A Bowl of Hellfire – Using Luminarium for Demons

As I mentioned in a previous post, one of the key elements of my new book, Luminarium: A Grimoire of Cunning Conjuration, is that it is modular. The book presents an approach to preparing for and developing for conjuration, and then gives a system of conjuration. That system is presented as a means of working with angels and aerial spirits, but the system is also modular. Modes of connecting with magical powers can be adapted to different symbolic and mythological language based on your religious or spiritual leanings. Each part contributes a piece to what is being done, so you can identify areas in which you can do something similar and make a substitution.

 

Like in other areas of magic, a substitution does not necessarily do the same thing as the original piece, but it might accomplish the same goal in a different way. These ways might be related or unrelated. The substitution can possibly adjust the over all course of what you’re doing. For example, I can vanilla frosting by mixing powdered sugar, shortening, and vanilla, or I can mix powdered sugar, butter and vanilla. The consistency and the flavor will be a little different between the two but I will still have a sweet vanilla flavored icing for my cake. The shortening and the butter will do similar things but they aren’t quite the same. They’ll each serve the same purpose in the recipe, but accomplish the goal with their own style.

 

The same logic applies in magic. If we know why a tool, or a rite is present, sometimes we can substitute something that accomplishes the same need by doing something similar. They won’t be the same. Diverge too much and you might get something recognizably different. Sometimes you just change the tone, or the way the connection comes through. Sometimes you might change the approach enough to direct the work in an altogether different direction as far as what sorts of spirits are being reached. Sometimes, but probably not most times, you might break the thing altogether and need to go back to the drawing board.

 

With Luminarium you could change out pieces because they don’t connect with you. For instance, if you don’t connect with your ancestors through a Greek influenced lens like the one that I present in the book you could substitute a rite which does similar things in so far as drawing your ancestors to be present and empowering them to work with you in the world. This probably wouldn’t change much of the over all ritual, but it could have some effect depending upon how your ancestors are encountered.

 

Alternatively, you could make changes built around working with different sorts of spirits through this structure. In our previous post we talked about recontextualizing to focus on building your space with nature spirits. Today we’ll talk about conjuring demons.

 

The book presents options for conjuring angels and aerial spirits, but there is no reason you can’t…and no reason you shouldn’t, use this for work with devils, the dead, and the fair folk as well. Each might need its own tweaks or additions, but it’s designed to accommodate that.

 

In the case of working with demons or devils we don’t need to change the ritual so much as add to it. The book already presents the option to conjure an angel and then conjure an aerial spirit under the authority of that angel. We can do the same with demons.

 

Now if we’re conjuring the demons under the authority of an angel, how do we know under which angel we should work?

 

There are a few ways to answer this, but none of them are definitive. You can try various options.

 

If you decide to go with the Testament of Solomon as your Liber Spirituum the demons provided Solomon with the names of the angels who “thwart” them. Beelzebul describes this process as being adjured by the oath. We often take the thwarting angel concept of one in which the angel is called to smite the demon, but Beelzebul’s description is one in which the angel is the power by which the demon is conjured. When working with the Testament of Solomon it provides the names of the powers by which the demons are bound in conjuration.

 

If you go with the text now called The Book of Oberon, a section of the Book of the Offices of Spirits describes several demons under the rulership of the Kings of the Four Directions. If working with that spirit list you could call upon the angel related to that king.

 

If not working with that text, you can take the same approach if you find some other means by which to accord the demonic hierarchy under the four kings.

 

Another option would be to look at the powers and appearance of the spirit, or the direction from which it comes if that is listed and try and determine a planetary association for the spirit. Once you have a planetary association you could call it under the angel associated therewith. If you work with spirits from the Hygromanteia planetary correspondences will already be available for many of them.

 

Once the angel is conjured you will instruct it to help retrieve the King and the demon and to aid in ensuring your safety and the safety of any of your concerns while the demon does its work. Then conjure the King, and then request that the King give access to the spirit and that the King or his messenger retrieve the demon in question and aid in its conjuration.

 

Then conjure, constrain, and bind the demon. If there any offerings or gifts to be given to the demon this would be done now along with any questioning and bargaining. Once this is done license it to depart.

 

You can obtain all the needed additions pretty easily, but we’ll provide some here as well.

 

Once you’ve picked your demon, and the angel you intend to call the next step is to select a conjuration for the appropriate king. Here are examples.

 

Oh great and potent spirit Oriens, King of the East, who rules the Eastern region of the world, I adjure you, I call upon you, and most powerfully and earnestly I urge you by, in, and through the virtue power and might of these efficacious and binding names, YHVH+, EHIH+, Adonai+, AGLA+, El+, Tzvot+, Elohim, of the Almighty, Immense Incomprehensible and Everliving God, the omnipotent Creator of heaven and Earth. I call you in the name of the Most High, whose name all the Celestial Angels honor and obey, and before whom all the holy Company and Choir of heaven, Incessantly sing Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, and at whose Divine and inestimable name, all Knees on Earth give homage and bow, and all the aerial terrestrial and infernal spirits do fear and tremble and now by all these names I do now again powerfully adjure, call upon, constrain and urge you Oh great and Mighty spirit Oriens, King of the East, in the holy name YHVH+, within the presence of Michael+ that now immediately without further tarrying, or delay the spirit, you appear visibly, plainly, peaceably, affably in all serenity and humility here before me, and positively effectually faithfully, and fully aid me in all I request and answer all questions I ask, especially those things which accord to your office, without any delay guile or deceit or other illusions whatsoever. And I call upon you, Oh you powerful and regal spirit Oriens, by the power of YHVH+ in the presence of Michael+ to appear plainly visible before me, in pleasing form, in all mildness, peace, and friendliness, without any hurt, disturbance, or any other evil whatsoever, either to me, or this place, wherein I am, or any other place, person or creature whatsoever, but that quietly courteously and obediently you fulfill my desires and do my commandments in all things which I earnestly urge and command for you to do for me, Oh Royal and Potent spirit Oriens, in the name of YHVH+.

 

 

Oh great and potent spirit Egyn, King of the North, who rules the Northern region of the world, I adjure you, I call upon you, and most powerfully and earnestly I urge you by, in, and through the virtue power and might of these efficacious and binding names, YHVH+, EHIH+, Adonai+, AGLA+, El+, Tzvot+, Elohim+, of the Almighty, Immense Incomprehensible and Everliving God, the omnipotent Creator of heaven and Earth. I call you in the name of the Most High, whose name all the Celestial Angels honor and obey, and before whom all the holy Company and Choir of heaven, Incessantly sing Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, and at whose Divine and inestimable name, all Knees on Earth give homage and bow, and all the aerial terrestrial and infernal spirits do fear and tremble and now by all these names I do now again powerfully adjure, call upon, constrain and urge you Oh great and Mighty spirit Egyn, King of the North, in the holy name Elohim+, within the presence of Gabriel+ that now immediately without further tarrying, or delay the spirit, you appear visibly, plainly, peaceably, affably in all serenity and humility here before me, and positively effectually faithfully, and fully aid me in all I request and answer all questions I ask, especially those things which accord to your office, without any delay guile or deceit or other illusions whatsoever. And I call upon you, Oh you powerful and regal spirit Egyn, by the power of Elohim+ in the presence of Gabriel+ to appear plainly visible before me, in pleasing form, in all mildness, peace, and friendliness, without any hurt, disturbance, or any other evil whatsoever, either to me, or this place, wherein I am, or any other place, person or creature whatsoever, but that quietly courteously and obediently you fulfill my desires and do my commandments in all things which I earnestly urge and command for you to do for me, Oh Royal and Potent spirit Egyn, in the name of Shaddai+.

 

Oh great and potent spirit Amaymon, King of the South, who rules the Southern region of the world, I adjure you, I call upon you, and most powerfully and earnestly I urge you by, in, and through the virtue power and might of these efficacious and binding names, YHVH+, EHIH+, Adonai+, AGLA+, El+, Tzvot+, Elohim+, of the Almighty, Immense Incomprehensible and Everliving God, the omnipotent Creator of heaven and Earth. I call you in the name of the Most High, whose name all the Celestial Angels honor and obey, and before whom all the holy Company and Choir of heaven, Incessantly sing Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, and at whose Divine and inestimable name, all Knees on Earth give homage and bow, and all the aerial terrestrial and infernal spirits do fear and tremble and now by all these names I do now again powerfully adjure, call upon, constrain and urge you Oh great and Mighty spirit Amaymon, King of the South, in the holy name Adonai+, within the presence of Uriel+ that now immediately without further tarrying, or delay the spirit, you appear visibly, plainly, peaceably, affably in all serenity and humility here before me, and positively effectually faithfully, and fully aid me in all I request and answer all questions I ask, especially those things which accord to your office, without any delay guile or deceit or other illusions whatsoever. And I call upon you, Oh you powerful and regal spirit Amaymon+, by the power of Adonai+ in the presence of Uriel+ to appear plainly visible before me, in pleasing form, in all mildness, peace, and friendliness, without any hurt, disturbance, or any other evil whatsoever, either to me, or this place, wherein I am, or any other place, person or creature whatsoever, but that quietly courteously and obediently you fulfill my desires and do my commandments in all things which I earnestly urge and command for you to do for me, Oh Royal and Potent spirit Amaymon+, in the name of Adonai+.

 

The conjurations could also be used if working with the King was your end game. You could use an abbreviated form if you’re conjuring the king to aid with calling another spirit, particularly if you’ve worked with the King previously.

 

Here is an example:

 

Oh great and potent spirit Paymon, King of the West, who rules the Western region of the world, I adjure you, I call upon you, and most powerfully and earnestly I urge you by, in, and through the virtue power and might of these efficacious and binding names, YHVH+, EHIH+, Adonai+, AGLA+, El+, Tzevaot+, Elohim+, of the Almighty, Immense Incomprehensible and Everliving God, the omnipotent Creator of heaven and Earth. I call you in the name of the Most High, whose name all the Celestial Angels honor and obey, and before whom all the holy Company and Choir of heaven, Incessantly sing Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, and at whose Divine and inestimable name, all Knees on Earth give homage and bow, and all the aerial terrestrial and infernal spirits do fear and tremble and now by all these names I do now again powerfully adjure, call upon, constrain and urge you Oh great and Mighty spirit Paymon, King of the West that you might bring the spirit [NAME] and grant us peaceable access to his presence.

 

The others can be modified in this same way.

 

Then you would call the spirit. I will provide an example using Hoistros from the Hygromanteia. A ritual for conjuring him appeared in my book Living Spirits:

 

I do invoke and conjure you Hoistros by Beralanensis, by Baldachiensis, by Paumachia, and by Apologia Sedes, by the most mighty kings and powers, and the most powerful princes, genii, Liachidæ, ministers of the Tartarean seat, chief prince of the seat of Apologia, in the ninth legion, I invoke you N, and by invoking, I conjure you Hoistros and being armed with power from the supreme Majesty, I strongly command you Hoistros, by Him who spoke and it was done, and to whom all creatures are obedient; and by this ineffable name, YHVH, which being heard the elements are overthrown, the air is shaken, the sea runs back, the fire is quenched, the earth trembles, and all the host of the celestials, and terrestrials, and infernals do tremble together, and are troubled and confounded: wherefore, forthwith and without delay, shall you, Hoistros, come from all parts of the world, and make rational answers unto all things I shall ask of you; and come peaceably, visibly and affably now, Hoistros, without delay, manifesting what we desire, being conjured by the name of the living and true God, Heliorem, and fulfill our commands, and persist unto the end, and according to our intentions, visibly and affably speaking unto us with a clear voice, intelligible, and without any ambiguity.

 

Once the spirit arrives it must be constrained to appear in a particular spot, in a particular manner, and in a way which is not harmful to the magician:

 

By the seals which are present, by the Great Seal of Solomon, by the names which have been aforesaid, by the name of John the Baptist I command Hoistros that you appear in pleasing form in this bowl and answer honestly all questions and expediently provide for all requests bringing no harm upon those of us who have called you.

 

Finally, the magician binds the demon by whichever divine and angelic names are appropriate to the agreement which they have come to. This agreement will include what the demon is to do, and any proscriptions on how, as well as what the magician is willing to pay the spirit for this work.

 

You could also make these adjustments without working in the context of calling an angel. In that case the ritual would open as normal up until the point of calling the angel. If you’re working in a planetary context then you would proceed with some other prayer accorded to the day of the week, or the hour in which you are working. If not working in a planetary context and electing to work under the auspices of the chiefs and princes of Hell, then invoke the appropriate chief followed by the appropriate prince as provided in Agrippa’s table of four. Then the king and then the demon.

 

One of the test team for Luminarium referenced using the method given for work with a demon. The method in Luminarium was originally tried in a group ritual for conjuring a demon which provided several people with several large manifest results involving jobs, property, and money.

 

Have you tried using Luminarium for working with demons? Or for something other than angels? Let me know about it!

 

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If you’re curious about starting conjuration pick up my new book – Luminarium: A Grimoire of Cunning Conjuration

 

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Three Dirty Words

 

          Sometimes magicians say some rather silly things about words. “I don’t like labels,” “I don’t want to be limited by applying a name to myself,” “it means whatever you want it to mean.” Things like this miss how language works, they also miss an important component of magic. Language is a partnership between ourselves and anyone listening to or reading us. We agree to use words as symbols with a particular meaning. For magic, language is a chisel, the world is a stone, and our placement of words is the hammer. We define, shape, know, and explore things by cutting away bits and pieces until we reveal what a thing is, or shape what a thing is, through the judicious use of words.

          Meaning is important. The ability to convey meaning is important. Care and consideration of our words is important.

          Sometimes words have meaning beyond what they say, and we need to consider what they express. This is, as I’m sure almost all people reading will know, the difference between denotation and connotation. What a word denotes, what it means, can be pretty static, over time it might evolve some, but its core should be pretty steady. If it is evolving, it should be slow enough for broad agreement to occur in order for our partnership between speaker and hearer to work. Connotation is weird, because it can be contextual, it can be shifting and specific and impacted, or it can be a generally socially accepted thing. It can change on the fly due to lots of factors. Because it has to do with feeling and implication it can be harder to change it intentionally than it is to change meaning.

Today I’m going to suggest we work on changing connotation, and redeem some potentially useful words from the mire they have accreted in their short stint as part of magic’s in-crowd phraseology.

Those words about which we are going to speak? Unverified Personal Gnosis.

Jason Miller and I had a fun chat this afternoon, and the use of the phrase UPG was one of several things we discussed. I believe he is going to be writing about it too. As I understand it, his position is that we should more or less drop the phrase. It creates unreal standards. It asks for things without really defining what those things are. It creates a hierarchy of value for experiences based on some potentially faulty logic.

I agree with those criticisms. I think a lot of things people want to see change in the magical community and the pagan community can fall victim to those same criticisms. We need standards, but are the standards people are asking for what they really want? We need structures, but what are those structures and why do we need them? How do we determine what’s good or bad, or what’s meaningful or not meaningful? We can find a lot of things which should be, but aren’t always, confronting those questions.

As far as UPG, my take is more cautious. I use the term, but with a bit of trepidation. I don’t want to convey something by it that I don’t mean. I know my audience might easily take something from it I don’t mean, even if my audience is, as was this case this afternoon, an individual friend with whom I’m chatting. I think the words themselves are a really good description for a concept that is important and one which should be so very quotidian that we probably do need ways for discussing it, placing it, and exploring it. I think these three words have some baggage though. They’re dirty, not in the sense of being vulgar, but in the sense that people have used them vulgarly and got them a bit dirty in the process.

I think we can clean them up, make them useful, and in doing so highlight how important actual magic and actual experience of the numinous, and of the individuated spiritual ecosphere are to…you know…magic.

Because that’s the thing. We can’t be magicians, and consistently look down on people having experiences of the magical. When we have a set of words to describe all such experiences, and people equate that set of words with hopelessly idiosyncratic at best, and worthless trash at worst…we’re tossing out the existence of magic. We’re throwing away our ability for magic to grow as a living breathing experience within a broader community.

So, how do we clean these words up so they can be useful again?

Let’s start with what the words are. UNVERIFIED Personal Gnosis. I’ve seen some people render the U as Unverifiable. Which would mean we could never confirm if it was real or not, if it has veracity, or a core of truth in it. If something can’t ever touch truth it’s probably just a fantasy. If something can be true, we just aren’t sure yet, it is something which potentially propels us to explore learn and grow.  Unverified just means we don’t know yet. If a spirit tells you what the outcome of a major sporting event will be it’s unverified until the event happens, after which you’ve either verified what you were told was true or it wasn’t. Information we get from a spirit isn’t necessarily unverifiable.

Any information anyone gets from a spirit will begin as Unverified Personal Gnosis. The spirit generally isn’t talking to a bunch of people so, any communication will be personal. That doesn’t mean the information is only for the person receiving it. Sometimes we try to dismiss UPG as if it only applies to the person who got it. It really depends on the nature of the message. I’ve had interactions with gods and spirits who have told me things about their nature, things they like to receive, or things about how they are represented which I later encountered in historical sources or works describing their history. Those messages weren’t for me, they were just messages being told to me. Sometimes many people dealing with a spirit will get the same or similar information about a way to work with the spirit. The message is personal in that they’re each personally told the message, but many people receiving it shows it isn’t just for them. A message about events that are going to happen could also be a message for a wider audience than just the person receiving it.

Calling it Gnosis just means it is knowledge but implies something personal and experience driven. It can also be taken as a way to write it off by pushing it closer to the category of WooWoo. Probably my least favorite word choice of the term. Either way, it’s just information.

UPG should be the goal of magic, religion, mysticism, really anything in life. If we’re not personally developing and gaining knowledge or information from our actions and interactions what are we even doing? When we get a tarot reading or a geomancy consultation, the information the reader receives from their spirit contacts is UPG, just UPG intended for the specific client in the specific situation, and hopefully it will be verified in the near future. We have no problem with info being received in that context. So we don’t tend to apply this particular term of potential derision to that kind of information even though it’s no different.

So, what’s the problem with UPG?

People use the term dismissively. They act like any information that falls under UPG needs to be ignored. People act like it should never be considered or discussed. That kind of position is counter-productive. Conversely, ignoring all tradition, history or evidence and proclaiming UPG as truth for everyone or providing it without qualification is also a big, and common problem. That latter problem is why, in my opinion, the term is useful. We need a way to note when something is untested and is sourced from our own experiences. We should also be able to note when something is experientially derived, but when it has been confirmed in some meaningful way. We need a way to view information like this which doesn’t make any experiential information automatically dismissed or derided.

Less discussed, we also need to distinguish between UPG and people’s individual reimagining. If someone is just interpreting historical sources in a weird way, or deciding they don’t like the historical context of a thing and reimagining it for modern times, that is something wholly different. I won’t go into the merit or lack of merit of such an approach right now, but we should be able to distinguish stuff someone is making up, from stuff someone received from spirit contacts. Being able to say “this is UPG,” “this came from an article by Claire Fanger,” or “I made this up,” should all be simple propositions.

UPG becomes problematic because of people’s values and biases. I think a little of this is fair. The NeoPagan community, which the magical community was pretty intimately tied to until maybe ten to fifteen years ago, is full of bad history and fiction and fantasy being equated with truth. Major segments of the magical community have inherited this kind of “it can be whatever I want it to be,” mentality. Counter movements like the Reconstructionist movement, which seems to have been replaced by the Polytheist movement, and the Grimoire Revivalists, have reacted by insisting on exacting historical scholarship…sort of. The scholarship definitely varies and the means by which it’s judged are inconsistent.

I myself lean hard into valuing history. I was into Reconstructionism as a teenager. I studied Classics in college. I took enough Latin in college to qualify to teach high school Latin.  I lean hard into valuing magic too. I was never into the psychological model, or doing magic for catharsis. To me, spirits, gods, and magic have always been about connecting with and doing something real. From that perspective while I like history as a bench mark, as a starting point, and as something to use to guide ourselves and compare our results to…I think we need to be intensely concerned with what we experience and discover and how these powers remain vital active and continuously unveiling parts not only of our lives, but of the wider world.

When we consider how history and UPG can interact, we should try to remember that historical material probably started as someone’s UPG that got widely accepted and redeveloped and institutionalized over time. With some historical material we don’t even know if it became accepted or stood the test of time, we just know someone wrote it down and it survived long enough to reach us. We should value historical info, especially historical info that we see was disseminated throughout a broad group of people, or over an extensive period of time. We can presume that it endured and spread because something rang true for people and they had some success adhering to those understandings and practices. It still started with someone receiving some inspiration or some message.

Unless we believe in a degeneration of spiritual contact through the ages of man, and that there are no more prophets, no more sages, no more saints, no more visionaries amongst your everyday people…then we have to accept that people might receive things that are real and meaningful.

I’ll be skeptical when reviewing things people say. If they got something from their experiences and it feels true, or evidence backs it up, or it seems reasonable based on things I know or have experienced I might be inclined to accept it. I don’t have to accept it. I should respect the possibility that it has some truth to it. I should also retain the reason and discernment to recognize when something is just fantasy.

Usually it’s not a hard line to walk. I think when we forbid discussing UPG, or when we decide we shouldn’t note when something is UPG we’re deciding not to use our reason and our faculties of discernment. We’re saying only the historical is valuable…despite that it can also be wrong, or we’re saying nothing is inherently valuable so it doesn’t matter where anything came from. I don’t think either of these positions is true. We should encourage exploring and educating oneself in tradition just as we should encourage diving in and experiencing the richness of the reality of the spirit world. We should openly discuss information derived from both, but we should make it clear where we’re getting that information from. We shouldn’t dismiss things that could be very valuable or useful for us just because it isn’t traditional so it’s just made up, any more than we should because it came from tradition and tradition is just old superstitions. Either way, we should explore, evaluate, and make informed choices.

 

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My Non-Relationship with Saint Cyprian

 

A few days ago, we finished the days of the Cyprians, a Novena which some magicians celebrate to Saint Cyprian between the feast days of Saint Cyprian of Carthage and Saint Cyprian of Antioch.

 

Saint Cyprian has become a hugely popular Saint amongst magicians in the last decade or so. As Catholic influence becomes more common in magic he seems to be the center of that approach for many. Like Hekate, he is a spirit who was once obscure in Anglosphere awareness of magic…despite appearing in some English works of magic…who is now everywhere. To me, he seems to clearly be a spirit on a mission, a spirit spreading the awareness of himself. To me this suggests there is something important in exploring magic related to him.

 

Despite feeling there may be some important magic to explore in building a relationship with this Saint, I sometimes feel like maybe it isn’t on the table for me.

 

I tried once with formal prayers and rituals during the Days of the Cyprians and got nothing. Nada. No presence, no message, no visions, no dreams. I felt a bit put off from it and figured Cyprian wasn’t for me. Time passed and eventually an essay by Jake Stratton-Kent inspired me. I felt more drawn to the Saint. I felt excited. I tried gathering some stuff. Lot’s of stuff. But this time the failure was on my end, time never felt right to use it, I wasn’t sure how I wanted to use it, so I didn’t.

 

Finally, I got a nibble. I decided to try a novena again during the Days of the Cyprians. I searched for prayers, and then remembered another time I had trouble connecting with a spirit, and the spirit led me to be less formal and be more personal. To approach as one living being to another, actually reaching out with feeling rather than just rote form. I prayed from my heart, opened myself to receive him in dreams instead of searching for presence and signs. I had some dreams, my sleep was not adequately sleep – having been taken up by this communication. Still, it didn’t really build up to a connection or take me anywhere. It didn’t lead me to where I should go next with it.

 

I tried again this year, and more or less, got nothing. I had a single dream, which gave me some interesting thoughts I still have to unfold. The rest of the nights, nothing. Sometimes a feeling of maybe having had some interaction, but no memory, no lesson, no message.

 

I feel like there is something to explore with Cyprian. But I also feel like maybe Cyprian doesn’t feel drawn to explore anything with me.

 

This is an important lesson to learn. Magic is about what’s real. It’s not about our whims or our satisfaction. In a world where things are real and where we aren’t the only identity that matters, sometimes the powers that exist out there won’t pick up the ball and play just because we toss it in their direction.

 

Even if they don’t pick up the ball, if we feel like there is something there that we are drawn to, we have to look at ourselves and see if it makes sense to really jump in and try and make it happen. If we’re drawn to something there and the spirit is just not drawn to us, then maybe we need to figure out where we find what we’re looking for. Do we find it in some better way of trying to approach that spirit? Do we find it in some other spirit of a similar nature?

 

It will depend in part on our own nature and needs, but also in part of that of the spirit as well. And that’s really the crux of it. Like us, these spirits are living things. Things won’t always be exactly what we want or expect, and that’s ok. We should encounter moments like this. From them we should figure out what we really need, and how to get it. Sometimes that is a better or different effort with the same spirit. Sometimes it’s moving on to something more right for us, sometimes it’s finding the right time. Reflection, divination, and searching for help and insight from our close spirit relationships can help us sort these things out. That’s what we have to do, sort those things out and see the reality that sometimes doors we knock on aren’t ready to open, or aren’t ready to open for us. This isn’t a reason to stop, it’s a reason to plan for the next time.  

 

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If you enjoyed this please like, follow, and share on your favorite social media! We can be followed for updates on Facebook.

 

If you’re curious about starting conjuration pick up my new book – Luminarium: A Grimoire of Cunning Conjuration

 

If you want some help exploring the vast world of spirits check out my first book – Living Spirits: A Guide to Magic in a World of Spirits

 

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Is Covid 19 interrupting your spiritual experience?

I saw a little discussion about how there is a lack of flow due to quarantining. There are no gatherings, people have to do cyber offerings which don't seem to have the same impact, drinking, partying, and the social component of our religious experience as Pagans or as magicians is something from which we are cut off. As a result people feel cut off from the gods and spirits with whom they normally enjoy communion. 

I don't really get this. 

To me, Paganism is definitively social. Pagan means the local religion, so it is the community's relationship with itself and through that relationship between its members its shared relationship with the gods. My primary practice tends to focus on magic and animism and Christianity because I can engage those are part of personal spirituality. Being Pagan means I need a community which I don't have. Not having a community doesn't mean I can't have a relationship with the gods. 

I think there are some things which work a lot better when we have people. I can't host a bacchanal right now. I can still have a relationship with Dionysos that is meaningful and connected and impacts me. I have to adjust it, because part of my Dionysian Charism is sharing drunkeness and revelry with others. I'm looking at some other projects for doing that. The universe is throwing copious drink making recipes and articles at me at record pace. The influence doesn't disappear. 

I think there is also a tendency for people to need the awe inspiring flashiness of some physically obvious touch point. Only seeing the beauty of nature in a strikingly ancient looking tree and not seeing it in the intrepid weed breaking through the concrete of a city sidewalk is too easy of a trap to fall into. Christians and Catholics thinking they have been cut off from their religion because they can't go to church services instead of reaping the joy of a rich and personal devotional prayer practice at home is a similarly easy trap. Pagans lost without the light of a community bonfire forgetting that they can be warmed by living well and making sacrifices to household gods and spirits as much as they can from the conflagration at the great gathering is the same trap. 

It's a trap which is natural for humans. It's a trap we're designed to fall into. We have a great capacity to enjoy and be moved by the epic. It's a wonderful part of who and what we are. 

We also have a great capacity to be moved by the small beauty we find in personal and silent moments. These moments are harder to find, but when we find them their beauty and power can be staggering. 

Losing the physical community of our religious activity is truly a loss we should recognize and experience. It can be unsettling and lead us into feeling cut off. But it's a reminder of the wonder that we can seek, and find, and immerse ourselves within all around us. 

If you enjoyed this please like, follow, and share on your favorite social media! We can be followed for updates on Facebook.

If you’re curious about starting conjuration pick up my new book – Luminarium: A Grimoire of Cunning Conjuration

If you want some help exploring the vast world of spirits check out my first book – Living Spirits: A Guide to Magic in a World of Spirits

Getting Started with Sorcery

I’ve seen a couple threads in which people asked what you’d recommend people study, what skills you’d recommend people develop, and what books you’d recommend people read if they want to become sorcerers. Psychology often dominates, with some philosophy, mythology, anthropology and general fringe thought thrown in. Someone recently suggested UFOs and cryptids. Magic is oddly rarely the focus. In some of the cases where it is…it’s really random or bad books being recommended, or modern books of magic that approach magic as mysticism and psychology.

A lot – not all; of the above-mentioned subjects are good for magicians and sorcerers to study. Most of them are not what people need in the beginning. You can become a fairly successful sorcerer without those subjects. Psychology can help you understand yourself and other people, philosophy can help you learn to frame ideas, mythology, folklore, history and anthropology can give you access to deeper resources to understand more magical techniques and approaches. The main thing you need those is magic. These other disciplines won’t teach you magic, they won’t make you a sorcerer, but they are useful in support of sorcery.

So, if you want to get started with sorcery, and become good at magic, what should be in your library?

Books On Sorcery and Magic

These books are going to be our baseline. These will help instruct you in magic. You can use these and that can get you where you want to go. Go through all of these.

The Sorcerer’s Secret’s – Jason Miller

The Elements of Spellcrafting – Jason Miller

The Master Book of CandleBurning – Henri Gamache

Charms Spells and Formulas – Ray Malborough

Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic – Catherine Yronwode

The Sporting Life – Charles Porterfield

Old Style Conjure – Starr Casas  

Quimbanda – Danilo Coppini

Secret of the Psalms – Godfrey Selig

Living Spirits – BJ Swain

Notes regarding some of the books in this section will be provided in the end.

Establishing a Conjuration Practice

Conjuration doesn’t necessarily need to be a part of a sorcerer’s arsenal, but it can be a useful addition, and one which is popular these days.

The two books I’m going to recommend for beginning that process both present easy streamlined approaches but each with a slightly different focus. Both allow you to dive right in. You could try one or the other or both. Both work on simplified approaches to conjuring planetary angels and can be adapted to other spirits.

Seven Spheres – Rufus Opus

Seven Spheres should be your choice if you want to use conjuration work as a way of magically initiating yourself and introducing yourself to occult powers to expand your magic.

Luminarium – BJ Swain

Luminarium focuses on using conjuration for practical purposes and presents magical and sorcery techniques to prepare for conjuration and examples for using conjuration to augment a practice of practical sorcery.

Grimoires and Magical Working Books

You don’t necessarily need these but if you want to expand into the arena of conjuration or using a grimoire system here are some options. Some of these will also have spell options and inspirations in addition to what we typically think of as grimoire work. You could pick one of these or a handful or none. There are others out there two, but if I was going to pick from a limited selection it would be one of these.

The Book of Oberon

The Veritable Key ofSolomon

The Fourth Book of OccultPhilosophy (for the Heptameron and the Arbatel)

The Lemegeton

The Hygromanteia

The Cambridge Book of Magic

The Secrets of Solomon

Folk Magic, Cunning Work, and Inspiration for Spells and Magical Workings

Traditional collections containing magical spells and folklore are a must. Again, you don’t need all of these, pick the ones that speak to you.

Svartkonstbocker - Thomas K. Johnson

The Black Books of Elverum - Mary S. Rustad

The Long-Lost Friend - Daniel Harms

Angels Demons & Spirits - Daniel Harms

The Grimoire of Arthur Gauntlet - David Rankine

The Book of Saint Cyprian - Jose Leitao 

The Greek Magical Papyri - Hans Deiter Betz

Ancient Christian Magic - Marvin Meyer

Divination

Some method of divination is a must, and unfortunately divination is mostly something I’ve picked up as hodge podge catch as catch can kind of info since I was a small child, so it’s not something I focus on book-wise. So, I don’t have a ton of recommendations

The Book of Saint Cyprian – includes info on cartomancy

Cypriana: Old World – Jake Stratton-Kent has an essay included on Cyprianic cartomancy

Marseille Tarot – Camelia Elias

Notes:

Malborough – I’ve seen people question some of the recipes in this book, but I’ve also seen people praise it. At a minimum it is a good introduction to the ideas and techniques and provides correspondences to use.

Yronwoode – Cat Yronwoode has been the basis of spreading the popularity of Hoodoo amongst magical practitioners today, there are some similar mixed views about her work and products but she collects a vast amount of sources and most visible Hoodoo practitioners are influenced by it.

Porterfield – Dr. Porterfield is a popular practitioner and teacher. There is some jarring appropriative use of “slang” and “lingo” in The Sporting Life. The recipes and techniques are worth it if you just skim past the attempt to establish a cultural setting for the book.

Casas -  Starr Casas is popular with a lot of very good magicians, but like most of the Hoodoo writers there is debate about her work. In my opinion the debate seems to be largely surrounding her being white more than it is about the quality of her content. There is a strange disconnect when reading because the way she talks about black ancestors and heritage it seems like she’s talking about her own ancestors and heritage, but I don’t know anything about her history or her family’s history in order to have any real judgment or comment on that.

Coppini – There are a lot of approaches to Quimbanda and debate on which sources present authentic forms. This book is not recommended with the intent of suggesting people pick up Quimbanda as a practice but the approaches, explanations, and techniques described can greatly aid in deepening and expanding a practice of spiritous sorcery.

Swain – my book will provide history, context, and a worldview which will add to the work you’re doing with these other books, in addition to explaining techniques and approaches. It will also give the grounding needed for some of the spirit work involved in the other books recommended in other sections.

Long Lost Friend - There is a lot of folklore that is not expressly magic in this.

Arthur Gauntlet - The transcriber elected not to include a table of contents and so the book is difficult to use for practical purposes

There are other books that might have made the cut that I just haven't had a chance to explore. Notably, Mallorie Vadouise's Honoring Your Ancestors, and Gordon White's Chaos Protocols and Pieces of Eight, or Aidan Wachter's Six Ways. They all have great reputations I just haven't read them. Patrick Dunn's Orphic Hymns would probably be useful too just didn't fit one of the above categories. Jake Stratton-Kent's Encyclopedia Goetica series would also be a sort of magical approach to history which would be informative depending upon the direction in which you choose to go. 

If you enjoyed this please like, follow, and share on your favorite social media! We can be followed for updates on Facebook.

If you’re curious about starting conjuration pick up my new book – Luminarium: A Grimoire of Cunning Conjuration

If you want some help exploring the vast world of spirits check out my first book – Living Spirits: A Guide to Magic in a World of Spirits

The Great Outdoors

          One of the things I have commented on several times about Luminarium, and which my test group noted as well is that it is, to a degree, modular. The texts presents at once a system which can be used, more or less, as a stand-alone approach to magic or an example of adaptation which allows for additional adaptation.

          The entire system of preparation is presented ala carte with an invitation to bring your own. The tools are somewhat minimalist, but they can be adapted. The system presents conjurations for angels and aerial spirits, but with a little adjustment it can be used for other purpose as well.

          If you sort out what each piece of the conjuration ritual is doing, you could easily substitute equivalent functions from a preferred spiritual system or a preferred magical text.

          It’s setting up a model for a system of conjuring – a framework; as much as it is presenting a grimoire you can roll out of bed and chat up some cosmic powers with.

          My intention over the next few posts is to present some of these adaptations. The first one is inspired by a friend, who was one of the testers, who is spending a few weeks out in the wilderness. While thinking about him out there I considered suggesting he try out Luminarium in a more natural context, but realized he might not have some of the stuff he would need for the standard context. This got me thinking of how to change things.

         

The Ancestors

          The big thing that would be missing if someone were on the road or in the great outdoors and wanted to use Luminarium is the ancestor altar. The shrine to the ancestors essentially consecrates a temple space and becomes our in between space for working in the spirit world without needing a circle set up. It also sets the grounds for a particular sort of spirit leverage and connection.

          In my case I have a handmade rosary consecrated to my ancestors, Mary, Hekate and St. Benedict. If I wanted to work in a context similar to working at my ancestor shrine I could wear the rosary or I could place the rosary on the ground and put the bowl and other implements within the loop of the rosary. The space it outlines would be a hallowed space dedicated to those powers so long as the rosary was laid open in that spot.

          Another approach I might take is a spirit candle. While I light candles on my ancestor shrine to help make contact with them, I also have a pillar candle which I used for working with a particular ancestor before setting up my ancestor shrine. Once I began working with the shrine regularly I used that candle to ask that ancestor if I could work with him and his candle as a link to my ancestors over all if working in an instance where placing the candle in my working space made more sense than working at the altar.

          So if you have some tool along those lines which is portable and which you take with you then you could simulate the space of your ancestor work while working away from home.

The Nature Spirits

          The possibility of not having some sort of ancestral link – other than yourself – could easily come up during unplanned workings while exploring the wilderness for an extended period. So, with that being the case, maybe recontextualizing amid the spirits in your locality makes sense.

          I think if you approached from the perspective of engaging the nature spirits it would kind of shift a few things. In my experience, nature spirits are good at connecting you with other nature spirits and spirits who interact with them closely, but perhaps less so with a broad range of spirits. So, their ability to create leverage to help call upon spirits and bring spirits to work on your behalf might not be the same as when working with ancestors. Nature spirits also are not human, so they don’t have the same inside track as to what human needs and experience are like. They’re not your family so there is not the same natural investment.

          On the flip side there are benefits to nature spirits as a context to engage for this work. If your goal is to work with some natural or elemental spirit, or to conjure a faery or a dead person then nature spirits might be very useful in helping facilitate that connection. Nature spirits have influence over the spaces they protect and the areas of nature they connect with. So, while they might not guide things from a human perspective, they may be able to help influence what will and will not easily manifest within their spaces. Nature spirits are sometimes depicted as frightening and dangerous, but other-times as loving caregivers, guardians, and providers for the human communities within their environment. I believe a lot of this has to do with what kind of relationships humans are maintaining with them. With this in mind they may have an investment in your – albeit of a different sort than your ancestors – if you’re maintaining a good relationship with them.

Building a Relationship

          If you’re going to work with nature spirits as your context, which makes a lot of sense if you’re working out in nature, you need to build a relationship.

          The first step in this process is going into natural spaces and introducing yourself. Once you’ve introduced yourself, sit and listen. Appreciate the space. Be a part of the space and accept and adapt to it rather than trying to make it adapt to and accept you. Once you’ve done this, make offerings. Water, incense, appropriate food. Be mindful that your offerings don’t damage the space. Be a good steward, clean things up, take care of things in the space, don’t be part of the problems damaging the space. Make more individual introductions, meet the rivers, the trees, the rocks, the wind, whatever else makes up the space. It’s not just the spirit of the overall place, or an over all guardian spirit of the place, but the lives of the myriad pieces that make up the environment with whom you will need to engage.

Place

          If you’re working in nature, find a spot that seems conducive to your work, get to know the spot and anything in it. Build a connection. You don’t need to consecrate it so much as you need to awaken your awareness of its life and bring that awareness into engagement. You could build up ritual structures, but if you can find a place that is naturally suited that’s better. If you’re building, ask permission to do so, and ask permission to use the natural materials you need. Ask those materials to be your working partners and part of what you’re doing.

Tools

          You might streamline the tools some. Maybe just the lantern instead of the candles. Maybe a natural pool of water instead of the bowl. Maybe a spot on the ground or a rock instead of a table. You’ll have to look at what you have available, what the space provides, and what feels right and make those three influences work together.

The Ritual Itself

          Most of the ritual would remain the same. The ancestor service might be replaced by offerings and work with the spirits of nature, but there should still be a point where you at least call on and acknowledge your ancestors. When you get to the conjuration that might shift if you’re shifting what you’re conjuring. Maybe you want to talk to the guardian of that space? Maybe you want to call on a faery, or a dead person connected to that space? The conjuration prayer you write would focus on the powers of nature and show respect to those as well as to whatever you’re calling. If calling angels, aerial spirits, or demons, you might not have to adjust anything except using the rite for the nature spirits instead of the ancestor service rite.

Try it out and let me know how it goes!

If you’re curious about the method being discussed pick up my new book – Luminarium: A Grimoire of CunningConjuration

If you want some help exploring the vast world of spirits check out my first book – Living Spirits: AGuide to Magic in a World of Spirits

If you enjoyed this please like, follow, and share on your favorite social media! We can be followed for updates on Facebook.