The number one complaint I hear from people when I tell them
to work with their ancestors is that their family is just awful. That they can
never work with their ancestors for X Y Z reasons. I would never belittle
someone’s trauma. I am certain there are a lot of people out there whose
feelings on this are legitimate. I would never tell someone to work with an
ancestor that abused them, or with ancestors that have proven beyond a shadow
of a doubt that they were fucking assholes. I would ask, that if your ancestors
don’t fit in that category you consider a couple of things. And, I have some
work-arounds.
One, work on forgiveness. Forgiveness is as much of a
blessing for you as it is for them. I’m not going to sit here and outline all
the benefits of forgiveness, because it’s something you have to come to on your
own or it doesn’t really work. Just think about it. Maybe take a couple of days
to meditate on the concept of forgiveness.
Two, you may think that all your ancestors were hard-core Pentecostal/Jewish/Muslim/Catholic/etc.,
and they would NEVER understand what you practice. That may be true. Some
spirits hold onto that shit tight. Most learn it’s an anchor for them in the
afterlife. Most spirits of the dead realize almost immediately after they cross
over that the cosmos contains so much more than they ever dreamed of. They know
that us humans have an extremely limited perspective on the nature of reality.
That includes you and I as magi my friends. The only way you will know if any
given spirit is open to your current beliefs is to talk to them. So give it a
try and find out.
But if you really just can’t, you still have options. You
can flat-out adopt some ancestors. Looking to people within your own culture
would be a good start. We all come from Africa. We all come from the same
source. We are all siblings on this little mud-ball we call Earth. If you pick
someone with the same ethnicity, chances are you are related in some way. Do
some genealogy if you really want to know. Certainly you can at least come up
with a picture or something to symbolize what they were known for to have on
your ancestor altar.
You can also have magical ancestors. Not just ones from your
own particular magical tribe. I have talked with the spirits of Jack Parsons and
Hunter S. Thompson. I consider them ancestors of my craft.
If none of that seems right to you, you could go looking for
your ancestors astrally. A couple of years ago at the Babalon Rising Festival,
I led a guided meditation that had people meet their most distant ancestors and
learn about them. I’m proud to say that a version of that guided meditation has
made the rounds in several magical groups. You absolutely can go back as far as
you want. If you want a magical ancestor, why not use magick to find them? If I
get some requests, I would be happy to make an audio recording of that guided
meditation and post it here.
So if you want to work with ancestors you have no excuses.
It may be more work for you, but nothing good comes easy.
I am gonna belabor the point. I don’t want to put this in
absolute terms, but you should, if at all possible, be working with a group of
magi. In my experience, there is little else that will improve your practice as
much as learning from your peers.
Don’t tell me you can’t find other people who are interested
in magick. You have the internet. I assume most of you have friends, and you’ll
be surprised how easy it is to get them into it. Don’t tell me you don’t have
the time. Make it a priority. Don’t tell me you are too surly, introverted,
weird, or just anti-social. You’re a godsdamn magician! You can do anything.
There are a few rare exceptions. People in extreme poverty,
people living under tyranny (that can be social tyranny, like abusive SOs and
family), and people with disabilities. Don’t get me started on magical groups
who don’t provide for people with disabilities, that’s another topic. But if
you don’t fit in one of those categories, find the others! Get your ass in a
car or on a bus and do magick with others.
I drive from Indianapolis to Kansas City twice per year
(2,000 miles). Indianapolis to Rockford, IL, at least three times per year
(1,800 miles). Indianapolis to Bedford, IN once per year (200 miles).
Indianapolis to Cincinnati (200 miles). That’s over 4,000 miles a year, with my
old ass crashing on air mattresses and eating Cliff Bars to make it work. Some
of it involves camping, and I hate fucking camping. But it’s worth it for those
precious days where I can do magick with the people I love.
It will be work. There will be drama. There will be people
you don’t like. There will be logistical nightmares. I know you are thinking
right now that there is no way you can do it. Try it. Just once. Go to a pagan
festival that has rituals. Throw a party for your friends where each of you
bring a ritual to perform. Once you do, you will thank me.
What does this have to do with ancestors? Not to be a
bummer, but if you are a part of a magical tribe long enough, one of those
people are gonna die.
I started writing this post wanting to describe those
amazing people. I have already written about Mordecai Sova, and probably said
more than I should. She was a very private person. But that event changed me in
so many ways it’s hard for me to even talk about magick anymore without talking
about her.
Let’s instead talk about Dr. D. He’s probably a more
interesting case in some respects, because I never actually met Dr. D. The Doctor committed suicide shortly after I joined the IOT and met my current magical
family. He’s interesting for a whole lotta reasons. One, he’s now become a
legendary figure. His veneration is now generational. Everyone who joins our
tribe learns Dr. D’s stories. In my working theory of EMAN, that means he’s now
an “elevated” spirit. If a spirit becomes the subject of veneration by people
outside their direct blood-kin, and those people pass on the stories of that
spirit, they are on their way to godhood. At least that’s what a lot of anthropologists
believe, as we have evidence of multiple people who were once kings, local
culture heroes, and important magi later being turned into gods. Or something
like a god. Note that in Voudon the lwa are not actually gods specifically
because it is believed they were once humans, at least some of them. It’s
complicated and differs depending on lineage.
I absolutely do believe that veneration in this world
bolsters a spirit’s cred in the afterlife. That means they have more allies and
more influence in the spirit world. I can also say from personal experience
that when a magus crosses over, they take with them many tools for crossing
spiritual boundaries. That makes contacting them all the more easy and gives them
more options for influencing the physical world.
The second interesting thing about the good Doctor is that
he is venerated by multiple traditions. I can’t speak personally for any member
of the IOT as far as direct veneration goes, but he is certainly honored by
that organization. My physical link to Dr. D comes from that bottle of whiskey
you see pictured above. That’s something the Doctor and I share, a love of fine
whiskey. That particular bottle was used in an IOT ritual honoring him after
his death. (Oops, there I go breaking oaths again.) He is directly venerated,
and is considered a Saint of Emergent Magick, specifically by my tribe, Reynahschar.
He was also initiated into a Palo Mayombe lineage. I have never been initiated
into Palo, and would never claim to be a Palo practitioner, but my tribe, in a
very real sense can now claim a Palo lineage through Dr. D.
The last, most interesting bit, is complicated. I don’t
think anyone can say for certain why another human being takes their own life.
Was it mental illness? Did Dr. D become a victim of his own hubris and fail to
protect himself adequately from the negative spiritual forces that many magi
truck with? Or was it his last great magical experiment? Probably some
combination of all of that and more. I do have in good confidence that Dr. D
wanted to be a spiritual ambassador after he died. He wanted to be contacted
after he passed over, and he wanted magi to remember him.
I don’t know if that makes it any better. Many people were
deeply hurt by his actions and feel resentment. I can’t blame them. I don’t
know if he was in so much pain that it really was a valid option. It’s too big.
I know not having met him personally colors my viewpoint, but in a moral sense,
I just can’t judge what he did one way or the other. What do you say about a
man willing to take the ultimate leap in the service of his craft? I just don’t
know.
I know that right now, suicide is not an option for me. I
have way too many things to prepare before my death. Just wait, there will be
multiple posts on that project. Of course, I could be a fool and I could drop
dead tomorrow. But I do believe one of the ultimate goals of any magus is
preparing for their own death. What goals do you have in the spirit world? Who
will join you in that quest?
Hey Frater T, all you have been doing is talking about
ancestors. What about spirits of place? What about spirits of plants, and all
those other cool spirits more commonly associated with Animism? We’ll get to
them, don’t worry. Mind you, those are the types of spirits I have the least
experience with. But that’s okay. One of the themes of this blog is getting
back to the bottom. Going back and improving the foundation of my spiritual
practice. Which is why I have to start with ancestors.
I have never been one to tell someone how they should
practice magick. Magick is inherently dangerous, no matter how careful you
think you are. If you want to just dive into the deep end and start with hard
core goetic demon evocation, I’m not gonna stop you. Fuck it. Do it. I did a
lot of dumb shit that I was not prepared for and failing is part of the
learning process. I’m lucky that I had people supporting me. I have a few
scars, but my only real regrets are that I wasted a lot of time doing bad
magick that didn’t get me very far.
Emergent Magick (EMK) often uses the metaphor, “Citadel of
Belief.” This is one of the key differences between Chaos Magick and EMK. In
EMK you constantly build upon the knowledge you have received. Chaos Magick
tells you to chuck a belief when it becomes inconvenient. I’m not saying all
chaos magicians do this, and none of them build upon their previous work
(although in a technical sense those magicians that do may be doing EMK and not
realize it.) I’m also not saying that holding on to a belief structure doesn’t
have its drawbacks. You certainly run the risk of dogmatism. But that’s why it’s
essential to work with a tribe whose members have differing paradigms.
But a Citadel of Emergent Animism is more than that. More
than just knowledge. It’s building up a coterie of spirits that you work with
on an ongoing basis. These are the spirits that populate your Citadel. They
guard it against hostile spirits. They clean the place up. They are your
advisers.
This all takes time, a lot of time. I’m talking years. And
the work never stops. You must constantly maintain those relationships. Just
like your human friends you gotta hang out with them on a regular basis and
truly get to know them. You have to be there when they need you, then they will
be there when you need them. Yes, spirits need things. Mostly they need contact
with the world so they can keep learning and growing. The work doesn’t stop
when you’re dead. It just changes. And all those offerings and attention are currency
for them. It gives them the ability to do more.
You could just keep Pokemoning daemons, summoning them up
one-by-one off a list and coerce or trade with them for favors. But if you’re
going to treat them like something you just toss out when you need something,
they are going to treat you the same way.
Since you have now learned I’m a big geek, let’s use another
geek reference. I’m a huge fan of the game Mage:
The Awakening, for obvious reasons. In Mage,
if a character specializes in spirit magick they eventually end up creating
what’s called a Spirit Court. A group of spirits they either created or
summoned that they trust and work with regularly. So fuck it, let’s just steal
that term. What you need to be doing is building your own Spirit Court.
As I’ve said more than a couple of times now, ancestors are
the best place to start because they almost always have your best interests in
mind. Working with local spirits of place wouldn’t be a bad option either,
because most of them want the beings that live within or near them to thrive. Also,
I’m not saying that if you already have a relationship with a god or other
alien spirit that you should quit that. Keep it up, but also start working with
spirits that are closer and have a more relatable perspective.
Working with more relatable spirits also gives you practice
dealing with other spiritual entities. You learn how to listen to them. What
signs they may use. How they often use symbolism to convey complex ideas that
can’t always be put into words. You learn about their feelings and how they
change over time. You learn how to gauge their opinion of you and use that to change
your practice in ways that are more pleasing to them. Or you may learn they
aren’t the type of spirit you want to be dealing with.
Remember that your ancestor lineage goes way beyond the
people you knew or those you have learned about directly. Everyone’s family
tree goes back to Africa. Ask the spirits you know to introduce you to the ones
you don’t. You do this by learning about where your family came from. If your
family came from Poland, collect Polish things, learn Polish history. But do
more than learn important dates and people, learn how those people lived. Find
things that may be familiar to them and use those to attract those spirits. You
don’t have to go out and find expensive art pieces and artifacts, though that’s
fine if you do. You can make traditional dishes and use them as food offerings.
You can simply use pictures of your native land. This is why pre-historic,
hunter-gatherer societies fascinate me. Know how they lived and what was important
to them and you will have better communication with those spirits.
So the next time some rando spirit asks, “Who the fuck are
you?” You too can answer, “Ego sum Legio.” I am Legion, for my ancestors stand
with me.
I have a message from cousin Max.
“All you can really do is be kind to your loved-ones and be kind to your friends. That is what truly changes the world. The legacy of those acts of kindness.
Of course, you must oppose tyranny and hate. But that is the work. That is your job. Do a good job and put the work in, but when the work day is done, forget about it.
Think instead on perpetrating those acts of kindness. Think about spreading joy.”
One of things I want to do with this blog is talk directly
about my ancestors and tell their stories. I think with all the shit going on
in the world, and the stark divisions in the U.S. coming to a head this
election day, it is the perfect time to talk about Cousin Max.
Old Frater T has been having a shitty week and I’m glad I
wrote out a few of these blog posts in advance. But I’ve run out of backlog,
and this one is coming to you raw. I wish I had time to go into the Cult of the
Saints as the continuation of ancestor veneration in Europe, and the nuances of
working with spirits of a faith that I have all but completely relinquished.
But I don’t have time for that. Let’s just talk about Max.
That’s Saint Maximillian Kolbe, my fourth cousin, the first
saint canonized by John Paul II, another fellow Polack. I don’t know what made
my grandmother happier, having a Polish pope in her lifetime, or having that
pope declare a member of our ancestry a saint. Her love of JP II was so intense
she would take pictures of the TV whenever he was on it.
I’m talking about Max today because Max fought Nazis. He was
by no means a perfect man, and his hate-on for the freemasons is upsetting. His
utter devotion to Mary was inspiring, but we disagree heartily on my view of
Mary as vestigial goddess worship. I have been known to stop at shrines to Mary
and say prayers to Babalon (I can feel Max cringing right now.) The links are
there if you look deep enough. While Mary has been seen as a virgin since the
earliest days of the Church, not all early Christians agreed with that
perspective. Many Christian gnostics saw her as a representation of Sophia. I’ll
let you do that research yourself.
Max and I agree on two important things. If you can help
relieve suffering in the world, do it. Also, fuck Nazis. I am proud to share
with you the story of Max’s martyrdom taken from his biography at the Jewish
Virtual Library.
“During the Second World War he (Maximillian Kolbe) provided
shelter to refugees from Greater Poland, including 2,000 Jews whom he hid from
Nazi persecution in his friary in Niepokalanów. He was also active as a radio
amateur, with Polish call letters SP3RN, vilifying Nazi activities through his
reports.
On February 17, 1941 he was arrested by the German Gestapo
and imprisoned in the Pawiak prison, and on May 25 was transferred to Auschwitz
I as prisoner #16670.
In July 1941 a man from Kolbe’s barracks vanished, prompting
SS-Hauptsturmführer Karl Fritzsch, the deputy camp commander, to pick 10 men
from the same barracks to be starved to death in Block 13 (notorious for
torture), in order to deter further escape attempts. (The man who had
disappeared was later found drowned in the camp latrine.) One of the selected
men, Franciszek Gajowniczek, cried out, lamenting his family, and Kolbe
volunteered to take his place.
During the time in the cell he led the men in songs and
prayer. After three weeks of dehydration and starvation, only Kolbe and three
others were still alive. Finally he was murdered with an injection of carbolic
acid.”
Probably part of the reason I am social worker today is my
family’s belief in helping others. Even if Max and I argue about just about
everything else, we agree that if you are honestly devoting your life to easing
the suffering of others, you’re okay in our book, no matter what gods you are
calling on.
And fuck Nazis.
Max has become the patriarch of my family’s ancestor
spirits. They often, but not always, defer to him, and trust his judgement when
representing my family in this world and across the veil. It is always Max I
bring with me when I leave home to represent for my ancestor spirits.
One of my fondest memories is visiting his shrine here in the
U.S. in Marytown, IL. I wandered the beautiful church and grounds, inspired by
the spiritual presence there, lighting candles and watching the monks’ afternoon
prayer service. I took the ancestor flag I made for him and touched it to the
vessel containing some of his remains, hair and fingernail clippings said to be
kept by the camp barber at Auschwitz. Yes folks, Frater T is in possession of a
bona fide third-degree relic of the Catholic Church.
I can’t seem to make peace with my living relatives. But at
least I can make peace with my dead ones. I just have some hard-lines I will
not cross. Like tolerating Nazis.
I hope this can be an inspiration to those who look back at
their ancestors and think they can never work with them because of spiritual
differences. If you can find just two things to agree on, the rest can be
negotiated.
The working theory of Emergent Animism breaks down spirits
into three general types. The type of spirit helps determine the general
approach and method of communicating with any particular spirit.
The three types are:
spirits of the dead, spirits of place, and alien spirits.
Spirits of the dead are spirits of dead human beings.
Spirits of animals and other entities that once had physical form can also be
included in this classification but may also be considered alien spirits
depending on how closely they still relate to the concerns of the physical
world. Dead humans may also transcend this category if the spirit becomes
something that personifies archetypal quality or has major concerns beyond this
plane of existence.
Spirits of the dead are by far the easiest spirits to
communicate with as they still have some working knowledge of physical form. Depending
upon their ability in life and how often they interact with the physical world
will determine how easily they communicate. Many maintain language skills and
an understanding of human symbolism.
The most useful spirit of this type a magus can interact
with will usually be ancestors. “Blood calls to blood,” is an axiom
almost universal in magical systems. There need be no reason why spirits would
suddenly lose the desire to procreate. By this I mean the drive to continue
ones imprint upon the world, be that genetically or spirituality. Your
ancestors want to live on and can only do this by effecting the physical plane.
They have a vested interest in the welfare of their descendants. Even an
ancestor who did nothing but spit venom at their family when they were alive
can quickly change their tune when they realize their descendants are the only
game in town. Okay, not the only game, but certainly the path of least
resistance. There persists plenty of stories featuring vengeful and angry
spirits. Some people never learn even when faced with the ultimate teacher. But
these spirits can be easily avoided by a competent magus. They can even be
exploited if a magus is so inclined. If they can’t learn to chill even after
they’re dead, fuck ‘em.
I could go on and on about ancestor spirits but a lot of it
is covered in the Emergent Magick book. Here’s a link to that chapter if you
want some more.
Spirits of place include any spirit co-locational in time
and space with a physical form. In a technical sense this includes all living
humans but magi mostly concern themselves with spirits of objects and
locations. The difficulty of interacting with spirits of this type lays
somewhere between spirits of the dead and alien spirits. They can relate to
physicality but otherwise can have quite different goals, motivations, and
modes of thinking.
Common spirits of this type include: spirits of a body of
water (rivers, lakes, etc), the spirit of a city, the spirit of a mountain,
spirits of plants, spirits of stones. The list is extensive, and just as we are
a part of a larger group (homo sapiens, primates, mammals, the universe),
spirits of place can be part of a larger whole. Like the spirit of a stone
which sits on a particular mountain, which is also a part of the spirit of that
particular mineral.
Spirits of this type interact with us all the time. Plant
spirits nourish us and provide other biochemical and spiritual effects. The
spirit of a place can affect our mood and our outlook. But most people seldom
communicate directly with these spirits like magi do. The first step in that
communication is interacting with the spirit’s physical form. You could contact
the spirit of Mount Fuji without having been there, but actually being on Mount
Fuji will help a lot. You can probably already think of the numerous reasons
why you would want to communicate with them, and I will get into that in a
later post.
The third type, alien spirits, can be the most difficult to
communicate with. When I say alien, I don’t necessarily mean from outer space,
but they can be. For the most part, they are alien because they spend most of
their time outside of our physical dimension. Types of alien spirits include
demons, angels, daemons, gods, and other really weird shit. Most of them never
had an original physical form, but some have the ability to possess a physical
form for a period of time.
Alien spirits are the most dangerous and the most powerful.
Dangerous because many of them have a limited understanding of human needs and
goals. The potential for miscommunication with these spirits is immense, never
mind that some of them are just outright greedy and hostile. Sure, some of them
may just be trying to communicate with you because they are curious. Some want
something out of it. What that something is may not be what you are looking
for. More than one demon I have contacted has given me the impression they are
just magi like myself trying to figure this shit out and maybe be better off
for it. But don’t assume they are benign.
We tend to look at power in these times like a video game,
as if these spirits have a long and full power bar that lets them deal or take
more damage. That’s a simplistic and silly way of looking at it. They are
powerful because they are simply capable of doing things other spirits can’t.
It’s not a measure of power (though some have immense resources to call on),
it’s that they interact with the universe in a way that beings defined by
physicality cannot.
It also seems that some of these beings, ones we usually
call gods, are the source of or the personification of ideals and or emotions.
It’s a chicken and the egg thing. Did we create the gods or did the gods create
us? Once you understand that time is not at all linear, that question has less
significance. But imagine if you will what a goddess of love would truly be
like. If her goal is love and to always promote love, to be in love, to be in
that moment when love burns brightest, is she really good to have around all
the time? Could you ever really trust her to have your best interests at heart?
No, you cannot.
But you can develop good relationships with these beings.
You can reach a level of understanding that works for both of you. Here’s what
worked for me.
Get to know those ancestors. Get on their good side. Have
them in your corner. They are your spiritual posse. They are your gang, and if
absolutely needed, your army. A lone magus approaching an alien spirit is just
asking to get worked over. A magus with ancestors that reach all the way back
to the dawn of the human race is a force to be reckoned with.
If you have been reading between the lines you already know
these categories are not absolute. The lines blur. An ancestor that becomes a
hero or a saint may later become a god. Spirits of place have been known to
take human form and vice versa. As I said, these categories only serve as a
guide to approach spirits, not define them. Whatever role a spirit currently
fulfills will inform the magus on how to communicate with them.
So I have admitted that for a long ass time I did not do
magical exercises on a daily basis. There was actually a long period where I didn’t
do magick on a daily basis at all, just the occasional personal ritual and
writing and performing magick with my tribe. But over the past year or so I
have had a daily magical practice. Not exercises, but I do magick every day.
Most of that has to do with ancestors.
Every night, I visit my ancestor altar. What’s an ancestor
altar? Just a place in your home where you keep some things that remind you of
your ancestors. It can be pictures, something the ancestor owned in life, or
something that reminds you of them. It can be on any small shelf space and does
not need to be elaborate. It should have space for offerings. Three things cut
across cultures when it comes to making offerings to your ancestors: fire
(candles work fine), incense, and water. If you are looking closely you see
represented the four classical elements. Fire, Water, Air in the form of
incense, and Earth, which is the ancestors themselves because they have
returned to the Earth.
On most nights I simply bring them fresh water. I learned
this from a practitioner of Palo Mayombe, but further research showed it to be
a ubiquitous offering used by many African cultures, Buddhists. Ancient Greeks,
Egyptians, and probably a bunch of others I don’t know about. This makes sense.
Water is the one thing all life on this planet needs. It is the primal reminder
of their connection to life. What’s the one thing you can do to help another,
even if you have nothing to give? You bring them water. Nearly everyone on the
planet has access to water, and those that don’t have bigger things to worry
about than their ancestors, and the ancestors understand. I have a nice
offering bowl that I use, but you can use anything. As I write this I’m
planning a trip to Chicago with my wife, so no one will be home to take care of
the ancestors. I will be taking one item from my altar and use a plastic cup at
our AirBnB. If you have limited means, you can start out with something just
that simple. Just make sure the water is fresh and the cleanest water you have
access to.
Which brings us to a minor sticking point. What do you do
with the water from the previous day? It’s fine just to pour it down the drain.
Ancestor magick is practical magick, the magick of the people. Your ancestors
lived a life and they get it. Sometimes you just gotta go with the easiest
solution. You can also dump it on a plant to help them grow, which has nice
symmetry. Me, I pour it in my dogs’ water bowl. My dogs are part of my family
and I want them to participate. In fact, I have pictures and ashes on my
ancestor altar from my last two dogs that passed away. Interesting to note, the
dogs I have now love it. They have multiple water bowls in the house but I’ll
be damned if they do not prefer the ancestor water every time. It’s part of the
covenant between man and dog. I’ll write an entire post in the future about
dogs being closely associated with death and the underworld.
When I bring the ancestors the fresh water, I always speak
with them a while. They want to know about your day. They want to hear about
your successes and your problems. This does not obligate them to do anything
about those problems, but they want to listen. Telling stories about times you
remember with them and how the things they taught you help you now is good too.
You can ask them for help directly, but don’t be selfish. Your ancestors are
not a spiritual slot machine. You should treat it exactly as you would asking a
living relative for money. Only ask if you really need it and pay them back
before anyone else. That means more offerings.
So when the shit gets deep in my life, I light their candles
and burn incense for them. I may still not ask them for anything directly, but
I recognize the strength they have passed down to me and that it’s gonna be
that strength they gets me out of trouble. I also like to give a physical
offering each season, usually on a holiday. I may offer some dried leaves in
the fall, flowers in the spring, evergreen branches in the winter, anything
that will remind them of the time here on Earth. They seem to appreciate the
memories those things invoke.
Then I will move on to my other ancestors and speak with
them. They do not generally get daily offerings as they are busy magi doing
important things in the afterlife and don’t want to be disturbed that often.
They do get candles and incense every time I perform ritual, especially
divination. I’ll talk about them more in a future post.
Then I talk to the two major gods in my life, Thoth and
Babalon. I talk to Thoth about my current writing and magical projects. To
Babalon I speak about my love life and my goals to make the world a better
place (immanentize the Eschaton). They get offerings on an irregular basis.
Sometimes just candles and incense. Sometimes something special. Gods can be
vain and self-important. They will turn their nose up at anything common, so
for them I will spend some money: rose oil, expensive ink, crystals, and other
symbolic items (here’s a good example). For Babalon, I maintain a rose garden,
and in the summer I am constantly trimming blooms off of my roses and offering
them to Babalon.
Then it’s off to bed for old Frater Threskiornis.
Since I have been making daily offerings to my ancestors,
the best part about it has been keeping one foot in the enchanted world all the
time. I think about my ancestors more. I think about magick more. I recognize other
spirits more often since I have started doing these things as a daily practice.
In my conversations with my ancestors and gods, I have learned so much about
myself and the nature of spirits. Listening to the spirits is another thing you
must practice, and for me, it’s one of the most important things in my life
right now.
If you have a similar daily practice, or plan on starting
one, I would love to hear about what you do and your results.
Did seven minutes of rhythm meditation as prescribed in the first exercise of Liber F. Smoked some of the herbal remedy and just sat down on my futon with all the candles on my ancestor altar burning for All Souls Day. I was playing a small rattle, hand made by Sator Mordeci Sova, my mentor in the IOT and a bad ass witch. I owe so much to her. The rattle is made out of the jawbone of some small animal, or maybe a small deer. It has a cluster of tiny brass bells wired to one side which Mordeci herself had painstakingly attached to this piece of road kill she had stripped of its flesh. She was that hardcore! I watched her die right in front of me. A heart attack. She died on a camping trip, surrounded by the people she loved doing the things she loved – communing with nature, and magick. We held a massive party in her honor that night.
She taught me so much both before and after she passed beyond the veil. I am so blessed for knowing such an amazing magical practitioner who now resides in the realm of spirit.
I played those bells for her tonight, and for all of my family.
