The Slippery Spirit

Recently, I was working with sigils (again). I was reviewing the methods used by modern Hoodoo practitioners to make Key of Solomon-style sigils. It’s fascinating stuff, but there are some elements that are shortcut. I’ll explore sigils here in an attempt to provide connections between several very deep topics. I apologize in advance if something I write seems as if I’m being cursory. One could likely write a long book about all this. However, as this is only a blog, my goal is to show you the connections, so that you will better experience the wonder that I felt when all this began to become meaningful for me. Mankind began with sounds, which he modulated in the mouth. That led to an attempt to make symbols to represent the sounds – as stated in the movie, The Dark Crystal, “words that stay.” Writing was born. Let’s explore speech and writing separately. Since much of what comes down to us in the Western Mystery schools comes from the Kabbalah, we should start in the Anci...

In my particular coven, we have what is called “witch’s work.” This is the stuff within ourselves on which we must work to become better people and more powerful witches - to really evolve our spirits so we can move to the next chapter in the improvement of our spirit. I don’t know if all covens teach about witch’s work, though I suspect not. I was taught that all covens teach it (or maybe should). But most of the Wiccan covens I’ve encountered are not concerned with any ultimate end goal for their existence here. Some of them show a morality that is merely borrowed from Christianity, or no morality at all. At best, they simply go about their lives like pagan robots, accepting only the techniques and teachings of a favorite author, not fully understanding that there is a larger goal and a story that transcends just the here-and-now. How does one know what one’s work is? I was taught that a clue comes from one’s astrological natal chart. My experience is that this merely scratc...

I am a critical person; it's built into my personality as an "internal processor" and it is part of my "witches work" to juggle it until the day I die. I won't deny it, but I'm also not going to sugar-coat it. However, I will attempt (as I regularly do) to channel this trait into a positive characteristic rather than a destructive one. A rant that regularly passes through my head comes from the criticism I exact against many contemporary pagans. In my opinion, most self-identified pagans don't live a very pagan lifestyle. They call themselves pagans, but they don't act as if their pagan-ness is driving the decisions of their world. It is accepted that Wicca is a pagan religion. It is said that all Wiccans are pagan, but not all pagans are Wiccan. Wiccans are typically called "witches." It is very possible for someone to be a non-pagan witch. An example would be a Curandera, a Hispanic spiritual healer who uses ritualized actions to ...

I've recently noticed a modification or reworking to a practice that has been around for a long time. The invoking and banishing pentagrams have been used in magick, as a result of ceremonial influence, for about the last 150 years. However, I've recently noticed that there has been a new form of invoking and banishing pentagrams circulating on the internet. I'm not entirely sure why someone decided that reinvention was necessary, but I decided to explore the topic. The earth banishing pentagram is more commonly known from its use in the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram ("LBRP" for short). The LBRP is a kind of energetic prayer, which incorporates visualization, body movements and vocal intonation. It originated as a Jewish prayer and many original elements are still present. Personally, I don't do the LBRP ever , for the same reason I don't do the Tibetan prayer to the dead or the Christian mass. They simply are not my religion. The Golden Da...

Power. I can't begin to unpack all of the sludge that human beings pack into the connotations of this word. Instead, I'd like to direct this topic to what really matters as we consider the concept of power particularly as witches. As always, the following is my opinion and speculation. It is bound to bend the point on some witches' hats, so if you don't like it, you can leave a comment below. Remember though that I retain the ability to delete you if you write disrespectfully. How's that for power? Most of us probably have the idea that a witch's power is like the energy bar of a magical character in a video game. Really "powerful" witches have a larger power bar than weaker ones. Spell casting uses up this power so that weaker witches can't cast as much or use powerful spells the same way really powerful witches can. Hogwash. Power is not quite like the gasoline that fills up a fuel tank. There are times when it can seem this way, because yo...

Every Spring in the American South, when the weather begins to warm, but just before most of the trees produce the majority of their leaves, wisteria blooms. The air gets a scent that is nearly indescribable - something like a cross between the most scrumptious elements of lilac and grape jelly. It is a smell that heralds the Spring; its a smell that makes me feel both at peace and sexually charged. It is an odor so captivating and infectious that it seems to make my brain feel alarmed. I feel a similar alarm when my intuition thinks that spellwork is being done within my field. I become so shocked by my own reaction to the smell of wisteria that I crave possessing it for use in glamour workings. It's attractive power is that blatant to me. The first time I notice the odor for the year, I realize that I have a very short time to collect wisteria blossoms. They last only about 2-3 weeks, especially if the springtime comes on quickly and warmly. Like many flowers, once they are gon...

Why do we use magic? Is it so that we can cast spells to get what we want? Well, yes, but if that’s all you think it does, you're missing the point. Using magic is not about filling your life with all the material crap you might desire. Magic is the divine power that permeates the universe, so if you simply suck on it like a calf from a teat, you will be back to repeat this life over and over again, never ascending beyond the earthly plane. The best reason to use magic is to evolve into higher beings – to ascend. The path to ascension lies in learning how to use magic. Does this mean that the material plane is bad and we should seek to escape from it? It does not. Too many people already seek to escape the lessons of growth found on the material plane by seeking some amazing afterlife. The paradox behind the lesson of magic is that only by embracing that we exist in this material world for now, can we move to the next step. There is yet another step to take and it is only by f...