Challenging Self as a Magickal Exercise

One of the joys of each person’s Great Work is the journey. Sure, reaching the final destination or goal is always great, but we grow the most, and learn the most, from the journey itself. No one’s journey is like anyone else’s, but each journey is also similar in that it gives the practitioner the opportunity to challenge themselves.

Why Challenges?

I know. Not everyone craves challenge. In fact, many people may avoid challenges at any cost. Truthfully though, life gets boring without some kind of challenge, doesn’t it? Think of people who are always causing drama. Why do you think they do that even if it’s a subconscious act? One thing histrionic people often have in common is they’re bored and don’t have enough challenge in their lives. So they self-create challenges where none existed. This, however, may not be the most productive use of one’s time.

Stop any think about the last time you stirred the pot (we’ve all done it). You were probably looking for a challenge, but not all challenges are created equal, and not all challenges we create for ourselves are useful. We need to learn to pick and choose our challenges.

Challenging yourself can be beneficial in many ways:

1. To prove to yourself that you have what it takes to persevere, overcome, etc.
2. To remind you that you compete with no one but yourself (in the grand scheme of things).
3. To exercise your will and train for bigger challenges, both self imposed and those changes that are thrust upon you.
4. To make you more adaptable and to hone your creative problem solving skills.
5. To learn about yourself. Man know thyself and thou shalt know the gods.

I have enough challenges, thanks. I don’t need anymore.

Then it’s probably time to make a list of your challenges and decide how many of them are self-created. It may be time to take on those challenges magickally as part of your Great Work to make room for challenges that might be more rewarding for you.

This means you need to identify the challenge, identify the Daemonic forces and magickal ingredients to help you handle the challenge (based on correspondences), do the magickal work, do any tangible follow-up you can do to overcome the challenge, and move on to the next thing.

Okay, I’m ready to take on some challenges. What kind of things are we talking about?

If you are lucky enough to not be in the midst of a current challenge and want to challenge yourself, the first thing you have to ask yourself is, “What do I want to change about my life, situation, relationship, etc…”

Make a list. I’m a list girl and am always making lists. They keep me grounded and give me actionable, step-by-step things I can do to make a change.

Break it down. Under each list item make another list breaking down all the things that need to happen to create the change.

Create a plan to enact those changes, including magickal work.

Some examples of challenges you might willfully undertake include:

• Quitting a bad habit (i.e. smoking, poor eating or sleeping habits, etc)
• Pushing yourself to do more (i.e. exercising, completing projects)
• Forcing yourself to do less (i.e. taking off days, having spa days, spending more time with family.)
• Finding balance (i.e. giving more time to your spiritual practice, or your emotional wellbeing, or to those you love.)
• Creating beneficial change (i.e. starting a business, switching jobs/careers, letting go of toxic relationships, moving to a new city.)

So where are the Daemons and what does this have to do with Daemonolatry????

A serious Daemonolatry practice includes embarking on your individual journey to further your Great Work, and to learn about yourself. The Daemonic Divine provides wisdom, guidance, and opportunity to that end. We become stronger, more effective magicians the more challenges we navigate in life — and life is full of some really interesting challenges. Some of them are fun and some of them — not so much. Not every lesson life throws at us feels good. In many cases – the school of hard knocks sucks. However, the more you learn to navigate and control the narrative of your situation by having full control of your challenges, the easier it is to navigate challenges that broadside us from left field.

Let’s talk about some of my favorite Daemons who can help with some of the aforementioned changes/challenges we all encounter at some point. (Obviously these are not the only Daemons you can work with for the following issues, but it’s a start).

Balance/Slowing Down: Unsere to facilitate self understanding and compassion. Sitri for more spa or fishing days, or more time spent having fun with friends. Satan or Atem for balancing and centering.

Career/Job – Belial is a solid, all around good Daemon for this. Belphegore to get interviews and job opportunities. Clauneck to help you find your calling. Sorath success for entertainment or high profile careers.

Change – To change your situation or learn to weather change, nothing beats working with the Death Daemonic. They’re not just there to help with grief, dying, and necromancy. Anubis is particularly effective for teaching people how to weather change. Zagan can help create profound change if your whole life needs an overhaul. Murmur can help you get over hurdles standing in the way of you making a change.

Confidence: Lucifuge Rofocal is one of my favorite Daemons for dealing with self-confidence and eradicating low self esteem.

Emotional Happiness: Leviathan for emotional intelligence. Buer for depression and mild mood disorders. Paimon for deep emotional trauma.

Friendship: Ashtaroth or Astaroth (Astarte), Leviathan, Dagon, Tiamaat (believe it or not). All of these Daemons are my go to when dealing with matters of friendship. Tiamaat in particular seems to harmonize perfectly when trying to sort conflict, whereas Leviathan will bring emotional intelligence to the situation, Dagon for good communication, and Ashtaroth for empathy and understanding as well as bringing new friends to you.

Health (Dis-ease) – Marbas can create opportunities for cures and treatments of existing diseases and conditions, or poor health.

Love: Rosier and Ashtaroth is my favorite pairing here. Rosier for long lasting love and passion, and Ashtaroth for friendship — both of which are a good combination for those seeking to find the right person and end up in a long term relationship.

Money: If you have money owed to you or need a quick windfall, Belphegor is great for passive cash fast. Mammon is a bigger gun that can be called in for larger sums of money, or when you have no revenue to speak of and his help may manifest as opportunities.

Motivation/Productivity: While this can depend on what you need to be motivated toward, I’m particularly fond of Daemons like Gremory, Delepitoré, Seere, Seshat, and Thoth to help get my ass moving. They’ve never steered me wrong.

Revenge – Leviathan to judge those who have wronged you. Agaliarept to destroy your enemies. Focalor to break down barriers and haunt your enemy in his dreams. Svengali to control those who have wronged you. Satanchia to run your enemy into the ground.

Self Transformation (including how we see ourselves) – Buer. He’s definitely my go to here.

Strength: Lucifuge, Ba’al, and Dagon can help to shore up your energy reserves and give you strength to persevere. This is especially true if you’re looking for Daemons to help you build endurance physically and/or emotionally/mentally.

Weight Loss – Verrine. While Verrine is a general healing Daemon, paired with Buer, they’re a force to be reckoned with here.