Herbs, tools, & treasures: My Bag of Tricks.

 Dear Reader,

I'm not sure how many people carry their history literally with them. I'm not sure how many people carry fetish objects (the religious use of the term) to allow them to reach out to their spiritual guides and allies. I have what I like to call my Bag of Tricks. It's a small bag that can easily be hidden if necessary. It holds in it the things I need to call my spiritual allies to me, to reach out to my familial dead, and to reach out to the life of the land. Now, I'm not going to identify which item is which because these things must be secret for them to work properly. But here's a picture of it.

Practical Witchery: Water Elementals

 Dear Reader,

Mermaids, mermen, undines, and sea-serpents are all known aspects of Water Elementals. Like all Elementals, these spiritual beings can appear to us in a wide range of forms that we might best comprehend them. Some make the mistake of thinking that Water Elementals are the most peaceable and serene of the Elementals. While they do not have the aggressiveness of Fire Elementals, they possess all the fury of the ocean in a storm and should be regarded with caution, even when their bearing is kindly.

Water Elementals hold sway, quite obviously, over bodies of water. They also are known to have influence over matters of the spirit, emotions, and all things psychic. They have a special affinity for lunar magic, given the close relationship between the Moon and all bodies of water on Earth. Water Elementals are fickle and can change their demeanor rapidly. When approached with disrespect, Water Elementals tend to cause mischief because of their refusal to forget a slight.

Water Elementals are associated with the magical weapon of the chalice and, by logical extension, the cauldron. They will accept offerings of candles because as the flame warms the wax it turns to liquid, which they hold influence over. They will also accept offerings of water or other liquids. Wine is a popular offering, specifically white wine. Partly because it is an offering that requires some expenditure on the giver's part and partly because there is a historic precedent of wine being given in offering because it was the only potable substance aside from pure spring water. White wine is popular because it visually resembles water compared to red wine.

Practical Witchery: Elementals

 Dear Reader,

The system of correspondences that includes the classical elements has been around for so long and in so many variations that its origin is lost to the mists of time. I am going to introduce you to the system of working with the classical elements of existence that I have been using for over two decades now. Unlike what some of the newer authors in the Wiccan community have claimed, this system has been around for millennia. Wicca did not invent the elemental classification system. If this claim is put forth, consider the entire work with a grain of salt because the author didn't do their homework and is ignorant about the history of Wicca.

In the European historical context, the classical elements are: Air, Fire, Water, Earth, and Spirit. In the Asiatic historical context it is a bit muddied because of the influence of European invaders destroying documents with their efforts to force the conversion of the native peoples to some variant of Christianity. The clearest evidence of the classical elements in that part of the world comes from China (which has a very, very long history as a nation and an astounding historical record). In traditional Chinese thought, the classical elements are wood, fire, metal, earth, and water. 

Wikipedia has an interesting article on classical elements with relatively reliable sources. I am not going to go over the different cultures that have used different classification systems. That is beyond the scope of this post and I am not well versed enough in pan-cultural elemental classification systems from the pre-Christian era of history to do the topic justice. (This is something that would be worthy of a doctorate level paper. I'm simply not able to accomplish that, yet.)

Wicca comes from the European line of historical metaphysics. There is some disagreement within the Wiccan community as to what the correct order and classifications are for the classical elements. This lack of singularly codified system of classification is not an indication of disorganization as much as a signifier of the diversity of the Wiccan community. If we look back at the work of Gerald Gardner, considered the father of Wicca and modern witchcraft, we find that he organizes them thusly:

• Element of Air; Direction is East; Magical Weapon is the Sword/Athame*
• Element of Fire; Direction is South; Magical Weapon is the Wand
• Element of Water; Direction is West; Magical Weapon is the Chalice
• Element of Earth; Direction is North; Magical Weapon is the Paten/Pentacle

In my personal magical workings, the directional orientations remain the same. The magical weapons for Air and Fire are reversed. My logic for this is blades are fashioned in fire and wands are the branches of trees, which are high in the air. Now, each element has an Intelligence associated with it. They can be described variously as Angels, Janyati, or other spiritual beings. In traditional Wicca, these Intelligences are the Guardians of the Elements and known as Elementals. They can be worked with to grow in one's studies of the occult, to develop greater spiritual balance in one's life, or to manifest that which one desires. Elementals are generally kindly inclined towards humanity. They are a manifestation of the Divine within the realm of the world we live.

While the elemental classification system helps to organize the world we live in, the Elemental beings can influence the world through the things we recognize as under their purview. Next week, I will be introducing you to the Element of Air. 

*Note*

The term athame here is not to be confused with the Filianic term athame. The athame of Wicca (and other witchcraft traditions that use the term) refers to a ritual knife or dagger that is used for magical practices.

Egregores vs. Deities: An experience. (part 3/3)

Part one of this series discussed the difference in the nature of egregores and deities. Part two of this series discussed the importance of discernment and gave some ideas on how to test the situation. In part three, I want to share with you my experience of the difference between an egregore that was supposed to be like a deity and the deity themself. As someone who is intimately involved with Loki, I tend to expect things to get weird with him. What I did not expect was for the egregore of Marvel!Loki to pop up on my spiritual radar.

At first, I thought it was Myth!Loki showing up under that guise to poke fun at it all. Marvel!Loki is a sassy and snarky character. That is something that is in common with Myth!Loki, to some extent. When Marvel!Loki refused to present as Myth!Loki typically does because it was distracting, I got suspicious. I pointedly asked Marvel!Loki what the name was given where we first met. Marvel!Loki attempted to tell me it didn't matter. Then Marvel!Loki began to tell me that I was a bad worshiper for questioning him. That sealed the deal, I knew it wasn't Myth!Loki that I was dealing with.

I banished the egregore and sealed my home against its return. Marvel!Loki is like a poltergeist and can cause things to get glitchy. That was the last thing I needed that day. Not too long after I did this, Myth!Loki showed up and asked me how I liked his counterpart. I informed Myth!Loki that Marvel!Loki was a dick, just like him. Where Marvel!Loki would have been outraged and threatened me for that blunt assessment, Myth!Loki laughed and asked if I meant Freyr with that comment.

Myth!Loki makes things glitchy to get your attention but Marvel!Loki just creates glitches where ever it goes. It's one of the defining traits of that egregore. Marvel!Loki is scripted in its responses. Myth!Loki is definitely not scripted. Marvel!Loki has the appearance of the character. Myth!Loki appears in so many different ways it's just this side of impossible to describe. Marvel!Loki is reported to be a shape shifter but never does so because the thought-form that generated Marvel!Loki is so heavily based in the iconic image portrayed in the movies that it is incapable of shifting form. Clothing may change, but face, build, and such don't.

Egregores vs. Deity part 2/3 : Discernment

Dear Reader,

In my last post on this topic, I gave a quick run down on the major differences between Egregores and Deities. The biggest difference between the two is Egregores are limited in their responses where as Deities are not. Now, there are other spiritual things out there in the universe that will masquerade as one or the other for the sake of mischief or something nefarious. Discernment is a vital skill in spirit work. Nowhere is it more important than in determining if you are actually working with a Deity.

There are a lot of methods to test the responses to figure out if they are accurate. (PROTIP: If the being in question gets huffy about you testing their responses, back away slowly and shut down contact. They're up to something and you may not want to be involved with whatever game they're playing. If you decide to proceed with contact, do so with great caution and make sure that your protections are well in place.) It is good to get secondary confirmation on what the being is presenting you. This might be by way of verifying the information presented against what is established about the being in question. This is really useful when dealing with well documented beings.

A really useful method is to get divination done for you by an independent party that isn't involved in the situation. This is one of the rare situations where I encourage you, regardless of your experience, to get a divination session from another person rather than doing it for yourself. The reason why is because the entity's focus on you can skew the reading in their favor. Going to a person who is outside of that feedback loop can get you a good picture of the situation.

Then there is the time honored practice of reality testing. Is the entity telling you something that is realistic and probable? Can you prove some element of what they are presenting via mundane means? Asking the entity questions that it should know the answer to that are simple yes/no questions is a great way to test the waters. Be aware that some beings and Egregores are going to be sticklers for phrasing. On the part of beings, it is in their nature. On the part of Egregores it is because of their programming. As such, make sure that your test questions are ones that have absolute yes/no results (such as the eye color of your child or if it is daylight out at the time and in the location you are at).

Practical Witchery: Make friends with your local spirits.

Dear Reader,

This post was supposed to happen yesterday but life got in the way. There are a lot of spirits in the world. They range in temperment and personality as much as people do, if not more so. It is good to get to know your local area's resident spirits. They can prove helpful allies and powerful protectors. It is a fairly simple process to get to know them.

A simple offering and a statement of who you are and what you hope will come from the relationship is usually enough. Obviously different spirits prefer different types of offerings. And they'll have different things to offer you in return for your gift to them.

The chart below is a good starter guide to offerings for common local spirits.

Spirit	Physical	Incense
Water	clean water	lotus
Land	stone or coins	mugwort
Air	feather, inspired poetry	sandalwood
Fey	milk, honey, bread	any
Elemental	candle	any
Place	clean water, stones or coins	mugwort

Transmission received.

Dear Reader,

As I have said, I am a necromancer. That means that I talk to and work with the spirits of the dead. One of the dead had a message for me to share. It is getting posted here because I am sure it will get more readership. (If you know me and my family, you'll probably know who this is from.)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

What is a woman?

A woman is not her ovaries.
A woman is not her vulva or vagina.
A woman is not her breasts.

Women may have these organs. Women may not.

Where do we find a woman?

In her mind for it is from her mind that she comes forward.
Don't concern yourself with appearances.
Once we all had tails, but that didn't stop us from becoming who we are.

Heads, butts, tails, vagina, penis, these are all parts and not defining of the being possessing them.

Where do we find personhood?

In the mind, because we're just a little body hair away from being classed as great apes.

Basic Necromancy - Evocation Rules.

As I have mentioned elsewhere on this blog, I am a necromancer. This generally means I conduct divination by way of dealing with the dead. I have a few specific ways I do it. There are, however, some rules that I follow that make what ever method I use safe and effective.

• Never summon what you can't put down
• Control the space and conversation
• Control the spirit's range of effect (summoning circles)
• Have clear beginning and ending of session
• Cleanse the location of session before and after session to establish neutral energy levels

Some of these things are lessons that have been handed down since antiquity in the lore surrounding dealing with spirits and the dead. Summoning someone (or something) that is more than you can handle leads to problems. Poltergeist problems, to be specific. If you don't want random ghostly activity because the spirit was bored and decided to get your attention by flicking that box of popsicles you picked up at the store on to the floor before you got it in the freezer, make a point of laying them to rest at the end of your session. Otherwise you may have an unintended house guest for a while who randomly pranks you for their amusement.

Controlling the conversation and where the conversation happens is important when dealing with anyone you are not intimately familiar with. You don't know if they will be hostile towards you or not. You may have little to no idea what they are seeking out of the exchange. Treat the situation as a negotiation of a business arrangement. Controlling the space is equally important. Having clearly established boundaries and rules of conduct ensures that all parties involved in the discussions know what is expected and what is going to be tolerated. Leaving things open ended can make for a very unpleasant necromancy session.

Summoning circles are a traditional tool for controlling the space that the spirit can influence. Most of the folklore about summoning circles is pretty accurate. Summoning circles serve both as a containment system for potentially hostile spirits and a doorway for the spirit to travel into our plane for manifestation. When I use a summoning circle, I use a double set this way if one fails there is a second in place to maintain security. This provides for the safety of all parties because spirits that are manifested on the physical plane are vulnerable. The barrier of the summoning circle helps protect the spirit as much as it protects the people.

As with all magical rituals, a clear beginning and ending of the ritual is an absolute must. This helps us orient to and from magical work. It also allows us to stabilize the magical systems we'ere working with so that things to go too haywire when we're finished. A concrete beginning and end of a ritual provides structure to help the ritual function properly.

Cleansing the location before and after a ritual helps ensure that the location is magically neutral. This is good because it limits external influence upon your ritual and limits the unintended effects of your ritual upon the area. It is also just practical and responsible.

Godphone: Lesson Five - When you're not well.

In the series of lessons on 'godphone', I made a point of saving the most important one for last. There are many in the pagan and related spiritual practices who say that if you start hearing things, you're going through a spiritual awakening or crisis. There is a trend to sweep mental illness under the rug, because mental illness is scary and deemed, somehow, as a way to discredit spiritual experiences. This is a trend that is reckless and irresponsible. It endangers vulnerable people and denies them assistance they need because they are frequently shamed for their experiences.

Some are going to despise me for this, but there is a written record of mystics who have gone through serious mental illness. You can find this extensive record in the writings of various Christian mystics. St. John of the Cross, for example, suffered debilitating depression (and I suspect post-traumatic stress disorder) after being imprisoned upon questionable pretenses due to friction within the Carmelite order during this period. Out of this experience came the luminous poem The Dark Night of the Soul. It was but one of many spiritual and theological writings that he had completed, perhaps the most famous of them. St. Teresa of Avila regularly endured illness and in the midst of these periods of illness had ecstatic spiritual experiences. There is also the books written by St. Thérèse of Lisieux and Dame Julian of Norwich which speak of their spiritual experiences by way of illness. (I recommend the long form of Dame Julian of Norwich's work.)

In the cases of St. Teresa and St. Thérèse, deep anxiety was held over the concept that their spiritual experiences were delusion/temptation from the devil. It was only after a great deal of discussion with their spiritual advisers and the persons who were helping them with their illnesses that it was established that these were not false experiences or fever dreams. The external reality check provided by these third parties were vital to authenticating the experiences of these women, especially in a period of history when the Inquisition was quite busy looking for more victims. (St. Teresa had to seek protection from the Inquisition. The punishment of St. John came out of a conservative sect of the Carmelite order and the Inquisition's activity.)

Hearing voices out of the blue is alarming, if not terrifying. The first thing to do is test the veracity of your experience. While many would claim this is show you lack faith, it is vital to your sanity to confirm or deny the reality of what you are experiencing. It could be as simple as looking away and then back at the vision before you. It could be as simple as holding up a mirror or looking for a reflection on a reflective surface near you. More complex reality testing can be anything from trying to drown out the sound you are hearing with your own thoughts to asking another person if they heard something. You don't have to specify what, it could be as simple as asking if they heard someone call your name.

When it is difficult to distinguish between reality and what is not real, this is when you should consult with a medical professional and a spiritual counselor. The medical professional can assist you in handling what physical illness may be causing these experiences. At times, audio distortion of ambient noise can come off as sounding like a garbled version of someone trying to talk to you all because of an earwax build up, for example. In the event that you are suffering from some form of mental illness, such as hearing people in the room when there are no signs of it and your spiritual counselor is noting signs of mental illness when you are meeting with them, medical assistance can actually make it easier for you to access your spiritual resources. With the right medication, mental clarity can be achieved and genuine mystical experiences will persist and possibly become more profound.

Being unwell can be disorienting and distressing. It can lead to a spiritual crisis or a spiritual awakening. It is, however, separate from spiritual awakening or crisis because it involves the strictly biological processes of your body. Spiritual awakening can be prompted as a coping mechanism, as per St. Thérèse following the death of her mother delving deeply into her devotional relationship with Mary. It can also be a part of how you are processing the experience of being unwell, as in the case of St. Teresa. In either case, follow three steps: observe the experience, reality test the experience, and get a third party opinion. If any manner of spiritual experience causes distress, or occurs in concert with distress, seek out assistance in handling said distress.

Postscript:

I personally have experienced hallucinations and mystic visions. From my experience, they are two different things and involve two different thought processes. Also, the gods find more ways to talk to you than just literally talking to you. Sometimes it is a person turning to you and answering a question you were just thinking about before resuming a conversation with someone else about an entirely different topic. Sometimes it is things mysteriously appearing when you need them or vanishing to a completely different place in your home when it was literally right in front of you before your turned your back. When I am ill and experiencing hallucinations, it gets confusing at times. Thus, I find the deities using other methods to talk to me. (Yes, that has included avatars. And yes, it was creepy and amazing and awe inspiring when it happened. Awe in ALL sense of the word.)

Divination: Reading Tarot Example.

I realized in my process of presenting information about tarot reading, I didn't give any examples. So, here is an example of a three card spread that I did for myself.

I realized in my process of presenting information about tarot reading, I didn't give any examples. So, here is an example of a three card spread that I did for myself. This is a spread that is like my usual three card with the card at the extreme left as the past card, the center card as the present, and the card at the extreme right as the future. There is one small difference here, however, which is this spread is being used as a form of spirit communication with the deceased. As I shuffled the cards, I asked the spirit of Stargazer what she felt I needed to know right now.

This was her answer. (A side note, this is the same style of deck that she had and I had admired it greatly. After she passed on, I missed her greatly. Then Beloved was moved to buy this precise deck, unaware that this was the precise deck that Stargazer traded so many readings with me. It was an unexpected touchstone from two individuals that I love deeply.)

Deck: Deviant Moon Tarot by Patrick Valenza

The first card is the Magician. It isn't that clear in this picture, but he has multiple arms. This is something I haven't seen in any other deck. He is literally doing ALL THE THINGS. This is a card that speaks of not merely having ability but mastery and skill. In this reading, the card tells me that I have the abilities that I have been doubting in myself.

The second card is Judgment. It is usually a card indicating a matter of justice or something karmic. Here is the deal, though, with myself and this card. It always indicates something is going on that involves my true self. Here, I'm being reminded to trust in myself and who/what I am.

The third card is the World. This is a card of great success. It is a message that all things shall be well and I can achieve what I am trying to do. There's other layers to this meaning, but they're much more personal.

But, here's an example of a three card tarot reading for you. :)

Godphone: Lesson Four - Dissonance & Mental Noise

Godphone is often considered to be a wonderful thing. When it works, there is this idea that we have complete confidence in it and that we will always know when it is correct. It is not so simple. If I have not made it clear before now, this form of divination requires a great deal of self examination and a very deep knowledge of oneself. Even with experience and a great deal of practice, there is a significant amount of time where time will be spent just looking at the information and questioning it.

It doesn't help much that Western society tells us that it is alright to talk to the Divine but when it answers back, we must be experiencing psychosis. The subtle narrative that is built up around us by society at large that tells us this 'truth' invades our thought processes. As much as we may wish to set it aside and sincerely believe that this 'truth' is not actually an absolute truth, there will be an echo of it. It leads to us questioning our experiences pretty hard. A measure of skepticism is always useful in magical studies, it helps keep us out of serious trouble, but at some point there needs to be an acceptance of the 'absurd' when Occam's Razor winnows it out as the only answer that makes sense.

The best way to describe the effect of the cultural attitudes that serve to make it difficult to engage in pretty much any form of magical study, in my experience, is that it is mental noise. It is that background hum which we generally ignore but when we are put in a situation where ignoring it is not an option it turns into an overwhelming cacophony. Mental noise sometimes presents as your first reflexive thought upon something. Other times, it is a persistent sense of doubt that leads you to question what your senses and intelligence is telling you to be the case.

There is a meditative exercise that helps reestablish the ability to put aside the background noise of the attitudes which were steeped into our education. It consists of visualizing some sort of device making noise with an adjustable dial or other control. As you turn the control to a quieter setting, envision the mental noise decreasing to a more tolerable state. It sounds like a silly exercise. It is, however, surprisingly effective with some practice.[1]

The other major challenge that isn't really talked about with mentally based magical disciplines is cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is something of a thorny problem. Everyone has it for some reason. It is generally fairly hard to overcome. It is a case of one's thinking conflicting with evidence presented to them, resulting in the evidence being rejected somehow in favor of preserving the initial idea (which is usually fairly heavily entrenched).

A good example of cognitive dissonance in action is politics. (Now, this is not going to be a political post, but this is probably the most accessible example I can think of right now.) Imagine, if you will, a person who habitually votes for a given political party. They strongly identify with said party to the point where they have memorabilia and actively work to encourage others to associate with this party. This is something that is a part of the way they view themselves and they are quite happy and proud of this. Now, a person running for office in their region is supporting legislation that runs directly against this individual's personal interests.

How do they handle this challenge to their idea that this party promotes their welfare? They will reject the idea that the legislation even exists, in some cases. In other cases, they will deny that it is actually harmful to themselves personally (including people like themselves as being immune from harmful said effect). They will try to excuse said harmful legislation as a minor component of a larger, more beneficial action. The list of ways they try to justify their continued support of the politician supporting the harmful legislation is long and varied.

All of those methods, however, fit the same pattern of behavior. When presented with information that threatens their identity or their belief, they deny said information and reject it. This is often followed by some sort of assertion that their belief is valid. Unfortunately, the only way to address cognitive dissonance is by continually challenging it. It is difficult and in many cases, it leads to very uncomfortable situations.

In handling cognitive dissonance, we must remember that we are manipulating something of a protective function of the brain. It serves to help us cope with difficult situations until we can process them or disregard them. Thus, when you encounter it, seriously question what it is working to 'protect' you from. Also, remember that mental noise and cognitive dissonance is not an inherently a bad thing. They can present some challenges to building your skills and make it difficult to godphone, but they can serve useful functions as well.

Calling on Winter's Allies.

Winter can be a harsh and biting season. It is the time of year where the weather itself is a threat to life and limb for the unprepared. After the largess of harvest, we enter into a season defined by diminished resources and threat. There is, however, advantages to this season. The ice and snow works to keep other dangers at bay. It can be a powerful ally. Consider the ill fate of people who attempted to invade Russia in winter, for example. Snow is also known as the poor man's fertilizer with how it replenishes the nitrates in the soil even as it brings the water table up to what is needed when it melts in spring.

Ice, snow, and storm magic is not something that is generally undertaken lightly. This season is obviously exceptionally well suited towards it. Calling upon the spirits of winter and the storms can be a very arduous thing. They are known as harsh and demanding beings. When the host of the Unseelie are abroad, people even in modern times will adhere to the old wisdom of refraining from joining them when they call ¹. The Wild Hunt rides in the winter with a reputation as harsh as that of the fairies ². Similar caution is called in dealing with them. Indeed, some may argue more caution because where the fairies may be satisfied with mischief at your expense, the Wild Hunt is far more violently inclined. This only makes sense, as they are lead by Oðin himself in many instances. (Some speculate in all and that the All Father travels in disguise, as is his wont.)

Every place in the world has a name for the ones who come in winter. Those names are spoken with caution. Many of them are referred to with by-names in the hope of avoiding the direct attention of these beings. Still, it is possible to negotiate arrangements with most any of them. It must be done with great caution. Some beings, like the Wendigo ³, are best left alone because they have a long history of hostility towards humanity. Others, like the jotun maiden Skaði, will be stern and demanding, but if you observe proper manners will give you the time of day and even help you.

One may look at all of this and question why I am posting something so foreboding today. If we look at the atrocities happening in the world, we can see why we have need of allies that are as hard as the people who are seeking to destroy that which is good in the world. The season of winter is a time of hardship and the spirits that move in it are renown for their ferocity. Appealing to them as allies may be a wise decision. Moving with the essence of the storm at your side makes it easier to resist the people arrayed against you. Remember, however, a sword has two edges and can cut both ways if it is not used wisely.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

1. Fairies are known in many cultures. The Unseelie are reputed as the 'dark' court of fairies who hold sway in the autumn and winter. They are quick to anger, capricious, and possess an established reputation for casual cruelty, if not malevolence. It is my understanding, however, that their seeming 'evil' nature is simply due to a disregard for humanity. If they are moved to anger, though, the unpleasantness of their attention is well known. They are also strongly associated with the dead, death, and decay. It only makes sense considering the nature of the seasons that their reign in the realm of the fair folk.

2. The Wild Hunt is, as per my understanding, a hunting party of spirits, demigods, and the dead, along with whom ever Oðin chooses to invite to come with them. They go through the world hunting that which is harmful to Midgard and bring about a measure of ... retributive justice to those whom are deemed in need of such harsh lessons. Envision the wrath of your ancestors against someone who has murdered a relative of yours. Now think of how they and a numberless horde of friends are going to mess up that person's luck. That is the Wild Hunt in avenging mode. It's rather terrifying.

3. The Wendigo is on my list of beings to never trifle with. If you are trying to be 'edgy and cool' don't try to dance with this spirit. They will actively destroy your life - at the minimum. Go listen to some 'dark music' and ring up Alistair Crowley with your Ouija board to tell him how cool he is instead. (Don't be surprised if he laughs at you and messes with you. He's a bit of a dick.)