Showing posts with label pagan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pagan. Show all posts

Saturday, 4 March 2017

News: Satanists curse Trump...really?




You can listen to an YouTube version of this post here.

Satanists curse Trump!


 Is a headline you may have seen recently. I implore you to remember where you saw headlines like this because they are fake news. i should point out that i am using the term fake news correctly here, that is to say that the news story is demonstrably incorrect and misleading. I am not using the trumpian definition of fake news which seems to be anything that is not pro-trump propaganda.



 I am referring to the spiritual of the world who are working good magic against the evil of the Trump administration. So what makes these news story's fake exactly? Firstly the claim that the movement aims to in any way curse Trump is simply untrue. The ritual was a binding ritual, which specifically designed to merely prevent Trump from doing harm. 
 I will point out here that anyone trying to counter this ritual is admitting that they want Trump to do harm, and are actively trying to aid Trump in causing harm. 



 A lot of the news story's refer to satanists and Satan worshipers participating in these rituals. Now while Satan worshipers are certainly not disallowed from participating, i find it difficult to imagine that these Satanist Christians would want to. Surely Satanists would be supporting the evils of the Trump administration not opposing them? And if Satanists are trying to prevent harm and other Christian sects are trying to stop the Satanists from preventing harm....then i think those other Christians need to have a good hard look at their own moral code.



 The ritual is to be performed on every every waning crescent moon which is not technically monthly. The spell will continue to be performed until he is removed from office which doesn't necessarily demand impeachment.
 Lets get it straight the ritual is not a curse, it is not evil! How could preventing someone from doing harm be an evil act? Its not even dangerous, if your really concerned about your spiritual safety or any "karmic" repercussions, you could add something like "harming none, and for the greater good of all" just before you say "so mote it be".  
 You could also just remove the lines "Heavenly hosts. Demons of the infernal realms" if those lines concern you. 
 Also if you follow any gods you would definitely add "In the name and by the power of (your deity's names)", after you list the elemental spirits. 
 In this way the divine will add their own power to your ritual and they will also filter your intent through their moral code. That seems to be the whole idea of this ritual its amorphous enough to be altered without losing intent. I do understand that this may be foreign for a lot of people who are not proficient in spiritual matters, but performing this ritual might enlighten many to the fact that there are other paths. 
 The  #MagicResistance / #BindTrump movement has a Facebook page and the actual ritual can be found here. Remember too that any spiritual advisers who are feeding you a fake narrative about this movement should be of concern, they may actually have little knowledge and couldn't be bothered to educate themselves or are possibly being actively deceitful.




 As an aside i had a lot of trouble just getting the headlines for this post. A lot of Christian websites never stop loading, they play advertisements constantly and they slowed my Internet to a halt if i opened more then one at a time. Some of them even played music?!?
 Don't forget to act in the mundane world to help those being oppressed by Trump and his supporters.
 I would also encourage any "sceptics" to actually study the science before making any uneducated or false claims.

 I implore those with magical knowledge who feel they have legitimate concerns or criticisms to produce their own version of this ritual. Below you can see the ritual modified in a way that should alleviate those concerned with accidentally doing any harm. I also tried to "tidy" the wording up a little and added specific references to divinity. Changes should be in bold. I provide this just as an example of such alterations and encourage you to check out the full ritual,. In fact only the spoken part of the ritual is shown below so you will need to reference the original.

RITUAL TO BIND TRUMP

(v. 2.2 with PRUDE edits)

(Light white candle)

"Hear me, oh spirits
Of Water, Earth, Fire, and Air
O (name deities)
And blessed spirits of our ancestors
Protect and aid me as i do this good work"

(Light inscribed orange candle stub)

"I call upon you good spirits, Elemental, Ancestor and Divine
To bind
Donald J. Trump
So that his malignant works may fail utterly
That he may do no harm
To any human soul
Nor any Animal, or any Environment
Bind him so that he shall not break our polity
Usurp our liberty
Or fill our minds with hate, confusion, fear, or despair
And bind, too,
All those who enable his wickedness
And those whose mouths speak his poisonous lies
I beseech thee, spirits, bind all of them
As with chains of iron
Bind their malicious tongues
Strike down their towers of vanity"

(Invert Tower tarot card)

"I beseech thee in my name
(Say your full name)
And In the name of (name deities
In the name of all living things
Of all the spirits of place

In the name of Justice, Liberty, Love, Equality And Peace
Bind them in chains
Bind their tongues
Bind their works
Bind their wickedness"

(Light the small photo of Trump from the flame of the orange candle stub and hold carefully above the ashtray)
(Speak the following loudly and with increasing passion as the photo burns to ashes) 

"Harming none, and for the greater good of all
By (name deities) divine hand
Donald J. Trump and those who abet him are bound  from doing any harm!

So it shall be!"

(Blow out orange candle, visualising Trump blowing apart into dust or ash*)
(Pinch or snuff out the white candle, ending the ritual)

Monday, 30 January 2017

Book Review: Pans Daughter

 Pans Daughter

The Magical World of Rosaleen Norton

 Revised and Expanded
 

Author:                             Nevill Drury
Publisher:                         Mandrake of oxford
Type:                                 Hard Cover
Pages:                                305
Genre:                               non-fiction
Published:                         2013
ISBN:                                9781906958503



 The book does not have a dust cover but has a lovely colored printed hardcover. Its dimensions are about  156 x 232 x 28mm and it has black and white photos, copy's of Rosaleen Norton's art thorough and there is even a few sigils.
 The book is very well made and printed well. I did notice only two minor errors, the word to where it was superfluous (P83) and the word "was" instead of "as" (p87), so noting major at all.



 The book is an overview of the life of Rosaleen Norton and her associates and contemporary's. Today she would probably be referred to as a Pagan artist. Although mention is made of her magical journals very little of her occult information is included within this book.

 I had heard about Rosaleen occasionally growing up, she has a reputation as "the witch of Kings Cross" and i had always wondered if she was legit. The poem written by her in 1962 and reproduced in this book was enough to confirm for me that she had esoteric knowledge. Indeed it is explained that some of her influences included; psychology, general occultism, ceremonial magic, voodoo, the golden dawn, pantheism, Greek mythology, hypnosis, medium-ship, and a welsh tradition of witchcraft said to have arrived in Australia during the colonial era.
 Her description of the Werplon seemed to have an almost lovecraftian flair to it.
 


It seems much like Alister Crowley (who is detailed within the book) she had a public persona so it is difficult to separate that from whom she really was. For instance she claimed to practice in black magic but there seems to be no examples of her doing any such thing. This may instead be to her upbringing, anything non-christian may have been seen as "black magic" by people in Australia before the 1970s.

Her interview with the psychologist Dr. LJ Murphy is interesting as it outlines Rosaleen's methods in developing her natural ability's. It is quite fascinating to hear her attempt to explain the nature of reality in 1960's mundane world speak. While the words she chose differed than those i would have, it is reminiscent of many conversations i have had with many an occultist and laymen over the years.

Rosaleen Norton's assertion that she preferred sex with homosexual men is a little odd. Not that there is anything wrong with having sex with gay men, i myself prefer gay men over straight men, because while straight men are always enthusiastic they don't always want to cuddle after, but i am a guy. 
 Perhaps she had a different understanding of "homosexual back then, maybe she simply meant submissive, effeminate or or even bisexual men. She might have considered the every man who had ever had sex with another man to be homosexual, hell if that were true today we would no longer be a minority.


 The book uses the proper BCE and CE terminology which is always refreshing. It has numbered notes at the end of each chapter and a detailed bibliography and index is included.


  All in all i  really enjoyed this book. Pick it up if your interested in Australian History, feminism, sex magic, Paganism, astral travel, witchcraft, NDE (or PDE), occultism, law, ceremonial magic, art or Australian culture.



Tuesday, 22 December 2015

Book review: The Old Magic of Christmas

The Old Magic of Christmas

Yuletide traditions for the darkest days of the year






Author:                                Linda Raedisch
Artist:                                  Ellen Lawson

Type:                                    Soft Cover
Pages:                                   248
Genre:                                  non-fiction
Published:                            2014
                                              Llewellyn
ISBN:                                   978-0-7387-3334-0
Source:                                Independently purchased 



The book is a nice size seems well made and has a smattering of black and white illustrations. It will stand about 8 inches tall on the shelf, is 5 1/2 inches deep and almost an inch thick.



Don't be put off by the introduction, for while it does seem to pander slightly to christian sensibility's, it in no way alienates Pagan readers.




While the term christmas is used thought, it is clear that the subject of the book is not the December holiday but the winter solstice commonly known as Yule.



Subjects addressed include Goddesses, witches, elves, spirits, The Krampus, ghosts, werewolves, The Mari Llwyd, Saints, The Wild Hunt, vampires and The Julbock. 





There are interesting crafts and recipes to make through the book. Though the main focus is on the history, folklore and mythology's of Yule.



There is a long and through examination of the herbs associated with the season, as well as notes, calendar, glossary index, and bibliography.
Bonus points are given for using the correct CE, BCE terms.


I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to discover the true meaning of christmas, or wants to experiment with some new (old) Yule traditions. Those interested in mythology, history and folklore will find this book an entertaining and informative read.
The only thing that would have made this book better would be color pictures, and maybe replacing the term christmas with Yule or winter.



Wednesday, 2 December 2015

Book Review: The Witches Almanac 2015

The Witches Almanac

Issue 34 Spring-2015-2016 

Fire the Transformer 


Author:                               Various


Publisher:                            The Witches Almanac    

Type:                                    Soft Cover

Pages:                                   192

Genre:                                  Non-fiction

Published:                            2014

ISBN:                                   978-1-881098-15-7

Source:                                Independently purchased 



The book itself is of good quality and has black and white pictures thorough. It is in the style of a magazine in that it has a variety of articles and entry's. 
It has no index, but does use correct non-bigoted dating standards. The fire the transformer theme seems to be almost non existent, strangely enough.



There is a huge variety of articles, including entry's on Oarfish, The Voynich Manuscript, Tasmanian tiger, a haunted lighthouse, Orisha, short fables, H.P. Lovecraft, Yule, Walpurgisnacht, Dorje, animal lore, ghosts and love, to name just a few.



There are a few entry's on Cryptozoology, one being about lumberjack folklore unfortunately has an unnecessary mocking tone . The folklore always suggested to me to be an imaginative explanations for the odd sights seen in the woods. 
It is amusing that one of the "hoaxes" discussed (the furred trout) has actually been proven to be a real thing. I think it should be a lesson to all writers to tone down the mocking and just report the facts, in order to minimise embarrassment later..


The article o reincarnation may also be a little out of date, as there is a lot of evidence currently for "past" lives. 



A moon phase calendar does take up a lot of space, but it is speckled with seemingly random bits of lore.

There is an interview with Olivia MMelian Durdin - Robertson founder of the Fellowship of (The Goddess) Isis.


Buying a book like this is a bit of a risk as the content will always change. There is always be a risk that you wont like everything within the book, but you should like somethings i am sure. I would buy another issue for sure, and i would recommend it to anyone interested in the supernatural or spiritual.




Wednesday, 11 November 2015

Book Review Nature Spirits

The one and only recycled pocket guide to

NATURE SPIRITS

Wyrd Lore & Wild Fey Magic
 




Author:                                Danu Forest
Illustration:                         Dan Godfellow


Publisher:                            Wooden Books       

Type:                                    Soft Cover

Pages:                                   58

Genre:                                  Non-fiction

Published:                            2008

ISBN:                                   978 1904268 82 1

Source:                                Independently purchased 



The book itself is a beautiful little thing. Firstly it is quite small, but you would need a big pocket to fit it. The cover is handsome and covered in metallic looking title. The 100% recycled pages have an amazing texture and every other page has a nice black and white illustration. 



The book covers the different types of nature spirits, offerings, Devas, local deity, Faeries, Familiars, guides, shamans, copper, cold iron, second sight, grounding, Elementals, woods, animal spirits, Mananan, and the God and Goddess.



It is a good collection of nature magic and lore, there was noting in there that i wasn't already aware of, but it is good to have all this in one place. I would recommend this more to a beginner, or a young Pagan.




There are a few pages in the back dedicated to an appendix, in very small text, that covers, some basics that i am sure would be appreciated by a newcomer to the path.


The book does well what it sets out to do, my only minor criticism would be that there is more time given to the Goddess then the God, but the He is not entirely excluded and is given almost equal billing, so as i said this is only a very minor point. There may also be some confusion with the title in that some gay Pagans identify as Fey or faerie, and i don't think this book addressed the full scope of natural sexuality at all. Perhaps a quick note on polarity, in the appendix might be useful for readers.




 

Wednesday, 28 October 2015

Halloween 2015

Halloween in Australia

  So again we are being assaulted by Halloween merchandise. Its in our department, clothing, and grocery stores. I walked into Big W and saw staff actually dressed in the "traditional" witches costume.

For my take on Samhain in Australia please see my post Samhain 2005.

  This time i would like to reflect on what to do about Halloween in Australia. It looks like its not going anywhere, the shops are pushing it more and more and Australians hardly have a history of respecting others religious beliefs.

We are stuck with this "False Halloween" and its getting more popular.

 

 It is actually Beltaine in Australia now.


  I had toyed with the idea of celebrating The Day of the Dead (La Día de los Muertos) instead and gently correcting people about Halloweens seasonal nature. But i honestly don't know enough about The Day Of The Dead to really know if it is a set date or should itself be celebrated at a particular time of year. Everything i have read simply says its dates, but i haven't seen this issue addressed so i am unsure. The last thing i would want to do is be as bigoted as those i am trying to educate. So i have dismissed this idea. But if you know for sure about La Dia De Los Muertos please let me know.

 

 Another option would be to educate (and disappoint) the trick or treats at the door, to again campaign the shops in an attempt to quell their bigotry. But the more popular it becomes the less the shops will listen, i think they had an opportunity to sell this stuff at the right time of year, to help educate their customers and they missed it. I don't really want to get into arguments at my front door, with ignorant neighbors who are adamant that they have the correct night, while their children watch on.

 

  The option i am trying is to attempt to separate Halloween from Samhain in my mind and soul. Samhain being the sacred Autumn holy day but then what of Halloween? Halloween in Australia becomes a holiday (celebrating) acknowledging commercialism, media manipulation, cultural appropriation and consumerism. 

  It is a time to dress up, eat lollies and to celebrate a mockery of an ancient holy festival, at the wrong time, for the wrong reasons. 

  My only problem with this is that it kind of takes away from the real spring seasonal festivals. But its okay, maybe just for one day, kind of like Invasion day or birthdays...right?

 


Monday, 26 October 2015

Book Review: Devoted to Death

Devoted to death

Santa Muerte     The Skeleton Saint

 

Author:                                R. Andrew Chesnut
Cover Design:                      Jeanette Levy
Cover Photo:                       4 Eyes Photography 
Cover Engraving:               Shutterstock


Publisher:                            Oxford University Press        

Type:                                    Soft Cover

Pages:                                   200

Genre:                                  Non-fiction

Published:                            2012

ISBN:                                   978-0-19-976465-5

Source:                                Independently purchased 


The book itself is a good size, and is well put together. The font is not too small and not too large. There is a decent gap from the inside border so i never struggled to read on the curb. The book has good index, notes and references section in the back. My only complaint with this book is the pictures, while there are a few photos scattered thought the book, they are in black and white, this book really would have benefited from showing these gorgeous photos in full colour and perhaps full page. 



 This book introduces us to La Santa Muerte, it shows us that she is far more than a saint of death, being called upon for health, wealth, love, protection, wisdom, and overcoming legal problems and hmmm perhaps justice for those harmed by homewreckers. 



 This book shows how La Santa Muerte came from possible Aztec origins to become catholic folk saint and perhaps far more.
She has grown in popularity due to her reputed ability to act fast and powerfully to her devoted prayers.


 This book delves into the religion, politics, economics and other subjects as diverse as La Muerte herself. Never dry or boring, i read this book in two sittings only stopping to perform necessary bodily functions. It really is that good.
It also contains explanations of some of her rituals and prayers, which are entirely fascinating from a Pagan perspective.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in religion, history, politics, Mexico, America, Paganism, Catholicism, The war on drugs, basically everyone should read this.



I almost forgot, she is also pro-equality, and is said to perhaps even have a special fondness for LGBTQ peoples. So she is a force for good in the world, in that regard.

I know some of you will be wondering did i contact her, is she for real? 
I would advise you to read this book, see what you think for yourself. 
As for me, well, i have only just reached out and so it is too soon for me to say one way or another. But it can say reading this book,  i felt she was real, real enough to see if she wanted to work with me, on a little project. 
As to what she is, i am not entirely sure, i have never dealt with Saints before, nor have i worked with Aztec Deity, so i have little reference.
But you don't need to be at all meta-physically inclined to enjoy this fascinating book.


The author is chair of Catholic studies and Professor of religious studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. 
His other works, that i am yet to read, include;  Competitive Spirits (2003) and Born Again In Brazil (1997).