Greetings folks, its great to have you here today.

As some of you well know, Mercury will enter retrograde tomorrow. For some, its a thing that will brook no response, and for others it may be devestating - this largely depends on your chart.

For those of you who are aware & concern yourself with the movements and orientations of the celestial wanderers, I've created a sigil for you, shown below.

The point and focus is to help one reorient themselves inside the retrograde window so that it becomes less troubling to them. This will impact those that you use this for, so I would recommend utilizing this for yourself and those that you interact with each day.

I've been using this tech for some time now, and it works beautifully.

Have fun & enjoy making some magic. ;)
​-Chris

Greetings folks. Its fantastic to have you here, and I'm pleased to be able to write something for you.

A bit of a quickish post today, but this month is going to be pretty exciting from an Astrological POV, so those of you that are paying attention may wish to make use of the powers at play. This post is primarily a head's up. 

The two big things that are happening are a Lunar eclipse on the Full Moon & a Solar eclipse on a New Moon. These are happening August 7th and on August 21st, respectively. To make a long story short, eclipses are very frequently times to make big, positive changes in your life if they're used appropriately.

If you've been struggling for a while now, now's pretty much the time to set yourself right with whatever God (or spiritual practice) you've been neglecting as a means of getting into the right orientation with the universe et al. It's a bit hokey sounding, but when you fall into step with everything else and march to an appropriate beat, life is a hell of a lot easier over the long haul.

If you do fall into step and stop struggling against the tides you're not really supposed to be working against, you can then turn them to your advantage and cause massive psychospiritual growth as well as physical niceties to boot. 

I've been seeing this as a cosmic reset, and a much needed one at that. I highly recommend paying attention this month and doing some work around it. Seriously - light incense, bang on some drums, and have fun with it....if you make this work for you, you'll thank me later.

If you're struggling for ideas as most do, here are some suggestions:

• Conjure Ophiel to find new housing accomodations if you're looking for a home.
• Work to cut red tape that's holding you back.
• Use the tides at play to pull positive things your way.
• Road opener work.
• Blockbusting.
• Anti-curse work.
• Opportunity creation.
• Invocations of higher forces (Shem angels, Elubatel, Dynamis, Uriel, Anael, etc.)
• Invocation of "lower" forces (Ghob, Paralda, etc.)
• Invocation of go-betweens (Personal daemons, your HGA, creation of servitors, etc.)
• Sigil work towards specific goals that you've been waiting on.
• Monetary work
• Luck rites!
• Offerings!!!

​That's quite a list, but it'll get you started.

That said, onto the less major notables that you might want to put to work for you....

First up, Uranus is retrograde as of today, so now's high time to make sweeping changes. If you've got situations that are troubling you, wherein things are standing in the way of your personal successes, now's a good time to make use of the current. Start conjuring spirits associated with seeing the way through the troubled times and you'll be well ahead of everyone else.

Second, there's a Jupiter/Pluto square come tomorrow. If you're looking to find a deal on necessary hardware, its good timing to do so. With changes like this going on, there's going to be a fair bit of financial shuffling to be done, and that can work to your benefit if you're clever.

Third, Mercury is retrograde as of August 12th (and returning to normal come September 5th), so communications will probably start to have some issues. I fully anticipate that folks will be complaining about not being able to effectively talk to others, so be aware of the energy at play and make an extra effort to speak clearly. If you do so, it'll highlight your ability to overachieve, which makes things like getting a job much, much easier. ;)

Fourth, Saturn goes direct come the 25th, so the frustrations you've been dealing with around the "hurry up & wait" juju at play will come to an end. Be prepared to spring into action, as you're going to want to make use of this.

It'll be a full month if you're planning to take advantage of these currents. I'll be doing so, and I recommend that you do the same.

Have fun!
​-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