stella portam speculo

[petitepointplace]

Tonight is Krampusnacht – the Night of Krampus, celebrated traditionally throughout Europe, and still celebrated in Austria and other areas of central Europe.

Who is Krampus, though, and what is so special about the Krampusnacht holiday?

Krampusnacht begins the season of mummery, the ancient practice of roaming the streets, dancing, singing, and making merry – which historically has meant making mischief. Today, what most people know of mummery has been reduced to the idea of caroling – going door to door singing winter holiday songs – and most people don’t even do that any more. Once, similar practices took place throughout the dead of winter, and they were much more elaborate and diverse than the thin remnants of Christmas carols suggest.

On the night of December 5, Krampusnacht, where it is celebrated, people create elaborate costumes, including hand carved wooden masks, dress up as Krampus, and roam the night, playing tricks, breaking rules, and drinking a great deal of alcohol. The costumes feature mishapen faces with long red tongues and prominent horns. Chains often bound the wrists of the Krampus figures, which sometimes carry bundles of switches. The bodies of the Krampus costumes are covered in dark fur.

In traditional depictions of Krampus, there is often a tail. The legs of Krampus are like those of a goat, with cloven hooves.

The identity of Krampus is up for debate. Some say that Krampus is a “devil”. That’s a superficial answer that’s founded in the recent history of Krampus.

This recent Krampus lore is thoroughly Christian, and in it, Krampus is described as thoroughly evil. He’s a servant of Satan, if not Satan himself. However, Krampus is also a servant of Santa —- Santa / Satan.

In his Christian identity, Krampus reflects the dark side of Santa Claus, the Kris Kringle maniac who doesn’t just withhold presents from naughty children, but carries them off to Hell in a barrel hoisted onto his back. Krampus was split off from Santa Claus so that Claus could become more beloved, playing the good cop to Krampus’s bad cop.

Still, the two are linked. More than working side by side, Santa Claus and Krampus share a name. Ever wonder how St. Nicholas could get the name Santa Claus? One story says that Santa Claus is none other than Krampus. The name Krampus is derived from the old German word for claws, and in his punishing aspect, Santa Claws was to be feared.

Look further back than Christianity, though, and you’ll see that there’s much more subtlety in Krampus than mere evil allows. Consider the idea that Krampus takes children to Hell, for instance. “Hell” is not, in its origin, a place. “Hell” is Hel, a divine figure from Norse mythology – and the daughter of Loki.

Loki was the Norse trickster god, an elevated frost giant. In the graphic above, Loki is shown on the left, wearing green. Note the big horns, much like those of Krampus. Loki is one manifestation of the mythological motif of the Horned God. The two sometimes share the trident as a prop.

Another motif of the Horned God is the Greek satyr, pictured on the right. The satyr has horns, like Krampus, and shares the goatish bottom half as well.

In the center of the satyr and Loki, Krampus stands. In form, he’s something in between the two. All these figures represent mischevious spirits of nature that resist obeying the laws of human civilization. They don’t obey human morality, but they’re not really evil. They’re apart from that.

They’re also apart from Christianity. They predate the Christian religion by thousands, if not tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years.

Krampus is often described as a spirit of Christmas, but in truth, the character of Krampus is deeper than Christmas. Krampus is a part of the ancient Yule holiday that is the true source of Christmas, and has meaning that clearly has nothing to do with Jesus.

In the United States of America, Christmas is increasingly becoming a holiday that isn’t linked to Christianity for most people. There are still many who pretend that the birthday of Jesus was really on December 25, just coincidentally the pagan Roman date of Sol Invictus and the birthday of the Persian savior Mithras. Larger and larger numbers of Americans, though, are contributing to the re-paganization of Christmas, either consciously or unconsciously. They’re bringing back the old customs of the Yule season and casting aside the facade of stories about the baby Jesus.

In this larger context, Krampus is beginning to creep his way into American celebrations of the winter holidays. Let’s face it – though Santa Claus is nice for kids, if you really want to engage in some Yuletide revelry, you need someone like Krampus along for the ride.

If you’re curious about the idea of Krampusing your Christmas, here are a few gifts that you can give to family members to encourage them to find a place for the old trickster god.

[santmat]

Gnostic Charts of the Heavens – Realms – Planes – Spheres – Inner Regions – Levels – Dimensions of the Multiverse: https://SantMatRadhasoami.Blogspot.com/2019/01/charts-of-heavens-sant-mat-and-gnostic.html

[cadmar]

The Mechanism that Creates Consciousness

There are three parts to the process of consciousness.  The first part is automatic and is purely a biological function.  Basically, sensory inputs from outside the brain, either from inside the body, or outside the body, continuously stimulating neurons forming neural networks.  Different inputs will stimulate different neurons, and if the same input is repetitive, then the same neurons are stimulated and the physical change of the neurons, either temporary or long-term, becomes the storage memory..

The second part is the feedback loop.  The difference between the time it takes for the neurons to be physically altered (ions)  from the time it takes for the next incoming sensory inputs creates a feedback loop.  This feedback loop acts as a dial, tweaking, to adjust that the storage (change to the neurons) with the incoming data (from the environment) is in real-time sync with the input data to the storage. 

The third part to the process of consciousness is the hard problem that has the ability to be flexible, is separated from the input, is perception, is conception, and can examine itself (introception), by looking under the hood.  

This third part has these physical requirements:

1. Must be able to sense each and every single neuron.  The brain has over 100 billion neurons.

2. Is separate from the neurons and the neural activities.  This means that this process looks “outside”, from a bird’s eye view.  This also gives the ability of being flexible in how each neural network can be stored as memory, labelled, used, retrieved, connected to other neural networks, and discarded.  Can also change through time, through usage, and from many other factors.

3. Communicates the information.    There is no evolutionary benefit if the data and information collected can not be communicated outside the brain.

So, what is it that fulfils the above three criteria?

[cadmar]

Sensations

Sensations are our anchor.  Sensations are created when two different states interact. We learn through experience and comparing one sensation to another, that sensations give us some order.  Instead of being confused, we use sensations to organise our survival and our daily actions.  It has become our anchor for our existence.  Without sensations and labelling them, we would be confused and bewildered as we would not know what is going on.  We organised and centered our life around sensations!

For example, when one is standing, one feels the sensation of gravity at the bottom of one’s feet.  When the skin is touched, one feels the sensation.  When one gets too close to a fire, one feels the sensation of heat.  Sensations are physically automatic and repeatable.  If one is laying in a dark room, eyes closed and one does not feel the sensation of one’s weight from one’s body on the bed, then one has no anchor to hold that person to the bed.  As if in a dream state when one is not aware of these sensations and has the perception that one is flying.

What is important is that we have learnt to analyse, label, and understand the sensations we experience.  Addicts focus on the pleasurable sensations from taking certain drugs.  The focus is on getting the drug, but in fact, it is the focus on the memory of the sensations from being in a drug-induced state.  This is the same process for all emotions and desires: the focus on memories of sensations, pleasure or pain. Certain external objects, environment, and experience will create the sensation.  Instead of focusing on the sensations, we focus on the external objects and events that bring about the sensation.

We are aware of our sensations.  Sensations are not aware that they are being examined and observed.  Sensations are physical.  Sensations are different from one’s ability of awareness and perception.  Instincts can be seen as the body’s natural, physical reaction without being observed.  

Try for one hour to notice every sensation caused by the environment (wind, temperature, moisture, sounds, etc.) on one’s skin.  These sensations outline the shape of one’s body.  Your body is drawn, like an artist’s sketch, from one’s observance of one’s sensations. 

Being aware of sensations is different from the sensations.  Being aware is from a different process.

[entheognosis]

Doctrines of belief, be they religious, philosophical, scientific, or aesthetic, stifle the questing and questioning mind by providing ready-made answers to problems of origins, destiny, nature and ethics.

Nema (via entheognosis)

[scrollofthoth]

Excerpt from Emergent Animism: Exploring a Spirit Haunted World

Using the Emergent Magick (EMK) metaphor of the Citadel, one of the cornerstones of any Citadel of Emergent Animism is the belief that spirits exist in one form or another. Once the magus accepts this premise, the implications open up a much wider world. In the animist world, everything from a grain of sand, the birds in the sky, the rivers and mountains, and the galaxies in the cosmos, have their own mode of being and their own goals and motivations. When, cogito, ergo sum, applies to everything in the universe, it forces the magus to step back and examine every action they take and how it affects all of the universe around them. When the plants, and the trees, and the waters themselves have agency, what we do to them carries the weight of projecting our will upon another. It just may be that Emergent Animism (EMAN) is exactly what our world needs at this time, when our planet is on the verge of environmental collapse and under threat of nuclear annihilation.  

[she-scriptures-deactivated20221]

Tresses: The (crown) treasure of Mother Terra-Firma. Tresses: One of the most beautiful representations of (matter/mater); roots rule the celestial coat—

[studyofastrology-deactivated202]

Planets Traits and Keywords

Sun

Heat, Warmth, Individuality, Ego, ID, External soul life path, Sense of Self, Charisma, Creative Energy, Creative Potential, Self-expression before others in the physical world, Vitality, Drive, Duty, Power, Recognition, Father, Male Role Models, Government, Kings, Nobility, Royal Status

Moon

Mind, Receptivity, Thoughts, Reaction to environmental stimulus, Emotions, Moods, Sensitivity, Inner Balance, Past, Memory, Imagination, Comfort, Nurturing, Nourishment, Safety, Protective Instincts, Fertility, Females, Mother, Female Role Models, Home Life, Homeland, Birth Culture

Mercury

Intelligence, Logic, Analytical Ability, Comprehension Skill, Memory ability, Comedic talents, Skillsets, Writing, Communication, Speech ability, Messages, Journalism, Media, Social Media, Business, Commerce

Venus

Feminine Archetype, Sensualities, Beauty, Grace, Charm, Glamour, Values, Self-Worth, Happiness, Comfort, Pleasure, Material Desires, Luxurious Wants, Jewelry, Diamonds, Social Nature, Relationships, Affection Desires, Love, Sex, Romance, Spouse for man, Art, Aesthetic Design, Food, Sweetness, Sugar

Mars

Masculine Archetype, Singular Desire, Straight Logic, Strong Convictions, Powerful Opinions, Drive, Courage, Will Power, Survival Instincts, Physical Vitality, Exercise, Strength, Sports, Competitive interest, Heat, Anger, Danger, Conflicts to Clear, Fighting Style, Military, Battles, War, Weapons, Tools, Rust, Iron, Steel, Siblings (Brothers especially), Cuts, Burns, Bruises, Bleeding

Jupiter

Optimism, Joy, Luck, Meaning, Prosperity, Celebration, Freedom, Open Spaces, Growth, Excess, Belief, Philosophy, Ritual, Education, Study, Wisdom, Higher Knowledge, Teacher, Guru, Scholarships, Merit, Long Distance Travel, Far Adventures, Wealth, Generosity, Husband for women

Saturn

Cold, Time, Reality, Practicality, Karma, Weight, Pressure, Restriction, Famine, Fear, Negativity, Limitation, Structure, Organization, Order, Delay, Excellence, Mastery, Authority, Direction, Discipline, Responsibility, Deep Focus, Walls that are hard to climb, Slow climb and perseverance, Work Potential, Career, Status, Honor, Lower Class People of Society, People who work under you, Older age people, Antiques, Bosses, Iron, Oil

Uranus

Global Awareness, Social Brotherhood, Sudden Changes, Upheavals, Original thought, Intellectual Inspiration, Eccentric Approaches, Innovations, Reconstruction of Established ideas (Re-Engineering), Freedom, Extremism, Liberation, Future, Goals, Independence, Freedom, Revolution, Rebellion, Chaos, Science, Technology, Electricity, Large Organizations, Corporations

Neptune

Intangible, Mystery, Uncertainty, Disillusionment, Loss of Boundaries, Deception, Unknown, Formless, Hidden, Guilt, Sacrifice, Spirit, Transcendence, Mystical things, Psychic Intuition, Dreams, Unconditional love, Ecstacy, Imagination, Fantasy, Illusions, Visual Glamour, Impressions, Art, Music, Poetry, Film, Screens, Chemicals, Drugs, Alcohol, Mirrors

Pluto

Emotional Survival Instinct, Depth, Underworld, Unconscious security attachments, Feeling of Empowerment, Fearlessness, Emotional Transformation, Money, Greed, Regeneration, Recycling, Power, Destruction, Explosion, Misuse of Power, Manipulation, Trauma, Abuse, Death, Taboo, Sex

North Node

Amplifier, Illusion, Ultimate Desire, Future, Pushing Boundaries, Bucking Trends of Society, Rejection of Traditional Things, Foreign Things, Stimulator, Risk Taker, Innovator, Mass Communication, Material Desires, Computers and technology, Magic, Extravagance, Sudden Accidents

South Node

Mastered Ideals, Thoughtless Manifestation, Separation, Release, Liberation, Losing Desire, Isolation, Silence, Spiritual detachment from the physical realm, Occult, Mysticism, The Past, Critical, Illusions of the Past, Video Games, Movies, Books, Flags, Pictures, Photos, Historical Buildings

[luneair]

Signs on the house cusps don’t work as separate entities in the chart, they all align to create the 1st house personality. A Sagittarius ascendant has the soul of a Pisces in their 4th house, their origins can be clouded in uncertainty, confusion but also spirituality and sensitivity, creating someone who goes into the world searching for awakening purposes or “philosophies” and always questioning things to clear any cloud of vagueness for emotional fulfillment. 

A Libra ascendant has the will of a fighter in their Aries 7th house, not realized immediately, but unfolding through projection and interaction with others. Often you find the Libra ascendant to be quite opinionated and concerned with debate, and who to do this with if not within our social and interpersonal relationships? They approach love with that same perception; black and white in that they are passionate about a relationship and lose themselves in it one day, but struggling to find their sense of identity so become flighty in relationships the next.

[windvexer-deactivated20160501]

Creation of the ‘astral temple’, or, visiting your personal astral space

Like outer space, I suspect the “astral” contains vast swaths of emptiness. When someone makes an astral temple, they are not mowing down an astral forest and building on someone else’s territory, they are starting with astral nothingness and producing within that nothingness our human concepts of time, space, depth, and physics. Nor will “space” in the astral “run out”, for the astral (while not infinite) is also not constrained by concepts of physical space, as we understand it.

Building a personal astral space is quite easy. Like any castle you want it to be protected, but basic protections (likely all that you will need) are simple to put up.

To visit an empty swath of the astral to build upon, do this simple exercise:

Become very relaxed through any technique you like. Enter a trance-like, almost sleepy state. If you don’t know what being in trance feels like, try following some Youtube meditations that bring a person to great relaxation.

Close your eyes and imagine a door. Any sort of door will work. Because this door was created by you, only you can open and close it.

Stand before the door and say or think, “this door will take me to an empty astral space that I can use as my own.”

Know these words to be true.

Then, open the door and step through it. Close the door firmly behind you. Do not be alarmed if the door disappears; it is a magical door, and it will come to you whenever you call it.

Chances are you will find yourself in a black empty nothingness space. This is quite normal. Like God in Genesis, create a world from scratch. You do not need to create an entire planet (that is likely beyond most of our abilities!). Try this method:

With force of will, decree that earth and sky be created. All around you, ground and atmosphere will appear.

Call upon a great, impenetrable sphere to surround this space. Don’t worry about making it all huge, you can alter your space however you want later on. The sphere will surround this area you have created and prevent any creature from entering or exiting without your permission.

Walk around your area and change it. You may find you don’t have the energy or will to enact changes as you please. This is okay: working in the astral takes actual energy, and the more you do it the easier it will become. If you do have the energy, try growing trees, creating benches or houses for you to enjoy, carving rivers or waterfalls, or whatever you like (Minecraft is not a bad comparison to building an astral space).

An important part of your astral space is that it allows you to directly work on the astral. If you are trying to grow astral limbs or other appendages, you can exercise them here. You can use this space to gain experience with working in the astral, or to build an astral temple where you can invite spirits and gods to enjoy themselves.

Whenever you are ready to exit, call your door to you. Simply think of the door and wish it to be next to you, and it will be. Open the door, walk through it back to your regular imagination, and firmly close it. Remember that nobody but you can open or close the door.

Remain in your relaxed state for a little while and readjust yourself to physical reality. Centering exercises help with this.

Return to your inner space whenever you like by going back through the door.

Here are some notes:

Astral vs Imagination

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

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

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

In your imagination, all beings and creatures are automatons 

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

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

Building in the astral can take actual energy and willpower

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

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

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

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

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

Using the astral space as a place to honor spirits 

Build a beautiful temple or palace (or natural space) that the spirits you wish to honor would enjoy. Imagine it filled with the most wonderful offerings and delicacies. Invite different spirits to come and enjoy what you have laid out.

If you wish, use this as a space to speak with spirits. Do not let any spirits through your personal door, under any circumstances. 

When you are ready to leave your astral space, tell your visitors this visit is over and ask them to leave in peace. Imagine that they simply teleport away back to their homes.

Enjoy using this astral space for practice

You can quickly build all sorts of thought-forms directly in the astral, although whether or not they will be of use outside your temple is another matter. Practice building defenses of all sorts, casting magic, and viewing or testing astral limbs. 

Deleting an astral space

If you grow tired of what you have built, you can become a destroyer god and simply eliminate it and start anew. If for some reason you wish to close this space permanently, fold all of its space and time down in on itself like a paper box, until it becomes nothing. Summon your door, walk through, close the door, and destroy the door. 

[chaosophia218]

Do We Plan Our Lives Before We Are Born? The Pre-Birth Plan The cycle of life to death to re-birth starts with the Pre-Birth Plan. You establish this plan with a council (the elders or the wise ones). You discuss the life ahead of you and are given the choice of a few different lives to pick from in the current time period you are incarnating into. Once your choices have been given to you and you pick one, the tedious task starts of planning all the things you wish to experience in the upcoming life. Experience isn’t the only thing we seek; we have goals to meet and challenges to overcome. Some wish to learn patience or overcome jealousy. Many people have debated this theory but you also choose to clear up karmas. There are a few other things like healing, contrast and healing false beliefs. When the life plan is being created, our guides are there with us creating a flow chart. A flow chart is the plan but with free will incorporated into it. Our guides also create synchronicities in our lives to trigger certain things in us and guide us on the best path to help us master our goals. After the plan is in place, we are born and forget the plan and who we truly are. Why Do We Forget? Forgetting is an integral part of the cycle. It’s how we truly get to know ourselves and fully live the current life we are living. We’re living in the time of remembering and many of us are remembering who we are and why we came to Earth at this time. Those who haven’t fully awakened to their abilities but wish to have more insight on who they are and why they are here seek out mediums or people who are in tune with higher frequencies and can connect to help them access that kind of information. Playing Roles We come into each incarnation playing a role. The role is chosen with the help of our guides and council before we are born. In one life you will choose to be murdered and in another you will volunteer to be the murderer. Negative and positive are both construction material. Negative is an evolutionary catalyst. We come to Earth for many reasons but a big one is soul growth. Soul growth on the other side is very slow because it is paradise. Also, because we are able to forget who we are, we can learn things on a deeper level and expand even more from it. Because we live in a world of duality, we must have “negative.” The negative is what makes this world. If we didn’t have the villains, none of this would be possible. In every single one of those villains is a beautiful soul living a human experience that was all planned with soul growth in mind. “You close your eyes to the past in order to reopen them to a new existence. You can get more expansion by forgetting.” – Teal Swan

[dianasson]

The Spirit Box or Wish Box

“Form a lidded box, which will be best crafted from Ash. Carve, inscribe or paint this box with any images that inspire thoughts of interconnection between the worlds. Take this box to one of the quoits, houses of the dead [if these are out of your reach the graveyard from a Church or any other sacred burial grounds will be as good] light there a black candle and make the rites that conjure the circle and the spirits. One must operate on the first Saturday to follow the new moon.

Put into the box a fine layer of earth from this place of the dead, and scatter upon this a fine layer of spirit powder. Hag stones, crow’s feet and other things symbolic of spirit contact may be included with care that plenty of room within the box should remain.

Make there the Troyl rite pouring some of the mead out upon the earth in the quoit, and sprinkle some within the box before drinking some yourself. Likewise with the bread leave some within the quoit, scatter some crumbs within the box and eat some yourself.

The box must then carefully be taken home where it shall be kept upon the hearth, and when need arises write of this upon a small square of paper, fold and place it within the box. Light a black candle before the box to signal to the spirits that their aid is sought, and place food offerings before it in thanks and to maintain the bond with the world of spirit.”

-Traditional Witchcraft | Gemma Gary (2008) Troy Books Publishing

[picture from the Museum of Witchcraft; Boscastle, Cornwall]

[noise-vs-signal]

Astral Tides

“The Seasonal Tides (Tempora) result from two influences: the major influence being the effect of the solar particles which bombard Earth’s odic mantle, and the minor being the stresses set up within that odic mantle by the earth’s axial inclination.

Od is the dynamic aspect [of Astral Light], whether manifesting as the aura of a living being, whether existing as an astral current or as a charge in a consecrated object, or whether manifesting as a physical phenomenon: the earth’s magnetic field, magnetism, electricity, etc.

[The aspects of these Seasonal Tides should be reversed when considered from the point of view of someone in the Southern Hemisphere i.e. the Summer Solstice (June 21st) in the Northern Hemisphere is the Winter Solstice in the Southern].

These tides are also modified by other tides, such as the Lunar Tides (Aestus), which correspond to the phases of the moon, so that they change four times in the month.

The Full Moon is the time of greatest power: the First Quarter is by nature akin to all inception and growth.

The potency of the Lunar Tides fluctuates also from one season of the year to another. The New Moon is at its most magical in the springtime, while the “Harvest Moon” is notably the most powerful tide of the Full Moon.

The last series of Tides to be considered (Velocia), are those that constitute rhythmic fluctuations in the Earth’s odic mantle: they flow from east to west.

These elemental tides (with their Tattva attributions) are:

Spirit (Akasha).

Air (Vayu).

Fire (Tejas).

Water (Apas).

Earth (Prithivi).

From sunrise, each tide, in the order given above, rules for 24 minutes, with a complete cycle taking 2 hours. This then repeats over the course of 24 hours.”

Excerpts from “The Sword and the Serpent” by Melita Denning and Osborne Phillips (1988), initiates of the Aurum Solis.

It is suggested that you evaluate some of the statements above for yourself. For example, using your “Magical Diary” you could record the effect of the Moon on your mood, energy levels and any rituals you undertake at a particular time.

[serpentandstang-deactivated2021]

To Know the Invisible Sciences

‘If one wants to know about the sciences of the Invisibles - their wisdom - namely about the families of Wights and Lucifers, then one goes to a grave on a Thursday night between the hours of twelve and one o'clock.

One takes a little earth from the grave, cuts the left ring finger, so that three drops of blood fall down on the grave-earth and then throw the earth on you as the priest does when he casts the earth onto a coffin.

When one has done so, one has sold oneself into the power of the Invisibles. and then you can learn from them anything one desires to learn in this way.

It will become clear that Thursday night was the preferred time for graveyard wandering and graveyard earth was a crucial tool of the craft. Here, by making himself one with the Dead. the practitioner acquires the power to communicate with other families of spirits as well, and may gain knowledge from them. This ritual has no Christian component, the Wise One simply places himself under the power of the Invisibles.’

– from The Graveyard Wanderers: The Wise Ones and the Dead in Sweden     by Tom Johnson PhD.

[noise-vs-signal]

“The word ’scry’ comes from the old English word ‘descry’, meaning to ‘see’. Scrying is a method of clairvoyance that involves seeing into the astral world, the invisible blueprint that lies behind all physical manifestation.

The Qabalah teaches that everything in the universe is created or “prefabricated” in the astral world of Yetzirah before it manifests in the physical world.

The astral plane is a level of reality that is higher than the physical world, but lower than the divine or spiritual world. It is a place that is in-between, a realm of reflection, images and dreams.

It is sometimes called the Treasure House of Images. It contains what is known as the Akashic Record or the Akashic Library".

From “A Garden of Pomegranates: Skrying on the Tree of Life” by Israel Regardie, Chic and Sandra Tabatha Cicero (1999).

“The aura of a man is called the ”magical mirror of the universe“ and, so far as any one can tell, nothing exists outside of this mirror. It is at least convenient to represent the whole as if it were subjective.”

From “Magick in Theory and Practice” (Book 4) by Aleister Crowley.

The method of making mirrors out of plate glass was invented by 16th-century Venetian glassmakers on the island of Murano, who covered the back of the glass with mercury, obtaining near-perfect and undistorted reflection.

Be careful when you look in a Mirror.

You may see yourself.

For more on these subjects, please visit “Noise vs. Signal”.

[visardistofelphame]

The Witches’ Devil is a Fairy Lord

“…alas! the melancholy yelping of the hounds, and the dismal bolloa of the hunter came nearer and nearer. After a considerable run, they had so gained upon him, that on looking back,–oh horror! he could distinctly see hunter and dogs. The former was terrible to look at, and had the usual complement of saucer-eyes, horns, and tail, accorded by common consent to the legendary devil. He was hiack, of course, and carried in his hand a long hunting-pole. The dogs, a numerous pack, blackened the small patch of moor that was visible; each snorting fire, and uttering a yelp of indescribably frightful tone. No cottage, rock, or tree was near to give the herdsman shelter, and nothing apparently remained to him but to abandon himself to their fury, when a happy thought suddenly flashed upon him and suggested a resource. Just as they were about to rush upon him, he fell on his knees in prayer. There was strange power in the holy words he uttered; for immediately, as if resistance had been offered, the hell-hounds stood at bay, howling more dismally than ever, and the hunter shouted, ‘Bo Shrove,’ at which they all drew off on some other pursuit and disappeared,” – The Devil’s Dandy Dogs.

By Johann Wilhelm Cordes

The nature of the devil in witchcraft is often overlooked or ignored. I feel it is time for me to talk about his role as the witches’ devil, and how I view him within my own craft.

Upon a death struck horse, the dark man flies surrounded by his hunting hounds. He rides alongside the Queen of Elphame, both brandishing spears. It is a God of witchcraft, the very devil himself. This is our great initiator, the witches’ devil. The Faery King.

Unlike modern associations, the devil has many connections and relations with the fairy faith and folklore of the British Isles. He is the mighty Bucca of Cornwall; the leader of the Slau of Ireland and Scotland. The mighty dark man, who participates in the Wild hunt, “Within the lore of the Wild Hunt, again we find the Man in Black and also the Queen of Elphame, this time leading a host of the dead, the Hidden Company, in a hunt or procession in the forms of Hellekin, Herlechin, Holda, and Nicnevin….The spectral one being a host of the dead and fey signalling disaster and death to come or with the purpose of hunting down lost souls and evil-doers,” (The Man in Black).

The devil is the Witch Father, a god of nature itself, a satyr “ represented as black, with goat’s horns, ass’s ears, cloven hoofs, and an immense phallus…. He is the figure who danced light-heartedly across the Aristophanic stage, stark nude in broad midday, animally physical, exuberant, ecstatic, crying aloud the primitive refrain, ‘Phales, boon mate of Bacchus, joyous comrade in the dance, wanton wanderer o’ nights’ … in a word, he was Paganism incarnate, and Paganism was the Christian’s deadliest foe; so they took him, the Bacchic reveller, they smutted him from horn to hoof, and he remained the Christian’s deadliest foe, the Devil,” (The History of the Devil: The Horned God of the West).

There was once a time that little to no distinction was made between fairies and devils. You can see these with such words like Trow, which can be translated both to either elf (or troll) and Satan. The tendency to make fairyland a province of Satan’s kingdom was, at one point, very common within the history of the British Isles; and therefore, any person communing with fairies was considered to be practicing witchcraft or performing in Satanic rites (Carolyn Emerick: When Witches Communed with Fairies).

When someone gained the Second sight, they feared to see not only the fairy folk, but they feared to see demons, imps, and devils as well. In the words of Emma Wilby from Cunning Folk and Familiar Spirits, “there was often little difference between a fairy and an angel, saint, ghost, or devil. We find the popular link between fairies and angels, for example, expressed in the confession of a cunning man on trial for witchcraft in Aberdeen, in 1598. The magical practitioner, who was identified in the trial records as ‘Andro Man’, claimed that his familiar (described by the interrogators as the Devil) was an angel who, like Tom Reid, served the queen of the fairies. The records state ‘Thow confessis that the Devill, thy maister, quhom thow termes Christsonday, and supponis to be ane engell, and Goddis godsone, albeit he hes a thraw by God, and swyis to the Quene of Elphen, is rasit be the speking of the word Benedicte.”

It is fitting that Lucifer, the ruler of the Fallen angels, is a Fairy King. Within some christianized folklore, fairies were fallen angels; “’The Proud Angel fomented a rebellion among the angels of heaven, where he had been a leading light. He declared that he would go and found a kingdom for himself. When going out at the door of heaven the Proud Angel brought prickly lightning and biting lightning out of the doorstep with his heels. Many angels followed him… whereupon the Father ordered that the gates of heaven and the gates of hell should be closed. This was instantly done. And those who were in were in, and those who were out were out; while the hosts who had left heaven and had not reached hell flew into the holes of the earth, like the stormy petrels. These are the Fairy Folk–ever since doomed to live under the ground, and only allowed to emerge where and when the King permits,” (Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries).

The devil of the witches is a Fairy Lord, who reveals a narrow path into a dark wood. But not only that, he is also the King of familiars. He, alongside the Fairy Queen, can guide witches to their fairy lovers. And much like the witches and their own shape shifting abilities, the devil had many animal forms he could transform into: the cat, a black hound, ravens, the goat, a toad, animals heavily associated with witches and fairies, “Increasing interest in the folkloric dimension of witchcraft beliefs is leading scholars to consider that confession-depiction of the Devil might be rooted in genuinely popular ideas about embodied folk spirits, such as fairies and the dead,” (Emma Wilby: The Visions of Isobel Gowdie).

Given many names and many histories, the devil may share the name of the same icon we think of today; however, the two are very different. For the devil of the witches, is a god of nature and witchcraft itself. Unyielding, rebellious, poisonous, and crooked.

Call upon him when you seek the dark secrets of witchcraft. For he is, the bearer of forbidden gifts, a great initiator, and the Old Goat of witches.

By: Sir Joseph Noel Paton

Not of the seed of Adam are we,

Nor is Abraham our father;

But of the seed of the Proud Angel,

Driven forth from Heaven.

– the fairies may be heard singing lightheartedly

[lailoken]

The Elder-Mother

The Elder Mother is an arboreal guardian figure in British, Germanic, and Scandinavian folklore, known by various names, such as the Danish Hyldemoer ("Elder Mother") and the Lincolnshire names Old Lady or Old Girl. She is known as the protector of the Elder Trees, as well as the one who guards the door to the Otherworld—realm of the Faerie and/or the Dead. As such, she is associated with some of the darker mysteries and magics, especially in relation to the cycles of life, death and rebirth. Until relatively recently in Scandinavia and the UK, it was widely believed that if one harvested wood from an Elder Tree without permission from the Elder Mother, they would suffer misfortune at her hands. In order to gain her consent, the wood-cutter was required to address the Elder Mother by chanting or singing a particular promise: "Old girl, give me some of thy wood and I will give thee some of mine when I grow into a tree." This simple vow refers to the potentiality for growth and renewal offered through death, as the decaying of the body gives way to the enrichment of the natural environment that serves as its final resting place. One such story of the Elder Mother's retribution recounts the mother of a sick child saying : “It were all along of my maister’s thick ‘ead. It were in this ‘ow't’ rocker comed off t'cradle, and he hadn’t no more gumption than to mak’ a new ‘un out on illerwood (elder wood) without axing the Old Lady’s leave, and in course she didn’t like that, and she came and pinched the wean that outrageous he were a’most black in t’ face; but I bashed un off, and putten an eshen on, and the wean is gallus as owt agin."

Bearing such an intimate connection to the Otherworld, Elder is widely considered one of the Faerie trees. In Denmark, it was said that if a person stood beneath an Elder tree, wearing a crown of Elder on May Eve, they would be able to commune with the Other Realm and see the Faerie and the spirits of the Dead. According to a similar, Scottish tradition, it was said that if you stood beneath an Elder on the eve of Samhain, you would be able to see the Elven Monarchs and their hosts of Elves. However, while the Elder is intimately linked to the Faerie Faiths, it is also closely connected to the lore of witches.

A different tale, from Northamptonshire, tells of a man who cut a switch from the branch of an Elder, only to see that the tree was oozing blood. Later that day, upon meeting the local witch, he notices that her arm is newly dressed with a bloody bandage.

Another story casts the Elder Mother, not only as an Arboreal Witch, but as the morally ambiguous heroine of the tale. She is credited in the tale with rescuing Britain from being conquered by a foreign king and his cavalry. This also serves as an origin myth for how the Rollright Stones, rest along the Oxfordshire / Warwickshire border, came to be. As the king and his knights made their way to Long Compton, they came across the witch, who told the king:

“Seven long strides thou shalt take,

And if Long Compton thou shalt see,

King of England thou shalt be."

The king went onwards though, saying:

"Stick, stock, stone

As King of England I shall be known."

However, when the King's made his seventh stride, a hill rose up before him, preventing him from seeing Long Compton. The witch spoke to the king and his men once again, saying:

"As Long Compton thou canst not see

King of England thou shalt not be.

Rise up stick and stand still stone

For King of England thou shalt be none;

Thou and thy men hoar stones shall be

And I myself an Eldern tree."

And so, the king and his knights were turned to stone and the witch turned herself into an Elder Tree.

Yet another tale, from Somerset, describes the Elder Mother as a malevolent witch who is seen by a farmer, in the form of an Elder Tree, milking his cows. The farmer shoots a silver bullet at the witch, but misses, and is forced back into his home. However, the old grandmother of the household is able to save them all by taking a burning ember from the hearth with a shovel, and throwing it at the Elder Tree, which burns to ashes.