magick

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
18
May
2011

Kalagni's Tree of Life


Or: Let’s not sqabalah about the details.
Why hello there synchronicity, I suppose you want me to write about my attributions for the Tree of Life and why I redesigned parts. I say this because I was away at a convention for the weekend and when discussing tarot and the Tree of Life I ended up explaining to someone that I use a different model of my own creation. Part of it I’ve debated may have to do with blinds, and when catching up on my blogs saw a link to an old post by Ananael Qaa about blinds and a post by Robert (referencing Ananael Qaa in another circumstance) about his model of the Tree and worlds. So since I lacked my Tree to show my friend this weekend I thought I might post about it and then various things have cropped up so I’ll take that as a sign to post about.
This entry will won’t be super-complicated but a basic interest/understanding of the Qabalah, especially with the Golden Dawn model, would definitely make this easier to process.
Now in order to discuss my Tree I should probably mention some other tweaks that relate to it. As a disclaimer I am not now nor have I been a member of the Golden Dawn, I may use a Golden Dawn inspired system of magick, but not the Golden Dawn system. So what I put forth admits the possibility that ideas were changed due to a lack of knowledge achieved in initiation.
I like the notion of the Golden Dawn colour system, I have a highly structured mind that likes systems. Unfortunately you can’t just toss a correspondence system at me because unless there is a logical system underneath it that I can recognize, I can’t make use of the system. “I was asked to memorise what I did not understand; and, my memory being so good, it refused to be insulted in that manner.” So saith Uncle Al. The Golden Dawn Qabalah has a logic underneath it which allows the basic framework to be expanded upon, this I like, but there are a few things I don’t like/understand.
I work with the Queen Colour scale, just to put the following discussion in context. The colour attributions of the Astrological signs make a great deal of sense. Starting with red in Aries you follow the colour wheel hitting the primary, secondary, and tertiary colours in the order of the spectrum, simple, and logical. The colour attributions of the Spheres on the Tree make sense. First triangle is shades, second triangle is primary colours, third triangle is secondary colour, makes sense, the which goes where makes sense too, but more in-depth than I need here. Then you get the planetary colours and…wait…what?
Now I know planetary forces shouldn’t be confused with the forces of the Sephiroth but if they’re associated why should they be different? Why should the colours of the planets and spheres of Sun and Mercury be reversed, or Jupiter and the Moon, and why is Saturn a fake colour? Perhaps there is a reason, perhaps it was overlooked, perhaps it’s a blind, I dislike it, and I find it useless. I know it follows the colour spectrum order when you put the planets in order of apparent motion, but I don’t think that’s enough for me to have it counter the colours of the Sephiroth. Not to de-power the GD colour system, but I view it as process of psychological training, you teach your mind to associate and categorize different forces. What happens when you try to get your brain to process and integrate illogical information? Any sci-fi fan can give you the answer, and while we may not be computers I don’t think it is useful to try to get this to integrate. Let me clearly state this is different than trying to integrate a paradox.
So to me the planets are the same colours as the spheres. The fact they match makes logical sense and when you look at the ruling planets of the astrological signs you get several of the signs to match up where they didn’t before (Mercury is orange and so is Gemini, Sun is yellow and so is Leo) and you get no new times where sign/planet do not match. Saturn is the only exception being black, but there is no black zodiac sign. This is simpler, requires your mind not to memorize a bunch of exceptions, and makes a lot of the associations match up better. If your mind is holding conflicting associations neither will be held to the conviction it could be held without that conflict. This means if your mind is holding conflicting views (especially within the same system) you can’t get the full force of your belief/understanding behind them, and this limits the focus/force you can put into your magick.
That being said moving onto the Tree I gave that disclaimer so people aren’t confused when they look at the colours of the Paths/Letters on the Tree. The layout of the letters on the Tree doesn’t make sense to me. Well it does, I get it, it is alphabetical, which makes sense with a language like English, where the letter C is the letter C is the letter C and there is nothing hidden/extra about it. Hebrew doesn’t work like that. There are three classes of letter: Mothers, Doubles, and Singles, of which there are three, seven, and twelve respectively. Qabalistically these letters are the three elements (no Earth), seven planets, and twelve astrological signs. There are three directions of Paths on the Tree: horizontal, vertical, and diagonal, of which there are three, seven, and twelve respectively.
This is the basis of my version of the Tree. Alphabetically makes little sense, it reveals nothing, seems lazy, and a touch unaware of the letters and their division/meanings. So why not make use of the way the structure of the Hebrew alphabet matches the structure of the Tree? I did, which leads me to this image.

Click for full size


This is one of the revisions I’ve made, and I’ve been working with it for quite a while now and enjoy it, more importantly I find it fruitful. Sometimes I worry it may be too balanced, or out of balance, you’ll notice red colours predominate on one side, and blue on the other.
The three horizontal paths become the three Mother letters, the three elementals, and also serve as the divider between Qabalistic worlds. Granted I’m not a fan of the model that the worlds are divided on the Tree, I much prefer a Jacob’s Ladder model (which I don’t see as much so maybe I’ll write on that at some point), but if I were to divide the Tree with the worlds, then the elemental/mother/horizontal paths lend themselves to it quite well. Atziluth (associated with Fire) is comprised of the upper three Spheres, with the Path of Shin (Fire) as the boundary. Briah (associated with Water) is comprised of the middle three Spheres with the Path of Mem (Water) and Tiphereth as the boundary. Yetzirah (associated with Air) is the bottom three Sphere with the Path of Aleph (Air) and Yesod as the boundary. Lastly Assiah is Malkuth.
For the seven vertical paths there are the seven double letters, the seven planets. In each case the planetary letter rises up from the sphere it is associated with, with the exception of Saturn/Tau which rises out of Malkuth instead of Binah. Two reasons: Binah has no vertical path above it, and Saturn/Tau plays double-duty in many systems also representing Earth, so rising out of Malkuth the Earth-Plane.
The twelve diagonal paths were the hardest to work on, and have been through the most revisions. After trying a lot of planetary and astrological juggling I got a lay out I like. It was a process of elimination. I started off by having the colour-matched sign descend from the Sphere that the planetary path ascended to. So the Path of Mars/Peh rises into Binah, the Path of Aries (the red Martial astrological sign, while Scorpio is blue-green martial) descends on the diagonal from Binah for example. When I couldn’t do that I used to the colour/sphere associations. So Cancer, which is Yellow/Orange is placed on the Path connecting Tiphareth (Yellow) and Hod (Orange), this wasn’t my first choice and seems superficial (and might be) but I find it actually works rather well. The two signs that are half purple rise diagonally from Yesod (purple) toward the side their colour is mixed with. The Path of Ayin/Capricorn is Purple/Blue, so it rises to the right toward the side of Chesed as an example.
This leaves four letters/Paths unassigned. Heh/Taurus, Tet/Leo, Nun/Scorpio, and Tzaddi/Aquarius. These just happen to be the four Fixed signs, and where we get the surrounding image on the World and Wheel of Fortune cards of the Bull, Lion, Eagle, and Human. Appropriately they become the four “framing” diagonal paths. They were the hardest to assign. I originally tried their layout from the zodiac and above tarot cards, but didn’t like it. I decided to have Tet/Leo descend into Binah rather than Tzaddi/Aquarius. No Sphere had a sign they rule descending into them, so I figured Binah should not be the exception. As they are ruled by the Sun and Saturn, and are Yellow and Purple, they are balanced, so they became the top two paths. Heh/Taurus, and Nun/Scorprio descend into Malkuth on the side of their colour predominance.
So that is the Tree of Life model I use, for meditation, magick, and understanding. I find it far easier and effective to work with the standard Golden Dawn model, or any of the other Trees of modern or classic origin with the Paths on a different arrangement. Hopefully I made sense, feel free to ask questions, comment, or throw the standard ceremonial “You changed something!” hissy-fit.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
12
Mar
2011

Goetia Flow – Tao To Summon Demons


The circles slightly distort my vision as the preliminary evocation comes to a close. My body stands up straight while my mind is present, yet above and beyond me. My mind is a thread in a cosmic spider web stretched far past my little self. I am me and I am more. Attention is turned to my triangle with the seal of Raum drawn red on the black mirror. My mindstream and voice as one dance along the spider web “Raum, mighty Earl, take your place in the triangle.” The spider web thrums as a crow sitting on a dying tree branch forms amidst the smoke and the darkness in the triangle. Raum is told to harm no one in the process of this working, to speak only the truth, and to stay within the triangle for the working. He agrees and I give him his charge, he agrees and I give him license to depart. Slowly I sit down and pull my mind back into me, into a peaceful and empty glowing self.
I know some Goetic magickians have an issue with my style of evocation but the above pretty much sums it up. No long winded preambles on why the spirit should show itself, no threatening and torturing if it is late, no binding and threatening the spirit into service, just a natural flow of myself and the spirit.
I can’t always invoke this way, I assume it is a me thing, just sometimes I can’t get my mind where it should be, but this is the method I always strive for. Now for the horrible puns in the title; Goetia Flow is a poor play on Go With The Flow, and Tao to Summon Demons is a poor play linguistically and spiritually on How to Summon Demons. Yet in a loose way they describe what I feel I do.
As mentioned briefly in my Secrets of the Summoning Circle post I view the circle style I use less about protection and more about connection. Within the circle I’m reaching far beyond Kalagni the university student, occultist, sex-god, whatever, and I’m reaching up into the highest aspect of the divine that I can access. I find at that level there is less effort and more flow. Abstract but that’s the way it seems. I erroneously call my summoning style Taoist, not because it has any connection to Taoism -because it doesn’t- but most people who are familiar with Taoism understand what I mean there. Taoism can be translated as Path, Way, and Natural Order, and that’s what I find relevant to my evocations. When I use the traditional Goetic methods or variations of such, there is a feeling of a battle, my will against the demon, the forces I can wield against the spirit. Yet in my preferred method there is no such battle, it is just the way of things, the natural order.
When in my circle, connected to the highest divine I can reach, the entire process seems natural, normal, just the way the universe works. When I reach out and call the spirit there is no sense of command or ordering, and I don’t feel the spirit is threatened or forced to appear. Instead the spirit appears because that’s the way the universe works. When I spill my cup of tea the tea flows out of the cup across the table and if it finds an unlevel section it rolls down the incline. Not because the tea is forced, coerced, or threatened, but water flows downhill and that’s the way the universe works – at least in sections of the universe with enough mass to create sufficient gravity to cause water to flow toward the focal point of the gravity, but let us not nitpick. To me this is much the same as my summoning. I’d call it Effortless Evocation, but that term has problems too, and yet it does feel effortless as long as I reach this mind state. Once I’m in the “flow” of the universe, the spirit just comes because that is what it does, when I tell it to stay and be honest it does because that is what it does, when I give it a command and have it depart it does as I request because that is what it does. In this flow the universe just works; hot air rises, water flows downhill, entropy increases in closed system, and Goetic spirits respond and obey to divine forces without pressure or struggle.
Part of me thinks this is so clear in concept and explanation, yet another part of me feels this is something that I’m not explaining right. While sometimes summoning and dealing with spirits is a battle of wits and wills, I find sometimes it is a peaceful and effortless exchange that occurs simply because I am part of the Divine and when in that flow the spirit responds to that because that is the natural order of thing.
I know some Goetic magickians love pointing out why I’m wrong, or endangering myself, or even deluding myself. So far this process has worked for me with no horrible backlashes, and I feel –simply put– to quote dear old Uncle Al, “Success be thy proof.”

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
13
Jan
2011

Review: Low Magick – Lon Milo DuQuette


Low Magick: It’s All In Your Head… You Just Have No Idea How Big Your Head Is – Lon Milo DuQuette
Llewellyn. 2010. 206pp. 9780738719245.
“Stories are magick.” (1) With that simple idea Lon Milo DuQuette begins to draw the reader into another wacky, hilarious, and insightful journey of magick and life. I will be frank right off the bat and discuss my problems with this text. I spend a lot of time on public transit reading and this memoir had people on the bus eyeing me like I was a bit crazy. Lon is quite simply a funny guy and at many points in his stories I found myself laughing- sometimes at him, sometimes with him, sometimes because a crazy idea seemed too much like me. Unfortunately when someone suddenly breaks out laughing (especially if that laugh has a tinge of mad scientist to it) people in public don’t know what to do. If you don’t mind odd looks you can read this in public, otherwise read it at home.
The humour is a great drive in the book it helps keep the stories from being too serious and not being a dry biography. Sometimes the asides and comments are just so random and funny that I couldn’t help but laugh such as the mention of nachos and guacamole as “the fast-food favorite of California magicians whose wives are out of town.” (73) That line was right in the centre of a fascinating story of a ritual spanning a few days involving Lon, the Tarot of Ceremonial Magick, and the various spirits tied to the deck.
Now this memoir isn’t just a stroll down memory lane, there is “a great deal of theory and technical information within my nonchronological narratives.” (2) So there are stories, there are laughs, and there is actual information. What I enjoyed what not so much how Lon did certain rituals but his discussion of why he did certain rituals and why he did them certain ways. When discussing a curse on a friend, rather than just using some standard ritual to undo it, or to just say what he did, Lon leads you into his head (and it is all in his head) to show why he decided to use A Midsummer Night’s Dream as the foundation to remove the curse.
Lon goes back and forth from discussing magick in a very traditional ceremonial sense and something more free form. The stories flow from Goetic demons to invoking Ganesha to the tune of “Pop Goes the Weasel,” from the Hermetic Rose Cross to gorging on quiche for astral adventures. The book covers so much in a great tone. On one hand Lon is confident about his experience and information but knows where his limitations are, and yet the book never has the tone of a magician who thinks too highly of himself. The book discusses success and failure, brilliant ideas and not-so-clever ones.
The title of the memoir is from an early work and it is a statement that I’ve seen people toss around both for and against DuQuette on various email lists and message boards. In this text he goes into more detail about it. “This is not to say, however, that I believe magick is purely psychological. What I am saying is there is more we don’t understand about the human mind than we do understand.” (133) In true DuQuette fairness he discusses this just before describing two stories where the magick and the results seem so removed from him that understanding it as being in his head is quite a challenge, even to him. Whether you agree or disagree with the idea, Lon does show through his experiences where his logic for this idea comes from. A strength of Lon’s writing is his ability to lead you into his understanding, so even if you disagree him you can understand why he thinks a certain way.
This is a hilarious book, filled with great insight into the world of magick, and into the head of one wise and wacky wizard.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
02
Jan
2011

Forecasting: Years, Months, and Smarties


Welcome to 2011. So far it feels like 2010 but for me just a little more organized. Due to an extended Christmas holiday on the family farm my secular New Year’s planning was a bit delayed. So yesterday I spent much of the day organizing my resolutions and working on my forecasts both I want to touch on but I’ll focus on forecasts.
While I think reasonable planning and goals are some of the best tools for a successful magickian I cannot deny the role that forecasting has. Anyone, magickian or not, can learn how to set strategic and reasonable goals, so the advantage we have here is divination. We can glance ahead in ways other people can’t, so why not take advantage of it?
When I talk about my forecasts some people ask “Why don’t you just do a forecast when you need the information?” It is a good question and while I’ve dialled back on my divination in the last two years I still do random divinations when the need arises but I find forecasts have a different feel. Usually when you “need the information” it means you’re already knee deep in a situation but forecasts give you a greater look ahead so you get some information and time to plan before you’re engulfed in the situation. Generally the sooner you’re aware of the something the sooner you can start to work with it and the more you can do.
Personally my forecasting is done in multiple systems because I find there are different strengths. My only true yearly forecast is astrological. I’ve spent quite a time studying astrology (and have multiple posts or one huge post about astrology in the process) and I find it makes the best forecast. Astrology is very predictable and time specific, so in my forecast I can generally place an influence within a week of it occurring, to do that with a system like the tarot would be harder and require far more work. So I use my chart and my transits for the year and write out a month by month forecast of the year. Some people are content with using more generic horoscopes, but I have a lot of issues with them and figure even if they do work (I have issues with that assumption) why not use one that is extremely personalized? This forecast probably takes more time than all the other forecasting I do for the rest of the year but it is by far the best to set goals with.
Once astrology has given me insight to the forces that will be at play throughout the year I bring out the second forecasting tool, the tarot. Now with the tarot I do monthly forecasts. While the astrological forecast can’t change (and if it did somehow we should be worried) the way the themes and influences play out can. For example with my life the way it is now most of my Jupiter influences relate to university so that’s the way I interpreted most Jupiter transits and this year is full of Jupiter for me. Though say during the transit that indicates Jupiter being afflicted and reworked I drop out or get expelled or start a career, then Jupiter would be about my career. Unlikely, but possible, so the influence will stay constant but how it presents itself will change. This is why tarot is useful it tends to reflect the current state of the influences and as those change so will the tarot forecasts. Since tarot takes a more “ground level” view that is more suitable for planning and changing I do monthly forecasts because what I predict far ahead is likely to flux somewhat. So monthly forecasts with the tarot are preferred here as they address the current state of things, and if that changes I only have to redo a monthly forecast not the entirety of the remaining year. Tarot also works better with specifics in the month I find. Astrology gives me the theme or current to look for and the tarot makes it more specific. An analogy I like you use (not just for this so it may show up again) is that of a military general and a soldier. Astrology is the general and tarot is the soldier. The general is farther away, tends to see the entire battlefield at once, sees a bigger picture and the currents at play. The soldier on the other hand sees far less of the field and the current, but what they do see is more specific and in greater detail. Both are valuable in their own way and both have to be applied to their strengths.
My tarot spread morphs over time as I find some questions less important and as I think of other pieces of insight to look for. Currently my monthly spread is nine cards.
--2---8--
4|1|5|6|7
--3---9--
In order the cards represent: The theme of the month; what I have working for me; what I have working against me; what I have to let go of; what I have to embrace; what I need to do to make the best of the month; what is the lesson of the month; who should I be; who shouldn’t I be. Now from there I plan out my month because I find a classic mistake people make with tarot readings (or any divination) is to take the reading as information and assume they’ll remember and make use of it.
Now since I tend to work well with tarot and astrology this gives me an opportunity to test new systems, and people who know me know I enjoy my testing. So I do another monthly forecast with a different system and see for a few months how well it works for me or doesn’t. For the next few months I’ll continue to explore my creation of Smarties divination, which sadly I found out isn’t a unique idea but I’ll still explore my take and understanding of candy divination. It may sound silly to some but the amount of overlap between my Smarties oracle and my tarot and astrology is actually quite surprising.
So while the future may only reveal itself reluctantly I think as productive magickians we should take advantage of forecasting and how it lets us plan ahead and act, rather than always reacting to what the world places on our doorstep. This is only January 2nd, so if you haven’t done a forecast then perhaps now is the time.
If people have other systems they use and want to mention the pros and cons of different systems I’d love to hear what other people do.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
20
Dec
2010

Falling Stars, Lunar Eclipse, and a Long Night


It seems as if the world of occult blogs is all excited about the lunar eclipse on the Solstice.
I’m excited too I guess, but I’m mixed. The eclipse occurs at 0130 EST (excluding the penumbra) of the 21st though using more traditional metrics such as sunrise starting the day and planetary hours that means the eclipse is really still part of the day before, but I’m told I occasionally nitpick. I keep seeing people claiming it’s the first lunar eclipse to happen on the winter solstice in over 450 years, or in nearly 500 years. The last one was in 1638 so apparently people are either using different math than I am, or not using proper sources. Of course it is a fairly uncommon event, while the last one occurred in 1638 it was the first one this side of the Jewish Carpenter’s birth. Though you’ll be happy to know if you survive another 84 years it will happen again.
Now the Sun and the Moon will both be Squaring Jupiter in Pisces, the sign it rules. So the Sun and Moon will be at “odds” with each other, and both having issues with a strong Jupiter in its more spiritual/religious aspect. The Sun is conjunct Mercury (but that happens a lot) and conjunct Pluto as well.
For me this eclipse holds special meaning, and not all of it has been figured out, but as the ritual is in a few hours we’ll see what get worked out. First let me talk about the solstice in my tradition. Winter Solstice we call Night of the Falling Stars. It is a celebration of the Family, in this sense Family is the belief that groups incarnate together for a time for various purposes. We celebrate the Family and our connection to each other. On the darkest night we light a beacon for the Family, we call to those who aren’t present and ask for them to enter our lives. We remember those who we know but aren’t present due to death or separation, we remember those who we know of but haven’t yet met, and we remember those who have come together in this life. In October during Dancing with the Family, we offer the Family, this side, and/or the otherside energy/merit/communion so they can do what they need to do. Now that they’ve been given the energy to do what they need, we invite them to join us one more. To those on the otherside in October we may help them seek out new birth, in December we call to those who have taken up new birth to find their way.
The astrology regarding this eclipse on the solstice is interesting and has some personal repercussions in my system. Our system has three “primary” planets, Pluto, the Sun, and the Moon. Yes, none of them are technically planets (though I’m still hoping we get Pluto back), but the term is used for more of the astrological sense. Now whenever all three planets are in aspect with each other it means something special for us depending on the aspect, and when we have an eclipse it is important because it removes either the Sun or the Moon from the equation. On the solstice we have the Sun and Pluto conjunct, opposing the Moon, but the Moon will be eclipsed anyways so it gets taken out of the picture. The Moon represents on the most basic level the Lower Self, the person who is here now. The “Moon of Kalagni” so to speak, is the person who just had a birthday, is attending university for two simultaneous degrees, likes to climb the Bluffs, solves Rubik’s cubes galore, has a soft spot for Babylon 5, likes blue, etc. The Sun is the Higher Self, the animating Soul, the part of me and Me (or you and You) that continues beyond death.
So during a lunar eclipse our tradition holds several ideas, but basically the Moon, the Lower Self isn’t part of the equation. What does this mean? All reality is cause and effect, how we move about and interact with the world and what we can do within it is related to this Lower Self. During a lunar eclipse we believe we can affect more changes with less interference from the Lower Self, both consciously and karmically. The part of the Lower Self that doesn’t believe in magick, or thinks we’re pushing too hard too far for a result, it is silenced, and the accrued karma associated with that Lower Self for that period cannot interfere with our workings. The lunar eclipse is the time to push yourself a little farther, and do what you usually can’t/don’t. Are you a competent magickian but can never get love magick to work? Try it during the eclipse, perhaps the part that can’t do love magick is associated with the Lower Self. We are both propelled forward and restrained by our past and Lower Self, but in this fragmentary moment we’re released from that.
It’s interesting to think what this means with Night of the Falling Stars. For this holiday Family firmly relates to the Sun level, the Higher Self, something spanning lives. So it is oddly appropriate that the Moon is not in commission during the ritual, leaving the Sun and Pluto to be the primary drives.
Currently it is a bit cloudy, but the satellites show it may clear up in the next eight hours. While being able to see it doesn’t matter (though for some reason we disregard eclipses that aren’t visible from our current location, odd disjuncture) it would be nice to be able to see it. I performed a ritual during the 2004 total lunar eclipse and the visual of the moon disappearing into a red haze was just amazing.
I recommend every magickian try something during the eclipse. Doesn’t matter what your system says about it, it’s the only time for the next 84 years you’ll have a chance to do it so why not take it? At very least go out and watch it. Eclipses are fascinating astronomical phenomena. What’s the point in living in such a brilliant universe if you’re not going to appreciate it?

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
04
Nov
2010

Surprise and Expectation: Responding to Magickal Results


From the mouth of babes comes wisdom. I will paraphrase a text message conversation with my lover. He is the babe in this case, because while he may believe in magick he is not (yet) a practitioner or even armchair magickian. Also for background information, Behrat is a spirit who I employed to help drum up some finances for my vacation. He gave me the finances I needed, to the dollar, and I thought he was done then suddenly another unusual influx so that I could take the time off in comfort.
“What the Hell? Behrat just did it again. This is unreal.”
“I don’t see what the big issue is. If you believe in magick, why should this surprise you?”
I paused in shock and a touch of humility. My non-magickal lover just caught me in one of the common traps of the modern magickian; lack of faith in what we believe in and/or what we do. Thankfully the next week when Behrat delivered over thirty times what he had the week prior, I remembered that shock was counter-intuitive to my beliefs, so I thanked Behrat and continued on without getting caught up in the “surprise” that my magick worked.
When I got home the night of the previous conversation I fished around for my copy of SSOTBME by Ramsey Dukes, a rather good book on Chaos Magick, to find a quote for my lover.

Magic, in turn, inherits unconscious skepticism from Science. Just as the ‘open-minded’ Scientist is deep down a total believer in material reality, so also the ‘gullible’ Magician deep down does not really believe in anything. … Ritual magicians can be heard saying “we did this healing rite and – it’s absolutely incredible – next time he went to the doctor there was no sign of the tumour.” Can you imagine a group of chemists getting together and saying “I put this litmus paper into the acid and – it’s absolutely incredible – it changed colour”? (45)

It seems so silly when put in a reasonable analogy. I have spent years practicing magick, refining my workings, and refining myself, building up experience and knowledge for what works and what doesn’t, yet there I was, something worked and I was surprised, I had trouble believing it. The next time I bake bread and it rises, I would seem such a fool to be surprised that the yeast, sugar and flour reacted that way. It would be ridiculous if the next time I went jogging, if I was surprised when I made it home. Yet in magick, it didn’t seem that odd and it rarely does to other magickians who have the same experience.
Is this a problem in our belief, in our self, or is this the way it should be?

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
02
Nov
2010

Magick: Means, Ends, and Manifestation


It amazes me how often in a conversation about magick, regardless of talking with practitioners or non-believer, how often the comment “That makes sense” or “That seems obvious” comes up. Sometimes magick is filled with subtle and complex factors and it takes years of study or practice to understand why something is the way it is, and other times it is so obvious that you either feel foolish having to say it or having to be told it. When I talk with people about magick and goals this is often how I feel.
Recently I encountered an old friend from high school at the store and in the process of catching up she posed the hypothetical question “What is the point of getting tens of thousands of dollars in debt with student loans to get my Master’s degree, when all I’m qualified for is the same job I had in high school?” I asked her gently in the conversation what job she was expecting with her degree and she gave the worst answer possible: I don’t know.
This comes around to a problem that affects magickians and non-magickians alike, but I feel it is more central to the path of the magickian to conquer this. To me one of the purposes of magick is becoming functional and content within your life. Disagree if you like, I’ll probably write more on this topic later, but for this entry just accept it as a hypothetical purpose. This functionality is inhibited by a lack of planning revealed in my old friend’s comment “I don’t know.” She went for her Master’s degree and achieved it, a laudable accomplishment, but it had no follow up. I see the same thing with magickians but to avoid appearing to pick on any one in particular I’ll use this friend as a non-magickal example.
If I were to talk about goals I’d say some goals are ends, some goals are means, most are both, and some –the worst of the bunch– are goals specifically lacking either an end or mean. For example when I set the fitness goal of being able to do 100 consecutive push ups this was a goal as an end in and of itself. No path or life change presented itself because I could do 100 push ups, that was my goal and it was achieved, there need be no more. On the other hand when I decided to go back to school this goal was a means, I wasn’t simply going to attend University and have that be all I wanted. By attending University this allowed me to work toward one degree, which then allowed me to enter a selective program for an additional degree, which will in theory allow me to get a job in my chosen field in four more years. Going back to school and getting into the more selective programs were goals that were means, they work as stepping stones to a goal further along, but merely accomplishing them isn’t enough for they are means not ends.
Now the push up goal was an end with the means, I did a program of successively increasing push ups for a few months and reached the goal. Going back to University and then getting into the specialized program were means to an end. Some goals are ends without means, and some are means without ends, and these are generally flawed goals. My friend went for a Master’s degree and expected the world would just have a job waiting for her when she was done, because that would be nice and convenient to have a job perfectly suited for her very specific education. This goal was a means without an end, she expected the degree would lead her to a job, but she admits to not knowing what job her education qualifies her for. If she had of worked for her Master’s degree out of love for education or the topic, then she would have achieved something just for the sake of following her desire with no expectations, and that I could have respected. She would have followed her heart for something she loved and expected nothing from it. You can also have goals that are ends without means; these tend to be concrete goals with no known path for them to occur. A cliché example would be becoming a millionaire, it is a specific goal but without means and that makes it extremely unlikely to be achieved.
Magick has the beautiful ability to do the unbelievable at times, to turn statistics and probabilities on their ear, to glitch our understanding of reality, but in spite of all of this magick functions best with a Path of Manifestation, a way for the goal to occur. I fully admit that magick sometimes happens without any known Path, in ways that really challenge our world, these are great experiences when they occur but we shouldn’t rely on them for all success. Magickians need to think and magickians need to plan, this is another part of the “Goals and Magickian” conversation that seems to be too obvious to require saying, yet constantly I see magickians with just this issue complaining either about life or magick, and honestly I get caught up in on occasion too. Magickians need to work within our reality, and need to set practical goals. You can set your sights on lofty goals and work your magick toward it but really you’d be better off applying your efforts a bit closer to home. Trying to conjure up a house and cottage is a nice dream, but if you’re pulling in $20,000 a year it isn’t very likely. Your magick should illuminate stepping stones to your goals. If you want the house and cottage don’t simply try to magick them into your life, use your magick to improve your job, get a better job (and the work that could be required there such as more education or social connections) so that you have the financial foundation that will allow your goal to be achievable. If you have the means work on the end, if you know the end then create the means.
Some may think I advocate thinking small, but I don’t, I believe as magickians we should constantly push ourselves and test the world, but I advocate thinking realistically and in Paths of Manifestation, at least for the majority of the time. Magick is the science and art of causing change to occur in conformity with will, so Uncle Al said. The art is the dreaming the lofty goals, but part of the science is realizing when you can’t get to a goal from where you are without taking specific steps. Art is the inspiration, science is the process. Magickians need to plan, if they are to achieve.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
18
Oct
2010

Magickal Pokemon Trainers: Gotta Catch ‘Em All!


Now I don’t mean magickians with a Chaos Magick bend who are using Pokemon, in fact I’m probably more on their side than the group I refer to as Magickal Pokemon Trainers. We’ve all seen them before, they come in all shapes, sizes, and traditions; people who treat spiritual beings, trainings, initiations and similar things, as collector’s items.
I see them a lot in relationship to Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, generally –but not always– by western Newagers who are using/appropriating/incorporating Buddhism into their path. Within Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism there is a ritual called an Abhisheka, translated often as Empowerment, in which a trained Lama implants or awakens the Seed of a specific Boddhisattva. The purpose is (traditionally) to introduce the student to the current of the Boddhisattva or “blessing stream” as my one Lama says, to offer a Seed of their enlightenment to work from, and the Boddhisattva can become your Yidam, a personal figure used in your meditations. It’s a beautiful tradition with a lot of depth and nuance. Unfortunately now it seems like it is a Pokemon game. When I received my Abhisheka to Vajrapani, I was surprised to hear several of the initiates in the temple boasting about past Abhishekas “Well, I’ve received White Tara, Black Tara, Green Tara, and Hayagriva.” “I got Chenrezig, Chakrasamvara, and Padmasambhava.” Is there a benefit of receiving more than one Boddhisattva? Yes, different practices can require different Yidams, but most people who collect aren’t undertaking these other practices (though may take some basic training to brag about later). There is more to it than just getting a Boddhisattva shoved into your brain, and I might argue there is a large aspect of diminishing returns, after a while you can only do so much, no matter how many Boddhisattvas you have placed inside of you.
You see it in the Santeria-Family of religions, people who go about getting multiple crownings and actually go out of their way to receive more from other houses or even traveling to Nigeria to receive more, when really they should only have one, and sometimes the multiple crownings involve Orisha who may not want to be in the same head. I see it in the Newage community a lot, probably more than anywhere else; people who brag about repeated workshops, initiations, trainings, cleansings, guides, healings and such. I see it less with Ceremonial Magickians, we have less of a structure that enables this, but occasionally you’ll come across a magickian whose great accomplishment is summoning all 72 Goetic Demons, or all 49 Heptarchy Angels.
Gotta catch them all, Pokemon!
Back in early High School, when Pokemon first arrived in North America I played it, and enjoyed it. I loved the world, and all the different Pokemon (at that time a mere 151) but was always saddened that I was limited to six. In fact for a good 80% of the game, at least, I used the same six Pokemon. Sure I had 151 (potentially) to choose from, but only six at a time. As I’d battle with specific Pokemon they’d get stronger, so that if I tried to switch to another Pokemon they might not always work, because they are too weak, I don’t have the experience with them, and don’t know how to use them. So I stuck with the same six, and while sometimes there were weak against Pokemon I was battling, usually I could find a way to make them work, and only in the extreme cases would I pick another Pokemon to use because it was far better suited.
Forgive the nostalgia, but I think it makes my point. When you receive a Yidam, they are to be your personal meditation deity; you devote yourself to them to awaken their Seed within you. If you have many Yidams then you probably can’t give any of them the devotion required to really make use of the gift you’ve been given. If every Orisha or Lwa is a relationship, and you have more than you can easily name, then you probably won’t be providing a strong relationship for them, and they can’t provide for you. Magickians whose accomplishment is just summoning all 72 Goetic demons, rarely have much to say accomplishment-wise about what the demons have done. I’ve been using the Goetia for six years now, seriously for four, and in that time I’ve only ever used about a dozen of them, and only five of them I use repeatedly. Why? Because it isn’t about how many Seals I’ve drawn up, how many entities I’ve trapped in my triangle, but it is about the results from them. The five Goetia I’ve used multiple times, I do so because they’ve worked multiple times and I have no need to spread my efforts to a spirit that I don’t have a relationship with if I don’t have to. Why undertake conjuring a new spirit that may not work in the way I need them to, if I don’t have a reason to. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Even from a mundane perspective collecting becomes counter-productive when you become more focused on collecting than the collection. Eventually you’re grasping at so many shining things that you will be unable to enjoy or use anything you’ve already grabbed. The act of collecting becomes a distraction, or an excuse, from actually working and getting things done.
This isn’t to say don’t explore, don’t experiment, don’t try something new, but there is more to these trainings, initiations, and spirits than just the bragging rights of receiving them. It is less about how many Pokemon you collect, and more about how experienced you are with the Pokemon, how strong they are, and how effective they are. Try new things, take the occasional new training or initiation, but realize that isn’t the point or benefit in and of itself. Sometimes you’ll learn something new and useful, sometimes it is new and useless, but if you spend all your time getting initiated and training, and not doing, not living, then you won’t find out what works best for you, who your strongest Pokemon is.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick