Satanic Temple Display Vandal Charged

This is good to see. An Iowa man who vandalized a religious display set up by The Satanic Temple at the Iowa State Capitol has been charged with a hate crime. That is exactly how hate crime laws are supposed to work, and why we have them.

A man who attacked and beheaded a permitted statue put up by the Satanic Temple at Iowa’s Capitol in December has been charged with a felony under the state’s hate crime statutes, the prosecutor’s office said this week. Michael Cassidy, who was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for Mississippi’s state House of Representatives, is charged with third-degree criminal mischief in violation of individual rights, the Polk County Attorney’s Office said Tuesday.

This probably doesn't mean much coming from me as I've been very open about my progressive politics, but I always find it amazing that Republicans will go on and on and on about freedom until it means freedom for somebody they don't like. Freedom of religion is a basic concept enshrined by the United States Constitution, and it means that it is totally unconstitutional and thus illegal to persecute minority religions. There is no way you can read the actual text honestly and come away with the impression that the intent is to give any particular religion special rights and privileges above all the others.

“Evidence shows the defendant made statements to law enforcement and the public indicating he destroyed the property because of the victim’s religion,” the prosecutor’s office said. Cassidy, 36, had been charged with a misdemeanor. The enhanced charge is a class D felony under Iowa’s hate crime statutes. Cassidy, of Lauderdale, ran for Mississippi State House District 45 as a Republican but was defeated in November by Democrat Keith Jackson by 55% to 38%. His campaign biography describes him as a former Navy pilot and “a Christian conservative who loves our nation.”

Cassidy appeared on Fox News days after he beheaded the statue and called it “Christian civil disobedience.” He said he went to the Capitol and “nobody was there, and it offended me. It touched a nerve. It was, you know, righteous indignation.” Cassidy said on Fox News that he “pulled his head off,” referring to the display of Baphomet.

So basically Cassidy is claiming that he should have the right to persecute members of any religion that offends him. I'm sure parts of his religion are offensive to my beliefs too, but I don't go around vandalizing his religious displays. All it requires is some basic emotional maturity.

Minister Mortimer Adramelech of the Satanic Temple of Iowa told NBC affiliate WHO of Des Moines at the time of the vandalism that the display was there for the holidays. The Iowa Department of Administrative Services said the group met the application requirements for the display. “All religions have equal rights in the public forum under the First Amendment of the Constitution. As Americans we have every right to be here just like anyone else,” Adramelech told the station.

The Satanic Temple started its campaign of placing religious displays at State Capitols in response to a Christian movement to place promotional statues created for the film The Ten Commandmants at statehouses. The goal of this was clearly to privilege Christianity over other religions in the public square. Courts repeatedly have ruled that the displays can go up in public spaces so long as all other religions have the same rights to display their own symbols.

The Satanic Temple has gone on record stating that their preference would be to have no religious monuments on state property, as the United States is a secular, pluralistic nation. Personally, though, I actually like the idea of every religion out there having the right to put up their own displays. I'm perfectly fine with a celebration of our nation's many different religious groups, highlighting the secular laws that allow all of them to coexist peacefully - at least until some asshole like Cassidy comes around.

Via Solis Capricorn Elixir Rite - Year Seven

Today's Magick Monday post is a full script for the Capricorn Elixir Rite that we will be performing tomorrow, January 9th 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.

Talk With Jesus!

You know how I go out of my way explaining to people that praying for a specific thing is the same damn thing as magick? I do that because the sort of Christian that generally goes around praying for things like a new car is also the sort of Christian obsessed with how evil magick is. As you can see browsing through the rituals on this site, the way I usually do magick is to call on angels by the corresponding godnames, conjure them, and charge them with specific tasks. This is literally no different than calling on God and his angels to bring you something. "I pray to get [a certain thing] in the name of Jesus is a spell, albeit a sloppy and inefficient one.

I bring this up thanks to this ridiculous new product, the "Holy Spirit Board." It's ridiculous because it's a freaking Ouija board with so Christian iconography. This is not the first time I've talked about a Christian Ouija board here on Augoeides, such as this article from 2019. It is the first ioteration of a Christian Ouija board, though, that actually advertises itself as talking directly with Jesus. I would expect the folks who actually know the Ten Commandments and understand the meaning of the word "idolotry" should have something to say about that, and I expect some of them do. I just haven't seen it so far.

Because the "Holy Spirit Board" is literally idolotrous. Ouija boards work because a phenomenon called the ideomotor effect. This consists of small, unconsicous movements in the fingers. Those movements make the planchette slide, and if you have a bunch of people working the board together, the motion can seem mysterious. In fact, the inventor of the Ouija board and other spirit communication devices from the same period likely wouldn't disagree with any of that. When a Ouija board works - that is, provides you with accurate information - it's because your psychic senses are activated and your psychic impressions are translating into those small, unconscious finger movements.

It's not impossible that a person could use a Ouija board to communicate with the Christian God, Jesus, or angels. Deities can be contacted in this way. The problem is that without psychic development, psychic senses are usually likewise undeveloped. That means that what is translating to the board is usually not viable psychic information, but rather one's own thoughts. And THAT means that anyone using this device to talk with Jesus might be getting legitimate communication some of the time. But the rest of the time they are literally communicating with their own thoughts and treating those thoughts as if they were those of Jesus. The latter case is practically the definition of idolotry - which they accuse us magicians of all the time.

Personally I'm a Thelemite and honestly couldn't care less if Christians want to make use of magical or psychic technology. Good for them! I just wish they would wake up and realize what they are doing when they use the tech, but then rail against people of other religions for doing the same. Either Ouija boards are evil or they're not. Idolotry is idolotry, no matter who's doing it. Most of all, I wish they would just leave us alone to practice as we will. We are perfectly happy to extend them the same courtesy, so long as they don't enact their beliefs in a way that threatens our basic human rights.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Sagittarius Elixir Rite - Year Seven

Today's Magick Monday post is a full script for the Sagittarius Elixir Rite that we will be performing tomorrow, Tuesday November 28th, 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.

Scorpio Elixir Rite - Year Seven

Today's Magick Monday post is a full script for the Scorpio Elixir Rite that we will be performing tomorrow, Tuesday November 7th, at the Ritual Workshop. We will be 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 Scorpio. The sign Scorpio is attributed to the power of “Necromancy." Note that this refers to work with the spirits of the dead, including ancestors, rather than magick involving dead things such as body parts and so forth. 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.

Some Possible Evidence?

One of the basic tenets of the quantum information model of magick has to do with the interaction of consciousness and quantum information while said information remain in superposition. Those are some big words, but what they essentially mean is that before a collection of probabilities at the quantum level resolves into a fixed state, it is susceptible to manipulation by magick.

Shifting the likelihood of the various possible outcomes allows magick to influence the physical world without employing physical energy such as electromagnetic waves. Previous paranormal research has shown that psychic abilities are unrelated to these sorts of energies, and therefore magick should be as well. Magick works with the same abilities as "psychic powers," just in a more organized and optimized way.

This raises the question of how this consciousnes-superposition connection works, and what evidence of it would look like in the physical world. The very nature of superposition renders it unmeasurable by direct means, so that approach will not work. But here's an interesting discovery that suggests what evidence of it could look like.

Researchers from Queen Mary University of London have made a discovery that could change our understanding of the universe. In their study published on August 23 in the journal Science Advances, they reveal, for the first time, that there is a range in which fundamental constants can vary, allowing for the viscosity needed for life processes to occur within and between living cells. This is an important piece of the puzzle in determining where these constants come from and how they impact life as we know it.

Vending at NW Indiana Pagan Pride Day

This Saturday, October 28th, I will be vending my books at Pagan Pride Day in northwestern Indiana alongside the awesome Embalmed Apple. Northwestern Indiana is still basically within the Chicago metro area, so if you happen to live around those parts this will be an opportunity to buy books from me in person. I will, of course, be happy to sign them for you. I will have both fiction and non-fiction titles on hand.

I rarely vend outside Minnesota, so here's your chance to pick up books in person without braving the Arctic tundra in which I live. Yes, I know, Chicago is also cold - just not like the Twin Cities! It's exciting for me to be vending in a relatively new environment, and if you're local to the area I hope to see you there.

Via Solis Libra Elixir Rite - Year Seven

Today's post is the full script for the Libra Elixir Rite that we will be performing tonight, Tuesday October 3rd, at the Leaping Laughter Ritual Workshop. We will be 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 Libra. The sign Libra is attributed to "Works of Justice and Equilibrium." So those sorts of intents are most appropriate, and as this is a general and highly adaptable power, it can be used for many different purposes, from obtaining justice in the external world to balancing your internal magical energies and/or spiritual perceptions. 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.