Always Stay Informed

Mostly a blog to compile beginner witchcraft/magic, healing/herbalism, and demonolatry posts.

[letheofthevoid]

Willing Submission Amongst The Willful- Why It Is The Ultimate Sacrifice And Deities Desire It

So, I am here today to argue that deities desire willing submission amongst the unwilling because it is tethered on a conscious, continuous sacrifice of the “self”. Unlike other sacrifices, to submit means that you are doing something long-term that isn’t only uncomfortable, but maybe even against your nature, and in doing so you are giving your loyalty and trust to someone you cannot comprehend.

Now if we go into the idea of certain offerings requiring sacrifice in order for them to be contextualized as offerings, you would agree with me that a continued sacrifice on the basis of faith alone, and which requires the breakdown of your paradigm in lieu of following something intangible, is one of the biggest sacrifices one can make. Not only because you are presenting the deity with something, but because it comes at a great personal cost.

In order for the submission to be willing, deities don’t necessarily care, from a moral standpoint, if the submission is consensual. (Because yeah, you can totally be willing to do something, but you might not necessarily consent to it in the fact that you are being placed between a rock and a hard place in order to make a choice. Coercion does not negate willingness, but it does negate consent). Does this matter to the deity? Not really. What they desire is willing, it doesn’t matter if it follows our own constructs on the basis of right and wrong.

“Well then why can’t deities just force us while we unwillingly worship?”

The answer is because the exertion of overt force in order to subdue your own will would negate your eager (if maybe coerced) agreement to work with the deity.

Anyways- back to the point- I don’t think the majority of people view worship and submission themselves as offerings (when they should) because they appear passive. However, they’re some of the most active forms of offering in, again, the continuous choice you have to make.

Does this mean you have power in your worship or that submission makes you an equal partner in the relationship?

Not really, no. Ultimately, while deities may desire our willing submission due to a variety of things (both from a logistics as well as an energetic standpoint), the fact is, we are still, in power, unequal to the gods. Moreover, while submitting willingly is something desired by deities, it is not something vital or required for their continued survival.

It is in this fact that we are left with the uncomfortable realization that whether we submit or not, whether we willingly give something or not, whether we worship or not- deities still have the upper hand. And if you choose to work with them, unfortunately (no matter what you desire or hope for) you are not going into the relationship as an equal. They might pretend, they might allow you to speak to them as if you wield influence in the relationship but ultimately, they are far greater and far more powerful than can be fathomed, and to believe yourself in equal standing doesn’t isn’t only wrong- it can lead to dangerous consequences.

[tinysaurus-rex-deactivated20240]

Pigeons are for:

to hold

kissing

admiring

[thegildedraven]

ward checkup checklist

if you have an astral or physical space that is warded, you’ll probably have many layers of wards or at least a few strong wards, but regardless of the number of wards you have it’s always prudent to do regular checkups. 

do note that each of your wards will have a different composition and function so these checkups probably won’t apply to every ward, so based on the type of ward you will have to learn to adjust your checkup accordingly. 

leaks and weak spots. this is quite universal for a lot of wards out there, especially for large wards or wards that involve more complicated shapes or that cover spaces that are filled with corners and objects. certain parts of the ward may be less concentrated than others or may receive less attention when being made, which makes them tend to become more vulnerable faster. make sure that the energy distribution is consistent when making or repairing wards.

stiffness or rigidity. sometimes wards can harden or become rigid in certain areas, which makes them more vulnerable to impact from attacks as they are more likely to break or shatter. there is a difference between rigid wards and sturdy wards, wards don’t necessarily have to be completely unmovable and inflexible to be sturdy and durable. keep energy flowing through wards until it breaks down the rigidity and keeps the wards more malleable.

decrease in concentration. sometimes wards can lose their energy when not in use, especially wards that are made to only activate when provoked. these can lose essentially the body and what powers the ward and make the ward less effective when in use. check up on these wards frequently and make sure that they are still functioning optimally.

clumps and clogs. the energy in wards can gather and clump up or cause a clog sometimes, especially in wards that involve moving energy. this can pose a problem as clumping often leads to well, blockages and decreased flow which can just slow the flow of the ward and stop it from doing what it was meant to do, you know? find clumps or clogs and work energy through it until it spreads out and the energy is flowing like it’s supposed to.

energy reactivity and selectivity. for wards that are meant to filter stuff (e.g. anti-glamour ward) or wards that only react when a certain set of conditions are met (e.g. offence ward that sucks intruders’ energy), they can get less reactive or less selective over time without use. check these wards frequently and test them to ensure that they still work optimally.

energy contamination. for wards that are used a lot and involves a lot of passing through, or wards that are for cleansing or absorption, these can get contaminated very easily. cleanse these regularly or reset them to ensure maximum function.

[todaysbird]

Could you post the fattest pigeons? :D

x

[dark-apheresis-deactivated20200]

Classification of Demons

I will go ahead and put up a disclaimer that I am by no means a seasoned demonologist. I essentially have an associates degree in demonology because its credits overlap with my major in Diabolic Sorcery, if we’re using extended metaphor. Unlike some hardcore demonologists, I’m not super dedicated to advancing the field, but I am willing to talk briefly about what I have learned in my studies and through my own experiences.

First of all, I should note that a lot of classifications are entirely human-constructed labels, and as such are either imperfect or often not identities that demons will whole-heartedly identify with. An example of this would be the label of “succubus,” which could apply to demonesses that have sexual aspects among their other dominions. They’re not your personal sex slaves, they’re powerful demons.

Second of all, some classes aren’t as cut-and-dry as one would think. For the majority of demonology, there has been no agreed upon distinction between demons and devils. Demons come from the Greek daemon which essentially was used to denote wise spirits. Devil means accuser or slanderer. For this reason, I use the word “devil” as a sub-type of demon that specializes in some sort of adversarial aspect. Qliphothic demons, to me, would be devils. Goetic demons would ordinarily not be devils in regular practice, although when working with them as the infernal equivalent to the 72-fold name they would be. The nine infernal divines from OFS demonolatry would be demons, not devils, by my account. This is my personal preference. Some people will say that devils are fallen angels and demons are just spirits. Others will say devils are demon lords or that demons are more brutish devils, there’s not a clear distinction. For the most part, devil and demon are synonyms.

Now let me explain what I mean by “demon.” I don’t mean any dark or malevolent spirit. I’m not referring to djinn, shayateen, daevas, Buddhist demons, etc. I’m talking exclusively about spirits that bear the black flame prominently, or the aspects of spirits who do. In that sense, I’m not talking about Astarte, I’m talking about Astaroth. I’m not talking about Melek, I’m talking about Moloch. Yet there are also exceptions to this. Ba’al Zebub is indeed a demon, despite also being a god in another pantheon. The reasons for these happening are plentiful and include: spirits that initiated through the Qliphoth, spirits with energies that align with Sitra Achra, spirits who share their name with other spirits, and so on. Like anything in demonology, it’s complicated.

Lastly, I have yet another clarifying statement to add. The titles held by demons are to be treated, more or less, as contextual. A demon might be a prince in one work, a king in another, and a president or chancellor in another. This isn’t as misleading as you would think. It’s similar to how a person can be both the vice president of their local Ghost fan club and a manager at their job. They’re different offices held simultaneously. The only correspondences that I would put more weight into than any others is their Qliphoth, but that doesn’t overwrite their other correspondences.

Qliphothic Archdevils - The primary leaders of each Qlipha. Despite there being 11 Qliphoth, there are more than 11 Qliphothic Archdevils, as some works provide alternative Qliphothic rulers that are functional. They are among the most powerful demons, and are as much forces of nature and gods as they are demons.

Qliphothic Devils - Influential spirits of each Qliphoth, such as the emissaries of the name. They could be further divided up into which Qlipha they hail from.

Armies of Set - These can be divided up into 12 parts that inhabit the tunnels of Set connecting the Qliphoth together, and rule over them. They also correspond to the adversarial zodiac. They’re not just armies; they’re considered to be their own classification of demons, or their own species. These are: Ba’airirion, Adimiron, Tzalalimiron, Shichiriron, Shalehbiron, Tzaphiriron, A’abiriron, Necheshiron, Dagdagiron, Bahimiron, Nashimiron.

Goetic Demons - Not just demons of the Ars Goetia, this is the classification for any worldly or chthonic demon that’s able to be summoned in ritual. This includes demons found in works such as the Grand Grimoire or Grimorium Verum.

Unclean Spirits - These are still demons, although they’re often regarded as being less powerful. These are the demons that would cause sickness or unwanted possession, and preside over specific days of the week in older Christian spirit work. I should note that often even if a demon is less powerful, especially to the neophyte, that difference in power isn’t always going to matter that much. It doesn’t matter if a demon is capable of haunting just two locations or thirty-five if it’s haunting your room. Summoned demons also tend to be backed by your energy, whether it’s less or more than what they’re capable of, so there won’t normally be a difference in ritual, either. From my experience, these more obscure demons are just as efficient as Goetic demons, although they have a narrower specialization that only makes them handy now and then. “Unclean” here could be literal, though it’s more likely a metaphor for the demons not having their personalities and free will washed away. In that sense, “unclean” could be a Satanic synonym for “untainted” or “untamed” in many cases.

Planetary Demons - There’s some overlap with the Qliphoth, but not entirely. Most of these were described by Agrippa. They are, as one would assume, the demons of various planets.

Enochian Cacodaemons - I’m not a practitioner of Enochian, and the system is very hostile to misuse, so I recommend you do your own research and experimentation. Nonetheless, Enochian cacodaemons are anticosmic bestial entities that are “tamed” by the sorcerer. As the Enochian angels are robots that do what you tell them to, Enochian cacodaemons are beasts that need to be conquered, but rule over concepts such as chaos, dissolution, destruction, discord, and death.

Grigori/Watchers - Not technically demons, although a few of them are. These are your fallen angels. There’s a popular conception that each Grigori underwent initiation in Hell and gained a new magickal name, and that magickal name is their demon. For instance, Amducious is said to have once been Yomael. I don’t know how true this concept is, although Satan is an aspect of Samael.

Nephilim - Again, not technically demons, but working with them often has demonic connotations. They are currently inhabitants of Hell, the Netherworld, or where the two overlap depending on the scripture you’re going by.

—More Specified Classifications—

There’s no such thing as a “greater” or “lesser” demon. Even if you look to hierarchies, sometimes a demon with a lower rank will be more powerful for a specific working than the demons above them. So I won’t be adding these to the classification list, and I would recommend abandoning the terms altogether.

Succubi/Incubi - Demons of a sexual nature. Originally, this referred to horrifying monsters responsible for sleep paralysis that would devour the souls of its victims by visiting them nightly. They were viewed as shapeshifters, or sometimes possessed corpses, that would obtain the sperm from a human, corrupt it, and then impregnate another human for the purposes of creating a cambion. This concept has fallen out of modern usage. Now an incubus is more akin to Asmodeus, a demon who specializes in sex magick, indulgence in lust, and erotic energies, but nonetheless has other defining dominions.

Empyreal Demons - Attributed to elemental fire

Aerial Demons - Attributed to elemental air

Subterranean Demons - Attributed to the underworld, death, and caves, held to be among the worst for possession

Lucifugous Demons - Attributed to darkness, chaos, and adversarialism, and viewed as the most terrifying and viscious of the 5 possessing spirits

Aqueous Demons - Attributed to elemental water, held to be among the worst for possession, likely due to the association of water with the Tehom

Terrene - Attributed to elemental earth

“Princes of Hell” - Attributed to demons who specialized in tempting specific sins, although this format has been mostly abandoned for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons include: It’s incredibly Christian-based, and as such it doesn’t truly represent the character of demons as well as it could. There’s no agreement on the princes, despite being held to be absolute by many works that include their own version. Some of the correspondences don’t make sense or contradict the UPG of those who work with the princes. Calling somebody a “Prince of Hell” could create confusion given that many other grimoires will list a variety of demonic princes.

Cambion - A half-demon half-human hybrid, often viewed as an extremely powerful magician with a supernatural aptitude for the Art. For this reason, Merlin from Arthurian Lore is often depicted as being born as the offspring of a demon.

Demoniac - Somebody possessed or haunted by a demon. This could be positive or negative, depending on the context.

Higher Self - Your demonic aspect, essentially. The black flame is the incarnation of True Will and of pure individualism. This would mean that, technically, your Higher Self that is a purer version of “you” would be a demon. It’s also viewed as the diabolic or discordian equivalent of the Rosicrucian Higher Guardian Angel that was later espoused by Crowley in Thelema. In this sense, it fulfills the same function of manifesting your results through transpersonal psychology, but instead of giving them to an external spirit to manifest you do it with your Higher Self. I’m sure just saying that the Higher Self is a demon and the Black Flame is your True Will might be controversial, but this concept is integral to Satanism as a whole and it often gets insane results within our paradigm.

[coyote-696]

By Jake Stratton-Kent Author of Geosophia: The Argo of Magic(Scarlet Imprint)

Firstly, a word about what goetia is not. Many people with some acquaintance with occult literature will associate goetia with the first book of the Lemegeton, the so called Goetia of Solomon the King; which deservedly or not is nowadays perhaps the most famous of the grimoires. Indeed, in Crowley’s Book IV, all the references to goetia involve this grimoire and nothing else. However, this first book of the Lemegeton dates to the mid seventeenth century, whereas the term goetia is ancient Greek, so clearly there is some distance between the date of the grimoire and the origins of goetia.

 This significant distance is often overlooked in popular usage, and even among many modern authors. It is not uncommon to hear such expressions as ‘goetic demons‘ or even ‘goetias‘ when referring to the spirits of this grimoire. This usage is inaccurate in several ways, one in particular is of interest here. In European languages the words magus or magician derive from magic, the person taking their name from their art. By contrast, the term goetia derives from a word indicating a person, a somewhat unique case of the art taking its name from the artist. This person was called a ‘goes’. In short, goetia is related first and foremost to the identity of the operator, and secondarily to the nature of their art. 

The word ‘goes’ relates to terms describing the act of lamenting at funeral rites; the mournful howling considered as a magical voice. These magical tones can guide the deceased to the underworld, and also raise the dead. This is the root of the long connection of goetia with necromancy, which has come to be seen as ‘black magic’. 

Authors from Cornelius Agrippa to Mathers and Waite use the term goetic of most of the grimoires, particularly the darker ones. It is only the relative fame of the Goetia of Solomon that has overshadowed the long association of the term with supposed ‘black magic’ generally. 

From Agrippa the negative associations of the word goetia go back beyond the medieval period into classical antiquity. So it could be said that goetia is a very old word for black magic. But in Greek use magic was a term derived from a Persian root, whereas goetia was already present in the Greek language. In the history of Western Magic not only did goetia come first, but it possessed a character that distinguished it from many later forms. In its original form goetia did not involve the same worldview or assumptions as later magic. To be specific the differences concern the worldview of so called primitive religion, as opposed to the later more civilised forms. 

Franz Cumont’s book on Chaldean Magic speaks of Persian magic entering Greek use around the time of the Persian Wars. He says that a Book of Ostanes ‘was the origin of the magic substituted from that time forth for the coarse and ancient rites of Goetia’. The rites of the Magi known to the Greeks seem in the main to have been pre-Zoroastrian, and no less ‘coarse and ancient’ than Greek goetia. The Book of Ostanes may then represent a partial transformation of goetia towards the form in which we now know it. In any case Goetia certainly did not die out with the advent and evolution of these ‘Magian’ rites, even though at that time much of the meaning and significance of the old Greek rituals had already been lost. 

The goetic strand within western magic essentially represents survivals of more primal elements within host traditions of another character. Invariably such brief attempts as have been made to define goetia are from the viewpoint of such host traditions, or from viewpoints hostile to magic in general, rather than the viewpoint of goetia itself. 

It is difficult to speak of goetia in its own terms when competing with the accumulated assumptions of so many intervening centuries. For the last two thousand years our civilisation has lived with the assumptions inherent in Revealed Religion. The civilisation of Classical Greece, and all other civilisations of the ancient world, were built on a tradition of thousands of years of what is known as Natural Religion. Whereas Revealed Religion is delivered from on high by a revelation represented by a Book - Natural Religion is built up from below, the result of observation of and interaction with the visible world, including perceived supernatural or numinous forces. At the heart of these two approaches to religion are two entirely different worlds. 

These two worlds, the cores of two opposed worldviews, can usefully be defined as celestial and chthonic. These are not the limits of the worldviews concerned, but their centres. That is to say, while Revealed Religion has as its ‘base’ the Celestial or even Super-celestial realm, it does not exclude considerations of other regions, such as Earth, Hell and the physical universe in general. Similarly, while Natural Religion has the Earth and the Underworld at its heart, this does not prevent it dealing with gods of thunder or the Sun and Moon. 

In the same way the source of the Revelation of Revealed Religion is Celestial, and this is the centre of its worldview. By contrast, the chthonic realm was considered the source of oracular power at all stages of Greek religion. In later magic the celestial or transcendental realms were all important, not least as the source of the magicians authority. 

Previously the earth as source of life, and the underworld as the abode of the dead, were central to religion and magic. More to the point, much of the magic of later times, particularly that characterised as goetic, was an adaptation - one might even say a distortion - of the older type. 

The chthonic connections of goetia are exemplified by the roots of the word itself. Whereas goetia is commonly translated ‘howling’, following the precedent of nineteenth century authorities which are too often unquestioned, a closer translation would be ‘wailing’ or ‘lamenting‘. There is a large group of related words in Greek, the majority of which refer specifically to ancient funeral rites. The tone of voice used in these rituals distinguished the practitioner of goetia, and the concern with the Underworld was equally explicit.

 This earliest manifestation of goetia is principally concerned with the dead. At the same time it has no real connection with the aristocratic ‘Olympian’ religion of Homer, despite some parallels and later syncretism. Its primary role was benign in that it served a role in the community, that of ensuring the deceased received the proper rites to ensure they left the living alone. Alongside this were additional roles. These included laying ghosts, including those where proper burial had not been possible. Such ‘restless spirits’ were troublesome, even hostile and dangerous. Their existence was a major reason for the practice of funeral rites in the first place. 

Another aspect of goetia’s involvement with the dead was necromancy. This, the art of divination by the dead, correlates naturally with the ability to guide the dead to the Underworld. Those who could guide souls to the Underworld could bring them back, at least temporarily. In its original religious context necromancy was not perceived as anti-social, and some major necromantic oracular centres existed throughout the Greek world. 

The most sinister aspect of this involvement with the dead was the ability to summon such spirits for purposes other than divination. Like necromantic divination this is a natural consequence of the role of guide of souls. However it also relates very closely to the ability to deal with hostile ghosts of various kinds. The arts of exorcism and evocation are intimately related. It is from this aspect of its past that goetia is associated with demonic evocation. Distinctions between underworld demons and the angry dead have always been vague. Additionally, expertise in rites concerning the dead necessarily involves the gods and guardians of the Underworld. Consequently, in various guises, raising spirits has been associated with goetia for much of its history, 

The impression caused by the confusion between the Goetia of Solomon and goetia itself is that goetia concerns evocation alone. There is a stereotyped image of the conjurer calling up spirits into a triangle from within a circle, and bidding them to perform this, that and the other thing. This seemingly reduces all goetic operations to the same format, which is not the case at all. Goetia involves methods of every variety. It is true that goetic magic involves the participation of spirits in virtually all its operations, but these operations are varied. The Grimorium Verum is clear that all operations are performed with the assistance of spirits, but its methods include what we would call spells, and also methods of divination. Most often in these operations the sigils of appropriate spirits are involved in the procedure. There is for instance a traditional method of causing harm to an enemy through their footprint. In its Verum form this involves tracing the sigils of spirits and stabbing a coffin nail into the print. Some of this methodology is reminiscent of modern applications of Austin Spare’s sigils, although rather more results oriented than the uses the artist himself employed. 

In general Verum employs evocation for one main purpose, which is to form a pact with the spirit or spirits concerned, precisely so they will be willing to assist the magician in other types of operation. I say spirits in the plural for a reason. In contrast to the methodology of the Goetia of Solomon as popularly understood, Verum’s process envisages the possibility of summoning more than one spirit at a time for the purpose of forming pacts. While any evocatory process is demanding, in terms of time and effort expended, this multiple evocation process is considerably more economical, and far more productive. Modern understanding envisages the conjuring of a single spirit in order to achieve one specific result, and the spirit concerned may never be met with again. Verum on the other hand envisages calling upon one or more spirits in order to commence a working relationship, so that on future occasions the same spirits may assist the magician repeatedly. In these subsequent relations the full procedure of evocation is rarely necessary; and will usually only be employed to initiate relationships with additional spirits. 

Such exhausting operations therefore are not the be all and end all of goetic sorcery. The magician and the spirits with whom they are involved will be active in a variety of other procedures. These will involve a range of different skills and activities, alongside a more minimalist conjuration. 

So what have we learned from this survey? That the identity of the operator makes goetia what it is, not the nature of the spirits. That goetia concerns earth and the underworld, and involves no authority from the celestial regions, but the innate power of the magician. That it has its own worldview, and far from being a specialised sub-discipline, it is the primal origin of the entire Western Tradition of magic.

[thedesertgod-deactivated2020013]

Just @ me next time fam

[todaysbird]

everything can be magical if you let it be. i remember the first time seeing red-winged blackbirds i was just…enthralled. i watched them for maybe an hour. i thought they made the sweetest noises and were just so pretty. and i found out later on that people consider them nuisances and pests. they’re literally common all over the united states but because they weren’t familiar to me they weren’t a burden or an annoyance but something beautiful. if we don’t let other people tell us how to feel about things, maybe we can just like things for what they are

[diableriax]

Pact advice.

When it comes to pacts with demons, gods, spirits etc., always remember to give terms that are possible to perform for both sides. 

For example, it’s common for newbie demonolators who are taking knowledge out of stereotypes and Hollywood movies to ask for something and offer “their soul” or “eternal worship”. 

You don’t know if you’d be able to do that, and in most cases, these types of pacts won’t work, because it’s something for something, the terms must be clear and specific. 

The easiest thing for you to do is to promise giving large and good quality offerings, such as fine food, good wine, best incense, or if you ask for something really important, you can always offer a bit of your blood since it’s the greatest thing you can offer. If you promise to do it for some time (for example everyday for a month) gives you extra points.

Also, asking for things like to destroy your enemy, get ladies and/or money, change the government is a waste of time. But, you can ask for HELP in these cases and the being of your choice will guide you and give some ideas how to achieve your goal.

And the most important - don’t act like this is a game and fool around. How would you feel if someone would offer you a job and you’d come there to work but the boss would laugh in your face and kick you out?

[silverhawk]

and now presenting:

the wonga pigeon

aka ‘A Decently Round Pigeon’

[sylvaetria]

How do I know if I've successfully created a real mind space or I just have a really good imagination?

Back when @spiritvexer​ was windvexer, they made a post about this called [Creation of the “Astral Temple,” or, Visiting Your Personal Astral Space]. In that post they talk about imagination versus astral, and this is what they have to say about it:

Imagination

• Your imagination has no rules and imagining things typically requires little effort or energy.

• Your imagination is static. For example if you imagine a garden, the next time you imagine it, the garden will be the same. It does not change or grow on its own.

• When you imagine something, it simply becomes, like a hologram. 

• In your imagination, all beings and creatures are automatons.

• Your imagination is a seat of power through which many things can be accessed.

• You do not need to ‘center’ or ‘readjust’ after a simple daydream.

Astral

• Building in the astral can take actual energy and willpower.

• Astral spaces have “rules;” even gods need wings or magical artifacts to fly.

• Astral spaces will grow and develop independent of your input. If you plant an astral garden and return to it a week later, it will have grown or withered.

• When you attempt to build something, you may have to spend more time on it than just clicking your fingers and saying “become.”

• In the astral, beings and creatures have minds of their own. You can create many friends and guardians, but you will note that they will actually do things outside of your direct control.

• After visiting the astral, a period of readjustment is very much recommended.

I hope that helps you! :)

[spiritroots]

I’ve seen a lot of folks ask about the difference between the astral vs their own imaginations. I don’t really astral travel anymore for now, but thought I’d share this as it’s very informative!

[lastxleviathanrefollow]

This is an excellent comparison, A++!

[aldrichcopse-deactivated2019102]

So You Want to Do Some Esoteric Research?

Researching a topic thoroughly can be frustrating and daunting for beginners – especially for “odd” or “difficult-to-find” topics like ancient polytheistic practices or occult materials. Where do you even begin? How do you know which research to use? If you’ve never had to sit down to find material without guidance before, research can often feel like it’s over before you’ve even started.

In order to help as many people as possible, I’m going to assume readers have no previous background in academia. While I do assume that you’re interested in a topic, I am going to write as if a middle school research paper was the last research you conducted (and if so, lucky you!). Should certain steps seem obvious to you – or a waste of time – please feel free to disregard them or skip over them. Tips and tricks for more experienced researchers are included at the bottom.

Decide who is an expert in the field. The first thing you’ll want to do is perform a preliminary Google search about your topic. Your best bet is to include the keywords “author” or “book” – otherwise, you’ll be sorting through personal blog posts by Lady Voodoo Witch and resurrected glittery Angelfire pages from 2001. Sort through blogs, forums, and personal pages to see the names that come up regularly, and what value people attach to those writers. A lot of people will warn readers away from certain authors; it’s your job to find out why they’re considered bad. Historical inaccuracy, a missing bibliography, and misinformation should automatically cancel a book’s potential for a beginner in the field. See if you’re alright with reading through condescending tones, shaky citations, or questionable ethics from the writers. Opinions on the relevancy of a work based on those factors vary from reader to reader, bearing in mind not all of your reading will be fun or easy. One or two authors (or resource pages) exist in every field that nearly everyone can agree on as a suitable introduction to your chosen topic – find them and use them.

If your “expert” has written a blog or done an interview, chances are they have made resource recommendations at some point. Using their name and the keyword “recommendation” in a basic search should net you results. If they have published work, the first thing to do is dive into their bibliography. See which sources are cited over and over again. Authors lean heavily on works that inspire them – if you can figure out which ones, that’s an excellent start to a list of trustworthy authors.

Be careful with your first book. We’re all creatures of habit, and once we learn information, it can be very hard to change our minds about it. Once you’ve found a general consensus on good authors, find a work that has a date within twenty years (if possible) and most closely fits your research desires. Books over a few years old can be notoriously out-of-date with current theory (especially if they’re science texts – keep that in mind for magic related to medicine!). Usually, if it’s a point worth discussing there will be consistent revision and reaffirmation of scholastic theories. If no books exist that fit both the date criteria and the relevance criteria, choose the most relevant.

Make notes and/or review the books as you go. Note-taking is a really great idea. As you read, make note of important points, terms, and theories you can expect to find again. If you’re not keen on school-style recitations, then reflect in a journal about what you’re reading. Engaging with your reading is the surest way to retain it, and “active reading” tricks will make the process easier for you. A lot of academics will write reviews after finishing a work – for themselves and others – which can be anything from two to three sentences (“Author long-winded and bibliography out of date. Interesting ideas about the toad bone rite.”) to two to three thousand words. During your bibliography-review stage (below), referring back to these notes or reviews will help you determine an author’s legitimacy.

Crib the bib. Progressing through your reading list, you’ll find you actually start with the bibliography before diving into the content. (That’s how you’ll learn if a book is any good before you waste your time reading it – you’ll see the sources listed, recognize things that illuminate theories or things that were so wrong you spent most of your time wheezing in agony or delight through the writing and decide based on the quality of the resources.) When you’re first starting out on a topic, you should just pick out topics that sound interesting to you based on the title and the footnotes. As you progress, you’ll notice certain titles being praised as “classics” and/or being used repeatedly by authors you admire. Regardless if they are outdated, plan to read them.

Lather, rinse, repeat. Honestly, research can be a lifelong process, especially as new material with groundbreaking revelations is released. As you get more comfortable with research, you’ll learn at a glance which theories or authors are worth reading and which are not worth wasting your time over.

Tips and tricks:

Primary-source citations are gold. My momma always told me, “Ain’t nothing new under the sun.” Even a book about Neowicca has to derive its opinions from somewhere. If a resource doesn’t even mention that the author eyeballed a primary source, it is at most a 101 text if not utter trash. In the beginning, this will be fine; by the time you’re two to three months into dedicated, heavy research you will want to scream.

Learn about the foundations. This goes along with primary resources, but if you’re hoping to learn more about historic primary sources pay attention to the objects that contain them. For example, most Irish mythology stories were written down by monks. Knowing which manuscripts contain which stories – and which version the author is trying to cite – can change your understanding of the information being handed to you. Certain understandings can also come from archaeological finds, including gravestones, cave paintings, etc. If an author doesn’t even try to attribute these sorts of things to their archaeological provenance, burn the book and blow the ash directly into the author’s eyes (to quote Thorraborinn).

Learn the language. The least amount of secondhand filter you take in during your later stages of research, the better. Academic writing usually occurs in English, French, German, and/or Italian – as well as the modern version of whatever language was spoken locally. For the purposes of perusing academia in one of those languages, you should just know basic keywords and google the rest. It will take some time, but that’s what most college professors do. However, if you know you’ll be reading a lot of ancient Irish mythology, it behooves you to attempt to learn ancient Irish! Even a little bit of knowledge of the language can change its meaning entirely. (Don’t believe me? Research ancient Irish indefinite articles and then read the story about Oengus tricking the Dagda out of his house. Makes a lot more sense how that could happen with only that small piece of information.) Learning a language – especially an ancient one – is tough, but each step can reveal a new piece of the puzzle to you. At least try.

It is better to build an educated foundation upon which to rest anecdotes. Honestly, you should try to switch over from 101 materials to meaty materials as soon as possible. Putting academic works over works written by other witches and pagans will save you time; it’s what you can glean from older works and academia that will inform you. You can add in other’s more anecdotal and less academic work once you gain a working mastery of the material, determining how best to align the secondhand works to your own needs. Books that are not well-researched can often provide reference material for your own practical applications, so long as you keep a critical eye on what you’re consuming. (Don’t buy into something wholesale without reviewing it first.)

There is no shame in not knowing. Honestly, it’s best during this process if you remember that there are some things you’re just never going to know. Can you ever create a perfect replica of certain elements? Oftentimes, you’ll never know exactly what you’re even looking to replicate. Aim to be better than yesterday and be alright with repeating, “I don’t know.”

Keep an eye on academic reviews. Even if you can’t see the material you’re looking for at first, academic reviews can let slip big-picture ideas and offer critiques on the material you’ll be handling.

GoogleScholar and your local university library is your friend. Sometimes you can pay a small fee to access the university’s databases!

Try to figure out SEO and keywords for online research.

Still confused? Local community colleges will offer classes on research. Alternatively, there may be some classes on how to conduct research on sites like Udemy.

Research seems like an impossible task only the most intelligent members of the community can pull off, but I promise it’s much easier than you think. I worked at Trinity College Dublin. When I started, I didn’t know what to expect, but I quickly realized most research is about double- and triple-checking the sources and making sure you’re finding new and innovative ideas. Don’t be afraid to get out there and look through whatever you can find! The more you work at it, the better you’ll become at figuring out what materials are good and which materials are better off left out of your work.

Pulled from my former WordPress. Originally published 24 Aug 2018.

[astralarchive]

Hello do you have any idea or info on developing astral sight/vision?

Greetings,

A few things first concerning astral vision in terms of how it works. Astral sight will more than likely not be crystal clear as vision may be for an individual here. Errors in vision can occur and it takes discernment to weed out what has been viewed. Vision for individuals may also vary (such as covered in the post linked below by Feistyceltic) and exploring what works best in terms of sight for you should be considered. Beware of the idealized “Golden Standard” for vision that circulates in literature and online. It may be obtainable for some, but not for everyone. 

Vision clarity can also be idealized with human concepts mapped onto astral sight. It may start off dark and murky before eventually getting a tad clearer with the amount of practice. Astral vision does need to be worked and maintained with practice if someone should desire to keep the level of clarity they have. Though, it needs to be said that vision in the astral can change on its own from outside factors. A person’s physical body can contribute to how well they see in the astral such as: fatigue, sickness, good or bad health, and etc. A person’s energy body and system may also contribute too, be sure to check if you have any maladies that could be contributing to a lack of sight. 

In some cases, people may not see at all in the astral and that is okay. They use their other senses to perceive the world around them. This is where knowing energy sensing is particularly helpful as it makes up for the visual component. Variations in sight for those that can see also exist such as seeing energy blobs, vague shapes of scenery and spirits, abstract surroundings, or may have decent sight that translate how people see here.

Visualization is an important step in practicing for metawork as it allows the user to have some idea of what is going on. It will not be like seeing how individuals see here, more of like an idea in the mind that can be projected outwards. If that part of visualization is difficult, it may be good to do a method that involves putting it down on paper. Play to your strengths and be aware of your limits. Do not practice so hard it strains you as that is counterproductive.

Without getting too verbose, Themanicnami has a post linked below on visualization and various exercises if you struggle with that. If you can visualize a familiar object and practice with that, it is a potential way to get better with astral sight. It is highly encouraged to read through some of the posts linked below as they may be useful to you.

If you have any questions or need any additional assistance, please do not hesitate to send in another ask if you need anything. Further questions are more than welcome.

Sincerely,

Curator

If you need help with the visualization process:

Visualization Exercise: Energy Trees by Sigil-Seer

Visualization [Pt. 1] by Rowan-Witch (Not Original Source)

Visualization [Pt. 2] by Rowan-Witch (Not Original Source)

What is Visualization & How do I do it? by Themanicnami [This one is absolutely worth looking into if you would like multiple exercises for honing visualization skills]

Giant Working Astral Post by Littledoomwitch [Please read the visualization section they have even though it focuses more on the “getting there” portion.]

If you need assistance in visual discernment:

Distinguishing Real Visions from Imagination by Elegantshapeshifter

Spirits #1: Sensing and Recognising by Lokean-Witch [The section called “Become more Sensitive” may be of more use to you than the rest, but it is all worth a read.]

Not All People See Spirits the Same Way by Calicocadet

Developing Sight and Sensing (Spirit):

An Ask answered by Veritasredux [Additions by other blogs in this version that include “Energy Pulsing” as a form of sight]

An ask about Astral/ Spirit Sight (Missing OP; Not Original Source) [May be the most beneficial post for you to look at]

An ask answered byAcakaos-Archived [Focuses more on the development process of sensing. Recommended to read.]

Methods of Seeing Spirits by Feistyceltic (Post deleted on OP, Not Original Source) [Useful for also helping with astral sight as they can be simliar.]

Energy and Spirits - Using Your Regular Senses to Perceive the Imperceptible by da-at-ass

[b4phomet]

thor is telling me about his mythology he has regarding humans, and he’s said that humans lived underground in the beginning, and out of starvation and bordome they dug up to the surface. that some of us come from stars and moons, and other beautiful but scary things depending on how old our souls are. and we find our families and friends in every life we’ve lived some way or another, no matter what. brand new souls start from dense mountains, and when they learn how to survive that, they obtain a new life and onto the next level of it because they earned it from power and endurance. the next life is spent under the sea, hardly meeting people like yourself, so that you can understand other beings better and not be so biased. the next is spent up in the air somewhere, looking down and judging those within the desolate mountains, onto meeting sea creatures to understand how vast beings can be, that you’re unique in a way and to not judge strangers, because you are one yourself.

life is spent getting higher and higher until you reach the heavens, and sometimes, rarely, it can go above that. you have your coven of friends and family that you spend every life with, and if you lose a friend too soon from deathly circumstances, you’ll reunite in the next life. you’ll always find each other again. that humans in their own rights are gods of their own consciousness, every unique and indescribable feeling you have that you feel no one else can relate to, that is your feeling and yours alone. it’s one of a kind, you are the god over yourself and you come before anyone else.

although we all have unique and different paths, we’re all just striving to reach the next level. we reach it together, or sometimes we reach it alone.

[ioqayin]

Not sure if tumblr send my ask, cause the app crashed immediatelly after, so I thought I would send it again just in case. Sorry if you got it twice now. Are there any ways to get your soul back after selling it? I saw someone mentioning to contact a shaman, what sort if shaman would one contact for this? Are there any consequences for the (possible) afterlife when you sell your soul? Can you sell your whole soul or just parts of it? (since you mentioned they have their own agency) thanks again

If the soul is given away, it can usually be won back by bargaining for it again, winning a contest, or a more powerful magician must help you by defeating the entity to whom you sold the soul.

Shamans historically were the wise people who went into the Underworld to recover lost soul parts. There were many methods of doing this. Evil shamans could also steal someone’s soul away and lock it in a container.

When you sell your soul you give away the eternal part of yourself. The afterlife would be servitude to the entity to whom the soul was sold. You would not be able to reincarnate. You would be trapped, possibly forever.

Yes, it is possible to sell only certain parts of the soul. Some people do this in an attempt to become more powerful because they believe the more human parts of the soul are inferior to the higher, spiritual parts of the soul. But, when part of the soul is taken away, then entire soul is diminished.

A rather modern depiction of trickster spirits taking away someone’s soul by tricking a magician is in the book, and TV series, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. Two women become “lost in faery”, which is soul loss. They become either as one dead, mad, mute, and are prone to fits and diseases. In order to get the soul back, one of the magicians trades his own soul.

It is never a practice I recommend, and witches and magicians need to be aware of spirits and other magicians who might try to steal your soul.

[tzeriell]

A friend of mine split his soul and offered it in exchange for things fron different deities at different times. However now he is rather trapped as one of those things was health.

[lastxleviathanrefollow]

D:

Man. You gotta be careful with this shit. Don’t take this crap lightly. I was lucky in that the last time I made a (very simple) oath to a god, even when we split I was able to honor it. Now that I’m back in a place to formally oath myself again, I’m taking it SLOOOOOW and considering my wording VERY carefully.

Don’t play with this stuff. I’m dead serious. Its real and you’ll know it quick when it goes south.

Also devotees and practitioners with mental illnesses. Be extra on your guard. There are lots of icky spirits, demons, and even gods who will use your illness and vulnerability to take advantage of you this way. Watch your ass. It’s only your eternity on the line!

[da-at-ass]

Can't We Just Talk?

I thought my first entry here should be something about my methodology, since practitioners are often well-defined by how they practice. Musing on that, I realized it’s not a trivial topic for me - my methods are the result of a journey that started when I realized that I disagreed with some ‘standard’ practices in demonology.

I’m going to be frank - mages are assholes, and they’re taught to be assholes. Sometimes it’s to gain power, sometimes it’s for protection, and usually it’s a combination of both. If you’re working with Goetia (of course you’re working with Goetia, it’s the yellow pages of the demonology world), then the main manual of study is the Lesser Key of Solomon, usually paired with the Greater Key for greater wallop. Both books are framed around the idea of making demons your slaves, and it’s emphasized that they deserve it and it’s their place. Reading either’s ritual directions for more than a few pages is like being bludgeoned repeatedly with a stone Bible. It’s a pain, a waste of time, and it involves an instrument that’s probably useless and belongs in a museum.

Keep reading

[thesigilwitch]

Energy Work Masterpost

General:

Basic Elements of Energy Work

Choosing Your Energies

Energetic Blockages

Energy Clearing and Infusing

Energy Feeds and Magic Fatigue and A Clarification

Energy for Beginners Part I and Energy for Beginners Part II: Gathering, Raising, Storing, and Casting

Energy Work and the Chakras

Energy Work Masterpost

An Energy Work Primer (You Don’t Have to “Feel” Anything)

Protect Your Energy

Sensation & Direction - A Beginner’s Guide to Energy Work

Tired After Energy Work?

Types of Energy: Air / Airy Correspondences | Earth / Earthy Correspondences | Fire / Fiery Correspondences | Water / Watery Correspondences | Practical Elemental Work

Visualization:

Different Kinds of Visualization

Having Trouble Visualizing?

How to Visualize

Magical Visualization - Some Basics

Mistakes I Made with Visualization

Simple Visualization Exercises

Using Your Intent (an ask)

Charging / Enchanting:

Charging 101: The Quick Basics

Charging an Object

Charging and Dedicating Stones and Crystals

Charging Objects

Enchanting Things with Touch

Witch’s Guide to Charging

Witch’s tl;dr Guide to Charging

Witch’s Guide to Programming

Witch’s tl;dr Guide to Programming

Energy Manipulation / Exercises:

Animist Reset Ritual

Banishing the Energies of Others

Beginner Energy Manipulation Resource List

Channeling Energy to Work Magic

Competitive Magic

Dispelling the Notion of “Bad” Energy and Learning a New Way to Recycle

Energy Manipulation: Aura Shaping

Energy Manipulation: God Energies

Energy Manipulation: People and their Elements Part I and Part II

Energy Manipulation: Polarization Habits (Don’t Make You a Bad Person), and How to Break Them

Energy Manipulation Element Series: Air | Air/Fire | Earth | Earth/Fire | Earth/Water | Fire | Water | Element Posts F.A.Q.s

Energy Practice

Energy Work: Expansion vs. Contraction

Energy Work - Distance Charging

Energy Work - Elemental Nails

Energy Work - Energetic Check

Energy Work - Energy Ball

Energy Work - Energy Cannonball

Energy Work - Texting Predictions

Energy Work - Tree in a Jar

Energy Work and Making Contact

The Fluffy Pillar and the Spheres

Harnessing Sex Energy

How to Energetically Cleanse an Item

How to Send Energy to Other People

Let’s Talk Basics: Directing Energy

Method of Remote Viewing

Personal Energy Cleanse

Reflecting Negativity

Scream Jars

Sensing Energy Exercise 

Shielding / Warding:

Altering Shields

Badass Things to Inspire Shields

Checking and Repairing Shields

Energy Warding

Energy Work: Shielding

Forming a Basic Shield - Creation and Sealing

Fun with Auras (aka, Shielding)

How to Undo Shields

Magically Making Friends - Reforging Your Protections

Personal Shielding

Removing and Deactivating Shields

Shielding/Transmuting and the Solar Plexus Chakra

Shielding & Aura Manipulation

Shielding and its Purpose

Shielding for General Protection

Shielding for Specific Protection

Shielding vs Aura Manipulation

Stacking Shields

Stealth Shielding

Transmuting Energy: An Alternative to Shielding

Two-Sided Shielding

Using External Power to Shield

Witch’s tl;dr Guide to Shielding

Grounding:

Airy Grounding Guide

Beach Surf Grounding

Gale Grounding

Grounding

Grounding

Grounding (Energy Work Series Part 1)

Grounding and the Root Chakra

Grounding or ‘Earthing’

Grounding Techniques

Grounding Theory and Application

Grounding via Aura

Grounding with Pasta

How Do I “Ground”?

Notes on Being Grounded

Release Grounding

Sea Witchcraft: “Sinking”

Witch’s Guide to Grounding

Witch’s Guide to Grounding - Sturdy as Stone

Witch’s tl;dr Guide to Grounding

Centering:

Centering and Grounding

Energy Manipulation 101: Grounding and Centering, or That Thing Everyone/Book Says to Do But Never Really Explains Why…

Grounding and Centering

Witch’s Guide to Centering

Witch’s Guide to Centering - Crystal Gem Fusion Dance

Witch’s tl;dr Guide to Centering

Thoughtforms:

A Bit on Entities and Thoughtforms

Creating a Physical Vessel for Your Thoughtform to Live In

Creating a Thoughtform

Creating Positive Thought Forms

Destroying Your Thoughtform

An Exercise to Help with Creating Mental Spaces for Thoughtforms

An Exercise to Help with Creating Thoughtforms

Have Your Thoughtform Go to Work

Keeping Track of Your Thought-Forms

Letting Your Thoughtform Die, Dealing with Thoughtform Injuries

Projecting Your Thoughtform

A Short Guide to Thouhtforms

Technowitchcraft - Thoughtforms

Thoughs on Thoughtforms

Watching Your Thoughtform Grow

What is a Thoughtform?

What is a Thought Form?

[altarsmoke]

Gonna try to slog through this post list over the holidays. So far, this hasn’t been vetted. There is a LOT of content.

[hillbillyoracle]

How to Give Spooky Good Tarot Readings (Reading Tarot Cards Vertically)

So I’ve touched on the idea of reading vertically briefly in my other posts but I wanted to put together one that goes into it a little more deeply.

When I say “read vertically” I mean considering the card as part of other cards with its same number, including the Major Arcana cards. It looks like this:

How to Understand Vertical Themes

Cards of the same number tend to have a similar higher level narrative theme.

Fives are my favorite example for this because of how much this layer of meaning can add to interpreting them. In the Rider-Waite Major Arcana, we have the Heirophant (5) and the Devil (15) – cards about the material world either being in balance or wildly out of balance.

5 of Pentacles is a card of sickness and poverty, 5 of Cups is reflective of losing a loved one or a breakup, 5 of Wands is work/goal oriented conflict with others or a hostile workplace, and 5 of Swords is about the kind of intellect that alienates you from others and arguments you win at the cost of your relationship with that person.

Within the Minor Arcana 5’s, we can see a theme of conflict, of desire and lack. When you take the Major Arcana into account it adds a new dimension – that these conflicts are a result of imbalance (the Devil) and are significant events in a person’s life that challenges them materially and spiritually (the Heirophant).

When 5’s are taken into consideration with the rest of the deck, we see they’re often the turning point from pure enthusiasm to deep commitment, when the crafter devotes themselves to the craft, when the lover must confront their own internal world so that they may try to invite another into it again.

That’s usually a lot more information than the few keywords that came in your deck booklet for each card (or the paragraphs of story if you shelled out for the proper book).

This will work better for some numbers than others but it’s always a useful lens to begin looking at your deck through.

Practice: Take each column and jot down key words, themes, symbols, or other ideas that seem to occur across all of them. Include the Major Arcana if you can but exclude them if it doesn’t make sense for your deck.

Reading Vertically in Practice

Here’s where I think reading vertically really shines.

We’ve all been there, we pull out a set of cards that on the surface don’t seem to be connected at all and you’ve got a querent sitting there patiently waiting for you to shed some light on their situation.

Reading vertically gives you another layer to investigate the cards, one that allows for more free associations than flipping through a book or going symbol spotting. Free association is the bread and butter of intuition work. It’s where your intuition gets to really come through.

The key is that while reading vertically is thematic, it’s still specific. Reading vertically isn’t going to give you themes like “love”, it’s going to give you “you’re at a turning point, you’re out of balance, and you better jump ship or redouble your efforts”.

I’ve often found it’s the layer that makes readings “feel spooky” to people I read for.

Practice: Draw cards at random or go in order and write down initial impressions, where the card falls narratively in its suit, and associations with others of it’s number. Then copy down meanings from the book that accompanies the deck. Compare.

Companion Books Are Useful, But Incomplete

The book that accompanies a deck is not the be all end all of card meanings. Decks have to be personalized in some way to the people who are reading them so there’s an interplay there. The author offers up their meanings, but you have to them meet them with your interpretations. For folks with a more academic bent, Hall’s encoding/decoding model of communication speaks nicely to how I understand and teach Tarot.

So that’s why I think it’s so important that people learning tarot do some amount of deep self-directed study beyond memorization of what’s in the book. It’s an incomplete picture otherwise. I offer up horizontal and vertical reading as a way to develop those personal associations and connect cards more deeply with your particular experiences/worldview.

That space between how the deck understands itself and how you understand it is where intuition can really flourish.

I hope this helps! If you have any questions, let me know!

*I do not claim my way is the one true way so take what is useful and leave the rest.

**If you wind up using this stuff in another setting, please credit me. This stuff is my art. Don’t steal, please credit. Thanks!