One of the great ironies in life is that while others can take our identity away from us, it's up to us to create our identity. This particular truth can either be seen as an intellectual curiosity or a manifest truth with weight and measure. Both, even, and it becomes all the more pertinent to consider after experiencing trauma or hardship. 

After it's all said and done, it's up to us to decide who it is we want to be. Are we the sort to burn it all down and walk away, or are we looking to build something incredible? What walls do we erect and how do we go about doing so? Each of these considerations become a part of the identity we create for ourselves; each becomes a puzzle piece in the making of who we intend to be. 

They're a part of both who we are, who we're becoming, and they contribute a greater understanding of ourselves along the way.

There's a funny kind of difficulty to be found in this process too, as there's not a one-size-fits-all codification or guide. Some will find and cling to religion, others will find some manner of organization or group to define themselves, but ultimately these are social agreements we keep. They're a part of who we become, but not who we are or who we are becoming in totality, so its on us to discover what is and is not right for us.

That's a process of trial & error, and it can lead one into some dark places along the way. When it does, consider how you want to become who you intend to be. Contemplate what each decision adds to this new version of you and keep an awareness of what you're looking to be.

It's difficult work, but its rewarding work! While it might seem to be a really lonely road, it doesn't have to be. There are avenues of aid available to you if you should require them, and the world is full of seekers just trying to ascertain where they fit. When the world is populated with folks trying to meaningfully engage with this process, there's no shame in asking for help when piecing Humpty Dumpty together again. ;)

Just be sure to be true to yourself and what you want to be as you do this. Then, you'll have no regrets when you find yourself again.

Blessings,
Chris 

​I've been around a fair bit as I've done magic for other people. That wasn't the start of my travels, nor will it be the end, but my time spent working with folks from other countries & far away ideals has taught me quite a lot.

One of the most pertinent lessons I've learned is that we are tied to the land. We are tied to the land in ways that we don't consider, and it is that tether to what is under our feet that we tend to neglect most. 

Every crop we plant, every weed we pull, every bit of landscaping we do has an impact. By extension, every bit of additional TLC we give the land, every offering, and every spiritual engagement we have with the beings upon the space we occupy provides a similar impact. We exist within an ecosystem, and taking good care of that eco-system provides a foundation for each and every thing we do. 

Magic is local to an extreme degree, and so to are our efforts. When you consider how your magic works, consider the impact you're having on the land below your feet. If your spells are not working, if you're struggling with health issues, if you're failing to thrive, or struggling to get your business off the ground, I would strongly suggest considering your impact on the earth around you. Work to heal the land and you will work to remedy the troubles you have, as you have to live with that energy each and every day… You have to live alongside every spirit that exists there.

Taking good care of that land and the entities upon it has a direct impact on your life. The more care and consideration you put in to those engagements, the more you will get out of it. Start local, and focus on the things with in your neighborhood that you have a direct ability to impact. If you do so, blessings and boons will come. 

If everything isn't working, start with the land. That's where we grow our crops, that's where we grow us & what we want to be. 

Blessings,
Chris 

Dreams have become something of a focus of late, and so it is appropriate that we discuss this fascinating topic within the context of Serpent Sorcery. 

Its long been understood that dreams point to something else occurring behind the scenes. They're a portal to a different worldview and an internal change of pace, and in this way they are inherently magical. However, that is not where the profundity ends, as it is well within the nature of spirits to communicate with us; at times, those communications happen through dreams.

Just recently, a client shared with me that a dream occurring after she and I worked together was essentially life-changing. What she saw was, to paraphrase her own words, worth more than thousands of hours of therapy, and having experienced the same I can attest to the impactful nature of dreams guided by Spirit.

The same can be said for Serpent Dreams, as entities of this kind are often not as overt as others in their manifestations. They're not often the sort to manifest loudly and proudly, with massive visions attached, but rather they slither into view and we become a ride-along in this oneiric state. These beings take us through experiences and shifts in understanding that then impact our worldview in the waking state, which in turn can be intensely magical.

When this occurs, the revelations you take with you become the foundation for what else is to occur, and this is both an act of changing who you are as well as the world connected to you. This current spills out and forth into the waking state, and then synchronistic ripples tug at us to remind us of the veracity of what we've seen.

With that in mind, I'd like to provide you with an exercise to be performed when hading to bed. For some, this generates incredibly vivid dreams, and for others it generates restful sleep and rejuvenation. The lucky ones get helpings of both.

To accomplish this, as you go about your evening routine & prepare for bed, attempt to unwind and shake loose the stresses of the day. Minimize and dismiss any alternate narratives going on in you head to turn your attentions away from any distractions of the day. Return yourself to this neutral state and then imagine yourself being enwrapped in a glossy white encasement. As this egg-like cocoon enwraps you, understand that you are within it and invite your serpent spirits to protect and guide you. Sense them wrapping about this encasement, protecting and sealing you within. Consider that you are with them & they are with you as you drift off to sleep.

If you've made this connection appropriately, your dreams will feel different and seem different on some intrinsic level. For most, this feels like someone has come along for the ride, and it is not uncommon for the imagery to change rather substantially. This is part of how these beings help us to see and understand the world more clearly, as these dreams take us through both our unconscious world and the collective unconscious.

You may find yourself exploring the intentions of a lover or seeing the struggles of a friend. You might find yourself confronting your own experiences through a different lens or sense that you're being taken on a journey. When this occurs, you may or may not become lucid within this dream state, but do take mental notes of what all you see. A journal will be your best friend here, as its not at all uncommon for this to cause a waking state of clairvoyance, clairaudience, or clairsentience, so having something to come back to and reflect upon can be immensely helpful.

In time, you'll find that there's an element of oneiric sorcery which occurs too, as these state changes that are caused within you by these experiences change the way your magic works and unfolds.

I recommend doing this only when you don't have something very important to get to in the morning. Days where you plan to sleep in are best, as this can be a bewildering experience at first - its not the kind of thing you want to do before a board meeting with Fortune 500 execs! 

Make a habit of this and take note of the rewards you receive as a result of these practices. When you feel like you've had a particularly intense & beneficial experience, provide offerings to these spirits. They'll guide you through this slowly, but effectively.

Blessings,
Chris

We've come 'round to that time of year in which the line that separates this world from the next becomes a bit fuzzy. Spirits peek on through the Veil and make themselves more known to us, and it is in this time of spiritual connectedness that we can most closely work with those who are the very reason we're here: our Ancestors.

For those of you unfamiliar with ancestral work, those that came before us have as much a vested interest in our success as we do. Their good works are the reason our respective familial lines still exist, and were our lines to terminate, they'd be without anyone to remember them. Their existence would effectively end and their stories would go untold, letting them slip loose of the World's memory.

It is in this time that telling their stories and drinking deeply of the familial well is most important. Honor them through your remembrance and give thanks for every time in which you feel like something very much should have not gone your way but did. If your life or livelihood has ever been threatened and yet miraculously saved, thank them for it, as even if they were not directly responsible, there's a good chance they've had a hand in it.

This doesn't need to be a particularly fancy affair, so if you're the broke college student magician or frugal kitchen witch, you can brew a cuppa and consider those who came before you as you sip at it. Share that warmth with those who are responsible for the warmth that pumps its way through your veins. You may find that this is a deeply emotional expereince, and that is to be expected. Should your family line pass through you to create an heir to the bloodline, you will do the same down the line when your family regards you in the same way.

It doesn't take much effort, but its worth it in the end.

For those of us who are a bit more adventurous and comfortable with our ancestors, I recommend sharing food and drink. Create a feast and share part of it with them. Share some of your kids' Halloween candy with them and tell stories about how your family took you out Trick Or Treating when you were young or share stories about what you and they did during this time of year. Celebrate their lives and what they've added to yours, and perform ritual offerings alongside this to properly thank them.

It doesn't need to be extravagant, but it does need to be sincere and heartfelt. Keep them in mind this time of year and don't be surprised if beneficial changes are had. ;)
Blessings,
Chris

Now, for the second article of our double feature today, I'm here to speak with you about Serpent Sorcery and painting the walls with your presence. Just as labels color the view others have of you, so too does your sorcery do the same in the spirit world. What you work with can often be perceived by others on some levels, fleshy beings and spiritual ones alike, so what you surround yourself with can make quite the difference.

This is pertinent within the context of Serpent Sorcery, as serpents shed their skin to create for themselves additional camouflage...In a literal way, they redefine themselves by growing a new label, and so it is that these two topics are inherently linked.

When engaging with the Naga in this way and working your way through these spiritual processes, consider how this changes you from within. Reflect upon your struggles and successes and come to realize how these experiences have changed the way you interact with the world...consider how this skin you wear changes how the world sees you in turn.

How would you like for that to change? Existence requires a kind of joi de vivre as a core animating force, so how is it that you would like for the world around you to see the skin you wear? This passion beneath the surface of your skin need not only be skin deep. All beings seek connection surfaces to engage with, so you do choose much of how you present yourself.

In engaging with yourself in this way, you'll find within your own joy and animus via meditation. When you find that fire, tend to it, let it grow and become robust. Let it flow through you to a point where you can see yourself wearing this source of passion openly. Let this change your own serpent's skin, as you already automatically wear some element of yourself as a label each and every day.

Consider how you might modify this context of self and how you're perceived by others to achieve the fulfillment of this great passion. The concept of self-definition along these lines is a continual ongoing process, and this visualized skin upon yourself labels you for the world to perceive. Wield this intelligently, as this is in many respects a glamour upon all that is you. 

Blessings,
Chris

​Following my post a week ago about the importance of both complexity and simplicity within a magical context, today we've got something of a double feature. This article focuses on a new topic of equal weight and importance, as will the next that I post in relation to Serpent Sorcery.

For now, we're here to discuss labels in a spiritual context, their importance, their relevance, and where they fail to make the mark. Societal interactions are both as complex and as simple as we need for them to be. 

When we engage with others, we speak to them about any number of subjects as a general rule. These social engagements can range over a broad spectrum of topics and an unlimited number of foci, but the specific discussions we choose to have with a specific person tend to come with a label attached. This can, at times, lead to a greater sense of community and a feeling of being more supported by those of like mind, but the opposite can also hold true.

What happens when we choose a label that's unlike anything else another person has ever experienced? When this occurs, we tend to ostracize ourselves from social engagements with this person who is equally foreign to us, and that can essentially render us "othered" by extension. That is to say that labels are as much like garments for one's personality as sunglasses can be a social statement or a Gucci handbag can be an indication of worth.

We define others by and through our engagements with them, and the labels we wield and wear become an extrapolation of who we are. When we claim to be a Wiccan or a Druid or a Satanist or a Buddhist or a Ceremonial Magician, we automatically claim some manner of affiliation with others who identify in a similar way. This can be a beneficial identification or a harmful one depending on the attitudes of others.

If the group with which you're affiliated by label does something wonderful, then hooray for you, you get a social "like" and folks appreciate your presence more thoroughly. When that group does something dubious or heinous, however, the opposite occurs and those so labeled are treated with fairly equal disrespect across the board. This is the exact process by which Islamophobia became a thing here in the USA, and its for that very reason that being mindful of one's image is crucial.

Without discussing the moral quandaries associated with assumptions related to such blanket statements, its important to understand that this is how human beings work. We've grown very good at including those we feel are good for us and absolutely horrendous about othering those we fail to understand, and this happens each and every day.

Knowing this, I would urge you to consider what your labels say about you. You can be Chrissy the Gardnerian Witch or Samantha the Satanic Daemonolatrist without some circles batting an eye, but do be mindful of the opportunities you gain by identifying as such and, more importantly, the opportunities you lose as a direct result. 

If you find that you may be rejected more readily because of one label or another, I would strongly suggest you consider your brand and how you present yourself. It does make a substantial difference, and there are times where interacting with others without a label attached can be advantageous. You never know when that label will follow you into a job interview or a spiritual engagement.

This brings me to the other side of this particular coin: labels in spiritual context. Just as we might be othered because we don't fit cleanly into someone else's paradigm as a result of our own adornments, we might fail to properly interact with spirits as a direct result. This sounds ridiculous at first breath, but why should a spirit behave any differently than us? Many spirits are simply dead people to begin with, and we know how judgmental the living can be!

Our own espoused religious and spiritual views can lead to us being accepted or rejected by spirits, and when this occurs the results can be either incredibly beneficial or absolutely devastating. Some spirits will refuse to work with us if we work with another being they hate, fear, or disrespect, and there are times where they'll harass us as a direct result of that affiliation.

For instance, I had a client contact me when she was travelling through the Midwest here in the US. She'd been getting harangued by the spirits of Native Americans as a result of performing Christianized rituals in their view. These entities took it as another instance in which white folks were trying to take their land and they were none too happy about it, leading to the client in question being tormented by tricksters seeking to throw her off and send her packing. It wasn't until she dropped the Christianized flair from these rites that she was respected and treated as a regular human passing through, as the Christian trappings of the rites themselves offended these entities immensely.

This is not a one-off experience, either. Each class or group of spirits, be it defined by tribe or by location, have their own rules, regulations, social taboos and enemies. The label you wear and the spirits you work with tell them a great deal about who you are as a person, and they will most definitely treat you as such. Entreating with these beings with mutual respect and little to no extravagant airs will get you the best results, so leaving the label at the door is often significantly advantageous.

The takeaway from this is that I'd advise you to concern yourself more with the nature and skill of those you regard as brother and sister, as the labels associated with those social engagements do trap and hinder as much as they assist. There's nothing objectively wrong with having no label, and there's nothing wrong with approaching different groups of spirits to learn. Learn from a variety of different entities and let the layers of awareness they inspire within you then influence how you interact with others going forward.

Use labels as sign posts and then, once you've found your bearings, ignore them. This sounds counterintuitive, but you'll only ever get so far by following paths others have carved. ;)

Blessings,
Chris

When working magic for yourself or others, it's necessary to walk the line between complexity & simplicity - both can be seen as opposing forces, and each has its own purpose. In some respects, every single thing matters. In others, only one or two are relevant. Which methodology you embrace depends on the scenario, and truly powerful magic relies in part on being able to appropriately decide what does and does not matter at the time you're working the spell. 

As you prepare to begin a ritual process for the sake of creating a specific outcome, consider the exact nature of your aims. What are you looking to increase, direct, or change? All of that detail matters to some degree, and the specificity of your end goal directs the specificity of your magic. 

For example, let's say that you're looking for guidance in your life. Things aren't really panning out, and you seem to be hitting dead ends, so you're using magic to rectify this. That's a very non-specific goal overall, and it won't hurt to use a non-specific spell focusing on generating a clear understanding of what you need to do next. 

If you're looking for a better relationship, however, then there's a greater number of considerations to be aware of. Yes, you can perform a spell purely to better your relationship and you'll likely have some improvements felt, but there are also times where you'll have to think beyond that. Personality clashes, fidelity, felt interest, mutual engagement, sexual interest, communication, friction, and so forth are all individual concerns and they must be rectified differently. A simple "Improve My Relationship" spell won't do much for you if he's cheating on you, and it will do relatively little if he's just entirely uninterested. 

Thus, you must consider the nature of the relationship itself, it's difficulties, and what you'd like to achieve. Work of this kind is as much about influencing the personalities of those involved as it is about working with the other moving parts present. That's the deeper point I am attempting to articulate here: the complexity of the work you choose to do should reflect the deeper animus at work for the best results.

If you're looking for surface level gains, do surface magic. If not, get your hands dirty, think deeply, and work effectively. ;)

Blessings,
Chris 

Back to the topic of Serpent Sorcery, today we'll be talking about the polarizing nature of serpents and their magic. We've seen so many myths and stories of extreme boons granted and extreme harms caused by Naga and like spirits, and this very much underscores an extreme polarity to them.

These entities can either be friendly or mistrustful, open or closed. There's often not a whole lot of experienced in-betweenness with them until you begin to get to know them more, as the more even middle ground is created by the interactions of these two sides of the coin. When you do successfully navigate these tides, however, that's when things really start to kick off and happen in externally impressive ways.

Do take note of these extremely disparate ends of the spectrum and these matching experiences you have, as equal-yet-opposite extremes are very much their jam. Sometimes, that element of shared experience is where the magic's at, as even if you cannot perceive them with your eyes and ears, this tells you that they're present. ;)

Blessings,
Chris

As an ironic temporary departure from the discussion of Serpent Sorcery, today we're here to talk about sorting distractions out and minimizing their presence in your life. 

Life's crazy, right? Long hours, always more to do & there's often a laundry list of things that you wanted to get done and couldn't. If that sounds familiar to you, then you'll benefit from this article. 

Existence has its own chores attached & that has no small impact. It is the way of things, and that will not go away in entirety, no matter what you do. The more relevant you become in a number of circles, the greater the demands on your time will become. As these responsibilities grow, so too does your network and the extent to which you must manage all assets within your sphere. 

This management is difficult. A full dance card will have hubbub aplenty attached, and there will always be more you could do. Minimizing the time you spend on unhelpful distractions can be a huge boon, and this is something of a two part process. 

The first part of this is prioritization. I'd recommend creating lengthy to-do lists as a means of beginning to ascertain what needs to be done to overhaul your life. Write down EVERYTHING, no matter how small or how faraway it seems. As you go through your day, cross off the things you get to and add the things you'd been inspired to do. 

At the end of the day, make a list that compares what you've gotten done with what you would have liked to get done. Then, look closely at the two and see what kind of patterns emerge before you. 

How many of those things are in the "absolutely must do!" pile? What about the "oh, that would be fun!"? And the "trivial, yet emotionally fulfilling."? See how these stack up, and then make a new list. 

This list should contain the new to-do's that need to be handled as well as what you didn't get to the day before. Follow the same pattern of writing down, crossing off, then categorizing your successes at the end of the day. Do this for a week and keep your notes. 

When the end of that week comes to pass, look at everything in your seven to-do lists. What have you had to do every day this week? What extra things did you take care of? How many of them were necessary for survival, and how many of them brought you some manner of joy? This will probably be depressing at first, but it can be a useful pint to come to understand. 

You'll likely find yourself veering heavily towards one category or another, and as you find these little tidbits about yourself out, try to determine how much time you spend doing each of these things. Then look at how your day compares in leisure to work and consider how and where distractions would have cropped up to keep you from being more successful. Write all of these things down, as that's what you need in the next are. 

When you've got that list in mind, that's the one we need to pay attention to, as this tells you where you can work towards improvements. Each distraction you encounter in a given day is a point that you can focus on with magic to smooths your daily process. If there are any glaring difficulties you have, such as feeling like it takes you too long to get ready in the morning is something you can work to improve with both intelligent action and magical intervention.

For instance, let's say you've got meetings taking up all of your time at work. Why not work to increase the expediency of and clarity derived from your board meetings? Do you have a waspy boss who loves to helicopter around you & micromanage? If so, you can enchant for a bit of space in which to work more effectively. It might seem a little odd to do magical acts like that, but in all seriousness I implore you to start thinking with this in mind. 

This process can take some around time to perfect, but fielding less distractions can lead to an increase in productivity and directly effect your sense of satisfaction derived at the end of a day. Everything in your life fits together like cogs in a machine, and sometimes that means that you need to add a little bit of lubricant to make things move more smoothly. 

As these processes begin to smooth themselves out and work in your favor, you can then begin to handle the things you've wanted to do and needed to do but couldn't. Sometimes, these things take time and need to be adjusted for, but it's well worth doing. Being less distracted and delayed is a serious blessing that most folks overlook until they're mired in friction. 

With that in mind, work to decrease this friction and amazing things can happen. ;)

Blessings,
Chris 

Serpents are rather notably associated with protection, the establishment of barriers, the creation of sacred space, and their ability to assist one in weathering a storm. These qualities have largely been overwritten in life & stories produced over the past thousand years, but it's something of a forgotten trait. 

One that can be accessed and worked wish to a great extent, should one be astute. 

To invoke their protection on a specific task, you will need a green candle, preferably large and something that will burn for many, many hours. Carve into the wax a serpent wrapped about it, with the serpent's tall nearest the bottom and its head at the top. Between those coils, carve your intention, including what you seek to be guarded from. 

Then, ritually dress this candle in ingredients of your choosing, taking from either your own understanding of herbs or from the details shared in this post. As you do so, consider that you are bathing this candle in essence and adding to its form, and when you've completed this process, anoint it in your blood. The prick of your finger will do. 

Place the blood on the wick and base, then set the candle alight on a fire proof base, letting it burn either for short durations each day or as one long ritual. When the candle has burned to completion, save a portion of the remaining wax. 

Next, you will carve a sigil into this wax representing the goal in question. From there, place the inscribed wax into a cloth bag and begin to carry it with you each day. This will form a protective talisman that can be put to use. 

This technology can be used in a number of ways, and the ritual provided here is simple enough to be widely applied. ;)

Blessings,
Chris