Archive for Belial

The Evolution of The Scorpion God – Soul Baring Work

Posted in Primal Craft, Publications with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 15, 2025 by Sypheara

The Mother Temple has put out several semi-deluxe releases of late, each one a stunning bit of work in its own right.

It was only around last Samhain that I put up a short post here singing the praises of the recently released Beyond Akasha semi-deluxe edition of The Red King.

Thanks to a gruelling bit of graft by the Mother Temple, we’ve now also been blessed with a Beyond Akasha edition of The Scorpion God.

Having had a good week or two to go through the essays and work directly with the Book itself, I feel in a solid place to offer my own thoughts on what strikes me as a definitive edition of an already ground-breaking work.

The pictures taken in this blog post are taken by my wonderful assistant, as we wanted some pictures of our own copy here.

The Front Seal of The Book

Fit for a King — The Physically Embodied Book of Belial

The physical book itself is nothing short of pure luxury. I’ve been fortunate enough, both financially and proximity-wise, to pick up many Primal Craft publications. In my possession is a set of first editions of the Trident Trilogy, along with many of the Volumes of Sacrifice. These sit alongside several deluxe editions of various works — one of my favourites being the truly extravagant copy of The Crown Prince, bound in golden snake-skin.

That said, somehow this supposedly semi-deluxe book still manages to feel in a different league. Its construction is nothing short of exquisite, and it radiates a dense, energetic signature that can be felt even by the uninitiated. Simply put, the book has a commanding presence in the room.

Whilst I’m partial to the ye olde black book of witchcraft, I have a soft spot for editions that bring a rich colour to the table — both literally and figuratively. The earthy brown tones, set against gold foil, combine with evocative seals to instantly draw the eye. The quality of the paper, ink, sigilisation, and binding is second to none, even compared to past offerings. The ink itself is unbelievably thick and potent, the illustrations acting as gateways to the eye, pulling the reader in.

This is certainly the exact opposite of a ‘dead text’ — the whole thing feels palpably alive, inside and out. It begs to be touched, read, and interacted with.

The Spine of The Book

The Scorpion Familiar of the Work

Before I tackle the extremely important additions to the text itself, I feel I must first briefly relate my own direct working with the book. Each individual copy of this edition, it is said, comes powerfully ensouled with an attached Scorpion Familiar.

The circumstances of my own copy’s arrival seemed to necessitate working with this spirit. It was a compulsion — quite simply, an urge that hadn’t accompanied similar gateways previously woven into past works.

As such, the instructions given for this were carried out to the letter: blood placed within the blank area beneath the number, and to the left of the scorpion’s stinger seal on the back pages. A personal call to Belial to release the Scorpion Familiar was made. This was granted, and the being came forth into my aura. Needless to say, the power released was immense, exceeding expectations. It verified for me the presence of the Scorpion Familiar within the work itself beyond a shadow of a doubt — as I physically saw it come through the opened vortex within the book.

The physical strength brought on by the possessive merging with this Scorpion is something I’ve yet to experience elsewhere in my work. To be clear — it had a tangible effect on my body, flooding it with vitality and supercharging its capacity for regeneration. This wasn’t something I had anticipated, for I had called it forth primarily to unblock certain ways and guard the temple space specifically. Nevertheless, it was a highly welcome side effect.

I won’t dwell too long on the personal side — to keep silent, after all, is an axiom — but I offer this to demonstrate that the book itself can be utilised as an important ritual tool. This is but one of the ways laid out somewhat openly for practitioners to engage with.

The Introductory Page to the New Content

Old and New — Ground-breaking Content

The original Scorpion God text, to me, will always be a timeless classic. When I first perused it, it was a confrontational read in many respects — as at that time in my practice, I was frankly extremely sceptical of the Atlantean connection. By the time I’d reached the end, I was fully convinced. The sheer depth, the palpably lived experience of travelling that path and putting it to paper was, to be frank, compelling. It opened up a huge universe of exploration within my own work, from a gnosis perspective alone — as it provided the core context that filled out the requisite picture of the current as a whole.

Heading into the semi-deluxe edition, I kept that experience firmly in mind. It was a joy to see the original text preserved in full. And it’s joined, in my view, by some extremely important additions — each worthy of individual comment. My original intention was to give a general overview, but to do so would be a disservice to these entries.

The Wisdom of Belial: Forging the Soul in the Realm of Atlantean Gods

The essays open strongly with clarifications on Belial’s true nature, as well as the hidden, occult purpose of the text itself. Of particular importance to me is the further explanation, spelled out in black and white, that the very planet itself is the Flesh of Belial.

This is major. Whilst this was explored more fully in the Volumes of Sacrifice, having that context placed back solidly into The Scorpion God, alongside a deep explanation of the formation of the Four Pillars of Fire — how and why it was channelled, earthed, and brought forth in this way — is absolute gold.

For those who like to dig deep, there’s a good deal of important Primal Craft-specific gematria scattered through this, which is explicitly touched on in the following essay.

Atlantean Devil Queen

This essay is a thorough examination of the nature of Sepheranz and how to safely approach her.

I honestly feel this is an essential addition — clarifying Sepheranz’s role, importance, nature, and history within the current. Whilst this was covered at length in Volumes of Sacrifice, having it so clearly laid out within The Scorpion God offers a perfect counterbalance to the raw, primal face of her that we see in the parent text. We get to witness the many facets that make up this beautiful, terrifying goddess.

But that’s not all — here we also find what I believe to be the most concise and complete account of the history of creation within the written Primal Craft tomes. As such, it feels like an invaluable contribution in its own right, placing the lost history into full context. This alone would make it a standout entry for me.

Personally, I understand how intimidating she can be to work with. For many years, in fear, I avoided working with her until I one day felt compelled to place her blooded seal upon my altar. It felt simple it was no longer appropriate to deny her a place within my growing praxis.

The advice offered here — to first approach her more exoteric (but still ferocious) face as the Daughter of War, Conquest and Flame — and the exposition given on that aspect will, I think, be a great help to many who, like me, harboured an earlier fear of incorporating her into their craft. This is essential for fully working the current.

There’s also a fine exploration of Primal Craft gematria here, particularly detailing the Formula of the Apocalypse at both macro and microcosmic levels. This deserves to be thoroughly read, understood, and applied in praxis.

Faces of a King

I first read Faces of a King many years ago in the original Devoted, and it’s a pleasure to see it returned to the Primal Craft fold. This fascinating essay shows the early stages of Mark’s work with Belial. In contrast with the main text, it offers valuable insight and brings a large humanising element  — something that extends to all these clearly deeply personal revelations.

This particular entry does much to dispel misconceptions about Belial’s supposed ‘malicious’ nature — revealing such an angle as absurd, as the Great King facilitates a deeply primal form of justice. The essay is aptly named, as we’re treated to many multifaceted faces of Belial here, figuratively and literally.

There’s also some excellent detail on the Moires (the Fates), which I think will be of great use to the devotee. For those able to read between the lines, it also reveals important aspects of the arte of evocation — and why in our craft, we do not pursue the ‘force and coercion’ method of evoking.

This text had a profound impact on me as a much younger man, and it became the spur for creating my own evocation ritual to contact this great entity directly. I’ve never regretted it.

The Immortal Flesh, detailing work with the Book of the Dead, pg 328

The Amber Chamber

If Faces of a King served as preparation, the next two essays are, in my view, some of if not the rawest and most soul-baring ever put to paper in our current.

The Amber Chamber is a deep dive into the Atlantean God Lommos and his first encounters with the author. It reveals the side effects of what is, frankly, soul-transformative work at the highest level, while also making public, for the first time, the Temple High Priestess of our Arte, detailing her critical role. That alone would mark this essay out as special — but combined with the full Atlantean context, it becomes nothing short of revelatory.

The Temple High Priestess’ harrowing experience with Lommos forms the core of this piece, unfolding rapidly in a manner both raw and confronting. The essay first details the preconditions for the event it describes — the formation of the bloodstone gate and the shattering of the amber stone in consequence. For those seeking to more fully grasp the implications of the Phoenix Rite and its completion, this is essential reading. Compared to the relevant entry in Queen of Hell, it provides invaluable formulae.

The description of the testing on the Path of the Red Snake leads us into conflict against the arising Atlantean power. The implications of the Lore of Atlantean Magick being bypassed become chillingly clear — and Belial necessarily steps forward. Once again, we gain greater insight into this Witch God, specifically regarding a particular taboo, and how his role as protector and guide proves absolutely critical. We learn much here about the nature of Lommos himself and, by extension, the Gods of the Atlantean plane.

There’s a vast amount to unpack — far too much for a few paragraphs. Those able to read between the lines will discover much about the nature of reverse evocation, among other advanced occult practices. As an aside, there’s a small but valuable section detailing the nature of Cerberus, including the use of his seal in copper for the sealing of gates and protection. For those truly paying attention, this essay offers much to improve general working praxis.

The Eldorath

This essay recounts Mark’s meetings with one of the Eldorath, the Daughters of Sepheranz, and the extreme soul-testing he underwent as part of that encounter. Truthfully — after reading it, I wasn’t sure what to write. The previous essay had already struck an emotional chord; this one left me silent. It wasn’t a choice.

The implications are, frankly, extreme. We’re treated to a discourse revealing the multiplicity of the soul’s nature and its existence across time. While we witness glimpses of its resilience, we’re also shown how fragile it truly is when exposed to the sheer power of this entity — who, on the path of soul testing, can exploit that structure as a single point of failure, if deemed necessary, with horrifying consequences. The nature of the Daughters of Sepheranz is covered in revealing detail, offering further insight into the trials of working within the realms of Tiranar.

If there was any lingering doubt, this essay underscores the real risk involved — genuine power is attained only through genuine sacrifice, offered up in love and devotion, one way or another. This is not the work of mental gymnastics but direct work on the Atlantean Inner Planes — with no do-overs.

The section describing Lucifer’s fire struck me deeply. I’ve yet to experience anything remotely as confronting on my own journey (and hopefully, never will), but it spoke to me nonetheless. One ember can be all the blessing one needs.

There’s little more I can say — this is something that simply must be read and experienced. Which, I feel, is what can be said for this excellent tome as a whole.

The Final Seals of the Book

When choosing which artwork to feature here, which are improved over the original first editions massively in richness, I chose the image of The Immortal Flesh to highlight the quality on display. This piece has always called to me – the haunting, Atlantean landscape and the shades have always stood out in my mind amongst many memorable images.

Finally, but not least – when taking pictures of the book, a small oracular work was performed to dictate the final page that would be shown in this article, what the work itself wanted to show. The book once asked, opened on the page of The First Altar of the Witch Gods.

I feel this is a perfect way to end this little / review / analysis / whatever the reader wishes to call it. I feel deeply grateful to be able to have this work in my collection, and may it for many years guide myself, and those who work the current here, bathing us in the Primal Current.

The First Altar of the Witch Gods

In Nomine Belial,
We Walk The Path of the Setting Sun,
~S~

The Shadows Zenith – The Flight of Nights Wings

Posted in Folk Belief, Occultism, Paganism, The Path of Flames, The Temple of the Ivory Spider with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 27, 2024 by Sypheara

The last month has been one of many adventures, ones that, at a deep level, have rested my mind and reinvigorated the soul. I have been quite tight-lipped about where I have been, simply to avoid drawing any evil eyes and to keep the time blissfully free of interruptions, allowing for a sacred retreat into Self and Other. I was also going to see someone very special to me, so I wanted to speak little publicly about my trip, which involved travelling around the world to the land down under.

I knew that going so far under such circumstances would ensure that, for a time, I would enter into a completely different world—not just geographically and interpersonally, but also, in some strange way, temporally. It was also not a risk-free endeavour, and as such, I promised myself to keep my mouth firmly shut until I was back on home soil. The time period I’d be away would be a solid month—just long enough for a place to begin to feel, strangely, like home.

To cut to the heart of it: even outside of personal developments, I feel extremely changed by the experience at a fundamental level. It turns out Australia is a very strange, very primal place for those of us who have never really left the “Old World.” Such a term seems so facetiously quaint after experiencing the residual power of the land there. It felt distinctly sepheranzian, the land being still one of untamed providence as opposed to places where the gods and the spirits of the place feel long displaced.

The area I travelled to was not the most remote place, to say the least—Sydney is not famous for being a small town, after all. However, my trip did also encompass an adventure up to the Blue Mountains, to the area around Katoomba and Echo Point. It is probably best to start in that order, to really give a sense of the energetic makeup of the place and give background and context to the meat of the article.

I arrived in Sydney on Sunday, the 19th, to a very warm and beautiful welcome I won’t forget. Over the next few days and weeks, we spent a lot of time exploring the city, including many of the city parks. I was quite taken aback by how vibrant the wildlife was, even in the city area. Birds of all kinds were always everywhere, and the air was always a cacophony of birdsong the likes of which I’ve never heard before.

Of particular note were the Australian magpies, scientific name Gymnorhina tibicen. Described entertainingly as a “fairly robust bird” by good old Wikipedia, these guys captivated my tourist’s heart a little bit. Not actually a type of corvid, but rather a type of butcher bird, their calls were both beautiful and distinctive, and they were a complete joy to watch. In their eyes, you could see a certain Luciferian fire that is always present in these kinds of animals in particular—a keen, somewhat cold awareness and power that seems barely contained within.

Australian Magpie, photographed by JJ Harrison

I spent many days with my other half at a particular café where we were often visited by these spirited and beautiful creatures. On days she worked, I often went down alone, and the birds soon became aware that this strange English fellow was rather easy to convince to feed them. I, in turn, was quite happy to convene the crow council and oblige them, as long as I got a good choral song in payment for my attention (and some fried chicken).

These were not the only creatures that frequented the urban parks and streets and caught my attention. It turns out that the city is home to numerous species of megabat, otherwise known as flying foxes. These would ascend over the skies every warm autumn evening, with their distinctive calls being easy to pick out over the other sounds of city life. Seeing them was always a delight, bringing with it the feel of a very primitive freedom that was starkly contrasted with the urban surroundings of the city itself. In contrast to the energy that could be felt in the birds, the bats exuded a strong energy that seemed to resonate with that of Belial. As they flew, I could feel the same energies within my own body, almost as if they were putting out a call, a welcome, to engage in communion with the gods.

Around this time, we planned to do a small ritual together on the beach – in many ways, to get back into the swing of things since the first one we worked on together back in 2018. This, however, turned into a pact of a rather different sort, blessed as we were by the ring around the moon. As such, the actual work was to come a little later despite the invitation of the land being felt.

Katoomba, Photographer Unknown

The experience in Katoomba was similar but amplified to eleven. The Blue Mountains are named for their colour, caused by the refraction of sunlight through the oils produced by the eucalyptus trees that dominate the environment. However, looking out over the surrounding area from Echo Point, this simple explanation did not really do the place justice. As we stood at Echo Point, looking out at the vista below us, she was the first to be seized by the land; it felt like a powerful, magnetic pull drawing us deeper and deeper into the canyons, as if to become one with them. This feeling was not malefic, but certainly not a light one either.

I confirmed with her that I felt it too—the land felt like it was calling. To her, it seemed the spirits contained within it were trying to impart a message to those with the senses to hear and truly listen. However, it came out as a mumble to her, as if the language spoken was not understood. At first, I wondered if the language was Aboriginal in nature, but a little while after her description, I realised something. It was the same snake speech that the spirits of the land use all over, the language of the chthonic gods, that I have encountered when working with Belial. We spent another two days enjoying the feel of the place before we had to head back home.

On our way back to Sydney, we stopped at the Blue Mountains Botanic Gardens to explore further and make the most of our time there. The Gardens boast a large balcony, from which one can see the stunning vistas surrounding Mount Tomah. It was here that she asked me to help decipher what they were saying to her, as she reiterated that she could not understand the meaning, despite it being loud, insistent, and important.

The Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, photographed by Jaime Plaza 

I went out onto the balcony, and she soon joined me. Reaching out, I instantly felt drawn to the horizon. A peak dominated the far sky, and as I focused my eyes upon it, I felt drawn out of my body. Soon I was floating in front of the peak, and above, a large, multicoloured serpent hovered. Possessing pearlescent scales, it was similar but somehow different to the great dragon I encountered in the Lake District—more serpentine in nature. Power exuded from it like flowing waves of brilliant light, as a haze of blue caressed and swirled around it. Despite its brilliance, I could not hold this vision, no matter what I tried. It felt almost dreamlike, and despite its immediacy, as if there was still some final barrier in place I could not penetrate in my current state. Almost as soon as I was there, the imagery began to slide away. Unable to grasp the threads to remain in that space, I returned. Trying again, hoping this was an invitation to push on and not a warning, I closed my eyes. Just blackness, but there I could still feel it, and the hissing words came forth, generating the answers in the powerful feelings that they stirred within.

They wanted something from her indeed. The spirits of the land were offering a pact, if it would be wholeheartedly approached and accepted in blood. The exact nature of this pact was not transmitted—only that the door lay open, if she desired to explore it. It was given in a strange tone, as if they felt that was something rather very in doubt, as if they were used to being ignored, or worse, disappointed by those who have come forth up to this point.

As it was delivered, I conveyed it. She seemed nervous, relating to me how the spirits of this land seemed angry, almost hungry. I reassured her that even so, they were not out to claim her in the way that she was envisioning; another purpose or reason lay behind this, albeit one I could not put my own finger on.

We left the mountain top that day, descending the steep slopes in the old, knackered Toyota Corolla back towards Sydney. On the way back, we promised ourselves we would carry out the ritual as requested before leaving Australian soil.

Mimi and Rainbow Serpent, by Peter Marralwanga, c1980.

The good old winter weather would conspire against us, as is rather typical, ensuring that the optimal window to conduct the rite was on the very day I was to fly home. This was already going to be a complicated day – both logistically and emotionally, considering the importance of what had transpired on that other, beautiful night I will not forget.

But promises were promises – and we would have to make the best of the situation with the hours we had left. Very close to where we lived in Sydney was a nice, large, and relatively quiet suburban park. This was dominated by large, old, and gnarled banyan trees, specifically Ficus macrophylla or Australian Banyan. These trees are extremely physically impressive, with many thick aerial roots. Their physical characteristics give a hint as to their character; the tree is known as a “strangler fig” because seed germination usually takes place in the canopy of a host tree. Here, the seedling lives as an epiphyte until its roots establish contact with the ground, at which point it enlarges and strangles its host, thus replacing it. The tree is also incredibly dependent on a mutual relationship with insects. Figs are pollinated solely by fig wasps, and fig wasps can reproduce only in fig flowers. The close relationship of the Fig also gives us occult insight, this time into the mysteries surrounding that of sacred sacrifice.

Folklorically, the banyan tree has a lot of lore surrounding it – Diverse cultures around the world say these trees shelter angels and fairies, gods and ancestral spirits, ghosts, and other creatures.

More beneficially, the banyan tree is revered in Hinduism, and is the national tree of India. Because of its ever-expanding branches, it depicts eternal life. The banyan tree is also known as kalpavriksha, which literally means “wish-fulfilling holy tree”. In Buddhism, it is said Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment or buddhahood circa 500 BCE sitting under such a tree. In Greek mythology, the branches of one fig tree saved Odysseus from being sucked into the deadly whirlpool created by the maw of a hungry sea monster Charybdis.

The benefic comes with the malefic, however with many such great tree spirits, and in many places, it is believed that if a person sleeps under a fig tree he or she will wake up to be mute or worse still, never wake up. In Indian folklore, a person was turned into a monkey just because of trying to climb a sacred fig tree. Aboriginal Australian stories also warn of an altogether more fearsome spirit that lives within the strangler fig. This creature, the yara-ma-yha-who, is a manlike monster that possesses bulging eyes and a gaping, toothless maw. When hungry, it will leap out of its fig tree onto an unsuspecting traveller. Its fingers and toes end in flattened discs, through which it sucks the blood of its victims.

Ficus Macrophylla, Giardino Garibaldi, Palermo, photographed by Gmihail

As such, this is a tree that commands much respect when working with it from a witchcraft perspective. Several large specimens of these trees dominated one of the local parks, harbouring much of the impressive wildlife previously described. On this night, that place seemed to beckon us to work there – an awareness of semi-wilderness amidst the urban sprawl.

We left the apartment with very little – just ourselves, and something sharp with which to draw the blood necessary to make the connection. I was adamant that I would not lead the interaction – my role would be merely facilitative. This was important to ensure the path was walked and accepted. It was not me they had chosen, but her alone.

I remember it being strangely quieter than usual as we headed towards the area. Towards the lake, where the banyan trees drank deeply, and the day slowly spiralled into dusk. Unfortunately, many of the figs were still rather publicly within view. One tree, however, stood apart from the others. Fenced off, darker, in deeper shadow, and with its own strangely radiant pull. I could tell this tree was the one – and so could she. Yet, she hesitated in making the choice. Her outward hesitance belied a deeper, inner resolve to walk the path – to find the tree and honour what was asked of her. This filled me with great pride – it was something I knew she needed and was capable of achieving if only she took the leap of faith.

With that and a bit of encouragement to break a few rules and trust in herself, we were soon over the little separating fence; beneath the aerial roots of the great tree, the ritual would be conducted simply – and directly – without much, if any, supporting paraphernalia.

The process was as follows. Firstly, the receiving hand would be placed upon the bark and the call sent after personal circles were constructed. This would be followed by negotiation of the pact, with the result sealed in blood upon the bark.

As she bravely initiated the call, I stood guard at a respectable distance mainly to balance energy and ensure we were not disturbed. Everything went still, and I could feel the energy rising. It rose quickly and evenly, feeling very earthy and watery. It was much like a deep, still pool rising from the earth. I sensed that the energy, with its sepheranzian feel of the earth, was being joined by another energy – that of Belial and the Abyss. Looking up into the branches, the snake speech came, low and barely audible from my throat. It was subtle but discernible. With this, I purified and anchored the space, ensuring all that entered the space was conducive to the work.

She hesitated once more, before reaching out with heart instead of head. With this, the spirits of the land delivered their request directly at the level of the soul. At first, it felt like they were trying to draw her in – something she communicated afterwards and was concerned about. Yet, it must be remembered that these types of spirits always test – few come to them, and of those that do, few are actually suitable to receive anything. In this, she passed with flying colours. What was communicated is between her and them, but suffice to say, it was successfully bargained for and attained.

She relayed to me that these spirits left her feeling cold after her interaction – without any warmth. This is true – for that is simply their nature. These spirits of the earth, that come from the deep places, through these trees that are sent by Belial, are distinctly other but no less Hecate’s children with a purpose to the path. However, they are not the type to coddle.

With that done, her blood was given upon the bark and everything sealed. This was done with a huge amount of relief, given the intimidating nature of the operation and the time constraints we were under. Almost immediately, I heard the first rustling in the trees as we left, to sit and recover next to the little lake. Something truly incredible was about to happen.

Spurred by the energies raised in the rite, all the megabats in the area took flight. A huge flock swooped over us, and we both looked up in delight as their calls filled the sky. Internally, it made me want to laugh ecstatically, in great released joy. Gratitude arose inside for the blessings bestowed upon us in this land. At that point, I truly knew, at the crossroads in time where the spirits danced, that things had fallen into place. The myriad reasons why I was drawn here – her ritual, her presence, and this land had changed something important within me in symbiosis.

Megabats at Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney Australia 2009 by Haverjake

With the ritual finished, I headed back to the flat to collect my things and leave the country that had truly felt like it had become a second home. Returning home, I have felt like a part of me remained there in that strange country brimming with possibility and new life. It has been a very strange, dislocating experience to have to return to normality (TM) – but I take comfort in knowing that what changed came back with me in flesh, blood, bone, and soul.

I now look forward to this summer, approaching the gatework with Belial knowing full well I am ready to dive deep into it at a soul level, as well as exploring hopefully more gateworkings and where they will take us.

I end this article with a wonderful Aboriginal tale about the warrior Buthera, who defeated Mudichera and thus gained his blessing and protection.

The Tale of Buthera and Mudichera

‘Buthera, a strong, proud warrior who possessed magical powers, was travelling up the coast of Queensland. He had not gone far on his way, and was resting early in the day, when a man walked into the glade where he was sitting.

‘Who are you?’ asked Buthera.

‘My name is Mudichera. I am the leader of Bats. What are you doing in my land?’

Buthera sprang to his feet, his brows drawn down in a frown. ‘This is still my territory. I allow no man to intrude on it.

‘The stranger took his waddy from his belt.

‘Good!’ Buthera said. ‘I am glad to see you are a man and not something blown here by the west wind.

‘They circled round each other warily. Buthera did not deign to use his waddy or war spear, but held a flint knife in his hand. Mudichera swung his waddy lustily, but Buthera avoided it, jumping from side to side, and throwing himself flat on the ground as it whistled over him. Mudichera began to grow tired. His blows lost their force and he had difficulty in raising his weapon over his head. Buthera gathered himself together and swung his knife so viciously that Mudichera was cut in two pieces, the upper part of his body falling in one place and his legs in another.

There was a flapping of leathery wings, the two parts of his body rose in the air, and two bats escaped from under Buthera’s hand. The chief grinned, picked up his weapon and resumed his journey. He covered many miles that day, but the sun grew hotter and the sweat trickled down his back. He felt sick, and when he came to a fertile valley with many water holes, where a large tribe was camped, he stopped.

‘Here comes Buthera’, the people cried.

‘How do you know my name’?

‘Oh, we know all about you. We know how you fought with Mudichera, how you cut him in two, and how he changed into a bat.’

‘Two bats. But how do you know all this?’

‘Willy wagtail told us.’

Buthera was angry to think that they knew so much about him. He took his magic spear and pointed it in front of him. A long tongue of flame shot from the point and set fire to the scrub. He swung it round him until he was in the centre of the fire, which spread rapidly outwards, driving the screaming people in front of it. The only places where they could escape the flames were in the water holes. Buthera looked across the smouldering bushes and saw them peering apprehensively at him, with their bodies submerged in the water. He grinned again, pointed another spear at them, and had the satisfaction of seeing them all transformed into shags.

Shortly afterwards he met another warrior, but this time he met his match. Larna was young and vigorous, and before long Buthera lay dead at his feet. He picked Buthera up, lifted him above his head, and was on the point of throwing him into a lake, when the Bats who had once been Mudichera flew down and beat their wings round Larna’s head, until he was forced to lower the body. Some of the power that had belonged to Mudichera when he was a warrior lingered in the Bats, and they turned Larna into a stone which they left by the side of the lake as a memorial to Buthera the warrior.’

A.W. Reed, Aboriginal Fables & Legendary Tales

Sydney Airport Mudichera by Guy Boyd

In Honour of the Spirits of the Reddened Land,
Those who Whisper
To Those who Wish to Hear

From Dust and Soil,
From Bone, and Root,
From Stone and Tree,

We call to thee,

O Belial!
Stir the Souls!
Arise, O Neglected Ones,
Awaken to Partake of the Grand Sabbat!

O Belial!

Forever set us Free!
Here at the Crossroads,
Where All Dance,
United In Eternal Reverie!

O Belial!

Accept Now our Devotion
Carry our Ecstatic Voices
Forth to Her Emerald Throne
On Your Wings of Purest Night!

~S~

The Suns Zenith – The Light In The Dark

Posted in Occultism, Paganism, Primal Craft, The Path of Flames with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 29, 2023 by Sypheara

A somewhat belated happy summer solstice to devotees and readers of the blog. It has been very productive over here – I have been taking people through working material, and going over what they have produced has been a lot of fun. Coincidentally, it has also at times been rather involved! It is good to know that things are on track – plenty of internal material has been produced which will stand future initiates in good stead. When contrasted with the additional material being released by the mother temple on August 13th (as highlighted in the previous entry), I am confident the corpus will be of sufficient basis for the later work coming down the line. The future for the current is rather exciting, and for once I can say such a thing without a hint of my characteristic sarcasm.

Outside of the above work, it was good to get back to doing some of my own, more personal stuff. Around the solstice, I finally got the time to venture down back into the woods, and the forest temple space that was consecrated last year. With having been so focused on teaching others, I felt I had somewhat neglected my own personal connection to the Gods of the current. This is something I wanted to address.

The walk down to the outside space can always be a little ‘interesting’ – at that time of night, in the isolation, curious deer etc will happily follow you through the undergrowth to see what you are up to. This night however, was a bit different – the woods themselves didn’t feel particularly welcoming – almost on the edge of anger. It wasn’t directed at me – but the atmosphere felt thicker. It felt almost like it possessed an aggressive vibrancy – potent, nature energy that edged onto an almost predatory feel. This put me a little on edge – something I’m not used to experiencing when going to do workings out there. Nevertheless, I persisted; there was work to get done.

However, I needn’t have worried so much. When I arrived at the location, it was positively brimming with power, feeling like it was almost begging to be worked with. The working itself was rather short, and sweet. First, fresh spring water was poured over the small cairn built into a tree hollow out of sight from most casual visitors. This would help acknowledge the genius locii and gods of the space before anything active was worked.

Bats in flight, Ann Froschauer

With the offerings given, the circle was then opened ceremonially and properly ensorcelled. Belial was then called to the circles edge. Something that always strikes me on reflection, is just how quickly Belial comes to the call in the natural environment. This can be rather on the nose, when he specifically choses to not be very subtle about things. The temperature noticeably changed immediately after giving the call, and the whole working space becoming slightly cooler. Bats swirled around and overhead the circle, clicking audibly. Such responses are always welcome when doing evocations, as they are forms of physical manifestation which proves without doubt the operation has been a success. In many cases, it also heralds a very physical appearance by the god or spirit in question. The energy intensified, becoming thick and heavy – this however was a very welcoming energy, feeling like I had indeed returned home in many ways. It felt like being wrapped in a cloak of purest velvet night, an incredibly comforting feeling given what I had worked through to get there that night.

From here, devotional was carried out – the use of song is something I have grown to appreciate within the last few months especially. It is a good way of building relationship with the gods and spirits, and helps exercise both spiritual, mental and physical faculties which are important to ritual work and thus the theurgic evolution. Working with dedicants and initiates has also taught me how many people struggle with this aspect of our practice – almost as if they’ve been encouraged to lose their own voice by others around them, directly or indirectly. This is from an occult perspective as well as a psychological one, is revealed as something simple when analysed at any deep level – a theft of power. Being able to project our voice, should be a very natural thing – after all it is a tool given to us in order for us to work with the gods and spirits – to enjoy and celebrate our incarnate existence. It wasn’t until I started working with others closely did I realise where I was on my own journey. I didn’t even think that this could have also applied to me before I started reconnecting with the arte magickal. On reflection, it very much did. It is something I had to painfully pull out of myself. Discovering this, I felt rather naïve – a failure of introspection up to this point perhaps – but also proud of how far I’ve come and that I can help others in this fashion.

I sat there enjoying the power that flowed into and around the circle. It seemed to rotate calmly around the circles edge, like a mini, but placid, vortex. This was in contrast with some of the more fearsome evocations I have performed. For those who have not yet had the pleasure to experience such a type of evocation of one of the witch gods – the feeling can be only be described as total love and acceptance. A feeling that you are tuned back into the very real world – the one which one was born into – seeing it again with fresh eyes. I feel massively privileged every time I am able to experience this with them.

It made me think back to the element and concept of transgression within our craft. By going into the wilds, to practice connection with the primal gods, we turn away from the actual illusion we are placed under on a daily basis. We walk through a very literal veil to reconnect with what lives outside of us. By doing something we are told is somehow wrong, we are able to break through systematic layers of control and obtain freedom even in a time when such a thing is in scant supply.

As I work more with others, and see the struggle they go through to break free of social programming, I finally begin to actually see the level of control placed upon people. At an individual as well as collective level. This doesn’t always come from the usual sources – in recent correspondences with another devotee, I laid bare how sometimes such attempts for control (at an overt, or subvert level) can come from those who should have a better understanding. This runs the gamut of wider society to those who should know us best. Those unlikely places of pressure could come from those supposedly enlightened communities we may find ourselves participating in. It can even go as far as those who are even supposedly close family, lovers or friends. Often it is unconscious – the people in question dealing with their own issues but projecting outward the consequences of such onto us.

When faced with such, the only real way to deal with it is to double down. The more years I work within the Primal Current, the less, and less I feel the need for any external validation – as said in many recent blog posts, the work turn inwards to things that can be realised both in my own practice and improving the lives of those around me through the magickal work.

I don’t know quite where this post was going when I started writing it and hope this won’t turn into a ramble. I just had a small compulsion to share some insight gained and reiterated in recent workings. I’m not even sure I have been able to properly convey what is felt into the proper words. But if anything can be taken away from this post, I hope it to simply be – don’t let others take your power from you. Furthermore, that this can come from the unlikeliest of places, and is not always willfully intentioned. This is I feel an aptly timed topic, with the power of summer all around us (at least those of us who live on my somewhat dreary and rainy island which to its credit, is doing its best of late to brighten the mood).

Important note for the above is I don’t mean this from the juvenile ‘no gods, no masters’ perspective of the more dubious of the modern LHP practices. I mean something deeper – to not allow yourself to be cut off from the spiritual well which is innately open to all living creatures. To allow such should be unconscionable to those of us who understand our origins as being that of Hecate, Queen of Hell, Heaven and Earth. This seems a very important thing to reiterate in a time of various types of sociological breakdown across many levels within society.

Things can seem pretty bleak out there right now. Without going further and getting political (which would detract from the actual message of reconnection), it should be obvious to everyone that where we are is not a particularly good place (we can save the disagreements on why to another more suitable time and place). But even so, one can see the light in the darkness if one just takes the time to look – amongst the oak trees, the running water, the power of the wild that vigorously responds to the height of the sun. This is where we should find our solace, and strength to carry on.

I hope this post reaches you all finding you well, and thriving on your work with the Trident gods and spirits. For those who may feel a little disconnected – this is direct to you – remember the gods are eternal and timeless. Take off the pressure from yourself, and instead take the time to breathe. Go light a candle, say a small prayer, or do that walk and take time to enjoy things again as best you can. They will always be there, in the sound of the wind, in the glint of the sunlight, in the subtle glow of the moon, and in the rumbling of the water.

Three Faced Goddess by HeartySpades

For you, Hecate,
We walk those forgotten crossroads,

Hearing you calling us home,
May you show us the way,
In Love and In Honour


For you, Lucifer
We carry the Torches of Love and Compassion,
May you show us the means by which,
To assist and guide others,
In Love and In Honour


For you, Belial,
We sing these praises in the darkest of nights,
May you show us the way to endless joy,
To reclaim our birthright,
In Love and In Honour,


For you Sepheranz,
We keep hope alive in these times of painful transition
May you help us survive,
To thrive and choose true,
In Love and In Honour

,
For you Qayin,
We keep the hidden ways alive,
In veneration of He who blazed the trail,
Setting the example to follow,
In Love and In Honour


In the Name of The Trident,
Let the Way to the New World

Be Opened,
In Revelation’

🔱

~S~

Success through Putrefaction – Third Initiate, Black Degree

Posted in The Path of Flames, The Temple of the Ivory Spider with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 27, 2022 by Sypheara

It is with the utmost pleasure that I make an announcement in regards to the Temple work here.

Those who follow the blog may remember that, this time last year, one of our initiation candidates passed their ordeal and was initiated fully into the Black Degree.

Well it is again a great joy to confirm that another candidate has been successful at passing their ordeal, and acquiring the black degree as part of our ongoing work.

This particular candidate I have worked with on and off for over seven years now, and always pondered whether our work would eventually dovetail within the same house, as it were. I would never have believed that this would be the year they would undergo the Trial of Putrefaction – going on to succeed above and beyond my expectations. This period of work follows a time of very intense, close workings with the Trident – work that was carried out over the preceding last three months.

This, as always, was required to assess whether they were both suitable and ready to take this large step. These rites needed to be performed by the seeker, as well as verified by me as Magister to ensure that everything aligned properly and that it was right to continue.

This comes after a year of hard work, trusting in the Gods to ensure that the temple plan unfolds as it should – directed by our growing, collective will. The candidate made the leap with committed heart and devoted soul – bringing the alchemical change required. This was no small task – the initiation rite is designed to test, push and break the candidate where it can.

I was in no real worry that this candidate would fail however – the signs bringing them firmly onto the Primal Current were not subtle ones – waking visions of Belial physically showing the Trident being just one obvious manifestation of their will and intent. This was confirmed with a series of divination and evocational works – some completed individually, some with me being present within the rites to facilitate as well as simply enjoy the ritual.

Fire Covenant by Rovina Cai

Physical manifestations, such as fire turning vivid green without any tainting of the fire with the likes of copper, as well as powerful animal possessions sealed the deal in regards to the initiation going ahead. Such invitation by the gods made it clear to me as to the direction it would go and it became undeniable in how it unfolded – these instances were all startling in their potency, if not surprising considering the depth and power involved in both their nature and surrounding circumstances.

With all of this this now reified with the initiation itself, I now turn my attention to completing the write ups of three, major theurgic rites conducted over the Samhain period. It is my intention to rest on my laurels a bit – just a bit – to allow for the task of getting resultant gnosis pulled out and put onto paper. Without this, there can be no expansion to push further myself whilst also giving attention to the initiates who will now need direction and assistance to make the most of their path. Going into the new year, I hope to turbocharge things a little bit.

I will end this post here, but it is with joy i’ve been able to type the above and make this known to the wider primal craft community.

Many Blessings,
In the Name of the Trident,
Carried on Lucifers Flames,
~S~

A Transformational Samhain: Nigromantia Verum

Posted in The Path of Flames with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on November 1, 2022 by Sypheara

When deep down in the work, it can be difficult to come up for air. The work itself becomes all consuming and instinctual – and in that moment, the deepest of magick is carried out. Due to that, this will be a very short entry. However I felt no entry would be doing Samhain a disservice – a time when I have always tried to post something in solidarity with other people enmeshed in the work!!

This is usually where I launch into a post on something whimsical, to celebrate the Sabbat. Even though, admittedly it would be a little belated this year.

In previous years, I’ve gone into little traditions developing in my own practice.. small things or something such. This is usually accompanied by a drill down into important work that the temple is necessarily up to. Those years, the Sabbat was a celebration – at time for deep work yes, but also celebration.

There has been none of that this year. At least, not that could be shared – things I cannot really bring myself to detail – it just hasn’t been one of those years. Instead, this period has just consisted of very intense, deep, instinctual work with Belial. Working with this great lord, to do what needs to be done. Through the Paths of Grief and Faith, the way to the road of the Stellar Gate of the Prince of the Earth has been blow open. Falling through the tunnels, one perceives the gifts of the gods, granted in inner transmutation.

Concept Art, Scorn

There comes a time when conventions must be broken – not out of desire, want, or even reason – simply because it is needed. What the Gods urge, what animalistically is felt to be what the soul craves. This was one of them. Sometimes in magickal work, workings ‘grip the gut’ and compel the witch to enact them, to play them out, to ride out the storm they bring. These are some of the strongest rites one can carry out. The rite alluded to above could only be successfully done via taboo breaking work, utilising the Elemental Gate of Southern Fire, in conjunction with the wooden Steles of all, previously opened Stellar Gates.

This was a very necessary step, to cut away all that remained and solidify the formation of the previous gates into the soul form. The appearance of an unexpected totemic animal, given in direct work with Belial, shows this work was completed and well received – despite it being far from smooth sailing.

One may wonder why I even relate this. The answer is simple – it is to gift some of the received light onwards. The Gods rewards those who step forward, when it would be so easy to step back. When things seem overwhelming – do your best to take the leap. Endure, survive, find your light. Do what needs to be done. Lean into your practice, not away.

This Samhain season, may we all find our inner strength – what we require to take the steps we need to go forward. In this way, we move – avoiding stagnancy. Whether those steps are fighting tooth and nail, or simply letting go, matters not. Whichever and whatever it is, may it be a transformational move, serving us in good stead. Thus, like the sun, we chart out course and fall deeper into the Underworld to be renewed and reborn. This is the time for the performance of the nigromantia verum. There can be no other way.

Samhain, Unknown Artist

With the above related, I now have less than a week to prepare for an important event to be undertaken at the Temple here. This involves both further heavy ritual, as well as the creation of new temple works. I will post about that, when the time comes, depending on outcome and appropriateness. Nevertheless, I am excited to see the temple strengthen noticeably from what now rapidly approaches!!

I would just like to thank everyone who has read my work, and supported me over the years in one facet or another. You know who you are.

Greatest of Samhain Blessings,
In the Shadow of the Trident,
Bathed in Their Flames,
On the Path of the Setting Sun,
Black Turns White,
White Turns Red,
And All is Reborn.
~S~


Portals of Flame – Earthing the Current of the Stellar Temple Gate of Lucifer

Posted in Luciferianism, Occultism, Paganism, Stellar Gnosis, The Path of Flames, The Temple of the Ivory Spider with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 7, 2022 by Sypheara

Here we are, going into Samhain, and I am still playing catch-up! The midsummer solstice, and the impacts of the work coming out of that time, knocked me for six. In a very good way – so much has changed, altered, opened for myself and temple since then that every time I’ve sat down to write this entry, something else would occur which necessitated deep work and reflection to tackle and integrate it. Whether this was work for the current, for myself, or the initiation candidates, something would come up meaning the blog posts came bottom priority. Many of these events have been very profound – the kind of experience where writing about them seems almost exhibitionist. As such, I’ve chosen to focus on purely the more ‘formal’ rite which was carried out earlier this year for this belated blog post.

For context – the above was not entirely unexpected. Opening each stellar gate, has been an increasingly complex process up to this point. The opening of the first gate, with the Temple Familiar gifted by Belial through the Seal of the Ascending Winged Skull, took a matter of months – albeit the physical effects took years to both integrate and fully recover from. Hecate’s Stellar Gate similarly came through relatively quickly, to balance the initially unexpected black stellar energies released via the Ivory Spider.

Lucifer’s was more of a slow burn – requiring the evocation and integration of all three great elemental dragons – something that could be done fully only in the places where they most strongly reside. This required roughly two years of work and planning. As such, when contrasted with the Lilithian build up, I knew that opening this particular gate would be very demanding.

In total, no less than three wood cuts, and one full wood engraving block would be used in opening this gate at the temple here. The gate stele itself was cut into an engraving woodblock, made of birch. On one side, the temple specific channelled variant of the Seal of the City of Pyramids was inked, on the reverse, the specific key to unlock that seal fully given through the work with Lilith. The remaining four sides of the wood blocks were filled with Theban script – three sides, the formula of the synchronomicon, the final word being one of draconic origin released in the final work.

Each wood cut was adorned on one side with its related draconic seal, and on the flipside, its related draconic key.

Fomalhaut, the Royal Star of the South, by Davide De Martin

The ritual to open the gate was a strenuous one. Donning the ritual mask of Lucifer, firstly, each dragon gate was opened within the circle itself. This was possible thanks to the power already granted in previous possessions – without which none of this would have been possible.

Each opening necessitated each front seal being covered in blood, following a formal unlocking at blade point and subsequent blooding of the rear key sigil. As each was completed, the power of the corresponding dragon flooded into the circle. The feeling that accompanied these steps was not initially one of ecstatic empowerment – instead this initial, preparatory stage felt more like wading through a liquid. A liquid that simply grew in viscosity as more power was drawn into the working space as each woodcut was worked through individually, each power point and line receiving the necessary attention the act required.

The final quarter to be opened would be different. Here, stood the clear mirror of the arte used at the temple for a variety of rites. In front of it, the stele of Lucifer’s gate was placed, flanked by candles, leaving space to carry out the needed ritual operations. To the left, a blooded sigil of Surgat lay, and on the right, the physical skeleton key empowered by Lilith in the previous working. Both Witch Gods were called to lend their power to the rite.

When the time felt right, the front of the stele, as well as surrounding words of power were blooded. Lilith’s key was then utilized on the gate seal, to open it in widdershins fashion. With this prepared, the gate was turned and the key seal of the stele blooded. Finally, it was necessary to repeat the last two steps on the mirror itself. With each symbolic act, the locks placed on the soul were also released, and with words of power, the mirror gate came alive.

Formal request of Lucifer, through the opened mirror gate, to release the power of his stellar gate thus prepared, began a series of possessions. Like sunlight filtered through a lens, the power surged through the mirror and into the body. Strangely, it was not Lucifer who came first – but Vassago, coming clean out of the mirror. His silvered body glowed with such intensity, as his appearance took me entirely off guard – it was not the horned god I had initially expected! His chosen form so mercurial it seemed to flood out the clear surface, which in turn, now rippled like the surface of water.

Now behind him came Lucifer, appearing in horned, reptilian form – his energy in comparison was darker, more red and black, and in swirling kaleidoscopic currents the possession intensified. It was in this act that the necessary alchemy was completed, and the resulting completed stele marked.

The traditional goetic appearance of the daemon Vassago. Very different from the mercurial visions this spirit often gives me!! Artist unknown.

I lay there for awhile, just recovering from the energy release. In many ways I was still in shock, as the process was very different to what I had initially expected – this was a great learning exercise. Even with all the gnosis processed as to how to perform a rite, only by actually doing it is full understanding gained – something which cannot be guessed going in without the potential for being humbled by the experience.

With the above done, this marks the end of a cycle of intense workings. I don’t expect these to get any easier, but I must now for a little time, turn my attention to my initiation candidates. I have been blessed with two candidates of strong potency and devotion – and both are at a stage where initiations could be reasonably performed into the Black Degree.

As the year dies, my mind goes towards the blogs future. As more and more work intensifies, as alluded to in the opening, my view on many things has changed. Next year will mark the ten year anniversary of me starting this blog – what was meant to be only a small little working curio diary, has grown far beyond what I had initially planned. We are a full ninety posts in at this point, and many of the goals I initially set have either been met, or I have simply grown beyond. As my more work becomes Temple based, more intimate and deep, I do anticipate that there may be many necessary changes yet to come.

I will update people as I go, regarding any plans. I hope everyone a fantastic run up to Samhain, and thank you for reading.

May the Lord of Light,
Show you the Way,
Back to the Stellar Paths,
Long forgotten by the Race of Man,

In Lucifer’s Name,

~S~

Success through Putrefaction – Second Initiate, Black Degree

Posted in Stellar Gnosis, The Path of Flames, The Temple of the Ivory Spider with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 10, 2021 by Sypheara

It is with great pleasure that I make this very small, but nevertheless, important post.

A promising, long term candidate has undergone the Trial of Putrefaction for the status of Black Degree Initiate here at the Temple. This person has worked with me since around 2013 in various capacities – intensifying over the last five. I have long wanted to offer them initiation – but they were up to now, not ready to accept it. That time finally came on the night of the 4th of November.

It was not without trepidation that I opened up the initial proceedings that evening; not because I doubted my talented and dedicated candidate, but because each initiation is precious. Having already initiated one person, I know intimately the process that must be undergone – but each initiation is its own thing, a unique special moment in time for both Magister and Candidate. Success can never be guaranteed – nor can the Trial be fully predicted. Ritual is not theatre – when done properly in possession with the Gods of the Trident.

I should not have worried however. The candidate passed the Trial splendidly, with a sound leap of faith – and following on from this, the oaths were taken in full love with committed heart. The empowerments then went well – the witchbody of the successful candidate vibrating strong and powerfully after the work was brought to a finish.

For myself, the work was quite strenuous – more so than even the previous candidate. After coming back to full awareness, I was exhausted – and it took around three full days to recover. This consisted of copious amounts of sleep. Such fatigue is unavoidable -it is the payment given by the Magister in work with the Gods. It is what is gifted on the candidates behalf for all their hard work. It is a sacrifice that I enjoy making. But that does not mean it is done without significant effort on my part.

The fruits however, are great. This particular initiation marked the full formulation of the preliminary and post-ritual steps that help round out the black degree process as a whole. Building on the first initiation, which dragged this format out into the light, a refinement was conducted on its structure. Now in the study here, the first physical black degree book sits, three months of work between me and the new initiate. The text compiled, reviewed, completed and hardbound. Within its pages are declarations, blooded and sigilised, post rite.

Philosophia Reformata (Johann Daniel Mylius)

I feel that these are the bones of the Temple being built, on the back of two years of difficult, at times heart rending work. Alot has changed since that first initiation in 2019. This is just the beginning – there are more good things to come. I have on the downlow been preparing a website specifically for the Temple, to explain its purpose and mission, its methodology, and to show our existence to the world. This still requires heavy work – not just in creating the content, but in creating specific artwork that embodies the temple itself, containing its spirit. It will see the light of day, when it is ready.

Let me clarify immediately on the above. I do not seek the creation of an ‘online order’ for easy remote joining – the site will exist primarily as a ‘we are here’; for the benefit of other devotees and working primal craft covens that might want to reach out, but be unaware of our existence. It is my intention to build up a working stellar coven – and initiate those special select candidates who grab my attention. These will be composed of candidates who intend to work on a regular basis as part of the physical coven, or those who are simply guided by Hecate for stellar initiation in real, physical travel for required empowerment here.

It is to be noted here that initiates do not necessarily have a coven position/seat. This is something I am still working on formulating – alongside the general personal theurgic work. It has to make practical, as well as Occult, sense. But the Temple work grows – line by line, ritual by ritual. Having these things in place in a concrete, more finalised way is still a way off – it will also require a lot of organic rather than forced growth. But it is finally gaining momentum. Further discussion with the successful initiate will determine how this proceeds in the short term as their input will be crucial.

As far as future candidates go, I already have further potentials – people who have shown years long dedication to the work of the current. Whose dedication and devotion are beyond question. One is someone I have known going back a decade, who has spent the last few years working in the current in-between mundane responsibilities. This person has already been offered initiation – personal circumstances willing, and considering world affairs, local sensibilities, and working commitments. To say more would be a breach of privacy – as always, I leave it up to individual candidates and initiates as to whether they bring themselves ‘into the light’ or continue working in privacy.

It is not my intention to chase numbers. I have no interest in quantity over quality. That said, there will be more. Once I have reached certain thresholds of personal development and practice, further degrees will be opened up to existing initiates and more energy put into specifically growing the working coven and relevant stellar rites.

I will leave it there. Except to say, that I am very proud of my initiates for the love, devotion, and hard work they have shown both to the Gods and Temple. I look forward to working with the new initiate to build on this success, where it coincides with their own personal development and growth within the Current.

For myself, I intend to take a good period of time to finish off records, as well as deal with administrative matters and personal occult development. A rest is also in order! I hope to return to make another posting probably in the latter half of December.

Through Black,
Through White,

Through Red,
Through the Power of the Trident,
We Become.
~S~

The Gatekeepers of the Arte: Cold Fire

Posted in Luciferianism, Occultism, Paganism, Stellar Gnosis, The Path of Flames, Traditional Witchcraft with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 9, 2021 by Sypheara

The last few months have been powerful ones from a personal and spiritual perspective, to say the least. All in a positive manner I may add, helping to ground and earth the work going forward.

Within the last two weeks, me and a girlfriend disappeared off into the woods of the Lake District to call up the Gods and Spirits of our craft, because we felt a need. Taking the oil lamp, we ventured to a place we had found earlier in the week; a small island in the middle of the river, forming a crossroads of sorts that would be ideal for our rite.

The countryside there is a beautiful place to do true magick. The first journey to scout out the woods at night saw us basically tripping over frogs / toads, who were making short work of the slugs and other critters that had crawled out to enjoy the damp English weather. That night was also so very quiet, one could hear the deer moving through the vegetation, curious as to who had decided to enter their home in the odd hours.

The night of the actual working, the sky was overcast, but overall it was thankfully dry, and we managed to get to the site undisturbed and without incident. What can be told of the ritual is unfortunately little as it has to remain somewhat secret, as it had profound personal impact. But what can be shared follows.

When the invocations to construct the circle was given, Belial physically manifested in the east end of the circle, briefly. This took me by surprise – the ritual was not led by myself but her, with me essentially fulfilling a support role. As such I had expected something more subtle. On reflection, this was a rather silly presumption given the sheer energy on the walk there and my knowledge of her prior working history. But still, Belial came, in a strong fashion. His host themselves arrived when the full invocation was given, post circle construction, in old English. These spirits were not easily visible in the dark. But their voices could be physically heard as a vast murmur, awaiting answer. All around the circles edge they seemed to swarm – individual voices could not be discerned. Bats swarmed around the circles edge as well, making audible clicks, the energy of the ritual having also seemed to increase their number. When Belial was satisfied, the unexpectedly theurgic work was closed, and devotionals performed.

The amount of energy, for what we had anticipated, came as a big shock. This small ritual proved to be far larger of a bigger occasion than expected. But the amount of energy it brought, and the amount of both healing and empowerment it bestowed, were sorely needed I believe for both of us.

Forest at night, Unknown

Writing this now, I can remember the feeling of the night vividly. To walk into the dark, away from civilization, and to call up those forces is for me THE fundamental part of witchcraft. To exercise the inner fire, to have that bravery to call out to the Gods in that space were one cannot control all the variables – but instead communicate and if needs be, contend with primal forces to reach beyond the veil – is the Arte. It highlights the weakness in modern forms of craft, done nice and safely in the warm comforts of the home, in a sharp contrasting light. Whilst there is nothing wrong with that, there is a certain level of frustration watching ‘experts’ speak on the craft, when they have never once set foot outside of their bedrooms to risk anything. To experience the raw reality. As if they are afraid of confronting magickal truth. This stunts growth – as one can only grow magickally by pushing ones own boundaries and taking (sensible, considered) risks.

This brings me onto my work with Surgat, which has been most rewarding on this front. He is a being that continually challenges me to push boundaries. The first was the taking of his mark, as mentioned in a prior blog post. But convincing him to actually give the necessary keys, and required gnosis for this particular upcoming dragon working, has not been easy. Even with the pact sealed, Surgat does not particularly care for our Race. The depiction of him as given in the The Red King by Mark Alan Smith is accurate – but nothing except seeing him face to face as it were will do him justice. Surgat appears as what can only be described as cold fire, that drips with a certain authority that can not be described but only experienced.

That said, with persistence, the initial six keys for the current dragon work have been successfully obtained. In addition, Surgat gave two other marks, that are to be drawn on the hands. These will allow for the currents to be better directed whilst calling down the Sky Dragon, ensuring that the possession itself will be successful. Without these quasi-wards (albeit that is an oversimplification), one would be at risk of being overwhelmed when standing in the wild waters and earthing its current into ones own form.

Black fire, Unknown

Surgat I feel is vastly underestimated, even in our own work. As designated gatekeeper of the current, I feel that few people have done much demonstrable work with him – other than those who I know who have worked specifically through The Red King. This is in despite of him coming through in the original Queen of Hell and being highlighted with some importance. I know that he will play an important part in my own work, and the work of the Stellar Temple here going forward. I’d urge that feel like they can take that extra step, aware they will be challenged, to explore this avenue with Him.

Much more work is still to be done for this rite. The work this coming full moon will hopefully bestow upon me the opening seal, which is required to correctly carry out the ritual – without this, the path into the vortex to be constructed cannot be opened. There is still much to do for the physical planning of the ritual as well. At the moment, I hope to have it done around the end of August, giving plenty of time for acquiring some more equipment to make the hike to and from the site more manageable. It is a long time since I’ve gone even anything close resembling wild camping, and in a country where there exist no inherent right to wild camp, I’m expecting it to potentially ‘get interesting’. But the chosen site (or sites, as there are in fact two candidates) are both remote enough that shouldn’t be a problem upon reaching them. Both are at elevation and considerable distance away from anything of ‘interest’ to most normal people in the small hours.

Outside of the above it has been a particularly interesting month for certain types of.. dissuading work. Time was given over to working closer with the Chimera contained within the spirit box. Via intuition, methods of commanding the Chimera to deal with an arising situation was given. The command and binding sigils used in this work, pierced with the holy blackthorn, was more than effective enough to accomplish this. The use of these tools caused the Chimeras attention to be turned to two individuals who had caused significant problems for a good friend of mine. A situation they had inflicted upon her, of no fault of her own, including getting physical with her without provocation. The Chimera affected almost instant poltergeist activity against the offenders – this occurred the following morning whilst I was talking to her, much to her delight. This shows the physical effectiveness of such actions, when correctly carried out with support of the witch gods. What can be shared of this further is obviously little until the situation has fully resolved – if anything – but as of last speaking, both these people were going far, far away. A successful result if ever there was one.

Lastly, the week has seen the start of a full reorganisation of the Temple texts. The initiation of a new black degree candidate this coming Samhain has necessitated a overhaul of both the process and teaching material documents, with many new texts being written. I hope to build on these going forward, so that I can build a solid process to help train future stellar initiates. This however, takes a backseat to the personal work as my primary aim remains the completion of the Dragon Workings.

Hopefully this gives an insight into the activity here. Still kicking – still going – after a very challenging year and a half, which I feel has certainly been felt by all. I hope that by Samhain, both the dragon rites are all polished off and we will be welcoming a new black initiate.

Hail to you Hecate,
Lord of the Dragon of the Sky,
Whose Tail coils in the Depths,

Whose Body encircles the Earth,
W
hose Jaws holds the Cosmos,
Hear my Prayer,
Pour out your Starfire onto the Earth
Fill us with your Divine Light
Heal our souls,
Relieve our burdens,
And set us free,
O Green Eyed Queen,

Of Highest Heaven
~S~

Until The Light Takes Us: Samhain Blessings

Posted in Occultism, Paganism, The Path of Flames with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 31, 2020 by Sypheara

A lot has happened in a year… if 2019 was the zenith, 2020 has certainly been the nadir. I feel that many of us feel that way – having dealt with (and continue to deal with) the fallout the pandemic has brought to our personal, professional, and spiritual lives.

So this year, Samhain is a difficult one to celebrate. How do we dig deep and perform our devotionals in a year such as this? It is simply because we must. Regardless, the wheel of the world turns, and the only route forward is upwards and onwards. This is not something that is easy for me to say, for the year has cost me dearly.

I can now state publicly that my father died around two weeks ago, which came as a difficult shock to say the least. Hecate heard my prayers, and a situation that could have been long and drawn out was thankfully, and mercifully, brought to a swift close.

For the temple it has been a rollercoaster as well. This year marked the temples first full Black Degree initiate, as well some of the most powerful rites performed (in regards to the dragons) and in regards gnosis granted from such. However, the pandemic slowed down construction work on finalising the interior space and altars, and has created some distance between me and the initiate (albeit, they are still involved with the Temple and myself, in a different capacity).

That said, Samhains Eve has blown me away. The Facebook group for the current carried out a powerful devotional rite, and I’ve been really touched and impressed by how people have taken to it – with very physical results for many of the rites. We have also had many long term neophytes finally initiate. To all of these people I extend a warm hand of welcome, I hope Hecate takes you in hand and delivers you to where you need to go on this path and current. You do not walk alone.

I have also gone ahead and offered another devotee the chance to initiate at the Stellar Temple.. something I hope he is able to pursue in the future. Seeing beyond this turning inward, I can see an explosion of growth. The future for the current and stellar way is bright – I can see it in the loving hearts of its devotees, in the stillness of night.

Whilst I decided to not share the full devotional rite, as I want to keep it specifically for those actively involved in the current who could get direct feedback, I wanted to tonight share the devotional prayers we utilised for our group working with the wider community. I hope they are a blessing in dark times…. with adaptation they could be used in any Sabbat or Esbat working, but I feel they are particularly powerful at this time of death and renewal.  A short post but one I wanted to very much make.

Blessed be to all on this, our most hallowed of nights. Let our minds turn to the Old Gods and our Dearly Departed, as we celebrate and journey to the Sabbat Mount…

Samhain, Photography / Artist unknown.

First Prayer of Devotion – Hecate

‘Hecate, Hecate, Hecate,

I call to you in the Stillness of Night,

On Hallowed Samhains Night,

With steadfast mind and committed heart;

‘Hecate, Hecate, Hecate,

Hear my prayer,

O Mighty Queen of Deepest Hell!,

O Fertile Mother of the Green Earth!,

O Beautiful Empress of Highest Heaven!

Source of of All Elven Blood,

She who holds the Nine Universes in her Hands,

And who with a whisper

Can even command Atlantis to kneel,

Hecate, Hecate, Hecate,

Accept my love,

As I give my thanks and praise to you,

O Mighty Imperishable One,

I request of thee,

Take my hand,

Forever be by my side,

Mother and Lover Divine,

By the Power of your Holy Words

Askion, Kataskion, Lix, Tetrax, Damnameneus, Aisia

So it will be.’

 

Second Prayer of Devotion – Lucifer

‘Lucifer, Lucifer, Lucifer,

I call to you in the Silence of Night,

On Hallowed Samhains Eve,

With steadfast and committed heart,

Lucifer Lucifer Lucifer,

Hear my Prayer,

Lord of the Necromantic Black Sun,

Ruler of the Life Giving White Sun,

Master of the Rubric Gem of All Creation,

Laughing God Supreme,

Lord of Death, Life and Illumination,

Lucifer, Lucifer, Lucifer,

Accept my love,

As I give my thanks and praise to you,

O Laughing God Supreme,

All Glory to the Peacock of Paradise,

Brilliant One,

I request of thee,

Soothe my Pains,

Empower me with thy Essence,

And forever illuminate my Path,

Father and Lover Divine,

By the Power of your Holy Words,

Lu-Thay-Ce-El, Ash-Teh-Ray, Lucifer’

 

Third Prayer of Devotion – Belial

‘Belial, Belial, Belial,

I call to you in the Soundlessness of Night,

On Hallowed Samhains Night,

With steadfast and committed heart,

Belial Belial Belial,

Hear my Prayer,

O Keeper of the Flesh of the Earth,

Ruler of the 72 Spirits of Goetic Might,

Lord of the Devils Throne,

Scorpion God Supreme!

He whose words Create and Destroy

Whole Worlds of Existence.

Belial, Belial, Belial,

Accept my love,

As I give my thanks and praise to you,

Pathfinder of the Ways of Amenta,

Lord of Compassion and Malice,

Of Blessed Beast and Field,

Blood and Bone,

I request of thee,

Guide and Protect Me,

Arm and Armour me in your Sacred Flesh,

Preparing me for the road ahead,

By the Power of your Holy Words,

Vel-Hayla-Anti-Ock-Serash-Seh-Haylish-Belial’

 

Fourth Prayer of Devotion – Sepheranz

‘Sepheranz, Sepheranz, Sepheranz,

I call to you in the Solitude of Night,

On Hallowed Samhains Night,

With steadfast and committed heart,

Sepheranz, Sepheranz, Sepheranz,

Hear my Prayer,

O Apocalyptic Goddess Supreme,

Ruler of Atlantis,

She who brings Kings to their Knees,

She whose Word lays Nations low,

She who wipes away All Corruption without Mercy,

Sepheranz, Sepheranz, Sepheranz,

Temptress and Seductress,

Accept my love,

As I give my thanks and Praise to you,

Oh Beautiful Orb Weaver Goddess,

Who spins the Web of New and Old Creation,

I request of thee,

In the Name of Hecate First Goddess,

Cut away all that is unneeded,

Freeing me to do what is needed,

What is right,

On this Path of Ascension and Devotion,

As I whisper your name,

Sepheranz.’

 

Hecate, Queen of Hell, Mark Alan Smith

Devotional Sealing Prayer of The Trident

‘Here I kneel (stand),

On Hallowed Samhains Night,

Before and Embraced by the Power of the Trident

At the centre of All Worlds,

Where All Begins,

Where All Ends,

Where even a Whisper changes Fate itself,

Here Within the Cauldron of the Dark Goddess

I am Reborn

All Weariness is cast from my Body,

All Doubt is cast from my mind,

All Weakness is cast from my soul,

In Love and Honour,

Here my Sacred Promise, O Mother,

For I am a Child of Fiery Hell,

For I am a ChiId of Bountiful Earth,

For I am a Child of Starry Heaven,

Your child goes forward Now,

Unafraid,

In Love,

In Honour,

In Devotion,

I will walk your Path to its completion,

Beyond the Gates of Death itself,

O Green Eyed Queen of Hell’

~S~

 

 

Behemuth: Earth Dragon Supreme

Posted in Stellar Gnosis, The Path of Flames with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 17, 2020 by Sypheara

Well the world has certainly erupted into even more of a shitstorm – the powers at work coil around everywhere and agitate the systems of man from both ends. The rot at the very top, and very bottom, of the world soul are exposed. In the hearts of individual men and women, on all sides of the political spectrum, we see a regression to violence as the powers that be whisper words into their ears. It is in this context I now relate the working of Behemuth that happened around a six weeks ago now. After all… this is not a political blog.. and as someone who believes a political solution is pointless to seek amongst reactivated Atlantean curse, dwelling further would be a pointless waste of effort. All praise to Sepheranz and Belial.

The moon before last we gathered up our things, the essential tools of the trade, and set out under cover of darkness during our countries strict quarantine period with one goal. To raise the power of the great earth dragon, and make contact with this entity itself. All with the goal of unlocking the second set of dragon gates within the soul, opening the way to completing Lucifers Pillar after a series of difficult years and deep work.

This involved as usual, a hike across the countryside at dusk. There is something about the twilight hours which make them quite special, and on this night magick seemed to hang in the air. There was quite a bit of farmland to cross to get to where we were going. Our destination? A small but powerful little waterfall that earlier research and recon mission had identified as being a potent gateway for the work to be conducted.

Behemuth is the Earth Dragon in our witchcraft, and powerful spirit who is raw primal force under the command of Belial. He is more ideally worked with in a location within the wilds – rather than an indoor temple. As such, like the Leviathan rite it was deemed necessary for the theurgic work that this ritual was conducted at a relevant place of power; A place where the veils are so to speak, thin.

Examples such a place would be the intersections between the dragon lines, which can be doused or otherwise sought via intuitive walks and other methods. Alot of caves, waterfalls and other locations have the correct energy to draw him out, if the genius loci is in alignment with the work at hand.

Tom Gill Waterfall, Cumbria, by David Stanley

This area was one such place. A gem of a location hidden in the countryside (note: not the one pictured above, to keep its location secret), not too far from our small cottage base here in the countryside. Brought to it via intuition, we had already been here by this point. Our initial first visit was purely to establish working contact with the spirit of place. This went very well.. the strange energies of the guardian spirit being like lashes of purple energy that flickered around the soul. It felt dormant, appreciative, but also possessive of it’s space when roused. It took some time to truly settle everything and make the necessary mental pact which would secure this as the place for Behemuths summoning.

With the acquired gate sigil already given by Belial in intuitive work, what remained to be done was similar to the original Leviathan working detailed previously. The power of the circle was taken as high as could be managed, to triformus level. Hecate, Lucifer, Belial and Surgat were directly summoned to full evocation and the trees opened fully.

The power of the rite was such that Belial was physically and clearly seen.. at the south of the circle overseeing the work. I locked eyes with his black hooded and cloaked form, before he stepped back evaporating into a dark cloud that shrouded the work from interlopers.

As before, the initiate was responsible for the evocation of the fifth element – a lord of the angelic hosts, who brings the balanced empyrean force to help stabilise the raw power vacuum that is felt when the circle is torn open to walk beyond. With this done, Behemuth himself was invoked directly into the roaring waters of the waterfall. Its huge form could be seen coiling around the rushing waters and the whole area throbbed with such warmth on what was otherwise a mild night.

It is to be noted the ritual to evoke him here was similar, but still quite different from that given in the QoH. That is because of the necessary differences and aims of this rite, when worked with on the Stellar Path of Ascent. The main overseer is still Belial, and it is he who holds the full control of the Earth Dragon in this rite. Hecate and Lucifer balance, Surgat opens the way, and the Angel provides the energetic stability to the injured circle.

With the ritual actions performed and a path opened in blood, I left the circle of night and descended into the cool waters until, in full possession, i stepped entirely into the summoned form of Behemuth.

The reaction was immediate, similar to that of Leviathan. Whole body electricity wracked my form and caused me to physically groan. There was no use fighting the great serpents possession, as its coiled around me and placed its head over my subtle bodies. As it bit me, our forms became one, its shell dissolving and merging through mine. Unlike the combining with Leviathan however this did not feel alien.. but wholly terrestrial, like something experienced before but forgotten. As the snake energy rose along the spine, I could feel my aura growing serpents that pushed upwards and outwards of our conjoined form. Some broke away, slithering down into the rocks. As I dripped with Ophidian energies, Behemuth sent a strong thought impression, not unlike that of Leviathan. This was more nurturing and less harsh, albeit one said with force and power that in no way was dwarfed by that entity. Whilst it was not really said with words, but again pure thought, I can best translate it as follows.

Earth Dragon by Esther Remmington (above)

“I welcome you Home, Creature of Earth.
Long you have travelled,

But you have found what you seek,
In the Embrace of the Dragon.”
Behemuth

At this time I let the merging continue until it hit a equilibrium of power. The heat was immense, and despite being immersed in the waterfall, I felt incredibly warm. As things worked themselves through, Behemuth eventually withdrew. Unlike Leviathan this was less harsh, and less rapid, but as with Leviathan once communion was done, he made it clear to remain was folly. The waterfall became seemingly stronger, and I slowly returned to the circle to close down the rite.

As I lay there in the circle before full closing, panting with the exertion, the black initiate facilitated in balancing the work. Once this was done, everything was closed down and communion was held until it was time to leave. Liberal amounts of hard spirit were left for the genius locii and the Gods, we returned with our way again lit by the small oil lantern. On the way back the moon was giant, pure illuminating rays of light dancing out across the fields. An owl seemed to follow us home. All good omens on our way back to our lodgings.

It would be several nights of sleep until the gate fully unlocked. In full lucid dream state, I was awoken by Hecate, her form draped in flowing black robes, on an unknown rocky beach. A harsh sea licked the shore, and she directed me to a waiting Lilith who stood atop a pillar of interlocking basaltic columns. Here, Lilith gifted me with something unexpected.  A large key, which seemed to the sight to be emblazoned with power and one large, central searching Eye. She placed it around my neck, and drew me in close. At this point, the scene dissolved into inky waters and various explorations of the world soul commenced. So intense in bilocation were these that even while experiencing them, I could feel and hear the rapid eye movements of my sleeping body.

These explorations have left me to consider the nature of the last ‘seal’ given by Leviathan. Is it a seal alone or is it also a shield? How does this relate to the key? I feel only working further with the Sky Dragon will finally reveal the full nature of these gifts and pave the way to opening Lucifers Stellar Pillar Gate. Thus, the way to the final construction will be laid bare and the completion of the Four Pillars of Belials Stargate and the full commencement of the work with the Hidden Planetary Gods. This is I feel going to be an important few years for my work and the completion of the first part, the part I have termed The Work of the Ivory Spider. Only further internal workings after this to establish the spirit familiars of the underground caverns will expand this to a level I am happy to call this work in anyway complete.

On that note, I leave you all hopefully in good spirits. Everything is difficult right now. Put yourselves, your loved ones and your Gods first. Put trust and love in the divine and not in the myriad lies of man that seek to divide and bring to ruination at all turns. Thus will the world soul be healed and saved.

All Hail the Great Dragon,
Who Worms his Way around the Earth
On whose Backs we have Grown,
In Love and In Honour,
In Blood Tooth and Claw,
Nurtured by the Keeper of the Forest,
The Prince of the Earth,
The Lord of Eternal Fire
And the Empress of the Fathomless Heaven
We accept our Birthright,
As Children of Hell Heaven and Earth,
Nothing will prevail against Us,
Until the World is Healed
And our Duty is done.
~S~