Ἀκέφαλος - A Headless Rite Experience
Ok, take this with a grain of salt. Writing about a magical experience can seem like insanity. I have reread my magic diary notes, tried to gather my thoughts and form some type of thesis.
Backstory
Over a year ago my life had become rather chaotic, frustrating and uncertain. Family and work life had drastically changed and no conventional ideas seemed to improve matters. At my wits end I began looking for “magical” solutions to break out of the rut. I don’t remember exactly how but I came across Gordon White’s Rune Soup blog. This discovery thrust me back into something I had spent the last decade trying to ignore and that was practical magic. Feeling very curious I purchased The Chaos Protocols by Gordon and was inspired to give the Headless Rite a go. However please note, my ritual is not as prescribed by Gordon, I’ll explain why later.
Ritual
It was performed during the day on a Sunday on the planetary hour of the Sun in my backyard. The choice of day was not in my control, as it was the only day I could have my place to myself. But I did choose to perform it in the hour of the Sun to take advantage of the various Sun correspondences.
I began with a meditation to relax and enter a light trance state. I lit white candles located at the four directions as well as frankincense resin. Cast a circle by walking incense around a central altar (it’s just a small table). Read out barbarous names printed on paper, held to my left and right temples facing North. Then facing West towards Orion (who was below the horizon at the time) I read out the Headless Rite. I’m Greek Australian, so I read the rite in the Ancient Greek and not the translation. I don’t think the language used matters as long as the barbarous names are unchanged (that’s possibly where some of the magic is). I then activated some sigils using Gordon’s method of staring at sigils until they flash/fade and go back to normal. Then more meditation to cleared my mind. I ended the ritual and banished by clapping my hands and laughing. Tidied up the backyard.
Considerations and observations
Gordon suggests combining an invocation to the Demon Kings. I didn’t, mainly out of fear to be honest. Calling a demon back then felt sacrilegious and conflicted with my Greek Orthodox upbringing. It technically still does, but I’ve subsequently expanded my beliefs/views… not very Orthodox any more.
I don’t feel that the Demon Kings are demons anyway, well not in the biblical fallen angel style. I now view them as very significant spirits who represent/influence the cardinal directions, similarly to the Ancient Greek Anemoi (winds) and the Chinese Heavenly Kings. They are not a part of the Headless Rite, so their omission didn’t break anything.
The incense that was happily puffing smoke did flare up doing the ceremony, which did get the heart racing. The self lighting charcoals can do this which is normal. However I do find it amusing that it tends to happen as an accent or during the climax of a ritual.
I do remember feeling very invigorated once I completed the entire ritual. I didn’t think it was successful, but I felt good.
Then the fun started.
As crazy as it sounds I believe that performing the Rite opened me up to contact from the spirit world. The contact I received however was not what I expected, surprise surprise. My dreams three days later felt very, very real. I can lucid dream, but the feeling was far more intense. The first dream was a blend of nightmare and lesson. I won’t describe the entire dream, but basically I was given a lesson, I can either continue wasting life/vitality/energy by being sucked into base desires or I could channel my vitality/energy into meaningful magic. This choice was emphasised by two menacing black hounds with glowing green eyes giving me very threatening looks and growls. Oddly I felt a compulsion to give thanks for the dream after I woke up.
The hounds returned on two more nights. But on the last night within the dream, after I crossed a large canyon the angry black hound split into two dogs. One old, calm and friendly, the other young and active. I had worked through a few personal things so I felt the hounds were happy with me.
“So what, you dreamt of dogs?”, I hear you say. Well yes, but I’m trying to change my life and rediscover magic by performing an “exorcism” possibly written in the 2nd century BC, calling upon Egyptian Gods. No point in rejecting experiences because they sound trivial now.
Conclusions
To me the Rite when spoken in Greek has the same mouthfeel as prayers to God I could say in church. I kinda think it is, as it even mentions an “Angel of God”. Please note that I’m definitely not suggesting that the Headless Rite is a Christian prayer, far from it. Calling upon a Headless daemon (Akephalos), Osiris, Set, Bes and others would make a Church Father have apoplexy. I’m talking about the feeling.
I do think this Angel made contact with me and the hounds represent… her. Yep, I think the angel was female. Why do I think this? Well I’ve researched the words in the Headless Rite and symbolism in my dreams. The Headless Rite is included in the Greek Magical Papyri, other “spells/rituals” in the PGM include many of the same deities and barbarous names. A certain female deity is featured quite extensively in the PGM. One of the epithets she has is “Angelos” or Angel of God, so there’s the connection. This Angelos is also more typically known as the Goddess of Magic Hekate. Her heralds are “black hounds”.
That’s when the penny dropped. I got the result I needed but not what I expected. I had not considered Hekate in any way prior to these dreams. It also explains a series of events I experienced as a young child and many other bizarre correspondences throughout my life.
What’s interesting is that it has unlocked the PGM and how I perceive magic. Whether it’s Greco-Egyptian, Solomonic, Cyprianic ( another rabbit hole right there), Chaos or Eastern magic I know that it’s actually real. The spirit world is real, divinity is real and the universe is not just a mistake of randomness explained only in materialist ways.
So call the loony bin, we’ve got a real nutter here. Life will never be the same again.
Here is a recording of the Headless Rite spoken in Ancient Greek.
If you’re interested in the Headless Rite and other magical ritual then check out the book below.
The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation: Including the Demotic Spells: Texts (Volume 1)
Techniques of Graeco-Egyptian Magic Hardcover – 2014
The Chaos Protocols by @gordonwhite
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