Saturday, January 18, 2014

Answering Calls to Prayers

There are several calls for prayers in healings hitting the Pagan/occult communities on Facebook. One is for Donald Michael Kraig and the other for Morning Glory Zell. Both are alive but fighting horrible illness.

Years ago, someone from some internet group asked for a candle to be lit for someone. I can't remember who or about what but that does not matter. My response was that I was never sure what to do in cases like that. How was lighting a candle going to help? The retort was something like, "Why can't you just do this little thing for someone?" That person did not understand the seriousness of my question. Either that or she did not know either. Sometimes we just do things for the illusion of being useful but that would discount the reason why such gestures entered the common experience.*

Three years ago a wife of a friend passed over.** He asked that people do rites to help her with her transition.

I had no idea how to help with that but I did pop into my temple room with her in mind. I did my LBRP, BRH and Middle Pillar and, as I started to say a little prayer, she was there. I knew instantly that she had no idea who I was. We had only met a couple of times and years apart. I acknowledged her presence and told her how I knew her. I do not recall but I do not think that part registered for her. I believe at that point, I just told her that her husband had asked us to do rites for her. She accepted this and I prayed for the ease of the transition of her spirit. She watched but a bit confused as to why I would do that and somewhat grateful or comforted.

As I try to recall this incident, I know my memory is hazy on details. The point in sharing is this. Those thoughts and prayers you have for the recently departed are felt by them. Just like with the living, you don't' have to do anything fancy to show compassion and caring. Just like with the living, those little gestures are appreciated and make folks feel good. The world needs a little more feeling good.

I have reason to suspect that even the awareness of the living is touched by such things done in secret. Though, they may not know why they suddenly feel a bit of peace, love or tranquility. So, light a candle, do a rite, say a prayer or do whatever you do at least for those you know, and maybe, once in a while, for those that you have never met. A little selfless love can go a long way.


*Perhaps, someone like Jack or VI can wax poetic on the history of such rites.
** It seems longer than that but I seem to recall a recent Facebook post in her memory that mentioned three years.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

My Goals as a Spiritual Teacher

Jason Miller posted a nice little article here that inspired this little post. Apparently, my friend the Druid posted something along this vein himself.

I now consider myself a teacher. It would be false humility to claim anything else after receiving comments like this from people that attend classes, he'd be lying to himself to say he was anything else.

"I think you need to get your passion out there to more people. I think people want to know that there is someone like you that can help them either learn more about themselves or teach them a skill that they can use in all facets of their life forever."

My goals as a teacher are pretty much the same no matter what class I teach and no matter what conversation I am having. 
  • Contribute something that asks people to think about themselves in a new or deeper way.
  • Challenge someone to take responsibility for their own spirituality.
  • Provide tool(s) that they can utilize on their own. 
  • Dissuade any thought that I have their answers.
When I succeed in this, my reward is the great joy I feel when they succeed. Often, my day is made by a little two line text or IM relating news about someone's success. 





Sunday, January 12, 2014

Burning My Nemyss (Lesser Key Working)

The Back Story

Some time ago, I got dumped by a woman. It pretty much sucked. Within a couple of weeks, I returned to her any belongings of hers that she left at my place and vice versa. Unfortunately, she forgot my nemyss which she had it because she was a seamstress. She promised to return it.

That never happened. There were a thousand excuses as to why she couldn't do that. Some sounded legitimate and some not. After a while, it became apparent that the likelihood of the return of my nemyss was quite small. After all, by this time it had been nearly a year, if not more since the break up. The last excuse was that it was in her ex-husband's house and he refused to let her in. Having met her ex and having been treated very well by a very nice guy, I found this quite difficult to believe. However, you never know right? I have no idea what transpired between them.

What was apparent was that someone was playing some sort of game with my property. Either the husband was holding it to be a dick to her or my ex was withholding it from me. Either way, someone's actions were pointless and petty. Determining the guilty party was both impossible and unnecessary.

Normally, I would not care much about a physical object but this was a magickal garment that I had worn in formal GD initiations for about a decade. I wanted it back. It had sentimental import. Aside from that, it is bad form to have someone else control your magickal items.

I have been in this position before. From time to time in my magickal life, people have withheld information about my life that should have been rightfully transmitted to me. I knew there was no recourse to reason nor persistence. Something else had to be done.

The Magick

In May of 2013, I called on Andromalius. The 72nd spirit of the lesser key.

"The Seventy-second Spirit in Order is named Andromalius. He is an Earl, Great and Mighty, appearing in the Form of a Man holding a Great Serpent in his Hand. His Office is to bring back both a Thief, and the Goods which be stolen; and to discover all Wickedness, and Underhand Dealing; and to punish all Thieves and other Wicked People and also to discover Treasures that be Hid. He ruleth over 36 Legions of Spirits. His Seal is this, the which wear thou as aforesaid, etc." (my emphasis)

My process was simple. I laid out the required circle and triangle. I pinned the appropriate hexagram on my robe, wore the pentagram with his seal on the reverse and place his seal in the triangle.

I then did the manifestation mediation and then asked the spirit to appear. BOOM. HELLO. There he was.* Very quickly in my minds eye I saw him as he was drawn in Lon DuQuette's Illustrated Goetia. Then I felt him. There is no malice to this one. There is however an uncompromising nature. I have a feeling that if you use this fellow without just cause, you are in for a hard time.

I told him to recover my property. I told him that I was not interested in punishment nor retribution and that under no circumstances was the lady or her ex-husband be harmed. Immediately, I understood what had been stolen from me by others for quite some time.

People had played this game of hide and seek with me in various forms for about ten years, maybe twelve by now. Most of the time, the hidden object was information. In this case, it was physical but the same principle applied. For whatever reason, the passive aggressive people I was dealing with wanted my attention**, even if that attention is negative. Seriously? Whose issue is that? Of course, they loved to bash me when that attention was negative but in the end they were not only asking for it but seeking it. That put a whole new spin on things. I instantly knew that passive aggressive game playing like this had a quite negative effect on my mental, spiritual and thus physical health. I knew in a heartbeat that never again would I tolerate such behavior. Also, within that heartbeat, I knew that nemyss would be returned.

A few days later, a plan popped into my head. I was going to drop by the ex-husband's house as I was scheduled to make an appearance in an occult shop near there anyway. It turned out that I contracted pnueomonia or my back took a dive, I cannot remember which, and could not attended. Later, I told one person from the area my plan.

Within a week, maybe it was a few days, I received a call from my ex-girlfriend that she had obtained the nemyss as her ex suddenly allowed her in to retrieve it. I was also told not to tell anyone. Why I should keep it a secret that her ex let her into her old house was beyond me and I didn't promise to keep it. I found both the timing and the call to keep her access to her old home a secret interesting but drew no conclusions.

The item was given to a friend quite promptly. It did take me some time to pick it up. I was in no hurry as I trusted that person's safe keeping of my property. There is no way this fellow would do it harm or be careless. He and his wife had my complete trust. This trust was validated on my next trip down to that town when he gladly met me and gave me the nemyss.

The Theurgic Effect

"... also to discover Treasures that be Hid."

This working provided immediate understanding on how to deal with these types of people. I have sinced used it to great effect. All of my relationships have improved because of it. I have regained my trust of my fellow humans.

Since this working a couple of people have shared why they think that people want my attention. Their theories do make some sense. And, I have taken steps to alter my behavior to solve that problem, even though I have not bought into it one hundred percent.

Perhaps the Last Directly Related Act

Tonight, I did what I knew I had to do. I burned the nemyss.

This is not a rejection of my GD past or anything like that. I burned the nemyss for two reasons. First of all, it was an object that I allowed to be used in a game of mental hide and seek. It caused me some mental angst that someone that claimed to have once loved me would play with me like that, if indeed she did. Part of the GD lore is that a nemyss prevents possession. Someone literally used it to gain possession of some of my head space. For that reason alone, I couldn't wear that object on my head in ritual. Secondly, burning this allows me to take a physical action of resolve that I will not tolerate this sort of behavior at all. Even though I have demonstrated this by my actions several times over between now and then, I believe this physical action is more than symbolic.

The action isn't all that great a sacrifice either as I do have others in case I am ever called to wear one again.




Follow-Up

In watching the nemyss burn, I felt the energy of those years of work flare off. It was like small bubble of power formed and then popped. I realized then and there that there is something to disposing of magickal items through flame.

Secondly, while it is cool to do a rite and get what you asked for so quickly. The cool part is how it worked. An idea came to me that was alien to my way of thinking and just the willingness to follow through on that was all that was needed to obtain result. This has expanded my tool box of thought.

Lastly, since that working so many of my relationships have improved that I am truly happy on that front as well.

* This was by far the easiest appearance of a spirit of the lesser key that I have experienced.
**They would never admit this. In fact, they would likely be correct in denying it. Such is true for most of us. We are shockingly unaware of our own motives and needs.






Friday, January 10, 2014

Save Aaron Leitch's Sight

Aaron is about to lose his sight unless we help him out.

If you have enjoyed my scribblings over the years and at least found them entertaining if not informative, I am asking you to send him a buck or two.

My father went blind and I understand how much you miss without your sight. You lose the little things, like a silent smile and adoring look from a child or are those big things? You miss other things too. My father, a wise man and a student of other humans, was taken to the cleaners by an unscrupulous con man. He would never have fallen for that with his sight.

For those of you that do not know, Aaron is an occult author, mage and by reputation only, a nice fellow. Do not let him fall into the realm of physical darkness.

Please donate to Aaron. Click here.

Supplimental: His $5,000 fundraiser has now reached $5,900 and, presumably, still counting. I am very proud of the occult community and was happy to play a very small part in the process.

Saturday, January 4, 2014