The Slippery Spirit

Before I can exorcise all the gook in my head that created this thesis, I have to define the Western Religious Tradition (WRT). To be simplistic, it is all of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. But the definition actually goes more deeply than that, because these faiths occupy a dominant position in the West. They influence the greater morality of our western society in a way that is largely unseen, or at least not very obvious. They all originated from the same concept that God made the material universe because he is a mega-powerful spirit-being. The material universe, as a creation, is separate from that which is spiritual. It is a difficult place we have to experience for a short time so that we can get the heck out of here - to a paradise - which is better than this material world here. This kind of eschatology spread throughout the Ancient Near East. Once a part of the faiths that originated there, it became incorporated into our deeper morality and eventually our legal syste...

As part of the Grimoiric Magical Tradition of the Middle Ages, wisdom from more ancient cultures contributed to the development of a complex magical theory. Alchemy, astrology, and mediumship all helped to shape the traditions that made up a complex ceremonial  magical system, parts of which have survived to today. Within the realm of medieval astrology is a system of determining the most auspicious times for magical workings, which is still used by witches today. In the expanse of the sky above us, float the stars and planets. Their movement has influenced the magical schools that have developed around the globe since humans had the capacity to look up. Planets got their name from the fact that they were a special kind of star that wandered through the fixed stars ( planētai means “wanderers”). There were 5 planets visible with the naked eye to the first civilizations. Highly accomplished astronomers, the Babylonians had a complex theology surrounding these planet...

Today's entry is all about Magickal Inks. Rarely have I encountered a body of recipes and lore with more fluff, bunk and horse hockey than this one. The internet is nine-months pregnant with stolen recipes that amount to nothing. They amount to nothing because most of the people self-publishing these stolen writings are just passing along a recipe created by someone else so they can seem more knowledgeable, more experienced or more witchy. Basically, they are witches of cut-and-paste. They have not worked with the stuff one itch. I can tell they haven't because the recipes they provide don't work. I don't mean they don't work for me, or that I had trouble with them. I mean their ingredients are chemically incompatible. Is there a chance these are simply subterfuge to prevent someone really knowing "witch secrets?" Yeah that's a possibility. But I find the best way to keep a secret is to keep silent. Now why does that ring a bell? The popular, known...