As you can see above, not always are the offerings equivocal. Not always do they look the same. In the first picture, I am making an offering to Ha-Satan on behalf of a client, while in the second I am making a like offering to the Divine. They are not treated the same, though both exist within the confines of the same Universe.

Different offerings are more or less enjoyable depending on where you are. A fire in Arizona won’t go as far as water, while in Georgia you want to stick to a bottle of Honey Jack. Every place has its own point of reference for the appreciated tastes in the locale, so if you wish to differentiate and get attention, consider the lack near you. What are these spirits not getting? Start there.

Enjoy your week!
-Chris 

Hail and welcome, folks. Lovely to have you here. As a tertiary result of the multitude of evocations I've been performing of late, I have been moved to communicate an idea through this page, and I hope it catches on. In short, I'm here to talk about the mark of a magician as it applies to one's intellect. 

In the Lemegeton/Ars Goetia, there are a number of spirits who are known to "make men wise" or "teach astronomy and liberal philosophy" or otherwise educate us fleshy persons on matters of higher thought. Despite their prevalence, this concept is largely glossed over, often to the point where no mention is made of just how incredibly beneficial this can be.

My own observations have generally indicated that folks want to obtain the result they desire but don't really want to educate themselves around the object of their affections. As a result, spirits like Jazar (educated in matters of love), Marax (teaches astronomy, liberal sciences, the virtues of plants and minerals), Marbas (educates us on hidden things, makes men wise in medicine, and assists in "changing the shape of man") and so forth are largely ignored, their virtues cast aside as being paltry and pointless. 

This is a viewpoint that I stand in opposition to, as I rather believe that the mark of a mage is, in part, their intellect and understanding. I've been conjuring, working alongside, and conversing with spirits for essentially as long as I can remember, and for that they've made me wise. I won't profess to be the foremost scientific authority on interstellar phenomenon or a theoretical maths genius, but these interactions have caused me to see and understand the world differently. 

How could they not? Your average human being isn't all that inclined to talk to noncorporeal beings of massive force and intellect beyond  the scope of humanity despite their lack of manifest form. The thought is, to most, rather terrifying, but for those of us who dare to do so, I would posit that we should well seek out these alternative educations. 

Sure, these learnings won't miraculously end with a doctorate in medicine, but you could well go on to such achievements with the appropriate help. Even if you're simply content to learn as much as possible without the associated degrees, it's entirely possible to apply that knowledge in satisfying ways that also benefit your career immensely. 

Case in point, when I was working in Information Technology, I started out as a lowly peon. I had plenty of opportunities to assist folks in a hands-on fashion, remedying everything from forgotten passwords to applications and systems troubleshooting. It was satisfying to be so helpful, but it wasn't challenging, so when an opportunity arose for career advancement, I took it and landed myself in a specialized field wherein I was a complete novice. 

As with all promotions, you sink or you swim, so I leveraged my past experience with the application class I was expected to manage and my skill at conjuring spirits to learn how to do my newfound job more effectively (in addition, of course, to studying textbooks and guides on the subject matter). In so doing, I received the respect of of my peers and, more than that, I'd impressed my boss' higher-ups and was offered a 30% raise roughly six months in, and then yet another at a year. 

I should stress, too, that during that time I did not spend much time enchanting for a raise. Instead, I focused on performing my function as effectively as I could & worked to earn the respect of those I worked with. Raises and accolades came as a result, but I was far more concerned with ensuring that I could learn how to perform such an incredibly complicated job with success. I did so with a good deal of aplomb, too, and even had moments where spirits would walk me to the answer I sought when puzzling over a difficult problem at work. 

As a result, I was often able to find solutions to troubles that others were unable to solve. And when I couldn't do that on my own, I would enchant to work more effectively with my team so that we could solve the trouble & receive praise as a group. 

You see, this doesn't seem like a hugely Important thing at first glance, but if you're willing to apply some cleverness, you can do great things with your life and reshape it. You might not be able to return to school to do something different with your life, but if you work with a spirit like Sitri to learn what designs and room flows are aesthetically and emotionally pleasing, you could well become an interior designer as a result.

This is only one such example of how best these spiritual assistants might be applied. While it might not seem quite as powerful or poignant an application at first, the transformative impact can be impressive. I urge you to apply this in your day-to-day life and see how things evolve. ;)

Blessings,
SE

​Greetings folks, I hope this post finds you well. 

I’ve been digging into a great deal of ritual work of late, and a cadre of spirits I’ve been working with has asked that I publish a piece on my blog. This relates, specifically, to Love as a concept, rather than as a base emotion or something we strive for, as this is an oft misunderstood influence. 

At its basest form, love and infatuation are simply chemical reactions in the brain that occur in response to stimuli. It’s a hormone response that inspires us to be close to others out of attachment. There’s more to it than that, however, which can be easily experienced in its myriad forms. 

Per Jazar, a spirit of the Hours in the Nuctemeron insists that Love is a kind of inspiration unto itself. When experienced purely it represents a base element being divinely inspired and thus elevated beyond the constraints of its birth. In that way, it’s a Godly gift of a kind.

It is also something we frequently resist out of fear, resentment, frustration, and disclarity. We’ve all heard the tired trope that you attract more of what you are, and in this instance it holds true. If you’d like to attract Love to yourself, you must be willing to Love. 

If you cultivate a compassionate attitude towards those deserving of this boon, you will naturally attract the same in return. Compassionate acts are a radiant act that can be an offering, of a kind, and they invoke a spirit of active peace between yourself and those receiving the boon. 

It thus generates a kind of existential understanding that allows you to more accurately perceive what others are going through. This opens the door to Love by removing some of the awkwardness otherwise exists on account of our more hateful, suspicious acts. 

Consider this and you will find a marked uptick in the quality of your life. 

Blessings,
​SE

In keeping with the several posts on the subjection of personal magical protection, some client issues came up that have prompted me to discuss the effects of worship and the effects it can have on one's safety,

Working with deities is a major keystone in most magical systems.  Either by and through the creation of pacts with various spirits or through the worship thereof, most of us wind up with spiritual relationships that shape our lives.  They change the way we think about the world around us and they can be wondrous things.

These relationships can also be harmful, parasitic, and troubling.  The trick is figuring out which end your relationships fall into, and then either working to grow them or cutting ties and moving on.  You are who you spend time with. More after the break...

For those of you who have followed along the set of posts written recently, by now you should have some idea of how deep the magical rabbit hole can go. If you followed along, you'll have more of an idea of how you can mix and match various magical techs in to get a result.

Protection is an easy subject to start with as its all a matter of how you handle your business.  If things go wrong or you didn't do enough work, or you didn't handle the work properly, the effects are pretty obvious. If you handled the workings appropriately and all went well, life should improve for you.  The proof is in the pudding...or, in this case, the proof is in the response.

Having said as much, now that we've covered herbs, prayers, spirits, etc. and their uses with regard to defensive magic, we can now get into the subject of protection through the use of stones and metals that are amiable to that end.

Like plants, minerals have their uses too.  Each has their own properties and associations, both elemental and planetary. As such, they too are building blocks that can be used to spin your spells.

'Ello again folks.  Hope all is well.
We're around again for another round of herbs that can be used for protection.

Greetings folks! Hope you all enjoyed your Valentine's Day and weekend thus far.  We're getting back to protection magic in full swing.  If you've been reading the previous articles, you've probably realized, by now, that I've been speaking on magical herbs in alphabetical order.

That isn't to say that there are only a handful of herbs in each category that can be used for magic; really, the information is there to whet your appetite and spark a curious fire in you so that you can use the info I've provided to delve deeper into the Artes Magickal. They are, after all, a passion of mine. ;)

As a continuation to yesterday's post, I'll be talking more about herbs in this one. We covered a few helpful tidbits previously, and we're going to do the same thing today.

Herbs can be flexible, and that gives them great power and potency if you're wise in their use.  There's a reason folks who did magical work in Europe were once called Cunningfolk....cunning and intelligent are two traits you must have if you want to be successful here. Otherwise, you're just going to wind up being a dumb patsy who can't get anything done. Nature spirits are from nature, and thus have no real concern regarding whether or not they're honest, helpful, or harmful. Sometimes interactions with humans are there solely for the sake of the game. Just something to consider.

As discussed over the past two entries, protection is a multi-step, many stage affair that has a great deal to do with preparation, awareness, skill, and flexibility.  Learning to improvise is good, but being prepared is better.

When your preparations have failed you, its time to get creative and work with what you got.  In keeping with this theme, I've decided to discuss herbs that can be used for protective magic.  Some are offensive, some are defensive, and some are a mixture of the two.  There are those in this list that only work (for protection) when combined with other materia magica too.  I'll do what I can to summarize a portion of those tidbits here, but rest assured that you're going to have to play with the mixtures you want to use to learn the ins and outs of the spirits behind the flesh. I'll be using both folk names and Latin names where possible.

I, in keeping with some of the gnosis received through the creation, execution, and practice of the information and keys in my book "Planetary Magic: Utilizing the Keys", decided to to take another step forward and evoke Moloch.

He had appeared, numerous times, through my work with the Keys, to the point where there was a connection of some sort to be found, but I was unable to understand what the connection was without further research.  In researching him, I found several associations between him and the Stars and, thusly, the Heavenly Wanderers found within planetary magical practices.  He was often considered to be a heavenly bull, a king of the things outside of man's control, and in some cases he's been called a Lord of Saturn.  Saturn functions as a sort of planetary gateway to deeper practices, so it made sense that the connection with the stars would exist.

My utilizing the Gayatri mantra further inspired me, as its a Vedic mantra used to inspire awareness as to humanity's place in the Universe's equation.  When using it, the name Moloch would come to my brain in accordance with starry roads and so forth, so it both interested and perplexed me for a long time.  Gunter's discoveries and results, as posted previously, were further verification of gnosis I'd been sitting on for quite some time.

That being the case, I decided to proceed and evoke Moloch and see what I could find out.

In keeping with my way of evoking spirits, I decided to keep it relatively simple. Doing so was not disappointing, though I have to admit that he proved to be a very interesting source to speak to.

After doodling the sigil that had been burned in my mind for some time, I found that he appeared quickly, without malice or any apparent desire to stir up fear.  Instead, the air in the room started buzzing with a strange current of energy and it was as if my tile floor became alive.  The shift in presence was immediately noticeable, and it felt like an extremely parental energy presented itself; I use the term "parental" rather than "maternal" or "paternal" because it was neither masculine nor feminine.  It was strong in that it was something that I could feel vibrating through my very being, but there was no aggression, anger, caretaking, or even swooning; instead, it was very present, but very ambiguous outside of this feeling of having a parent in the room.  It was like talking to something that's been around for longer than humans have been, and its a feeling I'd felt before in dealing with my Patron. The phrase "indescribable", ironically, is pretty damned descriptive here.

Along with this energy shift came a voice that resounded clearly in my mind, to the point where I could swear that he was talking at me in the room physically. The voice commanded respect, but was neither aggressive nor passive, offensive nor gruff...it was very factual and to the point without seeming overbearing or yielding.  Very strange.

Immediately after Moloch's appearance, I had the desire to grab my mortar and pestle and start compiling a blend of incense; in doing so, he dictated that I mash together various resins for a recel....Frankincense, Copal, Myrrh (as a base), and Benzoin (aka Styrax).  There was enough in the mortar that breaking it down wasn't really very easy, but on instinct I set myself to the task of doing so.  As I did, he spoke to and through me, saying that his function was to grind people down so that they were forced to confront the reality of their situation.  It wasn't a malicious intent even, but more like a refined version of what Satan does in the Abrahamic worldview.  He just challenges you and forces you to see the truth rather than the veil of illusion we're more comfortable with sorting out.

It felt like the evocation lasted hours, but in reality I was "out" for about twenty minutes. I half came out of the mindset when my partner texted me and let me know that she was coming home - she was 5 miles away and felt the result of my conjuration.

After setting my phone down and recovering from the distraction, Moloch didn't seem the least bit phased.  There was a clear sense of timelessness as far as his being was concerned, reinforcing the idea that humanity was a blink of an eye for him....weird as hell, really.

So I continued macerating the resins and then, out of the corner of my eye, this blue/green/gray vortex appeared; at first I thought something else was coming into the room, but then I noticed that the energy looked sickly and was actually being dragged out kicking and screaming.  There was this noticeable "wumph" sound, and then a distinct void in the room, though Moloch hadn't left.  Immediately after, my property was filled with this odd, comforting energy that I had seen and experienced several times when I was much younger.  I saw a stang over the altar that felt as if it had been driven into place, and then as soon as it had appeared the energy had settled into place and things felt as right as they could be. Some things that were in need of cleansing were obviously out of place and noticeable, so it was as if the evocation had led to the clearing of my mind and space that then showed me all that was left to be done.

Right before my lass returned home, I thanked Moloch for coming, as my recel had been crafted, and he left without any weirdness or unpleasantness.  I then set to work on the various things that needed doing and things went off without a hitch.  Now, my whole house has been invigorated and the life on my property has been given some oomph; leaves are greener and healthier, and there's less of the weird hangers-on that have been coming out of the woodwork since Sowen.  The same thing can be noticed down the entire street - even the neighborhood dogs have been, for want of a better term, blessed.

All in all, it was a very rewarding experience, and it gave some proof that I've been on the right track. Definitely worth investigating further, as I had a great deal of fun with it and the effects are still very present after 24 hours.

Happy Monday, folks.

SE