Monday, January 24, 2011

Where I fit. Re:Aaron Leitch's post

(snipped from Aaron Leitch's site)
1) There are those who look at any given grimoire as a complete thing unto itself, and feel that its instructions must be followed exactly to the letter, or else the magick will not work. This type usually has little clue what the instructions mean or why he must follow X, Y, or Z – but he sticks to the book anyway. He is also against adding anything new or taking the material beyond what is recorded. It’s all about following the recipe to get your result, and that’s it.

2) Then there are those who feel that a given grimoire is not complete, and therefore draw material from other grimoires to fill the gaps or allow their practice to grow beyond the original text. This person tends to view the Solomonic texts as individual examples of a larger collective tradtion, and thus does not find an issue with (for example) using consecration instructions from the Key of Solomon to prepare the tools needed for the Goetia.

3) Then you have a more generalized Solomonic practitioner, who does not focus on any particular grimoire. This type also looks at the Solomonic tradition as a whole, and he tends to create his own unique spells based on what he has learned from ALL of the grimoires. As often as not, this type will also draw material from other related traditions (such as the PGM) when it seems in sync with his work. And, of course, he will include or change things as his spirits instruct.
(snipped)

Well, by that definition I am mostly in number 2 as I do use the consecration and exorcisms from The Key of Solomon to fill-out other grimoires that lack instructions on the creation of their specific tools.

But, I have made my own incense blends that are planetary and smell much better than some of those listed in the grimoires. I could easily substitute mine for the ones listed. If I did that would put me in number 3. And I am not against using modern tools, like say an electric engraver, that has been consecrated as a burin from the Keys. Why? Because we live in an electric world afterall. So I may have number 3 leanings.




Saturday, January 22, 2011

Rejoice in Christ, my temple is finished

My temple room is completely finished.
It took a long time to set up the area for my oratory altar(converted walk-in closet), and the rest of the temple room(the actual room). But, it was worth the effort. It is so wonderful to have an offical space again to do all of my spiritual work.

Friday, January 14, 2011

interesting blend

I had a jar of some real semi-liquid storax(liquidamber tree resin) sitting on my shelf, so I took a heaping spoonful of the goop, placed it into a plastic container. I poured Everclear in the container and shook it up. I kept adding more everclear until the storax goop was dissolved completely into a liquid. This is now my storax tincture.

Next I took copal resin and placed it into a bowl.
I added a few drops of the storax tincture, which made my copal super sticky due to the everclear in the tincture.
On top of this I added cedar wood powder and cassia powder.
I stirred this until it became a little less sticky.

I then placed the sticky mess onto an aluminum foil to dry.

I tried one on a charcoal block. It smelled amazing.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Occult movies arrive

I finally received my occult movies I had orders.
The first one is Peter Greenaway's "Prospero's Books" that is somewhat based on Shakespeare's Tempest. This movie is fascinating to watch and an almost psychedelic experience into other worlds.


The second is Jan Svankmajer's "Faust". Need I say more? It is obviously about the story of Faust, but with a twist involving claymation, and puppetry. Its completely fantastic.

Saturday, January 1, 2011