A Daoist Time Manipulation Ritual

Taoist Sorcerers have always been deeply concerned with time.The late Han through the Six Dynasties time period was one of political chaos and social turmoil. Constant warfare, rampant epidemics, and natural disasters were perceived as symptomatic of a continuing cosmological crisis: the various cosmic cycles and the natural harmonies were disordered, leading to the disasters and depredations which inflicted suffering on the population.(much like today) Scriptures from this period abound with descriptions of the sorry state of humanity and are filled with eschatological foreboding of the end of civilization.
The solution advocated by Daoists was twofold. On the one hand, Daoists were urged to adhere to a moral and ethical path, which called for following the precepts of the Dao as presented in a number of texts. On the other hand, they championed ritual that would enable humanity to reestablish the original harmony within time. If one were to follow this twofold program, one would be able to change the course of events in his or her favor.In this post I will examine the ritual to summon the Eight Archivists (bashi ), spirits of the Eight Trigrams, which exemplifies working with time in Daoist ritual. This ritual is, first and foremost, a ritual for the mastery of time.  I will focus on the ritual for summoning Eight Archivists as it appears in the The Upper Scripture of the Five Ascendant Talismans of the Highest, Limitless Great Way and the Self-Generating Perfect One (hereafter shortened to Five Ascendant Talismans), one of the original Lingbao.Note, that as of yet I’ve not performed this ritual,for it is quite difficult to do correctly,but may write a version of it that is able to be performed with out the insane requirements of this one,but not until I try and work this ritual as closely  to true form as I can.
In the rite of summoning the Eight Archivists the herb employed, zhang ju , more commonly known as zhanglu, or shanglu , is used for its psychoactive qualities.Modern researchers identify it as Phytolacca acinosa,“Masters of the Dao always plant this medicinal herb in the garden of a Silent Chamber. It leads one to communicate with the spirits.”These effects occur not only when the herb is ingested but also when the roots are carved, as during the preparatory stage of the ritual for summoning the Eight Archivists. At this stage, zhangju roots are carved into human shape, while the adept contemplates the forms of the spirits of the twelve chronograms . This causes the spirits to appear, indicating that the active ingredients may be absorbed cutaneously. Intriguingly, this use of the herb was still known in the early-Qing:
“Those of the left Dao carve the zhanglu root into human shape, and utter incantations to it. It enables one to know calamity and fortune. It is called Spirit of zhanglu. Medical books say to take the leaves of shanglu and dry them in the shade for 100 days. As you pound it, not yet eating it, lie down and think of things which you wish and they will immediately appear by themselves before your eyes. Two aspects are supernatural in these perfect plants, their moving the Yin pneuma and their possibility of imparting much knowledge. Small men will be transformed in a flash. Ghosts and goblins by the hundreds will be expelled.”
As you can see,this has a number of analogs in Western Occultism and ritual,not to mention that south American use of psychoactive Plants,but that’s for another time and post.So here we go….

THE RITUAL FOR SUMMONING THE EIGHT ARCHIVISTS
The ritual begins by marking out the ritual space, which at this stage extends beyond the home:
You must mark, around your home, the eight directions and the twelve chronograms. At each chronogram direction and to the left and right of the gate plant the zhi herbs of spiritual communication, fourteen shoots in total. Take the memorial-like diagrams of the Eight Trigrams to make the Mysterious Cavern Talismans of Numinous Communication at the eight directions. Place the five talismans of ascendance in the center of the room, on the central roof beam.
The ritual space is therefore marked on the outside by the twelve markers of time. Note that at this point these markers of time are outside the home. Inside this circle are placed the eight talismans signifying the trigrams, the Xuandong tong ling fu.The five Lingbao talismans are hung on the central roof beam.
In the next stage the ritual space is moved inside the home: Purify the hall, making it a pure chamber, mark the eight directions and twelve chronograms. Take the zhangju roots, fourteen in all. First, place those of the gate in front of the hall outside the doorpost, so as to forbid the hundred evil spirits from being able to enter and oppose [the ritual]. Then, take the twelve [plants at the] chronogram points, beginning with yin , to the front of the hall. Each is carved into a human [shape]. [Plants on] Yang  [chronograms] are to be made into males, [those on] Yin are made into females. Place each inside the hall at their respective chronogram point. At each point dig into the ground, making holes [deep enough] so that their heads are level with the ground.
This completes the emplacement of the ritual space. The instructions now turn to the time element of the ritual:
On the fifth yin  day of the vernal equinox, pick orchids and, in the center [of the ritual arena] make an infusion [with the flowers]. Wash [yourself with this]. On the fifth mao  day take the brewed chrysanthemum and boil it to a broth, at the place of yin and mao. On the next day pick the zhangju stalks. Just as you are about to pick them, purify the [ground at their] side. Of small mats make fourteen seats for them. Light incense, and worship each with wine and dried meat. Bow repeatedly and say the incantation: “Zhangju beings, of pure and uncorrupt bodies, protectors of the twelve pneumas of the palaces,40 communicators with spirit numina, now I shall unite my spirit officers with you,41 be your companion and travel with you to some famous mountain’s south face. If called you must respond, if asked you must reply. Neither of us is to deceive the other in this [contract]. We join tallies as a covenant.”(Notice the conjuration technique,sounds like something straight out of a 18th century grimoire ,Hmmm?)
After presenting wine, the adept is to carve the roots into human shape, naming them and distinguishing male from female. Now that the twelve images are ready, the ritual enters its climactic stage. This is the first mention of the East Well (Dongjing ) constellation, which marks the beginning of the ritual cycle:
At dawn the next day when the heaven points to East Well, and the sun is before the door, kneel and say to yourself: “Your descendant, so-and-so, has taken this day to bathe.” Then, enter the room and set out the zhangju. At the advent of each of the “days of the five ascendances” take a brush to draw the talisman of the day. Make the five talismans in accord with the method. In ten days you will be finished. Then light incense and sacrifice to each zhangju at its chronogram position. First, using their names call out this incantation: “Lord so-and-so of Numinous Communication. Now, together with you I guard the twelve chronograms.” After sixty days they will respond to you. When the twelve days of sacrifices are over, at the following dawn light incense, and retain in mind the eight Archivists, recalling their surnames and personal names. At the same time take “dried white flowers” powder and ingest a spoonful of it in the hall so as to make your body spirits and the archivists unite in companionship.
This completes the procedure for the first stage in the ritual cycle. From this point we seem to be entering into the realm of ritual time played out on the divining chart:
At the following occurrences of the East Well day, unfasten the talismans and always take them when you wash. When finished, return and refasten them. The next day, again, take them out according to this model. When all five washings have been completed, a period of 124 days will have elapsed. All the spirits will have arrived. You will have heard their voices or seen their shapes as on the charts. At dawn the next day worship them below the doorpost. The spirits will then speak with you. You must ask the Eight Archivists about seeking the methods of spiritual transcendence and long life. The archivists will enter the heavenly lodgings for you to examine the registers and tell you. If initially you lack a life record on the transcendent registers, and are far removed from transcendence, it is fitting that you cultivate and revere the Archivists, in order to garner wealth and extend your life by three to four hundred years.
As you can see,the final preparatory stage of the ritual is reached when the zhangju plants are harvested and carved into human shape. This part of the ritual proceeds according to a precise timetable. On the fifth yin day after the vernal equinox the practitioner is to prepare an orchid infusion and wash. On the next day, the fifth mao day, he is to boil this infusion and place it between the markers of yin and mao. On the next day the plants are picked. On the following day, defined as the day of East Well, the actual rite of carving occurs and subsequent communication starts.
The day of East Well is a crucial date for the ritual. East Well, a constellation of eight stars in the southern Palace of the Vermilion Bird, is the twenty-second Lunar Lodge.49 In calendrical terms it correlates to the second month of summer, in which falls the summer solstice. The timing of the ritual follows the passage of the sun among the twenty-eight lunar lodges. Depending on the actual day of the sexagesimal cycle on which the spring equinox falls, the fifth yin day after the vernal equinox would fall 51 to 60 days later, almost a month before the summer solstice. Within two days, we are told, the sun rises in East Well. This makes good astronomical sense. Although usually associated with the summer solstice, the East Well constellation actually covers a wide swath of the heavens. The sun enters it a month before the solstice in the median period of the fourth month.50 In temporal terms, the constellation covers three fortnightly periods.The ritual of Summoning the Eight Archivists, which incorporated the symbolism of the East Well, demonstrates the synthesizing process by which the Lingbao scriptural and ritual tradition was formed,this shows the Daoists’ rejection of popular practices as theological,and taking a more Left Hand Magical outlook. First, the unity and formlessness of the Dao transcended all popular deities,and it was often thought passe to worship anything at all. Secondly, moral and ethical precepts were intended to transcend the taboos related to demons and ghosts terrorizing the populace. Thirdly, the petitioning ritual that the  Daoists used for spirits was to replace popular sacrifices to Gods or Deities.
I will try and cover more on the East Well and The Eight Archivists as I do more study and work with the rite as I understand it (now to find some zhangju roots,anyone is San Francisco want to take a trip to Chinatown for me?),but for now I think that is a good taste of it for the evening.Till next time,Stay gold.
Sources: Nathan Sivin, “Chinese Alchemy and the Manipulation of Time”, Fabrizio Pregadio, “The Representation of Time in the Zhouyi Cantongqi, Nickerson,“Shamans, Demons,Diviners and Taoists”,Marc Kalinowski, “The Use of the Twenty-Eight Xiu as a Day-Count in Early China,David Pankenier,“The Cosmo-political Background of Heaven’s Mandate”.Gil Raz,Time Manipulation.
Copyright 2015 Vincent Piazza

Shakespeare’s Demonology

The belief in demonology as it existed during the Elizabethan period, and the time of Shakespeare,was a subject that, from its very nature, could not be settled ex cathedra, and consequently the subject had to grow up as best it might, each writer adopting the arrangement that appeared to him most suitable. It was an era of change. The nation was emerging from the dim twilight of mediaevalism into the full day of political and religious freedom.Arthur Hacket, with casting out of devils, and other madnesses, vehemently declaring himself the Messiah and King of Europe in the year of grace 1591, and getting himself believed by some, so long as he remained unhanged. It is solemnly recorded in the Commons’ Journals that during the discussion of the statute against witchcraft passed in the reign of James I., a young jackdaw flew into the House; which accident was generally regarded as malum omen to the Bill. Extraordinary bravery on the part of an adversary was sometimes accounted for by asserting that he was the devil in the form of a man.This is no mere dramatist’s fancy, but a fixed belief of the times. Sir William Russell fought so desperately at Zutphen, that he got mistaken for the Evil One.But the semi−sceptical state of thought was in   Shakespeare’s time making its way only amongst the more educated portion of the nation. The masses still clung to the old and venerated, if not venerable, belief that devils could at any moment assume what form soever they might please—not troubling themselves further to inquire into the method of the operation. They could appear in the likeness of an ordinary human being, creating thereby the most embarrassing complications in questions of identity; and if this belief is borne in mind, the charge of being a devil, so freely made, in the times of which we write, and before alluded to, against persons who performed extraordinary feats of valour, or behaved in a manner discreditable and deserving of general reprobation, loses much of its barbarous grotesqueness.There was one rough but popular classification into greater and lesser devils. The former branch was subdivided into classes of various grades of power, the members of which passed under the titles of kings, dukes, marquises, lords, captains, and other dignities.(see the Lesser Key,Dionysius the Areopagite,Johannes Wierus and The Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage for a greater understanding of these titles) Each of these was supposed to have a certain number of legions of the latter class under his command. These were the evil spirits who appeared most frequently on the earth as the emissaries of the greater fiends, to carry out their evil designs.The more important class kept for the most part in a mystical seclusion, and only appeared upon earth in cases of the greatest emergency, or when compelled to do so by conjuration. To the class of lesser devils belonged the bad angel which, together with a good one, was supposed to be assigned to every person at birth, to follow him through life—the one to tempt, the other to guard from temptation so, that a struggle similar to that recorded between Michael and Satan for the body of Moses was raging for the soul of every existing human being. This was not a mere theory, but a vital belief,as the use made of these opposing spirits in Marlowe’s “Dr. Faustus,” and in “The Virgin Martyr,” by Massinger and Dekker,show quite well.

Another classification, which seems to retain a reminiscence of the origin of devils from pagan deities(and is well known to any Magician or wytch worth their salt these days), is effected by reference to the localities supposed to be inhabited by the different classes of evil spirits.

According to this arrangement we get six classes:—
(1.) Devils of the fire, who wander in the region near the moon.
(2.) Devils of the air, who hover round the earth.
(3.) Devils of the earth; to whom the fairies are allied.
(4.) Devils of the water.
(5.) Submundane devils.
(6.) Lucifugi.
These devils’ power and desire to injure mankind appear to have increased with the proximity of their location to the earth’s centre; but this classification had nothing like the hold upon the popular mind that the former grouping had,as the King and Queen was all the rage at the time (and still is with the Little Prince hitting the UK Tabloids with such regularity).

Of the twenty devils mentioned by Shakespeare, four only belong to the class of greater devils. Hecate, the principal patroness of witchcraft, is referred to frequently, and appears once upon the scene. The two others
are Amaimon and Barbazon, both of whom are mentioned twice. Amaimon was a very important personage, being no other than one of the four kings. Ziminar was King of the North, and is referred to in “Henry VI. Part Gorson of the South; Goap of the West; and Amaimon of the East.(this is not a hard and fast correspondence with Magicians then or today,so please bare with me, my dear Magical correctness police,I promise all of my papers are in order :) ). He is mentioned in “Henry IV. Part I.,and “Merry Wives. Barbazon also occurs in the same passage in the latter play, and again in “Henry V.A fact that does to a slight extent help to bear out the otherwise ascertained chronological sequence of these plays. The remainder of the devils belong to the second class.Nine of these occur in “King Lear”.One Dr.Harsnet gave such a highly spiced and entertaining account in his “Declaration of Egregious Popish Impostures,” first published in the year 1603. It is from this work that Shakespeare took the names of the devils mentioned by Edgar, and other references made by him in “King Lear;” this gives us a true look at the subject of possession by Devils at that time,and even today much of this holds water in occult circles .A comparison of the passages in “King Lear” spoken by Edgar when feigning madness, with those in Harsnet’s book which seem to have suggested them, will furnish as vivid a picture as it is possible to give of the state of contemporary belief upon the subject of possession,something I will try and do at a later date.

Shakespeare, in “The Comedy of Errors,” and indirectly also in “Twelfth Night,” has given us intentionally ridiculous illustrations of scenes which bring vividly before us the absurdity of the methods of diagnosis and treatment usually adopted for Demonic Possession:

:—
Courtesan: How say you now? is not your husband mad?
Adriana: His incivility confirms no less.
Good doctor Pinch, you are a conjurer;
Establish him in his true sense again,
And I will please you what you will demand.
Luciana: Alas! how fiery and how sharp he looks!
Courtesan: Mark how he trembles in his extasy!
Pinch: Give me your hand, and let me feel your pulse.
Ant. E. There is my hand, and let it feel your ear.
Pinch: I charge thee, Satan, housed within this man,
To yield possession to my holy prayers,
And to thy state of darkness his thee straight;
I conjure thee by all the saints in heaven.
Ant. E: Peace, doting wizard, peace; I am not mad.
Pinch: O that thou wert not, poor distressed soul!
After some further business, Pinch pronounces his opinion:
“Mistress, both man and master are possessed;
I know it by their pale and deadly looks:
They must be bound, and laid in some dark room.”

But “good doctor Pinch” seems to have been mild even to feebleness in his conjuration; many of his brethren in art had much more effective formulae. It seems that devils were peculiarly sensitive to any opprobrious epithets that chanced to be bestowed upon them. The skilful exorcist took advantage of this weakness, and, if he could only manage to keep up a flow of uncomplimentary remarks sufficiently long and offensive, the
unfortunate spirit became embarrassed, restless, agitated, and finally took to flight.

So much more could be said about Shakespeare and the Occult that it would take a whole book to write it all,and much greater writers than I have already written books on the subject,so I will stop while I’m ahead.I leave you, faithful reader,with these lines….

“That not a worm is cloven in vain;
That not a moth with vain desire

Is shrivel’d in a fruitless fire,
Or but subserves another’s gain,”

(I haven’t even touched “Macbeth,”That’s for a much longer piece.)

Sources: “The Witches in Macbeth,” “The Demonology of Shakspere,” the New Shakespeare Society in the years 1877 and 1878.”The Globe Edition of the complete works of Shakespeare” August 3, 1998 (Author), Howard Staunton,ELIZABETHAN DEMONOLOGY by:THOMAS ALFRED SPALDING, LL.B. 1880.

Copyright 2015 Vincent Piazza

A few words about The Hat....a Magical tool often overlooked

If anyone knows anything about me, It’s that I feel the Hat is a primary tool of Magic (and if you don’t, mark your page, and then close the book and look at the cover, are you back with us? good, let’s continue) in 3200 BC One of the first pictorial depictions of a hat appears in a Thebes tomb. A painting on the wall shows a man wearing a coolie straw hat. 1700 BCE - The Westcar Papyrus (now in the State Museum, East Berlin) records the earliest known performance of conjuring with a Hat.70 BC - A young Danish chieftain falls into a bog to be in near perfect condition along with his pieced leather and fur cap. This is one of the earliest physical representations of hats that has been found. Circa 40 CE - Simon Magus, aka Simon the Sorcerer and Simon of Gitta. Samaritan magician who has been referred to as the founder of post-Christian Gnosticism. He is said to have fallen to his death while levitating, or, more accurately, when he stopped levitating too soon. He was said to always have a Hat on the ground in front of him when levitating.50-818 AD - According to legend, St. Clement discovered felt when, as a wondering monk, he filled his sandals with carded wool to protect his feet. The moisture and pressure from walking compressed the fibers into a crude yet comfortable felt. Hatters in Ireland as well as a few other countries have celebrated him as the Patron Saint of Felt Hat Makers.1797 AD - John Hetherington stirs a riot in the streets and earn himself a £500 fine. What did he do, you ask? He wore a top Hat! It's great height and shiny silk luster incited terror and panic. And to Incite is the whole point of the Hat, from Top Hat to Miter ,Native Headdress to Shriner’s Fez, the Hat is used for both the conjure and those who attend to him or her, be they human or otherwise.

 

The Origins of the Brimless, conical hats that have long been associated with male wizards and magicians, comes from The "dunce cap," and the word "dunce" itself, comes from one man: John Duns Scotus, or "the Subtle Doctor," born in 1266 in Duns, Scotland. He was considered a master philosopher in the late middle ages, coining such oblique terms as "haecceitas" ---literally, "thisness." (use it in conversation with a spirit, I dare you.) He taught in Oxford, Cambridge and Paris, and founded the school of Scholastic thought called Scotism, whose followers were referred to as "Dunsmen." One incredulous tale told about him, shortly after he was made Abbot of Malmesbury his students stabbed him to death with their pens for "trying to get them to think." "the pen is mightier than the sword" comes to mind. He was a respected teacher until the 16th century, when his ideas were attacked by reformers and humanists as being sophist and needlessly complex. The Dunsmen (or Dunces) rallied against the attack (their name was by then already associated with "hair-splitting-ness" and specious reasoning), but all their struggle against the "new learning" only made their name synonymous with "idiot." The problem seems to be a tendency to favor extremely subtle and indirect reasoning that makes fellow Scholastic Thomas Aquinas seem accessible by comparison, and being subtle and indirect has plagued the world of magic ever since. What does this all have to do with the Wizard’s Hat?Well, one of the Ideas that Duns put forward was the wearing of conical hats to increase learning. He noted that wizards supposedly wore such things; an apex was considered a symbol of knowledge and the hats were thought to "funnel" knowledge to the wearer. As archaic as this may sound, it was, and still is, accepted fact in Taoist Magic and ritual Professor Jerry Alan Johnson textbook, Magical Tools and the Daoist Altar. Has this to say on the matter, “The priest's hat, covering his or her head, represents the spiritual anointing of Heaven. According to the first volume of Rules for the Use of the Ritual Robe of the Three Grottoes, written by Daoist Master Zhang Wanfu during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.) for regulations concerning Daoist clothes and adornments, "A Daoist priest's hat is symbolic of contemplation. It is worn to remind the Daoist priest to contemplate on his or her spiritual body, and to cut off (or remove) all physical (mundane) desires. Once the hat is placed upon the disciple’s head, it allows him or her the ability to sincerely pacify the mind, and to attain the fruit of Daoism. Furthermore, the disciple of the Dao should contemplate on outer materials as not being personal possessions, this will assist him or her in cutting off all desires.” Wangfu had the right idea that the act of putting on the Hat is a reminder to the mind and spirit that all acts with the Hat on become spiritual, and by gaining the ability to pacify the Mind, the conjure can see and work with spirits and gods with much more skill and control.

And Excerpt from The GRIMORIUM CARCERIS.=Copyright 2015 Vincent Piazza

Magical Tools: to use or not to use, that is the question

I truly have a love/hate relationship with Magical Tools and Implements of power, and take a rather middle of the ground view on the subject. Between the Old Guard view that you must use the right tools at the right time to get the correct results, and the Chaos Magicians postulation of “Here, let’s take a bit of black electrical tape and slap it on this dirty piece of window glass and what do you know, we have a Skrying mirror”.!

A very Insightful student of mine said something that sums up the way I see tools perfectly, “Just like when you learn the rules of the English language, you need to Learn them right the first time, then you can throw them out the window. “English Grammar rules exist so that we don’t sound like complete idiots when we write. The rules about Tools and correspondences exist for the same reason, but for the benefit of the spirits and your subjective will.

Most of them have a good reason for being around; after all, the Pen and Parchment play a vital role in the Grimorium Verum, most Enochian feels just empty and wrong without a Skrying Stone or Mirror. However, that’s not to say that all rules about Magical tools are written in stone. In fact, some of them seem to be the work of books that tell you to buy this, that, and that skull over in the display case, so you better sprint on over to the Warlocks Closet and Emporium and spend your whole paycheck on all this cool stuff!

Most Tools of the Art are simply charged items, filled with Chi or the force of some entity that you have worked with, be it a wand, wax doll, sword or talisman. “The tool is not the tool - the tool is how you use it." Some wise old mage said in times past (or it could have been a cobbler, who knows?)How you direct your energy is what magic is all about, and is the true source of Occult powers. Skilled sorcerers are able to increase their internal power in order to successfully perform rituals, and since each charging of a Tool is a ritual in and of itself, your Chi is an integral part of Tool use.

It is well known that ghosts and entities are attracted to the brilliance of the lights shining from the altar and from the Magician’s own life force. Magical Tools, and every item that we come in contact with daily, are simply charged items. Everything that we manipulate with our hands picks up an impression, although some items from their material base can keep a charge longer and have a more permanent lasting effect.

Anything biological will work best in the magical arts, the once living cells take and keep a charge well, but we must fight against rot of course and their worth is only as good as the preservation techniques that are put into making them last. The next best material is metal. the seven planets of the ancients symbolized the seven primary metals used in magic; gold, silver, copper, iron, Mercury, tin, and lead respectively. The third category of material used in magical practice is stone. This includes glass, rubies, diamonds, and an assortment of precious and semi-precious stones. Artificial materials are not recommended for any magical work, but they do make great containers to block such energies from seeping and draining out of charged materials (Tupperware anyone?)Keeping them Wrapped in silk is the traditional route for the storage of most tools. The various esoteric symbols, colors and items in magical rituals serve to further conjurer’s intention. Likewise, the use of incense, music, and other materials are used to intensify the senses and empower the rite. Just a few thoughts from the Grimorium Carceris: Copyright 2015 Vincent Piazza

The Opening of a Left Hand Path Taoist Altar in Practice...

Warning!All of the work that I do is experimental and is a mix of Taoist magical arts and Left hand path ritual methodology,I accept no responsibly for your state of mind,spirit or life if you try and repeat my practice.

The "Opening" of my LHP Taoist magical ritual begins with the rites of Purification, Grounding, Casting the Magical Bagua Circle, and Calling the Gods of the Four Directions to the altar, described as follows: To begin the Opening Ceremony, I first washed my stinking corpse and put on clean clothes,I never work with shoes on to give an easier access to Earth and underworld Qi.I spoke the words of Purification and focused on my Cinnabar Fields, or dantian as I did so:

• INCANTATION TO PURIFY THE HEART
AND THE MIND
"The God Tai Shang Lao Jun and Lord Beelzebuth
always observes and responds
to all of the changes in the world.
They drive away the unworthy
and confines the ghosts.
They save lives
and protects the people.
They provide wisdom
and purifies my mind and heart.
They makes my mind and heart tranquil
and helps to stabilizes my mind and heart
so that my soul will find immortality.
Quickly, quickly carry out this Order
As a Mandate of my will"
"An - Fu - Jie - Fu - Luo -
Ban - Ruo - Bo - Luo - Mi "

• INCANTATION TO PURIFY THE MOUTH
"The spirit of the mouth is Dan Zhu,
he spits the filthy Qi out of my mouth.
The spirit of the tongue is Zheng Lun,
he connects my destiny,
and cultivates my spirit.
The spirit of the teeth is Lou Qian,
he removes the false,
and protects the truth.
The spirit of the throat is Hu Pen,
he refines the dew,
and transmutes the Qi and Shen.
The spirit of the heart is Dan Yuan,
he allows me to connect with the truth.
The spirit of the thoughts is Si Shen,
he refines my fluids
and forever preserves
the energy of the Tao,in the name of Lucifer I preserve my Qi!"

"An - Xiu - Ni - Duo - Luo - Niu"

• INCANTATION TO PURIFY THE BODY

"The Heavenly Lord Ling Bao, The Lovely lady Astaroth,
Pacifies and reassures my body
My Hun and Po are disciples
of the profound mystery
of the Five Organs.
Green Dragon and White Tiger
bring everything into order
Phoenix and Turtle/Snake
serve and protect me
with the truth"
"An - Ao - La - Xiu - Li -
Mo - Ke - Ba - Mi - Niu"

 

I then pour fresh water and wine into the cups on the altar table,and recite the INCANTATION TO REMOVE TURBID QI and THE FIVE DRAGON REMOVE MORBID QI INCANTATION,walk around the room and make sure All of the doors and windows are closed,light most,but not all of the candles and began to bring in Qi from above and below,moving it within my Orbit and packing it into my Dantian until I can no longer hold it,I push my Dantian out until I am surrounded by a sphere that fills the space. I then lock the sphere in place with these words.

• INCANTATION TO PROTECT THE ALTAR
"Heaven and Earth and Hell are the Natural law!
As their spirit manifests,
Filthy Qi disperses!
The Mysterious Void within
is radiant and bright,
invoking the presence
of My Supreme Original Immortality!
!t invokes the spiritual powers
of the Eight Directions, and makes me
Authentic and Immortal!
The Ling Bao Command Talismans,
teach people how to reach
the Nine Levels of Heaven,and the Nine Levels of Hell!
As you ascend to the Heavens
all sadness in left behind!As you descend to the Hells all wisdom is gained!
If you understand the Great Mystery of the Big Dipper,
You will have the power
to befriend devils and bind demons!
And possess the ability
to kill 10 thousand ghosts!
The Incantation of
the Spirit of the Middle Mountain,
and the Jade Text of the Primordial Origin!
To hold and recite them one time
prevents disease and extends your life by one year!
To travel to the Five Sacred Mountains,
will give you the knowledge of everything
under the Heavens and Hells,
and the ability to bind and call powerful devils and gods!
I do this so that I can
protect my sacred altar,
and disperse and remove all negative Qi,
and forever keep
the energy of the Dao,for this is my will made manifest!"

I then use THE NINE PHOENIX INCANTATION to call and Summon
The Great Spiritual Powers of the Eight Trigrams, Qian, Kun, Gen, Zhen, Xun, Li, Kun, and Dui! By doing so I lay a Bagua to establish the boundary of the Altar and make it the cauldron, or Ding for the Qi to collect in.
I then Light the Incense and make offerings to the spirits and gods present,by this time the Air is very heavy and thick,many spirits have come to this opening so I must calm myself and focus on the task.

I open the Altar with these words:

"Tonight I Open the Altar
The incense is burning in the Burner!
The Jade Letters are revealing
The secret way to remove Negative Qi
I pay tribute to the Jade Emperor,Lucifer,BeelzeButh,Astoroth,
and kowtow three times,
to pay respect to these worthy Immortals!
I come to the altar
and receive endless blessings,
even the dead can receive new life!
To the Gods who remove Turbid Qi
I bow low!
I use the Baji (8 Supreme Energies)
in accordance with the Bagua
to establish the boundary of the
Altar of the Original Essence!
According to my will,
I now pay tribute to these Grand Spirits! Tonight, at my Daoist Altar,
I burn incense in order to call and invite
the gods of the Eight Trigrams:
Qian of Heaven, Kun of Earth,
Li of Fire, and Kan of Water
Gen of Mountain, Xun of Wind,
Zhen of Thunder, and Dui of Lake!
From the Southern Red Heaven,
And Three Realms, we invite
the Jade Light of the Great Nine Phoenix
Removing Turbid Qi General! He removes all Turbid Qi
from the Five Directions
and protects the altar,
subduing all spirits!
Because I am sincere,
the altar is now
peaceful and still!
And now I present
his Open Command Talisman
with all Sincerity,
and offer the report!"

I Open the Altar
and present
the Tai Shang Spirit Treasure
Open The Altar Talisman,
To the God Beelzebuth
My personal Guardian!
Today I invite the Gods and Demons who guide me
to come to this altar,
and to kill all evil spirits sent to harm me!
Guide the lonely, departed souls,
and bring them all to another world!
The Heavenly Gate is now open,The Gates of Hell are now open,
and all of the celestial gods are bowing,all of the Lords of Hell are cheering,
The Three Realms are now expecting,
All of the Devils and Angels must now be submissive
or they must kill themselves! You can hear the sound
of beautiful jade clicking!
All surroundings are peaceful and quiet,
As if ordered by the Immortal within me.
The Order is quickly transmitted,
as fast a wind fire!
And the Thunders of the Great Dao
are all assisting Me in My Work!
In this year 2015,
In this month June,
And, on this auspicious night,the 24th!"

I then preformed a very long Water Invocation that is too long to write here...by this time I'm in a very deep trance state,so then sat and skryed upon the crystal, asked for Visions of what is to come with my work with this Altar,received them,Thanked the spirits and Immortals for attending,pulled all of the Qi back into my Dantain,drained about half of it into the Earth to ground,and stored the rest.I let the offering and incense stand overnight,as well as My Hat upon the Earth Altar to pull in any residue Qi.I'm quite pleased with the rite,and all of the spirits I spoke to seemed to approve as well.....Once again,I do warn you to not try this at home.Till next time Friends,stay gold. Copyright 2015 Vincent Piazza

Warning!All of the work that I do is experimental and is a mix of Taoist magical arts and Left hand path ritual methodology,I accept no responsibly for your state of mind,spirit or life if you try and repeat my practice.

The "Opening" of my LHP Taoist magical ritual begins with the rites of Purification, Grounding, Casting the Magical Bagua Circle, and Calling the Gods of the Four Directions to the altar, described as follows: To begin the Opening Ceremony, I first washed my stinking corpse and put on clean clothes,I never work with shoes on to give an easier access to Earth and underworld Qi.I spoke the words of Purification and focused on my Cinnabar Fields, or dantian as I did so:

• INCANTATION TO PURIFY THE HEART
AND THE MIND
"The God Tai Shang Lao Jun and Lord Beelzebuth
always observes and responds
to all of the changes in the world.
They drive away the unworthy
and confines the ghosts.
They save lives
and protects the people.
They provide wisdom
and purifies my mind and heart.
They makes my mind and heart tranquil
and helps to stabilizes my mind and heart
so that my soul will find immortality.
Quickly, quickly carry out this Order
As a Mandate of my will"
"An - Fu - Jie - Fu - Luo -
Ban - Ruo - Bo - Luo - Mi "

• INCANTATION TO PURIFY THE MOUTH
"The spirit of the mouth is Dan Zhu,
he spits the filthy Qi out of my mouth.
The spirit of the tongue is Zheng Lun,
he connects my destiny,
and cultivates my spirit.
The spirit of the teeth is Lou Qian,
he removes the false,
and protects the truth.
The spirit of the throat is Hu Pen,
he refines the dew,
and transmutes the Qi and Shen.
The spirit of the heart is Dan Yuan,
he allows me to connect with the truth.
The spirit of the thoughts is Si Shen,
he refines my fluids
and forever preserves
the energy of the Tao,in the name of Lucifer I preserve my Qi!"

"An - Xiu - Ni - Duo - Luo - Niu"

• INCANTATION TO PURIFY THE BODY

"The Heavenly Lord Ling Bao, The Lovely lady Astaroth,
Pacifies and reassures my body
My Hun and Po are disciples
of the profound mystery
of the Five Organs.
Green Dragon and White Tiger
bring everything into order
Phoenix and Turtle/Snake
serve and protect me
with the truth"
"An - Ao - La - Xiu - Li -
Mo - Ke - Ba - Mi - Niu"

 

I then pour fresh water and wine into the cups on the altar table,and recite the INCANTATION TO REMOVE TURBID QI and THE FIVE DRAGON REMOVE MORBID QI INCANTATION,walk around the room and make sure All of the doors and windows are closed,light most,but not all of the candles and began to bring in Qi from above and below,moving it within my Orbit and packing it into my Dantian until I can no longer hold it,I push my Dantian out until I am surrounded by a sphere that fills the space. I then lock the sphere in place with these words.

• INCANTATION TO PROTECT THE ALTAR
"Heaven and Earth and Hell are the Natural law!
As their spirit manifests,
Filthy Qi disperses!
The Mysterious Void within
is radiant and bright,
invoking the presence
of My Supreme Original Immortality!
!t invokes the spiritual powers
of the Eight Directions, and makes me
Authentic and Immortal!
The Ling Bao Command Talismans,
teach people how to reach
the Nine Levels of Heaven,and the Nine Levels of Hell!
As you ascend to the Heavens
all sadness in left behind!As you descend to the Hells all wisdom is gained!
If you understand the Great Mystery of the Big Dipper,
You will have the power
to befriend devils and bind demons!
And possess the ability
to kill 10 thousand ghosts!
The Incantation of
the Spirit of the Middle Mountain,
and the Jade Text of the Primordial Origin!
To hold and recite them one time
prevents disease and extends your life by one year!
To travel to the Five Sacred Mountains,
will give you the knowledge of everything
under the Heavens and Hells,
and the ability to bind and call powerful devils and gods!
I do this so that I can
protect my sacred altar,
and disperse and remove all negative Qi,
and forever keep
the energy of the Dao,for this is my will made manifest!"

I then use THE NINE PHOENIX INCANTATION to call and Summon
The Great Spiritual Powers of the Eight Trigrams, Qian, Kun, Gen, Zhen, Xun, Li, Kun, and Dui! By doing so I lay a Bagua to establish the boundary of the Altar and make it the cauldron, or Ding for the Qi to collect in.
I then Light the Incense and make offerings to the spirits and gods present,by this time the Air is very heavy and thick,many spirits have come to this opening so I must calm myself and focus on the task.

I open the Altar with these words:

"Tonight I Open the Altar
The incense is burning in the Burner!
The Jade Letters are revealing
The secret way to remove Negative Qi
I pay tribute to the Jade Emperor,Lucifer,BeelzeButh,Astoroth,
and kowtow three times,
to pay respect to these worthy Immortals!
I come to the altar
and receive endless blessings,
even the dead can receive new life!
To the Gods who remove Turbid Qi
I bow low!
I use the Baji (8 Supreme Energies)
in accordance with the Bagua
to establish the boundary of the
Altar of the Original Essence!
According to my will,
I now pay tribute to these Grand Spirits! Tonight, at my Daoist Altar,
I burn incense in order to call and invite
the gods of the Eight Trigrams:
Qian of Heaven, Kun of Earth,
Li of Fire, and Kan of Water
Gen of Mountain, Xun of Wind,
Zhen of Thunder, and Dui of Lake!
From the Southern Red Heaven,
And Three Realms, we invite
the Jade Light of the Great Nine Phoenix
Removing Turbid Qi General! He removes all Turbid Qi
from the Five Directions
and protects the altar,
subduing all spirits!
Because I am sincere,
the altar is now
peaceful and still!
And now I present
his Open Command Talisman
with all Sincerity,
and offer the report!"

I Open the Altar
and present
the Tai Shang Spirit Treasure
Open The Altar Talisman,
To the God Beelzebuth
My personal Guardian!
Today I invite the Gods and Demons who guide me
to come to this altar,
and to kill all evil spirits sent to harm me!
Guide the lonely, departed souls,
and bring them all to another world!
The Heavenly Gate is now open,The Gates of Hell are now open,
and all of the celestial gods are bowing,all of the Lords of Hell are cheering,
The Three Realms are now expecting,
All of the Devils and Angels must now be submissive
or they must kill themselves! You can hear the sound
of beautiful jade clicking!
All surroundings are peaceful and quiet,
As if ordered by the Immortal within me.
The Order is quickly transmitted,
as fast a wind fire!
And the Thunders of the Great Dao
are all assisting Me in My Work!
In this year 2015,
In this month June,
And, on this auspicious night,the 24th!"

I then preformed a very long Water Invocation that is too long to write here...by this time I'm in a very deep trance state,so then sat and skryed upon the crystal, asked for Visions of what is to come with my work with this Altar,received them,Thanked the spirits and Immortals for attending,pulled all of the Qi back into my Dantain,drained about half of it into the Earth to ground,and stored the rest.I let the offering and incense stand overnight,as well as My Hat upon the Earth Altar to pull in any residue Qi.I'm quite pleased with the rite,and all of the spirits I spoke to seemed to approve as well.....Once again,I do warn you to not try this at home.Till next time Friends,stay gold.

The Opening of a Left Hand Path Taoist Altar in Practice...

Warning!All of the work that I do is experimental and is a mix of Taoist magical arts and Left hand path ritual methodology,I accept no responsibly for your state of mind,spirit or life if you try and repeat my practice.

The "Opening" of my LHP Taoist magical ritual begins with the rites of Purification, Grounding, Casting the Magical Bagua Circle, and Calling the Gods of the Four Directions to the altar, described as follows: To begin the Opening Ceremony, I first washed my stinking corpse and put on clean clothes,I never work with shoes on to give an easier access to Earth and underworld Qi.I spoke the words of Purification and focused on my Cinnabar Fields, or dantian as I did so:

• INCANTATION TO PURIFY THE HEART
AND THE MIND
"The God Tai Shang Lao Jun and Lord Beelzebuth
always observes and responds
to all of the changes in the world.
They drive away the unworthy
and confines the ghosts.
They save lives
and protects the people.
They provide wisdom
and purifies my mind and heart.
They makes my mind and heart tranquil
and helps to stabilizes my mind and heart
so that my soul will find immortality.
Quickly, quickly carry out this Order
As a Mandate of my will"
"An - Fu - Jie - Fu - Luo -
Ban - Ruo - Bo - Luo - Mi "

• INCANTATION TO PURIFY THE MOUTH
"The spirit of the mouth is Dan Zhu,
he spits the filthy Qi out of my mouth.
The spirit of the tongue is Zheng Lun,
he connects my destiny,
and cultivates my spirit.
The spirit of the teeth is Lou Qian,
he removes the false,
and protects the truth.
The spirit of the throat is Hu Pen,
he refines the dew,
and transmutes the Qi and Shen.
The spirit of the heart is Dan Yuan,
he allows me to connect with the truth.
The spirit of the thoughts is Si Shen,
he refines my fluids
and forever preserves
the energy of the Tao,in the name of Lucifer I preserve my Qi!"

"An - Xiu - Ni - Duo - Luo - Niu"

• INCANTATION TO PURIFY THE BODY

"The Heavenly Lord Ling Bao, The Lovely lady Astaroth,
Pacifies and reassures my body
My Hun and Po are disciples
of the profound mystery
of the Five Organs.
Green Dragon and White Tiger
bring everything into order
Phoenix and Turtle/Snake
serve and protect me
with the truth"
"An - Ao - La - Xiu - Li -
Mo - Ke - Ba - Mi - Niu"

 

I then pour fresh water and wine into the cups on the altar table,and recite the INCANTATION TO REMOVE TURBID QI and THE FIVE DRAGON REMOVE MORBID QI INCANTATION,walk around the room and make sure All of the doors and windows are closed,light most,but not all of the candles and began to bring in Qi from above and below,moving it within my Orbit and packing it into my Dantian until I can no longer hold it,I push my Dantian out until I am surrounded by a sphere that fills the space. I then lock the sphere in place with these words.

• INCANTATION TO PROTECT THE ALTAR
"Heaven and Earth and Hell are the Natural law!
As their spirit manifests,
Filthy Qi disperses!
The Mysterious Void within
is radiant and bright,
invoking the presence
of My Supreme Original Immortality!
!t invokes the spiritual powers
of the Eight Directions, and makes me
Authentic and Immortal!
The Ling Bao Command Talismans,
teach people how to reach
the Nine Levels of Heaven,and the Nine Levels of Hell!
As you ascend to the Heavens
all sadness in left behind!As you descend to the Hells all wisdom is gained!
If you understand the Great Mystery of the Big Dipper,
You will have the power
to befriend devils and bind demons!
And possess the ability
to kill 10 thousand ghosts!
The Incantation of
the Spirit of the Middle Mountain,
and the Jade Text of the Primordial Origin!
To hold and recite them one time
prevents disease and extends your life by one year!
To travel to the Five Sacred Mountains,
will give you the knowledge of everything
under the Heavens and Hells,
and the ability to bind and call powerful devils and gods!
I do this so that I can
protect my sacred altar,
and disperse and remove all negative Qi,
and forever keep
the energy of the Dao,for this is my will made manifest!"

I then use THE NINE PHOENIX INCANTATION to call and Summon
The Great Spiritual Powers of the Eight Trigrams, Qian, Kun, Gen, Zhen, Xun, Li, Kun, and Dui! By doing so I lay a Bagua to establish the boundary of the Altar and make it the cauldron, or Ding for the Qi to collect in.
I then Light the Incense and make offerings to the spirits and gods present,by this time the Air is very heavy and thick,many spirits have come to this opening so I must calm myself and focus on the task.

I open the Altar with these words:

"Tonight I Open the Altar
The incense is burning in the Burner!
The Jade Letters are revealing
The secret way to remove Negative Qi
I pay tribute to the Jade Emperor,Lucifer,BeelzeButh,Astoroth,
and kowtow three times,
to pay respect to these worthy Immortals!
I come to the altar
and receive endless blessings,
even the dead can receive new life!
To the Gods who remove Turbid Qi
I bow low!
I use the Baji (8 Supreme Energies)
in accordance with the Bagua
to establish the boundary of the
Altar of the Original Essence!
According to my will,
I now pay tribute to these Grand Spirits! Tonight, at my Daoist Altar,
I burn incense in order to call and invite
the gods of the Eight Trigrams:
Qian of Heaven, Kun of Earth,
Li of Fire, and Kan of Water
Gen of Mountain, Xun of Wind,
Zhen of Thunder, and Dui of Lake!
From the Southern Red Heaven,
And Three Realms, we invite
the Jade Light of the Great Nine Phoenix
Removing Turbid Qi General! He removes all Turbid Qi
from the Five Directions
and protects the altar,
subduing all spirits!
Because I am sincere,
the altar is now
peaceful and still!
And now I present
his Open Command Talisman
with all Sincerity,
and offer the report!"

I Open the Altar
and present
the Tai Shang Spirit Treasure
Open The Altar Talisman,
To the God Beelzebuth
My personal Guardian!
Today I invite the Gods and Demons who guide me
to come to this altar,
and to kill all evil spirits sent to harm me!
Guide the lonely, departed souls,
and bring them all to another world!
The Heavenly Gate is now open,The Gates of Hell are now open,
and all of the celestial gods are bowing,all of the Lords of Hell are cheering,
The Three Realms are now expecting,
All of the Devils and Angels must now be submissive
or they must kill themselves! You can hear the sound
of beautiful jade clicking!
All surroundings are peaceful and quiet,
As if ordered by the Immortal within me.
The Order is quickly transmitted,
as fast a wind fire!
And the Thunders of the Great Dao
are all assisting Me in My Work!
In this year 2015,
In this month June,
And, on this auspicious night,the 24th!"

I then preformed a very long Water Invocation that is too long to write here...by this time I'm in a very deep trance state,so then sat and skryed upon the crystal, asked for Visions of what is to come with my work with this Altar,received them,Thanked the spirits and Immortals for attending,pulled all of the Qi back into my Dantain,drained about half of it into the Earth to ground,and stored the rest.I let the offering and incense stand overnight,as well as My Hat upon the Earth Altar to pull in any residue Qi.I'm quite pleased with the rite,and all of the spirits I spoke to seemed to approve as well.....Once again,I do warn you to not try this at home.Till next time Friends,stay gold.

 

 

Beginners primer of the art for fun and profit

Beginners primer of the art for fun and profit.

Beginners primer of the art for fun and profit

“The subconscious has a symbolic language that is truly a universal language, for it speaks with the vocabulary of the great vital constants, sexual instinct, feeling of death, physical notion of the enigma of space—these vital constants are universally echoed in every human. To understand an aesthetic picture, training in the appreciation is necessary, cultural and intellectual preparation. For Surrealism the only re requisite is a receptive and intuitive human being.” --Salvador Dali

Well hello aspiring conjurers, I would like to start this work with a discussion about the components of ritual and how any ritual that you come across can be broken down into four simple steps. We will also be talking about Salvador Dali’s “Paranoid Critical” method, because in prison or in any stressful situation or living condition this method seems to be the most efficient way to gain great progress in a conjurer’s practice of the Art Magick.
The four simple components that any ritual can be broken down into are:
1. the opening word
2. the circle or the sphere
3. the main body of work
4. the closing word
No that matter how simple or complex a ritual may be these components are universally followed in most if not all of contemporary Western occultism. This framework goes back to the earliest attempts of man to create ritual and to work with the gods and spirits of almost every culture since the dawn of time. Examples can be found in the early Sumerian and Babylonian writings, The Greek Magical Papyri (Latin Papyri Graecae Magicae, abbreviated PGM), as well as the Egyptian book of the dead, Tibetan Buddhist Tantric practice, and ancient Taoist Shamanic workings. Adam Falkenstein in his 1931 "Haupttypen der sumerischen Beschwörungen" was the first to observe and record four principal categories of Sumerian incantation. Falkenstein studied the late Udug-hul incantations to make these distinctions, and right away we can see a correlation to Ritual Magick as it is practiced today.
Type1. Legitimationstyp (Legitimation type)
Cunningham:"priestly legitimation" -Incantations in which a exorcist legitimates himself as a representative of a deity.

Type 2. Prohylaktischer
Cunningham: "Prophylactic-type incantation"(Prophylactic = protecting from disease or infection) *Note-Most Disease or sickness in Sumerian Magic was thought to be a Demon or Evil Spirit

Type 3. Marduk-Ea typ
Cunningham: “divine dialogues" -Incantations which contain the transfer of ritual instruction from a senior to a juior god,this transfer in effect re-enforces the corresponding actual ritual of the Exorcist

Type 4. Weihungtyp/Kultmittelbeschworung (.Ritual sealing Practices of the Exorcist)
Cunningham: "Consecration of divine purifiers"-These Incantations consecrate or seal items or places for example the Tamarisk or the Reed, which were seen as pure and able to bestow that purity upon the Exorcist. Places like the Ziggurat or Ritual chamber were seen as conduits between the divine and temporal worlds. This type of incantation might correctly be seen as pre-empting or post-cleaning a ritual procedure.
It is my belief, from the research that I’ve done, that the complex ritual form of Western magic today directly stems from the Babylonian and Sumerian ritual ideas of yesteryear. These four Sumerian types of invocation and incantation were singular rituals but with the addition of Greco-Roman, Egyptian, and Renaissance influences, ritual magic today is a fusion of the four types I have outlined above. . To quote Jake Stratton-Kent from his well-researched work, The Geosophia” The over emphasis on the Judao-Christian elements in the grimoires has long obscured the immense contribution of the Graco-Roman or Hellenistic world to Western magic. Ancient Jewish and Christian traditions were but parts of this world. “ Now some of you may say “but Vincent, what about the spell work without a circle! There are metric tons of work that use no circle at all, especially on the left hand path!” And I say fiddlesticks to such balderdash, the circle is almost always there in every ritual ever performed by man, woman, God or beast …

To quote Jake Stratton-Kent once more” In short a circle is not an obsolete symbol of a superstitious fear of spirits, but an intentionally created ritual space for various Purposes. It is not always required for all kinds of ritual work, but neither is it of no value, quite the contrary. Making sacred space is among the most primal of rituals, such intentional actions are as worthy of the term Psychoactive as any substance.” For want of a better term you may call it the aura, the bioelectrical field, the second skin, the Hara or the tan tien … Whatever you choose to call it this force that you admit from the center of your being is the circle that all magicians cast at each ritual. Be it from your mind’s eye, your forefinger or the ritual sword and dagger, we use the life force to protect ourselves in most if not all ritual workings. In fact without it you would die, or be soon at the threshold of death’s door…… But I wandered too far, too soon....... An excerpt from the GRIMORIUM CARCERIS Copyright 2015 Vincent Piazza

The Art of imitating fiction in occultism,and occultism in fiction.Aka.That's how they do it in the movies!

Twenty-first century fiction has taken quite a magical turn. The top-grossing films of today feature wizards, hobbits, vampires,werewolves and even our old buddy Batman. Fantasy series of the Magical bent have been crazy successful both on the bestseller lists at home and abroad. You can't throw a dead cat without hitting a witch on television these days.And this is bleeding back into the Occult world as well,a Loop of culture that is feeding itself in ways that we will feel for many generations to come.And it's not just books and movies,World of Warcraft has over a million players each day, from all over the world casting spells and summoning demons. Oscar Wilde once wrote  "Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life"and this is far more true now then ever before,and I think it is a wonderful advancement.When Superman becomes a Archetype (and I believe he already has)magicians and witches will invoke him for his power,strength,and might,Evoke him to save cats from trees and old ladies from muggers.


The Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung, in Symbols of Transformation, distinguishes between “two kinds
of thinking”: “directed thinking” and “fantasy thinking.” Directed thinking is logical, linear, consciously driven—the mode of scientific rationality. Fantasy thinking is deassociative, nonlinear, unconsciously driven—the mode of dreams. Jung argues that both of these forms of thinking are valuable and necessary, but that modernity has skewed the balance between the two. As he put it, “We have become rich in knowledge, but poor in wisdom. The centre of gravity of our interest has switched over to the materialistic side, whereas the ancients preferred a mode of thought nearer to the
fantastic type.” This is Magical thinking at it's finest deassociative, nonlinear, unconsciously driven. Or as A.Spare put it 

“Darken your room, shut the door, empty your mind. Yet you are still in
great company - the Numen and your Genius with all their media, and your
host of elementals and ghosts of your dead loves — are there! They need no light by which to see, no words to speak, no motive to enact except through your own purely formed desire.”
― Austin Osman Spare, The Logomachy of Zos 

Contemporary fantasy,reclaims myth in its own right; it explicitly embraces Magical
thinking, without recourse to scientific reason. The relative prestige and prominence of
the SF genre in the twentieth century reflects an era which felt compelled to recast mythic
fantasy thinking in the garb of rationality. The twenty-first century Magician,Left Hand Path or Right,have started to take steps that suggest this disavowal is increasingly unnecessary, and that the popular culture of our era can now embrace the value of magic without shame,and work with any spirit they choose...even Batman! 

 (See Taylor Ellwood and his work with pop culture magic for a much more in-depth view on this subject) 

Sources :Austin Osman Spare, The Logomachy of Zos,

The Magical Turn in Postmodern Culture - SCMS 2013 by Ted Friedman

 

Copyright 2015 Vincent Piazza