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~
It is that time of year again, arguably the most sacred of cross quarter holidays in our witches calendar. It is a very busy one here – just last night, I was supporting the other half who led the local moot here in performing our first, group ritual since January 2020.
That ritual was a very powerful and emotive one. Seeing people I have been unable to meet up with even for a coffee, like I would in more normal times, was magical enough – when paired with a powerful, evocative rite involving the dead, it was something very special.
Reflecting on that ritual, I thought it would be great to put a post up for our dear devotees, to help with clarification on one of our newer, yearly rites, as well as share a funny little tradition that seems to have started here.
Some spoopy skeletons and stuff, photographer unknown
With that intention lain out, I’ll continue saying last nights ritual had a special poignancy.
It felt like the start of the end for a very bad time in my life. Although I mentioned it in passing in last years post – the death of my father just over a year ago today – was something that I didn’t delve deeply into. That said, it did affect me more deeply than I was willing to admit at the time. The Gods had not lied in their warning of that period… At the time I decided that that to speak on it at any length would be generally unnecessary, unwise, and self indulgent. I still feel that to an extent – there is much I would love to say, to give testimony on, that I simply can’t. What I can say is it will colour my experience of this month for the rest of my life – change is the only constant – and Samhain for me will forever now be attached to that loss.
As such it was a very intense time – much altered dramatically for myself, and the temple, and it was a very real loss that I needed to take time to process. Even with Hecate’s help – in both process and healing – it was very hard to drag myself to the altar in Samhain 2020, and do what needed to be done. Just doing the tearing down and rebuilding of the space felt like swimming through treacle – but is a duty that needed to be done. It was also whilst feeling metaphysically ran over by a train, that I decided to put together a devotional rite for the Trident – taking a leaf out of a dear mentor and guide of mine Sorita D’Este.
I had always been inspired by ‘The Rite of Her Sacred Fires’ which is conducted around Beltane (full moon in May). I wanted something similar that devotees of the Trident could also do, yearly, to both deepen their connection with their gods as well as grow a sense of brotherhood/sisterhood between people in shared sacred space. It seemed just good logical sense.
I am so very glad that I did. Many people took part last year – and shared wonderful testimonials in our Facebook group. It went so well I decided to rerun it this year – and I hope to continue it with peoples support into the year ahead.
Since I am unable to provide advice via facebook (Zuckerberg has decided I am decidedly too spicy to be allowed to post in the month of the Pumpkin Spiced Lattes), I advise anyone who has any questions over the rite to directly message me. Either by email, or by messenger if they require any guidance. The main two questions I have seen posted are to do with the following: timing and hand position, especially during the bow after the Sepheranz devotional piece. The other, often asked question by people who are not in the group is: where do I find the Rite to perform it? I will answer all three succinctly now, in a manner I hope is easy to follow.
The Timing of the Samhain Eves Rite of Trident Devotion
The timing of the Rite is that it should ideally, be performed on the night of the 30th. However there is no strict timing for the rite. Anytime between 29th-30th, before commencement of the night of the 31st, is entirely acceptable. This is a rite for the Devotee – to connect them to the Gods and other devotees around the world. Because the Current is so geographically widespread, it would make no sense for a rite such as this to be set at some strict time.
Like many older witchcraft rites, when things were done when ‘the season was correct’ and things ‘felt right’, so should intuition guide the devotee when to do this ritual, as well as in its performance. You will be connecting to the Gods and other Devotees in Mythic Time at the centre of the Circle. As such, exact timings for this particular rite, do not matter.
The event on facebook is usually therefore set at the start of the 30th Day to reflect this flexibility. Choose what works for you, when you have maximum quiet time to enjoy the ritual.
The Positioning of the Hands in the Sepheranz Devotional
The positioning of the hands in the bow to Sepheranz, is similar to a bow as performed in many schools of Iaido / Aikido. I.e. it is very similar to this video (6:40). I tend to interlace the thumbs for more stability and safety than the example here, but this comes from a martial arts background and is somewhat an irrelevant point for devotional purposes. The reason for these hand movements are entirely symbolic – feel free to adapt them to what works for you. I use the ones as lain out because, they are relatively simple once you have the hang of them. I did not want overly complex, yoga like components in the rite, but something simple to reaffirm the spoken words. If anyone has issues, feel free to message me as above and ill explain as best as I can.
Acquiring the Ritual Text
I have shared many documents in the last few years of this blog. So why not this ritual? This is mainly because I want it to be for active devotees of the current, who are interacting on a regular basis. However, those who read the comments on the blog will know I am more than happy to provide the text to anyone who wishes to perform it on an individual basis – the very act of reaching out to me means a lot in this case. If you are reading this, and are a devotee not in the social media group who wants to perform the rite, please email me by midnight tonight and ill make sure you have what you need.
I hope this has helped anyone who might be struggling and needing some clarification. I look forward to your experiences shared in the group and I’ll be able to hopefully reply in full on the Fifth of November!!
When life gives you melons..
Not everything was doom and gloom, and I want to share a small, funny story and the start of a potentially peculiar new tradition over here in very rainy England. I hope this story brings a bit of daft joy to those who read it.
Last year, there was a Pumpkin shortage in Britain. Getting any of the desired, spooky orange fruit was not possible. A week before Samhain 2020 I tried desperately to get one, and was unable to source one. This was, as they say, a bit of a problem.
Someone familiar with folklore would probably now pipe up, ‘what about a Turnip?’ Even finding a humble turnip proved harder than anticipated.. and for anyone who has had the sad, forlorn experience of actually carving one, I’ll admit the thought did not fill me with joy. They are incredibly hard to shape – being in no way hollow, and having a body that is hard and resistant to being shaped even with a good knife. My mind went back to when me and my mother tried to carve one when I was nine, and it took literal hours. A tedious experience to say the least.
Standing there, I saw another fruit. The humble watermelon. And like that it was decided. It was a non traditional choice.. for sure.. but certainly easy to carve, very tasty, and the end result I thought, looked rather good!
ACarved Watermelon, self carved and taken.
It looked fantastic on the altar, and I thought it had worked out! It served its purpose – being a lantern to keep away the malign spirits of the dead, and offer a waylight and warmth to the benefic dead who wanted to hang around the altar space and temple room. It worked far better than I expected. I gave it no further thought..
Of course, until this year. And again, there is even a worse pumpkin shortage. Feeling a bit whimsical, and again being unable to find one never mind two pumpkins, this year I have bought two of the cheery, non traditional green boys. Both of which we will be carving up for the Sabbat!
Witchcraft need not always be super serious – especially on the Sabbats which are in many ways celebrations of existence – of the lockstep of life and death – of the gift of joy and the turning of the wheel. That said as well however, on the surface what was just a bit of fun, does hold deeper meaning. The first time I made this substitution was out of desperation really – due to circumstances shooting any plans to observe the turning of the seasons to ribbons. Something had to be done.
I had to ensure that the cycled would be observed, that it would not be missed, that the dead would have their way lit, and that real healing would be conducted through the observance of the Sabbat was of primary importance. So in that way, the good old watermelon took on more personal significance than just an in joke, or just an ‘easy way out’.
Merging the Joy of the Dance with the Deep Meaning of the Cycle is the best way any of us can truly hope to both celebrate and mark our most important times of the year. And the lives of those we love, and those who we have loved, and lost.
The Lit Watermelon, self carved and taken.
I hope the above silly story also imparts the deeper lesson I had painfully reinforced. And that is where you have the will, never give up. This doesn’t mean the futility of a pointless struggle. Accept, adapt, change, undergo renewal. You will come out far stronger than how you went in – one way, or another – if in a very different form.
This is the promise and power of the Cauldron of our Great Triple Faced Goddess.
I will end this here. Things here will get busier still for me and Temple – with 30th, 31st celebrations and the initiation to be held on the 4th. This will mark a turning point for the Temple and there might be a few announcements to make – of both personal and temple nature. The latter if I can get together the required art assets over the next few months.
‘In the season leaves should love, since it gives them leave to move through the wind, towards the ground they were watching while they hung, legend says there is a seam stitching darkness like a name.
Now when dying grasses veil earth from the sky in one last pale wave, as autumn dies to bring winter back, and then the spring, we who die ourselves can peel back another kind of veil
that hangs among us like thick smoke. Tonight at last I feel it shake. I feel the nights stretching away thousands long behind the days till they reach the darkness where all of me is ancestor.
I move my hand and feel a touch move with me, and when I brush my own mind across another, I am with my mother’s mother. Sure as footsteps in my waiting self, I find her, and she brings
arms that carry answers for me, intimate, a waiting bounty. “Carry me.” She leaves this trail through a shudder of the veil, and leaves, like amber where she stays, a gift for her perpetual gaze.’
-Annie Finch, “Samhain” from Eve, published by Carnegie Mellon University Press.
I wish you all a beautiful and bountiful Samhain and Year to Come, In the Arms of Our Mother.
So the last few months have been exceptionally interesting, bringing with them very large amounts of spiritual, mental and physical empowerment. It feels like there has been a completing seal pressed onto various strands of work – the first being that of the Dragon workings, and the second to do with the reopening of Qayinitic lines within my personal practice.
The latter is one that I’d like to quickly detail, as it is something unexpected that happened within the last few weeks. This took the form of two rather interesting dreams; the first was a sabbatic dream, involving a gathering of spirits and a drawing in of Belial. This was performed through a totemic book that was found somewhere within the Mirrorworld; this being a term, as readers may remember, I use for a certain kind of lower astral because I find it the most descriptive term of its nature.
This in turn lead to a full plane possession by Belial, upon which I took charge of a celebration – not so much a ritual, and afterword’s I awoke feeling full of power and rejuvenated. This was much needed given the journey I had just been on. I took a note of it in my personal working journal, and thought nothing more of it. These kinds of journeys are important, but are generally too frequent or non specific in nature to note as having particular theurgic significance other than for enjoyment.
However, the following night, a similar, linked journey also occurred. Not long after falling asleep, I found myself in an old, abandoned brick building deep within the Mirrorworld. There, I had found a dark spirit – one that I was contending with, in some manner. I instinctively knew that I had been sent to find it, that doing so had been some sort of charge given to me at the end of the previous nights celebrations.
After some time, contending with it both energetically and physically, its shadowed form collapsed into the tiny form of a vampire bat. It attempted to escape along the floor, which at this point was covered in slick, thick blood. I was unsure at this point if this blood belonged to me or the spirits. I knew intrinsically that to let it to escape would be wrong – that somehow, its power had to be taken and internalised. I picked up this creature, and, asking Belial to protect me through the merging, allowed it to sink its tiny fangs into my neck.
I awoke, but not to our physical plane. I again was still in the Mirrorworld, again Elsewhere. I found myself in an old, and abandoned, hotel. I got up and wandered towards the bathroom. The door was opened and I looked in, onto a cracked mirror. A dusty ceiling light flickered intermittently. In between the flashes I could see that my left side, the side where the bat had bitten, was riddled with marks and sigils. The lower most sigil was etched just above the elbow. It depicted a crowned skull that seemed to morph from itself, through that of the primary seal of Arkos, through to that of the Qayinitic Eye Seal of Flame and Sulphur. From here, it returned and to its original form and repeated this in slow, drifting sequence.
Above this I could see the sigil of the winged Ankh bone key, and above this, the sigil of the Trident. Black, snaking lines and marks traced my entire skin, conjoining these parent sigils in a tapestry of black conduits that seemed to flow with power. They extended, covering my entire body. This wasn’t painful – instead it was an ecstatic pleasurable sensation, as it spread across my entire form, leaving me dripping in venomous energy. I remember getting dressed and leaving the room to ‘check out’, and after that last memory, recall waking up vividly into the physical world as if I had stepped simply from one room to another. I felt empowered, alive, more than I had felt since coming down off the mountain (to be described next). I was convinced I had undergone a fresh, qayinitic initiation.
Why now? It could be a combination of things I have thought. With the year turning dark, combined with my own personal loss a year ago, and the timing of the pandemic and full unfolding of the Qayinitic line within my parent tradition, this work comes at a powerful, liminal time. With the work done by the Gatekeeper of the Four Pillars of Fire, fulfilling a decade of prophecy regarding the Qayinitic line, I believe it was inevitable. The exact nature of this gift itself is less obvious in many regards – so far my aura has felt very armoured, something very much needed due to the immense level of Death energy that is surrounding both me and the Temple here at this current time. Energy not to be wallowed in, but to powerfully transmuted -for I feel great things are to be birthed from this. I can feel this, deeply, and it is this that keeps the work going; albeit with some days it feeling like swimming through treacle at times.
So a gift from Qayin perhaps for work done with him in devotion all those years ago; and also perhaps a recognition of the patient promise I made him to go no further until that prophetic work was delivered. Whether this work is something for me to actively pursue physically, or instead simply explore what I can on the inner worlds with the given key rather than dedicate myself to a new, active practice is something I will have to carefully consider. Qayin is not someone one can pick, and choose with, once a promise is made. That said, I feel it would be impolite to spurn exploring the power at least on some level, especially that which was given as a gift.
Vampire Bat, photograph by Joel Sartore, National Geographic
With this interesting incident covered, I now go to the main meat and potatoes of this article. In the last few postings, I detailed the upcoming rite of the Stellar Dragon. I can now fully confirm that this was a great success, with the Dragon contacted and the energy / gifts received. This coming full moon, they will be fully drawn out, and the final seal entered into the Temple Books. This paves the way for opening Lucifers Stellar Pillar Gate.
The actual journey to the mountain to conduct this rite was a heavily interesting one. I had initially wanted to document the entire trip – from near base camp, up to the actual location that I was guided to and conducted the rite. However, post rite, I have come to personal realisation as to how both powerful and sacred that portal I opened is – and thus, I have decided to only talk about this trip in a more vague manner. Every time I attempted to put this experience into words, I felt like I was failing it – or even worse, exposing it to profanation. Those who wish to retrace my footsteps, and potentially find the working spot, will thus have to read heavily between the lines. As such, I must immediately say that some of the pictures below, do not depict the actual trip nor even the locations I visited. They serve only to give clue and indication of the landscape to those who have never had the pleasure of travelling to the Lake District, UK. As well as to throw in a little bit of misdirection as is tradition. I have included a few original images – where I felt it was justified and where they do the trip justice. Anyone who puts the pieces together, and who truly wants to retrace these steps, are welcome to try – putting the pieces together being the test in itself.
The entire trip, both there and back, took around four days. The first day was pretty arduous – and it was not to get easier i’d find – with a pack weight of around 20-23kg. Being not the fittest of people, I set off relatively early in the morning to reach the first waypoint. This waypoint would be a town some 17 km away – where I would stay overnight, before taking a boat to the foot of the mountain I would be scaling.
I hadn’t slept the night before – both the planning, nor the excitement of finally being able to go off on this pilgrimage, did not aid me in anyway in getting a good rest. I had some breakfast and set off, through the woods that bordered my families cabin, making towards the moors. On the way I came across something that made me pause for thought. A dead amphibian stretched out perfectly across the path out of the woods. This is often a path I had walked, at night, looking for a similar sign to begin the work of the Sacred Waters of the Moon.
Seeing this dead creature seemed almost like a test in itself. To continue my mission, or try to take this offer. I ignored it, but made a mental note in my mind. It would become very relevant later on.
Leaving the woods behind, I made good going, passing the old mausoleum and church and its neighbouring, sleepy little town without issue. But when I began the uphill walk into the moorland proper, I knew I had my work cut out for me. The initially fair, walking weather had turned into full on sunshine. Great for a lay about, not so much for making good time with the least physical exertion. I was VERY happy I had prepared for this potentiality – having a very good hat and sufficient sunscreen but I was still to get significantly burned.
Moorland, photographer unknown
On my way over the moors, past the fields of heather in full bloom, I stopped at a quite remote stone circle to have my lunch. This was a planned stop – about halfway between my initial starting point and that days finish point. The stone circle was only small – but absolutely packed with power. I admired a tiny, beautiful spider that had climbed onto my bedroll, as I tucked into some extremely basic provisions with my back against one of the stones – it felt inappropriate to eat within the circle itself. Sadly, despite it being remote, on a summers day it still had too much footfall to do anything but walk the inner perimeter and soak in some of the power there. Unlike many places that are ‘take, take, take’ drained dry by tourists and other visitors, this place did not feel like that at all. But rather a wellspring of power that commanded the landscape.
Spider of the Circle, self taken image
After finishing up, I grabbed my kit and continued on. Passing a cairn, a way marker on my route, I looked down over the large lake below in the distance, and to the mountain range ahead. It was about this time I started to realise what I had actually embarked on to do – and although overshadowed as a feeling later, it did make me pause for thought.
Treated to a lovely display by military aircraft (from what I could see, F-15 fighters), I descended into the town in search of a place to sleep. Whilst the initial plan had to been to wild camp at every leg, I decided getting some good food in, as well as a night of sleep before going up the mountain proper, would be a good idea. I managed to find the last room in a local pub – one that did decent food I would later realise that night. Fed and watered, I turned in early to sleep.
The next morning I had breakfast and gathered my things. In order to get to the town at the start of my route into the mountains, I had two options – I could go by bus which was cheaper, or the more direct route by boat across the lake. I opted for the latter option – more for the experience than convenience, but it would turn out to be quite efficient as well as enjoyable. I didn’t have to wait long on the dock – perhaps half an hour at most, and soon the ship was alongside the pier and taking on passengers. The weather was again lovely, and as I boarded I got a great view of the surrounding landscape, kept cool by the light breeze that drifted across the lake. This would continue for the rest of the journey, as the boat gently rocked from light waves on the lakes surface.
MV Tern, built 1891, photographer unknown
It took around an hour to get to the opposite dock at the foot of the mountain. This was not to the liking of a fellow passenger, who remarked to her husband that the boat was not going quick enough and was rather ‘dull’. I laughed at this reply, telling her it wasn’t a speedboat, in a very sarcastic manner to say the least.
I disembarked and headed to get some food at another local pub, and consulted my map whilst tucking into a sandwich. I gathered it was around 7 – 9 km to the target site – but that this was likely to take as long as the previous 19 – 20km walked up to this point of the trip. The spacing between the contour lines was telling me a story I didn’t really want to hear. Putting the map away, I thanked my server, and headed to the start of the path up into the mountains. I had to double back here, past a very old and charming church to where I had crossed a little bridge. As is said in the Lake District, half-jokingly – ‘all roads lead to Helvellyn‘, – and sure enough, at the three way crossroads, a somewhat ominous wooden sign pointed forth. I took a wrong turn in the snaking path that it indicated at one point, but a quick check of the compass and cross referencing the map, put me back on the right path. Sure now that I had the right way, I set off uphill.
At this point I realised the physical effort of what I was undertaking fully. I was already very tired from taking the entirety of the wild camping gear, and was having to take quite frequent stops for water / rest. Looking back on it this was probably a good thing – as I slowly, but surely made my way up the valley towards my destination.
The first part of the walk was wooded, but this soon gave way to a mixed terrain of fields, and lightly wooded areas, and I got the first glimpse of the ritual site. At this point, I would be lying to say that I felt very outmatched by what I was about to do. Up to this point in my life, I’d never properly wild camped on my own. Only when I was much, much younger, some twenty odd years before when I was barely even a kid. Never mind wild camped at at least somewhat decent elevation. with exposure to take into account. I felt very much, out of my depth. However I had no choice then, but to carry on. Quitting would have been unthinkable.
I tightened by straps and carried on along the path into the mountains. After coming past two, fenced off areas of mixed woodland (which would have been ideal places to camp, what with a stream running down and through them off the mountains) the path ceased to really be a path – converting into just a load of stones, that I realised also doubled as riverbed in poor conditions. At this point, I was starting to flag and it was reaching around 6pm. Thinking hard, I decided that to push on would not be a great idea – with only two hours of light left, and a bit of a climb to where I needed to go, it would be easy to be caught losing the light. Checking my water provisions, I also realised I had run low. As such, I thought it best to put down for the night rather than push on. I still had days to use if needed – and enough food to extend the trip, if not comfortably.
From one side of the valley, a stream poured down into the river that snaked along not too far from the path itself. I could see that area wasn’t particularly enclosed, nor did it appear to be overly marshy. I chose a slightly elevated position, due to lack of wind, so that I wouldn’t awake to lying in a pool of water.
I fired up the Trangia stove, and after I had fed it enough alcohol, enjoyed my evening meal and a good cup of instant coffee. With the light finally failing me, I lit the storm lantern and enjoyed simply listening to how soundless everything was. Other than the wind, almost nothing stirred in the dark. Eventually, I got tired, turned the light off, and attempted to get some sleep.
The Lamp in the Valley, self taken image
I would not be very successful in this. I may have gotten at most one hour sleep – but woke up for unknown reasons. I wasn’t cold – I had a sufficient sleeping bag and it was incredibly mild for the location at least, and the tent proved itself to be far better than expected and ones I had used in the past. It may have been the sheer power of the full moon – for I was somewhat late in getting to the meeting point for the dragon. I went for a walk to clear my head, leaving the storm lantern to guide my way back to the tent when needed. The air was beautifully fresh – but eventually began to work its way in through my clothes. As such, I eventually went back to the tent and awaited dawn.
This is the only clear picture I will share of the valley itself – because it is simply magical. Waking up to see the fog rolling over the lake and into the valley was something special indeed. The tent can be seen in the background of this image, almost looking like a rock, blending in well with the surrounding environment. The morning was VERY fresh – and after a quick bit of breakfast, I cleaned my things in the stream then packed up to begin the walk towards the tarn itself.
Waking in the Valley, self taken image
I got back onto the path and began the walk deeper into the valley. Climbing up the broken stone path. Even with my walking stick (a consecrated blackthorn stick, empowered with Hecates blessing) it was slow and tedious going. As I rounded the corner, I could see the old climbing lodge far in the distance, further up the valley. This lodge would mark where I had to leave the path and begin the climb up the tarn itself.
I continued on, trying to keep my mental reserves, if not physical ones, topped up by thinking of the benefits of performing the rite. Looking at the climb up, I can’t say at that point I had no doubts that I was capable of doing this – as I got closer I could see just how steep it was. Without any indication of how to climb the somewhat acute slope, with significant load, I knew it would potentially be touch and go for someone with as little experience as myself.
I was about halfway to the lodge when I came across a small bridge, that crossed the river that went across the valley. The weather again was good.. possibly too good for a climb. So I took some time to first collect some more water, before having a refreshing paddle in the stream. It was so clear – almost impossibly so it seemed. I came across a few others hiking here – I had a conversation with a few of them, but almost none seemed to know of my destination, pushing onto another, well travelled tarn further along the path. Despite my destination, for all intents and purposes, being just over the next ridgeline.
Lingcove Bridge, photographer unknown
I reached the hiking lodge probably around midday – the exact time now eludes me. I had take it somewhat slowly in getting to this point, and looking up at the slope that now towered over me, I was very, very thankful I had decided NOT to climb into the cove the previous night. In low light, it is very likely something would have gone very wrong. I stopped at the Climbing Lodge to actually have lunch – a pre-packaged affair of chicken curry. This tasted far better than it had any right to, and it was just enough calories to get me up to my destination. I hadn’t packed copious amounts of food – certainly on the lighter end, and not enough to replace energy used to get up here I realised. My entire plan was to go as light as I could, get the ritual done, then come back.
At this point, it is probably a good idea to review what the aim of all this was. It is to be noted, that I was carrying the six anchor stones from the sea, up to elevation, as part of the formula to open the necessary Dragon gate. These were not particularly light, make up at least a fifth of total pack weight. The sea stones, were absolute required in order to unite with the heights and draw down the dragon – this was part of the formula sent, by Surgat, in close work. As such, not taking them was not an option and other sacrifices needed to be made in regards to gear and provisions.
Once I had prepared myself, I set off back behind the lodge for the climb. It was initially hard, but quickly got worse. The cove was a primary source for the now somewhat small stream – and much of the slope was very boggy. It also possessed holes between the foliage which would easily snap an ankle, even when wearing good boots – channels that they had grown over and hidden. The stave came in great use here, checking to see if ground was firm before I stepped onto it.
Spotting a ridgeline which may be shallower, I decided to make for it. But the slope had now gotten so steep, I felt like to stand with such a heavy pack (which was shifting weight despite my attempts) may cause me to be pulled backwards and cause a nasty, potentially life threatening fall. As such, I decided to do the next leg on my hands and knees. This is how large periods of this climb now went – crawling, at times swearing to myself and cursing my stupidity at how this whole endeavour was a bad idea. One that was probably going to get me injured or worse, killed.
I made the ridgeline, and by Hecate, I could see that there was indeed a path that went up into the cove at the foot of the tarn – at least a way that was far easier in terms of foliage and slope, than the one I was at first forced to utilise.
This ridgeline was still quite precarious, leaving not much room for error. The final part sloped down to meet a waterfall in the distance, where it was evident any fall would result in a good 50 foot drop to my probable immediate misfortune. I pushed past this part, and identified another ridgeline that may take me into the cove itself. The other potential avenues into the cove were all scree slopes – not a great idea to avoid an incident. By this point I decided to just go for it. I put all the remaining power in my legs and went for the final ridge. I got near the lip when they failed me and it had to stop, making sure to fall back up, rather than down the slope.
At this point I looked back and down the valley and realised how high up I was. As someone who does not have a well documented history with heights, I will concede certain parts of my anatomy decided to go on a prompt vacation. The next lip seemed so close and so far. Even as I was getting my heartrate back down to sensible levels, a mountain goat decided to come see what I was up to. It snuffled its way towards me, seemingly completely unbothered by my presence. It got a little bit too curious, and I needed to shoo it away with the stave. I laughed as I collected myself, and realised that for the first time in some twenty four hours I had signal. I needed to share it with someone, as well as my current predicament as my boots pointed down slope and made my call.
Having finished, I told myself I had come this far. Failure was not an option. It was either do – or die. I absolutely refused to give up, stood up, and made the lip of the next ridge.
I emerged into the boggy cove, and broke out into both elation and despair in equal measure. I could see where the tarn was – another 2km across intensely broken, boggy ground and I had used up all my physical and mental resources to even get where I was! I sunk down on my knees and realised that, in some way, I had failed. It would be impossible to make the tarn. With the sun beating down heavily on me, even covered again I was very sunburned and had ran out of water. Part of me wanted to ignore this fact and just push on regardless. But something deep in me cautioned to do so would be to truly screw myself. To cross a boundary beyond pushing my limits into folly. I reached out with my mind toward Hecate and asked her to be present. I initially got no reply. Eventually I got a reply.
‘I have brought you to where you need to be’.
I looked around and laughed. Of course I was. The fresh mountain stream, bursting forth from the spring I could visibly see just a little further up the slope to the peak of mountain, flowed down through the cove and formed a perfect, pool of water. It lazily swirled here, where at one end it cascaded down to tumble over the side of the cove in the very same waterfall I had passed on my way up. This would be a perfect, powerful would-be gate for the ritual. I laughed aloud, and began looking for a place to put down camp. It took awhile to find a space that was remotely acceptable – due to the sheer waterlogged terrain which surrounded me.
Note the above description may come across as overly dramatic, but is an authentic account of my own perceptions. I am sure a more experienced hiker would have still had a hard time, but probably not anywhere near as a hard time as myself. But I had truly felt coming up, that I had to place my life into the hands of my Gods, where one wrong move could have seen a very different outcome to the whole story. With this thought in the back of my head, I set up camp and promptly had a good few hours rest. I got some food in me and awaited the sun to go past the ridgeline that surrounding me on three of four sides.
The Marked Stellar Stones, self taken image
With the hour approaching , I began the setup for the rite itself. I took out the stones, and placed them in a hexagonal formation within the pool itself. Six was a major component in this work – and for these protective stones to do their job it was necessary for them to be placed in such a configuration; that being to both anchor and protect from the Dragons energies.
The light from the storm lantern danced on the pool in the twilight. It was so stunningly beautiful as the sun begin to down, the gold of the sigils reflecting up through the water, bathing me in their light. Using the lantern as anchoring point, I began the ritual creation of circle at twilight, as well as the required evocations of the Trident, in their entirety. Also evoked was another angelic guardian of the highest order – one armed with a lightning-dripping sword. This indicated ward of the rite, being granted in direct work with Lucifer, was to play a centre role in balancing the rite as the Angel of Time linked to Saturn. This was to be specific to this particular performance of this specific rite.
With these ritual actions performed, I summoned the dragon itself. On the opposite cliff face, the dragon answered, relatively rapidly. It appeared as an immense body of light that danced across the entire opposite cliff surface. For a split second it was entirely, physically visible, as a pure body of light until it swept up and over the mountain top. It disappeared then, physically, but etherically assumed a position above the circle itself.
The Dragon by Vera Velichko
With the ritual actions performed, I opened the path in blood. I left the circle of night and descended into the pool itself until, in full possession, I called down the dragon to merge with my own form. This was far more subtle than I expected at first, as it hovered above me. It hung there like a coiled, white mass, its form silvery white in contrast to the being of golden light I had first perceived it as. The sight was regal beyond comprehension, and at that moment as I looked up into the sky, the dragon descended and attempted to swallow my etheric form. Thankfully I was prepared for this – with markings I had drawn onto my flesh, and practiced with Surgat prior to commencing on this adventure.
With one hand I held energetically onto the floor, and with the other, reached inside the dragon itself. With some resistance (surely little from the dragons perspective), I wrapped my hand around something ‘fleshy’ and pulled. The Dragon withdrew, and in my hands I perceived a beating heart or seed. Wordlessly, the Dragon of the Sky told me I had succeeded in a test of strength – not just with it, but in the entire performance of the pilgrimage to this very pool. He had known I would come. There was but one thing left to do. I put my hands to my mouth and consumed the etheric flesh. It felt very real, bloody and rich. As I swallowed I tried not to gag, and it was with conscious effort my body did not immediately reject it into the pool. As soon as I had done so, I felt my form absolutely fill with fire. A series of voces magicae issued forth from my mouth, and the Dragon withdrew a little bit more, to give me more space. We were fully separated now – for what it was worth, due to its energies now surging through my blood.
At this point, the light was getting extremely dim. I spent a few minutes in the presence of the Gods and Dragon in ecstatic victory. I had managed. I had completed my task. I closed down the ritual, gathered my things. As I did so I disturbed something. A frog leapt up, bounded away, and headed down towards the star pool. I remember the dead amphibian, I had seen on my way here two days prior, and laughed at the obvious, on the nose symbolism. Retreating to my tent, it didn’t take too long for me to fall soundly asleep. My dreams were vivid – of flight, of journey. I remember waking up the following morning, wrapped in my sleeping bag, feeling like I had slept for a thousand years – in reality, probably all of nine hours.
The Morning on the Mountain, self taken image
I looked out over the entrance to the valley, and took in the sunrise, as I packed my kit. It was beautiful to see, and I felt at peace. The return journey down the slope, whilst in no way easy, was far easier now I knew a somewhat acceptable route to take up and down the cove entrance. The stones I left in the pool, and the gateway slightly ajar – as a permanent, stellar temple gateway to the Dragon of the Sky. This is what the Dragon had requested, it its own, wordless intuitive way. Only now did I realise that, unlike the others, this Dragon had not at all, uttered communication in what could even inwardly be described as formed words. In time, the stones will undoubtedly be washed down into the stream and by extension the valley below. Anyone wanting to evoke the dragon fully should carry a new set after all, as is fitting sacrifice, and to maintain the space. But the gate now stands open on the inner planes, and will for a long time allow for stellar ingress and egress for those who have the sight to see and the training to fully utilise such a gate. In future, I may again make this journey- to maintain and reconnect with this stellar entity – but it is unlikely to be anytime soon.
The walk back was made far easier by no longer having the weight of the stones, and I treated myself to a hearty dinner when back in civilization before heading back to my starting point. There I relaxed, so thoroughly elated that I had completed my mission, and revealed I had made it back to tell the tale without incident.
I will end this entry there. This full moon, there is more to do, as eluded to in the opening few paragraphs. More to decode, to write, to draw, to experience, before the Samhain season hits in full and work and attention needs turning to the next initiation here. But to all that has read the above, I hope it has served as both entertaining tale, as well as informative piece, on the Rite of the Stellar Dragon, who is named in old tales and myths as Ziz.
‘To You, O Stellar Dragon of the Sky, Coiled Serpent of Prismatic Light Ye who dances upon the Peaks of Eternity Given praise by an Echoing Song, Which travels on an Endless Sea of Shifting Stars I lift now my voice, I beseech you now, In Love, In Honour, Reveal to the Race of the Self Cursed, The Path to the Endless Heavens O Great Magnificent Scaled One Ophidian Child of The Great Witch Queen Show the Way to the Bountiful Fruit of the Gods, To the Shining Celestial Tree And Pour Forth Thy Healing Waters, That which you righteously command, In the name of the Firstborn of the Great Goddess, Send now, O Fanged One The Power with which to to break our Cycle of Fate. In the name of the Most Holy, The Queen of Heaven, So shall it Be.’
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…
I’ve had multiple people message me in regards to the truly awful pandemic that is sweeping the world right now, wondering how we are here and how this affects work going forward.
I’d just like to first say thank you to everyone who got in touch – right now, we are fine, and have put in place contingency plans to protect the temples written work as well as all magickal relics and gateways. This was spurred after divination with the powers that be revealed that unfortunately things will get inevitably worse before they get in any way better. A very surreal situation, but one we thankfully saw coming and began preparing for back in January.
The tipping point was reached and these plans have taken the form of moving everything of true vital importance to a remoter location whilst leaving magickal and physical defences at the old inner temple location. We will be working out of this new location for the foreseeable future. This is under direct advisement of the spirits of the Arte that demanded urgent and swift action from ourselves to ride out the coming storm.
We are also stocked up on food, water, and required means to defend ourselves. Unfortunately the lockdowns and other measures will likely restrict larger scale magickal workings with the Dragons. This is down to the fact that these workings require outer gateways to be penetrated in certain physical locations to be truly effective. Plans are in place to try and pursue these were possible, whilst sticking to the lockdown regulations for everyone’s safety and benefit.
Illustration of Coronavirus, FDA Stock Image
In regards to the pandemic itself, I have heard really two camps try to explain the event. Both while containing elements of the truth, come to wrong conclusions. One maintains that there is no human or spiritual culpability – that viruses just happen and are intrinsic to nature. The second state that this is a God sent plague, echoing fire and brimstone mentality from ages thankfully gone by.
The reality is this is neither God sent, nor simply ‘bad luck’. This event is in reality a backlash from an abused and poisoned world soul – the virus itself spawned as the result of ridiculous levels of cruelty and uncleanliness – the accepted location generally being a Chinese wet market with awful conditions. This is a curse we have lain upon ourselves due to our races poor and ill judged use of the many boons the Gods have granted us – and they have simply allowed us to feel our own backlash of the collective inaction to address such issues. The Gods will allow us to reap what we ourselves have sown as the system self corrects for our colossal failures – this is not THE apocalypse, but rather a dangerous existential crisis we have forced upon ourselves due to terrible behaviour and spiritual erosion.
Such backlash occurrences are going to be common post 2012, as we enter the Aeon of Lucifer fully. Only by addressing these issues collectively can we halt the increase in strength, duration and frequency of these events. This is the foreshock of a much larger quake, that can only be addressed by changing our ways of life on a mass scale. This will involve making the correct physical, mental and spiritual changes required to rebalance the world soul and avert disaster.
Due to the failure of an authoritarian government to effectively contain this outbreak, thanks to a colossal cover up in its early stages, all we can do is ride out the storm. Many innocent people will likely be killed in the ‘crossfire’. The massive majority, in fact. I pray that Hecate and the Gods look upon kindly those souls who cross over, and and shepherd them to where they need to be and relieve their suffering and those they inevitably leave behind.
To all those out there on the path, now would be a good time to turn inward when it comes to your spirituality. We might be stuck inside, but that is time to deepen our connections and do the inner work required in this period of nigredo. We can use this as an almost alchemical time to polish off areas of that practice where we were otherwise deficient and search for our own meaning and calling in this troubling time, whilst strengthening our connection with the powers of the path.
For those of us who don’t have that luxury due to working in essential services, firstly I’d like to thank you for your efforts in the greater community. I pray that our mother wraps her arms of protection around you, and also that she opens the eyes of all to appreciate the work you do. For to safeguard innocent lives is incredibly invaluable – a virus does not discriminate after all. At this time may your path grant you the strength to persevere, and endure.
I end this post with an invocation that was utilised in the Imbolc rite I performed this year for the local pagan group – at this time of Ostara celebration in the older calendar (which runs around seven days after the actual equinoxes), I feel it is just as appropriate to reiterate. The text is from a rite, where raised energy is earthed into the Dragonlines to quicken the great serpent. I offer it as both blessing, and curse, as is appropriate. Stay safe and well all.
The Masque of the Red Death, Edgar Allan Poe, artist unknown.
+++SPRING AWAKENING CALL TO THE GREAT DRAGON+++
‘SYNCHRONOMICON ABOEN LUCIFER
I call to you Spirits of these Crystals,
Devas Divine,
In the Name of the Gods of The Trident,
Sink this Energy into the Flesh of the Dragon,
May the Wheel turn once more,
AWAKE BEHEMUTH
ARISE BEHEMUTH
STIR BEHEMUTH
May the life giving powers flow,
Returning warmth to our Lands
Our Lives
Our Flesh and Bones
May all sickness and doubt flee before You
May all cold and hunger be banished,
May Life return to this Land,
That which has been so Dearly Bought,
In the Long Nights,
By All your Creatures and Devotees,
In Blessed Sacrifice to the Cycle,
To those who pour out their Love to you,
I bid,
Bring the Blessings of the Path,
Protect, Guide and Empower them,
As they walk your Path,
May the Age of Renewal come to pass,
Where our kind sees the folly of its ways,
And grasps what has been graciously given,
For the good of the All
To those who in ignorance and blindness,
Work against the Healing and Evolution of our World,
I Bid,
Bring Harsh Lessons,
Open their Eyes to what is suffered,
And what must be endured,
Teach them what must be taught,
In Mercy and In Love,
For the Aeon to come.
To those who in conceit and pride,
Those who intentionally harm the Flesh of the Dragon,
A very quick and short entry from myself, just to wish everyone a good Samhain period – the day itself might have passed, but here we will be extending workings well up to the 11th (and likely a few days beyond!). This includes that nice little working on the coast with Leviathan, which i’m expecting will be carried out in lovely freezing and raining conditions. A pretty usual state of affairs in this rather bleak but beautiful place. The plan is to carry that out sometime in the next two weeks.
To update on the former post – it is with great relish I can report that the initiation of the first candidate of the inner temple here went extremely well. Lucifer was impressed with the gifts offered and the faith in which the ordeal was faced and past. As such, the groundwork for the Stellar Temple I want to build metaphorically and literally in the years to come, is properly started. It will take several years minimum before the praxis is in place, probably longer before I can even consider securing a physical temple site due to the time and monetary costs involved. So a very long term project to make explicitly clear, but one I look forward to building in partnership with the new apprentice, Hecate and their own path willing.
Hernes Oak From The Merry Wives Of Windsor, V, V Herne’s
Outside of this some strong possession work with Hecate commenced last night on the 1st to celebrate both the blessed, as well the dark and forgotten dead.
This group working was led by a good friend of mine, who has many years working with our Goddess. She doesn’t work in Trident Witchcraft but in another strain of Hekatian Witchcraft, but the energies raised are extremely similar for obvious reasons. Use of Ophidian speech allowed for the spirits we intended to contact to raise powerfully but also safely into the ritual space. Particular attention was given to those accused of being witches in the past, especially in regards to a particular local group which were accused and hanged based on absolutely marginal shreds of evidence in the 17th Century. Only three of these individuals could have been referred to as witches, the rest included a businessman and at least one, ironically, pious Christian. Their murder has left them in a state of limbo, not helped by years of mundane interference at their unmarked burial site. To be able to give them some solace, by sharing offering and remembering the story of their heinous murder, feels like at least an attempt to address a powerful and long standing injustice. Other personal contact with the dead was made, but these experiences remain solely for the group attending and will not be shared here as is proper.
Overall it was a powerful rite to share with others, and culminated for me in an almost full drawing in of the black goddess which i won’t readily forget. Whilst these are common for me with Lucifer, they are much more uncommon with the dark mother to that full bodied extent, and are thus enjoyed thoroughly when experienced.
With that said, back to it, I hope its been a great time for everyone, and many blessings in your works ahead.
Ave the Blessed Dead, On these dark Samhain nights, Those souls who have come before, Who light the way with their torches, We give to you our praise and love, In the name of the Dark Mother,
And with heartfelt wishes, Peace to the Dark Dead, Those lost and forlorn, Lie forgotten no more Be fulfilled and at rest, Sated and Soothed, In the Black Queens Arms ~S~
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
A quick post from me, simply to to wish everyone who follows the blog a very blessed and sacred Samhain night, whether devotees or simply supportive friends and acquaintances. Your continued messages, well wishes and general support make all the difference to being able to express and share my personal experiences on this path. May you all walk in the arms of the Gods, and Journey from strength to strength in mutual love and reverence on the Road to her Throne.
Gustave Dore – Death on the Pale Horse
Calling Hecate to Send the Beloved Dead
‘I call to you, Aidonaia, through the dark of night,
I stand at your gates in love and honour,
Beautiful Soteira, Goddess of Hell, Heaven and Earth,
Hear my voice piercing beyond the veils that separate Life and Death,
Greatest Trivia, please be present tonight as I request your presence and aid,
Most holy Dadophoros, ignite for me the torches without and within,
Lending me your strength and empowering me to complete this Sacred Work,
Mighty Kleidophoros, Highest of all and Keeper of the Keys of Eternity,
Unlock for me the numinous barriers and bridge the gap between the worlds,
Empress Chthonia, lay to sleep mightiest Cerberus,
Allow those blessed to cross the lake so we may pay reverence,
Ferocious Brimo, I beseech you to stir the Mighty Dead,
Holding fast the Wild Hunt of the Dark Dead,
Giving up to us our beloved for this night to receive the love and offerings of the living,
As unto you I say Seven times Hecate, most beautiful and loved,
O green eyed Queen of Hell”
Ave Hecate, Ave the Gods of the Trident, Ave the Spirits of the Path, Ave the Mighty Dead, And amongst them, Those Loved who we have Lost, With who we now reunite.
~S~
Hello all, I hope that October has been treating you extremely well. The energy of the last month at least in good old Britannia, has been building to a crescendo as we go towards our beloved Samhain.
The energy that has been permeating the air here became extremely powerful at the height of the Hunters Moon, to the point it was almost thick and could be tasted even outside of ritual. The energy was sufficient to turn several areas of the local area very thin as far as the veil is concerned. At one particular spot, the energy grew so thick I felt I needed to work with it – the spirit of the place seemed oddly demanding but also welcoming.
I took a small stone, and alternated a simple beat on a nearby piece of metal, similar to that of a heartbeat. One loud, one subtle, matching it to my own pulse as best as could be felt. Over time, i quickened this beat, again mirroring the internal quickening, thus bringing my own bio rhythm into tune with that of the energy of place. At the crescendo i could feel the merging of my blood with that of the ‘blood’ of the place, the earthy powerful feeling of copper filling the mouth, that taste of primal energy. At its peak, I felt the energy release along the spine, and abruptly everything stopped. In the still air, everything went quiet, and the wind seemed to murmur in approval at the stirring communion given. Leaves rustled past and then fell silently to the ground and all went still.
This is but a small example of an ecstatic experience. In the west, we have become overly used to working in eastern ways – with systems of meditation taught to us with the aim of quietening our minds. These, I will not argue against as having innate value, and it is no wonder they were adapted for use, entering our collective skillset. Many of them have been used highly successfully in our modern practice – and many of them have similar if not identical analogues in older western traditions. However I see in certain areas of the Craft (not all, some) that some of the importance around rites of ecstatic communion have been lost – especially when it comes to possession work. This seems strange when you consider that many witchcraft traditions stress ecstatic work – are even founded upon it – but are somehow still seemingly afraid of the power that can be unleashed. This is maybe understandable, but it is something that needs to be worked through in my eyes to properly inflame the craft for future generations.
‘Ask the Oak’ by Adam Oehlers
This is mainly aimed at those working within Hecates Primal Current that are reading this, but this may also be of use to others out there – you should incorporate where possible the ecstatic rites into your work. How this is done is difficult to teach or even to convey in some respects. How it can be done is numerous – one good example would be when performing sexual magickal possession work within this current. When done at a high level with the Gods and Spirits this is anything but a subdued, meditative experience – but one that rips through the entire body and delivers body shaking possessions that send energy pulsating along the spine. As such, restraint in these operations should be removed and the experience fully embraced – anything else results simply in half measures and results.
Again in general ritual, drumming, singing, chanting and dancing can all be used to intensify the energy of a rite – this is the perfect method for bringing in some very powerful spirits, losing oneself in the experience and truly embracing the being called in. As long as Hecates ever watchful eye and protection has been invoked. and the practitioner is in the correct space, the result should be a positive one. With the dismissal of fear, this can be a profoundly progressive and literally transformative experience that can facilitate massive leaps on the theurgic path. It must be adapted to fit the situation, it is not something that can be replicated from reciting cold hard text from any book. It is learned through experience, sometimes hard earned – do not believe the snake oils salesmen who will direct you away from this, telling you they alone hold the secrets. Secrets of course they will ever so divulge if you believe their comedic youtube promotionals and buy into their overpriced and frankly amateurish body of work that shows little understanding of the above.
Note although I previously used sexual magick as an example, ecstatic work does not need to be confined to such. Only people who lack imagination or who are after something would say so (if its related to paired work). None of the above methods (drumming, singing, chanting, dancing) need to possess a sexual element – they just need to harmonise with the particular spirit being worked with. Similar to how in physics, waves that in phase have an amplifying effect, the same is to be attempted using the ecstatic method. As such, it is also usually specific to each individual spirit as to what works best in your relationship with them when bringing them into the flesh.
Many have been in contact with me and told me they have problem with possession work – hence the topic of this post. Talking to them I realise they are only approaching its performance from meditative, contemplative angles. This has its place in more subtle forms of possession, in preparation before rites, and in other forms of magickal work but in my experience (and certainly, it is dependent on the individual and their innate gifts) the strongest forms of possession are experienced using ecstatic methods. As we go towards Samhain, I recommend people change to more ecstatic means to take their possession work to the next level if they are having difficulties working with spirit. I wish it was something I could give more concrete guidance on, but the exact method differs wildly from individual to individual. The only universal tip I can settle on is aim to synchronise your own innate biorhythms, your ceremonial actions, and the energies of the possessing spirit into harmony – in this way everything flows as one – all you need to do from then on is grab hold of the surging wave, and ride it to its natural completion.
Art by Valin Mattheis
For those who are feeling a little more comfortable, i’d suggest if you have the opportunity you take it to the next level and push past your own comfort zone. Leave your usual working space and go into the wilds away from human contact, ensuring of course proper preparation to stay safe. You don’t need to go overly far – the most startlingly beautiful and powerful places are usually within reach, even for those of us with limited transport options with a bit of effort. If you find a site that feels good for communion after physical and spiritual considerations have been taken into account, you can perform the ecstatic rites. These should always be conducted from within a suitably cast circle (even if that is a quick cast than something fully ceremonial). The goal being to learn about that space, its genius locii, and begin building powerful relationship. Not just this, but also simply for the sheer joy of exercising your divine right to embrace your existence upon this plane and others. In these workings the ways to rehallow the Earth soul are revealed and worked – real change can be made here at the liminal crossing points where long forgotten spirits await. Not all are friendly, or easy to work with, but all will listen to a sincere call of one of Hecates kin. From there it is up to you. Not all can do or are suited to thiswork and that is perfectly fine. But for those who are, I can tell you its a worthwhile experience.
With the above relayed, I want to quickly say I hope to do a few more posts over the Samhain period, keeping them relatively short but detailing select things. The next post I want to be about Lucifers burning stellar energies, and how that interplays with Hecates, in a way that is somewhat channelled if possible at the time. It is difficult to relate it text but I will do my best to bring it forth for (more likely on!) our hallowed date.
May the light of the Goddess guide you, On the Ecstatic Paths the lead to Her Throne, And Into the Arms of Her and her Kin
I would like to simply make a short post to wish everyone a beautiful and productive summer solstice on this wonderful sabbat night.
I have enjoyed it in the traditional sense, spending time with some great friends and enjoying the powerful energies released from our creative endeavours!
Tomorrow is when the main meat of ritual will be conducted, and is something I have to begin truly preparing for! In this work, as mentioned before the whole aim will be the quickening of the world soul and the drawing through of Lucifers solar fire to bring individual and group illumination.
On that note, Id like to simply offer forth two of the calls from the work in honour of Lucifer to share some of this energy with other devotees who walk this path. I don’t pretend these to be works of art, but they are sincere and powerful and I hope they bestow upon the reader at least of fraction of Lucifers solar power and blessing!
The Solar Invocation of Lucifer
‘O Morning Star, hear me! I invoke thee, Light of my Heart, The Lord of the Universal Trees of Man, The Perfect Red King of Sulphur, O Stellar One! Phoenix of the Purest Fire!
He who holds in his hands the Light Sun,
Ruler of Life Giving Power fed to the Flesh of the Earth
He who holds in his hands the Black Sun Master of the Cemetery Rites who shepherds the Mighty Dead! I pray to you Lucifer, to be present at our hallowed rites of celebration, Always bestowing your blessings upon your gathered kin! Now
I ask of you, O Perfect Stellar Flame, In the name of Hecate, Supreme Goddess,
In Love and In Honour,
As I walk the Path of the Wise,
Enter now my flesh, My blood,
My bones, Witch Kin and God become One!’
The Phoenix Reborn by Tomasz Alen Kopera
The Drawing Down Of the Suns of Lucifer
‘I CALL DOWN NOW THE SOLAR POWER OF THE KING OF LIGHT THE LIGHTNING FLASH OF THE LAUGHING GOD AT THE HEIGHT OF HIS POWER INTO THE VERY HEART OF BELIAL AND INTO THE HEARTS OF GATHERED KIN
THE POWER OF THE BLACK SUN
CHANGE BRINGING JEWEL OF DESTRUCTION COME NOW
CLEAN AND PURIFY US
ALL IS CONSUMED WHICH IMPEDES OUR PATH AND HARMS OUR EARTH
THE POWER OF THE WHITE SUN
LIFE BRINGING JEWEL OF CREATION COME NOW
INVIGORATE AND EMPOWER US
GRANTING STRENGTH AND RENEWED LIFE TO US AND THE BODY OF BELIAL
THE POWER OF THE CRIMSON SUN
PERFECT JEWEL OF THE RED KING OF SULPHUR COME NOW
LIFT US UP
GRANT TO US THE ACCELERATED EVOLUTION OF THE WORLD SOUL AND IN SACRED THEURGY BATHE US IN THE KALAS OF THE SON OF HECATE
THUS IS THE CURRENT SENT FORTH IN FULL POTENCY IN LOVE AND IN HONOUR IN THE NAME OF SHE WHO CAME FIRST’
The Luciferian Revolution 