The Starry Cave

A Review of Jake Stratton-Kent’s The Testament of Cyprian the Mage. With the third and final part in Jake Stratton-Kent’s Encyclopaedia Goetica titled The Testament of Cyprian the Mage Jake have come full circle in redefining the Goetic fundamentals that lies at the root of the Western Tradition at large. Jake have in this concluding double volume literally soaked the bones of the Western Tradition with the life-giving blood of memory and wisdom, all too often forgotten. He has forged this memory in the icon of Cyprian, the saint and mage, the healer and sorcerer in the likeness of King Solomon. In this way Cyprian serves both as symbol and archetype of the fusion of the Greek Shamans and the clandestine sorcery priests that found their heaven in Church and monastery. In the icon of Cyprian Jake is binding the ink and legacy of monasteries in with the image of the goetic mage in spirit frenzy to allow the blood of a living tradition to flow forth from bones and boo...

Sacred Alchemy Store was today on the 9 th of April inaugurated on a time astrologically elected to gain favour from the stars, in this case from Venus, who also happens to be the planetary ruler of my nativity. The astrologer William Lilly (1602 – 81) says that Venus signifies a man not given to quarrel or wrangling, but is rather about the pleasantries of the world with ‘Loving Mirth in his words’.  Venus owns several evergreens, such as myrtle and prefers greenwood of a sweet and pleasant scent. She is the Lilly, deadly and euphoric, it be of valley or water. Apples, roses and all sorts of sweet fruits like figs and apricots belong to her as does mugwort, walnuts and oranges. She is the hart, the Panther and the nightingale, swan and black coloured birds like the Pye. Venus rules gardens, fountains, waterfalls and bride chambers and any place and thing beautiful.  She is red coral and lapis lazuli. But Venus is also the planet of concord and of increase, she is the co...

Everyone in the world is in search for something good for themselves. After all life is a joyous adventure amidst triumph and challenges, situations and opportunities. Speaking of goodness, it is important to define this idea further. We all have an idea of what goodness is, mediated by opinions formed upon experience and information. The idea of goodness can range from envisioning Holy Men like the Dalai Lama and acts of kindness done to other beings. But goodness can also be about striving towards grasping blessings, luck and it can also be about finding oneself in a position of taking advantage of a situation as much as it can be about money, possessions and aspirations. As the neo Platonic traditionalist I am, Plato often moves ghostly in the caverns of my mind, and in terms of goodness Plato’s Form of Good is vital for understanding goodness. For Plato, the Form of Good was equalled with Truth and Beauty and reflected on source and origin of all forms and ideas. ...

“A man who is used to acting in one way never changes; he must come to ruin when the times, in changing, no longer are in harmony with his ways.”   - Machiavelli -         Time is a bitch, it makes you old, but Time is also a memory of the Golden Age. We understand time often too linear, it is something that happens as you take your breath as an infant and give up your last breath to Earth and Death. But Time was, and can still be, a state, and modern man rarely reflects upon this aspect of time as pure movement. Modern man holds on his shoulders the spirit of ambition. The spirit of ambition is a democratic monster that tells you that you can be whatever you want to be, that you can take whatever you feel you deserve. In ambition we find sentimentalism. This sentimentalism is not about memory and how memory sheds light on the steps yet not taken, but about a flashlight empowered by everything we choose to be blind for in order...

The world is what it is. It is a den, a pool, a jungle – of whatever you want to gather around yourself in your enclosure. You make part, you take distance or you take the role of master or slave, chief or subject, head or tale. When we react on something occurring in the field of experience we always do so as head or tail, master or slave. Our reaction to occurrences in the world is often stimulated by the wish and desires of assuming mastery of a situation, and this is only natural and good. Still, true mastery comes with experience and the necessary skills to dominate a situation with finesse, understanding and elegance and this is as true for a master of war as it is for a master of wisdom. But no matter our experience and skill, we all seek to dominate our own life, no matter our lack of excellence in domination, because deep down we all know that mastery is not about domination but about knowing your soul and deepest impulses to such level that you can manoeuvre your life...

If we dissect the word Witchcraft we will find that within all its interpretations the idea of ‘skill’ is found.  The skill in question is commonly related to cunning or knowledge and this knowledge is commonly appropriated in the skill of summoning spirits. Summoning a spirit means to know the rhythm and relationship between a soul and what animates it. As such Nicola Tesla, Isaac Newton and Benjamin Franklin with their discoveries could be seen as possessing the necessary skill that would deem them witches, and perhaps their Occult, Alchemical and Masonic connections gave to them the necessary skill to discover the animating spirit beneath the phenomena’s of energy, communication and gravity they gained fame for. But witchcraft goes deeper than the world and so the skill of scientific discovery is merely a skill rooted in an understanding of the world that is in agreement with a given world view, I mean profound discoveries of how spirit animates a soul can be what it is...

“Before you speak, let your words pass through three gates. At the first gate, ask yourself. Is it true? At the second gate ask. Is it necessary? At the third gate ask. Is it kind?” - Rumi The world has a thousand mouths and endless is the amount of dross, gossip and hearsay we use the mouth for. We open a newspaper and it is about accusations and scandals, an eternal dance of “he said” “she did”, “he denied” and the usual flow of intrigue, accusation and defense. We enter the social media and it is the same shit there, complaints and nailing by word. “He did that”. “Did he really”, “Yes he did”– and the drama is on! It is a fucking drama everywhere and I can’t help wonder if the world find the very act of digesting words and thoughts unpleasant. Sure, people do enjoy filling the silence with words so they can generate distance from themselves, but is our world a place filled with people who enters a form of martial neurosis when the possibility of touching Self is closing in...