Category: - Sorcerous Endeavors

Servitors, part 4

1/10/2018

Hey folks, its wonderful to have you here as always.

I apologize for the month long interruption in these Servitor-related posts caused by the holidays. Now, we can get back to it. We've covered what they are, what they do, and the personality traits that go into making them, so now we can talk about actually MAKING them. Put this knowledge to the test, so to speak, and tweak these until you can start using 'em to get paid, to grow, and to start setting your lives in order.

Today I'll share with you a method of making them. For starters, the goal I am setting for this particular entity is to "create business opportunities", and that can be part of its name: CreateBiz (or CB for short). Once you've got a name, you need to envision a form, so the frame that comes to mind for this, for me, is the Laughing Buddha.

Hotei being a broke Buddha to be, he's always going to be looking for a new place to stay, things to do, and ways to assist, so this imagery appeals to me. It rather feels like he's a sensible Buddha whose happy to be religious, but unwilling to turn away from the real world. I'm clothing him in red because the color draws to mind a hard-working demeanor, and his prayer beads are made from Black Onyx and Lapis Lazuli. The former speaks to the willingness to be alone, protection, and and strength of character, while the latter speaks to his compassion, awareness, and willingness to connect with others to find these opportunities.

His sandals are black, and of the Geta variety of Japan. They are worn, but comfortable, of good repair, and have many more miles left. His eyes are bright green, and of a soft seafoam variety, both piercing and inviting. CB is joyous and mirthful, yet resilient and unwilling to let the world get him down. Furthermore, he knows a good deal when he sees one and delights in sharing those opportunities with others, for he knows that doing so can allow him to take on the jobs that he does best, all the while making friends and connections wherever he should go.

If you'd like to garner his blessings, chant "CB, See Me" and visualize the swaying of his prayer beads as you make offerings of plums to him, as those are his favorite fruit. Failing this, asian pears and citrus are a good way to go. He digs sandalwood incense in particular, but just about anything from Morning Star will do.

For those of you who will inevitably ask, the sigil for CB is the visualization of his Lapis & Onyx mala. ;)

Enjoy!
-SE

Servitors, part 3

12/7/2017

Hey everyone, good to have you here.

Following my last post about Servitors, today we can talk about attributes and how they overlap with what we're looking to use these manufactured entities to achieve.

In a nutshell, the point driving this post is found in the question "how do you program a servitor to be helpful?" When you're looking to create such a being, you're responsible for how it responds to the world around it. What attributes you give this creation of yours will impact how effective it can be at the task you set for it. Done properly, you can create for yourself a loyal friend and confidant, but done improperly, you'll get yourself into a world of hurt.

For instance, if you're looking to create a lust-generating entity, it should be strong willed, watchful, lusty, potent, and forceful in nature. A demure, quiet little thing isn't going to serve your needs in that situation.

To provide another example, if we're stepping up our game to create a servitor to help us with information gathering, it will need to be highly observant, analytical, intelligent, and endowed with knowledge of how to use theory of mind to your advantage. It would need to be stealthy when observing others, and rather communicative when relating that information back to you.

Consider, if you will, that you are building a real being. Contemplate what behaviors coincide with what you're looking to achieve, as you could otherwise have phenomenal magical ability and a total dud of a servitor on account of creating a personality conflict.

Be granular in your approach, as that will improve your magic considerably.

Blessings,
SE

Servitors, Part 2

12/5/2017

Hello everyone, hope the day is treating you well. Following the previous post about Servitors, I'd like to talk further about their creation today.

Given the flexibility of the tech, there really is no one right way to do so. As such, you're free to get creative and do things however you like. Some methodologies will appeal more to you than others, so making this work for you requires a fair bit of personal flair.

The hardest part, for me, is coming up with an idea of what to do, and then the fun starts. As such, the brainstorming part is essentially the most important, since it creates the foundation for the work that you're seeking to do.

Here are a few ideas of what you can achieve using servitors:

Reconnaissance.
Create subtle behavior changes in others.
Generate better luck for yourself.
Glamours.
Generating traffic and interest.
Augmenting one's abilities.
Create opportunities.
Situational transmutation: turn love to hate and hatred to love.
Create fascination.
Spark your creativity.
Inspire sexuality.
Resolve minor issues.
Load balancing.
Obstacle removal.
Protection.
Warding.

Consider these, as you'll want to have a pretty good idea of what you're seeking to create before starting properly.

Enjoy!
-SE

Servitors

12/4/2017

Greetings folks, hope the day is treating you well. Glad to have you here as always. :)

A student of mine asked me about servitors and their creation, so it seemed appropriate to talk about this here. His query revolved around my experience and tips - we'll discuss both here, working from the ground up.

This in mind, some of you may be unfamiliar with the term.... A servitor is a manufactured spirit. They can be made by just about anyone, and they must be created with some manner of intention at the core of their being. They can be spun up with the goal of doing pretty much anything you're looking to have done, but that thing you're looking to have done is essentially the animus behind their being. Without it, they have no life purpose, and thus no reason to be created.

This "life's purpose", as it were, serves as the backbone behind their being and acts as the motivator in life long enough for them to achieve your goal. This can be self-focused, as in instances where you want this being to serve you, or it can be created with the goal of doing things on a much larger scale. The choice is yours, and the fabricated entity will be limited, at first, by your creativity and skill.

This is both the reason for their efficacy and use and the cause of failure for many of the magically-inclined who wish to use this tech to their benefit. If you're creating it, your limitations become their limitations until/unless the spirit in question is allowed to learn and grow.

This is where we find the rub: if you limit its ability to learn, it stays limited, but its also more likely to remain loyal and true to its original purpose. Being able to expand its programming can lead to AI-like situations wherein the entity decides that you're part of the problem its trying to solve, and then your life can become a mess in a hurry. Properly created, however, they're fantastic.

There's an inherent complexity to them, however, and that means that I'll have to split this post up a few times.

Stay tuned to learn more about 'em.
-SE

Thanksgiving

11/23/2017

Greetings everyone & Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who are in the US! I hope the day is treating you well & that you'll have a fabulous time with your family and friends.

This in mind, we've talked about pre-Thanksgiving offerings and a similar ritual, but what to do on the day itself? We've covered giving thanks in advance, as well as enchanting to have a good time, but what to do about actually enjoying the event?

Well, since you've already prepped for the event itself, I would suggest that you carry something with you as a means of reinforcing what you've already done.

I recommend finding yourself a piece of rose quartz that you can comfortably carry on your person. Consecrate it, then place it on this sigil:

Leave the rose quartz on the sigil above until you're ready to interact with your family, and when you return, place it right back where it was. Come tomorrow, you can bury this outside your house to compelete the spell.

***Note: Be sure that this sigil is traced out by you rather than printed, as a printed variant thereof will not be anywhere near as potent.

Have fun!
-SE

Pre-Thanksgiving Ritual

11/22/2017

Greetings folks.

To follow my Pre-Thanksgiving Offerings post and further contribute to the mini-series around Magic for the Holidays, I'm here to talk about a pre-holiday working meant to improve upon the time you spend with family and friends. After a year like this one, I expect some tension and frustrations to come out all at once when we're finally with those family and friends whom we love and/or tolerate (LOL), so I like to preface these interactions with a spell.

Procure four candles of any color of significance to you, olive oil, bay leaves, basil, and thyme. Purchase incense that feels appropriate to the season (at least two sticks). Consecrate each of these things in the manner of your choosing.

Once consecrated, mix the olive oil, bay leaves, basil, and thyme together: I recommend using a pinch of each (or in the case of bay, break off a few pieces of a leaf) in about a shot glass' worth of olive oil, since you want it to be relatively thick, but not so thick that you cannot use it to anoint your candles.

Let this mixture steep for one to two days. You'll be able to smell it when its ready.

When you are ready to roll, anoint each candle in your ritual oil. Arrange these in the shape of a square, with your two chosen sticks of incense to the left and right of this square. Light each candle, then light each stick of incense. Follow this with a prayer:

"In the harsh chill of winter, I seek to commune with family and friends. May they greet me with open arms, may they be overjoyed to see that I am well. May their warm intentions be returned a hundredfold, and might each of us take, from this time together, a greater sense of health & wealth."

Bask in your work and enjoy the effects. ;)
-SE

Pre-Thanksgiving Offerings

11/21/2017

Hello everyone.

Fantastic to have you here as always, and your readership is much appreciated. To honor that, and in toast to the spirit of the holidays, this is part of my "Magic for the Holidays" mini-series.

To start us off, for those of us who are in the US, Thanksgiving is in a matter of days. We've passed Samhain, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day, and now its about time to interact with family. For some of us, that's a blessing, for others a curse, and in either scenario I present to you some magical tips that can be applied; I hope these tips bring about meaningful improvements that won't have you reaching into your pocket or purse for social lubricants. ;)

Without touching on the controversy around Thanksgiving, the name of the holiday centers around giving thanks for what one has. I have found that offerings go over particularly well during this time of year, and as such I would recommend doing so for the few days between now and the holiday proper.

Procure for yourself orange candles (you're welcome to go all-out and grab pumpkin spiced stuffs, if you like), egg nog, your alcohol of choice (if you or your ancestors drink), and a holiday treat of one kind or another (pumpkin pie, apple pie, gingerbread cookies, cheesecake, carrot cake, etc.). Pour a drink for yourself and then one for the landvaettir, your ancestors, your friends, and your family, be they with you physically or in spirit. Do the same with your snack of choice, light a couple of candles, and proceed to have a bite to eat and a nip to drink.

Bask in their presence, and if you feel moved to do so, tell stories about these people you're thinking of. It might seem silly at first, but I find that I become very comfortable with it within a manner of minutes. In doing this, you are providing offerings of sustenance and mirth, lore and imagination. All valid things to each of us, and an appropriate way to start oneself off in getting out of the work mindset and into that holiday spirit.

Enjoy,
SE

Magic for the Holidays

11/20/2017

Greetings folks, hope the day is treating all of you well.

In light of the holidays coming down the pipe, it seems appropriate to discuss holiday rituals each of us can use to better our enjoyment of the times ahead. I'll be running a mini-series to discuss everything from holiday offerings to full blown magical operations that can be done.

Stay tuned.
-SE

Samhain Approaches!

10/26/2017

Greetings folks, it's great to have you here & I hope the day is treating you well.

Now that the dust's settled and I've got a bit of time to write, I thought I'd jot down a bit about an approaching holiday....that's right, Samhain's just about upon us. Next Tuesday, in fact.

We've all heard the stories about this time of year & how the veil gets thinner and spirits go bump in the night. For me, that's been an every-year occurence, and it always gets the mind whirring around what to do when this opportunity rolls around.

Now's a pretty good time to work with one's ancestors, so I thought I'd share an ancestor-centric rite focused on getting their attention and thanking them for their continued efforts. We are here thanks to them, and they can be a powerful source of support, magically and otherwise.

To start, you'll need a pen, a piece of paper, a plate, a candle holder, and some materials: Horehound, grave dirt, tomatoes (or another Nightshade), Benzoin, and Camphor.

The sigil to be drawn looks like this:

Once you've created it, place the sigil on your altar, with the plate over it. Place the candle in the holder, on top of the plate, and then gird it with tomatoes (or another Nightshade of your choice, as noted above).

You will then form a quincunx with the remaining materials. Horehound shall be placed to the bottom left, grave dirt to the upper left, Benzoin to the bottom right, and Camphor to the upper right.

After you've finished the arrangement, say the following prayer & light the candle immediately after:

"Spirits of my past, present, and future, I ask that you open the byways so that I may commune with the blood who walked this earth before I. Let them speak clearly, to me, so that I may honor them & their memories.

My name is [N.N] and I ring the bell for thee."

I recommend following this with an unguided meditation wherein you allow a permeation of self to occur. Let these family members speak to and inspire you, guide you and heal you. If you feel as though some of those spirits are unhappy, you can later take steps to right any wrongs.

Doing so will help you in the year to come.

Blessings,
-SE

Blessing a Knife

7/13/2017

Greetings folks, its wonderful to have you here.

Some time ago, I was sought out by client to discuss the subject of blessing a knife to make it safe & ready for ritual. I've been meaning to write about it here for quite some time now, so I hope this information is useful to you.

Knives are, without a doubt, a much maligned tool, and they are illegal in some areas. In others, you have to pick the right tool for your locale. It does and doesn't matter what you pick, here. I'm not going into that today, as there's too much to talk about in that arena.

Once you've selected your chosen tool, its time to imbue it with energies and intentions that work for you. There are many manners of doing so, and thus I provide you with one.

Procure water from a local stream, rainfall (assuming its not illegal to collect rainwater in your area), or a river. If you don't have access, use tap water instead. Mix one cup of water with a teaspoon of kosher salt. Over that salt, say the following: "I bless you according to the merits of your ingredients & the rightful benedictions of your Creator."

As you do this, think about the process of this mixture being infused with essence and import, of significance and heart. Feel it come alive in your hands.

When this life has been imbued and the associated state achieved, place the blade of your chosen tool in the concoction and say "Tubal-Cain, lord of the Forge, I ask your blessing of this, my tool that is cousin to what you've made in your Shop. Let this steel come alive in my hands and be made useful to me."

Afterwards, light some incense that you believe would be appropriate. You're free to choose what works for you.

Then on, each time you sharpen your knife, be sure to offer the iron filings up. They might not seem like much, but that's incredibly important to a spirit of craftsmen: its a sign of use of the craft they chose to master.

Blessings,
-SE