Category Archives: spirituality

Alignment and Beginning the Spiritual Path

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A hand holding a sphere of light

Spiritual alignment is a big thing in today’s practices. Many books will give instructions in various systems that are about aligning your metaphysical anatomy. Alignment with certain spirits is also pointed to a desirable state, such as certain guides or the Holy Guardian angel, or spirits of various traditions that “rule” over the practitioner. One could embrace one practice, or embrace multiple practices. Very seasoned and experienced practitioners will often have regular practices that help to keep them aligned, from meditation, visualization, energy work, etc…Many authors, practitioners etc will report that oftentimes just doing the work of alignment will produce many desirable effects.
For the beginner however, looking to start on their path, often the process of moving into alignment is a difficult process. Looking for a new way to satisfy the spiritual longing that they feel, which is no longer being supplied by previous experiences or practices. How does one find alignment and their way to move forward?
My experience was primarily through self taught and practice through reading, and putting what I read into practice, in order to have those experiences. Reading a lot of books can be useful for those that enjoy reading, but not everyone likes that, or may find it challenging.There are other sources of information, this is the Age of Information after all, and being able to turn to multiple sources or finding sources that will support your best learning style. Books are just one source, and just like any other source, problematic or questionable information can be promoted through books. This also applies to blogs (such as yours truly) but youtube videos, tiktoks, twitter, podcasts, websites and more. You can find quality information and you can also find problematic information. The process of searching, and experimenting with practices from these sources in and of themselves can be a process of alignment. You may jump around a lot, trying out new and different practices that appeal to you in the moment. You may find one practice that appeals to you, and dedicate yourself to doing it regularly. I honestly recommend most people to try out as many things as possible, especially if they are just curious or starting out. Some people may recommend only to read certain books or only to listen to certain podcasts, etc, but I find that personal experience is the best teacher. Even if at the beginning you get involved in questionable stuff, you can learn from that experience and recognize the problems, and see them in other material before. You can develop discernment and critical thinking and analysis to separate out the garbage from the gold, or the material that aligns with you from the material that doesn’t align.
If you’re lost or wandering, and you’re looking for a spiritual path, here is a ritual to help you find your path. The ritual is done during the full moon. The reason for using the moon in this spell is because the part of the symbolism of the moon in astrology is helping travelers, which in a metaphorical way applies to opening roads and helping people on their path, whether it is a literal path, or a spiritual path.

For this ritual you’ll need 

  • Water
  • Wine
  • Bread (rolls are easiest to use)
  • Incense (any kind, sticks or cones included)
  • White candle (tealights, a short taper, a votive or a large vigil candle)
  • Olive oil (or any oil in a pinch)
  • Bowl (optional)

At night, under the full moon, when the moon is rising in the sky, or at its zenith, stand in the moon’s light. You can do this outside on the ground, or inside by a window, under a skylight, or if you have some kind of atrium. If you’re outside, dig a shallow hole. Look at the moon and praise it, for its light, its fullness, how it governs the tides etc… Pour out some of the water, and some of the wine. Take the bread and tear it in half and offer up both halves. Light the incense and wave it attractively around for a bit.. Anoint the candle with oil. Place the candle in a holder and light the candle. Make a gesture that indicates you’re offering this to the moon. Visualize the offering growing and multiplying until it covers the earth. Tell the moon thank you for its presence, and for its blessings, and ask it to open and guide you to the spiritual path that is right for you. Drink some of the water, some of the wine, and eat some bread. Relax under the moon’s light and visualize its light filling your body, from your head to your toes, and aligning you with the spiritual currents that are right for you. Perhaps visualize yourself floating gently on a calm river, the current taking you towards your spiritual destination. Do this as long as you feel you want to. When you feel finished just refill the hole, clean up, and go home. If you did it at home, clean up, and take the contents of the bowl outside and dispose of it at the base of a large and healthy tree.

After this you may receive dreams, or signs, or just find things falling into place for your spiritual path, etc.… This may take many forms, but the strongest indicator is when you feel a clear and strong sense that an event that occurs is a sign, and that the information is very clear, and doesn’t require a lot of intense questioning to make sense of.  If a dream isn’t clear, just document it, and go on. Many small events may also occur which will slowly shift you towards your path.

Attention “trad craft”

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You’re “trad” isn’t any older then Wicca. “Trad Craft” is not ancient. It is as much an invention of the early 20th century as Gardnerian Wicca.
Only the Golden Dawn, and the OTO and related traditions are relatively new, although, they are older then Gardnerian and “Trad Craft” having started in the late 19th century.
The Grimoires, the 3 books of Occult Philosophy by Cornelius Agrippa, The books of Astrological magic and thought written by various authors, the Picatrix, and other classics of Hermetic Philosophy, are older then “Trad Craft” The PGM is older then “Trad Craft.” The roots of Hermeticism in Mediterranean Antiquity are older then “Trad Craft.” The Vedas, various Sutras, Mahabharata is older then “Trad Craft.” The Chaldean Oracles are older the “Trad Craft.” Actual Folk Magic of actual specific cultures from around Europe, and in the United States is older then “Trad Craft” and some of them are living traditions that are practiced to this day.

But, None of this matters, In my day to day life, and interactions with spiritual workers of all types, I rarely if ever need to mention it, because I don’t need the the claims of “antiquity” or “Tradition” or “Old” to feel good about my spiritual practice. I’m fine with it being modern, because it works for me. But I also like to be informed about whatever everyone else is doing, has done, and is thinking about doing, because it keeps me from thinking I’ve invented the wheel, when everyone around me is already driving cars.

Stop thinking you’ve invented the wheel “trad craft.” We’re all driving in cars, while you’re excited that you can roll something along.

5 reasons not work with local spirits

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Recently I came across this post

My post is not a rebuttal, but an ad joiner to the possible undesired experience that come from seeking connection with local spirits.

5) Just because a spirit is there, doesn’t mean it wants to “work” with you.

For one thing, let me clarify a term. In conversations I have had with other spiritualist minded folks and people who get into trying to chat up spirits, there is a difference between veneration and “working”. Veneration can be very simple, is pretty much devotional, and doesn’t expect much between the two parties except for a simple exchange of “pleasantries” and expressions of good will. Of course, if you get a negative feedback, it maybe because you have offended said local spirit, but we’ll get to that later. Generally veneration is just a way to say “hi” and “thanks for all that you do” and “lets be friendly and polite with each other”. Venerating ancestors, venerating local spirits, venerating Gods, and heroes and every thing else. It’s all just a way of making nice. This niceness can lead to “working” and help build relationships that can be quite beneficial in the future, and possibly even buy you a Free pass when you make a mistake, but don’t always count on it.

“Working” indicates that there is a request being made of a specific variety and purpose to a specific end for your benefit. Whether it is protection, wealth, love, knowledge etc…, what makes it different is the specificness and that you are making a specific request for something you want accomplished. Often it will entail behavior on your part that reciprocates to the spirit that you are willing to work for them. A number of spiritual beings are known to be workers, who are quite open to requests for things. Gods, Saints, Angels, Demons etc… and there are books quite busting at the seems with them. But local spirits, you’ll notice, don’t seem to function that way universally, for everyone in the same way that say, St. Expedite can for so many people. One person can have a great relationship with a local spirit, and another person may get bubkis. That’s just the way it seems to go. Just because you are aware of spirit that is tied to a certain local, doesn’t mean it wants to work with you, and it will often make that perfectly clear as soon as you attempt to connect with it.

4) Just because a spirit is there, doesn’t mean it’s going to know a lot of about anything in the area.

Or for that matter, be able to communicate it in a useful or intelligible way. A spirit of the tree is mostly going to know about Tree things, and if it notices if someone stole your bike or not, will have more to do with if that bike thief happened to interact with the tree shortly before or after. If you happened to have your bike chained to the tree, it’s only thought maybe “heavy earth thing was leaning against me and now it’s not” and that’s about it. Of course a larger local spirit (say of the park) might notice, but unless your bike was important to it for some reason, why should it even care. Unless you interact with a local spirit that has vested interest in human affairs and a reasonably intelligible way to understand and communicate it, you’re really not going to get much. It is for this reason that you’ll notice a lot of cultures often have a greater spirit of a particular thing (plants, animals minerals etc…) that is often more understanding of humanity and better able to connect with it. Most people, in my experience, are usually connecting with the larger overarching spirit then the much more limited spirit of the specific object, plant, mineral, animal or place and those spirits are not “local” per se.

3) Most local spirits could give about two cents to you and your issues

this of course, ties in nicely with my last point. While the various local spirits might be quite appreciate of offerings, veneration and devotions done to them, and thus you might get them to be more favorable inclined to you, which could generally make your going about in the locale easier over all, when it comes to specifics (theft, health, wealth, love, etc..) you know, all those things that humans value in interacting with other humans, local spirits quite literally don’t understand, or for some of the larger ones, don’t care. If there is some kind of human pandemic experience going around, it might peak some of the larger more understandings ones interests (like high murder or suicide rate, or a larger number of clinically depressed) because being that we are part of their environment that they govern that might be somewhat invested in it being harmonious for everyone, but the local tree spirit, rock spirit, spirit in the park, is going to be completely uncaring to your issues, if they understand them at all. If they are even open to working with you, they might still not understand something, unless you explain it in as naturalistic terms as possible (literally think birds and bees and pollen and trees people) otherwise, you’re going to get a kind of shoulder shrug, if anything at all.

2) They have needs that you can never provide for.

Do you know how to pollinate a flower? Probably not. Even if you do know, do you have the time and patience to do it for every flower during a 3 month period? I’m guessing not. What about trees? Or, the local watering hole? Maybe you could organize a community event to help clean it up if it was dirty or only barely polluted with trash, but if the spirit is telling you it wants to flow over there, and not there, I think you’re going to have a problem convincing those people in their nice homes to make way for the creek you feel ought to build. Generally, if you’re getting a quite possibly impossible request from a local spirit, it’s politely telling you to Go away! Because it doesn’t have time for your nonsense, human.

1) Just because a spirit is tied to specific locale doesn’t mean it’s smaller.

There is such a thing as Local Gods. These being are Gods, Divine beings in their own right, who don’t need to be worshiped or venerated because their divinity comes from their locale. Perhaps a shrine might exist to them (like in Japan, or China or places that have long standing animistic spiritualist traditions) but generally there won’t be one, and they don’t really need it. You might be able to identify it with some dowsing, but it could very well be very hard to reach, and the local god may not want you to reach it in the first place. So, they being a local God can really make things miserable for you if you offend them, much like any god, and more then likely, they will be much more easier to offend and will stay offended longer then a more transcendent Divine being that is not tied to specific location. The Spirit of the The City you live in, the spirit of your neighborhood, even the spirit of your building (which in very large apartment buildings can be quite powerful) and of course, there could be more natural spirits of ecosystems and environments that are quite mighty and powerful. If you ever notice that when you enter into some areas that you get lost easier, seem to have ongoing problems with minor nuisances (insects, muddy puddles, bumps in the road, tripping over roots) is probably because the local spirits find something about you vaguely offensive. You could try to clear it up, make an offering and appease them, and can work, but some people just don’t like some people no matter what. You just plain smell bad to them, and they will never like you and they have no compunctions about making their dislike and displeasure known. You may not experience this if you only visit, especially to a major city or tourist area, but if you try to stay and settle in, is when the problems start to occur.

Of course, there are other smaller beings, but they are often in league with the larger beings of the area, and will tend to take directions from the “top” on down. They might be willing to work with at first, but after some time, will be less friendly and sociable if your general essence is just not compatible with the local area. If that is the case, you’re probably better off moving, then trying to make a go at it. Good luck explaining that to your friends and family who moved with you, or the cost of the move in the first place.

It is also my experience that smaller spirits are far more dramatic and showy then the non-time space fixed transcendent beings. Most hauntings are caused by smaller spirits, not by gods and actual major demons (despite the name they toss around). To make a ready and known comparison, think of a Midsummer’s night dream. Oberon doesn’t do the dirty work himself, he sends Puck, a servant, to do it for him. A similar situation will apply in naturalistic settings. Most major local spirits won’t do something directly if they can avoid it. They will send a representative to do it for them. Of course, if you enter into an actual working relationship with one, you may very well end up being that representative from time to time as part of your deal in desire fulfillment.

Finally, for some people, in some situations, none of this, both helpful or harmful will hold true. Some people are, as I like to call it, Unicorns. Gifted mediums who are favorably received by all spirits. People gifted with spiritual authority, that allows them to work better with spirits, and perhaps from time to time, command them when needed. Others are favored by the land, or the Gods, or a God and in certain situations that favor will manifest things for that that others will never receive within the Land, or Gods, or God. Your mileage may vary.

H is for Herbs and spices

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I love herbs. My mom is a gardener and growing up with a garden with plants growing and herbs all around has always been interesting to me, although spading and working the soil was not my favorite thing as a kid. When I discovered the magic of herbs, I jumped at it, and one of my first entries in my magical workbook was several pages about herb lore. Although it would be a while before I really started doing a lot with herbs, when I started cooking regularly, they also become a favorite way to give flavor, depth and interest to dishes.

Herbs (which for me cover everything like seeds, barks, roots, petals, flowers, stamens and leaves) have a multitude of means of putting them to work in practical sorcery While I don’t always think about magical relationships with herbs while cooking, sometimes the symbolism I find can be quite potent. An apple pie with cinnamon or clove can be clever and tasty way to deliver a love spell. A good marinara sauce seasoned with basil, rosemary and sage can help to promote peace and blessings among the inhabitants of a home. Make a protection soup with white mustard, black pepper and that ubiquitous pinch of salt, which can both be magical and flavorful. A cup of chamomile tea can be soothing and relaxing, but also help bring luck, especially with money.

Of course, there are more ritualized methods of working with herbs as well, that are not so subtle. Making a herbal blend which you then boil or steep in hot water to make a magical bath. For cleansing I have a preference for sage (the garden variety) hyssop and eucalyptus leaves. For love, Rose petals, lavender buds, and some rosemary make for a gentle love drawing bath that smells quite green and floral. For something a bit more spicy, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom made into a strong tea and then bathed in can also bring a bit for physical enjoyment. You can also just simmer the above spices, or a pumpkin spice blend in a pot of water to get the scent to fill the home before an amour comes over to visit. Similarly a bath in cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice can help to draw wealth and good fortune. You can also bath in chamomile tea, which creates a bath of golden water, a very striking image of as you are bathing in gold.

While not as commonly used by many people, powders are a good way to apply magic. A practice that comes mainly from African American folk traditions, it is often overlooked by people outside of tha tradition, except for well known powders like Hotfoot Powder or Goofer Dust, two powders used to curse people, either to drive them away, or to potentially kill them. You can also use simple powdered herbs for their effects. Putting a pinch of ground black pepper and then a pinch of salt in your shoes can help to protect you from harm, shielding you from curses that have been laid down where you walk. The first time I did this, I almost jumped when I put my shoes on, because I immediately felt this surge of power go through, as though some residual negative energy have been cast out from me. Of course, there are other powdered herbs. You should take a pink of powdered cinnamon and lay it down underneath your door mat, to bring wealth to your home, a good practice if you also have a home business. Laying powdered herbs down that relate to your intention in the 4 corners of your home or property is a good way to reinforce magic performed on that area to help establish protection, blessings, or good fortune in the home or property. You can also use powdered herbs in rituals, using them to lay down symbols that connect to the herbs powers, which are serve to further reinforce your intention and focus. The most recognized one would be a circle of protective herbs, perhaps mixed together, which then marks a boundary for a ring of candles that surround a single candle, used in a spell for protection. When the candles have all burned out, collect the powder again, and carry it with you for protection, or sprinkle it around your home or the place to be protected.

There is a multitude of ways of using herbs, and I hope I have laid out some less commented upon methods here to inspire your imagination when working with herbs in magic.

H is for Hagalaz

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Hagalaz
Hagalaz is the rune that marks the beginning of the second aettir of Elder and Anglo-Saxon Futharks. It’s name is usually translated as Hail. That frozen precipitation that falls from the sky in some parts of the world. I have been in a few hail storms, and usually very small pellets of hail, about the size of BB gun pellets. Mostly I have been inside, where it does make quite the din, but apparently being caught outside in such a storm is unpleasant, although only mildly as the tine stones beat against your face, head and exposed skin, as their descent from the sky causes them to be moving at very high rate of speed as they accelerate towards the earth.
There is the other hail storms, where hail stones can be as big as baseballs or softballs, and these hail storm can do significant damage to property, people and animals, as they are also moving quite fast, and being larger, can pack particularly more destructive power when they do so. If you have been fortunate enough to not live through one, here is a google image search link to help you.

For me at least, that is the lesson of Hagalaz. Destruction. Destruction that leaves only things that can barely be salvaged in it’s wake. What is left after the Hagalaz storm? Well, apparently ice that melts down into water, which can be beneficial to any crops that survive of the beating, and not much else. It is after the storm passes that is the important time to rebuild though, because what is left, is strong. It is durable. It has withstood the storm and can continue forward. The weakness has been cast away and it leaves only room for the strong to grow, prosper and move forward. If you were to use Hagalaz against a foe, and that foe manages to walk away at the end, you better hope is lesson in survival taught him to think better then messing with you ever again, and perhaps to follow a new path. Otherwise, he won’t be so easy to eliminate if there is a next time.

G is for Geomancy

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Geomancy is the word which I use to refer to a method of divination. It was a method that seems to have originated from Arabic lands, where it goes by the name khat al raml and many others. From this name it was translated into Greek as Geomancy meaning “earth divination” It reached it’s heyday in Europe during the middle ages and the renaissance, and like many other occult arts, dwindled with the flowering of the Age of Reason. During it’s hey day, it was widely practiced and a number of authors wrote treatises about it, even more so then most other methods of divination. It was mainly very easy to use, unlike astrology which required complex calculations and instruments to view the sky, or other methods of sortilege, like card reading, which means you needed to have cards on hand (which not everyone did). At it’s simplest all you needed was some kind of blank field that you could use to make dots which could be used to count and create the figures that build a geomantic reading.

There are sixteen figures used in geomancy. During the middle ages and Renaissance in Europe, these figures were identified with astrological forces, with each classical planet being given two figures, and two more figures attributed to the North and South nodes of the Moon. Each of the figures are composed for 4 lines, which will have either one or two marks. One mark is an indication of active energy in that line and the presence of that force. Two marks are the indication of passive energy of that line, and the absence of inactivity of that force. From top to bottom the lines are named Head, neck, body, feet. They are also identified with the four classical elements from top to bottom of Fire, air, water, earth. These lines and their elemental values, combined with the planetary symbolism, help to give depth to a reading, but also in understanding the symbolism of each sign and it’s interaction with the world and with other signs.

The two methods of using the figures were in generating charts. The oldest and most traditional method is known as a shield chart, which requires one to generate 4 figures, however you wish to do that. These four figures are identified as “mothers” and from them the rest of the figures of the chart are created, about 11 or 12 figures, depending upon the inclusion or exclusion of a final figure. From the mothers one generates 4 daughters and from the mothers and daughters are generated the Nieces, which are then used to generate two witnesses, which are combined to form the Judge. The Judge is considered the answer to the question, sometimes with an additional figure formed by combining the judge and first mother to form the Reconciler, which makes a total of 16 figures used in the chart. Additional methods of shield chart interpretation help to give more precise and particular answers through the relationship of the judge to other elements in the chart.

From the shield chart, a second chart can be generated, known as the house chart. This chart is based upon the 12 house system of astrology, where each sign is placed into a house. The most basic ordering is taking the 1st mother which is given to the first house, 2nd mother to the second house, 3rd mother to the third house etc… There are other methods of assigning figures, depending upon whose treatise you read, or your own insight from gaining proficiency and skill with it. From the house chart it is also possible to answer questions, which can further influence the indications given in the shield chart and also given more depth and precision to a reading.

I came into geomancy a few years ago when I discovered a newly published book by John Michael Greer. It talked about Earth magic and divination, and as I was very much feeling the earth magic vibe, I was very intrigued by the book title. That introduced me to this method and I quickly took to practicing it and using it as often as I could, in order to become proficient with casting charts and understanding the signs. I also was very taken to how simple the signs were, which can be easily used in making talismans for magic, calling upon the forces symbolized by the geomantic signs.

There does seem to be a rebirth for geomancy occurring right now. While this practice did disappear in the West (although it did survive in some interesting ways and get small revivals during other blossoming of interest in the occult) there are a good number of sources available. Quite a few books have been written, as well as academic research into it as a item of historical interest. It also seems that in Arabic countries, the practice of geomancy has never fulled disappeared. It also bears some resemblance to I Ching, but also methods if Ifa divination. Whether they are related, or only bear passing resemblance is not fully decided or clear yet to researchers. There are some geomancy groups in existence right now, which can be found in Yahoo and also on facebook, where people can share techniques, and get assistance with their interpretations of charts they have cast. Another great resource and modern intrepid explorer is Polyphanes over at Digital Ambler. His work with geomancy is quite fantastic and he does contemplate it in order to advance this once forgotten divinatory art.

G is for Runes

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In the Anglo Saxon Futhorc there are two G runes. One is pretty well known, as it is part of the re-created Elder Futhark, whereas the other one, whose inclusion as part of the Northumbrian extension, is a bit of am mystery of it’s presence.
Gebo
The first one, appearing in the First aettir is Gebo or Gyfu. The gift. Part of my understanding behind this rune is the idea of exchange that creates connections. By exchanging gifts, you become friends, family, lovers, business partners, Governments and people that are governed. Connections are made. Contracts are agreed to. To be human, is to participate in the exchange of creating a social unit, a social unit which can be varied, diverse and complex, as you try to understand the exchange that you have with everyone, who all have different exchanges with each other. When the exchange fails to happen, when the gifts are not shared, is when that connection falls apart, and the social order separates. Sometimes this leads to divorce, or ending of friendships. Other times it creates wars between nations, or revolutions between people and their government. Thinking that you are independent, self made, or not reliant on other people is a mistake, because we all, in fact, rely on others all the time, and in this day and age, sometimes that exchange is so assumed or expected that it has become invisible, and thus forgotten and disrespected. Respect the exchange. Share your gifts. Only be sharing will betterment of yourself and others come about.

Gar

The second G rune, that of Gar, which means Spear. The spear was the oldest and most widely used weapon among Northern peoples. Lacking widespread availability of iron, swords were rare and usually reserved for the wealthy, and typically made of other metals. When Iron and steel swords became available, it was usually through trade with other cultures. But spears were easier to have and produce. Only the spearhead needed to be metal, and depending upon the length of the staff, it could be a weapon for close combat, or useful and dealing with distant foes or even keeping foes as a distance.
Yet, at the same time, the spear could be a metaphor for many other things. It could be a symbol of the world tree, a pillar around which all of creation is upheld and revolves. It could also be the spear that marks the turning point of the heavens, now days identified with the star Polaris. The axis of the sky and creation, which everything either revolves around, or is turned by. The point of the spear is the center of all creation, the source and end, the beginning and ending. All potential and all realization exist there, and can be found. But it is also a blank slate, a tabula rasa. Nothing is written, but could be. There is only possibility and potential that can be formed and realized. So what will you do? Where will you go? What shapes and forms will you give release to and how will it change and affect you? Now you can create anew, just be sure of what you are creating.

F is for Fascination

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Fascination. Glamor. Enchantment. The art of making friends and influencing people or rather The Art of making friends and influencing people. One of the most common bases of magic practices, and well attested to in pop culture, but also in the accumulated knowledge of esoteric traditions around the world. While in a certain sense all magic is about influencing something or someone, it is the magic of Fascination that deals with that influence specifically and directly.

I specifically like the world Fascination. There is a certain ring to it that just tickles the forces within and around me. To fascinate another and make yourself into the sparkling, glittering being or object that cannot be resisted. To magically improve your charisma, wit, or subtle appearance that people are drawn to you, either with love, with trust, or loyalty, or any other emotion that draws people together into various bonds and commitments. That is the means of fascination.

How do you fascinate people? There are many ways. Some of the most mundane ways begin with simple things. Dress nicely. Smell nice. Stand up straight with good posture. Speak clearly. Make a point of remembering people’s names, even if you have to come up with some kind of sleight of mind trick to do it. Present yourself with grace, wit and ease, even when it would seem impossible in a certain situations. Fake it till you make it.
Some more complicated mundane tricks can also be used. Things like NLP aka Neuro Linguistic Programming. Social Proof. Books like The Game as well as the endless titles of books for women on how to catch men, that introduce various tactics and methods and even specialize with certain types of men. A lot of the sociology, psychology and just plain subtle manipulation that is taught in these books walks a very fine line of being nearly magical in the results that they produce.

The archives of magic are also filled with endless ways to enchant, glamor and fascinate people. The most simplest of ways relies upon personal effects. Bathing in dew collected on Midsummer morning collected from plants. Washing yourself in an herbal tea that is said to make you eloquent, or draw romantic partners to you, or even reunite you with a straying lover. Many a love oil can be used to fascinate people or persons, to find the desired partner, whether it’s for a lasting relationship or short fling.

Some more complex methods involve the manipulation of energy. Learning to project your personal energy by your eyes is probably the most obvious form of fascination, where literally your gaze charms and enchants the target(s) as you draw them to you. This would then be followed by surrounding them with your breath (hopefully pleasantly smelling) and then perhaps sealing it with a kiss or touch that is also a means to deliver further enchanting forces. Although, once you’re close, you could turn to more heavy handed techniques where you gain the personal effects of the target, from hair to bodily fluids, which are then used in spells to bring influence, love, or control and domination, depending upon what you are desires or needs are. If you cannot gain their personal effects, then you instead leave enchanted items for them to walk over, on, or through or under or consume, that will cast the spell upon them. From powders laid secretly down for the target(s) to walk through, to feeding them foods magic with magical herbs, perhaps with a bit of your own personal effects mixed in for extra measure. This breaks the separation between you, uniting you and your target together, and filling their being your essence.

More spiritual methods are also available. You could literally call on a wide range of spirits, from pagan Gods to spirit allies that you encounter, to help you influence people. You could also influence them spiritually by visiting the target(s) in dreams, and through the sleeping or subconscious mind plant what you desire into their being, to bring about the influences and results you desire.

One way that I find interesting I learned from the Crystal Silence League. It is known as developing the sexual force, another name for animal magnetism. By developing this force, which is inherent in all people, to a healthy and vital level, not only will it support your health and vitality, but it also attract desired or healthy partners for sex and romance to you, but also friendships, even working relationships. Because that animal magnetism goes beyond just sex and love, but into all aspects of life. To work with this sexual force, you need to find it’s source, a power that slumbers in the subtle body, located in the general area of your sex IE your genitals. Find that source and feed it with pleasure, with breathing exercises, with understanding your sexual nature and it’s healthy and natural expression that is personal to you. Use these things like throwing fuel onto a fire. Start small, with kindling, and when it begins to grow stronger, you can feed it more and more, until it becomes a might blaze that will then surge through your channels and centers of your body. Work with that energy. Listen to it intuitively. What does it tell you about yourself? How does it want to influence and attract people? What makes you feel like a precious jewel, that is desired by all? Who does it attract you to and who does it push you away from? Follow this intuitive push and see where it leads you.

The art of fascination can take many forms, some of which will work better for some people then others. Find which parts tick for you and work well. Enchantment is a subtle and demanding art, because if used to roughly and bluntly, people often will realize that they have been or are attempted to being manipulated, which often creates the opposite of the desired reaction. Remember that one of the major keys to Fascination is empathy. Know how to relate to people, if you really want to enchant them. It is also what turns you into a controlling robot, who is jerk, and into a sensitive human being, who knows how to relate to other human beings.

E is for Empowerment

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First some ideas

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empowerment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empowerment_(Vajrayana)

I like the concept of Empowerment. While it has a more social and political and cultural implications in the west, I also like it’s understanding in the terms that come from Vajrayana. I also found empowerment plays it’s role in modern American neo paganism, both in a social context and in an esoteric way. What I find is that one seems to fuel other, in it’s searching and it’s steps of slowly gaining it.

Of course, esoteric Empowerment has a different name, that is probably much better known, and much shorter. Initiation. Initiation is something that seems to be absent from a lot of contemporary spiritual practice, although it is making a come back. Some people gain it from traditions. P re-exisiting orders, Lineage, passed down from the founder. People seek in it various ways. Other methods of initiation are personal and unique. From the spirits themselves, you can be initiated, by Gods, by Angels, by the Fae, many beings. Some initiations are specific to the spirit giving it. Others might be deep, and require time and many challenges. The major initiation in modern western esoteric orders is the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel. Nothing could be more personal, even though the practice of it well documented and worked on by many. I think this practice also shows how Initiation is also an empowerment. It is just access to special club, or the specific rituals, but it is the power, the current of that tradition, those spirits. From the power gained from the initiation, they may be able to move mountains, metaphorically speaking. They have been empowered and so they acted with that power to change things to make them better.

In the USA, Empowerment’s twin streams very much run side by side. In the beginning of alternative spirituality movement it attracted a people of a variety of different groups. This dates back to the late 19th century. While there was plenty of men who were involved in alternative spirituality and occultism, there are also quite a few very famous women. Madame Blavatsky is a key figure that comes to mind. At a time when women had few rights and were very much limited, she worked to create a movement, a movement that continues on to this day, and has influenced much of Western occultism and alternative spirituality. Her books are still published and sold today. She very much demonstrates a power, being empowered through her spiritual aspirations she did more then many other women of her day.

With the second occult flowering in the USA in the 60’s, which brought with it the spread of Wicca, it then also picked up more of the cultural empowerment. Many minorities found the idea of Wicca, witchcraft and alternative spirituality as means to find their own empowerment, to pursue their goals of empowering themselves socially, culturally, and politically. Some minorities have always had their spiritual means of getting one up on the Man. The role of conjure doctors and spiritual workers in African American communities was often not only spiritual, but also physical, as they cared for clients physical needs with their knowledge, helping them when they were sick, not only from being hoodooed but also from colds, illnesses and injuries. The same for Appalachian folk magic, and Pennsylvania pow-wow practitioners. The Mexican curandera or curandero would be consulted for herbal knowledge for sickness just as much spiritual ailments. While not all of them are minorities, in a sense, they are often limited to specific communities, and often derided by outsiders for their “backwards superstitions” by others.

Among the gay civil rights movement, there were quite a few people and groups that embraced alternative spirituality to gain empowerment both spiritually and also to help them in their fight to gain temporal empowerment. One figure was Eddy Buczynski, the founder of quite a few American witchcraft traditions including the Minoan Brotherhood. At a time when gay men were standing up and going out, he created one of the first spiritual traditions for gay men. A magical practitioner and gay man who was also a major activist was Leo Martello, who founded a Witchcraft Anti Defamation League and Alternative Religions Education Network, who was also very active with Gay liberation during the time of Stonewall. Another significant figure was Arthur Scott Evans, writer of “Witchcraft and the Gay Counterculture” in which he asserted that the Witch mania of Europe also targeted people who may have been accused of engaging in homosexual acts. All of these people in some way found the empowerment of alternative spirituality and practices, which gave them the force and power to pursue empowerment in the physical world.

As I watch and read the events of the day, and the responses of people, and the responses of the wide neo pagan community in the USA, I feel I notice how spiritual empowerment helps to give fuel to the physical empowerment that people pursue. There is great inequality still existing in the world. Women, people of color, GLBT people and others. Yet I am aware of many of these minorities finding power for themselves, what some might call “power within” to work to make changes, to empower others like them, and work to create a planet where we can all live together, with justice, with liberty, with equality and maybe as a global family.

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E is for Runes

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I felt like double posting this week, cause, well I can.

 

Anyway, I would have to say the letter E is probably one the more under represent vowels in the various Futhorcs.  So, it makes this easy

Eihwaz

Eihwaz – The yew tree.  Another one of those darn trees just popped up again.  You’d they lived in the woods or something, these rune-casters.  This particular rune has some interesting overlapping meanings.  The first meaning I learned for it was defense.  Different then the protection rune that follows shortly after, Eihwaz is more like the pit of spikes defense. Sure it protects you, but it can hurt you too, as well as anyone else who tries to violate it.  After working with it some more, I came to understand it’s defense a little better, that it was also the severe warning.  It makes it look dangerous to those who think about violating it.  Or it just freaks people out.  I do use this rune to protect things, and more then a few times when someone who was bad news came around, they often just couldn’t stand to be here and fled, in some cases quite literally.
The other, more focused on attribution that I have learned and seems more common, is that it is the rune associated with death, dying and ultimately, the Underworld. I understand it more as the gateway to the Underworld.  Through this rune, you can reach those dark and sometimes frightening places below, where the dead, ancestors and various spirits of underworld and cthonic power reside.  Actually, you can reach lots of places with Eihwaz though.  The underworld is actually really well connected to all sorts of places, so if you’re spiritually traveling from point a to point b, you can use Eihwaz as the medium to get there.  Of course, if really want to avoid getting lost, use Raidho, and if you want to get there fast, use the next rune, Ehwaz, but, Eihwaz opens the door.  It’s the gate of the Underworld, but also the shortcut to every else.

 

Of course, within the tree cosmology I have seen, Eihwaz corresponds to The underworld, much like Aesc is the upper world, and Berkana is the creative power, and Thurisaz is the Destructive power, and Ac is the Middle World.

Eohlx

Eohlx – The name I prefer to know this rune by, as it talks about sharp swamp grass that can lacerate skin if you handle it unwisely, or just step through it.  It is also universally known as the rune of protection.  It there is any rune that everybody can agree on, it is this one.  I don’t think I have ever come across any author or writer about runes who has indicated otherwise.  The exact source of this protection is up to debate, but it seems that the protection is inherent.  Without walls, without armor without shield, without anything, you can be protected.  A giant “who goes there?” and “back off” all in one.  It’s kind of amazing.  Use it in all protection work, seriously.  You can’t go wrong. One of my favorite aegishlamur variants is known as “Solomon s innsigli” meaning Solomon sign.  It’s basically a 8 spoked sign made up of variants of Eohlx.  I have used it quite often for protection work and made some other version of it, and they all work amazingly great and give a very solid protection against any harm.

Ehwaz

Ehwaz – Ehwaz, the horse, the rune of quickness and speed and fleetness.  It makes travels short and bearable to those riding on the horse, but remember the steed does have a mind of it’s own.  To make the journey, you need to work along side your mount, not just force to do what you want.  Steed and rider, working together as a team, not as combatants.

 

Ehwaz is find to be anything gained with speed, or quickness.  Wealth that is quickly gained and equally quickly lost.  Fast cars, Fast men, fast music, fast women.  You can have lots of fun, but don’t expect it to be anything permanent.  If that is what you’re hoping for, you’ve come to the wrong rune.  Be thankful for what you got when you got it, but don’t try to hang to it too tight.  Just remember the memory of it fondly once it is gone.

Ear

Ear – The rune of Death. The tomb. Different from Eihwaz.  Ear is more like the Death Card of the Futhorc.  Everything dies, everything rots, everything fades away. Your wealth won’t last forever.  Eventually the fortune will disappear.  Even the best of friends goes away eventually, cause you might outlive them, or they outlive you.  There is nothing too big to fail.  All things fail. It is the natural order of things.  Sometimes it’s best just to go with it.
Not all endings are “THE END” though.  Some endings are just little.  The closing of a chapter.  The time to turn over the tape or record.  Maybe it’s time to move some place else, look to someone else, become something else. It’s an ending, but the story goes.