The Starry Cave

The body is the home of the soul, just like the head is the home of the consciousness ( orí ).  We can see in the movement of someone’s body if the person is happy, sad or gentle. The body is the mask of the soul and the body is the form of our soul we give to the world. But humankind is, as Òyèkú méjì says, “changeable, as a boat on water”, in other words subject to turning tides and changes of weather. Òyèkú méjì is an Odù that speaks of death and of ending cycles as much as it speaks of Onile , the earth, or rather the embodiment of the wisdom of earth. We are all children of earth and as earth enjoys adorning herself in the beauty of multiplicity and diversity, so should we. We all have experienced, I hope, these moments when nature takes our breath away and we grow humble in its presence. It is the soul of earth radiating through her body that is taking our breath away in these moments. But we, as her children do hold the same capacity. We all are impressive beings, if ...

A review of: José Leitão: The Book of St. Cyprian: The Sorcerer’s Treasure We all can appreciate the feeling of getting far more than what we bargained for – and it is the same with books. When a book arrives and you hold some expectation of its merit and find that your expectations were not only met, but that the book also exceeded your expectations, generates a state of joy. My expectation was to find a sensible translation of one of the many Books of St.Cyprian of Iberian and Brazilian heritage and this I did find – and in excellence in its own right. No matter which one of the Cyprians you set out to translate, the outcome will inevitably be one that invites fragmentation and a book disparate, because this is how these books are experienced by virtue of their nature. The many variations of this book do speak of a constant insistence of providing a collection of magical knowledge useful for the practicing mage, and as the various collectors and authors held different ...

Quimbanda is a cult centred on the direct and head on interaction with spirit, hence developing mediumistic skills and capability in spirit trafficking is integral and vital to working Quimbanda. Possession is a phenomenon that intrigues and also scares. After all we have all seen movies like The Exorcist and other horror thrillers giving visual spectacles to how hostile spirits can take over the human body, mind and soul in intrusive and fatal ways. But possessions do find a counterpart in the shamanic rapture as much as in the prophet whose soul is filled with angelic light that makes him or her prophetic. Possession is not only about the full given over of your material vessel to a spirit that in turn uses the faculties of the medium to engage various forms of work. Inspiration, dream and to be ‘under the influence’ are potentially valid and worthy avenues for connecting with spirit. Yet another avenue for good spirit trafficking is the communion, or what Jake Stratton-Kent ca...

I am offering for sale one single set of runes, cut, crafted, blessed and anointed by me. I cut these runes from the Cherry Blossom tree in the hour of the solar eclipse on the 29 th of April. The tree was saluted and fed in this night when the right eye of God was overcome by Her luminance... I chose the Cherry Blossom tree given her deep connection with Moon and Venus, which had dignity in this night, but also because of its relationship with eclipses.  Japanese myths tell us that the tree is sacred to the divine princess Konohananosakuya-hime . She herself symbolizes the extension of death, namely life ephemeral and temporal, just like the Cherry Blossom tree prior to its short gift of flowers enters death where all leaves falls off prior to casting off a bounty of flowers. Japanese legends tell us further that beneath the tree lay a myriad of corpses. These corpses are laid at the root of the tree by its bloodthirsty guardian, Seishirou that protects its myst...