grimoire-catechumen

Exploring the rich history of the grimoires

[library-of-babel]

Climbing Mount Abiegnus

Mount Abiegnus is the Tower of Babel, the Axis Mundi, the Tree of Knowledge, the World Tree.

“Deus et Natura nihil faciunt frustra” (“God and Nature do nothing in vain.”)

Everything in the universe has a purpose, and in creation there is order and reason, meaning and significance, truth and beauty.

The ascent is the ascent towards the One. All of Reality emanates from the One, and the path of ascent is the path of return to your true home, and union with the Divine.

[noise-vs-signal]

“In Plotinus' model of reality, the One is the cause of the rest of reality, which takes the form of two subsequent "hypostases" or emanations: Nous and Soul (Psyché).

Each individual as a microcosm reflects the gradual ordering of the universe referred to as the macrocosm. In mimicking the demiurge (divine mind), one unites with The One or Monad. Thus the process of unification, of "The Being" and "The One", is called henosis.

Henosis for Plotinus was defined in his works as a reversing of the ontological process of consciousness via meditation (or contemplation) toward no thought (nous or demiurge) and no division (dyad) within the individual (being).

As is specified in the writings of Plotinus on Henology, one can reach a tabula rasa, a blank state where the individual may grasp or merge with The One. This absolute simplicity means that the nous or the person is then dissolved, completely absorbed back into the Monad.” - From Wikipedia.

The Union of Nous (Mind) and Soul is the return to the One.

[saintmachina]

Grad school is lying to you. You can indulge fixations on obscure topics on your own time. You can sit in a library color-coding notes on articles printed from JSTOR for free. You can argue with dead philosophers in essay format whenever you like. Academia is a state of mind.

[grimoire-catechumen]

Become a scholar in your free time where passion drives your thesis. Graduate school was one of the worst things I ever participated in.

[grimoire-catechumen]

My practice grows exponentially during the periods I take great interest in exploring the many worlds of my favorite fantasy authors. Perhaps it is that it reinvigorates my imagination that is then retained when I move into evening rites and prayers.

Sometimes, I need to put the scholarly books down.

P.S. If you aren’t reading Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynn what are you doing with your life?

[hagoftheholler]

Some of y'all are a little too quick to condemn Chrsitians and claim the Church stole everything from ancient pagans while simultaneously jumping to the defensive as soon as you're confronted with the fact that a huge chunk of trendy/modern witchcraft and spiritual practices are appropriated from closed practices and religions. Or while y'all somehow manage to misappropriate things from open/semi-open practices and religions.

[grimoire-catechumen]

Thoughts on the Firmament

Having thrown myself back into crafting personal and unique incense blends for myself, I was burning a fresh concoction on charcoal yesterday evening to establish burn time and scent among other things. Unintentionally, I did this in the late afternoon when the sun was streaming through my window, catching the billowing spirals of incense smoke in its light - referred to as crepuscular rays astronomically.

As the burn continued, the incense all gathered in a thin sheet of smoke settling in the center of the room. Now, scientifically, this is nothing more than the actions of air density at play, but in the moment it was incredibly profound. Able to see above and below the membrane of incense smoke, it reminded me of the Firmament, the thin separation of the material and astrological worlds with the celestial. As above…so below. To the celestial world, the world mimics its glory in creation, a shifting image, moving picture of events and below we look up and see the clouded, foggy movements of the celestial, hard to decrypt, but understood in our souls.

A recent vision from St. Peter provided gnosis that he is capable of unlocking the firmament and allowing a stream or flood of glory to fall to earth and I couldn’t help but be struck by the imagery within this incense smoke in my apartment.

Contemplation is mysticism in the mundane.

[ome-magical-ramblings]

Setting Light into the past, for spells, ancestors and beyond.

Setting light is a common practice in a lot of tradition, spiritual lamps are used EVERYWHERE...so it isn't very restrictive to one tradition but as a concept that you can tweak your petitions and your intentions when you set it, I hope that people try it and report back :D

A candle burn straight down, but the light it gives off goes all the way and around. It goes forward, backward, and all around...That's how we are as human when we are "time" burns one way, but the light it gives off is all around. That's how time is, that's how our spiritual families are, that's how a lot of magical work should be, by reaching into the past. Even if I say this in a million way, don't do a candle spell to change the future, change the future by setting that light into the past.

The spiritual dead people who are connected with you by blood, by soul, and by actions are many and as many as the grains of sand in the world. To think of that it's only a backward motion is to only look at them as dead people not as people in different stages in their "life", the difference between them is the difference between an old person and a baby. Not much except time have passed. Really what you think of as ancestral predecessors are only what you see, hear, touch from your own "genetics" but if that was the only way we live, we wouldn't have spiritual heroes like the prophets, saints, righteous people, immortals, wanderer, hermits and so on. The world as we know it is only the tip of the iceberg for the whole "world" as it is. To assume that it only extend to your family is to assume that your family is only related to you by blood and nothing more. Your Ancestors from the start till today are all here and listening carefully to each letter you read, and each word you speak for they carry their weight for them as your words are the "scale" by which they can elevate and evaluate you, it's not a one-way street or two-way street, the streets and paths are endless as the street and paths in sand tracks, YES there are easily more identifiable ones but that's not important, what's important is that you go to each path and "Call" with a sincere heart and offer a sincere word, that's what really carries the Word not if this path is more identifiable than that path. Light, and it was there. To close off, instead of praying to someone to improve, pray to their ancestors, send your prayers of light to their "spiritual family", let it go beyond in time to the past. That's the important thing, there's a million way to skin a cat and reach Rome and this is my way of opening up a different approach to the petition and workings you do, REACH into the past and work with that. The past is just as malleable as the future, and the present is the only thing we "have" and can work with to influence all other points. Remember, Your future and past are two columns by which you enter the mysteries of the holy temple of God and Time. Let the Light go into the past and see it illuminate you right now. His light is like a niche in which there is a lamp, the lamp is in a crystal, the crystal is like a shining star, lit from ˹the oil of˺ a blessed olive tree, ˹located˺ neither to the east nor the west, whose oil would almost glow, even without being touched by fire. Light upon light!

[grimoire-catechumen]

St. Mary Magdalene, the Penitent and Apostle to the Apostles

I love the following excerpt from St. Anselm in his prayer to Mary Magdalene:

"But you, most holy Lord, why do you ask her why she weeps? Surely you can see; her heart, the dear life of her soul, is cruelly slain. O love to be wondered at; O evil to be shuddered at; you hung on the wood, pierced by iron nails, stretched out like a thief for the mockery of wicked men; and yet, ‘Woman,’ you say, ‘why are you weeping?’ She had not been able to prevent them from killing you, but at least she longed to keep your body for a while with ointments lest it decay. No longer able to speak with you living, at least she could mourn for you dead. So, near to death and hating her own life, she repeats in broken tones the words of life which she had heard from the living. And now, besides all this, even the body which she was glad, in a way, to have kept, she believes to have gone. And can you ask her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ Had she not reason to weep? For she had seen with her own eyes if she could bear to look what cruel men cruelly did to you; and now all that was left of you from their hands she thinks she has lost. All hope of you has fled, for now she has not even your lifeless body to remind her of you. And someone asks, ‘Who are you looking for? Why are you weeping?’ You, her sole joy, should be the last thus to increase her sorrow. But you know it all well, and thus you wish it to be, for only in such broken words and sighs can she convey a cause of grief as great as hers. The love you have inspired you do not ignore, And indeed you know her well, the gardener, who planted her soul in his garden." Mary Magdalene was like you and I...a woman with a past, with grave sins, yet she was beloved by our Lord - to such an extent that he revealed himself not to Peter, the rock on who Christ would build his Church, but to her. The woman who washed his feet with her tears and anointed them with the most expensive oil. The women who Jesus praised for her devotion and love.

I have never been fond of the way the Church portrays Mary Magdalene as a penitent whore for it is neither historically or scripturally accurate, but rather she is to be an inspiration for all of us, that no one is too far from the love of our Lord.

May I also weep when I stray from the love of Christ and have my heart leap for joy when he calls my name. St. Mary Magdalene, pray for us!

[grimoire-catechumen]

Importance of Silence in Ritual Magick

Every time I return to Agrippa, I am amazed by what I have forgotten and the knowledge which he provides in the Three Books of Occult Philosophy.

Having grown up with a Christocentric worldview from which I make sense of the mundane and magickal world, the idea of silence has always been prevalent. Note Matthew 7:6 specifically, which says: “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you." The word occult comes from the Latin verb celara meaning "to hide" or the adjective occultus meaning "hidden, concealed, or secret." In antiquity, the secrets provided to practitioners of the occult were considered valuable so much so that they were often disguised, shrouded in ways that only those holding a metaphorical key could understand the original meaning. To prevent the casting of this sacred spiritual knowledge before swine.

Agrippa expands on this idea in Ch. II of Book III where he notes five reasons for silence or circumspection.

Sharing holy matters with profane minds pollutes them. We see this even today when trying to share sacred, but secret truths granted to us by spirits with those who don't understand. Sayings like "mundane over magical" or a push for critical thought are used to lessen its influence or impact on our understanding. When we share these experiences, sometimes it can be to the detriment of the work the spirits are calling us to do. The shine of pearls is sullied by their environment.

Profane minds cannot grasp holy doctrine. Understanding is a gift to give a deeper insight and penetration of divine truths held by faith, not as a transitory enlightenment but as a permanent intuition. In Catholic dogma, this gift of understanding is granted by the Holy Spirit during Confirmation and assists in penetrating revealed truths, but also natural truths in so far as they related to a supernatural end. As St. Thomas Aquinas said, "In this very life, when the eye of the spirit is purified by the gift of understanding, one can ina a certain way see God." (Summa theologicae II-II, q. 69 a.2, ad.3).

The importance of understanding is further echoed in the Stobaei Hermetica: "But avoid converse with the many. Not that I wish you to grudge a benefit to others; my reason for this warning is rather that the many will think you one to be laughed at if you speak to them as I have spoken to you. Like welcomes like; but men that are unlike are never friends..."

3. It allows the divine enlightenment of the doctrine to occur. Everybody has experiences whereby slowing down and listening we are given directions, instructions, or encouragement from the spirits. But by keeping silent about our work, we ensure our motivations are pure and that the intention is to commune with the divine. Too often I think we miss critical personal truths in favor of using magic for public success. As noted in the Corpus Hermeticum 13.8a, "And now, my son, speak not, but keep a solemn silence; so will the mercy come down on us from God."

4. The futility of attempting to express the inexpressible. Sometimes words are incapable of describing our supernatural experiences with spirits and when we do it comes out much less life-changing than it was. There is a reason occultists gather together in communities - just as any common worldview is the base of a religion, so to do our experiences bring us together and set us apart. Only those who have worked with the spirits can fully understand your own experiences.

5. Silence involves a proscription against translation of the doctrines into other languages because the words themselves are holy and embody power. Although this may be my least favorite reason as a grimoire magician eager to find translations of French and German transcripts, I think it holds true. This idea is noted in the Corpus Hermeticum 16.1b-2 as well: "Translation will greatly distort the sense of the writings, and cause much obscurity. Expressed in our native language, the teaching conveys its meaning clearly; for the very quality of sounds...; and when the Egyptian words are spoken, the force of the things signified works in them."

Furthermore, in academic publications such as Invoking Angels by Penn State University Press, there are entire discussions around how the illiterate laity copying down instructions from holy books led to mistakes in translations, a problem noted by translators such as Joseph Peterson, David Rankine, and Stephen Skinner in their meticulous grimoire translations. Exasperated by the enhanced access to manuscripts in the 16th and 17th centuries, you see books such as the Grimoire of Arthur Gauntlet or Book of Oberon with Greek, Latin, and Hebrew translation corrections along with corrections in figures of circles or talismans.

Outside of magick, even, biblical scholars note the loss of Scriptural understanding when reading the Bible in English compared to Greek or even Hebrew, noting minute differences that entirely change the meaning of a text or provide additional context.

Taken together, I think Agrippa makes a solid argument for why keeping silent is important. Do you agree?

[witches-bottle-deactivated20241]

Prayer Inspired by the Sorrowful Mysteries

The Sorrowful Mysteries;

The Agony in the Guardian

The Scourging on the Pillar

Crowning with Thorns

The Carrying of the Cross

The Crucifixion

---

Introduction:

Where there has been Sundering, may there be healing Where there has been Searing, may there be renewal Where there has been Banishing, may there be blessing Oremus:

Holy Art Thou, O' Lord of the Universe Holy Art Thou, Whom Nature hath Not Formed Holy Art Thou, the Vast and Mighty One The Lord of the Light and the Dark Give us this Day, Our Daily Bread And forgive us our trespasses And guide that we may forgive those who have trespassed against us And let our path not be as that of the ignorant But May Pistis, Gnosis and Sophia be our guide Now and at the Hour of Our Death. Amen.

---

Mystery 1:

O' Lord Isus Hriste, Have Mercy on Me, the Sinner

Our Lord went into the Garden and in his fervency and despair did kneel and pray to the Father Eternal. He pleaded that the Cup, if possible, be passed from his hands and yet still submitted to the Will. Our Lord too was fearful, he too understood, and he gave himself to the Will of the Most Merciful. Oremus:

O' Lord of Heaven and of Earth, who made the Night an Day, who made the Living from the Dead and the Dead from the Living, we beseech Thee. Grant unto Us, despite our passions and fears, the will to overcome, the will to fully allow ourselves to become one with Your Will, for it is said "Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be Done, On Earth as it is in Heaven". Let then the way of Theosis be clear, and that now, and at the hour of our destined death, our prayers may go to Thee, that despite our suffering, we may adore Thee and partake of the Divine Fruit of the Mystery. From Thee Thy Wll, to Thee, the All. Amen.

----

Mystery 2:

O' Lord Isus Hriste, Have Mercy on Me, the Sinner.

Our Lord was deemed guilty and sentenced to His doom but not without the humiliation that was inflicted. His Own Flesh was mortified, His Precious Blood feel and all this suffering to atone for the Sins of the World, and for the Fall of our Predecessors. Oremus:

O' Lord of Heaven and of Earth, Thy Beloved Son suffered for Our Sake. His Blood Spilled and His Flesh Mortified. We too, in our Faith and Sincerity, mortify our flesh through fasting, through flagellation, yet we can only understand a small bit of Our Lord's Suffering. Still, O' Lord, do we partake in it with Faith, as we partake in the Joys of Life which have been given. Bless Us, O' Lord, with the constancy to bear the Sufferings of Life, to Praise the Spirit of Joy, to Uphold Wisdom and Logos even when our passions threaten to overcome us. Let Compassion reign that we may aid others where possible. Let us live a life that is pure and just, led by wisdom and fairness. Amen.

---

Mystery 3:

O Lord Isus Hriste, Have Mercy on Me, the Sinner.

Crowned With Thorns and a Mock Cloak, Our Lord was berated and was asked if he was a king, to which He replied "Not of This World". We are reminded, then, of the Impermanence of This World but of Our Place in the Heavens. Oremus:

O' Lord of Heaven and of Earth, Thy Divine Son persevered. He witnessed the Temptations of Passion in the Desert, and Rectified Them, and even now is mocked and berated, yet He Remembers His Divine Ancestry. Let us be aware of that too, ever working and toiling in this Great Work to understand the Divinity which you have placed within us since our birth and the Fall of the Predecessors. Let us take the wealth and riches that you give us with a kindly smile, but not let them overtake us, so too all things. Amen.

----

Mystery 4:

O' Lord Isus Hriste, Have Mercy on Me, the Sinner.

Our Lord had the Cross Placed Against His Mortified Flesh, searing pain and blood flow covered him and he was weakened and weary of heart. Even More, when Our Lord saw the Holy Mother weeping on His Way to Calvary. How we can only but imagine this pain of mind, of soul, of body. Oremus:

O' Lord of Heaven and of Earth, Thy Son didst Suffer for Our Sake. Yet in His Suffering, we were redeemed and taught a valuable lesson. We carry Our Own Cross, O' Lord, of our pains, our sorrows. This Great Work which has been established for mankind to return is a Cross which purifies, which burdens but which inspires. Let it then be, O' Lord, that the merit and promise of this Great Work may be dedicated to the Liberation of All Sentient Beings within the Six Directions. From Thee, Thy Will, To Thee, the All. Amen.

Mystery 5:

O' Lord Isus Hriste, Have Mercy on Me, the Sinner.

It has come, it has come, Our Lord Suffered and Was Crucified. He did pray and speak, soon lost of faith and asking of The Divine Father, "Lord, O' Lord, why have you abandoned me." Yet in the Last Moments, he spoke, commending his spirit to the Lord. Oremus:

O' Lord of Heaven and of Earth, we are creatures of the Material, yet Our Spirit belongs to Thee. We still, however, must go through our purifications. We lose our faith, our faith is restored, we pray and we weep, we laugh and we partake of the Divine Mystery. We are blinded and given sight, for the Glorious Formula of IAO is established, the Logos is Firm and Just, the Two Pillars Guide and Pervade. Let then, O' Lord, that despite our own falls and risings, we may ever be faithful to Ourselves, to the Great Work and to Thee. That even in death, when the Shadow of Fear overcomes us, we shall pray and commend ourselves to Thee. Amen.

---

Ending

O' Saints of Heaven, O' Angels of Heaven, O' Queen and King of Heaven, Have Mercy on Us. May we Be Worthy of the Promises of Christ. Let us Pray:

Thy Resurrection, Christ Saviour, the Angels in Heaven Sing. Enable us on Earth to Glorify Thee in Purity of Heart.

Have Mercy on Us, O' Lord, now and at our Final Hour. Amen.

[grimoire-catechumen]

Liber Alchandrei - Onomancy Technique

In researching scientific and astrological texts of antiquity, I noted a new grimoire I had not heard of: Liber Alchandrei. Upon further investigation, this is a 12th-century grimoire of astrology and divination. On folio 7v, this image appears, which is a common table used in onomancy (divination by numbers that correlate to the letters of an individual's name) for predicting whether a sick person will live or die, the outcome of a duel or battle, or anything else requiring a binary yes/no answer. According to its instructions, the operator takes the name of the person in question, finds the numbers that correspond to the letters of their name and adds them into a total. Add to this the number of the day of the moon (1) on which they first fell sick and the number corresponding to the planetary weekday (2). This grand total is divided by 30 and if the remainder is found in the top of the "Sphere" diagram (below), the patient will live, if not, they will die.

(1) This likely refers to the day of the moon within a lunar cycle totaling to 30 days. For example, today (June 10th 2023) would be the 23rd day of the lunar cycle that began on May 19th with the New Moon that will finish on June 18th.

(2) I assume this is in reference to the associated Chaldean number assigned to each planet, though experimentation would be needed to confirm this.

Give it a try if you have need of a binary answer and let me know how it goes!

[grimoire-catechumen]

Magic Circles - the Ars Rosaria

One of the greatest barriers and differences in opinion I have noticed between ceremonial magicians and members of the witchcraft community is the importance of magical circles. As a solomonic practitioner myself, I think they are an incredibly important and necessary part of spirit conjuration - noted ubiquitously across many grimoires.

But what about in other instances? Times where you may want protection, but using a full circle from the Greater Key of Solomon seems to be overkill (spirits have told me such). This overkill tends to be noted in relation to nature spirits, the elementals, spirits of the genus loci, and even the Olympic Spirits, though arguably the latter do not need one and have their own seal of sorts. That is a topic for another day.

I recently read the Ars Rosaria: The Rosary Art of Conjuration by Simon Dyda and quite enjoyed his prayerful circle. It is not a physical circle and reminds me more of a calling of the watchtowers ceremony, but I have still found it to be a good intermediate circle for sublunar workings. Dyda uses this to conjure spirits of the goetia, its Kings, Princes, and Dukes. I would not be so bold in that regard, though it offers more protection than demonoloters currently use so while I may not budge on the matter, perhaps this is a more agreeable solution for them.

As you may gather from the title, a rosary is used to invoke Our Lady from the cardinal directions, each direction corresponding with an aspect: the Queen of Heaven, Empress of Hell, Glorious Virgin..etc. It follows a standard prayer of the rosary with slight modifications. I have performed it a number of times now myself and it works quite well.

If you want protection, but believe us ceremonial magicians take it too far, this may be a practical compromise. I encourage you to engage with our Holy Mother in this way.

[grimoire-catechumen]

The Secret of Secrets: A Ring of the Sun for an Oracle; Pt. 2

The day has come and gone and the creation of the ring was made. In this post, I will walk you through the process of its generation, discussing problems encountered, solutions, and thoughts for similar future endeavors.

Prior to the day a ginger tincture was made on Sunday during the first solar hour by blending 17 g of fresh ginger with 85 mLs of 80 proof vodka at a 1:5 ratio and left to sit for 5 weeks. The Sunday before this ritual, the tincture was strained and bottled.

An hour before, I performed a purification ritual similar to the ones described in various grimoires, confessed, and renewed my spirit with God through prayer. On the hour, I lit the white candle, performed the exorcism of fire, and lit the charcoal before adding the incense. I also wiped the space I would be working at in Holy Water.

Petitioning the Lord and St. Michael for their assistance in this work, I began. The yellow cardstock was cut and "engraved" with the sigil of the Angel (Michael) and sigil of the Sun. The Secret of Secrets includes the North Node, which I followed. The paper was incensed and placed into the ginger tincture and left to soak for a time.

To my relief, the alcohol did not affect the ink, which retained its integrity through the process. I allowed the excess alcohol to evaporate before wrapping both in gold leaf paper, which was also obtained on a Sunday during a solar hour. It was covered beautifully at first and I allowed it to dry the rest of the way.

However, as I tried to shape it into a ring shape, the gold leaf foil came off until the paper was bare. For future cases, I would recommend using a sheer glue on the dried paper for better adhesion. Alsas, I did not have glue with me so I began again. Following the same steps as before, I crinkled gold leaf into the ginger tincture and submerged the paper for a time.

Upon removal, I let it dry naturally, resulting in a paper with gold flakes on it. While it is not what I envisioned, the ring retains the correspondence the gold leaf was meant to bring.

Creating the ring, I glued the pieces together using hot glue and added dried ginger in the middle as the grimoire instructs to "conceal a solar plant beneath the stone."

As stated previously, I intend to test the ring at a later date. Until then, it will reside by St. Micahel the Archangel's candle where daily prayers are given. Before use, I will consecrate it and dedicate it to receiving information from the Most High and from his spirits through whom he speaks. After its consecration, the ring will no longer be shown as it is sacred.

Thank you for following along in the process - pt. 3 will come soon.

You can find pt. 1 of this process here.

[ome-magical-ramblings]

Home Sweetening/Stability Spell

I Got permission from Hagith to share this spell, and I thought people might appreciate trying this spell. You need the following items:

250-500 grams of dried flowers

12 tealight candles

Hagith seal drawn on a paper Afterward you would lay the paper with hagith seal in the middle, cross it with the dried flowers making 3 lines horizontally and 3 lines horizontally. Put a tealight in the candle at the start and end of each line. You would light the tealight candles and let them stay lit in the house you want to sweeten/cause stability between family members in it. The energy would radiate in the house and cause "transformation" You can be specific with lighting the candle and light top -> right -> down -> left , but there wasn't any instruction I got about that. When you line up the dried flowers, you can set it up one piece by one piece so you don't waste a lot! You can find the dried flowers from herbalist and spice shops, they sell them in huge bags or containers often like these:

[grimoire-catechumen]

I will give this a try in the coming weeks!

[grimoire-catechumen]

Divination for Everything?

I was reflecting on a post I saw by @ome-magical-ramblings regarding an alternative method for quick and subtle divination and had some thoughts to note. If you haven't read their post yet, you should.

The question of reflection was should we divine for everything? Its common in occult spaces, particularly witchcraft circles, to think we have to divine for every little thing - even the most minute questions. In some ways, I think divination has become overly normalized in a way that detracts its importance and use in ritual and is an excuse for people to not develop intuition. This is, of course, my opinion and should not be considered fact for you or your respective practice.

When something is predicted, our brains begin to process it as fact. We start looking for confirmation of the event in our life and then when we find it, it confirms the usefulness of divination. In ritual divination acts as a means of communication. If you prefer the spirit model framework, as I do, it allows for communion with the spirit, a two-way conversation. If you prefer alternative frameworks then you can say it serves to communicate with your subconscious. But the point, then, is communication.

Magical practitioners seem to miss this or it gets lost within the practice. Divination is about communication, not prediction or fortune-telling. So when it is utilized for such menial and mundane questions, the reading results don't oftentimes actually relate to ones day-to-day. Returning to the example of asking how ones day was - what are you communicating with? What's the point? Is there something you'll learn from the divination that will drastically alter your day outside your own biased perceptions?

Which brings me to my next point - people treat divination as a tool of prediction because they do not know how to rely on spirit-driven or personal intuition. I have spirit allies that will inform me of issues when they arise or warn me of something in the day. Outside of them, I can usually tell when something is awry and if I get that feeling, then it is more appropriate to do divination to communicate with the spirits and confirm if my suspicions are right. Tuning your intuition and ability to communicate with your spirit team should take the place of using divination for predictive purposes, in my humble opinion.

[ditchdwellersupreme]

The Religion Of The Spirits

One thing that I think very few people talk about is the actual Religion of the spirits we engage with. Sure, we talk about pagan gods, Christian saints, etc. but I'm not sure if we realize the extent of this. I honestly hadn't given it much thought until very recently, but there are certainly instances in which spirits I've engaged with have a clear and defined religious identity.

I was talking with one of my Islamic friends, and he was talking about how djinn have religions. For example, there are Christian jinn, Muslim jinn, etc. They have religious affiliations just like we do. This got me to thinking about some of my past experiences with spirits.

I've found that various "lower" spirits (i.e.: Elementals, local spirits, spirits of the air and local weather, etc.) have religious affiliations, and beliefs. I also noticed that this seemed to change depending on my locale. In Virginia, most of the terrestrial, nature, and local spirits were "pagan" or at least non-Christian. In fact some of them had their own gods they worshiped. I recall a classmate of mine actually discovered one of the goddesses he venerated found a river near us to be sacred to her. Revealed through dreams etc. Yet the weather/storm spirits responded really really well to Abrahamic, specifically Christian, invocations and prayers. They always calmed down when I would call on the Lunar Archangel (Gabriel) and certain other angels, and working with the lore of Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee. (I think I'll make a post later about using mythology, folklore, etc. to craft spells and rituals). Contrast that with when I moved to Georgia, and the local spirits (at least in Savannah) are largely Christian and/or Hermetic in some aspects, while the spirits of the weather respond so much better to pre-Christian deities and invocations. Zeus and Helios especially. Though I also have a feeling that they prefer other spirits, and other methods than just invocations and petitioning higher powers.

I think it's important to consider the religion of the spirits we call. I saw a post by Hoodoo Moses on instagram a while back where he linked an article about a certain charm. It was a Crucifix with Jesus on it, however it is common in Muslim dominated communities. The reason being that it was a charm used again Christian Jinn who may be harming or possessing a person. Even though the person may not believe in Christianity, they know that spirit does and to rid it, you need to go through the avenue that would best appeal to it. It's a unique and genius way of thinking and working. Yet so simple at the same time.

Just something to ponder on, perhaps I'll go more in-depth as I explore it further, maybe make a video on it. I just think it's neat!

It also makes me wonder if there's New Age and Starseed jinn/local spirits. I think that concept alone is supremely entertaining

[grimoire-catechumen]

Good things to consider as we pursue relationships with the spirits.

[grimoire-catechumen]

The Secret of Secrets: A Ring of the Sun for an Oracle

Achieving communication through an oracle was a popular method of divination for Renaissance magicians and remains popular today. There are many methods spread throughout the grimoires on how to achieve this, but specifically the "A Cunning Man's Grimoire" published by Dr. Stephen Skinner and David Rankine offers many. This post will follow my process of creation for this ring and its effects in my life.

The instructions can be found in the book on pg. 112.

Astrologically, the Sun must be in Aries or his exaltation (19 degrees Aries) in the 9th House and the moon should be in the sign of the native's 9th house (Cancer for me) with a favorable aspect (trine or sextile) to the sun. A chart (Figure 1) in April of 2024 fits all but one of these requirements.

The Sun is in Aries, though not exalted and conjunct the midheaven. The Moon is also in Cancer. There are a couple of things I dislike, however. The first is that Mercury is retrograde and in a sign-based conjunction. Given his association with being a messenger of the gods, I can forsee this negatively impacting the solar oracle ring. The Moon also squares the Sun instead of being in a favorable aspect.

I attempted to find an alternative timing, preferably one not a year out. In April 2023 the Sun is in a similar positioning, but the Moon is in Sagittarius and in a trine with the Sun. While the Moon does not perfectly follow the grimoire instructions, my natal chart has the Moon in Sagittarius and it rules the sign of my 9th (Cancer), therefore, I find this chart (Figure 2) more agreeable considering other aspects as well.

Let us continue through the instructions with a date and time in mind. A pure gold ring should be engraved with specific characters and fumigated. Then a piece of root from a solar plant must be placed beneath a stone with solar characteristics. Specifics are included regarding the harvest of the herb, however, I think the most important aspects are to harvest in the day and hour of the Sun.

Pure gold is expensive and difficult to acquire, so I intend to make this out of paper. I debated the herb for this endeavor but decided on ginger for its solar characteristics according to Agrippa and because of its stimulatory nature. Before completing this work, I will create a ginger tincture and soak the paper in before letting it dry in the sunlight. Then I intend to cover the paper ring in gold leaf, carving or writing the respective sigils on top. Then a small section of dried ginger root will be glued onto the outside.

The book includes preparatory steps common throughout the grimoire (remain pure, fast, do not engage in unclean vices...etc) prior to utilizing the ring, though does not note a specific consecration (though, you should be able to adapt the call to the 7 angels noted in the beginning for this purpose if desired). When ready, you are to put the ring on they finger and enter your bed, speaking no words, but to meditate upon your desired effect and fall asleep.

When the time comes, I shall provide an update with pictures of the process along with my experiences!