This is a post that i’ve been mulling over making, as it pertains to a developing situation within my own work that has come as both a surprise and tangent to the where i’ve been progressing. I’ve come to conclude that the resultant story around this however would serve to illustrate the rich otherworld one can encounter when doing this work as well as again, the danger that it inevitably brings. For working witchcraft brings all sorts of attention – both good, and bad.
Those who have read my previous posts will remember me describing the mirror world – that strange place that for me is the shamanic ‘place apart’, the crossroads between the ascent, or descent, of the trees. Somewhere the world soul is immediately manifest, and something that I feel the term ‘astral’ is not specific enough to describe.
Recent incursions into this place have been frequent, even when unsought for, in dream states as I have worked mostly passively to integrate the energies unleashed from the first part of the work with Lucifers Stellar Gate. Many have been the usual shamanic adventures, with exploration and integration as a key theme but little actually in the way of danger.
However one recent encounter in this place has driven home to me how risky this place can legitimately be, as well as how many things can hide in both plain sight both here and on the physical until they make their ‘move’.
For weeks leading up to the following ‘incident’, all was not well. Although moving into a new house several months ago, and the place having an amazing atmosphere, occasionally something would feel amiss. It felt as if a presence, alien to the environment,was in the house. It felt incredibly black, oppressive, and ancient. Some nights it felt as if it was stalking the place – always remaining just out of sight, but always ever present on the boundaries of full awareness when it made its appearance. At times it became an almost physical thing – one felt that, going into certain rooms, one would be confronted with something Else, in full manifestation, ready to commence an assault.
Make Lovecraft, Not War, by Daniel Bystedt
All initial attempts to discern what this thing was failed, as if it was shielding itself. Part of me wondered if this entity was perhaps an entity sent by the Gods to test, or to teach, but something about it felt entirely off. One night in particular was bad, where the power of this thing in one of its visits was so crushingly black, one was almost too terrified to even breathe as the level of threat this entity was emanating was so utterly powerful and pervasive.
On a different night it all came to a head. I had gone to sleep, and had entered the Mirror World as usual. Whilst attempting to navigate after an extensive exploration session, I realised I had strangely become lost. One of the defining characteristics of this plane, being a mirror of the world soul, is that it has taken on fragments of our own, industrialised world such has been our immense impact upon it. As such, I had been attempting to move around using a train network – to navigate from one, hollow city to another, in an attempt to retrace my steps and return to the physical plane.
However, regardless of what I tried I always either ended up in the same spot, or slightly further away from my intended destination. No amount of focused will, or other tricks, could seemingly get me back on the path. It became obvious that someone, or rather something, was interfering.
Resolving to try something novel, I decided that moving towards the determined direction of the interference thus going with the flow and confronting whatever it is, would be the quickest way to get ‘out’ and back.
In doing so, I boarded a train that took me away from the Hollow Cities. It chugged its way along the track painfully slowly, and my fellow passengers, various strange humanoids merged with various animal forms, paid little attention to my presence. Tarmac turn to scrubby, industrial wasteland, which in turn gave way to grassy plain. After what seemed like a forever, but was likely a very short time considering the amount of time distortion experienced in this place, the train entered a woodland area which slowly gave way to a boggy, misty, marsh. The train got slower and slower, and I realised it was sinking into the mire. Nobody seemed bothered as the train melted away into the murky water, leaving me alone knee deep and without a clear idea as to where I was.
Train tracks by Calimero
Instinctively I tried to follow the track, but soon the fog and mist got thicker, until it was almost like moving through a liquid. Any sight of the track was soon lost, and I became distinctly aware I was not alone. That same, oppressive feeling, felt in the physical world, returned, and it was located somewhere up ahead.
Slowly, and snakelike, spectral hands slithered out of fog into view. The pale skin was corpse like, and the fingers long and bony ending with long, protruding nails. Behind them long arms, bereft of a body, trailed out of a view. They came towards me slowly, before enveloping my form and sliding, sickly sensual, along my flesh.
I admit, i initially tried to deny the sense of danger. Firstly I called out, asking if it was a dream daemon that I work with. No reply came. I asked if it was another spirit i often work with, again in vain, however this time I did get a reply. A hollow, deep and guttural, almost insect like laugh emanated in front of me and the fog began to part.
There I saw a horrific monster. On the ends of these arms was something almost indescribable – the Thing seemed to be like a mass of arterial matter – the main trunk made of our two, thick tendrils which seemingly stood upon writhing mass of maggot like appendages, and its ‘head’ appeared like a fleshy venus fly trap. Out of this a single eye upon a long, sinuous tongue like protrusion observed me coldly. Three cancerous growths, like horns, protruded from it, weeping puss. The arms searching outwards from its central mass – looking like they had been spliced or glued onto the main body which was an entirely direct colour and texture; The texture and colour of inflamed and infectious flesh.
With a horrific voice that sounded like thousands of hard body insects being diced in a blender, mixed with shards of broken glass, this creature only said one thing to me which I barely recall, perhaps incorrectly.
‘NO, I AM DEATH, IN LIFE, IN RESURRECTION’
With this, a shockwave of black, suffocating malefic energy flowed outwards from it and over my own form. I cannot really explain what happened next except to say it happened intrinsically. Staring the creature down, I reached inside my own travelling body, which at this point was a mere shadow copy of my physical one, and pulled out something from within. This was a bronze framed, transparent pyramid in which a small, orange bird slept. This pyramid radiated such a pure, solar fire that I immediately recognised as Lucifers, and where it touched, the searching shadows were unable to penetrate.
I placed the pyramid in between me and the creature and the bird, within stirred. I can see it clearly now remembering this, and marvel at the long, magnificent tail feathers – a stunning phoenix if there ever was one. I remember I lifted it the pyramid high, and with clear voice, I called upon my attacker to give its name and submit. It refused, attempting to again intensify its current. It was then than I called upon all the names of the Power of Lucifer with his synchronomicon. This appeared to work, as the light around me roared with brilliance and I was surrounded by a blazing fire of the most intense of energies. The malefic wave was stopped dead in its tracks, inverting upon itself as if scoured away. This light poured forth over the thing before me, which writhed as if it was being squashed under some immense weight bearing down upon it. It was then I realised i was screaming, and that the phoenix and monster were also howling with the intense amount of energy flowing through us. The word that was formed by this crescendo and energy was the creatures true name.
Phoenix, Unknown
With that I woke up with a start, the link severed, rolling out of bed onto the floor with a sharp start and full of empyrean energy of the most brilliant sort. The whole physical seemed to glow with colour as I managed to re-orientate myself back fully with my physical flesh. A sigil was overlain on my vision, and I committed it immediately to record along with the received name, knowing how important they would be to retain a handle on the situation.
This afterglow didn’t subside for several days after this encounter. With the name and sigil of the offending spirit now mine, the power of it to come and go as it pleased seemed incredibly dulled. Whilst it made an appearance once or twice near the vicinity of the work, it was almost difficult to identify due to the much reduced presence it seemingly had upon its surroundings, almost as if it, now, was terrified of making its full presence known in case ‘consequences’ were brought upon it.
For a brief time it radiated its presence from the background when it could. Its energy added to the general malefic air at the time, as my region was gridlocked by unusually heavy snowfall from blackened skies. This malefic energy seeped into my environment – my house suffered damage, and one of my incarnate familiars died choking in my arms days after. This was a storm that just had to be weathered – the thing had obviously chosen this time to make its full power felt, when my guard was relatively down, and had failed in its attack. The energy given by Lucifer, as well as a bit of mental centring, was enough to get through this period albeit not unscarred as my mental state still is returning to background levels of normality.
Over time, gnosis has been received as to the nature of the entity. It is old, very old, and was likely something (or someone) incarnate. The reason for its appearance, and the reason i have categorised it as chimera, is because it incorporates victims subtle bodies into itself as part of its feeding process. Therefore it is not a singular entity but more a parasitic puppet master, breaking down its victims slowly over time whilst putting them to sufficient ‘use’ via their component parts.
I have decided that this entity will be bound to the temple space, and used to guard the indoor temple and land here. In future, in may be moved to an outdoor temple space to protect that area. I feel unsafe in letting it roam ‘free’ far from me, due to the severe risk it poses to others. But at the same time, if it is to be kept close, it must be controlled sensibly and put to constructive use.
More than the above has been given or clarified but I do not feel prudent to share it, nor the method for its binding which I am still exploring. I feel that such entities pose a legitimate threat to those that run into them and share the above to detail an encounter with something dangerous as both an interesting story, and a warning for those who travel in this realm to watch themselves and take adequate precautions. Sensible precautions would be strengthening the subtle bodies via sexual possession with the Witch Gods, as well as regular devotionals, which provide a good level of conditioning.
May the Witchgods bless and protect those of you who journey forth into these realms, and if all else fails, may Hecates torches and Lucifers Phoenix show you the way back unscathed.
Ave Lucifer,
Lord of Light,
Beautiful Phoenix King,
Through whose Power
All Shell and Parasites
Cower,
~S~
The Luciferian Revolution 