The Rainbow of Death (A Short Ramble)

 Oh what a subject! I love this subject because it really provokes thoughts and concepts that really challenge our perception of what we believe we know by comparison of what may be truly in front of us. I want to discuss in this document the diverse and beautiful spectrum of Death Energies and how they may appear so very differently from what we may assume and have a general perception of.

To begin, Death Energies come in a variety of flavours for all of your Death Energy Needs. The flexibility of Death Energies is incredible and so very diverse it’s a wonder people don’t talk about all of the colourful and beautiful spectrums which it appears. Firstly, I want to change the state of mind in which we see Death as something of absence. This is an entirely false concept. It is not the absence of anything but a metamorphosis from one thing to another. Additionally, we sometimes see Death as being the “lack of life”. But this is also grossly inadequate. Void is the absence of things. Death is a transition. It is change itself. It is the wheel and the perpetual motion of things in a never ending cycle of one to the other. It is a dance and it flows smoothly and with unheeded grace.

We see transitions in everything. We ourselves are dynamic and change constantly. Some part of us is always dying and changing and growing, evolving and that old part of us is recycled into something new and that, that is the mixture of death, decay, and new life. A whole cycle that is part of the greater wheel that we are part of constantly. To see what we will change into is to partake in the dance of death and come out new. We experience death energies on a daily. From our bodies taking calories and burning them into something new, to the leaves both growing from buds and then full blooms and leaves and then falling to the ground. All of these are energies associated with death. The Sun putting the Night to Rest is a change and a part of the cycle that is transitions and growth.

We experience it in the fish that is gutted and then ends up in our bellies and the fungus we are constantly competing with to eat the food in our fridges before it does. And to ignore these is to be blind to the beauty and extravagance that Death Energies bring to the dynamics of our natural world. And so I went ahead put this little piece together to explain how shifting and broad the spectrum of death energies are. Where you experience any sort of change and transformation from one things to another you are experiencing and witnessing Death Energies. Chthonic energies may often be deep, dark, and cool like the rich deep earth, devoid of light and warmth. But this is not always the case. And I believe many only experience death like energies with these spectrums of understanding because they have not opened themselves to the vastness of death energies.

Dead bodies aren’t cold. And they are full of life. Just because the primary occupant has since passed does not mean that the body is not full of incredible organisms that are now devouring the tissue and material that made up the body. And such things are not cold either. Decay is a warm process. Heat is produced. Life is everywhere and abundant and a part of the cycle itself as one whole massive organism that cannot be avoided no matter how much you hide from the aesthetics of “cold and dark” death energies. You will continue to experience all of the other broader aspects regardless of how much you shy from the latter themes. Which is okay, by the way. That is perfectly acceptable. I am more of a “fungus and decay, backwoods and natural animalistic death in the mossy sunlit knolls,” kind of guy myself. Perfectly acceptable. Maybe you’re the kind of person that prefers the sunbaked death energies. That’s a thing. Maybe you prefer the “chill on the wind while the autumn sun is hot and warming your skin but the breeze really just sends that gooseflesh across your body” sort of person. Maybe you’re the “I bake bread and harvest wheat, farm for a living and reap corn and rye” sort of death energies. There’s also the “I love storms and the way the hot summer days turn to rainy nights” sort of death energies. “Winter into spring is my thing as things that rely on the cold must depart or perish,” type of person. Who knows! But they are all valid types of energies associated with death and transitions.

I wanted to put this document together because it is beginning to drive me absolutely mad with how I constantly see people exploring these concepts of Death Energies and only tapping gently against the cool shadows of Chthonic structures and then getting all spooked like teenagers in their friend’s basement pretending there’s a ghost. There is so much more variety and delight, joy and acceptance that can be found in death energies. It is not all doom and gloom. Acceptance of death and death energies can absolutely transform a lot of our fear and discomfort and mend doom and gloom mentalities. It is okay to be uncomfortable in some manners. You are, after all, a living breathing creature. You should absolutely want to stay alive.

I am not saying you have to be ready to die at any moment. Fear is normal. Without it, you do not get the thrill of life. And to lose the thrill of life is to lose a lot of the joy of experiencing your temporary place in the cosmos. It is perfectly okay to be afraid to die. Your job, as it stands, instinctually, is to stay alive as long as possible. For some that also includes the instinct to reproduce, make more of yourself, and continue a legacy. For others it is to just live as full and complete as you can and live joyously and fulfillingly. Your time spent here will come to an end and you will move onto something else. But there is a lot you can do right now. There is so much you can enjoy and partake in. There are sunrises for you and seasons to bear witness to. There are castles and mountains to see and rivers to swim in. And all of this is part of the transitions and changes you will go through as an individual as you occupy this space and time on this planet. And all of the energies at play will always be here and be as much of a part of you as you are of them. This you cannot escape. They will be with you in your greatest joys and sorrows and your midway points as well.

And I hope with this silly and opinionated ramble from a Backwoods Necromancer, I have give you some degree of spectrum from which you can explore. You think we are all just black-wearing gothic lumps of emo shucks and melodramatic doom and gloom? Oh no. We do not have time for such things. We have so much to do and quite a limited amount of time to do it. So let us shed this poorly nature of self loathing and depressing attitudes of melodrama. Let us embrace ourselves and others with unabashed joy and vibrant joy and exquisite curiosity and healthy observation. You have so much to live for. Every tree. Every stone. Every book. Every theatre play. Every song. Every sunrise. Every lake and river. Every mountain. Every storm to come. Every piece of coral in the ocean and star that blinks at you. Your place here is small. And yet, it is. Embrace it.

Dream Journal Entry 1.16.23

 Have you ever seen those videos of fungus or mycelium sped up? The veins of fruiting fungus spidering out like arteries in the body? How they bloat and swell and then settle in thin webs and slivers, reaching and stretching across whatever surface they have multiplied upon? This is what we open with. My minds eye is filled with these scenes and as I focus on what it is I may be looking at, I realise that what I am watching has entirely shifted and I experience the arial and stunning view of the dreary long-stretched landscape of a river delta, winding and spanning like blood vessels. At the far distance ahead of me is the grey and dreary coast. The topography, flat and seemingly endless in the other direction is only met against the stormy coast where silver and black skies dance with unthreatening rainclouds, boding no real threat but soothing and chilled mists. This scene only lasts for a moment before I find myself knee-high in the waters of the river delta.

Somewhat beyond my reach is the weathered boards of a long and expansive threading walkway. Nearby there is a ladder, and I wade through the waters to reach it. The rungs are damp but I grip and pull myself up to the boardwalk where I look one direction into an expanse that resembles a village. While no such thing was viewable from my initial imagery of the river delta itself, it appears that among some of the waterways clusters of houses in either twos or fives or even sixes seemed to have been erected along the boardwalk. If they were closer knitted it would almost be an entire suburb of tall-standing houses, hiked on strong though deeply barnacle encrusted pillars and water bitten ropes.

I approached a house. Knocked upon the door. When it opened, I was not greeted whatsoever but the thousand yard empty stare of a sodden corpse stood before me. The sallow flesh was damp with unknown slick and the hair was matted. How old the corpse was, I did not know, but as sodden as it was, it was not bloated with prolonged exposure to deep waters, but hollow and dreary like a drenched rat. It was not shy when the door opened and the ruins of the insides. Overturned tables and nautical tools were in disarray but I was not focused enough on those items to pay too much mind to them. The voice came from the pallid lips of the corpse. “You may not create a net without tying many knots. Without a net, you yield no catch.”

The door closed.

I approached the house beside it and knocked once more. I could not recall if the first body had been a man, woman, or other. But the body that answered had been a woman. Her body was sallow and an eye was quite gone, but upon the entire left side of her face sprouted tons of thoracica, encrusted and deeply pitted. Her mouth opened, but the same voice greeted me. “To cast anything is to admit that you may reel in nothing. To throw the spear or lease the arrow is to know it may be lost forever. But a line always returns if reeled.”

The door closed.

I paused and spent a bit wandering the expanse of the board walk. It stretched for tons and tons of miles, all pocked with small clusters of gathered houses. I made my way towards the ocean coast, though it was still yet so far into the distance. I noticed the water level had begun to rise. I came upon a house perched on the edge of the main expanse of the boardwalk, the wood here soggy and giving way with gentle groans as I approached the steps. The window beside the door was alight with bottles and candles within them. And I mean it. As one would imagine sticking a candle stick into the neck of a bottle as a makeshift candlestick, the bottles had been hung from their bottoms, necks facing down. Crammed within them were candles, all lit against the depression glass of hues of green and blue. I made an outwards comment that “That isn’t quite how physics works,” and knocked upon the door.

A child answered, hands swollen and bloated, body stiff and algae peeling from a scalped head where bloodless tissue was exposed. It was as if the child had fallen from somewhere high enough where the impact upon his head scraped and peeled away flesh and matted hair where it now hung limply and loosely, drenched in whatever moisture had enveloped the so-called town. The voice was the same as the other houses. “A tied boat may still yet sink.”

The door closed.

I got the impression that I was looking for something in particular here, though what it was, I did not know. But I then continued my search, each house like a morbid fortune cookie being cracked open by the bodies of the previous tenants. I came upon another, marked by strange discoloured cloth that blew with heavy weight of dampness in the amble winds. The window on the side of the house as I approached the door was broken and shattered, a matted mess of long black hair clung wetly to the shards of broken glass, draped over the shattered remains of the sill. Ancient blood was caked down the rickety wood and left an unsightly scene before me. I knocked. The man that answered was thin and wiry, neck in a place it ought not have been and limbs fucked in ways that make the body wince at the sight of such disjointed and snapped limbs. It reminded me of a tree branch. Ever taken a thin whip of a branch and just smacked it against the thick unyielding body of a great oak or pine just to watch it snap in two with some degree of satisfaction? That is what this man’s arms looked like. But they were still yet held together by sinewy ligaments and tissues.

“How far are you willing to submerge yourself as you grasp for what lies in the depths?”

“I would drown myself,” I answered. 

The thing that was puppetting these bodies seemed to contemplate this. “What is it do you think you seek?”

“I do not seek anything,” I replied, “I desire something that does not need seeking for I am satisfied by exploration. But the thing that would bring me great satisfaction is something I will recognise when I see it.”

It thought about this, still and utterly silent aside from the misting rains drenching my chilled flesh. Goose pimples had erupted up and down my body as the clothes I wore really began to feel the chill of the exposure. It seemed satisfied by this answer and weakly lifted an arm, gesturing in an acute manner the direction I was encouraged to go. I looked in that direction and when I looked back, the door quietly clicked shut.

I had carried on, and passed by a house with ten sodden heads all crammed into the windowsill, empty dead eyes unblinking and fogged like the overcast skies. They were watching me, I knew, but for what I did not understand. I wanted to knock on that door, to see which one had answered, and so I rounded the corner and approached the steps. I knocked. The figure that opened the door was not any of the ten heads I had seen when I walked by, but an elderly robed figure with hair long since falling out, fallow and wispy thing. “There is no birth without water.”

The door shut after a long delayed pause. I had expected more. But that was all that would be revealed to me.

Disappointingly, I had been wandering along the boardwalk, the water having risen to a metre below the dock, swallowing all the plantlife and the delta itself as it was engulfed in water. Pillars and stones stood out across the water plains beyond me and I was brought out of the dream by my alarm.

A Study in Prayer Marks

 

This document is an effort to give an analysis and dive into the nuances and applications of the concept of Prayer Marks as per the horror Podcast known as The Silt Verses by Jon Ware and Muna Hussen. The world itself will only be elaborated upon as necessary with minimal detail as I will be writing this with focus on the Prayer Marks and their applications both within the universe of the Silt Verses as well as experimental work done by yours truly in an effort to entertain the application within my realm of occupation. As such!... Readers beware! You may learn more than you wish as I reveal spoilers and insider information from having Cast My Gaze Upon This Thing.

It would be easy for someone to assume that a Prayer Mark is just a sigil. It is just a rune or a glyph. And while there are certainly some similarities to these other avenues of study, they are unique in all of those respective qualities to these other studies. Prayer Marks differ from sigils in the specification of their use. While a sigil is able to be used in association to a Divinity or Entity, and commonly are used as an everyday application of programmed energies; sigils also bear a flexibility that Prayer Marks seem to lack in their structure. You may modify, evolve, or change a sigil in accordance to new needs and requirements as you refine the sigil itself, effectively producing a new or changed version of the original structure.

Prayer marks, on the other hand, are used as a direct communication and conduit between the individual carving (or applying) the prayer mark, the location of the prayer mark, and the God to which the prayer mark belongs with very little variation and far more consistency which seems to be required for their effectiveness. So far, currently, there are no prayer marks that are known to which have no connection to a God. While a sigil has meaning and value as per the determined goal and intentions of the sigil itself, Prayer Marks behave in a similar manner but apply a far more linguistic approach to their applications, similar to a label or a note.

We then can compare them to Runes. Prayer Marks behave similarly as a language with power. Each mark holds a unique meaning and translation that is used to hold some sort of respective power from a specific God out of a specific Faith. The difference here is that it is not used exclusively as a language and is not spoken. They hold translated meanings the same way as they hold a purpose to their imagery. An example is using a Prayer Mark to signify that the inscribed individual or object is meant as a sacrifice or offering. Theoretically, the God to which the Prayer Mark comes, recognises this and it is recognised by Angels and Saints as well and they behave accordingly. This also applies to Prayer Marks used to pacify Angels or Saints or to hold some degree of influence over them while they are being observed or interacted with. And this is another key difference between Prayer Marks and Runes. Similarly, it does appear that Prayer Marks can be combined and shaped with one another to achieve Bind-Rune like results. Example: The Mark of the Wither Tide, an elaborate combination of several Prayer Marks creating an almost seal-like circle that has devastating results on the environment where the Mark of the Wither Tide has been placed.

As it stands, prayer marks are a linguistic structure between faiths that allow others of shared faith to recognise one another similar to a Shadow Mark or a Hobo Mark but with affiliation to a particular “Faith”. These variations and differences between culture and groups of different faiths give the concept and study of Prayer Marks a very folk-esque attitude. They are unique per Faith and how they apply them and may have unprecedented results upon an individual if bore witness to from others not of the same faiths. They are unique and can be used to identify particular Faiths in these contexts as well as where they are from. Small towns and villages may bear particular Prayer Marks of their local Faiths depending on what advent or sister Faiths are present.

So while using this concept, I must draw upon the backgrounds I have in the study of Folk Traditions. Prayer Marks seem to be most commonly used in non-commercial Faiths. While I do not doubt that there are Prayer Marks for commercial Faiths, they are not mentioned as heavily as backwoods, small town, or folk Faiths that are more reliant upon their Gods for their ways of life and daily functions. They are both dangerous depending on the purpose of the God in question and may be used maliciously or to mark paths and places of sacredness. So, to know this is to be able to grasp the structure to which the Prayer Marks are meant to function. They have concrete and unmovable structure to their shape and design. Failure to follow the proper formats of the Marks will result in a null effect, in theory. The example of this is when Brother Faulkner incorrectly describes the Mark of the Wither Tide to Katabasian Mason. I am uncertain if it had any other unprecedented side effects or results, but for all intents and purposes, it does not seem as if it worked in the manner that was being sought.

There is an almost crude and rudimentary structure to the Prayer Marks. The few we have access to that I am aware of are from the Mark of the Wither Tide, observable as the traditional logo of the Silt Verses. The floral circle is known as the Dolorous Rose. Then the frame is just called a Hexagonal Frame. The eye symbol is called the Twinned Eyes. The Marks within the Mark of the Wither Tide are Twinned Eyes, Earth, Water, Pain, Fury, Effort, and Completion. 

We are made aware of an aspect of the Marks known as Rods. I believe they are important factors that can be used individually or as a connective tissue to other parts of Marks or directional forces that guide a structure. Whether or not the teeth around the inner frame of the Dolorous Rose are relevant or not, but I believe it was once referred to as the Wither Rose, and I am within theory to believe that the Wither Rose is the form with the teeth framing the inside and the Dolorous Rose is a variation without. I view these two as the two mouths of the Trawler-Man. The one devouring and the one returning. The Mark of the Wither Tide, however, does result in the Hallowing of individuals within its path, a rather visceral result given the devastation of the Mark of the Wither Tide. But it is the only source we have that I am currently able to scrutinise. As a note, I believe that most of the Prayer Marks we have available, especially by the Parish of Tide and Flesh, follow some sort of connection and understanding to natural forces and processes that are part of cycles of life associated with the offices of the God in question. 

Prayer Marks are often inscribed upon something called “stumping-posts”, most likely a pillar or wooden stake that is round in shape and able to be carved. They are also inscribed upon trees and other structures and left for others to find. As mentioned before, they are almost treated similarly to shadow marks or hobo marks and may behave as a herald to others of similar or same Faiths to guide others to Haunts or Shrines. Interacting with Prayer Marks may have unprecedented results to the viewer / participant of the Prayer Mark itself as observed by the Mark of the Drowning Song.

I would like to go into some small details I have produced while working with the available Prayer Marks and the way they have moved or shaped themselves while I work with them. To begin, I will start with the Dolorous Rose. This encompassing structure really holds office in the essence of the Trawler-Man in the sense that it beholds an essence I associate with the concepts of the Garden of the Trawler-Man. So the base of this particular Prayer Mark seems to really connect to the place of residence of the God of the Parish of Tide and Flesh. Placing Prayer Marks in the centre and within the realm of the Dolorous Rose seems to really pull directly from the place where the Trawler-Man seems to originate from, providing the connection to the world of the Garden itself and not just of the Trawler-Man Himself.

The Mark of Earth behaves like a reed rising from the silt. It bends and flows but is anchored and shifts across energies that seem to react to the Effort Mark in a coherent manner. This may be their similar structure and how they are written by myself. However, I give this mark a lot of careful consideration as I see it working well as an anchor. In some ways I have worked and experimented with this Prayer Mark, I have found it reminds me a lot of the energy of a barnacle or coral and in other contexts it remains like reeds and water plants. I think the duality of this Mark is very difficult to discern when it behaves like strong coral or like reeds. And I am interested to see what happens if I snap the coral or grow reeds, but not yet brave enough to test it in the confines of my own home yet.

The Water Mark is a wheel but flows like the cycles of Tides. We have four Phases of the Water Mark that are sectioned into those fourths which really are ironically smooth in their application. The Water Mark is a Mark that brings a feeling of cycling and rushing motion and ever-flowing force that ebbs and wanes. I am unsure who designed these marks/symbols and with what intentions or if there was any, but their applications in the series is from what I am drawing my study from and have been testing them. I have used the Water Mark in more recent times to continue a steady flow of things that I am able to manipulate to my advantage. While this is difficult as Water moves as Water Wills, I have been cycling this with the Lunar Cycles and the cycles of Tides to see if it has any more or less effectiveness. And so far the results are still pending as I only recently had begun to experiment with this theory.

The Mark for Pain immediately begets an image in my head of a writhing being that has lost control. It feels natural in my work. The Mark for Pain is similar to that when you hook a fish and the pain that is caused and the thrashing that ensues. It is the pain of an animal catching the ankle of a prey animal and the struggle that ensues and the fight for life. Without Pain we do not get the signals and cues to remain alive as much as we are able. Pain triggers us to strive for life and to not die. So this Mark reacts like a catalyst and a lens through which we may observe momentum brought on by wounds. It is like the communication between body, mind, and spirit in how it reacts.

Fury is a Mark I have little experience with but it resembles, to me, an inverted fish hook. I imagine it to be a responsive Mark that holds connotation to fiery energy that connects to Pain which is more fluid. Fury is a straight cut mark with very little to its structure that allows for fluid movement. I have limited testing done with this particular Mark, but in what little I have done, it behaves like a transformative Mark. The Fury is not human anger but the ferocity of a storm and the devastation that rain and winds can bring and the flooding of natural disasters. Unmoving and unblinking and indiscriminate.

Effort is that of a bridge. It connects and balances precariously upon two pillars, perhaps three. If looked at as if it is at an angle, the shape almost is a triangular shape with the acute part of the triangle at the centre of the structure. This harmonious balance is an excellent function in shared interest and understanding of cycles and the give and take of equilibrium. Effort has felt, and behaved for me, like an anchor that supports intent and security to the object/intention of the location I worked with it in. Effort also collaborates well with Fury when making intentions for a particular goal and aim. It has also provided a zone/area where energy spent is energy gotten out and shared in a complimentary “circle”. Exhaust from energy spent seems to be less than usual when applied to a workspace especially if applied with Twinned Eyes.

Completion is rather unique in the way that I have been applying it. I have been applying Completion to things that have yet to be finished. It felt right. Completion has behaved as the push of the cycle in a way that propels things to finish the cycle that was begun. While rather strong, Completion also has a strange side effect when I use it. It brings satisfaction for what already is. Completion is acceptance of the current circumstances and closing the circle of what has been at work. It is the utterance of acceptance and the embracement of the situation at hand and whatever has been worked on. It ties other Marks together very well in the directions the Marks are placed in relativity to its placement.

The Twinned Eyes are my last one I am writing about as they are the one I have the most use in. I have been using and applying the Twinned Eyes (though not considered that when I first began using them) back when I was a teenager. The shape and symbol is about the same as when I originally used the shape/symbol. However… it reacts far differently and has absolutely transformed how I originally used this particular image. It is as if the way I used to apply this symbol has been completely consumed and spit back out with no discernible way so far for me to return to the original results from when I originally had used this Mark. It has been entirely consumed. All that is left is the Twinned Eyes. The Mark of the Twinned Eyes is a reflective Mark that acts as an intense observer of the bearer of the Mark itself. While using this Mark, I have applied it to my body to use as a channelling conduit. My initial thought was that if I applied it with the intent and connection to the structures and formations that it originates from, maybe, just maybe I may be able to get insight. For all intents and purposes, it has worked well. It is like experiencing the things I observe and am reaching out for. While I exercise my intuition on these Marks and the experiments I conduct with these marks, the Twinned Eyes provides insight and ideas in a creative expanse while I work. I usually apply them to my hands via tattoo markers. The purpose of this was to be able to feel and use the way the Mark behaves as a conduit between what I am taking in via my intuition and how it is translating down onto paper as I write and sketch and try to grapple with the structures I am working with. Twinned Eyes also seems to give the user a sort of nod or the shake of the head when it comes to work, a sort of approval or disapproval of things similar to dowsing rods. There are pulls I have felt from the Marks when applied to my skin that conduct themselves in directions. This is how I have begun to discover or create Prayer Marks for the Entities/Divinites/Gods I have been spending time working with. It has been an incredibly slow process. But it has yielded very potent results for me and has even provided me with Marks given to me via nature and odd places out in the wilds. Unusual shapes and structures have presented themselves to me as I spend time connecting to Forces That Be out in natural habitats. These have been being recorded in a particular book dedicated to this study and kept well in the meantime.

I would cover content on the Rods, but I am working yet with them as their strongest application seems to be as connective tissue. But as earlier stated, I believe they may be applicable as a standalone Force.

You may have noticed that I absolutely neglected to apply the similarities that some of the Marks exhibit to glyphs, symbols, and already known signias. There is a huge reason for this. When it comes to understanding and applying anything from a Pop Culture source, it is better to not practise syncretism when you engage in forces that are foreign to your state of being and cosmological location. The intention and hope is to apply them and use them as if you were a native living in their native location and space. This means you must practise being rid of any understanding you think you have of a subject and opening yourself up to an entirely new and fresh perspective so you may apply them as organically as possible. Your capability to apply these principles and these skills will make or break your ability to use these concepts and structures to your own practice. It is easy to fall into an “I already know what this is” attitude and therefore corrupt and ruin any chances you have of being able to use these as they are meant to from the places they originate from. And this failure will cause poor results in your work. So I shall not be touching on similarities that the Prayer Marks have. For sake of understanding, there are a few nuances here and there where I cross compare the concept of Prayer Marks and how they work with contexts from our place of Being, but I refuse to acknowledge things from Other Places as what they would mean or how they translate for Our Place of Being.

I hope this has provided some encouragement and spurned some creative inspiration for those interested in the Silt Verses’ Prayer Marks and their usages. The concept is still developing for me and I truly hope they provide more material for us in future releases of the Silt Verses, but in the meantime, I write this with what limitations I have in hopes of providing a catalyst for others that have an interest. Water, Effort, and Twinned Eyes, we send you on your way and out into the world!