Sunday, September 21, 2014

Witchcraft and Evocation Simplified

Spirit Conjuring and the Legendary Witches

It is a long tradition in the annals and legends of witchcraft that witches performed magic through the agency of demons, fairies and lesser spirits, such as elementals, fetches (created spirits), nature spirits, ancestors (both spiritual and actual), spirits of the dead and various other supernatural servitors. They had a familiar spirit that assisted them in these efforts, but much of their work involved engaging and conjuring spirits in some manner to perform some kind of special or mundane task. The greatest of the legendary witches seemed to work mostly from a spirit model of magick.

The other kinds of workings that some (but not all) performed were various types of spell-craft, such as healing, curses, jinxes, finding lost things or buried treasure, acquiring or returning lovers, getting justice, etc., which required the kind of thaumaturgical magic that hoodoo root doctors today would readily recognize. Pagan religion wasn’t much of a concern or a factor for these lone or family-based practitioners, although they might indulge in calling antique deities along with their collection of other spirits, which could consist of popular Roman pagan gods and goddesses, Christian aspects of Deity, apostles, saints, angels, or even demons. They could employ psalms from the bible or other kinds of appropriated religious texts or use church sanctioned items, such as holy water or consecrated oil (chrism) or even hosts. These workings might also sometimes include various other tropes of the spiritual left hand path including calling upon the Devil himself. Whatever worked for a given task could be employed, and traditional witches seemed not to bother differentiating between Pagan, Christian, Jewish, or Diabolical elements. They seemed immune to any kind of sectarian bias and were, in a word, nearly animistic in their practices. So much has changed in our world since those early days.

Whether witches practiced “white” or “black” magic seemed to be determined by the goal they were pursuing, either for themselves or at the behest of a paying client. Witchcraft has always been the practice of illegal and unsanctioned magic seemingly appropriated from the religious rituals of the group for the benefit of the individual, and it has assumed a kind of grey undefined area between malefic and beneficial works. The status of the legendary witch was also quite ambiguous, which would be a natural outcome associated with anyone who was capable of doing both good and evil. 

In the present times this legendary Witch and her work seems far removed from the kind of magic that Witches perform today, if indeed they perform any kind of magic at all. Believe it or not, there is a movement out there that seeks to completely erase magical practices from the workings, rites and ceremonies of Modern Witchcraft. This movement seems benignly motivated to create a legitimate and friendly pagan religion that is acceptable to all other mainstream religions and creeds.

I have said previously that I find this disturbing because it does considerable damage to the whole concept of Witchcraft. After all, isn’t the practice of magic the “craft” part of Witchcraft? Take away the magic and all its lore from the traditional witch and all you have left is some kind of modern pagan revisionist religion that is harmless, banal and also, I might add, incredibly dull. In fact, I would go so far as to say that without the magical spells and spirit conjuring there is no “craft” dimension to witchcraft whatsoever. We might as well call it that peaceful, hippie inspired, nature-religion “Wicca” instead of using the word “Witchcraft,” and that is also a change that some practitioners are heartily promoting.

Some have called for the “re-wilding” of the Craft and others have called for a darker form of Witchcraft to replace the apparently castrated and “fluffy” popular version of Wicca. Even the British Traditional Witchcraft (BTW) has apparently succumbed to mediocrity and denied the importance of the legendary witchcraft and its focus on spirit conjuring, spirit-world traveling and poisonous root work. Others have promoted various forms of hoodoo or thaumaturgy, which I would surely find more useful that religious Wicca but not as challenging as conjuring. It would seem that if a person calls herself a Witch and thereby embraces all that such a role implies then it would be important for her to master the art of spirit conjuring at the very least. My argument is that Witchcraft, as a magical religion with an emphasis on the word “craft” consisting of forms of lower and higher ritual magick, should be the basis for a modern practice of Witchcraft. Taking that argument to heart should inspire a practicing Witch to engage in all of the tropes and fetishes of the legendary Witch. We don’t need to make Witchcraft darker or wilder. We just need to be faithful to the concept of Witchcraft as established by the legends of the Witches.

As a mechanism or adjunct to the “wilding” of Witchcraft, some writers have stated that goetic conjuring should be a part of the Witches repertoire. I agree, but I believe that it should be only a part of an overall methodology for entering the world of spirit as well as trafficking with the spirits of ancestors, the unsettled or heroic dead, chthonic deities (all deities have a chthonic aspect or root), elementals, deep earth spirits and demons. A Witch following the path of traditional Witchcraft would learn to master the ability of entering into the underworld or spirit world and also have the ability to conjure the spirits of that domain into the domain of the living, which is the whole point of evocation.

The magic associated with this ability to spirit travel and conjure was known in the Greek speaking world of antiquity as the magic of the “goes,” hence the title of goetic magic that is based on the practitioner or “goes.” (The term “goes,” as I have stated in previous articles, represents the keening and moaning intonations that the witch would use to summon spirits or enter into that stygian world. It is a quasi shamanic technique that has modern precedents, as we shall see.) From my perspective then, the arts of spirit travel, conjuring and the acquisition of a familiar spirit are the repertoire of the traditional Witch. These, and other practices, are the “craft” part of Witchcraft and they are still valid and available for the modern adherent of religious Witchcraft or Wicca.   

However, approaching spirit conjuring requires some source materials and knowledge that won’t be found in any of the books on Wicca (or the standard Book of Shadows, for that matter), unless one digs very deep and comes up with a long out-of-print copy of “Mastering Witchcraft” by Paul Huson. A Witch who aspires to master conjuring spirits can either adopt the whole of the Golden Dawn or Grimoire based ceremonial magick corpus or she can use the tools that she has at hand with a few minor additions. (Allow me to illustrate what those minor additions might consist of for an erstwhile Witch following the path of the legendary Witches.)

I have decided to write this article to provide any Witch who wants to learn the art of conjuring all the necessary tools needed to accomplish that end, and these are readily at hand. She doesn’t have to invest in all of the books and materials required to become a ceremonial magician in order to master this technique. As I have explained in my previous articles, there is a distinct difference between what I call ceremonial magick and pagan-based ritual magick. They are quite different and that difference is based on the concept of immersion vs. isolation.

A ceremonial magician seeks to control and isolate the evocation of spirits so his magic circle functions as a barrier and place of protection. The reason for this isolation is that the ceremonial magician considers any direct contact with spirits to be dangerous and morally contaminating. The goetic triangle placed outside of the protective circle that he uses is to be the focus for the spirit evocation. However, the witch has a completely different model for her work.

The magic circle that she erects is not to protect her from spirits but to establish a boundary between the sacred inner world of spirits and deities and the outer world of the profane. It is a completely different kind of mechanism that causes the Witch practitioner to be exposed to all of the magical workings performed within that magic circle. That would include anyone else who happens to be in that circle when such rites are performed. The erection of a boundary in modern Witchcraft is analogous to ancient Pagan temples or sacred sites having a specific (and sometimes marked) boundary to designate the border between the sacred and profane worlds. The only difference between them is the permanence of the ancient Pagan temple precincts and the temporary nature of the Witch’s magic circle erected wherever needed.

This is the magical process that I have called immersion as set down in several of my previous writings, since the Witch is exposed to everything performed within her magic circle. The only protection that she has at her disposal to control and focus the working is the power of her familiar spirit and her own iron-like will. In the modern world of Witchcraft the familiar spirit is expanded and augmented to include the assumption of a personal Godhead, which represents her higher self and spiritual genius. This powerful godhead assumption is the core of both the witch’s religious work as well as the primary state in which she will perform all higher forms of magic, be they a form of energy work, the conjuring of spirits, or both.

The foundational state that is the precursor to all of these kinds of magical workings consists of the various levels of trance states and through them, the assumption of godhead. Modern Wicca, especially in the BTW, reserves the prerogative of the Drawing Down rite to the chief celebrant, whether that is the High Priestess (represented by the Moon) or the High Priest (symbolized by the Sun or Horned God). However, in Modern magical-based Witchcraft, this rite becomes the necessary step for any kind of magical operation, particularly higher forms of ritual magick such as spirit conjuring. The godhead assumption functions pretty much the same as the acquisition and deployment of a familiar spirit in antique forms of witchcraft. In order to assume one’s God/dess Within, a powerful trance state must be adopted. These two mechanisms represent a single seamless process in the arsenal of the Witch, and it is the most important tool that any Witch worth her salt has mastered and perfected.

Trance levels as adopted by the witch can graduate from mild to extreme, depending on what kind of operation is to be performed. Trance can be induced by any number of traditional or ad hoc methodologies, based on one’s inclination and personal preferences. However, breath-control, intoning with vocalized humming, visual focal locking, repetitive bodily movement, the ingesting of ethnogens, calling or keening wails, barbarous words of summoning can be used to facilitate different trance states. Trance is also employed for spirit travel, divination, spirit conjuring and also for godhead assumption.

A deep trance is used for oracular communication with the Gods, spirits or to facilitate spirit travel into their domains, but a mild trance is the basic operating state in which most workings are performed. This is because a truly deep trance is temporarily debilitating and makes performing even a simple operation very difficult. Even so, the first time that a Witch attempts to undergo a godhead assumption the associated trance state should be as extreme as possible. It is also assumed that such a first encounter would necessitate assistants, helpers or a teacher to orchestrate and guide the process. Once such a powerful trance state and assumption have been performed then the Witch should be able to develop a method of readily assuming her Godhead in a more milder trance state. When required, a Witch can easily shift from the mild trance to a deep trance and bring forward to consciousness the full embodiment of the Godhead to bear on any magical event or occurrence.

A personal Godhead is nothing more than a personalized aspect of a Pagan Deity that appeals to the practicing Witch and through which she identifies herself. While this entity might not seem to be analogous to the spirit familiar that the legendary witches sought to acquire, I believe that it does fit many of the functions and attributes associated with such an entity. Ancient sources specified that familiar spirits could take multiple forms including that of animals, and that they were considered to be either demons (malefic) or fairies (good). However, the purpose of a familiar spirit was to bridge the worlds of mankind and the worlds of spirit and thereby act as an aid and a guide to the witch in mastering both worlds. I believe that the personalized deity (as a basis for the higher self) succinctly answers this requirement. Modern witches have delegated the familiar to being a specific pet owned by them. Yet without the magical agency of bridging the spirit and material worlds such a delegation is both misleading and probably specious.

Being able to assume a Godhead completely and thoroughly (although briefly) should be considered a basic staple for any practicing Witch regardless of whether or not she intends to perform any kind of higher forms of ritual magick. There is nothing so profound and empowering as engaging with the rituals and ceremonies while under the trance induced influence of one’s personal Godhead. Trance possession by a Deity is also an important protection as well as an empowerment for the practicing Witch, since the inclusive nature of the magic circle gives her no real spiritual protection other than her own will-power. 

I have recently written an article that details my opinions and perspectives about the nature and importance of godhead assumption and how it plays an important role in the development of a Witchcraft-based form of ritual magick. For those who might have missed this article, I would recommend that they read it and also study the underlying articles that it references. I believe that this rite is a critically important part of the practice of Modern Witchcraft and that a proficiency in the performance of this rite marks the difference between the adherent of a strictly religionist Wicca and the follower of the Witchcraft path. You can find that article here.

Spirit Conjuring - Five Easy Steps

Now that we have covered all of the basic elements that a modern Witch would need in order to be able to perform a spirit conjuration, we can now go over a simple mechanism for spirit conjuration. What I am proposing here is to use a method that is the simplest and most efficient in regards to making use of the techniques and materials that a modern Witch would have at her disposal. (This technique is not the one that I use myself, which is much more elaborate, but it is one that I used in the past and have therefore fully vetted.)

As for magical tools, a Witch would have a consecrated weapon (an athame) and the use of a secluded space in which to perform this working. Those are the primary requirements that a Witch needs to perform a conjuration. Some other basic tools would be cups for lustral water (salt water) and liquid offerings (wine or ale), a pentacle for solid offerings (salt, bread or other food), an incense burner and incense, lamps or candles, a consecrated pointing stick or wand, and optionally, a consecrated sword. An ink pen and some parchment would also be useful. Most modern Witches would either have all of these materials or would be able to easily acquire them, and whatever is used for her craft should be kept apart from mundane tools and implements. Any other accouterments would be considered helpful but not essential to the work. Of course, the most important mechanism is the familiar spirit or preliminary godhead assumption and all of the associated intimate relations between the Witch and her personal Deity, and the ability to assume various levels of trance whenever required.

The five basic steps used for conjuration are based on the age-old, classical method of spirit conjuring, although one or two might not be always necessary or even needed. These steps are, in sequential order, consecration (preparation), invocation, binding, constraining and then releasing. The binding and constraining might not be necessary, depending on whether the target spirit is either emotionally hot or cold. If the spirit is hot, then it can be engaged to perform aggressive or hostile actions for the benefit of the practitioner or her client. Such a spirit might need to be bound and constrained, but even a simple invocation has some degree of binding and constraining simply because the practitioner is calling and summoning that spirit to appear in a focused manner. A spirit that is considered cold is one that is essentially benevolent (or neutral) and doesn’t require any kind of overt binding. Often binding is symbolically performed through the use of magical cords and the actual tying of knots (ligature), but that is a symbolic prop that can be just as readily performed using the power of the will and sharply focusing the intent. Whatever actions the Witch performs within her magic circle are also backed up by the personal Deity that she is operating through. Pragmatism is the actual rule here, that and one’s personal predilections, so determining what works requires a fair amount of experimentation and the use of one’s imagination.

The most important part of these five steps is the consecration and preparation stage. The more effort and time that is put into the preparation for the working will naturally result in a more powerful and successful outcome. This also includes the most important research into the nature of the target spirit and its associated symbology. A Witch conjurer must establish a deep and intimate connection with the target spirit beforehand or the attempt to conjure it will undoubtedly fail. The primary key to invoking a spirit is to know its name. There are many ways of determining the name of a spirit, but it is strategically important to know the name (and the proper spelling) in order to perform a successful conjuring rite.

This brings me to an important consideration. Some writers have stated that all that is required in order to master the art of spirit conjuration, and particularly the conjuration of demons, is to select one of the more reputable grimoires and to use it singularly and consistently. While I would admit that such a practice would produce the desired results, the problem that I have with this approach is that nearly all grimoires have a particular Christian bias in regards to depicting and characterizing angels and demons, and also the kind of dialogue associated with their invocation and the overall methodology for conjuring. There is either an attitude of hostility and suspicion towards demonic spirits (or any kind of spirit) or an avowed inclination towards aligning oneself with infernal or satanic godheads. Either perspective is decidedly Christian and completely at odds with the traditional Witch conjuror who would judge spirits based on actual contact and prolonged experience.

While there might be various elements in the old grimoires that a Witch might find useful or aesthetically pleasing, she must be careful not to accept the underlying Christian metaphysical universe as well. This is the reason why I elect to “cherry pick” useful elements from the old grimoires, but I reject using them as they currently exist because they fail to agree with my pagan spiritual perspectives.

I believe that the best approach is to shed the whole Christian perspective and approach each spirit as a unique individual that has certain qualities. These qualities may be associated with elemental, planetary or zodiacal attributes, but they should not be influenced by Christian morality. So, that means that the various descriptions of spirits as found in the old grimoires are completely useless. The only thing that has any value whatsoever is the identifying sigil or character and the spirit’s name. The overall class of spirits as well as any underlying symbolic qualifications may assist the Witch in developing an image or imago of the target spirit, but the magical techniques and approach to performing a conjuration of such a spirit should be developed separately and distinctly from the grimoire from which they are taken.

This also includes aligning oneself with various infernal chiefs or other such fabulous diabolic entities (Satan, Beelzebub, Lucifuge), since they are specifically associated with Christian or Jewish concepts spiritual duality and are not commensurate with the pagan non-dual spiritual perspectives of a Witch. All Deities are valid and real as are all spirits, but Abrahamic based theology is neither valid nor applicable to the practice of traditional Witchcraft-based magick. Thus I seek to approach these kinds of magical entities in a neutral manner, removing the obvious Christian stigmas and the accretions of misinformation to reveal the spirit’s underlying pagan characteristics. (The apparent monism of Witchcraft can be found in the idea that everything is connected to everything else, and that all of the spiritual entities in the world are united within the One which is purposely left un-named.)

Perhaps some of the most powerful and personal spirits with whom I have trafficked were known only to me and my personal magical process. They are not names of spirits found in books, and the lore associated with them is what I developed myself, so it is quite personal and intimate. We are surrounded by spirits and some of them are associated with the place and location wherein we reside or work while others are associated with our genetic lineage, spiritual lineage or our personal magical pantheon, which is always far greater than we realize. Ignoring all of these entities while cultivating the spirits found in the old grimoires is probably a very one-sided approach to Witchcraft-based magick, and it is not one that I would recommend.

I believe that the Witch conjuror should develop her ability to conjure these spirits first before engaging with spirits of the old grimoires. This will engage the Witch for a time, since she will have to determine the names, qualities and build up their images in order to conjure them and develop a lengthy and intimate relationship with them. In fact, a Witch could go far just working with the spirits in her own domain without having to traffic with the spirits listed in the grimoires. Still, the real challenge is to engage with both sets of spirits (personal domain and legendary) and master all of them in turn.

Keep in mind that to a modern pagan we have around us many Gods, Goddesses, Earth Spirits, Deities of place and location, ancestors, cultural heros, the unsettled spirits of the dead, demons, fabulous creatures and a host of lesser or even unknown deities and spirits. It is a very crowded spiritual universe and it is important for the Witch to build up a pantheon of meaningful Deities and Spiritual Sponsors, not to mention the most important of all spirits, which is her familiar spirit. This is the first task (in my opinion) that faces the Witch who aspires to be a conjurer. Once she is well vetted with the conjuration of spirits in her own domain then she can take on the spirits of legend as they occur in the various old grimoires. 

I have based this inclusive spiritual perspective of many Gods and Spirits and rejected the bias of my Christian upbringing because it was a source of my own previous confusion and lack of clarity when it came to dealing with these entities in a practical and pagan manner. I discovered that this confusion was completely resolved the moment I rejected the dualistic notions and tendencies associated with Christian theology so imbedded in our world and saturating our cultural values.

These spiritual biases suffuse the old grimoires because they were written by Christians, although some of those authors did display a pronounced predilection for diabolism in their practices. I discovered the hard way that it is better to base one’s spiritual beliefs on a pagan perspective (even if it is modern in scope) and only to that add the various spirits and entities associated with any of the old grimoires rather than attempt to emulate the mind-set behind them. In this manner, the Witch as conjuror doesn’t take on all of the baggage associated with the various classes of spirits, be they angels, demons, chthonic deities, infernal chiefs or whatever. With this in mind, the traditional Witch can appropriate various spirit lists, sigils, characters and other attributes and tropes from the old grimoires without any trouble, but she should keep her spiritual beliefs and alignments completely intact and not forget her own personal spiritual contacts. This is particularly true regarding her familiar spirit, which consists of her personal alignment to a personal Deity and all of the associated liturgical obligations and spiritual connections that such a relationship entails.

In order to engage in conjuring the legendary spirits, the Witch will appropriate various spirit lists, characters/sigils and associated zodiacal attributes (if feasible) and select one of these spirits as the target of a conjuration. While the descriptions might be highly misleading, the functional attributes (what the spirit can do if it is successfully conjured) are a basic starting point. As the Witch conjurer becomes more experienced and familiar with the various spirits associated with a particular grimoire or class then the descriptions and details of each spirit will be filled out to include a great deal of detailed experiential knowledge. The most important task in preparing for a conjuration is to develop a personal connection or alignment with a specific target spirit. Perhaps that spirit is a specialized gate-keeper for access to a whole class of spirits (such as Scirlan in the Grimoirum Verum) or it might just be one of a distinct class. Regardless, the Witch approaches this spirit with a powerful emotional desire to summon and to experience a thorough engagement with it.

The preparation work requires a period of preliminary summoning where the Witch creates the consecrated parchment with the spirit’s name and its character or sigil and makes the association between the symbol on the parchment and the entity itself a powerful reality in her mind. The act of fashioning this consecrated talisman for the purpose of conjuring it will be the first step in successfully evoking it. This is because the consecrated talisman is a physical link for that spirit. Other things can be used to augment the conjuration of the target spirit, such as the use of colored altar cloths and candles, incense, oils, herbs, gems, precious metals etched with the spirit’s name and character; all of these are based on the symbolic qualities associated with the spirit, but all of them are merely supplemental when compared to the consecrated parchment sigil.        

While the grimoires have quite a number of items that need to be consecrated and prepared for the working, such as vestments, weapons and other tools, the Witch already has all of her tools consecrated and ready for use. She only needs to fashion and consecrate the parchment sigil, and once that is done, she will spend many hours or even days focusing on the parchment character and internally call and summon the spirit. I could well imagine that the Witch sits in her dark sequestered temple holding the consecrated parchment in her hands before a lit candle specially made and consecrated for that use, whose light is dimmed by the clouds of incense smoke. Within that twilight stygian atmosphere she is whispering the name of the spirit over and over again, thereby powerfully reinforcing her intention to invoke this spirit. (I typically perform this same action days prior to a scheduled invocation and I have found it to be a potent tool for reinforcing the invocative working, even though I use a much more elaborate ritual lore.)

A Witch might also use this preparation time to gather and prepare any other ingredients that she might need, such as bitter or aromatic herbs or other items that are a regular part of her work. She will pick an auspicious night for the planned invocation based on the cycle of the moon and planets, but all of this will be a normal part of her cyclic work. It will also depend on the class and type of spirit that she intending to invoke, but the cycle of the moon will be sufficient to complete her task. The actual effort of preparation, though, is the fortification of the mind and the will to successfully accomplish the work, since these will be the most essential elements used in the invocation.

When the scheduled time for the invocation working arrives then the Witch will sequester herself in her temple domain for the duration of the working. This domain may be a permanent location or it might be a room or outdoor area temporarily reserved for that purpose. Regardless, the Witch will perform her usual circle consecration rite, empowerment and godhead assumption in order to begin the working. She will have the charged and consecrated parchment sigil that she has focused on for days and this will be the central focus for the working. If she is employing planetary hours or timing the working to specific astrological aspects then once the circle is consecrated the perception of time within that barrier becomes locked or frozen for the duration of the working.

Performing an actual invocation, that is calling and summoning the spirit to appear and using various authorities and words of power to make it emphatically so, is something of an acquired artistry. Certainly, the invocations written in the grimoire might suffice for a model or example of how to proceed with an invocation, but of course, the tone and the principalities or authorities cited should be completely changed. Many invocations found in the old grimoires establish a hostile relationship to the spirit being summoned, and they also use obvious Abrahamic attributes of Deity in order to reinforce or legitimize the summoning. A Witch doesn’t need either authority or legitimacy to summon a spirit. She uses the invested power of her will fortified with her personalized godhead that is consciously present within her.

However, she does need to pepper her invocation with various words of power, such as those purloined from the Greek Magical Papyri or other grimoires, or she can use words made up for the occasion (talking in tongues). She should call upon the powers of all of her spiritual alignments so as to have the proper weight or “gravity” to draw the spirit to her. She will also practice and perfect the technique of intoning her words when she speaks them, or she could add a keening wail or screeching sound for effect. She might even sing or chant her invocation while playing a drum or a bell. We can assume that a practiced Witch will develop her own unique way of speaking and resonating verbal intonations when summoning a spirit, but it will sound powerful and even frightening to an outsider. This is because when we seek to get the attention of spirits, otherworldly vocal sounds and intonations can greatly empower an invocation.

Perhaps the simplest of all spells associated with spirit conjuration is to use of what I call the ceremony of naming and un-naming. The ceremony of naming is where the syllables of the spirit’s name are built up from the right to the left until the full name is expressed. It begins with a single letter and joins to it the first syllable and then the second, and so on. Here’s an example.

Ceremony of Naming for the spirit Nogorathes:


Likewise, the ceremony of Un-naming for the spirit Nogorathes:


The Witch conjurer can use the ceremony of naming and un-naming to summon a spirit and also to dismiss or release it. It is an antique method and a really good one. I still use it myself, although I usually add to it other invocative techniques. You can slowly and sonorously step through each syllable and either build up or redact the spirit’s name, and you can do this once or three times, depending on your inclination. 

The content or verbiage of the invocation used by a Witch is neutral. It names the spirit and summons it to appear in a repetitious manner. Unlike the old grimoires, she doesn’t threaten or insult the summoned spirit nor attempt to angrily coerce it, thereby assuming a haughty superiority to the targeted entity. If anything, she uses her magnetic power to seduce and draw the spirit to her, employing bribes or the promise of bribes (offerings) to accomplish her end. She also seeks to draw the spirit into her sacred circle domain to be with her and her personal godhead.

Once this task is accomplished there is an immediate connectivity between the conjuring Witch and her target spirit. This is a decidedly different methodology than either invoking a spirit into a triangle that is exterior to the magic circle or for that matter, performing a scrying session from the safe confines of one’s sacred space. The invocation is performed in an iterative manner until the Witch receives direct contact and communication from the spirit, and once accomplished she can move to the next step. (The invocation will likely be successful because the Witch has spent many hours and days with her preliminary summoning and establishing a link with the target spirit.)

How do you communicate with spirits, or sense or somehow perceive them? It is a mental process that one has to develop over time and a solid trance state is the best foundation for communication and perception. I believe that it is impossible to “talk” to spirits unless one has undergone quite a lot of trance work and deep meditation. (Those of us who can readily talk to spirits have built up quite a bit of experience and can quickly shift our state of consciousness into that of a mild trance state.) We all have to learn to listen with our spirit ears and talk with our spirit voices in order to engage properly with spirits. Admittedly, these actions take quite a bit of practice and preparation. However, the assumption of the godhead working should give the erstwhile Witch a much needed foundation for being able to communicate with spirits, since this rite allows a full conscious link to be developed between the Witch and her familiar spirit. Also, I have found that the assumption of godhead mind-state acts as an effective mechanism for communicating, translating and even allowing one to see a spirit assuming a recognizable shape in it’s own domain. 

What occurs next in the conjuration is a dialogue between the conjuror and the invoked spirit. This is referred to as the process of establishing a “quid pro quo” relationship with that entity. The conjuror tells the spirit what he or she wants (supposedly that is within the domain of the spirit’s capabilities) and then asks what the spirit wants in return. This can go on for a while, but at some point either an agreement is reached or not. When an agreement has been reached, then the spirit and the conjuror are “bound” together for a mutual task. If there is no agreement, then the conjuror politely releases the spirit. Still, I don’t subscribe to developing a legal style document or pact and then forcing the spirit to agree to it, usually with an underlying threat. If a spirit is “hot” to begin with, then coercing and threatening it will only create a stressful and hostile relationship, which is subject to the problematic issue of dominance. Such a relationship may even work for a time (as it does in human interactions), but in the end it will unleash the putative retribution of a very pissed-off spirit. It could even cause the invocation to completely fail. Let me give you an overly simplified example of how this works. 

Did you ever get a phone call from an obnoxious and pushy salesperson interrupting whatever you were doing? Were you inclined to listen indulgently or did you instead insult the caller and then hang up? You might not even have bothered to answer if you knew that the caller wasn’t someone whose number you recognized. The same is true with spirits, although the mechanism is considerably different. Unless you subscribe completely to the mental outlook that all spirits (except angels, saints and Jesus Christ) are inherently bad or untrustworthy, then it behooves you to take a much more positive and open attitude to the spirit that you intend to invoke. It is for this reason that the binding and constraining of an invoked spirit takes on a completely different tone when the conjurer has a positive and open attitude towards the invoked spirit. It also has the effect of making one’s relationship with all spirits positive and rewarding. Such an attitude is more typical of a pagan spirituality than one steeped in the Abrahamic faiths. Binding can be done with the art of ligature, and the binding or sealing of the partchment sigil is a good example of how that might be accomplished, that is, if it’s even necessary.

However, I have found that there is no real need to constrain a spirit to physical appearance nor to bind it to some kind of irrevocable pact if the conjuror has instead established a positive and empowering relationship with that spirit. Such a relationship can and does become an active part of the Witch’s personal religious cult (whose central Deity is the personal deity associated with one’s higher self) and so the spirit, once invoked, receives regular offerings like the other deities and spirits associated with her pantheon.

If you want a spirit to perform certain actions at your bequest whenever needed then you will need to develop a relationship with that spirit and give it regular offerings, much as one would do with the ancestors and the Gods. However, for a spirit that is invoked for a specific purpose with no inherent need to continue the relationship, then the agreement is the bargain that briefly binds the spirit and conjurer together. I make it a point to give an initial or partial offering and then when the agreement is fulfilled by the spirit, the rest of the offering is made. Once the spirit fulfills its part of the bargain then the conjurer is obligated to make the final offering very soon afterwards. Not fulfilling a bargain with a spirit may not seem to be worse than skipping a car payment or a mortgage payment since the repercussions to such a miserly action are more subtle and less outwardly legal, at least initially. It’s particularly bad for a conjuror to get the reputation of being a “welcher” because then few spirits would even entertain the notion of appearing when being invoked.

When I speak of making offerings to spirits what am I actually referring to? Offerings are the items given to the spirit as part of the agreed upon relationship (also known as the binding and constraining factors). The relationship might be short term, thus necessitating a formal release, or it might be long term, which would entail that the Witch gives regular offerings to that spirit. In fact, she might even have an idol fashioned for that spirit, consecrated, charged and ensconced upon her shrine with the other statues, tokens and fetishes of her personal religious practice. Offerings normally include some kind of food and drink, or other substances as requested and negotiated with the target spirit. It is here that I need to say a few words about the offering of one’s own blood or the blood of a sacrificial beast.

Blood offerings are sometimes required, but they are really based on one’s tastes and practices. If a spirit required me to give it blood I would negotiate for a surrogate, such as a bloody piece of cooked meat or perhaps some blood-red wine (or a concoction of dragon’s blood). Because the binding and constraining really consists of a negotiated exchange and an agreement over time, there is always the possibility of arriving at an offering that is satisfactory to both parties. I reserve blood offerings to very special rites and I always use my own blood instead of that of some hapless creature, unless the offering is for food, specifically, cooked meat. Still, I have found that nearly all of the spirits that I have worked with only require a token offering instead of some onerous sacrifice. The real hard sacrifices are typically required by Deities, even so, no God or Goddess that I have worked with has ever asked me to take a life in their name. It is with Deity alone that I have shared my blood in an offering, and thankfully, it is a rare event.

If the negotiated agreement between the conjurer and the target spirit is for a specific desire in exchange for a singular offering, then once the invocation has reached a satisfactory conclusion, the conjuror should make a partial offering, thank the spirit for appearing and then courteously dismiss it. This is called releasing or in the old grimoires it is called “giving a license to depart.” If there is no need nor desire to make the spirit a regular part of one’s spiritual shrine, then it is very important to release the spirit. A Witch conjurer can use an elaborate and official method of releasing or use instead a simple and fond farewell, and, “till we meet again someday,” sort of closing.

The various information that a conjurer receives through the performance of an invocation of a spirit, including the consecrated parchment sigil or talisman used as the link, are assembled together a put into the pages of a book specially made and consecrated for that purpose. It is called a Liber Spiritum, or Book of Spirits. This book would include such information as the log or diary of the invocation, what transpired, the image or imago that the spirit assumed (if any), the nature of the agreement and the intention of the invocation, anything that the spirit imparted specifically to the conjurer (the giving of a mark - part of the constraint), and the ultimate outcome.

Obviously, if the spirit becomes a part of the conjurer’s pantheon, then a veritable book could be assembled to contain all of the material passed on between the spirit and the conjurer. Also, a spirit that has been previously invoked and put into the Book of Spirits can be more easily accessed by using the sigil pasted to a page of the book as a connecting link. This is where the term “Bell, Book and Candle” can be used by the Witch conjurer. All she has to do is to take the book into sacred space, open it to the page where the sigil of a specific spirit resides, light a candle and ring a bell to summon and reconnect with a previously invoked spirit in the Book of Spirits. I would also add lighting some special incense and quietly intoning and summoning the spirit to appear. I would call such a rite used to re-establish a previous working to be a “macro-rite” and I use these shorthand processes wherever possible to make my magick more efficient.

You can imagine that over time a Witch would assemble quite a repertoire of invoked spirits in her Book of Spirits, and such a book would be far more important, powerful and useful than any common Gardnerian Book of Shadows. Additionally, the Witch could also write up her rituals and techniques into the book and use it as a focus for her spirit conjuring work. The book also has the quality of being transportable, so she can take it with her wherever she goes, and it only requires a shift in consciousness for her to mentally erect the proper sacred space. While the book would be important to the singular Witch who owned it, it would be far less useful or valuable to an outsider. An outsider wouldn’t have spent the time and effort in summoning and evoking the spirits named in it, and so he or she wouldn’t be able to establish such a connection simply by possessing the book. This is because what is in the book is powerful and meaningful only to the Witch who produced it, and all of the spiritual connections illustrated in such a work would be indelibly represented within the sphere of her mind and soul. The book would only function as an outward artifact of her own personal power as a sorceress, and then, only in her possession.

Witch As Conjurer - Recap

We have briefly covered the various elements and techniques needed for one to function as a Witch conjurer. I wrote this article so that any experienced Witch could quickly assemble her tools and techniques and become a conjurer of spirits. I believe that it is a distinguishing characteristic of what it means to be a Witch to have the capability of conjuring spirits, and I think that it is part of our legacy and innate nature. This capability does indeed require a lot of practice, and like any skill, the more effort that one puts into it, the more proficient one becomes in doing it. However, a Witch can become a conjurer without having to adopt one’s practice to either the Golden Dawn based system of magick or the techniques and tropes associated with one or more of the old grimoires. It is my belief that modern Witchcraft already has all of the essential elements needed to master the art of spirit invocation and evocation. You can pursue a simple path or develop an elaborate one, but you don’t have to change what you are already doing.

Typically, a follower of Wicca is engaged in the modern pagan spirituality of nature, celebrating the changing seasons and the cycle of the moon. She engages with the natural mysteries inherent in life itself and feels the pulse and power not only within her body, but also within her soul and the core of her being. She may have learned how to perform thaumaturgy from books or teachers, and she will have an effective knowledge of sensing and engaging with the various Gods and Goddess of her cultural heritage as well as the Deities of place, location, and geophysical topology. However, she will have to master certain techniques in order to begin the process of learning spirit conjuring. These techniques are:

  • Mastery of Basic Witchcraft Rites (Consecration, Sacred Space, Raising Power, Sigil Magic, Lunar and Solar mystery rites, Initiation Rite (self or tradition))
  • Mastery of Trance States
  • Mastery of the Godhead Assumption Rite (the Draw)
  • Development of the Familiar Spirit (Personal Godhead)
  • Development of Spirit Listening, Talking and even Seeing - also Spirit Traveling

Once these techniques reach a certain degree of competency then the Witch Conjurer can focus on the following tasks.

  • Develop a spirit summoning rite - basic pattern/outline
  • Develop techniques of the preliminary summoning
  • Develop techniques of Invocation (methods and verbiage of summoning)
  • Focus on the Personal Domain of Spirits - develop spirit lists and build a personal pantheon
  • Build a personal shrine for Deities and Spirit
  • Consecrate a Book of Spirits
  • Collect specific examples of the Old Grimoires and develop a methodology for conjuring spirits from the various spirit lists
  • Build up an expertise in Spirit Conjuration over many years of experimentation and practice.

I have written articles about many of these subjects already, and you can find them in the index on the left hand side of the blog below all the rest of the blog-based doodads. Sometimes using this index is a pain in the neck, but the discovered articles found using this tool are well worth the effort.

So what you have to do to become a spirit conjurer is to add some additional techniques to what you already possess and practice. All it takes is time and a willingness to develop new lore and to experiment, which I do believe is the really fun and interesting part of being a Witch.

Frater Barrabbas

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Magical Gnostic Eclesia - Magical Layers

Magic as layers of prismatic energy structures.

One of my favorite quotes from the movie Shrek goes like this:

Shrek: Ogres are like onions.
Donkey: They stink?
Shrek: Yes. No.
Donkey: Oh, they make you cry.
Shrek: No.

The magical workings that I perform have many layers of prismatic energy structures, one on top of the other, arranged from the foundation to the most intricate final pieces. Because I work with a vortex energy container I can build up these layers over time instead of having to do it all in one evening’s working. I have previously written about the vortex and its qualities, and you can find that article here.

The vortex allows me to perform a working in parts and thereby build up the complete structure in stages so that it achieves the final climactic working at precisely the right moment. That might take a whole weekend, or it might take a few weeks in a row. This characteristic allows me to carefully build up an overall working and focus on a strategic stage that is one of several parts of it. The result is an accumulation of all of the previous workings integrated into a holistic composition of prismatic energy structures, symbolic meanings, themes and occult ideals. Magical formulas are used to tie and bind all of the disparate parts together functioning like matching seams, uniting both the individual sections performed at a single night’s working as well as the overall working that spans days or even weeks.

As far as I am aware the use of the vortex and the unification of layers and stages of a magical working are unique methods. Even so, I didn’t invent this ritual technique from nothing. I did use other ritual examples as the model for this technique and evolved it over time. The source model for this kind of magic can be found in the Golden Dawn ritual for the Rose Cross and the formula for LVX. This was a simple rendition used in a specific ritual instance that I experimented with so many years ago, and I discovered that it could be integrated into any ritual and used to unite all of the parts. It functions as a kind of summary or recap that recapitulates the whole ritual in a simple formula. Yet studying that original Golden Ritual I came up with a more complex hybrid technique that I use today. It allows me to have many levels or layers to a ritual complex, but it integrates the various parts into a whole structure. Without it, the layers would easily become disassociated and break down into distinct processes separate from the holistic working.

While the vortex functions as a centralized container that holds all of the layers together, the various formulas at each stage, and the grand formula at the end ties everything together and fosters a powerful singularity of energy that functions as the overall core of the ritual working. I have presented this methodology in greater detail in two previous articles posted in November of 2010, and you can find them here, and here

However, allow me to quote a couple of paragraphs from the second part of that two-part article on Sacred Geometry in the Energy Theory of Magick, which succinctly (although a bit redundantly) describes what the magical formula does when deployed in a magical ritual.



I might also add that the formula employs the Qabalistic method of Notaricon, which is used to generate and explode formula acronyms. I can also use the method whereby the letters of a formula are matched against specific Tarot cards and also Pathways on the Tree of Life. Of course, I have to comparatively create analogues for the Hebrew letters if the formula happens to be based on a language other than Hebrew, such as Greek, Coptic, Arabic or Latin.  

Anyway, all of these various structures that I employ in the creation of a ritual working function as mechanisms to express and establish energies structures and also to integrate all of these various structures into a seamless whole. It might seem very complex and even cumbersome at first glance, but when breaking any of my rituals down to their essential structure and associated elements, it is actually quite simple, elegant and efficient. A magician can expand such a ritual so that there is quite a bit of declarative verbiage that has to be expressed, or it can be kept to a minimum so that the ritual actions and expression are emphasized instead. It really comes down to the tastes and esthetics of the magician who is authoring the rite. Some magicians are minimalists and others are quite verbose, and still others like to establish a balance between these two extremes so that others may participate in the ritual and not miss any of the subtle and important meanings and significance expressed with it.Too little verbiage makes a ritual cryptic and idiosyncratic, and too much verbiage makes a ritual lifeless, dull and exceedingly boring.

However, there is also an element of the sacred that is an important and strategic part of my more elaborate and ordeal based magical workings. How I employ the sacred in my workings, besides the obligatory assumption of Godhead, is to build a very special sacral magical foundation into every important and strategic magical working. This is done whenever I employ the magical mass to energize, empower and sacralize the working. Immediately after I perform the circle consecration rite, I will perform a magical mass (to generate sacraments and partake of communion) and then I will perform a kind of simple benediction rite, placing charged and consecrated host fragments to the eight nodes of the magic circle and the central altar. What this does is to consecrate, sacralize and greatly empower the magical environment. I call this basic foundation the Magical Eclesia or Sacred Magical Domain.  

The established magical circle will contain the sacred power generated by the mass, and the very magic circle will be charged with the holy sacrament, making it inviolable. It also ensures that the magical working that is performed within that sacred container is blessed and sanctioned by the holy spirit and the various deities functioning through the media of the magical mass. Therefore, the magical mass rite has to be associated with a specific pantheon, and it must also focus on a specific godhead within that pantheon that represents the sacrificed deity. The reason why there has to be a sacrificed godhead is that such a deity then becomes the embodiment of the sacramental wine and bread, and without such a deity attribute the whole mechanism of the mass is invalid. Perhaps this explains why the Christian church glorified the crucified savior and made it central to the mass communion rite, since the emphasizing the Roman method of executing a seditious prisoner seems so odd to outsiders. However, in the context of the mass communion rite it makes perfect sense.

So the theme and pantheon associated with the magical mass sets the entire spiritual tone for the magical working. If the theme happens to be gnostic, then the spiritual entities and forces will be related to a specific system of gnosis. This is also true if the theme is pagan, theosophical, thelemic, Enochian or related to some other spiritual-magical system. However, when I use the term gnosis, what I am really referring to is the process whereby a person directly and intimately encounters Spirit in whatever form it is perceived and sensed. This encounter with Spirit is important because it reinforces the magician connection with the Godhead and also opens up the world of spirit for magical operations.

This technique of using sacraments to perform feats of magic isn’t new, since it was until recently an important trope of the Catholic church. In fact, I picked up the idea from both Michael Bertiaux and Bill Schnoebelen, and I suspect that while Michael merely talked about it, Bill was the one who actually made use of it. What I did was greatly expand on the idea and incorporated it into the core rituals for the intermediate and advanced magical systems of the Order. I can also recall that Stephen Hoeller reacted with outright horror so many years ago when I told him exactly what I was doing when performing a mass. While other traditions, including the Catholic, approach the mass as a central rite and vehicle for maintaining a tangible connection with the espoused spiritual pantheon, I have advocated using the mass as a purely magical generator of power, and secondarily as a media for spiritual communion. I believe that my approach to the mass is rather unique amongst the adherents of the Western Mystery tradition. It is also likely that my approach would be mildly shunned or outright condemned by the other traditions.

Unfortunately, I have written only a couple of articles on the topic of the magical mass and the use of sacraments in magic, as well as magical relics and reliquaries. I have two articles that I wrote for members of my Order, but these have not yet been released in their current form to the public. Therefore, the two articles that I have posted to my blog will have to suffice in giving my readers a general overview to the topic of performing a magical mass and using the sacraments to empower one’s magical rituals, and you can find them here, and here. At some time in the future I will endeavor to publish the other two articles, probably along with the material associated with invocation and evocation.

The Magical Eclesia is the sacramental foundation for all magical ordeals and the practice of higher invocations and evocations in the Order. The use of the wine and host to initiate the quickening process of spirit manifestation is built into the rites of invocation and evocation as practiced in the Order of the Gnostic Star. Combined with the vortex and other specific magical techniques, the Magical Eclesia produces a profound and transformative impact on the ritual workings layered through it, generating an occult process whereby thoughts become symbolic form and symbolic form becomes spiritual manifestation. Using such a mechanism as the Eclesia allows the powerful fusion of the energy techniques of magick to merge hostically with the spirit techniques of magick, producing a hybrid that is greater than either one alone.

Frater Barrabbas

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Why I Rejoined the O.T.O.

Recently, after much thought and consideration I have decided to re-activate my membership in the O.T.O. I have been an inactive member since around 2003 because I just decided that I didn’t want to progress any further in the degrees and felt that the organization really didn’t have much to offer me. I am unfortunately rather lukewarm towards the philosophy and theology of what I call classical Thelema and I am just not into acting as if Aleister Crowley was a defacto prophet of the coming age. The various religious tenets of Thelema just didn’t over-awe me compared to what I saw other folks dong and feeling when they were engaged with it. I was, in my own mind, something of a “partially disaffected” Thelemite. I therefore had no reason to continue to belong to that organization, or so I thought.

However, what I might not have really understood is that many Thelemites question Thelema and feel that it is their right to agree or disagree with what Crowley wrote, or to interpret the Book of the Law in a manner that appeals to their sense of logic, justice and overall rightness. There isn’t sacred cannon (although there is a tradition and sacred writings) and members are encouraged to use their own powers of critical thinking to determine the nature of what they believe and how they practice those beliefs. In other words there isn’t a right or wrong way and there definitely isn’t a sectarian power to keep the faithful believing in strict accordance with an established creed. In fact, there really isn’t any dogma in the O.T.O. or in the theological speculations of Thelema.

What the O.T.O. does have is quite an impressive collection of magicians and speculative occult experimenters that covers the whole spectrum of occult studies, both West and East. Most, but not all, of the cutting edge magical practices and perspectives have come from individual practitioners who are either actively associated or who once were associated with the O.T.O. It would seem that in re-activating my membership I am just affirming an association with a peer group that represents, in my opinion, the best of breed for modern magick and occultism.

This means that I can belong to this organization and I have the freedom to engage in a local body if I choose as well as attend any Order sponsored events. I can also contact other members of the order and I believe that they would be more likely to help me (even if I were a complete stranger) because I am a brother initiate. I also have the freedom (as well as the responsibility) to interpret Thelema however I wish and thereby practice it in a manner that would seem to be in accord with my True Will. Others may disagree with me or how I interpret Thelema, but as long as I comport myself within the basic guidelines (bylaws) of the order and the local body, I shouldn’t have any difficulties.

While other organizations are quite binding and exclusive, tying the individual members to an organization and its leader, the O.T.O. has no such rules, limitations or boundaries. I can be a Thelemite, an Alexandrian Witch or even a Gnostic Bishop (outside of the EGC) and no one will either comment nor seek to excommunicate me from the order. I have quite a bit of latitude to develop my beliefs and to practice them however I feel inclined. There are, of course, some boundaries, but they are quite wide and represent ethical as well as legal responsibilities.

Perhaps the most compelling reason for me to re-activate my membership is because there is such a large population of highly competent and knowledgeable magicians and occultists in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota who also happen to be members of the O.T.O. I would like to associate and also work with them to help develop my own practices and beliefs. This seems like a good group of men and women who could act as a peer group to judge what I am doing and how I am doing it. While I could probably do this as an inactive member, I would still be barred from participating in any local body activities as well as the various conventions, such as Noticon. 

It seems like such a trifle to reactive my membership and thereby gain all of the benefits that such membership affords. I have often said that having a peer group is very important for an aspiring student, and that is also true for a long time practitioner such as myself. Even a senior adept is not immune to hubris or erroneous assumptions about magic and the occult in general. If this group of local magicians can inspire me to greater heights and also curb my more egregious flaws then such a group is worth joining and maintaining.

Anyway, while this event has touched off a lot of thought on my part regarding Thelema and the O.T.O. another author had previously come to quite the opposite conclusion. She had decided to quit the O.T.O. The author of that article, which appeared in a recent edition of the eZine Spiral Nature (June 18), wrote about her objections to the O.T.O. and cited the rigid and inflexible beliefs and practices held by its members as one of the several reasons for leaving the order. This, according to her, was particularly to be found in the area of gender representation in the ECG ritual vehicle, which is the Gnostic Mass,. You can find that article here.

I find it curious that the author, who calls herself Psyche, would pick apart the one ritual in the religious branch of the O.T.O. that has rather strict traditional roles associated with the primary celebrants. While it is true that you might not be able to find a situation where the Priestess would be portrayed by a male, or the Priest, a female, there have been plenty of women body masters and officiants of the O.T.O., and I might add, even a few Gnostic Bishops. In fact, I can attest that the order was something of nearly all-male kind of occult geek club back in the 80's and early 90's, but it has since greatly changed. This was due in part to a more rigorous change in the bylaws that made the local body as well as the Grand Chapter more equitable and gender neutral. However, those changes are not yet reflected in the actual rites of the ECG, and that could be because it is a kind of religious tradition.

It is also a mystery to me that something which is deemed part of the “tradition” of a spiritual and magical order would be expected to rapidly change and mutate itself in accordance with the current trends. I have not found this to be the case in British Traditional Witchcraft, although the inclusion of members of the LGBT community has occurred rapidly (and recently) over the last couple of decades. Still, traditional witchcraft stipulates that a woman initiates and man, and a man initiates a woman, and that rigid gender biased versions of polarity are taught and used in rituals and ceremonies despite the sexual orientation of the members. I know a number of gay and lesbian folk who are quite happy practicing traditional witchcraft, and they have no qualms with what passes as tradition. Gender based roles are not exclusive to the BTW or the O.T.O. for that matter, they can be found nearly everywhere in our social institutional organizations.

Should we be open to experimenting with gender roles and magical sexual based polarities? Of course we should be open to anything that can expand our consciousness or help us to evolve as human beings. However, something that is part of the core “tradition” of an organization might be beyond the bounds of experimentation even though it could still be an effective and relevant trope. This doesn’t mean that such boundaries are to be deployed for any or all rites, most especially those that are written up for the purpose of experimentation. However, traditional rites and practices aren’t typically subject to experimentation.

Anyway, I find Psyche’s reason for leaving the O.T.O. to be curious because she took such exception at what is a traditional practice or rite. Traditional rites do change, but they usually change slowly over time, not rapidly due to new trends or social conventions. Even so, there is a place for having a completely experimental based magical and spiritual organization where every variation can be tried and tested.

I have belonged to a couple of groups in my occult career that did a lot of experimentation. In fact one of them started out with no traditional rites at all - they had to be written by the group. What was established in those groups, however unique, experimental and cutting edge, became something of a tradition in its own right over time. The really successful workings were brought into a kind of common practice and the ones that bombed were either analyzed to death or quickly forgotten. I believe that the better organization is the one that can be completely experimental, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there are some O.T.O, bodies out there that have the capacity for changing gender roles or experimenting with polarity. Still, we shouldn’t expect a tradition to break its own tradition. Someday, I will seek out the company of a few like-minded individuals who are driven by curiosity and a desire for pushing the envelope, and together we will discover some whole new vistas in the area of magic and occultism. For now, however, I will content myself with being a member of the O.T.O. 

Psyche says at the end of her article that she is still looking for a magical and spiritual community. In my opinion all she has to do in order to find like-minded individuals is to be engaged with the greater alternative spiritual community in which she lives. Forming a loose confederation of equal individuals (what I call a Star Group) is not particularly daunting, and once established, then the group can decide what is important and significant to them, writing up their own rituals and ceremonies to experiment and discover what works for them. I can’t think of a more challenging and equally fun project to engage one’s time, but it does require a maximum amount of creativity, research, flexibility and a good ritual writing ability, and, I might add, a fair amount of time and patience.

What seems likely is that Psyche doesn’t have the time, the connections or maybe the dedication to form her own group, at least not just yet. Perhaps in time, she will gather together a small group of magicians and occultists and start her own organization. That’s how I did it, and it was worth the time and effort to make it happen. For the rest of us who have neither the time nor the inclination, there’s always the traditional groups and organizations already set up with their established traditions, and I might add, biases and boundaries. At least with the O.T.O. you can, to certain extent, pick and choose what you want to practice and believe.

Frater Barrabbas

Monday, July 14, 2014

Dark Side of Madison Avenue - Perspectives on E. A. Koetting

One of the most vilified magicians on the internet today is found in the personage of Eric Koetting, who goes by the moniker E. A. Koetting. He is ridiculed, called names, vilified by the hosts of Western based occultists and magicians. He is also called a complete fraud, hoaxer and all-around poster child for what is supposedly wrong with the nefarious Left Hand Path. I haven’t seen a week pass without someone ridiculing his marketing hype or launching personal attacks on him. There is even a Face Book page devoted to ridiculing Koetting and disparaging his various claims. 

If it weren’t for the fact that I have had some conversations with this man and can claim to know him a little I would have to agree with those who decry his excessive marketing hype and his diabolic teachings. I happen to know that Eric isn’t really a fraud, that he does know how to successfully work his form of magick, and he can also teach others to use it, too. Eric isn’t a genius and some of his ideas and pronouncements have been shown by others to be quite false, particularly when he talks about subjects outside of his purview. Whether you hate what he is saying and promoting through his internet marketing persona or disagree with this methods, I am certain that to some people, particularly disaffected millennials, Eric is a valuable resource for learning and mastering a form of LHP magick.

Eric claims that he can teach anyone who is willing to apply himself to become a “living God” with all of the powers and perquisites that such a vaunted state entails. In promoting this kind of quick path to total fulfillment, one must assume that Eric is selling a system that he has used himself to become a living God. Since we live in a fundamental Christian religious based culture, making such a claim is strikingly inflammatory and goes deeply against the grain of the basic values of our Christian heritage. Making such claims can only be couched in forms of Satanism, since to claim to be a living God is to abrogate that status from the supposedly true God of Christianity. The rule of thumb is that if you oppose God and set yourself up as his replacement, then you are modeling the behavior associated with Satan himself. You are, in a word, emulating the Devil. Of course, from my perspective, replacing one autonomous absolute monotheistic Deity with another one, even if it is yourself, is merely perpetuating what I think is inherently wrong with monotheism itself.

Still, I am certain that this outrageous claim gives some particularly young and disaffected men quite a thrill to contemplate becoming a living God (and thereby overthrowing the religious status quo), but it also very likely to be misunderstood. If all you know about religion is what you rejected as Christianity then any contrary religious claim can only be perceived as a form of Satanism. So, it is easy to label what Eric is selling as over-the-top Satanism to rebellious, puerile and immature youths who are often enough disparaged and labeled as archetypal “losers.” Can Eric help these young men out of their cultural rut? That, of course, remains to be seen. He is reaching a group of people that other occultists aren’t as successfully acquiring.

In contrast to Eric’s marketing is the rest of the magical community who either finds some amusement in these media broadsides, or who are astonished, outraged and quite put-off by anyone making such ridiculous claims. It is apparent to me that the self-satisfied and smirkingly arrogant cast of the occult and magical opposition to Eric’s claims were never the intended audience for his advertising hype. Even so, they none-the-less engage in ridicule and ad-hominem attacks instead of soberly examining what Eric is really selling, and how his message is both a boon and a problem to the occult world as a whole. I am also quite certain that Eric couldn’t care less what these members of the various competing occult schools think of his marketing tactics and messaging, since he appears to be quite successful at acquiring a fair number of adherents to buy his classes and engage in his teachings. If these marketing ploys weren’t working then I suspect that Eric would have changed them so that they would be successful. What I or any other number of magicians and occultists think is really completely irrelevant. Eric has his market pretty well defined and amongst a certain set of individuals, he is a “rock star” and someone to emulate.

Unlike some of his most virulent detractors, I have actually read some of Eric Koetting’s books. While I have found them to be pretty much rudimentary and based on LHP themes and tropes, it is also apparent that he has acquired his knowledge the old-fashioned way - he has experimented and worked magic for many years. Even so, Eric’s knowledge of the occult and magic is evolving, and there are a number of things that he has stated which I know are erroneous,  incomplete or superficial. Perhaps that is the nature of writing things down or the fact that Eric is learning as he progresses through his spiritual and magical process. I know that I have made mistakes and have written things that I later found out were wrong, so I can’t condemn someone for making analogous mistakes or writing something erroneous.

So the question is whether or not Eric is completely off-the-wall and a total fraud, selling his lore to low information millennial magicians, or that perhaps his ideas have some foundation in modern occultism. Since I already know that Eric Koetting is not a fraud and that his knowledge has been earned by a long period of experimentation and practice, I will not join the bandwagon to condemn what he is doing or ridicule him. I won’t do this because what he is presenting to his defined public arena comes awfully close to my own perspectives and practices. There are many differences between what Eric and I do as functioning magicians, but essentially there are more points in agreement between us than differences. I found this out when I talked with him a while back, and I happen to know where we are in agreement and where we are divergent. So, rather than ridicule or vilify Eric, I will, instead, explain in my own terms why he is proclaiming the things that he does in his internet persona and how that impacts the rest of us who also work magick. I think that this is more productive because there is a bit of Eric Koetting in all of us, and that is why he provokes outrage from so many established practitioners.

What Eric has done is to simply conflate four topical areas that are typically kept distinct and separate from each other. It is the nature of that conflation and the associated marketing excesses that has produced the internet persona of Eric Koetting and his training regimen. Eric is the exemplar of a kind of dark-side or night-side Madison Avenue promotion. If P. T. Barnum were alive today he would have highly approved of Eric Koetting’s marketing style.

The four topical domains that are being conflated by Koetting are:

  • Tales of Power - these are the out of context stories that magicians tell each other about their paranormal experiences and exploits with strange powers, spirits and Godheads.
  • Self as Godhead - it is the objective for all magicians to ultimately assume Godhead, and both the right hand and left hand paths have their own methods of obtaining this sublime state.
  • Advertising Marketing - anyone who is in the business of selling their teachings will use some kind of marketing and advertising to reach potential customers.
  • Left Hand Path Perspectives - these are the ideas, practices and overall theology of the left hand path. Often, the rhetoric displays a high degree of antinomianism, inversion of basic cultural values and anti-establishment sentiments.

Most magicians engage in some or even all of these topical areas, since they represent the cultural domain of ritual or ceremonial magick. Most of the magicians I have met engage in telling tales of power. All magicians are seeking some kind of union with the Godhead, however they might define that entity.

Any magician who is selling their teachings will engage in marketing, and at the very least will promote their path and methodologies over those of other magicians. A good salesman will promote themselves without denigrating others, but as we all know from watching media based advertising, this is hardly the typical form of promotion. I suppose it’s all too easy to add a bit of hype to one’s marketing message so that instead of an honest (and boring) promotion for a product or service it becomes the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Additionally, left hand path magicians often engage in talk that sounds quite strange to those who are not part of their antinomian perspective. This is where demons are good, angels are bad, performing nefarious forms of supposed black magic is good, successfully summoning and constraining demonic spirits is an important challenge, and amplifying the self as Godhead over any other creed or deity is a basic predilection. For those who are not so disposed to the left hand path rhetoric, such claims and beliefs must seem quite foreign or even diabolic.

As you can see when these topical areas get conflated with each other then the message also gets quite distorted and mixed up. This is particularly true if the need to aggressively market one’s methodology and public persona pushes the envelope for maintaining a certain degree of factual balance and realistic representation. When you take the Left Hand Path’s left-over perspectives on elevating the self to the status of Godhead and you add a considerable layer of marketing blitz cheese to sell your ideas and yourself, and sprinkle over it a fair amount of tales of power and season it with a distinct peppery flavoring of left hand path diabolism, then you will get a marketing recipe identical to what Eric Koetting is currently doing.

None of what Eric is saying when he is selling himself and his teachings is inherently wrong or fabricated; but taken as a whole, it is quite misleading, distorted and even harmful. In elevating himself in such a manner, Eric has unwittingly become one of the magical gurus that he has talked about needing to kill in order to achieve one’s goal. The irony here is that in telling his erstwhile disciples that they need to kill their gurus, he is setting himself up as a target for his own students. In order to truly grow and achieve their potential, Eric’s students will have to overcome his amplified persona and overly hyped methodology and find their own path at some point in their magical careers.

One would assume that Eric expects this to happen, that is, if he doesn’t believe his own PR and remains down-to-earth. However, the problem with creating such a powerful public image is that it becomes all too intoxicating and seductive. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, so the saying goes, and many a public figure has succumbed into believing that they are indeed the exalted personality that they are promoting. I hope that Eric doesn’t succumb to this fatal flaw, but the odds and human nature are against him. Still, the overly inflated claims that Eric is making and his various You-Tube discussions about black magick, supposedly killing people, invoking a demon that gets out of control and possesses his wife, and other such tales of power could be construed as proof that he is losing control of his marketing hype and overly identifying with his media persona. Only time will tell what will happen to Eric and his overly ambitious program, but from my perspective, the future doesn’t look particularly good.

I think that one of things that Jake Stratton-Kent said about Eric Koetting and his media blitz is that the only thing a person needs to do in order to begin to master Goetic Magick is to select one or a few of the more reputable copies of the traditional grimoires and then begin to practice and experiment with the rituals and mechanisms found in those books. Over time, a periodic and steadfast practice will teach the erstwhile student magician more than joining or engaging with any of the much vaunted traditions, organizations or reputed teachers.

While I am also a proponent of the self-made magician, I do believe that exploring other groups or individual teachers is not inherently a bad thing. As long as students understand that their path and process belongs solely to them, and that organizations, teachers and even books are a temporary aid that they can engage with (or not) to help them accomplish their end, then they will be able to maintain their freedom and continue to achieve their ultimate goal. Getting seduced or side-tracked by some overly inflated magical master is one of the major pitfalls that all magician students face as they follow their path. 

A good teacher will tell his or her students that their special relationship is temporary and subject to limitations, and additionally, leaders of a good organization will tell their members that when they are no longer learning or growing within that group then it is time to leave and move on to other possible paths. A bad teacher or leader will insist that their way is the only way and that meek obedience is the only acceptable behavior.

So, as a final note, we should ask the following question. Is Eric Koetting a bad teacher? I can’t really answer that question because I haven’t been one of his students. When I have talked with him he seems to be quite down-to-earth and never talks about how great he is or how powerful his magical system is compared to others. That may be because he is talking with another experienced magician and not a beginner, or it might be the way Eric really thinks and behaves outside of his persona.

However, I believe that everyone sees Eric’s marketing blitz and media persona as problematic, particularly if such a ploy backfires and makes Eric an adherent in his own cult of personality. He has sensationalized Left Hand Path magic which doesn’t need any more hype than what the misinformed public has already given it, and this will cause many of us who are magicians and who follow our paths discretely to look like fools. We will probably be painted with the same brush in the eyes of the public, even though we are practicing and promoting ourselves in a very different manner.

Runaway marketing knows no boundaries nor limitations, so it is only a matter of time before Eric becomes noticed by more mainstream media and thereby manages to make us all look bad. Think of the impact if or when Eric Koetting is interviewed by FOX news, or when they do a program about him and his teachings. Of course once that happens, Eric will be quite the example of evil black magicians to the Fundamentalist Christians. No matter how it is spun it won’t look good at all, and for those of us who are public figures we will have to answer a lot of stupid questions that we would rather not answer since the truth is actually more complicated than the general public would be able to understand. I, for one, don’t look forward to this likely future event, and I hope and pray it never really happens.

Frater Barrabbas