Here we are, going into Samhain, and I am still playing catch-up! The midsummer solstice, and the impacts of the work coming out of that time, knocked me for six. In a very good way – so much has changed, altered, opened for myself and temple since then that every time I’ve sat down to write this entry, something else would occur which necessitated deep work and reflection to tackle and integrate it. Whether this was work for the current, for myself, or the initiation candidates, something would come up meaning the blog posts came bottom priority. Many of these events have been very profound – the kind of experience where writing about them seems almost exhibitionist. As such, I’ve chosen to focus on purely the more ‘formal’ rite which was carried out earlier this year for this belated blog post.
For context – the above was not entirely unexpected. Opening each stellar gate, has been an increasingly complex process up to this point. The opening of the first gate, with the Temple Familiar gifted by Belial through the Seal of the Ascending Winged Skull, took a matter of months – albeit the physical effects took years to both integrate and fully recover from. Hecate’s Stellar Gate similarly came through relatively quickly, to balance the initially unexpected black stellar energies released via the Ivory Spider.
Lucifer’s was more of a slow burn – requiring the evocation and integration of all three great elemental dragons – something that could be done fully only in the places where they most strongly reside. This required roughly two years of work and planning. As such, when contrasted with the Lilithian build up, I knew that opening this particular gate would be very demanding.
In total, no less than three wood cuts, and one full wood engraving block would be used in opening this gate at the temple here. The gate stele itself was cut into an engraving woodblock, made of birch. On one side, the temple specific channelled variant of the Seal of the City of Pyramids was inked, on the reverse, the specific key to unlock that seal fully given through the work with Lilith. The remaining four sides of the wood blocks were filled with Theban script – three sides, the formula of the synchronomicon, the final word being one of draconic origin released in the final work.
Each wood cut was adorned on one side with its related draconic seal, and on the flipside, its related draconic key.
Fomalhaut, the Royal Star of the South, by Davide De Martin
The ritual to open the gate was a strenuous one. Donning the ritual mask of Lucifer, firstly, each dragon gate was opened within the circle itself. This was possible thanks to the power already granted in previous possessions – without which none of this would have been possible.
Each opening necessitated each front seal being covered in blood, following a formal unlocking at blade point and subsequent blooding of the rear key sigil. As each was completed, the power of the corresponding dragon flooded into the circle. The feeling that accompanied these steps was not initially one of ecstatic empowerment – instead this initial, preparatory stage felt more like wading through a liquid. A liquid that simply grew in viscosity as more power was drawn into the working space as each woodcut was worked through individually, each power point and line receiving the necessary attention the act required.
The final quarter to be opened would be different. Here, stood the clear mirror of the arte used at the temple for a variety of rites. In front of it, the stele of Lucifer’s gate was placed, flanked by candles, leaving space to carry out the needed ritual operations. To the left, a blooded sigil of Surgat lay, and on the right, the physical skeleton key empowered by Lilith in the previous working. Both Witch Gods were called to lend their power to the rite.
When the time felt right, the front of the stele, as well as surrounding words of power were blooded. Lilith’s key was then utilized on the gate seal, to open it in widdershins fashion. With this prepared, the gate was turned and the key seal of the stele blooded. Finally, it was necessary to repeat the last two steps on the mirror itself. With each symbolic act, the locks placed on the soul were also released, and with words of power, the mirror gate came alive.
Formal request of Lucifer, through the opened mirror gate, to release the power of his stellar gate thus prepared, began a series of possessions. Like sunlight filtered through a lens, the power surged through the mirror and into the body. Strangely, it was not Lucifer who came first – but Vassago, coming clean out of the mirror. His silvered body glowed with such intensity, as his appearance took me entirely off guard – it was not the horned god I had initially expected! His chosen form so mercurial it seemed to flood out the clear surface, which in turn, now rippled like the surface of water.
Now behind him came Lucifer, appearing in horned, reptilian form – his energy in comparison was darker, more red and black, and in swirling kaleidoscopic currents the possession intensified. It was in this act that the necessary alchemy was completed, and the resulting completed stele marked.
The traditional goetic appearance of the daemon Vassago. Very different from the mercurial visions this spirit often gives me!!Artist unknown.
I lay there for awhile, just recovering from the energy release. In many ways I was still in shock, as the process was very different to what I had initially expected – this was a great learning exercise. Even with all the gnosis processed as to how to perform a rite, only by actually doing it is full understanding gained – something which cannot be guessed going in without the potential for being humbled by the experience.
With the above done, this marks the end of a cycle of intense workings. I don’t expect these to get any easier, but I must now for a little time, turn my attention to my initiation candidates. I have been blessed with two candidates of strong potency and devotion – and both are at a stage where initiations could be reasonably performed into the Black Degree.
As the year dies, my mind goes towards the blogs future. As more and more work intensifies, as alluded to in the opening, my view on many things has changed. Next year will mark the ten year anniversary of me starting this blog – what was meant to be only a small little working curio diary, has grown far beyond what I had initially planned. We are a full ninety posts in at this point, and many of the goals I initially set have either been met, or I have simply grown beyond. As my more work becomes Temple based, more intimate and deep, I do anticipate that there may be many necessary changes yet to come.
I will update people as I go, regarding any plans. I hope everyone a fantastic run up to Samhain, and thank you for reading.
May the Lord of Light, Show you the Way, Back to the Stellar Paths, Long forgotten by the Race of Man,
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.’
So it has been all quiet on the blog front. In order to get through a very long winter, it has been necessary to turn inward to focus on mundane life and concerns. Whilst the occult work hasn’t stopped, it has also taken a turn to be far more introspective and personal than can necessarily be shared in public. That said, I thought a small post was in order.
I think that these circumstances probably reflects a lot of our collective experience at the moment. But here at least, there is finally signs of things picking up. The return of the light and warm weather here has been quite abrupt, and I feel that this year will open up to be a great one for the current and the work of the temple here. With the publication of the upcoming Qayin work by MAS, I can see many new faces being drawn into working with our gods. Exciting times, given the last year we have all had to suffer through.
Due to this, I thought it would be good to put down my (very) long term intentions for the work here, that runs parallel to my own theurgic work. It is to be noted that these plans are just that very long term and up in the air, but are important I think to get out there. Especially as I have had some people asking me personally to clarify.
A tarn in Norway, Photographer Unknown
I plan to do the next ritual in the dragon workings between May and August; the initial anchor stones for the outside working were collected this weekend, and will be blessed tonight, in preparation for their marking and empowerment at the next full moon in preparation for their use in this evocation. Surgat will be worked with heavily to understand this formulae that is similar to the stellar anchors used in previous evocational work, but different in intention. To create a bridge for the dragon to ride down, is the most vital element to the entire working. This is something I’m deeply looking forward to – the most powerful work is always done in the wild, in connection with the elemental forces. The inner temple work, whilst very powerful, is unsuited to such works of grand evocation necessary for the next stages of soul evolution. I have a plan as to what and where – it is going to involve a bit of wild camping, at elevation, so it is going to need a proper plan and preparation to pull it off somewhat safely. I may document the trip as I go, as it is likely going to take a few days to get to the wilderness location where I’ll be carrying the rite out.
In other news I have gotten back into transcribing all the writing from the physical volumes into electronic format – into a more cohesive edited work. All of this task is mostly thankless and goes unnoticed, as it’s nature but it’s crucial as anyone who documents their own work knows. It is currently not my plan to ever publish this publicly – things could change, with a variety of internal, external factors coming into account (and protocol to be followed as is honourable) – but instead the current intention is to focus on creating a master copy temple book, as part of founding a real, physical working group here. This work can then be given to the initiates, in a format suitable to their level of development.
A lot has been worked on in this regard since I last tackled transcribing and editing (the work referred here to simply as The Book of the Ivory Spider), not least the Lucifer aspect which turned out to be far longer, and more involved, than I had anticipated. More direction has come through, but until I bust through this particular gate that has had me working years longer than expected, the full extent of the remaining Belial and Ivory Spider work is difficult to see. I doubt that before full outer and inner plane construction is finished, I’ll be able see the complete picture to put everything into perspective. This lull however does make for a perfect time to get caught up in anticipation of more gnosis that needs to be brought through, decoded, and recorded.
To give people an insight, below is a picture of the journals covering the last few years of work. There is a lot of material – most of it being quite specific to myself – but that still leaves a lot to be extracted, rewritten, detailed and placed into context which is not always obvious immediately after performing a rite and documenting the results.
A stack of Temple Books, self taken
It is not just text either. Within these works are the various sigillic diagrams, spirit seals, and other such details via which to create the necessary gates opened in blood. Many of these ways for now need to be solidly guarded until they can be possibly passed on. Below is one of the diagrammatic seals / sigils reflecting the poison that runs through the blood, upon accepting the blessing and curse of the guardian of the stellar webway upon ones own soul, body and mind. This is only the outer seal or mark of a very real occult transformation which happens within the blood, that puts a significant strain upon the body initially. If pushed through, it allows for great works of healing conducted through direct blood work – especially at removing, destroying, and cleansing works or after effects of a malefic or abusive nature.
The Seal of the Healing Venoms, self created and taken
To return to the topic of the group work to detail that further, if anything of the last few years has taught me, it is the value of physical covens. The one that I work with for an arguably related but separate current, has taught me the great value of shared history, gnosis, and of an implicitly trustworthy magickal fraternity. Devoid of drama, it has focused strongly on the rites and power and has reaped the fruits of such. This experience has also conversely taught me of the many shortfalls that come through online teaching and learning. Simply put, what I want to achieve with the Stellar Temple that is slowly forming, is not possible outside of a cohesive magical group working intimately and closely in the real physical world. This is where I want to focus my efforts, and thus produce a strong line of stellar initiates within a lived and deep tradition. This is how I see my own work developing, and the best of way of safeguarding and cherishing what was passed down to me from the Mother Temple, as well as other treasured lines of initiation.
2020 taught me the seriousness of such a charge and simply cemented my conviction to build this and disseminate it in the way that achieved the best results for individuals and the world soul. One can say my mind was focused. As to the exact form this will take, it is up to much debate, but both organization and makeup of the working group here is still be decided. Initial formulation of three working degrees, based around alchemical principles, will be the primary means of testing and preparation for initiate work. The actual passing on of any prince of fire empowerments will be reserved for those who excel and pass in physical dedication passed those three degrees. Whilst superficially similar to traditional wicca, and no doubt inspired by my work within that related current, the content of the rites are specifically Primal Current in both method and design. The first of these initiations at Black Degree have already been performed. There is however, a lot of remaining work to develop the personal cultus of the Temple and ensure it is both consistent and correctly understood to be properly revealed and transmitted. I’m looking forward to doing this work immensely.
Scene of Rising Energies from Amenta, self created and taken
Some may contrast this approach with that taken by the Mother Temple itself for disseminating work. There is reason why the works of the mother temple were made public, that have been discussed at length by its gatekeeper. Sometimes the time is right to make something more widely known, important to make something public. For the stellar work done here, that time is certainly not yet – and it may be simply that it is never for wide dissemination.
The blog is probably not going to have lots of updates this year – unless it is to update on the Dragon Rite and or the construction of the inner temple. I have seemingly lost my appetite right now for public discourse and the tide turns inwards to give birth to something new and deep. It would be easy to do updates on common affairs topics – like the current Hecatian communities general attitude, the attitude of witchcraft community to its teachers and its all take, no give solipsistic practice and approach. But I have so far decided to simply stay off these topics here and focus on the work. I think that is what is most beneficial for the long run, as the rest is really just monkey noise getting in the way of progress on the theurgic path. Somethings should be self evident, and not need an essay.
I may in the near future finally get a review up for Jack Grayles Hekateon, as well as LiberKhthonia by Jeff Cullen at some point. We will see. The first is quite belated – the quick summation are both are worth reading, and enough is easily syncretised with the Primal Current to make them worth it for the Trident devotees as secondary sources. The last one in particular in its reclamation of the devotional aspect I feel is very important and very good to be seeing in new material as emphasis.
I hope this insight has given people something to look forward to re the writeup and a bit of reassurance that good work is still ongoing here.
Illuminated by the Black Sun, We Carry Her Torches, Now and Forever, ~S~
So it has been a quiet but quite productive last few months. Planning for the next and final dragon ritual is well underway, and I’m hoping that the climate as it were will be conducive for its performance as required on this part of the path: under the open sky, in a remote high up place of power. Only this will be suitable for the calling in of the next dragon, communing with it in the hopes of acquiring what is necessary, and thus opening the way to the completion of Lucifers Stellar Pillar Gate.
In the meantime, the state of the World Soul has been quite difficult to navigate. On the immediate astral or mirror world, and the the deeper inner planes, the turmoil of the above is reflected on the below. This can cause the effect of feeling as if one is swimming through a thick soup – and generally is something hard to deal with. That is not saying anything of the additional stresses that the current situation has brought upon everyone that can tangibly felt.
This is the perfect time to take solace in our work and our patrons, and do work which can help alleviate this somewhat. Hecate and Lucifer have given us the tools to connect to them, and find the strength we need. In the primal craft group on that social media site(tm), I decided to ask the following which got a great response.
‘How much does song / music play into your devotional or ritual work with the Goddess? I know that there are some wonderful musicians in here, but not just music, but as in devotional song or prayer. How do you fit it in to your practice? Do you find it helps revitalise you given the current situation? And have any of you used it in inner planes work?’
I got an absolute deluge of fantastic answers from the very talented people in the community, as to what worked for them or conversely, what didn’t (just as important when it comes to solid connection during ritual and devotional practice).
For my own part, I have used song in devotional practice for awhile now. This is one of the ways in which I connect to and draw down Hecate, in preparation for greater work and simply as a form of worship. A term some might not be comfortable with, but which I see as important when our path is a devotional one. I have used select songs for initiation and ritual work at the temple, and although i’m not particularly musically gifted, have utilised instruments in ritual to some potent effect.
Hymn to Hekate, by Magin Rose, an excellent modern contribution for devotional work.
In particular, and the reason for this post formulating in my mind in the first place, was the occurrence of the use of song not on the physical, but on the astral planes, and the potential for vast changes it instilled upon me as a possibility. This is something I have done for awhile on a very low level, but I only saw the true power of it whilst journeying the other night. What happened seemed to be on a whole other scale, an incident which I will now relate.
Whilst travelling, I had penetrated into a dark, expansive plain of grey that was mostly featureless – just dust swirling around me in all directions creating a fine mist that made it difficult to see. It tasted like fine cement or ash, as if it was what remained after a huge fire had swept through the area. At the time , I felt strangely disorientated, lost, and lacking power. One of the ways to earth in such a situation is to use the sigil of the three crossed staves, or if wanting to return immediately, the sigil of universal gateways to return without disorientation to ones body. Both of these did not seem appropriate – it felt like I was in this place for a purpose. That I could not leave until someone had been done, enacted, architected, built.
So I tried something new. I simply began singing, directed at Hecate, to bring in as much power as I could to this otherwise empty and desolate place. It felt like only her power, brought into where I was, could change the landscape before me and knit together what I felt was missing. Fill what was hollow. I began singing.. a simple hymn of the temples own devising here (written by the initiate), and felt the dust begin to swirl. Over time i could feel it whipping up in a roar, and started to change colour. First, it slowly transformed into dull yellow as colour bled in. It seemed to intensify, coalescing into a shape or figure, and the glow became a mix of deep oranges. This soon solidified into intense, rich golds as the form of Hekate Phosphorous appeared, blazing from head to foot. The harmonic resonance of the plane seemed to match that of my own voice, as warmth and colour bled outwards back into the entire area. The song evolved, flowing naturally.
Hekate Phosphorous by Hellfurian-Guard
This elevated to a merging of myself and the plane with Hecate herself, a sort of planar transvocation. The sheer stellar and empyric power that poured out of her and into and through me was of a level I have not experienced with her in this form up to this point. As the crescendo built to climax, I returned to my body suddenly, bolt awake. There was no boundary at all, as if it was completed with the snap of someones fingers. I felt intensely energised, the waves of stellar energy still vibrating up and down along the spine. I let the energies calm before getting on with the rest of my day, mentally filing away the occurrence as something to detail when possible.
The exact nature of what permanent change may or may not have occurred is not yet apparent, nor have I been able to identify the plane where this occurred with any certainty. I feel it was a subplane connected to the world soul, that part of the near astral. It is something I look forward to exploring further, especially now the efficacy of performing magic with song on the planes has been revealed to me. I would be interested, as to if anyone else has had any experiences doing similar whilst travelling in such a manner.
Wrapped in the Flames of the Goddess, We walk in and by her Light, Through the Dark Places Of Old Witch Night
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~
Today marks a ground breaking development in the field of Astrophysics. For the first time, scientists have managed to get a hold of the first picture of a black hole. This marks a great step forward in our study of these great stellar constructs, and so far confirms our understanding of general relativity. Going forward observations will, hopefully, point the way towards unifying two of the underpinnings of modern physics which currently stand somewhat in opposition. More on that angle here.
The black hole imaged is that at the centre of the Messier 87 galaxy. Described as a ‘complete monster’ by some, it is unfathomably large. Estimates have ranged from (3.5 ± 0.8) to (6.6 ± 0.4) × 109 solar masses, with a measurement of 7.22+0.34 −0.40×109 solar masses being obtained in 2016. This mass is one of the highest known for a supermassive black hole. A rotating disk of ionized gas surrounds the black hole, and is roughly perpendicular to the relativistic jet. This disk rotates at a velocity of up to 1,000 km/s, and spans a diameter of 0.39 light years. M87* as it is known, swallows an entire solar mass every ten years – equivalent to 90 earths in a single day.
The photograph from the recent work is below which shows the event horizon itself. The picture immediately after it, demonstrates the jet emitting from the M87 galaxy itself – which is the bright glow of the condensed stars which make up its elliptical shape.
Image of the supermassive black hole M87* – Event Horizon Telescope
Photograph of the relativistic jet generated by M87* – NASA
The EHT has also been attempting to take pictures of our galaxies heart Sagittarius A*, itself located in Sagittarius Alpha, a very interesting part of space. Soon we will get a picture of our own parent supermassive black hole, which has driven stellar evolution likely for over 13.2 billion years.
For those who know little about black holes, physically they are extreme concentrations of matter – so intense they bend literal space time in their vicinity. So intense that at their core, the curve of space time becomes infinite in what is known as a singularity, and all known laws of physics break apart under the extreme conditions.
One is probably thinking at this point what this has to do with the Primal Current. In my own approach to Primal Current, these objects are nothing short than some of the strongest stellar portals – that belong to the Lord of the Dark Star.
The Lord of the Dark Star is the gatekeeper of the Throne of Hecate, and an immensely powerful stellar being that holds the keys to intense stellar gnosis. As a spirit he is quite aloof and difficult to reach for many people – mainly reachable through Hecate when the time is right and he chooses to reveal himself. Detailed initially in the Red King by Mark Alan Smith, he makes numerous further appearances across Marks work. With this day being so important, I felt it would be great to therefore share some of the stellar gnosis that was obtained in the form of the following invocation and voces magickae sent forth with working with him closely alongside Lucifer. I’m not sure if i’ve published these before publicly, but either way I felt today was a time to post them.
Caduceus of the Lord of the Dark Star – The Red King, Mark Alan Smith
Call to the Lord of The Dark Star
‘LU-THAY-CI-EL, ASH-TE-RAY x9 Through the Eye of the Great Dragon, In Knowledge and Power I call to you, Lord of the Sacred Stellar Gateway, That which lies beyond Sagittarius Alpha itself! Crown Prince of the Endless Void, Child of Hecate and Lucifer,
Great Guardian to the Throne of the Great Goddess, He whose Name is spoken only in hushed whispers, In words half remembered by the Race of Man, Open the Way to your Swirling Vortex, Envelop me in your Essence, Within The Crown of the Axis Mundi of the All, Revealing the Pathways to Dimensions, Outside the Realms of Finite Time and Space, Your Eternal Way now opened, Paid for in Witchblood and in Love, In Hecates Name’ LU-THAY-CI-EL, ASH-TE-RAY x9′
The above invocational call should be done whilst in a fully cast circle, with the trees fully opened, utilising Hecates Eye (in turn created from an orb of solid obsidian). This is the perfect start to devotional work with him – in additional, the sigil given may be marked in wood, itself painted black, in gold.
The LU-THAY-CI-EL, ASH-TE-RAY is a call given by this entity alongside Lucifer to intensify and quicken stellar currents. It can be used in conjunction with the above invocation as mantra to empower the devotional rite. It can also be used for other select purposes – that at some point I hope to detail in print far, far down the line.
My first meeting with this entity was of being suspended on a stone platform, in the blackness of space, with the form of Sagittarius A* burning brightly behind it. I was surrounded by some kind of energetic shield, safe from the intense waves of radiation which licked its edges, in turn forming fabulous aurorae. The Lord of the Dark Star extruded into the shield from the event horizon itself, descending several manifested stone steps. He appeared as an immensely powerful winged humanoid form, possessing a canine head, reminiscent of drawings and paintings of the god Anubis. The energy that washed over me from from him was an intense fuschian colour of such vibrancy it was breathtaking. It was here he gave his initial empowerment, something I will always be eternally grateful for.
Ever since, the winter solstice and dark moons have taken a special meaning as perfect nights for working with him as well as other stellar entities that are otherwise drowned out every month by moonlight. These are perfect nights to work with the stellar spirits, for obvious practical reasons.
To end this relatively short but hopefully interesting piece, I’ll simply add that we live in a time now where our knowledge of the physical stellar makeup is far improved, and that it befits us to to work with them based on this. Just as the ancients based their stellar work on actual observation and direct contact with these entities, so should we, rather than relying on debased systems that have been hacked and chopped together over the last 200 years, themselves based on valuable but flawed medieval century grimoires.
For those who are wanting to learn more about stellar magic – start with astronomy. Build up your knowledge of the stars themselves, and of the stellar classifications and coordinate systems. This can seem tedious at first but it is a genuine base – even a very amateur understanding will put you light years (pun intended) in front of those who work outdated methods without understanding the actual, physical realities around us. Your magickal work will simply become much more effective and new avenues will open to you. Of special interest would be examining stellar classification, to better know the types of stars in our sky.
For those new entirely to astronomy and stellar, or even planetary magick, the following books work as good launching points with the above kept firmly in mind. There is plenty more but these are my current favourites I can personally recommend. It is important to know where to go from to remain earthed in some manner in this vast avenue of exploration.
Turn Left at Orion: Hundreds of Night Sky Objects to See in a Home Telescope – and How to Find Them by Guy Consolmagno
Fixed Stars and Judicial Astrology by George C Noonan
Practical Planetary Magick by Sorita D’Este and David Rankine
Stellar Magic by Payam Nabarz
To You,
Nameless One,
Master of The Nine Universes,
I Give My Thanks and Praise, Enfolded Within The Shadow of Your Wings Bathing In Your Pure Black Light,
In Love and In Honour,
Going into the new year has been a powerful time here, bringing many changes to my mundane life for the better. I truly feel blessed by my Gods, who have made themselves known in sometimes frighteningly, powerful ways on the physical plane as of late in the strength of signs and synchronicities sent forth. It is hard to talk of the love and appreciation I have for them, and what they have brought me these last few months, so ill suffice to say I finally feel the previous trials have borne their fruit in their entirety. This has put me in a good place for forthcoming work in 2019 – which will involve again, some strict theurgic work to open the next set of stellar pillars.
Surgat has finally been contacted over these last few months, and successful pact has been entered. This will be sealed by taking his mark over the coming weeks – at which point the correct empowerment and protection will be in place to open his lock on the Ivory Path. I am heavily looking forward to kick starting this process – hoping to work through this quickly and then by summer, have Lucifer’s stellar pillar fully opened. This should hopefully pave the way for the work with Belial, the spirits of the stellar caverns, the Ivory Spider and finally, of what is making itself known as the rite of ‘lesser whirlpool’. Full understanding of this process will be unveiled in time, as individual works are completed, which should allow for rapid assimilation of the dependent gnosis.
One of the side affects of this work is expanding awareness of the great stellar spirits that ply their way through the heavens. Greater knowledge of the stars reveals just how much has been lost, from a magickal perspective, in regards to knowledge of working with these entities. Even old magickal systems that are often relied on, whilst arguably more dependable than modern systems, are also shown to be greatly lacking – most of them being invented thousands of years after the majority of the truly wondrous stellar magickal lore was lost.
In many cases, the stars became subservient to the planets or worse. This is strongly demonstrated by modern astrology – taken to extremes in popular, shallow, banal sun sign fixation – which has withered to the point of being unusable outside of as a dubious self help tool. Here, Alan Leo and the Theosophical Society have a lot to answer for.
These systems would have been entirely alien to the stellar priests of the past, where the stars were exalted as powerful beings of their own whose portents could be read to accurately predict the streams of fate and complement soul travel through the heavens.
There is a rather good article on this, that can be found here by Ida C. Benedetto, which covers this in some detail. My own goal with this entry is a little different.
What is important from a modern stellar gnosis perspective is direct contact with these entities where possible. To be able to accomplish this, one must have an appreciation and knowledge of the physical structures on which our Magick is based. Thus, we must turn away from overly abstract, simplified models back to complex and deep investigations that lead to a living star praxis.
One of the greatest collections of Stellar Entities and Formations, can be found in the constellation of Orion, which is a great starting point to investigate this expansive field. Being one of the most easily recognised constellations, it is a veritable powerhouse of stellar power than lies along the celestial equator making it visible throughout the world. The picture below shows Orion in incredible detail, including several important deep sky objects. Learning about this area of space would be of great benefit to someone who hopes to gain Stellar Gnosis and work it into their practice.
Photo taken by Rogelio Bernal Andreo in October 2010 of the Orion constellation showing the surrounding nebulae of the Orion Molecular Cloud complex.
The ‘main’ stars that make up the constellation are full of power and history. The top most star, an orange giant named Betelgeuse, is very dominant. Betelgeuse is expected, within the short stellar timeframe of two million years, to explode as a giant supernova. Going clockwise, we have Bellatrix in the top right, Rigel in the bottom right, and then Saiph in the bottom left. The belt asterism is made up of the stars Altinak, Alnilam, and Mintaka.
Below, a basic table of the statistics of these stars are displayed along with relevant links to further information on their physical makeup. It should be noted that some of these stars are in fact binary stars – meaning that the system is in fact made up of two stars in close orbit, that appears as one point in the sky. This has an effect on the energies that are drawn through when working with them.
Orion, is traditionally associated with the huntsman of the same name from Hellenic Myth. Plenty of other cultures have a similar, martial theme to describe mythologically this constellation, and the surrounding stellar structures. Personal experience has led me to utilise these stars in powerful rites of stellar purification and earthing – in fact they played a major role in the ritual to earth Lucifer’s stellar energies, and uproot the entity from the cursed earth that was encountered in earlier workings detailed on this blog. Specific gnosis shows indeed, Betelgeuse is the ruler of this constellation, when they are worked together, with Alnilam being the lens and mediator in which its power is directed down into the constructed stellar gates.
This current is incredibly electrifying – of such benefic power that it really does bend the mind to experience it. When directed in the name of Hecate, Lucifer, Belial and the Lord of the Dark Star, it can be used to create stellar anchor points of such strength, drawing in a quickening and empowering current into the flesh of the Earth. This is something i hope to detail in full at some point in the future – this ritual, that was the sealing of Lucifer’s promise and gift of the Phoenix fire. The amount of energy that is able to be channelled should not be surprising – with this being an active, physical birthing ground of new stars in the many deep sky nebulae that can be observed here. Here, the hearts of new stars are forged, within the winding strands of the Orion, Horsehead and Flame Nebulas that make up the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex.
Orion is also a useful pointer to other, powerful stars in that region of the sky. This can be of most use to a witch making use of stellar power.
Orion as a navigational aid, by Mysid
Firstly, Orion’s belt points to both Sirius and Aldebaran. Sirius is the brightest star in the night’s sky, and as part of Canis Major, is also known as the Dog Star. This has long been considered to be ‘Orion’s Dog’, that follows him through the sky. The Greeks believed it to have a baleful influence on dogs, driving them to frenzy. This is contrasted by Persian star lore, which assigns Sirius to Tishtrya, a divinity of rain, fertility, and the antagonist of the demon of drought.
To the opposite end indicated by the belt, is the star Aldebaran, one of the Persian Royal Stars, which lies in the constellation of Taurus. In this system Aldebaran was seen as the Watcher of the East. The Persian Royal Stars were seen as the Guardian of the Skies, and were made up of Aldebaran, Fomalhaut, Antares and Regulus. The implications here for those who are clued up on the identity of the Princes of the Quarters should be obvious. That will be an interesting avenue to pursue, especially from a primal craft perspective. It bears mentioning that three of these match with the Behenian Fixed Star list, with Fomalhaut being the exception. It is interesting to note that the Hyades lie directly behind Aldebaran – distinct from it, but easily noticeable, with that great star seeming to act as their current gatekeeper due to it’s position and prominence.
Procyon can be found tracing a line from Mintaka through Betelgeuse. This star is seen as a companion of Sirius, falling in the constellation of Canis Minor, and is also seen as a ‘Wolf’ star. Following a line through Rigel and Betelgeuse, the stars Castor and Pollux may be found, mythological twins which lie within the constellation Gemini.
Finally, those powerful, luminous, class B stars of immense stellar power that make up the sacred Pleiadean Gate may be found by following the path towards Aldebaran but continuing slightly further along the imaginary path. Here they appear as a dense cluster of stars, easily visible to the naked eye. These beautiful stars, who make up the circle of the sisters, are important for their protective powers that feature in the basic circle construction ritual that primal craft utilises. These stars could form a whole entry on this blog themselves, so I will leave it by simply saying that, with Taurus / Auriga lying at the galactic anticentre, these stars lie directly in the path that takes us outside of our galaxy. As such, they therefore form a magickal channel of great power, to the interstellar void that lies beyond them. This lies in contrast with the power emitted from Sagittarius, where lies the pulsing heart of our Galaxy and that great stellar portal over which the Lord of the Dark Star holds claim.
Drawing a line from Betelgeuse through Aldebaran, the Pleiades are easily found (top right) Photograph by Panda~thwiki
The Pleiades, photograph by David Martin
I hope I have instilled in the reader the desire to explore this area further. The ease of which identification of these stars can be made lend them well to being a springboard for further investigation and work, especially when we consider how densely packed this area is with stellar lore and power. Thus we become blessed with greater knowledge of the stars, thus re-birthing our relationship with these stellar entities.
I end this entry with a single image that details the evolution of Orion. For the stars are not static, but are living breathing beings, which only an active approach can seek to reach with genuine and long lasting success.
The Evolution of The Hunter, animation of Proper Motion by Tony873004
Ave Hecate Asteria, Queen of the Stellar Torches Ave Lucifer, Master of the Living Starfire, Ave Belial, Lord of All Flesh, Ave The Lord of the Dark Star, Keeper of Sagittarius Alpha Ave the Stars of the Hunter, Ave the Pleiadian and Hyadean Gates, Through Which the Stellar Currents are Delivered, Into the Heart of Our World, In Loving Stellar Evolution, Let our Paths be Elevated,
O Silver Tongued Lords
I can start this post by safely saying that the issue surrounding the chimeric spirit, as detailed in the previous entry, is now fully resolved.
The spirit was bound successfully on the full moon, into the constructed box and witch jar. This operation went far smoother than expected – although certain physical anomalies did present themselves as the spirit obviously did not wish to be anchored into the vessel. This complicated the ritual slightly but at the end of the day it was completed without serious issue. Follow up dream work, with said spirit, confirmed it was successfully bound.
Due to the sensitive nature of the work unfortunately I cannot provide pictures of this ritual or any documentation detailing it in depth. However, I do want to quickly and briefly discuss the synchronomicon of Lucifer, how I see it being used and it’s connection to the Phoenix in my work.
The Pyramids of Giza by Daniel Clarke
Lucifer as anyone involved in Witchcraft the Trident Current will know, is a truly complex entity. The many masks, names and identities all attributed to him are endless, and to truly delve into this subject and his history would be the subject of an essay all to itself! In Trident craft, there exists a particularly powerful set of Voces Magicae, which allow the witch to channel the power of all the many names of this witchgod at once.
Described in detail in Queen of Hell by Mark Alan Smith, the synchronomicon is vital to correctly channel Lucifer at the higher levels required for further theurgic work. However, in the original book the means by which the synchronomicon is unlocked is detailed only briefly: it is stated Lucifer should be evoked explicitly and the synchronomicon requested.
It would be good to add that of course, it doesn’t always go smoothly. Lucifer isnt simply going to give access to this because someone THINKS they deserve it. As anyone who has been reading the latest entries would know, Lucifer may ask of the witch to fulfil a particular task or bring forth a particular piece of knowledge forward in payment for its unlocking in pact.
Note that the explicit evocation and fulfilling any agreed pact is required before the synchronomicon can be used. I have seen recently many so called witches and occultists, usually those who are not really working with the current but simply mashing material together, use the synchronomicon call wedged into their work seemingly with little thought or respect.
Without the proper process undertaken to unlock it, the synchronomicon call, vocalised, is worthless. Without that step it is purely empty, meaningless words. It has to be unlocked at soul level.
This is a point I cannot stress enough. If you see someone detailing to use this call without stressing this point, it shows they likely have NO understanding of the synchronomicon and lack the ability to actually make use of it. This sounds like common sense but it feels a point I think has not been taken on board.
Once unlocked, the change from before and after should be obvious. To myself, the synchronomicon bestowed strange, fire like powers, revealing the phoenix flame within. This takes the form of a literal phoenix within a transparent, gold-copper pyramid which can be extracted and its energies directed to compel, bind and cleanse upon both inner and physical planes. I don’t feel this is somehow unique to myself but something that anyone with the right approach, and paying the right price, can also gain access to.
The Phoenix by Dan Woollard
This is the difference in power between those who use empty words chasing ‘recognition’ and those who put in the work and are able to access this point of power directly. The pure stellar fire that is able to be directed as well as the quickening of Lucifers energies when used in possession work makes this more than worth the effort to attain.
Using the phoenix once bestowed seems entirely intuitive. It is able be to fed directly into the aura to protect and heal. It can also be projected into the surrounding circle in ceremonial work to greatly reinforce and empower the ritual space. The use of the phoenix in this fashion can be done almost in an instant by drawing it from the heart energy centre. When bestowed, the sigil of the phoenix can also be marked on particular surfaces for various effects. I leave that up to those who are able to gain access to the phoenix to explore.
With the night soon to be waning as we enter the Sabbat, I will leave this post on the following note. Now is a great time to work with Lucifer at his most light bringing, in all aspects, of the black, white and red suns. I have a work planned with those nearby locally to earth these alchemical suns as part of both a celebration in Lucifers name and quickening of the world soul and I am so very much looking forward to it. If I can I hope to share some of the calls as part of a devotional and blessing post tomorrow~
May you keep well and grow reader, illuminated and protected by the Stellar Fires of the Phoenix~
The start of 2018 has been a productive, if difficult month for me and my practice. The Lord of the Dark Star ritual went well, for myself and others, but practically all the gnosis and experiences granted were deeply personal. As such, what can be shared is very little. However it does demonstrate that despite being aloof, if searched for correctly and intensely, he will answer and show the way. I see this as a great sign – the unfurling of the Stellar Gnosis thus continues!
I am still working on my own documents here, which need to be completed, before the next work with Surgat can truly commence. That hasn’t stopped the energy continuing to rise, sometimes to an unbearable level as almost nothing I do seems to quieten it. Balancing the subtle bodies helps, but this is something im slowly beginning to realise I have to let naturally peak – as such, I believe im in for a hell of a ride. The body and mind feel exhausted, but the spirit and the energy that comes through is such a powerful, vital lifeforce everything seems to glow in newfound colour.
January as a whole has been difficult – the local group I work within has had organisational issues, which has left me in charge of both leading it as well as writing up the formal rules and documentation. In addition, one treasured incarnate familiar died suddenly, albeit with some warning as his health had been deteriorating for some time. This necessitated additional workings – to ensure that his soul upon leaving his body was correctly orientated, and a link with the Dead fetishes created successfully.
Despite the above, there are numerous topics floating around in my head I wanted to make a few posts on.
One of them is the importance of natural, found objects. In my work, these have often proved to be the most powerful of talismans. This could prove the same for you – if you know where to look, and how to approach their collection.
I often see people getting excited over mass produced, altar items, and looking at one recent object I’ve been working with again, it seems quite funny in comparison! This object is nothing more than a stone I collected from the shores of the Adriatic sea. But what an object it is. To illustrate, I’ll lay out the entirety of the tale.
Holy Stone, Photographer unknown
Me and my partner were out swimming there whilst on our vacation, when we felt a very strong draw towards a small cave. It was only shallow, and didn’t seem like it went far back at all into the cliff face. Deciding to investigate, we decided to take a look. As we entered, crabs scuttled away from us, seemingly offended we had intruded into their space. Slightly tired after our swim, but still enjoying the adrenaline, I myself wasn’t paying much attention really. As I made to turn back, happy with our small adventure, I was called over to inspect a strange, flat stone that was inset into the cave wall. It was small, almost perfectly flat, and metamorphic in nature. A small band of quartz or other similar material seemed to cut through it. We pulled it free and examined it closely.
Holding it, it emanated quite a strong, powerful energy, that seemed to call out quite insistently. Not being familiar with the area, I was at first cautious about taking it with us. Not knowing the spirits of the place, it makes it difficult to judge when to accept something that’s obviously been brought to your or others attention. However I decided, with my gut feeling, to go for it. It felt extremely smooth as I tumbled it in my hands. The first impression I got was like falling through dark, dark water. It was not a sudden onrush of power, but it felt like being dragged down and down, somewhere far below. It didn’t feel threatening, more impressive – but like any strong current, it was a little disconcerting.
As such, we took it back to the place we were staying. I promptly placed it on my bedside table, and forgot all about it.
That night, I had a very strong, powerful experience. Falling asleep, I entered a discernible period of astral travel, floating just outside of my body. This was not at my own will – it felt almost as if I had been forcibly evoked into this state! I could immediately feel a strong and powerful presence. Scenes of the sea, and of some strange silver serpent like entity flashed before my eyes and I soon found myself under a perceived malefic attack. I could see in the astral, dark moving clouds swirling around me – taking on the appearance of predator forms, equipped with teeth! Further flashes came of this winged snake, viciously coming upon me. The attack slowly waned, and I saw dark figures circling around me. The attack suddenly renewed with increased ferocity. Terrified whatever this was would be more than capable of breaking my auric shielding, I closed my eyes and called upon Hecate.
I was bathed in a green-blue light almost immediately. This energy was so great that it felt like suddenly being plunged into almost boiling water. Incredible golds snaked across my vision, forming three crossed tridents. All sense of fear slipped away as I floated embraced in Hecates pure stellar energy on all sides.
I remember asking for her protection, to stop this supposed attack. As I did, I was returned to the room whereupon the ‘attack’ had ceased. The black cloud moved into my body and a voice of a male nature resonated throughout my being.
‘The Test Is Passed’.
The entity appeared in flashes as a large hooded ‘man’… a single word resonated from its mouth as it gave its name, a name that must remain secret.
It’s eyes, reptilian in nature, were like deep pools of ever changing gold, blue and green colour. Atop its head, protruding from its robe, were two straight ‘horns’ made up of some glowing opalescent material.
The image of the entity gave way as I could feel myself being pulled through time and space. The feeling was akin to that of both falling, as well as being sucked through an aperture at the same time. I saw the stone, glowing powerfully blue, against a dark background. I allowed myself to be drawn through and into it, and fell through a streaming tunnel of blue light.
I suddenly felt cold rock on my bare feet, and a warm, but refreshing ocean breeze was washing over me. In front of me I could now see that I was standing in a different cave, two entrances directly in front of me opening onto a wide, ocean expanse separated by as single, brown stone column that could have been either natural or artificial. I could tell by the perspective of the ocean we were extremely high up. Directly in front of me, briefly, flashed a strange symbol, like a triangle containing the letter V, with a strike line running through it. This faded, and immediately I became aware of three figures standing around a stone font, which contained crystal clear water. The figures were clad in full length hooded robes of some light material, each detailed with vine like patterns. Each of the figures wore a distinct colour : Gold, Blue, and Green. Each looked close to human, but also in some way disturbingly otherworldly and unheimlich. Their shadowed faces were contrasted with reptilian eyes of ever changing colour, similar to the previous entity and they possessed the same kind of horns.
Two turned to face the other ‘entrances’ to this space. Left was taken by blue, right by green. Gold turned towards me, and all raised their hands. A powerful golden glow overwhelmed me and I felt powerful energy being radiated out towards, over and into the oceans. This energy was immense and it surrounded me utterly – it was incredibly primal and powerful, almost uncontrollably invigorating in nature.
I remember being almost zapped back into travelling form, just on the boundaries of my body. Reintegrating this and actually waking up was an almost painful experience – i felt distinctly groggy. This was unusual, for that vacation for all other intents and purposes i slept deeply and woke refreshed every other day.
Admirals Arch, Australia, Photographer unknown
This experience has taken some time to properly integrate. Even some 15 odd months later I am still working out just what was actually shown to me. I believe that this entity that visited me is linked to the Guardian which stands sentry to the Stellar Gate of the Ivory Spider, but I have yet to ascertain this via ritual. As to the other, three entities, I believe these to be spirits of the mighty dead, who once perhaps worshipped this entity, maybe even Atlantean in nature. This leads me to believe that the initial entity is much more than a ‘bit’ player in this process. However I have had no direct encounter with this form of this entity since.
The stone has proved to be linked to this strange, stellar water element. Holding it allows for easy projecting down into the buried stellar network on the inner planes of the Earth, of which the Stellar Gate of the Ivory Spider makes up a central part.
Recently, my other half held the stone without this information, and was able to, without any training and just exposure to the energies contained within, project into part of this network without any assistance on my part. Without any leading, they relayed information matching almost exactly with the description of the tunnels – albeit the projection had taken them to a different location within the network.
No special technique was used to accomplish this. The stone was simply given to be held, as part of working on their natural gift for ‘sight’, whilst within the indoor temple space. The whole thing seems saturated with this powerfully ancient energy – how it obtained it is anyone’s guess, and I do not doubt that our experiences with it helped to seat and strengthen the power innately linked to by the stone itself even deeper within its material form.
So my advice would be: explore. Go out into the wild places and look at the world again with open eyes. Although there is certainly no guarantee of success, or even safety for that matter, true gems can be found in the unlikeliest of places. You likely won’t get that from buying something that has no real, innate power. Or worse, an item that has been collected or cared for incorrectly, and thus built up disruptive and harmful energy.
Ave the Stellar Gods, Who grant the Power of Liquid Starfire, Burning Candles of Infinite Splendour Spiralling through Her Sprawling Black Spirits From which all was Made, And to Which All Will Return,
Ave Hecate, Queen of Hell, Heaven and Earth, Through Which All Things are Made Possible. ~S~
To follow on from the previous post, the Amulet of the Stellar King was as planned utilised in an evocation rite, on Samhain. This ritual was designed not only as a devotional work due to the Sabbat, but to request access to something remarkably special.
Walking this path, up to this point, the power of Lucifers many names was not required. However, the Gods made it more and more plain that in order to move from working from Hecates stellar gate to Lucifers, access to them would be a requirement.
As such, the amulet was used in a powerful evocation work with Lucifer to formally request this. The initial evocation took longer than anticipated to elicit a positive response – likely indicative of a test of perseverance on their part. A powerful shimmering of the triangle, like a heat haze, accompanied by darting shadows and an intensification of the energies in the room, albeit subtle marked his arrival. This developed into transvocation, through inviting Lucifer into the circle and into the flesh itself, connecting inner and external manifestations.
Through this, Lucifer unlocked the seals on the use of his many names thus bestowing upon me their use via the associated words of power. Without the unlocking of these seals, the words are nothing but hollow – however with it, they become a powerful stellar key.
From here, in auto-writing, Lucifer communicated much. Surprisingly, he gave me a very important task to seal the work. This task was no less than to undertake a journey to the foot of the mountains here, and create a stellar gateway which would earth those currents, of the star lords, into Belials flesh. This would have the effect of quickening and re-enlivening the land, whilst facilitating its healing from its relatively violent history and current spiritual malaise.
The timescale given was that the work was to be completed in under three full moons. The formula consisted of many parts, the main one being the requirement of the the construction of a physical anchor point under the New Moon operating under starlight only. To this end, several stones were collected and marked with the anchoring sigils Lucifer sent in subsequent workings. The picture below details these, before they were ritually empowered in preparation for the trip.
The Stones used in the construction of the Stellar Gateway
On the 18th of November, this gateway was thus opened under the watching stars of Orion, in accordance with the formula given. The actual ritual itself was extremely taxing due to the abundance of physical manifestations present at the location. As the foundations of the gateway were lain and ritually ensouled in sacrificial witchblood, the Stellar currents gave way from powerful,subtle and uplifting to roaring black energies as the wound so to speak was powerfully lanced. Hecates wolves were instrumental at holding the circles edge here – without them and the amulet, I firmly believe that the opening of the gateway would have failed catastrophically. However with their aid, the gateway was with some difficulty opened in the name of Lucifer, the Lord of the Dark Star, and other present stellar lords who had made their presence known.
With the energies thus rooted, the location was left with the wolves still guarding the location until I was clear away from the location of the rite. From here, powerful currents continue to flow outwards – and continue to affect me. Dreamwork has been extremely vivid since opening these gates, and the power from then has even bled over, affecting those close to me. In one case, a good friend being energised to full sabbatic flight despite 0 experience with such powerful workings.
With the drawing down of the stars, the opportunity to work in future again at the location presents itself, as working at the nexus or the surrounding land will draw from its power. Anyone who is able to effectively work with the stellar paths will also benefit from the increased energies now enlinked.
Constellations Orion, Canis Minor and Canis Major, by Akira Fujii
The above work brings me nicely to the 21st of December where myself and some other Trident practitioners are planning a ritual to honour the Lord of the Dark Star, a powerful entity in our current. This will be many peoples first workings with him, and im excited to see how their relationship with him develops – knowing full well how aloof he can be! This time of the year has in my own praxis become intrinsically tied with him – for the part of the world I live in, the conjunction of the seasons with the dark or close to dark moons is excellent for these kinds of workings.
After the completion of the above, its likely going into the New Year further work will need to be done with Surgat before Lucifers stellar gate is opened. Ill be taking the time this month to catch up with the many things i need to write up about in my personal journals, but will hopefully put up a small post sometime the back end of December detailing anything that comes out of the Lord of the Dark Star Work where possible.
As an aside, the domain will be renewed around this time. There shouldn’t hopefully be any site disruption, but in the off chance of that, the backup url of https://theluciferianrevolution.wordpress.com should still function.
I hope you all have a wonderful December and upcoming winter solstice,
Scene of Rising Energies from Amenta, self created and taken
Photograph of the relativistic jet generated by M87* – NASA
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The Luciferian Revolution 