Archive for Dreams

Sacred Song: Work on the Astral Planes

Posted in Occultism, Paganism, Stellar Gnosis, The Path of Flames with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 14, 2020 by Sypheara

So it has been a quiet but quite productive last few months. Planning for the next and final dragon ritual is well underway, and I’m hoping that the climate as it were will be conducive for its performance as required on this part of the path: under the open sky, in a remote high up place of power. Only this will be suitable for the calling in of the next dragon, communing  with it in the hopes of acquiring what is necessary, and thus opening the way to the completion of Lucifers Stellar Pillar Gate.

In the meantime, the state of the World Soul has been quite difficult to navigate. On the immediate astral or mirror world, and the the deeper inner planes, the turmoil of the above is reflected on the below. This can cause the effect of feeling as if one is swimming through a thick soup – and generally is something hard to deal with. That is not saying anything of the additional stresses that the current situation has brought upon everyone that can tangibly felt.

This is the perfect time to take solace in our work and our patrons, and do work which can help alleviate this somewhat. Hecate and Lucifer have given us the tools to connect to them, and find the strength we need. In the primal craft group on that social media site(tm), I decided to ask the following which got a great response.

‘How much does song / music play into your devotional or ritual work with the Goddess? I know that there are some wonderful musicians in here, but not just music, but as in devotional song or prayer. How do you fit it in to your practice? Do you find it helps revitalise you given the current situation? And have any of you used it in inner planes work?’

I got an absolute deluge of fantastic answers from the very talented people in the community, as to what worked for them or conversely, what didn’t (just as important when it comes to solid connection during ritual and devotional practice).

For my own part, I have used song in devotional practice for awhile now. This is one of the ways in which I connect to and draw down Hecate, in preparation for greater work and simply as a form of worship. A term some might not be comfortable with, but which I see as important when our path is a devotional one. I have used select songs for initiation and ritual work at the temple, and although i’m not particularly musically gifted, have utilised instruments in ritual to some potent effect.

 Hymn to Hekate, by Magin Rose, an excellent modern contribution for devotional work.

In particular, and the reason for this post formulating in my mind in the first place, was the occurrence of the use of song not on the physical, but on the astral planes, and the potential for vast changes it instilled upon me as a possibility. This is something I have done for awhile on a very low level, but I only saw the true power of it whilst journeying the other night. What happened seemed to be on a whole other scale, an incident which I will now relate.

Whilst travelling, I had penetrated into a dark, expansive plain of grey that was mostly featureless – just dust swirling around me in all directions creating a fine mist that made it difficult to see. It tasted like fine cement or ash, as if it was what remained after a huge fire had swept through the area. At the time , I felt strangely disorientated, lost, and lacking power. One of the ways to earth in such a situation is to use the sigil of the three crossed staves, or if wanting to return immediately, the sigil of universal gateways to return without disorientation to ones body. Both of these did not seem appropriate – it felt like I was in this place for a purpose. That I could not leave until someone had been done, enacted, architected, built.

So I tried something new. I simply began singing, directed at Hecate, to bring in as much power as I could to this otherwise empty and desolate place. It felt like only her power, brought into where I was, could change the landscape before me and knit together what I felt was missing. Fill what was hollow. I began singing.. a simple hymn of the temples own devising here (written by the initiate), and felt the dust begin to swirl. Over time i could feel it whipping up in a roar, and started to change colour. First, it slowly transformed into dull yellow as colour bled in. It seemed to intensify, coalescing into a shape or figure, and the glow became a mix of deep oranges. This soon solidified into intense, rich golds as the form of Hekate Phosphorous appeared, blazing from head to foot. The harmonic resonance of the plane seemed to match that of my own voice, as warmth and colour bled outwards back into the entire area. The song evolved, flowing naturally.

Hekate Phosphorous by Hellfurian-Guard

This elevated to a merging of myself and the plane with Hecate herself, a sort of planar transvocation. The sheer stellar and empyric power that poured out of her and into and through me was of a level I have not experienced with her in this form up to this point. As the crescendo built to climax, I returned to my body suddenly, bolt awake. There was no boundary at all, as if it was completed with the snap of someones fingers. I felt intensely energised, the waves of stellar energy still vibrating up and down along the spine. I let the energies calm before getting on with the rest of my day, mentally filing away the occurrence as something to detail when possible.

The exact nature of what permanent change may or may not have occurred is not yet apparent, nor have I been able to identify the plane where this occurred with any certainty. I feel it was a subplane connected to the world soul, that part of the near astral. It is something I look forward to exploring further, especially now the efficacy of performing magic with song on the planes has been revealed to me.  I would be interested, as to if anyone else has had any experiences doing similar whilst travelling in such a manner.

Wrapped in the Flames of the Goddess,
We walk in and by her Light,
Through the Dark Places
Of Old Witch Night

~S~

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Leviathan: Sea Dragon Rising

Posted in Stellar Gnosis, The Path of Flames with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 14, 2019 by Sypheara

It’s been just over three and a half weeks now since me and the new initiate set off with one goal in mind. The raising up, and working with Leviathan. This mighty sea dragon has a rich and interesting history. The name Leviathan (לִוְיָתָן – ‘Livyatan’) literally translated from Hebrew apparently has the meaning of ‘wreathed, twisted in folds’. This is an excellent description of this great creature, as we will go on to see. This is a direct continuation of an older root name derived from the Amorites, who had an identical sea serpent within their teachings who was known as Lôtān. The belief in great dragons plays into the motif of the Chaoskampf,  which occurs again and again in cultures world wide. I leave the mythological / legendary information to be passed on by those far more knowledgeable than myself. Here, I will concentrate on a very personal account of working with this entity.

The Destruction of Leviathan by Gustave Doré

The approach and understanding of Leviathan within Trident Witchcraft has only barely been explored. So for our own meeting with the Great Dragon, to say I undertook the operation with anything but great trepidation would be a complete lie. If one believes as trident witches do in the actual existences of these entities, then meeting face to face with an entity with the power to create walls of broiling water and drown one without the slightest compunction should be one approached with utmost caution. Doubly so when the intention of that rite is to walk into an open vortex within the very element that makes up the Great Dragons body.

We arrived on the chosen beach earlier in the day of the full moon, at high tide in order to observe the seas motion. There could be absolutely no complacency here – the last thing we wanted to do is underestimate the power of the ocean. This was just one beach of several we had inspected, but this one seemed relatively ideal. A small spit of land jutted out into the water, protected from the full force of the tall 18 foot waves by a wave cut platform. It was here we decided the rite would be conducted. The energy of the place felt extremely raw and elemental, but right. Despite the weather being customarily foul, one cannot expect sunshine and rainbows in November on this bleak but beautiful coast, we decided to go ahead with the ritual at around 11 pm.

We waited until close to that time, and set off as warmly wrapped up as we could. The beach wasn’t too far from where we were staying – but far enough it would take a least a reasonable amount of time to get there in the dark. We took the necessary equipment – the stellar amulet  of Lucifer, a small obsidian keystone empowered in Surgats energies, the stave and a small kerosene lamp being the primary but not only tools of the work.

One of the markers was still there – a dead and decaying seal a reminder of the primal power of the ocean. We passed it and found the spot, that perfect little piece of land that jutted out bordered on three sides by the sea. The ritual began as the water begin to come into the bay, under the beautifully clear starlight. Orion hung majestically in the sky, the raw power of Betelgeuse evident as it hung like a jewel some seven hundred light years away. It felt as if the entirety of the heavens rotated around the ritual point, for that brief moment revolving around the axiom of the crossroads we were to open. The omens seemed good and the wind had calmed, so we decided to proceed.

The circle itself was anchored utilising the kerosene lamp, and the area prepared for the ritual with the stave. To digress slightly, the fluid nature of water means a static circle is insufficient for working with this element in many cases. Invocational possession was affected to triformus level, and Hecate, Lucifer and Belial all evoked to the circle edge. Working with Surgat, the required formulation on the edge of the circle was carried out. Next,the obsidian stone was blooded liberally to act as the stellar key to enact the necessary transition safely.

With the temple initiate of the black degree anchoring the working with the help of an attendant celestial entity sent by the Gods as a fifth pillar of the work, I walked to the waters edge and carried out the final evocation of Leviathan. The act of casting the obsidian stone into the onrushing waters, was the sign the call itself was complete. I waited until the moment felt right and walked into the freezing waters at the point of manifestation of the vortex. The serene moment was suddenly shattered by an immediate on rush of pure power, that was akin to being electrocuted. My entire body went rigid in the water as it felt like powerful shocks ran rampant throughout my body. I was unable to move for what felt around five minutes as the serpent held me in its grip. At this moment its serpentine energy flooded me and I got a glimpse of Leviathan itself. This flickered between two forms. The first was a large silver scaled sea serpent with vestigial wings, of such pure stellar beauty that it is difficult to describe with words. The second appeared as a gigantic deep sea creature, looking similar to a eel-like version of a dragonfish, complete with distended jaws and bio-luminescent skin. It’s body was arrayed with a series of eyes that ran the length of it’s body. These two forms overlaid each other and switched rapidly like an flickering old television screen tuned to conflicting channels for around ten or so seconds.

Leviathan, artist unknown

This vision calmed and I felt Leviathans energy moving within me. The possession had come on quickly and suddenly, and in the powerful hold of it I was driven to a fresh sacrificial offering of blood. As it spilled into the water, I was compelled to partake of it directly. Leviathan imparted to me via impression that drinking some of this blood during this stage of the work was a seal upon the possession itself, the snake eating itself to become whole. As I began to assimilate the energies of this union, it calmed to a more subtle level. I saw flashes of the seals actually breaking, and a new mark being placed upon the subtle body.

I let the experience slowly subside until Leviathan let me know the work was complete. He withdrew quite rapidly, almost as quickly as the possession arrived. The way in which he made clear the rite was over wasn’t so much as done with spoken word but instead something indicated by ‘psychic impression’. There was no voice but almost a feeling that formed almost visible words in the minds eye with their forcefulness. ‘Your work is complete, and your offering received. Now leave this place, lest you be devoured by my waves. For my sea yields not for any man who stands foolishly in it’s way.’  This repeated in my mind – inescapable, raw, forceful and pressing. I returned quickly to the circle and with the invaluable help of the initiate closed up the rite quickly and effectively as demanded by Leviathan. We left the beach quickly and headed back to immediately get warm and recover from the experience.

The aftermath was one of quite honestly, serious exhaustion. The ritual had the effect of stressing the physical and astral bodies after its performance which has meant I’ve had to rest up considerably for the last few weeks. This is the less ‘glamorous’ side to this form of possession work. This working also capped a period of very intense rituals, and was by far the the strongest, meaning I was pushed to my current limit in this timeframe. In the time since, I have had a strong visitation from Leviathan via the lunar gates indicating that one full lunar cycle later, the gnosis could be extracted in full re the seal granted to me for full recording in the magickal records that are kept here. That work is to be done tonight via dream work, and tomorrow as follow up work and proper documentation of what is sent as energy allows.

The observant will have noticed I have only given very general formula for the working above. That is because this ritual is dangerously close to a circle breaking rite and involves working within active vortices – both of which could go very wrong if not approached right. Those who are not properly initiated run extreme risk in these workings, and even those properly prepared can have quite serious issues integrating the risen energies. As such I do have to put a sensible caution out there to anyone expecting to work with him in this identical way. It is also note to caution that similar to Surgat, he is difficult to work with and not particularly fond of our kind, especially due to current circumstances.

From here on out I’ll be focusing on the initiates training and growth as well as preparing for the following rites with the other great dragons. I hope to complete the work of the dragons, and Lucifer and Belial’s Stellar Gates by the end of 2020, gods willing. This is ambitious but achievable. I feel it is time to get onto the workings of the stellar whirlpools and the planetary gates themselves. As until this work is done, the stellar temple cannot be formed.

I hope this has been an interesting introduction to Leviathan, albeit one that I feel barely does this great entity justice. I feel this is just the start of a long working relationship with this spirit, and a healing / empowering of my own inner / outer landscapes for whats to come.

To you who encircles the Earth,
Oh great dragon of Chaos,
Beautiful radiant serpent of Light,
Dark nebulous serpent of Dark,
O Great and Terrible Ophidian One,
In Love and Honour we call to you now,
To he who nurtured us,
To he who strengthened us,
To he who sent us forth,
Wrapped in the scales of Young Creation,
In Primal Times forgotten by Man,
We give to thee our eternal thanks and devotion,
We ask of you now,
Send us your strength, 
To fortify our bodies,
To ready our minds,
To prepare our Souls,
To do what needs to be done,
In the Aeon of Lucifer,
In restoration, hope.
In destruction, damnation.
Let the judgement of the gods be delivered,
By the guardian of the waters
Of She who came First. 
~S~

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Astral Flight: Of True Initiation

Posted in The Path of Flames, Traditional Witchcraft with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 6, 2019 by Sypheara

The last few months have been interesting, if gruelling, from a spiritual and mundane perspective. The mark of Surgat has now been taken, placed upon the back of the neck near the base of the skull, completing a pact with this great entity. This has allowed the decodification of gnosis that points to a much extended, and unanticipated set of workings which must be completed. Whilst it is frustrating that the goalposts seem to have been moved, it is sometimes necessary as part of theurgic work. The given rituals sent by the Gods must be completed as given – and must not be dodged or sidestepped out of frustration.

These next workings will involve the three great dragons of earth, sky and sea, and thus form part of the basis of an earthed nexion of power for Surgat on the physical and inner planes. Thus soul evolution is accomplished, and the final seal on this part of the work completed allowing for the final construction of Lucifers Stellar Pillar. Other entities have also come forth, helping to unlock and test on the inner planes, which also needs documenting and some exploration.

It has also had a disorientating effect of effecting time leaps in travelling work, allowing for the ingress and possession of previously incarnate souls to acquire snapshots of the past or future. This has been difficult to both relate and catalogue, and to understand as to why it is being shown. Unpicking the lucid snapshots from the more surreal night time travels is not an easy task and must be allowed to naturally progress rather than forced.

Combined with the above have been some difficult mundane circumstances which have left little time for blog material to be worked on. However, I wanted to put up some information in regards to true initiation. This has something that has come up in conversation with two individuals i’m currently facilitating towards becoming initiated in the craft. True initiation is where the Gods themselves, conduct a reverse evocation of the witches soul itself onto the inner planes in which to ignite the spark. Specifically for Primal Craft, it detailed explicitly and early in the tome, Queen of Hell, by Mark Alan Smith, and the experience itself is attested to historically in multiple places and traditions. It is not often discussed despite being an integral part to the working of witchcraft.

It can be induced or requested, or entirely initiated at the hands of the Gods themselves. Either way it is a beautiful process by which Hecate brings the soul onto the crooked path of Ascent, and one that should be pursued by someone upon taking the witchmark and undergoing the initiation on the material plane. Once experienced, it is a powerful acknowledgement and seal on the initiatory work on the inner planes and unlocks an incredible amount of inner potential that otherwise would remain locked away.

The following text is taken from an essay piece I wrote a few years ago entitled, ‘At the Crossroads of Eternity’. Due to a time limit expiring contractually, I am now able to share part of this piece with my readers. The extract below makes up the introduction for that piece, before the essay itself is properly started. It is however,  the most important part in relation to inner planes initiation and details my own initial meeting with both Lucifer and Hecate. It therefore is quite special to me and i’m glad to be able to finally share it widely, as a raw insight into this process. This particular version is taken from my own notes and may differ from the published, edited text, especially as I have further edited it to correct minor mistakes.

‘At the Crossroads of Eternity’ – (Extract)

‘The gift of the lightning of the Gods is real, a powerful force that flashes forth in a myriad of awakening dreams and prophetic visions, available to all who open their mind to be receptive of their presence. It is in these states that we are exposed to the Other side, descending deep to meet them. It is here in the black waters of the subconscious where the Gods and Spirits can be found in direct form, and contacted, beneath the interference of our surface thoughts which dominate our everyday life. This is from where the serpent sings its song.

Crystal Tower by Mon Macairap

It was in one of these states where I first met Him, the Horned God of the Pagan Path, known by many, many names. A sympathy with Lucifer had come natural to me, the adversary changed to teacher, the lies of the patriarchal sun cults rejected in favour of simply listening, learning, and striving. This began as a purely symbolic association, and cerebral recognition in sympathy, not a religious or spiritual relation. As a Nihilist Atheist , I felt I had no capacity for such insights and doubted their existence and veracity.

One night I had fallen asleep as usual, expecting the same surface dreams, and instead was presented with a vast, vista as far as the eye could see. An ice covered, frostbitten and glacial landscape, dominating my vision from which large, ice protrusions sprung forth like clawing fingers.

Beside me he stood, his first appearance shocking in its vividness as full lucid awareness took hold, appearing as a large, bipedal black goat of striking appearance, his eyes burning like hot coals. In a commanding and deep voice, he instructed me to follow him, across the wastes. I followed, turning my head to see where he was taking me in the distance seeing a large, ivory coloured tower that had previously gone unseen, which dominated the valley i found myself in. The sky above was black, unnaturally so, a ebony lake without stars and the entire landscape was infused by an unnatural white light seemingly originating from below the surface.

After what seemed like hours following this manifestation, lamp in hand, we reached the base of the tower. A long flight of steps ascended towards an arched entrance-way bereft of a door, and the entire structure seemed to be carved out of ice. Mist swirled around its base, slowly spiralling skywards.

He entered in front of me, into a large chamber support by pillars. To the far side stood the statue of an Angel, its wings snapped off pointing towards the ceiling. The whole area was bathed in a bright, azure light. Looking up, I could see that the stairs continued into a spiral, the whole construction rising up well beyond my sight.

I was beckoned to follow along. Slowly we ascended, step by step, each footstep great effort as time went on, the climb seemingly without end. After what seemed like an eternity, we reached the top, and entered into the top of the tower. Orthogonal in shape, a chill wind swept through the eight open windows of the tower, whipping up snow, and ice particles which littered the floor. Four lamp stands lay frozen on the floor, surrounding what looked like to be a flat, table of stone, upon which figure lay still.

The woman, unearthly beautiful, to all observations appeared dead. Skin blue with cold hung to an emaciated frame, and white hair fell from the edges of the table like waves frozen mid movement. It was then the spirit that identified itself as Lucifer spoke to me, slowly directly into my soul. His voice reverberated through my very being, like the cracking of stone and rumbling of earth.

“This is the Tower of the Crossroads. The energies of the ALL cross and enter here through the fabric of the soul. Without awaking the asura, you will not be able to connect to the Goddess of All. You have only two choices. Reject this path, and remain incomplete, and on the path to your own self imposed destruction, or accept it and receive the empowerments of the Goddess”

Moving towards the slab the sound of the stone seemed to reverberate, echoing from wall to wall. Even as I began to approach, a rising wave of sound of a harmonic and disharmonic nature seemed to fill the echo chamber of a room. A whole assortment of colours began to flood the eyes, even as I laid my hand upon the figures chest. At the moment of touch, the figures eyes opened to reveal dark orbs, in which purple energies swirled like fractal whirlpools. The entire scene exploded in light, and the dark sky was overtaken by an aurora of staggering magnitude. As the figure of Lucifer placed his hands upon my shoulders, I awoke.

From that point on the relationship with Lucifer was cemented and the connection with the Goddess first formed. Gnosis and direction intrinsically entered the waking and unconscious mind, invigorating and strengthening me. Overnight I had connected to something on an emotional and spiritual level which denied the action of being put into words, a fire which lit the body and slithered through the blood.’

Ice Angel, Unknown

I end this piece with the final paragraph of the essay itself, as it encapsulates the result of true inner planes initiation in a simple and succinct way.

‘The cognitive dissonance created by the lies of man and culture begin to fall away, and the snake shedding its skin finds it’s way back to the ocean of ancestral memory. Instead of drowning it realises its true nature, that of its ability to swim allowing it to experience an entire new spectrum of being. It slides into the waters, ripples lost amongst the waves in silence. From beneath the surface a multitude of voices rise from the deep but one in particular makes itself clear, the voice of the mother of the sea calling her kind to her to be united as ONE.’

Ave Hecate,
Empress of Hell, Heaven and Earth,
Ave Lucifer,
Emperor of Red, Black and White,
We thank you for the True Initiation,
Upon the Path of the Wise,
On this Dark Witch Night,
Forever may we Walk,
Embraced in Your Shadow and Light

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A Step Out of Phase: The Mirrorworld

Posted in Occultism, Other with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 17, 2017 by Sypheara

Before we get to it, an update! So I have finallymanaged to move into my new house, and have set up an extremely basic altar consisting of both familial dolls and the central fetish piece in the new ritual room. Over the coming months, I hope to evolve this up into a new, fully seated indoor temple with correct spaces for all of the four witch gods. This includes Sepheranz, who up to this point I have never had a dedicated space for. I know that Sepheranz is particular requests this of people – no single shared altar is really fitting for Sepheranz. Im looking forward to explore my innate link to her and her more esoteric aspects that are suitable for myself in the coming months ahead. An altar to the Lord of the Dark Star is also under consideration, as well as a place at the west for the Ivory Spider.  This will allow the correct energetic space to pursue the opening of Lucifers Stellar Gate, an important pillar to begin the third of the phases of opening Belials Stargate in the flesh and soul. I am also preparing something for a local group, with the help of another Hecatian Witch for the Sabbat, so times are pretty busy here!

This post is actually one I’ve been meaning to put up for awhile now, and it addresses what I simply call the ‘Mirrorworld’. In many different occult texts, you will see many different diagrams, theories, arrangements for the differing realms that surround and penetrate our own, thus making up the All. These often come with many interchangeable and confusing terms which often don’t seemingly relate to our own experience as occultists and witches.

So far, working with the Witch Gods, the Trees have proven a very useful and valid map for exploring both the Nightside and Dayside realms which make up our own Universe. However, one of the more interesting realms, by far the most visited one for me, is the one mentioned above, the Mirror World.

This realm seems to be the closest to our own – being just one small slip or step out of phase with it, best accessed through the Dreaming Gates. From my experience, this Mirror Realm acts almost as a film that surrounds Malkuth/Nahemoth, and from here the tunnels seem to connect to the realms known as Yesod / Lilith through chthonic or lunar paths that are revealed. It is a strange in between place, that is both aerial and chthonic at the same time and for me acts as a primary point of ingress to the Other.

I call it the mirror world or mirror realm because simply, the place appears as a flip side to our material world, looking as if it has been run through a harsh grayscale or colour desaturation filter, and literally abounds in some places with many, mirrored surfaces as reflections in all materials seem heavily amplified. The nearest term I can find that matches this is Etheric Plane, but it is so inadequate as a term and misleading due to its etymology that I do not describe it as such. The areas within this realm as usually counterparts of their real ones, although usually more structured, devoid of many details and with many areas smoothed or minimalised.


Hall of Mirrors, Harold Davis

Sound, light and weather within this realm depend on the region. Some places have no sound whatsoever, as if every surface was made up of some sound swallowing material. Everywhere else the sound is almost muted, as if coming from a point underwater. Light also varies – some areas are harshly contrasted, as if you are standing somewhere without an atmosphere whilst still being recognisably on ‘earth’. Other areas are lit as if by an unseen, non existent light source which hits all surfaces equally removing all shadows.  Weather also varies – from raining downwards, raining upwards, to raining shards of glass or other objects. and usually areas are windless. The sky is either completely clear and cloudless or everywhere is covered in a dark, thick white mist like something out of, for lack of a better description to fall back on fictional examples,  Silent Hill or Stranger Things.

The sun is never observable in the sky here – attempting to look for it seems to never succeed – the moon is always there, and appears as either one of three archetypes. White, and bleeding a strange, clear liquid. An ominous, black ball surrounded by fire like an eclipse. Or lastly, dark earth like red, weeping blood.

Vegetation in this place is always autumnal colours, or otherwise of dark foliage. Trees in the main are leafless, although some evergreens still stand twisted and gnarled.  The temperature of the entire realm seems to be lukewarm – only once did a temperature change occur when I was here, plummeting rapidly caused by one of the strange inhabitants that lives in this place.

Photographer unknown

The beings that reside here are strange indeed. The most obvious inhabitants are the human and animal dead – this in between place seems especially the home of some of these lost souls. Once I remember walking in a deserted city, the sky harsh white, each buildings glittering surface almost painful to look at. There i came across an old lady, who seemed distressed. I remember trying to calm her, but all she could do was protest over and over again, saying she was looking for something, this something I got the impression strangely, was a red balloon. She paid little attention to me, until she eventually looked at me with glazed over eyes and simply stated ‘Young people these days just don’t understand’ before she vanished in a cloud of dust from a wind that never existed.

Other inhabitants seem to be like something that has walked straight out of a Guillermo Del Toro movie, an assortment of various forgotten folk spirits that make up the weird menagerie that regular roams around this place. Few are threatening, most are strangle and bizarrely welcoming in nature. Vehicles are seemingly also mirrored in this realm – the spirits sometimes utilising them in strangely human like fashion to get from place to place. Angels with broken wings wander lost amongst these strange ruin like areas, and in the forest strange fae like creatures build dwellings with broken bricks and other detritus they’ve managed to scavenge. A lost traveller asking these entities to direct them will usually find themselves taken on an adventure that whilst illuminating in some manner, usually leaves them ever more lost. Sometimes valuable information can be found here off these entities which seem to have a capacity to see into the past, present and future. Some of them will actively come forward, guided by the Gods, to impart gnosis to the seeker who walks these realms.

Unknown work, Brian Froud

The overall feeling of the place is a neutral one. Some areas are more sinister than others, some are incredibly bright and strangely ‘vibrant’, as far as a place lacking strong or any colour can be. Just as some places are much more dangerous in our world, and others are very safe, so are the corners of this strange world. It is a place where it is incredibly easy to wander off the beaten track… whatever you encounter, the only thing you know is that its unlikely you’ll have come across it before..

Elements of the mirror world seem to remain static. However, sometimes, huge areas seem to change and morph, sometimes becoming quite incongruous with its counterpart on the physical, distorting into a more surreal landscape. As such, its important that the fact the realm is in a state of flux  is kept firmly in mind so that one does not becoming disorientated on travelling here.

At this point, I think many readers will be asking what makes this different from other kinds of dreamscape. One is ironically compared to the above point, is a strange consistency.  Despite changing environments, the general characteristics as described above hold continuously between penetrations to this realm. Secondly,  unlike a standard dreamscape, all visits to this place are generally incredibly lucid, with sounds, smells, even tastes vividly remembered if the transit here is of sufficient strength. Yet this place lacks the sheer raw energy or power which when encountered radiates over the traveller in other astral realms of the tree which lie far beyond it. It also seems to lack any particular hierarchy, for I have never encountered any of the Gods here other than near the aforementioned tunnels. As such, it seems a ‘playground’ for a myriad of entities that match its vibrational pattern.

Thinking on it longer, I believe that this is the same shamanic realm that is often talked about by other practitioners, albeit reflecting the current world soul and the impressions we leave on this realm by our daily interactions with each other and the world around us on the physical. I am reminded of a conversation with a friend.. Maybe spirits trapped between the living and the dead wander here, waiting for their souls to be retrieved by those who are curious, brave or just plain desperate enough to try.

Shadowman, Gregory Tom

Ave Hecate,
~S~

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Dreaming Deeply: Spirits in Sleep

Posted in Occultism, Other, The Path of Flames with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 7, 2016 by Sypheara

Hello all,

I hope you are having a great start to the beginning of October.. with Samhain rapidly approaching i’m finding myself kicking it up a gear when it comes to preparations for the nights ahead.

However I wanted to post today on something interesting, mainly due to several recent experiences. These have been quite powerful, and useful for my spiritual growth and I feel sharing it could be useful for people.

Many people have experienced powerful, deep dreams that are stark in their lucidity. Many people, in these states, have often met entities of some description, that seem overly familiar as if they have been met before. They often give advice, teaching, or even gifts of power. On waking many people do not remember these encounters, or file them away at the back of their minds as unimportant.

Little do they realise that they might have met with a familiar or guiding spirit in the Oneiric Realms.  I feel this is a great shame as these experiences have a great capacity to bring insight, and healing, to those who experience, remember and integrate them. What follows is some examples of my own experiences and a small method to help cement work with these entities.

My own experience with this form of contact has been varied and extensive, and it is one of the primary ways in which I work. That said, two experiences stand out in my mind as being extremely important, one being a new occurrence, and the other one old.

One of the first experiences I have ever had was meeting a spirit within a dream forest. I can remember the sweet, smell of the cherry blossoms that seemed to glow a subtle, golden white light upon their darkened black twisted stems. A cracked stone path led straight through these trees towards an old, rustic house of an exotic design that defies description in text, as a light breeze seemed to swirl around me. The air was cool, and crisp, and there was hardly any sound as if the whole forest was holding its breath. further away I could see evergreens, interspersed with the cold icy blossom trees, and there was a feeling as if one had stepped into some surrealist picture. Far down the path i could see a figure, abnormally slim and tall, dressed entirely in red. Their eyes possessed a relaxing, warm orange colour, that gave off a feeling of both youth and age all at once. Long, black hair seemed to fall down over the figures shoulders, and it was sat as if relaxing and enjoying this strange, abnormal morning. I felt drawn towards this figure, and approached and welcomed it.

This encounter would be a highly enjoyable one. I talked for many hours with this entity, that who neither at the time give me its name nor identity. But it gave me a lot of advice, advice that would strengthen me for difficulties at that time I was facing in my mundane life. It wouldn’t be the first time I would run into this entity – over many weeks, months and years I have met it again several times.. and only within the last few have I identified it as my primary familiar.

dreamscapeDreamscape by Piofoks

A more recent example occurred several weeks ago. I met an entity in dream, one that at first was challenging, even hostile. This entity appeared with the same, strange dimensions of that of the primary familial, except it was clearly appearing as Female. This entity possessed solid black eyes, ivory skin, and long, snake like hair. Despite her stand offish nature, she radiated a warm, welcoming aura that drew me to persist in asking her assistance. Once I had correctly introduced myself, this entity mellowed and taught me over the course of several days how to internalise some of the energies released by opening Hecates Stellar Gate. In the Waking World, she sent visions that identified her as a spirit that resides in Malkuth/Nehemoth, the spheres that lie closest to our world and merge with it, and that she is associated with the energies of the moon. She seemed in some way linked to Nahemah, something I have still not had clarified. However this work left me feeling refreshed, calmed, as if some of the energy from those difficult workings had finally been integrated. She also made it clear that she had been sent for this task, and was a specific familiar or oneiric spirit that had almost complete mastery of these realms and would therefore be an excellent guardian from some of the more intense, disturbing apocalyptic dreams that are being caused by rising currents from the World Soul.

Looking back on the above, it is not a surprise that these entities that have guarding/teaching roles are more likely to contact us in times of stress, or challenge. They are often specifically sent to aid us on our path, usually after subconsciously being requested. Engaging with them leads to an overall bettering of the situation as we work with them to complete the challenges set before us.

Once contact has been made through chance encounter or after a request to Hecate has been sent in initial work, there is a trick that can help facilitate and grow the connection with your own personal dream familiars and spirits.  Firstly, you will need to acquire the spirits name, sigil or ideally both. Once once is given, the other is usually just a matter of conducting further work with the spirit until both are deemed ready to share.

Take one small piece of paper, or thin piece of wood, and ritually consecrate and prepare it as detailed in earlier workings in the resources section. For paper, this usually involves a libation element, and both are cleansed with consecrated water and incense smoke. Once the material is ready, mark in ink or engrave the name, sigil or ideally both onto one side. The second side, should have the Sigil of the Universal Gateway, as detailed in Queen of Hell and as shown below.

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The Universal Sigil of Gateways, as detailed in the book ‘Queen of Hell’

Once completed, a call is given to Hecate  to thank her for assisting the work, and she is asked to open the gateway to her realms for the spirit to come forth during your dreaming phases. As this personal call is spoken, the gateway sigil is blooded. Once done, the sigil and name of the spirit overleaf is also blooded, with an individual call to that spirit to come forth and meet you, work with you and teach you in dream.

Once the above is done, this artefact becomes empowered and a direct conduit to the spirit involved. When sleeping, it should be placed under a pillow, or failing that, the bed in as close a proximity as you as possible to help facilitate its effects. When not in use, in should reside in or around the altar and should be treated as all other empowered items.

This method has been and continues to be an effective, simple way of working with these entities revealed to me. Further offerings of blood increases the effect. This sigil has many interesting properties for devotees who make use of it, and the symbolism inherent within it should be self evident.

I wish everyone a great run up to Samhain, and I hope to have more to share near the end of this month, going into the next.

Ave Hecate,
~S~

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Gnosis via the Eyes of the Gods

Posted in Greco-Egyptian, Occultism, Paganism, The Path of Flames, Traditional Witchcraft with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 26, 2015 by Sypheara

There are many ways in which the Gods deliver gnosis to those who have successfully forged a working relationship with them, or to those who they wish to bestow upon their gnosis. This can take the form of anything from vivid possession of the body and journeying in bilocation, to audible voices and intuitive experiences.

One common and powerful way they communicate and grant their gifts is via  the Eyes of the Gods. These manifest as gigantic eyes to our minds, usually during liminal, journeying experiences but some cases even without warning, superimposing themselves over our sight.

These manifestations are always vivid, made up of a dizzying array of colour and light. The sensation is that of a hyper real experience as the God manifests themselves in the form of their great eyes directly. This is often accompanied with an auditory sensation akin to a low or high pitched notes that oscillates endlessly. Each experience of the Eyes of the Gods is unique, depending on which God is manifesting and in which form they so choose. Common forms for these appearances as Serpentine, Mammalian and Compound eyes, but other more geoemetric arrangements can encountered and experienced.

Gazing into the eye in fascination is usually an automatic response, such is the alluring draw of these beings, ancient beyond comparison. Often when this is done, for any length of time, within the eyes the observer will become aware of a shifting pattern of lines, geometric shapes and quivering sine waves. Sometimes, these condense into a solid, powerful and radiant sigil.

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The Solar Eclipse, May 2013, Liscarroll National School

The Eye Sigils, although not the Eyes themselves, contain a vast amount of power. They can be roughly split into two categories: Ingressing, and Egressing. Note before I continue that these categories are purely to make working with them easier; it is a purely human, logical construction for the purpose as acting as a quick rule in regards to the applications of any particular eye sigil. This can (and definitely should) be backed up by further work with the entity which gave the original eye sigil.

Ingressing eye sigils direct power inwards. These eyes are great to work with in offering and devotion, and reveal great gnosis through their utilisation through contemplation and/or blood work. They primarily act as maps, keys and gates to other realms.

Egressing eye sigils direct power forcibly outwards, acting as potent protective and malefic tools, and also act as powerful sigils to create active and powerful gateways for earthing the currents of the witchgods.

As mentioned above, this rule is not hard and fast. The reality is that the majority of the time, an eye sigil is a mix of these depending on the reason why it was  gifted upon its observer in the first place. However in my experiences so far,  they are usually weighted to one of these categories and  are given for one specific use. Each should certainly be approached and understood on its own basis.

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The Eye of Horus, self edited

The appearances of these eyes cannot be forced, only requested, and are to be seen as fragments of the Gods themselves and respected as such. It is likely they will be encountered in invocation, if they make their presence known to the practitioner who invites them into their flesh.  They are also present when the Gods are watching us, although usually in a more distant format and is in these cases encountered primarily in the dream state. The first of these resolved eye sigils that were specifically granted to me, along with increased visions of these eyes, has been revealed as a vital part in the construction of the lower stellar body. It is through the constructed and empowerment of this body via which the Ivory Spider, along with a myriad of other Witch Gods, will allow for the full integration of the lower spheres for the crossing of the Abyss.

As contrast to the above, it can be easily demonstrated that such powerful eye sigils, and the eyes in general  in regards to magickal purposes have a precedent in many other cultures in the world. Both of the examples I use below could fill a post on their own, so I will keep it brief and the reader is encouraged to research further.

Egyptian culture has a famous example in the Eye of Horus. Horus was one of the most significant Egyptian deities, a stellar sky god of immense power. In one Egyptian myth, Horus was engaged in combat with  his uncle Set for the throne after his father, Osiris’s death. In said fight Set landed a blow which blinded Horus, entirely gouging out his left eye. This wound was later to be magically healed, in one strain of the story by the god Thoth. The lost eye of Horus, upon being recovered, was offered by Horus himself to his father Osiris in an attempt to once again resurrect him. This led to the Eye of Horus becoming linked strongly with protective elements, healing, and sacrifice, due to its sympathetic links with the actual severed eye of the God.

A different but none the less impressive example are the tales surrounding the protective and malefic power of the heads of the Gorgons, from the Greek classical period. Gorgons in the tales of antiquity are described as terrifying female monsters, possessed of hair comprised of living snakes as well as a stare that could turn a man to stone in an instant.  Perhaps due to their terrifying nature, great power, and associations with immortality, it was unsurprising that the head of the Gorgons would be fashioned and used in an amulet form, known as a Gorgoneion. This Gorgoneion was primarily used for protective purposes to avert the ‘evil eye’ of malefic intent turned towards its possessor or location it was drawn upon, in a way that could well be described as fighting fire with fire. The use of  this technique, known as Apotropaic magic, was widespread in the Mediterranean region at the time.

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Medusa by Arnold Böcklin, circa 1878

This short entry I hope has been of interest. Although seemingly simple it is a topic with vast depth, something I have found through exploring the stellar eyes of the Gods.  Further posts are forthcoming as work is completed and archived, but unfortunately I have temporarily been disrupted by my mundane situation, due to having to move house. This said, the PDF second part of Familiar Bonding will be completed and posted either on or hopefully soon after Samhain.

This will be the final PDF on the topics of Familiars for the foreseeable furture, and with the initial gnosis of both the Eyes and the Foundations of the lower body thus complete, work will begin on creating the three remaining stellar gates for the  for the preparation for the incorporation of the spheres and finally the crossing of the abyss itself.

Ave Hecate,
Ave Lucifer,
Ave Belial,
~S~

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Shapeshifting: Assuming Animal Forms (In Dream)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Red Spider Web, Artist Unknown

 

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

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

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 Forest, Artist Unknown

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

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

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

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

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New doll body, Self taken image

Thanks for reading as ever,

Ave Hecate,

Beloved Queen of Hell Heaven and Earth,

Ave Lucifer, 

Dark Solar Lord of the All Illuminating Flame,

Ave Belial,

Dark Horned Prince of the All Flesh of the Earth

Ave to the Witch Gods and Witch Kin this Night

~S~

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Arachnida as Totem and Overcoming Irrational Fear

Posted in Folk Belief, Luciferianism, Occultism, Paganism, The Path of Flames with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 10, 2014 by Sypheara

I wasn’t intending to write another post so soon, but with it being the anniversary of the blog the other day I felt motivated to write  another entry on a topic i’ve wanted to cover for awhile.

Spiders have always fascinated me. From a young age, I can remember being simultaneously fascinated and terrified by these eight legged creatures. As a self professed arachnophobe, I struggled like many others with my crippling  fear over the appearance of these creatures.

In one terrifying instance I can remember, clearly, was when one day I put on an item as a child, without checking it. I was rewarded with several, not one, but several of the creatures crawling all over my skin, in a desperate attempt to escape from what I can only assume was a life or death situation for them. The experience of their legs crawling across my skin had me literally petrified, unable to move or swat them off until they ran off and away from my body.

As I grew up I did not really confront this fear, even due to it being mostly irrational being from a part of the world where spider bites are almost always harmless due to the cold winter conditions limiting the types and sizes of arachnid that can survive. However, I did continue to find them,  and the power they held over me, very interesting but would be unable to watch, or read about them, for prolonged periods of time.

It was only as I started on my path that I decided to confront these fears in some manner. I forced myself to research them, to observe their pattern of behaviour, to turn them from a object of repulsion into one of reverence. In my own path, their are many spirits which are spider like, or linked to spiders, and it was through this association and encountering them that overtime I was able to accomplish this goal and realise just how potent and important these creatures are both physically and spiritually.

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Inverted colour version of a picture of a Mouse Spider taken by Fir0002 (link in image)

The spider features in many myths and legends throughout the world, usually present in one form or another. Their fearsome appearance and behaviour, coupled with their amazing web weaving skills, has inspired a myriad of stories about spider spirits and gods in all shapes and sizes. They appear in a malefic form, as well as benefic, and these often cross over in many varied ways.

For example in Japanese folk belief spiders make an appearance as Yōkai – spirits known as Tsuchigumo and Jorōgumo – that would lure their victims in to be devoured, concentrating on the predatory aspect. Interestingly, the Jorōgumo, a spirit that is said to reside at Jōren Falls as guardian, is also said to save people from drowning using it’s webs.

In other instances, the web weaving and instinctual intelligence of the spider gave voice to other emanations in the form of trickster gods linked with creation. These include such revered spirits and Gods as Anansi, god of all knowledge of stories from Western African belief and and Iktomi from Lakota Native American belief, a similar spirit who was also responsible for originally inventing language and stories, names and games before being made a spider for his trouble making ways. Another example would be Nareau or Lord Spider, who is found in the creation stories of the Kiribati people. In their stories, it is this timeless spider that lived in the eternal ‘Darkness of the Embrace’, before it gave birth to the world from a mussel shell.

Iktomi

A Modern Interpretation of Iktomi by Naomichanart

Not surprisingly these spider spirits also seem to have some degree of oracular ability, able to give advice on the future or as omens as appearing as physical creatures. In the case of Iktomi, it was said he provided a prophecy that told that ‘would spread his web over the land’, which some who believe in him believe has come true in the form of the modern internet. In addition, when hiding from the English after a case of another military defeat, the future king of Scotland Robert the Bruce was apparently inspired by the spider which seemed to indicate to him his goal was attainable, due to its resilience and persistence. He would later to go on to win Independence of Scotland from England.

It’s also of note to see that that in the majority of these beliefs, the spider is not seen as a purely ‘evil’ force – but also not one that can be trusted nor necessarily understood in a transparent way by the humans with which it interacts.

The spiders web has also often been used to describe the concept of the make up of the spiritual universe or multiverse.  One example of this would be the teaching of Indras net in the Avatamsaka Sutra, which is a concept which could be comparable to a spiders web.

‘Far away in the heavenly abode of the great god Indra, there is a wonderful net that has been hung by some cunning artificer in such a manner that it stretches out infinitely in all directions. In accordance with the extravagant tastes of deities, the artificer has hung a single glittering jewel in each “eye” of the net, and since the net itself is infinite in all dimensions, the jewels are infinite in number. There hang the jewels, glittering like stars of the first magnitude, a wonderful sight to behold. If we now arbitrarily select one of these jewels for inspection and look closely at it, we will discover that in its polished surface there are reflected all the other jewels in the net, infinite in number. Not only that, but each of the jewels reflected in this one jewel is also reflecting all the other jewels, so that there is an infinite reflecting process occurring. ‘

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Seal of Asmoday

In my own practice, many of these beliefs are definitely present in some form or another. They are emanated in different manners, and there are many Spirits, Gods and Goddesses that can take on the form of Spiders. Examples of these would include the daemons Asmoday and Lilith, to name but a  few. Lilith is a prime example – as the ruling Goddess of Gamaliel. Gamaliel is a realm associated closely with intense physical pleasures, which can border on the extreme. As a realm known for its vampiric qualities and spirits, and described as a network of bloodied tunnels, it is unsurprising that the Goddess takes on such a form which matches her realm closely.

It is from this realm where the lesser spider spirits from my own experience seem to descend when the phase of the moon is just before or after the new moon, when only the barest of threads of light illuminate the sky. These spirits are great hunters, and make no mistake, predators, which help clean the Earth of parasites of all kinds – human and non human. I believe have only ever encountered one fleetingly, in a dream state,  and it appeared to be more of the hunting spider type than one that relied on webs to catch its prey. It radiated a strength of purpose and presence, and spoke in a silkish, deep voice. Whilst not detecting any malignance, it certainly had a certain aggressive to its disposition.  It was interested in how or why I had stumbled across it, and it considered me intently for awhile, questioning me. After several minutes conversing with the thing,  it climbed away back into invisibility, seemingly satisfied with my answers and identity. I believe that these spirits could be excellently guardians if correctly approached, cared for, and used for temporary periods only and it is something that I am excited to explore in the future.

An excellent first hand account was given English writer and graphic novelist Alan Moore in an interview with Jay Babcock for Arthur magazine, in which recounted his own encounters with  Asmoday. This being appeared as a spider that was able to distort space and time within the vision which he received. He went on to detail this  :-

‘I also had an experience with a demonic creature that told me that its name was Asmoday. Which is Asmodeus. And when I actually was allowed to see what the creature looked like, or what it was prepared to show me, it was this latticework…if you imagine a spider, and then imagine multiple images of that spider, that are kind of linked together–multiple images at different scales, that are all linked together–it’s as if this thing is moving through a different sort of time. You know Marcel Duchamp’s “Nude Descending a Staircase”? Where you can see all the different stages of the movement at once. So if you imagine that you’ve got this spider, that it was moving around, but it was coming from background to foreground, what you’d get is sort of several spiders, if you like, showing the different stages of its movement.

Now if you imagine all of those arranged into a kind of shimmering lattice that was turning itself inside out as I spoke to it, and I was talking to my partner at the time and sort of saying, This thing’s showing us it’s got an extra dimension I haven’t got, and it’s trying to tell me that it’s good at mathematics. [laughter] It’s vain. There’s something fourth-dimensional about this. This is all stuff I was actually saying at the time, while I was having the experience, which was pretty extreme.

Anyway. Over the next couple of weeks I started researching Asmodeus and found out that actually, yeah, he’s the demon of mathematics.’

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Asmodeus by Alan Moore (1994)

As a form which has held so much power over me, with the ability to both inspire and terrify me in equal measure, has recently seen me begin to take on the Spider as a source of power, as a worthy totem. I do not mean this in the modern interpretation as a spirit guide – whilst it is certainly possible for a familiar to take this form I cannot claim to be working with one that does.

Instead I mean it as an icon that i have identified with, a body form I have also once or twice attempted to take the form of in dreams to become, to gain power through association with these incredible creatures and spirits. This has seemed to be a natural process, something I have been drawn to which is an inherent part of my own psychology and soul make up.

So that to that end I continue to research this avenue of experience and go in search for the humble spider, and encourage others to do so as well. They have much to offer, and much to teach, and an important role to play in both the physical and spiritual world. I wish more people would treat them with respect, rather than simple reactionary abhorrence. Whilst they still have the power to startle me, it is great that I can finally accept these creatures and spirits into my life.

To this end i encourage others to also turn their own fears into strengths where possible through internalisation, whether that fear is is arachnophobia or some other  phobia.  Through encountering these and making them a source of power rather than allowing them power over us, our growth is rapidly expanded. Through such a process the journey empowers us, and may allow us to reconnect to an area of experience and encounters denied to us by our inability to overcome ourselves.

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Another stowaway hidden in my martial arts clothes

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Further reading on Spiders and Moths

I hope this has been an enjoyable entry, as as iterated it’s an important one to me i’ve wanted to highlight for awhile. Anyway, back to writing the essay for so it can be submitted in good time so wish me luck!

Best regards,

~S~

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