Barbelith Underground > Temple > A Black & Orange update?

A little experience from a few nights ago that might be worth sharing:

I needed to break in a pair of old shoes that had gotten tight, so I went for a walk. Being me, of course, it couldn’t just be a walk, so I made a bit of a production out of it. On went the flappy black trenchcoat, on went the Pumpkin King anointing oil (I tend to anoint in two superimposed pents, one and two horns “exalted,” respectively – not entirely sure why). I addressed Jack as I stepped out the door (UKOMA PEFIGU NOSA LEHITU ROBA), and went on my way.

I live on a long and occasionally unlit street with a lot of traffic. This becomes relevant later. I was also in a very heightened mood from the oil and the intention, and things were starting to feel very significant, if you know what I mean. There were elements of drift playing in.

As I approached the lonely little gas station (“Cinderella’s”), I decided it was time to pick up some candy for an offering. I eventually settled on a bag of sour balls (“2 for $1 or 59 cents each”), and took out the three orange ones for Jack.

I walked further on, this time hearing more than once footfalls behind me when there was no one there. I reached a darker-than-usual spot along the road and stopped (missing by a single step trodding on the carcass of a skunk, as luck would have it), and waited for a couple minutes for a lull in traffic (busy street, remember?). Finally, I called to the Pumpkin King again and formally offered the candies to him (I left them on the guardrail post by the roadside).

When I turned back to walk home the way I had come, there were no cars. None. Looking up and down the road I could have been the only living person on the Earth (and, indeed, that’s exactly how I felt for a moment). It was far eerier than I would have expected. As I walked past the gas station (along the still-deserted street – remember that only minutes before I had to stand and wait for a break in traffic), all the outside lights switched off, leaving me on a very dark and lonely stretch of road. The wind had picked up a little by now, too, and I was definitely feeling the familiar hand of Jack. I loved it, of course, and I know he knew it. It seems that the offering was accepted.

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Now, to help kickstart things for the looming month, I’m going to repost my “ideas/to-do” list from last year. Many of these things I didn’t get around to, or didn’t explore fully, and I welcome (nay, implore) you all to try out anything that interests you or add more ideas to the list. Here it is:

Time to make a Halloween To-Do List. I'm just brainstorming for myself, but if any of the ideas sound interesting, run with it (and let us know what happens).

- further, deeper invokation of Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King.
- more practice raising the Pillar of Bats ('til it's second nature).
- Four Monsters meditations:
- tidal metamorphosis meditation for the Wolfman
- buried alive meditation for the Mummy (neither dead nor alive, waiting to be unearthed
- "cosmic fire" meditation for Frankenstein's Monster (as revealed in Son of Frankenstein, the Monster was animated by cosmic rays that actually made him, not an undead monster, but an entirely new, living immortal being).
- "blood thirst" meditation for Dracula.
(The point of the four meditations is to build a stronger awareness of the natures of the Cardinal Monsters, in order to be able to better manifest their presence in the Banishing ritual.)
- a lot more raw energy work, to help fuel the other workings.
- preliminary werewolf exercises and visualizations
- I'm thinking about invoking the spirit of Vincent Price for the festivities on Halloween night - charming and urbane, with a macabre wit.
- As previously noted, charge and powder Autumn leaves for later use.
- Also, charge orange and black candles with Halloween energy, for use elsewhen in the year ('cos everyday is Halloween).
- I need to visit the friendly dead at my cemetery (one of my youthful haunts in town), possibly with offerings.

We can add to this some explorations of haunting, of course. Any thoughts on what form those might take?

I also want to go ahead with the Thousand-Times Great Grandmere working I talked about last year, though with a slightly different perspective (informed by my somewhat greater understanding/appreciation of ancestor veneration).

So, what’s up?

tampering in God’s Domain,

~Lepidopteran

p.s. Bush and Kerry bob for apples, and Bush Loses.