The Starry Cave

“She is Algol and Pleiades, she is Virgo and she is Venus, she is the power of cataclysmic possibility and she is the secret of immortality."   – NdMF: Craft of the Untamed               Lilith is often spoken of as a Dark Goddess, a Black Goddess – but we should be aware of what this really means. Robert Graves said in 1964: “The Black Goddess is so far hardly more than a word of hope whispered amongst the few who have served their apprenticeship to the White Goddess. She promises a new pacific bond between man and women, corresponding to a final reality of love… She will lead man back to that sure instinct of love which he long ago forfeited by intellectual pride”. What should also be remarked is that She is black and white, wet and dry. She is this paradox that knows no Mercy, because she is beyond good and evil, resting upon the wings of Grace. She – as White and Black is easily evoked by the call of the Red, the steady flow of the red current in the blackness of the Moon.

Sta. Petka or Sta.  Parasceve is one of the most cherished and loved saints in the Balkans. This 11 th Century saint who passed on to the Holy Host, embraced by Mary, Mother of God and St, Michael at the age of 27 continued to make miracles immediately after her death and until this very day. One famous account tells how she appeared in dreams to a monk some nights after her burial, informing him that her resting place was not good, that she was in ill soil. They unburied the body and found it incorruptible and sent the relics to the Church of the Holy Apostles in the little city of Katikratia. Her relics were then moved around in the Balkans, Moldavia and Constantinople. Constantly miracles happened by her intercession – which caused even a Muslim reverence for her where her relics worked its wonder. Two feast days are ascribed to her October 14 and October 27, representing two different mysteries. October 14 th is marked by a communal festivity, merry making and chain dances.

The world is a mystery, a beautiful mystery – and everything is perfect – if we manage to hold a wide perspective, that goes beyond our interests and person serving our limited goals and ideas of what and who we are. We are always much more than what we conceive to be. Because of this we should be careful with what I call ‘the rock in the shoe’.  This rock is the world – and we encounter it s we walk the world gracefully or in passion. The difference is about the attention we give to this bothersome element that crosses out path. I see the rock in the shoe as being announced by the declaration of blaming others for our own lack of graceful walk in the world. I mean, if we walk the world in grace, carefully, we will see how the world and its paths are winding – and from this point of view any missteps or stumbling is always made by our own  lack of foreseeing what is meeting us around the corner, even if the path itself gives subtle notice about what is waiting ahead.   When we stumb

I believe that abundance reflects in our sense of contentment and satisfaction. This can vary from person to person in conformity with the goals held and what Fate gave to us. Abundance in one area of life, as for instance money, can at times lead to complaints in other areas of life, such as lack of love, enemies and false friends. I believe the very idea of abundance is about honey. It is about an inner sweetness in how we approach life as our being run along on the cords of destiny and Fate elegantly and gracefully, it be through both the gutters and castles of the world. Abundance is a form of equilibrium takes shape in our journey upon earth. Life is a journey that leads us to ruins and places, stormy rivers and sojourns of peace and strength. The perfect human journey is the one that is rich in experience and gives us ample opportunity to forge our character and realize our destiny. The wisdom of Ifá tell us that we are all born good and blessed – and it is as people, good an

“Just because a man is fucking crazy doesn't make his opinion less fucking valid.“ -          Mr. Jack In Gregory Dark’s   Little Fish, Strange Pond   from 2009 (renamed   Frenemy   for its DvD release 2010) the viewer is confronted with the fact that expectation is the bitchy mother of disappointment.  Certainly when you see the wild beard of Zach Galifianakis on the cover you do expect a movie that entertains in a childish way, like   Hangover   (2009). For sure you are not expected to be challenged, having your mind fed or that Matthew Modine is the star of the movie.  The movie is the work of a trickster from presentation to last line of the script. Not only this, but the movie, intended or not, has a spiritual relevance as it documents the works of Orisa Èsú (a deity very much like Hermes, Mercury, Janus and similar trickster spirits) in the world masterfully interpreted by Matthew Modine. I have no idea if this was intended or not – but for me it was this that caught my at

Just at the South of the Carpathian mountains where the river Danube flow through the centre of Balkan, Serbia, surrounded by Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia and a whole network of history told in these lands and amongst its neighbors. Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman remains still linger on as drafts of a memory remarkably close in this land rich in lore and myth. This is the land of the dragon people and it was here the dragon Lucifer is said to have fallen. The river Danube is the home of prehistoric strains of Beluga and several other emissaries of Dagon himself that keep even the water rich in legend and dragon lore. So, here at the shores of Danube the cunning meeting between two witches took place in the days prior to the summer tide washing over the land scolding people, land and waters with its fiery rays. The shores of Dagon’s veins seems a most proper canvas for sharing some parts of our conversations in the form of an interview with Radomir Rade Ristic , author of the book Balkan

In our Western society, the concept of demi-gods can be better understood by looking at the dual nature of Greek heroes and the theme of birth which is repeated in several myths. Here we find that always one of the parents of the hero is a God or a Goddess giving the child qualities and abilities that are both human and divine – which allows the crossing and mediation between worlds even after death. In other Pagan traditions [not to be confused with contemporary neo-paganism] where this fusion of the two worlds, human and divine, were alive we find that the idea of ​​ initiation reflected this possibility where the neophyte or pilgrim was considered "reborn" as a "child" of, or protected by its tutelary deity. We find examples of such significance in rituals of initiation were Julius Gaius Cesar was consecrated to Venus and  Alexander the Great to Amon. Caesar was, with every right conferred by the priests of Venus, conceived of as a demi-god - a being of two

Palo Mayombe The Garden Of Blood And Bones "As mentioned in an earlier post, this past weekend I received my copies of both Palo Mayombe and Pomba Gira by Nicholaj De Mattos Frisvold. I havent yet begun Pomba gira, simply because Palo Mayombe has had me engrossed and will require at least a couple more read throughs to begin to grasp, and so it is Palo Mayombe alone that I will speak of in this post. Although I am usually skeptical about books touching on the subject of Palo, since it is a highly guarded tradition and one previously spoken on only in exalted circles of those lucky enough to be initiates, I has quite hopeful that this book would be something special simply because Nicholaj is an author with whom I am familiar and I know first hand that Scarlet Imprint releases only the best of the best. "... Red more of this Book Review in The Lion's Den

In a Traditional Craft cuveen the Magister with his stang represents Ol’ Hornie. By this office he is also referred to as ‘the Devil’, but we cannot confuse this identification of Devil with its normative Christian content, as a force in anti cosmic opposition with the divine plan, hence the content read into the office of ‘a Satan’, or in modern vernacular, a prosecutor. We need to focus on the horns, if they were given to Moses by Michelangelo or by the Church to the uncanny spirits of the land and nocturnal manifestations of domestic beasts. There is much to say of the stang and its importance, such as its retrieval by Cain after the sacrifice of the shepherd, Abel and how it also took shape as the crosier of the Episcopal station, also seen as an office of Shepherds.    The stang alone represents the world tree, the axis mundi, what enables ancestors to commune with angels in the field of the living. The one who holds the axis is Ol’ Hornie, the Magister, who stands in for the h

“John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. ”  -  John 3: 27 Sometimes the star of enlightenment hits us profoundly, it can be anywhere and with great power. Today while reading The Grimoire of Arthur Gauntlet edited by David Rankine I came across a passage of such effects, which I quote here: “Man is ordained a Magician from the womb of his mother that would be a true magician. Others that have taken upon them this office are unhappy. To this agreeth that which John Baptist saith No man can receive any thing to himself unless it be given him from above.” ( The Grimoire of Arthur Gauntlet p. 71 ) This passage is interesting because of many things; one is that some weeks ago a lengthy sequence in Michael Cecchetelli’s most valuable translation of two grimoires in Crossed Keys where from page 177 an onwards the Gospel of John is provided as a universal remedy flanked by the seven psalms, the litanies of the Saints and Our Father. I find i