I have been slacking on these again and the questions have been building up. So it’s time for another round of questions from my inbox! 🙂
I have a question concerning Meditation, daily practise and Circle. I am a beginner at Daemonolatry and I am reading The Complete Book of Demonolatry and want to do the homework from Lesson Two. It is a meditation where you choose four Deamons (for Alter-Ego, elemental, image-side and strong hidden emotions) and there you write that it is ok not to build an elemental circle . Also on your blog Daily practise you can do a Prayer with a Prayer Cord and I do not read anything about a circle. But now I am a little bit confused, mix things up. Because when I read the Blog article Why we Balance. It seems like it is always necessary to construct an elemental circle not only out of respect for the Daemons (the book) but also to keep yourself in balance. So my question is : when I do a meditation like above and/or a prayer is it better to build an elemental circle first?
I recommend all beginners use the circle because it creates a balanced space in which to work to help keep YOU balanced as well as making things more comfortable for your Daemonic guests. But as with any rule there’s always an exception. IF you are just praying and you’re not actually working DIRECTLY with the Daemonic energy (as with prayer), the circle isn’t necessary because prayer is unlikely to imbalance you. The other exception is if you’re experienced and already know how a particular Daemonic force alchemizes with you, then a balanced ritual space may not be necessary. But a lot of beginners haven’t developed their discernment and skills to that level yet. So we preach the elemental circle with everyone from pre-initiate to grade three initiates.
Why does pre-initiate training require so much work? Is it really necessary?
I can’t help but notice I received this question from someone who was previously participating in an online pre-initiate course of study, which, IMHO, is extremely lax compared to the pre-initiate training most traditional/generational groups put their pre-initiates through. So the thing about most Trad/Gen groups is a lot of our pre-initiates are under the age of eighteen. I was lucky in that I fell in with a group of Trad/Gen Daemonolaters (who had a strong pre-initiate program) when I was only sixteen. I was in pre-initiate study for almost a full two years before being initiated (because you’re not allowed to initiate until you’re eighteen) and the pre-initiate work most online groups have you do is cakewalk compared to a real world group. A real world group requires attendance at weekly study groups, weekly reading and magickal work assignments/homework, regular non-ritual convocations for occult discussion, and more.
Thinking back to some of the assignments I was given, I often wonder if that’s something I would have had time for later in life. One of the advantages of being young while in pre-initiate is that you have time to study, get together weekly with a group, and so on. As an adult – finding that kind of time becomes a LOT harder, which is why the online course of study you’re talking about is about 1/4 the work of a standard in person pre-initiate program. Recently, our only Trad/Gen online group has discussed revising its pre-initiate program to include a foundational core of study, too.
So, traditionally, a basic pre-initate Daemonolatry course includes:
- The core Trad/Gen Daemonolatry philosophies, precepts, and codes of conduct.
- Hermetic philosophy
- Correspondences of Magick (including colors, stones, herbs, planetary, astrological,elemental, magickal timing etc…)
- Basic alchemical principles.
- Basic magickal techniques and types.
- Basic Gematria
- Basic astrology.
- Basic symbols and their meanings and significance.
- Correspondences of Daemons
- Daemonic Sigils and their usage.
- Magickal Alphabets
- Cleansings/Banishings
- Discernment
- Discussions about the great work.
- Basic divination methods, practices, and usage. Usually includes scrying (mirror/crystal/fire/smoke/water), dousing, and oftentimes basic tarot)
- Meditation (and lots of it)
- Energy Work (and lots of it, including servitor/thought form creation)
- Astral Work (including astral temple construction)
- Introduction to channeling.
- Ritual tools.
- Setting up a home temple.
- Basic Ritual Elements and types.
- Basic Ritual Construct.
- Invocation/Evocation + Vibration.
- Basic working with Daemons
- And many more miscellaneous bits and pieces the beginning magician needs to know.
It also includes not only a basic Daemonolatry reading list, but also a reading list with a good number of foundational magickal texts. One such reading list is included in our library.
So if you thought an online’s program of basic Daemonolatry was hard, thank goodness you never had real pre-initiate training (which requires you take it for at least a year before you can be initiated, and then to expand on that body of *basic* knowledge for another year or three after that with tests for proficiency) before moving into more specialized areas of interest to study deeper, or being able to move out of the initiate degrees. You would have hated it and never made it through. And yes – it’s all very necessary to learn if you ever want to be an adept Daemonolatry magician.
How many Matrons/Patrons should I have?
ONE. You only get ONE Matron OR ONE Patron. You don’t choose both a patron and a matron. You don’t choose multiple. JUST ONE – if you are a Trad/Gen Daemonolater. The whole idea of choosing multiple Matrons/Patrons comes from the anything goes 2010- forward internet interpretation of Daemonolatry. Not from the traditional groups. We have one. Just one, no more than that. The rest of the Daemons we work with have different functions and purposes.
That’s it for this edition! I hope it finds you all healthy and safe.
From the study list above, I am weak in many areas. I believe it takes years to be an adept and functional Daemonolater!! Thanks for the info!!
It really does, and you never learn everything. The more you learn, the more you realize what there is yet to learn. We’re all eternal students on this path. 🙂 But yes, the basics take time to get down, and I think the Trad/Gen way of doing things, where most of your pre-initiate students are between the ages of 14-20, works well because they pick things up faster and don’t have as many hangups or bad habits to unlearn. That’s not to say older adults can’t learn it (some breeze through pre-initiate training because they had ample training in another system that covered foundational work) but others struggle and give up, vying to just continue doing their own thing and making up their own rules instead. And that’s cool. Traditional Daemonolatry isn’t for everyone.
Thanks Stephanie!! I have a fairly good library of your Daemonolatry books along with other occult books, quite a few are landmarks. I have to just sit down and go through many. I have read most of yours and I know where the info is for a lot of my weak areas. I look forward to this!! I have time on my hands. I am not complaining. But thank you for highlighting all the areas one needs to be competent in invoking a daemon. I could probably put together a half way decent ritual with the info I have on hand, BUT discernment is a tricky thing! If I now jumbled up my life by attempting the Kasdeya Rite of Ba’al, at this stage, may not be a good idea!!LOL
Hi. Is there an online course on demonolgy for people who cant travel to groups that teach the above?
So, traditionally, a basic pre-initate Daemonolatry course includes:
The core Trad/Gen Daemonolatry philosophies, precepts, and codes of conduct.
Hermetic philosophy
Correspondences of Magick (including colors, stones, herbs, planetary, astrological,elemental, magickal timing etc…)
Basic alchemical principles.
Basic magickal techniques and types.
Basic Gematria
Basic astrology.
Basic symbols and their meanings and significance.
Correspondences of Daemons
Daemonic Sigils and their usage.
Magickal Alphabets
Cleansings/Banishings
Discernment
Discussions about the great work.
Basic divination methods, practices, and usage. Usually includes scrying (mirror/crystal/fire/smoke/water), dousing, and oftentimes basic tarot)
Meditation (and lots of it)
Energy Work (and lots of it, including servitor/thought form creation)
Astral Work (including astral temple construction)
Introduction to channeling.
Ritual tools.
Setting up a home temple.
Basic Ritual Elements and types.
Basic Ritual Construct.
Invocation/Evocation + Vibration.
Basic working with Daemons
And many more miscellaneous bits and pieces the beginning magician needs to know.
None that I am aware of. You can attempt to join the only Trad/Gen Dem online Daemonolatry Temple, House of Delepitore, but only a small fraction of applicants make it past the application stage (since we’re not like the Christian church – our groups don’t accept everyone who comes to them with an interest – it needs to be a good fit). http://www.daemonolatry.com/
You mentioned earlier that only about 2% of people whose charts you read are natural mediums.
Do they always get in touch with their gift at an early age? Or do you think it’s possible that the ability remains dormant until later in life? Have you ever heard of anyone like that? Or does one just have to accept their mediumship skills are not getting any better if they’re already well into adulthood and have never really “seen” any spirits?
Usually, yes. In my experience, all of the natural mediums I’ve met have stories of seeing and speaking with spirits during their childhood years. I do believe someone who is sensitive, but not sensitive enough to have these kinds of experiences as a child, can train themselves to be more open in adulthood. So it’s not unheard of for someone to hone the skill later in life, but it’s rather rare. If you’ve been practicing for an hour a day for a year and still haven’t gotten anything, then chances are it may just not be a gift you have or will ever have. That’s the reason a lot of magicians will often employ a Seer during their work. They perform the magickal operation, but the Seer channels the spirit or speaks to them in the mirror (or other scrying device).
Hello Stephanie!! I watched your podcast of 2 weeks ago. I loved it. I have a question. You described a hierarchy of spirits- we are at the bottom, above us are Goetic spirits, much higher are Enochian angelic spirits, and above them are god-like spirits. Where did you get this from, or is this from your own observations from your paranormal experiences?
Not only has it been my personal experience that this is true, the idea that different types of spirits exist on different vibrational levels (or spheres) is an intrinsic part of a lot of Western occult thought. So I certainly can’t take credit for the principle. You have centuries of Western magicians to thank for that idea.
Thanks Steph! I read your “Living With the Uninitiated”. Very well written and thought out. This is my take on this. When people come into MY house, I hide NOTHING!! Why? I frankly don’t give a damn what they think! I am very polite. I have had Mormon missionaries and a bishop come over. I show them all of the weird sculptures, demons, monsters, and dinosaurs. They see all the spirit/Ouija boards and occult books. I was in that church for a while for 2 years. I learned more about myself than anything else. I quietly dropped out, when I realized that organized Abrahamic religions wasn’t for me!!The big thing was the control issue. My take on all of this is, if they don’t like what they see, they know where the door is. But I was polite and told them I didn’t look down on theirs, or any other belief system. But it just wasn’t for me.