starry path

01
Sep
2012

Skrying the Tree – Temptations – Milara


After making contact with Tzamaron and being “freed” from my job as a messenger I began working my first, and only, retail job. It seemed so odd to most people (myself included) I went from being a social worker with a fairly good name in my niche areas (geographic region of the city, as well as known for teaching about Intersexed individuals, transsexual/transgendered people, and queer issues, as well as safer sex) to working a job a bit above minimum wage in the biggest mall in the province.
It was odd, but it was oddly perfect too. I’m a big geek, and here I was working at a store selling board games, where I got huge discounts on board games, and I worked on a great team. I’ve never made friends with co-workers save at that job, we just clicked, and years later I’m still friends with a few. It was a place, and a job, that I loved. So it was obvious to me that Tzamaron had helped me shift into the realm of Venus, friends, passion, fun, it was clear. Even still it took me a while to get around to skrying cause I was just enjoying myself too much and so busy with life.

Her Seal drawn on the Qamea of Venus


I set up my temple, again candles, incense, music, glyph on the mirror. Calling to Sh’miral the way was open and I climbed the Tree until I reached through the vastness to the Sphere of Venus. When I felt it present I called for a door, a copper heptagon door appeared* with a shimmering green glyph of Venus on it, like a heat mirage. I knocked, thrice, once, thrice, and the door opened.
*Someone asked what the doors were against, what they opened into. The answer is nothing, the door stood alone in space, and could be moved around, but it opened into the Sphere.
I found myself standing on a balcony of a house on a cliff face overlooking a sea. Without having to call I heard the clicking of shoes (high-heels?) on the stone behind me. Turning around, no, not high-heels, bird claws. The Angel before me was hybrid, bird-like lower legs, human torso, wings instead of arms, and an Eagle head. Her voice was melodic and quite human though. She introduced herself as Milara. I expressed confusion over her appearance, as at that time I associated Venus with Earth. “All of us are all Elements, but when compared to others one shines clearer. Compared to my Sister (Clarshitel) I am Earthy, but compared to one yet to be found I am mist in the air.” After some discussion on that she explained Her place. “I rule from on high, the ways of the windy mountain are mine, I am the highest Sphere on this level, to reach beyond me is a great leap. The lower Spheres I watch over, and the higher Spheres I join.”

Combined with the Glyph


Milara the Angel has the same value as high and lofty, appropriate to me for a bird-like angel ruling from a mountain top. Her name also has the same value as branch/tree and praise, which mean nothing on their own, but connect to other Names.
The Name of Her Sphere is Feonin and shares the same value prosperity/fertility (an Aspect of Venus’s Sphere), shout, and rejoicing. Shout and rejoicing seem to link to praise, forming a theme almost between the Names.
The Order of Angels under Her rule are the Chilmarit which gematrically links to breeding, and offspring, a very Venusian link, as well as sprouts or buds, which forms an interesting link back to Milara as a branch/tree.

Her Seal as revealed years later, the base still confuses me


Lastly the God Name that gives Form to these powers is Shero which enumerates the same as Taurus the Bull and the Fixed Earth sign ruled by Venus, the Pillar of Mercy which is the Pillar on which Venus rests. It also equals topmost, echoing Milara’s description of Her position with the lower Spheres. Lastly it equals Asherah, which is a complicated word. Asherah is form of the Name Astarte or Ishtar, Mesopotamian Goddess of fertility, sexuality, and war, who also was represented by none other than Venus. Asherah though was also the early partner for El/YHWH before His cult became Henotheistic, and later Monotheistic. Asherah continued to be represented in early temples of His cult by a single tree or wooden pillar, another interesting link to the tree/branch/bud imagery of the Names. (Note: At the time I didn’t know about Asherah, I learned about that in University which is yet to come in this story)
So firmly in the Sphere of Venus, enjoying my life, having fun, and fairly carefree. Good job, good friends, lots of board games. Surely there is no problem with this…

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
26
Aug
2012

Skrying the Tree – Challenges – Tzamaron


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

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

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

His Seal linked with the Glyph of Mercury

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

His Seal revealed years later

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

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
14
Aug
2012

Sphere of Self


The Sphere of Self is a ritual from a magickal group I used to be a part of. (You could argue I’m still a part as I never left the Order, it just fizzled out.) This is pretty much the foundational ritual within our system, so while we used rituals and tech from other traditions this was the root ritual that was ours alone. Used on its own, or before meditation or other rituals it served as a zone rite, or a circle, or a banishing, whatever the term you use for such a ritual.
It combines (apparent) dualities and fills the space with their balance, but perhaps more importantly is it balances you between these dualities of matter and spirit, higher and lower, and of inner and outer. Which is why it can be performed on its own, as it works to balance the Selves on these concepts. This is based on the cosmology of the group, and while some of it is heavily routed in our triplicity model and symbols, it is still accessible and workable to others. It was a foundational ritual that “grew” with the practitioner becoming more detailed and complex as the practitioner grew learnt more of the system, and came to see some more of what was going on in the ritual. In writing this for public consumption my challenge was to explain it in a way that makes sense without the grounding in our symbol set, and deciding where on the spectrum of depth/complexity to discuss it. With no intended offence to my readers I weighted it toward the beginner end of the spectrum, falling just short of what would be explained in Second Sphere.
Stand facing the East with your feet shoulder width apart, hands at your sides. Reach down with your mind into the Earth, and draw up, you’re pulling up the energy or notion of physical reality, material existence, and all the chthonic and atavistic forces. Above your head see the endless Sky, the energy of spirit, divine reality, potential, and all the sacred and spiritual forces.
Drawing your hands up and out to the sides, with the energy from below, bring them together above your head, so you’ve traced a circle. The circle you’re drawing is not drawn with the hands, but a few feet out from them, so that the circle begins beneath your feet and extends an equal distance over your head, your heart is the centre of the circles you’ll draw. You can draw with your hands in any position you want, I was taught and prefer to have my pinkie and ring fingers against my palm, with my middle and pointer finger extended with my thumb placed between pointer and middle. As you do so say “From Earth to Sky.” You’re pulling this “lower” energy or concept of matter up, and when it reaches the “higher” sky energy or spirit they connect, and the higher energy flows down the circle you’ve drawn. It’s not about introducing the low to the high, but when they connect you’ve completed a circuit that both forces can flow and mingle on freely.
In the sky where your hands are is now the Sun. The Sun is not just the Sun, but it represents the highest reaches of your Soul, your True Will, your Orbit, your place in the Cosmos, it is your Soul purified. Beneath your feet is the Moon. The Moon likewise is not just the Moon, but it is the “base self,” the lower or mundane aspect of your being, the day-to-day consciousness, current incarnation, and the physical self.
(This section is described in terms of left and right hands, which hand you use to do what doesn’t matter, but it is more clear to explain the motions in terms of left and right hands) Reach into the Sun and then swing your left hand down in front of you, and the right behind you, turning your shoulders to the side (left forward, right back) as necessary to facilitate this movement, this will leave you facing your right. As you’re pulling down the Solar energy say “From Sun to Moon” and when your hands reach the lowest point of the arc you’ve connected the Solar energies, the Higher Self into the Lunar energies or Lower Self, and the Lunar current runs up the circle you’ve drawn. Again it’s a circuit that is formed the energies freely connect and mingle. You don’t stop here though, the right hand swings in front of your body, and the left behind, as your turn your shoulders (left back and right forward) so you are eventually facing your left. Bring your hands up until they are level with your shoulders.
Taking the Solar-Lunar current turn your shoulders (right back left forward) so that you trace a horizontal circle at shoulder height, continue until your left hand is where the right began, and the right is where the left began. Again this will leave you facing your right. As you trace the circle draw the Solar-Lunar current along until it connects with the Earth-Sky current and let them flow along this horizontal circle. As you’re doing this say “And bound by the Endless Horizon.” You are now standing in the centre of three circles drawn on the three axes.
You should be standing with your right arm reaching behind you and your left in front of you, torso turned to face your right. Draw your hands up above your head saying “I forge this Sphere” bring them together touching thumbs and pointer fingers to form and upward pointing triangle, as you bring your hands up untwist your body so you are facing forward again. This triangle gathers the combined energies from the ritual, stabilizing them into a single unit. Realize at this point that what you traced was the skeleton of a Sphere, the three circles spread together, becoming a sphere that contains what you have brought into this space. Bring the triangle down to centre on your third eye saying “of Will” and draw the energy in from the triangle into your third eye, spreading it down your central channel into your navel. Reach your arms out and up, bent at the elbows, to make an upward half circle palms facing in “and Self.” Here you are emulating the sign of the Highest, moving beyond the notions of Lower Self, and Higher Self, into the realm of Godself or Transpersonal Self. Take a moment to reach out with your mind, now that you’ve balanced yourself in the Space Between reach out and find what is Beyond, Above, and Within. Pull this connection, this Non-dual or third triplicity into the space between your hands and into your body.
Bring your arms down to cross over your chest “I am my Self, Always.” As you say Always let the combined energies of the Earth-Sky and Sun-Moon (Higher Self-Lower Self) expand to push the Sphere you’ve created out as far as you need for your ritual space.
There is a simple follow-up half-ritual that is used to expand and strengthen this farther, but I think this is sufficient for now. I’d love to hear people’s experiences with it, or comments/questions (explaining parts of it are hard I know), cause it’s hard to “translate” it out of our symbol set when so much of it is engrained in me.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
23
Jul
2012

More on the Magick of Malas


I’ve been getting more and more questions about malas. It started with my original post on malas but it has been increasing since I opened up my little shop on etsy (currently on sale until noon tomorrow, check out my previous post) and people have been asking more. Last time I spoke more on malas traditionally, now I’d like to talk a bit more about my personal adaptations with malas.
As mentioned before malas are like batteries, they store the energy of the work you do inside of them, and if they are consecrated and attuned with an energy they retain that. This is a technique I use primarily with my planetary, elemental, and chthonic malas, as they all connect and relate to a specific type of energy. But something similar could be worked out with any mala.

Yes, kinda like this. I’m aware I’m a nerd.

Holding the mala stretched out between my hands forming a long oval, I reach into the forces residing into the mala (and sometimes refreshing it adding in some new energy) and I cycle that energy along the string, then I focus on having it jump the gap. Much like an electric shock, just a little zap jumping from a bead on the top to the bottom, or vice verse, and I do this spreading it out until between the beads of the mala, in the opening, is a screen or veil of the energy type of the mala, the sparking unites into a single harmonious flow. For lack of a better or cool name I call this the mala-field. (To me this looks like a cross between the Guardian of Forever Gateway, and the Stargate, a cloudy rippling veil-like surface)
Now if I’m doing something simple, I just need a short answer, or just want to do a quick prayer, I pull the mala down over my head, so my head passes through that veil. I then find communicating and seeing spirits of that sort (so fire elementals if I’m using my fire mala, or shades of the dead if I’m using my chthonic mala) is a lot easier, it is as though I’ve encased my head in a bubble of their reality.
If I’m doing something a bit more lengthy and complex, like petitioning, or summoning it is a bit different. Once I have the mala charged in the same way I place it on the ground (or table, or tombstone, whatever) sometimes in the shape of a circle, sometimes the shape of a triangle. Instead of encasing myself in a bubble of their reality, I’ve created a limited space that joins our realities, a place where the elemental/planetary/spirit realm intersects our realm a little easier, or perhaps I’ve just created an area of specialized energy to their type that makes them manifesting here easier (similar to some theories about the use of appropriate incense in evocation).

My Cosmic mala over my triangular skrying mirror

Then I call them into the mala-field and communicate with them that way. Without some extra work, this does not function like a Solomonic triangle, it won’t keep anything in that doesn’t want to stay in that space, though they’re weaker outside of it, so unless you have some form of backup, or don’t mind the fun/challenge I’d avoid summoning unfriendly spirits this way. This method can also be used to drape a mala around a skrying mirror to “tune” it into a specific place/energy/spirit. You can either put it directly on the mirror like in the picture, or put it in a circle around the mirror. I find results are largely the same.
I’ve been taught that the left hand is receptive and the right hand is projective (though I suspect that is more about dominant hands), and I find wearing a mala with that in mind takes on another facet. Granted a good 90% of the time I just put the mala on, and that’s it, but sometimes I want to do more. In that case I’ll animate the mala like I mentioned above, activating it, drawing out the forces placed inside of it. Then depending on what I want to do, I’ll put it on. If it is something I want to bring into my life or retain internally I wrap it around my left wrist (being receptive). I see that veil covering my hand and the energy washing up my arm into me. This can also be used to start the motion of an energy transfer, so if you want to draw from the Moon, either to use or to recharge a Lunar mala (as an example) when wearing it on the left, if you’ve started to draw it in from the mala it’s easy to switch to an external source of fire and the draw continues, like priming a siphon pump.
If it is something I want to project into the world, then I wrap it around my right wrist, gathering the energy around my hand. From there I can use this to passively embody traits that I pass into the world, or can use it to actively influence things. By connecting to the energy in my Venusian mala, I can project that into people I touch, or in close proximity to help influence them in my favour. Connecting to my Martial or Saturnian mala, depending on the situation, I can use that to create forms to help keep people I don’t want around from engaging me.
That’s only three of the different ways I use malas, but I thought I’d start with them as they’re simple and versatile. I’ll probably be writing more on malas later since there is more interest in them than initially expected, so if you have any questions or topics you want discussed toss them in the comments and I’ll try to include them next time.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
03
Jul
2012

Pendulums and Finding Focus in Magick


So before I get into this entry proper, I’d like to thank everyone for their support of my new esty store, both in their purchases and sharing the word. The first set of orders have already begun arriving at their destinations and I’m enjoying some of the immediate feedback. As mentioned in the the post announcing the store two of each pendant I consecrate have to be given away, one to someone who I think needs it, and one to someone random. The Medicine Buddha Pendant was given to one of my best friends who had a depressive/suicidal episode just as I finished making them. The recipient of the random one is Robert, husband-to-be of a twitter follower of mine, whom I had received prayer requests for while doing my initial Medicine Buddha training. The Chöd / Machik Labrön Pendant was given to a family friend who has had ridiculously bad luck with getting things moving in their life. The winner of the raffle I announced last time is L. D. Taylor, one of the small army of reviewers writing for Spiral Nature. So again, thank you all for your support.
A while back The Unlikely Mage posted about finding your direction in magick. I see two problems with many occultists: too focused and/or not enough work, or too unfocused and/or trying to do too much. I tend to be the latter, even though I’m limited to two systems, they are both huge traditions, so between study and daily practice I can often be doing too much. Something needs to give, the trouble is what.
I’ve posted before about dropping non-beneficial practices or “Don’t use what doesn’t work” but it’s hard sometimes. This is where The Unlikely Mage’s technique comes in handy, read his entry if you want, I recommend, but I’ll explain what I did cause I had to tweak it.
I’m no good with pendulums, or I might be, I don’t know, I don’t trust them. They are far too easy to manipulate, and this was my problem with TUM’s technique. The mode of a pendulum is perfect for it, but it’s too easy for my mind, conscious or otherwise to influence the pendulum to say what I wanted it to say. So I took multiple slips of paper, identical in size and shape, and on each one wrote a magickal practice that I was doing, or considering. Chöd, Enochian Skrying, Mahakala sadhanas, Deharan magick, Genius Loci work, and so on were listed. Then they were folded so I couldn’t see what said what and shuffled around. As long as I can’t see them, I can largely trust myself not to influence the pendulum. (Yes, it could be argued that I’m psychically perceiving what slip says what and nudging it how I want anyways, but the chance of that is less compared to me seeing and nudging.)
Then tapping on each slip one at a time I asked “Is this something I shouldn’t do? Is this neutral? Is this something I should postpone? Is this something I should do? Is this something I should do right now?” Whenever the pendulum gave me an answer I’d put it on the back (I numbered the options to make it quicker to note) and move onto the next one. In the end I had three things I was told “Do right now!” and three that I was told to do. The rest I’ve dropped until maybe the next time I look at what I need to do.
For those curious the three things I must do right now, it is my chöd practice, the Strategic Sorcery course, and the “Other” option I put in the mix, which has come to represent a return to my own Path, rather than the systems I’ve assimilated for structure and validity. In my Nike (Do It) category I have my work with Vajrayogini, White Mahakala, and Genius Loci work.
I did this about a month ago, and I’ve enjoyed it, but already I’ve felt a need to clarify even more. So rather than larger areas of study I put down very specific daily practices, some that I do, some that I’m considering doing, same format as before. This time though it was just Do or Do Not (there is no try category). What impressed me again, was that stuff I considering more central and important I’ve been told to do, such as my daily evocation of the planetary Angel and my ongoing prayers to Cosmos, while stuff that was less important I was told not to do, like my daily Refuge Tree, Vajrasattva practice, and mandala offering which I only began doing daily in order to learn the Tibetan, Sanskrit, and Pali by heart for use in Temple and larger rituals. Unfortunately (in a snarky way) what I’ve been told to perform are my longer practices, no matter how I try to cull my spiritual practice down to a more manageable time frame, it seems to resist it.
We will see how it goes, it feels good so far, being more focused. Over the next few months I’ll learn other things that will become parts of my daily practice for better or worse, but maybe I should make a habit of every three or six months just checking in what I should be doing.
With this focus I hope to perhaps start revealing and discussing more of my practice that is less on the beaten path, and more personal. Onwards and upwards we shall see where the Starry Path leads.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick