THE PATH LESS TRAVELED

"It was the straying that found the path direct."- Austin Osman Spare

It has been a while, and I'm not sure where or when this post will end. I have had many changes over the last few weeks. That is not really the focus of this post, although it does contribute. I find myself at the Crossroads again, only this time there is a trail into the wilderness that I have been walking for some time now. It is a crooked little path that follows the contours of the landscape, rather than forcing the landscape to follow my contours. This path is not a highway, a two-lane, or even paved, it does not even have a destination, it forks, it doubles back in places, and then it ends abruptly, sometimes concealing even the way back. This is my path, its guardians are Mystery and Silence.

CROSSROADS AND INTERSECTIONALITY

It is always at the borders that the most interesting realities emerge, the overlaps that defy and honor the cultures from which they spring. Whether its a Postmodern Pinoy Pagan, Botswanan Metal Cowboys, or Turkish Industrial Goth, I love it. I have always had problems with so-called Futuristic tales that portray a mono-culture as utopia, or dystopia. Mono-culture is self destructive. Unfortunately, mono-culture is pervasive and seems to be Omnipresent. There are however cracks and the cracks will widen, consider the dandelion as an oracle for the way forward.

What I mean to imply is that there will always be barriers to break through on the path of growth, but this does not mean disregarding all that has gone before. Conversely for true growth, the lessons of the past are crucial, and in the intersection of past and future there is a crack available to be utilized. Inside there is fertile ground.

There is a popular viral image that made its way around the social media not so long ago, it portrayed a Venn diagram with two unconnected circles. One big circle labelled "Your Comfort Zone" and another smaller circle as far removed from the first as possible in the frame, this one labelled "Where the Magic Happens." As accurate and funny as that is, I would suggest that a more accurate Venn diagram would be two overlapping circles, both the same size. The first labelled "Your Knowledge" and the other "The Unknown", the tiny overlap would be, "Where Magic Manifests."

It matters not how much knowledge one accumulates about any subject, one will not truly understand until put into practice. This invites the unknown and challenges the budding adept, that is how experience is gained. Experience teaches adaptability and pattern recognition. Half of finding magic is having a watchful eye. Experience teaches through intersections and overlaps. Sometimes the pattern itself is revealed and everything overlaps just as the door to the unknown swings wide open. That is the moment to cherish, when Saint Serendipitous delivers hers gifts. This only happens at the Crossroads, and only for those souls who have found a light in the darkness.

There are some intersections that lead to sterility and impotence, such is to be expected. "Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit." John 15:2. Others however will yield fruit beyond imagination. Every break with the past is just a pruning that allows more branching and more intersections to occur. Bifurcation, branching, the way of Chaos. Pruning, nurturing, the way of Order. The place where these two meet is the Crossroads.

THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE

If there is a singular object or symbol that I would consider representative of my cosmology, the Mandelbrot set is probably the one. Bounded yet near infinite in all directions. Each part a reflection of the whole, yet continuously variable. Ken Wilber in A Brief History of Everything, writes of Holoarchy, where each Holon is both a part and a whole. This seems to work well with Umberto Eco's assertion that a language scheme based on the labyrinth rather than the tree offers freedom and an infinity of possibilities as each part being also whole.

This all works with the idea of the crooked path that snakes through the wilderness of the human soul. Bounded on either side by that which is not path, yet infinite in the directions it can travel. Each part of the path is a whole unto itself and yet part of something larger. One can travel the path at any speed and reach a variety of destinations and yet remain on the path. There is also always the choice to stop and spend some time getting lost in the labyrinthine depths at any point along the path. Not infinite, near infinite, a Mandelbrot set. 

The concept of the Holon is helpful here; one can say an acorn contains an oak, or that an oak contains acorns, both are true because here part and whole are equivalent. Fractals also illustrate this principle. Not infinite, near infinite. A Holoarchy is the relationship between Holons wherein each Holon at a certain level is made up of Holons of a different level. (There is no hierarchy as each part is dependent upon the other. The common model for this follows:

subatomic particles <-> atoms <-> molecules <-> macromolecules <-> organelles <-> cells <-> tissues <-> organs <-> organisms <-> communities <-> societies

In this example each Holon is a level of organization and each part is descriptive of the whole, no matter which direction you go. The top can be a bottom, a bottom can be a top, and, like a fractal, the patterns evident at one level can be similar to those at another.

The path as it reveals itself to many post-modern sorcerers is eclectic at its best and dilettantism at its

worst.For many it becomes an endless buffet of delights, each as bland and greasy as the rest, but the lights flash pretty colors and now the seasonal flavor is available. Seasonality is a two edged sword. Still others will stop and appreciate the landscape along the way, others still will see its serpentine nature, but still steer clear. The hardiest learn to see in the shadows and find She who is Light in the Darkness (En Erebos Phos.) The most foolhardy run happily into the beckoning tentacles.

Umberto Eco in his epic tome, From the Tree to the Labyrinth: Historical Studies on the Sign and Interpretation, adequately argues that the way Western (Dominant) Culture organizes language is based on the Neo-Platonist ideal of "the Tree of Knowledge". I would argue that the tree myth still dominates much of Western Occult Knowledge also. He proposes a structure more similar to a labyrinth. To illustrate this point he starts chapter one with a comparison of dictionaries and encyclopedias;

In defining a term (and its corresponding concept) the dictionary model is expected to take into account only those properties necessary and sufficient to distinguish that particular concept from others; in other words it ought to contain those properties defined by Kant as analytical (analytical being that a priori judgment in which the concept functioning as a predicate can be deduced from the definition of the subject).

To be distinguished from encyclopedias in the following manner;

This definition does not assign to the dog the properties of barking or being domesticated (because there may be dogs incapable of barking and/or hostile to to humans) and are not part of our knowledge of a language but of our knowledge of the world. They are therefore matter for the encyclopedia.

He goes on to explain the implications this has for our considerations of the metaphysical, but for now this will suffice.

The tree is helpful for differentiating between the various types of encounters one has along the path, but the labyrinth with its serpentine nature helps to more fully express the fullness of those experiences. Each part is whole and contains a pattern similar the whole. Not infinite, near infinite. There is danger here, like Theseus one must prepare a strategy for exiting the labyrinth. One must also be prepared for the wolves along the way.

So he walked for a short time by the side of Little Red Riding Hood, and then he said: 'See, Little Red Riding Hood, how pretty the flowers are about here - why do you not look round? I believe, too, that you do not hear how sweetly the little birds are singing; you walk gravely along as if you were going to school, while everything else out here in the wood is merry.'

Thus the path always returns to crossroads even if the path must be forged.

THROUGH THE FORGE

Not only must the path be forged but so to the seeker must be worked in the forge. It is said that Tubal-Cain is the progenitor of all craftspeople. Smiths, artists, writers, and magicians, we are all of the line of Tubal-Cain and therefore of Cain. Cain is rumored to have been sired by Samael, Lover/Son of Lillith. When we ignite the sacred fire in our soul this is it's source, but it goes much deeper than that.

Early on the path many a seeker identifies with the fire, the flame. The flame however is external, it

is the heat within that allows the seeker to become malleable. The soul of the seeker becomes as iron heated in Tubal's forge awaiting shaping upon the anvil. It is the hammer of the divine that shapes the seeker, but the seeker must choose to claim their right to enter the forge. As the iron is worked it is folded again and again to strengthen it. Each fold collapsing previous experience upon itself until the whole contains all parts and all parts contain some of the whole.

Through out life the seeker will be tempered each time become closer to Unobtainium or Mithril. This process of refinement, hardening the iron is the path. The path always leads through the forge. In the forge the impurities are either burned off or subsumed into the iron. All experience is either incorporated or falls away as slag.

Again and again the seeker returns, to remain malleable, to remove dross, and to keep the inner fire ignited. It is the iron in the blood, forged in a supernova millennia ago that links the seeker to both the inner fire and the stars. As above, so below.

MIRROR OF HEAVEN

As above, so below. This also goes the other way. As below, so above. The part contains the information of the whole that contains the part which in of itself is whole. Not infinite, near infinite. What does this mean for the seeker? The underworld and the empyrean are but reflections of each other. Whither is heaven or hell? All depends on where one's soul does dwell.

According to some of the inner teachings of Freemasonry (which claims lineage from Tubal-Cain), and in particular the book Freemasonry and Catholicism by Max Heindel, Cain and Seth (Adam and Eve's third son) represent the two branches of humanity. Cain having actually been fathered by Lucifer's General, Samael, and Seth being the second born of two human parents (Abel being the first.) The sons and daughters of Cain, and subsequently Tubal-Cain, have souls of fire, and the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve's third son Seth, derived souls of water from Jehovah. Samael's progeny are of the Earth and Fire, Jehovah's of Air and Water. Every part a mirror of the other. If one's soul is born of Fire and Earth, Water and Air would be anathema. So too if one were born of Water and Air, and subjected to Fire and Earth.

As the seeker approaches the Crossroads, benefit will most gained by seeking the path that corresponds to the nature of the seekers soul. This can also be symbolized by the goat and the lamb. Goats are wily, wild, and quite libidinous. Sheep are docile, dependent, and helpless without the flock. Samael is the Goat headed One and represents earthly knowledge, i.e. craft, science. Jehovah represents the sheep that has had its fire dampened by the Water of Heaven. Separate the goats from the sheep, indeed. Each path is valid, as above so below, and vice versa.

At the crossroads, I am presented with three choices, The Highway to Big Box Moral Bankruptcy, The Four-Lane to the Pasture of the Flock, or the thin Goat Path that leads to the Northern Mountains. This the same choice, with cultural variances for each seeker of the path. Each part contains knowledge of the whole and the whole contains each part which is whole in itself. Not infinite, near infinite.

I must go the Sabbatic Goat beckons...

 

Freedom and Being Free

Ganapati and Catwoman  Getting Freaky

Om Gam Ganapataye Namah.

America, we need to have a talk.

It is time we face some ugly truths about ourselves. Contrary to what many believe, this country was not founded to protect individual freedom. It was founded by religious zealots, criminals, venture capitalists, and slave traders. The intention behind the constitution was to protect the vested interests of those early power-mongers. Fortunately, people learned to hack this tool of the state towards true freedom. The quest for freedom is an always evolving pursuit. In my opinion, the surest path to this freedom is the self directed spirituality called witchcraft by so many today.

The descendants of those self righteous bigots, can be found in today's surveillance state, the Congress, Wall Street, and corporate boardrooms. Equality is a buzzword for equal deprivation. The reason they called it a trickle down economy is because we only get a trickle down here. Have you seen Mad Max? We are in the same boat, trapped between Bullet Farm, Gas Town, and Water and Power. There is no Utopia on the horizon, we must stake our claim here. Those in power fear us, "We the people", and use everything at their disposal to divide and conquer. Ask yourself, who is benefiting from homophobia, sexism,racism, class-ism, and religious bigotry?

Divide and conquer has always been the game. How do we address this? What is the proper response to Power when that power is waiting for an excuse to use all the weaponry it protects itself with. This is Peter Grey's perspective, Beneath the Rose, read it and then come back. There are things I agree with in this article and some things I strongly disagree with. First I do agree that secrecy is the greatest tool a Mutant Mage can have in this day and age. I also agree with the call to return to visceral experience of magic and the world in general. The late Peter Paddon also believed strongly in the execution of Visceral Magic. Before I get into my issues with the article, I would like to address a side issue. I have come to the firm conclusion that although I find some of the ideas expressed in the Traditional Witchcraft circles, I personally am not enough of an anglophile to follow this path. I prefer more homegrown esoteric traditions. One of the many reasons I refer to myself as a Sacred Artist, or Mutant Mage. I am a Twenty First Century American who works with magic.

The main problem I have is the most obvious, going on the internet to argue that the internet is to persuasive is a bit, well hypocritical. Just like all the TV preachers in the late 80's and early 90's, railing on and on about the evils of television. Whenever some one uses the medium they profess to be opposed to, I am immediately slightly dubious. What would Mr. Grey have to benefit from this double-blind? The same thing as every other person doing it, a captive audience guaranteeing a steady income stream. Kind of like the anti-capitalist that sell anti capitalist books, for capitalist dollars. I do not begrudge one making a living, in fact I do not believe that capital and freedom are contradictory. The democratization of capital has lead to far more good than harm. It is the concentration of capital that causes problems. What is the solution? Magical Activism.

Build large street theatre puppets of political and religious figures and race them in the parks. Flood the Internet with nudity, not pornography, plain old nudity, especially nipples. Flood Facebook with male nipples to counter the absurdity. Big Data is running experiments to control human behavior, use social media to run your own experiments.  Counter measure the countermeasures, information technology lends itself to chaos and discord, help it. Meanwhile build cabals and communes both physical and virtual with like minded individuals. Everything is spectacle and theatre now, Break The Proscenium. Perform public curses on your state capital steps, they are doing it to you inside, most of all engage the public. Be a clown for Lucifer.

I see I have struck a nerve, that name, Lucifer gets a lot of peoples goats, so to speak. I believe this may be due to confusion between Sataniel (satan), and Lucifer. Lucifer is an old Roman god, the light bringer, and he was a twin, his brother is Noctifer, the dark bringer. Lucifer has gotten a bad rap for  a long time, all because the Roman Catholic Church does not like competition with its brand. Sataniel was the fallen angel who dared to rebel against God and received his own kingdom as a reward. I do not want to get bogged down in a discussion on Lucifer, one can find plenty of info online. Oh, and the aforementioned Mr. Grey has a book on the subject, if that's your sort of thing.

Ultimately the goal is freedom, personal freedom won out of love and respect for your fellow beings. We are evolvers and so we must evolve always being a Mutant Mage, use science and finance, buy a 3D printer, become a bio-hacker, study sorcery, play RPG's IRL, stay one step ahead, and laugh. If Tank Girl and Delerium have not joined your pool of inspiration it's time to invite them in. I use the methods that work for me; subterfuge, secrecy, outlandishness, and the dead. My ancestors lead me, folk catholic saints sustain me, Rebel Saints inspire me, Hoodoo and Santeria inform me, and angels comfort me. I am a dreamer, a mystic, a spirit warrior, sacred artist, and spirit guide. Above all others I am a Mutant Mage.

Praxis Sasquatch Jones 2015

Letting Go

Most of the people I know have had to let go of something dear to them this year. Deaths, divorces, and downsizing, whether by choice, illness or just time, have claimed much happiness and left a void in their wake. It is against this backdrop that I have decided to let go, more. Time is precious and the pursuit of stuff is a poor way to spend it, I want more LIFE and less stuff.

This not just a reaction to the losses I and many others have experienced , but rather an exploration of loss and surrender. For one to surrender to the forces around them and give up control is the essence of sacrifice as initiation. The Fool, and The Hanged Man; a leap of faith, a willing sacrifice, an initiation into a different state of being. Notice that I did not say "higher" state of being, such things are greatly overrated, enlightenment is not what most Americans think enlightenment is. I am looking to change my relationship to loss, suffering, and material possession, to reawaken my knowledge of the transitory, numinous nature of existence.

In my last post I made reference to Rhyd Wildermuth's post on Alchemical Capitalism, that article and this post by John Beckett, about the Commodification of Humanity, started mental workings. Then I read Decolonizing Ourselves So We Can Help Others, and remembered Paper Mage which I also recommended in my last post,and enter an Air of Inspiration from the East. Harvest and sacrifice are the same thing. Without sacrifice there is no harvest, and without a harvest there is no sacrifice. That being said, keep in mind that the harvest will never be what you expect. Taking my raw material to the cauldron of inspiration and applying flame something distinct begins to distill.

A small amount of passion goes a long way, and from that initial idea a plan has coalesced, it is time to Let Go. I will be releasing my hold on several material items from now until the Feast of the Ancestors, October 31st. This is sacrifice, ritual, reverence, and initiation all rolled into one. I am seeking to change my relationship to stuff, to embrace Immediacy, to see impermanence as it is; more stuff. So I will be giving away, sticks, stones, roots, bones, shells and feathers. A few books, and perhaps some hand drawn art here and there, will also find Their  way into the mix. I need to lighten my load for the next phase of my work. Water flows in and water flows out, stuff is the same, I'm not wholesale against it, I just need let it flow down the stream again.

Now the fun, interactive part; a veritable Carnival of Delights. Are you brave enough to accept gifts? Dare you receive something for nothing? Is not, Receiver of Generosity, one of your holy names? Can you surrender and accept what fate deals? Did you say yes to one or more of these questions? Then I have a proposition for you. If you said yes to all these questions, seek therapy, just kidding, go take a hike, you deserve a break. Now if you are willing, Friend me on facebook, or just send me a PM with your address and the note "I'm in." Or leave me a comment here. I will contact you with three questions, and then mail you a package based on your answers. Don't worry nothing ominous, just simple things, such as, animal, vegetable, mineral, or fungal. That sort of thing. I just love that Fungi is its own kingdom, now.

Awaiting your responses and then into the realm of Earth, where I manifest that which I have called forth. Letting go is the only way to appreciate what you have. LOVE.

Final Earthworks and the Opening of the Aethyr Gates

My elemental workings have come to an end. My elemental workings have just begun. As I finished my concentrated study of each of the elements, I did an Aethyr Working to bring it all together. This final act turned out to be the beginning of something new and wonderful, my Aethyr working opened a gate that will inform my work for many years to come. Twice before I arrived at a place in my work where I felt total cohesion between my vocation and my avocation. A place where my cosmology manifested itself around me daily, the Subgenii refer to this as the luck plane tilting in one's favor.I can believe that about the previous events but this is different, more like fortune. Previously I lost my vision and my voice due to turbulent episodes, both involving divorce and a loss of all my earthly possessions. One of the main differences this time is that I started with nothing and due to my partner, the most beautiful Goddess I know, I have learned to protect what is important and retain those parts of life that hold real value, this is the secret of wealth. I love her more than any other and there are many wrongs I must make right with her, but she is quite simply the most amazing person I have ever met, and have the utmost faith in her.

Revelations

Lucky man that I am, I am currently suffering from what the doctors believe may be a faulty gall bladder, whatever is wrong with me, I have been ill quite a bit this year. This illness however has kept me closer to the Other Side and this has improved the nature of my work greatly. When the gates opened, I had a vision of all that is to be. Humbled, I wrote down as much as I could, and drew what I saw. The first revelation was of my paten, this served as the door to the Aethyric Temple. I have included it here with a bit of artistic flair for dramatic effect.

The next revelation involved an explanation as to why the elementals manifested to me as totems and the importance of these relationships. They will serve as spirit guides much like familiars, but with more specific purposes and less personal interaction, as if they were zeitgeists or family spirits. I also met my allies old and new; amongst whom the following did appear; Lady of the Night, Wild One, Dirt Mama, Sky Daddy, Bird Lady, Bunny Man, Lord Stag and Lady Herb.

Soon I will fully open my Spirit Temple; the Grotto of Free Form Open Source Dirt Sorcery or a reasonable facsimile thereof; names aren't really important anymore, only results.

Corporate Cannibals, Tantric Pirates, and Shamanic Clowns

So it comes to pass that I shall lie fallow for a season, from Lammas to Samhain I shall not engage in large rites other lunar and solar cycle associated events. Some time after that I will begin working with planetary energies, and true to form I will be making up much of it as I go along. I have studied enough books in the last 30 years of my life that I can create a cut up ritual in my head and so I do. This is the essence of Free Form Open Sorcery. There is a caveat however, this is my path, go get your own. I do share tips and tricks in my Open Source lessons, but I am only trying to guide you towards doing it yourself, thus the non-specificity.

My path must always remain open ended, that is why I never give it all away. Once I develop a codified system that does anything other than brainwash you into thinking for yourself, then I have failed. I will not become the foodstuff of Corporate Cannibals. I would rather you become your own vision whether it's a Tantric Pirate, Shamanic Clown, or a Professor of Transcendentalism. The point is it is your path, and much like the Bardo or a video game, there are achievement levels that must be unlocked before proceeding to next part of your adventure. Almost always you will find that the key involves resolving personal issues, this is earthwork. There is no progress to Aethyric until the elemental issues are worked on.

Organic Psychedelic Animism

I have work to do, new tools and devices. There are new souls to meet, art rituals to construct, books to write. More important than all of that, I must maintain my relationships. Both my relationships with the living and with those souls on the Other Side. I trust my familiar to make the proper introductions when the time comes, and I make sure to bestow gifts upon my familiar when the time is right. I mentioned this mutual reciprocity before in a previous post. This a theme that will keep popping up over and over for me, as my partner has helped me realize I can be quite neglectful at times. This neglect only serves to harm me in the long run, as I damage mutually beneficial ties I isolate myself. This is part of one of the kleshas I must untie regularly, if not daily.

The Earth sings to me, the Waters rock me to sleep, the Fire keeps me warm and alive, the Air gives me dreams, but the Aethyr stirs my soul. So by the Powers Above and Below, I have gained gifts that I am both humbled and honored to receive, I resolve myself to Bhakti practice as sign and token of my appreciation and devotion. So Mote It Be.

Cthulhu Heart Chakra Meditation

 
There in the dark I saw Mahakala dancing through a hail storm as Thor in his goat drawn cart beat out lightning with Mjöllnir. On past Hecate at the crossroads smoking cigars with Legba, to cross the cemetery where the Grateful dead invite me to feast. Tonight's errand takes me further still, I promise to return, everyone does they say. There beneath the dolmen, on past Weyland the Qayin's forge, deeper still I must travel. Finally I stand before Gwynn Ap Nudd, so saturnal in demeanor. He knows why I have come, to find the way in. He informs me that I must take to wild places, skyclad and wild with drunken ecstasy, then I will find what I long for; freedom. So back to the surface I must go and quest for the Wyld Wood....

 For extra fun listen to all three of these videos at once, adjust the individual volume as needed.

Trust me on this. Do some Pranayama and Mindfulness Meditation. Sound is powerful. This one is for you Joseph Shuffield.

Fire Elemental Working Part II

So as you may recall from my previous post on the subject, my first series of fire workings yielded mixed results. I've known that I am more of an Air witch than anything else, but  honestly fire left me feeling cold. Then the "elemental" that presented itself to me left wondering if I was doing something wrong. In true Sorcerer fashion I decided to dig deeper, and what I found was astounding.

Many years ago I had my Medicine Cards read. One thing that I remember is Mother Bear presented herself with the message that I needed to work on intimacy issues and learn to trust and surrender myself to love, eight plus years later and I am still working on it. That was what Fire was teaching me. Until I came to terms with my intimacy issues and learned not to use dysfunctional behaviours to garner attention, only then would I progress. As fate would have it, that is exactly what happened.

As Imbolc approached, I realized that my fire workings were coming to an end, I was grossly unprepared. The weather and scheduling were rapidly converging on a ruinous path counter to my bonfire plans. A different working had to be conceived. I decided to combine my Sigil-A-Day 2014 (more about that forthcoming) working with New Moon/Black Moon, Imbolc and Fire Elemental workings all into one ginormous three day ritual marathon. The workings themselves are much too long and specific to go into here, but if you want more info, PM me on Facebook (friend me.) The final result of this being hypnagogic revelations about the exact nature of my wounded ego and the many emotional manipulations I use to protect it. Instead of healing I was spreading my illness to others around me by being an emotional bully. Acceptance of these facts, released a large blockage in my psyche. Their will continue to be many workings in this area of my path.

Air was easy, like Sherlock Holmes I too have a Mind Palace, except mine is a tree house in Elfhame. My natural Mercurial nature leads me to be somewhat of a mental masturbator, so I was already familiar with the territory. Fire, however really challenged me and lead to some fairly deep healing. Out of the two elements I have worked with so far I believe Fire will ultimately prove the more significant working. I have begun to burn away some seriously old and unnecessary blockages to my Great Work, I feel more in tune with my True Will than I have for sometime in my life. This is old Magick.

On the final night of my workings I had a magnificent dream, involving a bear that transformed into a snake. In my previous workings, a spirit presented itself to me that I mistook for my elemental. This being appeared to me as a bear. In my dream, this bear came to me again, and announced that it must shed its skin, so that I could see its true form. The bear stood up on her back legs and split apart, in her place an albino rattlesnake hovered. The snake spit out fire and all the colors of the rainbow danced upon her skin. Then locking her gaze with mine, told me that I was ready to proceed, nothing more. Then ouroboros style, she inserted her tail into her mouth and proceeded to eat until she blinked out. That was it, except that now I continue to see how my damaged psyche has caused me to harm others. I have much work to do, and I believe I may have been called upon to be a vessel of service.

The shores of water have been pleasant so far, but I know that as I plunge into the depths, and as each set of workings builds upon the past, there will indeed be monsters with which I must contend. I shall as always keep you informed. Below I have included a picture I made of the Fire Elemntal based upon myimpressions of her.