My band director (via ihs-marching-band)

Fuckin, hell

Day 17: Prayers, Seances, and Practicing the Black Art.

In my personal tradition of witchcraft, there is witchcraft, and then there are seances.

Witchcraft is when you need to get shit done, when you need to work the left hand, when you need results quick, hot, and NOW. It is charged with the fire of the chthonic, of the Familiar Spirit dressed as the Devil, raw drum beats and gurgled chanting abound as you drive a knife through a dove’s heart (mostly figuratively speaking of course in my own practice).

Seances, on the other hand, are a more relaxing event, and more open to the public. Of course work still get’s done, negative blocks lifted, spiritual healings performed, but the focus here is communion with one’s good spirits, and working the healing of the right hand. 

I have found though, that regardless of what I do, the witch fire still comes through my hands, my words, my prayers. 

It’s a difference I experience. A difference I have seen other witches experience. That our power, even amoung fellows who may have similar practices to us, but do not hold the witch blood, are menacing and even at times borderline disturbing. 

Makes me wonder though. Witches. Those of us with the blood. Awakened the blood. 

We do not seem to truly ever belong with the human race at large, but perhaps only amoungst our select fellows. Crowned in Lukumi we may be. Made as Abbess and Priests we may be. Pagans we may be. 

But we can always tell when we meet someone who is like us. Just a little more in the direction of that fiery power of life, death, and rebirth. No matter what other societies of people they may be seen to belong to. 

Though of course others may argue we simply have unelevated spirits around us mistaking us into thinking they are our guides.

One can only go one’s separate ways I guess. But I would never let another person’s interpretations and intuitive messages trump that which my own intuition is delivering about myself. Or else it just becomes a game of “Holier than thou” no? And no truly elevated spirit or medium should be engaging in those kinds of ego plays, no matter what their outside appearances may be.

VOID MAGICK free download ebook - released!

DOWNLOAD: http://bit.ly/20cs7Kr

Void Magick is a book which outlines a magickal system or a magickal personal reality that works and corresponds with the Void. We can also think of it as an upgrade of chaos magick. After so many years of persistent ideas rumbling in my brain I decided to write it all down, and slowly expand it to a complete and practical concept. I imagined and dreamed about a power source with all possibilities included and an undeniable power of creation and negation radiating from nothingness. Additional ideas were the two major magick skills for performing void magick, Disintegration and Illusion. There is so much more in this book, so at the end, I hope Void Magick will inspire you to find some yet undiscovered inner strengths and perform new and creative kinds of wonders.

all the best, voidically

Thomas Chaote

Special thanks - Editing by @enochtopus : http://enochtopus.tumblr.com - Vector illustration of enchantment circle by Pieter Verbeke @lynchparty : http://lynchparty.tumblr.com/

Paolo Girardi…

List of Resources at TheSigilWorkshop

I’ve noticed that a lot of people have been asking on how to this or that with sigils, so I’m making the huge list of resources we have on our blog a rebloggable post for any that would like to have it compiled on their own blog for easy access and use. As I update the references page, this post too will be updated, so keep an eye out for any future additions / modifications.

Please note that many methods of creation and charging will overlap within these articles; you do not need to read all of them, we are just providing a variety for you to choose from; pick whichever you like, and read until you find a method you like / have enough information to come up with your own method(s).

Please be aware that some articles suggested here were not thoroughly read by us (the moderators of this blog), and any information within should be read critically and with a grain of salt.

*The ~ symbol means those articles are posts on Tumblr

Sigil Crafting:

Sigil Charging:

Chaos Magic:

*We, the moderators of this blog, are not responsible and will not be held accountable for any actions taken as a result of reading these articles; any action taken, and any potential consequence due to, is the responsibility of the party performing said acts. We do not condone the use of these methods, particularly to minors (due to sexual nature); any minor performing anything found within these articles is doing so of their own free will and choice

~Richtor

Entitled, “The Pleasure-garden of Shadow,” another must read for the traditional witch, poisoner, hedge witch or any one with a need for authentic and intellectual witchcraft.

Though sometimes cost prohibitive, I always prefer a hard bound copy, especially when it is a masterpiece such as this.

Wish I could still purchase a hardbound copy of this.

You and I both. One day I hope to add it to my physical collection, but for right now the PDF will suffice.

Really interesting read, The World Of Vodou: Exhibit Brings To Life A Highly-Misunderstood Religion. Would love to see the Chicago Field Museum Vodou: Sacred Powers of Haiti exhibit in person, but online will have to do.

“JEWISH” and “CHRISTIAN” PALO in CUBA

by Eoghan Ballard, University of Pennsylvania In Cuba, using very much a late renaissance European metaphor, Palo has been classified as existing in two major forms, Palo Endoqui and Palo Nzambi, the former called Judio – “Jewish” – and the latter Cristiano – “Christian.” These two forms are in fact based upon African originals and a distinction that goes back to feuding sources of authority in Kongo religion during the earlier days of the Kingdom of Kongo. Religion in the Kongo was always a political thing and associated both with the spirits but also with the kingship. Religion’s primary role was the maintenance of the kingdom and the king was himself sacred. So these shifts represented shifts in political control. The generally accepted understanding is that there were several forms of cult in the Kongo that passed, as these things usually did, for political reasons, in and out of favor with the aristocracy. One cult associated Lukankasi as the supreme deity and the other Nzambi. Lukankasi was of the sky and Nzambi of the earth. A third deity, Kalunga, associated with the sea and the underworld, also was considered a supreme deity. Although in the Kongo Nzambi, Lukankasi, and Kalunga were the supreme deities of contesting political factions, they were not all that different from one another – or perhaps more accurately, there is little evidence remaining to distinguish them. To this day in the Congo and among neighboring peoples, Kalunga and Nzambi are both names for the supreme deity and are used differentially depending on the language spoken. In time, however – and in the Americas – these three contending supreme deities of the Kongo became associated with quite different entities of the Christian and Yoruban pantheons. When European missionaries arrived in the Kongo, their entire religious exchange with the Kongolese was accurately described (and I believe both Thornton and MacGaffey have used this metaphor or variations on it) as “a dialogue of the deaf.” This is because the symbol systems and structures of the two peoples had certain very visible similarities, especially in the linguistic metaphors they used. As a result, Christians adopted the terms used by the Kongolese for religious issues and deity. The Europeans and the Kongolese were then able to speak about religion and spiritual reality using a common “dialect” or vocabulary. The problem was that the Kongolese meant one thing and the Christians another. Both however, thought they understood each other. Nzambi was associated by the early missionaries with the Christian God. They accepted Nzambi as God because they were trying to graft Christianity into the existing hierarchy. This identification occurred when the Kongolese king Aphonso I became a Christian, and was undertaken to shore up political power in the face of opposing contenders for the throne (who were ever present) apart from any other spiritual concerns. In the Diaspora, Nzambi remained the dios otioso, mentioned but never really invoked in Cuban Palo. Lukankasi, because he was the deity who was displaced in the Kongo by the Cult of Nzambi, became associated with the Christian Devil. Because he was the deposed deity in the Kongo at the time that the European missionaries arrived, he had already been “demonized,” although not to the degree that the Europeans tended to demonize former deities. Kalunga, because of his association with the ocean, became associated in the Diaspora with the Yoruban Orishas Yemalla and Olokun and subsequently changed gender to female. The association of Kalunga with Yemalla and Olokun only occurred after the Kongolese encountered the Yoruban pantheon. This happened in the New World. Remember that “Kongo” in the New World religious scene is a “shorthand” for a large group of closely related peoples who came here, not simply those who spoke Kikongo, although for example in Cuba and North America those dominated. Still, languages are very, very close in that area of Africa and each culture and tribe had minor variations in belief and usage. This makes a very flexible understanding necessary when dealing with the development of Kongo-derived religions in the Diaspora. It is also necessary to point out that there are fundamental differences between Kongo Palo and Yoruba Ocha beyond the well-known adage that “Palo deals more with the dead than Ocha,” while “Ocha deals more with the Gods.” Although Palo does deal more with the dead than Ocha does, its true distinguishing feature is that Palo is a religion based upon the beliefs and religion of the Kongo – it is of Central African Bantu tradition. Ocha, on the other hand, is a completely different tradition. It is Yoruba, which is West African and of the language (and cultural group) generally referred to as Sudanese. In Cuba, as elsewhere in the New World, the slaves of Kongo origin eventually made an uneasy peace with the more recent Yoruba arrivals from Nigeria in the 19th century. The two mixed, and still do, somewhat uncomfortably, largely because a fair number of people intermarried and people came to have access to both religions as part of their ethnic heritage. There are those who move between the two easily and many more on both sides of this line who are ill at ease with the other tradition. What is more important than the subtleties of the interaction is the recognition that they are not in reality two parts of the same tradition but two distinct religions from vastly different and widely separated cultures, the Yoruba and the Kongo. The contemporary belief expressed by some Cubans and Cuban-Americans that Ocha was considered “greater” than Palo was a view largely advanced by the Yoruba and one rarely shared by people of Kongo descent. Another Cuban idea, “Your head belongs to Ocha [worship of the Gods], your back to Egun [ancestor veneration]” is explained because the spirits in Palo are not placed on your head but rather on your back. In the Diaspora, two major varieties of Palo emerged over the last hundred and fifty years. They are called in the more Kongolese terminology Palo Nzambi and Palo Endoqui (Ndoki). These have been glossed in Spanish, using European equivalents, as Palo Cristiano and Palo Judio – “Christian Palo” and “Jewish Palo.” Without exception, all Cuban Paleros will agree on this point: Those houses that follow Endoqui traditions (those which are not syncretised with Christianity) are called Palo Judio. All others (namely, Palo Nzambi) are Palo Cristiano. The association of one type of Palo as “Jewish” in contrast to “Christian” is unfortunately a negative one generally, and it does not refer to Judaism per se. More accurately, it really refers to the absence of Christian symbolism in the religious practice. Palo Nzambi makes visible use of the Crucifix and holy water in its religious articles while Palo Endoqui avoids Christian symbolism. It is worth noting that few Paleros who are Endoqui refer to it using the European terms, but rather prefer the African ones. Also, there are Paleros Endoquis who work with both sets of symbolism and methods. And, I hasten to reiterate, while Palo Endoqui, aka Palo Judio, is not Christian in its orientation, you will find nothing relating to Judaism in it either. Of course, as Palo really is a number of fairly closely related religions and not one single tradition, there are no absolute universals here, either.

Wishing you all a Merry Michaelmas!

Today was a full day for the Società di San Michele Arcangelo. We went to a local cemetery chapel of St. Michael, cleaned the altar, cleansed and reconsecrated the chapel- in the ways of the magi- after vandals attempted to desecrate the holy site. Afterwards I returned home and offered my own prayers and anointing at the Society’s altar and presented San Michele with his birthday cake. Now as I sit meditating by my altar with a glass of wine, I’m thankful for the events of today and for the continued protection and guidance I receive from my beloved patron.

Tanti Auguri, San Micheli Arcancilu.

EVVIVA SAN MICHELI ARCANCILU!!!!

S'abbinirica!

A photo from the feast of Santa Babbira, one of my Santi Guerrieri. Special offerings and gifts were given to her to celebrate her birthday.

Buona Festa!

Brewing some mead in honor of my new humble living quarters

Hi all! I’m looking to sell/trade my Prisma Visions Tarot Deck. I’m including the deck itself, the box that came with it, and the included guidebook. I’ve only shuffled the deck a few times, and the condition is like new.

I’m looking to trade for books, boxes, altar supplies, and magical perfumes/bath oils, but try me if there’s something else you think I’d be interested in! You can message me at my main blog pastelmutant or my witch blog scarletgloves!

☽∙❁∙☾

Ganesh, Remover of Obstacles

ॐ Spiritual Buddhist Blog ॐ

Laughing “Buddha” is not Buddha.

Who is commonly known as “Happy” or “Laughing” Buddha, is not a Buddha at all. It is a common misconception by people here in the West, because they see him associated with Buddhism. He is in fact, a simple, kind and generous monk, who many consider a great Bodhisattva and even the Maitreya (Future Buddha). Just Remember they are: