angels

26
Aug
2012

Skrying the Tree – Challenges – Tzamaron


Fear not, the next entry has essentially no story element
So my experiment was moving along at a quick pace, and confirmations through divination, visions, gematria, and the evocations of others all seemed to say I was actually getting somewhere with it. At this rate I figured I could finish in just over two months.
I was still unemployed, but neither Sh’miral or Clarshitel were really the type of Angel to help with that, but next on my journey was the Sphere of Mercury. I set up the same way as before, appropriate amount and colours of candles, incense, music, with the glyph of Mercury drawn on my skrying mirror. Remembering my lesson last time I called on Sh’miral and he escorted me up through Timarin, the Lunar Sphere, and from there directed me into the dark toward the Mercury Sphere. I felt like I travelled for ages, and nothing happened, so I forced a door to appear, a brass octagon with an orange shimmering glyph of Mercury on it. I knocked, once, thrice, thrice, once, and the door opened. Darkness there, and nothing more. Trying everything to produce light, or someone to talk to all failed. So I returned to myself, and tried two days later. Different experience, but the same result, nothing. I even tried my original method, using the Qabalistic Angel to make contact, and “jump” from there. To no success.

His seal made by drawing his Name on the Qamea of Mercury

I was alright financially, but knew money would get tight if something didn’t happen soon, and something did. A friend of a friend told me about a company that hires folks for high-priority document delivery in Toronto, mainly downtown between bankers and lawyers. I applied, and all I needed was a bus pass and I was good to go. It was a tough job, far tougher than I expected. Even though you bussed/subwayed everywhere I still walked on average 22km a day (14 miles), it was a long day of 9-5 without any real break, cause each delivery was more money so you never wanted to stop. The pay was crap, technically illegally low but they used a loophole. It was the type of job where I’d get home at dinner, eat, and collapse, sometimes I’d wake up and do something at night, othertimes I slept through to the next day. I did this job for a month, and I was so tired and busy with it I never got around to trying to skry again. Finally there was a holiday giving me the Friday off so I decided to try again.

His Seal linked with the Glyph of Mercury

I set up all the props, and dove into the mirror escorted by Sh’miral, who seemed happier than last time, maybe he was just trying to cheer me up. When I shot through the dark to Mercury I quickly felt reality “thicken” and I called forth the octagonal brass door. I knocked, and it opened. It was a garden, flowers (mainly orange) hung on everything, birds and bees flew around rapidly, there was a buzz, a sense that everything was moving. I called for the Angel of the place to meet me, and a voice from behind, with a very strange accent, caught my attention. I turned and was facing the Angel, who was a light-skinned young man in an orange, blue, and black suit. I’d say he was the most human Angel on my trip so far, except his hair-style was that of the Centauri from Babylon 5. We talked, I asked the usual questions for the Names, and I got them. Then I asked a month old question. “Why couldn’t I find you before?” “Little one, all is a machine, a cog cannot demand for the gears to turn as it wishes, it must wait until the right time to revolve. The Earth and Moon are close to you, but I am farther, you couldn’t just come to me, you weren’t ready, you had to immerse yourself in my qualities, live a Kirahlian (Mercurial) life for a time. Only then could you come here.” I asked how I did that, I haven’t had time in the month of the hell job. A smirk grew across his face “I am a great many things, but I am Communication, Messages, and Commerce. For the last month you have been a Messenger between bankers, and businesses. You were the winged messenger flying across your city’s financial heart, keeping it beating. You lived in my Sphere, bankers, messages, communication, as well as deceit and trickery in many of your packages. It was only when you had lived in my Sphere in your life, could you come to my Sphere here.”
It hadn’t hit me that I was a messenger, or how Mercurial my job was. I respectfully asked though if I could be “released” from that Sphere, as the job was horrible. He told me to carry a resume with me that week, that I had prayed over, and he would find me another job appropriate to him, something fun, intelligent, and that I would love. I went to work that week, eyes open, knowing for sure if he was legitimate I’d know the opportunity when I saw it. Wednesday, Day of Mercury, I was sent out to my area of the city, first time that far east, to the mall. On the way back from the delivery I passed one of my favourite stores “Mind Games” and while there was no hiring sign, I walked in, and asked if they were hiring. Not at that location, but another one, but they’d fax my resume. I left it there. On Friday, Day of Venus, I got a phone call, Monday was an interview, Wednesday the following week I was hired. In a week and a half from my conversation with my Mercurial Angel, I had gone from a job I hated as a messenger, to my favourite job working at a store selling board games, science kits, brain teasers, and educational games.
Gematria again provided insight into the Names I was given, and friends confirmed the nature of the Angel. Ironically my Centauri was not the only sci-fiction appearance he has taken, someone else saw him as a Ferengi, with all the Mercurial traits one would expect.

His Seal revealed years later

The name of the Angel is Tzamaron, the “tza” is an odd sound, between a sha, ta, and za. It’s sharp and harsh, almost like a quick snake hiss followed by “ah.” His name has the same value as Tongues, and Tziruph. Tongues are the organ of language, ruled by Mercury. Tziruph is a way of encoding or decoding something in Hebrew by a simple substitution cipher, something that is also very Mercurial.
Kirahl is the Sphere of Mercury. I was given three spellings for that Sphere, a true one, and two to illustrate the point. The true spelling is the same value as “to use magick,” “sage,” “intelligences,” and “horns.” All very Mercurial in their nature. The other spellings had the same value as “words” and as “Enoch” the scribe of Heaven. To further test it, I tried another spelling that would still work in Hebrew, but the value was boundary, and I had trouble linking that, I couldn’t just make up gemantric values and have them work.
The Sheno are the Angelic order of this Sphere. Their name is the same value as thought, idea, and number.
Lastly the Godname to form and compel the forces of Kirahl is Phorahlin, pronounced for-Ah-lin. Without using a final nun, the Name equals “the teaching”, with the final nun, the Name equals cunning, and witchcraft.
Several weeks earlier I started this experiment and lost my job, with contacting Tzamaron my life shifted, I went from working a career that I largely enjoyed, to a job that I absolutely loved. I had confirmed Tzamaron’s integrity by vision and corresponding events in my life, then later on with other’s working with him. I also learnt that I couldn’t rush this initiatory experience. The Angels of the Spheres had their own plans for me, and I had to earn the right to visit them. I was humbled, it was not up to me, it was up to them, I had to be worthy to progress, I had to live their Spheres and earn my access.
As with all the Angels, especially the planetary ones, I have a very short “prayer” I use to call on Tzamaron, though its effectiveness is more reliant on our relationship than the power in the words. Every Wednesday when I give him my daily offering I say “Hail unto Tzamaron, ruler of Kirahl, leader of the Sheno, in the Name of Phoralin I call you here, and ask that you work with me, and walk with me.”

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
20
Aug
2012

Climbing the Tree – Threshold – Clarshitel


(Don’t worry, they all won’t be as story like, it’s just the first three that set the stage, and a few others down the line.)
So after asking Sh’miral to “open the way” for me I lost my job. Having completed skrying into the Earth Sphere of Almak, getting positive feedback from friends in my experiment, and of course having plenty of time without work I decided it was time to move onto the Lunar Sphere.
Having more experience with Lunar forces I set out nine purple candles, drew the sigil of Gabriel on my skrying mirror, lit my incense, and began chanting. I brought myself to the Lunar Temple, and called upon Gabriel, who told me I was expected, and the path was the same as before, but more difficult. While I had left the Earth, I was still of it, reaching to the Moon and beyond required crossing a Veil, the most subtle and fickle Veil on the Tree. I knew the trick from last time, and I found the connection point, that rippling between realities, I stepped into it, turned away from everything and was falling. Perhaps I was flying, or shot from a cannon, there was movement, fast, and yet had the sense of going nowhere. I tried to take control, force myself to exit somewhere, to call a door to me. Nothing, it was movement that wouldn’t end. I felt like the other Sphere was right there, but I just couldn’t reach it.
Suddenly I jerked to a stop, and a hand on my shoulder “You’ll never get anywhere at that rate. The Ways are endless if you don’t have an open door.” I turned and found myself facing Sh’miral, he was larger, darker than before. I asked if he can help. “I can always help you find the Way, call on me when you Climb, you don’t need to jump from one Tree to another anymore, you’ve been given access, use it.” With this I fell again, briefly, a silver nonagonal door with a purple liquid glyph of the Moon stood before me. With three sets of three knocks the door opened to me. Inside was an amethyst crystal cavern, lit by glowing urns placed around it. A sound between bells and bubbling water filled the air. I called out, asking if there was anyone there. The white-blue water flowed from cracks and flowed up into the form of a woman, early Yaksha/Apsara in her appearance.

Apsara

Without prompting she began to speak. “I am Clarshitel, Mother of this place and all who dwell here.” Then with some questioning she identified the Sphere as Timarin, the Angels of this place as Shaqaran, and the God Name as La’andras. She explained she can function like any Spirit of the Moon, any Angel, but she is also more terrestrial than most, while her Sphere is Lunar she loves the Earth and touches it more deeply than most like her.
I left her place, taking her Seal with me, and returned to myself. As usual I distributed the Names and Seal to some people involved with the experiment to get their impressions. I turned back to the Gematria, because it worked last time amazingly well, that was probably a fluke though.

Her Seal by drawing her Name on the Qamea of the Moon


Clarshitel, Angel of the Sphere, her name was the same value as Mother, Veil, and Hidden Wisdom. She had called herself the Mother, Gabriel had mentioned the Veil of the Moon was different, and it was harder to cross, and Hidden Wisdom is appropriate for the Moon in general and the attribution of the High Priestess.
Timarin, the Sphere of the Moon, if spelt without a final Nun is Cancer, and with a final Nun is Heavens, Sky, Ruach. Cancer is the sign ruled by the Moon, Heavens and Sky are appropriate for the Moon, but also for anything visible in the sky, but Ruach is the part of the Soul that is housed in or represented by the Moon.
Shaqaran, the class of Angels of the Sphere and children of Charshitel. Their Name is the value of Natron, Mem, and Water. Natron is the only one slightly out of place, it was used in mummification to remove water, but that’s the only link I could think of. Mem, the letter of Water, and Water, are both tied to the idea of the Moon, but also in the way Clarshitel presented herself and her realm to me.

Her Seal linked with the Glyph of the Moon


La’andras is the God Name ruling and forming the forces of the Sphere. It’s value is that of Man and Ishim. The Ishim are the Angels of Yesod, which was the only real link I had.
I was trusting more than Gematria to confirm these Names, heck, I’d say I started using it almost as a lark, just to see. Again though I had good confirmation, three out of the four Names strongly linked to what they should, and the fourth did relate. Perhaps there is something to Gematria.
While waiting for responses I was failing to find a job, but I figured the Angel of Mercury could help me out there…

Her “revealed” Seal from years later.


Like all the Angels I encountered, once contact was made establishing a low-level connection again was easy. Whenever I need to open up “simply” to Clarshitel, such as when I make my offerings to her on Monday morning I call to her “Hail unto thee, Clarshitel, Ruler of Timarin, Mother of the Shaqaran, in the Name of La’andras I call you here, and ask that you work with me and walk with me.”

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
11
Aug
2012

Climbing the Tree – Threshold Guardian – Sh'miral


So if I’m going to be talking about my experiences skrying my way up the Tree I should explain what I did.
The process changed over time, as I gained confidence, experience, and allies along the way. When I first approached the Sphere of Earth it was through overwhelming myself with correspondences. I had ten candles burning, Earthy incense burning, sitting in the lowest point of my basement on the unfinished floor. Even though I was trying to “break out” of the Judeo-Christian I felt I had to use it to gain access to the Spheres.
Sitting in the glow of the candles, my skrying mirror set before with the Glyph of the Earth drawn on it in brown, I called to Metatron (מטטרונ, not מיטטרונ) to guide me. After the evocation I began to skry and in an inky blackness I met Metatron, he told me I still had to build this Sphere of Earth, to fill it with the Names of its Form. Intoning Metatron’s Name, as well as Uriel, Sandlephon, and the Godnames and Angel classes associated with Earth slowly a cave was born around us, and he took me to a stone door and led me into his temple.
In the centre of this temple was a rippling, like a heat mirage, and he told me it was the veil I must cross to find the Sphere of Earth behind this set of masks. So I walked through it, and nothing happened, I turned around and tried again, I tried Rending the Veil, but not happened. He told me the masks infuse everything; they are everywhere and in everything, to cross the veil I must step away from everything. I stood in the centre of the rippling, and did just that, I willed myself away from everything, turned at a right angle to everything and was again in darkness, this time without a guide.
I called, and my response was the clacking of shoes on a hard floor. Slowly the darkness condensed into a man. He was, in the manner that only spirits can, both wearing a black three piece suit, and black robes adorned with feathers or perhaps made up of them. I asked if he was the Spirit, the Angel, I had come to look for, and was told that he was, and he would be willing to submit to testing. When asked his Name he told me it was Sh’miral, the Sh is pronounced almost like the za in pizza. As we talked the world formed around us, it wasn’t the dead dark cave of Metatron, but a living breathing subterranean temple, with rocks and moss and flowers the glowed in their own light.
I confessed that I generally worked with the Angels of the planets used in astrology, so I didn’t know what “use” he would have. “I am the first, and the last, the highest, and the lowest. I am where you start from, and I guard the Gates of Earth, and the Gates from Earth. It is I who will open the Tree to you. It is I who will open the ways in your life.” When asked if he would open the Gates, and the ways in my life, he agreed, but explained that it would not be comfortable, I accepted anyways. I asked for three more Names; the Name of his Sphere, the Name of the class of Spirit/Angels he rules, and the Name of God that empowers him. After I received the Names, I left his temple and returned to myself.

The Seal of Sh’miral

My initial plans to test the Names would be evocations a few days later, as well as giving the Seals and Names to friends to try to work with (having provided no information other than it is a spirit I want their impression on), and compare results. On a whim I decided to check the Gematria of the Names I was given. Sh’miral has the same value as “Lord of Earth” and “Mount Zion.” Needless to say Lord of Earth was a shocking coincidence, and Mount Zion certainly had an Earthy appeal. The Name of his Sphere, Almak, had three spellings, the preferred spelling had the same value as “Mountains of Zion” and I was very surprised to see the Mount/ains of Zion come up again. One other spelling had the same value as “the heel” and “the end,” which are appropriate for the Sphere of Earth being the bottom and last of the Tree. The final spelling had the same value as “Original Seed” and “Root” which are appropriate as the starting point up the Tree. I had not expected Gematria to help, but it was one of the ways I knew to traditionally test spirits and thought it couldn’t hurt. The Angel classification, Chomal, had the same value as “Troops” but also “Enoch” which while less conclusive is still interesting for his role as the Angel of Malkuth. Lastly the God Name Meltar was the same value as “The Gate” which I found out was a title of Malkuth.
As said I wasn’t expecting anything conclusive or helpful from gematria, but not only was there a theme with the Names, but they all tied specifically back to Malkuth as the Earth Sphere. I created the Seal as I was told, gave the Seal and Names to so friends, and waited for their responses. While I waited I lost my job. Deciding to test Sh’miral I asked him to help me find a job, but he explained “I have opened the way like you asked, it is not my job to walk your path from there.” That was the last time I ever worked as a social worker. Then the responses came in, my friends had encountered a similar spirit, dark and earthy, eager to help, but detached emotionally, able to bring order and patterns, and clear the road.
I considered my first skrying experiment a great success. I was nervous about being unemployed, but the Names checked out better than I expected they could, and all the results from friends pointed to Sh’miral being legit. I’ve worked with him many times throughout the years.
He functions in a lot of ways similar to Papa Legba and Ganesh in the sense that he is called to open the ways, to initiate journeys, to begin rituals, and open communication. He controls the functions of the Earth element, and terrestrial/land based magick.
Once contact has been forged Sh’miral and all the angels are easy enough to connect with, the pattern is the same, and while the words occasionally different it’s of little to no consequence. When I need to call Sh’miral I give him a very short summons. “Hail unto thee, Sh’miral, ruler of Almak, commander of the Chomal, in the Name of Meltar I call you here to work with me, and walk with me.”
As always I encourage people to try contact Sh’miral, give him a call and see what you get, I’m always interested with people’s experiences with these Angels, even four years after the experiment began.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
05
Aug
2012

Climbing the Tree – The Call to Adventure


I love the Qabalah, I really do, but it’s a frakking mess. Between different sources, different interpretations, blinds, mistranslations, and everything else it’s jumbled up.
There are the Four Worlds, everyone seems to agree there, but where are they divided on the Tree? Is there a unique Tree for each world? Are the first three Sephiroth the top three Worlds, and the next seven the lowest world? Are the cross-paths the divisions between the Worlds? Is it a Jacob’s Ladder where the Worlds overlap a little as the Trees climb up?
What Angels rule what Sephiroth? Do the Angels of the Planetary Sephiroth rule the corresponding planet? Who rules Malkuth? Do the same Angels rule the elements, or another set? Why are some of the Angels and Demons gods?
Now these are just the first of my issues with the Qabalah that sprang to mind immediately on considering this discussion. I love the philosophy, the cosmology, and the system, but there is a lot of it that seems unclear and jumbled to be polite.
What surprises some people who know my practice is that I haven’t dealt with Raphael, Michael, Tzaphkiel, and the like in years. For the reasons mentioned above, and a great many more, I felt I had to return to “The Source” not in a textual sense, but in a transcendent sense. This inspired what became my longest, and perhaps most volatile magickal experiment. While I completed this several years back, I’ve never really discussed it here and only minorly or privately elsewhere. Issues on credibility and silly notions like that got in the way. I spent two years, two months, and two days (not on purpose, just the way it worked) skrying the Tree of Life, talking with the Forces of the Tree. Not the Angels we know, but the Force.
Reality is a multifaceted diamond of infinite complexity, but the trouble is whenever we look at one facet we distort and obscure others. Tipareth, Michael, and the like are all just one facet of a diamond of the Sun-Sphere, the most familiar one, but not the only one. In my experiment I climbed the Tree, skying and communing as I went to meet other Names of those diamonds, other beings, that are of the same quality, type, and level, but don’t have the cultural-historical baggage or the confusion of the blinds/traditions/mistranslations and the host of problems that popped up with the traditional sources. These Angels (for while they aren’t the traditional Angels in my experience they are of the same level/type of entity) would speak to me, free of the confusion of the myriad of Qabalistic confusions, and gave me Names to use that were free from the Judeo-Christian sources (which was always a minor issue with me), and forms and relationships that suited my life.
I was foolish. I thought it was something I could do quickly. Pop in, get the Names and contacts I need and move on, be done in a few weeks. The Angels had a different notion, I had to be initiated into each Sphere, live each quality in order to gain access. I couldn’t just bang on the Gates of Mercury and be allowed in, I had to live a Mercurial life and only when I had lived it sufficiently then would I be permitted in.
It took me over two years of work, on and off, of having my life switch around repeatedly, in order to complete this mission, but since then it has only deepened. I work with these Angels daily, my Path has been opened by them, and they walk with me, work with me, and reside with me.
I had told a few people about this experiment at the time, and had their help with it at times, confirming identities as well as experimenting with the Angels, but I’ve never really talked about it too much. One of the things about returning to the Starry Path is discussing this, and sharing. So over the next while I will talk about the process I used, the Angels I met, and the life it led me to as I climbed the Tree.
Hail Sh’miral, the Opener of Ways, and Guide of Contact.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
19
Jul
2012

Review: After the Angel – Marcus Katz


After the Angel: An Account of the Abramelin Operation – Marcus Katz
2011, Forge Press, 208pp B004XTJ0PA
Most magickians keep magickal diaries, very few of them are worth publishing, and even fewer see anything other than the magickian’s home. Marcus Katz shares his magickal diary from the six months he undertook the Abramelin ritual, and sought Knowledge and Conversation with the Holy Guardian Angel. Very few books cover the ritual experience in such detail. It is refreshing to read the account of a magickian who did the ritual traditionally (or as traditionally as the modern world allows), rather than taking many of the shorter modern routes to the supposed same end.
Katz includes some of his process leading up to the ritual, the choice for performing it and the details behind it, he explains how his life changed after completely the ritual, but the bulk of the book is the journal he kept for those six months.
Early in the text Katz mentions “[i]f you are close to anyone and do not want to risk that relationship, do not undertake the Abramelin. It has to be performed when you seriously have nothing to lose” (26). Right away you become aware that this might not be a simple retelling, but something personal, and occasionally painful. Another way to see that, is an authentic account of the experience.
Each day is dutifully recorded and given a personal title by Katz. In reading the text there were a few times where I had to shake my head and put the book down because I found the similarity of experiences unnerving. While the external experiences of our Abramelin ritual could not be more different a lot of little things in the inner experiences matched up so clearly that I was shocked.
Katz has an insight to the ritual that I agree with; he calls it a “Self-Extracting Program” (40), that “the working is self-developing, like a fractal – once seeded, it opens up, unique to each Operation, but following the same intrinsic pattern” (37). It is personally fascinating to see where our Operations lined up, and where they differed, it was reassuring to read about the same reality hiccoughs, and the vacillation between ecstatic faith, and numbing doubt. The insight into Katz’s path and experiences is a great read for those like me who enjoy understanding how people interpret the world, and to observe the change in language and perspective as the ritual goes on it quite interesting.
This is not a book for someone wanting to learn the Abramelin, it is merely a recording of one man’s journey through it. To be honest I’m not sure if I’d recommend it for someone considering the ritual either, I’d be concerned of them reading about specific experiences and trying too hard to recreate them, rather than experiences what comes their way. That might seem overly cautious by I know one of my ordeals of the ritual was letting go of what I had expected during the Abramelin Operation, and letting life occur. For those who are curious of anyone’s experience on the Path, who want to understand and read the experiences behind the ritual, and maybe have walked similar it is definitely an interesting read.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
09
Jan
2012

Review: Watcher Angel Tarot and Guidebook – Michelle Belanger and Jackie Williams


Watcher Angel Tarot Guidebook: Myth, Meaning, and Creation – Michelle Belanger and Jackie Williams
Emerald Tablet Press. 2011. 312pp. 9780983816911.

“And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.” Genesis 6:1-2

Such a little innocuous line, often overlooked and forgotten, yet containing the seeds of a beautifully deep myth expounded upon in the Book of Enoch. Watcher Angels, the sons of God(s), fell to the Earth and took up human mates, and taught the secrets of heaven. That is the theme of this deck. I’ve talked about this deck before but it is time for a proper review.
In the introduction Michelle says “I didn’t want simply to design another Tarot built on the bones of the Rider-Waite-Smith. I wanted to revision the Tarot entirely, allowing the symbols to speak through me and to find expression in some vital and personal myth.” (12) And that is what you find with this deck. It isn’t a Rider-Waite-Smith clone with angel wings drawn on it, it isn’t a clone with some of the images and settings shifted around, it is a fairly different beast altogether.
The deck was designed from the ground up. Looking at the overarching traits of the Major Arcana a parallel from the Enochic myth was chosen, for the most part one of the Watcher Angels themselves represents the Majors, each assigned according to what they did, and what they taught. For instance you have Kasdeya who taught “all the wicked smitings of spirits and demons, and the smitings of the embryo in the womb” as Death, and Shemyaza the leader of the Angels in the Fall as The Fool.

Seven of Pentacles. RWS: A man leaning on his hoe. Watcher Angel: A man leaning on his...


The Minor Arcana form an entire story of their own; from Ace to Ten, Pentacles, to Cups, to Wands, to Swords, they lay out the entire tale. Pentacles are just after the Fall, the struggle to learn and build a world. In Cups they have established themselves and enjoy the world. With Wands they show their children the mysteries of heaven and magick. Finally with Swords their children turn upon each other. Since each suit contains its own story arch it is a remarkably easy deck to learn, though initially I was wary of the differences, because even if you have a moment of uncertainty when you place the card in the story it becomes clear what it represents. The meanings, the keywords of the cards are standard, but they way they play out in the Enochic myth is quite different.My only complaint with this system is it falls into an earlier interpretation of the Tarot, since the Swords are about the war among the children, the majority of the Swords are negative and challenging cards. Something many decks do but I dislike.
The artwork in this deck is phenomenal. The images are deep and complex, without being cluttered, in a lifelike and detailed painting style you’re not likely to see in a Tarot deck. Colours are rich and vibrant, and thematically carry between the suits. Jackie has a wonderful talent and her skill really brings the images to life. For me it is the settings, wings, and faces that really get me. The backgrounds are evocative, be they a shifting patch of colour or an elegant city vista. The wings just look better than most angel depictions –it’s a personal gripe of mine. Lastly the faces are very engaging, haunting, and real. The entire deck is viewable here on Jackie’s site and will show far better than I can describe.
The companion book was refreshingly honest. “I won’t lie and say that this deck was merely the product of detached academic research. There is a great deal of vision and inspiration, myth, dream, and magick woven into this work.” (19) Or as Jackie says it is “a deck designed by two psychics with input from the universe.” (29) All things considered it’s something I’ve found odd that so many deck creators shy away from discussing. In fact the companion book is remarkably complete, perhaps too much for some cases, but as it says you can skip the sections that don’t interest you. The book contains Jackie and Michelle’s stories for making the Tarot, the years of planning and research for Michelle, the years of painting and living the cards for Jackie. Michelle leads you into the research and struggles, Jackie even gives interesting advice on paper and paint types. Their stories are followed by the myth of the Watchers, how it relates to Campbell’s Monomyth as well as to the Book of Enoch and related texts. It moves into tarot history, where it came from, how it became part of the Western Mystery Tradition, beliefs about the tarot, and then finally the interpretations of the cards. If you’ve never dealt with the tarot before this book covers pretty much all the basics you’ll need, and if you’re familiar with the tarot and don’t care about personal stories you can skip to the back where you can learn about the cards and understand why Michelle and Jackie made the choices they did in illustrating the deck.
I will fully own up to a triple bias with this deck, Michelle and Jackie are friends, and personally I love the Enochic mythology. That being said, I don’t believe it is my bias speaking when I say this has quickly become one of my favourite decks; the beautiful art, the compelling myth, it just makes this a wonderful and unique deck.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
14
Jul
2011

Sex With Angels


It’s curious watching what google searches lead people to this blog. Sometimes they are relevant; often people find my book reviews looking for just that, so I’m happy. Sometimes they are funny but accidental; apparently one of the new pokemon has a blue flame on its tail and when someone tried to find out which one, they ended up here. Some are just surprising, apparently “sex James Bond” in Arabic can lead here. Months back I posted a link to a joke entry on “How to know if you’re having sex with a fallen angel” and that changed the google searches that lead here. The fifth most popular search term leading people to my blog is? Sex angels. From there I get all sorts of variations “How to have sex with angels” “How to summon an angel for sex” “Praying to angels for sex” (with an angel or person?) “Have people had sex with angels?” and it goes on. Now, let it not be said that I’m not an attentive and caring blogger. I opted out of a how-to guide for now, but I leave you with:

Say-Roar-Screech-Low mine Name! Who's your Holy Father?


Kalagni’s Sex With Angels Advice

  • First piece of advice when having sex with an angel? Be not afraid. (Seriously if angels have to say that everytime they introduce themselves they probably aren’t pretty blond guys with wings, they’re scary-ass motherfuckers)
  • When having sex with a Kerub (Cherub) always make sure the human side is facing you, otherwise it is bestiality and that would just be weird.
  • Because they are four-in-one Kerubs are fans of bukakke, plan accordingly.
  • Ophanim are great for exhibitionists and voyeurs. They like to watch (and pretty much have to being covered with eyes) and they like when people watch them jack-ophanim.
  • Always wear a condom with a Seraph, or you’ll find out why their name means burning snake.
  • Use polyurethane condoms when having sex with a Seraph as they have higher melting points than latex.
  • If you’re into bondage I suggest the Bene h’elohim, or the Watcher Angels, several of them spend all day hanging around in chains.
  • Raphael smells like fish, it’s not a hygiene issue, it’s so Asmodeus doesn’t kill you before sex, jealous ex I’m assuming.
  • The ineffable name is not a good safe word.
  • Halos (who has a halo, seriously?) are not convenient foot rests or places to attach your handcuffs to.
  • While not as long-lasting water based lube is easier to wash off of wings than silicone and oil based lubricants.
  • Remember No means no…unfortunately the Hebrew for “Come on” sounds like no.
  • Archangels are fans of forced bukakke scenarios “[The Seven Archangels] came to [Eve], seized her, and ejaculated their semen upon her.” ~On the Origin of the World 116-117. Plan accordingly, put down plastic sheets.
  • “The seed of the trees came from the semen of the authorities and their angels.” ~On the Origin of the World 109-110. So always wear a condom, you don’t want a tree growing out of there, do you?
  • Virtues are prudes, don’t bother with them.
  • Dominions look good in black leather and carry whips.
  • Into twincest? Go for Metatron, there are two of him, one above and one below.

There you go, hopefully this will advice will help your next heavenly whoring.
Thanks to all my twitter friends (apparently you’re tweeps?) for being sounding boards to this insanity, and occasionally suggesting/nudging the insanity. Feel free to tweet or comment with more.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
12
Jul
2011

Languages and Magick: Angels, Demons, and Drunken Scribes


So last time I rambled on the importance of specific languages in calculating the name of an angel. It had a lot of open-ended and circular problems. Are languages important, why, and which ones? It led to some interesting discussion in comments, twitter, and an email. (At first I was confused how this person got my email, until I remembered I put it on my About page, just so people could get in contact with me without having to post a comment. I guess my brain is too full remembering The Raven and Pi to 23 digits to pay attention to what I do with my blog.) This is more of me working out my thoughts in writing, and hoping for some good ideas.
Now the process of calculating an angels name surely complicates matter and if you just stick with already named angels and demons that will make it much better. I remember when I first got into spirit work I had this strong instinct that by knowing the name of a spirit I had influence over it, by knowing their Name I could control them. Over years I found this idea represented in Babylonian/Akkadian/Sumerian magick, in Egyptian magick, western Ceremonial Magick, even in Vedic and Buddhist magick. Names have Power. Along with this is the parallel idea that Sigils/Seals have the same control/influence. Simply I’d say a name is auditory and a sigil is visual but they are the same thing.
Traditions may argue how much power and influence the name or symbol gives you, but they largely agree that they do. So that makes this a lot simpler than calculating a name, here you have the name provided for you, and a seal, and that makes it simple… as long as you never look at another text. When I received my Goetia of Dr. Rudd I was surprised by how many of the names and seals were close but not the same as my Mathers version. I had come to understand a lot of this magick through the doctrine of names. But what did it mean when Halphas/Malthus and Raum have their names and seals rendered differently? If my power over Malthus or at least my ability to contact or communicate with em is based upon my possession of eir seal and name how did I accomplish anything if I had it wrong? I can’t reach you if I dial the wrong number, can you reach a spirit with the wrong name/seal? This preoccupied me more than some people’s focus and questioning of the inclusion/absence of the Shem ha’mephorash angels.
I was able to wrap myself around this, and that became less of a concern until I realized it wasn’t just names and seals changing, but spirits were being stolen, or split, and combined. This opens up a magickal can of worms on its own, but I want to focus on names here. If the name is the connection and control of a spirit, what happens when a name of one spirit gets applied to another apparently unrelated entity? Or more curious to me, when a spirit’s name and existence was completely a mistake? Halphas above is a good example, Halphas is the 38th spirit of the Goetia and Malphas is the 39th and they share similar abilities and may have been a scribal error initially. Or Berith the 28th spirit of the Goetia whose name is actually the Hebrew term for the covenant between YHWH and the people of Israel (Belanger 70) and was probably included in Christian occult texts because they knew this “Berith” had power, but didn’t know who (or what) it was, so obviously a demon.
So where do these entities and power come from? Is there something inherent in the word and what it represents? While not a demon the covenant between YHWH and the Israelites is arguably a powerful thing (if you believe it) and maybe the name taps into that? Maybe it’s the collective attention (fear) of generations of priests and magickians that give these names and seals form and force, even if they’re drifting off of the original. But how does that apply when the name of someone gets applied to someone else, or a name from nothing but a mistake? Is this an issue that transcends the language issue? Absolutely but it is the naming that has me wonder, because if names and seals matter, then how come they work when they’re wrong?
Again I have no answers to offer, but in traditions that value the power of names and seals, how can we reconcile the fact that these change, or are added, misappropriated, or scribal errors? I’ve been leaning toward the idea that it isn’t what you use, but the process, but I’m still working some of that out in my life and in my head.
Source:
Belanger, Michelle. Dictionary of Demons. Llewellyn, 2010. Print.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
04
Jul
2011

Languages and Magick: Alphabets, Orders, and the Naming of Angels


Language and magick; there is so much I could write and ramble about this combination that it will take several posts. Names, linguistic drift, spoken languages, dead languages, when languages have power and why; every time I sit down to write or think about this I come up with more ideas.
For now I’m going to focus on alphabets and names. I recently finished updating my Genius Name Calculator (more on it in an upcoming post) and I know what you’re thinking “Kalagni, you’re already a genius and you already have a name, what do you need this calculator for?” That’s not what you were thinking? Could have humoured me at least…
What I’m referring to is what gets called the Angel of the Nativity and is often connected to the idea of your Genius or Daemon. Renaissance magick has a method of calculating the name of this spirit from your birth chart. If you’re interested you can find it in Agrippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy, Book III Chapter 26, or wait for my post with the calculator. Traditionally this is done in Hebrew, so I made my calculator in Hebrew. After all, it’s a magickal language isn’t it? I shared the calculator in this early form on an elist and people were appreciative, but asked for other languages. While Hebrew is traditional it isn’t uncommon to see this done in Greek and two different methods of doing it in English are popular too. Now for the rest of this post to matter you’re required to assume this method works, that you can find out a valid and workable Angel name from this process, so at least keep that idea in mind for now, if you assume the method has no validity than this is just a moot ramble.
So now you have one method, which you can substitute four different languages for and you end up with four different names. Using the time of this writing as an example the name of our Angel is Kavatzalah in Hebrew, Gochochopa in Greek, Xaqedije in English, or Majihats in another way of doing it in English. Which is correct? Are they all correct? Xaqedije sounds Enochian almost.Will any language work? I had someone ask for this in Sanskrit, which while representing a totally different culture, philosophy, and magickal system, I can’t give a reason why Sanskrit isn’t just as valid as Greek, Hebrew, or English. Especially as Sanskrit is also seen as a very magickal language.
Now one theory is that all of these are correct, loosely it is like brother, frère, frater, bruder, four words/names but one meaning. If that’s the case I can stop wondering, go home, and sleep soundly, it just means Kavatzalah is the Hebrew from of Majihats, simple. While I don’t deny the possibility of this answer it does seem a bit too easy to me and I don’t like that. (I tend to make life difficult by rejecting the simple initially)
Do we make languages magickal? I’ll touch on this in a later post, but the two most common languages for this process are Hebrew and Greek, languages that the magickians who used this system didn’t speak natively and associated with the magickal traditions they studied. Is it their investment in the magickal tradition of the Jews and Greeks that make these the languages magickal to use rather than English, German, or French? So is it the case that Greek and Hebrew aren’t inherently magickal, but the amount of time, both personally and historically, spent investing the languages with magick give them power?
With both Hebrew and Greek the alphabets are used in order when doing the calculations, yet both English methods don’t use the alphabetical order. Is that because English is too mundane and everyday to us as it is and requires some mystery added to it to become workable? (While the 26 letters of English and the order we have now is actually from the last two-hundred years most of the alphabet existed in roughly the same order before then, so I doubt that’s a factor) Perhaps it is something about our religious upbringing or ancestors, the languages important to our religion (in the Christian age of Europe that would be Greek, Hebrew, and Latin) or what our ancestors (however you view that) spoke, that this connection gave them the magick.
I don’t know, sorry if folks reading thought I might have a conclusion. I alternate between all languages are valid and there is something that makes one language more valid than the rest, but I don’t know if that language is always more valid or if it is personal. Perhaps Tibetan would work best for me, but Greek better for a friend and Enochian for another? Maybe the language doesn’t matter, but it is the process and effort that gives strength and reality to the Angel of the Nativity? The effort and process matters more than the tools? I don’t know, but I’d love to get thoughts on this. Hopefully in time I’ll have a follow up, as I’m strongly suspecting some friends are going to get roped into an experiment with this. I see myself distributing a bunch of Angel Names (and fake names) in my future.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
20
Jun
2011

Webshare Wait-It's-Monday: Enochic and Enochian Galore


Baraquiel- The Hanged Man

Baraquiel- The Hanged Man


Sorry for the lack of posting recently, I decided to run for an unplanned holiday on the family farm. I was going to share these links/stories later, but as one of them is time sensitive I’ll do so a little early and with that said it might as well be the link I start with.
My friends Michelle and Jackie have been working on a tarot deck. Michelle’s been scheming it for about a decade and if I remember my timelines right Jackie’s been painting for about five years. The Watcher Angel Tarot is a reinterpretation of the themes of the tarot through the legend of the Watcher Angels as told in the Book of Enoch. The deck is finally done and presales start this Tuesday (June 21st). Currently you can pre-order the deck as collector and supporter decks on Jackie’s art site to help foot the start-up cost, and the deck will be released October 21st, just in time for the end of the world, and that’s not a coincidence. On Monday and Tuesday at 1830 (EST) Michelle and Jackie will be doing a twitter to youtube question answer session about the deck, so if you’re interesting and/or want to learn more go to Jackie’s site or participate in the chat to hear about the deck from the people driving it.
Damon Albarn (Gorillaz) has written an opera ‘Doctor Dee’ on the life of the historic occultist John Dee, founder of Enochian magick. I’m actually really amused and intrigued with the idea. He says he will focus on the occult practices of the good doctor, as he feels that part of his life has been hidden from history. No mention if wife-swapping for YHWH will be in the opera as of yet.
While totally different, this just couldn’t help but remind me of The Enochian Keys Opera by Valentin Dubovskoy from several years back, which I had interesting results with.
Next month sees the release of El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron, a video game loosely based on the Book of Enoch (I’m seeing a theme in my links, this wasn’t planned). The game has you taking the role of Enoch the Prophet trying to stop seven fallen angels and the flood that will destroy mankind if they are not stopped. I have neither of the platforms it is on (PS3 or 360) but I’ve been debating a PS3 for a while (I don’t really play video games) and I think this might be a good inspiration. A PS3 for my spiritual research, that’s reasonable, right?
Edit: I just found a video trailer of the game. It looks good to me, and has an interesting artistic style.

An Orthodox Jewish Court has condemned a dog to death by stoning. The belief is the dog that invaded the court room was the reincarnation of a secular lawyer the judges had previously cursed to be reborn as a dog for insulting them. What I found most interesting is that it is a public admission of the belief in reincarnation (which while it has some historical basis in Judaism is a fringe belief currently) but also the belief that the judges have the capacity to use a curse to direct someone’s next incarnation and that it could include animals such a dogs. I was under the impression that Jewish beliefs in reincarnation was limited to humans, but animals and cursing incarnations, both are new tricks to me.
Lastly, and really really not least is Rob’s Basic Laws, Rules, and Rights of Magic an absolutely brilliant article on…well just that, the laws, rules, and rights of magick. It’s a long read, and you definitely need to take some time to work through it but it is worth it. I probably only disagreed with one or two points, and not in horribly strong ways, I really recommend you give it a read if you haven’t seen it yet. It matched up with some of my own conceptions on the laws/rules and made me question and debate others.
That being said I leave these links with you, and hopefully return to blogging proper soon.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick