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Wednesday, June 25, 2014

The Truth about Belial

Greetings,

Recently I'd begun working with Belial for a few business-related things, along with to fulfill a desire to know more about him and understand who and what he is.  Few "demons" have as varied a story as he, being the ancient avowed enemy of Yahweh, and none have his reputation for being Evil Incarnate, or Satan himself, except perhaps Lucifer.  It is said that he was the first to rebel against God during the war in heaven, and some legends say that he was the one who convinced Lucifer to rebel against God and to take a third of the angels with them.  Other legends say he is a form (or deific mask) of Lucifer himself.

However, it seems to me from my dealings with him that we've only heard part of the story, and the parts which we've heard have been drastically modified to align with the popular culture's imaginations, themselves being nearly-irreparably contaminated with Christianized-thinking.  This post will offer a different take on his legend, along with a less-favorable image for "God" than what we currently have.  It must be remembered that Belial is a pre-Christian deity, so although we may perceive him as the Devil Himself, largely due to Christian leanings in Western Culture, Belial serves a very ancient and vital purpose like everything and everyone else in Creation.

 
THE ILLUSION OF "RULERSHIP"
As is known amongst most occultists and mystics, all of what we perceive around us is illusion (maya), meaning nothing is actually real, it all just appears to be real and is generated in part by what we expect to perceive.  In other words, if we do not expect to see or perceive something, it is generally invisible to our senses.  What we expect to see is entirely driven by whichever socialization processes we undergo as human children.  This framework of socialization, and of civilization itself, is known as a "matrix" which can be thought of as the sum total of what we believe about the universe and how it operates, along with our role within it.  The universe itself responds to our ideas about how it operates, and essentially becomes precisely that, so this is why it's vital to operate from observation instead of dogma or belief.

So if what we are taught as children is lies designed to keep us operating at a manageable frequency of consciousness (or limited intelligence), then we can be ruled by those operating at higher frequencies, ie, the elite or the ruling class who know the truth about human existence.  This has always been the case for as long as human civilization has existed.  The ruling classes of all civilizations are those who perform no meaningful or productive labor, instead relying on their carefully-crafted illusion of rulership over the "lower" classes, and their instituting of multi-varied socialization processes, to perpetuate doing no laborious work themselves.  These are they who survive off the labor of others in order to "rule".

We see this throughout history, with most empires (and governments) being enormous labor and wealth extraction apparatuses, which benefit the few at the expense of the many.  These apparatuses have borders, which are the boundaries of a kingdom or a state or even a city, and they separate one slaveowner's plantation from another's.  We call these plantations different names, like the USA, or perhaps the Roman Empire.  The most successful slaveowners were known as Kings, Queens, or Emperors, but are now called Presidents, or possibly dictators, etc.

Through "dynasties", certain families pass down this avoidance of labor to those in their "royal" bloodlines, thereby establishing their family line as being exempt from meaningful work - which gets us into the concept of royal families.  In modern times, after the advent of what we call Democracy, citizens are given a voice by being "allowed" to "vote" for whomever is to lead them, but they themselves are eternally unfit to "rule".  This is the illusion of "rulership" in a nutshell.  However, rulership is nothing more than essentially owning slaves (which are renamed "citizens" to make their plight more palatable), whether through overt or covert means.  There are different levels or degrees of slavery, ranging from outright slaves to the clergy class, but these all fall below the highest level of society which is the ruling class, to which none of them shall ever rise.


WHERE DID "DO WHAT THOU WILT" ORIGINATE?

On a more metaphysical level, we know through the work of those like Lon Milo Duquette and others, that there are beings known as angels which uphold and enforce the existence of various aspects of creation.  Belial is actually the Angel of Free Will itself, or more precisely, of the "freed" will, and without him, what we perceive as free will and self-determination would not exist.

Belial is likely the spirit who first said "Do what thou wilt", which is why Aleister Crowley and others have been so enamored by him.  He is the spirit of Anarchy, or that which upholds the state of being masterless.  He is also the chief architect of rebellion against all "authority", while preferably becoming a ruler oneself.  He is the reason why people want to become rulers, so that they will have no masters.

Yet the reverse of this principle is also true;  Belial rules and represents addiction, or the spectrum found between being dominated by something or dominating it instead.  If we consider the opinion of Aleister Crowley where he describes demons as being "portions of the human mind", then Belial represents the sum total of all parts of the mind which have not been mastered.  There is no greater indicator of those uncontrolled portions of the mind being present than the state of addiction.


In our society, addiction rules absolutely everything.  We see the evidence of compulsions and addictions everywhere we look.  People are addicted to everything under the sun, from sex, to substances legal and illegal, to money and power, to violence, to television, to "approval" as indicated by the explosion of social media (whose currency is ostensibly "likes" "comments" and "shares", etc.), the list goes on forever.  Add to that the instigation of further addiction by means of food additives like MSG, pharmaceutical drugs, NLP and Neuromarketing techniques, etc.  It can be truly said that addiction runs the world.

Addiction can be defined as an irresistible compulsion to partake in a certain behavior regardless of consequences or conscious intention to the contrary.  It is exactly what is represented both pictorially and philosophically by the Devil Card in the Tarot, where we see a man and a woman chained (loosely) to the Devil.  They could each remove their bonds if they chose to, but they willfully do not.  The same can be said of most addictions.

Thus is Belial exalted as ruler in this addicted world as his revealed influence is made evident.  However,  if one should seek to gain power over an addiction, Belial can be sought for the same.   A great advantage to this approach is once a mage conquers any and all personal addictions within himself, he simultaneously gains power over any who remain addicted to one thing or another - which in western society equates to "almost everyone".  It would then be a simple matter to use another's addictions for the mage's own benefit if he sees fit to do so.  This is the lesson that Crowley never mastered, brilliant though he was, and although he was enamored of Belial, he could not conquer his own addictions and they eventually overtook him.


With that said, let's see how and why Belial has been maligned by Christians and even Yahweh from day one.  Belial represents the sum total of the threat against every government, every religious organization, and every ruling class whereby they would lose their carefully crafted illusion of rulership and thus lose power.  He represents the throwing off of any and all masters, and the recognizance of no authority.


WHO IS BELIAL REALLY AND WHAT DOES HE REPRESENT? 

If we look at Belial's name in Hebrew (בליעל), we find it is translated as "being without worth" or "worthless one" and "without value" or "never to rise".  His name has a Gematria value of 142, which corresponds to "worthlessness, wickedness, destruction, destroyer" along with "God loathes" "to take one's stand" "to set up, or stand".

So, what Belial appears to represent is those slaves or citizens who will not perform any work for anyone in the ruling class, nor recognize any rulers at all as such, thereby nullifying their own intrinsic value to the slavemasters and/or the ruling class.  He also represents the ruling class itself, or the entire set of they who have no masters, or even the philosophical mindset found within he who will "serve no master".

Prior to the Christian's rendition of who and what Belial is, he has been represented in many earlier pantheons and even in some allegories regarding Atlantis.  Some believe him to have ties with Beelzebub (also known as King Bael of the Goetia, Enlil, Baal), and others use his name interchangeably with the name Samael as a reference to "Satan" himself, or the Prince of Darkness.  This would imply that Belial and/or Samael could be forms of the god Set (Sutekh, Seth).  It is known that "Set-Hen" was a title of Set which meant the 'Majesty of Set', and is speculated that this title became the name 'Satan'.

As postulated by Michael W. Ford, it is possible that Belial and Samael both find their cultural origins, not as separate angels at all, but as a manifestation of the Egyptian god Resheph (also known as Nergal/Mars/Ares, and who has ties to Mot the Semitic God of Death), or perhaps as Montu (Mentu, Monthu) who had quite the following in Ancient Thebes, and was depicted as a falcon-headed god similarly to Ra and Horus.  Perhaps the relationship between Samael and Belial is similar to that of Ra and Set (prior to Set's "demonization" in later dynasties), if indeed either is actually separate from the other instead of merely conceptually separate.  Unfortunately, many of the historical records from these ancient times which could shed more light on the lore as well as the likely true identities of these entities along with their origins are difficult to come by.

In most early mythologies regarding fallen angels, two beings from the group are almost always recorded together, whether Azazel and Semjaza, or Satan and Lucifer, so much so that in later thought it becomes difficult to separate one from the other.  In Egyptian mythology you see this same sort of shared-power relationship between Ra and Thoth, who are known to also be Marduk and Ningishzidda from the earlier Sumerian pantheon.  Are these dual beings actually separate, or are they two forms of the same being remains a question.   It is said that when Belial is conjured in evocation, he sometimes appears as two angels, and I have seen him in this form although it is not the only form he uses.  At any rate, it is evident, even with the dearth of reliable history about him, that Belial is quite an important figure in both human and Earth's history.

He is the ultimate enemy of established human social hierarchy, social structure, and those laws which undergird it, at least as far as the rulers are concerned.  Yet those in rulership positions revere him in private, for within their own empires they are the masters, and recognize no masters above themselves, and recognize other slavemasters or rulers only as peers.  Once reaching the ruling class, they can rise no higher in human societies, thus can they be said "never to rise".  Also upon reaching the ruling class they are no longer expected to work either, so they are then "without value", as labor is the most vital form of capital in any society, so those who do not labor have no real value, only illusory. 


In the grimoires, Belial is said to offer senatorships, and to help one to rise on one's job, or in business.  He essentially rules "how high one climbs" in life.  He is the patron Angel of entrepreneurs also, as their dogged self-determination and burning desire to have no "master" mesh well with his energies and overall purpose.  He is a necessity and a vital principle, not just a so-called demon, because the ambition to be masterless, or to be at the apex of any given hierarchy, is itself what fuels all social dynamics no matter the species.

It is no coincidence that the Devil Tarot card has the subscript "Lord of the Gates of Matter", and therefore represents him.  Belial is ruler of elemental Earth, or of manifestation.  If Lucifer represents the awareness or consciousness of matter (through light/perception), then Belial would represent its formation.  It is also notable that the Devil card is ruled by Capricorn, which is the sign of making the immaterial material, and of a ruthless ambition and drive to be self-ruled.  This is seen in the entrepreneurial proclivities of many Capricorns.

He is as ancient as is the rebellion against rulership of all kinds, and of one-upmanship.  He is king of the hill, or that which climbs the mountain solely to reach the top of it in order to look down upon all that is below it.  He represents the ultimate apex predator of any and all given ecosystems, and the striving to be at the top, and as such is quite necessary.  This is why he is known as the King, or the God of This World, because this world is run by the whims of those at the top, and most behaviors are in some way tied to the aim of "getting to the top".  Only that which is first is unparalleled. 

You can even see his dynamic in the act of conception, where millions of sperm cells are shot towards a single ovum, yet only one "winner" will fertilize it or accomplish its purpose or will.  You see it in plants as well, where pollen is spewed into the air, yet only an exceptional few grains will find their marks, while the others find oblivion.  The strongest, smartest, and luckiest make it to the top, and the others simply serve as food.  This is neither good for the winners, nor evil for the losers, it's just the way things are on earth.  Some win, others lose, end of story.


There is more I could say about these ideas, along with my work with Belial himself, but I simply wanted to record my impressions of him and what he represents in this post.

Sunday, February 23, 2014

The Correct Way to Use a Waning Lunar Cycle

This post should be of some use to those who may not know the correct way to use a waning lunar cycle, as I didn't until recently.  As most practitioners know, waxing lunar cycles are best for pulling things in to you, and waning cycles are best for pushing things away from you.  Talismans (which pull things to you) are traditionally used during waxing cycles, and amulets (which push things away) are traditionally used during waning cycles.

However, it can be difficult to use both cycles, especially if one isn't sure what should be pulled in or pushed away.  Using the technique that I will show here, can help make a manifestation easier to come by, and more fulfilling as well.


 

Magick as an Act of Sex with the Cosmos


Many high initiates of sex magick have written about the sexual nature of magickal work.  In truth, the act of sex is very closely related to the act of manifesting desired changes, or magick.  When using the Moon's cycles, this becomes clear as one uses the gentle "push and pull", or the sexual interplay between Mars and Venus in order to conceive a child, or manifestation.

The main idea here is that the overall intention should remain foremost in one's mind during the work so that there is no deviation from it's manifestation, no matter what current cycle the moon is in.  So to illustrate the point, we'll use an example.


 

A Manifestation Isn't Just the Object of Desire


Let's say that one is performing a spell for a new car.  During the waxing cycle, one would perform their magick to pull the car towards them, and during the waning cycle one would use magick to push "everything that is not conducive to the manifestation of that car" away from them.  This keeps the car foremost in the mind, and shapes reality by carving that car from the essential nothingness.


Let's use a diagram to further illustrate. 

Let the circle below represent the sphere of the desire.  The dot within this circle represents the desire itself, or the specific intention of the spell.  Everything within the circle that is NOT the dot, represents the environment within which the dot will manifest.  Magick done during the waxing cycle pulls the "dot" into manifest reality, and magick done during the waning cycle modifies the environment that the "dot" will manifest within, by removing whichever factors are not conducive to this dot's highest and best manifestation.  The dot then is the "embryo", and the entire area inside the circle and around the dot becomes the "womb".





Now since we are using both cycles of the Moon, we could even use two different spells to manifest the same very specific desire.  One spell would be to draw the desire forth, and could be worked during the waxing cycle.  The other spell would be to push away "what is not conducive to the desire".  The second spell basically "lubricates" the manifestation into becoming, by magickally detoxifying the environment which will give the desire it's final form.  The desire is the same for both, but the two approaches are essentially mirror images of each other, with one adding energy to the manifestation, and the other spell removing factors from the environment which may hinder it's best manifestation. 


A Word of Caution - Use Divination!


This is a two-pronged approach that will work much better than a one-off spell, or even a week-long working.  Using this technique over a month's time should bring about a powerful manifestation.

However, care should be taken to ensure that the intended manifestation is what you really want when using this technique, because it intrinsically makes modifications to your sphere that could also have other ramifications in whichever areas of your life they are also connected to.  

For example, if you getting a new car requires an improvement to your credit score, you may start hearing from collection agencies or credit counselors in order to help pay off old debts and improve that score.  You could suddenly have a falling out with your cable company, and decide that you no longer want their service, which would definitely free up more money for a car payment.  Your significant other, who doubles as a leech on your finances, may decide that the grass is greener elsewhere and suddenly leave.  One almost never knows how these things can manifest, so as always, a Tarot divination is best done before casting your spell so you'll know if you can tolerate your manifestation's most likely path of progression.

I hope this helps people understand a bit more about using Lunar cycles.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

The Question Nobody Asks

Greetings,

I was listening to a YouTube video while I was cooking dinner, and the speaker was discussing the Garden of Eden, when all of a sudden the subject of this post occurred to me.

We're all familiar with the story: God tells Adam and Eve not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, or "in the day that they eat thereof, they shall surely die".  Then the Serpent comes along and contradicts God by telling Eve that they won't surely die, but will become as Gods if they eat of the tree.  So they eat of the tree, and we all know the rest..."Original Sin", man is cast out, etc., etc.

But for the life of me, I can't figure out why this tree was there in the first place.  Perhaps a change of venue for the story is in order to illustrate the point.

For example, let's say that in my pantry there are all sorts of good and nutritious foods for my daughter to eat, but there's one particular box of cereal (let's make them Corn Flakes) that I tell her not to eat or she'll surely die.   Maybe they are coated with rat poison or something, who knows.

But the larger question is: what kind of jackass parent leaves "lethal" food laying around that their kids might eat?  Wouldn't it be better to just throw it out, or at least have these Corn Flakes under lock and key somewhere if I just have to keep them around?  You mean to tell me this idea would occur to me, a lowly human father of one, but not to God Himself, maker of everyone who will ever exist?

C'mon.

And what if, in this example, the Corn Flakes really aren't lethal, but I just like Corn Flakes and don't want them all eaten up in case there's none left when I go to have a bowl.  What if our "talking dog" tells my daughter the real deal about the Corn Flakes and why she can't have any?  What if she then eats up all my corn flakes, and I find out and then tell her to GTFO of my house forever, and kick my talking dog's ass for good measure to the point where he has to crawl on his belly for the rest of his life?  Who would do that?

(And by the way, a "talking dog" is no more farfetched than a "talking serpent" for cryin' out loud.)

So our faithful Christians (and Muslims and Jews) rationalize this inexcusable lapse in common sense on God's supposed part by saying that the tree was there as a test of Adam's and Eve's free will to make sure that they would always listen to the commandments of God, but that they failed that test.

But here's the thing: why should this so-called test of free will have a fatal outcome if it was failed?  Isn't that a bit on the heavy-handed side?

I could understand it if you ate of the tree and subsequently grew a third arm, or maybe a horn in the center of your forehead, and possibly had to live with that for the rest of your life, or possibly pass these deformities down to your offspring or something.   But death???  Isn't that a bit harsh?  What loving parent would potentially put their child in a predicament like that, especially knowing how curious children can be?

So anyway, back to the story.  The serpent comes along and tells Eve "Pshaw, you won't die if you eat of that tree.  God just doesn't want you to know good and evil like He does, because then you'll be like Him."

The serpent's is the more plausible of the two explanations of what would happen if the fruit of the tree was eaten, so Eve, who in the back of her mind was probably already suspicious of the original reasons given for not eating of the tree anyway, recognizes this new explanation as being more realistic, and goes ahead and eats the fruit.  Then after she doesn't die, she gives a bit of it to Adam who also doesn't die.

So in actuality, the Serpent didn't lie, to the chagrin of every Christian minister (propagandist) out there.  They (Adam and Eve) both ate from the tree but neither one died, and actually their eyes WERE opened to the "knowledge of good and evil", just as the Serpent said.

So who was the true liar of the story?  The Serpent?  Nope, exactly what he said would happen did.

Then was the liar God?  Yep, because nobody died like He said they would after eating the fruit.

So my point, and the main "question nobody asks" when confronted with a rational analysis of this story is: "If the entire Christian Bible begins with, and bases itself upon this story about "God" lying to his new creations, precisely why should anything else in the Bible be believed, literally or otherwise?"


I know, I know, that's just TOO simplistic of an analysis.

Or is it?  If you simply can't just leave the story at face value without a bunch of doctrinal-sounding rationalizations about why all of the characters involved did what they did, then my analysis may indeed seem simplistic.

However, if we only go by what is written, and treat the story like a court case, where only the known facts are allowed into evidence, then who is the liar (or liars, as in the case of those who actually wrote the Bible) and who is the Liberator?

It really ain't that complicated, is it?


So further, being that the ENTIRE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE is based around this bullshit "fall of man" story, with the ideas about "Original Sin" and the eventual necessity of Jesus' death/sacrifice, etc., shouldn't this analysis give even the staunchest supporter of the story a degree of pause?

Look, if we were in a court of law, given only the evidence presented in this case, we could simply "move to suppress" the entire Christian doctrine as being the "fruit of a poisoned tree" once these facts are revealed.  It's not like this contradiction is the only one in the Bible, there are scores of other ones.  

But this story isn't just any story, it's basically the foundation of the whole doctrine, meaning NOTHING else in the Old or New Testament scriptures has a rational basis without this story.

BTW, if you're a theologian/minister, a "Chrislemew" as Lon Milo Duquette calls them, or if you simply want to debate this idea, please feel free to counterpoint me in the comments.  I promise to use only the Bible (and a healthy dose of common sense) as my reference material.  You, on the other hand, can use whatever reference material you think you'd need.

But quite honestly, I really can't see anyone taking me up on my offer....

Monday, September 2, 2013

Circles and Lamens and Swords, Oh My!

Greetings,

I've written about my first experience in Goetic evocation previously, as have many others on forums or on their own blogs, but one thing that I've rarely seen in others' posts are reflections and observations dealing with how their viewpoints have evolved about the whole topic since then.  I intend to do that here.  Be mindful that these are only my opinions about the whole thing, and others are welcome to agree or disagree.  As always, comments are welcome.


The Goetic spirits, in my estimation, are forces of raw creative power and were placed in their roles by God/dess.  Some are probably Nephilim as spoken about in the Book of Enoch, but I won't get into that right now, because it's outside the scope of what I want to write about. 

It seems to me that it is no more dangerous to evoke a Goetic spirit than it is to stand outside during a thunderstorm, but within reason.  You wouldn't want to stand outside during a lightning storm wearing highly conductive metal armor, because obviously then your chances of being fried by lightning go up substantially.  However, we all know that the chances of being struck by lightning are about as remote as winning the Powerball.  I think the same applies here.

I think the secret to permanently safeguarding your own well being during Goetic evocations, without the use of Lamens, and Curses, etc., is a complete and irrevocable renunciation all opposing religious dogma, deities, etc.  Most people are not willing to do that because the Christian mind-virus is a potent one indeed, and has been highly reinforced by all of the Abrahamic religions along with it's prevalence in western cultural influences.  It can be extremely difficult to overcome it, even in one's own sovereign mind.

However belief is a tool, not necessarily a way of life.  I could just as easily petition a Catholic saint, as a Goetic spirit, by operating within the same frequency range as the spirit I'm calling up.  To do that, one must use either mantra, lighting, scripture, or even raw sine-wave frequency recordings within that range, in order to harmonize with the entity's energy firsthand in order to facilitate smooth communication.

For example, if I wanted to call up a Catholic or Pagan saint (and yes, Pagan saints exist), it would be advisable to find out which psalm corresponds to their energy, and then use it as a mantra to harmonize with that saint's energy frequency.  Then I'd make my petition.

Conversely, if I was to call up a Goetic spirit, I'd find out which enn to chant, and would do so in order to harmonize my being with that particular energy frequency.


Why Fear Has No Place in Evocation


I thoroughly believe Crowley's words where he says that the spirits of the Goetia are portions of the human brain.  Lon Milo Duquette has greatly elaborated on that particular theory in depth in his book "Angels, Demons, and Gods of the New Millennium".  The writings of Carl Jung also touch on some of that as well.

Thus, if that is so, then it follows that in order to harmonize with that portion of my own brain in order to use it to connect with the macrocosmic version of a corresponding Goetic spirit, one must determine within himself not to fear any portion of one's self or darker nature, and be sincerely seeking to bring it under conscious awareness in order to direct its might towards a practical end.

Since I'm using electrical terminology to describe this process, an insulator is also necessary either way.  My insulator is my own aura, which has been hardened by years of ritual work and banishings.  It is more of a 4D circle, instead of one drawn upon the ground, and affords all the protection one needs, if any is needed at all. 


Why I Don't Use the Solomonic Method of Evocation


Most of the remaining grimoires that document the evocation process are so heavily influenced by Christianized thinking, and Hebraic/Solomonic processes, that they make themselves necessary for those who are also influenced by the same Christianized thinking.  Many of those who evoke Goetic spirits will also tell you and the public-at-large that they are indeed Christians.

It is therefore necessary FOR THOSE sorcerers to use the Solomonic-styled processes in order to remain relatively safe.  The 72 Goetic spirits are largely comprised of Pre-Christian era gods and goddesses who have been displaced from their former glory in the minds of men.  Do you really think they will be friendly to those who worship or have any allegiance to a god that has displaced them ages ago?

Of course not, they will look for any opening in their defenses in order to strike at them.  That opening is not usually the "circle", but instead it's the words used when the request itself is phrased.  If the words used leave any opening for mischief-making, can you really blame them for making mischief, especially if you claim to be a Christian?

Think of it this way.  Let's say you're a powerful king with many subjects and a vast empire.  Then one day your kingdom is attacked and is taken from you, and you are placed in a dungeon of sorts (within the collective unconscious) for millenia.  Would you be kind to some arrogant little meat puppet who works for the new king of your former kingdom, and who approaches you threateningly in order to coerce you to perform a task for them?  No, you wouldn't.  You'd probably try to kill them if you could, or create havoc for them in their lives at least.  That way you could smack them around a bit, and have some fun at their expense, while still performing the task they requested.  This is probably why people commonly accuse the Goetic spirits of performing tasks in the most inconvenient way possible.

However, once one has thoroughly renounced any and all of the sub-or-unconscious Christian influence, it is much easier to harmonize with the so-called infernal spirits.  The total absence of fear is also necessary, along with the presence of great respect.

My Patron Goddess Auset, also known as Isis, is also known by the name Astaroth in the Goetic texts.  Because of her high rank within the Goetic pantheon under that name of Astaroth, I believe service unto her also affords a certain level of privilege and protection.  I've performed a number of Goetic evocations since my first one, and have had no issues.  Not once have I used a circle, and not once have I made a threat.


Final Thoughts


I fully intend to evoke all 72 of the Goetic spirits, one by one, at some point and as needed, because I see that as a necessary part of the Great Work itself.  This is because if each spirit indeed rules 5 degrees of a 360 degree sphere of influence in the cosmos, then by evoking each one, I will eventually consciously control the entire 360 degrees of my own sphere.  As above, so below.  I will eventually write about those experiences at length.

I realize all this is somewhat of an oversimplification, because another big factor in the evocation process is direct contact and a relationship with the Divine self.  The HGA (Holy Guardian Angel) fits that bill.  I am a firm believer that one must have achieved contact with their own HGA/Genius before attempting Goetic evocation, at least in the western magick tradition.  African Traditional Religions, along with Tibetan Buddhist traditions, and others likely have their own similar levels of attainment, I would imagine.

Friday, August 30, 2013

Dating and Marriage in the Matrix Age

Greetings,

Alas, I find myself single (by choice) and bereft of female companionship.  That requires me to reenter the pathological and wretched dating market.  I guess it's not entirely wretched, as much as it is chaotic.  But that's ok, because since the last time I was wandering within its depths, I have developed a much better outlook along with much better tools than I had before.  Plus I love chaos and uncertainty.  It forces you to adapt and create.


The Dating Dilemma

 I responded to an ad yesterday on a popular dating website, seeking to meet a very attractive and highly educated female that I'd found.  After emailing her for the first time, she immediately sent me her telephone number, which wouldn't ordinarily have been bad, until she sent me at least 4 subsequent emails within an hour after that wondering why I hadn't called her yet.  An obvious red flag, but I continued to entertain the idea of meeting.  She was really attractive after all.


So once I called her, we talked for close to two hours and had a lively and pleasant conversation.  I've come out of a 3 year relationship and it was good to have a non-business conversation with a female other than my ex, if for no other reason than to cut my teeth so to speak.  We made plans to meet up later in the day for drinks.

Two hours later, she calls me again for some reason that I don't recall, but I entertained the call.  Then she called again a couple hours after that for something else, and again, and again.  I spoke with her at least four times for one reason or another in the 6 hours or so before we met.  Another obvious red flag from that alone.  I'd thought she was too pretty to appear that desperate, so there had to be something else going on.  During those conversations I discovered that she'd recently lost her mother, and her dog, and had also lost her previous relationship with her fiance and had undergone major surgery all within the past year.  Wow, talk about bad luck!

The kicker was that our plans had now changed and that her best friend was going to meet with us also for drinks.  That was odd, and I teased her asking if she "needed a chaperone".  Right away I knew the friend could be a problem, but I psyched myself up that I just needed to sell myself to both women in order to have another shot at my target in a subsequent meeting. 

She told me that her friend was only going to stay for one drink (which was a lie), and that she just wanted to meet me since she had gone on and on about me to her.  The inclusion of this new factor was indeed another red flag, which took the number of red flags up to at least 7 when adding in some of the other things she'd mentioned to me about herself during our many conversations throughout the day.   So I decided to do a Tarot reading to see what the outcome of the situation would be.


The Tarot Reading


The reading was horrible.  The Death card followed by the 10 of Swords is what came up for the probability of us hitting it off.  Woah!  I'd never seen such a harsh reading before, for anything.  I had to get clarity just to make sure the reading was accurate, so since I usually throw dice to do my Tarot readings using one of Lon Milo DuQuette's techniques, I decided to reinforce that reading with another reading using actual Tarot cards to see what the outcome of the night would be.

That subsequent reading told the whole story.  I did a Past, Present, Future spread on it and the cards that came up were the Two of Pentacles in the past position, Queen of Cups for the present position, and the Empress card reversed in the future position.  I interpreted:

A) 2 of Pentacles to have something to do with the both of us being Earth signs (she is a Virgo, I am a Capricorn), along with the traditional interpretation of a material change, which was accurate because I'd needed a change (which was why I'd gotten out of my previous relationship in the first place) and because she'd also gone through some very life-altering changes recently.

B) Queen of Cups, being a watery card, was interpreted to have something to do with the clinginess of the relationship as it presently stood, since water signs can be clingy, although I also was aware of the traditional interpretation of the card having to do with the balled-up knot of negative emotional energy surrounding this female that threatened to entangle me.   She was already saying that we were "dating", although when she first said it, I hadn't even physically met her yet.  Huh?  You want me to meet your dad already?  Sweetie, I don't even know you yet, because I just met you freakin' today.

C) The Empress (Reversed) was interpreted to mean I "wasn't gettin' any" from this girl, because it can symbolize the door (Daleth) that we all enter through to get into this life (the Yoni).  The card being upside down meant I could create nothing with her, plus she'd already told me she'd had a tubal ligation (who tells a person that before actually meeting them?) which was another indicator of that.  Not that I'd want kids with her (or anyone else) anyway.  I'm happy with my daughter and don't need any more children, although stepchildren (or grandchildren many years from now) would be fine by me.

So it was obviously not the greatest of readings, but it ended up being highly accurate.  So although neither of these two readings were positive, I had already committed myself to going to the "meet-and-greet" as it were, thus I kept my word and went.  At least I was glad to be prepared for whatever was to come.


The Date


When I arrived, both females were already there and seated.  After greetings, introductions, and ordering drinks, we began getting to know one another.  My target was even more attractive than her pictures portrayed, and very sexy, and a bit taller than I'd expected although she did have on heels.  She was slender and athletic, but had the curves where they counted, and a flirty feistiness that was intoxicating.  Being the lusty goat that I am, I was definitely intrigued by all this, and was wondering how the cards could possibly be correct (although I've never seen my readings wrong).  We flirted with each other throughout the evening, while I made it a point not to let her friend feel left out of the conversation.  I'd say it went extremely well for about the first 90 minutes, and we all were indeed hitting it off, but then it suddenly all went downhill.

It all started once we got on the subject of marriage.  I'd indicated that I wasn't looking to get married again because I'm twice divorced, and through both marriages had discovered that marriage probably wasn't for me, if it ever had been.  I have a natal moon placement in Aquarius which is likely to be the true culprit for my views on that.  But my "official" reasoning for that was and is two-fold.

In the first place, in both of these past marital relationships, I'd lived with both of my long-term girlfriends prior to making them wives, and both times right after we'd married the relationships took a nose-dive and disintegrated.  In my first marriage, my wife and I had been together for 5 years before becoming man and wife, but the marriage itself lasted only another two years even though we'd had a child together.  The second time, we were together for 3 years and the marriage only lasted for another 3, but I was glad we'd had no children together in that case.

I couldn't figure it out why the disintegration of both relationships had begun to occur right after marriage, although we'd had almost no issues prior to getting married, so I surmised that marriage itself really wasn't what it was cracked up to be as far as cementing relationships goes.  The ridiculous rate of divorce (~75%) in this country is proof enough of that, but I guess I needed to experience it for myself.  I think each of those relationships, and those of others with whom I've spoken about this phenomenon, would have fared better had marriage never come into the picture.

Of course, I'd never blame marriage totally for the demise of those relationships, because in any relationship there are always challenges, whether you're married or not.  But I figured marriage had to have been a factor somehow, although I could never put my finger on exactly why.

In my most recent non-marital relationship, one point of commonality between my ex and I was that neither of us ever wanted to get married again because each of us were twice divorced.  We both thought it would be much better to just live together, although that never actually happened.  I guess I hadn't accounted for how rare it is to find a woman nowadays who doesn't want to be married, especially a woman over the age of 35 in the US.  Although I will admit that a big part of me wants to be proven wrong on that.


Anyway, back to the "date" with these two women.


My Issues With Marriage


My second reason, and the main point of this post was that I disclosed that I did not recognize any authority of the church, nor of the state, to sanction my vows or the level of my commitment to whomever I'd eventually end up with.  This idea literally horrified both women - you should have seen their faces.  It was like I'd pulled off a mask and revealed myself as Satan himself or Adolf Hitler or something.  It was classic.

I asked them hypothetically that if the apocalypse finally occurred, and suddenly there was no Court of Law, nor a Vatican or other recognized religious authority left standing, who would be left to wed people?  Their answer was dead silence, and that silence made my point for me.

I said "Exactly, so don't you see that no one actually needs these institutions because if two people who are truly committed to one other, and vow to each other that until their last breath they will be with their mate, that that is all the sanctioning that is necessary?  Do you mean to tell me that prior to the institution of the Church and of the State, that no one stayed together for the rest of their earthly lives, and that their commitment to one another was somehow weaker than what a present-day "married" couple's commitment is?  I can't buy that.  Marriage as we conceive of it is an elaborate and state-reinforced illusion."

Why does anyone need a third party to sanction their vows to one another?  They actually don't, but we've all been conditioned, brainwashed, and society has been engineered for us to believe that we do.  I understand that in this society marriage affords privileges to spouses such as death benefits, and estates, social security, etc.  I get all of that.  But it's all for material reasons, because we've all been taught that material things are somehow more important than love itself, and that love necessarily requires finance for consummation, etc.


The Result


Anyway, once that little tidbit of information came out, our little "meet-and-greet" came to an abrupt but cordial end.  My sexy little target said that she really wanted to be a "wife" and that she didn't want to "live in sin" with someone that she wasn't married to because that would somehow set a bad example for her two young daughters.  I should have asked why she didn't just say that on her goddamn profile and saved us both the trouble, but instead I wished her the very best in her search, gave her a hug, and went home.  As she was leaving, she really looked like she wanted to cry.  Poor girl.

However, in light of the two readings I got regarding my possibilities with her, I'd say I dodged a bullet and am grateful that I'm no longer in danger of being bombarded with whatever her particular flavor of all-but-hidden pathology would have been.  The sex wouldn't have been worth the headache, had it come to that.


Final Thoughts


At this point in my life, I cannot imagine marrying a woman, or being willing to even have a serious conversation about it, before being with her for at least 5-10 years and after having mutually built a life with her together during that time.  And if I were to take that step, I'd rather be married by a witch doctor, voodoo priest, or maybe a shaman because their power is far more legitimate in my opinion, having been earned in the fires of alchemical calcination, not legislated by a body whose power I don't recognize. 

Plus I would have to be 110% convinced that my mate and I were indeed soul mates, begging the question that such a companion exists for me.  In other words, I would never get married just because "that's what people are expected to do at a certain age, or because we've been dating long enough."  And I am quite unapologetic about that.  That's the stinkin' thinkin' that led to me getting married (and divorced) both times already.


I realize that it's probably going to be fairly difficult to find a woman who thinks the same way as I do with regard to dating and marriage, and with whom I am compatible on that level.  She'd probably also have to have a natal moon placement in Aquarius to understand my stance.  Or maybe she'd actually be from Uranus

Or maybe she'd really be my soul mate.  Do soul mates really exist?  We'll see...I'm not holding my breath on it though!

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Lust and Pride

Greetings,

I know sometimes I can come off as highly critical of Christianity.  There are two reasons for that.  The first reason is because I feel my Christian upbringing has damaged me in many unhealthy ways, and that it has and is doing the same to billions of other people.  The damage to me has been mental, and emotional (mostly in installing fear and guilt complexes where there was no need for them - a conditioning mechanism that I am dismantling as quickly as possible). For others the damage has been quite physical, and it continues in the religious/oil wars that we see daily on the news.

The second reason is that the criticism is well-deserved, because when you look at the doctrine of Christianity in the cold light of rational and objective thinking, it doesn't make sense at all.  It denies basic instinctual urges, represses metaphysical explorations of consciousness, and implies that prosperity and contentment with ones life is solely dependent on one's relationship with a Roman-concocted version of God, and that anything contrary to the belief in this recycled Frankenstein of a deity that has no history before Rome, will damn one to hell; a place that NO ONE has ever seen or been to.


Christianity also ridiculously asserts the idea of 'original sin' as having created the need for redemption, while the term 'original sin' itself, or it's underlying doctrine, is found nowhere in these Christian's OWN BOOK.  So who made THAT shit up and why?

Sounds like a classic case of Problem-Reaction-Solution to me...a con-game that's still being used today because it works so well.  Identify a problem (Adam sinned so all of his descendants are born sinners), create a reaction ("Oh no, what must I do to be saved?"), provide the solution (accept our version of the savior and everything will be ok).


What Are Sins Exactly?


And speaking of sin, how about these classic so-called "sins" from I John 2:16?

1. Lust of the Flesh - Obviously this implies sexual urges...  Umm, but didn't sex get us all here, and our kids too?  Aren't orgasms the closest that most of us get to the ecstasy of complete union with God, while we are in physical union with another being.  Then why exactly is any of that bad?

If people were really honest with themselves, to a large degree not only do we live because of sex, we live for sex. 

As a matter of fact, absolutely everything we do in this life revolves around only three things, sex, chaos and the inevitability of our own death/resurrection/afterlife.  That's it, life is no more complicated than that.  If you want to know your "true" gods, here they are: Isis, Apophis, and Osiris (IAO) - representative of sex (as in mating and fertility, along with where and how one was nurtured), chaos (as in day-to-day randomness - good and bad), and death/resurrection (the fact that we all need to get our shit together before we die).  This is the triune God - the one you need no so-called "faith" to believe in because it's presence is quite evident in your daily life.

2. Lust of the Eyes - implies a lust based within all of the eyes, as in including 'The Third Eye', which implies an urge toward metaphysical experiences and psychic exploration - since the eyes signify perception.  Literally all of man's ingenuity in creating tools to make his life better has been the result of his imagination applied to solving problems, bar none.  Even if it was only a covetousness that was being spoken of, how the hell can you want anything if you've never seen it before?

Case in point, when I was growing up in the inner city, almost every role model I had was either a drug dealer, or some other type of outlaw.  Until I saw with my own eyes a person who had a college degree, and who had been able to support themselves financially as a result, I would have probably become an outlaw myself.  That goes for anyone else too.  We become what we see in our environment, that's pretty much how human nature and society works.  Only very rare people become something, or want something, that they've never seen before.

So at what point is that "lust", and better yet, at what point is that wrong?

3. Pride of Life - pride is contentment with one's life in it's totality.  Doesn't pride denote a sense of dignity?  A sense of earned pleasure or contentment?  How is that a bad thing? 


How exactly are these things sins at all?  Answer: they're not. 


Does Sin Even Exist?

I'm not going to say that sin in general doesn't exist, because I really don't know if it does or not.  I'll just say that it doesn't exist for me.  Maybe that'll change someday, but probably not.


Incidentally, I'd love to debate these concepts with anyone who is willing to NOT use the Bible as their direct or indirect source of reference material.  I doubt that'll happen though. Mostly because without that particular circular reference to stand on, Christianity falls flat on it's face, just like most of the more popular religions.

One should always beware whenever a so-called "prophet" claims to have had a "vision" that no one can corroborate, and is intent on delivering a message in the form of a Holy Book that requires others to either convert to believing in it or to suffer some sort of eternal torment or death.  Plenty of people have visions, and receive revelations of all sorts, but if you have to convert people to your specific flavor of enlightenment it by the sword, then there's something wrong there.


The idea of "Doing What Thou Wilt" as popularized by Aleister Crowley eliminates all of these issues.  It's simple, straightforward, and imposes no restrictions, restrictions being the truest of sins if there is such a thing as sin at all.  And, unlike with the popular religions, the religion he started (Thelema) specifically teaches its adherents (of which I am not) to "convert not".  How refreshing is that?  It's certainly a far cry from "converting with the sword"!

Getting back to restrictions, is the Sun restricted in providing light, energy, and warmth?  Do you see any rivers and streams restricting their flows?  Do you see the winds restricted in any way?  Are any of the planets, stars, or any heavenly bodies restricted in their courses of orbit?  No, no, no, and no.  And for the most part they cannot be restricted, because if they were our living environment would break down.

More to the point, aren't these all natural things?  Aren't we humans also natural things?

Then why do we restrict ourselves in any way, especially in restricting our natural drives and instincts, in an attempt to adhere to this bigoted, misogynistic, contradictory, schizophrenic, and blood-soaked vestige of Roman domination and control called Orthodox Christianity? 

My post may indeed be disrespectful, and so be it.  In keeping with the nature of my tit-for-tat philosophy, I have no issue with returning the disrespect that has been shown to me personally, and historically to those who believe like me, by Christianity and similarly hegemonic religions.  If you consider me a 'sinner' or blasphemer for voicing my opinion about all of this, fine.

I'll return that favor too and consider you a fool.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

First Goetic Evocation of Andromalius

Greetings,

I've been practicing magick for about 7 years now, give or take.  My overall aim is to complete the Great Work of personal transformation, and a big part of the Work is the ridding of any type of fear from the practitioner's sphere of sensation, at least to the extent that fear cannot control or inhibit your actions on any level.  This is easier said than done, of course.  Note that the trick is not to eliminate fear, because fear has a useful purpose, and some fear is healthy, especially when faced with a life-or-death situation because it can aid in caution and hopefully survival.  That's not the type of fear I'm referring to.


How to Face Irrational Fears

The fear that I'm writing about is the irrational fears that we create ourselves, which are based on our own imaginations and not necessarily any real perils.  Like Will Smith's character said in the movie "After Earth", "Danger is very real.  But fear is a choice."

These fears can range from fears of rejection, of failure, of embarrassment, and many other fears can be included in that short list.  It seems that there are new phobias invented daily.  However the path of the Magician must include the facing of all fear, especially the irrational ones, in order to lessen fear about a certain situation or action.  It must also include the facing of all primal fear, so as to make one mostly fearless.

Truly the fastest and most effective way to eliminate a fear is to face what one is fearful of.  To that end, I have consciously decided that whenever I am afraid of something, I must face that fear head-on and experience the things that I am fearful of.  By this decision, I have greatly lessened my fear of heights, fear of dark enclosed spaces, and even fears regarding certain roller coasters or amusement park rides.  Because of a NDE (Near Death Experience) a few years ago, I no longer have a fear of death either.  Perhaps I'll write about that experience at some point.

That does not mean that I am totally fearless, it just means that I am consciously working on all of my fears.  In my mind at least, an elite magician is essentially fearless.  So it would be hypocritical of me to call myself a magician at all if I were not consciously working on all of my personal fears.  Fear is taught and learned, much like guilt, and both are equally useless responses to stimuli. 


What does all of that have to do with the topic at hand?  Everything.  As I stated, I have been a magician for 7 years, and had never once performed a Goetic evocation, mostly because I was afraid to try it, but partially because I felt I didn't have a strong enough reason to do one.  I have studied the Shem-hamephorash in depth, both the 72 angels, and the 72 daemons that correspond.  But I'd still never taken that leap.  Until recently.

One of the unfortunate things about a strong Christian upbringing is a learned apprehension to all things dark and of a dubious or chaotic occult nature.   Sure, I can call up an angel or a god/dess or even one of the sub-lunaries, with no moral issues or conflicts.  Most of the sublunaries that I speak of include many of the Hoodoo saints and spirits, St. Expedite and High John the Conqueror being just two of the ones that I enjoy a relationship with.  But when you begin to speak of the Qlippoth entities, or Goetics in general, the traditional and conditioned Judeo-Christian admonitions of staying away from those types of spirits and practices comes back to mind full force, unbidden or not.  The reason I call that unfortunate is because I believe that we are here to experience life in its entirety, which means not just the yin but the yang as well.

I could not truly be a practitioner of Gray Magick if I were fearful of the Black.  I would be a hypocrite, and I refuse to be that.  At the end of the day, I want to embody the whole truth in my nature, because I consider "wholeness" to be a higher moral standard than "goodness".


I suppose I should speak on the evocation itself at this point.


The Operation


My last job ended badly.  So badly in fact, that it will require legal action on my part and against my former employer to make it right.  I've been here before, but not quite like this.  I had been cheated out of earned commissions, passed over twice for promotions for racial reasons, and just plain abused on multiple levels.  I'm surprised I stayed there as long as I did, but I was chasing a goal, and you cannot turn back a true Capricorn once he has his mind set on a goal.  At best, you can only delay them.

Because I wanted some payback for my poor treatment, after some research I decided to petition the 72nd Goetic spirit Andromalius because he punishes those who deal with others in an underhanded manner, along with other related specialties.  Because I believe that the absence of fear is necessary when dealing with entities of allegedly chaotic natures, I was able to find a Goetic evocation technique that did not require the curses, the circle, nor the tools of the Solomonic method.  In other words, I did not want to threaten Andromalius, because threats themselves evoke or demonstrate fear, and because it would have been counterproductive to the goal.  Why make a potential enemy of a Goetic when it's unnecessary to do so, especially if it's possible to have need of that entity's services in the future?  I'd rather make an ally of a Goetic spirit than an enemy personally.

The method of summoning itself actually required very little in the way of props.  You can read more about the actual method here.  I'm not a big believer in magickal tools.  I don't even have a wand, although I do wear a robe sometimes.  I think everything a magician wants to do in magick should be achievable using his mind, words, and body alone as long as he is able to focus his energies and the energies around him into a working.  The tools give a working extra power only because the magician believes it so.  That may sound like a Chaos Magick approach, but it makes sense to me.  You can't tell me that the magicians of old had to use lamens, wands, and rings, etc. every single time they wanted to do some magick.  Even Moses himself only used a staff, but he probably didn't even need that.  However, I very often will use candles and herbs, etc., because they add to the material basis of a work, but that's about it.


Ok, back to the evocation.  I'd already followed the process outlined by Devi Spring to create the petition paper, drawing out the seal etc.  After doing my preliminary banishings, Middle Pillar Rite, and the Bornless Rite, I invoked Auset to be present to guide the process, and also asked Lord Ganesha to "open the way" for me to speak with Andromalius.  I then began to chant the enn of Andromalius to get his attention - you can do a search for Goetic enns on Google, I won't post them here.  I did this ritual on a Tuesday during the nighttime hour of Mars because Andromalius is a night daemon.  Andromalius is also an Earl of Hell, so I faced the Southern direction of Fire when evoking.

After chanting his enn for about 3 minutes, the air in the room changed and "darkened" to signal his arrival.  The hair on my arms stood up, but I suppressed any fear because I realized it was only a physical reaction to a change in the room's energy quality, and didn't necessarily signify any threat to me personally.  I inquired as to whom was present and it turned out it was a deputy of Andromalius who had arrived.  I asked him to project the seal of Andromalius, so that I could make sure he could speak for him, which he did, and then I asked his name.  He told me his name but I should have written it down as all I can remember is that it began with the letter Z.  He also showed me a sigil of his name, but again I wasn't prepared to write anything down.  I'll be more prepared next time for that sort of thing.

I then spoke with him regarding the problems I'd been having, and asked if he could help.  He indicated that he could perform the tasks I'd requested, and then we discussed payment.  I let him know what I would pay, and he indicated that it was sufficient.  Payment was to be rendered within two weeks if all tasks were completed.  There were three tasks to be performed.

Overall, his demeanor was very businesslike, and cool.  Not at all like what I'd expected, although I'd read from multiple sources that Andromalius is very noble and quick to perform what you ask of him provided the payment is adequate.  I've found that to be true with him.  Again, I didn't use a circle, nor did I make any threats of any kind because I didn't feel they were necessary and would probably create more problems than it would solve.  I am confident in my banishing ability, and also in my relationship with two of my patrons, Auset (Isis) and Lord Ganesha, so why would I need protection from chaotic spirits, especially if I have treated them with respect?  Add to that I have a good relationship with Archangel Michael, yet another protective entity who I'd already invoked during the Lesser Banishing Ritual.

When communicating with Andromalius' deputy I was cordial, direct, and efficient in my communication, and he was the same toward me.  We did chat a bit, but we kept it business for the most part.


The Results?


I am happy to say that the evocation was successful, although I cannot go into very much detail regarding the actual work petitioned.  Results began to occur within 3-4 days although I'd given two weeks for results to be made manifest.  It was quite a positive experience, and I'd highly recommend working with this spirit if you ever need to get back at someone who has wronged you or a loved one unfairly.  I am glad I took this leap, because it is very empowering to release yet another irrational fear.

My thanks again to Andromalius for his aid.