reading favorite childhood books always leads to the following revelations:
♥ ohhh, is that why i think like this? ♥ these are so much darker than I remember ♥ I’m still the same weird little girl at heart
styofa doing anything
Alisa U Zemlji Chuda

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i don't do bad sauce passes
Claire Keane
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occasionally subtle
Three Goblin Art

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@daemonlady
reading favorite childhood books always leads to the following revelations:
♥ ohhh, is that why i think like this? ♥ these are so much darker than I remember ♥ I’m still the same weird little girl at heart
When I get obsessed enough with any other piece of media it’s only a matter of time before my brain starts going “what would their dæmons be?” But I can never just be cute with it like somehow adding dæmons to the mix always makes the story more fucked up (affectionate). I am sickos in the window for dæmon AUs.
'The Subtle Knife' by Rovina Cai.
Cover art for the US paperback edition of the novel, 'The Subtle Knife', book 2 in the 'His Dark Materials' trilogy written by Philip Pullman, published by Penguin Random House.
Reasons you should read His Dark Materials.
-It's a good mix between low and high fantasy. Yes, there are magical aspects but a lot of the "magic" is actually just science. The real magic is done by witches and they are the only ones who truly use magic.
-Every single character is morally grey there is not a single person shown to be pure and good and that's amazing. All the human characters are truly human and I love it.
-The non-human characters (In particular Serafina Pekkala and Iorek Byrnson) have an honest fear of being human as that would cause them to lose what makes them themselves. They have a fear but also a respect (but not excitement) of the change coming. Neither want to pick a side but when they do it is based on their connections to humans.
-The entire story is about love of all kinds. Yes, romantic love, but also familial love (both actual family and found family, there's a very nice plotline with Lee Scorseby literally seeing Lyra as the daughter he never had) as well as platonic love.
-It embraces the concept of multiple worlds so well
-Matter that loves matter is the best concept ever! I love Dust it's such an interesting concept, and the fact there are beings that are made of it with thoughts and feelings (I mean Balthamos has one of the most heartbreaking scenes to me and he's always been an angel)
-Just because something isn't human doesn't mean they aren't people, and it's shown twice both with the armoured bears and the Zalif.
-Everyone can get behind having an animal that is a literal part of your soul that comforts you and helps you and you both love each other unconditionally
Cedar Waxwing Bombycilla cedrorum
12/12/2025 Orange County, California
Yellowjackets daemon AU
Yellowjakets is my most recent obsession and daemons are some of my oldest ones so I thought, why not combine them? Anyway, I thought it would be interesting to think about what each character's daemon and their relationship with them would be.
But before any of that, what is a daemon?
Daemons are a concept introduced by Philip Pullman in his stellar fantasy book series His Dark Materials, first published in 1995 with the release of Northern Lights (published as The Golden Compass in North America). The books follow the story of Lyra, a young girl raised in Oxford by scholars and her mysterious and distant uncle, and Pantalaimon, her daemon: a life-companion, almost the personification of her soul, its vehicle, represented in the form of a talking animal. It's hard to define what daemons are if you haven't read the books, so for the purpose of this post, I'll proceed to quote the books themselves to give the reader a better image of what they are:
“So many worlds, parallel to each other. Worlds like yours, where people’s souls live inside their bodies; and worlds like mine, where they walk beside us as animal spirits we call ‘daemons’."
“A human being with no daemon was like someone without a face, or with their ribs laid open and their heart torn out; something unnatural and uncanny that belonged to the world of nightghasts, not the waking world of sense.”
"Daemons could move no more than a few yards from their humans. It was such a strange tormenting feeling when your daemon was pulling at the link between you; part physical pain deep in the chest, part intense sadness and love."
“‘Where’s his fish?’ They stopped, puzzled, unsure what she meant; though some of their daemons knew, and looked at one another. One of the men began to grin uncertainly. ‘Don’t you dare laugh! I’ll tear your lungs out if you laugh at him! That’s all he had to cling onto, just an old dried fish, that’s all he had for a dæmon to love and be kind to! Who’s took it from him? Where’s it gone?’ Pantalaimon was a snarling snow leopard, just like Lord Asriel’s daemon, but she didn’t see that; all she saw was right and wrong.”
When a child is young, their daemon's form is undefined, changing from the shape of one animal to the next for convenience, fun, or for any other reason. One moment Pantalaimon took the shape of a moth, the next he was an arctic fox, then he was a fish or a bird or an ermine. But as a child grows, their daemon settles as one particular form that they shall have forever.
"But suppose your daemon settles in a shape you don't like? Well, then, you're discontented, en't you? There's plenty of folk as'd like to have a lion as a daemon and they end up with a poodle. And till they learn to be satisfied with what they are, they're going to be fretful about it. Waste of feeling, that is"
"'You can't get away from your daemon,' said Mrs. Coulter. 'You might try to escape him, but you never can. You see, your daemon is yourself. All the parts you don’t like, all the parts you wish you could be rid of, that’s your daemon, too. It’s the part of you that’s locked away, the one you can’t escape. You could try to run away from it, but you’d never make it. You’d always come back. You could never get away from yourself.'
There are a series of facts about daemons that are worth having in mind - a daemon is almost (almost) always the opposite gender of its human. Their names usually come from greek or latin. When a human dies, its daemon vanishes, leaving no body behind. It's apparent that a daemon and its human share physical sensations such as pain. And one of the greatest taboos there is in Lyra's world is touching another person's daemon.
“It was as if an alien hand had reached right inside where no hand had a right to be, and wrenched at something deep and precious.”
“She longed to touch that fur, to rub her cheeks against it, but of course she never did; for it was the grossest breach of etiquette imaginable to touch another person’s daemon. Daemons might touch each other, of course, or fight; but the prohibition against human‑daemon contact went so deep that even in battle no warrior would touch an enemy’s daemon. It was utterly forbidden. Lyra couldn’t remember having to be told that: she just knew it, as instinctively as she felt that nausea was bad and comfort good.”
“Touching someone else's daemon was deeply offensive, even between lovers. It was something that could only be done in the greatest of intimacy and trust. And even then, it was almost too much.”
The relationship between human and daemon is deeply complicated, as it's the relationship between two halves of a person. Lyra and Pantalaimon are not two different people. Lyra-Pantalaimon is a single person. The relationship a person has with their daemon is representative of the relationship they have with themselves.
It is for all of these reasons that I feel inspired to imagine what the story of the Yellowjackets would look like if we think of its characters as having visible daemons. I truly love His Dark Materials and I love Yellowjackets too, so consider this a work of love and passion for both stories.
I will go ahead and list the main character and who I think their daemons would be. I'm not above going along with common fanon associations (i.e Lottie as a deer, Natalie as a raccoon, etc), not because I want to disregard more realistic cultural associations, but because I want to honor the in-universe mythology of Yellowjackets and the associations the story itself draws between characters and animals. Later, I will discuss how I think the presence of daemons would relate to the story, the relationships between characters and the story's symbolism.
That said, if anyone disagrees with my interpretations, I would love to hear your thoughts!
Shauna and Alcibiades
Latinized form of the Greek name Ἀλκιβιάδης (Alkibiades), derived from ἀλκή (alke) meaning "strength, prowess" and βία (bia) meaning "force" with the patronymic suffix ἴδης (ides). This was the name of a notable Greek statesman and general during the Peloponnesian War. He changed allegiance from Athens to Sparta and back again during the course of the war. He features in Shakespeare's tragedy Timon of Athens (1607). (source: Behind the Name)
I thought a wolverine would be fitting for Shauna: mustelids are commonly characterized by their resilience in daemonism circles, and wolverines specifically are known for their ruthlessness. Fierce and cruel, Alcibiades rules alongside Shauna with an iron fist. He settled shortly after she gave birth in the wilderness. Shauna went to sleep with a small stoat cuddled up to her cheek and woke up with a large, soft, warm wolverine surrounding her. During their time in the wilderness, Shauna and Alcibiades encouraged each other's worst impulses. He was quiet and never spoke to anyone but her, but had no qualms about brutalizing other people's daemons with his huge fangs and claws. He made her feel so safe out there, but they grew distant in adulthood. He spoke less and less, and only showed kindness to Callie's little cat daemon, but he had none left for Shauna herself, whom he mostly ignored; in turn, Shauna ignores him back. Jeff always assumed Shauna's estranged relationship with her daemon had to do with their PTSD, and never dared to comment on it.
Jackie and Myron
Derived from Greek μύρον (myron) meaning "sweet oil, perfume". Myron was the name of a 5th-century BC Greek sculptor. Saints bearing this name include a 3rd-century bishop of Crete and a 4th-century martyr from Cyzicus who was killed by a mob. These saints are more widely revered in the Eastern Church, and the name has generally been more common among Eastern Christians. As an English name, it has been used since the 19th century. (Source: Behind the Name)
Forever unsettled, Jackie and Myron had the kind of relationship you would expect from any teenage girl and her daemon: warm, loving, fun and kind. Jackie and Myron loved each other deeply, and were each other's greatest confidants. They would stay up until late talking about anything and everything. Myron was exceptionally social and would strike up conversations not only with other people's daemons, but with their humans as well. His preferred form in public was rabbits, even though Jackie never really cared much for rabbits, but people found his form so beautiful that they simply couldn't help themselves. He loved cuddling with Alcibiades, though Alcibiades always had a cooler personality and seldom went looking for Myron himself. Jackie never paid that much mind.
Jackie always hoped Myron would settle as anything but a rabbit. Part of her feared that a lot, actually. She wanted him to be something beautiful and sweet, but also strong and determined. When it was just the two of them, he would shift all the time, from a bird to a lizard to a dog. In the end, he never settled as anything: he curled up to her chest in the form of a cat to give her warmth in her last moments and he vanished slowly, alongside his dearest Jackie.
Misty and Caligula
Means "little boot" in Latin. This was a nickname for the 1st-century Roman emperor Gaius Caesar Germanicus given to him in his youth by his father's soldiers. (Source: Behind the Name)
I mean it when I say I'm not above sticking to canon here - mainly because I think an african gray parrot fits Misty quite well. They're exceedingly intelligent and good at mimicking people. Misty isn't exactly the best at "acting normal" as a teenager, but disguising her most unhinged ways becomes an intrinsic part of her adult self later on. African gray parrots also form intense bonds with people, something Misty does as well, even if these bonds can be somewhat one-sided. I believe Caligula was the last of the Yellowjackets daemons to settle; it definitely happened post-rescue, maybe even years after.
Misty and Caligula were each other's only company for a very long time. They were weird and lonely, and people often found both of them off-putting. It's known that Misty relishes accidentally touching other people's daemons, and Caligula has tried to nip at people's ears a couple of times. They stopped that after the third or fourth time it got them yelled at. They weren't always kind to each other - Misty has hit Caligula in her worst moments, like after Crystral's death, and Caligula has bit Misty more than once, but these acts of aggression are always followed by immense guilt and a cascade of apologies and cuddles accompanied by lots of tears, because as angry as they can get with each other, they love each other very much.
Taissa and Cecil
From the Roman name Caecilius. Though it was in use during the Middle Ages in England, it did not become common until the 19th century when it was given in honour of the noble Cecil family, who had been prominent since the 16th century. Their surname was derived from the Welsh given name Seisyll, which was derived from the Roman name Sextilius, a derivative of Sextus. (Source: Behind the Name)
Settled as a common nighthawk during their time in the wilderness, Cecil has a quiet, taciturn personality. He had never been very communicative with Taissa, but in the wilderness, he becomes almost mute. It scares Taissa a lot, because everyone else seems to have a mostly normal relationship with their daemons, even fucking Shauna, but her daemon doesn't even feel like a part of her. He freaks her out, a sentiment she only voices to Van. During her sleepwalking episodes, she sometimes dreams she is Cecil, and Cecil is her, as if they'd switched places and he were taking over her body. She doesn't want to believe her daemon is cursed, but as time goes on, it begins to feel more and more like that's the case.
As adults, Cecil seems to largely return to normalcy, never quite becoming the social butterfly, but at least talking to Taissa and her family. They never talk about their time in the wilderness, however, and Taissa is scared of asking him about their sleepwalking tendencies.
Natalie and Millicent
From the Gothic name *Amalaswinþa, composed of the elements amals "unceasing, vigorous, brave" and swinþs "strong". Amalaswintha was a 6th-century queen of the Ostrogoths. The Normans introduced this name to England in the form Melisent or Melisende. Melisende was a 12th-century queen of Jerusalem, the daughter of Baldwin II. (Source: Behind the Name)
As if it weren't enough, Natalie had the luck of being born with a female daemon. Millicent, named by her italian grandmother's daemon who was looking for something more english-sounding, settled younger than anyone else on the team, at the ripe age of fifteen. I agree with the fanon association here: Millicent is a racoon through and through. She's an expert forager, too: while Natalie hunts for game, Millicent hunts for berries, roots, mushrooms and even footprints close to the ground. A trashy form for a trashy person, people often snickered, but Natalie and Millicent never gave much of a fuck. They were each other's only comfort for so, so long, that nothing could make them feel bad about the other. Late nights cuddling and crying as a kid marked them. In the wilderness, their early settling made them seem mature, though their form also made them seem untrustworthy. Proving themselves was hard, especially when everything they did for the group seemed to be dismissed, but they never stopped trying to do the right thing.
Millicent is a very kind daemon, and she's a bit more open to other people than Natalie - something Natalie is slightly embarrassed of, but she never really stops her from socializing with other daemons. She's particularly sweet to Javi's small unsettled daemon, who often takes the form of a raccoon out of admiration.
As adults, Millicent is as self-destructive as Natalie, having given up on stopping her from relapsing over and over again. Their relationship deteriorates with time, but in their worst moments, they still hold each other and cry together.
Lottie and Theophanes
Means "manifestation of God" from Greek θεός (theos) meaning "god" and φανής (phanes) meaning "appearing". This name was borne by a few saints, including an 8th-century chronicler from Constantinople and a 19th-century Russian Orthodox saint, Theophanes the Recluse, who is Феофан (Feofan) in Russian. Another famous bearer was a 14th-century Byzantine icon painter active in Moscow. (Source: Behind the Name)
When medicated, Lottie and Theophanes have a wonderful relationship: he is chatty, outspoken, funny and sociable, often running around as a cat or dog with the other team daemons. In the wilderness, however, his personality becomes a back and forth between radio silence and mania, often running away and forcing Lottie to chase him around the forest. A daemon being physically far from its human is very painful. He likes to take the form of a bird and whisper in Lottie's ear, and then fly away. With time and practice, they become able to be apart for longer periods of time, and he's able to fly further and further away. It's freakish to see Lottie without her daemon for days, but the Yellowjackets eventually grow used to it. Eventually, Theophanes seems to settle as a beautiful white-tailed deer, and he stays that way for many years, but in adulthood, when the delusions come back, he begins to change again. Maybe he never settled at all.
Van and Merope
From Greek μέρος (meros) meaning "share, part" and ὄψ (ops) meaning "face, eye". This was the name of several characters in Greek mythology, including the seventh of the Pleiades and the foster mother of Oedipus. (Source: Behind the Name)
Another case of a female human with a female daemon. Van and Merope have a pretty good relationship, much like with Natalie and Millicent, providing comfort for each other, considering their less-than-perfect situation at home. She and Cecil are very sweet together, and you can often see them cuddling or playing together when they think no one is paying attention. For the longest part, the only way Van and Taissa could share any affection for each other was via their daemons rubbing noses or cheeks together. Now, Van and Merope are a rare case of human and daemon being perfectly aligned with each other: they have no regrets and no shame about what they need to do to survive; they're just happy to be alive. They probably have the healthiest relationship out of all the girls and their daemons.
Merope settles as a wildcat at some point shortly after the first hunt. Something scrappy that refuses to give up even after their diagnosis. If they have months left together, well, they better make them count.
Out in the Wilderness
As the girls violate the taboo of cannibalism, they cross other lines as well. It begins with their closeness when they sleep together. There isn't much space, so occasionally brushing against each other's daemons by accident becomes a common occurrence. Uncomfortable as it is, they quickly accept that they have more pressing problems. Then, one day, one of them is having a panic attack and Lottie calms her down by gently stroking the fur of her daemon. It works, for a moment, then everyone freaks out because Lottie, what the fuck. Soon, they're willingly bringing their daemons to Lottie for her to bless and heal. Taissa hates the idea when Van brings it up, but eventually, she places Cecil in Lottie's waiting hands and feels her entire body shudder as she whispers soft, comforting words to the other girl's daemon. The worst part is that it works. It makes the sleepwalking go away.
Misty is the one most enthusiastic about the whole ordeal. She loves feeling Lottie's hands on Caligula's feathers. Yes, everyone knows it's weird, but if it's comforting for Misty, Lottie will do it. Now, Natalie thinks everyone has gone clinically insane. No one is touching Millicent, no thank you. She fights with Lottie a lot about it, actually, because she can't go around touching other people's daemons. However, she doesn't say a word when Shauna's Alcibiabes digs his fangs deep into Lottie's Theophanes and shakes him around by the neck in front of everyone else, in the middle of the cabin, while they all watch in silent horror. No, because then Misty has to treat the poor moribund daemon with her own hands, wrapping bandages around its bloody deer flesh while Lottie whrites and whines besides them. The taboo goes out the window then - Van and Taissa wordlessly stroke each other's daemons during stressful nights, Caligula nips at Natalie's fingers when Misty is feeling lonely, and Natalie and Travis allow Lottie to bless their daemons for the hunt, pressing her bloody thumb on the fur between their eyes. Later on, Shauna will feel comfortable burying her hand in Melissa's golden retriever's fur, and she may even allow Taissa to help her brush Alcibiades' coarse fur. Travis' red wolf will push her nose into Natalie's hand, Theophanes will lick at the girls' wounds, and Alcibiades will sink his teeth into Mari's ankles as if he were a dog. To Ben, it's as barbaric as cannibalism. He fears they will come for his dog daemon next. He wakes up from nightmares in which Misty rakes her muddy fingers down her fur. It's one of the many reasons why he leaves.
A cannibal cult in the forest where people touch each other's daemons indiscriminately. A disgusting showcase of madness and degeneracy. Adapting to society again after all of that will not be easy.
Anyway, those are my thoughts for now. If you're interested to know what YOUR daemon would be, there's this cool little game that was circling around back when the HDM TV show came out, and this quiz which is generally regarded to be the best one to find your daemon. And if you're interested in reading the books, DM me, I might have a link or two ;)
my favorite genre of bearded vulture images is middle aged people cradling them like babies
Dæmon 👻🐈⬛
“If souls had animal forms, they would be representations of personalities.”
His Dark Materials Based on the first book of the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman
Fanmade trailer was directed by Louis Holmes, Agathe Leroux and Léa Rey Mauzaize Original Score: Jean-Loup Didelot Violinists: Dario Herraiz-Sabater, Eugenia Saval-Llorca Sound Design: Théophile Loaec Storyboard: Léa Rey-Mauzaize, Louis Holmes, Gabo Camarillo Gil Art Direction: Agathe Leroux Vis Dev: Agathe Leroux, Louis Holmes, Léa Rey-Mauzaize, Juliette Brocal Animation Leads: Louis Holmes, Léa Rey-Mauzaize Animation: Victoria Gregiry De Millo, Maxime Jouniot, Jade Khoo, Sandy Lachkar, Agathe Leroux Additional animation: Grégoire De Bernouis, Stella Besse
Just taking a nap after eating all the strawberry jam
(via)
the THING about Lord Asriel (from His Dark Materials/Golden Compass) is he's a main character. He's the chosen one/leading the armies of every single world/video game protagonist/man who's going to save everybody.
BUT he's also a kid abandoner. He ditched his daughter. Both of these things are true.
And he's surrounded by the Good guys. Good people. Rebels, witches, other fathers.
So it's SO funny when people come rushing to him and are like um hey?? There's a magical girl out there and everyone is trying to kill her should we do something??
And all of the other good guys are like whoa of course right, that's what we do, Lord Asriel has risked his life for me, a STRANGER, he would do anything for the people around him- surely he'll save this girl and they get to watch him go urrrrrrk.
He's ANNOYED. He rolls his eyes.
And they're like ??????? Who is this girl????
And he's like it's whatever it's my daughter.
And they're like your WHAT!?
It's so funny that he thinks it's not even a faux pas. He thinks these people (people he collected because they ARE GOOD they are Caring, Loving people) would not be disturbed at all by that. He doesn't even see it as a character flaw he's just like yeah the church has a nuke to murder my kid- I don't give a shit- now back to saving children because I am a good and noble man who must save all children- it's CRAZY. There is a schism in his mind, in his character it's so compelling.
It's like you're watching transformers and Optimus Prime out of nowhere says yeah guess I got a kid and I abandoned them- and the mother is Megatron and megatron is actually a Better parent then me. Anyways I won't answer anymore questions about it, let's go team-
Live theater in the His Dark Materials universe must be wild. Surely an actor's daemon also has lines to recite, so their daemon's form probably also factors into casting decisions. Maybe some plays have vague character descriptions for daemons, but I bet other plays have really specific or central daemon characters. And sure, big-budget theaters can afford to hire a separate actor with a particular daemon to stand backstage while their daemon plays its part onstage, but community theaters don't have those kinds of resources.
Like if you're casting for Julius Caesar, surely the real historical Caesar had a pretty iconic daemon, right? Are you going to cast an actor with a pigeon daemon as Caesar and just have everyone suspend their disbelief that it's Caesar's lioness, ἁμαρτία?
#overthinking how casting works in real life#internal pieces of an essay about directors' choices and interpretation and whatnot#But imagine casting your actors and daemons as a set--what it says about the characters they're playing#It says something if you cast Julius Caesar with a pigeon daemon#Imagine what it would do to the Eulogy speech! How could Caesar have been ambitious! His daemon was a common pigeon!#(or do you argue that historians were embarrassed by the betrayal and “lionized” his daemon after the fact to make him seem more regal?)#It would make typecasting and casting against type absolutely fascinating when you thrown in daemons.
absolutely fire tags from @afamiliarroomba
#i bet in some cases of really iconic daemons they keep the actor's daemon offstage #and use puppets or something #also opens up a world of new possibilities for child actors (via @pigeonhawk)
#I had to preserve these. the bit about child actors made me go ''oh fuuuuck'' out loud #there must be some majorly significant coming-of-age plays that have to do with daemons settling #and like. at least one instance of a daemon /actually/ settling during a performance #the reviews! the doctoral dissertations! #also love the idea of daemons-as-puppetry #something something the facsimile of theater while daemons skitter along under the stage like matched magnets #distinct schools of theatrical production and history based on live-action or puppetry daemons and mixed-form shows trying to make a point (@impossibletruths)
different theater traditions would solve it differently, too. the greeks once wore rigid theater masks--they might once have also held up their role's daemon as a metal silhouette on a stick, a form as rigidly symbolic as their unchanging mask... and as easy to recognize from the back of the amphitheater.
consider also kabuki, with the stagehands in black, and the bright contrast of the actor's makeup and posturing. the daemon's role could be superimposed with patterned fabric overlays as well as ritualized posturing. a monkey daemon could pose and roar like a general's tiger, while a stag daemon could frisk around and like a servant's loyal dog. and if anything orange and striped was a tiger, and anything white with brown ears was a dog, audiences would be perfectly fine with this for the duration of the show.
theater doesn't have to be realistic, it has to be convincing. an actor's soul would be up to the challenge, whatever shape it was.
The four species of lynx; from top-left, clockwise: Eurasian lynx (L. lynx), Iberian lynx (L. pardinus), bobcat (L. rufus), Canada lynx (L. canadensis).
Unseen Companions: An Exploration Into Tulpas
In occultism we often encounter phenomena that blur the boundaries between the physical and the metaphysical. One such fascinating concept is the Tulpa, a thought-form that can become and independent person, albeit without a physical body.
History
The concept of Tulpas can be traced back to ancient Tibetan Buddhism. The term 'Tulpa' is derived from the Tibetan word 'sprul-pa', meaning emanation or manifestation. According to Tibetan traditions, Tulpas are consciously created entities, formed through spiritual discipline and intense concentration. The mystics and monks practiced this technique for spiritual enlightenment and to manifest aspects of the Divine.
In the early 20th century, theosophist Alexandra David-Neel brought the idea of Tulpas to the West through her exploration of Tibetan mysticism. She reported creating a Tulpa herself in the form of a jolly monk, which later took on a life of its own and had to be dissolved. Her tales sparked a Western fascination with Tulpas that exists to this day.
The Art of Tulpa Creation
Creating a Tulpa requires an extraordinary amount of focus, discipline, and psychic energy. It involves concentrating intensely on a detailed image of the entity one wishes to create until it becomes self aware and autonomous. The process can be similar to visualizing a character in a novel, but with a degree of concentration that makes them independent of the creator's direct control.
The intention is to form a sentient being with its oen consciousness, emotions, and memories. This entity exists in the creator's mind but can interact with their creator and possibly others, depending on the adeptness of the practitioner. For most people it takes monk-like levels of mental effort to generate a self-sustaining Tulpa.
The Nature of Tulpas
In the Western tradition, Tulpas are similar to spirits known as servitors, and even familiars that can be acquired through demons. The difference however is that Tulpas aren't necessarily completely subservient to their creator as they have greater autonomy. This is why creating one is a delicate process that requires careful consideration.
Tulpas, being sentient entities, can exhibit a wide range of behaviors. They can offer companionship, advice, or assistance in self-improvement, much like an unseen friend or adviser. They often possess their own distinct voices, personalities, and perspective.
Tge key factor is the creator's intention: if the creation process is approached with positive intentions and mindfulness, the resulting Tulpa will likely reflect those qualities. If the intentions are negatively oriented, the Tulpa could prove a dangerous companion to deal with.
Tyler Durden from the movie Fight Club comes to mind here. Tyler is essentially a Tulpa, a creation of the movie's protagonist, albeit an unconscious creation. Tyler Durden has a mind of his own, but he doesn't have a physical body. However, his influence creates chaos and mayhem and is the brilliantly creative driving force of the movie.
Having said that, the movie does not limit Tyler's existence to that of a purely mental construct confined within the mind of the protagonist. He lacks the 'paranormal' autonomous aspect a real Tulpa can exhibit, that has beeb evidenced by paranormal researchers, practitioners, and monks who've delved deep into this practice.
Tulpas can also be created and used for sinister purposes and by those engaging in dark or baneful magick, such as seeking revenge against a particular person. The risks to this are the Tulpa staying active longer than initially intended or even having the target shift to its own creator.
It's important to remember that Tulpas, once formed, can evolve and change just like any sentient being, bringing a layer of complexity akin to that of a human.
Modern Tulpamancy
In more recent years, a sort of subculture of 'Tulpamancers' has developed within the occult community, consisting of individuals who create and interact with Tulpas. Tulpamancy, in its modern form, often blends traditional Tibetan concepts with contemporary psychological theories. Some even approach Tulpas from a purely psychological perspective, viewing them as manifestations of the subconscious rather than metaphysical entities.
There are various ideas akin to Tulpa creation present within chaos magick. Chaos magicians are very keen on creating new spiritual entities through the use of their own mind, rather than relying on authoritative texts to summon those that already exist.
How to Create a Tulpa
Harnessing the magickal power to create a Tulpa requires a steadfast commitment and a deep understanding of oneself. It involves fine-tuning your mind, cultivating your spiritual energy and journeying within to interact with the unseen aspects of reality.
Attempting to create a Tulpa would be an enriching experience for any aspiring practitioner. The steps for creating your own Tulpa to act as a friend, advisor, guide, ally, lover, or even perhaps, partner in crime, are as follows:
• Prepare your mind- Before embarking on this journey you must prepare yourself mentally and spiritually. This involves regular meditation to calm the mind and enhance concentration. Explore your intentions behind creating this Tulpa. Cultivate an environment that supports concentration and introspection such as a quiet room or a spot in nature. The presence of specific crystals, incense, or spiritual talismans can enhance this process.
• Visualize your Tulpa- The next step is to visualize your Tulpa. What do they look like, how do they sound, move, or react? Begin by visualizing their appearance, slowly adding more layers of complexity over time. This process should not be rushed, it's important to create a consistent, stable image.
• Forge a personality- Once you have a clear image, you can start developing your Tulpa's personality. Consider their traits, likes, dislikes, and quirks. Much like an author breathing life into a character, imbue your Tulpa with depth and dimensionality. This step strengthens the bond between you and your Tulpa and provides a basis for future interaction.
• Interact with your Creation- After the previous steps are well established, you can begin interacting with your Tulpa. Start with simple conversations, slowly progressing towards more complex dialogues. Be patient and persistent. Over time your Tulpa should begin to respond with more independence.
• Foster your Tulpa's Independence- The final step is acknowledging and fostering your Tulpa's sentience and independence. This step is often reached when your Tulpa can surprise you with their responses of actions, indicating they're no longer simply a reflection of your conscious thoughts. Treat your Tulpa with respect, acknowledge their autonomy, and allow them the freedom to grow and evolve.