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 

Continuing with the conceptual basis of Serpent Sorcery, one of the techniques I've been urged to share with you is a protection mechanism known to me as Constriction.

This is a magical meditation technique meant to cause both internal and external change, and its goal is to limit and drain those things that do not serve you. Constriction pulls away at threads that hamper your growth, day to day experiences, and magical rites while also knocking down the potency of adverse rituals performed against you. Done correctly, this technology has both internal impact  and the capacity to cause external change, forcing healing in the areas touched by the troubles brought against you. It inspires regeneration, in a sense, as the troubles brought against you mirror your inner landscape, so resolving the external turmoil causes related chaos inside you to terminate and likewise resolve itself.

In a manner of speaking, this is a kind of serpentine alchemy of the heart, mind, and soul as a means of balancing the microcosm & the macrocosm.

Performing this spiritual alchemy within this context can be quite uncomfortable. It requires a deep awareness of the internal troubles caused by external sources of discomfort. If you are able to face your inner demons, so to speak, the act of doing so then fuels this work. extending your reach beyond the inner sanctum of your mind in turn. Without this understanding & the emotion related to it present, the ritual has no heart for the serpent to encircle and ensorcell.

To begin this process, you must start with meditation. Close your eyes, slow your breathing, and connect with yourself. Feel you rooting into yourself, and as you do so, begin to contemplate what you feel at this time. Become cognizant of all that troubles you, be it ill will, frustration, anger, resentment, sadness, or fear, and seek to maintain this awareness *without falling to those emotions OR walking away*(...this last part is extra important!).

As you face this upset, consider the vectors through which this has made its way into your life. Consider who and what brought it into being, and search for a mental awareness of the threads bound between occurrence and cause. At first, this will make little sense to most people, as we have a way of attributing causality with the wrong people & things. When you have the wrong concept in mind, it won't feel weighty or impactful, but rather like its a "miss". When this occurs, don't get discouraged, as when you do finally stumble across the right connection, you'll feel its weight like a stone. It might take some soul-searching, but that connection will eventually be made.

When it is, its not uncommon for a person to begin to shake uncontrollably. At times, it'll feel like you're about to shake yourself out of your body and mind, and this is very often connected to an internal sense of swirling. Like a vortex just opened up within you and a storm's popped out of it in turn. When this occurs, focus through it, but take this awareness as a clear sign that you are on the right path. 

When you've made the leap necessary to create this mental link, this is where the magic begins. Feel the serpentine entity you've made friends with through this work awaken and slither about you. Feel that weight settle upon your crown, shoulders, torso, and lap. Feel the serpent tighten its coils around you, and let this sensation deepen until you feel like you might pop. As you do this, see too that your external troubles are treated in a similar fashion, becoming enwrapped by and encased within a serpent's coils, binding, constraining, and Constricting both the trauma and its cause, grinding both sides of the same coin into nothingness. 

When you feel that weight begin to disappear and the serpent's coils loosen about you, stir and stand. Return to your usual state of awareness and begin to ground yourself out. Its not uncommon to be incredibly hungry as a direct result of this work, and if you've done this right, you will not be safe to drive for at least an hour. These states of heightened awareness can be extraordinarily intoxicating, and you do not want to do anything that could potentially be hazardous while you're "high" on spiritwork. 

After you've grounded, you should feel like that internal weight has less an impact on you. You'll then be free to go about your day to interact with others, likely with less fear and concern in tow. This process can be repeated until you feel more free of the things that hamper growth.

For weightier concerns and experiences, this will take repeated efforts to fully resolve. The more lightweight issues will often be sorted within one session. This is a relatively simple ritual, but it is not at all easy. Working on yourself in this capacity builds an ability to create manifest shifts and changes within your internal and external worlds alike, and you will find in time that performing this Constriction allows other magical projects to flow more readily.

Blessings to you all, and good luck.
-Chris

I wasn't really sure what to title this at the start, as I had some options. "Automatic writing gone wrong.", "Safety First: Magic Edition", "Bad Ideas & Exorcism"....All would have been appropriate.

Yesterday, someone reached out to me over my Instagram page and she was not in a good space as a result of some particularly careless magic. She'd smoked a joint and thought it was a good idea to try some automatic writing, and while none of those things are particularly "bad" when someone has the talent for it, trance work has some serious risks for the uninitiated. Here, the uninitiated was initiated into the spirit world by a kind of trial by fire that likely did some serious damage, as she was possessed by the spirit of a sassy female that did not have her best interests at heart. 

As such, this is a Public Safety Announcement: if you're going to try your hand at magical endeavors, especially ones where some form of trance and/or spiritual possession are likely to occur, do so safely and sanely. The spirit world is a wide-open place and for every beneficial angel, respectful land spirit, or kindly demon you encounter, there are a whole lot of desperate, unsavory beings out there. You don't really want those entities taking control of you, as when they do so, they act out & generally do things that can get you into serious trouble.

Last night, this lass lost total control of her left arm for several hours as a result of her attempt at automatic writing. Up until the point at which I negated the presence of this spirit, it could have caused her to harm herself. There were several points at which she was near pointed objects that the spirit could have jammed into her eyes, throat, or neck, making for a very real danger when you're working with entities of this kind.

If you would like to attempt automatic writing and other such experiences, do so after you've made friends with sufficiently powerful entities to remove whatever it is you call to. If this is your end goal, your guides had better have the strength necessary to go to war over your body. If you are going to call something up, be sure you have the means of putting it down. Spirits exist, magic exists, and the capacity for both to do great harm to you exists if you're careless.

This isn't intended to be a fearmongering post, so much as its a reminder to be careful. I rather like you guys and gals, and would very much like to see each of you happy, healthy, and whole. That's quite difficult to achieve if someone is careless and/or negligent in their interactions with the other side.

Blessings,
Chris

Following last week's post about Spiritual Protection within the context of Serpent Sorcery, we're going to take this up a notch. So much of progress is tied to one's ability to face down the darkness and grow from it that the act of doing so can create relatively insane shifts in one's circumstances. This is a rather pronounced trend, and it affects both spiritual & mundane gains. We slow ourselves down less, we halt our progress less, and we create additional momentum for our good works.

This momentum can be ridden and used. One such use involves using what fears we face to then create additional protections for ourselves.

When you reach that point where you're walking away from the last meditation I shared with a kind of "psychological high" where you feel stimulated and a bit floaty, you're ready to roll with this. Following a productive meditation, open your eyes and switch your focus over into a creation mode & grab a needle, a candle, and star anise. Carve into the candle a sigil that you feel represents you, then place your spit upon the graven image. Rub powdered star anise into that wet mark as a means of activating the sigil, then place the candle and set it alight. In so doing, you'll have created a somewhat protective rite that insulates your psychic senses from harm while also stimulating deeper growth.

Following this, you can begin to work more serious magical rites. This can be repeated as needed.

Blessings,
Chris

​As a continuation of the Serpent Sorcery series, our focus today is on protection magic done within that sphere of influence. The protection associated with serpents is largely connected to changing how someone experiences adversity. This is a rather substantial difference from other systems of magic, as the general idea is to negate and avert damaging energy before it can be made manifest. That's not at all the focus here, as instead serpent spirits use what occurs as a kind of tool for growth, rather than as a disaster to be averted or avoided.

If you feel that someone is working ill against you, close your eyes. Focus on this concept of being attacked, and attempt to give it shape. Consider the force behind it, its form, and the means through which this is to be made manifest in your life.

When you have some grasp of this foulness and have a sense of its distance from you, mentally invoke and call out to the serpent presence you've been feeling throughout this process. Reach out to it and, in turn, connect your essence to this serpentine flow. When you feel that this has been established, reach out and wrap yourself around the harm that's coming your way. Let this sense of presence guide your feelings and thoughts about this trouble, and let its impact decline, recognizing that you only as impacted by it as you allow yourself to be.

Then, feel this serpentine force wrap itself about you as if it were to create a strong cocoon of tightly-wrapped muscle and scales. Feel yourself cool slightly, and let yourself grow comfortable inside this insulated state. Sit in this protected space for a time and feel yourself becoming ensorcelled by this energy, as this act forms of a protective shield of a kind. When you feel that you've done this correctly, open your eyes, ground yourself out, and go about your day. You will likely feel a bit distant from others, but that distance has quite a lot to do with this act of insulating yourself from harm.

This is a tool for inspiring growth as a means of increasing your own strength. This can work beautifully as a means of improving your own throughput and work ethic, and its a means of forcing your spirit/life essence to grow. As you do this, you should feel a sense of calm. If your panic grows, walk away from this and start over. Anxiety will not serve you here, as the act of facing this down reprograms you to an impressive degree.

Blessings,
Chris

All things in life have a flow. Cyclical occurrences fuel & drive this flow, creating the means through which life renews itself and evolution is had. This is a known, observable phenomenon, and something which can be utilized in an active, ongoing manner. 

Today, I have a meditation for you which is meant to assist you in becoming aware of this flow so that you might use it to your advantage. To get started, perform the usual of finding a calm, quiet place in which you can become comfortable and focused. 

Breathe deeply, in and out, with every breath following a smooth current that takes on a life of its own. Do not attempt to control this flow. Simply observe it and your body’s natural rhythm - this autonomic process is an aspect of your body’s flow. The microcosm reflects the infinite macrocosm & the same is true in reverse. 

As you pay attention to your breath and become aware of its rhythm, attempt to lean into this and deep dive into yourself. As your breathing continues, feel this flow all around you. Let it overtake you and follow it willingly, letting this current steer you. Remain in this state for as long as is comfortable. 

When you’ve completed this meditation, ground yourself out by walking around, eating chocolate, playing with a pet, or performing other forms of self-care. Rituals like this are simple, yet powerful. 

Blessings,
Chris 

Following my prior posts around both ritual inhalants and seasons and cycles, it is appropriate to discuss the nature of sensory awareness within this context. Even a substance as ubiquitous as caffeine can change the way you interact with the world in your immediate periphery, changing the way you sense what you sense. This deeply held awareness of one's situation, circumstances, and the flows which work their ways within a given situation is an important aspect of serpent sorcery.

In essence, its what makes this Work worth doing.

The Work itself changes how you relate to the land you're on and the spirits upon it, creating a sensory awareness of the flows at hand. When this occurs, it can change the way you interface with those entities and powers by changing the way you feel and sense them. This shift in sensory awareness then dictates your cognizance of the flow within the land and, in turn, increases your ability to work with these forces.

This is where meditation comes in as an important tool, as it creates body and spirit awareness while creating emotional awareness. While you Work, be mindful of any felt shifts, however small, and attempt to ascertain their nature. If you can learn to do so, you'll find yourself better prepared to interface correctly, which in turn creates more powerful magic.

Pro tip. ;)

Blessings,
Chris

​The eclipse has ended & with it another lunar cycle begins. We’ve got about a month and a half left to summer, and many of us are working to manage & complete various projects. Often times, our time & efforts are constrained by the heat, travel plans, and lounging about with friends, so it is during times like these where it is necessary to consider our aims and how we plan to fulfill them.

​What you set in motion during the summer will manifest in the Fall, continuing on into the Winter. As the seasons pass and their cycles renew, so too will both your magic & the need to perform it.

If there’s any burning need that cries out to you in the moments of quiet, plan to fulfill them & work to do so. Don’t let yourself get too distracted by leisure in the process, as while having time to yourself is important, so too are your goals. Don’t sacrifice them for the sake of temporary relief.

Instead, make the time and handle your ritual concerns, your family, and your needs so that minor troubles don’t become something more. Meditate, evoke, and work, as doing so will set you above & apart from your competition, no matter your walk in life. 

Never allow yourself to be outworked by another. 
Blessings,
Chris