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.

I've spent the last several days talking about the properties of various herbs that can be used in magical work.  I've spent relatively little time discoursing on the subject of actually using those herbs...more specifically, how to do it. The point of today's lessen is to remedy this.

Working with herbs is all about relationships.  What you cultivate is key, and if you don't have a relationship with the spirits behind the fleshy, fibrous mass that is their corporeal form, the roots, stems, leaves, resinous chunks, seeds mean nothing to you and have no power outside of what you create and will.  What you imbue into them, if you will.

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.

As you can imagine, in my line of work, I spend a great deal of time observing all manners of behaviors. I see everything from the best folks have to offer to the worst, both in dealing with spirits and human beings. In truth, though our language and respective cultures vary, we're not all that different.
In truth, successful magic is frequently about understanding someone or something else's language, symbolism, cultural values, etc. A spirit doesn't say things the way you or I do. Elemental spirits have names, but they aren't ones that we can pronounce because we can't successfully mimic the sounds of the Earth.

We eventually learn to come to a place of compromise with these entities we work with, work for, serve, or remember. We come up with a language that works for both parties and then set to the task of successfully interacting with them.

I mention this to illustrate the fact that working with discarnate or non-corporeal can often be a lot of guesswork. When you get to know these entities, it no longer is, but until then they'll give you messages in dreams, random thoughts and instincts, images in your head, or strong feelings that you can't shake.

When you've earned a spirit's favor, most times they have great interest in your safety. You're their friend and visa versa, so like any good friend (or other such socially intimate role), they take it upon themselves to inform you when something's amiss. When that happens and you have dreams that aren't par for the course or you feel things that you can't explain, be sure to pay attention. I can't tell you how many times a well-timed warning has saved my bacon.

I've avoided many car wrecks, unstable clients, accidents with handguns or machinery, and other such unpleasant occurrences on account of such notifications. They've seemed a bit nuts at points, but heading those warnings does tend to be beneficial.

That being the case, my recommendation is to listen when your familiars, etc. pop up and give you a heads up on what's going on.  They're usually doing it for your health.

This brings me to the final point of this post: a working one can do to better connect with their Powers, their spiritual allies, for the sake of personal growth, etc.

Firstly, you start with a general offering to whatever strikes you as the image of your highest & best. Focus on that image and emotion you feel when you think about this symbol of raw achievement, then offer up a heartfelt prayer for its betterment and happiness, like so:

Note: Unselfishness seems to be key here. Replace "he" with "she" if you're a woman or make up your own prayer.

Once done, light a candle for this entity and begin to focus on the sigil below, feeling that essence rush into you and fill you up.  You may see other images, hear things, or otherwise be influenced...that is both OK and totally normal.

After meditating on this seal for a while, mentally close the working and the space, then ground yourself out.  Some of you will have instantaneous results, whereas for others it'll take a few weeks to really get into the current.

Enjoy!

SE

'lo again, my witchy friends. :)

At the urging of a friend of mine, I've written a prayer that may serve as the Buddhist version of St. Patrick's Breastplate.  This piece calls Mahakala, a wrathful emanation of Shiva, for the sake of becoming a walking embodiment of His essence so that we might become the change we wish to see in the world around us.

Use this whenever you feel threatened, hopeless, weakened, or in need of a sense of purpose.  Use this when you feel as though the odds are stacking themselves up against you.

By and through this prayer, one may seek enlightenment and cause others to do the same. Consider the use of this prayer to be an empowerment, if you should so choose.

The Prayer:

Great God Mahakala, I call to you in all of Your forms
I prostrate myself before you
and I bind Your essence within and without me from this day forward
such that those who rise against me shall gain no ground
Let Your compassion flow through me so that I and all others
Might be freed from sickness, hindrances and troubles
I gird myself in Your garbs and pick up Your tools
They empower me such that I may always walk with You
Bettering lives, attracting and fulfilling needs
Providing antidotes for the poisons of the World
Let all seek Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha
As they see this kala which I've become! 

You are welcome to use this as you see fit or repost this as you see fit.  Please be sure to give me credit for it, however. 

Warm regards,

SE

Greetings once again, dear readers.

This, I'll admit, has been a long time coming - I've been intending to write about some of my experiments with Geoff Gray Cobb's "The Miracle of New Avatar Power" for quite some time, but never got around to it 'til now.

Now, some of you might be aware of this book and what it contains, but by and large, the majority of you probably have no idea what the heck I'm referring to. The book (linked above) is a smallish modern grimoire that is, largely, filled with a smattering of hype and magical praxis that is surprisingly effective in today's day and age. The trick is filtering through the sales pitch and finding the gooey goodness that is made from distilling each of the methods therein.  Coming to understand the reason for the simplicity is strikingly beneficial.

That said, I've been experimenting with it, on and off, for the better part of a few years now with varying degrees of success, depending on the arena.  I've also got my ass handed to me by the spirits therein - Elubatel is, admittedly, a bit of a prick, but she's a prick because that's what I wanted.  To illustrate this point, I felt it would be a good idea to cross-post an excerpt I penned over at EvocationMagic.  I also discussed this previously in my blog post titled Depression when working with Elubatel:

"Well, as the title indicates, this thread is about insight I've managed to glean that has everything to do with depression caused by work with Elubatel. For those interested in reading my blog post about this, click here. I am posting it here as well, as it seemed to be plenty important.

The long and short of it is this: Over the past 2 weeks I've had several very odd, instant-karma-like things happening. Its been incredibly frustrating, and probably has everything to do with the work I do for clients. My girlfriend ended up getting exposed to a material she's incredibly allergic to, so I had to take her to the hospital. A day later, my passenger-side front tire had been punctured, so I had to replace two tires. The day after that, more car trouble...I had to take the car into the shop to get an oil change and whatnot. Later that day, I found out that the company that replaced my tires broke the TPMS sensors. And later still, my puppy had to be put down because she had distemper. All-in-all, its been a royal pain in the ass of a couple of weeks, but that got me thinking.

I went through the protection and upkeep checklist I keep, and I found that the one thing that really needed to be done again was a success rite. So, that said, I did my usual preparations and conjured up Elubatel. Mid oration, I realized that I had better backtrack and ask Her a question (yes, She appears to me as a female...dunno why that is, as others seem to have a different view). Specifically, I wanted to know why every time I worked with her, I suddenly got depressed after the fact. Every time, I'd be a whiny little bitch of a man for the next few days for no apparent reason, and I'd always be in a funk that I just couldn't shake myself of. Well, in talking with Her, I discovered that She's granting us success, in open-ended requests, by giving us what our subconscious wants the most. In some people, that just happens to be a reason to tear ourselves down. No idea why it is, but apparently I have that deep-seated masochistic urge, which is rather interesting.

That, of course, leads me to two realizations and boons:
1) I know myself a bit better.
2) I basically just got thumped and told to be more specific.

It certainly made for an interesting reminder, and I thought I'd share it with you folks."

Having said as much, this is one of many such mind-blowing realizations that I've had from working in the system.  That being the case, I am, going forward, hoping to perform more experiments from this book on behalf of my clients, and for my own reasons.

For a limited time, I will be doing the workings from NAP for clients at the cost of 100$, regardless of the spell.  I will choose who I do these workings for, as always, and I will be posting the results here after removing any of the personal data.

Below are the names of the various applicable workings per GCC's Compendium:

- Astral Bomb Attack Ritual
- Psychic Guided Missile Ritual
- The Etheric Shrapnel Ritual
- The Occult Judo Ritual
- The Theurgic Booby-Trap Ritual
- Exorcism to Repel Evil Spirits
- The Attack Cancellation Ritual
- Incantation for Winning Contests
- Invocation for Money
- Chant to Bring Success
- Win a Legal Action Invocation
- Invocation from Protection From Evil
- Chant to Excite Love
- Rekindle a Mate's Interest Incantation
- Invocation to Bring Secret Knowledge
- Chant to Bring Health
- Incantation to Give Power Over Others
- General Purpose Invocation
- Vital Bring-Me-Wealth Spell
- The Enterprising Ace-King Spell
- The Terrific Win-It-All Spell
- The Tantalizing New-Strength Spell
- The Occult Seduction Spell
- The Psychic Sex-Appeal Spell
- The Tremendous Beauty-Is-Mine Spell
- The Stupendous Young-Again Spell
- The Exciting Brilliance-For-Me Spell
- The Haunting Horror-Producing Spell
- The Crushing Disharmony-Exercising Spell
- The Staggering Return-Evil-to-Source Spell
- The New Opposition-Begone Spell
- The New Shattering Partnership-Disruption Spell
- The Mighty Attackers-Confusion Spell
- The Instant Business-Success Spell
- The Ancient Fame-and-Honors Spell
- The Fantastic Win-At-Law Spell
- The Glorious Move-Up-In-Life Spell
- The Wonderful Money-Aid Spell
- The Startling Come-From-Above Spell
- The Expansive Bring-Me-Excitement Spell
- The Certain Danger-Stay-Away Spell
- The Brilliant Travel-Safely Spell
- The Reliable Know-the-Unknown Spell
- The Protective Magic-Away Spell
- The Rewarding Ticket-Come-To-Me Ritual
- The Overwhelming Good-Luck-is-Mine Ritual
- The Great Money-Spinning Ritual
- The Miraculous Gold-Creating Ritual
- The Titillating Nature Ritual
- The Irresistible Bring-A-Lover Spell
- The  Stimulating Partner-Enslaving Ritual
- The Supreme Back-to-Health Ritual
- The Secret Disease-Banishing Ritual
- The Fast Unwinding Ritual
- The Explosive Eye-Glance Ritual
- The Magical Win-in-Battle Ritual
- The Volcanic You-Will-Submit Ritual
- The Titanic Enemies-Vanquished Ritual
- The Astounding Change-Opinions-of-Others Ritual
- The Powerful Take-Me-to-the-Top Ritual
- The Forceful Buy-Sell Ritual
- The Automatic Test-Success Ritual
- The Delightful Tell-Me-My-Powers Ritual
- The Thrilling I-Can-Wow-Them Ritual
- The Unique Know-What-Comes Ritual
- The Marvellous See-Where Ritual
- The Ideal Change-My-Home Ritual
- The Flashing Cause-Discord Ritual
- The Arcane Invisibility Ritual
- The Genuine Bad-Luck-Banishing Ritual
- The Mysterious Enemy-Repulsion Ritual

The process for this is simple.  Use the "Contact Me" page and drop me a line letting me know what you would like done. I will send you an invoice, and then do the working on the appropriate day and time.  From that point forward, you will report your experiences to me, and I will record them here on the blog.

Thanks for reading!  Take care,

SE

Greetings, dear readers.  I hope this post finds you well.

Please forgive the tone of this post, as it is, in many ways, a small rant about a topic that has decidedly recurred in my work with clients, and it bears mentioning.

The topic at hand is the veracity of psychic information. To start, let's face it, we all get inklings of information that we don't have cause to know from time to time.  Sometimes its a twinkle in our mind that suggests that our lover is having an affair, or other times its a strong negative feeling about a person or place. Some call it psychicism, others refer to it as instinct, but the long and short of it is that the information is pulled from the ether - either inside or outside of the microcosm.

The fact remains that this information may or may not be correct.  When reading cards, runes, blood, wax, spit, seminal fluids, sweat, drink, crystals, bones, or any other means we are confronted with this psychic source of information which is up to us to interpret.  No cards or other such methods have set interpretations, as much as some might think that they do, for they reflect us and the situation that we are asking about. The very fact that those results are open to interpretation means that it is possible to be dead wrong.

Now, for me, it doesn't happen very often, I've found.  99% of the time, when I feel something is the case, it is, and my friends and family have come to appreciate my talent for being spot on without actually having proof.  I used to spend so much time saying "I told you so" that finally they started to listen. That does not, however, mean that I am always right.  There's still a glaring 1% there, and while it may not come up often, it does still come up from time to time, and there's little that can be done about that until I, or someone else, figure out how to become omniscient.

These things do happen, and, while its unfortunate, that's life for you.  I've found that sometimes we are actually bound to get incorrect information because someone is gunning for us on some level, or the Gods aren't really happy about what we're doing, and have decided to misdirect us. There's no real way around it.

Having said as much, please be aware that if you're going to hire me to do work or a divination for you, keep in mind that I, like you, am human and thereby error-prone. Even the Gods make mistakes, after all, so don't expect that I'll be 100% on target all of the time.

/Rant off.  Thank you for reading, and I hope you have a pleasant day.

SE