Learning And Growing Witchcraft And Occult Knowledge

 The desire for information is a desire that should always be encouraged. The desire for new information is important. However, we should never shut down the desire for old information either.

Information that we obtain (or knowledge that we acquire) helps us better understand the experiences and situations or the subjects that we are reaching towards in an effort to better our own work or our own experiences. Experience is as important as the knowledge we must obtain beforehand and the knowledge we obtain from those experiences as well. Knowing how to check our own work is a skill that we do not see as often as we should. 

Many occult and witchcraft practitioners will use this idea of “checking” either an author’s work or their own work by looking at the face value of content that is written and then executing those materials. If the ritual, spell, or experience written ends up matching their own experience then those materials and that content of knowledge often gets a “free pass” as being accurate and adequate data or information. 

This is not how validation of educational materials in the occult world actually works. But it is what everyone assumes. If you can test it, then certainly it’s “accurate”, “correct”, “informative”, or “appropriate”. This is the worst thing you can do to validate other materials, works or practices that are published in the Wild West of internet accessible Occult information or even budding authors. 

This is not to say that it is not a part of the process that goes into verifications of other authors or published works. The aforementioned method plays a role in how the verification and validations of other works and knowledge may function and can be applied. However, this does not mean that they may remain consistent. Other methods of verification are important such as eliminating author biases before approaching, comparing the same content to other authors or sources of information, or comparing understandings of knowledge and information from other parties that also have been made privy to the same data or experience you are looking to verify. 

It is imperative that you think critically and observe possible biases, current knowledge bases, and experience levels when you are taking in information. From there, you should acknowledge that the information you currently have may become outdated. I cannot stress enough how important it is for any practitioner (or researcher of any breed) to revisit the information and knowledge they already possess and challenge their own understanding of it. How has the information you already learned changed? How has your own bias changed the way you perceive the narrative of the information and knowledge? How relevant is the knowledge you already have? Challenging your already obtained knowledge and information is just as, if not more, important than obtaining more additional information. You can “know” everything yet understand none of it. If you lack a deep and intimate understanding of the materials you “know”, what good does that knowledge truly offer you in practice?

It’s incredibly easy for people to assume that everything they currently have in their arsenal as well as the understanding of what they currently have is a static and well built brick house. Information is dynamic and comprehensive understanding of information should be just as fluid as it. Failing to set your own checks and balances as a practitioner of any occult art or craft is a recipe for you to fall into stagnation in your learning experience as well as your tangible experiences with your work and your practice. If you read something, challenge it. 

Learn to ask critical questions about knowledge and information and its origins.:

Where else does this information arise? 

Is it the author’s personal gnosis? 

Is it developed from another culture? 

If it is developed from another culture, what lens and or bias did the author write it from?

Was the information written by a native practitioner of that practice?

Does the information that was presented to you come from an author that understands the spiritual culture of a group or people by being a part of it or raised within it and ordained within it?

What are the linguistic backgrounds of your author?

What other texts or information has the author of your information written?

What is the quality of which the information is presented to you?

Is it an academic paper or is it a personal study?

When was this information and knowledge published? 

What motivated the author of the information to present it to the public?

What does the knowledge and information represent to you and what has caused you to desire this information?

Why do you like the materials that are being presented to you? 

Think about what, within a piece of information or knowledge, you like or dislike. It is common for us to desire to consume nothing but knowledge and information in the witchcraft and occult communities that “suits are aesthetic and personality”. This means we will lean our lens of focus to suit a particular style and targeted degree of writing. Choosing to focus on and favour materials that cater to your own personal pleasure helps build an incredible and well supported and narrow lens through which you will fail to understand broader subjects. It’s an excellent way to prevent yourself from expanding additional ways of thinking, seeing, and experiencing your craft. As the lens becomes more narrow, you will find that your understanding of other subjects and information becomes far more difficult to broaden due to the blinders you chose to wear. This is how many practitioners end up obsessed with materials or content from authors and individuals that have links to concerning or otherwise generally unacceptable sources. 

Most sources that are deemed as unacceptable follow under the prospects of occult materials catering to prejudiced, racist, dogmatic and discriminatory materials. However, with a narrowed lens through which the occult and witchcraft may be viewed, it will provide the perfect environment for a denser blend of ignorance to begin to culture in a practitioner's way of thinking. 

Now, this does not always happen, but the environment that is created by attempting to curate your personal knowledge and lacking the capacity to challenge your knowledge has a reputation to breed patterns of thinking that make it far easier to slip into those predatory sources of knowledge. Critical thinking and knowing how to challenge, cross reference, and examine sources of knowledge will provide a broader lens through which you can examine all of your source materials. 

This particular step is lacking in most occult practitioners due to the sheer mass and circumference that surrounds the concept of seniority. I have been, personally, educated on subjects from practitioners that have been studying for three years while my own 20 years, minimal, of experience lacked in that particular subject. The dedication to appreciating knowledge and information is important and being open to obtaining information from any and all sources while simultaneously examining it with a critical appraisal of its weight can hold more value than someone who thinks themself as superior simply due to a number of solar rotations. 

In the day and age of “Get Information Quick” and the desire for internet and social media attention, the mass majority of what is published in thumb-flicking thirty second babblings of a stranger online is not reliable no matter how you want to spin it. Building your own knowledge base upon a small collection of books and pretty faces using internet filters with extra glitter and glam as your “Source” without challenging it, is not only a recipe for disaster but an ignorant way to approach and develop your work or practice. Your Work and Practice deserves far more respect than that.  

Always revisit old knowledge and information. You never know what you already know and how what you already know can teach you something new. 

Dream Journal: End of July 30th into July 31st

 I dreamt I was a Priest in a Monastery somewhere very far away. On this world, in this place, this monastery is on the Precipice of the world - a peak location snowy and isolated but not so bitterly cold and inhospitable as we would imagine here. A long and elegant mountain at the crown of the world. This planet, this world - had only two nations. The world split into two.

The capital city of my people was below this mountain, an incredibly massive city with parallel themes to Buddhism and themes in Tibet. Our people were peaceful and abstained from violence as much as possible though were mostly pescatarian.

I did not leave the monastery often if at all. In the dream I did not. I was someone else. Someone that felt like me but was not me. I was uneasy and uncomfortable for I had just became elevated to High Priest a lunar cycle ago. I was uncertain of myself as it was a very sudden change. The Monastery itself was like an incredibly vast catacomb. Bones and remains were embedded into the stone mountain halls. The entire monastery was split into two, technically. Where we were located, this point in the world, only half of the mountain saw daylight. We could watch the sun rise and fall in circular motions every 19 hours. It never reached past the “Halls of Darkness” which were forever shrouded in shadow. There was one section of the Monastery, fully exposed to the outside but kept “sacred” in the dark half by an incredibly massive dark red velvet curtain which was drawn down from the impossibly high stone ceilings. It kept the heat in to begin with but also served to completely cut the light off from that side of the sacred space to ensure there was a literal perfect half of our Monastery that was shrouded in darkness while the other would get light when the sun was up. 

Our Order was operated by what we called the Tribunal. Skilled and Specialised High Priests that formed a council of fifteen. We were peaceful and kept to ourselves and focused on maintaining both the Monastery as well as archaeological studies. The monastery itself is incredibly ancient. So ancient we do not know who came before us. We had built around the main central chamber and a part of our library as well as the personal quarters / chambers that now were the rooms and chambers of all of the Tribunal.

My master I had been studying under had suddenly passed away due to illness. Something that we did not conduct properly but allowed him to pass naturally.

Within our culture, no one died of “natural causes”. When someone was on their deathbed and when they no longer were able to take care of themselves, we instead ritually killed them. 

Despite our peaceful nature, ritual sacrifice was Commonplace. We did not seek conflict and were good with one another and had a very Buddhist way of viewing the world. Though we did not force religion on others at all. We were exceptionally zealous of our spiritual beliefs. While we had gods, we also had many smaller “Spirits” of sorts, I cannot recall what we called them. But they were similar to Saints and they served as guides to the Center God that was like the all consuming void of both the cosmos beyond everything as well as the connection from the cosmos to our world. 

We believed that when you were ritually sacrificed, it released your soul to the whole cosmos. If you did not die of ritual sacrifice, you would be cycled back through our world, guaranteed. But we believed it was important to leave our whole world and universe behind and move onto what we viewed as Infinity. Whereas being trapped back here would mean you may not be reincarnated as a human again for an unknown period of time. Being alive as a human was sacred and invaluable and treated as very Divine thing. For there was such a low chance of you being reincarnated as a human in all technicality on the “cosmological scale” of things.

I had spent the last several weeks adjusting to the sudden change. While there was nothing but immense support from the rest of the Tribunal, my old teacher had experienced a very rare and immense ritual upon their death to ensure their transition from here to the cosmos beyond for they sacrificed their right to move on by teaching me until near their dying breath. But the first ritual sacrifice I had ever performed was then thus on my Master who was just barely alive enough for it to count.

I was recovering from the exhaustion of everything. One of the contributions I performed was the literary resources and the collection of our immense library including the execution and performance of old and sacred rituals of sacrifice and penance. I contemplated a motif we had at one of our shrines of what was similar to the wound man but twisted and contorted into a horrific display of twisted agony. Various parts of the body suffered various types of wounds. Some of fire. Some of ropes and blades and some of his own teeth. There were fifteen different forms of torture upon this figure. All represented a self inflicted and impost sense of self torture. They symbolically correlated to different parts of the “human condition” and how we self sabotage. It was a motif that represented the perpetual wheel of self suffering and how self inflicted it was. This figure was one of the other lesser gods or spirits. He never appeared to be in actual agony or pain in the facial expressions. But focus and awareness which represented being self aware of the self imposed suffering. While this was not my main god / spirit I interacted with, I *recently* had spent time focusing on this one more.

Traditionally, I focused mostly on what was considered the Spirit of Blood (edgy I know). A figure that was supposedly the “Thought and Heart” of the Central God. Represented by a crown of bleeding stars that “blind” the spirit’s eyes as four sets of hands are held in prayer and meditation with a singular “spear” thrust through the centre of its body. The spear, however, seemed to be that of a whole spinal column with blossoms erupting from it. A plant I did not recognise.

All of these motifs were engravings or carved from stone plaques and mounted into the walls. They were incredibly massive motifs that spanned somewhere between 10 metres across and high with incredible details and notches where candles and offerings were meant to go as well as space on the floor for people to come and meditate. 

Each was very detailed and unique. With fifteen different Spirits. A theme of a number that was not lost on me. The epicentre of this Monastery was an incredible statue of a mummified figure. The theme was not missed on me of course. It resembled some of the ideas of Catacomb Saints and wore a similar crown of stars but was different from the motifs of the spirit I primarily worked with. 

We had begun to receive “Sacrifices”. 

The only other nation we shared our world with considered us unusual and were terrified of us. From what I had learned, though I never left the Monastery, they were predating us and attempting to invade us because we were mostly pacifists. They thought us cruel and terrible, awful people and sought to take us over and eradicate us to bring us under their own nation’s rule. However, we technically possessed the most impressive military. We had a religious military full of exceptionally hell-bent and overly zealous cavalry and militia. They were impressively organised and very strict as well as well disciplined. They were tactful and more skilled. But our enemy did not know this as we never needed to use them.

The invading country seemed to avoid anything that didn’t produce a resource that could be capitalised on. So our military took to taking as many prisoners as possible and brought them to us.

Every lunar cycle we sacrificed one. We kept as many as we could and we took very good care of them in our dungeons. They thought were were rather unhinged and insane. But what magics and spiritual practises we practised were no joke. We were collecting an essence from their sacrificed lives beneath our sacrificial altar as they died. This essence was then bottled and sent to treat and heal the ailing and wounded. Like a literal magical elixir it could revive and heal all wounds and all ailments with a full “cup” of it. To us, we considered that the soldiers that had come to invade and kill our innocent people must now be held responsible and accountable for their actions. If they were going to cause so much harm then they must atone by helping us heal and mend our people that they harmed. To make good use out of them and force them to help where they had caused harm.

We offered some a chance to repent. No spiritual reasons at all but they’d be lashed for 15 days and nights so they had to bear the weight of suffering they caused innocent people upon their backs and have a permanent reminder of the deeds they had done. They then would be allowed to stay in our nation if they so chose (given that they would probably be executed by their own nation for being a deserter). 

For some reason, I was in charge of these particular rituals and ceremonies. My fellows of the Tribunal had very busy and incredible jobs that they performed to keep the Monastery running and going smoothly. Including several teachers, two were medicine Priests. Others were shrine cleansers and tended to the cleansing and maintenance of the energies of the whole monastery. Some took care of matters in the city and had to walk the path down to the city every day and return. I handled carrying certain ritual traditions including the tending to sacrifices as well as the historical documents and library resources. Which meant reviewing many things to ensure everything was as intended and working with a large amount of acolytes and initiates to help attend to what I needed to do these Monthly Sacrifices.

There were a lot of other “events”. But this was the gist of it. It felt so *long* of a dream.

An Unorthodox Crash Course and Take on Exorcism

 Someone came to me inquiring about Exorcisms. Alas the subject is broad and expansive and there is no simple and easy straightforward description. 

!!This is going to be a long post!!

While this is not an entirely complete post, it will cover some of the basics and the nuances as well as the backgrounds of the idea and performances of Exorcisms. 

This document will cover a lot of different cultural and spiritual backgrounds. It is important to approach this subject with an open mind and to shed any lens of preconceived ideas that you may already have that television and pop culture has put into your understanding of the subject. I will also be including my own personal background and teachings as well as some of my methods and workings on this subject.

What is an Exorcism?

An Exorcism is when an individual Exorcises a Force from a Person, Place, or Object.

Exorcise: Derived from the compound word in Greek “exorkizein”: ἐξορκίζω which is εξ + ορκίζω.

The word itself means to adjure or administer an oath. Which is, in practise, to Force a Being or another Force to present itself and what or who it is and to be “compelled” by another Force to behave as demanded.

The Principle, in theory, is that you are, in short, using interrogation methods to command a Force under a penalty of another Force should they not comply with the demands of the exorcist. 

In a “simplified” way, An exorcism is commanding or compelling a Force up and out of a person, place or object.

Exorcism is an umbrella term and falls under the same class and category as a Banishment. However, sometimes a Force cannot be easily removed due to anchors or roots in a person, place, or thing. This is where an Exorcism may be important. They are deeper and more intense and often can be damaging if not done properly. 

The principle that makes an Exorcism unique to other Banishments is the Faith and Command of another Higher Being or Power that the Exorcist is a conduit for. Through the Exorcist, a Divine Power that has power over the situation exerts its will.

The Recipe for an Exorcism is:

A Person, Place, or Object that is Harbouring an unwanted Force.
A Divine Force to whom the Exorcist is well connected to. That Exorcists “God”.
The Exorcist conducting the Exorcism.

Exorcisms are not strictly something that exists in Christian Beliefs. This is your basic layout and it is far over simplified. However, this document is meant to be a soft overview and more of an introduction than a hard in depth essay. 

Mind you, I use the term “Force” rather than “Spirit” or “Demon”. With our base recipe down, we now know what we need to use and when.

Exorcisms, I feel, are a last resort choice when it comes to Banishment and Cleansings.
I begin with a cleansing first. If that does not work, I move onto a Banishment ritual. If a Banishment such as the LBRP or Adjacent styles do not work, then I move onto a Greater Banishment Ritual and then I follow up with a Cleansing and then Warding. I try to be mindful of how rituals and ceremonies impact the energies and the natural energetic ecosystem of the location I am performing the workings in. This is important to me as a Folk practitioner. I do not wish to upset the balance of other Forces in the area. So I try to work with what I have going on as much as I can. 

What is important above anything else is to know exactly what you are dealing with. Investigation is very important to determine what you are treating. Like all workings that include the removal of a Force from a person, place or object, you must identify what you are working with to find the best treatment for the intention at hand. There is no perfect catchall for the removal of Forces. It is better to know what you are dealing with to perform your removal with a clever and acute and well educated mind and hand. Expertise over nuking everything in a messy and sloppy way. The less extra energy you are throwing around the better. It is far more effective to have a lethal and keen accuracy to your work than to just nuke everything and hope for the best. Cleanliness and efficiency is far more impactful. There Is a time and a place for nuking things during an Exorcism. However, it is not always necessary and you should always start off with accuracy and attention to details first before resorting to “the big guns”. For example, if I know for a fact I am dealing with a wraith, I will not be performing an exorcism on a location but the object that is the taglock of that Wraith. By extension I must be aware of the situation specific to the wraith to use the proper ingredients and the proper resources.

Another critical thing to understand is that not all of the Forces you are removing are “Evil”. I detest such a narrow minded way of thinking. There are Forces that have a right to be there just as much as anything else does. Sometimes this means not performing an exorcism and instead encouraging people to make peace and find balance and harmony and learn to share with Forces in their area. 

Sometimes a spirit is lost, confused, agitated, or uncertain and there is no real clear path to bringing clarity and cleansing to a space or an individual spirit and an exorcism is needed. 

Sometimes there are indeed malicious, parasitic and predatory spirits and beings that intend harm or are trying to lay claim to a place or a person. 

I am going to jump quickly into the subject of Possession. While it does happen, it is not common. There are many details that go into possession. For simplicity Sakes, I will be copy-pasting some details about Possession that I have written about in other communities. 

I am a Necromancer. I work with the spirits of the dead and I have a family of the Dead of which I use often in my work. I have personal spirits and I have had many years of training in the field of possession through the Spiritual Culture of our Traditions. I come from a background of Family Traditions both in Death Work and Demonic Traditions. So my experiences are going to vary from others.

These are some notes I have written on the subject that are just pasted here.

Note One: 

“Movie possession as per depicted in most cult horror movies ≠ any of the possession you will hear about or see here.

Possession can go horribly wrong. But this is exceptionally rare and uncommon. There is a vast amount of other important details that go into it.

Spirits cannot really just.... take over your body malevolently for long periods of time and cause havoc. And they don't. For a variety of reasons.

That is called mental illness and the possessions depicted in most western media / movies is a disgusting display of the negligence of people who need serious medical attention either from seizures or other mental health concerns which have quite commonly resulted in their death.”

Note Two:

“I'm also not certain if this is true for everyone or if it's just something from me and / or my practise and traditions. But bodily possession is a trained thing in our traditions. Mostly because we sort of understand how intense it is on a spirit to inhabit someone's body. It takes two.

It takes both parties making an effort in some way to sort of... "work that up" / make it work. Either through trance work, inductions, or other methods. But it's difficult and requires some effort on both ends to properly be able to do it.

Even if it's not the spirit of a deceased person, and it's the spirit of a Divine Being or a more Powerful Spirit, it's not meant to be there. It's not meant to be in your body like that. Even fragments and fractions that are split off and possess parts of you or even wholes of you, it's not meant to be there and it requires tuning, attuning, and effort to work that up.”

Note Three:
“As a whole, when you are possessed, it does not get rid of or mend your ailments.

When you are possessed (and there are varying "Levels of Possession" by the way), your body is under more stress and strain.

Additionally, the individual that is possessing that body will therein experience the pain and discomfort of your corporeal form. While the way that the spirit possessing you may perceive and experience those discomforts may vary, it is important to remember that not all spirits experience those pains or symptoms. 

This may cause an extreme crippling of their sensory capabilities. Your nerves and functions are going to be 100% foreign to the spirit possessing your body. Even if it is partial possession. Even if that spirit is also human. Your body is going to not only be under more strain and stress. But it is stressful for the individual possessing you as well.”

Note Four:
“Sensory differences. Physical differences. Hormonal differences. Eyesight, sense of touch, smell, taste... It's all vastly and intensely different.

Bodily Limitations / Limits of Corporeal forms.

Experiences of being corporeal? They're all vastly different.

In my experience, the worst feelings that spirits have dealt with having possessed me off and on (just a thing I do of course) is I am told the worst of is:

1. Having the feeling of needing to use the bathroom in either respect. But needing to pee is painful and uncomfortable in the worst ways possible.

2. Feeling Hungry. Hunger and Thirst are way different in a physical body than in spirit. Even from Grau's perspective and he's Human.

3. Fatigue. Spirits usually lack physical or emotional and mental fatigue in the way ways we do in a body. They get "tired" in different / similar ways but when occupying a physical body, it's utterly draining and exhausting. Grau had to really really work up being able to inhabit me for long periods of time simply because moving a body is just utterly draining. Even just writing had him wanting to pass out. He hated it. And he's "considerably strong" for what he is.

4. Body Aches and Stiffness is apparently such a horrible experience from the perspective of a spirit.

5. The Taste of the Mouth. Being able to taste the inside of someone else's mouth is apparently just the fucking worst. it's nauseating and uncomfortable. And eating is apparently not a good experience at first. “

Note Five:

“Something that I think most people forget is that an entity possessing a corporeal body is not actually an enjoyable thing for the most part

Even if it's the spirit of someone who was once dead and now has been living more in spirit than physically. It's not a good time.

They don't usually really want that.

Spirits do not possess people and have a grande time with it and think it's fun or just do it on a whim or for fuck-all.

When people claim possession a la spirits, I'm usually raising very big eyebrows.”

Note Six: (Written by Grau, a Personal Spirit of Mine)

“Things To Keep In Mind With Possession Via Deceased (From a Deceased)

• Full Body possession? Don’t start with that. Don’t. Do something small. And for a couple minutes at a time. Eyes are great. Start with eyes.

• Being alive after being dead? Super painful! All over the body. Everything hurts. Everything is alive. It is miserable. Senses are awful. Touch is worse. Air is a thing you can feel on your skin again. Not counting clothing. Sounds? Taste. What the mouth tastes like? Fucking horrible. Vomiting ensues. You have to grasp dimensions and vertigo usually hits like a ton of bricks. There’s everything touching you all at once and you are experiencing everything on full blast.

• Operating legs and arms is like trying to figure out quantum mechanics. What the fuck are even muscles? What are they? What the fuck.

• Cold food and hot food is miserable. Teeth are a thing. Expect the inside of the mouth to be bitten a lot. And I mean a lot. Especially the tongue.

• The stomach is a thing again. Not pleasant. Not at first. Feeling hunger and feeling full are some of the worst experiences imaginable after being dead for a while. You are acutely aware of all of the bodily functions. Acutely. It sucks. Having to pee? Fucking hurts.

• “Food is going to smell just like I remember it!” WRONG. And it’ll make you want to vomit. Until you’re used to it again. Chewing, in my opinion? Fucking sublime.

• You’re going to get the body hurt. A lot. A LOT. You’re going to fall over, hit yourself. Stab yourself. Trip. Bonk into things. Depth perception will be deceiving at first.

• What the fuck is swallowing? How do you swallow? Good luck. Just stick to water to retrain how you feel with throat muscles and the way things feel going down. Little sips.

• You’re like a fucking toddler re-leaning motor skills. It is frustrating. Painful. And it really doesn’t seem like it is worth it.

• Other spirits of the dead can and know you’re dead. They can’t really do much about it. This includes other people possessing bodies. And the same goes for you. Be smart about this. Also sometimes strangers at the coffee shop that are energy sensitive or active practitioners can see you. So if you have a glamour or something you wear that makes you look… Not like how I look. Then wear it. Make sure that you’re at least “presentable”. Not everyone reacts well to desiccated corpses.

• A skilled necromancer or death worker can push and pull you in and out of their body like they’re shuffling cards. This feels as terrible as it sounds. But it can be an important skill.

• You both can occupy the body at the same time. Usually one of you is in “stasis” which is a rest-mode. This rest mode can be incredibly helpful to replenish energy. It also is beneficial if you have chosen the altruistic path of getting the Host body home or to safety and then the Host spirit can just… curl up in the back seat.”

End of Notes.

While these are my personal experiences, take them with the salt and seasonings you wish or are comfortable with.

With that out of the way, I would like to cover that, for as long as there are Priests, Shamans, or Religious Figures in a culture or people, there have been Individuals that are dedicated to removing other Spirits and Forces. Exorcisms are not unique to Christianity and exclusive to “Priests of the Christian God”. There are a great many other cultures and peoples as well as Gods and Beliefs that have this “act” or ritual in place for when those needs arise and the circumstances call for it. 

The methods can vary per Spiritual Culture and belief system. From Christian methods taught by the Church to Pagan Spiritual Cultures to other Ethno Indigenous Cultures and Beliefs. The Variety of Exorcism is broad and intensely so. There is a lot that can go into it and even be adapted to your current methods and personal Spiritual Culture. If the formula above is followed, you’re set up for a proper Exorcism. 

My Patron is Lucifer. I also work with the Demonic. The Divine I work with the most in Exorcisms is Duke Murmur and Duke Bune. 

In a basic setup, the “Divine Force” I use is Lucifer. Under Penalty of Lucifer’s Divine Power, I perform Exorcisms. I call upon Murmur and Bune when the situation is needed. For protection at times or to provide support and cleansing, guidance and awareness to the situation. In the Exorcism I had performed recently, I did not use excessive Force.

There were spirits of the Dead. They lingered. Confused and uncertain. Lost and displaced. They needed to be guided out and lead freely. What needed to be exorcised was not an Entity but an Energy. A Force. A structure that was causing the issues at hand. So I guided the dead out and let them be free. Then, through Lord Lucifer, I went forwards and I exorcised that room of the Force that had been causing this unwanted Malady. It was potent. Stagnant. Thickly coated in this space like a miasmic tar. It required excessive force. No amount of shouting or screaming at it or flinging of Holy Water (Not unique to Christianity by the by), would change that. It’s a naturally occurring ecosystem. It’s a Force that grows naturally. It does not know that it is unwanted or it necessarily is harmful. It exists in its own right and its own ways. However, the environment in which is it in is causing harm to those that reside there. 

A bee building her nest in your home is not malicious. The bee is important. It plays a role even if you are uncomfortable with their presence. It should not be treated with contempt but with an even mind and a steady heart. Not everything you need to exorcise must be treated as if its some sort of offensive thing that is an insult to you and the place it is found in. The things we are uncomfortable and made uneasy with aren’t abnormalities in the world we operate in. It’s incredibly important to me to distinguish the attitude and tones that we approach this work in. Less we carry and pick up malicious energies and forces ourselves, we will do well to be mindful. Again. There Is indeed a time and place for anger, fury, and raw and potent energies that we can weaponise. But sometimes it is not appropriate for that. It is up to the exorcist to determine when such things are important to use and wield. And when there is a Grace of indifference and cleansing that is needed. Through which filter the Divine is being channelled through you during your exorcism is critical to the understanding of your situation. 

For me, I had put together a Cleansing Spray. I used oelums and ingredients that fit the Blessings of Lucifer and the Banishment and Cleansing qualities I needed. I went through the room. Anticlockwise. Clockwise. Anticlockwise. I cleaned. I cleansed. I called forth the Beings that I work with. I rearranged the room. I adjusted things. I invoked Lucifer. I am, within my heart and mind, a direct Conduit to Lord Lucifer. I am Their Divine Emissary. Their Priest. Their Hands in this World. Voice. Movement forwards. My Faith in my God is what executes these rituals with the impact and the intent that brings down the Exorcism I am performing. It’s a Divine Act from the Divine. Whereas there are many rituals you can perform that do not invoke the Divine, but instead you are using Evocation (calling up energy and forces within yourself and upon your own natural energy and power), Invocation is you calling up the Divine or Spirits that you are engaging with. 

Sometimes Evocative Rituals are enough. But this would not constitute as an Exorcism in these ways. It is through the Rich and Powerful Invocation of your Divine Connection to a Divine Force that empowers you and holds Authority in the Ritual or Ceremony is what bridges and brings together the force of an Exorcism and its success.

These methods and the ways I conduct my work are the teachings and structures that have been developed by my tribe’s unique Spiritual Culture. There are themes and backgrounds that come from a variety of sources from which my family had pulled and was given inspiration to construct these rituals. They had been tried and tested and then taught and passed down. Written on some occasions, even. The methodology can be broad and expansive, adaptive and adjusted to your needs, beliefs, background and culture. And furthermore there is other Spiritual Cultures of other places and peoples that have rituals that are unique to them and their methods. What is important is that you feel comfortable and confident in your ability to maintain these Divine connections and beliefs. 

As I said, this is just a little introductory piece that included my own take on the subject from my own education and backgrounds. From Folk to Ceremonial structures. Below I will be listing a bunch of reading materials from several locations and cultures. I hope that they help provide some additional homework. 

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https://books.google.com/books?id=4ZaWBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA189#v=onepage&q&f=false

https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/sacraments-and-sacramentals/sacramentals-blessings/exorcism

https://web.archive.org/web/20190909130733/http://www.ghostvillage.com/legends/2003/legends32_11292003.shtml

https://web.archive.org/web/20190707111518if_/http://www.ewtn.com/library/prayer/roman2.txt

https://thediplomat.com/2018/06/gods-against-ghosts-the-exorcisms-of-indias-mehandipur-balaji/

https://web.archive.org/web/20170816205635/http://www.ewtn.com/library/prayer/roman2.txt

https://scholar.umw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1557&context=student_research

https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/pagan_exorcism.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jsr_GY-lg0

https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/66636/non-catholic-and-more-obscure-alternatives-to-an-exorcism

http://www.jwmt.org/v1n5/vibratoryform.html

https://archive.org/details/magickintheorypr00crow

https://folklorethursday.com/folklife/the-folklore-of-exorcism/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fangxiangshi

https://archive.org/details/longdiscoursesbu00wals

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/363877415_Carpathian_Ukrainian_Folk_Demonology_Part_1_Natural_and_Domestic_Spirits_Souls_of_Deceased_People_Images-Personifications

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233312353_Russian_Peasant_Beliefs_Concerning_the_Unclean_Dead_and_Drought_Within_the_Context_of_the_Agricultural_Year

https://www.slavorum.org/exorcisms-in-slavic-countries-from-legends-to-true-scary-stories/

House Plants for the Death Witch

 

I wanted to encourage the idea of a list of herbs and plants that can be somewhat easily grown in the home or on an altar or small space. I have provided some house plant options for death working witches or practitioners. There are many herbs and plants associated with death work however you may not see them listed here as they are not well grown indoors or may be difficult to grow indoors. I have a masterlist that exists already however, I wanted to list herbs and plants that would be easy to somewhat easy for practitioners as well as common, affordable, and accessible to people with varying skills, experience, or knowledge of plants. In this effort I hope to encourage people to take a leap and try out some plants!

Parsley - 

Difficulty: Easy

Light Requirements: Full Sun

Water: Weekly (Do not over water)

Notes: Is said to please spirits of the dead and ward away the spirits of the dead of whom are malignant or angry.

Rosemary - 

Difficulty: Medium

Light requirements: Full Sun

Water: Do not over water. Water when Top Inch of soil is dry.

Notes: Rosemary cleanses and banishes as well as is used to honour the dead. There are recipes for rosemary bread. Bread is often used as an offering for ancestor veneration and to the dead. Notes: Rosemary itself is also associated with remembrance of the dead and the memories of the lives they have lived.

Thyme - 

Difficulty: Medium

Light requirements: Full Sun

Water: Allow to dry out *completely* before watering. When watering, saturate thoroughly.

Notes: Thyme is used to sooth the spirits of the dead of whom experienced great suffering. Thyme is used in Necromancy when communing with the dead and its oil has been historically used in embalming!

Peace Lily -

Difficulty: Easy to Medium

Light Requirements: Won’t die in low light but prefers bright indirect light.

Water: Water when the top inch of soil feels dry, and allow water to drain through the bottom of the pot.

Notes: The Peace Lily is actually a rather hearty plant to grow indoors and lives a rather long life. The plant itself is said to sooth the dead and the spirit of those experiencing grief and is a wonderful plant to maintain harmony with the dead. You may also use it in a space while making efforts to reconcile with the dead.

Basil - 

Difficulty: Easy (Though is prone to pests when grown outdoors)

Light Requirements: at least 6 hours of bright light either direct or indirect. This is a light happy plant.

Water: Can be grown hydroponically (completely in water). Allow top inch of soil to be completely dry. Water thoroughly. Leave to dry. 

Notes: Basil is an excellent herb to have growing for communication with the dead

Basil is an excellent herb for all spirit communication and is recommended to be in all arsenals.

Lemon Balm -

Difficulty: Easy - Medium

Light requirements: Allow 5-9 hours of direct or indirect bright light. This is a light happy plant.

Water: Similarly to Mints and Basil, Lemon Balm can be grown hydroponically. Water when top inch of soil is dry. Water thoroughly.

Notes: Lemon Balm is used in Necromancy and Psychopomping work to help aid in the passing of souls and to get to the root of what may be holding the spirit of the dead back. Aids in the spirit’s memory recall especially when used in companion with Rosemary.

Orchids - 

Difficulty: Not As Hard As You Think

Light Requirements: Most enjoy 6-8 hours of indirect light a day. Some prefer more some prefer less.

Water: When growing and flowering it may need water twice a week. Use the “One inch of dry soil” method to determine when it needs water. Do not over water it. When it is done flowering, it needs less water. Simply soak the roots in water for 15-20 minutes or let a trickling amount of water pass through them.

Notes: Orchids have historical background with the story of Orchis whom was killed by maenads but was turned into an Orchid upon death. The Orchid is an excellent herb to represent the cycles of life and death but also love and love within death and the death of loved ones including romantic.

Mint - 

Difficulty: Easy

Light requirements: 3-5hours of indirect sunlight to partial shade. Flexible with light.

Water: Can be grown hydroponically. Likes water but should not be regularly saturated.

Notes: Mint oil is a stable of Necromancy reagents and is commonly used to communicate with the dead. Said to carry the messages of the dead when made into inks and used in sending parchment messages to the dead. Necromancy Inks often use mint as a part of its structure.

(False) Rose of Jericho - Requires similar but different cares.

Difficulty: You Cannot Kill This Plant

Light Requirements: Low light prefers indirect light. Does not require Soil.

Water: Can be kept in a bowl of water. Will curl up as it dries out. Can be potted but must be in well draining soil.

Notes: The Resurrection Plant is in its name. This plant goes through symbolic life and death as it cycles through incredible cycles. It goes into various states of stasis. This is a wonderful plant representing life, death, and rebirth. Both Rose of Jericho and False Rose of Jericho are incredible motifs of this theme.

Yucca - 

Difficulty: Easy

Light Requirements: Prefers Indirect Bright light

Water: Water Deeply during spring and summer when the soil is dry. Decrease water intake during dormancy (winter and fall)

Notes: Yucca has a folkloric history of being associated with rebirth and transformation in indigenous American Tribes. It also holds symbolism of purity and growth through trails. The Yucca retains water in its roots and links to the Motifs and symbolism of rivers of the underworld. It is has been culturally given as a houseplant to represent growth through grief and difficulty after great loss.