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"Stupid" magick, religion and spirituality questions

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06:54 / 06.05.04

I do spells on impulse to no particular purpose as it feels right.

So, what happens? Does your luck stay in good repair or do you have a sense of spiritual fulfillment or so forth? My experience is that unpurposed spells cause interesting but sometimes unpleasant chaos, so I've resolved not to do them unless I require shaking up and am willing to deal with the inconvenience. But your mileage may vary.

I suppose I'm curious as to whether there's anything you can evaluate. Not in any single way—I don't mean to suggest one is only doing it right if one wins a certain proportion of lotteries one enters—but is there anything that causes you to think that one spell was in some way less 'successful' than another?

21:55 / 11.05.04

"what happens? Does your luck stay in good repair or do you have a sense of spiritual fulfillment or so forth"
Uh, yes, pretty much. In the same way a composer might feel a piece is 'right' I feel a spell is good. My luck is OK but I'm not sure luck is necessarily a good guide, unless you're doing fortune work or whatever.

"I suppose I'm curious as to whether there's anything you can evaluate"
Well when I do something do fulfil a desire it usually works. Yesterday I searched fruitlessly for somethingh for five minutes getting pissed off, then stopped and stood in the middle of the room and snapped "My losing things curse is fucking BROKEN!" as my eye fell on the object, on the arm of the chair I was about to slump in. Tiny magic I know, but an instant response. It made me laugh at least. I'm going to use a variant to recover my lost mobile phone, I'll let you know how that goes.

I guess mainly my question was 'Am I a magician or a mystic?' Given the choice I'd zigzag up the tree of life, but I'm more into the theory than the practice of magic, I desire transcendental enlightenment for it's own sake rather than for a purpose and I'm more prone to spontaneous workings than ritual. Maybe I'm just a superstitious hippie with mild OCD and delusions of grandeur.

Still, my response to my own stupid question would be 'define yourself how you will' or something, so it's not a burning issue I suppose. Maybe I should be a research wizard attempting to split the Platonic ideal or measure a thaum etc. instead of just practicing hedge magic.

09:43 / 12.05.04

I was wondering if anyone has stopped working with a Godform after finding out additional information about the being/entity (so many terms!)..

An example for reference is the wrestler Shawn Michaels (HBK) - say you've been using him for awhile and he comes back (to tv) after a break as a born again Christian - would you continue to work with him as you did before and ignore the changes or stop any work?

Obviously this could apply to anyone or anything, like finding out someone you use likes to eat children's fingers.

Just something I've been thinking about.

11:47 / 12.05.04

In that specific example, and from what I know of your exploration into the deeper occult mysteries of the WWE, I would say that you've probably been working with The Heartbreak Kid, who is a different entity from Shawn Michaels.

When the man Shawn Michaels is at the top of his game in the ring, he is being ridden by the Heartbreak Kid. Same with all of them really. Stone Cold is the Spirit that rides the man who wrestles, he's the rattlesnake, the toughest SOB in the business, why Stone Cold? Why? The Deadman is an entity distinct from Mark Calloway. Cactus Jack is an entity distinct from the New York Time's best selling author, Mrs Foley's blue eyed boy.

I'd speculate that its the entity The Heartbreak Kid that you've been working with, whose eternal Heartbreak Kid-ness is unlikely to be undermined by the politics or ideas of the human wrestler that he rides. Watch them when they enter the ring. That's not the same Shawn Michaels who eats his dinner with his wife and takes his children to the park. They all quite clearly seem to get themselves possessed by Spirits in order to get the job done. Those Spirits can be contacted through magic and could conceivably be encouraged to possess people other than their principle vehicle. It's a pantheon, with its own heirarchy, politics, and seasonal festivals - its Wrestlemania and its Royal Rumble, its Backlash and its Armageddon.

Sweet chin music.

11:51 / 12.05.04

That's excellent - love it!

13:54 / 12.05.04

Voodoo wrastlin. That's sweet.

Did you know Papa Shango was a WWE character for a while? This amuses me highly.

14:22 / 12.05.04

Used to love Papa Shango - I remember him making green goo flow for Ultimate Warriors head.

That's basically what I was thinking Lantern, your taking on the character rather than the person, was just curious to what people thought.

WWE as ritual is something that needs to be investigated further, I should take some time to make a tarot deck. Or buy a ring!

Nietzsch E. Coyote

17:28 / 12.05.04

I think its best as a voodoo like practice. Getting a wrastling ring built might still be good. It would give you a place to be possessed by The Undertaker or something.

17:41 / 12.05.04

Well all the merchandise that's available would give you ample scope to construct a really impressive altar. You could buy a large action figure of whichever Wrestling Spirit you're building a relationship with and make this the centre peice of the altar - surround it with other items associated with that character, decorate it with their imagery. Light votive candles to feed the Wrestler Spirit. Make offerings of stuff you think the Spirit might like, for instance loads of cans of beer for Stone Cold. Incorporate their catch phrases into sorcery: "...and that's the bottom line, because Stone Cold says so! Give me a Hell Yeah!". Just be careful that they don't decide have a heel turn on you when you least expect it.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

16:51 / 14.05.04

Okay, update on my q. the other day: I had a stab at the "letting the guides speak through me."

I banished and did a relaxation visualisation, then chanted the name of one of my guides a few times whilst putting myself into a light trance. Then I just let the sounds come from my voice as they would.

The result? About ten minutes of pure gibberish. This is odd because when I write for them, the guides seem to communicate in English. There were one or two intelligible words: "The sands" "the men" and "go to the well". Everything else is drivel. Some of it sounds like it might be poetry, some of it sounds mantric in nature, but none of it means anything to me.

Any tips?

22:26 / 14.05.04

One of the things that I've picked up on fairly recently is that 'entities', whatever they might be, have a completely different notion of time to us. Quite scarily different. And the processes through which we receive their messages can sometimes cloud the issue. I'd just make a note of whatever odd disparate phrases come through, cos in 30 years time it might be really blantantly obvious what they were about. A mate of mine considers dreams as yer map to the future in low res. Probably the best bit of magical advice I've ever been given, but I'm too fucking lazy on a morning to make best use of it...

Less searchable M0rd4nt

16:46 / 11.09.04

Okay, slightly stupid question here.

Myself & LA are in the throes of flat-hunting at the mo., and yesterday we saw the dearest little place. Lovely location, and (miracle of miracles) nice and cheap.

Unfortunately, two other prospective tenants had seen it first. We put our names down, but it's not looking promising. What magickal approach could I adopt to ensure that we get the flat and not the other punters? (Short of pushing them under a bus, that is.)

It might be worth noting that on the way to see the flat I found 2 items, a Barcelona street-map (AZ style) and a blue tag, apparently from a locker key, bearing the digits 564. Any tips?

Less searchable M0rd4nt

09:12 / 02.12.04

Me again. I'm planning to perform an uncrossing ritual soon--infusion of hyssop, 51st psalm, ect. Is there a particular day, date or time that I should do it? Also, is it okay to do the ritual in the shower?

09:52 / 02.12.04

Uncrossing shower is fine in the absence of a bath, but bath is better as you submerge yourself in it for longer, and can pour bowl of water over yourself seven or nine times like some mad baptist. What consistency is your uncrossing mixture? If it's oil based it can also be used to annoint a white candle, which will then burn and rid you of crossed conditions as it goes. Day and time are not so important, and I havent come across any specific "uncrossing days", unless you're doing it under the auspices of a specific Power or Saint.

My basic approach would be:

Open temple in the usual manner. Sage smudging of room and of yourself. Run bath. Add uncrossing mixture. Remain in bath for at least 15 minutes. Pour water over head several times. Read psalm or whatever. Get out of bath. Dress in clean white clothes. Annoint white candle with uncrossing oil. Annoint forehead and back of neck with uncrossing oil. Light candle. Read psalm. Imagine the candle burning through crossed conditions like flames through a chocolate fireguard.*

* I'm not sure what a chocolate fireguard actually is, but people keep mentioning it.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

11:28 / 02.12.04

That's pretty much what I had in mind, except that my uncrossing mix will be dried leaves steeped in hot water like herb tea (nothing to stop me making a dressing oil as well, I guess.) Unfortunately there's no bath in my flat so the shower is the obvious place to do it. I was planning to stand in a plastic bucket tho' so I can save some of the mix for a floor wash. Thanks for the input.

11:50 / 02.12.04

Hmmm... if it was me, I'd make up a seperate batch for a floorwash. Depends how you look at things, but if the hyssop tea is cleansing crossed conditions, the stuff that washes over you will be taking those conditions with it. Hence you might be collecting water that has your crossed conditions in it, then using that to wash the floor. There arent really hard and fast rules for this sort of thing, and different people do things differently, but I tend to err on the side of caution myself.

15:47 / 08.12.04

MY STUPID QUESTION:

What exactly is an alphabet of desire?

I have tried to understand Spare's work but from the little that has been available and my lack of understanding, I am at a loss.
I have heard about Alphabets of Desire but really haven't a clue as to what constitutes such

16:23 / 08.12.04

Hi Joe,

I have always understood an alphabet of desire to be a group of symbols that you can use to write a statement of intent, that are abstract enough so your pesky so-called conscious mind won't recognize them, have a fit, and ruin everything.

It is a personal alphabet---not necessarily representing letters as much as conditions (eg, success, bravery, happiness). I guess it's easier than crossing out repeating letters, mixing up what you have left, and then making a sigil from that. If you use sigils alot, then maybe an alphabet of desire would be helpful. At any rate, by making one you could learn what sorts of symbols really appeal to you.

07:34 / 09.12.04

THANKS FOR THE INFO

10:01 / 09.12.04

Spare's "alphabet(s) of desire" were the different sets of personal sigils and symbols that he evolved to express himself and work his magick. His personal symbology, which I would guess would be a bit incomprehensible to anyone else. Probably the best way to get a handle on it is to look at some of his artwork, the pictures with lots of sigils etc - these were Spare's own varied alphabets. You can find more info on the idea throughout his work - they seemed to have evolved out of a mix of automatic drawing, simplification of pictures and weaving lines into shapes that suggested the abstract he was after.

11:24 / 09.12.04

Or even better, do shitloads of automatic drawing yourself and come up with a new, interesting and original spin on symbol-based sorcery all of your own... rather than endlessly imitating a mad Brixton occult nutcase's ideas as if they were part of some lofty occult canon...

11:53 / 09.12.04

THANKS

I wasn't trying to emulate Spare....I just had no idea what it was to begin with!

thanks for all the answers to date

cheers

Less searchable M0rd4nt

16:34 / 17.12.04

I had a really vivid dream a few nights back about this headless guy whose job (man, you'd think at least a headless guy could go on the sick ticket, right?) was lugging around massive rocks on the empty, scarred plane of his shoulders. He was reconstucting a fallen temple.

Now, I mention this because the headless-guy-moving-rocks image seemed to ring all manner of bells in my mind. Can anyone point me in the direction of a corresponding god, spirit or other mythspace dweller? Ta.

17:46 / 17.12.04

Now, I mention this because the headless-guy-moving-rocks image seemed to ring all manner of bells in my mind.

Funny, it rings a few bells for me too. Hmmm, maybe something to do with Mimir?

Less searchable M0rd4nt

12:45 / 22.12.04

Mmmm...Not Mimir, I don't think. This guy was too poor to be a God in the mountain-carrying business and the mis-en-scene was non-European. I blogged it over on my Lj if anyone's interested.

06:43 / 23.12.04

I keep thinking of that headless character from Lord Fanny's initiation in the "She-Man" story arc with the axe-striking-wood-sounding ribcage. I think that the 'has no head', 'sound of physical labor,' and 'non-European mise en scene' is shorting something out in my head, sorry. I'm not right, I'm just posting this so that I'll stop thinking about it whenever I check this thread.

08:04 / 23.12.04

sounds like a golem: does heavy work, vaguely religious, brain and facial expression not important. but golems have YHVH notes in their mouths, as i recall, so i dont think they work without heads.

lonely labour reminds me of hades.

08:13 / 23.12.04

But they mention that he is Tezcatlipoca, one of the gods of the Incas? Aztecs?
Anyway, he is specifically related to magic somehow.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

20:56 / 11.01.05

Headless: Re-reading my dream journal entry and the condensed version on my Lj, I'm inclined to think that it's one of them metterfores for uniting the brute physical with the cerebral/spiritual(TM). I'm currently engaged in a very physical course and I'm finding that it's jolly useful as a meditaion aid.

Uncrossing: Say you do your uncrossing in the shower, and then when you come out the floor's a bit wet and you slip and fall flat on your kundalini... is that a sign that it didn't work?

Less searchable M0rd4nt

21:20 / 11.01.05

PS: The headless fellow some of you are thinking of is an aspect of Tezcatlipoca in his trickster form.

Read on...

And when he saw it, he beheld it like a man without a head, with a neck severed at the nape, and with a chest and belly broken open. Thus they said that which was heard was his chest when the halves met like a mouth opening and closing making a sucking sound.

And of this apparition he to whom it appeared, whether a priest or bold one, or reckless warrior, when he had succeeded in reaching and seeing it, then saw his heart. He seized it, clutched it, and took it tightly in his fist and tore it out. So he demanded what it would give, grant, or award him. Perhaps he demanded riches, captives, valor, poverty, or the hoe or tumpline. So it was said that all that was awarded him became his gift.

I'm reasonably certain that Tezcatlipoca is not in the hefting and toting business. He's fucking mean.

09:48 / 12.01.05

I'm reminded of two things from your post Mordant. The first is The Bornless One rite/Preliminary Invocation of the Goetia/Liber Samekh - it's also called "The Headless One". I used to remember exactly what this meant but haven't read anything about it for a while now, so am forgetting stuff....I think it connects with moving away from egocentricty/indviduality.

The second is a lovely drawing in the Book of Pleasure, which shows a headless body with a sighing face sunk back into it's chest. Relates to odd ideas Spare mentions sometimes "of becoming entirely sensation". Moving away from the "I" again.

Hope either of these fire off a few associations. Perhaps it's some body-related image?

Less searchable M0rd4nt

18:20 / 06.03.05

Me again.

Does anyone know anything about the breaking of a binding spell?

13:35 / 21.10.05

i was reading a book the other day.
in the introduction it mentioned that not all those reading would understand the full extent of the book's message, and that only 72 people would.
why 72?
was the author making a prediction?
was he trying to sound spooky?
is he working it out form some kinda formula?
or is it 'written' that A MAN CAN WRITE A BOOK BUT ONLY 72 MAY READ IT FOR TRUTH?

i dont really care as to the truth of the thing. limited entry doesnt scare me; i'm usually on the guest lists that matter. i just want to know where the number came from.

13:52 / 21.10.05

72 is the number of occult significance - I believe it's the number of spirits in the Goetia, which originally were locked up by Solomon (correct me if I'm wrong someone) - so perhaps that's the reason for the usage?

14:39 / 21.10.05

i have come across a few 72s in googling, a few of them realated to that very fact.
what i was wondering was why he seemed so convinced that his book would help unlock 72 souls.
is he saying he is trying to unlock those 72 spirits?

is he doing something other than writing a book to teach, do you think?
some of the reviews do suggest the author is not being entirely genuine in the statement of intent suggested by the introduction, but a similar number reckon those folks are talking bollocks.

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