Still Not Occultists

I have talked a lot over the years on Augoeides about the almost complete non-existence of "occult crime." Time and time again, occultism will be cited as the motivation behind some horrible crime. And time and time again, it always turns out that the real motivation is something ordinary - usually sex, money, or revenge. Occultism makes a wonderful boogeyman because statistically speaking, nobody understands what magick is about. Ask a random person on the street and they are going to answer with something they saw in a horror movie.

Magick shows up in horror movies for the same reason that it gets blamed for any crime that includes elements of weirdness - again, because nobody understands what it's about. Ignorance about magick creates an information gap that filmmakers or criminal investigators can fill with whatever nonsense they want. As a teacher of magick, one of the things I have to keep explaining to new students is that magick doesn't work like it does in the movies. It also doesn't work anything like most "occult crime" scenarios propose.

You never see this sort of thing with Tarot or astrology - at least not anymore. That's because just about everybody has a pretty good idea of what Tarot readers and astrologers do. To be clear, lots of people out there think those things are bullshit, but even those people know what they are. Astrologers track the movement of planets through the sky and use those movements to predict future events and explain personality traits. Tarot readers work with decks of cards and interpret the symbolism of those cards for pretty much the same reasons.

Even a person who thinks Tarot or astrology are bullshit would never consider them reasonable motivations for weird crimes. The closest to that are scammers who exploit belief in them to con clients out of money - which is an entirely ordinary motivation, not anything occult. Magick doesn't get that same consideration because the practice is often secretive and kept out of the public eye. Magical organizations keep things like initiation ritual secret because they are based on the mystery tradition idea that initiations are more effective when candidates have no idea what to expect, not because anything heinous or diabolical is actually going on.

I keep my magical work and writings free and public in service to an idea that I call "exotericism." That is, I'm looking to demystify magick in the public sphere. I promote my books in an effort to make a little money, but it's not very much and my main goal is to make the material easily available. That way people can see what magick is and what magicians do, rather than some sort of horror movie nonsense. It's not sensational. It consists of study, analysis, and dedicated ritual practice. For anybody who doesn't have a passion for mysticism and the paranormal, the whole thing is actually pretty boring.

Mineapolis Witchcraft?

It is no big secret that I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Yes, that Minneapolis, Minnesota, the site of the administration's big "Metro Surge" ICE operation. For anyone wondering, my family and I are fine despite the operation going completely off the rails. I live in South Minneapolis, where both Renee Good and Alex Pretti were shot and killed by ICE and Border Patrol agents respectively. Demonstrations are ongoing, including one just up the street from my house.

There are legitimate debates that we can have about border security and enforcement, but let me tell you as someone who lives here, this is not it. Even if ICE and the Border Patrol were not out there murdering citizens, Minnesota's percentage of undocumented immigrants is tiny. The "Feeding Our Future" fraud case, which the administration claims justifies the operation, is over. The founder of the organization was convicted back in March - and by the way, in case you were wondering, she's not an immigrant.

If that all wasn't bad enough, there are the Poor Oppressed Christians out there who refuse to shut up about it. The linked video is about Michael Knowles, who is out there accusing the residents of Minneapolis of witchcraft. Not because spells are being cast to keep people safe up here, which they most definitely are, but because Native Americans performed a ceremony at the site where Renee Good was killed. It should be clear to any reasonable person that there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, but it's not like these folks are ever reasonable.

Cognitive Dissonance?

In the past I have been highly critical of "meltdown stories" involving Enochian magick. The story goes that there is something specific about Enochian that makes it highly dangerous to a person's mental health, and many people allegedly develop mental health problems after working with it. I personally have worked with the system for decades using the methods published in my Mastering Enochian Magick series and never have encountered anything like that, and I can't say that any of my students have either. But I recently heard a bit of information that might suggest something about what could be going on with those narratives.

Magick and mental illness have very little in common. Despite some superficial features - for example, schizophrenic auditory hallucinations versus communicating with spirits - it is not the case that magicians are in some sense working effectively with states of consciousness that might otherwise be pathological. If you spend any time at all with schizophrenic people, it becomes pretty clear that the famous Joseph Cambbell quote, "The psychotic drowns in the same waters in which the mystic swims with delight" is not even remotely accurate. About the only thing psychosis and mysticism have in common is that they both involve altered states of consciousness, and all alterations of consciousness are not the same.

It is also difficult to build causal relationships between mental illness and any sort of practice, spiritual or otherwise, because between a quarter and a third of our population has some form of mental illness. While there are of course mentally ill people in the magical community, I have never seen any valid statistical evidence pointing to the incidence being anywhere near as high as a quarter to a third. If the rates are the same between magical practitioners and the general population, you can't conclude that magick of any sort somehow causes mental illness. This is the main reason I remain skeptical of the alleged Enochian meltdown narrative.

What is true is that people who develop delusions generally develop them in the context of their lives and activities. A person who practices magick and develops paranoid scizophrenia is likely to have delusions about magical ideas, like evil magicians or spirits attacking them. A fundamentalist Christian is likely to have the same delusions about demons. A person who grew up around UFOlogists is likely to have those delusions about aliens. And a person without exposure to any of these alternative communities is probably going to develop them about secret government agencies or law enforcement.

Via Solis Aquarius Elixir Rite - Year Nine

Today's post is a full script for the Aquarius Elixir Rite that we will be performing tomorrow, January 20th, at the Tuesday Ritual Workshop starting around 8 PM CDT. The Sun entered Aquarius today, on January 19th.

0. The Temple

The ritual space is set up with an altar table in the center. The bell chime, banishing dagger, and invoking wand are placed on the altar. In the center of the altar is placed a cup of wine for creating the elixir, within the Table of Art corresponding to Aquarius. The sign Aquarius is attributed to the power of "Astrology." This includes both learning about astrology and astrological methods, and working directly with astrological forces, aspects, and the like. As such, this is a general power with many possible practical applications. The Via Solis Elixir Rites were written by Michele Montserrat in 2010 for the Comselh Ananael magical working group.

I. Opening

All stand surrounding the altar. Officiant inhales fully, placing the banishing dagger at his or her lips. The air is then expelled as the dagger is swept backwards.

Officiant: Bahlasti! Ompehda!

Officiant then performs the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. All rotate accordingly.

Officiant: We take refuge in Nuit, the blue-lidded daughter of sunset, the naked brilliance of the voluptuous night sky, as we issue the call to the awakened nature of all beings, for every man and every woman is a star.

All: MAKAShANaH

Officiant: We take refuge in Hadit, the secret flame that burns in every heart of man and in the core of every star, as we issue the call to our own awakened natures, arousing the coiled serpent about to spring.

All: ABRAHADABRA

Officiant: We take refuge in Heru-Ra-Ha, who wields the wand of double power, the wand of the force of Coph Nia, but whose left hand is empty for he has crushed an universe and naught remains, as we unite our awakened natures with those of all beings everywhere and everywhen, dissolving all obstacles and healing all suffering.

All: AUMGN

Officiant: For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is every way perfect.

All: All is pure and present are and has always been so, for existence is pure joy; all the sorrows are but as shadows; they pass and done; but there is that which remains. To this realization we commit ourselves – pure and total presence. So mote it be.

Bell chime.

Via Solis Capricorn Elixir Rite - Year Nine

Today's post is a full script for the Capricorn Elixir Rite that we will be performing tomorrow, December 23rd, at the Leaping Laughter Ritual Workshop. We will starting around 8 PM.

0. The Temple

The ritual space is set up with an altar table in the center. The bell chime, banishing dagger, and invoking wand are placed on the altar. In the center of the altar is placed a cup of wine for creating the elixir, within the Table of Art corresponding to Capricorn.

The sign Capricorn is attributed to the powers of "The Witches' Sabbath so-called" and "the Evil Eye." The latter is a general form of cursing cast by line of sight, but keep in mind that as Capricorn rules the Evil Eye, this sign can be employed both to cast such curses and protect you from them. Seeing as the "Witches' Sabbath" is not a real magical operation, but rather an invention of Medieval witch hunters (as the "so-called" likely acknowledges) it requires some explanation.

According to the imagination of witch hunters, the Witches' Sabbath was a ritual in which witches copulated with the Devil in order to obtain magical powers. So in the context of real magical operations we are talking about sex magick in various forms, whether symbolic or actual. Liber A'ash vel Capricorni Pneumatici, for example, is attributed to this sign and describes in (only slightly) veiled symbolic language a sex magick technique similar to Spare's well-known sigilization method. The Great Rite in the Wiccan tradition would be another example.

In addition, one of the magical weapons attributed to Capricorn is "the secret force" which is a reference to internal energies such as kundalini, whether employed in sex magick operations or otherwise. So another application for Capricorn would be to develop and/or strengthen those energies by magical means. It is important to keep in mind that "sex magick" such does not necessarily involve having sex, but rather working with the union of energetic polarities - which can be accomplished by many different means.

The Via Solis Elixir Rites were written by Michele Montserrat in 2010 for the Comselh Ananael magical working group.

I. Opening

All stand surrounding the altar. Officiant inhales fully, placing the banishing dagger at his or her lips. The air is then expelled as the dagger is swept backwards.

Officiant: Bahlasti! Ompehda!

Officiant then performs the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. All rotate accordingly.

Officiant: We take refuge in Nuit, the blue-lidded daughter of sunset, the naked brilliance of the voluptuous night sky, as we issue the call to the awakened nature of all beings, for every man and every woman is a star.

All: MAKAShANaH

Officiant: We take refuge in Hadit, the secret flame that burns in every heart of man and in the core of every star, as we issue the call to our own awakened natures, arousing the coiled serpent about to spring.

All: ABRAHADABRA

Officiant: We take refuge in Heru-Ra-Ha, who wields the wand of double power, the wand of the force of Coph Nia, but whose left hand is empty for he has crushed an universe and naught remains, as we unite our awakened natures with those of all beings everywhere and everywhen, dissolving all obstacles and healing all suffering.

All: AUMGN

Officiant: For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is every way perfect.

All: All is pure and present are and has always been so, for existence is pure joy; all the sorrows are but as shadows; they pass and done; but there is that which remains. To this realization we commit ourselves – pure and total presence. So mote it be.

Bell chime.

Auto-Talismanic Ritual for 2025

We will be performing the Auto-Talismanic Ritual for the 2025 Winter Solstice this Friday evening, December 19th. Doors open at 6:30 with the ritual to begin around 7 PM.

0. The Temple

The temple is set up with an altar in the center, on which sits the Table of Art. A pitcher filled with wine or juice is placed in the center of the Table. The banishing dagger, invoking wand, and bell chime are placed on the altar. Magus wears white and Sophia wears black. Throughout the ritual, Sophia and Magus face each other across the altar, moving appropriately throughout the various ceremonial forms.

I. Opening

As each person enters the temple, they are handed a glass filled with salt water. Once all are present, Magus takes up the banishing dagger and performs the Star Ruby up to the final Qabalistic Cross.

Sophia: We take refuge in Nuit, the blue-lidded daughter of sunset, the naked brilliance of the voluptuous night sky, as we issue the call to the awakened nature of all beings, for every man and every woman is a star.

All: MAKAShANAH.

Magus: We take refuge in Hadit, the secret flame that burns in every heart of man and in the core of every star, as we issue the call to our own awakened natures, arousing the coiled serpent about to spring.

All: ABRAHADHABRA.

Sophia: We take refuge in Heru-Ra-Ha, who wields the wand of double power, the wand of the force of Coph Nia, but whose left hand is empty for he has crushed an universe and naught remains, as we unite our awakened natures with those of all beings everywhere and everywhen, dissolving all obstacles and healing all suffering.

All: AUMGN.

Magus: For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is every way perfect.

Sophia:: All is pure and present and has always been so, for existence is pure joy; all the sorrows are but as shadows; they pass and are done; but there is that which remains. To this realization we commit ourselves – pure and total presence.

All: So mote it be.

Via Solis Sagittarius Elixir Rite - Year Nine

Today's Magick Monday post is a full script for the Sagittarius Elixir Rite that we will be performing tomorrow, Tuesday December 9th, at the ritual workshop. We will be starting the ritual around 8 PM.

0. The Temple

The ritual space is set up with an altar table in the center. The bell chime, banishing dagger, and invoking wand are placed on the altar. In the center of the altar is placed a cup of wine for creating the elixir, within the Table of Art corresponding to Sagittarius. The sign Sagittarius is attributed to the power of “Transmutations." It is also the only sign attributed to a vision, the "Vision of Universal Peacock." This vision is a significant step in alchemical processes. Transmutation is a general power with many applications, since in a sense all magical operations represent attempts to transmute or transform some aspect of yourself, the external world, or both. So any intent along those lines would be in harmony with the power of the sign. The Via Solis Elixir Rites were written by Michele Montserrat in 2010 for the Comselh Ananael magical working group.

I. Opening

All stand surrounding the altar. Officiant inhales fully, placing the banishing dagger at his or her lips. The air is then expelled as the dagger is swept backwards.

Officiant: Bahlasti! Ompehda!

Officiant then performs the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. All rotate accordingly.

Officiant: We take refuge in Nuit, the blue-lidded daughter of sunset, the naked brilliance of the voluptuous night sky, as we issue the call to the awakened nature of all beings, for every man and every woman is a star.

All: MAKAShANaH

Officiant: We take refuge in Hadit, the secret flame that burns in every heart of man and in the core of every star, as we issue the call to our own awakened natures, arousing the coiled serpent about to spring.

All: ABRAHADABRA

Officiant: We take refuge in Heru-Ra-Ha, who wields the wand of double power, the wand of the force of Coph Nia, but whose left hand is empty for he has crushed an universe and naught remains, as we unite our awakened natures with those of all beings everywhere and everywhen, dissolving all obstacles and healing all suffering.

All: AUMGN

Officiant: For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is every way perfect.

All: All is pure and present are and has always been so, for existence is pure joy; all the sorrows are but as shadows; they pass and done; but there is that which remains. To this realization we commit ourselves – pure and total presence. So mote it be.

Magick Without Fears Hermetic Podcast Interview

This afternoon I sat down for an interview with Frater RC at the Magick Without Fears Hermetic Podcast. We discussed my latest Enochian book, Mastering the Thirty Aires and a number of other topics related to magick and mysticism. I had a great time as always, and go check out the Magick Without Fears Hermetic Podcast. Frater RC has plenty of great guests discussing fascinating topics surrounding the theory and practice of modern esotericism and magick.