusted friend or diviner and get their take on what's happening around you.

Once you have a better understanding of what's going on in whatever situation was stressing you out, use that new information to plan a way forward.

If a business deal is upsetting you, and there's a specific person in that deal that seems to be the linchpin of what ails you, target them. Think tactically and come up with a means of starting a chain reaction that works for you. Plan your steps carefully, then enact them in the order that seems most effective, respecting proper timing along the way.

The point of this step is to use your newfound awareness most effectively. When you come back, you want to be strong & well-prepared. If you're not, this hiatus wasn't worth it.

Take some time, once your plan is formed, to take care of you. Pamper the heck out of yourself. Go see a movie and have a nice meal. If you're a drinker, spoil yourself with a good Scotch (or whatever else appeals to you). Use this time to unwind and get your head ready for the challenges to come.

If you're to return, as in step 5, you want to be mentally ready to do so. ;)

Finally, come back to the world ready & willing to take care of business. Enact your plan smartly & carefully. Make sure each step you take is wisest, and pay attention to what's going on around you.

Be well,
​SE

Greetings folks!

So a really cool topic came up out of a long-dead one over at StudioArcanis, and it led to a damned good question being asked. I'm going to share both the question and the reply here, so as to record this for my readers who don't tend to hang out on forums.

The question:
"Wanderer are you suggesting a theory of magick that the older a symbol is and the more that it has been used, then the more efficacious it is?[...]"

-Amind


My answer:
"Sort of, but not quite so directly as that.

In my experience, three things matter when doing magic:
1) How established is that current?
2) How easy is it if for [b]you[/b] to get into that current?
3) Just how potent is that current capable of being?

And they really do matter in that order, for the most part.

Runes are ancient. We don't really know how old, but I suggest that you read Jan Fries' Helrunar, as it would indicate that there are some runic forms that go way, way back. Some of 'em were painted all over the world to boot, and usually that's for an unknown reason. Take what you will from that.


Age is only one factor in establishment of a faith, though. There are plenty of old systems that clearly didn't work all that well, as the cults did not survive. Those that were potent had pieces of themselves adopted by other, newer religions that still kept enough of the old ways to make it work (Sun Worship, anyone?). The fact that Christianity has survived and thrived may well be an indicator of just how robust it is as a religious system, even if its one I don't find particular resonance with.

Establishing a faith/system and keeping it going for thousands of years requires quite a bit of human interaction with said system. Furthermore, one could argue that it would require a fair deal of deific interaction too, so as to keep its tenants from being forgotten. When that happens, "grooves" are formed along human consciousness, and what your ancestors did is often easier for you to do. We can posit this theory because mice have been proven to inherit fear-based responses to stimuli like the smell of cherry blossoms (link).

The more something was done before, the easier it is to do again (theoretically speaking, anyway). This is why the status & establishment of a system matters.

Next up, we've got the point of "well, just how easy is it for you to get into that current?", and that goes along the lines of what I mentioned above. If your ancestors did it and you inherited genes that have those spiritual tendencies of theirs locked away therein, then it should logically be easier for you to get a sense of what they did and do it yourself. Likewise, your practices could well be inherited by your kids, provided you got into those practices before they were born.

If this is indeed true (and it appears to be, per science), then those whose families have practiced magical work for generations are going to have a leg up on others, so long as they follow the same line of study.

Finally, we've got the matter of power. How powerful can that system actually be? We've all heard stories of people levitating, crushing others under the weight of their psychic blows, and so on and so forth. These 'miracles' are said to have occur, but hearsay doesn't matter at this point; what matters is actualization. And whose to say how powerful a system is at the end of the day? That's a matter of crafting theories based on tons of resarch.

And here's the particularly important part about the 3rd piece of this puzzle: the pinnacle only matters if you can attune yourself to the system so effectively that you can actually utilize and channel the current at its full potency. If you can't do that, the glittering peak of power-in-a-system means nada to you.

.....and then you get into points of contention like "does this deity still exist?" and "is this accessible?". Some deities & spirits just won't like you regardless of what you do. Its not "fair", but "fair" is bollocks.

Its also worth noting that new systems can be damned powerful if based enough around old systems. I'm convinced that's why New Avatar Power works so damned well...our ancestors wouldn't have had the time to run around with a special dagger, tiger skin belt, and so on. They would have used the down, dirty, and quick way so as to fire their magics off quickly, without fanfare. Hushed, rapid whispers make more sense over grandiose conjurations if you look to history."


Continuing on, this is a topic I've asked spirits about, researched endlessly, and obsessed over for years and years and years now. Its a curious question to posit, but one with a potentially incredible impact. If we're being honest, doing magical work is about results. Would you agree?

If that is the case & success is your goal, adopting a system most prone to get you results is key. And no, I'm not recommending blindly following someone purely because they have the oldest magical system on the books - that would be idiocy. Instead, I suggest that success should be thy proof a la Crowley.

To that end, constantly tinkering with and trying new-to-you systems would be wise. As would integrating truths you find from different places and things.

We would be foolish to believe that these old systems have survived unmolested, and so piecing them back together and distilling them until we've found the absolute heart of the practice is incredibly important.

That is what I do, day in and day out. It is a passion of mine. Maybe it can become a passion of yours. ;)

Be well,
​SE

Taking a break from the recent discussions on energy work, it feels appropriate to discuss timing from a magical perspective. It seems its a subject of little discussion.

All things in life have their rhythms, and each of them is cyclical.  Sometimes observing those rotations is crucial to being successful, and others its not all that useful.

In martial arts, one frequently performs drills to get in the habit of observing how another person moves and reacts. One such drill I've used in the past involves staying in contact with a sparring partner as he moves his arms and attempts to attack using short movements. A simple version of this can be found in this video below:

It might look a bit silly, but the purpose of the drill is to get into a flow that speeds up or slows down according to the movements of your training partner. This is one of many such drills, as I've seen the same sort of thing used in Tai Chi, Kenpo, Brazillian Jiu Jitsu, Karate, Kali, and several other arts.

On a spiritual level, it works the same way. One can learn to observe how others flow in order to better help them, for example.  When healing a target, understanding when they sleep, how long they sleep, when they eat, how they respond to those things, and how their internal clocks tick can be used to time work more effectively. Setting a healing rite to occur at the same moment a person eats a tonic-filled meal can be an incredibly potent practice that takes a great deal of work out of the arrangement long-term.

The same concept can be applied to the external rhythms seen in nature through astrology. Understanding lunar phases, the movement of the Behenian Stars, and the transits of the planets can be incredibly potent when applied to workings.  On a simple level, the Moon's status can be used to cause an effect to grow (while the Moon is waxing) or to decrease (when the Moon is waning). This logic applies to any and all states within the Universe so long as they effect what you are attempting to work with.

Keeping this in mind, becoming aware of how those transits and changes affect you is very important as well.  I can't tell you how many times a client has done something harmful as a result of being impacted by a retrograde they didn't know about. Less frequently, sometimes folks get crazy lucky as a result of making a business decision at the right moment, and it catapults them ahead.

Just like watching the stock market, using those energy fields appropriately is a matter of observation and wisdom, so I suggest you start paying attention.

So too, when performing magical work for yourself, this can be useful. If you know what's coming around the mountain in a social situation, you can use it to your advantage. Let's say, for example, a woman you're interested in is going to be at a party and you know you're going to try to ask her out later on in the evening. Blessing her day and then glamouring yourself such that she's more inclined to lower her guard around you can be just enough to make her more likely to pay attention to you and want to make her day even better by acquiescing to your request for a date. Someone's going to be more likely to say yes when the opportunity is seen as positive and they've been having a good day.

Likewise, doing things before their time can sometimes be harmful.  Doing work to get a promotion when none exists, for example, can get you a bunch of attention from your superiors during a financial pinch point. If you get that attention and then don't rise to the occasion, you could well find your job in jeapardy.  

Just some musings to consider.

Be well folks,
SE

Beauty spells are a thing of much discussion and little serious discource where magical work is concerned. It comes up frequently, but for whatever reason its an intimidating subject. That may well be because of the physical nature of te work in question.

There are two categories of beautification rites:

1. Physical remedies and changes
2. Glamours

Understanding the distinction between the aforementioned is incredibly important, as both have their place.

The first sort is physical, and, as the label implies, is geared towards creating some sort of apparent change in the body.  This can be weight loss, growing bigger boobs, changing the size of one's penis, modifying the health of one's skin, beautifying your hair, changing someone's height, etc.  This is not an area where the eye of the beholder has quite as much to do with the changes one seeks, as this should be abstractly measurable.

The latter is not at all physical, but instead takes place in the minds of those viewing the subject upon which the spell is placed. Glamour magic is, in short, an illusion placed on upon a subject to garner a specific sort of attention from whomever views the target. It can be criteria-based, or the working can simply be attached to the target so that everyone sees it.

While physical changes are often what we seek, its my experience that glamour magic is usually a hell of a lot more effective for two reasons: 1) People are lazy, and frequently don't want to exercise, eat healthy, or change their habits in a way that would allow them to lose weight, have bigger breasts, or seem to have a larger penis.  2) Physical changes are a hell of a lot harder to make to start, so the first hindrance really causes problems in the short and long term. It can be done, but its costly where the amount of effort one puts forth is concerned.

I've been working towards one physical change for the past 6 months, and I've been having outstanding results thanks to the efforts I've been putting forth: I've been working to lose weight.  I'm now down 23 pounds as of today, and that is wonderful.  However, its also not easy. Even with magical work behind it, I've had to change my diet, go to the gym regularly, and modify my habits to support what I'm doing.  I feel better, though, and I am committed to succeeding here. If you want physical results, your level of effort will have to either mirror or surpass my own.

Glamours, however, don't really require much effort on your end once they're applied. Its an illusion that can be used to make you seem more charming, more likeable, more affluent. You can use it to really make your eyes stand out in a crowd, like the bolded text you see in this sentence.  Magic can be wrought to make your hair seem glossier or your butt look better in those jeans.  When used on otherwise comely men and women, I've seen plenty of toady folks steal the limelight from much more attractive individuals because the work changes the way others view you.  Beauty is, after all, in the eye of the beholder.

The best way to really make beautification magic stick is to generate results through both glams and physical changes. Do so, and you're going to have a leg up on others in business, love, lust, social interactions, and so on. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, after all.

Vas thu heil,
Chris/SE

I've realized I've been a bit lax in sharing pertinent ideas and practices here, over the past few months, so I thought it time to post a bit.  With that in mind, I've been contemplating & experimenting with the idea of using magical grids, mandalas, and so forth when doing work for quite some time now. The idea first struck me many years ago, and I lazily pursued it at the time, only to have my interest rekindled by Gordon over at Rune Soup when he talked about Sigil Shoaling. This pattern of pursuing the idea, then losing sight of it, then pursuing it again has repeated on and on for many years now, and so I am making a conscious effort to put it into practice once again.

As I do so, I am finding that several things happen. Firstly, the vibrational feel of the working picks up considerably.  Secondly, this causes results to manifest more quickly.  And thirdly, it just feels right; something clicks into place and suddenly the individual workings that felt very much alive to start rapidly develops palpable depth and breadth. The workings begin to dance with each other, develop their own music, and then go on to live as if they're villagers that have shuffled out into the world.

Incidentally, since I started doing this, I now get asked if I'm a musician every other day or so.  I love and adore music, but lack the aptitude to create it outside of the creation of sung or whispered charms and such.

Getting back to it, grids, as I'll call them here, can be crafted and shaped in any number of ways with whatever materials you so choose.  You can use numerology, sacred geometry, aesthetic balance, elemental associations, astrological meanings, tarot cards, playing cards, bones, runes, psephoi, colors, and so on and so forth until you've built up a truly impressive and massive magical grid (how's that for a tongue twister, eh?).

Above is one such grid that I use in my home alongside other workings.  When inclined to do so, I often elect to branch out from what you see above and connect this grid to smaller gridded workings like you see below.

The possibilities, potentialities, and arrangements are pretty much limitless in theory.  In reality, they are limited by space and materials. In my case, I limit the size of the workings to 2 altar tops' worth for the sake of not making too much of a mess. :)

When setting up such a system, its useful to take the intention, available materials, and available space into account.  Don't go above and beyond what you can feasibly control, lest it bite you on the rear end at a later date.

I suggest starting small, first by considering the numerical value you want to utilize.  I am partial to letter-based systems of divination a la psephoi (aka the Greek Alphabet Oracle) and the runic Futharks, planetary, and elemental magic, so I tend to arrange grids around those ideas.

If I were to make a fire-related grid for spiritual illumination, I would utilize the numbers 3 and 7, as they strike me as being active and relatively fiery in nature.  I'd utilize 7 different types of materials, be they sigils (Fire symbols from various books, the tattva for fire, picture of a salamander), oils (Fire From Heaven, Bend Over, Commanding), vegetebilia (Cinquefoil, ash, Blessed Thistle, Devil's Claw) mineralia (obsidian, glass, tempered metal, or fire agate), candles (red, orange, jet blue), charms (against Evil Eye, dragon pendant, all seeing eye), animalia (lawfully and humanely harvested bones, sinew, misc. viscera from salamanders, geckos, fire-bellied toads, coyotes, rattlesnakes, vultures, scorpions, mountain lions), uttered or written prayers, energy work, and so forth. I tend to use whatever is available to me - you may or may not have certain limitations, so use whatever you're comfortable with.

Were I to utilize Lunar magic, I'd do the same thing with the numbers 5 and 8. For Jupiter work, I'd use 4 and 7, and so on and so forth, mixing and matching to my heart's content.

With any luck, this post will have provided you with plenty of ideas for magical workings that you could do in the future.

Enjoy your Saturday, folks!

SE