Archive for the Divination Category

Black Mirror Scrying: The Wolves Of Hecate

Posted in Divination, Occultism, Paganism, The Path of Flames, Traditional Witchcraft with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 25, 2017 by Sypheara

A month ago now, I had just returned from a most remarkable week with the Covenant of Hecate; attending their ‘Spinner of Fate Retreat’, led by the wonderful Sorita d’Este. My mind was still processing the experiences of the many amazing things that happened, in each one of the rites, large and small. The conducive environment set up by every attendee (each a dedicated devotee in their own right) was very powerful, and I felt that by the end of it Hecate had connected us on a deep and meaningful level, whilst delivering powerful gnosis.

Whilst not all of this can be shared due to it being specifically for me, or at risk of revealing too much about the other attendees, there are several things that I am able to relate on the blog. The first experience I want to tackle was for me, the most impactful and I feel that this gnosis is worth sharing, especially to those who may not yet have tapped into this particular part of Hecate’s current.

On one of the nights, it was decided that as a group, we would do some scrying to help gain some gnosis on Hecate’s many symbols. This night was around the full moon, being only a day after it. Earlier on that day, we had been given a small charm that was representative of one of these symbols, which would later turn out to be the focus for the questions asked during the scrying work.

Once the circle had been correctly prepared and opened, and following the cleansing and empowerment working with familial serpents, people from the group were chosen to perform the scrying work.

Singularity, source unknown

My friend was to go first. He got up and took a seat on a small stool in front of the altar, before having his head veiled. All of the group had been asked to chew bay leaves (and swallow it if possible) to help intensify the trance required for the work. My friend took hold of a small, round, black mirror and gazed into it, and soon fell into a trance state. From here he detailed a long and involved journey, in which Hecate gifted him a dagger (one of her tools) that operated like a key; opening and closing gates around him, as he journeyed through the obsidian surface and to her starry heavens. He recalled how the dagger, burned with a intense flame as it was wielded and performed its task. This travel went on for quite a while; longer than he initially realised, and it could be seen as he came back to awareness that he had gone quite deep. By this point the circle’s vibration had raised a lot, and the atmosphere had become palpably thick with energy.

I was selected to do the second scrying work. Having never done this for a group before, but only in my own work, I must confess that it was with some trepidation that I sat on the stool, and took hold of the mirror that was given to me. As the veil was placed over my head, I stared intently into the volcanic glass for any signs that might appear; either in the mirror or across my own sight, as the trance took hold. Sorita gave me the topic I was to investigate; Hecate’s Hounds.

I will be the first to admit that, at first, nothing happened. I felt and saw nothing rising as I looked into the mirrors surface, slowly growing annoyed at myself. However, it was then I noticed two yellow disks, which intensified into two huge, yellow eyes. I felt myself being drawn towards and into them, as I entered a powerful trance.

Wolf, source unknown

I found myself suddenly transported to a forest-scape, at night. A large, pale moon hung in the air, and I became aware of shapes moving around me. These shapes were unmistakably wolves; black and grey in coat, although the colours were muted, as if my view was somehow being filtered. I could intensely smell the wood, vegetation, disturbed earth, wet fur and animal musk. There was also something else in the air; a foreign smell of human sweat and iron oxide, that could almost be tasted.

It was then that I looked down and noticed that I no longer had hands, but rather paws. I had assumed the form of the Wolf, and was running through the forest with them. I could hear my heartbeat, and I was getting flashes of what I knew instinctively to be the prey we were tracking. It was a man, fleeing through the undergrowth, mostly naked and bleeding. With animalistic precision,  it wasn’t long until we were upon him dispensing justice; for we had been sent by Hecate, and this man had transgressed severely. This figure, I felt strongly and intuitively, had done something to the natural order which she would not tolerate.

It was then that I began to come to. My memory of this is hazy, but I recall finding myself being held in place whilst Sorita was placing salt into my mouth, for me to swallow, and therefore help draw me out of the possession state and back into my body. As I felt my consciousness returning to my physical flesh, I struggled initially to move my limbs; the mirror was taken from my hands, which had now seized into position. It took around another ten minutes for me to reach a physical baseline. I felt incredibly hot, and like I had taken a huge amount of some stimulant due to the powerful energies that entered me from this visiting wolf spirit. Apparently, whilst in this possessed state, I had tried to relate what was occurring but had to begun to take on appropriately wolven traits, and my speech had descended into snarls and a heavy panting. Sorita related how my eyes had become entirely black, indicating that I had left my body on my journey. I had been physically restrained due to concerns that I might upset the altar, as I attempted to move off my seat; an occurrence of which I have no memory. With the amount of energy that had flowed through, it took three people to secure me.

After the event, others mentioned that they too have felt this energy, and entered trance states, and only when the purpose of the hunt was revealed to them did they return to lucidity, and understand the gnosis that she had shown us. Thus the wolf energy was strong enough to penetrate others who were merely present within the circle, and not just myself who was actively scrying. One remarked that she had had a clear vision at the time of this hunt, and said that this man was known to me somehow on a much closer level; Hecate was demonstrating the function of the Wolves as Hunters, but also as Guardians of her Kin.

Wolf and Moon, source unknown

The possession with one of these spirits was one of the most powerful possession works I’ve done in a long time, and rivals the work I did and continue do with the Ivory Spider. It was very surprising to me for this to occur within a group setting!

Although I’ve never actively worked with Hecate’s hounds before this, my mind on reflection is cast back to the wolf dreams I used to have. Recently, I’ve rarely been encountering them or travelling with them in dream, leading to a state where I had almost forgotten about my small links to them.  Maybe this was my very personal wake up call to me to remind me that the Wolves are not just objects of kitsch fascination but have a real place in the witchcraft despite their overuse in new age popular culture amongst other things.

My mind also is cast to a good friend of mine who has done workings with them, and now I’m convinced that full blown, primal lycanthropy work could be done with them with correct preparation out away from others in the wilds. It also makes me wonder aagain about the myths and legends that surround this topic, now that I have had an experience of it myself. Having had a taste of their awesome power, I can see why they make excellent guardians around the circle and home space, but also now take the warnings of their primal power to heart and that they in no way can be cajoled or contained outside of their own  and Hecate’s will so exposure should be limited to short and not prolonged periods. I especially warn people new to the Craft to be careful with them. Whilst I am used to possession work, this was a step beyond and came through extremely raw.

This experience has seemed to have a lasted, unexpected side effect on my ongoing soul work. I feel like, just as with the Spider forms I work with, I have now to some degree being tied spiritually to the wolf form at some level. This is beyond a mere identification but by some energetic exposure carried out by Hecate. As such I look forward to exploring their gnosis more, with caution in mind. I feel alot lays unexposed or worked in that direction.

I would like to give a small shout out to a fellow blogger who has also encountered and worked with these Wolves. His posts are some of the first that appear (at the time of this posting) on major search engines. In the comments, you can read some of our correspondence which might be of use. The main post itself is an interesting invocation of Hecate’s lycanthropic aspect. This would be an interesting way to experience the wolves for the first time through her power.

V.K.Jehannum – Invocation of Lykania (Hekate’s Lycanthropic Aspect)

I also, before closing off this post, would also like to link the earlier shapeshifting post I wrote back in 2015 which is interesting to contrast with the above.

Sypheara – Shapeshifting: Assuming animal forms in dream

For those wanting to work with the Wolves, from a similar obsidian surface, a call to Hecate to bring them forth should be effective by someone who is of her kin. Stepping through and into their Eyes, in the same manner as the Gods themselves, is sufficient to assume their form in the beyond. More detached working I believe may be possible by fixating on the eyes when they appear, but not getting drawn into them. It is to be noted that although extremely intelligent and in no way simply normal wolves, these entities seem to communicate through doing and direct experience. They have never interacted with me in a spoken, conversational manner.

If anyone has had any personal experiences with them, I’d love to hear them through either comments or email!

Many Blessings,

Ave Hecate Lykania

~S~

1 Comment »

Shapeshifting: Assuming Animal Forms (In Dream)

Posted in Divination, Folk Belief, Luciferianism, Occultism, The Path of Flames, Traditional Witchcraft with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 31, 2015 by Sypheara

Writing has finally begun on the PDF detailing the Familiar Empowerment ritual, carried out to raise the spirit of an inanimate object. This will probably be a bit of a long writeup, so I have decided to tackle an interesting side topic in the mean time.

It is well known via folklore and wise common knowledge that witchcraft is  associated with shape changing, and tales of lycanthropy  in particular are quite common to encounter when witchcraft is discussed. Actual  Shapeshifting comes in many different forms, and can be done both in the physical flesh through possession and the use of sacred plants, as well as mentally and spiritually whilst astrally travelling and exploring dream realms. A huge area of discussion, and research,  it would be quite easy to write a small essay on such a topic. As such, to keep things manageable, this particular post will focus on my own personal experiences with it rather than be a compilation of information from various sources and narrower in scope.

From these encounters, and talking to friends about them. including those who are not interested in the Occult or Spirituality at all, it becomes obvious that one of the more accessible and most experienced types of shapeshifting is encountered in dreams. Here, the journeying soul is able to quite easily morph, and change its shape, into something else. People who are good at dream recall will know what I mean – that sensation of looking down at your hands, and seeing they have transformed into something ..else for lack of a better description. Animal transformation, in either a partial or complete state, is a very common occurrence. It is often described to me by friends who have seemingly no prior experience with journeying through dreams at all – despite these instances being rarer than my own, less consistent and with less apparent ‘purpose’, they nevertheless happen and with some regularity.

In order to discuss this, I will skip any further preamble  and go straight into describing two of my most vivid experiences with commentary.

One of my more often assumed forms, when journeying,  is that of the Spider. As mentioned in an earlier post, it has become obvious to me by both dream workings and in daily life that the spider has become a totem of sorts. During astral dream wanderings, there would be times where I found myself in environments where a human form is unsuitable for travel. At this time, a conscious or unconscious choice was made to assume a form capable of navigating its environment. In one notable example, when travelling through one of the Chthonic realms, I encountered an environment that took the appearance of flesh like strands, suspended over a never ending liquid sea of crimson in some areas, that branched off into vein like tunnels. Almost instinctually, in the process of feeling myself falling, slipping down to the abyss like ‘bottom’ of the infinite cavern, I assumed the form of the spider, the transformation happening  in what felt like both an eternity and an instant at the same time.

redspiderweb

Red Spider Web, Artist Unknown

 

The feeling of assuming the other form once it has begun is one that is both total and overwhelming. It affects both the body, as well as the mind, and this abrupt change i can only describe as a ‘hyper real’ sensation. The physical sensation is that of new limbs erupting from your body, the compressing, contracting or expanding of your skeletal and nervous structures and it can both feel highly pleasurable as well as highly painful. The mind  and senses themselves  also experience their own kind of transformation, assuming the mental lattice of the host form. As an example as above, my vision was soon changed from regular binocular vision to what can only be described as a many coloured lattice made up of what seemed like many composite images. It was almost as if I could see around the corners of objects, seeing all their sides at once, and in the spider form I became aware of the vibrations of individual entities, and able to feel with my frontal legs for the correct direction I needed to be headed towards. The feeling was one of a maddening feeling of freedom and ecstasy, as my rational mind was entirely subsumed within that of the new form – still distinctly my own, but filtered through the new mind I found myself inhabiting. The clarity and purity expressed in mind is something that needs to be experienced – in that moment I was no longer human, all surface thoughts eliminated, acting on a pure instinctual drive to progress forward.  I pressed on, aware of a second, duller sensation, the feeling of a gnawing hunger. In this state I wandered for what was seemed like hours, descending deeper and deeper. Upon near awakening, the transformation was slowly repeated in reverse until I felt myself sucked back into my own, complete and awoken body in bed.

Whilst I have never felt i have had any special affinity with the wolf, unlike many people claim of themselves, I have found myself on occasion unconsciously assuming this form in certain landscapes. This is a differing kind of transformation – whilst the first was assumed, these second form instances have always been an unconcious or some kind of instinctual choice For example, in a recent journey, I found myself, in a large dark forest, surrounded by black spirits. The scene was not night, but a misty day, very faint golden light emanating from a washed out but golden sky. They assumed the form of wolves, and instinctively I did the same, a similar transformation experience happening as described above. My eyesight sharpened, my senses changed into that of my body form, conferring me the ability to track the other spirits by ‘smell’, or an analogue to it within that realm.  I tracked after them for many hours, as they showed me the strange sights, other creatures of their forest, and showed me how they live, as a tight knit group working in unison to survive. Once they had shown me the forest, the whole pack led on to a stream that led away from it, over a border of an azure sky, and green rolling plains. This was shown from an insiders perspective – it is only when i reached a muddy pond, did I have a ‘disconnect’ – where the human mind pushes forth for a split second with its own powers of comprehension. Tasting the muddy pond caused me to spit silt, as the liquid went from  refreshing to disgusting ans my consciousness and sense of taste began to return to their original form. Again i felt the withdrawing back into human form, again slowly awakening.

forest01

 Forest, Artist Unknown

What is interesting is that just days later, wolves were an integral part to one of the local groups Sabbat rites, to honour a core member of the group who had passed away, and who heavily identified with wolves. It almost seemed identical in theme to my own dream. Such oracular like occurrences leave a very strange feeling indeed, regardless of how many times I seem to experience them.

In more advanced work of my own Path, when penetrating the deepest realms, it is said that the only way to survive the harsh landscape which presents itself is to take the form of a scorpion – the only creature that is able to successful navigate and survive there. Whilst this is a trial I have not personally undertaken nor come face to face with, it is remarkably similar to my own experiences of travelling the tunnels mentioned above in spider form. It is said this is absolutely necessary – otherwise the actual astral body / soul of the seeker will face grave and possibly permanent injury.

I am interested in what you my dear readers might have also experienced. Whether inside or outside of dream, it would be great to hear your stories. I must again say that transformation / assumption of these forms outside of dream, it is not something I have yet pursued actively, but there is certainly many precedents for it I can find it many magickal texts.

On that note, I leave you with a final peek at the new doll body which I hope to be a new home for the primary familiar – further images will be shown before the binding process is done, as I want to complete the physical preparations before I go ahead and do the working. This will be a separate, if related process to the other working. Where as the other was to uplift, almost in some ways creating of a spirit, this will be binding a current spirit to this matter – as well as to the weak, spirit matter which already makes up the object.

dsc_0282

New doll body, Self taken image

Thanks for reading as ever,

Ave Hecate,

Beloved Queen of Hell Heaven and Earth,

Ave Lucifer, 

Dark Solar Lord of the All Illuminating Flame,

Ave Belial,

Dark Horned Prince of the All Flesh of the Earth

Ave to the Witch Gods and Witch Kin this Night

~S~

1 Comment »

Samhain Ritual Write-Up: The Dead Supper

Posted in Divination, Heathenry, Necromancy, Occultism, Paganism, The Path of Flames, Traditional Witchcraft with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 30, 2014 by Sypheara

With November fast disappearing, I have finally been able to complete the writeup for the PDF version of the Rite that was undertaken this Samhain. It was a powerful one,  that both me and my friend, Kagekabuki, put together for a local pagan group.

Rather than wax and wane on, I will instead let the introduction I have written for it describe the rite fully. The download link can be found in resources as well as below:

Samhain – The Dead Supper

‘This ritual is written for performance on the night of Samhain, and is a variant on the traditional dead supper ritual carried out by many groups and covens. It was first performed on Samhain night in 2014, where it was successful in evoking the gods and the mighty dead, as well as directing the participants downwards to experience the celebrations being held within the underworld. 

The the main focus of this ritual falls heavily on the hallowed dead, of peoples spiritual lineage, and requires an active involvement by participants to connect to these spirits. The ritual requires two leaders, ideally one male and one female. The presiding Gods of the ritual that will be invoked are Hecate/Lucifer, and Woden/Hel, with the Path of Flames being the route the powers are accessed.

Although the crossroads where The Path of Flames cross with Germanic Paganism may be obscured, it is a syncretic bond that arose out of the combination of two lines of practice, that was divined to be acceptable / encouraged by the Gods in question themselves. People who are interested in running this ritual are encouraged to carry out a divination of their own to detect/perceive this relationship to settle their minds if they find it a concern.

The ritual itself makes use of the usual circle, invocation and building of the energies, followed by a ritualistic descent to the underworld, a dead supper and possibly a guided meditation. The guided meditation aspect must be worked / recorded by the leaders of the ritual before its carried out in ideally a joint working, on the 30th of October, the night before it is to be performed.’

samhain1

An example of the main altar used for this rite from Samhain 2014

As mentioned in the PDF, I’d like to thank the people who took part, as well as Kagekabuki for helping me get everything together and running the ritual alongside me. Please take a moment to visit her blog, which is unfortunately in that place we do not name.. Tumblr!

http://the-wyrd-wanderer.tumblr.com/

In other news, I will be spending the next month or so on personal workings with the new doll i received, to empower it as to become my secondary familiar. I hope to detail this, as well as provide images before the empowering ritual has been performed.

The spirit residing within it has already offered its sigil, so the process should be an intimate and rewarding one. The body for the primary familiar is finally on its way.

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone had an enjoyable Samhain, and I look forward to the Winter solstice!

~S~

Leave a comment »

Midsummer Blessings: From the Garden of Hecate

Posted in Divination, Paganism, The Path of Flames with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 23, 2014 by Sypheara

Thought I would just call in and wish everyone a happy belated midsummer. Everything has been crazy busy, with the article almost ready to be submitted for review  to the editor. To ensure that the article is rounded off to a decent standard, i’m trying to clear myself of a writers block that is preventing the last 200 words from erupting forth. Once that is done, it will need checking before it is fired across.

I am hopeful it will selected, as I feel that I have managed to touch on a important aspect within how pagan paths approach masculinity and how our views can be limited by self imposed archetypal systems which sometimes are a poor model for describing complex systems. Feedback from people who have seen the draft version has been very positive. With the fire of the sun burning within and within, the visible shadow of the black sun, fulfilling the promise of a renewed year promised by Beltane, I feel as I too have to now step up to the mark and deliver. I hope I will be able to channel that into my writing to bring something that is worthy of them into fruition within a written, published media soon.

MidsummerNightBonfire2

Midsummer fire by Petritap

In other news, I went to a ritual designed to celebrate the Goddess Hecate and God Hermes, run by a fantastic friend of mine.For anyone who follows my blog or knows about my path, the syncretic elements at play here are obvious, so it felt impossible to miss out on. It was expertly carried out, with the invocations to both great spirits being made, the chant of the seven vowels of A-E-H-I-O-Υ-Ω utilised to build up power before finally visualization was undertaken in an attempt to take each practitioner to the Garden of Hecate herself.

Pan was encountered, leading the participant to the lake of nymphs where they were purified in the Lake of Forgetfulness. Once completed, the road winded through the blazing heat of the garden to the feet of Hecate herself, who took on a three figured statue of white marble, holding two torches which resembled the sun and the moon. These glowed with an unearthly intensity, and it was here Hecate allowed the participant to anoint their feet in her box of dye, making ruddy the feet and giving her blessings of a second chance and the beginning of a new path.

hecatestatueTriple Hecate Statue – Unknown Source

From here, Pan then directed the participant onwards with Hecates blessing up a long, winding marble staircase and into an ancient greek temple, surrounded by columns, standing fire lamps, buzzing insects and a rectangular fountain. Here Hermes was encountered, who directed the seeker to look deep into the mercurial waters which swirled in the basin that were at the same time clear, full of light, but also swirling with shadow. There, his blessing were given, and his direction to me made clear.

Returned to the circle and mundanity by the God, a final piece of advice was given by fate from a scrying bowl, and offerings laid out to thank them for the communion.

It was a special and powerful rite, and indicated good signs for the journey to Spain hopefully later this year and my magickal path in general. I hope Midsummer also brought you equally as good omens for the future!

~S~

 

Leave a comment »

Small update: Happy Samhain!

Posted in Divination, Necromancy, Occultism, Other, Paganism with tags , , , on October 31, 2013 by Sypheara

Hello all, a small update as promised following on from the review and the last tarot reading post. Alot has happened, for the better, thats caused me to be a very, very busy individual lately. Before I launch into it all though, I’d first like to wish you all a Happy Samhain, and hope you enjoy whatever it is you have planned. If you have nothing planned, whether recreational or work wise, then I say you are going to miss out! Its a fantastic time of year, and an important one at that.

Tarot / Personal Update

It seems that my previous reading turned out to be much more spot on than I expected. After a hard slog, and not so little faith, I have finally managed to land a job, fulfilling what I believe was the Judgement card in my favour. I have been watching out for any pitfalls, especially in my own behaviour. Controlling problematic aspects of my behaviour and demonstrating alot of patience has finally paid off, and I am now much more financially secure and free.

As such, I have moved out of my old home to stay with friends, a temporary stop gap to acquiring my own place. This is going to affect the rate of updates, but its something I have needed to do for a long while, especially with the eventual goal being complete privacy for my practice going forward into the future. This would allow me to do much deeper, powerful rituals without affecting others, and enable me to really have the space to pursue many ideas im currently still unable to.

I am keeping in mind the earlier warnings in the reading, and hopefully it will continue to work out, Hecate willing.

Observations and Projects

With a bit more freedom and more understanding people around, moving back to the city has been a really good experience. Despite more people being around and it being an environment that can in no way be described as being ‘near to nature’, it will provide a much more ideal ground for me to move forward with many areas of my life. It’s closer to friends, a more active pagan community, and is generally a nicer place to live than where i was previously based.

If you look hard enough, you also occasionally find gems hidden amongst the rough..

DSC_0226[1]

I haven’t positively identified this planet yet, but seeing such an interesting specimen in the heart of the city, with such impressive flowers, has sparked my interest and brought a smile to my day. Hopefully its a perennial plant, and I’ll be able to take a sample or two in the future for curiosities sake to see if the small hunch ive got is correct. Need more hands on after all, and less book learning.

However, that will have to wait. Tonight I plan to make my gift to the mighty dead and the Gods, in the form of a spirit box. Hopefully this will make a good offering, and im looking forward indeed to crafting it / presenting it at the graveyard tomorrow or the day after, depending on how the process goes. I’ll be detailing this as best as I am able, depending on what feedback I get from the spirits tonight. A picture of the box i’ll be using, along with the central quartz crystal, is pictured below.

DSC_0228[1]

Blog Roadmap

With all the above , the planned content for the blog has shifted. Ill still be delivering the sigil and ritual working write ups as promised, for general perusal, but it is more paramount to concentrate on my own Samhain working to ensure its correctly carried out. Once that is over with, Ill be for the short term concentrating on updating my own personal journals, which have gone neglected for too long despite the amount of ideas/sigils that are swirling around in my head since the witch mark was acquired.

Hopefully once this is done, the ritual writeup will be of interest and use to some of you out there, I do plan on posting more pictures where possible.

Have a good one,

~S~

2 Comments »

A Small Tarot Reading: The Scales and The Devil

Posted in Divination, Occultism, The Path of Flames with tags , , , , , , , , , , on September 2, 2013 by Sypheara

So following my successes with my first venture into the Tarot (described here https://theluciferianrevolution.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/my-experience-with-the-tarot/) I’ve always been meaning to write up about another one of my readings of the Tarot.

A recent reading came up that I though was very interesting, so I thought I would relay it as a smaller post preceding the larger book review im undertaking. As such, I’ll launch right into it.

Background

The previous night, I felt like again  approaching Hecate and asking her for assistance in a Tarot reading, to determine what would be the major influence within the coming weeks. This came after several weeks of detachment from pursuing anything concrete in any fashion and indulging myself to recharge my psychological and physiological batteries, and after a period of break I decided to approach Hecate for help.

What happened I did not expect. After shuffling the cards in my usual manner calling on Hecate, I split the deck into three stacks in front of me and drew the middle first, followed by the left most card, followed by the right most card.

The middle card was asked to reveal the current and near future state and its dominating influence. The left most card was asked to reveal the past influences which have led to the current state. The right most card was asked to reveal the end result of the current and near future dominating influence, if it was left to run its natural course.

The cards I pulled from each stack were in no way expected, but I found them to be highly interesting. The leftmost card was The Devil, The middle card The Ten of Pentacles, and the rightmost card Justice. I will now provide my own small reading on them, for what I believe them to be indicating to me.

DSC_0205

A picture taken from the reading itself.

Past Influence which has led to the current state : The Devil

The Devil as a Major Arcana card is the first Major Arcana card I have encountered within an actual reading. For me, this came as a shock at first, due to the cards overly negative connotations. However, when read with the middle card, and taking into account my recent past, I can see why it would play a role and appear in a reading.

The negative connotations of the Devil card are best summed up as a feeling of being in bondage or being otherwise restricted physically, emotionally and spiritually. It can also relate to remaining willfully ignorant, bound to material matters, or being self absorbed into a overly negative world view. It can also relate a feeling of intense hopelessness.

devil_tree

The Devil from the Tarot Of Trees.

As a whole, at first, none of these seem to overly relate. However, on deeper introspection and asking questions, I can see how the Devil card has arisen. In the last past period, I have definetly let go of pretty much every inhibition I held on some level. The last few weeks has been highly healing, hence I think leading to the Ten of Pentacles. This is the process with which I have broken the chains that were to some extent holding me down psychologically. I believe this is related to the stagnation I have finally broken out of in one area of my life and finding my centre again. I also believe it relates to my deteriorating financial state, and the binding issues that has placed upon me.

I believe that the card not only represents the old issues, but also the method through which inverted I used to overcome these problems tackling fire with fire. I also believe however it marks a warning, to ensure that I do not continue in this manner as a general rule, or end up being caught in a new problem of my own creation and immolating myself. Its position corroborates the fact it has been mostly moved away from, something I am thankful for!

The current and near future state : Ten of Pentacles

The Ten of Pentacles, although a Minor Arcana card, is a welcome one in this reading. Traditionally it deals with security and enjoying the fruits of ones labour and that things will finally come together. This coming together will yield a state that creates a long lasting foundation of some description for the future. It also usually depicts the need to share and spread this overabundance of stability through various manners. It usually deals with mainly physical matters, but can also relate to an abundance or knowledge or other revelations which brings about this state. This is usually a rational or methodic knowledge rather than spiritual.

tenofpentacles_tree

The Ten of Pentacles from the Tarot Of Trees.

In relation to myself, I have interpreted this is many ways. In my life, I have recently been offered a job interview that, if I am successful at, will eleviate my current financial situation and give me a new level of freedom. I believe that pulling this card signifies that all current indicators point to that I will be successful in this, and that has been corroborated with other signs from the company themselves and the arrangement process.

However, Hecate doesn’t often only send me signs about mundane matters, so I also believe this also has a hidden meaning that is not entirely been revealed to me. This could be in relation to coming into possession of knowledge that must be continued to be shared when possible in regards to methodology, and that this card could be a reminder of my duties in that regard.

Regardless, the fact that some material foundation or settlement is occuring or will soon begin to occur is a welcome one, and one that I will hope to seize full advantage of it if presented.  However, with the appearance of the following card, I hold that view with a degree of caution.

The result arising from this state: Justice

Another interesting card to pull, Justice is another Major Arcana card and the second I have ever pulled in a reading. The way I have seen this card in my studies and and looking at it has been one of it representing Karma. In this way, Justice is a card I see representing this force, of causation and reaction. I use the word force here on purpose – in the card that I possess, the figures eyes are blindfolded. This to me indicates that it isnt the figures emotional reaction or judging of a situation, but simply the cold logic of the outcome of the scales being held.

As such, I see this card as a double edged blade – it is one that could have positive or negative consequences, and shows that some causal action in the past is going to cause a large reaction in the immediate future. As a Major Arcana card, I therefore also believe this indicates such a reaction will have an impact on a wide level for the person involved including Physical, Mental and Spiritual Elements. The old adage you reap what you sow does indeed apply here.

justice_tree

Justice from the Tarot Of Trees.

Applying this to myself is therefore also done in a double edged fashion, because nobody can escape the laws of cause and effect when bound to our current universe. As such, I believe it offers both a promise and a warning, especially paired with the previous two cards.

In a positive light, the Justice card could potentially mean that, after a period of having to be exceptionally careful with money and my mundane life balance, i will finally receive the payoff i’ve been searching for in regards to it. This would allow me more freedom to pursue my spiritual path, having been freed of living in an environment hostile to my practice. This would be a sign similar to my previous reading – instead of enjoying the bounties of my spiritual fufilments, now I may also be in the position to see my mundane life move forward as well.

However, I also see it as a warning in that if the opportunity is not seized, then I will miss out and lose the bounty offered up by the Ten of Pentacles as cause and effect takes precedent.

In addition, I also believe this carries a further warning: the method and influence of the The Devil card still leaves a mark and is not entirely discarded, and it could also relate to an action or actions I took in that period coming back to have an unseen effect, limiting the effectiveness of the Ten of Pentacles or causing a new, unforeseen problem to arise.

This has in a way already come to pass, and I am therefore wary of the negative side that the Justice card can bring. As such, I also see it as a warning indicating that I must be wary of falling into its influence again at least for the immediate future or risk what i might be able to obtain.

In actuality, I expect that a combination of both positive and negative outcomes will occur resulting in a more balanced outcome than suggested by the Ten of Pentacles on its own. I admit I am in no way perfect, so the the outcome of the cause and effect principle will not be entirely what I seek and I expect surprises in the future due to the manifestation of this cards influence in the reading.

Conclusion and Follow-Up

With such an interesting array of cards, I feel that it will be necessary to carefully observe the next few weeks and how it develops. Seeing the results will reveal to me hopefully the meaning within the reading, helping me gauge what was successfully read, and what wasnt. Either will be interesting to note, and will hopefully shed more light on the cards and the reason they were presented by Hecate. As such, I hope to write another small follow up if possible detailing the outcomes.

I hope this has again been interesting. I have begun work on the review of Apocalyptic Witchcraft, and hope to release it in two parts as it has grown outside of the original scope I had planned for it. That should be released later this week at some point.

Thanks as always for reading,

~S~

1 Comment »

My Experience With The Tarot

Posted in Divination, Occultism, The Path of Flames with tags , , , , , , on July 14, 2013 by Sypheara

So as promised, here is the first in the next few entries, this particular one focusing on the Tarot. This will include some personal reflection. I’ll try to keep it it to as a minimum as its supposed to be detailing my experience with the Tarot, not the personal issues involved.

Introduction

I’ve always been interested in the concept of the Tarot, ever since being sixteen years of age, predating what I would consider to be my own spiritual awakening. Something about them has always had me enamoured – I think now looking back  it was the ‘mysterious’ story surrounding them and my interests in different ways of divination in a psychological and artistic sense at the time.

When I actually underwent the spiritual change from my past to current self, some of that was invariably lost. In looking for deeper meaning within myself, and at other more ‘serious’ gnostic and witchcraft works, I began harboring the notion that Tarot, longed used by TV psychics and other charlatans, was a tool in self deception. Not surprising considering my sudden shift in mental patterns, I was still trying to make sense of things from my old, over critical mindset.

Sparking my Interest

After recently taking my witchmark, I decided that it was time to try out the Tarot for myself.  The thought behind this was simple. I had been exposed to many things by that point which had shaken my previous convictions and made me a lot more open minded. Due to that, I believed that I needed to begin the search for tools which could aid in Magickal workings and Communication with the Divine, and that when found these needed to be tried out and experimented with, to see what would work for me as an individual.

Due to the abilities heightened and unlocked by the Witchmark and my completed self initiation, I felt like it was a good time to rekindle my interest in the Tarot. The logic was that, even if it had been used by charlatans and its origins over exaggerated and lied about, at the end of the day it was only a channel or conduit, not a source of action itself. On this basis, I decided that exploration in a creative manner would net me interesting results.. and so it did.

For a few weeks I investigated the traditional meanings of the cards, and picked out a deck that I felt attracted to for purely aesthetic reasons. I didn’t get too hung up on the meanings of the cards, but instead enjoyed researching hem, especially the major arcana, as Jungian Archetypes. Some very good information was found online once heavily sifted through. Eventually, relatively comfortable with the basic concepts, I decided to a very simple, one card reading.

One Card Reading

My first experiment was simple. I would do a small meditation and visualisation of Hecates sigil, ask a basic question asking her to answer it, whilst shuffling the deck. Taking one card out at random, when it felt ‘right’, yielded the Eight of Cups.

eightofcups_lg

Eight of Cups from the Tarot Of Trees.

(Note: This was not the deck used, but I lacked  a picture of this reading

and this Deck caught my eye)

This was pretty interesting to see, especially considering it’s the card I was expecting to come up! At that point in my Life when this card was pulled, I had felt that all my efforts outside of  exploring my spiritually had been destroyed and smashed. I had also been attempting, and still attempting, to repair to me an important relationship that had ended in bewildering circumstances leading to feelings of loss, regret, sorrow and confusion. This had been leaving me feeling drained and lacking hope, with the feeling that  I wanted to grow out of those circumstances into something that was more meaningful and become more effective as a person without knowing how or if I had the potential to do so.

This threw me for a bit,  despite my attempts to rationalise it as confirmation bias, so I didn’t attempt the next reading until several weeks later.

Three Card Reading

Feeling emboldened by the previous reading, despite its confirmation of my negative state at the time, I decided to try a slightly more complex reading.  This time, I did the same whilst shuffling the deck as the first instead this time concentrating on asking Hecate about my present course on the path of flames, and where it could lead if i continued in the same vein.  Splitting the deck into three, I  then revealed the top three cards in left to right fashion on the stacks and laid them down in front of me.

workingtwo

Actual picture of the reading, revealing the

King of Pentacles, Five of Swords, and Ten of Cups.

This was another interesting result. The King of Pentacles traditionally represents an solid foundation in material wealth, that can mean alot of wealth or quality of life and wealth. However, in regards to this reading and seeing the full picture, it instead spoke to me of my distant past as someone rooted in a safe upbringing with very athiestic, earthly tendencies, and accepting the prefered worldview.

The Five of Swords was a very interesting card to get, and one that resonated with me alot. This card represents a difficult conflict in progress, that can have either a negative or positive effect, either way with some negative consequences. Due to the final card, I dismissed several interpretations which did not make sense in light of it, and instead settled on my own personal meaning. This was that the difficult battle would be a testing time, pitting my will and direction with others and not everything will go my way. However I saw this as a positive sign in that although their would be a price to pay, and it would be an emotionally and spiritually testing one, that it would likely develop into the final card.

The final card is the Ten of Cups, which represents spiritual and emotional fufilment and balance. To me this was a joyous card to receive from Hecate – whilst it doesnt mean permanance or assurance, I couldn’t have asked for a better result to the challenge of The Five of Swords.  It’s good message,  I was happy to receive in relation to my question to her.

When compared with the other cards, this indeed showed a tradeoff and a dying of an old self to attain something new, through the process of a difficult, conflict and not entirely scarless transformation. This I took as a good sign,despite there being a warning buried within it I needed to heed.

Full Reading

So following on from these readings, after another several days, I felt like it was time to try a much more complex reading. The issue surrounding and pushing through on the first rading was the fallout from a long lasting, doomed  relationship. The issue about this  I wanted to resolve was what to do with the remaining friendship, due to it causing lingering problems. I wanted to ask Hecate for help in that manner, as it was becoming obstructive to my path and to moving forward in any manner. With this in mind, I used a simplish spread that I found admittedly online and gave it a shot.

workingthree

Actual picture of the reading, revealing the

layout of the spread.

I’ll detail the cards in position, thier meaning and then wrap up with a conclusion to the reading and post.

Distant Past : King of Pentacles

Interesting that the King of Pentacles would show up again in this reading, in the distant past section. Considering my previous stable life, and admittedly lucky circumstances, this card made perfect sense in a more materialistic, straightforward way in this position outside of needing comparison with the second reading.  For this reason, I didn’t dwell on this card, which I saw as just confirming what had already been revealed to some extent in the last reading.

Recent Past: Five of Cups

This card also made alot of sense in this position. The Five of Cups indicates feelings of loss and regret in the recent past. Considering the nature of the question and the surrounding situation, this perfectly described the recent past in black and white terms. It also to me additionally  indicated the suddeness of the change, and the shock associated with it, in addition to the actual lingering consequences.

Present: Ace of Pentacles

This was an interesting card to get, and one that revealed a good foundation around which to base any decision. It also revealed what present weakness was also furthering the problem, rather than contributing to it being fixed. This was revealed by the other cards, and that error and issue was placing too much trust into the current state of affairs.

Future Influences: Four of Pentacles

The Four of Pentacles was also a very powerful card in this reading, and I read it as a warning for the future that was walking into, and one that I wanted to avoid if at all possible. This card indicates hoarding, the need to possess, maintain control, and keep the status quo.  Due to my prior influences and the situation at hand, I could see how walking into such a mentally and spiritually confining place could be very easy to do. As such, I took this card as a serious warning.

External Influences: King of Wands

The card of this position indicates an external influence, I took the  presence of the King of Wards indicated an actual person other than myself who was . This was another major card for me. I had recently been talking to another person in my life who I regard as being a definite King of Wands, who had been helping me in alot of different matters. This fire and energy had been transfered to me, and given me the strength needed
to continue growing in my magickal work. This had had an affect on all matters in my life, especially when it all had culminated in me acquiring my witchmark. It had been this energy which had revitalised me and spurred me on to challenge this issue head on. As such, I saw this external influence as being the pushing point to initiation the reading, and change within me.

My Mental Attitude: Page of Cups

The appearance of the Page of Cups indicated that my mindset up until the reading and decision to push forward had been one revolving around still around intimacy, loving and caring indicating to me the mental reasons that had been contributing to me continue down the current path. Whilst revealing nothing new to me, seeing this card in this position helped confirm that I had read the initial situation correctly.

Helpful Energies: Three of Pentacles

This card, appearing in this position, was another interesting card.  From its position and my reading, it refered in my mind more to help and support I have been getting from others, rather than the person in question. These people have been supporting me through dealing with the issue, unknown to them really, and had been keeping it from escalating into a problem up until this point.

Main Problem: Two of Cups

The Two of Cups represents lovers, or a relationship. Due to this being in the problem position, I interpreted this a blunt way – that the person is question was developing a relationship with another.  When read with the other cards, I saw this as being an unsurmountable problem – as such, rather than resist it in any fashion mentally,  direct my efforts elsewhere.

Hope and Fears: Four of Cups

Another card that pinpointed something I had alreaady to an extent encountered, making an existing thought be able to be seen more clearly. The Four of Cups indicates withdrawal from the world and self absorption. In the position of Hopes and Fears, I interpreted this as my fear that, if this situation continued, it would cause me  me to stagnate in the worst way possible to the point of becoming reclusive.

Final Result: Eight of Swords

The Eight of Swords was the final nail in the coffin. The Eight of Swords indicates the feeling of being bound, with no way out. It indicates that a person feels like whatever decision they take, they will be gravely injured. This was well represented on the card itself – one move would cause the guillotine to fall severing the head.

However, the card also shows that this is also caused by a certain amount of self delusion caused by the situation, and that other options exist that will result in a positive payoff if only they are looked for an explored.

With this being the final result,  I decided that looking for those options in the present before the situation got too bad was the most wise course of action.

Conclusion of Final Reading

With the overall reading being dominated by feelings of lethargy and entrapment, I decided that action was necessary to prevent such a situation from arising. As such, I set about first to see if the actual situation matched that of the cards in regards to the other person. It turned out that, unfortunately, the reading was entirely correct.

I would find out, through pursuing the matter further, that the reading has accurately assessed the situation down to the exact details.  It did  turn out that this person had been using me as an emotional crutch, all the while beginning a new relationship with another. They finally explained to me first hand that they were unable to tell me for multiple reasons, and were pursuing this new relationship to to avoid with dealing with existing issues as some sort of panacea.

As such I took the stark warning in the cards seriously, and severed any relationship with this individual in the kindest way possible. Since then, things have drastically improved. I no longer feel mentally shackled or bound, and have been able to move on in both my magickal and mundane projects, and my personal relations with others have improved.

queen-of-cups2

Conclusion

I can honestly say that using the Tarot as a divinatory and decision making tool has so far yielded exceptional results.

Using only a very basic method, I have been able to achieve consistent results outside of even needing to consecrate them as tools. I have been quite surprised at this, as I fully expected them to be a very hit and miss, without much practical application.

With them turning out to be the opposite, I will definetly be using them in future workings to ascertain just how useful they can actually be. This will inevitably be expanded as I learn more about them, and how they can be applied to my own Path and in Divinatory use. As always, if anything interesting I can share surfaces, I will gladly share them here.

Thanks for taking the time to read this as always.

~S~

2 Comments »