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Archive for the month “October, 2011”

27 Oct 2011
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Cold from the Crypt & Hot Off the (Virtual) Press – The Weiser Digital Library

Those of you who are familiar with Varla Ventura (she of The Book of the Bizarre and Beyond Bizarre, as well as The Huffington Post) know that she rejoices in all things odd and unseemly. So when Weiser Books needed a curator for a new digital library of lost occult classics, the choice was obvious. Varla’s selections for the first ten titles in this series were not. In keeping with her fabulous freakitude, Varla chose tomes as obscure and unsettling as The House and the Brain (which may be the creepiest title ever) and The Occult Power of Goats. God I love that woman!

The result is a group of digital books that will inform, enlighten, surprise, and scare the pants off you. Perfect. They are inexpensive  (starting at $2.99)  and are currently available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and soon (very soon) most other e-reader platforms.

Intrigued? Of course you are. So, because Ankhie loves you, here’s a taste of some serious weirdness from A Haunting in Paris:

Utter night: the last flicker of the lantern was gone. I sat and waited; my mind was still keen, but how long would it last? There was a limit even to the endurance of the utter panic of fear.

Then the end began. In the velvet blackness came two white eyes, milky, opalescent, small, far away,—awful eyes, like a dead dream. More beautiful than I can describe, the flakes of white flame moving from the perimeter inward, disappearing ending flow of opal water into a circular tunnel. I could not have moved my eyes had I possessed the power: they devoured the fearful, beautiful things that grew slowly, slowly larger, fixed on me, advancing, growing more beautiful, the white flakes of light sweeping more swiftly into the blazing vortices, the awful fascination deepening in its insane intensity as the white, vibrating eyes grew nearer, larger.

Like a hideous and implacable engine of death the eyes of the unknown Horror swelled and expanded until they were close before me, enormous, terrible, and I felt a slow, cold, wet breath propelled with mechanical regularity against my face, enveloping me in its fetid mist, in its charnel-house deadliness.

With ordinary fear goes always a physical terror, but with me in the presence of this unspeakable Thing was only the utter and awful terror of the mind, the mad fear of of a prolonged and ghostly nightmare. Again and again I tried to shriek, to make some noise, but physically I was utterly dead. I could only feel myself go mad with the terror of hideous death. The eyes were close on me,—their movement so swift that they seemed to be but palpitating flames, the dead breath was around me like the depths of the deepest sea.

Suddenly a wet, icy mouth, like that of a dead cuttle-fish, shapeless, jelly-like,fell over mine. The horror began slowly to draw my life from me, but, as enormous and shuddering folds of palpitating jelly swept sinuously around me, my will came back, my body awoke with the reaction of final fear, and I closed with the nameless death that enfolded me.

Cram, Ralph Adams; Ventura, Varla (2011-10-03). A Haunting in Paris, A Truly Terrifying Tale: Paranormal Parlor, A Weiser Books Collection 

Now that’s what I’m talking about!

View the whole collection (so far) here.

And in the meantime, if you know of any great, forgotten, out-of-print spooky books, let us know! Varla is hungry for more!

Coming soon – an interview with the woman herself!

Posted in Magic Words, Must Reads from the Weiser Vault, Uncategorized
17 Oct 2011
2 Comments

Critters of the Occult – A Fierce Familiar is a Witch’s Best Friend

We all know that Hecate is mighty fond of the pups, and Gillian Holroyd worked magic through her cat Pyewacket (show of hands – who here has, or has had a cat named Pyewacket?) – but what other magical critters can we call upon when a little extra animal something is required? Judika Illes has a few unusual suggestions in her historical compendium The Weiser Field Guide to Witches – some are animals that are witches, others are animals that help witches, either way the force is strong with these critters of the occult:

Foxes

Small, wild, and nocturnal, foxes are considered the most feline of canines because of their physical appearance and behavior. (Baby foxes are called “kits.”) They are profoundly identified with witches, especially in Japan, where they are the witchcraft animal supreme. Fox goddesses associated with magic and witches are native to China, India, Japan, and Tibet.

In Europe, foxes serve as witches’ familiars or as the form into which a witch transforms, but in Japan, some foxes are actually witches. The fox shape is the original form, but a powerful fox witch may be able to transform into the guise of a woman.

Not every Japanese fox is a witch. Most are merely mundane foxes. Lurking among these ordinary foxes are special, magical fox spirits. Fox spirits, known as kitsune in Japanese, are characterized by tremendous intelligence and magical prowess. Many fox spirits are gifted alchemists who strive for longevity and immortality. The older the magical fox, the more tails it may possess, although it may not be able to sprout any new tails until it attains 1,000 years of age. The most powerful fox spirit is the nine-tailed-fox.

Even without nine tails to identify her, the true identity of a fox witch may be ascertained with close observation. Although a fox witch may resemble a human, there will still be something vulpine about her. Usually her profile will appear snout-like, or she may make fox-like noises. Allegedly, a fox-witch in the form of a woman will cast no reflection in a mirror—or alternatively, her true fox form will appear.

Japanese fox spirits may also serve people as familiars and servants, offering protection and providing wealth. Japan never suffered witch hunts akin to those of Europe or its colonies, but families associated with fox spirits have historically met with discrimination, shunned and feared by their neighbors. (The wealth that fox spirits provide for their loved ones is believed stolen from others.) In Neil Gaiman’s 1999 novella, The Sandman: The Dream Hunters, a fox spirit works her magic to save the man she loves.

Hyenas

The stereotypical African witch doesn’t wear a peaked hat or travel on a broomstick, but she’s still a night rider, out journeying to secret assignations with other witches. European witches were accused of riding wolves or bats; African witches ride galloping hyenas, the animals most closely identified with witches throughout Africa.

Hyenas are believed to be a tell-tale sign that will cause someone, usually but not exclusively a woman, to be branded a witch. Any evidence whatsoever, regardless of how flimsy or tangential, that links someone with hyenas may be considered proof of sorcery in African witchcraft trials. These associations are potentially dangerous, as suspected witches are still killed with relative frequency in many parts of Africa.

Folklorically speaking, any hyena may have some association with witches. Witches ride hyenas. Witches keep hyenas, known as “night cattle,” milking them daily. In some regions, it’s considered dangerous to harm a hyena as its witch will surely magically retaliate. Allegedly, these “hyena cattle” may be identified by the golden earrings they are said to sport.

Witches transform captive victims into hyenas. Witches are hyenas. A talented human witch can transform into the guise of a hyena, the better to creep around at night. Sometimes hyenas are witches. According to Bantu tradition, hyenas are capable of transforming into the guise of humans all by themselves, without the assistance of a human witch. Thus a human may really be a hyena-witch in disguise.

The West African spirit Ogun rides a hyena, indicating his power over witches and witchcraft. He is a great sorcerer—a master of transformational magic—but he can also break any spell or curse cast by a human or hyena witch.

Magpies

Magpies are corvids like their cousins crows, ravens, rooks, and jackdaws, but with their distinctive black and white plumage, they are clearly distinguishable from other corvids. Like their cousins, they are identified with witches, but their mythology is quite different.

Magpies inhabit North America, Europe, Northwestern Africa, the Middle East, Central and East Asia. Despite this wide range, magpies are consistently associated with feminine power, romantic magic, and oracular prophesy. Virtually wherever they are found, magpies are associated with witches—either as their familiars or, more frequently, as the form into which witches transform.

Latvian, Russian, Scottish, and Swedish witches were believed to transform into magpies. Although Siberian witches allegedly possess the power to transform into any creature, folklore says magpies are their favorite choice. A Russian nickname for witch is soroka-veschchitsa, meaning “magpie-witch.” Various legends describe these magpie-witches. According to one, Ivan the Terrible gathered all the witches he could find in order to burn them, but before this could be accomplished, the witches transformed into magpies and escaped.

Another Russian legend suggests that murdered witches reincarnate as magpies. Although their bodies are those of birds, they retain their witch souls. Since you never know which magpie is a witch magpie, it’s crucial to be nice to all of them—otherwise they might cast a spell on you. Some even suggest that whenever encountering a magpie, one should always salute politely in greeting.

Rabbits

At one time, rabbits and hares were the animals most identified with Europe’s witches, playing the role now given to cats. Rabbits serve as witches’ familiars and messengers and were believed to be the form into which witches most frequently transform.

The association of rabbits with witches is bittersweet. On one hand, rabbits are the subject of powerful mythology, associated with magic, women’s power, and the moon. On the other hand, rabbits, like witches, are often hunted.

Rabbits are very low on the food chain; virtually all predators feast on them. Their survival as a species depends on their fecundity—their amazing ability to reproduce quickly—and on their brains. Rabbits are tricksters, able to hide in plain sight. Wild brown rabbits camouflage well, suddenly appearing and disappearing, as if by magic.

In 1662, Isobel Gowdie, a Scotswoman, apparently volunteered a detailed confession of witchcraft. She described how she and her fellow coven members transformed into hares via a magical chant. English singer Maddy Prior’s song “The Fabled Hare” incorporates excerpts from Gowdie’s witch trial testimony.

A Devon legend describes how witches congregated after dark on Dartmoor heath. Most people left them alone, but a hunter named Bowerman consistently disturbed them. Finally, enough was enough. One witch transformed into a rabbit. Not realizing her true identity, Bowerman gave chase as she lured him into a magical ambush. Her sister witches surrounded the hunter and his hounds and transformed them into large, granite rock formations that may still be seen on Dartmoor heath.

Witch goddess Hulda is accompanied by an entourage of torch-bearing rabbits. Rabbit witches serve as entertainment for children: in Katherine Pyle’s illustrated 1895 children’s book, The Rabbit Witch and Other Tales, a rabbit witch in a head scarf steals naughty children; in Walter De La Mare’s children’s poem, “The Hare”, “an old witch-hare” gets spooked herself.

The association of rabbits with witches is not limited to Europe. In China, rabbits are identified with witches, alchemy, and sorcery. Instead of a man in the moon, China has an alchemist rabbit in the moon, endlessly grinding the elixir of immortality with his mortar and pestle, a servant of witch goddess Hsi Wang Mu.

Raccoons

Native to the Western Hemisphere and ranging from Canada through South America, raccoons are considered witch animals in many Native American cultures. Solitary, nocturnal, omnivorous, medium-sized mammals, they have dexterous hands, like people.

The raccoon is unique among animals in that, given access to water, it washes its food before eating. Facial markings make raccoons appear as if they are wearing black masks. Their eyes glow at night. Raccoons creep around human habitations at night, searching for food, and although cautious, they display little fear of people. Raccoons are associated, folklorically, with transformation, stealth, and secrecy.

The English word raccoon derives from an Algonquin word arachun, meaning “the one who scratches himself,” but other words for “raccoon” in other Native American languages emphasize associations with witches and magic. In the Cheyenne language, the word for raccoon is macho-on, “the one who makes magic.” The word for raccoon in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, is cioatlamacasque, literally “she who talks with spirits.” The Yakima word tsa-ga-gla-tal may be translated as witch, spirit, or raccoon.

Posted in Critters of the Occult, Magic Monday
14 Oct 2011
4 Comments

Friday Preview – “Coventry Magic” by Jacki Smith

You know those really awesome candles and bath salts that you buy at your favorite metaphysical emporium? The ones with intense, pure fragrance and kick-ass label art? Well, whatever name is on them, there’s a good chance that they were made by Jacki Smith, owner and founder of Coventry Creations. Jacki’s handy-work is so effective and enticing that her own occult waxies (aka Coventry Candles)  are practically mainstream these days – popular with muggle and mugwort crowds.

I met Jacki this summer at INATS and she is fabulous – funny, fierce, focused and quite fetching with her blazing red hair and heels to match.

So it comes as no surprise that her first book, Coventry Magic, is as delicious as the woman who wrote it. The advance copy just landed on Ankhie’s desk this afternoon and I am psyched to share a little something from it with you – just a taste, like the spoon from the frosting bowl, or a drag off that long-denied cigarette.

The book gets pretty specific regarding magical process, but let’s start with a little insight from Aunt Jacki

Magic Demands Change—Off Like a Prom Dress!

Magic demands change; magic demands evolution! If you are reaching for something different, you have to be different to attain it. You have to change, evolve, and grow. You cannot stay static or stagnant, and you have to change. You have to take off the prom dress and step into your college duds. In case you didn’t hear me the first time, let me say this once more with volume: Magic demands change. Think about it: If you don’t need to move from the spot you are in right now, you wouldn’t need spell work, because you already have what you thought you were looking for. Huh? If you got it, you don’t need it. If you need it, you are doing things that stop you from having it. Listen, if you want to lose weight, move more and eat less. If you want to eat less, you have to find out why you eat too much and change it!

Coventry magic has always been about the solution, not just the quick fix. Every time I speak with someone that tells me their magic didn’t work, I discover that the magic did, just not in the way the practitioner anticipated or even wanted. When you cast a spell, you are asking the universe to expand your knowledge. Your spirit responds by expanding to meet this new vibration. You cannot be stagnant and expect success.

As a human being, you have worked awfully hard to make sure you have everything you need to stay in your current condition and cope with the stress and turmoil around you. You have made the choices that have brought you here. You have instilled fears within yourself that stop you from reaching for any new idea that may work (or not work). You have put up walls to make sure your emotions and ego are never at risk. You have framed your mind to stay comfortable with the least amount of personal responsibility for your life. You have meticulously collected every reason why you cannot move beyond your current status and have held on to those reasons for dear life. (Gee, was that a little harsh?) Everyone has done this to themselves to one extent or another. The good news is, once you open the door to magic, you can change your entire reality if you work hard enough and smart enough. The bad news is, once you open the door to magic, it demands that you evolve and grow. Your old beliefs and limitations will no longer fit your expanding spirit. With each and every spell you cast, you are asking for a transformation of your life. What you do with the success of your magic determines whether this is a temporary change or a permanent one. It’s entirely up to you.

Magic demands personal responsibility, focus, commitment, and an open mind. When you blame the events of your life on others, you have forfeited the magic needed to transform what is lacking into what is abundant. When you say that your parents screwed you up as a kid and that’s why you can’t (insert issue here), you just handed the power to make a change off to whom you thought screwed you up in the first place. Magic demands that you own who you are, your actions, and your beliefs.

By the way, magic does not come in the way you expect. You must be open to magic manifesting in unexpected ways, you must be open to seeing it, and you must make room for it. Magic challenges you to look for its manifestation, because it resides just outside of your comfort zone, in a place of spiritual evolution. No matter what blockade we create for ourselves or what blinders we put on, our spirits chose these lil’ old bodies and lil’ old lives to experience the next step in our personal spiritual mastery. The number and width of steps you take toward that mastery are entirely in your control.

You can ask for a million dollars, then totally ignore the small “Pet Rock” million-dollar opportunities that crossed your path. How about diving into why this is a problem? Do you manage your money poorly? Do you need more education to get a better job? Do you need advisors to help grow your business? Do you have people in your life that are sponging off your energy and money? That is all part of magic—being able to see when magic brings you to a place where you can grow from the experience rather than constantly putting a band-aid on the problem.

You can cast your magical net out for a Fabio look-alike but ignore that average-looking romantic man who will treat you like the princess you are (and you know that guy will grow more handsome to you with every loving thing he does for you.) Maybe you need to do some soul searching to find out what you are really looking for and what is best for you. Are you feeling needy and helpless, sending out the call for a savior? That call will only get you someone who wants to use and control you. Are you looking for someone to save? Are you even looking, or are you waiting for Mr. or Ms. Right to pop up from the toaster?

Then there are the ever-present protection issues . . . Are you always thinking that someone is attacking you or out to get you? Are your boss and coworkers constantly hassling you? This may be a time to work on your personal power and self-esteem. That magic will be longer lasting and will make a greater change than just a banishing spell every new moon.

When you cast your spell, you must meet it halfway and don’t judge what outfit it wears.

Is Magic the First Resort, the Last Resort, or Just the Scenic Route?

If you take care of yourself in the here and now, most magic will be unnecessary. That’s a nice and spiritually correct thing to say, but let’s face it, taking care of ourselves is usually the last thing on our lists! There are too many more interesting things to do and too many lipstick colors to try out. Magic is a handy skill to posses to clean up those inevitable messes that you create when you forget to take care of your own needs first. Even though it is tempting to go straight for your box of candles when you face the drama of the day (you know, that mess you made with all the lipstick) you are well advised to start with a bit of self-analysis. Before you cast a spell, take responsibility for your actions that contributed to the mess at hand and see if this issue is easily resolved by owning up to your shortcomings.
Life Lessons from Your Aunt Jacki
When I was working hard on prosperity spells for my business, it wasn’t just about more business. I had all the business I could physically handle, yet we were not profitable. I knew that I didn’t have the information I needed to take our business to the next level. I kept casting my magical net out for the guidance I needed to make up for my shortcomings. I really expected a business consultant, partner, or mentor to cross my path that I could just snatch up. What showed up were books, tapes, and self study. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed that my husband had ordered the $300 “Choose to be Rich” educational CD set from a midnight
infomercial. I almost returned it out of spite. Instead, I started to pay attention to the magic I cast. I cast my spell the day the CDs were ordered. No one knew I cast this spell, so I had to open my mind to another way of thinking. To this day I highly recommend Robert Kiyosaki’s  book Rich Dad, Poor Dad; it was the perfect step in creating prosperity in my life. Ironically, a few years later when I had successfully applied all this new information and was ready for the next step, I did the spell again. I scoured bookstores and Internet sites for that new piece of information. Instead I got a business consultant. Ha! It was time for me to start asking questions on the information I was applying. Magic—you never know how it will manifest in your life.

If he left you, own up to your part in the drama and maybe you can reconcile. If you didn’t get the job, make sure your resume looks good with no typos and that you used all your contacts for leads. If you are sick, maybe working sixty hours and then rocking out the weekend was not the best use of your energy. If you don’t deal with the physical reality of the situation, you are just going to repeat this same old scenario over and over again.

When you brave a peek at your own underlying issue, you can see new ways to get to the desired result. If you cannot get to your destination by driving straight through, you may be able to get there by an alternate route. If you want to ask her out, maybe instead of a love spell, you need a courage spell. For that new job, maybe instead of a money spell, you need an attraction spell to make the right contacts.

This book starts with the element of you and helps you map out your magical route to transformation. In these pages, we dive into magic and its relation to the self, giving you new tools to create the reality you most desire. Before you get started (or maybe after you have skimmed a few pages to make sure I am not a total crackpot), declare what it is you want out of this book. Instead of constantly asking what candle to burn, what stone to carry, and what spell to cast, you can look at a situation and understand how to change the energy in your life to finish this lesson for good! This is a spiritual journey into your own magical self—and taking this journey changes magic from something you do into something you are!

Magic works—it works every time—guaranteed. Every time, it works diligently and beautifully right up until it hits the blocks you placed in its way. That, my friends, is how you find those ever-elusive blocks. It is time to open your eyes, see how magic is happening in your life, and step right into your destiny.

Posted in Previews
13 Oct 2011

Esoteric Thursday – “The Worship of Isis”

Sometimes, it’s good to stop, take a moment, and reboot with an old classic. October is a crazy month here at Chez Weiser, and Ankhie has barely had a moment to breathe.  So this morning, while downing yet another scalding cup of coffee, I let my eyes wander across the bookshelf behind my desk and paused on a familiar title – Dion Fortune’s Aspects of Occultism.  Opening to a random page, this is what I read:

CHAPTER V

The Worship of Isis

All the gods are one god; and all the goddesses are one goddess, and there is one initiator.

In the beginning was space and darkness and stillness, older than time and forgotten of the gods. Movement arose in space: that was the beginning.

This sea of infinite space was the source of all being; life arose therein as a tide in the soundless sea. All shall return thereto when the night of the gods draws in. This is the Great Sea, Marah, the Bitter One; the Great Mother. And because of the inertia of space ere movement arose as a tide, She is called by the Wise the Passive Principle in Nature and is thought of as Water, or Space that Flows. But there is no flowing in space till the power stirs; and this power is the Active Principle of creation. All things partake of the nature of the Active or Passive Principle,  and are referred thereto.

Thrice-greatest Hermes graved on the Smaragdine Tablet, “As above, so below.” Upon earth we see the reflection of the play of the heavenly principles in the actions of men and women. The virgin in her passivity is even as primordial space ere the tides arose. The male is the life-giver. These in the making of life play the active and passive parts. By him she is made creative and fertile; but hers is the child, and he, though the giver of life, passes empty-handed. He spends himself, and nothing remains that is his, save as she calls him mate.

His life is between her hands; his life, that was, and is, and shall be. Therefor should he adore the Passive Principle, for without her he is not. Little knoweth he his need of Her in all the ways of life. She is the Great Goddess.

All the gods are one god, and all the goddesses are one goddess, and there is one initiator.

She is called by many names by many men; but to all she is the Great Goddess, space and earth and water. As space she is called Rhea, mother of the gods that made the gods; she is more old than time: she is the matrix of matter; the root-substance of all existence, undifferentiated , pure. She is also Binah, the Supernal Mother, that receiveth Chokmah, the Supernal Father. She is the giver of form to the formless force whereby it can build. She is also the bringer-in of death, for that which has form must die, outworn, in order that it may be born again to fuller life. All that is born must die; but that which dies shall be reborn. Therefor she is called Marah, bitter, Our Lady of Sorrows, for she is the bringer-in of death. Likewise she is called Ge, for she is the most ancient earth, the first formed from the formless. All these she is, and they are seen in her, and whatsoever is of their nature answers unto her, and she hath dominion over it. Her tides are its tides; her ways are its ways; and whoso knoweth the one, knoweth the other.

Whatsoever ariseth out of nothingness, she giveth it; whatsoever sinketh down into nothingness, she receiveth it. She is the Great Sea whence life arose, to which all shall return at the end of an aeon.

Herein do we bathe in sleep, sinking back into the primordial deep, returning to forgotten things before time was: and the soul is renewed, touching the Great Mother. Whoso cannot return to the primordial, hath no roots in life, but withereth as the grass. These are the living dead, they who are orphaned of the Great Mother.

The daughter of the Great Mother is Persephone, Queen of Hades, ruler of the kingdoms of sleep and death. Under the form of the Dark Queen men also worship her who is the One: likewise is she Aphrodite. And herein is a great mystery, for it is decreed that none shall understand the one without the other…

It goes on of course, beautiful and mysterious, but Ankhie must return to the waking world of emails and phone calls, as must you, I imagine. The Dark Queen will wait…

Posted in Esoteric Thursday, Must Reads from the Weiser Vault, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
07 Oct 2011
3 Comments

Field Guide Friday – Traditional Shamanism

The following excerpt is from Colleen Deatsman’s The Hollow Bone … is that not the best title?

Happy weekend all!

Traditional Indigenous Shamans

The God Saub spoke from the sky
He threw down the sacred bamboo wood
We call that “bamboo shaman”
Whoever lifts it up
Will lead the life of the shaman
And will have power to heal . . .
Sometimes an old man gets weaker and weaker and dies
His soul climbs the steps to the sky
You must follow the soul to the sky when you shake
You follow the path to the sick one
If the weak soul goes to the sky
Maybe it just wants to die
It goes to the ancestral family in the sky
The soul goes to the place where it can get release
And power to be born againAnd passage to another life . . .
Saub gives you power to help the soul
To catch and protect the soul
If you follow this way
Truly you can catch the soul
And the sick one will feel better
You go to catch the soul with your two hands
And with your heart
And you grip the soulA
fter that, the sick one feels better to . . .
—Paja Thao, “The Shaman,” from I Am a Shaman

Traditional shamans in most parts of the world, throughout history, have been misunderstood, misinterpreted, ridiculed, disenfranchised, removed from the people, and exterminated. In his Pocket Guide to Shamanism, teacher and author Tom Cowan tells us,

“When Western travelers and explorers first encountered shamans in tribal cultures, they did not know what to make of them . . . Usually the shaman’s helping spirits were misinterpreted by Christian observers as ‘evil spirits’ or ‘demons.’ When viewed in modern mental-health terms, shamans seemed sick, delusional, or outright crazy. A shaman talks to trees, rocks, and other supposedly ‘nonintelligent’ entities and claims to have magical powers to shapeshift into other forms, to visit invisible realms, and to consort with the dead.”

Traditional shamans are men and women of indigenous heritage who have answered the calling from Spirit to become a shaman, satisfactorily completed the training requirements determined by their culture, and are practicing their shamanic work with consistent results. In 1944, anthropologist Alfred Metraux defined shamans as “any individual who maintains by profession and in the interest of the community an intermittent commerce with spirits, or who is possessed by them.”

Beliefs about shamans and their abilities are diverse and vary from culture to culture. Many cultures believe their shamans have supernatural powers that can heal or harm, as well as extraordinary abilities and individualized knowledge. Shamans are often considered to be spiritual leaders or priests or priestesses. They can enter into a trance state at will, allowing their souls to leave their body and enter the invisible worlds. Shamans view animal images as power animals, spirit protectors, guides, and message-bearers.

The role of shaman can also encompass a wide range of services and duties, which, like beliefs about shamans, vary from shaman to shaman and culture to culture. Roles and functions the traditional shaman may assume include:

  • divining information, wisdom, and knowledge from the ordinary and nonordinary worlds leading ceremonies
  • acting as an intermediary between the invisible spirit world and the people to restore health, drive out evil spirits, and ensure success in the hunting, gathering, and agricultural endeavors
  • preparing the people for hunting, gathering, and agriculturalefforts
  • communicating with the spirits and divining guidance about hunting, gathering, and agricultural matters,• foreseeing the future,• recognizing and reading signs and omens
  • officiating rites of passage, training, and ceremonies,• locating and bringing back wandering souls
  •  retrieving lost power and soul parts
  • communicating with the dead
  • influencing the weather
  • removing possessing spirits, evil spirits, and souls who have not crossed over from a person, family, group of people or place
  • performing sacrifices to appease the spirits and the gods
  •  using plants, plant energies, and plant spirits for healing purposes
  • talking to nature spirits, such as the helping spirits of plants, animals, rocks, water, and weather elements
  • singing songs to invoke, connect with, and honor helping spirits
  • singing healing songs
  • diagnosing illnesses
  • learning and exploring universal laws and the ways of energy and power
  • teaching apprentices and the people certain spiritual ways
  • setting bones, pulling teeth, treating wounds
  • adjusting the physical body using techniques such as massage and manipulation (similar to adjustments done by an osteopath or chiropractor)
  • channeling life-force, spiritual, elemental, and personal energy through their hands-on healing
  • interpreting dreams
  • delivering babies
  • performing energy work
  • conducting soul-crossings to the spirit world (psychopomp)
  • counseling, advising, and mediating for individuals, couples,families, and groups when guidance or conflict resolutionis needed
  • invoking helping spirits to protect them from the rigors of their craft and risks taken during arduous training and when working with clients or the community, enemy shamans or sorcerers, the spirit world, transient energies, and toxins from entheogens (psychoactive substances).

Parts three and four describe many of these activities in more detail.

The people of traditional shamanic cultures look to their shamans to help them navigate the omnipresent challenges and ambiguities of nature, life, and relationships by communicating with the spirits of the ordinary and nonordinary realities. Because of the shamans much valued and unique role in the community, and because of the power shamans hold, people often fear, honor, and protect them.

While the shaman plays an essential role in the life of the people, shamans in traditional shamanic cultures may live separate from the people, such as in a nearby forest or at the far edge of the village, but shamans may also live in among the people, within villages, towns, and cities. As in all things shamanic, where a shaman chooses to live depends on the individual shaman and the needs of the people.

In many cultures, shamans may absent themselves from the people for periods of time. The shamans’ need to maintain high levels of connection with spirit and openness to the forces of nature and the universe may pull them into seclusion or solitude from time to time. Shamans are specialists at walking between the ordinary and nonordinary worlds and, in most cases, can just as easily walk between the worlds of solitude and human busyness. In some instances, though, their need for solitude makes it difficult for shamans to live among the people, which is why shamans may live near, but not among, the people and come and go as guided by spirit and needed by the people.

In some traditional shamanic cultures, one or several primary shamans do all of the different kinds of shamanic work the people need, including healing, ceremonies, counseling, death rites, escorting souls to the spirit realms. In other cultures, specific types of shamans fulfill specific roles and perform specialized functions. For example, among the Nanai people of Siberia, a distinct kind of shaman acts as a psychopomp, or person who guides souls to the afterlife. Other shamans may be distinguished by the type of spirits or realms of the spirit world with which they most commonly interact.

In traditional shamanism, it is believed that different types of shamans view the world in very different ways, and those views Traditional shamans are men and women of indigenous heritage who have answered the calling from spirit, satisfactorily completed the training requirements of their culture, and are practicing their shamanic work with consistent results determine their roles in society. José Stevens tells us in Awakening to the Spirit World, “[A]ll of these societies have five distinct classes of shamans . . .”  He explains that the first class is the shamans who practice the dark arts and harmful acts, such as sending intrusions and curses, causing illnesses, and invoking spirit to bring injury or bad luck to others.

Beliefs in witchcraft and sorcery also thrive in many traditional shamanic cultures. Some cultures differentiate shamans that heal and serve the good of the people from sorcerers who harm or serve only themselves, while others claim that all shamans have the power to both cure and kill. Often there is some debate about whether someone is a shaman or a type of sorcerer.

A good example of this debate is Carlos Castaneda. Though his books appear in the genre of shamanism and many cultures would call Castaneda a shaman, many others would not consider him a shaman because he trained with a man of knowledge to be a man of knowledge, instead of becoming a healer or helper to the people. A man of knowledge seeks wisdom and understanding of the spirit realms and mysteries of life so that he can ultimately transcend the cycle of living, dying, and rebirth, rather than using this knowledge for healing and being of service to others. Some would say he was a sorcerer, not in a black-magic way (unless others were hurt), but in the sense that he “sourced” the spirit world for knowledge to help him with his own self-fulfilling or selfish purpose. Others would say, yes, Castaneda practiced shamanism.

The second class of shamans, says Stevens, are those who never innovate because they believe they must do everything in strict accordance with their training. The third class comprises the shamans who demand to be all powerful; these shamans can be more innovative, but only if innovation boosts their reputation and rewards. In the fourth class are the shamans dedicated to the service of others. Their ability to help and connect with others is of utmost importance to them. The fifth class consists of the shamans dedicated to their relationships with helping spirits and to being of assistance to others, but who are also innovative, individualized, exploration minded, and able to wield great powers.

Additionally, traditional shamans experience different callings, which determine the services they perform and roles they fulfill. Their purpose and their services may shift over their lifetime. Some shamans are called to work with all issues and concerns—individual, community, and global—that face their people. Some shamans may be called to focus on helping individual people with emotional discord, unhealthy patterns and imprints, energy imbalances and intrusions, or soul and power loss. Other shamans may be called to doctor people with physical health issues, illness, injury, and disease. Some shamans are called to focus on the community, tribe, clan, family, neighborhood, or friends; the work of these shamans might be more counseling and mediation oriented, or they may attend to the rites of passage and ceremonial needs of the community.

The community-focused shaman may use “seeing” and divination to ensure safe and successful journeys and hunts, or to garner protection for the community at specific times, such as when it’s facing hostilities or moving to a different location. The community-focused shaman may use dreaming to gain guidance and insight about what innovations the community can implement to ensure harmony and balance within the community, between it and other communities, and between the people and nature.

For many shamans, especially in modern times, their community has become the world. Shamans have always regarded the world as part of the community they serve, but their connection to the greater world is much more obvious. And it’s easier for shamans to come together now, due to technology. As global communication becomes increasingly easy, traditional shamans around the world can work together to address healing, community, and world issues. Internet groups and forums have become places where shamans and shamanic practitioners around the globe can share healing techniques, insights, stories, prayer, and solutions to global and community issues.

Posted in Field Guide Friday, Uncategorized
03 Oct 2011
16 Comments

Magic Monday – “The Enchanted Grocery List”

Monday is market day for the family Ankh – so tonight, along with cat food and curry powder, I will be adding these items to my list… upon the advice of Judika Illes in Pure Magic:

The Enchanted Grocery List

Some of the strongest powers masquerade as mundane food items in the supermarket: honey, milk, salt, spices and water. All are potentially alive and filled with power, however, in order to best retain and preserve that power, always try to obtain the purest, most unadulterated items possible, preferably with no additives and minimal human adjustment. You’ll find the following ingredients to be among the most common components of magic.

HONEY

An ancient culinary, medicinal and magical ingredient, honey is a gift from the bees, ancient allies and sacred creatures of many divine feminine entities. Bees and their products are among the most primeval reflections of divine feminine power. One legend says that bees are the returning souls of Aphrodite’s priestesses. Honey shares something of the essence of the most beautiful female spirits, those who provide humans with love, beauty, prosperity and good health. Honey is used for healing and love spells.

Honey is a living, protective substance. One type of honey is not identical to another. It will taste slightly different and radiate slightly different powers, based upon which flowers were used to create it. The nature of the flowers, whatever powers they themselves contain, permeates the resulting honey and exponentially increases its power,

  • Lavender honey is a favorite of occult practitioners, as it’s believed to contain a particularly strong reservoir of power. If you were to have buy one jar  of honey in your cupboard on standby for enchantment, this would be it.
  • Manuka honey is favored for physical healing ans as an aphrodisiac.
  • Orange blossom honey is favored for love spells.
  • Rosemary or thyme honey is favored for protection spells.

MILK

The very first food of all, milk is the only substance that exists purely to nourish. Milk comes from mothers All mothers of mammal species produce mil that is the perfect first food for their babies. No two species have chemically identical milk. Fat and sugar content, among other components, varies by species. Milk isn’t even always pure white: human milk sometimes has a faint blue tinge, while kangaroo milk is pinkish. No two women produce identical milk either. Again, this is a living substance. Milk changes in subtle ways daily. Milk reflects the mother’s diet but as if by magic, mother’s milk also adjusts to her baby’s needs. The milk from a mother whose nursing baby is ill can transmit healing and immunity boosting substances. Milk is used for physical healing and for protection. Milk is used in many spells that involve bathing; it benefits your skin as well as your aura. The powers inherent in producing species are transmitted thorough milk. Ancient spells specified different types of milk, from the fantastical (lion’s milk was reputed to have miraculous life-giving powers) to the more mundane (ancient Egyptian magic prized milk from women who’d borne sons). The selection of milk available in your supermarket may be limited, however, you probably have at least a few choices: goat or sheep’s milk tends to be tampered with less than cow’s milk and may this contain more power.

  • If you add milk to the bath, organic whole fat milk is the most beneficial for your skin.
  • Powdered milk may be used as well. It’s convenient and stores easily, but its power is lessened.

SALT

A universal protective agent, salt not only possesses antiseptic properties to cleanse and protect the body, but also provides spiritual protection and cleansing. A handful of sea sal added to a tub full of water will quickly cleanse you of the day’s ill vibrations. The very simplest protective spell is a circle made from salt; sit in the center until you feel it’s safe to come out.

Salt comes from all over the Earth and isn’t necessarily white. A legendary purple salt comes from Libya. There is a salt available now from Hawaii that has a reddish tint, reflecting the color of the Hawaiian  earth. Like water, honey, milk and earth, salts from different areas are unique. If the spiritual properties are similar, the physical gifts differ:

  • Dead Sea salts soothe skin disorders.
  • Epsom salts relieve muscular aches and pains.

The less salt is tampered with, the more power it retains. For magical purposes, sea salt is considered to have the most power, as it carries the power and essence of the sea. The exception is if you’re concocting a salt scrub. Although in theory, seal salt is available both finely and coarsely ground, coarse ground may be the only one readily available. In that case, table salt’s smoother grain may be gentler and less likely to irritate sensitive skin. You can also grind salt yourself using a salt mill or mortar and pestle.

SPICES

Once among the Earth’s most precious, expensive substances, most spices grow only within a narrow belt between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Although their price has dropped, their power remains. Spices are generally associated with the sun and the fire element. many spices are available in the supermarket; purchase them whole and grind as necessary. Once ground, their fragrance and power dissipates quickly. Essential oils extracted from spices are also available but use with caution. many can irritate even the least sensitive skin, so dilute them extremely well, whether in oil or water, if ever they are to be in contact with your flesh. (They may be added to candle wax undiluted). Because their fragrance is so heavenly, it is a temptation to wear them as perfume; perhaps the safest method is via a spice necklace. Different spices serve as magnets  for different desires (love, money, easy childbirth, etc.); a spice necklace also serves as an amulet. Later on in the spell section, we’ll look at spice necklaces to further each goal.

WATER

Many creation traditions begin with the earth emerging from primal waters. There is rarely an explanation for how the water arrived. Water just is. The tradition of healing, rejuvenating waters as old as Earth, Every spring, every river or lake, every body of water has one or more presiding, inhabiting spirits, the water contains and transmits their aura, essence and power alongside its own. Immersion in water cleanses human souls and aura and initiates spiritual rebirth. For as many people as associate magic with fire and candles, there are an equal number who cannot imagine magic without water. Magical herbal and perfumed baths are integral features of many spiritual traditions.

Unfortunately most of the water you are likely to come into effortless contact with has been so processed and tampered with that its spiritual energy is lacking.  The most powerful water is from a living source: ocean water, water from a lake, stream or river. Each type of water possesses a slightly different energy. For magical uses, carry containers to collect water – remember to take only what you need. Easier yet, collect rainwater. Bottled, pure spring or mineral water possess more energy than tap water. A lot of magic is accomplished in the bathtub. Unfortunately both ease and expense precludes most of us from using anything other that tap water. Add as much rainwater as you can collect. In addition, adding just one glass of pure springwater to your tub creates a powerful gesture. The addition of that one glass of springwater will positively empower the water in which you bathe.

Among the popular ingredients of spells are specific types of water, especially “holy water” and flower waters. These different types of water provide different powers and energies.

  • Holy water technically refers to water from the Jordan River, sacred in many traditions. Basically what the spell is calling for is spiritually charged water. Any water can potentially be holy water. Where a formula calls for holy water, use Jordan River Water if that suits you (available from occult suppliers, Israeli and Jordanian exporters as well as some local parishes). If not, consider what would be your holy water – water from a  stream near your home perhaps? Water from the tap of the restaurant where you spent your happiest moments? If in doubt, just double the proportion of springwater in the spell.
  • Ideally, flower waters combine botanicals and water to create a power greater than the sum of its parts. There are three possible sources for these waters:
  1. The supermarket, where they are usually displayed among the spices and baking supplies. However be aware that many of these products are diluted and weak; they may be little more than flower-scented water. Stores that cater to Middle Eastern cooks may carry stronger flower waters as it’s a popular component in their cuisine.
  2. Hydrosols are the other product created by extracting essential oils, the water left over from the distillation process. True hydrosols are infused with actual plant molecules: there’s really some plants in there. Hydrosols are magically powerful although therapeutically very gentle. Once rare, hydrosols have become quite popular and may be obtained where aromatherapy and herbal products are sold. ..
  3. Your kitchen. Simple flower waters are quickly and easily made. If the flowers are from your garden, it’s an inexpensive process and you can be confident about the lack of pesticides. In addition, although you may find a wide variety of hydrosols, flower water from the supermarket tends to be limited to rose or orange blossom. At home you’ll have access to any blossoms that you choose; make jasmine blossom water or primrose water,for instance. Use any flowers you like, provided that the flowers are not poisonous.

Rose Water

Use this formula to create orange blossom or other flower waters too.

  1. Take the petals from 2 or 3 roses, place them in a small pot and cover them with a quarter inch of springwater.
  2. Let simmer gently.
  3. After a few minutes you will observe a change in the blossoms; the color will become pallid, the textures of the petals may become limp. It’s a visual change; you will know it when you see it. If in doubt,let the petals simmer a minute longer.
  4. Strain and allow the liquid to cool.
  • If you do not use it up at once, refrigerate the rose water.
  • Do not use flowers that have been sprayed with pesticides.
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