One area of my home is dedicated as a workshop for magical experiments. Once I bought an antique armoire, painted and gilded it, and then consecrated its use for magic. It serves not only as a permanent altar, but also a very useful storage space for my ever-growing collection of magical materials and artifacts. Since so many people who have seen it wonder what all I’ve got in there, let me give you a peak inside. Items marked with an * will have further details at the bottom…
The Red Book of S et L – My personal book of shadows. Essentially the true Book of Faustus.*
Mortar and pestle
Charcoal
Railroad spikes*
Bundle of sage
Cauldron of Ogun*
Shamanic rattle
Fetish of Eleggua* (I messed up and made two 8’s) 8. Deck prism
Assorted candles, figurine candle
Tarot
Herb jars *
Brick dust
Chicken foot charm
Book of Sigils*
Hawaiian Baby Woodrose seeds
Resin incenses
Pipe
Palo Santo
Perfume vials
Witches’ Flying Ointment (by Sarah Anne Lawless)
Morning Glory seeds
Cone incense
Sacred jewelry, kept in a clay pot I made
Vision potion herbal blend
(Located underneath 26) Packets of baneful plant seeds. Henbane, atropa belladonna, cinquefoil and others.
Hot plate for burning vessels
The altar level, which I decided not to release full photos of, contains many other items including the orisha Osun, ceremonial tools of the Golden Dawn, active spells, mojo bags, offerings, bells, wands and everything else.
Any magic mirror of mine needs to be fancy as fuck.
A proper cauldron. Not just for cooking but also for large potion batches–ayahuasca comes to mind…
Gays and their disposable income, what can I say?
***
1: One of my most prized possessions, The Red Book contains a record of my most interesting magical experiments, frequently used spells and ceremonies, correspondences, and spiritual writings. It is of course for my eyes only. Our coven has a separate Book of Shadows for common use.
4, 6, & 8: These Santeria/Yoruba items came to me purely by chance. When I used to work at a homeless shelter, people would come by with donations of all kinds. Sometimes they were useful things, sometimes they just wanted a place to drop their junk. One day a donation came in that was an old box full of strange objects that no one wanted to touch. When I opened the box, here was this head figurine, an iron cauldron, railroad spikes, a metal rooster, and another mysterious box with small animal bones, dust and a written spell. All these items were covered in grease and looked well used. Since fate determined that they would show up on my desk, I decided to take them home and maintain their dignified presence, rather than see them be thrown away.
11: About a dozen herbs are nicely bottled up off-camera here. They include things like wild lettuce, mugwort, damiana, High John, salvia divinorum, foxglove, rose petals, and others.
14: Similar to The Red Book, the less formal Sigil Book is a worksheet for sigil making and destroying. Some sigil drafts remain although their meanings are mostly forgotten by me when I look back. It is mainly a nostalgia piece.
Clay figure with 13 bronze pins, discovered with a lead tablet engraved with a binding spell. A Roman “love magic doll”, showing a nude female bound and stabbed with 13 pins. Found in Antinoopolis with a lead curse tablet, this artifact is likely dated to the 2nd or 3rd century C.E.
1. brain: only think about me;
2. eyes: only have eyes for me;
2. ears: only have ears for me;
1. mouth: only speak about me;
1. heart: only have feelings for me;
1. vagina: only have desire for me;
1. anus: only have desire for me;
2. hands: only work for me;
2. feet: never walk away from me…
Antinoopolis was the pageant ground for a lavish and outrageous new mystery religion to rise up at the dawn of the new celestial epoch, the Age of Pisces. The priests of Antinous were supported and funded well by the state, and worshiped in great luxury and delight. Here, the Pax Deorum thrived as the cult of Antinous strived to commingle all the cultures and religions of the Empire. They were Greco-Roman Pagans trying to uphold Olympus in the middle of the Egyptian desert, surrounded by wild Gnostics, austere Catholics, genius Mathematicians and natural philosophers, the Roman garrison and every assortment of conjurer, and prophet of debauchery that could make his way up the Nile.
The Priests of Antinous venerated the beauty of young men, as living examples of Antinous, one superb manifestation of which was held to be the Divine Ephebe in living flesh, a boy of about nineteen years of age, perhaps the winner of the Antinoean Games, who was worshiped as the carnal and spiritual habitation of Antinous the God. We can be certain that the elegant priests were of the doctrine of the Libertines, placed as they were on the very edge of the world, surrounded by unknown Africa, clinging to the edge of the fertile Nile, with endless desert all around. The citizens of Antinoopolis must have felt as though they were not part of the world, that they were special, not subject to the normal rules and customs, and that they were the champions of civilization in the very extreme of barbarity.
After his deification, the constellation of Antinuous was regarded in the West until the re-classification of common constellations by the scientific authorities of the 20th century
The priests of Antinous kept the fire of the name of Antinous burning by reciting his ceremonies and oracles with a combination of Greek Chant and Egyptian bells. Flutes and harps accompanied the gestures of their ritual. The Christian Fathers tell us that all inflamed with drink, the priests fell upon each other in unholy lust. The Ancient Priests were also well-known for their magical spells, and a papyrus fragment bearing an Antinous Love Spell survives to this day. Thousands upon thousands of pilgrims came to Antinoopolis over five centuries to worship the beautiful god, and to hear the sayings of the oracle. Toward the end, as the Empire disintegrated, Antinoopolis became a place of magic and superstition, and the evidence from this period is that Antinoopolis had become a market for charlatans.
Osiris-Antinous, the Egyptianized form of the Roman God. Found in the villa of emperor Hadrian, now at the Vatican Museum
Are you currently working with planetary powers, but you’re tired of mulling over all the arithmetic and calculations, the correspondences, and the timing of it all? Here is my gift to you (and myself)–The Planetary Hours and Days Calculator. Simply enter the day, sunrise and sunset of the time and place your working will occur, and presto-changeo, all the correspondence work is done for you. You can download this worksheet for free, at the link at the bottom.
To use this calculator, simply determine the time for sunrise and sunset at your location, then fill in the red fields at the top. Hours are numbered using a 24-hour clock. Using this tool, you can plan ahead to determine the appropriate time for your planetary working in advance. Click the HERE to download this worksheet.
Italian traditional witchcraft, la stregheria, is an amalgamation of centuries of influence from all corners of the Mediterranean. By the Middle Ages, it had been re-planted in the Christian tradition. But its roots are massively ancient–built upon the remnants of the old religio romana, and infused during the days of the empire with elements from Grecian and Egyptian magical systems. I recently came across this clandestine rite intended to transport the magical practitioner to the Italian city of Benevento, known since the 13th century as an infamous gathering place for witches sabbats.
Witches’ Sabbath, Francisco Goya (1798)
As in other traditions, the crossroads is a typical place where the magician may encounter spirits with whom to do their working. Here he would place offerings to the dead and to the goddess Hecate. Mulled wine and grain, and the meat of a pig respectively. Once offered, the magician summons the goddess and asks that a portal be opened allowing passage between the worlds.
On the ground, he marks out a five-pointed star facing Westward. At each point placing a lit candle, and a skeleton key at the center. Gazing at the key unto the point of trance, gently he blows across each flame three times saying:
Sotto aero e sopra vento
Sotto acqua e sotto vento
Menami la noce Benevento
Then he immediately picks up the key in his left hand, closing his eyes and slowly exhaling. While exhaling, he imagines the star opening as a doorway, allowing himself to enter into and move through the portal. The magician finds himself surrounded by the stars of the night sky, moving through them and flying over the land, the sea and the mountains. He finds a clearing lit by torches, and, exhaling, descends himself to rest near the walnut tree at Benevento. This is the gathering place of the witches who have come to feast and revel with the gods.
The magician, visualizing, sees a banquet table filled with food. Others come to join him. He continues feasting, making merry and observing all the goings-on around him. As torches process away, he sees in the distance an ornate throne sitting at the base of the walnut tree. Upon the throne is seated the Great Sabbatic Goat, the Horned One. The crown of his head is lit with a torch, and this is flanked by two great horns. This is the Lord of Nature, Pan himself. The banqueters gather around the one enthroned to dance, their vigor inflamed by the wine and food. The magician moves himself about, all the while dancing and watching around him as the dancing turns into a Bacchic frenzy.
Suddenly the magician sees a person standing behind the Black Goat, offering a fig to eat. This fig is the symbol of these hidden mysteries. He takes it and eats it, the culmination of this strange communion.
Description de L’Assemblee des Sorciers qu’on Appelle Sabbat (1735)
When he has decided the time has come to leave, the magician summons his five-pointed star portal again, and pronounces his enchantment to return:
Sotto aero e sopra vento Sotto acqua e sotto vento Portami via da Benevento
Again he perceives the opening of the stellar portal, and, slowly inhaling and lifting his arms aloft, is surrounded by the stars of night, his soul flying swiftly through the air and over the world below. Finally exhaling, his arms slowly lowered to the ground, he opens his eyes to his return back the crossroads from whence he first departed.
“To journey to the walnut tree is to awaken the Primal Conscious, through which the ancient forms reconnect. It is a return to the Old Ones known to our ancestors before the world was reshaped by human minds. In ancient times, the serpent was venerated at the site of the tree. The serpent has always been the revealer of truth, the enlightener, and the guardian of the seed of light. The seed that lies under the protection of the serpent gives way to the grand harvest. Thus are the cakes and wine featured at the Sabbat banquet. For it is here that one comes to know that within, which is of the eternal Gods.” – From To Fly By Night, The Craft of the Hedgewitch
As mentioned the other day, the annual celebration of Walpurgisnacht culminated in a celebration of the Black Mass of Desecration. It is always fascinating when I attempt any historical religious reconstruction, to put myself into the worldview and mindset of the people whose rites we are attempting to revive. Much of the lore around the Black Mass comes from Inquisitors, priests, and witch hunters, but at its core there is an element of historic truth. It is certain that there were midnight feasts and revels which flipped the “natural” order of the Christian world, and that these feasts were a means of social release for both the clergy/aristocracy and for rural peasants. We hold similar feasts in the 21st century, some ancient and some new. While our 16th century Satanic liturgy was performed in the grandest fashion, and with all the pomp, ceremony and sacrilege prescribed in the ritus missae nigrae, something was missing–my fear.
This time, as I left the church with the consecrated host in my care, I did not panic. When I looked at the wafer of lifeless bread, I did not sense the presence of Christ. When I pierced it I felt no remorse, and when I urinated on it I felt no guilt. Last year, the fear was what made this ceremony the most worthwhile. It seems its original intent, which was to undo my religious brainwashing at the hands of the Catholic church, was effective! I have always believed that magic exists primarily in the mind, and the Black Mass of Desecration has shown how ceremony can change the mind of a believer into one of unbelief. May I remain unshackled by hierophantic chains!
Because of this realization, I see no further need to repeat this ritual again, except if others may benefit the same way I have.
Walpurgisnacht is here again! While chosen as the date of Anton LaVey’s Church of Satan, it has been known for centuries in Europe as Witches’ Night. On that night, the Satanic witches were said to gather in their Sabbats on mountaintops and other savage places to dance, revel and worship the Devil their Lord.
This year, just as we did last year, we will celebrate The Black Mass of Desecration, only now in an even grander fashion. Thanks to the work on this site, as well as the foundation of the new coven, this year’s mass will be larger, more spectacular, and ever more indulgent!
You may have noticed the use of sigils, some hidden and some very obvious, which are placed around this website, on my Instagram and in my stories and feeds. I obviously can’t divulge their intent, since that would likely destroy their power. I will say however that they are definitely working for me, with great success.
I recently gave a talk at PRIZM on the theory of Chaos Magick and how to design and charge sigils for easier spellwork. Since then, my interest in them has been rekindled. I’ve been finding that sigils are great for smaller changes, or “quick fixes” in daily life. Posting them online has definitely made them more powerful. When someone whizzes past my Instagram story and a sigil pops up, I’ve got their attention on the intention, even if just for an instant. This has lead to some interesting and quick results in the past month.
Try it on your own social media, see what happens!
My recent trip to London included many points of historical interest, especially the day I spent strolling through the British Museum. I had one object in mind, however, as I was searching through the Enlightenment Gallery, the magical shew-stone of John Dee. This piece of polished obsidian likely came to England after the exploits in Mexico of the conquistador Hernan Cortez.
Dr. John Dee (likely an inspiration for Shakespeare’s Prospero) was known across Europe both as the astrologer for Mary I and Elizabeth I, but also for his spirit work with the notorious Edward Kelley. Together they used their magical expertise to contact the Enochian spirits, whose language and alphabet Kelley scried and Dee transcribed. The Enochian language is said to contain great power and its full meaning remains mysterious even today. Still over the centuries many great magicians used Enochian magic in their work: Crowley, Mathers, and even Anton LaVey.
To look into this same mirror with my own eyes, to see my own reflection looking back through it, was a profound moment in my own life as a student and historian of magic–also as a disciple of John Dee!
John Dee’s mirror, and me, being touristy AF
The powerful Sigillum Dei Aemeth casually sitting in a display case among thousands of other treasures
The Book of Faustus 