Monday, November 10, 2014

The Dirty World of Truth

Did you ever notice how powerful sometimes a single word is? No I'm not talking about the power of yes, please or thank you rather the power of the word 'truth'. It is an amazing word in that it can be used to create an illusion of belief followed by sheeple or used as a stinger missile to punch th rough the illusion to begin with. Yet the word is often invoked and bandied about because to me it no longer has any worthwhile substance.

For example ever since I began my first forays into the murky occult world back in ‘87, I began noticing how people invoke the word 'truth' or its alternative 'true' into sentences. I never realized before how often many born again preachers invoke its use in a given sermon and then how often such sermons are used on a regular basis. The word has such power for most people because they are often seekers looking for something real and meaningful in their lives and very often they see and experience much falsity, lies and deceit that when the word 'truth' is evoked, the seekers expectations of belief begin to manifest.

Then there are those involved in the various magical religions and metaphysical disciplines who have taken a cue from those straw hat preachers and began to use it in their own sermons, editorials, lectures and communications. These mystics have come to invoke the power of the word 'truth' or 'true' in an attempt to prove that what they are saying has more or greater validity simply by its use. "The true origins of the Qabala are here today in....", "The real truth behind the Ouija board is that...." or my favorite “So and so doesn’t speak the truth because I know blah-blah-blah...” and these are just a few examples of how metaphysical people invoke truth.

Then you have the new age marketers. (Ugh!) 

"The true method of spirit contact revealed!"
"The true formula of elixir of life for the first time!"
"Find the true path for your inward journey here!"
"Learn to speak words of true power!"
and etcetera ad nauseam.

Sadly wherever there is a buck to be made, truth will always be subjective to the dollar sign. A perfect example is to look at the court system. Attorneys argue and twist facts, details and accounts in the name of truth and justice. Pffft. The court is supposed to be the bastion where truth is holy, right? How often has justice been blind in the name of truth? Exactly my point.

Frankly I hate the word and it's bastard cousin 'true'. Not that I am all for lying, far from it, however the words are used wrongly so often and in such careless regard that it no longer holds any power for me and my sensibilities. When someone say, "This is the truth!" I sarcastically say, "Yeah? Yours and everyone else's bub!" I say that because truth is subjective. There is no infinite 'truth' any more than there is any sort of karma. It's all a bade up pile of horse shit.

Now in some day to day living there are cases of truth such as who hit whom first in a fight or auto accident. However while a judge may decide who is responsible, s/he knows as a judge that there are always mitigating circumstances leading up to such a thing. For instance in a fight there is always a disagreement to begin with followed by words, then hard feelings, then self-righteous anger and finally the clashing of fisticuffs. We may say, “Well Joe threw the first punch!” and unless someone else says that Tom goaded Joe into doing so, it may appear as if Joe is a bully. Often among witnesses, an attorney and a judge must try to weed out the BS from what caused the clash to start with and how it progressed. Not doing so can cause the guilty to walk away free even when both parties are rightfully guilty.

I even catch myself using the damn word in some of my writings and it disgusts me. It's a word that has been shat on for centuries and tarnished to the point where excrement has more use to me than truth because with excrement at least I can use it on a garden. I've found the term to be so repulsive that I often find it in my writings and look for synonyms or other words that fit the general idea of my point so that I can toss the truth word out the door.

Years ago I used to say and still believe that "Truth is subjective to one's dominant paradigm" meaning that you will find truth in what you believe to be true. There we go with that other word again, 'believe' or 'belief'. There's a scary word as well and truth to me is the scariest. Look at how politicians manipulate millions with their version of the truth. My late friend and mentor Ron Parshley used to say "There are three sides to every story: yours, mine and the truth." The problem is seldom is the truth so easily discovered let alone in plain sight. It’s always buried under layers of nonsense, foolishness and neglect. I would venture to say that the truth is tarnished by whatever the angle is of whover holds it. Your truth may not be my truth and thus it can be subjective for what you find to be true even when it may not hold true for others.

There are very few empirical truths out there when compared to the myriad of situations where truth is invoked. Science often claims they have empirical truth and in chemistry and physics, perhaps but then there are matters where such truth does not always jive like quantum physics or possibly the nature of black holes where physics as we know it now may not hold true 100% of the time. We don't know everything as there is always more and more discovery so I give science a free pass because the bulk of scientists realize that what we know today as scientific truth may change tomorrow when we discover something that just doesn't run true to something previously believed to be truth.

In the end, I actually detest the word. Using it in this article rankles my sensibilities because I realize my own little universe does not hold the truth of the world in my hands and I have to trust (which is another scary word) myself to deal with things that are right, accurate and just but not truth. The best way to determine what you find is true or not for you is to simply experiment. Thessalonians 5:21 “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good” is a worthwhile piece of advice that I have tried to cling to since I first head it years ago. Proof requires work and it's not something to be overlooked unless you want someone else to determine your truth for you.

Saturday, October 18, 2014

My Second Favorite Line


In the past, I've gone off ranting about love spells and the people who get frantic over them. The worst are not the McWiccans whom you would think tend to be the ones who complain most about them in their chat groups and forums. Rather it tends to be the clients themselves.

My favorite line from these lovelorn souls is, "But I love..." then insert him or her into the sentence. There's always that but in there as if that is some magical word of power that automatically blows away the dust and debris of bad judgment. "I know he treats me and my kids badly but I love him". Oy! Enough to make you vomit, isn't it? Sort of like that meme where it says, "Have you ever just wanted to grab someone and shake them for being so stupid?" Indeed.

The next great line I love seeing is, "And I know s/he loves me too!" Really now??? If so why aren't they right there in your arms, genius? If love conquers all then where is this bastion of your soul? And when did you become the great Kreskin with mind reading powers? Because that's one huge ass-u-mption you are making.

I've had people involved in arranged marriages tell me their former love interest "loves them" and I'm astounded, as always, that these people just know beyond a reasonable doubt that would convince a jury of their peers in a court of law. I'm psychi and mediumistic but total mind reading? Whoa brother, that's way beyond my pay scale. 

My suggestion is to get out of your own head for a while because you think the world revolves around your way of thinking and it does not. You need to rethink who you are, where you wish to go and make a new plan. If Joe or Mary doesn't want to go along with you for the ride, then find someone else who does. Hello? This is not rocket science kiddies. There are a LOT of single people out there looking for real love, compassion, relationships and so on but a lot of you just want to screw. Yes I said it, you just want to satiate your animal lusts even though you talk a good bunch about family, relationships and plenty of blah-blah-blah. Get real!

The best thing to do is move on with your life and find someone NEW. Pray tell why is that so bloomin' hard? It isn't yet you make it harder than it needs to be. Just stop playing games and be real with one another for a change and you will find what it is you are looking for.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

There Are Better Heroes to Idolize

I’m no fan of Aleister Crowley. In truth, I never really cared for the man and as for his followers? Well they’re a mixed lot with some being downright worshiping the old bastard and hanging on to his every word as if it were some prophecy and other end of the spectrum with devotees who enjoy his system but are not so enamored with the man himself. Why my distaste? I have a few reasons.

First off he pissed away his family’s fortune. When so many people out there bust their asses trying to just survive and he is handed a free pass and shits all over it, that shows a real lack of wisdom. Oh but he’s such a great and wise man you say. Pfffft. Right. A wise man would not have done what he did regardless of how they felt about the family’s business interests. He was set for life and just squandered it on having a good time. Yeah that’s something to admire. Not much different than rappers today, eh?

Secondly, he received “new age” teachings via channeled information, i.e. his Liber Al or the book of the law. This pseudo-Egyptian garbage may turn on a few CM’s but as for me, I find it pathetic when compared to real magical Egyptian scholarship. To learn Crowley’s system, you’re forced to study his silly channeled book. Everything he writes thereafter is based on that book. It’s like he’s an early version of Ramtha or Lazaris.

Third, did he ever really have any sort of real magical prowess other than writing? Who did he heal? His curse against Mathers did squat as well as summoning the various spirits of the 72 while at war with McGregor Mathers. His Magick In Theory And Practice is a joke compared to some of the things I’ve actually seen real practitioners do and I’m not talking about flipping a bloody light switch!

Walking through a crowded restaurant, all decked out in ritual garb and holding a wand while concentrating that he was invisible? Really? If this story is true, it’s enough proof that he was little more than a kook. Funny how CM’s will argue in favor of this story yet sneer at other fringe occultism like Radionics or Remote Viewing.

Okay so you get the idea I don’t care for the man. I think he was more of a joker than actual player. There’s just not enough evidence to convince me he was the real deal. And frankly I do not get all of the hero worship modern practitioners bestow on the lunatic. For real? As if there were never anyone else in history that’s worthy of admiration other than this British blowhard?

There was Trimethius who taught Agrippa and of course Agrippa himself, both of whom made major contributions to magic and occult philosophy. Then we have Dr. John Dee who was a major figure in the court of Queen Elizabeth I. His career was quite the ride and aside from wife swapping with his partner Edward Kelly, I see little reason to dislike the man.

There were Ficino, Bruno and Lilly all of whom had staunch and colorful careers in the occult. While Francis Barret may have plagiarized Agrippa, he did teach students and thereby helped to spread magic around. Then there’s Eliphas Levi, the man Crowley claimed he was the reincarnated form of. Many folks revere his books quite well.

Moving onward there are other occultists of note such as Gerard Encausse, the man who gave us some amazing Qabala material as well as in-depth Tarot material. Then there’s Mouni Sadhu whose book on Tarot is a must read and study as he too delves deep into the mysteries using the Tarot as the focus. While I’ve met a few over the years who idolized S. L. MacGregor Mathers, it always seems that he had far more detractors than supporters and that’s a shame. He was brilliant.

Dion Fortune is another brilliant occultist even though she went crazy. Hey, mental illness is not something that you an simply wish away and I highly doubt she wanted it taking her mind in the first place, y’know? Her book on the Mystical Qabala is a must read as well. Then there’s William B. Butler who was a student of Fortune’s who wrote some good material and was a good role model.

What’s wrong with idolizing William G. Gray? His Sangraal system is quite good without excessive complexity or the insistent religion like Thelema has. Gray’s book, Ladder of Lights is a classic on Qabala and I’ve recommend it to students for over 20 years. Or how about John Whiteside Parsons, the famous rocket scientist who allegedly helped write Gerald Gardner’s rituals and supposedly - according to urban legend - caused the Roswel crash via his desert Babylon working? At least he helped give us the space program.

Gareth Knight is another worthwhile practitioner whose writings have spurred the imagination of many modern occultists especially those who have strong interest in the Arthurian legends. Or you could admire Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki and the achievements she’s made over the years with her writings. Some feel Donald Tyson deserves a statue as well for his in-depth contributions to ceremonial magic. The recently late Don Kraig is another interesting character that is worth emulating and admiring.

And finally you have the late Israel Regardie. He was the secretary to old Crowley himself at least for a time. Regardie gave us the inner workings of the Golden Dawn and its complete system. Regardie contributed much more than just Golden Dawn books only as his Garden of Pomegranates and his book on the Geromancy divination system were superb. Also many consider his The Nature of True Healing to be an all time classic as well as his The Tree of Life.

It just makes no sense to me to idolize an otherwise disreputable man as Crowley was. I am willing to wager if he were alive today he’d be doing the whole Ramtha thing and raking in big money. LAM would be right up there with Lazaris and Ramtha in services and cash flow. He supposedly was to be the herald of a new age where he was to give magic to everyone yet he wrote about it in such a way that the average person is befuddled by his obtuse remarks and references.

I find nothing in Crowley redeeming nor worthwhile. When you’ve witnessed a living spirit like a LWA on a horse and instantaneously healing someone, the guys like Crowley become little more than a joke with their psycho-babble and excuses. They remind me of the modern priests who claim Jesus & his Apostles performed miracles but no one today from any of the churches can replicate those miracles.

The only redeeming quality I can find in reading Crowley is the comradery of other Crowleyites who worship the man. Like Scientologists who idolized Hubbard, if you idolize what they idolize, you’re with the IN crowd and thereby you’re “cool”, hip, smart, wise and neato. *eye roll* Personally I don’t give two shits about being with the IN crowd. Fuck ‘em. Just a bunch of poseurs pretending to be someone they’re not is all. I’d rather stand alone than bend over for the eleventh degree rite just to sit with them. Bah.

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

(Yet Again) Commentary on the Slater Necronomicon

In the Solomonic FB group, Aaron Leitch posted a well written article about the so-called Simon Necronomicon and its parts and how they relate to actual magical practice. This is an excellent post and I believe he first posted this on his own blog so you may find it there.

The biggest hurdle with the Necronomicon is not the book itself nor is it the allegations from Lovecraft who used it as a plot device in his short stories but rather the knee jerk reactions the book's name brings from the wannabes who pretend to be actual magicKians. You know those types: the new age nutcases who MUST save everyone from themselves. "You're misinformed! I must educate you so that you do not harm your karma! There is no Necronomicon. Lovecraft made it up." Tape a nickel to the needle cuz you repeat yourself so much, you're stuck in a groove.

Let’s get one thing straight here & now: there never was a Necronomicon as Lovecraft described it. None. I have looked far and wide and spent a considerable sum of money hunting it. IF Lovecraft’s version were truly REAL, I’d have uncovered it. But Lovecraft never made one and alluded to it so well that hordes of fans of his writings have often wondered if the old codger was hinting at something. No. Pure imagination is all.

Now with that said, is there a Necronomicon today? Yes. Herman Slater financed and published it from his old Warlock Shop out of New York back in the 1970's. Allegedly some guy named Peter Lavenda (which I don’t believe is his real name), aka ‘Simon’, (note Biblical reference here to Simon-Peter) and then later some other guy came forward a few years ago claiming he did all the art & sigils for it. Sure okay whatever dude. I highly doubt these guys ever had a hand in this at all knowing the shenanigans that Herman Slater would go to make a buck.

Now is Slater’s Necronomicon the same as Lovecraft’s? Not anywhere close. *smirk* Let’s put it this way, Slater and company SUCK at writing fictitious grimoires. There were hacks that wrote grimoires in the Medeival and Renaissance periods but this "Lavenda" guy sucks worse than a bad Ed Wood film. Today he likes to claim even more about the book now that Herman Slater is dead and no longer around to refute anything claimed. Thus I take whatever Lavenda has to say with an enormous lump of salt.

Okay all of that jazz aside, is the Slater Necronomicon any good? I have used it in a magical setting back in my early years when I performed a number of experiments primarily with Humwawa seal to crush and enemy and numerous experiments with the 50 Names of Marduk. My mentor at the time, Ron Parshley chuckled when I told him what I was doing but said it couldn’t hurt. He knew Slater personally and had his own copy of the Slater Nec in his library. Ron thought the whole thing a cute piece of pastiche.

Interestingly enough, Ron was NOT surprised to find my experiments worked. He used to say, “Any system will work if it is consistent within and of itself”. So I even taught a few friends how to use it and they got results too. One friend used the seals to remove a very dangerous gang who were trying to recruit her son. Shortly thereafter the gang member was found in his own bedroom hanging by his belt from the ceiling.

Aaron Leitch, Jake Stratton-Kent, Jason Miller & several other notable practitioners, along with myself, have publicly admitted in the Solomonic group to experimenting with the Slater Nec and getting results from it. Further we know there are many times that number out there who have interesting anecdotes regarding their own experiments with the book from years past as well as today. The trouble with discussing these anecdotes is that too many self-righteous magicKians get all indignant over the discussion and post-bomb the thread with all sorts of inane garbage just so folks will give up on the thread. Not much different than born-again Xians who when they don't like something will do the exact same thing these Ceremonial Wannabes will do to disrupt discussions.

So the first thing anyone should look at is the sheer amount of people who were first introduced to the Slater Nec and experimented with it. Many got their first start this way and that is NOT bad at all. There are worse ways to come into Sorcery than via the Slater Nec. (You could waste your time with northern California Hippie Hoodoo garbage!) A number of folks who have used the Slater Nec have gone on from that starting point to delve deeply into other grimoires and systems of Sorcery and Magic with much success. Perhaps there's the rub with the Ceremonial Wannbes? Makes you wonder, eh?

The next thing we need to note is that regardless of how you feel about the Slater Nec, it is still one of the top selling Occult books out there on the market today. In today's world, however, I’d say it’s one of the most downloaded Occult books there is. The other top selling Occult book is Anton LaVey’s Satanic Bible both of which I think are published by Avon press (not the cosmetics firm).

It is not merely teenagers who have tried their hands at Sorcery via the Slater Nec as a first time go, but plenty of adults have also used the Slater Nec for various and sundry purposes. Why? Well for many years the grimoires of the Medieval/Renaissance period were nigh near impossible to lay hands on unless you lived near the British Museum or the French Louvre where the vast majority of the originals are held.

Some of the grimoires you could get from places like deLaurance company but egads he screwed around with the grimoires to make it as if HE translated them then sold them to the public for very steep prices in a time when the Great Depression all but made people eat wood to survive. Today though with digital formatting and storage as well as Internet thieves and downloading, virtually all of the Medieval/Renn grimoires are available free. Oh sure there’s guys like Joe Peterson who has found a way to make $$$$ for these books on his site and a DVD or his *cough, cough* “translations” via Amazon (of all his grimoire copies, get your hands on his _Sixth & Seventh Books of Moses_ because it’s best edition bar none!)

The Slater Nec, after Avon bought the rights from Slater, produced the book into a mass market paperback for under $10 and THIS is why so many people, kids/adults/whoever, started with this book first prior to digital technology. Why try to ransom your kids for the money to buy a copy of the True Grimoire when you can get this Necronomicon for $5 sitting right here on the shelf at B&N? It looks scary, has sigils, has barbarous names, incantations, seals, instructions and so on.

I consider the Slater Nec to be “Sorcery Lite” like Lite Beer is? Less filing and all that. However when one discovers that there are other books of Sorcery out there to delve into that are kick ass and have Spirits like Khil, Surgat, Orobas and Lucifuge Rofocale, why the hell would you want to stay with the Slater Nec for?

But see your average Ceremonial Wannabe is only interested in being RIGHT about what they’re  saying. They care naught for anything but that “I’m right, you’re wrong!” and thankfully there are a core group of advanced practitioners who have moved beyond that nonsense but still have fond memories of doing some sort of Magic from the Slater Nec, Satanic Bible, and other early books of Witchery & Sorcery.

The Ceremonial Wannabes will dick around talking about making tools, or today taking photos of their tools & altars and posting them on Fecesbook, but when you ask them to share an anecdote from their so-called “great work” *snort!* they stammer and steam up almost infuriated that you would dare to ask them such a question! In my opinion, Ceremonial Wannabes like this are frustrated crafts makers. They love to craft things but cannot sell them so they turn to the Occult and well...

Many are also self-righteous assholes who have spent a lot of time in groups like the Golden Dawn or OTO and have this snotty attitude that the only way is the RIGHT way which is (obviously) THEIR way. Pfffft! They’re just little boys playing a fantasy role playing game pretending they are doing magic. Most of them can quote you page & verse from old historical & grimoiric texts but do any of these wannabes have any balls? None that I have seen as of yet thus talk is cheap, boys. Quote anyone you wish but that does not make you wise. Only experience can give you wisdom. If intelligence were the sole key to Sorcery & Magic, then only intellectuals could get results and we know that just. Ain't. So.

One thing I’d like to mention is that Aaron Leitch in his commentary about the Slater Nec said, “But it is the product of an imaginative distortion of ancient materials by a modern individual.” Correct and not unlike the Golden Dawn, Ordo Templi Orientis and other so-called MagicKal Lodges. I see no difference there at all. Gods know those half-wits have taken ancient materials and used imaginative distortions. Funny how no one calls them on the carpet for it.

So there you have it, the book, the naysayers and why the book is not all that bad nor should it be so eschewed as if it is some sort of plague. I don’t care if you’re a Ceremonial Wannabe, McWiccan or serious practitioner of any stripe, the book is okay as a jumping off point but there are far better works out there to experiment with.

The truly sad part is that so many have the knee jerk reactions to the book’s name that all they want to do is shout, “There is no Necronomicon” when in fact there is. Only an abject moron would say otherwise.

Friday, July 25, 2014

Are You Being Manipulated By Spirits?

Recently a conversation came up by what appears to be a Novice in a more traditionally associated Magical on-line discussion group about whether or not Spirits, when summoned, deceive or manipulate the practitioner.

First off let’s examine this query which in my opinion smacks of the Judeo -Xian mind set that any power other than either Yahweh’s or Jesus’ are evil. Pfffft. If this is your belief, you’re welcome to it but realize I find it to be a load of horse shit. Why? I grew up a born again Baptist and you want to talk about someone who could manipulate you, there are none better than evangelical ministers, pastors & preachers!

America is one of the few industrialized nations in the western hemisphere whose general populace still believes in Jesus. According to a 2011 Gallup poll, 92% of Americans still believe in Jesus the Christ [1]. That’s rather startling although the question is vague and does not ask if those queried are actively practicing Xians following in Jesus footsteps just if they believe in him. Do I believe Jesus the son of Joseph and Mary existed? Yes however not in the manner the Bible or the average Xian speaks of.

Josephus the Jewish historian who lived at the time of Jesus tells us that there were three men he knew named Jesus: one was a politician, one a laborer and one a rabbi. It does not take much imagination to see how the first church elders could cobble together a template of the Jesus we know today based on these three men that Josephus spoke of. Thus in essence I believe that there were three Jesuses running around during his time just not the man that Xians today have exalted and deified.

Thus the polls show 92% of our population buy into the Jesus myth (as the church paints it) however Gallup’s question is vague and the answer is misleading. Still that is an awfully high number for people of an industrialized nation to believe in. 7% said no and 1% had no opinion.

Now let’s consider the fact that today, aside from religious belief, there is no greater threat to your mind than corporate sponsored advertising and marketing. How? First off on an average daily basis, your mind is bombarded by corporate sponsored ads a whopping 247 times a day according to an old Consumer Reports finding. Still half those messages don’t get through to our conscious minds as our attention are often focused elsewhere but still they get through to our subconscious minds. Over the course of a 365 period, we’re exposed to over a whopping 90,000 ads.

Ever wonder why you remember tag lines from corporate sponsors? Kentucky Fried Chicken: “It’s finger lickin’ good!”, or Toyota: “Oh what a feeling!”, or Yellow Pages: “Let your fingers do the walking” and so on. That is the only thing the advertisers try to get through to your noggin. Just the tag line. Why? Because they know if you remember the jingle and lyrics accompanying it, your mind will immediately bubble up the product or service associated with it.

Pray tell is THIS not outright manipulation? I say yes. How about when Sarah McLaughlin’s “In the arms of an angel” song comes on and it’s for that pet rescue commercial. The images are carefully chosen with the kitty in the cage, the one eyed animals who obviously have been abused and harmed, all of which are carefully packaged to manipulate you through your feelings to get you to pick up the phone and pledge a donation.

And yet, alleged practitioners, (I say alleged because none of the people who ever ask about whether or not if Spirits can manipulate you explain their Occult backgrounds thus I am always suspicious of their credentials as ‘practitioners’) have the unmitigated gall to presume Spirits will manipulate them but Joe Schmuck running for political office does not blow smoke up their ass. Isn’t that brilliant?

I don’t care if you are a Xian, Gnostic Xian or New Age Xian, act like you have some common sense if you plan on practicing Sorcery and Spirit summoning. Hell, a Spirit may need to manipulate you if you summon it asking for help. How else is It supposed to help you gain control of your miserable fucked up life in the first place? Not everyone who begins Spirit summoning does so from an interest of inquisitiveness. I dare say that most who have asked me about it over the years have acknowledged that they were in a bad way and hoped a Spirit could help them out of a jam.

Okay so maybe a Spirit should possess the individual and guide him or her for a time to make the RIGHT choices for once so that s/he can find the breathing room necessary? Makes sense to me. Doesn’t a Xian ask Jesus to possess them? “Come into my heart, dear lord” and all that. It’s just that Jesus doesn’t do shit for anyone but pagan Gods and grimoire Spirits get shit done. Quickly I might add.

I think most folks tend to have this mistaken belief that what Spirits do are what they see in pop culture movies, TV shows and books and that ain’t it. There’s no snapping of fingers and *poof* your life is wonderful. You still have to work and strive for your goals it’s just that the Spirits do their best to remove the road blocks, pitfalls, snares and generally smooth out the roads ahead of you, when they are asked to do so.

“But Moloch, how do you know you’re not being deceived???” Well gee, Jimmy the Wonder Worker, pray tell how do you know you’re not being deceived by your spouse? Your boss? Your neighbor? Your friends? Your parents? Siblings? And so on? How do you do it on a daily basis? What makes you the human lie detector?

There are Spirits in the grimoires, like Orobas from the book of Goetia, who will act as a good Familiar for the karcist (Spirit summoner) and who will keep the other Spirits summoned from lying to the karcist. I know that there are also NLP techniques where you can mentally program certain parts of your mind to act as a lie detector by creating a pain or itch when someone is lying to you. I have not experimented with this yet but it seems worthwhile to install and utilize.

Since I am a duly initiated priest, I know the Spirits won’t lie to me and if one of them tells me It cannot do X, then it is moronic of me to throw a tantrum and threaten It with any sort of punishment because my own Spirits will tell me if It is lying to begin with. When I wasn’t initiated, I simply resorted to the fact that if I gave the Spirit a small token up front, usually a small shot of liquor (teaspoon full), and told It that a whole bottle was the reward if X was done. If the Spirit agreed, then I had the bottle ready but did not give it until X was accomplished. If 21 days went by and nothing happened, then I knew the Spirit was:

1. Overstepping Its bounds

2. Hoping to get something for nothing

3. Outright prevaricating

But can I say for absolute certain that I have never been manipulated by a Spirit? No. And I also know I have been manipulated in my youth and a few times in my adulthood by nefarious bastards who I no longer have any association with. At least when I’ve dealt with the Spirits, I had a bona fide reason why I needed their help but when it came to those bastards who manipulated me as a kid & adult, all they wanted was whatever they could get from me for nothing while mildly lying to my face.

Thus I end this blog with the notion that few practitioners will be equipped to deal with such people let alone with such Spirits because it takes a healthy dose of common sense to determine whether the person or the Non-Physical Entity you're conversing with is not pulling the wool over your eyes. If you're one of those who lack a healthy dose of common sense, well maybe becoming a karcist is not something you want to get involved in the first place.


-------
Endnotes:

1. Gallup poll http://www.gallup.com/poll/147887/americans-
continue-believe-god.aspx

Monday, May 19, 2014

Do Practitioners Generate Their Own Power?

Building a wee bit off my previous rant, it has been stated that humans are incapable of creating the power necessary to work Sorcery & Magic and that all of it is done via Spirits. That attitude smacks of a pre-Medieval church mind set and it's not wholly true.

The human body is a composite of several natural elements found in nature and it is powered by some mysterious life-force spark that we have yet to understand. Science knows that without the living life-force that keeps our brain functioning and our vital organs running, we end up in a coma. Further we know that when one of the vital organs gets severely out of whack then death can arise which interrupts the life-force spark thus killing us.

Our bodies are something to the extent of 98% water which makes us a giant, living, walking electro-chemical mashup that is capable of learning, interacting with the world around us and making our desires known to others through various methods from sounds to other more complex message systems.

New brain cells grow while others die all day long, every day while we live until the day we die when everything within and without our body begins to decay. The living spark of our existence has been called a 'soul' by many religions but is that accurate? Why do people glom onto this notion?

Some years ago I heard a lecture wherein a physicist was cited as saying that IF we could convert the entire human body from it's current state into pure energy, it could run the entire city of New York for a whole week which at that time was worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $186 million dollars. The object of example was for the purposes of showing people that they are far from ever being worthless.

However, how is it that science states that matter is energy in varying forms and yet we think of energy as things like electricity, nuclear fusion/fission, and even plasma but we never consider ourselves to be a walking dynamo of raw, untapped energy? Why? Just because you cannot hold your hands together and visibly see energy patters moving from one hand to the other that automatically proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the energy is not there? Really?

Is it possible that the energy IS there and we just cannot perceive it? Think about this for a moment. Our senses are limited to a minor part of the visible light spectrum; our hearing is limited to a limited amount of the full sound spectrum; perhaps too our tactile senses are limited as well? Further how can we design machinery to detect something we're not capable of sensing - especially if no one is looking for it to begin with?

I'm merely positing that we as humans are living not only in a frail human body with a given limited life span but also with limited senses. Is this necessary? Many think it is and say that if we could perceive more that we'd be distracted too much. Smacks of Orwellian logic to me. What do we do meditation for if not to perceive more than we normally do? If we use meditation to quiet our minds then really it's a glorified relaxation exercise.

There is more to our bodies, our minds & our consciousness than at first glance. Sometimes it appears as if too many people hunker down in science and never give an inch. Okay you go play with science. I like science but to Hell with science too . It has its uses - just like religion but to adhere to it to the exclusion of one's gut feeling or intuition is a dangerous play in my opinion. How often has number & logic been the overwhelming majority and yet if someone had followed that logic they'd be dead? Like the folks who had that intuition to not wear their safety belt one particular day so they didn't and were thrown from a car accident that would've otherwise killed them had they been buckled in. Rare, yes but it does occur and it is only an example.

When you hold a talisman in your hands and you whip yourself into an emotional frenzy and implant your desire into that talisman, by all rights it should work. If you're eating well and active, your body is giving off power of some type and subtle as it is it does work. I have charged talismans, candles, gris-gris not only for myself but for clients in the past and this is prior to being initiated thus no Spirits were called upon.

Remember too that this emotional frenzy is not something you simply whip up to a point within 30 seconds and are done. Nooooooo. You need to access this power through your primitive part of your mind. I've often surmised this is from the Reptilian brain part that for all intent and purposes is what holds our Ancestral Memories that science has said gets passed on. The emotional frenzy must be incited somehow and whipped to a frenetic pace through trance and heavy emotional states. Often music and dance helps in these and thus Wiccans like their African cousins using chanting/dancing/drumming can create a supercharged air of power that is accessed and externalized into the talisman or object of desire.

I've often experienced heavy emotional release at this time from sorrow to utter giddiness. The key is to be ready to activate it and then once activated, continue until you reach that state where your body is all but spent. It should feel as if you made love to a dozen lovers, ran a five mile marathon & danced all night. Often immediately afterwards I like to shower and sleep for hours just to recover. I'll eat when I awaken.

That folks, to me, is Sorcery in its purest form. Some have pointed out that his is very shamanistic but I've never met any shamans; I've met a couple of American Indian medicine people but neither of them seem to work in this fashion. When you pare it all down to getting your groove on in an altered trance state and at least keep some semblance of consciousness with you so that you can charge a talisman or whatever, you’re on to something. :)

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Jupiter: A Really Funny Guy of Means

Jason Miller decided to get a bunch of practitioners interested in publishing their ideas and thoughts about this jovial planet that gets maligned by a goodly number of folks who, it seems, does not understand the subtleties of the Jupiterian experience.

As a Sorcerer, I work with a wide variety of influences from the Dead to Demons to Angels to Planetary Intelligences & their Spirits in pretty much an everyday situation. The work tends to be tedious yet rewarding when one quits putting it off, settles in & just does it.

When it comes to working with the Planetary Intelligences & their Spirits, my first foray was with Jupiter back in 1989 when I used the Kamea of Jupiter to help me get hired by a large cellular phone company. Instead of summoning the Spirit & Intelligence of Jupiter, I opted to make the seal of Jupiter using the Kamea and then consecrated it and prayed over it using a prayer to Jove I found in a book at the public library. Needless to say it worked.

Later through much of my own ignorance I discovered that Jupiter was poor at giving wealth which was contrary to what Ceremonial MagicKians claimed the planet’s influence did. Hmmm. What was wrong? Well through some research I discovered that one of Jupiter’s main influences is ‘expansion’ and if you have nothing for It to expand, then It will expand NOTHING even more. Yes that’s a very dismal feeling.

Okay so why did Jupiter help me with getting the job but not with making money? One of Jupiter’s influences is to help the practitioner with‘those who are in positions of ‘authority’. Many liken this to mean judges, politicians, juries, and so forth but few ever stop to think that the old ‘boss’ is a person of authority. Jupiter works wonders with bending the boss over. In fact, Bend Over oil works great in conjunction with the Planetary Seal of Jupiter when job hunting.

SO, am I the only one who finds it amusing that those who bemoan Jupiter's financial influence are either those who refuse to embrace commerce or those who have no talent for it? While I do admit that Wall St is a testament to Jupiter, the terror with which Wall St tycoons run rampant is due to the greed of those they pay off with money. That's not a fault of Jupiter at all but if anything, it's a fault of Venus for the love of luxury. Money itself is neutral and the making of it is not a sin but rather the greed of the politicians, police & those who accept bribes, THAT is not Jupiter's fault. That is old fashioned GREED. Jupiter's role is one of expansion & growth. 

One lesson that Jupiter teaches is about growth. That which can grow will grow to its fullest potential. Of course when things do not grow they stagnate, wither & DIE. Jupiter also has strong powers of attraction. It is the largest planet with the strongest gravity aside from our Sun. Thus the Sun is ideal for finding sources of new money whereas Jupiter will take those new sources and expand upon them. Kings liked to get returns on their investments and Jupiter's mighty influence comes in handy here.

Another aspect of Jupiter MagicKians never discuss much is the lighter side of the planet. They talk about It being the jovial planet but when do you hear a practitioner mention that this planet is the planet of jokes, pranks, jibes, gaffes and laughs? Why because fucking Agrippa doesn't state it? Gee, doesn't anyone actually talk to the Spirits when they summon Them? Jupiter is killer for learning to be funny and another aspect of the planet is 'story telling'. Again, why is this not mentioned in Agrippa? Why do not modern practitioners mention this? Want to be a better story teller? Talk to Iophiel or Hismael.

There are aspects of Jupiter that CM's overlook all because they look in a book, see what it says and then never think beyond the box, never question even when the Spirit arrives. Sad really but now you know two NEW things about this amazing planet that you haven't heard before. 

Friday, April 25, 2014

Open Letter to Metaphysical Busybodies: Mind Your Own Business

Recently word has reached me that there's been some Metaphysical busybody complaining to a few folks on FB about my pricing & Spiritual methodology. I’d like to take a moment to address this horseshit once and for all.

The world of the Occult is vast and filled with all manner of Spirits both familiar and alien. What you deal with in grimoires is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, people. Further there are many paths and even within those paths there are often many alternatives to dealing with situations and problems. Since no two situations are truly alike, then no two prescriptions are alike - well unless you’re either Hoodoo or Wiccan because they seem to use the same thing for everyone.

No one gets to sit in judgment over anyone else for how you decide or not decide to take on a new client; no one gets to decide how you make that determination; no one but you gets to decide which Spirits to call upon for aid; no one but you gets to determine which method you may choose to use for your client; and no one but you gets to tell a client how much you want for the work.

There is a huge disparity out there among practitioners about pricing. Why? Well first off some are bound within their own beliefs and traditions what they charge for their time and ingredients. Some are not allowed to charge, others may be like I once was which was allowed to charge for ingredients but not my time. Others are free to charge whatever they want.

When a potential client comes to me, s/he may opt to tell me they have had others work on their problem. I may ask what types of others and often they’ll tell me they’ve had psychics, Wiccans, Santeria, Palo, Vodu, Healers, Shamans and so on. Typically I do not ask WHO specifically because it’s none of my business and secondly I don’t care who else has done X for the client.

Unlike a lot of folks, I have been trained. Well trained. I paid dearly for my training too in cash as well as other ways. Many people spend their spare cash and free time pursuing everything from painting to playing instruments to hiking to watching TV. I spent an inordinate amount of time reading, taking notes, practicing, experimenting and summoning since 1987. Why? Not because I wanted to be good at it but because I wanted to be DAMN GOOD at it! A lot of you chose to spend your money & time on concerts, movie tickets, junk foods, cigarettes, beer & liquor bashes, weed and so on. Who the fuck are you to judge me? Seriously? You have gall!

I don’t give a damn if you think I’m “believing my own marketing” or “he believes his own mythology”. You’re welcome to believe the moon is made of green cheese if you wish. You are not ME so where would you or anyone get off standing in judgment over me? Who died and left you King Shit of Turd Island? You haven’t even walked a mile in my moccasins!

And another thing, if I give a game plan to a client with a price, that is not for YOU nor anyone else to evaluate. Hello? I realize some potential clients may be angry at what I charge which is typically begins at $1,000 USD and you know what? That’s what I feel MY TIME IS WORTH! If you want to be one of those Hoodoo or McWiccans who can’t charge anything near that, then what right do you have to question my prices?

Further that potential client was given this information in confidence - I’m keeping his/her ID and problems in confidence! So if the potential client shares with you what I gave to him/her in confidence, what does that tell you about the would be client? For one they’re untrustworthy, for another they are angry over price. And we all know price is relative.

Hell, I have often stated that there are people who come to me that rather than say no to, I simply give them an inflated price and some BS idea and hope they just go away. Most do. None have ever taken me up on my wild offers like that. None. In fact, I turn down more business than I take on. Why? My own reasons but suffice to say, I do the divination, talk with my Spirits and follow their advice. If the Spirits say no, then I’m not going to do it no matter how much you offer and I’ve had a few folks really try to sweeten the offer after I said no.

You do not see me running around on social media bitching bout what Mary McWiccan charges or doesn’t for her services. Nor should I nor anyone else. Why not? Because it’s nobodies damn business! Don’t you have a life of your own to worry about? Clean up your own backyard, dufus. Make your life exemplary for once and quite trying to compare yourself to others.

Some of y’all don’t value your free time whereas I do mine. BIG DIFFERENCE right there! Even you African Religious Systems devotees sometimes make much ado about pricing and I ask who the hell died and crowned you the one all should bow before? Must we run our prices through you first? You feel you’re that self important? Really? How do you walk with balls/ovaries so huge?

A good number of you know exactly what I’m talking about here. You tire of the nosey neighbors trying to hone in and tell you how much you should charge or not charge. Listen, if you feel like working for free, BE MY GUEST! I will send everyone who comes to me to YOU so you can do all the free work you want to do for them! That’ll allow me my free time again to practice some things for myself and experiment with some new formulas I’ve created.

This is Sorcery folks, not math. There’s nothing precise or logical about it. Sometimes my Spirits will tell me to use things that make no logical sense and when I listen to them, the working works. It’s when I don’t listen to my spirits and instead try to do it logically my way that things can go wonky.

I don’t comment on how much a Wiccan should sell her bottled oils for. I sell mine very sharply in price. It’s my choice to do so and the Wiccan’s choice to charge what she wants. You as Hoodoo, Houngan/Manbo, Ceremonial Magician, Wiccan/Witch, don’t get to comment on the pricing. I do things to my oils most of you do not. *shrugs* Thus I charge more. Don’t like that I can get five times the price you can? Tough!

And I don’t always work with standard Spirits either. Most of you are grimoire enlightened and while I sometimes may summon one of those Spirits, I have a large variety of Spirits - some you have never heard of - to call on for aid. Just like some of the cursing oil recipes smell lovely and some of the healing oil recipes stink to high heaven, so too can dangerous Spirits do benevolent work. Too many of you talk about going beyond implied social boundaries and yet you pontificate on Spirits as if these boundaries are not arbitrary. Ugh. Make up your bloody mind!

But what I think is at the heart here is jealousy. Pure and simple. The whiner is obviously not accomplished and someone who fancies themselves to be my equal. Right. Look dimwit, none of us are equal in ability because we’re all at different levels based on how much we’ve worked, studied and practiced. I chose to spend more time doing this sort of work than you did. Doubt me? Ask my ex-wife about how much time I spent in my temple instead of with the family. Yes that was a bone of contention with her and in hindsight perhaps I was thickheaded to do that but I wanted to break through certain barriers and develop myself, my skills, and work with Spirits most of you don’t give a rat’s ass about.

When I started all of this, I was in college and worked a p/t job. I had a very inexpensive apartment ($180/month) in 1988 and kept my bills low - i.e. no car payments, insurance, habits to feed, and etc. Thus I’d save up enough bread to allow me to take up to 6 mos off from work so I could just go to school and devote all of my spare time not spent in school work to the pursuit of Sorcery. How many of you can say you did that?

My path is my own. It is not your path. You do not get to evaluate me - what I do, how I do it, who I do it for or what I charge to do it. Got that? My motivations are my own. My machinations are my own. I am free because I do what I want to do without anyone standing over me and looking down at me. No one tells me what to do.

I’m NOT WICCAN. I am a Sorcerer, bitch, deal with it!

Friday, April 4, 2014

When All Else Fails

Some time ago, I received an email from a "practitioner" who was one of those who openly told the world that 'Spirits are aspects of human consciousness' (much like his hero Crowley asserted.) He used to summon Spirits regulary, or so he said, until finally all hell broke loose in his home Temple. He tried various methods to get the Spirit to quiet down or banish it all together but nothing worked.

He tried a host of CM techniques from banishment's like the Star Ruby, LBRP, Greater Pentagram, LHRP, Greater Hexagram, even the Watchtwower Ceremony and all for naught. Then he decided to try Hoodoo methods with different potions, powders, sprays, candles & biblical prayers. Again nothing. He tried getting some folks to come over and do a ritual as a group and still no change. He got desperate so he decided to try some Satanic workings hoping to alleviate the tension in his home and yet still the angry Spirit won't budge. His wife even gave it a shot with some born again ministers she found up the street at a local church and had them parading through their home tossing holy water around shouting in the name of Jesus and still nada.

This had been going on for about 8 months when I got the email. Interestingly enough, the guy had a pretty decent work up on the Spirit so I had him transfer the details over to me and I had to meditate on this. Somehow the Spirit told him Its name. Funny how with all of those other methods he used, none of them were effective while invoking the Spirit’s name. Further he had some sample drawings of the Spirit along with Its office, hierarchy and what It did.

One of the nice things about being initiated, is you have authority with Spirits. No I’m not talking your typical initiation via Wicca or Ceremonial MagicK but a REAL initiation into a living tradition of Magic. In those mainstream instances you don’t have anywhere near the authority you do like when you’re duly initiated and given real power from a long House line. I knew that this is what it would take to get the Spirit’s full cooperation.

So I went into my Temple and summoned my own personal Spirits first and discussed the matter with them. We unanimously agreed to add this angry Spirit to our ever growing Spirit family. So with the help of my personal Familiar Spirits, I summoned the offending Spirit to my Temple to talk with me. He had a lot to say about why He was angry: no one would feed it. It had tried to tell Mr. Oblivious that It was hungry but Mr. Oblivious being an all knowing Ceremonial MagicKian who knows that figments of your imagination don’t need to be fed, he never bothered. Thus the Spirit being hungry and downright angry lashed out. Banishments don’t work. Prayers don’t work. Threats don’t work. Incantations and orations from grimoires don’t work. Satanic ideas don’t work. Hoodoo potions & biblical prayers don’t work.

To truly deal with Spirits, one needs actual authority behind them. Sure there are many born-again xians pretending to be Ceremonial MagicKians (or is that vice-versa?) which doesn't mean squat to the Spirits. Threats in the name of Jesus doesn't do anything either except annoy them. So what does work?

Having an authentic, valid initiation where you are actually initiated and have Spiritual authority bestowed upon you that the Spirit recognizes is first and foremost. It’s not what you think will work but what the Spirit knows will work. It's not what you think, but what the Spirit thinks that matters.

The end result came about after I agreed to take on the case and lured the Spirit here to my Temple, offered It a permanent home, fed It and now I have an extra, happy servant at my disposal. It knows that It will be fed regularly and will be safe here. Plus my own Spirits will keep It in line and more importantly, out of trouble.

Sometimes thumbing through Agrippa looking for a formula just isn't going to help especially when you have no Spiritual authority whatsoever. Threatening a Non-Physical Entity with punishment you cannot give is not only lame but also stupid. That’s like threatening a lone gang member on the street. He may walk away but what are you going to do IF he calls your bluff? LBRP yourself to death? Pfffft.

I will admit, I dealt with a few such cases prior to my initiation and I won’t lie to you, they were difficult. Disposing of an unwanted Spirit is no easy task when you have no Spiritual Authority behind you - well unless you are psychotic and the Spirit is actually just something inside your head and not real.

A non-initiate has to earn respect from the world of Spirits. Unfortunately, that’s not something that can be taught. It’s like becoming an officer over a platoon right out of boot camp and officer training school: you must earn the respect of the platoon. The average CM is not interested in such. Look at the literature - there’s nothing in there about earning a Spirit’s trust or respect so why would those lunatics bother to think of this?

If you wish to delve more into the where & why of Spirits, re-visit my older blog post from July 2012 entitled Spirits: Not What You've Been Told which will help you find out more about the real deal where Spirits are concerned versus the typical parrots parroting other parrots which is what the occult literature offers from so-called authors. Remember, authors just want to sell books and a lot of them do secondary research with books which is "scholarly". However are you interested in results or scholarship? You need to make up your mind. If you want to get things DONE then forget about scholarship and do the work; if all you care about is being accepted by a bunch of guys wearing funny headdresses, robes & holding pretty hand painted tools while speaking in Medieval English, be my guest.

Ceremonial Magickians think shouting Jewish names of Yahweh somehow frightens Spirits which is one of the funniest things ever!

Spirit: "You’re an asshole and going to regret you just did that!"

Magician: “IN THE NAME OF YHVH! I COMMAND YOU TO BE SILENT!”

Sp: "Really? You did not just say that to me! Oh I am so going to fuck you up, fool!"

Mag: “ADONAI HA-ARETZ! BOW DOWN UNTO AND SERVE ME, THOU BASE CREATURE! I COMMAND IT BY THE HOLY NAMES OF TZAPHQIEL! AURIEL! MICHAEL! BE THOU SILENT, I COMMAND IT!!”

Sp: "You know this is an enclosed space, that’s frankincense you’re burning and pretty soon, your oxygen supply will be getting thin..."

Mag: “SILENCE! ELOHIM! EL! EL SHADDAI!”

Sp: "Seriously? You’re shouting Hebrew names at me because why? Is that supposed to scare me or something? I’m not scared. Try harder!"

Mag: “HOLY ART THOU, LORD OF THE UNIVERSE! HOLY ART THOU, WHOM NATURE HATH NOT FORMED! HOLY ART THOU, THE VAST AND MIGHTY ONE! LORD OF THE LIGHT AND OF THE DARKNESS!"

Sp: *yawn*

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Superstitious Flakes

Some of you reading this baffle me. Why? Because you are superstitious to the point of being a flake. Look I know the occult world has a mixture of superstition, religion, metaphysics and so on, all intertwined. Seriously, you do not have to be one of those folks who think just because s/he practices Sorcery or (ugh) MagicK that everything you do has some sort of “consequence”.

What is the deal with thinking that everything that goes wrong is always someone out to get you? Or some Spirit is out to harm you? Seriously? You’re buying into the Bogeyman theory? C’mon you’re supposed to be a practitioner of the occult not some half-witted flake pretending to practice the occult!

And where is it engraved in stone that if you are initiated or have Spiritual abilities that you’re impervious to problems or danger? Who’s the moron that thinks just because you’re a Navy Seal that you’re bulletproof? Yes it IS the same logic. Some of you have this idiotic belief that if you get initiated all your problems will somehow disappear. Hah!

Dogs runaway, cats get run over, neighbors can just be asshats, vehicles have problems, appliances break down, life has PROBLEMS, all right? It’s part and parcel of the business. If you don’t have any problems, you’re not doing anything. Hello? Life happens and thus we have problems whether we’re rich or poor, intelligent or stupid, young or old initiated or not. It’s the way of the world. Get used to it!

Yet the biggest purveyors of the idiotic nonsense that if you’re initiated or have Sorcery, you shouldn’t have any problems are those halfwits who believe in Karma. You’re the ones who make up all of the excuses as to why such bad things happen to begin with. No one said life was going to be easy just because you made your wand or you follow some hermetic path, did they? If so get a refund.

There are magicKians out there who argue over the definitions of magicK or argue about which neo-masonic order is valid or whether Barrett actually stole from Agrippa and so on but none of these geniuses ever bother to stop and look at how foolish it is to think that just because you have met your HGA (well for those of you who actually DID the work to meet it!) that all your problems would simply vanish.

Yes superstition goes hand in hand with the occult, metaphysics and Sorcery but does that mean you have to some kind of new age flake who every time something bad happens to you that it’s automatically some Spirit or some practitioner working against you? Please, you are not that important! Did you read that? YOU ARE NOT THAT IMPORTANT.

I know many of you would like to believe you are important but in reality, you’re not. If you ceased to be, some would feel sadness from your departure but overall the world would still spin, rains would still come & go and the seasons would change without fail.

Had a practitioner email me asking me what was befalling him since his sister somehow managed to let their dog out and forgot about the dog that it got lost and ended up freezing to death in a very cold stretch of cold weather this past winter. He wanted to know why. After all, he’s initiated. Well la dee friggin’ da. His sister is a moron and he should get rid of her. But it’s not the Spirits fault nor is it his wards at home or any such thing. It’s just pure human stupidity. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Who Says You're Intelligent or Not?

What makes each of us intelligent? Is it our IQ? That subject has been hotly debated by scholars themselves since those tests first appeared. Some claim that the mental state you’re in, how you’re feeling, health-wise and so forth also determines how well you’ll do on an IQ test so are such tests truly an indicator of true intelligence? Yes I know those who administer them are believers but hey in all fairness, their jobs depend on them just like HR people in corporations depend on the sometimes silly hoops they make job applicants jump through when applying for a job such as length of resumes.

We often look at success factors as indicators of intelligence since after all if you’re successful at something, you obviously know how to do it right, right? Many would disagree and state that there are numerous examples of morons who run successful companies into the ground by accident or design and that those who succeed often have Dame Fortuna dancing with them. Still success at something does point towards doing the right things at least to the motivational crowd.

What about old fashioned common sense? Now that’s something that often gets thrown out there for everyone to examine and it is amazing at how many “agreed” responses to a statement such as “Common sense is so rare it’s almost classified as a super power.” And still look at how many otherwise rational people make bad decisions and wind up in a smelly pile of dung. They often get pointed at with disdain while snickering, “Look at those fools!” And are they fools? Perhaps or did they just make one bad decision that got them caught?

Does a sheepskin automatically make you intelligent? I don’t think it does and I’ve been to college. What it does is prove you can follow a course of study, read pre-selected materials, analyze them, write up reports on them and memorize data to use in tests. Period. The sad part is very few college grads I have talked with have ever really used their degrees. I didn’t get a degree myself though I wanted to finish it at the time but life got in the way. I got a certificate in an Associate’s program which simply means I took the core courses & passed them. Not having a degree has left a few doors closed to me over the years - I say a few because I’ve been involved in sales & marketing and trust me, I have mad skills at those subjects and people wanted me on their team. Thus even companies with bachelor’s degrees required often waived them to get me on board and a few others I know went through the same thing.

So what makes one ‘intelligent’? I think it is the ability to go and find what it is you need to know to solve a problem or issue. People bandy the term ‘smart’, ‘brilliant’ and ‘genius’ around these days and true there are a number of folks who seem to be walking encyclopedias but a lot of these folks live in their parent’s basements which is something I never understood. You can solve complex mathematical equations but you cannot have a simple relationship with a man or woman? What is up with that? How is it you can rattle off lists of math formulas, chemistry tables & even write out some useful algorithms but when it comes to dealing with Joe & Mary Sixpack, you’re an abject failure? Wow, you’re definitely BRILLIANT aren’t you?

I’ve sat in groups, chat rooms, forums & what not watching scads of these intellectuals arguing the finite details about everything from philosophy to religion to High MagicK to earth science and yet a number of these eggheads are horridly terrible with just being a nice person to others. It’s like they feel they must have the absolute last word in about everything or else their universe will implode. How sad and pathetic. Hey I know it stings and hurts like hell to be put in your place by someone but to continue beating the horse after the life has left it only shows you’re a moron not the other person.

Have I been guilty of this? Absolutely! It’s taken me some serious soul searching to come to these conclusions and to realize that I don’t know everything. For years I have maintained that my specialties in the world of the Occult are Sorcery, Armenan Runes and Spirits. Those three subjects cover a helluva lot of ground and rightfully so but still those areas are vast and I cannot lay claim to knowing everything there is to know about all of those things. However what I DO know, I KNOW because I have the practical experience to back it up. 

Back in the day, I used to collect every book, every grimoire out there and then one day a realization came over me: most of these books are wrong. Once you get really initiated and I’m not talking about some McWiccan or Ceremonial Moron initiation but a REAL initiation, then things change and you learn what’s real, what’s hokum, what works and what’s horse shit. Unfortunately for your peers, they’re on their own and stuck with the miserable crap that comes out as ‘learned’ Occult material. 

(Hey I feel for you but not my problem anymore!)

There are people running around in the world of the Occult playing at pseudo-intellectual, mostly in the Ceremonial Moron groups. Why? Misery loves company I guess. But there are some dynamite Ceremonial Magicians just as there are some outstanding Wiccans who I would never hesitate to send someone to. Before Jason came along, I had no one other than my old pal Brujo Negro to send anyone to who was looking for authentic Sorcery. Why? It’s hard to find someone who is rational, intelligent, composes himself well, and knows how to throw down when the shit hits the fan. Brujo Negro & I go way back to the late 90's so we have history; Jason & I have history from other old Yahoo Groups when he used to go by Inondinandium (sorry if I misspelled that, Jason!).

There are a lot of folks pretending to be practitioners who just collect books & comment on them giving lectures & theses on them and they often have me wondering if they are actually just some yucks from some university studying abnormal psychology who are having fun with us. Oddly enough, it’s not just the western magicK side of the coin either as there are oodles of wannabes in the ARS (African Religious Systems) who pretend to know what they’re doing and they don’t know squat. The ARS is rife with folks selling Elleggua heads as authentic when they’re not; of peddling Spirits when they have no right to do so; or selling Ngangas or Prendas when they’ve never even had their head washed in the Yoruban system. As much as I can’t stand most Yoruban practitioners, I don’t like seeing people ripping their system off just like I don’t like to see the same sort of dipshidiots doing the same sorts of things to the Fon either.

When you look at it as a whole and boil it all down, it’s personal choices that make us intelligent or not. And I also want to state that I think our intelligence waxes & wanes just like the Moon does because even the smartest people make stupid decision at times. I know because I’ve witnessed many of them doing it! And it’s funny! Especially when you either know or have a strong idea of what’s going to happen once their decision has been made final. I don’t believe intelligence is static and I believe it grows and declines in all of us as we choose our various interests to pursue.

One man who proved you could be highly intelligent without much education was Henry Ford. He realized that if you drew upon the resources of others, there is nothing you could not achieve. He even went to court to prove this theory and did so. The prosecution called him all but an idiot and yet Ford remained calm and explained that by the push of a button, he could call in any man into his office to answer any question known at that time. That’s power. That’s real intelligence. Remember it’s not about what you memorize or how big your cranium is, it’s how you utilize it and the other resources at your disposal.

If others call you a simpleton, moron, dufus, idiot, fool - so what? Greater men and minds than yours have been called that and more. I don’t think they lost any sleep over it nor should you. Be yourself. Don’t try to compete. Just be you.

Monday, February 10, 2014

The Imagination - Getting Even Without Getting Into Trouble

Your imagination is the single most powerful tool you have at your fingertips. Period. End of discussion. No your will is not all powerful as many of you misbelieve nor is your intent where the real Sorcery begins but rather it is at the level of imagination where creation begins to take on true shape and form.

Think about what you can achieve with your imagination! Anything. Even if you’re honked off at some douchebag who practically ran you off the road this morning, you can run him over, shoot him, flay the skin from his bones layer by layer - all in the comfort & privacy of your own imagination. You can hog tie him and drag him behind your car on the way to work and feel satisfied. I did that many times in the past and it always felt comforting.

What’s the point in physically killing the douchebag when you can filet his miserable hide again and again all without incurring any legal consequences and no moral absolutes. It is just you, your imagination and a little creativity. Think about it for a bit. If you wanted to, you can kill anyone in your mind and watch them bleed to death, suffer or whatever you want. Hopefully you won't be choosing innocents to do this to but to those scumbags who cause you hassles in your day-to-day life.

The key is to simply do this and not physically act on those impulses. Rather allow yourself to go into a laboratory with whoever is upsetting you strapped to a table. Next to them on another table is row after row of surgical implements that you can use to cause the bastard pain. This is your world of imagination and you should be able to torture, maim & kill whoever you wish inside there.

Now some of you reading this are horrified. Why? In your imagination, you're alone. This is your own private, created world. No one else has any say in how you run or use your imagination thus do as you please. You do such things here so you do not have to actually do any of these horrible things in real life. Trust me the feeling of release will allow you to feel much better. And seriously it is fun to imagine new sorts of tortures for your douchebag victim when you use this sort of inner therapy.

No need to imagine any pink bubbles or white light at all. Even if you’re a believer in karma (Gods know why!) there’s nothing to fear since you will not act on it but rather just enjoy the pleasure you get from torturing those who have made YOU suffer all in the comfort & privacy of your own, devious mind. This is your private sanctum and no one else has any say so within or about it. In fact, the wisest course is to keep this completely personal and hush-hush so that folks don’t think you’re insane. Because you are not but rather just enjoying the feeling of getting even with that dirtbag of a mother in law or that religious preaching brother who always knock you or that school bully who toninually torments you.

The key is to not activate these images by putting energy into them because that would be doing Sorcery. If you don’t want the person to really suffer, then do not use any energy whatsoever but rather enjoy finding ways to give it all back to them with much more vehemence than they showed you. If you wish, change the scenery to some Medieval dungeon in a drafty castle in the Bavarian alps or some moss covered stone works over a Scottish loch somewhere. Your imagination, your rules, your place. Simple as that.

Remember to keep this to yourself as there are a lot of busy bodies who pretend to care but in truth they are no more than asshats who want to sit and judge others on their thoughts & behaviors. Do you enjoy being judged? I don’t. Do you want to be examined under a microscope? To what end or purpose? Is it useful to you? No it’s not. Thus keep your mouth shut and just enjoy the time you take to put things to right by clearly imagining your worst enemy’s slow demise. In fact it is also therapeutic to imagine them as dead in a coffin at a funeral. Once they’re lowered in the ground they’re dead to you. Simple as that.

Their sting won’t be as hard hitting later on when you have to deal with them.