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The Key of Night – Opening the Way of Stellar Fire

Posted in Luciferianism, Necromancy, Occultism, Paganism, Stellar Gnosis, The Path of Flames, The Temple of the Ivory Spider with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 22, 2022 by Sypheara

It has been awhile!! Back end of last month, I finally ended up catching Covid. It gave me a kicking but two and a half weeks later I feel for the most part pretty well recovered. Mentally and spiritually I feel in a good place, and the above notwithstanding, it has been a pretty productive period since the last entry here.

The main working since the previous blog post was a ritual I carried out with the goddess Lilith. Lilith is very misunderstood in the modern occult scene – ironically by the supposed LHP practitioners as much as anyone else. Thus they miss the forest for the trees – focusing on her shallow aspects rather than the transformative power she and her realm, Gamaliel, brings.

Lilith by Anato Finnstark

One of the things Lilith gifted to me, coming up to two years ago now, was her key. This was given with crystal clarity in astral travel. This key, referred to as simply The Key of Night, is a required component in unlocking Lucifers Stellar Gate. At the time, I was not ready to make use of it – the final dragon rite had not been completed and blocked its use in full. As such, there could be no approach to actually unlocking the gate, and thus no need to physically embody this tool.

However with the completion of the last Dragon Rite, it became imminently important that this Key was to be physically created. It would be necessary to properly do this so that it could be used as a tool in the opening of the gate itself, a required step on the theurgic path.

In order to do this, I got myself ahold of an antique skeleton key – one that was quite substantial, and made of iron. This would be a fitting, physical seat for the power to be brought through. From this point, it was therefore all about how to correctly pull through the required essence, and ensoul it into the chosen object. I.e. How to pull that energy from her, permission to do so which she had already granted me, in a way that would make it useful for what was to come. This was eventually accomplished; the final method not being unlike the usual method of these things, but with some needed modifications.

Firstly, the key was adequately cleansed to ensure it was rid of anything that would interfere, as well as being brought correctly into the service of the Arte. Then, the working area was prepared and the circle itself was brought up to full power using the necessary calls. In turn, this preliminary work was followed by focused invocation to possession up to Triformus level.

From here, both Hecate and Lucifer were evoked, in order to properly moderate the influx of energy. This was in turn required to stabilise the focal point that would be opened to call Lilith through. The tool utilised for this was my clear, full length mirror – something I have used the stellar rites here before.

Meanwhile, I burned powerful loose incense on coals in front of the mirror gate as both offering, and to empower this already sanctified tool further. This incense blend is one of my own, a mix of benzoin, myrh, frankincense and various herbs sympathetic herbs. This helped to greatly intensify the coming work.

Key picture by OrianaNiChearnaigh

The mirror, placed within the east, was where Lilith was transvoked. The placement of the mirror in the East of the circle was done on pure intuition – something I have learned to trust on this path. Lilith was then evoked through the mirror, using both call, smoke, and blooded seal – the one that had been originally granted in dream.

With her present, and the initial groundwork contact made, she was invoked into the body. This was done using the key itself. This act was one of the components of the formula as whole, so that when combined with spoken pact, the link would be made in full. The possession that followed was difficult, more taxing, than I expected. Whilst sexual in nature, there was an element of resistance, which had to be overcome on my part. Working in such a way is not what many people envision – sometimes this process can be pure stellar bliss, other times it can be a dark and trying experience. This was the latter – with invasive imagery resplendent, which I realised quickly was a test. It was vital that I pushed through, claimed what was given, and completed the merge in full. Anything else would be to fail in pulling out the required energetic link buried deep within the subtle body. Eventually, much to the amusement of the other party it seemed, everything fell into place. After recovering, in front of the mirror, the key was anointed with the resulting possessed blood, elevated by the energy of the collapsed waveform. Note, those who can read between the lines can guess how else the key was further empowered.

Holding it aloft in both hands, I immediately utilised its form to request from Lucifer the final, inner seal required for opening his stellar gate. This was delivery quickly, and automatic writing used to commit it to the working temple books. Once complete, the key itself was lovingly wrapped up and placed in the northern quarter of the circle. The energies of the self and circle were allowed to stabilise, before being lowered and eventually brought down to baseline with the closing of the rite itself.

With the key empowered, it now falls on me to burn the required dragon seals into prepared pine disks, before completing Lucifers stele itself in the birchwood blocks. Once this is complete, disk, block and key will be utilised to complete the final working in this series. This will make a longer period of working on this specific gate than I could ever have expected – a more complex series of working being sent than I anticipated. With it complete, the road to Belials Stellar Gate will be open. All that is left, is to try and draw this all together. I wanted to do this on Beltane, but with that date being too unrealistic thanks to my illness, I expect the next attempt to be around midsummer.

I am excited to finally be able to tackle this, and feel like I’m making very real progress. I will hopefully have an update re that work around then.

One of the other things I wanted to mention in this post may seem small, in comparison. But it seems an important message to relate. In dream, the other night, Sepheranz came to me and told me something important. This plays into the previous theme above – about creation of working tools and devotional items. She showed me a particular number, and told me to avoid having a slavish devotion to perfection. Upon waking up I pondered what this might mean – personally for my own practice. In some ways, I think it is that sometimes the fear of failing can stop us in some ways tackling stuff we are less confident with – but without doing so, we will never grow and learn. It has certainly made me want to really tackle the burning of these new seals in full, without overly worrying about result. Materials are not impossible to come across and replace anyway. Being afraid of taking considered leaps, in this path, isn’t really an option if you want to succeed in Theurgy.

Reaper by BuraKulker

Recently, the primal craft instagram has recently put out some wonderful images of devotional items created by a dedicated devotee. I’d like to highlight these as well, as the groundwork (by both devotee and Magister of the Mother Temple) has finally been done to enable them to be shared to the wider public. May they serve as an inspiration to other devotees to give things a shot. Whilst the person who created these items is very skilled, the connection forged by working with your own hands is second to none where it can be carried out. My wood blocks look, artistically, as if a child had created them in comparison with this devotees work. But the power that exudes out of those blocks, that is foundation for the temple here, is enormous. Take the leap. Do your best. Enjoy the process, and the great results will inevitably follow. For in that work, there are a lot of great rewards to reap.

I will leave this post here, as it has been difficult to get formulated and out. I hope you all had a wonderful Ostara period, and are looking forward to Beltane which is soon arriving.

With Torch,
With Knife,
With Key,
A Goddess of Hell,
Opens the Gateways of Heaven
For those of Brave Heart,
And Committed Soul
~S~

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Samhain Blessings: Success in the Black Degree

Posted in Necromancy, Paganism, Stellar Gnosis, The Path of Flames with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 3, 2019 by Sypheara

A very quick and short entry from myself, just to wish everyone a good Samhain period – the day itself might have passed, but here we will be extending workings well up to the 11th (and likely a few days beyond!). This includes that nice little working on the coast with Leviathan, which i’m expecting will be carried out in lovely freezing and raining conditions. A pretty usual state of affairs in this rather bleak but beautiful place. The plan is to carry that out sometime in the next two weeks.

To update on the former post – it is with great relish I can report that the initiation of the first candidate of the inner temple here went extremely well. Lucifer was impressed with the gifts offered and the faith in which the ordeal was faced and past. As such, the groundwork for the Stellar Temple I want to build metaphorically and literally in the years to come, is properly started. It will take several years minimum before the praxis is in place, probably longer before I can even consider securing a physical temple site due to the time and monetary costs involved. So a very long term project to make explicitly clear, but one I look forward to building in partnership with the new apprentice, Hecate and their own path willing.

Hernes Oak From The Merry Wives Of Windsor, V, V Herne’s

Outside of this some strong possession work with Hecate commenced last night on the 1st to celebrate both the blessed, as well the dark and forgotten dead.

This group working was led by a good friend of mine, who has many years working with our Goddess. She doesn’t work in Trident Witchcraft but in another strain of Hekatian Witchcraft, but the energies raised are extremely similar for obvious reasons. Use of Ophidian speech allowed for the spirits we intended to contact to raise powerfully but also safely into the ritual space. Particular attention was given to those accused of being witches in the past, especially in regards to a particular local group which were accused and hanged based on absolutely marginal shreds of evidence in the 17th Century. Only three of these individuals could have been referred to as witches, the rest included a businessman and at least one, ironically, pious Christian.  Their murder has left them in a state of limbo, not helped by years of mundane interference at their unmarked burial site. To be able to give them some solace, by sharing offering and remembering the story of their heinous murder, feels like at least an attempt to address a powerful and long standing injustice. Other personal contact with the dead was made, but these experiences remain solely for the group attending and will not be shared here as is proper.

Overall it was a powerful rite to share with others, and culminated for me in an almost full drawing in of the black goddess which i won’t readily forget. Whilst these are common for me with Lucifer, they are much more uncommon with the dark mother to that full bodied extent, and are thus enjoyed thoroughly when experienced.

With that said, back to it, I hope its been a great time for everyone, and many blessings in your works ahead.

Ave the Blessed Dead,
On these dark Samhain nights,
Those souls who have come before,
Who light the way with their torches,
We give to you our praise and love,
In the name of the Dark Mother,

And with heartfelt wishes,
Peace to the Dark Dead,
Those lost and forlorn,
Lie forgotten no more
Be fulfilled and at rest,
Sated and Soothed,
In the Black Queens Arms
~S~

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Blessings and Curses: Samhain

Posted in Necromancy, Occultism, Paganism, The Path of Flames with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 2, 2016 by Sypheara

I would just like to take a small moment to wish everyone who follows the blog and my work a productive and blessed Samhain season.

I love this time of year.. all the way up to the winter solstice the energy is perfect for all sorts of interesting workings. Its great to be able to share these with others, and this years group Samhain rite by a friend of mine was spectacularly well executed. It was very powerful rite, tapping into the ophidian currents to expertly honour the dead.

That said, as regards to my own workings, this years Samhain rite was a little different than expected. It’s been a relatively difficult time here for numerous personal reasons, in regards to both illness and death. All on top of attempting to integrate the gnosis coming through from the awakened gates.

Recently, a horrible occurrence happened that required a powerful protective, and malefic rite to rectify the extreme psychological harm brought about to one of my friends family members after they were attacked at knifepoint. So, alongside the usual offerings to the dead at this time of year, the rite was executed on the Sabbat night with this in mind, and was extremely powerful.

Into the body were called Hecate and Belial, as well as the Ivory Spider, to lend their aid and power. This power was directed towards the empowerment and consecration of a malefic and necromantic wand of control, command, and bane using the accumulated venoms of the path thus far.

After this, empowerment and protection was first given to the innocent victims using the existing wand of Lucifer, to ensure they were duly empowered and protected. Afterwords, the new malefic wand was used to impale, envenom, and then blast the malefactors before they were cast out from the circle into the northern quarter into the waiting teeth of Belial and his hosts.

dsc_0364Wand prior to its activation in ritual with associated venoms 

The wand was made from a single, dried out branch of holly that was acquired as a present from an earlier working.. an interesting tool that was given at the right time for the right purpose. I am not interested in Malefica in general.. anyone who knows me or who has followed the blog for anytime will have seen the lack of such material here. But this time it felt powerful, necessary, and part of demonstrating the power of the Path from Belial in my direction.

Unfortunately due to the nature of this work involving the specific use of the Ivory Spider and his venom conjoined with Belials, its unfortunately unsuitable to share the exact method of consecration for the wand here. However I detail the above to illustrate the other side of the coin of working with these entities.. the ability to defend oneself and ones friends and family, blood or spiritual, that comes with the territory.

In other news, a certain friend of mine has also recently completed a very interesting book.. a book that relates to possession work with Belial. He has poured an immense amount of time and effort into this text.. I hope to soon grab a copy to illustrate why I think its an important addition, albeit one that comes with a lot of caveats.

Thanks again for reading,

Ave Hecate,
~S~

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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~

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Countdown to Samhain

Posted in Folk Belief, Luciferianism, Necromancy, Occultism, Paganism, The Path of Flames, Traditional Witchcraft with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 27, 2014 by Sypheara

Hello all, hope this post finds you well.

With Samhain approaching, I have become incredibly busy. I have another Doll body on the way, a second to source, and a ritual for a rather large group to run and prepare. All this alongside also ensuring my own personal notes and writing is kept up to date!

As such, I hope to have plenty to post soon, but unfortunately most of it is likely to go up after Samhain is over with. This is no bad thing really, as it’s a time when we should be in touch with our Gods and Ancestors and our Loved Ones and Communities, rather than lost amongst a digital fog which consumes most of our attention the remainder of the year far more than it should.  (I am definitely guilty as charged).

samhainskull

Samhain Altar – Author unknown

I wouldn’t post if I was completely empty handed however. I recently wrote a ritual based loosely on my very first ritual with Lucifer I undertook several years ago. This was written for an acquaintance that wanted to contact Lucifer with a means of taking him on as a patron for self empowerment. Whether this person went and performed the ritual I do not know as I never received any contact to confirm the fact.

I feel it is in a decent place to share, and a good thing to post given the season. For those interested, this Monday would be excellent to perform it, or even period over the Samhain season due to the Sabbat being within the moons Waxing phase. Please make sure to read it fully, including the calls, to understand its intent.

It can be found at the following link:

Seven Day Ritual for Unleashing the Black Fire

samhaindeathmaster

Gustave Doré -The fourth horseman, Death on the Pale Horse (1865)

With that said, forgive me for being brief, and  I hope you all have a great and productive Halloween and do the Hallowed Dead proud!

~S~

 

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The Pitfalls of Syncretism

Posted in Necromancy, Occultism, Paganism, Wicca with tags , , , , , , , , on April 20, 2014 by Sypheara

It was some months ago now, almost a year, when I first began writing posts for the blog. One of my first posts was on Syncretism, the practice of incorporating elements from different, sometimes vastly different culturally beliefs, into your own. I went into describing how I believe this can be highly beneficial, but it must be done in a considered way, to avoid insensitive cultural appropriation and combining elements that do not, fundamentally, belong together.

I was recently doing some reading on several blogs I and a few readers here frequent, when I came across a post by a writer on Mixed Family altars. This intrigued me, so I thought I would give it a read through. Needless to say, what I read gave me some cause to concern due to in my eyes, its inaccuracy and bad advice.

What follows is therefore my own take on it. I have copied the original text below – I felt like reblogging it, or otherwise identifying the original poster would have made it more of a clash of personalities / conflict rather than about any discussion over content. I have no desire to spoil someones day, but merely highlight something I feel is important.

+++++++Original Post+++++++

Mixed Family Altars

Not all pagan keep permanent altars in their homes, and sometimes its because not everyone follows the same path. You can, however, provide a mixed family altar where everyone can combine their beliefs in one place.

You will need;

Mutual respect. Even if someone is Christian, you should respect that path and if they wish to set up a cross or similar religious symbol. Sharing respect strengthens family bonds, and helps encourage one another in their spiritual path.

Candles. If you worry about fire, you can also use the flameless candles. Its for the mood, to symbolize enlightening and energy.

Offering plate (or bowl, basket or other container). Here is where family can put prayers, promises, offerings, and other items in a single space for the Divine. I would suggest including a small pad of paper with pencil so members can jot down words when the need arises.

Offerings can often take many forms such as food, drink, incense, prayers, promises, shiny things, and intentions. You could even put money, and then the family can vote on where to send and which charity.

 

Season and holiday symbols. For instance, a spring altar might include eggs, flowers, but also crosses, and symbols of Christ’s resurrection.  A winter solstice them can include symbols of the god, but also a nativity scene.

The family altars becomes a special place where members can individually or as a group, gather together for prayer and spiritual expression.’

++++++++++++++

pillar_johfra_bosschart

‘Pillar’ by Johfra Bosschart

There are numerous problems with the above approach, which I believe presents incorrect information. Firstly, it presumes that every belief within the household can be combined, despite the different cultural, theological, and philosophical teachings that may run through the different currents presented upon such an altar.

For example, lets consider that in one household, one partner is a follower/dedicated to Hecate, and another is a Catholic Christian. A combined altar, as above would combine statues of the Goddess, alongside images of of Christ on the cross. We can ask a simple question, and say that, if we look at the teachings of both, would this be a logical altar to work with?

With some thought, the obvious answer one would arrive to would be no. Hecate, as Supreme Goddess, would not want to share her altar (her altar it being, as it is dedicated to her in some manner) with an icon of the solar cults which have seen her own and her followers suppressed for the past two thousand years and longer. On the opposite, why would the solar eternal God of the Bible, which specifically forbids witchcraft and worshiping idols, want any kind of altar, specifically where one would be placing such an idol on it specifically breaking his own teachings?

Even if we follow the mantra that all Godforms are just that, forms that are veils over the actual, real spirits and gods, then it follows that we would choose veils which can be combined, can merge, can empower the altar and through it, our connection through the harmonious symbolism to the actual spiritual forms of the Gods and Spirits themselves. Creating a confused, non workable amalgamation works for neither party, and does not have any real power behind it.

Even within seemingly harmonious combinations, trouble can arise. I discussed this with a friend, asking  him for his advice to clarify whether it was possible to practice and to some extent combine the practices of the teachings of a particular cult of Death alongside that of the Primal Craft. He was in agreement with my hunch that it could, but even so there was room for error. He has since discussed how others, coming to the same conclusion, tried to combine these beliefs and create a shared altar for both Saint Death alongside Hecate, and that those people received an astral backlash for attempting to combine not the work, but the dedication together in one amalgamation.

When we realise that the Gods are not there solely for us, solely to supply human needs and wants and neither created up  by our own minds and fantasies alone, it becomes easier to see how these issues could be serious and could cause very real problematic situations. The Gods and Spirits must be respected, each one worked appropriately with as little assumptions made about them as possible.

To return to the post, mutual respect within shared households for other peoples spiritual paths, unless they are overly extreme, dangerous or invasive, is vital to maintaining good and open relationships between people. There is no reason why, in the above example, a space could not be set aside in the house and two smaller, separate altars constructed. If the Christian wanted to work with Hecate or leave offerings to her, he could at her altar, and vice versa, without creating the conflicting space. This would allow both people to partake and interact with the others path, to some extent, and learn about how it is important to the others persons life and would still allow the same, shared practice sought after in the initial idea.

In addition, this would, in my eyes, garner more respect than the combined altar method. Approaching someone else spirit or ruling god, outside of your own comfort zone, shows respect to them and their beliefs rather than insisting upon your space necessarily encroaching upon theirs. It also enables both people to walk their own paths as well, utilising the altars for the personal dedications to their ruling gods and spirits without the confusing influence being enforced upon them by a shared altar projecting a mixed current.

candle-04

Candle, photographer unknown

A lesser problem in the post is also the mention of the candles. Here we see a demonstration of the modern belief that a symbol can replace an actual object in worth. This is not correct, and is not fair advice without clarifying what is lost by this replacement. Actual candles are made of a variety of substances, all of them organic in some manner. When burned, these act as an actual, energetic offering outside of just being simply to set a mood for a human participant. This is a thoroughly necromantic practice – the energy of the animal product is being released as consumable energy, as a real, powerful flame that radiates a strong heat.

Conversely, electric candles are at best, a very poor substitute, the energy being used for them being generated by some chemical reaction (zinc and manganese dioxide reacting with each other in the case of alkaline batteries). These do not have the same effect as actual candles burning a wax that has been produced from or by an animal. For safety they are, of course, preferred, but this comes at a large cost in their worth as an offering, and I would not recommend them unless they were the only choice due to some kind of regulation. If housed in proper holders, the chance of fire is exceedingly small, with a bit of care.

This assumption is typical of some neopagan practices, which do not respect folk belief and instead concentrate on intention alone. Intention is a very powerful tool, but when combined with actual, physical objects that contain magical properties, the results of any operation will be heightened exponentially. It is also to be said that some operations are impossible without being grounded with corresponding physical materials as without them the correct gates / avenues for the spiritual power to egress will not be opened.

Many people that work with the plant spirits for example, would be able to tell you that much if not all of their current relies on personal experience with not just the plants spirit, but also its physical form.

With the above said, it comes back to the point that we must realise our magickal practices and beliefs should not be an escape into a solipsistic fantasy. Instead, they should be grounded in real contact, utilising whatever methods work for the practitioner.

I’d be interested to see what other people think on this subject, so feel free to fire up the comments section.

Cheers for reading,

~S~

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Of Interest: A Recent Case of ‘Demonic’ Possession

Posted in Necromancy, Occultism with tags , , , , , , , , on February 5, 2014 by Sypheara

Browsing the internet recently, I came across a very interesting article published by the BBC.  This article relates to a case of supposed demonic possession in Indianapolis, America. This case I think is of high interest for numerous reasons. One, the case, when viewed against the backdrop of other similar cases involving Demonic Possession and Poltergeists, shows remarkable similarities. Two, the case was not just the eyewitness reports of one or more questionable witnesses, but rather activity of a paranormal nature was witnessed by medical professionals working on the case. One instance for sure was blatant, and without natural explanation, if the report is to be believed.

The original BBC news link:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/25943051

A more comprehensive link to an article by the Indystar:

http://www.indystar.com/story/news/2014/01/25/the-disposession-of-latoya-ammons/4892553/

And in case of a host failure:

Intake officers report of preliminary inquiry

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1004899-intake-officers-report.html

Police report of strange photographic images and accidental caught Electronic Voice Phenomena

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1005559-excerpt-from-lake-county-police-report.html

Bishops report requesting permission to exorcise the family

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1005721-report-to-bishop.html

hammondpolicedepartment_figure

The sheer amount of eyewitness testimony means that this is definitely one of the most impressive cases in recent years I’ve stumbled across. It must be noted that this must be hell to go through as a family, quite literally. It is a shame that in many of these cases, it is always assumed by medical professionals to simply be a delusion existing solely in the minds of those undergoing the experience. This only causes a further downward emotive spiral as they become further ostracised, increasingly not only being persecuted by the spirits at home, but further by the support structure supposedly in place to protect them.

In cases like this, it is obvious that the state of fear and panic causes the feedback loop these spirits want. As the terror takes hold and natural explanations are deemed rightly insufficient, the outbreak of sudden religious mania is visible in many of these cases, usually creating a worse situation. From many case studies, intervention of the church usually aggravates matters, and very often causes more problems. Usually the incidences only subside after a specific action has been taken. Some of these actions can be seen to be general when many cases are looked at, but others have a distinct specific action which causes such disturbances to end.

Whilst I will leave my thoughts on this matter for another time, it suffices to say  I find such cases compelling because they match my own belief about the Dark Dead, and similar spirits, which can if strong enough, cause such problems.

Hope you enjoy having a good read through.

~S~

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Ritual Write-Up: Spirit Box Creation

Posted in Luciferianism, Necromancy, Occultism, Paganism, The Path of Flames, Traditional Witchcraft with tags , , , , , , , , on January 17, 2014 by Sypheara

After a long and hard write-up, the Spirit Box Creation PDF is finally complete, and now available in the resources section! Although seemingly taking forever, I can honestly say that I am very pleased with the results. Writing in-depth with others in mind, deciding what is appropriate and not to include, in such a document is a far call from writing up it my own journal!

What spurred me to write the document is the powerful amount of information gained through it’s construction by the spirits contacted through it. Made to help give me a more concrete, physical link to the mighty dead, the spirit box which resulted from this process has gone on to be an invaluable tool, and has pride of place on my personal altar whenever possible. As such, for those who feel comfortable, want to attempt it, and feel ready to do so, I can say I have learned and gained a lot from it, and it is worth an attempt if you feel drawn to it.

Clocking in at around 20 odd A4 pages, it must be said that this is definitely NOT the lightest of documents I have ever produced. However,  it contains pretty much every aspect of the ritual I used to empowering my spirit box. Details on method and ingredients are all listed, along with relevant sigils, and the file also contains images. These I took at relevant and appropriate times during the ritual before the box was ensouled and the invocations began.

Without further ado, the quick link is below:

Spirit Box Creation

Lastly, I would like to thank those who have read over my work and have given their feedback to it. It is much appreciated that people would be interested and give their time to look over it for me. I’d also especially like to thank Mark Alan Smith, who has gracefully given permission for several of the sigils revealed and channeled through his work with Hecate and subsequently published in the Queen of Hell to be used in this document. 

Thank you for reading as always,

~S~

dsc_0243

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A Point of View: Seasons Greetings!

Posted in Necromancy, Other with tags , , , , , on December 28, 2013 by Sypheara

Hello all, I hope you have had and are having a fantastic Christmas/Yule/Saturnalia/holidays/whatever you wish to call it. I apologise for being unable to post over the last few days, but I have been busy with family and friend stuff which as you can hopefully imagine, has to come first.

Therefore firstly, I’d like to wish you all  a very merry whatever you call it! I have two small updates for you all, which you may find an interesting read.

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Firstly, I stumbled across a recent article on the BBC news site funnily enough, which brings a more secular, outsider perspective to the concept of the dead and how they are treated/viewed within modern society. I thought it was highly interesting to read a non pagan / ‘religious’ / ‘spiritual’ perspective which very closely mirrored my own thought strucutrem  especially before I began working with the dead and walking a more openly pagan path. It can be found at the following link:

A Point of View: Why we banish the words of the Dead

Secondly, the write-up on the Necromancy spirit box creation is almost complete, accompanied by relevant pictures. I have decided however to rewrite this from post form into a pdf form, and distribute it as part of the resources, mainly due to how picture heavy it has turned out to be meaning it would have to be spread across several posts. No point having a resources page if I’m not going to use it!

I hope that the article above proves interesting, and again, seasons greetings to you all.

~S~

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Modus Operandi: Graveyard Workings

Posted in Necromancy, Occultism with tags , , , , , , on November 4, 2013 by Sypheara

This morning, I put the final touches to a working involving the offerings to the Gods of the Arte and Mighty Dead in relation to Samhain. In addition, I can also say with some degree of confidence that the spirit box is completed, and will now hopefully serve its purpose as a housing for them in the future, even outside of the dark seasons of the year.

I intend to write as fully as I can on that process, sharing what I am able, including many pictures from the work itself. However, since I am back at work tomorrow after Samhain break, I unfortunately won’t be able to post that installment until this coming weekend at the earliest.

However, whilst within the graveyard this morning giving the final offerings to the dead and sealing the work, I realised it might be good to share how I operate within the graveyards. What follows is based on my own methods combined with methods I have adopted/learnt from outside sources. Hopefully this will illustrate the importance of having some rules when interacting with the dead. As such, this can be considered a small ‘primer’ for the ritual outlined that will follow in another post,

Background

My attraction to graveyards as places stems from further back than any obvious spiritual connections I can think of, and definitely before I became in any way involved in Paganism or Witchcraft.  It was when I was around 17 when they became attractive places to me, and I often enjoyed visiting them.  I found them hauntingly beautiful, and it was probably these feelings in my period of maximum morbidity that would later nudge me in the direction of spirit work after I had experienced my healing dream. Many of these visits were with a friend of mine, someone I valued higher than any other person at the time, including members of my own family. These activities seemed mostly harmless, and for the most part they were.

However I would later have an horrendous experience visiting a graveyard with said friend. When analysed retrospectively I realise I had made a massive mistake. Without going into all the long and lengthy details, suffice to say that the dead in graveyards, the dark dead, do not enjoy their environment being played in and messed with. On said occasion, after interfering with a particular gravestone, and eating lunch above said grave, there was a very dark change that came over me and my companion. We argued over seemingly small inconsequential things, odd being people that never argued with each other at all.

After the visit, I felt increasingly hopeless, without reason considering the worst had been put behind me at this time, and i was in a more secure position only recently having had my healing dream. The other person reported feeling the same, unnaturally depressed, energyless, and drained after the visit. Although these effects seemingly wore off, the relationship worsened quickly, and soon disintegrated. Other negative things happened, with me seemingly having constant bad luck. It was only several months later after working with Lucifer on that years Halloween that this trend finally seemed to be broken, and my mood and luck finally changed for the better.

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Picture from a Graveyard in Durham, United Kingdom. Credit goes to the artist linked

The reason I am relating this? These kind of effects are typical of interference by the Dark Dead, a name referring to the earth bound spirits that have overall negative qualities, and can cause adverse affects on the living. These types of spirits congregate around areas where death is common, graveyards being one of them.
Whilst it would be too much risk of confirmation bias to confirm that indeed this was the case several years after my experience subsided, it has taught me to be much more cautious, respectful, and take seriously places where any kind of spirit dwells, never mind those that can have such negative effects.

Modus Operandi

As such, as soon as I began to work in the graveyard doing necromantic work, I made sure to begin employing several techniques to minimise the risk to myself whilst carrying out said work. I relate these below, with a quick explanation as to why I personally carry them out, I recommend that these are employed whenever working in graveyards, and that the more contact with the Dark Dead specifically sort, additional steps are added to ensure that they are not brought back from where they should remain. These are to be read with the knowledge this is my personal method of working – it likely needed to be adapted depending on how you interact with these spirits or do workings in general.

Ask for permission to enter

Before entering the graveyard, I always either ask for permission to enter from one of the guardians (usually Hecates aspects relating to the dead, or Señor de la Muerte) . This is usually done before leaving the house, and can be performed in many ways. It can be intuitive, with the question simply being asked and internal thoughts scrutinised for any sign, be in a vision or feeling.

In addition or instead of this,  a more concrete method can be employed such as asking a candle,and requesting it to be extinguished before it burns down completely if the working is to be prevented from going ahead. If once asked, indications are that it can go ahead, protection and empowerment is asked for and the working goes ahead.

The alternative is to ask the question before the entrance gate to the cemetery, which although offering usually more clear indication and better results, also is more visible and only suitable when privacy is easily obtainable, such as when the location is seldom visited.

If once asked, indications are that it can go ahead, protection and empowerment is asked for and the working goes ahead. If indications are bad, the working does NOT go ahead, regardless of anything else, and alternative methods and or locations are sought.. The important part is the question is asked in a way that you personally can relate to the power in question, and can get a reliable answer.

 

Enter on the left foot

When crossing the cemetery threshold, doing so on the left foot, whilst proclaiming thanks for permission to work within the graveyard, is an affirmation of your intent showing you accept the opportunity offered to you. The left side of the body in general is often seen as otherwordly and magickal in the occult, and the left side and path is closely connected to some of the Death Gods and spirits in my work. It is therefore much more than a symbolic act, but a reinforcement between my own actions and their higher, commanding natures, allowing me to be empowered through sympathetic action, which is important in magick.

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St Ebba Graveyard, Ebchester, County Durham. Credit goes to the photographer linked

Don’t steal from the spirits

Do not take anything from the graveyard that could potentially belong to the spirits. To do so would give them a physical link between yourself and them, especially if it is taken back to ones home. The Dark Dead are jealous and possessive, and will take offence to this, and is something I have personally experienced that as related, potentially caused me considerable grief. Even spirits not related to the Dark Dead can require payment, and can themselves become angered in a similar manner. Anything that has been left overnight in such a place becomes ‘claimed’ by them, or otherwise linked to their energies, and cannot be retrieved without being paid for. This includes any personal items you may have forgotten, or otherwise lost accidentally in such a place and have returned to retrieve the next day.

Retrieving items / materials from the Graveyard

Any item that is to be retrieved from a Graveyard must be bought and paid for, and only retrieved as a matter of necessity. The method of buying such items from Graveyards varies significantly depending on what it is you are buying. There are numerous methods of buying graveyard dirt and other items from the graveyard, depending on the spirit being interacted with. Often these revolve around a specific grave, and making a petition to the spirit to give up X item in exchange for gifts, typically coins (See below), distilled beverages, red wines, coffee and tobacco. Burning incense or leaving an equivalent gift is also sometimes practiced. Since graveyard dirt and other items can indeed be needed for certain operations, there will be times when working necromancy items are needed to be acquired from a graveyard in this fashion. Whats important is mostly that some sort of agreement is made with the spirits to retrieve said ingredients, and that they arn’t simply ‘lifted’ and pilfered. I will hopefully be able to post my own variant of this up in the future when it becomes necessary and I have the time.

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St Oswalds Graveyard, Durham. Credit goes to the photographer linked

Leave Three Coins for the Dead

On leaving the graveyard it is customary for me to through threes coins of the same value, usually ‘copper’ rather than ‘silver’ coins, over my left shoulder upon exiting. This is a step learnt from working with the necrosophic currents related to Qayin, and has folk connections that have been researched. The reasons for this seem to differ on who you ask, but I personally believe it is to pay the guardian spirit for its protection and as an offering on leaving for its work and to ensure it restricts any of the Dark Dead from following once you have left the cemetery. As such, I see it as a vital step and always prepare the payment before entering, so  I will not be stuck upon leaving.

Do Not Look Back

This particular rule comes from greek belief, where it is believed that to see spirits following behind a person was to indicate that they too would soon join the ranks of the dead. As such, when a ritual is completed, and exit is become from the cemetary, I never look back, the work having been completed. Once done, it is important that one makes a concentrated attempt to return to the land of the living, and not be distracted or otherwise caught by the influence of the Dark Dead whilst attempting to leave.

Parting Observations

It is always good to remember the practical limitations when working in and around cemeteries. Most people won’t take kindly to you working in them, so it pays to find a location where such encounters can be minimised.  In more built up and populous areas, choosing larger, more spacious cemeteries often helps as I have found that the larger the cemetery, the less likely people are to wonder in / through or otherwise go there especially at night. Whether this a purely psychological thing, or also down to the work of the spirits, I’ll leave up to the reader to decide.  Otherwise finding an out of the way, country location is most likely the most ideal solution, if not always the most realistic.

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Personal picture of my new working graveyard. Densely packed, abandoned  crumbling church, with very few visitors

As usual, hope you have enjoyed this smaller entry. Hopefully it will prove useful, especially when seen in the light of the Samhain spirit box ritual write up to come. In additional, unrelated news,  I will soon be setting up an email address for the blog, in case anyone has any questions they wish to ask they are not comfortable with using the commenting system for. Thanks for reading as always, and I hope everyone enjoyed Samhain as much as I did!

-S-

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