catoptromancer

An online grimoire. I write about my spiritual experiences. I may also sometimes upload pages of my real grimoire. #grimoire for my personal entries.

[library-of-babel]

“The Story of the City of Brass” from the أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ‎, ʾAlf Laylah wa-Laylah (Arabian Nights), translated by Richard Francis Burton and illustrated by William Harvey.

In Solomonic Lore, the Djinn are imprisoned by Sol-Om-On in a Brass Vessel, The Grail, filled with the Iron Blood of the Saints, which is then thrown into the Great Sea.

Brass, like Bronze, is an Alloy (Marriage) of Copper (which is of Venus) and Zinc (which is of Jupiter).

It is used by the Magus to fashion, weave and grow a Structure of such Beauty, blossoming and unfolding throughout All Time, that the Djinn and Goetia, the Daemons and Gentry, the Fey and Sidhe, are said to much desire to tarry therein, at least for a while …

[noise-vs-signal]

The Shortest Path

The shortest route back to the source is the Left Hand Path, the Path of the Opposer, the Path of Return, the Serpent’s Path, the Draconian Path, the Crooked Path, the Stellar Path.

The third image above shows this path, from Malkuth (the material world), to Kether, (the Singularity). The image after this shows the Tarot Trumps assigned to those paths, and the sequence in which they must be worked with.

For example, the “World” (Universe) card indicates that you must gain a deeper understanding of how the world is generated from four basic elemental forces, and one force behind them all, the 5th element, the Quintessence, Light.

When you have integrated this world view into your daily life you may experience the “Vision of the Machinery of the Universe” and are then able to consciously work in the sphere of Yesod, of Dream and Imagination that affects the material world and other spheres.

The path back up the mountain (”Axis Mundi”) is steep, and each person must at times make their own way, based on their personal make-up and circumstances.

However, others who have walked the “Path of Return” have left signposts and guide books along the way.

The Kabbalah and Tarot encode the information required to travel the “Way of the Lonely Ones”. Learning how these systems work (and are related to each other) is the first requirement if you want to decipher the deeper descriptions of the upper spheres.

“I am the Heart; and the Snake is entwined About the invisible core of the mind. Rise, O my snake! It is now is the hour Of the hooded and holy ineffable flower”

- From “Liber LXV Liber Cordis Cincti Serpente“ (”The Book of the Heart Girt With a Serpent“) by Aleister Crowley (1909).

[lailoken]

“The forms [taken by the Witch’s Mark] varied from region to region, often consisting of little more than a blue, black or red spot on various parts of the body, often being found upon one of the fingers of the hand. In Somerset the witches were marked between the upper and middle joints of the ‘ring finger’ or fourth finger of the right hand. In 1597 Andro Man, an Aberdeen witch, was said to have been marked by the Horned one on the third finger of the right hand. A witch at Yarmouth in 1644 told how one moonlit night 'a tall black Man ' knocked on her door and told her that he must first see her hand; and then taking out something like a Pen-knife, he gave it a little scratch, so that Blood followed, and the Mark remained to that time.

Elsewhere the Devil's Mark was of a more explicitly symbolic nature and consisted of small totemic glyphs and sigils. Martin Delrio reports that the witches are marked with secret signs such as the Hare's footprint, the Rat's footprint or the character of the Spider. The hare is deeply connected with the nocturnal mysteries of the moon, the rat appears in ancient Romano-Gaulish iconography of Cernunnos, god of the underworld, and the spider as a weaver of webs is sacred to the spinning goddesses of fate such as the Norns, Parcae and Matronae.

In rural England the mark is sometimes known to be in the shape of a dormouse. Henri Boguet attests to the fact that 16th Century French witches received the 'marque les sorciers ' upon the left (sinister) shoulder in the form of the hare's foot. He mentions Jean de Vaux whose witch-mark was ' un petit chien noir ', the Black Dog of night, death and the netherworld. Amongst the Basque witches of the Pyrenees three marks were made upon the left thigh, the left side and over the left eye. The Devil often marked Basque witches with the sign of the toad or the toad's foot, a most holy amphibian in Wicce-craeft which is associated with the subterranean marshes, caves and chthonic waters of the netherworld.”

—

Call of the Horned Piper

6: ‘The Mark of the Witch’

by Nigel Aldcroft Jackson

[lailoken]

“Fairy belief was also widespread. Rooted in the animism of the pre-Christian Scots, fairy belief was perhaps most truly folkoric of all popular belief systems by virtue of the fact it had never been dispensed from the pulpit or systernatized in texts, but had survived into the seventeenth century through purely oral transmission, handed down from generation to generation at the hearth and in the workplace. It is difficult to gauge the nature and intensity of early modern fairy belief because, with the exception of one slim volume written by Aberfoyle minister Robert Kirk in 1691, and scatcered references in witch records and antiquarian writings, they went largely unrecorded; remaining hidden, to quote Larner's memorable phrase, in the 'secret, uncharted areas of peasant exchange' for a further 200 years before being uncovered and celebrated by nineteenth-century folklorists. But nevertheless, contemporary research is increasingly emphasizing the fact that fairy belief was strong and widespread in the period, with Cowan and Henderson (Scottish Fairy Belief) recently stating categorically that 'What we can prove is that many Scots people, who lived mainly in the period from c. 1450 to c. 1750, had no doubt that fairies actually existed... They were a part of everyday life, as real to people as the sunrise, and as incontrovertible as the existence of God." Isobel's confessions, as we shall see, make it abundantly clear that fairy belief was chriving in seventeenth-century Auldearn.

In early modern Scotland the term 'fairy' seems to have covered a wide range of spirits and supernatural beings who were condemned, or whose existence was disputed, by the church. And among the most controversial of these were 'spirits of the dead'. Although the reformed church taught that the dead were not able re-appear to the living after death, people often claimed that they had seen deceased friends and relatives among the fairies or, less commonly, that a deceased friend or relative was a fairy. Both fairies and the spirits of the dead who consorted with them resembled saints in the sense that they were believed to possess supernatural powers and could be petitioned for a variety of benefits, but they differed from their holier counterparts in that they displayed more moral ambivalence and enjoyed a more ambiguous relationship with Christianity. This dissonance was further reflected in the fact that these categories of spirit did not live in heaven, but in fairyland or 'elphame', where they adopted a strange, simulacrum of human life: feasting under fairy hills, hunting with horses and packs of hounds, and following the fairy king and queen on their nocturnal processions through houses and across the night skies.”

—

The Visions of Isobel Gowdie:

Magic, Witchcraft and Dark Shamanism in Seventeenth-Century Scotland

‘Devotion to Spirits: Saints and Fairies’

by Emma Wilby

[dog-rose]

What to use when in Witchcraft -

Ok so I am gonna say this is my personal reference, its mainly through associations. You might TOTALLY disagree and thats chill!

Its more something to think about and a guideline of what I use myself…

Candle Magic:

Carve a candle when…. the candle represents the target, in sympathetic magic. When, essentially, the candle is a poppet and lighting it is a symbol of destruction or empowerment to the target.

Place something under the candle or before it when… you are doing general candle magic, when the candle represents empowering a wish, idea or concept.

Anoint the candle when… doing work with spirits and gods, when you mark the candle for a special purpose, when doing high magic.

Herbs and plant work:

Use dry herbs when… it is convienent to do so, when the herbs are out of season or when you need to store them in a jar or bottle for a long time.

Use fresh herbs when… the spell is very earth orientated, when doing magic on behalf of another or when the magic is sympathetic so that the herbs represent the target, within kitchen witchery.

Use flowers when… when the spell concerns love and sex, or perhaps fertility and attraction, due to flowers being the reproductive parts of the plant.

Use fruit when when… working with children as a target, or with children practising. When you work with fertility and abundance spells.

Use wood and twigs when… when the spell is for protection or binding, for hardiness.

Burn herbs (recaning/incense) when… you wish to cleanse or banish, or invoke an atmosphere - that being, for divination using herbs that are said to open up your perceptions, when banishing, burning acrid or pungent herbs.

Use oil infusions when… you wish to anoint something, when you wish to mark something permanently.

Use floral waters (rose water etc) when… dealing with spirits and gods, for glamour as it has a long history of being used to beautify.

Crystals:

Use metals (haematite, copper, ores etc..) when… you work in protection, when you do energy work due to the conductive properties of metal.

Use shell, pearl, coral and such when… you work in sea magic, when you work within emotional magic due to the element of water.

Use points when… you wish to direct magic to a target.

Use tumble stones when… you wish the magic to be gentle or manifest at a certain place on the body on a target.

Use geodes when… you work in protection, when you work with glamour aimed to obscure and hide.

Knot magic:

Use cotton when… it is convenient.

Use silk when… doing spells that benefit the target.

Use ribbons when… love spells and wealth spells, as well as confidence and beauty spells. Spells to ensure victory.

Use rope when… doing spells that aim to hurt or weaken the target, binding especially.

Poppets:

Use cloth when… the spell aims to benefit who the poppet represents, use particular care when sewing or cutting, choose colours that are appropriate to them.

Use wax when… you wish to manipulate the target.

Use clay when… wish to create fetches or servitors, when you wish to create permanency.

Use twigs when… you wish to bury or throw the poppet out, when you want the poppet to be easily destroyed by breaking or setting on fire.

Sigils:

Use an alphabet grid or circle when… you wish the sigil to be more random and less attached to you.

Combine the shapes of letters from a sentence… when your sigil is very specific and a short term goal.

Use your own personal symbols when… you want the magic to be connected to you, when it is personal.

[themori-witch]

Witchcraft 101: Uncrossing

“Uncrossing is the removal of a type of curse or ‘cross’ that has been laid upon an individual that makes a certain area of their lives difficult because of negative energy that is attached to them, causing them to see and experience only difficulties in that area. Uncrossing removes this negativity, allowing the person to move forward.” —Silvio Guerrinha.

Simply put: uncrossing is the act of undoing any baneful magic(s) that have been cast upon oneself. 

Before you attempt an uncrossing, you must first determine whether your run of bad luck or the spate of negative occurrences has a mundane or magical origin. You can do this in a number of ways, but the general consensus is to look for the sudden onset of issues such as: nightmares, sleeping trouble, loss of energy (physical, emotional, mental, spiritual), bad luck, financial and relationship trouble.  *Of course it is possible that all of these have routes in non-magical things, but these are said to be signs of a curse, hex, or jinx of some kind. 

If you work with entities or deities, you may ask them for clarification or confirmation on this issue. 

The term uncrossing is used widely, but a lot of the magics you see will have their origins in Hoodoo and Voodoo, so be cautious (Hoodoo is not a closed cultural practise, but a restrictive one. Voodoo/Vodou is not closed, but it is restrictive and requires a legitimate initiated teacher).

• TYPES OF UNCROSSING MAGICS

Uncrossing magics come in myraid forms—practically every form of magic can be utilised in an uncrossing. Common examples are:

Floor/house/body washes.

Anointing oils.

Powders.

Sachets.

Charms/Enchantments.

Talismans.

Examples of Uncrossing Magics

Mild & Spicy Curse Breaking Powders.

Curse Removing Wash.

Uncrossing Powder.

Lemon Uncrossing Spell [sachet].

• COMMON INGREDIENTS IN UNCROSSING MAGICS

You will notice that there are a few recurring ingredients in uncrossing magics. This is because of their notable strength and power in undoing baneful magic by repelling negativity, purification, cleansing, and protection.

Lemon.

Lime.

Orange.

Eucalyptus.

Chamomile.

Salt.

Mint.

Rosemary.

Sage.

Basil.

Patchouli.

Sandalwood.

Verbena.

Rue.

Garlic.

Vetiver.

Broken chain.

Ribbon.

String.

Black Tourmaline.

Clear Quartz.

Lemongrass.

St. John’s Wort.

Dragon’s Blood [resin]. 

Tip Your Witch: ✧ Buy Me A Coffee! ✧

[ivy-kissobryos]

“Crow is the messenger of the middle world. Crow belongs to Old Woman as the trickster witch-hag lost in the ancient woods. Crows are creatures of the daytime and scavengers eating the leftovers of hunters and warriors. Crows are not of death and darkness (though they follow it closely for scraps), but are tricksters, humour, curiosity, family, and fellowship. Crows are reflections and shadows of we humans. They are territorial guardians and watchers for the other creatures of the earth warning of dangers, predators, bad weather, outsiders, bad luck, and misfortunes. This is where their bad reputation comes from, but they’re just trying to help. Crow is the messenger of the creatures and spirits of the middle world; of the animals, plants, wights, and elemental forces all around us every day.”

— Sarah Anne Lawless

[hare-beneath-pine-deactivated20]

“Generally though, in Ireland, cursing’s power was derived from more than mystic phrases alone. Rituals and a certain style were required to launch maledictions, ‘to give them energy’ as the antiquary William Carleton put it.62 A ‘solemn curse’ was uttered with poise and determination, with a hair-raising seriousness seldom found in everyday life. This was how Catholic priests imprecated grievous sinners, from the altar, with an open Bible or chalice in hand, and candles flickering.63 Beggars shooed away from cottages empty-handed could curse just as ostentatiously. Some unleashed maledictions whilst brushing the dust from their feet, as Christ told his disciples to do when they were shunned.64 Irish cursers of various types fell to their knees, in conspicuously public places like the middle of a road or marketplace.65 With locals watching — including, preferably, their victims — these cursers beat the floor and looked to the skies, put their hands together and besought God to blight their opponents. Other cursers stood up high, on rocks above island shores for instance, as policemen and bailiffs sailed away. With outstretched arms and windswept hair, they roared maledictions using ‘magnificent words and gestures’ that were totally uncharacteristic of their usually reticent temperament.66 Flowing hair, incidentally, was important. In nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Ireland, women usually wore headscarves when outdoors, to keep warm and as nods to strong patriarchal conventions of modesty and respectability. But when they cursed, women literally let their hair down.67 It marked a new if temporary status, their unwillingness to be restrained by ordinary gender norms, and their intention to unleash hidden powers.”

— Thomas Waters, Irish Cursing and the Art of Magic, 1750-2018

[perse-phoneee-deactivated202007]

Bleeding Tongue Curse

A Curse to Silence Those Who Speak Falsehoods or Cruel Words

Ingredients:

 A Red Candle

A Red Cloth Poppet

Needle and Thread

A Taglock of the Intended Target (a picture, their hair, their name written three times in black ink on a slip of paper, etc.)

A Knife

Procedure:

Sit alone in a room and light your candle.

Using the knife, make a slit in the back of the poppet and insert the taglock. Sew up the slit. (It doesn’t have to be perfect.)

Look at the poppet and say, “Your name is [Target’s Full Name].”

Cut a slit where the poppet’s mouth would be. Pour the red wax into the slit. Say “Your tongue bleeds every time you speak.” three times.

Blow out the candle and turn on the lights.

Hide the poppet somewhere it won’t be found. Cut out the taglock and burn the poppet once you wish to end the curse.

Safety tip: be careful when working with fire! Never leave a burning candle unattended, and make sure you have water or a fire extinguisher on hand. Be mindful of the sharp knife and hot wax.

[ivy-kissobryos]

Walking Widdershins

Source: Hands of Apostasy

[lalunawonders-deactivated202108]

This was useful to me.

[noweyesee]

Shadow Work

Origins, Meaning and Utility

The Structure of the Mind

Carl Jung theorized the existence of three levels/spheres in the human psyche: the Ego, representing the conscious mind, the Personal Unconscious where memories are contained and the Collective Unconscious, where all knowledge and experiences of the species are shared.

Each Sphere has in it a certain number of Archetypes, used to better describe the components of those structures, and the Shadow is one of them.

What is the Shadow

The shadow can be seen as a instinctual or primitive part of ourselves, it exists as part of the unconscious mind and is composed of repressed ideas, weaknesses, desires, instincts, and shortcomings.

It is this archetype that contains all of the things that are unacceptable not only to society, but also to one's own personal morals and values, normally going against social norms and rules as well as what we personally consider right.

The Shadow is often described as the darker side of the psyche, representing wildness, chaos, and the unknown, and it is common for people to deny this element of their own psyche and instead project it on to others.

The Shadow in Witchcraft and Benefits of Shadow Work

Art: Unknown

The Shadow, in witchcraft, can represent The Unknown, hidden depth of ourselves. Speaking in terms of energy, this is an area that can be a deep source of energetic issues, because it’s locked up in the dark and always striving to reach the light.

To not work with one’s Shadow is to make it greedy and aggressive, as well as denying a big part of oneself, making everything a half of a whole.

Through that brief explanation, we can already establish the importance and role of the Shadow in witchcraft, and with that in mind, comes the concept of Shadow Work.

Shadow Work can be seen in a number of practices, meditation, trances, inner journey’s, lucid dreaming, astral travels, spells and divination.

The method can change, but the principle is simple: Centering your intent to self discovery, self knowledge and self acceptance.

Working with one’s Shadow is not only beneficial to one’s craft, as it allows one to get in touch with their intuition as well as allows for easier connection with one’s guide/guides, but it also allows for healing and acceptance of one’s feelings and needs.

Think of all aspects of life as a wheel. If there is one part bent, the wheel can turn, but with more effort. If the owner spends time fixing that bent part, the wheel will turn in a much more smooth manner.

That is what happens when you take the time to do Shadow Work, you have to put in effort, and most of the time it’s not easy, but once done, all other components on the wheel of your life will be relieved to move on without that obstacle that makes their job harder.

The Shadow is not evil, as evil is just a moral compass invented by humans. It is a part of one’s nature, and to deny it is to supress a connection with yourself.

Take the time to know and accept your shadow, and you’ll see that life will be a little easier.

References:

A Natureza da psique (Structure & Dynamics of the Psyche) by C.G. Jung

The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious by C.G. Jung

[will-o-the-witch]

Things to Consider in a Tarot Reading (Other Than Card Meanings)

It’s important to look at the meanings of tarot cards, but it’s very possible to pull even more out of a reading that individual card meanings. Here’s some other stuff you might consider bringing into your interpretation when it feels right:

🍄The position of the cards. This is why spread design can be so important! I’ve had instances where all the cards, in their positions, had the subjects looking or pointing towards one specific card. It was wild. What did it mean? Maybe nothing, but maybe something very significant, depending on the question!

🍄The visual element of the cards. Sometimes what’s depicted on the card can give more specific insight than the actual book meanings. The pictures were done that way for a reason, so don’t be afraid to give them their own weight! Also, sometimes the spread as a whole will have a flow of design (like when one half is much brighter than the other) or a specific card is WAY more colorful than the other cards on the table. Any of these could potentially carry meaning.

🍄Jumper cards. This is when a card pops out while you’re shuffling! I usually just put them back… UNLESS the question has already been presented, and I’m shuffling with that question in mind. Then, I keep them as extra advice, bonus cards.

🍄Reoccurring numbers. Maybe you do a four card spread for a friend, and you get the four of cups, four of swords, four of wands, and the Emperor! (IV.) What does that mean? What does the number four symbolize? Well, a lot of things, potentially, depending on what you study. Some tarot designs incorporate the Kabbalah’s numbered paths in the tree of life, others go with numerology. Maybe, the number four just means something special to you or the querent in particular.

🍄A bunch of cards in order. I’m not talking about when you forget to shuffle. I’m talking about when you give it a really good shuffle and you still get the ace, two, and three of Pentacles all in a row. This can be seen as a sign of progression, or that the events are all much more closely connected than anticipated. It can also mean it happens over a shorter period of time than normal. It’s up to you, your cards, and the contexts.

🍄Proportions of different features. Maybe you’re doing an obstacle spread, and your obstacle is something like the nine of swords. That’s pretty nasty, but if all the other cards in the spread are Major Arcana, then it’s probably not going to be that difficult to surmount. The reverse can also be true. Additionally, a high number of reversed cards in a spread typically signifies a lot of confusion, conflict, and turmoil.

🍄Reoccurring symbols. Beyond just the four suits, because that’s a given! But maybe your spread shows a lot of cards with images of fire, people dancing, or birds. Do these mean anything to you or the querent? What do they typically symbolize?

🍄Any hiccups or unusual events during the reading. Once I had a querent pick up a card to examine it, drop it, then pick it up and put it back reversed. Since it was the overall outcome card, I interpreted that as a heightened ability to change her own fate in this given situation, since she had turned the card from quite a bad omen to a good one. Sometimes little accidents like dropping cards, accidentally shifting them, or laying out the spread wrong are meant to be there and add to the meaning!

I hope this gives you some ideas! Feel free to add more. What do you interpret alongside the cards in a reading?

[will-o-the-witch]

Tips for Discernment

Discernment is a crucial skill for any magic worker. It’s how we separate the magic from the mundane, reality from our imagination, and reduce the risk of being deluded or manipulated. Everbody already naturally does this a little bit, but actively strengthening the skill can be difficult for a beginner. Here are some tips, tricks, and techniques that have helped me. 

Write everything down. When doing a spell or working with a spirit, keep a written record of what you feel, say, witness, etc. This will help give you something objective to look back on later, which is a huge help for doing any post-research. You never know what details may give you a lead.

Pick a rule for “signs” and stick with it. What do you believe about coincidences? When do you believe something is a message from the Universe or your gods? Create a litmus test/threshhold for what you consider a sign; it doesn’t really matter what it is, so long as it’s consistently applied. That way, you’re saving your energy for the more important stuff instead of worrying/wondering about the small fry. On that note…

The “Rule of Three” (NOT to be confused with the Wiccan Rede.) This is a common discernment method for the concept above. One time seeing something is an instance, two is a coincidence, and three is a message.

When you ask for signs, be specific. Ask for something unique/specific enough that you wouldn’t reasonably expect it to happen anyway, but not so rare that it has no chance of manifesting. Color + Object (ex: let me see a purple feather) is a good method. That way you know exactly what your sign will be. 

The Gut Test. Sometimes when I’m communicating a spirit and I feel like something’s off, I’ll take a moment in my head and think, “this isn’t real. I’m making this conversation up.” Listen to how your gut responds. Does it agree right away? Does saying that feel incorrect, like it’s truly legitimate? Was the conversation legitimate up to a certain point? Listen to your gut and act accordingly. 

The Mimic Test. When working with spirits and “hearing” a voice in your head, try to recreate it with your own inner mind voice. Can you get it to be the same voice? Same volume? If you can, then you’re probably safe writing it off as your imagination.

PRACTICE. Practice. Practice. Practice feeling the energy of your plants. Practice feeling your own energy. Describe it in detail. Practice feeling the energy of any ritual objects. Practice communicating with a spirit you trust, like a guide or Ancestors. Just like a muscle, discernment becomes stronger with repeated use and withers when ignored. Practice on little things to keep you sharp for the big stuff.

Don’t Beat Yourself Up. It’s understandably a little embarrassing to admit we were wrong about something. And that’s okay! Pobody’s Nerfect! Recognizing our discernment mistakes makes us stronger practitioners, because it means you’re critically thinking about what you’re doing and striving to improve. At worst, a practitioner who never admits a lapse in discernment is actually missing that chance for growth, and runs a very high risk of being taken down a flight of fancy and getting increasingly disconnected from the real world. So be kind to yourself! Growing is good. 

[theskepticalwitch]

Extremely important for every witch and witchling to know!

[thewitchoftheforest]

✨C𝕦𝕥𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 C𝕠𝕣𝕕 R𝕚𝕥𝕦𝕒𝕝✨ After I posting about it yesterday for the New Moon, I had quite a few requests to share my cutting the cord ritual, so I’ve made it into an info graphic.

It’s a powerful ritual that can be used as a form of energetic cleansing which helps to separate you from toxic people, experiences or situations from the past or present. It can help us to let go of things that no longer serve us so we can move on and heal.

Have you use this kind of ritual before?

Lindsay 💜 ———————————————————— #letgo #release #cuttingthecord #healing #magick #greenmagick #greenwitch #spells #protection #energy #nature #greenwitchcraft #bruja #esoteric #witch #witchcraft #protection #traditionalwitchcraft #wicca #pagan #plants #bruja #goodvibes #witchesofinstagram #witches #witchy #witchythings #witchytips #witchystuff #witchyvibes #vibes #witchythings https://www.instagram.com/p/CP-02EuD1IP/?utm_medium=tumblr

[earendel-rising]

Unbinding Spell (Knot-Magic)

Take a length of twine and make small simple knots around nine fingers, I avoided the ring finger because in my case it’s already bound. Alternatively for more oomph you could knot around each of your ankles, then your wrists, your big toes, your thumbs, and your head. Each time slip the knot off before tightening it completely around “nothing”. In the end you should have a length of twine with nine knots. (Do not lose this twine, it is a magical representation of you until you finish the spell and give it it’s purpose.) Take the twine with nine knots and recite this while one by one untying the knots: You have had me bound, Knotted up, but no longer Your fetters I have found My will has grown stronger I undo by nine,     and bind your spell to this twine I unfasten by eight,     I turn back your hate I unwind by seven,     this weight gone my spirits leaven I untwist by six,      I am on to your tricks I unbind by five,      your magic shall not thrive I unmake by four,      your craft harms me no more I unravel by three,      your curse turned back to thee I unknot by two,      your spell is through I untie by one,      your work is undone - Take the unknotted twine and burn it.

[serpentandstang-deactivated2021]

To Know the Invisible Sciences

‘If one wants to know about the sciences of the Invisibles - their wisdom - namely about the families of Wights and Lucifers, then one goes to a grave on a Thursday night between the hours of twelve and one o'clock.

One takes a little earth from the grave, cuts the left ring finger, so that three drops of blood fall down on the grave-earth and then throw the earth on you as the priest does when he casts the earth onto a coffin.

When one has done so, one has sold oneself into the power of the Invisibles. and then you can learn from them anything one desires to learn in this way.

It will become clear that Thursday night was the preferred time for graveyard wandering and graveyard earth was a crucial tool of the craft. Here, by making himself one with the Dead. the practitioner acquires the power to communicate with other families of spirits as well, and may gain knowledge from them. This ritual has no Christian component, the Wise One simply places himself under the power of the Invisibles.’

– from The Graveyard Wanderers: The Wise Ones and the Dead in Sweden     by Tom Johnson PhD.