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Hallowed Samhain Blessings

Posted in Folk Belief, Occultism, Paganism with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 31, 2018 by Sypheara

A quick post from me, simply to to wish everyone who follows the blog a very blessed and sacred Samhain night, whether devotees or simply supportive friends and acquaintances. Your continued messages, well wishes and general support make all the difference to being able to express and share my personal experiences on this path. May you all walk in the arms of the Gods, and Journey from strength to strength in mutual love and reverence on the Road to her Throne.

Gustave Dore – Death on the Pale Horse

Calling Hecate to Send the Beloved Dead

‘I call to you, Aidonaia, through the dark of night,

I stand at your gates in love and honour,

Beautiful Soteira, Goddess of Hell, Heaven and Earth,

Hear my voice piercing beyond the veils that separate Life and Death,

Greatest Trivia, please be present tonight as I request your presence and aid,

Most holy Dadophoros, ignite for me the torches without and within,

Lending me your strength and empowering me to complete this Sacred Work,

Mighty Kleidophoros, Highest of all and Keeper of the Keys of Eternity,

Unlock for me the numinous barriers and bridge the gap between the worlds,

Empress Chthonia, lay to sleep mightiest Cerberus,

Allow those blessed to cross the lake so we may pay reverence,

Ferocious Brimo, I beseech you to stir the Mighty Dead,

Holding fast the Wild Hunt of the Dark Dead,

Giving up to us our beloved for this night to receive the love and offerings of the living,

As unto you I say Seven times Hecate, most beautiful and loved,

O green eyed Queen of Hell”

Ave Hecate,
Ave the Gods of the Trident,
Ave the Spirits of the Path,
Ave the Mighty Dead,
And amongst them,
Those Loved who we have Lost,
With who we now reunite.
~S~

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October and the Hunters Moon: Ecstatic Rites

Posted in Occultism, Paganism, The Path of Flames with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 28, 2018 by Sypheara

Hello all, I hope that October has been treating you extremely well. The energy of the last month at least in good old Britannia, has been building to a crescendo as we go towards our beloved Samhain.

The energy that has been permeating the air here became extremely powerful at the height of the Hunters Moon, to the point it was almost thick and could be tasted even outside of ritual. The energy was sufficient to turn several areas of the local area very thin as far as the veil is concerned. At one particular spot, the energy grew so thick I felt I needed to work with it – the spirit of the place seemed oddly demanding but also welcoming.

I took a small stone, and alternated a simple beat on a nearby piece of metal, similar to that of a heartbeat. One loud, one subtle, matching it to my own pulse as best as could be felt. Over time, i quickened this beat, again mirroring the internal quickening, thus bringing my own bio rhythm into tune with that of the energy of place. At the crescendo i could feel the merging of my blood with that of the ‘blood’ of the place, the earthy powerful feeling of copper filling the mouth, that taste of primal energy. At its peak, I felt the energy release along the spine, and abruptly everything stopped. In the still air, everything went quiet, and the wind seemed to murmur in approval at the stirring communion given. Leaves rustled past and then fell silently to the ground and all went still.

This is but a small example of an ecstatic experience. In the west, we have become overly used to working in eastern ways – with systems of meditation taught to us with the aim of quietening our minds. These, I will not argue against as having innate value, and it is no wonder they were adapted for use, entering our collective skillset. Many of them have been used highly successfully in our modern practice – and many of them have similar if not identical analogues in older western traditions. However I see in certain areas of the Craft (not all, some) that some of the importance around rites of ecstatic communion have been lost – especially when it comes to possession work. This seems strange when you consider that many witchcraft traditions stress ecstatic work – are even founded upon it – but are somehow still seemingly afraid of the power that can be unleashed. This is maybe understandable, but it is something that needs to be worked through in my eyes to properly inflame the craft for future generations.

‘Ask the Oak’ by Adam Oehlers

This is mainly aimed at those working within Hecates Primal Current that are reading this, but this may also be of use to others out there – you should incorporate where possible the ecstatic rites into your work. How this is done is difficult to teach or even to convey in some respects. How it can be done is numerous – one good example would be when performing sexual magickal possession work within this current.  When done at a high level with the Gods and Spirits this is anything but a subdued, meditative experience – but one that rips through the entire body and delivers body shaking possessions that send energy pulsating along the spine. As such, restraint in these operations should be removed and the experience fully embraced – anything else results simply in half measures and results.

Again in general ritual, drumming, singing, chanting and dancing can all be used to intensify the energy of a rite – this is the perfect method for bringing in some very powerful spirits, losing oneself in the experience and truly embracing the being called in. As long as Hecates ever watchful eye and protection has been invoked. and the practitioner is in the correct space, the result should be a positive one. With the dismissal of fear, this can be a profoundly progressive and literally transformative experience that can facilitate massive leaps on the theurgic path. It must be adapted to fit the situation, it is not something that can be replicated from reciting cold hard text from any book. It is learned through experience, sometimes hard earned – do not believe the snake oils salesmen who will direct you away from this, telling you they alone hold the secrets. Secrets of course they will ever so divulge if you believe their comedic youtube promotionals and buy into their overpriced and frankly amateurish body of work that shows little understanding of the above.

Note although I previously used sexual magick as an example, ecstatic work does not need to be confined to such. Only people who lack imagination or who are after something would say so (if its related to paired work). None of the above methods (drumming, singing, chanting, dancing) need to possess a sexual element – they just need to harmonise with the particular spirit being worked with. Similar to how in physics, waves that in phase have an amplifying effect, the same is to be attempted using the ecstatic method.  As such, it is also usually specific to each individual spirit as to what works best in your relationship with them when bringing them into the flesh.

Many have been in contact with me and told me they have problem with possession work – hence the topic of this post. Talking to them I realise they are only approaching its performance from meditative, contemplative angles. This has its place in more subtle forms of possession, in preparation before rites, and in other forms of magickal work but in my experience (and certainly, it is dependent on the individual and their innate gifts) the strongest forms of possession are experienced using ecstatic methods. As we go towards Samhain, I recommend people change to more ecstatic means to take their possession work to the next level if they are having difficulties working with spirit. I wish it was something I could give more concrete guidance on, but the exact method differs wildly from individual to individual. The only universal tip I can settle on is aim to synchronise your own innate biorhythms, your ceremonial actions, and the energies of the possessing spirit into harmony – in this way everything flows as one – all you need to do from then on is grab hold of the surging wave, and ride it to its natural completion.

Art by Valin Mattheis

For those who are feeling a little more comfortable, i’d suggest if you have the opportunity you take it to the next level and push past your own comfort zone. Leave your usual working space and go into the wilds away from human contact, ensuring of course proper preparation to stay safe. You don’t need to go overly far – the most startlingly beautiful and powerful places are usually within reach, even for those of us with limited transport options with a bit of effort. If you find a site that feels good for communion after physical and spiritual considerations have been taken into account, you can perform the ecstatic rites. These should always be conducted from within a suitably cast circle (even if that is a quick cast than something fully ceremonial). The goal being to learn about that space, its genius locii, and begin building powerful relationship. Not just this, but also simply for the sheer joy of exercising your divine right to embrace your existence upon this plane and others. In these workings the ways to rehallow the Earth soul are revealed and worked – real change can be made here at the liminal crossing points where long forgotten spirits await. Not all are friendly, or easy to work with, but all will listen to a sincere call of one of Hecates kin. From there it is up to you. Not all can do or are suited to thiswork and that is perfectly fine. But for those who are, I can tell you its a worthwhile experience.

With the above relayed, I want to quickly say I hope to do a few more posts over the Samhain period, keeping them relatively short  but detailing select things. The next post I want to be about Lucifers burning stellar energies, and how that interplays with Hecates, in a way that is somewhat channelled if possible at the time. It is difficult to relate it text but I will do my best to bring it forth for (more likely on!) our hallowed date.

May the light of the Goddess guide you,
On the Ecstatic Paths the lead to Her Throne,
And Into the Arms of Her and her Kin

Ave Hecate,
~S~

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The Work of Waning: The Road to Surgat

Posted in Occultism, Paganism, The Path of Flames, Wicca with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 22, 2018 by Sypheara

Although quiet on the blog, the last few weeks have been anything but inactive on the personal front. I am going through some life stages that have necessitated deeper intrinsic and introverted workings, and I have been concentrating on recent work for the local coven and planning the next stages on the Ivory Path for myself which will involve working with Surgat.

This is a much darker phase of the work that directly contrasts in some ways with that of Lucifers. As part of the work Surgat will need to be contacted, and pact made with subsequent re-earthing of current performed in the wilds. With this, the correct formula will be in place to open one of Lucifers specific stellar gates and thus open the way for the final path of reconstruction. This is something that cannot be rushed but has to naturally come to fruition and I still lack certain key ingredients to perform it properly. Once acquired, I expect to conduct all three necessary rituals in relatively rapid order before completing the relevant write ups for my own records.

A box of mirrors, similar to the one used to house the Chimeric Entity. Photographer unknown.

On top of this I have been making work of the imprisoned chimeric entity. This post will hopefully be the final mentioning of this work, due to its now full and confirmed completion Some incredible misfortune has recently befell several friends in the craft, mostly due to simple ill luck due to the ‘interesting’ planetary alignments we have been having this year, necessitating the balance needing restored.

Part of the contract with the entity is that on a certain night or nights of the month, it is allowed out of confinement to feed on specific lawbreakers of natural order, as well as any malefic energies directed at myself or the local grounds which have been sanctified in Hecates name. This has led to a great improvement in the energetic field of place and myself, and has seen some interesting results communicated by the entity post ‘adventures’. This has been an effective way to vampyrically make use of the malefic currents and thus earth them, empowering the entity which now facilitates cleansing and healing via fighting fire with fire. Such a use of an otherwise dangerous and unsavoury spiritual entity feels a natural readdressing of the harm originally caused by its form when free, on myself and others. Whilst no trust can be placed in such an entity it has thus become a powerful working familiar of the craft and has thus sealed the first half of the Gate of Lucifer work.

Two small jars of enpowered Blessing Polter, Self Taken

Part of the local coven work, as well as my steps towards initiation within that sister tradition, is the creation of magickal polters and general herb work. This has been very important for rounding out my skillset which up to now has been mostly energetic in nature, albeit earthed with the creation of physical talismanic objects.

This first polter is for general blessing and good luck empowerment – my own batch being created on the New Moon in the day of the moon and hour of Jupiter. Whilst the ingredients are secret, I can certainly recommend the reader of this post looking into the creation and use of magickal polters if the information can be found (which can be a bit difficult but there are some good resources out there these days).

The rest of August, September and October are likely going to be devoted to taking the above concepts and work further after a well earned excursion to a warmer climate for a bit of RnR. As such I will hopefully have much more to share with the completion of that work, Gods willing, just everything needs a little longer to ‘cook’.

May via the waxing moon she bless her children,

Giving strength for our works to come,

Carried out in love for our Gods

Ave Hecate,
~S~

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Stones of Power: Hidden Treasures

Posted in Occultism, Paganism, The Path of Flames with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on February 9, 2018 by Sypheara

The start of 2018 has been a productive, if difficult month for me and my practice. The Lord of the Dark Star ritual went well, for myself and others, but practically all the gnosis and experiences granted were deeply personal. As such, what can be shared is very little. However it does demonstrate that despite being aloof, if searched for correctly and intensely, he will answer and show the way. I see this as a great sign – the unfurling of the Stellar Gnosis thus continues!

I am still working on my own documents here, which need to be completed, before the next work with Surgat can truly commence. That hasn’t stopped the energy continuing to rise, sometimes to an unbearable level as almost nothing I do seems to quieten it. Balancing the subtle bodies helps, but this is something im slowly beginning to realise I have to let naturally peak – as such, I believe im in for a hell of a ride. The body and mind feel exhausted, but the spirit and the energy that comes through is such a powerful, vital lifeforce everything seems to glow in newfound colour.

January as a whole has been difficult – the local group I work within has had organisational issues, which has left me in charge of both leading it as well as writing up the formal rules and documentation. In addition, one treasured incarnate familiar died suddenly, albeit with some warning as his health had been deteriorating for some time. This necessitated additional workings – to ensure that his soul upon leaving his body was correctly orientated, and a link with the Dead fetishes created successfully.

Despite the above, there are numerous topics floating around in my head I wanted to make a few posts on.

One of them is the importance of natural, found objects. In my work, these have often proved to be the most powerful of talismans. This could prove the same for you – if you know where to look, and how to approach their collection.

I often see people getting excited over mass produced, altar items, and looking at one recent object I’ve been working with again, it seems quite funny in comparison! This object is nothing more than a stone I collected from the shores of the Adriatic sea. But what an object it is. To illustrate, I’ll lay out the entirety of the tale.

Holy Stone, Photographer unknown

Me and my partner were out swimming there whilst on our vacation, when we felt a very strong draw towards a small cave. It was only shallow, and didn’t seem like it went far back at all into the cliff face. Deciding to investigate, we decided to take a look. As we entered, crabs scuttled away from us, seemingly offended we had intruded into their space. Slightly tired after our swim, but still enjoying the adrenaline, I myself wasn’t paying much attention really. As I made to turn back, happy with our small adventure, I was called over to inspect a strange, flat stone that was inset into the cave wall. It was small, almost perfectly flat, and metamorphic in nature. A small band of quartz or other similar material seemed to cut through it. We pulled it free and examined it closely.

Holding it, it emanated quite a strong, powerful energy, that seemed to call out quite insistently. Not being familiar with the area, I was at first cautious about taking it with us. Not knowing the spirits of the place, it makes it difficult to judge when to accept something that’s obviously been brought to your or others attention.  However I decided, with my gut feeling, to go for it. It felt extremely smooth as I tumbled it in my hands. The first impression I got was like falling through dark, dark water. It was not a sudden onrush of power, but it felt like being dragged down and down, somewhere far below. It didn’t feel threatening, more impressive – but like any strong current, it was a little disconcerting.

As such, we took it back to the place we were staying. I promptly placed it on my bedside table, and forgot all about it.

That night, I had a very strong, powerful experience.  Falling asleep, I entered a discernible period of astral travel, floating just outside of my body. This was not at my own will – it felt almost as if I had been forcibly evoked into this state! I could immediately feel a strong and powerful presence. Scenes of the sea, and of some strange silver serpent like entity flashed before my eyes and I soon found myself under a perceived malefic attack. I could see in the astral, dark moving clouds swirling around me – taking on the appearance of predator forms, equipped with teeth! Further flashes came of this winged snake, viciously coming upon me. The attack slowly waned, and I saw dark figures circling around me. The attack suddenly renewed with increased ferocity. Terrified whatever this was would be more than capable of breaking my auric shielding, I closed my eyes and called upon Hecate.

I was bathed in a green-blue light almost immediately. This energy was so great that it felt like suddenly being plunged into almost boiling water. Incredible golds snaked across my vision, forming three crossed tridents. All sense of fear slipped away as I floated embraced in Hecates pure stellar energy on all sides.

I remember asking for her protection, to stop this supposed attack. As I did, I was returned to the room whereupon the ‘attack’ had ceased. The black cloud moved into my body and a voice of a male nature resonated throughout my being.

‘The Test Is Passed’.

The entity appeared in flashes as a large hooded ‘man’… a single word resonated from its mouth as it gave its name, a name that must remain secret.

It’s eyes, reptilian in nature, were like deep pools of ever changing gold, blue and green colour. Atop its head, protruding from its robe, were two straight ‘horns’ made up of some glowing opalescent material.

The image of the entity gave way as I could feel myself being pulled through time and space. The feeling was akin to that of both falling, as well as being sucked through an aperture at the same time. I saw the stone, glowing powerfully blue, against a dark background. I allowed myself to be drawn through and into it, and fell through a streaming tunnel of blue light.

I suddenly felt cold rock on my bare feet, and a warm, but refreshing ocean breeze was washing over me. In front of me I could now see that I was standing in a different cave, two entrances directly in front of me opening onto a wide, ocean expanse separated by as single, brown stone column that could have been either natural or artificial. I could tell by the perspective of the ocean we were extremely high up. Directly in front of me, briefly, flashed a strange symbol, like a triangle containing the letter V, with a strike line running through it. This faded, and immediately I became aware of three figures standing around a stone font, which contained crystal clear water. The figures were clad in full length hooded robes of some light material, each detailed with vine like patterns. Each of the figures wore a distinct colour : Gold, Blue, and Green. Each looked close to human, but also in some way disturbingly otherworldly and unheimlich.  Their shadowed faces were contrasted with reptilian eyes of ever changing colour, similar to the previous entity and they possessed the same kind of horns.

Two turned to face the other ‘entrances’ to this space. Left was taken by blue, right by green. Gold turned towards me, and all raised their hands. A powerful golden glow overwhelmed me and I felt powerful energy being radiated out towards, over and into the oceans. This energy was immense and it surrounded me utterly – it was incredibly primal and powerful, almost uncontrollably invigorating in nature.

I remember being almost zapped back into travelling form, just on the boundaries of my body. Reintegrating this and actually waking up was an almost painful experience – i felt distinctly groggy. This was unusual, for that vacation for all other intents and purposes i slept deeply and woke refreshed every other day.

Admirals Arch, Australia, Photographer unknown

This experience has taken some time to properly integrate. Even some 15 odd months later I am still working out just what was actually shown to me. I believe that this entity that visited me is linked to the Guardian which stands sentry to the Stellar Gate of the Ivory Spider, but I have yet to ascertain this via ritual. As to the other, three entities, I believe these to be spirits of the mighty dead, who once perhaps worshipped this entity, maybe even Atlantean in nature. This leads me to believe that the initial entity is much more than a ‘bit’ player in this process. However I have had no direct encounter with this form of this entity since.

The stone has proved to be linked to this strange, stellar water element. Holding it allows for easy projecting down into the buried stellar network on the inner planes of the Earth, of which the Stellar Gate of the Ivory Spider makes up a central part.

Recently, my other half held the stone without this information, and was able to, without any training and just exposure to the energies contained within, project into part of this network without any assistance on my part. Without any leading, they relayed information matching almost exactly with the description of the tunnels – albeit the projection had taken them to a different location within the network.

No special technique was used to accomplish this. The stone was simply given to be held, as part of working on their natural gift for ‘sight’, whilst within the indoor temple space. The whole thing seems saturated with this powerfully ancient energy – how it obtained it is anyone’s guess, and I do not doubt that our experiences with it helped to seat and strengthen the power innately linked to by the stone itself even deeper within its material form.

So my advice would be: explore. Go out into the wild places and look at the world again with open eyes. Although there is certainly no guarantee of success, or even safety for that matter, true gems can be found in the unlikeliest of places. You likely won’t get that from buying something that has no real, innate power. Or worse, an item that has been collected or cared for incorrectly, and thus built up disruptive and harmful energy.

Ave the Stellar Gods,
Who grant the Power of Liquid Starfire,
Burning Candles of Infinite Splendour
Spiralling through Her Sprawling Black
Spirits From which all was Made,
And to Which All Will Return,

Ave Hecate,
Queen of Hell, Heaven and Earth,
Through Which All Things are Made Possible.
~S~

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Familial Snakes of Divine Healing

Posted in Covenant of Hecate, Luciferianism, Occultism, Paganism, The Path of Flames with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 5, 2017 by Sypheara

With the proverbial boat missed as far as June is concerned, thankfully I finally managed to finish the small but difficult write up of the snake familiar ritual. For the last two months, numerous versions of this rite have been carried out, with gnosis delivered directly by Hecate and  my primary familiar.

The familiar that came to me through this ritual was bizarrely, as insinuated, my primary familiar. Through this work he was revealed to have an ancient serpentine origin that up to this point had been unknown to myself. This familiar has proven himself to be a master of shape changing, able to morph himself into a shape not too dissimilar to a lunar moth, which meant initial access to the serpentine currents was not in anyway assumed. He has been a great companion so far in the work, but is still somewhat mysterious to me despite the possession work and dream visitation! Even after such a long time of having contact with him in some form or another.


Fire snake by Luke M

The work at the Covenant of Hecate retreat, whilst not my initial encounter with the Ophidian current, resulted in increased levels of direct contact with it. It is my belief that this for me was in no way coincidental – healing at the moment is an important focus on my journey on the Ivory Stellar Path. It has become necessary to balance and heal both myself, and others around me within my life as Hecate directs me to these works of light.  Not just Hecate it has to be said although she has been the primary instigator – Lucifer sacrificed his solstice night to direct me in the healing of someone very important to me which was an incredibly beautiful if heavy experience that unfortunately is bound by an oath of silence. I can say I feel in his debt – with this work completed, I feel another specifc and unexpected gate was unlocked and granted by both Hecate and Him.

I can feel the acceleration to working with his Stellar Pillar Gate on this path now – a step towards the completion of this stage and onwards to the Earthing works. This plus further works of healing are the immediate future and focus for myself.

Not all of this is via serpent current as mentioned, but it plays a vital part alongside work with the Gods themselves. I have also began, to see at times, echos of The Atlantean Devil Queen within my work. What part she has to play, and how I can approach the connection I have with her, is something that still remains another mystery to explore.

The detailed write up of how to work directly with one of the serpent familiars, is detailed in the linked PDF. This has been carried out within a group, and was very successful in bringing through the Ophidian current. Working with Hecate is ideal for this, but it has been successfully carried out with success with different calls involving Belial. Intuition suggests that it would be suitable for work with other gods linked to the Ophidian Current with adaptation, as many share the gifts to manipulate it. It is likely that a differing ‘flavour’ of the current will be delivered depending on the route into it – Hecate and Lucifers serpent familiars are likely to be more stellar in nature than the primal ones sent by Belial and the Great Serpent God, but this isn’t set in stone. Reality is more complicated than neat boxes. As mentioned in the document, I leave this up to expansion by the reader whilst recommending it is first accessed via Hecate as it was her who unlocks these gates. I stress that caution must be used here to a degree – the ritual is simple to perform, what is brought through is anything but and is very strong if accessed correctly. I truly feel this is a cure than could become a curse if abused.

The Familial Snakes of Divine Healing

I hope many people can put this to good use, not just for themselves but others! I have been astounded its effects on others around me, many of them having little exposure to this current. Longstanding physical, emotional and spiritual issues have been vastly improved in such little time. Again, it demonstrates the power of the eternal Witch Gods.

Ave Hecate Zonodrakontos!
~S~

Snake, author unknown

 

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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~

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Working with Hecates Gate and Healing Stellar Current

Posted in Paganism, The Path of Flames with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 19, 2017 by Sypheara

Just a small post this time to update with on going work on the path. Work continues with Hecates gate, which is mainly in stabilising the currents that have been opened this far and allowing for the approach to Lucifers part on the stellar journey.

During work with Hecates gate alot of interesting gnosis has come forth. The main pieces of Gnosis being the clarification on the entity that guards the way to the Ivory Spiders dwelling place, at the Star Pool of Belial. This almost angelic, knightly figure is interestingly arthurian like, which has been very surprising to me.

In addition, further gnosis has been given regarding an entity made up of a combination of Lucifer and Belials energies. Further gnosis on the identity of the soul form to be assumed with the culmination of the opening of all the stated gates has also been given. All of this needs fleshing out, and detailing in my own personal notes.

This is a notably laborious process, with me having to update both my own working diaries, as well as the electronic copy im putting together for both safety in case the originals are lost or worse, damaged and destroy, and when the path is successfully walked and completed to hopefully distribute if they allow.

More work has to be carried out not just with Hecates gate as well, but the Ivory Spiders in regard to understanding more of what is coming forth. Alot is still unclear, and this gnosis is not understood well via speculative interpretation but only in possession and intuition.

Hecate has given information on something i can only describe as the God Stones for which she wants as sacrifice.. the original of these were collected from near her Temple of the Four Pillars of Fire from the ocean. One was given to someone for healing trauma.. the other on request of her which opened up powerful currents of Belial for that individual.

My own stone had little effect for myself until now, and she is now revealing as to why that is and how it will play a small part in the completion of her stage of this work.

In one particular rite, that could be useful to others and in no way requires the use of her open active gate to gain some, if not full benefit, is a particularly useful bit of possession work. Anyone who has embodied both a primary and secondary familiar, or has familiars in general, would be able to use the quick outline as follows as a powerful, healing ritual. Note it is not given in full: in future I may digitise fully the original rite, removing the path specific elements that are not ready to be revealed as of yet.

Firstly, in the East, a fetish of Hecate is placed that has already been cleansed with water and incense in the usual manner, and activated in your blood. This can be a picture of her, a statue of some kind, or maybe a black board with her sigil painted with gold on the front. As long as its unique to her, it is a appropriate focal point. A black mirror could also be consecrated for this purpose of direct communication with her. This is flanked by two candles, and then any spirit houses of each familiar, ideally the doll bodies.

20170203_225608A beautiful rendition of Hecate on metal, acquired from Primal Craft as a working tool before activation in blood. This picture does not do her justice.

The ritual is opened however you normally draw the circle. I start at the west as mentioned at the altar, going widdershins. The candles surrounding her small temporary space in the east can be lit as part of the circle opening or specifically when you come to work with her, it doesn’t matter as to the order of the operation here.

The circles energy is raised through successive calls of power. The planetary calls or that of the ephesian letters is fine for this. It is then opened as far as possible, and reinforced seven times. The practitioner should then open both trees of Day and Night, day first as in many of the detailed rites. As best as possible, she should be invoked to attempted godform assumption as far as the practitioners skill and Hecate herself allows.

From here, at the East, her fetish is blooded and the familiars are called one by one into the flesh, to partake of the coming union. Finally, Hecate is asked to joined you in sexual magickal communion. The resulting union between witch, god and familiars is best described as a miniature Sabbat flight as the self and the familiars are utterly bathed in her Kalas.

This is extremely healing, and needs to be experienced to be believed. This should be continued until exhaustion for full effect. After this, Hecate will likely deliver personal messages, tasks or other things she wants to relay. The familiars themselves will also likely to continue to make their presence known with potentially very physical results.

The above is best carried out at the full moon, but can be carried out on any night that isnt overly close to the New Moon, from what I understand and what I’ve worked. There is no limit to the amount of times it can be carried out.

The above came at the right time for myself, and helped to heal me both physically, mentally and spiritually from a small hole id found myself in due to the venoms released from the previous gate work. I hope it helps anyone else, at least to form ideas, of how to approach some ritual magick ways of merging with her and receiving healing.

Finally, I’ve had a luck of being able to make it to the ‘Spinner of Fate’ event being held in the UK this year by The Covenant of Hecate. I’m looking forward to this extremely, and if anyone who happens to be reading is going, I will hopefully see you there. For the rest, I hope to share what I can closer to the end of March.

Thanks again,

Ave Hecate,
~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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Works of Light and Fire: Hecates Gate

Posted in Luciferianism, Occultism, Paganism, The Path of Flames with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 15, 2016 by Sypheara

The last two months, after posting the last update, have been very hectic when it comes to activity. For this, and technical reasons causing several drafts to disappear, has caused me to update less than I intended. However, with it being three years approximately to the inception of the blog, I felt it was important to get out some kind of update as both motivation and to let interested parties know as to how things are going.

That said, I will try and launch straight into the updates. Firstly, and most importantly, Hecates stellar gate has been successful carved, blooded, and opened in ritual releasing unique and important gnosis. This has clarified some longer term goals on my path.

The Stellar Gate itself comprises of two, important sigils, one being her full, revealed and activated stellar eye and that of her own, specific sigil relating to her stellar gate. These were etched into a birch endblock, and inked as described in an earlier posting, accompanied by four, surrounding words of power. These words of power consisted of Hecates name, that of two of her appropriate titles, and the name of the Stellar Toad all written in Theban script.

This prepared block was cleansed with Sandalwood incense and water, and in ritual from within the circle with both sides of the tree opened and Hecate invoked into the flesh, empowered. The exact method for this has to at this time remain secret, but involved a specific way of consecrating the block at six, cardinal directions using a specific vocalised stellar key. It also involved some semi circle breaking work to draw in the powers directly from opened conduits, acting as a lightning flash between direction, block and practitioner.

Once correctly opened, Hecate elevated the level of the possession utilising the power of the gate. The level of the possession became strong, and direct, Hecate assuming an insect like form to merge with my own. At the height of the possession and union, the energy released was explosive revealing knowledge of two, new stellar keys as well as a specific, gate construction. Gnosis was delivered as to the full structure of both the keys, and the gate, alongside some clues as to its intrinsic nature. The nature of this possession was exhausting, draining even, being different to the usual kinds of possession experienced. However the conciousness was expanded, and in the days that followed several blocking elements in the work were removed.

It was at this time that I received my new Athame. I had contacted a smith to create a bespoke blade for Hecates craft, but numerous issues had prevented it from making its way into my hands. After only a few days, I received correspondence to let me know, out the blue that it was on its way. After a brief but slightly eventful delivery, it finally arrived and, through intuitive workings with the Gods, was consecrated.

DamaszenerKlinge

An example of Damascus Steel. Credit: Ralf Pfeifer

The blade is made from Damascus steel,  and features a curved silver crossguard and the hilt is made of black ebony. Its empowerment was done from within the circle, at the four cardinal directions, with Hecate invoked into the flesh. The hilt was decorated with two, simple sigillic constructions as directed, and the blade was treated with a mix of plant essential oils, one for each element. I hope to in the near  future write a small, descriptive PDF of this process for those who wish to construct a similar blade that is specific to the current of the Trident. This is not to suggest there is an orthodoxy to this process that I feel is likely extremely personal, but hopefully it will offer a springboard for people to base off further ideas.

Lastly but not least, for Beltane celebrations I ran a working dedicated to Lucifer, invoking his stellar and light bearing aspects. This work consisted of two main parts, due to falling several days later than the actual sabbat, on the black moon.

The first part was the opening of a central cauldron of water, to the black moon, in Lucifers name. This cauldron was then used to cleanse, banish and remove malefic ills specific to each individual. Through it Lucifers fire was also drawn, as the height of the black moon ebbed. The new, growing influence of the moon was then used to conduct a group working, petitioning Lucifer to assist and speed up in the healing of the Earth and the rebalance of its world soul via awakening the souls of man.

myritual1

The Altar after specific, personal items had been removed. Thanks to the photographer on the day.

Central to the work were two, temporary sigillic gates initially opened in a preliminary work on the Sabbat rite. These were created via automatic writing in possession with Lucifer, and were created as exoteric seals to channel the solar and stellar energies. The first was a variation of his primary sigil, oozing the energies of his lightning flash, and the second was a variant on Hecates Sabbatic Eye infused with his solar energies. The first was used as a primary conduit as part of the altar work, the second the seating sigil for the large, brass cauldron. Added to the cauldron was a mix of plant essential oils, salt, and a exceptional offering gifted by one member of the group. This offering took the form of a triskele created from copper. This was activated, and used to seat additional energies within the cauldron itself.

I felt the working went very well, the energies being correctly channelled and applied, and this was echoed in the feedback from the group. It is always a pleasure to be able to share what an be shared of the craft and introduce others to these entities in their true forms, especially when it comes to a much maligned entity such as Lucifer that is covered with many masks.

Finally but in no means least, The Rite of Her Sacred fires will be being held on the full moon of May. This rite is open to any who wish to participate, and is partaken in by many devotees of Hecate since its inception in 2010 by Sorita d’Este.  I have performed the rite as prescribed in the past, and it was always an enjoyable and beautiful experience. This year, I will be participating in my own way by incorporating it into wa orking with Hecates opened gate. I encourage all others who have a connection or calling with her to give it a shot. More information about the rite, as well as a much better writeup, can be found at the Covenant of Hecates website by clicking the image below.

ritesofhersacredfires

The Rite of Her Sacred Fires (Sorita d’Este)

I hope you have had a fantastic May so far, and hope that it brings many opportunities in the craft to come.

Ave Hecate,

~S~

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Finding the Masculine in Goddess’ Spiral

Posted in Luciferianism, Paganism, Publications, The Path of Flames with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 28, 2016 by Sypheara

 

spiral-background

 

It’s been a long time coming, but all the hurdles have now been overcome. The anthology I mentioned contributing to has finally been published, making its way into print on the 10th of February. I waited upon receiving a copy of the anthology before making this post,  in the main due to not having received a full copy of the work electronically prior to its publication. I wanted to see how the work was framed, as well as what other contributions had been made to the text.

I can say on the whole, I’ve been pleasantly surprised. There are many powerful testaments within the book to the power of the Goddess, in whatever form she decides to take.  Many of the authors offer a powerful and different perspective of how she works within their lives. Hecate appears directly identified several times within the text, making this of interest to those who wish to see how she moves in the lives of others.

My own entry, ‘At the Crossroads of Eternity’,  details my first encounter with Lucifer and the ignition of the flame within my blood. It begins with an explanation as to how Lucifer was the one who brought me into contact with Hecate, and how this allowed for the integration of polar opposites which spurred my spiritual development. From there, the entry goes on to deal with gnosis concerning the development of the animus and anima, as a direct spiritual experience to be assimilated. A heavy emphasis on genuine spiritual contact, rather than becoming lost in dry political or philosophical discourse is given.

Looking back at this entry, I feel it is of particular interest given my work in the past year. Considering that the text was written before the work of the familiars was begun in earnest, it can be seen as a precursor to the familial work which saw this being put into practical action.

Although not something I wish to dwell on, I feel the book also gives myriad voices of men in the modern pagan movement a platform to be heard freely as a force in themselves. It is important to demonstrate that everyone is equal  in the eyes of the Gods, and that at the end of the day it is how we approach the work with them that matters. This transcends small minded human prejudices, regardless of where those happen to fall on the spectrum of ignorance. It is is also worth noting that those who try to close off a door on the road to their development will only find that they have to open it and face those challenges further down the line.

I will be making the entry public a year from now on my blog, as allowed by the contract. However I thoroughly recommend that those who aren’t put off by tones of gender politics  to pick the book up. I only add the caveat that due to the nature of the work, each author speaks for themselves, and as a matter of course do not necessarily reflect my own views.  I believe that at its core however it shows powerfully how her lunar current can change lives in whatever form and method she decides to manifest. Hopefully you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed contributing!

The book can be purchased from Immanion Press (technically their non fiction wing, Megalithica Books) from here, and is currently retailing at £11.99.

ipblack

Ave Hecate,
~S~

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