Star Streaked Earth

Written by Siris Reference blog. 🐉 Filipino 🐉 Level 29 🐉 Worshipper of Loki 🐉 Spirit Worker 🐉 Reiki Attuned 🐉 DISCLAIMER: This is a side blog to my divination/reiki healing shop Scarlet Prophecies, which means I cannot follow back from this blog. kofiwidget2.init('Buy Me a Coffee', '#c30e12', 'Y8Y084MV');kofiwidget2.draw();

[pinoy-culture]

Repost from my IG @ thepinaywriter.

[ateligaya-blog]

{ Review } ~ Filipino Tattoos: Ancient to Modern by Lane Wilcken

Today’s review is away from makeup (for now at least ha), and into Pilipin@ related books. Now I actually bought this book a few years back and I bought it along with Way of the Ancient Healer: Sacred Teaching From the Philippine Ancestral Traditions by Virgil Mayor Apostol. These two were the first Pilipin@ cultural books I bought and what helped me in my own self discovery of who I am as a Pilipina-American. 

I talked a little bit on the book on my blog post when I first received it. However this will be an in depth review of the book meant for those who have been looking into buying the book and what to expect.

There are 8 chapters in the book, with endnotes, a glossary, forewords, testimonials, acknowledgements, and of course an introduction to the book and of tattooing in the Philippines. The 8 chapters are:

Chapter 1: Early Accounts and Fragments of Philippine Tattoo Culture Chapter 2: The Tattoo Process and Tools Chapter 3: Reasons for Tattooing Chapter 4: Facial Tattooing Chapter 5: Spiritual Aspects of Tattooing Chapter 6: Shared Tattooing Motifs with Pacific Isles Chapter 7: A Selection of Filipino Tattooing Motifs Chapter 8: Modern Filipino Tattooing

First thing that I liked about the book was the many rich color photos in the book to give the reader a more eye catching experience especially for those of us who are more of a visual reader. The author provides many photos and illustrations to showcase the tattoos along with his explanations of them.

Illustrations depicting the Pintados aka the Bisayans from the Boxer Codex, circa 1590 (left) and of a Bisayan warrior from Francisco Alcina’s Historia de las Islas e Indios de Bisayas, 1668. (right)

In chapter one Lane briefly discusses what we have of the early accounts and records of the tattooing traditions of the Philippines from the early Spaniards. One of the most remarkable depiction of early tattooing is of the illustration in the Boxer Codex c. 1590 of the Bisayans, or who the Spaniards called, the Pintados, or the “Painted Ones”. The name was associated with the Bisayans for their bold and elaborate tattoos that both fascinated and placed fear the Spaniards. He mentions the Ilokanos tattooing based on records from Francisco Colin in his book, Labor Evangelica 1663 and how more than likely the Ilokano abel (weaving) patterns were once patterns used in their tattooing before it was discontinued. He then goes into a man name Jeoly, or Prince Giolo, who was bought as a slave with his mother by English privateer, William Dampier for the intention to be used a human display for profit in exhibitions for his tattoos. He however sadly died of smallpox after a few appearances, a result of Europe’s sick human circuses, especially of the people they colonized. Jeoly was from the island of Miangas, a small island about 75 miles east of the Sarangani Islands of the Philippines. He is included in our tattoo history however as even though Miangas now belongs to Indonesia it was originally a part of the Philippines prior to the Spanish-American War.

In chapter two is information on the tattooing process and tools used. Most of this is info from the Cordillera such as the Kalinga and Bontoc. He discusses how the ink is prepared with the variations of names and how the people across the Pacific have a similar way preparing their ink and tools. He provides images and illustrations of the tools and ink and also talks about the method of tattooing by Apo Whang Od.

Chapter 3 is one of my favorite chapters as it goes into why we tattoo and the reasons of getting one. He describes an Isneg legend of the origin of tattooing which I found very interesting. He talks about how men earned their tattoos for honor and prestige and a way to showcase their manhood and of being a strong warrior. How getting your first tattoo was a rite of passage and were like badges to tell people how brave you were. In the chapter are information and photos of a few mummies discovered in the Philippines showcasing ancestors who are covered in beautiful, intricate tattoos that have been preserved on their skin. He then goes on to the tattoo’s of women and how they earned their tattoo’s. Unlike men, women didn’t have to kill to earn their tattoo’s but were a symbol and marks of beauty, to ward of evil spirits, who reached puberty, and who were ready for marriage.

He mentions how some specific tattoo motifs represent the fertility of the land and of women. One part I particularly liked was this passage in the book.

“ From these examples we learn what tattooing meant for these women. They were seen as not only more beautiful, but also possessing emotional and physical fortitude to endure pain and hardship, including the pain of childbirth. A woman’s tattooing was an affirmation of her strength and inherent spiritual power, procreative endowment, and as a form of clothing, an enhancement of beauty and a proclamation of her status. Finally, the tattoos were a form of recognition that allowed the soul of a woman to pass into the afterlife and join the glorious chain of her ancestors.”

Facial tattooing is written about next and here we see comparisons of the facial tattooing of the Philippines and across the Pacific. It’s a very short chapter but Lane gives a good illustration of a Bisayan langi face tattoo that was described by Francisco Colin in his Labor Evangelica 1663.

“ …they did tattoo the chins and about the eyes [barbas y cejas].”

A long with the description by Colin is the actual word langi described by the Spanish as meaning “gaping like a crocodile or bird of prey. Where as “bangut” meant muzzle or halter. He ends off the chapter with how the face and head was the most sacred part of the body and how a great deal of respect and acknowledgement was given to those who were able to receive facial tattoos as not only did these facial tattoos prove that they were one of the strongest but because the head was the location of the spirit and our connection with the ancestors.

The last few sentences of chapter 4 leads us up to chapter 5 of the spiritual aspects of tattooing. As someone who practices our old precolonial, indigenous beliefs prior to the arrival of the Spaniards and Christianity, I found this chapter all the more appealing. He talks about how tattoos were an important rite of passage not just in ones everyday life but as a passage to the afterlife. If one wasn’t tattooed their ancestors would not recognize them when they passed away and wouldn’t accept them. Some tattoo motifs represent symbols of the afterlife and connection with the ancestors such as water, pythons, and crocodiles. He talks a bit of the importance of these symbols and their connections and why they were represented in tattoos across the Philippines. He also discusses the anito, the ancestral spirits and how our ancestors worshiped them and payed their tributes to them through offerings and rituals. The placement of some tattoos also held great spiritual importance which Lane discusses in great detail.

Chapter 6 discusses the motifs shared throughout the Pacific and how we shares motifs that though they may be the same design, they either have the same meaning or some with slightly different meanings. He talks about the various bird, centipede, crab, canoe, and other motifs shared throughout the Pacific and their meanings within the groups of the Philippines and others from Samoa to Tonga.

Next up is motifs specifically found within the Philippines.  These motifs include motifs depicting the aso (dog), snake tongues, those representing the mountains, rivers, hawk, lightning, scorpion, human figures representing the ancestors, and others. Some of these motifs are only to be worn be doing a specific deed and as such must not be tattooed just because you want it.

Then we have our final chapter discussing modern Pilipin@ tattooing with the typical Philippines flag design, 3 stars and the sun, and recently the incorporation of Baybayin tattoo’s. Another popular symbol that is tattooed is the lingling-o tattoo which I personally have on my left wrist, to symbolize fertility especially among women.

(picture taken when I first got my tattoo and it was being healed)

The book is fantastic and I find it is a good beginner reference book to those who are interested in learning about the tattooing traditions of the Philippines and how it is an important cultural practice. One thing I felt was lacking however and was a bit disappointed in was the lack of info on the other tattooing traditions throughout the Philippines. I felt it focused more on the Northern, Cordillera traditions and didn’t go into the tattooing of the Bisayas and of Mindanao. I wished he covered the other tattooing traditions especially for those of us who are not Ilokano or from the Cordillera. 

The author does go into depth with the different tattoo motifs in the Philippines as well as the rest of South East Asia and Polynesia and explains the meanings and cultural ties that links the whole Austronesian-Polynesian cultures. He compares shared myths and creation stories, beliefs, tattoo motifs, etc. that are slightly different from culture to culture as the migration of the Austronesians moved downward from the aborigines of Taiwan to South East Asia to the islands in the Pacific. He also explains the spiritual beliefs of the Austronesian family, such as the belief in ancestral spirits, the connection with certain animals and the ancestors such as the snake/pythons, crocodiles, to the messengers of the ancestors such as the birds. This comparison I know some people might find annoying as it’s not just “Pilipin@ tattooing” but others. However I personally found this helpful not because it showcases the history between the people of the Philippines with those of the Pacific but how we share a tattooing culture that dates back many, many years. I find that in order to rediscover our tattooing traditions it helps to learn from those who share the same practice with similar methods, motifs, terms, etc. and see our commonality between the Austronesian cultures.

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in learning about the tattooing traditions of the Philippines. Is it an encyclopedia of all the tattoo motifs? No and Lane doesn’t claim his book as one. But it is a stepping stone for those who are really interested and will take their research further through looking at the historical documents and going into the rural places of the Philippines where they still practice traditional tattooing. There are a few things he could have improved on in regards to information I believe however overall the book itself is an excellent read and packed with information for any tattoo enthusiast.

Where to Buy the Book?:  Amazon Pricing: $28.26 on Sale. Original Price $40.00 Rating: 

 4/5

[pinoy-culture]

My review for the book Filipino Tattoo’s: Ancient to Modern by Lane Wilcken on my personal blog. I have been meaning to make this review for awhile now and I finally got around to posting this. Hope this review helps for any of you who have been meaning to buy the book!

[moonfaery]

Gealdýr - Loki

[wormwoodsmoke-deactivated202108]

do you have any witchy hot takes for us?

I'm not sure if hot takes are the same as unpopular opinions so I'll assume they are. Here are a few of mine:

The vast majority of occult/witchcraft books in big-name bookstores are garbage

I'm suspicious of any book or content creator who is has an aestheticly pleasing look and a fuck ton of followers

Witchcraft has rules, weather or not people want to agree

Cemeteries are resting places not your picnic area or photo backdrops

The amount of disrespect people have for gods and spirits will be entertaining when it comes back to bite them in the ass

The Starseed & Indigo/Crystal Child thing is the modern day equivalent of Heaven's Gate

Some tools are necessary especially for beginners

Social media has done far more harm to the craft than good

A lot of people who claim to be talking to a certain god are more likely to be talking with some kind of malicious spirit or their own ego

[scarletarosa]

What to Know Before Training in Witchcraft (part 3)

You need to learn to question everything. Learn as much as possible, yet question it all until satisfied with sufficient proof. This goes for magick spells you read in books, religions/mythology, and even your current beliefs. Your current self must be destroyed before you can be reborn, and only then will you be ready to carry the burden that this path will bring you. Do not be fooled into thinking that witchcraft is only for having fun, it is a spiritual science that will get you noticed by deities who will test you to see if you are worthy of the power you are seeking. Advancement on this path can only be gained through suffering, so if you want a simple life, this will not work out for you. As mentioned in the first post, witchcraft begins with the Spirit Death, and the death lasts for years until you finally are awoken. But when this happens, you will not be the same at all.

Crystals are talismans and amulets. There are many books on the properties of crystals and rocks, but make sure to question them and experiment for yourself. In order to use them, you either carry them with you, wear them as jewelry, or place them at a certain part of your body (if using them to heal). For example, black tourmaline placed on one’s stomach can be slowly turned in circles in order to release built up toxic energy, and carrying star sapphire allows the energy to act as a protector against malicious attacks (from people’s negative energy, such as envy or spite). If you wish to keep yourself grounded and not lose energy, carry a snowflake obsidian in your pocket, and touch it while asking for it to protect your energy. If a crystal is on a piece of jewelry, this jewelry must be ritually blessed in order for it to allow the crystal to function. 

There are no ingredients that can replace all other ingredients. Just because some people some time ago started the rumour that “white candles replace all candles” or “rosemary can replace all other herbs” does not mean that these are true. One of the greatest things to learn before training to be a witch is to think critically and not follow herds. Experiment for yourself so you can truly learn and become wise. As for these ingredients, the reason why it does not work this way is because everything has its own energy (like DNA) and it cannot be manipulated or be so complex that it represents all things (not even gods are like that). 

Invocations are powered by passion, not by the words themselves. When using invocations, it does not matter whether they rhyme or not (as popularized by media), but what matters is the passion and will you put into them. You need to actually understand how invocations work in order to use them properly; otherwise, you are simply speaking and nothing more. So in order to use this ability better, you can study ancient cultures’ magick such as Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Aztec. Additionally, do not recite any invocation you do not understand, this can sometimes lead to trouble. 

Be cautious about the incense you offer to gods. Every scent has a different frequency, and each deity has a specific frequency that they match with. For instance, do not offer rose incense to Ares or myrrh to Set. If this is done, the deity will become offended due to your lack of effort and consideration put into this offering. Each offering is meant to be a form of sacrifice, so put thought into it and even just ask the god if what you have in mind would be acceptable. Incense may seem like a simple thing to people nowadays, but in ancient times, it was taken very seriously as an offering and that is how the gods expect it. 

Learn how to ward yourself. In order to avoid malicious entities coming up to you or receiving intakes of toxic energy from other people, you need to know how to make wards in the astral. To do this, visualize and deeply focus on a cocoon of protective energy or fire forming around you. It will take practice to perfect this, but it is well worth it. Just remember that the ward will fade over some short time, so it needs to be remade. 

Higher Selves and the Shadow. Both of these are present in every person: the higher self is the soul (or Ba, our eternal self who we become after death). In most of the population, peoples’ higher selves are human, but some others may have different entities within them (such as angelic, demonic, elven, draconic, etc). As for the Shadow, this is the accumulation of one’s trauma, negative emotions, and insecurities. It forms into its own entity in your mind and attempts to sabotage you and manipulate you into submitting into self-destruction. In order to fight against your Shadow, you must work on your will-power and the ability to analyze and understand who you are and your traumas. Just make sure that you do not interact with your Shadow, since developing a connection with them puts you in danger.

Sigils need to be created on planetary squares. Sigils are a very old practice in magick that requires the witch to use a tablet of spiritual power to numerically infuse that into a design. There are instructions on how to do this online, though make certain that you use the proper square in regards to what you are needing (ex: sigil for help strengthening psychic powers- use the square of Luna). Once the sigil is made, you need to meditate upon it without any distractions for at least 20 minutes. Then continue doing this for about a week (with more complex desires, such as developing astral abilities, the meditations should need to last a month at least). Overall, one should study planetary magick and learn to recognize the energies of each celestial sphere so you can sense which of them effect certain plants and rocks. This skill will allow you to better understand the properties of each object before utilizing it (each object is connected to more than one planet- ex: avocados are linked to both Earth and Venus).

Magick is far more complex than you think. The abilities one can have through magick after decades of training can be vast and even terrifying, which is why witches were feared in the first place. An advanced witch is capable of healing illness, exorcising spirits, spirit communication, astral travel, calling upon storms, and even cursing someone to die with barely any effort. All of these and more are possible, but it takes years upon years of diligent effort, patience, humility, will-power, and study. It is a craft like any other, though perhaps one of the most difficult things to achieve. Due to this, it is highly recommended that any witch seek out an experienced and trustworthy mentor who can guide them. And if possible, it is best to also become initiated into a certain path such as Hermeticism, which will put the witch through trials of struggle in order to grant their Rebirth. 

Part 1 | Part 2

[scarletarosa]

What to Know Before Training in Witchcraft (part 2)

There are parasites in the astral and pretty much everyone has them on and inside of their bodies. If you have astral sight, these parasites look like large maggots that latch onto people and feed off their energy, causing pains and in some cases, personality shifts (becoming more aggressive or sad, etc). In order to get rid of these, you need to reach in your body (or the other person’s) with your astral hand, pull it out, and burn it until it dies. As said on the previous post, healing works easier if you move your physical hand along with your astral one.

Do not call upon spirits that you do not yet understand. This is a very vital lesson that is best learnt before you endanger or simply embarrass yourself. There are countless species of spirits out there in existence, but do not assume that everything you read about some entities is true (much of it is false or partly true). This especially goes for when working with demons, as they are far different than how portrayed, but can be very dangerous if insulted as they tend to be vindictive. If you do insult a spirit, make absolute certain that you genuinely apologize, give offerings, and ask what else you can do (though many spirits may not be forgiving, especially if they were deeply angered). 

As for angering entitles, there are spirits and even plenty of gods who will curse you or even kill you if you anger them enough. You do not have to be an evil person for this to happen, as they will do this just for being deeply disrespectful towards them (even if you hadn’t meant to be disrespectful). This is why it is extremely important that you treat gods with respect (unless you are on a friendly bases and are allowed to be casual), also do not call deities by nicknames or refer to them as derogatory or infantilizing things. Not all gods are wrathful, but many are from all pantheons, so you must be cautious with what you say or do. They are not automatically your friends and need you to take them seriously. 

Not all entities are safe for you to be around. They don’t have to be malevolent to cause damage, even benevolent deities can unintentionally harm you if your energies are not compatible. For example, if a deity’s essence is too strong for you, it may cause sudden pains in your body or strange discomfort in general. If this happens, politely tell the god (or spirit) to leave so you can heal yourself. This does not mean you can never work with that entity, you just need to develop yourself so you can handle other energies; it takes time and effort as with everything else in magick. 

You need to connect with a higher power in order to have more powerful magick. Without this, you become easily drained and cannot accomplish complicated spells. So in order to connect with a higher power (be it a god, dragon, the Source, etc) you need to practically beg them to grant you this and then they will begin testing you to see if you are worthy (which will put you through many struggles that you must overcome), If you do not, then the higher power will see that you are not developed enough to handle such abilities. 

Your magick tools only augment your spells, your mind is where the true power lies. However, as beginner witches (novice-intermediary), the tools are necessary in order to help your mind develop and learn how to properly channel your magick. Once you have trained for many years and become advanced, then you will be capable enough to be independent of your tools so you can use magick just through your astral powers combined with will and focus. Though remember, without a connection to a higher power, your spells and energy will still be limited.

Jar spells are ineffective, you need to actually check to see what works. With witchcraft becoming popular in the new age, jar spells have become practically all that people try to perform. Yet this does not work due to this method not having some fundamental necessities of magick. It is basically like trying to be a chef, but all you do is take your ingredients and throw them in a pot while expecting them to turn into a gourmet meal. The ingredients themselves do not perform magick, they only help you unlock it. You need to actually utilize the herbs in ritual fashion if you want to cast a spell, and the jars aren’t even necessary. So get more creative, experiment more, and actually become truly passionate and dedicated to witchcraft. Additionally, most spells require astral work (such as healing or cursing, since you actually have to send to or pull energy from a person, which jars cannot do).

Every spell you perform has an effect against you. This is not like the “three-fold law” Wiccans talk about, it is more complicated. First, we have something called the “knockback effect” which happens for every spell; the more complex the spell, the worse the knockback. The knockback is not a punishment, but is a natural result (much like the laws of physics) which occurs when someone does something that is against the “collective reality”. For this planet, the collective reality is that magick is not real, so anyone who performs magick has to fight against this fabricated reality in order to create an effect. Yet this action has a reflected action, which causes minor to severe damage to the witch in return (though it usually isn’t something to worry about as severe effects come from very advanced magick). 

There are also negative effects given out by the universe to every wrong action and every good action- both of them receive some negative situation as a result. For the bad actions, this is done as punishment and the witch (who cursed innocents, etc) receives a load of karmic debt that they must pay off through suffering. For the one who does good, the negative experience is only once and is given as a test in order to provoke their good-will and strength of heart. This may seem unfair, and it honestly is, but the universe cares only for evolution and this law has been in place for all existence. Though this doesn’t only have to do with magick, but all actions in general.

Part 1 | Part 3

[scarletarosa]

What to Know Before Training in Witchcraft (part 1)

Throughout history, humans all over the world have practiced magick; yet much information on how to perform these abilities were kept in secret from eyes of the unworthy. Due to this, the rise of monotheistic religions were easily able to wipe out much of the knowledge, making it difficult for new generations to discover how to perform this ancient spiritual art. As someone who has trained and devoted themselves to witchcraft for the past 15 years and has been initiated into the Hermetic Path, here are the main things you should know if you seek to become a witch as well:

The basics of performing magick: Every spell requires a foundation of things in order to work, these are Will-power, Intense Focus, Passion/Need for the Outcome, Visualization of Desire, and Understanding of the skills you are utilizing. Without these, the spell will not be kindled and will fall flat. Additionally, the stronger your focus, the stronger your spell will be; yet developing very strong focus requires long training in meditation. When using your focus, it is like having beams of light projected into what you are doing- if the focus is not strong enough, the light becomes scattered. Meditation also assists in visualization, as you will need to be able to hold a mental image in your mind for as long as you require and be able to manipulate its appearance or rotate it with ease. 

Most magick requires astral ability, spirit work, and etheric connection. The sooner you learn to astral travel, the better (it can be done through both full-projection and mental projection, which is easier). Yet, you do not need to astral project in order to manipulate the astral, you only need to understand how to use your astral limbs on command (this is done for many areas of magick such as cursing people through summoning malevolent energies, or healing by removing toxic energies from inside one’s body). If you do not learn how to operate your astral body, you will not be able to perform most of magick since magick mostly takes place on the astral plane. Remember that witchcraft is not simple in the slightest and most books on it are either false in order to gain money or too basic to be strong enough spells. Witchcraft is for those who are willing to devote their lives to seeking and perfecting it, as well as those who are wise enough to use it properly. It is not about spell jars or emoji spells (both of which are ineffective), magick is weather summoning, dream manipulation, exorcisms, energetic healing, and the ability to see your enemy’s location through astral sight so you can directly curse them. The possibilities are nearly endless. 

Witchcraft is not meant for everyone. I know that most people are wanting to be kind to eachother and be all-inclusive, but not only is this unrealistic for this advanced craft, but also a very dangerous mentality. If someone goes into magick without being prepared, it can cause severe damage or even death in some severe cases. There is a reason why ancient cultures have all had magick reserved for the shamans and priests; it is not meant to be handed out to just anyone, one must be worthy and actually capable of such power. Should you go into witchcraft or spirit work when you have a mental disability such as psychosis, major depression, etc, you are allowing your conditions to become far worse. This is due to many reasons since magick will shift your view of reality and you will also be tested by higher powers to prove your worth (neither of these are easy, but if you have a mental disability, it will hit you even harder and cause severe damage). So either get medicated and stable, or do not go into witchcraft or spirit work. As for physical health problems, do not go into spirit work if you have a condition such as heart disease, as some experiences can cause heart attacks. 

The more advanced you become, the more enemies you gain. This goes for both spiritual enemies and humans, since your power will attract malevolent entities of all kinds as well as other advancing witches. While witches can curse (or even kill) you out of envy for your power or if you angered them, malevolent spirits can do just the same usually with more ease and with greater consequences. There are a vast many types of malignant spirits but most of them are tar spirits (entities made of pure malice and look like tar). These can truly ruin someone’s life and cause severe trauma, so you need to make sure you actually know what you’re doing when going into witchcraft or you will be unprepared for such attacks. 

As a beginner (Novice-Intermediate Witch), you need to connect with a certain spiritual path (such as Kemeticism, Hermeticism, etc). This is because as beginners, we are still needing to train our minds to believe in otherworldly possibilities and begin thinking in ritually symbolic ways. Once you become more advanced, this connection is no longer necessary. It is best to study as many paths as possible in order to have a wide-range of knowledge, and especially make sure to learn about Animism, as it holds truth. Remember that there are spirits all around us- in plants, water, the winds, the planets. They also wander about and watch us; not all of them are human and in fact, most of them aren’t. There are a vast many different species of spirits, even ones that are unknown in myth or folklore. 

Imposter Spirits. If you go into spirit work without proper skills in sensing, hearing, and seeing, you are putting yourself at great risk to be manipulated by imposters. These are usually tar spirits who come and pretend to be deities, demons, and many other things just to get you to trust them. Their two main reasons for doing this are to trick a person into breeding with them in the astral (which creates many more tar spirits, which is horrible) or to simply destroy someone’s life by worsening any present mental health problems. To avoid this, you either need an experienced mentor assisting you, or you need to learn to be extremely cautious, educated in spirits, and take things very slow in this path until your senses fully develop. Remember, just because you called upon a spirit and they seemed to arrive, it does not always mean it is actually them; you need to test it.

You need to be able to cleanse yourself properly. Each day, we gather up toxic energy from people around us due to envy, hate, and many other things. Most people can feel this but pass it off as random bodily pains. In order to heal yourself and others, you need to use your astral sight to see where the toxic energy is (if it’s in your body, just feel for it) then use your astral hand to reach in and pull it out (it helps if you move your physical hand along with it). Once out, burn it in the astral by summoning fire in your hand. Then move your hand across your body where the energy was and heal it with golden light, covering any injuries if you were attacked. However, if you are just beginning magick, it is likely that you will not be able to do at least one of the things mentioned, so you will need to improvise until you are skilled enough through constant practice. 

Alternate methods of removing toxic energy are wearing jewelry of alexandrite or by placing black tourmaline on your stomach and slowly rotating it until you feel your energy become lighter. Although these crystals don’t heal everything, so it is best to learn how to use your astral abilities. For healers, you must cleanse yourself whenever possible, even by just summoning fire to move up and through your body in the astral. If you do not, you have a high chance of getting leukemia from the blocked toxins over time. As an advanced healer, you will be able to simply see inside a person’s body with your astral sight and be able to see what physical and spiritual conditions they have so you can heal them. 

The Spirit Death: One of the most important things a witch will undergo is the Spirit Death- the shedding of your Ego and current self in order to allow your rebirth. In order to properly perform magick, one needs to destroy their current limited mentality and become “less human” so that they can better absorb higher knowledge and surpass the ordinary person. This will not make you like the gods in complexity, as they are far beyond us. But it will make you vastly different as a person and far stronger. However, this Death requires you to undergo great suffering, as pain is the only way we can change and develop true wisdom. This is not something ordinary people are capable of going through, but magick requires great sacrifice. 

Even afterwards, you will have to live your life in loneliness when you realize in your higher awareness that you can no longer fit in among others. In order to undergo the Spirit Death, you only need to open yourself up to it and confess it to your gods, the Source, or your higher self. Throughout the path as a witch, especially during the beginning, you will fail. You have to learn to fail so you can see what works and what does not, then keep trying until you finally figure things out through trial and error. There is no easy way through the path of a witch. 

Part 2 | Part 3

[scarletarosa]

The Three Kings of Hell and Devotion

For those who wish to join or are already part of demonolatry, you tend to already be aware of two major branches: Satanism and Luciferianism. While there are many ways to go about being a demonolater, one of the most empowering ways to be part of this is to discover which of the three High Kings you wish to be primarily devoted to. While you can choose to work with demons without doing this, proper devotion to a High King can allow you to have more recognition from the demons, as well as granting you a more structured path of demonolatry. Each of the High Kings has their own values and teachings, but one similarity is that they all support spiritual awakening. One can choose to devote themselves primarily to one High King and work with the other two as secondary, or choose only one; it’s up to you and what you personally value.

Also keep in mind that working with demons does not mean that you will automatically receive their help with everything. A beginner in demonolatry is expected by demons to prove their worth by showing diligence in practice, honouring the demons, obtaining self-mastery, having desire for wisdom, and the ability to overcome the immaturity of their ego. Through this, the practitioner will begin to earn the respect of the demons, and they will be more glad to assist, sometimes even without requiring an offering. But this is a process that requires your time and effort, as well as showing the proper respect to demons.

For those who wish to take their devotion a step further, they may choose a specific High King to honour and follow the teachings of. It is not offensive to them if you wish to honour the other High Kings as well; but it is beneficial to select a certain path of teachings in order to find the branch of demonolatry most suitable to you. Also, keep in mind that doing this does not mean you will go to Hell when you die. It is very rare for a person to be allowed into a kingdom of Hell, especially since demons usually don’t want this and because the majority of humans are unsuitable to dwell there. Being a demonolater is a path that allows empowerment and spiritual awakening for those more inclined towards the left-hand path’s teachings, but you are free to go where your higher self belongs once you die.

So to assist those seeking which High King they should mainly be devoted to, here are the general teachings and the energy of the three demonic Lords:

Lucifer: This King is the most ancient deity to be created in our universe and is the primordial Light who shines with darkness. His wife is goddess Lilith, who is equal to him in her vast complexity and wisdom. The path of Luciferianism is best suitable for those who value Illumination (spiritual transcendence), knowledge, wisdom, will-power, change, inner-strength, and are willing to embrace hardship in favour of their personal growth. Luciferians seek to acquire knowledge of all kinds, especially those that bring awakening and deeper insight, even if these cause fear or shatter personal comforts. What matters most is not comfort, but absolute devotion to Truth and self-transformation. 

The Luciferian embraces adversity and seeks to overcome it as a warrior, never backing down to challenges, for they grant us strength and wisdom. The Luciferian is an eternal student, ever dedicated to expanding their understanding of both existence and themselves. Along with this, a Luciferian must always question things and seek to belong as an outsider among the crowds. They are the ones to achieve Illumination and then distribute teachings to others. Through Illumination, one gains empowerment and transformation into something greater. If something is occurring in society that is corrupt, even in a subtle way, a Luciferian will rise against this and strategically find ways to alert others to the situation. A Luciferian will only become violent out of necessity, including revenge, otherwise they tend to act through cunning. Out of the three Kings, Lucifer is the one who values and encourages Illumination the most.

Satan: This King is an ancient god who values rebellion, aggression, and domination over enemies. His wife is the goddess Ashtoreth, who reigns over vindictiveness and law. Like Lucifer, Satan also encourages rebellion against corrupt authority, but Satan’s methods are more different. While Lucifer values strategy and subterfuge, Satan is the one who favours brute force and enflamed emotions. He encourages raging passions to swell in the hearts of others, inspiring them to charge fiercely into battle. He is the one who violently overthrows what is no longer needed and charismatically empowers his followers. Though on another side of him, Satan also encourages indulgence, but in a way that is empowering for a person rather than damaging. 

The path of Satanism is best suitable for those who seek to become full of passion, strength, and will-power; fueling themselves against their enemies so they can be in charge of their life. Satanists seek to become powerful warriors who can withstand the challenges of this world, and will immediately bring vengeance upon their enemies. They have not much care for strategy, but prefer to quickly act with intensity and domination. They also tend to value indulgence in pleasure. But despite their love for indulgence, Satan teaches his followers that indulgence must always be handled with self-mastery. One must never allow their pleasures to become addictions, for this will make the person a slave to their indulgence, which is against Satan’s teaching of empowerment. Though overall, Satan values rebellion the most and seeks to have his Satanists focus primarily on this. One must take command of their own life and act with merciless aggression towards anyone who is a tyrant or abuser.

Leviathan: This King is one of the most ancient and powerful dragons, and was one of the first Watchers. He is a serpentine-dragon who once roamed the sea. Leviathan is connected to loneliness, despair, pain, and desolation. He is one of the most withdrawn demons, hardly ever speaking to humans. In his role, Leviathan destroys everything and everyone that is no longer needed, allowing progress to flow. Though his energy is extremely depressing to be around, and is capable of weakening even the strongest of hearts; only his demons have achieved sufficient resistance to this. Leviathan both causes depression and shows how to overcome it, but of course this is no gentle task. 

The path of Leviathan is best suitable for those who seek to undergo loneliness and hardship in order to become more resistant to the pains of life. These are the people who embrace the depths of suffering and desire to master it, despite the pain required to achieve this. Of course, one can work with Leviathan without undergoing this, but this tends to be the path for his devotees. The devotees of Leviathan tend to be highly efficient with shadow work and are often very solitary. They value deep-thinking, patience, defense over offence, self-restraint, and the virtues of pain. This is often best for those who are undergoing severe hardships in life and seek to become more resistant to their torments. However, this path is not suitable for those who are sensitive and depressed, as the energy of Leviathan will greatly increase your suffering.

Related Posts: The Demons, Lucifer, Satan, Leviathan

[rolling-sea]

Zelda Inspired Sigils: Din

Top: "Din's fire ignites my creativity"

Bottom: "I have the strength to pursue my passions". They can be used separately or together.

These are not charged so that's up to you! I recommend writing them in red, orange, or gold on a piece of paper, charging it in the sun, then folding it up and keeping it in your workspace (in your desk drawer, pen case, tool box, etc).

[rolling-sea]

Zelda Inspired Sigils: Farore

Left: I speak freely and without fear

Right: my courage overcomes my anxiety

These sigils can be used separately or together. I recommend using them by drawing them on your throat with a roll on perfume with a scent you associate with courage or soothing, depending on your preference. (If you don't have a roll on perfume, splash water on your neck then then trace it with a finger.)

[phionesdreams]

Would you be willing to share the astral weapon exercise? I do not know mine and I'm not sure how to access them

Sorry this took me so long! I wasdeciding how I wanted to share this. Normally this is a simpleexercise that I walk people through, and eventually I may set upsomething where people can donate a small fee for that one on onetime. For now though, I don’t see any problem with sharing the basicsof what I do. This is specifically a low level astral traveling (orbilocating). It is also in that interesting space where astral traveland meditation tend to intersect. While you are within this exerciseis it vital for you to understand that there are no right or wronganswers. Whatever you experience is valid.

Because this is bilocating, you will beexperiencing an astral space and in your physical body at the sametime. This adds some unique benefits. For one you can record youexperiences as you go. I like pen and paper, but computer or even avoice recorder work as well.

Things you need for this exercise:

Yourself

A quiet space

10-15 minutes

Notebook and Pen (optional)

1.So you’re going to want to start bygrounding and protecting. Casting a circle works well too if that’ssomething you do.

2. Then you take a moment to get into ameditative state. However you usually meditate is fine.

3. After you’ve reached a peaceful andcollected mental state, imagine yourself walking deeper inside ofyourself (Remember, this time we aren’t going anywhere external. Youwant to stay within your own headspace. You can create a headspace,or allow one to form. Either is fine.) Start one step at a time.Allow a space to open up before you.

4. Take a moment to experience this space.

5. Then when you feel ready, call up yourshield. Don’t worry about the details, rather observe as it formsbefore you. What does it feel like? What does it sound like? Is therea texture?

6. When you’re done exploring your shield,reach down and grab your weapon. Again don’t worry about details,just reach down and grab it. Allow it to form in your hand. Nowobserve it. What does it look like? What does it feel like? Is therea smell? A texture?

7. After you’ve taken a moment to observe,let it go and allow it to disintegrate back from wherever it camefrom.

8. To get back, just imagine walking backout and into your body.

9. Stretch. Drink some water. Relax. Thenyou can read what you’ve written, and see what you came up with.

Just remember. Your strongest form ofdefense will always be whatever you’ve practiced.

*If you use this exercise, reblog withyour weapon! So far no weapon has been alike and I’m curious to seewhat all comes up!

Hope this helps!

~Calla

[hecaatia-deactivated20171026]

How would one start conjuring? I see so many people talking about it but the only actual specifics/guides are in the lesser key and I don't feel comfortable conjuring those without practice. Thank you :-)

SPIRIT WORKER HACK #9:

Conjuring is essentially just calling spirits to you! 😊

It can come in many different forms and is usually more complex than just standing in a field and shouting that you want a spirit to talk to you. It can be elaborate rituals or much more simple procedures, but at the end of the day, all you are doing is calling a spirit to you.

 There’s two main reasons that conjure methods are usually kept secret. The first one being that each person’s method of conjuring is usually personal and many people feel uncomfortable sharing personal things. Second, it’s not the safest thing. You definitely need experience for conjuring. The majority of Tumblr’s community doesn’t even have one year of experience. And while of course people progress at different rates, I was was lowkey conjuring one month into my practice for example hehe, it’s much more likely that a beginner will go in over their head and get hurt. Also people are all too eager to open up spirit shops even though they just learned what spirit work was like 5 months ago, giving out conjure information would only exacerbate that problem. 

I learned how to conjure on my own and through my own experiments (like how i learned p much everything ^^;) but, despite working, my procedure was super shitty. Someone began to help me refine it and it’s so much better now. So while I’m a huge supporter of learning and developing things on your own, I think conjuring is one of the things that you just might need the guidance of another if you want to do it well. Of course if you are already experienced in spirit work then you might not need someone else’s help. My friend just gives me pointers, 95% of my procedure was created by me and me alone for example. But once again we return to the problem of the lack of experience in the community. 

Now you’re probably wondering, what kind of experience is needed for conjuring? Or maybe not, I can’t read minds. I’m just going to give a list of some of the things that conjuring entails and if you feel comfortable with all of that then you’re probably ready for conjuring! Skills needed for conjuring include:

Being able to discern the presence of spirits. Calling a spirit and not even being able to know for sure whether it’s there or not is really, really, bad for anyone who tries conjuring. 

Being able to communicate with spirits. I don’t know why anyone would be conjuring when they can’t even communicate with spirits but I’ve got to mention it lol. 

Knowing how to protect yourself. If you’ve never banished a spirit before or never had your wards broken through, then you’re probably gonna want to hold off on conjuring spirits. Already knowing what to do in those kinds of situations is super helpful when you’re inviting potentially dangerous spirits right into your home. You’ll need to stay calm and most people don’t when they have to deal with a malignant spirit for the first time. Better to deal with an angry human ghost banging on your wards than an evil demon queen inside your house for the first time you need to banish. 

Being able to tell apart different species BY THEIR ENERGY. You need to know for sure if who walked into your room is actually who you wanted. Impostors happen all the time. Appearance is a very unreliable way of discerning species because there’s a lot of shapeshifters out there and even spirits who aren’t usually shapeshifters can change the way they appear. Energy is a much better identifier. 

There’s definitely more but those are just the main points that are coming to mind right now. Check this out for more things that you should consider before conjuring.

Now we reach the conundrum, you should have those skills before conjuring but conjuring is also a great way to learn those skills 😂. Becoming a better spirit worker is all about practice and learning from experience and conjuring teaches you a lot of the skills that you need for intermediate-advanced spirit work because it is intermediate-advanced! Haha. So what are some ways to gain those skills without conjuring? Well first of all, time. If you’re passionate about spirit work and actually want to improve your skills to the point of being comfortable conjuring then you’ll get there eventually just by being an active spirit worker. 

Second, this is the whole reason why I wrote this lowkey conjuring guide right here. Yes it isn’t much and it’s geared towards pop culture spirits but remember what I said at the top of this post? “Conjuring is essentially just calling spirits to you.” And what are you doing in that procedure? 🤗 I was hoping that someone would make the connection that you could use that procedure for calling anything but so far only my smarty tarty friends have pointed that out to me. Guess I gotta do all the hard work huh? 😜

While I’d recommend sticking with the pc spirits just cause they’re less likely to cause any problems if you’re mindful about who you call, one of the points on that list was that you know how to deal with problems so go ballz deep cause you ain’t gonna learn unless you encounter problems. You can easily use that procedure to conjure animal spirits which are also very good beginner spirits to work with as well if you focus on more docile or human-habituated animals. Plant spirits can be called in the same way. All you would need to do is use the name of the animal (scientific name is probably best) instead of the name of a character and a picture of the animal to act as a focus point. Follow all of the other instructions that I wrote and bada-bing, bada-boom, you’re practicing calling spirits to you aka you’re conjuring babyyyyy!!!! The more you practice, the more you build those aforementioned skills, and the more prepared you are for more intense conjuring. 

FUCK IT. HERE’S THE BASIC BITCH’S GUIDE TO CONJURING A PLANT SPIRIT. ANARCHY! ANARCHY!: 

Note: I will only be explaining in detail how to conjure. Ward making, banishing, sensing spirits, communicating with spirits, energy work, etc. have all been written about a gazillion times and you must take responsibility for yourself and research and learn all of that on your own. Furthermore, the intention of my sharing this is so that people can learn the basics of the skills needed for conjure in a safer way (tbh conjure is never safe) so that they are prepared for more complex conjurations. If you use this procedure as written to open a shop or some shit, you are a fucking fool. I’ll explain more why at the end. Once again, conjuring is never safe. EXPECT TO GET HURT  at some point if you choose to practice it. No matter what you call, there is always a possibility for danger. Use those times as a learning opportunity, failure is the best teacher.    

Disclaimer: There are many different ways to conjure as I mentioned before, this is just the bare bones of what I see it as. Other people will not agree with my methods, other people have better methods, I don’t care. If you choose to do this, you are doing it out of your own volition and any consequences thereof are your responsibility. Sound mean? Well it’s the same thing that you agree to whenever you do a spell or curse you found online or in a book or whenever you use a spirit communication or astral travel method that you read on someone’s blog or heard in a youtube video. I am not afraid to share this even though it may mean that some people will get hurt. I mean I’ve already shared two other methods for conjuring spirits that are literally the same kind of thing so at this point I’m all in lmao. And that’s the reality of this path, there is always a possibility for being harmed. Why else would we recommend beginners to learn how to protect themselves as the first thing they do? 

Disclaimer Part 2: If you do not know the basics of warding, communicating with spirits, sensing the presence of spirits, banishing, cleansing, energy work, among other things, hold off on attempting this until you are more prepared. Remember, this is not for beginners. The procedure may seem simple, especially because it’ll probably be shorter than all of these disclaimers lol, but it truly does involve a good amount of knowledge of and experience in everything that I just mentioned and more. 

Remember the motto of this post: Conjuring is essentially just calling spirits to you. 

In today’s class, we will be conjuring a spirit of rosemary or Rosmarinus officinalis. I’m choosing rosemary because it is a safe and common witch herb and thus is less likely to give you trouble. However, you need to acknowledge the fact that no spirit nor species is entirely safe. Even the spirit of rosemary can harm you in some way. For example, a bunny spirit sounds nice and safe right? You decide to conjure a bunny and a giant demon bunny comes through. Uh-oh! This is a mama hell bunny, she’s really nice and won’t hurt you unless you hurt her kids but imagine expecting a small and cute bunny and getting a demon instead. In my opinion that’s an awesome surprise but for most people that will probably be jarring and it’s something that you need to be prepared for if you choose to conjure. Plants, rocks, docile animals, and nice pop culture spirits are all good places to start. I’d recommend sticking to plants in the beginning but what you decide to call is up to you.     

So now that we know what we want to conjure, it’s time to prepare for it. This means you’re gonna need to set up your protections. Your home should be warded at all times. You should also ward the room that you are conjuring in to prevent the spirit from escaping to the rest of the home in case they break out of your other protections. Multiple layers of defense are a necessity and knowing how to make energy wards really helps with that. Make sure that you check the health of all of your wards before conjuring. 

Now you have some options on how to directly protect yourself during the conjuration. Circles I believe are the most common and I like them cause they’re fun to design. I usually draw mine into energy spheres so that I’m protected from above and below by energy wards in addition to the forces that comprise the circle. Some people conjure the spirit inside the circle leaving them free to move around. Other people have both themselves and the spirit inside a circle. Some people don’t use circles at all and elect to use another method. Protective talismans can be pretty good for example. In my actual conjuring process, I use a conjuring circle and it has built in protections as another layer of safety. You can never be too safe. (I attached a link to a masterpost on circle casting at the end of this post if you need it. Circles aren’t the only way of protection, as I mentioned, but they’re pretty simple to make tbh).   

Once you have a plan for how you will protect yourself, you now need to get a focus point for your call. In this example, using a rosemary plant, dried rosemary, or even a picture of rosemary whether in a book or on the internet will work. If you are calling an animal, you can use their remains or you can use a picture as well. You can also use a clear quartz crystal, a crystal ball, a black mirror, etc. once you start calling spirits like demons or fae. I personally use energy work for this and make portals to the aether but that’s just me lol. 

Next is an offering. Apparently not everyone gives offerings to the spirits that they conjure which I think is pretty rude but I guess they have their reasons. One of the reasons that plant spirits are great for beginning is that water offerings are super easy to provide and they love them. 

Finally, decide on how you’ll call the spirit. The phrase that I would use for calling a rosemary would be something like “I call the spirit of Rosmarinus officinalis that once took a physical form on the Earth to come speak with me. I have an offering of water in return for your time.” I specify the part about living on Earth because I don’t want to accidentally call a rosemary bush from hell or some shit. I also use the scientific name as it is more precise.There is the whole thing of intent where if you intend to meet a specific kind of spirit then only that kind of spirit will come forward no matter what you say. However, in my opinion, relying on that is dodgy because I’ve had experiences that contradicted it. Up to you on how specific you choose to get with your calls.

Now you’re ready to do the conjure! I will now write in a different style so that it is easier to follow:

Step 1: Check the wards on the room that you plan to conjure in. You don’t want an unwelcome spirit getting in and masquerading as the spirit that you’re trying to conjure. You also don’t want a rogue spirit that you conjured to run amok in your whole house. Make sure that everything is in tip-top shape. If not, fix it. Don’t be lazy, even if you’re just calling a simple plant spirit. 

Step 2: Prepare your materials. You should have: Any protective talisman or amulet or tool that you need, anything that you need to make your circle, a focus point, an offering, any tools that you use for banishing

Step 3: Prepare your direct protections. These would be your circles or whatever you choose to use in place of a circle. (I like to put the circle around just me so that’s what I’ll describe. You of course can do this however you want.) I don’t have a giant sheet with a circle on it so I create mine using carefully placed objects and energy. First I begin by calling upon the elements to aid me in protection. I start with Fire cause he’s my boy and I call for his aid as I place a carnelian stone in the south direction. When I feel that the fire element has arrived, I draw its energy away from the stone and in a curved line until it reaches the west point where I then call upon Water using an aquamarine. I connect Fire’s energy to Water’s stone and being to draw a curved line of energy from Water to the north point where I call upon Earth and so on. Once my pointy  circle of elements has been completed, I then call upon my gods in the same way but by writing down their names/placing images of them slightly outside the circle of elements so I have two energy circles around me. Once the circles are complete, I feel their energy and then draw it upwards to form a two-layered dome of energy and then I draw it downwards to form the sphere. Your method of circle making will probably be different than mine but I figured I should give a detailed example. Remember to keep any tools that you need such as banishing equipment somewhere that you can get to without breaking the circle. Also make sure that the focus point is outside of your circle. I strongly recommend putting a circle around the focus point as well because the more protection the better haha. 

Step 4: Make sure you’re ready. If you feel uncomfortable in your circle or are getting bad vibes from the whole thing, stop what you’re doing, take down your protections, and come back to it another day. Maybe even cleanse the room and yourself. You should only conjure when you have the energy to, when you feel safe, when you’re prepared for anything to happen, etc. If you feel unready or unsafe, listen to that feeling and stop. 

Step 5: Call forth the spirit. Focus hard on the focus point (lol). It will act as a portal, a connection to our world for the spirit. Focus and say the call, “I call the spirit of Rosmarinus officinalis that once took a physical form on the Earth to come speak with me. I have an offering of water in return for your time”. How the spirit appears will depend on how you sense spirits. It’s form might also differ from spirit to spirit, person to person. It will not be some grand arrival nor will a spirit physically manifest. Conjuring really isn’t as exciting as people think. A spirit may make a grand entrance depending on their personality or status but it’s more likely that you’ll just begin to feel their energy/presence and get mental flashes of them or hear them or whatever clair you use. Give the spirit the offering, be respectful, etc. etc. 

Step 6: Send the spirit back. Thank them for their time and say that it is time for them to leave. Once you can no longer feel their energy and/or see them leave, cut any energy connection that they may still have to the place. I do this by chopping the energy apart and dismantling it but you could also just cleanse the focus point after you close your circles. Yeah, next thing is to close the circles. This is done by thanking the forces that you called on and telling them that they can leave but in the reverse order that you used when making the circle. Just do everything in reverse lol. You may feel the need to cleanse the room if you feel any lingering energies. 

 If they don’t listen to you when you ask them to leave, demand them to leave. If they continue to be noncompliant, call upon the forces of your circle to help you banish them as you perform your banishing ritual/method. When their presence has been dissipated, cleanse the room and any tools that you used. 

Note: Conjuring expends a lot of energy and time so make sure that you’re able to sacrifice those things before beginning.      

Now remember, this is a very basic conjuring guide. Basic as in bare-bones. If you want to develop a more complex and complete procedure, which you need to if you want to progress, you’ll need to add to it. To give you an example, let me describe my conjuring circle that I created myself for my more personal conjuring method. In the middle of the circle is a sigil that acts as a portal to the aether. There are two rings around that sigil, soon to be three. The innermost ring is a ring of sigils that are designed to strengthen the connection to the aether so not only will my call get through easier, but also the spirit will have an easier time manifesting. The second ring is my fail safe, a code word-activated offensive sigil that will attack the spirit and send them back through the portal if I require that function. The third ring will act as another protective measure though I haven’t decided what kind yet. These are the kinds of things that you need to be thinking about in order to develop a stronger conjuring method. 

Because people are probably wondering, I chose to give a more bare-bones method because I want people to be self-sufficient. I want yall to experiment with your own conjuring methods, develop something unique to you. You can surely get by using this method as written but if you seriously want to become a conjurer then you should look at creating your own procedure that is safer and more efficient. Perhaps even something that is related to your specific craft, the possibilities are endless!! 

(If you haven’t yet, I definitely recommend reading my post on calling pop-culture spirits. Skip the intro, start at safety. It’s essentially what I described here but probably easier to follow and it goes into some potentially helpful details that I left out here. 

https://hecaatia.tumblr.com/post/159900026547/my-method-for-contacting-pop-culture-spirits)

Other Helpful Links:

(Keep in mind, if you aren’t comfortable with your ability to practice everything linked here then you aren’t ready to conjure. But remember, “comfortable” doesn’t mean that you’re a master 😉. Only you know when you’re ready to conjure and I hope that I’ve imparted on you enough knowledge to help you make that decision)

Shielding and Warding Masterposts (Multiple Parts)

Circle Casting (Optional based on Preference)

Protection FAQ

Even More Ways of Protecting Yourself

Energy Work Masterpost

Spirit Work Masterpost

Spirit Communication Guide

Spirits with Generally “Pleasant” Temperaments for Conjure

Things to Keep in Mind When Conjuring 

I HOPE THAT HELPED

(I know this was extremely long but I feel like if you truly want to learn how to be a conjurer, then you’ll read it in its entirety. And then read multiple times. Have a plan before conjuring, don’t be guessing about what’s supposed to come next. God I can keep talking so much on this lolololol)

[hecaatia-deactivated20171026]

Spirits Can Eat You

& Other Ways that They Can Harm You in the Physical Realm

Mostly my UPG but I have heard similar information from others’ experiences

*Always make sure to look into medical and mundane reasons for any harm that may have occurred before ascribing the cause to spirits. *

A human walks along a craggy coast in the middle of the night. The waves violently churn and sputter beneath their feet as they hop from rock to rock. Under the surf something waits, carefully watching the human’s movements. The being has soft, gray skin and a beautiful cerulean tail whose scales reflect the moonlight, but the human lacks the ability to see this. They also don’t see when the creature darts out of the water, sinking her nails into their etheric body and pulling it into the depths. The human stops, gut wrenching, heart pounding, such weird symptoms seemingly brought on with no reason. But then they collect themselves and continue down the beach, feeling oddly different from before.

Most of the time, when a spirit “physically” harms you the damage will be applied to your etheric body. However, sometimes that damage can be translated over into your physical body in some form. For example, a god of cadavers once touched my arm causing a necrosis in the cells of my etheric body that expanded until my skin was a deathly black and the bone was exposed. My physical body was unharmed and showed no signs of the damage that was done to my etheric body however, I did find that the spot was less sensitive until my etheric body was healed. Even now the spot that he touched occasionally feels “off”.   

Eating

Just like humans, many entities need to eat to survive. They can eat the etheric copies of organisms and objects in the physical world as well as eating other spirits. Unlike entities, most ghosts don’t need to feed but they can if they want to. When a spirit eats it can be described as them absorbing the energy of their food and assimilating it into their energy. However, there are many different biologies and ways of feeding that might follow a different process.

Humans, physical and ghosts, are often prey for predatory species. Don’t think that just because you have the “energy of a dragon” or whatever that no one will attempt to eat you because of that. There’s always someone bigger.

When an entity eats a human they can either take out chunks of your energy or the whole damn thing. This can leave you feeling strange, empty, not fully “there”, and it can definitely affect the strength your magical workings. If you ever do get eaten, fear not! Energy with ties to the physical world (aka your meat body) will eventually reform over time although this can take up to years and can lead to long-lasting damage if a large amount of your energy was taken. So maybe fear a little.

Some entities are parasites that will hide in your etheric body and drain your energy from the inside. Parasites can also be large, regular looking entities that subtly drain you when they’re in your presence.

Entities can also feed on the ambient energies that you give off. For example, a despair demon might feed on the ambient energies of someone who is going through a depressive episode. A feeding like this isn’t directly harming you and can actually be helpful if you have a trusted entity feed on energies that you don’t want lingering around. However, it can be the opposite where an entity will try to milk these energies out of you by, for example, instigating depressive episodes and making you feel shitty.

Attacks and Abuse

Just like physical humans, spirits can punch you, kick you, sexually abuse you, etc. This harm usually takes a form similar to my example with the cadaver god. Depending on the extent of the damage sometimes this can manifest physically. Examples being feeling pain in your face after being slapped by a spirit or having scratches appear where they clawed you. They can also emotionally and psychologically abuse you.

*Always make sure to look into medical and mundane reasons for any harm that may have occurred before ascribing the cause to spirits.*

Possessions

Not as rare as everyone makes them out to be but still not as common as the others. In my experience this can come in three different forms: possession of the body, possession of the mind, and both combined. When a spirit possesses the body of a human, it can control their movements but the human’s mind is still conscious. When a spirit possesses the mind of a human, it can do things such as hack into their third eye, steal personal information from memories and the like, or even rewire their brain. Possession of the mind is usually a more gradual and subtle process than possession of the body. While this is a post about ways that spirits can harm people I figured that it might pay to mention how possessions aren’t always dangerous and can be done with the consent of the human (I loosely use the term “channeling” to describe consensual possessions).  

Influencing Auras

I mentioned earlier that humans can give off ambient energies that attract spirits, well spirits can also give off their own ambient energies. A spirit’s ambient energy is often an extension of its true energy. This energy often blankets wide areas of space, usually around where the spirit resides, and can influence the events or behaviors of organisms and other spirits that enter it. One example would be a species of spirit that I met called lunar soldiers. When they gathered together, they created an ambient energy of lunacy where those who entered it would behave erratically and often violently. Other examples could be the ambient energy of a murderer’s ghost that influences physical humans around them to commit murder and assault or the ambient energy of a forest causing people to be forgetful and get lost easier. Of course, not all entities have negative ambient energies or even ambient energies at all.

The Myths Don’t Lie

My final point is about how the myths and legends of spirits are often correct in describing the harm that spirits can do. Gorgons can turn your body to stone, vampires can feed on your blood, mermaids can drown you (or have ambient energies that make people around them more likely to drown ;D ), etc. It’s just that, most of the time, these things will happen to your etheric body and not your physical one.  

*Always make sure to look into medical and mundane reasons for any harm that may have occurred before ascribing the cause to spirits.*

[marked-by-moonlight]

Books?

Does anyone have any recommendations for good witchcraft/spirit work/energy work books? Thanks!

@lulloph @fox-sprt @hecaatia @chaosjelly @thesmoldragoness @witchtips @urbanspellcraft @dad–dragon

[hecaatia-deactivated20171026]

Robert Bruce has some great books on energy work and astral work. He teaches energy sensing without visualization in one of them (all of them? I can’t remember xD), which I know might help a lot of people. 

Raymond Buckland’s spirit communication book is a nice beginner book that has some good exercises for developing the different “clairs” of spirit sensing. 

Animism: Respecting the Living World by Graham Harvey, Is There Such a Thing as Animism? by Darryl Wilkinson, and Animism by Edward Tylor were good anthropological texts on animism if that path interests you. Harvey’s book is super good. 

Other spirit work-related books: The Encyclopedia of Spirits by Judika Illes, Fabulous Creatures, Mythical Monsters, and Animal Power Symbols by Cassandra Eason, S. Connolly’s books, Ancient Egyptian Demonology: Studies on the Boundaries between the Demonic and the Divine in Egyptian Magic (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta), and various grimoires like Grimoirium Verum.

For witchcraft, I really only have texts for traditional witchcraft so you’ll have to see if some of the other people focus more on modern witchcraft if that’s what you’re into. Cunning Folk and Familiar Spirits by Emma Wilby is a great starting point. But you’ve also got Mastering Witchcraft by Paul Huson, A Practical Guide of Witchcraft and Spells by Cassandra Eason, Not in Kansas Anymore by Christine Wicker, A History of Witchcraft in England from 1558 to 1718 by Wallace Notestein, Witchcraft in Tudor and Stuart England by Alan MacFarlane, The Witch’s Familiar by Raven Grimassi, and Old World Witchcraft by Raven Grimassi. I don’t have everyone’s book titles on hand so here’s just a bunch of authors that you should look into: Gemma Gary, Paul Huson, Andrew Chumbley, Daniel Schulke, Nigel Jackson, Lee Morgan, Robert Cochrane, Robert Artisson, and Michael Howard. Also basic general books on the history of witches are good for traditional witchcraft as well as testimonies from the accused and accusers, legal documents, and other historical texts about witches (Ex- Malleus Maleficarum).

If you’re interested, I began with The Greater Key of Solomon and The Lesser Key of Solomon, the Daemonolatry Goetia by S. Connolly, Pseudomonarchia Daemonum by Johann Weyer, Prometheus Rising by Robert Wilson, Liber Null by Peter Carroll, Condensed Chaos by Phil Hine, The Three Books of Occult Philosophy, and Religion and Magic in Ancient Egypt by Rosalie David, Magic in Ancient Egypt by Geraldine Pinch, the Egyptian Book of the Dead and some other stuff within those three fields.

[elysiumconjures]

Spirit Conjuring: A Crash Course

You can read this article on our website here.

Lethe here! Before we begin, I strongly recommend you take a look at these two posts written by Acheron, which delve more deeply into discernment and how to gauge if you are really ready to conjure.

Please note that this guide is designed for spirit workers who already are capable of warding and sensing spirits. If you don’t know how to ward your space, or how to tell if it’s the wind howling or a spirit trying to get your attention, you should not be conjuring.

Before you even get started with any conjuring - have a purpose. In the beginning, it is very helpful to have a clear game-plan of what you want to do. Do you want to learn a new skill? Ask questions to a member of a species you’re very interested about? Consider this and write it down.

Take notes. Write as thorough a document as you are able to - spare no detail on the type of thing you are hoping to accomplish with your conjure. The more you write, the easier the rest of your conjure will be.

Additionally, research some banishing methods (I have included a few helpful links at the end of this post!), and prepare an offering. Please note that the offering you provide should be of equal value to the thing you are asking for. For example, if you are conjuring an entity because you want them to empower a spell, the offering you provide should be of higher value than if you are calling a spirit just to ask about their day.

MATERIALS:

Offering

Banishment spell and ingredients (if you need them)

Wards

Divination method (you can use telepathy if this is your strong suit, but having a divination method is incredibly helpful to confirm your answers and should be used as another method to verify answers during your vetting sessions)

Cleansing spell and ingredients (if you need them)

A quiet place, free of interruptions

Your written document

STEP ONE:

Make sure you have all of your materials ready. If you are going to need to banish something, you don’t want to have to pause your ritual and run to the kitchen for salt. Make sure your divination tools and your space have both been cleansed, and that you will have at least an hour of uninterrupted time.

STEP TWO:

Please, for god’s sake - make sure your space is well-warded.

Example of a bad ward: “Only light spirits with good intentions can come in.”

Why is it a bad ward? A spirit can be light aligned, or have good intentions, and still cause you harm. Consider a light-aligned angel who sees you as “unclean”, enters your wards, and attacks you to cleanse you. According to your wards, this would be acceptable. After all, he is light aligned AND he means well.

Examples of good wards: Wards that prevent spirits from using glamours while inside them, wards that prevent malicious or dangerous parasitic entities from entering, etc. Please make sure that when creating these wards, you are clear about your definitions of ambiguous terms, such as “dangerous” or “harmful”.

STEP THREE:

With your offering in hand, state your intent (this is where having the detailed document really comes in handy!). While being fancy and poetic can really get you in the Conjuring Mood, it’s best to aim for being clear. Saying something along the lines of “I am sending out a calling for ______, I offer ________  in exchange for _______” can be a good place to start.

STEP FOUR:

Wait for the spirit to show up. Once they are with you, confirm that they are not malicious. Make sure that they agree to the terms you specify. Some points you might want to consider including are:

They will only remain in your space for the duration of the conjure, and they will leave your space and have their permission to access it revoked once the conjure is completed

They agree to the transaction you proposed.

They will not lie, either explicitly or by omission, and they will present the information they provide in a way that does not misrepresent facts, lead to misinterpretations, etc.

The conjuring session is initiated once they agree to the terms you have set out, and it is finished when you say the following “____”.

This is a good example of what your interaction might look like.

If they agree to the terms, then proceed with the conjure. If they do not agree with them, ask them to leave and try again. If they refuse to leave, proceed to banish, cleanse, and put new wards in place.

STEP FIVE:

Begin the interaction with the spirit. While I encourage you to be polite and respectful, avoid language that might place you in a position of “debt” with the strange spirit (no “sorry”, “thank you”, etc.).

Listen to them, but also be on the lookout for anything that feels “off”. If you get a bad feeling- trust your gut. If you catch them in a lie, if their story doesn’t add up, if they are trying to convince you to sell your soul for riches - ask them to leave. If they do not respect your wishes, then banish them.

Some things you should look out for when interacting with a spirit are:

Claims about them being “totally your guide”, or  “have been protecting you since you were a child, because your future is so special.”

“I am your long lost ____, and in your past life we were soulbound, I swear.”

“Only with my help will you be able to unlock your truest potential.”

While they might be sincere, it is important to keep a healthy level of cynicism in your interactions with a spirit. After all, they are a stranger, and while you might have met your soulmate during a random call into the astral, it is also very likely you just met an asshole. Just… make sure to keep that in mind.

STEP SIX:

Once you are done with the conjure, ask the spirit to leave. If things have been going well, you can schedule another meeting with them. Make sure they leave after you ask them to. If they don’t, then BANISH them. This may seem like an extreme measure, but they should respect your wishes. If they don’t, it’s unlikely they will for other things, too. Either way, once the spirit is gone from your space, make sure to dispose of your offering, cleanse your space, and thoroughly check your wards to see if they need any work.

STEP SEVEN:

Enjoy.

WARDING:

Personal Shielding

Protection From Undesired Spirits Or People

A Long List of Ways To Spiritually Protect Yourself

Energy Work Masterpost

Warding Masterpost

What Are Wards And How Do You Make Them?

Ward Types and Components

Top Ward Mistakes

Top Ward Mistakes II 

CLEANSING:

Cleansing Masterpost

Easy Self-Cleansing Spell

Home and Room Cleansing Chants

BANISHMENT:

Banishment Magick

How To Banish A Spirit

“Bitch, Be Gone” Powder

Bree’s Banishing Powder

Super Banishing Oil

Creating Banishing Stones

SPIRITS:

Basic Offering Ideas for Spirits

Spirit Communication

Spirit Communication Sachet

Pendulum 101

Pendulum Question Ideas

Get To Know A Spirit Spread

Spirit Communication Tarot Spreads

Moral Compass Tarot Spread

Automatic Writing

Methods Of Seeing Spirits

[elysiumconjures]

Gaze Upon a Star Tarot Spread

The “Gaze Upon a Star” spread features intimate questions to help you tap into your spirit companion’s subconscious feelings and desires about their relationship with you. Learn what qualities your companion admires in you most when they gaze upon you through this tarot reading!

This 6-card spread features the following questions:

How does your companion feel about your relationship’s past?

How does your companion feel about your relationship’s present?

How does your companion feel about your relationship’s future?

What does your companion desire from you most?

What does your companion find most fulfilling in their relationship with you?

What does your companion find most beautiful about you?

You can order this reading from our shop, Elysium Conjures, here!

[elysiumconjures]

Spirit Vetting Practices - By Elysium Conjures

Ask conjurers about their vetting practices and most of them will give you replies better suited for tricksters trying to entrap you into making some sort of shady deal. “It’s a trade secret”, they say, ignoring the fact that what they do or don’t do has a very tangible impact upon your well-being and safety.

But why is it that everyone is so hush-hush about something so vital in spirit work and spirit companionship? What’s the deal with that?

Today, I am going to be discussing Elysium’s vetting practices in detail, with the hopes that this post can shed some light into what vetting is like and encourage others to be more upfront and open about their own standards in vetting.

First of all- what the hell is vetting?

Vetting is the process one undergoes alongside a spirit in order to determine whether they are suitable to work with or not. It is most often (although not always) used in the context of spirit companionship- and it entails the conjurer working closely alongside the entity in a variety of ways to test whether this being is relatively safe (relatively because no entity is completely harmless) and real.

What does good vetting entail?

While I cannot speak for my conjurer compatriots- I can certainly tell you my opinion on what good vetting entails.

First of all, before you even think about conjuring an entity- you should have an iron-clad contract drawn out, and banishment methods ready.

Vetting starts from the moment a call is “put out”, and therefore you want your wording to be as specific as possible in regards to what you desire out of this entity.

Pardon the language, but fuck off with “I want a good unicorn who has never harmed humans.” You know what you’re asking for with this sort of call? You’re asking for a parasite, a thoughtform (which isn’t inherently bad, but which you wouldn’t be expecting if you were looking for an entity companion), or something harmful to step forward.

Aside from a good call, you want your wards to be well-constructed and anchored to the physical as well as the astral. Please understand that quality is better than quantity, and “I have 1000 teleporting wards that create an energetic maze” not only sounds ridiculous, it would also be impossible to maintain without you collapsing into a heap on the floor.

Next comes the juicy part- the real vetting. After you have conjured a potential entity, you want to take a holistic approach towards it.

What does a holistic vetting approach mean?

It means that singular vetting methods by themselves are fallible, but when put together they create a bigger, more complete picture that will allow you to make a more informed decision in regards to whether you should keep working with an entity or not.

Take asking questions, for example. The likelihood that an entity can lie, or that you can project answers onto them, is very high. However, pairing this practice of interviewing with things such as thorough energy work, asking for physical signs of confirmation, etc. can make the results you obtain much more valid.

What are bad vetting practices then?

Having your deity check for you

If you have a deity check for you- you are not only relying on your ability to accurately translate what they’re saying (which is dangerous in and of itself), you’re also relying on some magical, mysterious means (perhaps omniscience?) to ensure that the deity is capable of determining if an entity is suitable to work with. Having deities vet for you is not only lazy, but it is also incredibly dangerous and prone to fallibility.

Vetting for less than two months

Entities are dynamic beings- and you cannot fully understand someone unless you have spent a long time with them. While I can’t tell you that vetting an entity for two months guarantees that you will know them inside and out, I can say that one or two weeks is absolutely not enough to understand and really know them. At that point, they will be strangers both to you and to the conjurer who did the “vetting”.

Using “magic” or other methods to “prevent the entity from lying”

Not only is this unethical as a concept- it is also likely just a goddamn lie. The process required to bind an entity and compel them, to tell the truth, is complex and requires the kind of work someone who doesn’t want to do proper vetting isn’t likely to do.

Having your companions do the vetting for you.

Lazy, and as problematic as deities doing your vetting.

Doing rituals but no vetting

Come on, guys! We are better than this.

How do I vet an entity?

Physical checks. Please make sure you do physical checks. These serve the purpose of helping eliminate the probability of thoughtforms and ensuring the spirit is both reliable and capable of communicating.

Tarot. Use it in conjunction with other methods both to gather further information as well as to confirm the information you have already gathered.

Interviews. Use them in order to obtain more information that you can then assess and confirm with other methods.

Other Practitioners. Have blind-checks with other practitioners and be honest and upfront about the results you obtain.

What are the important things you should remember when vetting?

Entities are often not immersed in human culture (or if they are, their information is sorely outdated)- it is a conjurer’s responsibility to prepare the entity for the human world and its intricacies

Lore/ Canon is very important, and while there is some flexibility with it, it should not be discarded when vetting.

Wards are fallible, so it is important to be cautious and constantly improving upon them

What does Elysium’s vetting constitute of?

Elysium Conjures is committed to upholding safe and ethical vetting practices.

Our vetting method is as follows:

2 weeks of interviews with wards (typically 45 minutes each)

During our warded interviews, the entity is thoroughly examined. Their energy, their intentions coming into the relationship, and their desires by entering into a companionship are all explored. Information obtained from them is compared to available lore. If there is no lore/canon available for the entity in question, then they will remain in vetting for longer, as we gain a better perspective of their cultural and social background, as well as their species.

6+ weeks of interviews without wards (typically 45 minutes each)

During unwarded interviews (which will continue throughout the length of my work with the prospective companions), entities are placed in a variety of situations that they would encounter in mundane life- from interacting with mentally ill or chronically ill practitioners to hanging out in big crowds. Their reactions are placed under the microscope in order to better gauge if the entities are suitable to be companions or not. Physical manifestations are required during this part of the process, and it is expected that they will be able to fulfill contracts if requested to do so. Furthermore, entities during these stages of vetting are taught more about the human world and what human companionship is all about. Entities must be aware of how to manage their expectations, what to do when they are struggling, etc. among other things. In order to pass this stage of vetting, entities must also demonstrate that they are reliable and that results obtained with them are replicable. Other practitioners will blindly examine their energy, aiming to obtain similar results to those that the main conjurer has obtained during vetting.

If the entity is part of a new species and there is no lore available on them, the process is quite similar. However, the main conjurer will work closely alongside the entity in order to become fully familiarized with their culture. Once they are familiar, the entity in question will become a gateway through which the conjurer can “access” the culture. Other entities of the same species will be vetted at the same time (typically 2 or 3) in order to ensure that the information obtained is consistent and that the species as a whole is suitable for companionship.

Once the first entity passes vetting, and if there are no concerns about their suitability as a spirit companion, then they will be ready to work with a person.

Now a random Q&A on vetting (courtesy of the Elysium Discord community):

What are your boundaries in vetting?

For shop vetting, my list of boundaries includes (but is not limited to):

No lies, omissions, word-twisting, wordplay, misconstruing, or other forms of trickster-like behavior (as defined by me) will be tolerated.

No glamours, concealments, spells, magics, etc. meant to hide, trick, otherwise mask your presence, an aspect of your energy, or an aspect of your most natural manifestations, etc.

Attempts to interact with the following list of people, entities, etc. will result in immediate banishment. (include list)

Inability to manifest as outlined in a separate contract, to provide reliable communication as determined by me, etc. will result in banishment.

No unsolicited astral, dream-walking, etc. visits

No contact or attempted contact with potential adopters, applicants, or other humans during the duration of the vetting period (which begins after you agree to this vetting process and ends only after you have chosen a companion and a binding has been performed on your behalf).

How much do you communicate before banishing?

I do not communicate with an entity before banishing- if they have committed a banishable offense, then they are dangerous or not suited for companionship and may have been potentially misleading me in the hopes of doing something nefarious to someone else. To communicate would endanger me, my client, and just put us all in an uncomfortable situation.

How do you reconcile a hearing difference vs. “they lied”?

If it happens once, I might have misheard. If it happens multiple times, then they are shady or not strong enough to be worthwhile companions for someone (because you ideally want to work with an entity who can communicate reliably). If it happens once but then they have to backtrack and cover for their words and make up stories or otherwise twist things around for everything to fit together in a pleasant narrative, then they lied.

How do you ensure that a spirit is ready to move out of wards and interact with other spirits or humans?

I approach the entity without wards and pray. If this doesn’t go horribly wrong, I then invite them into my home and do the same. If no one in my family is disturbed, I then invite them into several unwarded places and make note of what happens. It’s just a lot of praying honestly.

At what point is an entity deemed dangerous?

It depends on the entity, what you are vetting for, their culture, their nature, etc. Generally, anyone who lies, omits, is manipulative, conniving, advantageous, etc. is dangerous. Anyone who gives me a bad feeling is dangerous. Anyone who makes me question if they might be dangerous is dangerous Anyone has the potential to be dangerous, really- it is just a matter of what you are willing to tolerate and what the purpose of your work together is.

How do you reconcile that not everything is black and white?

I have never approached things as black and white. However, I tend to be rather strong in my judgment when it comes to vetting for the shop because it is not only my safety on the line- it is someone else’s. People who have seen me vet for myself know that I am quite lenient and easy-going as I tend not to have too many boundaries to cross. People who have seen me vet for the shop know that if you even look at me ugly you’re getting banished.

Have you ever had a spirit attack someone or something? How did you deal with it?

Yes, when I was young and stupider I had them attack me. I banished them both times and after that I was okay. This taught me the importance of having your banishment ingredients on hand when you are conjuring.

What areas of your vetting process do you consider yourself “lacking in”?

I still find it difficult to convey to entities how much hard work it is (on both sides) to communicate. I don’t think either companion (human or spirit) is prepared for the arduous work that it takes to make a relationship work- especially one in which sometimes you can’t get your words all across.

Does everyone in the shop contribute to vetting?

Everyone in the shop does contribute to vetting. While I do the majority of it- both the interns and Eridanos will provide energy checks from time to time. This makes my job a little more difficult in some aspects, as admittedly vetting an entity is easier when there are more people fully involved, but it also makes the challenge very enjoyable.

How do you have the energy for all of the required vetting?

I don’t sleep much, and I am very strict about my schedule.

Have you ever been duped by an entity in vetting?

Yes, I was led to believe they were interested in companionship for “the right reasons” but they were simply seeking out potential humans who would consistently provide offerings. In this case, I banished.

How do you control for liars or “tricksters”?

I spend much more time vetting them, both because investing a long time helps me ensure they are less likely to be there for the “wrong reasons” and because it allows me to better get to know them and the baseline at which I should make assessments of them.

Are there any differences in vetting for spirits vs living entities?

I exclusively work with living entities as my paradigm is not compatible with the idea of spirits of the dead becoming companions.

What are the most common red flags you have encountered during vetting?

They change answers consistently

Their energy is inconsistent

They are unreliable when fulfilling contracts

What has most helped you with shaping your questioning method/ or format to develop into what you use today?

Experience has really helped me find out what does and doesn’t matter in vetting- I will readily admit that my first conjures were not as good or as thoroughly planned like the ones I do now, and I hope that as the years go by, I will be able to say the same thing about my current method.

How do you consider the room for “interpretation” when it comes to the vetting process?

I use a lot of confirmation methods in order to ensure that the information I do gather from entities is reliable and valid. If the results I obtain are not replicable (by me and by other practitioners) then I consider it a failure.

What has been the most exciting thing about vetting for you?

I enjoy the challenge of getting to know someone and attempting to gauge their intentions. Every single vetting moment is one that allows me to grow as a person and better understand both the entity and, as an extension, myself.

Do you provide offerings for entities during vetting?

I provide offerings during the first ritual of conjuring, during which the veil is parted for the entity. I may also provide an offering if the manifestation requested from the entity is particularly energy-consuming- however, in general, I refrain from providing offerings for entities during vetting because this increases the chances of nurturing/feeding thoughtforms, and it crosses a line of professionalism during the process of vetting.