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Family matters and karmic backlash

  
 
ShadowRain
08:36 / 08.11.02
For some reason or another, it seems that I usually post when the paw-paw hits this fan. Some advice would be greatly appreciated. This is the story …

My parents have been taking care of my grandmother for the last 7 years – an elderly lady of 87 with many health problems. Her other two sons and their families could not give a rat’s arse about her well-being. Systematically, they have maneuvered and schemed to get their hands on my grand-mother’s assets, including a fortune in diamonds that my grand-father bought for her, while he was still among the living.

The two brothers in question have managed to trick my grand-mother into signing documents stating that she is not of sound mental health, and can therefore not manage her own estate. They have now placed her under curatorship, and it’s been approved by the high court. My parents, on the other hand, have done everything in their power to ensure that my grand-mother lives out the rest of her days in comfort and welcoming surroundings. They bought her house and restored it, so that she didn’t have to go live in some old-age home and that she could still enjoy her garden which was her pride and joy. They couldn’t really afford to do this, and it’s killing them financially, but they did it out of love for her.

Now these bastards are trying to prove that my parents have been robbing my grand-mother blind and trying to take the little she has from her. In the process, they will ruin my parents.

Similar to the ‘Sniper leaves Tarot Card’ discussion, are there any ideas on how I can ensure that firstly, they can’t do anything to hurt my grand-mother and parents, and secondly, that they feel the backlash of what they’re trying to do – karma-police or something.

To be honest (and maybe I’m naïve in thinking this), I never expected family members to sink to such depths.

Any ideas would be welcomed.

Shadow
 
 
grant
14:00 / 08.11.02
Have you tried writing to the uncles and asking why they're doing this?

(and maybe ccing the family court, making sure the letter goes on file....)
 
 
Papess
16:41 / 08.11.02
Shadow, I got so upset when I read this, I made a sigil for it. Now, if you want it charged up, tell me and I will post it here.

The basic gist of the sigil is divide and conquer. I figured, if they loose each other, they will not have the force they currently do and it is an easy mark because of the nature of greed. Let them trip over themselves, I say.


Grrrrr!
 
 
Papess
16:42 / 08.11.02
Goddamit! GRRRRRRR!
 
 
Seth
16:46 / 08.11.02
Struck a chord with me too, Shadow. Will see what I can do.
 
 
cusm
17:37 / 08.11.02
Being the devious sort, I recommend the approach of sympathy. Instill in them a sense of conscience. If they come to understand how fucked up and wrong what it is they are doing, they may stop, or suffer themselves into a personal hell, which would be just as good. When you ask "How can I ensure that people I used to call family feel the backlash of their actions and stop them from ruining my parents & grand-mother’s lives?", I think this is along the lines of what you intended?

To that end, I would call upon your favorite gods of justice: Matt, Tyr, Ochosi, or even Hera, as a good start to a working. Perhaps add to this a sigel for empathy, that they come to feel the effects of their work, and you're off to a good start. I do like the idea of just feeding them to Hera, come to think of it. I suspect she'd work well for this sort of thing, and isn't the type to play nice either

A good bind rune can be made for this from Othala, Laguz and Tiwaz, as another idea.
 
 
ShadowRain
09:42 / 11.11.02
Thanks for the suggestions. Thought I’d add my comments to the mix

Grant – Writing to the family members involved and cc-ing the court won’t make much of a difference. Once it’s been approved by the high-court, there isn’t much that can be done about it. My grand-mother is now officially a minor, and will be one for the rest of her life. As for why they’re doing this … GREED and sibling rivalry. The instigator of the whole lot has no conscience whatsoever, so why should he give a damn. Writing to them will only make matters worse, not better.

May Tricks – thanks a million for designing a sigil. I would really appreciate it if you could post it. I’d gladly charge it as well. Right now, I’m willing to try anything to get this sorted.

Cusm – I’m not very familiar with any of the deities you suggested, nor much with regards to bind runes. Please PM me with more information or where I could find more info on the net. Then I’ll see what I can do.

Once again, thanks for the feedback. It’s great to know that I have a someone to turn to
 
 
Papess
23:28 / 11.11.02
*bump*
 
 
ONLY NICE THINGS
00:05 / 12.11.02
Hmmmm....I confess that I tend to be suspicious of answers like "Why are they doing it? Because they're *evil*." It may of course be the case, but if these children are behaving as they are from what they perceive to be noble motives, then magical responses based on punishing wickedness become complicated rather...

Simply, do you truly understand the motivation of everybody in this situation? That would strike me as a necessity for any successful subsequent action - unless you intend something in the nature of a magical cudgelling...
 
 
Papess
01:50 / 12.11.02
Haus, dammit, you think too much.
 
 
Badbh Catha
03:16 / 12.11.02
Thinking things through – and comprehending as many sides of the situation as possible – is essential to practicing Magick. Hasty actions often cause more harm than good.

ShadowRain, I do sympathize with your situation. Cusm mentioned deities of justice...Do you have a tarot deck at home? It may help if you take out the Justice card and meditate on it. Think about what Justice means to you, the different ways that Justice can be brought to bear on your situation.

What you need is justice...not revenge. Good luck, my thoughts are with you.
 
 
Papess
05:18 / 12.11.02
I was merely teasing Haus.

Of course thinking things out is of importance. I thought about it and thought it was up to ShadowRain's discretion as to what is needed.

Just because the intention is to shake things up for the brothers, does not necessarily mean revenge. It is fair play whether you use the court or magick, as either could be quite devestating. And if one isn't then maybe the other should be able to level the playing field a bit.

Justice is fine. Is this not justified in light of the matter at hand? It is their alliance that keeps them powerful. The intention is to cause them disagreement amongst themselves and abandon their efforts to sabotage their mother. That seems logical, fair, and justifiable to me.
 
 
ONLY NICE THINGS
08:43 / 12.11.02
Well, that's just it. The information we have on whether or not it is justified runs to about 30 lines of text, from one person involved in the matter. It might be worth considering if and whose justice is being served here.

I'm just sayin'.
 
 
ShadowRain
09:59 / 12.11.02
Haus – I agree with what you’re saying, in that this is a very one sided story and that it’s based on my perceptions. But I thought I’d clarify a couple of issues. The people involved have tried this sort of stunt before. They tried to do the same to my grand-father 16 years ago, when he was suffering from emphysema. He eventually died because of this, but right to the end, he was of sound mind, if not of sound body.

These people have been doing this in small ways over the last 20 years and I’ve had to sit back and do nothing, because I had no recourse in the matter. I don’t believe that they’re doing this out of any sense of loyalty to my grand-mother, nor do they have her best interests at heart. All of this was done behind her back. I don’t think she even realizes the enormity of the decision. They have not shown an interest in my grand-mother’s well-being for 20 years, why should it change now …

The manner in which this has been done does not speak to loyalty or any thought of the impact this would have on the people involved. Where were they when my grand-mother ended up in hospital due to her heart problem? Where are they on her birthday, her wedding anniversary and my grand-father’s birthday … when she’s feeling her loss the most? They couldn’t even be bothered to phone.

I don’t want revenge, because at the end of the day it makes me just as bad as them. What am I looking for? My motives are simple. What goes around comes around. In a small way, by the means I have available, I want them to realize the enormity of what they’ve done. As May indicated, we need to level the playing field. I don’t have the finances to fight this on the level that they can. So, I resort use to what I can. The call for help was intended to get some ideas on what to do, so that I don’t resort to revenge and end up creating more pain to the parties involved.

If they end up fighting among themselves, with a little help from the universe, all the better. Maybe then they’ll know what it feels like to be a victim to something that’s out of their control. (And yes, I know that it sounds vengeful ... but it's not.)

What they’ve done is make my fiercely independent grand-mother beg for the right to do anything. She can’t even pay for her own groceries or her weekly appointment at the hair-dressers without asking permission from them first, since she’s not allowed to sign a cheque. Is this something that you would see as beneficial?

If nothing else is achieved through the exercise, at least I have not gone off cursing the people involved without getting some input from people who know the field a lot better than I do. All suggestions, comments and help are greatly appreciated. I don’t want to add to the burden, I’m trying to protect my grand-mother and my parents.

Love & light
Shadow
 
 
Badbh Catha
13:51 / 12.11.02
Maybe then they’ll know what it feels like to be a victim to something that’s out of their control. – ShadowRain

Are you so sure they already don't? How much of your family history are you really aware of? That's a very important question if you intend to work Magick against blood kin.

The actions of your uncles towards their parents are of such an intensity, are so determined, and have been taking place for such a long time, that clearly it seems they have definite reasons for their behavior...reasons you may not be privy to, and need to find out before even considering going any further on a Magickal level.

I'm not saying those reasons are right/wrong, or fair/unfair. but they exist, and they're affecting your life. You need to find out what's really going on.
 
 
cusm
15:38 / 12.11.02
This is all why I default back to justice in cases like this. I work/cast/pray/whatever that the situation be resolved in the right way, and do not try to choose what they right way is, as I do not know all the info and can't make that call. So, call the experts in to make that call for you. That's the safest way to approach it, working more theurgical than thaumaturgical.

As for the gods I mentioned, the qualities of justice they embody are:

Tyr (Norse): Legal, but with a bit of an "eye for an eye" edge to things. Norse law was all about making people pay for their crimes, even killing required a monitary gift to the family in reparation (were guild). As also a god of victory, I like Tyr as a sometimes more active force.

Maat (Egyptian): Justice as a blind impersonal force, like karma. Maat is the most archetypical of the lot, and is good for finding the fair or right solution from a wider perspective on the situation.

Ochosi (African/Santeria): Temperance and decision. Ochosi is the bowman/scout/hunter who once in anger made a rash decision: may whoever was responsible for this be hit by this arrow (fires arrow into air). The arrow hit his mother, so he vowed to keep his temper and represent justice from then out.

I mentioned Hera as the wife of Zues (Greek), fameous for rage and doling punishment over marital infidelity. She's a bit more on the punishment side of justice, but may apply here due to the familial nature of the situation, and that its a mother involved.

As for bind runes, I'll share that bit for the class here as well. The idea is simple: take some runes, smoosh them together into one rune, like a sigel. Use as a sigel. All runes should be readable in the sigel somehow, though they overlap in creative ways. There are several threads on the runes and Futhark here, if you want to know more.
 
 
ONLY NICE THINGS
22:43 / 12.11.02
Just for the record, I'm not sure Hera is such a good idea, for all sorts of reasons. If you're looking for Greek pantheon, perhaps Themis, or Athena...
 
 
Nietzsch E. Coyote
01:45 / 13.11.02
I'm going to have to back Haus in suggesting that you do not bring Hera into it. She has a tendency, if you can judge by the myths, of punishing the victim of a crime as well as or instead of who you think the perpetrator is.

Maybe you should avoid the concept of punishment altogether. Try putting a protection over your grandmother and parents. And you could enact workings meant to provide your grandmother with more options.
 
 
Gypsy Lantern
07:58 / 13.11.02
I would probably hesitate before bringing any Gods in on this unless you're absolutely sure you know what you're doing. As there is a potential for things to quickly get beyond your control and resolve themselves in ways that you may not have anticipated. If you have an existing relationship with any of the God's that you're considering calling upon for help, then this might make this route easier, but it's heavy duty stuff and not something to be approached too lightly. At the very least attempt a divination on the matter before you go down this route.

Similarly, I don't think that sigil sorcery is quite targetted enough for what you're trying to acheive, as there seem to be a lot of variables at work. The bind-rune version of sigil sorcery is probably a more suitable approach in this instance than the Austin Osman Spare method, as with the runes you're tapping into 'primal forces' closely associated with the age old problem you're trying to resolve. As someone mentioned above, a bind rune containing OTHALA (ancestral land) and TIWAZ (justice) would be an appropriate combination. This bind-rune can be charged through whatever method you favour, or perhaps made into a talisman and concealed somewhere in or outside your Grandmother's home.

However, in the first instance it might be worth your while doing some form of ancestor based ritual - therefore calling on a group of spirits with a vested interest in your family and it's affairs. Call on your ancestors and explain what has been happening to them, ask for their advice and help in finding a solution. You may find that your ancestors will take care of family business themselves in answer to your request, or else suggest an appropriate course of action to you.
 
 
XXII:X:II = XXX
17:30 / 13.11.02
To be honest (and maybe I’m naïve in thinking this), I never expected family members to sink to such depths.

Awwww... that's so precious.

Sorry to come off like a bastard, but this doesn't surprise me in the least. Ever read King Lear?

I haven't read far enough down this thread to see if anyone else has brought this up, but is the issue the continued well-being of your grandmother or the inheritance? Because while I won't downplay the importance of that, really, don't you think karma will do what needs be done? What exactly elects you to be karma's agent, other than a sense of moral outrage? If you genuinely subscribe to the concept of karma, you will let it do its own work. But if you don't, then the question of what fallout your actions may have in that realm are really moot, aren't they?

Also, well, not to disparage your granny, but do you know her history with your two uncles? Children sometimes save up their anger at their parents for their failings for decades, waiting for the first sign of weakness to exact what they perceive as karmic retribution. Perhaps you're best served by trying to disown your uncles of their anger; when that is gone, karma will set in, and you're karmicly cleaner in the process. When all is said and done, isn't that really the best-case situation?
 
 
ShadowRain
10:36 / 14.11.02
Hmmm ... bad time to reply ... but here goes:

And just maybe they're materialistic evil bastards that deserve to go to hell (or whatever version of it you subscribe to).

Whatever ... I don't think getting personal about it or debating the validity of my feelings or the sitation will get anyone anywhere. The contributions are appreciated.

Shadow
 
 
Badbh Catha
13:03 / 14.11.02
Vladmir: While you do bring up some interesting points, perhaps you would have been more successful using honey instead of vinegar.

Also, had you read the entierty of the thread before posting, you would have noticed that questions concerning the relationships between the uncles and their parents had already been asked.

ShadowRain: Looking back over the thread, it seems that Gypsy Lantern's suggestion concerning ancestral spirits may be extremely helpful to you. Once again, good luck with everything.
 
  
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