Lilith - The Shade of Night and the Eclipse of the Worlds

“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.

She is earth, the black earth; Wisdom herself. She is the river of silver flowing over the blackness of the earth. She is the spirit of Ishtar standing naked in the hall of hooks and crooks upon the seventh step.

Queen of the Ladies of the Night

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. In the past this date marked the first day of rest upon having completed all matters concerning the farm’s survival during the cold months of winter. It was important to observe her taboos on this day, like not wearing woolen clothes, don’t engage in spinning or taking bath.

The Rock in your Shoe

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 stumble the sad logical move as a human is to find a scapegoat – and yes we can find many… but is your own stumbling really justified by adversaries?

The Honey Within

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 and blessed we start our human journey. The more our travel is done gently and with measured movements, the more we will experience ourselves as abundantly blessed and good. We read in the odù Òdí Méjì the following:   

Something Special

“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 attention and it is from this realization I embrace with extreme joy this little masterpiece.

Most reviewers and critiques hated this movie quite feverishly, and tell things like the following on the www.imdb.com: “Do not watch this. It is a trap from which you will bitterly regret”, “it get completely butchered by terrible writing and equally awful directing”, “ I want my dollar and my 80 minutes back!” – well, I on my side gave the movie 160 minutes and would gladly pay a dollar more for it…

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT

A Witchy Night at the Shores of the Danube

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 Traditional Witchcraft. So, with this I welcome you to share this momentum outside time and space with us.   

Witches & Heroes – demi gods or ordinary humans living extraordinary lives?

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 worlds walking the earth, unlike an ordinary human. The idea of ​​guardian saints found in Christianity might be traced back to practice; even thou the Church castrated the more libertine qualities of the deities, in favor of chastity.

A Brief Review Of Palo Mayombe; The Garden Of Blood And Bones

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

Ol’ Hornie & the Devil

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 horned one. If the stang he holds is of Yew , Hazel , Ash or another ancestor makes great difference in the world he secure into communion with the quick and the dead.

Celestial Imprints

“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 in this some interesting webs meeting that speak of destiny and what we are fated to do. In the past matters were simpler in traditional societies, at birth a divination was done in order to discover the celestial imprint on the newborn. Here was found both psychological imprints and counsel that would bring utmost fulfillment for the infant in question. A blue print was given and upon this crude map of life the walk of life with its blessings, lessons, bane, defeat and triumph could be written as we walked on in life owned or borrowed.