Beloved Dead – Making an Ancestral Altar

Have you ever been touched by the passing of someone you didn’t know personally?

I was in high school when Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, died. Although I was already a certified geek back then, Roddenberry meant little to me at the time. My friends may have been Trekkies, but phasers couldn’t stand up to lightsabers as far as I was concerned. Star Wars ruled, at least in my opinion, and I probably would’ve given my eye teeth to meet Princess Leia, just like many of the boys of that era.

I was definitely out of my element the night Roddenberry’s death was announced. I’d decided to see how the other half lived and indulge in an evening of “debauchery” at the annual Star Trek social. There I was, surrounded by uniform-clad officers flipping each other Vulcan high-fives and fiddling with their fake ears. I’d been gritting my teeth through a Klingon conversation that had gone on way too long when a man smeared with blue face paint and sporting a pair of Andorian horns mounted the stage. I still remember the hush that fell over the crowd when he announced Roddenberry had died. A lone speaker buzzed, playing no music for what felt like an eternity before a woman began to sob audibly at the back of the hall.

I longed to be anywhere else.

After making sure my friends were okay, I refreshed their drinks and retreated briefly to the washroom. It would be many years before I took any sort of counselor training, and I had no idea how to handle all the feelings suddenly packed into that room. When I returned, the social had started back up again but the party wasn’t quite the same. My friends and I won for our costumes at night, but I’m not sure my date still cared. I didn’t know how to help her process what she was going through, or whose job it even was to do so.

Looking back, I know now that she should have turned to family, a guidance counselor, or clergy member if she needed help dealing with the issue. That’s still what I would suggest now. Moreover, as clergy in training at the Temple of Atem, I hope that the members of my congregation feel comfortable enough to approach me if they suffer a similar loss, regardless if it is a member of their blood family or a family member of the heart. I certainly want to establish that level of trust with them eventually.

So many of us nowadays live estranged from our families of origin—and often with good reason. When a person tells me that they are no longer in in contact with their family, I no longer feel the urge to judge. My judgment will add nothing to the situation for good or ill. If they feel their familial relationships need repaired, then they will eventually seek out a solution. If it isn’t broke, they won’t fix it and won’t seek my help in trying.

Think about how many animals continue to live with their parents after reaching adulthood. While some animals live in large extended families, within these groups social order is usually quite rigid, with every member knowing their role or place. Members cannot step outside that position without altercations occurring. On the other hand, when offspring leave their parents after growing into an adult, they typically assume all the roles their parents once held and then go off on their own… at least in the animal world. In both of these instances, parents and offspring wanting to step into the same position are forced to butt up against each other as competitors for resources and standing.

Why people would believe humans would act any different within our families boggles me. We remain animals, and our baser instincts kicked in whenever we or are resources seem threatened. Of course, what I interpret as the threat may be nothing to you. That said, the world today runs at a breakneck pace which can trigger us to fight for competition when no need for competition actually exists. While watching TV or scrolling through our Facebook feed we are inundated by advertisement trying to convince us that we need products we have never heard of before. Worse yet, our neighbor already has them! The world does not support cooperation as it once did, even among families. It is no wonder that we often seek comfort from outside sources, whether these are friends of the heart or figures we have adopted from television or other media.

Were also told, however, the competition will make a strong, to suck it up, and that we should “never let them see you sweat.” When one of these extended family members dies, we can be unsure how to deal with it. It’s one thing if a close friend passes away. We can attend their wake or funeral, possibly go through old pictures and letters, and maybe even reminisce with others who miss them too. But what about those “friends” that we only know through television or media? What about someone like Gene Roddenberry who affected people but never met most of them?

An actor I liked died last night. I won’t say he was one of my favorites. After all, I never hit that obsession point where I had to look up everything he’d ever done. That could be because John Dunsworth couldn’t be classified as “cute.” In fact, he is best known for playing Mr. Lahey, a frequently disgusting character on Trailer Park Boys. Yet Lahey had recently undergone a redemption of sorts, if such things can be said for any of TPB‘s characters. The show is something of a phenomenon where I live, spawning 11 seasons, three comedy specials, and just as many movies. Almost every character is awful: a complete exaggeration of the people you know if you’ve ever lived on the wrong side of the tracks. They’re always working on a scheme to make a buck, but rarely keeping their heads above water while using each other as life rafts. These characters epitomize broken families of origin that won’t let each other go, and families of the heart that help each other survive.

Finding out Mr. Lahey’s actor had died was like a punch in the gut. No, Mr. Lahey wasn’t real, but I genuinely felt for him. John Dunsworth had portrayed him with great zeal too, literally letting it all hang out for is acting on more than one occasion. He been gloriously gross and heart-breakingly poignant in the role. A true talent that had left my family roaring with laughter more times that I could count. I wanted—needed—to do something to mark his passing in my life.

Since it was my partner that notified me of Dunsworth’s death, I contacted my hubby at work to make sure he was doing okay first. We decided we would pour one out for both John Dunsworth and Mr. Lahey later in the evening, since it seemed in keeping with the style of his character, and that was how we knew the man best. Such a ritual may sound silly, but toasting a fallen comrade and then pouring some of the alcohol into a bowl or directly onto the ground is a time-honored tradition that goes back long past the days of urban street gangs. You can see it across many cultures, from where spirits are offered strong drink in Voodoo and Hoodoo, to the sumbels and blóts of the ancient Norse. The Egyptians in the times of the pyramids and even before also made food and drink offerings to their dead, and their pharaohs were regularly buried with elaborate gifts.

For tonight, it simply seems appropriate to toast the man who portrayed a notorious drunk. In my opinion, appropriateness is the most important thing. We will use hard liquor and speak straight from the heart, no doubt dropping a couple F-bombs as well. If I were wishing a very feminine young lady on her way, none of this would suit at all.  That rite would be far more formal, decorated nicely, and involve white wine. That is not to be stereotypical, but to hopefully sum up the person well. As morbid as it is, you can probably imagine what would be used to toast you and what would be discussed at your wake if you’ve played the game where you ask a friend, “What five items would you place in a pentagram to summon me?” Truthfully, it may be a good thing if we could all be so easily stereotyped and thus remembered by our loved ones.

In this Halloween season, how would you want to be remembered? What five items would you place on your own ancestral altar? With that in mind, I urge you to create an ancestral altar for one of your own beloved dead, whether they be family of blood or family of the heart.

Here’s one way a small ancestral altar to a specific person can be arranged.

Making an Ancestral Altar

sigil deathdemons death demonic demons demonolatry daemonolatry ancestors altarChoose a small table that you can sit or kneel in front of comfortably. Drape it in black cloth. It is fairly easy to find black table cloths and place mats during this season, but this altar does not need to be spooky or foreboding. You can just as easily use a clean, black napkin or hand towel purchased from any department store. If you have none of these things, go with the darkest, most neutral color you have.

Place a picture of your loved one in the center of the altar. You can carefully write their name and place it in the center if you don’t have a picture of them. Alternatively, you could use a ghost autograph using their name or make a sigil out of it using your favorite method. During communion with the Death Daemonic last year at this time, I was granted a sigil and enn that I could use to communicate with my own beloved dead. I was told I could share it.  This can also be placed in the center of an ancestral altar as the focal point. You can see it to the left. You must inset the name of the dead person at the end of the enn if you plan to utilize it.

Set things that the dead would enjoy around the focal point. Add sigils to Eurynomous, Baalberith, and Babael.

On nights you feel so inclined, sit before the altar, burn appropriate incense, and speak to the dead. Leave offerings that they would like. Some people feel it is right to take part in these offerings, while others do not. This can only be decided by you.

Either way, let the lion’s-share of the offerings sit on the altar until the life seems to have been taken from them: usually 24 hours for drink or until food begins to wither. If your home does not permit letting the offering stay on the altar this long, return them respectfully to the earth immediately after the ceremony.

Alternate Rite to Eurynomous

eurynomous death demon rite halloween october demonolatry daemon daemons samhain

It’s only the second of October, but autumn has arrived in full force where I live. Most of the trees have turned, and the leaves dance in lively orange and yellows against the dreary sky. Just a couple of weeks ago, I didn’t need a jacket in the morning. Today, I wanted gloves when I went for a walk. It feels like Halloween is coming early. Eurynomous is definitely in the air.

Before I became a Daemonolater, I studied everything from chaos to ceremonial magick for over twenty years. I devoted most of that time to developing a relationship with the Norse pantheon and still work with them frequently. I don’t feel that this conflicts in anyway with my current faith. Just as there can be Kemetic and Canaanite Daemonolaters, I suppose there may be others who align better with the Aesir and the Vanir. Besides, Norse gods like Loki have definitely been demonized by Christian scholars in the past. One need only bring him up in Reconstructionist circles to learn how controversial of a figure he remains. He’s one of the reasons I continue to adore the Norse deities. Every Halloween, I still hold a blót or sumbel because of them, even if I don’t do so specifically in their honor.

The word blót (pronounced bloat, like boat) comes from the Proto-Germanic blōtą, meaning “sacrifice.” Of course, to “sacrifice” something literally means to make it sacred, but it ancient times this typically involved an animal offering to the gods. Worshippers would ritualistically kill the pig, goat, or cow and give its meat to the spirits. Its blood would be sprinkled on statues, holy items, and on the members of the community as a form of blessing. This is now carried out in the form of asperging, where a ceremonial fir branch is dipped in alcohol instead of blood, and this is sprinkled on the blót’s participants. Similar rituals remain in use in the Catholic Church too, where the penitent are blessed with holy water.

On the surface, a blót may seem similar to Catholic communion in other ways as well. In ancient times, it was traditional to share in the sanctified meat offered to the spirits. Now beer or mead tends to be passed from person-to-person instead. As it goes around the group, requests are made before the gods, making sure they always get a portion of the holy drink in turn. The leader of the ceremony returns the contents of the offering bowl to the earth afterwards with proper respect.

Blóts are held to grow closer to the divine. Sumbels, on the other hand, are held to grow closet to the community. Here, instead of making requests, toasts are made to beloved gods, ancestors, and personal heroes, with the toasts leaning towards bragging and tales of renown. You drink the energy of this retelling down with the holy beverage. (From my personal experience, the line between blóts and sumbels is very thin—especially when a large number of people and alcohol becomes involved. I’ve found additional rounds of a blót typically turn into a sumbel.)

In the Norse faith of Asatru, blóts are usually held several times a year, with the most important being those for Yule, midsummer, and autumn. The autumn blóts were especially auspicious to the ancient Norse; they had named November, or Blót-month, entirely after it. The Norse held sacrifices to the elves and disir at this time of year, both whom where strongly connected—and sometimes indistinguishable from—ancestors in their mythology. This habit of honoring the beloved dead in common in many Pagan traditions at this time of year, including Daemonolatry, where many practitioners set up ancestral alters during this time.

Alternate Rite to Eurynomous

If you would like to augment your ancestral practice with a blót or sumbel-styled ritual this season, here is what you’ll need:

  • a punch bowl
  • a chalice or cup for everyone to drink from
  • paper cups are those who don’t want to share
  • sufficient alcoholic beverage for everyone participating to drink three rounds PLUS offerings to the spirits
  • sea salt or diabetic lancet, as required
  • clean spoon or ceremonial dagger
  • paper towels just in case you make a mess
  • a designated spot to pour out the offerings
  • any other ritual paraphernalia to set the mood that you need such as candles, incense, etc.

Fill the chalice or cup with your alcoholic beverage of choice.

If you are taking part in this ritual alone, you might want to prick your finger with a diabetic lancet and add a drop or two to the drink to share with the Daemonic Divine. (Daemonolaters working as a group who wish to add their blood to offerings should refer to Abyssal Communion and Rite of Imbibement by S. Connolly. Until then, please be safe and leave blood out of your group workings.) Those who do not want to add blood to the beverage should drop a single grain of sea salt into the chalice instead and mix it thoroughly with a clean spoon or ceremonial dagger.

Finally, draw the ZD sigil over the beverage saying:

Talot pasa oida Belial et Leviathan.

Now construct a ceremonial circle as you normally would, inviting the elemental daemons and Satan with their enns. From the northern most point of the circle, invite Eurynomous with:

Ayar secore on ca Eurynomous.

Once this has been done, the blót itself can begin.

Pour the first cup and present it to the elemental daemons one by one in the same order you invited them to the circle. Return to the center and present the cup to Satan and Eurynomous. If you are working as a group, start with the person closest to the northern most point.

During the first round, everyone participating drinks to an ancestor who has helped get them where they are today. If you have difficulties connecting with your family of origin, consider thanking ancestors farther down your line, whether or not you know their names.

Lift the drink high with your toast, visualizing it imbued with all the vitality they have given you. Feel that connection flow through as you drink it down.

After you toast the ancestor, pour some of your beverage into the punch bowl with “Hail” or “Ave!” Do not forget this. It reaffirms the link. Also, do not let the cup run dry. If it becomes low while being passed around, make sure you refill it. You do not need to bless it again or add more blood.

In the second round, say goodbye to someone or something you lost this year. While this round tends to be heavier in tone than the last, you do not have to have lost something sad or negative. You might have parted ways with someone who caused you nothing but grief, or shut the door on a job you didn’t like.

No matter what you choose to speak about, life the cup high and say your final goodbyes. Taste whatever you’re letting go the last time on your lips, and watch it flow away from you into the punch bowl. If this rite is being held around the fire, you could burn items that represent this aspect of your past as well.

The third round is meant for what you want to accomplish this year. If you have plans for the next twelve months, boast about them in the presence of the Daemonic Divine! Ask for their help, even make an oath if you dare. Halloween acts as a spiritual year end for many Pagans, so you can take this time to make “resolutions” if you like.

As you raise the cup, visualize all you wish to have happen filling and literally overflowing the cup. Drink from it, taking in the energy. Again, if this rite is being held around the fire, flames can be used to transmute prayer requests written on paper into energy. Either way, don’t forget keep that cup full and always offer some of what you are drinking to the gods after every request.

You can keep going after three rounds if you wish and if there is still alcohol to be drunk. Devote further rounds to tales of your ancestors and the spirits themselves. Continue making toasts and offering the beverage as before.

When you feel that you are done, pour the last of the beverage into the punch bowl. You can leave this sitting on your altar for up to 24 hours for the spirits to feast on it. If that isn’t possibly, it may be ceremonially returned to the earth immediately.

Any time after you have thanked the daemons in reverse and opened the circle, the offering should be walked outside. Return it to the earth with this prayer.

En tasa melan wehlc Belial.
En tasa melan Eurynomous.

  The ritual is complete.

eurynomous death demon rite halloween october demonolatry daemon daemons samhain

Spirit of Water Meditation

Tomorrow traditional Daemonolaters celebrate the equinox Rite of Leviathan. This time of year symbolizes the turning of the seasons from summer to autumn as well as the changing of the daemonic elements. Water rules from now until the beginning of winter. It is a period of harvest and contemplation. You can use it to assess how well you have done in the months so far and make plans to tackle any shortfall before winter. It is also an excellent time to over your to-do list and calendar before the end of the year.

Of course, your version of the end of the year may differ from mine. In some pagan traditions, the year ends with Halloween or Samhain—better known in Daemonolatry as the Rite of Eurynomous. To someone coming to Daemonolatry from such a background, this would feel pretty natural. On the other hand, if you are a Daemonolater from a part of the world that celebrates New Year’s Day in March, then even hanging a new calendar on December 31st might feel strange! Both are entirely possible, given how far around the world Demonology is now practiced.

If you are unsure how to approach adding the element of water into your magick, why not ask it directly? Here is a brief guided meditation that I wrote in the spirit of the Equinox rate of Leviathan to help get you on your way.

Spirit of Water Meditation

You stand atop a small hill, with the vast ocean waiting below. Centuries of initiates have walked this slope, wearing natural stairs into the moonlit grass. As you look down at the water, a series of hooded lanterns come to life on each step, one after another. Their flames beckon behind stained glass.

When you are ready, follow the glow of the lanterns to the bottom of the hill. You will find there are nine steps in all. If you have difficulty seeing the lights clearly or feeling the stairs beneath your feet as you descend, try counting every step. Visualize the shape of each number in your mind before you move onto the next. Don’t worry if you cannot picture any of them for very long.

You reach the beach at the end of the hill. It appears that someone has already left offerings to the gods of ocean. Large wreaths bob upon the waves. A few have drifted back onto the sand, carried by the tide. Moonlight mutes the flowers’ colors but it cannot dull  their scent. The perfume of clary sage and iris blossoms hangs heavy in the air, mingling with the salty tang of the ocean itself.

Take a moment to drink in the warm night air and revel in the damp sand beneath your feet. Breathe deeper if you like, but not so deeply that you strain your lungs. Let your body relax into a rhythm that feels right for you. Notice how the offered wreaths dance on the ocean and sway with the tide in time with your inhalations and exhalations. Breathe as the ocean breaths, gentle as the night.

Now turn your attention to the sand at your feet. The tide has created a small pool cut off from the rest of the water, the pond no larger than it a dinner plate. It rests between your toes, reflecting the moonlight.  Stray petals float on its calm surface.

Gaze down into the water, feeling the warm night air around you. All at once, the water ripples as if stirred by an invisible hand, the petals swirling. The silver reflection of the moon shifts. You look deeper into the pond, and it seems to look back into you.

I cannot tell you how the spirit of water will appear to you, or how Leviathan might choose to communicate. If you haven’t established a relationship with Leviathan yet, any messages could be difficult to hear. Try reaching out with your other senses. What else can you smell? What can you touch? Does what you see in the pool remind you of anything?

Don’t dismiss what the water is trying to tell you now. Remain open minded and open to different sorts of conversations. If you do not need to talk with water or Leviathan about anything specific at this time, consider asking how you can make use of water for purification, protection, or blessing rituals.

When you feel like your time together is done, thank Leviathan and any other spirits that feel appropriate to you. After you have said goodbye, climb back up the hill, visualizing your ascent as clearly as possible. If you need to, see the numbers in your mind again.

The lanterns on the stairs wink out one after another. Finally, only a single light remains, and you stand at the top of the hill. You lift the last of the lanterns in your hand and look back toward to ocean. You can no longer see the scrying pond from where you stand, but you know it remains for you to tap into its power any time you wish.

Ave Leviathan. May this autumn be good to you.

 

 

Ask a Daemonolatress – Safety, What you Get, and Fixing Problems

Here were this month’s top three questions! (Got each one multiple times from different people.)

Can Daemons Help Fix my problems?

The answer to all our problems is not outside ourselves. We all like to believe that’s the case, because then we don’t actually have to do anything to change our situation.  We can blame it on whatever scapegoat seems convenient. Christianity has been doing this for years and it’s worked for them (for the most part). The problem about being in denial though, and blaming everyone except oneself, is eventually that same pattern is going to repeat over and over again until you correct it, or die. Whichever happens first. So while Daemons can HELP you fix your problems, chances are it won’t come without a great deal of self-work.

How can Daemons be beneficial to me?

New people often ask me what the “benefits of the path” [of Daemonolatry] are. As if I’m a Daemonolatry broker vying for their patronage, or spirituality is just like picking the right 401K package. What each person finds beneficial in working with Divine Intelligence is a personal and unique thing. So when they write, asking me to convince them our path is the right one for them, to sell them Daemonolatry, I often refuse. It’s not my job to “recruit” people to this path. It either calls a person or it doesn’t. My advice here is always read, research, really figure out what you believe and why before jumping into ANY spiritual paradigm or practice. And ask yourself what YOU think Daemonic wisdom in your life can do for you. That’s not my question to answer.

Is Daemonolatry Safe? Is Daemonic Magick Safe?

Is getting in your car and driving to work “safe”?  Is fucking without a condom safe? Is chopping vegetables in the kitchen safe? Nothing in life is guaranteed to be safe. So if you’re looking for a completely safe spiritual practice – look elsewhere. Results vary from person to person. It may be safe for ME to work with XXX Daemon, but it may not be safe for you.  I generally tell people Ashtaroth is a relatively safe Daemon to work with, and any time I say that I receive the chastising response, “Ashtaroth kicked my ass! He’s not a nice or safe Daemon.”  So if you’re looking for safe, try a petting zoo, though even domesticated animals will bite if they’re annoyed.

Ask A Daemonolatress: Oration, Lamentation, and Monologues

Something showed up in my inbox today and it’s been a common topic in recent months.

“How will I summon Zagan. I don’t know what to say cus there must be
something you’ll say before they come to you what are those steps to
take pls tell me’

Apparently, enns aren’t enough in the way of invocation for some people. More and more I meet people who feel there should be something more. More long orations and lamentation during invocation. More walking around the ritual space performing actions. Holding lots of things on high. They think they need to read pages and pages of dark poetry, or spend half an hour monologuing at the Daemonic, and believe if they do it just right – the Daemonic Divine will show up.

Yes, magick and ritual can be theatrical. A lot of liturgical rites, including initiations, baptisms, etc… contain a great deal of reading and poetic verse. But when it comes down to the deep, nitty gritty magick — it’s really unnecessary. No really — let me explain.

First, don’t take this to mean that if you love reading dark poetry before your magickal work, or doing initial invocation with long orations that I’m picking on you. I’m not. Those things are perfectly acceptable as an OPENING or even as a closing to your magickal work.

But if, while doing the work, you have to pause every few minutes and read another long block of prose, you’re not in the right mental state (alpha or theta brain wave states are where you need to be for most energy work, meditation, and ascension practice) to be doing magick. If you are in the right space for energy work, stopping to read an oration is going to break this concentration and completely ruin your connection. There’s a reason Buddhists chant OM and not some long diatribe.

“But, but – what about delta brain wave state?” That’s the state of consciousness most of us fall into when we’re in a deep sleep, though monks who have been meditating for years can reach it during a waking state. Unless a person has been meditating for hours every day for 30+ years — it’s not likely your average weekend occultist (let alone dabblers or beginners) can jump in and out of delta in a ritual that see-saws between meditation/energy building/divine communication and oration. Basically – this means that a lot of these theatrical rituals full of lamentation and odes to the Black [insert awesome/scary thing here] are not as “deep” or profound as their creators would like you to believe.

Most people, especially those new to magick, start their magickal careers performing their magical work during waking states (gamma and beta). This is why there is such a huge push for practitioners to learn meditation. If you really want to do the deep, abyss crossing, shadow work that is all the rage these days — leave the orations for the beginning and end of ritual and use the middle for some REAL WORK, not a string of actions or theatrical recitation.

Don’t get me wrong – the theatrical rituals have their place. They’re perfect as liturgical (i.e. public worship) rites. Most seasonal or Daemonic celebration rituals are liturgical. There’s a great deal of pomp, props, sights, sounds, and lots and lots of oration. Usually there’s prayer involved, or requests and offerings, or elemental or abyssal communions.

That isn’t to say you can’t psyche yourself into a spiritual experience during such rituals, or have profound realizations. After all – we should never underestimate the power of atmosphere during ritual work. A lot of these beautiful rituals are perfect for Hollywood — not so much magick. Most intense, deep magickal work is about as exciting(visually) as watching cement dry.

So go ahead – make your magickal rituals pretty at the beginning and the end, but leave that shit out of the middle of it.  Also never underestimate the effectiveness of rituals that aren’t as elaborate as a liturgical rite. Chances are they’re bland like that by design. 😉

Ask A Daemonolatress

So, recently I announced that my release of Daemonic Love Magick might be my last Daemonolater’s Guide for some time. I want to work on some more advanced books and the 101 has been sucking up too much time.  I started that series of chapbooks to answer the most common questions I get in my email.  It serves dual purpose – it gets the information out there for those new to Daemonolatry and Daemonic Magick, and it clears out my inbox and maintains my sanity.

A friend of mine suggested that perhaps what I should do, instead of writing chapbooks, is just blog more. Take these frequent questions from my email and start answering them here on the blog. So I’ve decided that that’s what I will do with the beginner material for now – resulting in my new monthly blog spot: ASK A DAEMONOLATRESS.  

The premise is this — you ask the questions, I answer them in a post. It’s a pretty simple thing. So feel free to ask your questions in the comments below, or if you want to remain completely anonymous – send your questions to my email [email protected] and put ASK A DAEMONOLATRESS in the subject line.

Today’s question:  HOW DO I ACTUALLY CONSTRUCT AN ELEMENTAL DAEMONIC CIRCLE STEP-BY-STEP? I AM NOT SURE HOW TO DO IT.

  1. So the first step is to clear the temple space. The square footage of the space doesn’t matter, you just need to be able to get around in it so you can face any direction without knocking anything over.
  2. Next – mark your cardinal directions (i.e. North, South, East, West). Some Daemonolaters will mark the cardinal points of their temple or ritual space with small placards that have on them the corresponding Daemonic Sigil.
  3. After that, there are three ways you can choose to invoke your elemental Daemons. The first option is to start at the North and move clockwise. (Going counter-clockwise doesn’t make it darker, scarier, or more evil – I suppose you could do that if you must.)  The second option is to start at your elemental direction (i.e. based on your astrological sign) and work clockwise or counterclockwise from there. For the record, in old-school Daemonolatry — we work clockwise and save the counter-clockwise for closing. The third option is to start at the elemental direction most suited to the work being done and work from there. So, for example, if you’re doing a Rite to Lucifer – start East. If you’re doing a working to draw a lover – start South.
  4. Once you’ve chosen where to start, you stand facing that cardinal direction. Then you invoke the Daemon using the ZD sigil (traced in the air with your athame, forefinger/middle finger, or your wand) while intoning, saying, singing, or chanting the corresponding Enn. The following are the enns for the Dukanté elementals. You can replace these with the Goetia Spirit elementals if you choose.

To Invoke Earth: Lirach Tasa Vefa Wehlic, Belial.
To Invoke Air: Renich Tasa Uberaca Biasa Icar, Lucifer.
To Invoke Fire: Ganic Tasa fubin, Flereous.
To Invoke Water: Jedan Tasa hoet naca, Leviathan.

5. After all the elemental Daemons have been invoked, you can invoke Satan, your Patron, or the Daemonic force you are working with from the center.

That’s it. There are many variations of circle construction. Some rituals have processions where each of the Daemons are invoked with the athame, the incense, a candle, and the infernally blessed water. These tend to be more liturgical rites or more ceremonious, often led by priests, but you can do this as well if you feel like performing a more elaborate ritual.

To close, you simple reverse the direction in which you invoked. So you would say thank you and goodbye first to the Daemon you invoked from the center and then back around the way you came, ending with the first Daemon you invoked.  HOWEVER – I have actually closed in the same direction I opened – and nothing terrible happened. So feel free to experiment with this.

Another one of the big questions I get from readers is if you need an elemental circle (or even a ritual construct) at all. The fact is that you can get away with not bothering with an elemental circle. You can, literally, do Daemonic work “witchcraft style” where you simply carve a sigil in a candle, anoint with oleum and burn. Or just sit down with a sigil and meditate on it – all without a ritual construct.

The reason the elemental circle is a part of so many basic Daemonolatry rituals is for BALANCE. Daemonic energy can often be imbalancing for new practitioners. The entire point of the construct is to keep you balanced, and to make your Daemonic guests comfortable. Rituals performed inside Daemonic circles of any type tend to pack more energy – especially if you’re also a Daemonic magician.

I hope this short article has made the construction of the Daemonic circle more clear to those who have been having a hard time with it.

Again, feel free to ask questions in the comments below, or email me.

Daemonic Shamanism: A Beginner’s Guide

New from William Briar!

Discover journey-work and explore the cosmos from a Daemonolatry perspective! Develop personal purification rituals, sharpen your astral senses, and build a temple in the Otherworld. Visit elemental realms and absorb their energies to balance and fortify yourself. Meet with familiars and mentors on the Daemonic plane. Daemonic Shamanism: A Beginner’s Guide presents nine exercises to teach you how to travel the astral realms safely at will. It includes a listing of Daemons known to grant helpful spirits.

Also, catch my interview with Will on August 29, 2017 on Deeper Down the Rabbit Hole where we’ll be discussing the book!

Get it now on AMAZON!

Patreon Launch!

Since all the stuff I do occult related is hard condense I’m launching a Patreon for those interested in artwork, 3d printed stuff, schemes, crafts, readings, occult spells that I rarely publish it will be available there as rewards for donations

I will be takign requests so if you feel like asking something non occult related its your call.

 

here you have it at this link: https://www.patreon.com/lazullidem

Thanks and I hope to see you soon.

Jadean.

When Magick Doesn’t Work

Cross-Posted from My Blog

Sometimes, despite our best efforts and intentions, magick doesn’t work in a situation. Especially situations where you’re influencing other people. Even seasoned magicians have this problem at times (though most likely won’t admit it). I’ve learned over the years how to tell if the magick I’m considering is going to work or not, and I pick and choose my magickal battles carefully. You should, too.

One of the big failing points in magick is the realm of doing money and love magick for other people. Doing magick for other people requires that person’s permission AND follow-through. Sometimes you’re better off not doing magick for certain people because it’s wasted time and effort on your part. It’s up to you to gain the wisdom to know when magick can help, and when to walk away. I’ve thrown together a few scenarios here to illustrate what I mean –

Money Magick:  I have a friend who is constantly out of work. I’ve done magickal work for her and it’s always resulted in job interviews, and oftentimes actual jobs, but those jobs rarely last beyond a month or two.  The problem here isn’t my magick. My magick is only the temporary boost needed to bring the opportunities to my friend. After that, my role (and the role of the magick) ends, and it’s up to the person you’ve done the work for. If they are continually self-sabotaging, or can’t deal with their co-workers, or just don’t like working, all the money and job magick in the world won’t help them.  Some people could win a 15 million dollar lottery tomorrow and be broke by the weekend if they have poor money management skills.  It’s just how some folks are and sometimes the magician needs to accept that fact and move on.  Without the participation  of the person you’re working for, in actively trying to help themselves (including changing destructive habits), you cannot help them.

A better solution in many cases like this, where you’re doing financial magick for people who self-sabotage, is to do a rite to help them gain the skills they need to cope with co-workers, or motivate them toward the want to work. Throwing opportunities at people who won’t take them is akin to beating a dead horse.

Love Magick:  I have had numerous friends (and complete strangers) over the years come to me looking for love spells, and I’ve turned them down. I’ve even turned down some soulmate work request.  In order for a love connection to happen, the person you’re working for needs to actually leave their house, and at least bathe on a regular basis.  It requires self-confidence and social intelligence on some level – and that can leave some people out of the loop.  Instead of wasting your efforts on a person who likely won’t follow through on love magick due to poor self-esteem, poor hygiene, or social awkwardness, try tailoring your work toward building the person’s self esteem, or inspiring them to take better care of themselves, or helping them into more social situations.

Magick gone bad – goes bad for many reasons, and it’s up to the magician to find out why one thing works, and another doesn’t. Sometimes you have to dig down and find the root of a problem before you can solve it. Every time we use magick to solve a problem (whether high magick or low magick), it’s a puzzle that needs to be put together precisely. Now I’m not saying your magick won’t work on these people at all, it’s just that the results are usually short lived and these types of people will find themselves in the same situation again after too long. Rarely is magick black or white, or as simple as casting one spell and the other person’s fortune is changed forever. When it doesn’t work – there’s always a good reason why. If you find the reason, you can address the REAL issue.  (And yes, this goes for magick you do for yourself, too. If it’s not working – there’s a reason and you need to find it.)

This, of course, brings up the discussion of discernment and what we should be using magick for to begin with. I know people who will “whip out their wands” for every tiny little thing in life.  I know people who can’t make a decision without a divination first. I know people who, whenever you share your minor life difficulties with them, suggest a spell to solve it.  Believe it or not – I’m not one of those people. You don’t want magick or divination to become a crutch.  I guess I’m more earthy and practical (earthy part of water, with an air/water mix in my magickal houses).  I believe that one should only use magick for the bigger stuff. The self work, the career change, for home protection, etc… And yet I still have homeowners insurance, coping skills to weather big changes, and the ability to self-analyze outside of magick.  I could probably do just fine solving my own problems without the help of magick, but I enjoy the insight, wisdom, and quick opportunities magick brings with it.  It also helps me focus because I’m high-strung.

Magick works best for self-motivated, confident, assertive, and driven individuals. It works even better if you’re all of those things, enjoy solving problems, AND are creativity-minded.  So what magickal problem are you going to look at from a different angle? Which battles will you choose?

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On Banishing

Cross-posted from my personal site.

As stated in last month’s post about meditation, people often misunderstand my position on things because they may have only read a single book or two of mine. To fully understand my positions, however, it is often necessary to read my entire body of work. Just because I don’t beat something to death in every guide or book I write, doesn’t mean I don’t think it’s important to some degree. Or, readers who haven’t read the foundational books may not realize where I’m coming from.

I don’t talk about banishment in my books and there’s a reason for this. Depending on the individual’s psychology, banishment is either necessary always, sometimes, or only occasionally. It’s not one-size-fits-all. And I’m not talking about banishing divine intelligence (Daemons) but rather negative psychic energy. To a Daemonolater, there’s a difference.

Admittedly when I was younger I banished negativity more often due to my own volatile emotions brought on by extreme hormonal states, but as I get older and that’s no longer an issue for me, banishing has become a scheduled chore. Twice a year whether I need it or not.

See, many magickal traditions banish Daemons because they view the Daemonic as evil and undesirable. It’s a staple practice for those traditions for that reason. Guess what’s not undesirable in Daemonolatry?

Daemonolatry literally means DAEMON WORSHIP. You see why banishment of Daemons is a stupid and disrespectful idea for someone who WORSHIPS DAEMONS right? If you hold the Daemons in high regard, and you respect their wisdom and influence, you aren’t quick to banish them or their influence because it defeats the purpose of working with them to begin with. If you can’t handle Daemons, you probably ought not be invoking them to begin with.

If you don’t RESPECT and HOLD IN HIGH REGARD (aka WORSHIP) Daemons, then you’re not a Daemonolater by definition of the damn word. Period.

However – it is perfectly acceptable for practitioners of Daemonolatry magick to routinely banish negativity from their space, themselves, or their lives. But again – it varies from practitioner to practitioner in how often it must be done, and the strength of the operation used to do it.

Those with emotional or psychological problems probably should practice banishment daily, or after every magickal working. Though I am an advocate of abstaining from magickal and meditation practice if you have a mental disorder that is not properly managed. People who are younger than thirty-five and still have raging hormones or histrionic disorders probably should practice banishing negativity daily or after every magickal working. The reason being that strong psychic energy like that can attract negativity and astral sludge. If you choose to call that “Daemonic” – that’s your choice. Though if you recall, Daemon means DIVINE INTELLIGENCE. If divine intelligence, in your opinion, is negative astral sludge… well… then again, you’re not a Daemonolater. Speaking as a Daemonolater –  let’s just say I’d rather keep the divine intelligence around.

This is why I do include “Banishing Negativity” workings in some of my books. A simple method for this is sit down in front of a black candle (black is the color traditionally linked to absorbing negativity) and shove all your fears, worries, and anxieties into the candle via energy work – then light the candle and let the sucker burn down to nothing. Symbolically you are giving all that negativity to the flame so it can be burned away. Simple, but effective. No loquacious BS required.

Another common method is to “smudge” (aka fumigate) your space by lighting a sage stick (there are many other herbs that will work to do this, too) and allowing the smoke to get into every corner of the space you’re clearing. The theory there is that negative spirits and nasty energy doesn’t like the properties (or smell) of the sage and will evacuate the space. Daemonolaters also practice “warding” which is a precautionary, proactive way of keeping negative shit out of your space to begin with. This means invoking protective Daemons at every quadrant, placing warding symbols in those quadrants, and anointing above every door and window with a protection oleum. See Wortcunning for Daemonolatry for recipes.

We even have rituals for exorcising negative (non-Daemonic) spirits from one’s home. See Keys of Ocat.

So I reject the criticisms of some magicians (who think Daemons are negative) who say that I’m irresponsible for not shoving banishment down every Daemonolatry practitioner’s throat. Not all practitioners are equal in their need for banishment, and Daemons aren’t Christian devils unless you’re a Christian. I’m not.