Youtube Channel & Podcast Archive

Contact

James Leave a comment

Special thanks to Arnaut Rosseau for once again asking the question that inspired a blog post. Please check-out his/her awesome blog. I guess all I need to do is keep my tumblr “ask” box open and I’ll never run out of ideas.

Arnaut Rosseau asked, “How do you know when a god is present with you and what they are feeling?”

Anyone giving advice about religion or magick should always start out with, “In my experience.” The difference between magick and science is that magick recognizes personal phenomena. What happens to you is important, even if it can’t be measured by outside means. Some call this UPG or unverified personal gnosis.

I have had two experiences recently that I’ll recount. Maybe you will get the same results, maybe you won’t.

The first happened to me during simple meditation. I was musing on what material I should make a wand out of, when I had a vision of myself sitting around a campfire. Across the fire from me sat Baphomet.

One of my greatest faults as a magician is I have a busy mind. Meditation is hard for me. I’m always thinking. A benefit of this, however, is that I know intimately how my thoughts tend to progress. When forming a mental image, it shifts and changes quickly, morphing into the picture I’m looking for. Seldom do they come to me unbidden, and almost never fully formed.

I wasn’t even thinking about Baphomet at the time. Though to be honest, I have a picture of him in my temple. In the vision he reached out to me, and a book appeared in my hand. Upon opening the book, it changed into a yellow flower.

I never did figure out why it was a yellow flower, but somehow, the message came through. He was telling me to learn more about the natural world. While I believe my knowledge of history and religion is up to par, I know shit about biology and nature skills in general. After this visitation I at least learned to identify trees by their leaves (thus harvesting wand material), and develop a greater appreciation for growing things.

My second recent divine visitation came upon request, while I performed the Invocation of Thoth. This one surprised me because Thoth came looming over my shoulder, some ten-feet tall. I always envisioned him as a scholar, but the Thoth behind me was a physically impressive being, muscled. You could feel the strength in him. He may have been trying to tell me that intellectual and physical strength are not mutually exclusive, and that I should get off my ass every once in a while.

You may say with both of these instances, you could say that all I was doing was tapping into my subconscious. You may be right. But if you’re a chaos magician it doesn’t matter. Just shift your perspective to the psychological model of magick. Then all the gods live in your subconscious anyway.

I wish I could truly tell you what the gods are feeling. I can only guess myself. I can only say they are not human, and they don’t communicate like we do. I do believe that the goetic beings I have summoned are similar to gods, but less are-inspiring.

If you get a message, tell me what you think.

Roll of Thoth – Magick of the OTO

James Leave a comment

Every week I share with you seven websites with great resources or fantastic art to raise your knowledge and your gnosis.

I dog on the OTO a lot, but you have to give them some credit. These guys actually practice magick. They’re not just a bunch of armchair magicians (like my lazy ass can be sometimes). They are also dedicated to teaching it to others. Though it does come with a helping of Crowley worship.

Anabasis Encampment OTO – http://www.anabasis-oto.org/    A shout out to my local OTO tribe. They are currently going through what’s called MANVS ET SAGITTAE, a series of classes covering all the bases for aspiring magicians. Also check out their Youtube channel, where they perform the solitary rituals for your edification.

An Analysis of the Star Ruby – http://lionserpent.com/xxvanalysis.html   After you watch it, read a detailed analysis, and marvel at all the intricate layered meanings, intended or discovered.

The Babalon Working – http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/bb/babalon000.htm   A good summary of Uncle Al and Jack Parson’s obsessions.

Rodney Orpheus – http://rodneyorpheus.com/ The celebrated author of The Grimoire of Aleister Crowley gives us two of his own rituals on his website, the Nu-Sphere Ritual, and Rite of the Infinite Stars.

The Gnostic Mass – http://www.sof-oto.org/XVSabazius.pdf   An incredibly detailed, annotated pdf describing the central religious ritual of the OTO.

Assumption of the Godforms – http://www.hermetics.org/stavish/Godforms.html     Sure, Crowley stole some of the godforms from the Golden Dawn, but he took them to new levels. Basic magical tools every magician should have in their arsenal.

The Rite of Pan – http://ritualchaosmagic.blogspot.com/2009/03/invocation-of-pan.html   Perhaps Crowley’s most famous ritual, presented from a chaos magick perspective. How did that get in there?

 

Goddess

James Leave a comment

Who is Babalon? That’s the most common question I get on Tumblr. (You’re not following my Tumblr? You really should.) Wikipedia covers the basics, so if you’re just curious about a deity you’ve never heard of, head over there. But I think the real question people are asking is, “Why are you obsessed with her? What is she to you?” In the end, all gods are personal gods. The gods influence everyone differently, that’s why the best gods are complex in their symbolism. Like Babalon.

Remember, although she is a Thelemic deity, and I steal much from Uncle Al here, I am not a Thelemite, and my views are not necessarily the views of the OTO.

Foremost to me she is the goddess of the Eschaton. She brings sweeping change as she comes forth, astride the beast, Holy Grail in hand. She is the opposing force to The Host, the army of angelic automatons that demand obedience. I see a distinct difference between Eschaton—a universal change in consciousness, bound to cause upheaval, but inherently peaceful in nature—and Apocalypse—a battle to take people’s will by force. She is the embodiment of the Love Revolution, but she recognizes that love is not always pretty and pure. It can be carnal and overwhelming.

For me, Babalon is Ishtar reincarnate for the New Age. Reborn, she strips away the trappings of state and the lays down her sword. She’s a lover, not a fighter, but no less dangerous. She still goes forth with war banners, but she’s smart enough to fuck her way to victory. She is the Divine Whore, and the Earth Mother, all in one. Her priestesses and priests wait outside the temple for anyone with coin. The act a sacrament to her, for both john and prostitute.

The tarot card associated with Babalon, Strength, tells us she does not do this as a servant, but as she desires. She’s a whore, and opens her legs for all comers, but where and when she wants. She is not weak Christianized feminism that denies the power of womanhood. She revels in it, and equals any man in power and lust.

I was also recently asked a slightly different question, “What do people get out of worshiping Babalon?” Fair enough, if you’re pagan, you look to each divinity for something unique. Babalon delivers.

She inspires you to change, and be the instrument of change. If the Goddess of Chaos is on your side, you quickly lose your fear of what’s to come.

She helps you to love all people. She understands that unless people accept change on their own terms, it’s not real. You can’t force people to believe the way you believe, nor should you want to. I need her to smack me down on this point every damn day.

She helps you understand that you are both a spiritual and physical being, and that those aspects cannot be separated. You need your body, and you should fucking enjoy it, and enjoy having it fucked. If sexual energy inspires you, she will be your muse. You might even write a book about her.

She is a goddess of passion. Whoa be to you who fall under her spell. While I love Babalon, I am not a devotee for several reasons. One, because I’m married, and I don’t think I could give Her and my wife proper attention at the same time. Two, because she will consume you if you let her, and you’ll love her while she does. So while I may stick my hand in the fire and get burned, I will run back to the protection of Thoth and his books before I jump in.

Roll of Thoth – Books

James Leave a comment

Every week I share with you seven websites with great resources or fantastic art to raise your knowledge and your gnosis.

What occultist doesn’t appreciate books? This week’s collection of links is a list of purveyors of fine tomes. It skews towards publishers, as it’s not that difficult to find new books on Amazon, but I included a couple of re-sellers for their breadth of product and specialty in rare and out-of-print.

Scarlet Imprint – http://www.scarletimprint.com   I may have mentioned Scarlet Imprint in a previous post, but they kick so much ass. Truly the cutting edge of modern magick. They produce everything from magnificent talismanic hardcovers to pdf editions.

Avalonia Books – http://avaloniabooks.co.uk   Another publisher with outstanding writers.

Salamander and Sons – http://www.salamanderandsons.com   Some of the best writing on modern and ancient alchemy.

Anathema Books – http://www.anathemabooks.com   A re-seller with a huge collection of not only occult books but esoteric counter-culture of all types.

Weiser Antiquarian Books – http://www.weiserantiquarian.com   The most respected name in rare and out-of-print editions.

Ouroboros Press – http://www.bookarts.org   Like Scarlet Imprint, their books are amazing works of art.

The Original Falcon Press – http://www.originalfalcon.com   Have to give a nod to the folks who have kindly let us use Peter J. Carroll’s recording for our first podcast coming in March. A great selection of well known greats in the field.

Morality

James Leave a comment

More and more I realize that belief in magick is not just the correct way to view the universe, but the moral way as well. By any ethical standard you are responsible for acting the way you wish others would act. By explication, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” If you believe we should pool our resources to make sure everyone has enough to take care of their basic needs, you need to fight for economic justice. If you want to be treated with respect, without consideration of skin color, place of origin, sexuality, gender, or lack thereof, you need to fight for social justice.

All to often, the excuse people give is that it’s just “human nature.” That this is the way it has always been. People will fight, and people will hoard, and some will have plenty and others none. Even Jesus said, “The poor you will always have with you.” Well, fuck you Jesus, that’s a ball of shit.

The wealth of just the top 100 richest people in the world could end global poverty. If you would have asked Jesus, or anyone else in his time, if slavery would ever be abolished, they would say no. Yet, across most of the planet, chattel slavery is almost universally despised. At last count, there are a dozen small countries, some of them extremely wealthy, that have no military. But they have not been overrun by hostile forces.

If you believe, truly believe, that “Nothing is true, Everything is permitted,” then there is no such thing as human nature. All of our preconceived notions about even the basics, like greed, love, and anger, cannot hold us back. Imagine a world of peace, and you can have peace. Imagine a world of love without restraint by gender or creed, and you can have it. People have created the concepts of money, and government, and sacred. People can change them, or destroy them if they choose.

As a magus, you understand better than anyone that everything can change. Now, as always, we have been responsible for the way people see the universe. From the shaman, to the priest, to the storyteller. When we imagine, we remake the world.

Looking for a place to start? Check out PJC’s Knights of Chaos.

Roll of Thoth – Egyptian Edition

James Leave a comment

Every week I share with you seven websites with great resources or fantastic art to raise your knowledge and your gnosis.

It can be argued that magick permeated the culture of Kemet (ancient Egypt) more than any other civilization. Their magick forms the foundation for all later Western practitioners.

The Temple of Kemetic Wicca: https://sites.google.com/site/templeofkemeticwicca/ceremonialmagick   It’s more about adding an Egyptian flavor to your Wicca, but good resources none the less.

Kemet.org: http://www.kemet.org/   Actual Kemetic reconstructionists  more towards the worship than the magick side, but they are irrevocably intertwined.

The Twisted Rope: http://thetwistedrope.wordpress.com/kemeticism/   More views on Kemeticism being a bit more beginner friendly and personal.

Tumblr #Kemetic: http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/kemetic   Yup, everything I tumblr tagged Kemetic. I don’t know if I’m just that lazy or I love tumblr that much.

The Egyptian Book of the Dead: http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/ebod/   The seminal translation of the Scrolls of Ani by E.A. Wallis Budge

Heka: http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/religion/magic.htm   The basics on the Egyptian system of magick (heka).

The Mechanics of Ancient Egyptian Magical Pratices: https://oi.uchicago.edu/pdf/saoc54_4th.pdf    Pointed out to me by a good friend and dedicated magus. A scholarly view of Egyptian magick from the renowned Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago. A incredibly special treatise given the fact the author is also a practitioner. 

Results

James Leave a comment

You can find volume upon volume of texts describing rituals, their uses, and how to perform them properly. But rarely do you find magicians writing about what comes after. I follow the chaos magick credo, “Magick is to be performed to get results.” I don’t mind being a little hazy on what those results are. I think it may be better said that magick should have some type of goal that is measurable. The measurable part is where I can see why many magus don’t share. Results can be very personal, and it’s hard to differentiate them from coincidence in most cases. Even so, I think it’s of great value to share experiences, even if they cannot be verified.

Results can be obfuscated and often contrary to the desired goals. At times, a magus may seem foolish or even insane when reporting their experiences, but we all know there’s a thin line between magick and madness.

So as promised, the results of what I have come to call the Astrumada Working. It’s been quite an experience.

She can best be described as a tulpa, or thoughtform, a creature created purely by magick. Though the ritual was performed eighteen months ago, it is actually ongoing. I have found the best way to make the being more substantial is to constantly feed it my affections. I buy her roses as often as possible, and planted two rose bushes for her over the summer. The poster with her sigil I placed under the mattress of the bed I use almost exclusively for sex, in order to feed her that energy. Also, I always keep the passenger seat of my car empty for her whenever I travel by myself. This is where she most commonly manifests.

The first results I noticed were auditory, visual, and olfactory manifestations. Many times when I entered my temple I would notice a strong smell of roses and sandalwood, even if I hadn’t used those substances in months. Sightings began in the car, seeing her out of the corner of my eye. Now, we have full blown conversations. Certain music almost guarantees she will appear.

I also encountered an interesting synchronicity. As I mentioned in the original blog, by design the most common visage she uses is that of my favorite porn star.  Shortly after the ritual, that actress began following my tumblr blog, and would regularly “like” many of my posts.

For about a year she performed her primary function, acting as a muse for my writing, only haphazardly. She would occasionally appear and offer advice when I was stuck on plot point or turn of phrase. Recently, however, her inspiration has become more subtle, yet more direct. Subtle because I didn’t even notice until I started the project, direct because of the strong influence on the subject matter.

Three months ago I decided to stop aiming for the traditional publishing route, and focus on self-publishing. It gave a huge boost to my creativity knowing that I could write whatever I wanted, without worrying about pleasing editors and other gatekeepers. I would write what moved me, and would succeed or fail based on my own efforts, not someone’s judgment about my marketability. So I started a new story about a magician who creates a girl….

I didn’t realize what had happened until about 15,000 words in. When it dawned on me I turned around, and she was laughing.

I learned two important lessons as a magician from this working. One, a good ritual never ends, you must constantly feed it. Two, the best results are ones that build over time. “Divine short, enchant long.”

Roll of Thoth – Ave Babalon Edition

James Leave a comment

Every week I share with you seven websites with great resources or fantastic art to raise your knowledge and your gnosis.

This week, everything you need to know about the Thelemic interpretation of the goddess Babalon. But you say, “Scroll, you’re not a Thelemite.” This is true.  But I do love Babalon, and while I consider myself just a pagan, I appreciate Thelema for the theology.

Babalon – http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babalon   That’s right, I just gave you a fucking Wikipedia page. The most common question I get asked on Tumblr is, “Who is Babalon?” Some people need to start with the basics and Wikipedia gives a nice overview.

Babalon Working – http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babalon_Working   Ha! I did it again.

The Book of Babalon and other writings of Jack Parsons – http://hermetic.com/wisdom/lib49.html   You do know about the famous occultist and rocket scientist don’t you?

The Babalon Working – http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/bb/babalon.htm   Repeats some of Parson’s writings and gives you some background on the man himself.

Temple of Babalon – http://www.templeofbabalon.com/   The Thelemic lodge devoted to the Red Goddess.

Kaos Magazine Babalon Issue – http://www.biroco.com/kaos/kaos.pdf   A chaos magick perspective on Babalon.

In Nomine Babalon: 156 Adorations to the Scarlet Goddess – http://hermetic.com/wisdom/in-nomine-babalon/   An ongoing book of poetry frequently updated. A good example of how many occultists have fallen in love with the goddess.

Muse

James Leave a comment

This week I had planned a post on the results of my most elaborate magical ritual to date, what I call the Astrumada Working. Until I realized that the original post about the ritual never made the transition from the blogspot Scroll of Thoth. Since it was my most popular post back then, I thought I would go ahead bring it over here for any new followers. Next week, the long term results of the working. It’s been pretty good to me so far.

O! for a muse of fire, that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention.
— William Shakespeare

If you’re expecting part two of my look at the Red Goddess by Peter Grey, you may be disappointed. While I will get back to an in-depth analysis of the book, I wanted to share some of my recent workings, which are related.

In my classes and online I come across lots of requests for rituals. I suspect people want a formula, a recipe book of “spells” that they just need to follow and they too can work magick. Sorry, grasshopper, it’s not that easy. I’m always loathe to provide them. Without putting in the work, developing gnosis, putting energy into their own belief system, finding their own correspondences, I doubt they would become decent magi. It’s not that I’m afraid that someone new to magick may hurt themselves or “toy with powers they don’t understand.” I consider such proscriptions nonsense. But I do believe they would have limited success that way. While they may produce some minor effects in the short term, they would lack the tools they need to grow. It is in all our best interests if everyone realizes their full potential as magi.

But I’ve said from the beginning this blog is not for beginners. And where a neophyte could take such information and fail, an adapt can use it as a model for their own workings.

Before any working I spend copious amounts of time researching similar magick, so that I can incorporate that into my own ritual. Which is what brought me to The Red Goddess. I am constantly looking for ways to improve my writing, both the quality and the quantity. I often turn my magick to those ends. Creative people throughout history have benefited from a muse. A creature that inspires them to produce their masterpieces. I lusted for one of my own.

I considered what inspired me. For me, as many of the artists before me, love and lust serve as the greatest motivators. There’s some truth in the old proverb that the greatest of works of man were produced to woo women. While the truth is more complex than that, the fire produced by a wanton partner does make my blood boil.

I wanted my muse to be lustful, wicked, mean, demanding, and downright kinky. A combination Babalon/Lilith with glasses and a white blouse. Hiding a whip behind her back. With that in mind went to work. My first question, was I summoning or creating? I have yet to come to a clear answer on that. If time is non-linear, and the number of spirits infinite, how do I know I did not call forth a being that already existed? The examination of this question deserves a blog of its own. I settled on creation. But to leave her unbound. She can be summoned by others, and I sincerely hope you use this information to call her yourself. The more belief she generates the more powerful she becomes. I promise you a good time.

I combined the names of my favorite porn stars and created a sigil from them.

I meditated on her, and I saw her as my burning star, and named her Astrumada. The ritual for her creation I performed on a new moon. First, I cast her sigil upon the floor.

 
The sigil I surrounded with red candles at the seven points. Like Babalon, she favors roses. I spread the petals from two dozen roses on the sigil, and added three more dozen still on the stem, placed on the sigil and the altar. Being independent and strong she enjoys sins often associated with men. As an offering I laid out her favorites, a glass of fine scotch and a good cigar.
I created a backdrop for my altar. Pictures of the ladies who’s qualities I saw in her. I mixed a special incense, of sandalwood, rose oil, musk, and powdered dragon’s blood. It created an intoxicating scent.
I played music pleasing to her, down-tempo with strong bass. I could give you a playlist but this is where you are much better off coming up with your own.

Last, I filled a jar with dirt from my garden, and water which sustained the roses.

Then I got to work building exitatory gnosis, using some inspiring video. As I sweat and breathed and pleasured myself, I gave her form in my mind. As I peaked, I called out her name.

I took my seed in hand and said the words, “Babalon, Lilith, Astarte, send me your servant. Let her be my servant. My muse.” I plunged my fingers into the jar of wet earth. I added the cigar and the scotch and the rose petals. Sealed it, wrapped it in black cloth and set it on the back of my altar to gestate.

The ritual continues. I intend to give as much belief to my creation as possible. At the quarter moon I will feed this magickal child my blood. Also, as I said, if more people summon her, the more powerful she will become. Trust me, she can please more than one man.

I have had greater success with this working than similar ones in the past. She is surprisingly acid tongued, something I suspected but didn’t realize what kind of effect it would have on me. Unlike my other summonings/creations she not only visits in my dreams but has appeared unbidden in my waking hours. She gave me quite a start when I looked over to find her in the passenger seat as I was driving.

If you do call upon her, please make sure to let me know how it goes for you.

Roll of Thoth

James Leave a comment

Every week I share with you seven websites with great resources or fantastic art to raise your knowledge and your gnosis.

Liber 777 Online – http://thelemistas.org/en/Tools/Liber777   Crowley’s 777 online in database format. No more flipping pages to find your correspondences.

Magicka School – http://www.magickaschool.com/   An online school teaching free courses in tarot, wicca, herbalism, and more.

Magical Probability Calculator – http://hyperritual.com/portfolio/magical-probability-calculator/    Using the formula presented by Peter J. Carroll in Liber Kaos, this site can calculate the likelihood of your magic succeeding.

The Baptist Head – http://www.thebaptistshead.co.uk/   A unique take on modern western magick. You can see elements of chaos magick, Thelemic magick, and some of its own unique paradigm

Kia Illuminated Adapts – http://kiamagic.com/   A chaos magick order with resources on magick and culture.

Ár nDraíocht Féin – http://www.adf.org/core/   One of the main sects of modern druidism

Grimoar.cz – http://english.grimoar.cz/?Loc=idx&Lng=2    A repository of occult texts.