personal

09
Oct
2015

Sorcerer's Plant

For well over a year I cultivated my sorcerer’s plant, and in that time it was a good focus and tool, and in the end it proved to be a great ally. Two weeks a good I began the process of consecrating and ensorcerelling a new one. Since people asked me about it, I asked the spirits who helped guide me to the plant, and I have a green light to talk about it. (I figured since it was part of a tradition of sorts, I needed permission to discuss it exactly, rather than in broad strokes)
So to start, just what is a sorcerer’s plant? It’s a hard question to answer, but most simply it’s a living (literally) talisman. Now a lot of us magickal folks (myself included) see some of our talismans and objects as alive, but this literally is alive on a biological level. A sorcerer’s plant has several purposes. It’s a focal point of power, it’s a very lively plant, and can be used to draw energy from, far more than you could from a regular plant, but it’s more than a battery, because it’s a focal point of different entities, and nests, and sacred places. (Nest in this tradition refers to a Dragon’s Nest, what most people would understand/call a nexus point of Ley Lines, a point of convergence of flows of power across the land) Through the plant you can access, if in a limited way, places and entities that are distant. (The spirits who set me about working on the plant told me that a long-lived and powerful sorcerer’s plant would eventually shift the flows around it to become a nest of its own. I don’t know if I believe that, or if it’s true, they might have been speaking out of their ass-trals.) It also has a more active plant genus attached to it, a more conscious spirit.
The plant also becomes an early warning system. The method of consecration causes a type of mirroring or interference between you and the plant, so a lot of stuff directed at you runs through the plant. In the case of attacks or malefic magick, this means the plant can absorb it, and it will affect the plant instead or first. Also the way it’s powered and connected makes it a great ritual ingredient for heightening trance states and the like. There is more to it, but any competent magickal folk will also start figuring out their own uses to it, and potentially tweaking it.
Regarding the early warning system, that is why I’m consecrating my second plant. I was recently a target of some malefic magick (since dealt with) which involved some pretty impressive signs. A dead mouse beside my offering dish, and the wards I drew on my walls before painting literally bled through the paint, and my healthy and living plant became mush. It didn’t just die or whither, it was suddenly a pile of goo held together by its skin. I don’t know what would have happened without it, but to turn a plant to mush, I’m pretty sure it took the brunt of it. I had found it useful before this, but this really drove it home.

Larger, fewer blades

Larger, fewer blades

So first one must acquire a plant to become the receptacle. I was told to acquire “the plant of immortality,” and my first thought was the Epic of Gilgamesh, but it was accompanied by a mental image of an aloe vera plant. Now supposedly (internet says) the Khemetic people called aloe vera the plant of immortality, but regardless it matches up, and makes sense to use aloe because of its gel (more on that next post). There are a couple of species of aloe vera, I personally recommend one with fewer larger blades, rather than many small ones. If you’ve never grown an aloe before, I recommend googling how to, they can be tricky plants, especially if you’re used to “normal” house plants, not succulents.
Too many small blades. Also avoid the more squat bladed species.

Too many small blades. Also avoid the more squat bladed species.

Then you need a pot, it doesn’t have to be a fancy pot, but large enough for the plant (again google what type of pots and setups are best for aloe), and preferably a touch deeper than needed. The most vague part of the instructions I was given was “make the pot magickal.” So I repeat that to you. I did it by using food colouring to paint the seals of some of my planetary angels on the inside of the pot and a few personal symbols related to the tradition. I used food colouring because it’s a terra cotta pot, so it absorbs well, and I didn’t want to use something like paint that would potentially be harmful to the plant.
Now plant the aloe into the pot, don’t fill it with dirt all the way to the top though. Leave some room. Almost to the top.
In most cases an aloe vera plant can be watered every two weeks, which just happens to sync up pretty excellently with the lunar cycle. I was told to water the plant on the New Moon and the Full Moon. Every once and a while in a really dry period I might need to give it a bit more in between, but save the full watering for the New and Full moons.
Next time I’ll discuss more on how it’s consecrated, nurtured, and worked with.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
05
Oct
2015

MM: Mars, Bringer of Unemployment and Journey to the Sun

When last we joined our hero (me) I was prattling about how good things were going financially, and that it seemed like my mundane work was creating its own momentum in the magickal world. Since I was abiding in the Sphere of Jupiter, and had been for quite some time I thought it would be good to shift gears into Mars.
The Tuesday after I posted (three days later) I opened up the Sphere of Mars and stepped through. Moving away from the prosperity and growth of Jupiter, into the strength and action of Mars, who knows what the future would bring me? I went to work the following day, and got my two week notice.
Normally I hate, with several passions, people spouting “all these things happen for a reason” or assume that when something negative happens after magick it must be for a good cause we just don’t see how yet…but I could not be upset about losing my job, it was just too ironic the timing.
Anyways, the timing was perfect, my Beloved had just bought a new house and would take ownership the last week of my job. He had never lived completely alone, and felt a bit overwhelmed. So the day after my last day at work I fled the country and stayed with him for a week. I helped he figure out what needed to be done in terms of fixing up the house and the like. I’m not normally that impulsive, but I hadn’t taken a vacation more than a long weekend in seven years, I was unemployed, and I was running Mars through my Soul.
Of course it wasn’t just a fun visit, or an altruistic one, he moved to the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. Now that doesn’t mean a lot to a lot of people, but I knew of it, he had told me a lot about it growing up near there, I had friends who had visited with interesting experiences, and Jason Miller has talked about the interesting nature of the place. So I took some time on the trip to explore the Barrens, meet and connect with the spirits there.
As a note I’ve never travelled very far from home, and this was the farthest I’ve ever been, and that was interesting. I’m so connected to the spirits around me (specifically the Great Lakes, especially Ontario), that I keenly felt the absence of their presence and flow so far away. I felt a bit unbalanced, and even helpless. I know the flows of this larger geographic region, when I want to connect to something, to do something, I know where and how to reach out and plug in. But suddenly all my helpers were gone, all the movement and energy was foreign. It made me think of the various accounts I had read about shamans being powerless too far from home. In fact one day it was going to rain, and it was important to me that it not rain, so I tried my usual method of shifting the weather. It doesn’t always work, but I have pretty good success in short bursts with it. Yet it was like I couldn’t get a grip on the weather system, and I think part of that was the spirits and currents I usually work with, just weren’t there and that method wouldn’t work. Disorienting, but a reminder that I’ve focused too much on some methods, and not others.
It was also a chance to learn new flows, my Beloved was very patient with me performing chöd everywhere, or leading him through the forests blindly telling him that I could feel where certain spirits and nests were located, or traipsing through old cemeteries in Philadelphia as I introduce myself to the Lords of the Dead for the region. I collected lots of dirt while I was down there from the shore, and cemeteries, and odd places in the Barrens.
Once I got home I puttered around and fixed up my house. Rinpoche flew into town and decided it was time for me to finally receive my yidam after two and a half years of waiting in spiritual limbo. Finally having enough of Mars’s unemployment and action I shifted into the Solar sphere. Within the week I had a new job, and while it’s not in my field, I’m now working on the administrative side of one of the country’s largest chains of funeral homes and cemeteries, which, if that isn’t appropriate I don’t know what is. I got the call about the job just before I left for temple to receive my yidam.
Getting back to the real world, a work schedule, a new magickal schedule, and explore what doors the Solar sphere has for me.
Once more unto the breach, dear friends.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
15
Aug
2015

Mundane Momentum As Magickal Means

Despite how many people neglect it, it’s no secret that magick works best with mundane support. The cliché example of the job hunt is true: you can enchant for a job all you want, but if you don’t put out resumes then you’re not going to get anything.
I’ve been experiencing the flip side of this recently. Essentially that mundane action creates its own magickal support. (I’ve had this happen before, but the last few weeks have been fairly evident)
Warning: Lots of useless information about my finances to make a point.
I’ve recently taken a hard look at my finances. Despite having a good job and paying down my credit cards with every paycheque it didn’t look like I was getting anywhere. I didn’t use my cards for much, but alas I created a fair amount of debt with them in order to survive university. I’ve done the occasional enchantment for financial boosts when I needed something, but I was at this status quo.
I realized if I wanted to make any headway I really needed to sort out my finances. So I did all the boring stuff: I figured out all my monthly bills and figured out how much out of each paycheque to put aside to cover them, I investigated my credit cards to see what mistakes I was making there, I looked into what my banking fees were, etc.
Now, I’m pretty good with finances, despite my debt I’m still better off financially and in far less debt than most of my peers, but still have too much for my liking. My credit cards were my biggest problem. Even though I was paying them down my problem was I was still using them. I’d pay off X amount, but then would put 40% back on buying groceries. Small occasional purchases every few weeks was another 10-20% back on. Between my reoccurring expense of my groceries, and my occasional purchases, in reality I was paying off far less per paycheque when I thought. To make this worse is interest, so by using my card for groceries, when it’s carrying a several hundred dollar balance, my interest really added up. So in the end I’d estimate that only a third of every payment actually paid down my debt. It’s no wonder I didn’t seem to get anywhere, I was taking three steps forward and two steps back.
Realizing that error, I decided to switch to cash purchases, and other than automated payments that need to be on my credit card, such as my cell phone, I’d stick to a cash only policy (or cheque or debit when applicable, but 95% cash). I also realized my credit card was charging me a security premium that I didn’t need, adding an extra $15-20 a month to my interest. So I got that cancelled.
I’ve been using two different banks for over a decade. One has high savings interest, low credit card interest without annual fees, and no fees (Bank A), the other has alright interest, but a lot of fees (Bank B). B was more convenient at the time, but online banking means A is just as convenient now.
So I started switching all my stuff over to Bank A, the good one. I paid off my one credit card, and transferred the balance of the second one (which also has a low introductory rate which helps), and as of this afternoon I have cancelled all of my accounts with the more expensive bank. (Which was a fun web of stupidity I won’t relate here)
This is a lot of useless financial prattle, I get it, but I wanted folks to get a sense of what I was looking at, and what I was doing, rather than just saying “I started managing my finances better, and making better choices.”
Back to the point I made at the beginning. In the few weeks I’ve been organizing and fixing all of this I haven’t had time for financial magic, but oddly I haven’t needed it. As soon as I started getting my shit in order it seemed like reality wanted to help. The government reassessed my taxes (for the third time this financial year) and realized they owed me $200 and sent that over. My etsy store picked up a bit, some new sorcery jobs came in, and just last week due to some financial manipulation thanks to my boss’s boss and the oddity of how my pay is calculated he got me 12 hours pay for 40 minutes of work as a thanks for doing 40 minutes of BS work on a holiday.
It was as if once I got the mundane momentum going, the rest of the world chipped in. Now I won’t say this is a result of just doing the physical mundane stuff, if I could be so bold I’d say it’s a result of all my spiritual and magick stuff. My life is more connected to the flux and flow of the world around me, I’m steeped in the shifts of energy and the domain of spirits. Just as I react to the ebbs and flows of the world, I guess the world is reacting to mine. My spirits saw what I was doing, and assisted, or my actions set out a “vibration” into the world causing the change I needed. That sound woogity and mystic enough?
That magickal attunement you develop with the world works both ways.
As much as I advocate planning, tactically aiming your magick, and setting up mundane strategies and support, don’t hold off on action in favour of setting up your magick. You can always figure out ways to enchant for something after its set in motion, but you can’t retroactively take action. Don’t wait to act, set the world in motion, and magick to support as you go.
I maintain the understanding systems is an important part of magick, and in this case it seems as if the understanding the systems led to its own magickal support.
Remember that as we delve deeper into the spiritual spheres we make allies, we become connected to things, and sometimes we don’t need to do any more magick than mundanely setting something into motion. It’s like the Cosmos sees “Oh, you’re willing to actually do the work around this now? Let me give you a hand.”
Part of bringing this up is I’ve seen people (and I’ve done it myself) put off doing something -job hunting, fixing finances, trying to date, whatever- because they had not yet figured out the best way to enchant around it. (Which I might argue is actually a screen for being afraid of trying and failing) If you’re in that boat, you’re probably better off shutting up, jumping overboard, and then figuring out as you go what you need to do, because you’re not going to get anything done waiting to figure out how to magick yourself to the ends you want.
Who knows, if you’re lucky, have allies on your side, and are in tune with your world, than handling the mundane shit in your life can actually be the magickal act that calls aid to help you do just that.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
11
Aug
2015

Black Mountain of Fire

There are a variety of simple methods of establishing authority and focus within a place before a magickal working. Some traditions call it Centring, though to others that’s more of an energy work technique unrelated. It’s often a preliminary before banishing or creating space, but they can also be used to do both of those, when the practitioner is competent enough in them. The Qabalistic Cross is a great example of such a technique. (There is more to it than just that though)
It’s an alignment or realignment with the source of your authority, a recollection of your force, and a gathering of power
I wanted to share a method that was given to me by a spirit I work with. I’ve found it has a similarity to a Buddhist practice I’ve found in one ritual thus far (though it may be in more). When I need to establish a sense of stability and confidence within a practice, I will often do this, or a variation of it before hand. I find it is also great for giving my energy body a quick jolt, the energetic equivalent of a warm-up sprint.
It is a series of visualizations tied to breathing. While I mention the in breath and out breath they don’t have to be consecutive, if you need more time to do a visualization or part of the energy work, take it, but make sure when you resume to pick up the breathing pattern at the next step.
Stand or sit in a stable position, take a deep breath in. As you breathe out see yourself as a giant black mountain, a flat dull black like coal. It should be a large visualization, a mountain, but at very least cover the space you’ll be working in. As you take another deep breath in feel yourself as solid as possible, the core of this massive dark mountain, and as you breathe out feel the weight of the mountain pressing down on the Earth. You’re not just resting on the surface of the planet; your mass is pushing down into the planet.
Your in breath is used to stabilize this image, and with your out breath project your mind down into the core of the planet. Feel your awareness shoot down into the centre of the planet until it reaches the core. While the core contains molten rock and metals, you’re looking for an energy that has the sensation of fiery iron. That is actually what you’re trying to connect to, burning molten iron, red iron fire. Try to sense and locate the energy, but if you can’t project out the request, there is something down there that helps, ask for the Iron Fire.
Once you’ve connected to the Iron Fire energy take a fast deep breath in and draw that energy up through the earth, through your central energy column, the centre of the black mountain, and out through the crown of you head and out through the tip of the mountain. It erupts as light from the top of the mountain, the Iron Fire component of the energy being absorbed and transformed within you. The flow and radiance continues regardless of breath, the movement continues from the core of the planet through you into space.
(I’ve found after some time, that the light is actually connecting to a Star above me. Not a real physical star -I assume- but a symbolic star, either a representation of Celestial energy, or perhaps a higher aspect of myself. This star, or the awareness of it, is not required for this technique to function, I mention it as an observation that grew over time.)
As this energy flows up through your mountain body it begins to radiate outward from the centre, as it moves out it transforms the black material into a clear crystal. Eventually you’re left as a large crystal mountain, perfectly clear radiating a beam of light from below out through the top, and radiating a halo of light out through the crystal body. You transform your body from the coal black, to a clear crystal blazing with light.
(From here, if you so desire, you can continue to radiate out in an attempt to clear out the space, though it might take some work to become proficient at that. I find it is more efficient to clear the space normally after the next step, but it can be part of this is you so desire.)
Draw the light back in, up from the core, down from the heavens, in from the world around you, and see the mountain dissolve into your self, your body becoming the radiant crystal.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
07
Aug
2015

Lady of the Blood


Below is a short piece of fiction I wrote five years ago. It is essentially a character test scene to see if I liked the character I had designed and if could write her. Unfortunately I was never happy with the world/plot I wanted to insert her into, so she exists in this scene, and a handful of notes including an astrological chart I worked out for her…because magick geek. As this is a test scene I was a bit heavy in some of the image/descriptions, just trying to see if they could fit the character and scene. The only setting context needed is that is is London at the end of the 1800s or early 1900s. I thought I would share what I have of her though.
Lady of the Blood
The crystal silence shatters with a gentle knock on the mahogany door. “Mrs. Aima?” comes an even gentler voice from outside the study. Turning slightly in the oxblood leather chair before the fireplace to face the door, a voice just as strong as the call was weak answers “You may enter Esther.”
Dim light from the hall’s gas lamps flows into the study as if to battle with the ruddy glow of the fire. A scent of coffee and gravy follow Esther through the door, whatever her reason this visit is interrupting the dinner preparations. Her thin form is accented by her uniform; the white apron tied about her waist clearly demarks her narrow form against the black dress of her station. Though young and thin Esther is not what many men would consider beautiful, she is pretty but much in the way of a wilting lily. This is one of the reasons that Miriam keeps her as a servant, she is pretty enough to serve as a symbol of wealth but not beautiful enough to rival her mistress.
Miriam places a long slender finger in her book to mark her passage, her nail on the line “Those who restrain desire, do so because theirs is weak enough to be restrained.” Her dark green eyes flow up and lock on Esther, the flickering fire casting dark shadows across her face making her look starved. “Mrs. Aima, sorry to interrupt, but Mr. Weston has arrived, and was asking if he might be able to come speak with you.”
A deep thoughtful breath pushes Miriam’s chest up against the pleating of her black dress. “I was not expecting him to call again so soon.” She places the Marriage of Heaven and Hell beside her, the page forgotten as her hands tug the top of her dress back into order and smoothing down the wrinkles on top of her thighs. “Very well, I shall receive him here in my study if you would please bring him in.” Esther mutters an affirmative and leaves. Miriam barely hears this, her eyes fixing themselves on the flames. The room had grown chill and she had not even noticed. Her delicate arms stretch toward the fireplace, the ruby ring on her left hand catches the light and flames seem to begin to smoulder in the gem. Miriam takes another deep breath, focusing on warming her hands, as a gentle gust down the flue causes the fire to spark and flare up. Her eyes watch the imprisoned flames within her ring, a captive salamander upon her finger.
Another knock breaks her reverie, with just a moment’s pause Esther’s pale hand is seen pushing the large door open. “Mrs. Aima, Mr. Weston for you.” A serpent uncoiling Miriam stands up with an obscene grace, any effort of her body hidden beneath flowing black, her back to the fireplace casting a faint shadow against maid and guest. Mr. Weston looks much as he did before, a suit the grey of a factory wall, a nose too big for a face too thin on a man too short. An awkward sparrow, Miriam thought to herself. Despite his appearance though Mr. Weston was a man to be desired, his role at the bank made him a successful man and more importantly his relative youth compared to his superiors only meant his role would become more important in time.
“Mrs. Aima, a pleasure as always,” Mr. Weston crosses the room with an uncharacteristic boldness. Miriam lifts her hand to her oncoming guest, who places a gentle kiss beside her ring.
“Mr. Weston how good to see you, I wasn’t expecting you so soon.” Her arm reaches toward the leather chairs. “Please take a seat. Would you like some tea? My husband sends me but the finest.”
“Thank you no Ma’am, I do not wish to take too much of your time.” He settles down across from the fireplace as Miriam waves Esther from the room. She notes his lack of decorum and returns to rest in her chair. “I do not know if it is proper to come and see you, you must understand I’m not used to such a –relationship.” As if his mind stumbled upon a great terror the boldness drains from him as does his colour, wringing his hands he looks up with a smile. “Regardless Mrs. Aima I felt I should come and thank you for your services.”
A smile spreads across her garnet lips. “Dear Mr. Weston, it warms my heart to hear it, but you’ve no need to thank me. I have been compensated already, and thanked once before.” Understanding his visit better Miriam sinks into the back of her chair, relaxed and through her knowledge back in control, not that she ever felt without control. Two weeks had passed since their last meeting at that time Mr. Weston had been full of thanks and compliments and paid in full, such a return visit was not unheard of but served little purpose for her business.
Mr. Weston lets his attention be consumed in the fires, speaking from a happy nervous dream space. “I know, I wasn’t sure if it was proper or not, but I was –just so completely happy with how events turned out. I never thought Elisabeth would notice me, let alone love me.” His pale grey eyes break from the fire again filled with nerves “Not to say that I doubted your talents, I’m just so thankful.”
Neither new information nor work would come from this love-struck man today. Miriam stands in a single movement, silent and fluid, and bends to rest a hand atop her guest’s. “No, I understand. I am glad to know you are doing so well, and that my gifts have been appreciated.” Her green eyes lock on his, flowing into him like a gentle stream. “Now though, you said you were in a hurry, and I do thank you for visiting me but I do not wish to hold you up. Please come see me again when you have need of my services.”
Mr. Weston chills as he looks into her eyes. The green of a twilight forest reflecting flames as though on fire themselves, set perfectly on Mrs. Aima round face framed by hair of straight deep red. Lost in her gaze he sees not the birthmark on her forehead, just off to the side, the only imperfection of her beauty. “I am in a rush,” he nods and stands. “Thank you Mrs. Aima, I shall see myself out.” He turns and leaves the study.
Miriam faces the fireplace, her eyes upon the mantel. A single ornament rests on the mahogany shelf, a golden chalice, simple and unadorned yet elegant and beautiful. She runs her fingers against the sloping curve of the golden form, a cacophony of echoing whispers fill her mind. Mistress what do you bid? Mistress may we help? Mistress are you in need? Mistress how shall we serve? Drifting back into her seat she picks up The Marriage of Heaven and Hell once more, having lost her place she opens to her favourite section and begins to reread The Parables of Hell.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
03
Aug
2015

Examining Orgonite


Recently I was gifted with several pieces of orgonite from a friend of mine. I’ve been curious about orgonite and the assorted orgone tech for a while, but my experiences have been very slim with them.
To back track, if you’re wondering what orgone is, it is a term coined by Wilhelm Reich to more or less refer to a universal form of life energy. Reich was an early psychologist and student of Freud’s and he worked various ideas about energy and energy bodies into his models of psychology. His take on this universal life energy was more mechanistic than what most sorcererous folks are used to, it isn’t about will and belief, but a natural interplay of form and matter. He viewed it more in lines with electricity (in terms of how it operates) than some subtle energy controlled by people.
This led him and those following his ideas to theorize and create mechanical devices meant to manipulate orgone. He felt that organic material attracted orgone, while inorganic material repelled it, and by combining these materials in certain ways you could alter the flow of orgone. There are devices to shoot beams of focused orgone, or to reprogram it, and a variety of things. The simplest is a shooter, which is a hollow tube surrounded by alternating layers of organic and inorganic materials. Polyphanes has done some work with that side of the tech, which you can see here. He theorized that the attraction/repulsion worked somewhat like a maglev or rail gun, drawing in, repelling, attracting, repelling down the line.
Orgonite is one of the later pieces of orgone tech to enter the stage being invented by a couple in 2000. Their idea is that you don’t need the strict layers of organic/inorganic materials, but more a roughly 50/50 balance. Orgonite, rather than being ordered layers is a collection of mostly inorganic material suspended in an organic resin. Orgone is believed to have two main types, positive orgone (usually just called orgone) and dead/ly orgone. From an energy model you could see it as clear energy, and polluted energy. Deadly orgone is supposedly created by lots of things, but most commonly cited are things that disrupt orgone/energy as they understand it, so powerlines, power plants, radio towers, and the like.
Anyways orgonite supposedly gathers in the deadly orgone and transforms it back into positive orgone and releases it. Now since the 2000 creation of orgonite some people have expanded this idea. So rather than just making generic positive orgone, they would make specific frequencies of positive orgone, based upon what went into the orgonite. This is where it sounds like it crosses a bit back into the magickal realm. By using different metals and crystals as the inorganic compound in orgonite the energy released would be tuned to certain things. It might be more of a healing energy, a faster clearing energy, more resonant with the throat chakra, whatever.
So now I have three pieces of orgonite from my friend. Sadly this is a small sample size, but I’ll talk about what I noticed. First off I’ll admit outside of Reich’s armor theories, I don’t give him much credence, yeah, I believe in invisible life energies whirling around us, but his model of such doesn’t totally work for me. Then even looking into the orgon-tech the orgonite doesn’t seem to fit that theory. Reich’s orgone accumulating box was layers of material, shooters are layers of material, everything was about the alternating flow of organic/inorganic. Orgonite has both materials, but they are more haphazardly aligned, there isn’t layers, you have inorganic stuff floating loose in organic medium. It’s seems like mixing all the dough and filling ingredients for a pie in a bowl, rather than making dough, filling, and constructing a pie.
None the less, not buying his theories, and feeling orgonite doesn’t even match those, there is definitely something to the orgonite. I pick it up, and I can feel a buzzing coming from it. Even one of my woogity-accepting but not really perceptive friend was surprised at what he could feel from them.
IMG_20150804_204348The Dragon one has a sense of elevation, to use a standard model, it’s almost as if it is releasing energy that is more attuned to an astral level than a physical one. In fact while holding it it becomes easier to shift my awareness up out of the physical. When it’s “resting” is has a similar sense, but undirected. We all know places where the boundaries might be a touch thin, it feels like that, not majorly, but enough that if you knew what you were looking for, and how to use it, you’d see it.
IMG_20150804_204320The Triskelion feels the most like I’d expect orgonite to feel like. I can’t get a clear bead on if it is programmed a certain way, but what does come out of it seems like it’s been cleaned and stripped down, and is ready to go. I get the sense that it would be good to work with sensitive energy blockages. Sometimes you can tell a blockage is holding the channel open, and if you remove it it would collapse, or it’s holding back too much energy to safely release at once. I could see using this on the person to slowly over an hour or so breakdown and hopefully purify some of the blockage, but it would do it in a way a lot slower and gentler than a person could. Or more accurately, would. I would not want to spend hours slowly removing a blockage from someone, but having them hold/tie the orgonite to the area for that time, that’s not an issue.
IMG_20150804_204402Lastly is the Heart piece. This is my least favourite, and it’s not cause it’s a heart. There is something to this that by body disagrees with, everytime I keep it with me, I feel sick after a while, and I don’t mean a little off, I mean verging on violently ill. I get the sense it’s trying to cleanse me, but the trouble is I’m not the model it’s appropriate for. It’s a cleaner designed for PVC pipes, and I’m lead. It’s not that it’s bad, it’s just my body and energy don’t work in a way that is compatible with it. That’s not uncommon for me, there are several energy systems that my body does not like, even after working with Reiki for a decade, when I get Reiki offered to me it bothers my system. Despite not working well for me, I’m really glad I was sent this piece, because it was the first one to give me a clear reaction, it really makes me realize something is going on.
Something very odd I noticed about all of them though, is that I can’t meditate when in contact with them. I’ve taken each of them to temple with me, a few times, and decided as a way of passively exploring what they do, I’d meditate with them, and see what happens. Every time I’m meditating with them touching me, I can’t meditate for the life of me, it is as if my monkey mind was given a PCP-laced banana. I was almost completely unable to bring my attention where it should, and it would run off faster, more violently, and farther than it does under any other circumstance. I have no idea and no good theories on why, it is just an observation.
My last observation, is that I suspect orgonite doesn’t work, at least not as the theory posits it. I’ve tried following the way the energy moves in them, what happens, I’ve tried looking at the whole, and at parts, and from a mechanical perspective I can’t see how or why it works. If I step out of the orgone model though, it seems rather simple: orgonite is a talisman. I know a lot of orgone-followers prefer to look at their stuff as more scientific/mechanical than magick, but it’s a blurry line at times. Here is the thing though, orgonite contains a quartz crystal to direct the energy, then is surrounded by other stones and metals which change the energy “frequency.” This is not dissimilar from any for more crystal/metal magick, save the suspension in organic resin. Most of our traditions have us use this metal because it does this, this crystal cause it connects to that, and I think the orgonite is doing the same. When the orgonite is completed, it’s charged, in this case my friend’s husband gives it some reiki to get it going. Also when my friend makes them she is guided by her intuition on what metals and stones to use, and my cursory reading on the subject shows that’s fairly common. Also this sounds like it is more or less making a basic talisman.
So as much as I respect my friend, I feel I have to disagree with her premise in believing in orgonite. I feel she’s actually making a magickal talisman. It’s not so much about the ratios of the materials and the way they interact, but more about their sympathies, and how she connects them, and gets them going. I suspect that orgonite would function just as well if it used an inorganic medium instead of organic, but that’s just a practical ingredient, the nuts and bolts are the metals, gems, and energy involved in their creation.
Now, again I’ll say, there is definitely something too the pieces. They work, they have a noticeable charge, they’re doing things. I just disagree on the mechanics on /how/ they work. That being said I think the idea of using the orgonite method would be fascinating to tap in terms of talisman creation. I could suspend crystals, metals, and herbs in specific simple patterns and seal them in resin to later consecrate. It’s definitely something I’ll be thinking more about.
I can’t say for sure, and will experiment more, but that’s my current standing on orgonite.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
21
Jul
2015

Iuratus Roundup


Since I’ve completed my essay/series on Liber Iuratus, I’m compiling all the links into this post, to make it easier for people to access later on. Thanks for the interest and support as I shared my journey into the text. It was one of my favourite papers to research, even if it involved reading and rereading the text with a fine-toothed comb.
Liber Iuratus Series Intro
The Construction of Christianity Through Conjuration
Analysis of Non-Christian Elements and Their Integration with Liber Iuratus Honorii
Analysis of Non-Christian Elements and Their Integration with Liber Iuratus Honorii Part II
Analysis of Non-Christian Elements and Their Integration with Liber Iuratus Honorii Part III
Uncovering Christianity Through the Internal Logic of Liber Iuratus Honorii
Uncovering Christianity Through the Internal Logic of Liber Iuratus Honorii Part II
Christian Elements, The Depth of Knowledge, and Authorship and Audience
Christian Elements, The Depth of Knowledge, and Authorship and Audience Part II
Christian Elements, The Depth of Knowledge, and Authorshop and Audience Part III, and Conclusion and Works Cited

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
19
Jul
2015

Iuratus: Christian Elements, the Depth of Knowledge, and Authorship and Audience- Conclusion- Works Cited


Start at the beginning
See the previous instalment in case you missed it
The faith and devotion of the practitioner are constantly referenced throughout the text. In the introduction it is said the book can only be given to a man “both Godly and faithful, whose Godly behavior had been tried for the space of a whole year.” He is to be not just a devout person, but observed and tested for a year to prove himself worthy. When actually performing the rituals the practitioner is to be clean, to fast, and pray with devotion. That he must be “very penitent and truly confessed of all his sins.” Very similar requests appear throughout the text. Anyone undertaking this practice must attend Mass and take communion daily for a period of at least a month, which indicates the level of faith and devotion the practitioner must have. Coming at it from another angle it is warned that undertaking parts of the ritual “for an evil purpose” would lead to “death unto him.” It makes a case for the notion that the practitioner truly must be, not just a Christian, but a devout and Godly practitioner, undertaking the rituals in the text for only the highest ideals.
The Christian nature of the text and practitioner is repeatedly highlighted by the idea of divine authority. From the introduction it is said that “it is not possible that a wicked and unclean man should work truely [sic] in this art, for men are not bound to spirits, but the spirits are constrained against their wills to answer men that are cleansed or clean, and to fulfill their requests.” This is internal justification through the practitioner’s own holiness, it is saying that for this to work the practitioner must be cleansed or holy, and that the art of this book cannot work for those who are not holy. It is not just a personal devotion that enables the practitioner to commune with angels and spirits; it is asserted that such an ability is through the grace of YHWH. The ritual prayers say that they are completed “through God’s help” or “through … [God’s] mediation” . These rituals are framed that it is through the power or permission of YHWH that they have any effect. Contrasted with the earlier notion that the text cannot successfully be used by pagans or Jews it further supports the idea that the text is meant to be used by a Christian, and is dependent on their Christian faith and devotion.
When considering the author and audience of Liber Iuratus Honorii it becomes clear that the most likely candidate for both is a member of the clergy. The practitioner is required to be very devout and pious, and the author is highly skilled in Latin, knowledgeable in Greek, Hebrew, very familiar with Church prayers, rituals, scriptures, and Christian writings. On its own this suggests a priest or another member of the church. Such education would be largely the domain of the clerics, the scribes, and the nobility, limiting potential authors and audiences. The depth and breadth of knowledge, along with the literacy and devotional requirements leave very few potential authors or readers, but a priest would be on the top of that list.
This isn’t as unlikely as it initially seems. Despite being linguistically inaccurate the practice of summoning spirits was regarded as necromancy, regardless of the purpose of the summoning, or the nature of the spirit. To repeat a question and answer of Richard Kieckhefer “Who were the necromancers? Both in legend and before the law it was clerics above all others who stood accused of necromancy.” He goes onto explain that “cleric” is a hard word to define, for it can include anyone who has any level of ordination which includes doorkeeper and acolyte. The training was not through a seminary, but more of an apprentice relationship with another priest. Sometimes their ordination was not about a holy calling, but a way of getting an education, and one of the lower orders of ordination was that of exorcist “and in the ordination ceremony he would receive a book of exorcisms as a symbol of his theoretical function.” They were given the book as a “symbol” of office; it wasn’t something they were trained in, but more something if needed they would turn to the text for. This is another peculiarity, as one might assume these rituals would require training, but the Liber Iuratus Honorii was also passed on at the time of the master’s death , meaning the practitioner also received no training in the use of the text. Kieckhefer suggests there was a “clerical underworld” which is not really defined in terms of structure (if any) or purpose (if any), but that to some extent there was a collection of priests who studied and practiced this type of conjuration. Considering the amount of knowledge displayed all throughout the formation of Liber Iuratus Honorii, and the proposed existence of the clerical underworld it is reasonable to assume that the author of Liber Iuratus Honorii was a priest.
Concluding Thoughts
The Christian identification of Liber Iuratus Honorii is evidence of a complex process of religious thought and religious exchange. Initial readings reveal seemingly contradicting ideas: summoning angels to stir up war, devotional prayers and confession to Jesus, condemning the pope as a puppet of demons. Yet each of these contradictions are a thread in a complex textual and ideological tapestry, evidence of Jewish Qabalah and Islamic conjurations, intensely devotional Christian worship, and anti-Church sentiments. Individually these threads conflict and confuse, but if the reader slows down and reads the text as a whole from a distance, than the picture begins to become clear. Liber Iuratus Honorii becomes hard to conceptualize as anything but a thoroughly Christian text, written in such a way that makes it inaccessible to the laity, but perfect for a priestly audience. Clerical in origin and Christian in nature, Liber Iuratus Honorii shows the detailed and complex currents of medieval Christianity through an unusual but devout text.
Works Cited (In order of reference)
Joseph H. Peterson trans. Liber Juratus Honorii, or the Sworn Book of Honorius. Esoteric Archives. http://www.esotericarchives.com/juratus/juratus.htm (accessed February 25, 2013)
Robert Mathiesen. “A Thirteenth-Century Ritual to Attain the Beatific Vision from the Sworn Book of Honorius of Thebes.” in Conjuring Spirits: Texts and Traditions of Medieval Ritual Magic. ed. Claire Fanger. (University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1998. 143-162.)
Richard Kieckhefer. “The Devil’s Contemplatives: The Liber Iuratus, the Liber Visionum and Christian Appropriation of Jewish Occultism.” in Conjuring Spirits: Texts and Traditions of Medieval Ritual Magic. ed. Claire Fanger. (University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1998. 250-265.)
Katelyn Mesler. “The Liber Iuratus Honorii and the Christian Reception of Angel Magic.” in Invoking Angels: Theurgic Ideas and Practices, Thirteenth to Sixteenth Centuries. ed. Clair Fanger. (University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2012. 113-150.)
Owen Davies, Grimoires: A History of Magic Books (New York: Oxford Press, 2009)
Henry Cornelius Agrippa, Three Books of Occult Philosophy, trans. James Freake, ed. Donald Tyson (Woodbury: Llewellyn Publications)
Clair Fanger. “Covenant and the Divine Name: Revisiting the Liber Iuratus and John of Morigny’s Liber Florum.” in Invoking Angels: Theurgic Ideas and Practices, Thirteenth to Sixteenth Centuries. ed. Clair Fanger. (University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2012. 192-216.),
Richard Kieckhefer, Magic in the Middle Ages (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989)
Philip T. Weller, trans., The Roman Ritual (Milwaukee: The Bruce Publishing Company, 1964)

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
17
Jul
2015

Iuratus: Christian Elements, the Depth of Knowledge, and Authorship and Audience Continued


Start at the beginning
See the previous instalment in case you missed it
To reiterate and expand an earlier point, a variety of Christian texts are incorporated into or referenced by Liber Iuratus Honorii. A partial list drawn from Mesler’s work on the text includes: “passages from scripture, the baptismal rite, the preface for Easter, the Ave Maria, the Salve Regina, the Apostle’s Creed, the Pater Noster, the Sanctus, and the Creed of Athanasius” as well as Jerome’s letters and Pseudo-Augustine. It is obvious that Honorius is very well read in matters of Christianity, and educated in general. Mathiesen attests “the Sworn Book is clearly not a translation from Arabic, Hebrew or Greek, but an original composition in Latin by a person who was fully conversant with the liturgy and ritual of the Roman Catholic Church” and more than that “it is clear that the author had some knowledge of the liturgy of the Greek Orthodox Church.” We are dealing with an author who knows Latin, Catholic and Greek Orthodox ritual, Greek, and at least some Hebrew. His knowledge is not just appropriated; it permeates the text in overt uses of prayers, to subtle references and even hidden messages. When the pope and his cardinals decided that books like Liber Iuratus Honorii had to be eliminated, Honorius said that a council of 811 “masters” came together to decide what should be done to preserve the tradition. The idea that there were 811 masters using texts like this seems odd, as well as the specificity of the number, but 811 is the numerological value of IAO (ΙΑΩ), a Greek name for God, the equivalent of the Hebrew YHWH. This, Mathiesen suggests, is a mirroring to the Council of Nicaea having 318 members, as that is the same numerological value as “the name of Jesus and his Cross.” The author is trying to validate the nature of the book as coming from God himself by having as many masters as the value of IAO. Knowing the Greek numerical value of a name though is not a matter of simple information or appropriation, but seems to show more understanding and a broader knowledge base as well as an ability and desire to integrate this knowledge into the text.
Having looked at the knowledge of the author, the character of the practitioner should be examined. The text itself recognizes that there are “three kinds of men that work this art: Jews, Christians, and pagans.” Honorius asserts that only Christians can use the rituals of this book properly. The pagans do not “constrain or bind” the spirits, and the spirits pretend to help the pagans but are in actuality deceiving them farther away from Christianity. The Jewish people are in the same predicament. The spirits will not obey them for they are not Christian, for they are not “signed with the sign of God…the cross” which is another way of saying they are not baptized . Even worse they are accused of not using the text for Divine vision, and are barred from entering Heaven for not recognizing Jesus. It seems unusual to condemn Jewish people more heavily than pagans, but perhaps the author is responding to the atmosphere of the time, or perhaps Honorius is trying to hide his connection with Judaism and Jewish sources evidenced earlier in the paper. It is made clear that only a devout Christian can make the rituals in the text work properly. Pagans and Jews can use it, but unsuccessfully. While the pagan usage of the rituals is left open, Jews are accused of using it not for Divine vision, but rather the other goals listed .
It is claimed that Christians would “only [work] truely [sic] to come to the vision of the Deity.” For the Christian the only purpose of the text is this “vision of the Deity” and all the other goals mentioned are to be taken as superfluous, though their inclusion is likely evidence of the attitudes and actions drawn from Honorius’s source text.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
15
Jul
2015

Iuratus: Christian Elements, the Depth of Knowledge, and Authorship and Audience


Start at the beginning
See the last instalment in case you missed it
Christian Elements, the Depth of Knowledge, and Authorship and Audience
Though the Christian identity of the text is well supported at this point, the Christian elements should be examined to support this idea, and to further the argument that the author and audience of the text was not just Christian, but of the priestly orders, part of what Kieckhefer terms the “clerical underworld.”
In contrast to the adoption of Hebrew god names, the divinity in Liber Iuratus Honorii is referred to as the “Alpha and Omega,” “the father, son, and holy ghost,” and “the destroyer of death.” The references to the trinity and the Alpha and Omega mentioned in the Revelation of Saint John are both common naming conventions in Christianity, but the destroyer of death is a bit more obscure and is possibly a reference to 1 Corinthians that states “the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” This part of the naming convention could possibly show the “sincerity” of the Christian nature of the text, as “destroyer of death” is a more obscure reference and shows a greater familiarity with the Bible than referring YHWH as the Alpha and Omega. Throughout the text common names and titles from Christianity are used repeatedly to refer to YHWH as well as the more uncommon names.
jur1[1]Another element of uncommon knowledge shows up in the ritual structures explained in the text. Part of the work on summoning the angels involves the creation of a complex seal. The creation of the seal includes a set of prayers to say over some blood which is used as ink in the process. The first prayer is the same as “The Blessing of Salt” used by Catholic priests to exorcise salt before putting it in holy water , only the word salt is replaced by blood. The prayer is currently contained in the Rituale Romanum –the ritual handbook of a Catholic priest– which was only standardized in the 17th century. (While predecessor texts have existed since the 15th century they tended to be more regional and temporary. ) After the compilation of the Rituale Romanum anyone who could read Latin and obtain a copy of the text could find “The Blessing of Salt.” Though the text currently sits at more than 700 pages it would be a lot to go through if they were not aware of what they were looking for. Liber Iuratus Honorii was written in the 13th or 14th century though, before these texts existed, at that time such prayers and rituals would have been part of the training of a priest, possibly part of an oral tradition. So the question is how would the author of Liber Iuratus Honorii know the prayer? It is possible they learned it from the local priest, or that it was something the laity might know, but it also opens up the possibly that the text was written by a priest, if not for a priest. Continuing this thread the format of the ritual for conjuration even has some loose similarities to the ritual of exorcism. In both cases the practitioner/exorcist is to attend confession and mass , then they move into prayers of adoration and beseeching divine aid in their task , which finally moves to include the calling of the spirits and commanding their obedience. One of the lower orders of the priestly hierarchy at that time was the exorcist, so the details and structures of the ritual of exorcism would be available to many lower priests . The blood used to consecrate the seal is the prayer said over salt for holy water, while the prayer used to consecrate the magic circle for the ritual is the same used by the priest to consecrate the host in communion. The ritual preparation includes finding a “wary and a faithful priest” who will perform mass and prayers for the practitioner all the while inserting prayers from Liber Iuratus Honorii into the mass service. While this could mean the practitioner himself, it could also be another priest who has the same interest. This builds the case that the author was a member of the clergy, or somehow familiar with their ritual structure and prayers. The requirement of another priest suggests that the author may not be alone in his interests.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick