By Herb and Angel: A Folk Christian Working with Archangel Michael for Three Recently Deceased Souls

By Frater S.C.F.V.

A. Spiritual Work for the Dead: Context of the Working

As some of readers may know, I am a Clinical Social Worker in my professional life, and specialize in palliative care, working with older adults with dementia, cancer, and other serious diagnoses, defending vulnerable people from elder mistreatment, and working with younger people with disabilities.

The people with whom I work with are mostly low-income, socially and intersectionally disadvantaged in various ways, and desperate for help. My mundane calling on this Earth embraces working with them, empowering them, equipping them with tools and resources from the government and community organizations, supporting them emotionally through their challenges, and accompanying them, often until the end of their lives.

And yet, it dovetails with my spiritual calling, for as Initiates know, matter and Spirit are but two sides of the same nondual coin, and death is but a phase of the soul between life and afterlife.

V0017612 – Life and death. Oil painting. Credit: Wellcome Library, London.

Indeed, the deeper I go into the study and practice of traditional Rootwork and Conjure with my beloved teacher Aaron Davis, studying the classic texts, and learning from experienced Rootworkers, the more I see that this style of magic is and always was about community, resilience, and survival. The African slaves who developed Hoodoo, Rootwork and Conjure in conversation with Indigenous Peoples, Appalachian white folks, esoteric Jews and others, developed a way of using what they had access to to protect and empower themselves, as well as to strengthen and nurture their families and communities. Furthermore, they did this often in the face of harsh realities, abuse, antagonism, and death. Hoodoo, Conjure and Rootwork, therefore, not only practices of spiritual resilience, resistance, and resurgence, but also practices grounded in family and community.

In the spirit of these traditions’ history, I strive to be mindful of my social location and yet also to honour the great teachers spiritual ancestors and workers of old by applying what I’ve learned in service to both the living and the dead. Chiefly, like the Rootworkers, of old, I’ve been focusing on those in my care–friends, family, loved ones, community members, and clients. As I came to work more and more for others and less for myself, I came to discover that doing magic for the betterment of others has a purity of purpose and spiritual strength that can be both moving and profound.

Just as my magic has become more community and service-focused, quite like my professional life, so has it also extended to accompanying my elderly and palliative clients into the liminal spaces following their deaths. Of course, working with people as they transition from life to death is by no means new; from the Ancient Period onwards, spiritual workers have often played the role of Psychopomps, that is, beings who strive to accompany newly deceased souls as they transition from life through death into the afterlife.

Icon Depicting St. Michael the Archangel as Psychopomp.

Historically, the Psychopomp role was deemed so important that it was cross-culturally enshrined in our mythologies in figures as diverse and yet similar as the ancient Egyptian god Anubis, the deity of Yama in Sanatana Dharma, the Greek ferryman Charon and god Hermes, the Roman god Mercury, the Norse Valkyries, the Aztec Xolotl, the Slavic Morana and the Etruscan Vanth. Ancient Mystery Religions like the Rites of Eleusis often centered on the Mysteries of Life, Death, and the Afterlife. Similarly, in the Christian tradition, Jesus Christ, St. Peter, and the Archangel Michael were all regarded as serving Psychopomp functions, much like the Angel Azrael in the Islamic tradition.

By extension, folk spiritual workers strove to collaborate with these spiritual powers to assist the dead. Indeed, in European folk magic as well as in American Hoodoo, Conjure, and Rootwork, magicians have often helped to offer the dead comfort, rest, light, and spiritual support in their experience beyond this world.

And so it was it was that I found myself drawn to continue to serve my clients after their deaths and helping them as best I could to brave the Great Beyond that gaped before them.

The working to which we now turn was a product of teachings passed on to me from the Conjure and Rootwork traditions in addition to folk Christian traditions, some elements of grimoire magic (e.g. the use of the Bell of Art), and the guidance I received from my own Spirits.

The purpose of this working was to bring cleansing, purification, protection, good fortune, blessings, Light, and peaceful rest to the spirits of three older adults I served in life after they passed away. Within the span of a few weeks, these individuals, each with their own strengths and limitations, had all died in sudden and unexpected circumstances: one after a sudden heart-attack while walking with his caregiver near his home, one after a major stroke in her residence, and one after complications stemming from COVID-19 in the hospital.

Concerned about the suffering and confusion they might feel after passing away so suddenly and hoping to help them in every way I could, I prepared the following ritual.

B. Setting the Lights on the Tablet: Preparations for the Work

To begin, as I work within a chiefly Christian framework, I offered prayers to God for guidance in the work and asked the Holy Spirit to guide me to select the right ingredients to benefit the three souls at the center of the work at hand.

I also opened up to the Archangel Michael as well as to my Ancestors, their Ancestors, and the spirits of the Herbs to guide me in developing the right formula for the work at hand.

I began by gathering the Herbs, consulting their spirits to see who would like to assist me in this work. In the end, the following 7 curios were included:

• Holy Olive Oil (for spiritual anointing and to carry the powers of the Herbs),
• Hyssop (that their souls might be purified and cleansed),
• Rue (that they might be protected and cleanser),
• Oak (that they might have good fortune in the afterlife and be blessed with protection),
• Cinnamon (to fire up Light to help them progress and strengthen their spiritual progression),
• Mugwort (that they may rest in peace and to enable them to communicate with me in dreams if they should like to do so),
• Loosestrife (that they might have calmness of mind and heart and drive away all evil and worries).

I ground the herbs together while praying over them, thanking each for its aid and asking it what I wished it to do.

I then took up a plate consecrated for the purpose of candlework–which Solomonic magician and Conjure worker Balthazar Van Der Merwe called the “Tablet of Lights”–as well as a spiritually-prepared chalk marker. This chalk had been previously exorcised and consecrated following the Key of Solomon’s method.

With these, I drew a “5-spot” of 5 equal-armed crosses in the form of a larger cross. Hearts were used to finish the Holy Cross, signifying the intention to extend love, care, and comfort to the Souls included in the work. I then included the initials of the three Souls under where I would position their candles.

Using a fresh pin, I carved each of their names into their respective candles. I then dressed each candle with Holy Olive Oil before rubbing the Herbal mixture into it, praying continuously at the same time. Finally, I warmed the bottom of each candle to fix each to the Tablet of Lights, while praying over them.

Next, I prepared charcoal, Frankincense, 3 glasses of water, and an additional candle for Archangel Michael, and brought the Tablet with the fixed candles into my Temple space. I left them there while I took a ritual bath, cleansing and purifying myself with Hyssop for the work at hand. Then, the spiritual work began.

C. The Working: Offerings and Transition Assistance for Three Recently Deceased Souls

I placed Archangel Michael’s dedicated spirit table at the center of my Solomonic Circle in the center of my Temple space. On the table, I placed Michael’s Statue, a water glass for him, the Tablet of Lights and candles, a censer containing charcoal and Frankincense, the Bell of Art, a bread offering for Michael, a torch, and three glasses of water for the three spirits.

I began began by praying in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, while ringing the Bell in the formation of a Cross multiple times over the spirit table, to open the work and “wake up” the spirits.

I then prayed extemporaneously for God’s help, the help of my Ancestors and those of the three deceased, and that of Archangel Michael. I did not do a formal Solomonic evocation of Michael, but simply asked him to be present and to assist with the work and greeted him with water, bread, Frankincense, and a candle offered to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit on his behalf and which I invited him to enjoy.

I then lit the three candles while praying over them. I greeted each spirit in turn, starting with P.D., proceeding to M.TP. and ending with J.W. I explained to them why I had invited them here and offered their candles, Frankincense, and water glasses to the Most High on their behalf before inviting them to partake in them for refreshment, light, and strengthening.

I then prayed for the three spirits collectively and then explained to them the role of each Herb fixed to their candle and prayed for its benefit to be bestowed unto them.

Next, I spoke to the spirits of the Herbs and invited them to partake of the fire, Frankincense, and water offered as thanks for their assistance in the working.

Then I prayed for each spirit one at a time, starting with P.D., proceeding to M.TP. and ending with J.W. I then spoke to each spirit as if they were sitting before me and alive, citing cherished memories of my time with them, thanking them for their strengths, blessings, and the traits I appreciated about them, and again praying for their cleansing, purification, uplifting, illumination, good fortune, care, and comfort beyond their deaths.

At the end of each series of prayers, I addressed the spirit and invited it to communicate any message he or she wished to share with me.

The messages were brief and yet, so meaningful to me. As each spirit spoke, I seemed to see a hint of it Astrally; I saw them appearing from their waist up, looking much as they had looked when I last saw them, or perhaps a little younger.

Their images seemed to emerge out of darkness and hover in a gentle illumination above their associated candle and its flame.

These were the messages I received from the three dead spirits with whom I had worked in life:

From P.D.: (speaking in French) “Thank you for this gesture and for your help. It’s so nice here (Frater S.C.F.V.’s Note: seeming to me, in the “space” in which he now found himself after death)! So beautiful! Thank you!“

From M.T.P. (speaking in French): “Thank you, A., for helping me. How we laughed! Thank you for all you did.”

From J.W. (speaking in English): He appeared stern as he had in life, then seemed to shift into a half-smile and said, gruffly but sincerely, “Sorry I gave you such a hard time. Thanks for your help.”

After each spirit spoke, I shared some private final words to them, which I shall not share here as they are personal to us.

Their candles were burning so still and the feeling in the room was somehow both heavy and light at the same time. The words I spoke seemed to hang on the air… as if time itself had come to a halt.

Attuning to the spirits of the tree, I could feel that they were dead, but they did not seem scared; instead, they seemed content and comforted to be there.

The space in the room was positively thick with energy and yet so still, so clear and yet so solid…

Indeed, I was so touched when I finished sharing and receiving the above messages, that I had completely forgotten to pay attention to Archangel Michael’s candle.

That’s when I noticed — it was going wild.

My impression was that the Archangel was doing some intense work to help the three spirits.

In a startling visual display, Michael’s candle began to sputter up tall bursts of fire, spitting them upwards at a rapid pace, like dragon fire. This rapid bursting would be followed by the flame dropping into a very tall, clear, still flame, and barely moving at all.

Then the flame’s tip would split into separate “tongues” of flame, as if the Angel was working on individual spirits at that time, 2-3 at a time, before returning to the tall flame bursts and swaying. The bursting seemed to indicate burning through impurities; the still hovering to harmonizing and attuning.

I asked Michael if I could film this candle flame manifestation and share it with others to inspire them to know that Angels are very real and he agreed for me to share the brief footage below:

I cannot overstate the intensity of the emotions I felt as I watched this scene and felt its impact on the three spirits… I felt overcome with awe, complete wonder, utter astonishment, moved almost to tears…

Even just watching the video back a day later, I feel an intimation of those same feelings. The contrast between the wildly active candle offered to Michael and the very still candles of the dead was so striking to me then and remains so today.

Moreover, I was amazed and surprised by the fact that in this humble little ritual to help these three souls, I felt Michael’s presence more powerfully, more palpably, more viscerally than I ever had before… Including in any of the full Solomonic evocations I had done with him. I didn’t know what to make of it…

Suddenly, my eyes fell closed.

Out of the blackness of my closed eyelids, I saw a face of pure light emerge from the darkness.

It was Michael.

He spoke to me in a voice at once deep, calm, loving, and grounded.

He said:

“This is the work I knew you were capable of, that I was waiting to see from you.
Working to help, working not for yourself.
Whenever you work for the good of others, in love and humility,
I’ll never fail to help you.“

Just like that, his image vanished, and my eyes opened once again.

The Archangel’s candle continued to flicker, sputter, wind from side to side like a serpent, and stretch higher than I thought possible above the candle holder…

Image of Michael’s candle rising high above the rim of the candle holder, with the wick being all the way at the bottom of the candle holder, sitting in a shallow pool of wax. Shared with the Angel’s permission.

I felt so moved and touched I couldn’t think of words to say. I could only pray “thank you… thank you… praise God! Thank you…”

My thoughts drifted back to remembering a Solomonic invocation I completed 4 years ago, in which I had found Michael quite difficult to communicate with. I’ve now come to believe that part of why I had such trouble was that, in that ritual, my heart simply wasn’t in the right place. I was thinking too much of myself and fooling myself perhaps, but not the Angel.

Now I was focused on working for the good of others, asking nothing in return, pure and sincere in my intent, nothing could be easier than receiving Michael’s words… That seemed a profound lesson about Angelic work, namely, that an Angelic Operation is most powerful and effective when we not only respect the protocols for fasting, prayer, abstaining, etc. in the days leading up to the Operation, but also approach it with a clear and clean purpose and a heart centered on extending the Good, on blessing.

Such a heart, such a mind-set, is in harmony, not only with the nature of the Angels themselves–thereby making it easier to attune to them–but also with the Divine Will itself.

For the Divine Will is always to extend the Good, through all manners, through all planes and worlds, to all beings, in all ways; as the great Adepti and Scriptures tell us, the eternal extension of the blood–Supreme Cosmic Benediction–is Love itself in action, Grace itself, and even the very Nature of God.

Photo of the Statue of Michael I took in Saint Michael’s Basilica in Sherbrooke.

Indeed, it reminds me of the words of Christ in Matthew 23:12, in which he says that “Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

It now seems to me that there is a profound occult secret hidden here, in plain sight. At least for the Christian folk magician, the more we humble ourselves, the more we keep our self-concern out of the work while elevating the Divine and focusing on benefiting others through the work, the more help we will receive and the easier it will be to attune to the Angelic presence in the work.

Conversely, if our Angelic communications break down, it’s worth doing some soul-searching about our real motives, what we’re really aiming at, and whether that really is what we say it is…

This lesson also reminded me of the words of John the Baptist speaking of Christ in John 3:30, in which he proclaimed that “I must decrease; He must increase.” John devoted his life to paving the way for Christ, heralding his arrival, and drawing all to him in repentance, even unto death. Having so faithfully humbled himself, Jesus said about him in Matthew 11, “Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist.” And yet, even after this, he added a humbling other part for you and me, “…yet whoever is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he.“

At this part of the working, I was so moved, I could barely proceed. But I knew I had to carry on.

I prayed for P.D., M.T.P., and J.W and recited Psalm 132 on their behalf, praying the following (Names of God Bible Translation):

“Psalm 132

A song for going up to worship.

¹ O YHVH, remember David and all the hardships he endured.
² Remember how he swore an oath to YHVH
    and made this vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:
³         “I will not step inside my house,
⁴ get into my bed, shut my eyes, or close my eyelids
⁵ until I find a place for YHVH,
    a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

⁶ Now, we have heard about the ark of the promise being in Ephrathah.
    We have found it in Jaar.
⁷ Let’s go to his dwelling place.
    Let’s worship at his footstool.
⁸ O YHVH, arise, and come to your resting place
    with the ark of your power.
⁹ Clothe your priests with righteousness.
    Let your godly ones sing with joy.
¹⁰ For the sake of your servant David,
    do not reject your anointed one.
¹¹ YHVH swore an oath to David.
    This is a truth he will not take back:
        “I will set one of your own descendants on your throne.
¹² If your sons are faithful to my promise^[a]
    and my written instructions that I will teach them,
        then their descendants will also sit on your throne forever.”

¹³ YHVH has chosen Zion.
    He wants it for his home.
¹⁴ “This will be my resting place forever.
    Here I will sit enthroned because I want Zion.
¹⁵ I will certainly bless all that Zion needs.
    I will satisfy its needy people with food.
¹⁶ I will clothe its priests with salvation.
    Then its godly ones will sing joyfully.
¹⁷ There I will make a horn sprout up for David.
    I will prepare a lamp for my anointed one.
¹⁸ I will clothe his enemies with shame,
    but the crown on my anointed one will shine.”

Ancient Roman fresco of David as Shepherd.

I was going to end the ritual there, but felt nudged to add a final Psalm 23 as well:

“The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness for his Name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

Having finished praying the Psalm, to close the Temple, I prayed an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be, as taught to me by a dear Esperitista friend, while again ringing the Bell of Art.

I gave thanks a final time, said goodbye to the three deceased, thanked Michael, the Ancestors, and the Most High, then declared the Temple duly closed.

I left the candles to burn and checked in on them about 40 minutes later, only to see the following:

My impression was that P.D.’s and M.T.P.’s candles had burned down rather quickly, but with tears of wax running down the sides as they burned, suggesting that pain and other impurities were being processed out of the spirits with help from Michael.

J.W.’s candle on the other hand, burned clean and clear almost to the end, when it suddenly pulled forward in an extension of wax towards where I was standing. How can we interpret the wax from these candles?

C. Practical Carromancy: Wax Remains Readings of the Three Candles

P.D.’s candle wax remains.

The next morning, I took the high-definition pictures of the wax remnants of each candle that you see here and endeavoured to interpret them with some insights from fellow readers with whom I shared the images in order to obtain insights from objective third parties. Much thanks to Cléo and David Domart, my fellow Working the Root students, for their input.

First, as seen above, we have P.D.’s candle. What I saw here was a spirit reposed and relaxed, a face looking to the side, surrounded by comforting and joyful petals. David got an impression of “thank you” from this wax and Cléo got a sense of “petals and playful cherubs.” This seemed very much in harmony with the message I received from P.D., namely, that he was grateful and that he found the space he was in very “nice! So beautiful!” This wax pattern was also very much in harmony with P.D.’s personality; he was a friendly and fabulous man who delighted in fashion and flowing fabrics. I saw his ‘imprint’ in this wax, in this sense, the stamp of the energy he embodied.

The second candle was M.T.P’s and looked as follows:

M.T.P.’s candle wax remains

What I saw here was her face, looking relaxed and content (the wick remains forming two eyes connected to a nose with a mouth below it). Above her, I saw the sweep of her hair, looking flowing and free. There were hints of her ears and perhaps a suggestion of a bosom at the bottom of the wax. Cléo also got a feeling of joy and gratitude from M.TP.’s candle. I was also struck by how much it looked like her; I could almost see her little smile and hear her joyful giggle as if she were laughing in my presence! David, similarly, sensed her free-flowing spirit and noted that he could feel “energy moving fast.” That sounded appropriate to me.

Finally, and most interestingly, we come to J.W.’s candle wax remains:

J.W.’s candle wax remains.

This wax felt entirely different from the others. As it turns out, this was exactly as it should be. P.D. and M.T.P. were both friendly, jovial people. J.W. was cut from a different cloth; he tended to be harsh and suspicious to the point where he refused to answer nearly every question I ever asked him. Part of my work with his spirit in the candle work here involved trying to show him my good will for him and help him relax his walls of suspicion so that he could move on without getting unnecessarily obstructed and encumbered. To hear him say “Sorry I was so hard on you, thank you” was about the nicest thing I could have hoped for from him. I told him all was forgiven and that I was just happy to have had the honour of meeting him and his family.

Looking at his wax remains, I see the wick remnants making up a face once again, a very different kind of face. I see eyes that look suspicious, perhaps a little fearful yet incredulous, but also see the wax sweeping down to the right as an outstretched arm, a kind of “olive branch” to me. I read it this way because the wax is coming towards where I was standing while doing the candlework. The overall message then became something like “yeah, I’m still a little wary of you, but I appreciate what you did for me so here’s an olive branch.”

Seeing this wax pattern, Cléo found it a little hard to read, saying he “seems elusive, like moving on or going through something.” That sounded right to me. J.W. was an elusive person in life, and remained so in death. He was hard to read, evasive as a man, both for people who just met him and for his own family members who had known him the longest. Moreover, he likely was going through confusion because his death came suddenly when we had been preparing for him to go home the very next day from the hospital; we have even put in place a new bed, raised toilet seat, and free homecare services to help receive him more comfortably at home. Appropriately, reading this wax, David saw someone “lost, not quite conscious.” That resonated. I hoped that the Rootwork would help calm, comfort, clear, illuminate, and strengthen his spirit through this transition.

D. Conclusion: Parting Thoughts on Working at the Crossroads of Life and Death

Overall, this was a beautiful working, a working that made me feel at once connected to the roots of the Herbs that powered the work, to Archangel Michael’s profound presence, to my own Ancestors and the Rootworkers who came before me, and to my fondly-appreciated clients at their passing.

I hoped that the working would help them to move on even as the Fire and Herbs helped soothe my own grieving and the bereavement of their surviving loved ones.

At the same time, the ritual cemented for me that magic really can operate at the Crossroads, even of Life and Death itself.

And while moving in that liminal space, a space of terror for many, we as spiritual workers can move in peace, and doing so, help bring that peace to troubled spirits in their moment of transition.

What could that be but an honour and a humbling opportunity for service, to life, death, and the Infinite itself?

Enchanting Rain and Reconnecting with Roots: A Day of Weather Magic, Ancestor Work, and Psychometry Amidst 17th Century Ruins

By Frater S.C.F.V.

The Sainte-Famille Church, built in 1801.
Société d’histoire des Îles-Percées

A. Reaching Across Space-Time in Spirit: Connecting with the Past in the Present

With my life recently plunged into a dark phase of tumult, destabilization, and remorse, I felt called to connect with an ancestral relative in the town of Boucherville in the hopes of finding strength and solace.

The colonial town of Boucherville was founded on unceded Haudenoshaunee Indigenous land as a seigneurial parish in 1667–that is, exactly 200 years before the 1867 Canadian Confederation–by Pierre Boucher, after whom the city was later named. Pierre Boucher came from Mortagne-au-Perche, Normandy, France. After having lived in Quebec City and Trois-Rivières, he moved to the Percées Islands by the southern shores of Saint Lawrence River, where he founded Boucherville (“Boucherville’s Origins,” 2020).

For thousands of prior to French colonization, the only spirituality practiced on the land that later came to be called Boucherville was Indigenous spirituality. Kanienʼkehá꞉ka Elders told stories in oral traditions, stories from and of the land which they saw as rich in spirits.

Many years later, the first Catholic church of the village of Boucherville was built in 1670. This church, made of wood, was eventually replaced in 1712 by a building made of brick. It was replaced in 1801 by the current Sainte-Famille Church. Several families left Boucherville in the 18th century to found the nearby communities of Sainte-Julie and Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville (“Boucherville’s Origins,” 2020). The Church remains a potent and valued spiritual site to this day, rich as it is in both history and spiritual power accrued over hundreds of years of use, itself built on lands rich in Indigenous spiritual history for thousands of years before that. .

However, my destination on this particular trip was not this church, but the house of a significant figure of Canadian history and ancestral relative, Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine (1807 – 1864).

Appearance of the sky over downtown Boucherville when I arrived in the area.

B. Prayers that Move Storms: Christian Weather Magic in Historical Context and Contemporary Practice

However, my story on this particular day did not start there.

The nearest bus dropped me off at some distance on the outskirts of Boucherville. When I saw the sky after disembarking, my heart sunk. Dark grey storm clouds cast shadowy figures across the sky and a mist below them indicated that it was presently pouring rain exactly where I was headed.

I felt a fleeting temptation to postpone the journey for another day, but a true Magician does not balk in the face of adversity, but rather, aims to transmute it into opportunity. To this end, an inner prompting, of the kind that often arises when one of my spirits is giving me a hint of inspiration, prodded me to attempt a simple form of folk rain magic to improve the situation.

Before we return to the approach used here, which could not have been simpler, it’s worth noting that the tradition of Western grimoires contains a variety of interesting approaches to weather magic, some of which could have been options here. To offer both historical context and contrast from the approach I employed, let us examine some of the historical examples of rain magic that are attested in the traditional sources.

First, a fascinating grimoire confiscated from a group of practicing witches in 1636 and recently published by Joseph H. Peterson, The Secrets of Solomon and the art Rabidmadar, features a spell using a a stone and salt water to “make it rain” (Peterson, 2022). Another later and equally relevant text, “The Clavicules du Roi Salomon, Par Armadel. Livre Troisieme. Concernant les Esprits & leurs pouvoirs” (from Lansdowne 1202), contains a version of the same ritual using salt water in the Circle, which Joseph H. Peterson translates as follows:

To make it rain. Cp. GV p. 86. Credit to Joseph Peterson’s Esoteric Archives (2022 edit).

“Take natural or artificial Sea Water and place it in a circle which you will make on the ground in the manner that is indicated in the chapter on the Circle, and in the middle of the Circle there the stone Heliotrope, and to the right side the magic rod indicated above; write the characters of Bechard to the left side and of Eliogaphatel in the middle and holding it under the rod you pronounce Eliogaphatel [text in red] the heavens created of clouds, [???] and power to be resolved in water. Which words having been pronounced, the rain will fall in abundance.”

As an interesting side note, when curiosity drew me to the French of this latter manuscript in Landsdowne 1202 (“Ciel composé de nuages aille et puisse êtres resoud en Eau“), I was able to obtain some clarification of the [???] passage, which I have translated as “the sky being composed of clouds able to be resolved in water [i.e. rain].” The meaning, therefore, is that in order for this rain production ritual to work, conditions have to be in place to facilitate the rain, that is, the sky has to already be filled with grey clouds. The spell would then force the clouds, by means of the spirit names, to “spill their contents” to the earth in the form of rain.

Storm clouds.

This spell is interesting in that it influences the probability of rain given the right conditions, but does not promise to create rain clouds out of a blue sky. This could have been an option had I wished to banish the clouds by simply having them pour out all of their contents. But there were other historical options.

A third text, or rather a collection of two apocryphal texts, The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses (see the fantastic edition by Peterson (2008), contains a fascinating section about the Angels attributed to each Sign of the Zodiac. The Sign of Libra section states that the Angels of Libra “derive from God great power, inasmuch as the Sun and Moon stand under this sign. Their power controls the friend­ship and enmity of all creatures. They have power over danger, warfare, over quarrels, and slander — lead armies in all quarters of the earth, cause rain, and give to man Arithmeticam, Astronomiam, Geometriam.” The application here would involve conjuring an Angel of Libra and petitioning it to cause rain in a particular area. This could have been employed here in a similar way to the above ritual.

Liber Iuratus Honorii, Peterson Edition cover.

A fourth text of note, Liber Juratus or the Sworne Book of Honorius is one of the oldest and most influential texts of Medieval magic. Joseph H. Peterson’s (2016) edition notes that four “Spirits of the Moon, Gabriel, Michael, Samyhel, and Acithael... have the nature to change thoughts and wills, to prepare journeys, to tell words that be spoken, and to cause rains. Their bodies are long and great; their countenances are whitish dim like crystal, [or a burnished sword,] or like ice, or a dark cloud, and their region is the West.”

In this text, either these spirits, or the demons under them (“a king and his three ministers, and all the other demons of the moon are obedient to those, and placed under them, and they are these: Harthan, the king, Bileth, Milalu, Abucaba, which rule the demons of the West winds, which are five: Hebethel, Arnochap, Oylol, Milau, Abuchaba, they may be compelled to serve, or they rest“) would be conjured and bound or petitioned to cause rain as desired.

Section from Peterson’s (2008) Liber Juratus as shown on Esoteric Archives.

A fifth text, The Key of Knowledge from Additional Manuscript 36674 provides a Name of Power that can be used to cause rain (“the name SYMAGOGION, which Elias named, and the Heaven did give rain, and the Earth brought forth fruit”) (Peterson, 2019). This Name could be woven into a rain-making ritual involving the conjuration of one or more of the sets of spirits given above.

A sixth text, Sepher Raziel from Sloane 3846, informs us of a stone that can be used to affect the weather, namely, “Cliotopia. And it is a stone of great power of which the colour is greene & faire & shineing & cleare with dropps like blood well red within. This stone is said the stone of wise men, of prophetes & of Philosophers. And this is honoured for twey things for the colour like to Smaragdo in greenesse, and in rednesse to Rubino. The price of this stone ouercometh the price of other, and of his vertues & proprieties. the power of this stone is that if it be put in any broad vessell full of water to the sunne it resolueth the water into vapour. And it maketh it to be raised upward till that into the forme of Rayn [rain] it be conuerted downeward. His vertue is that who that beareth it in the mouth or in the hand closed he may not be seene of any man. With this stone a man may haue power upon all deuills & make eich incantacion or enhantment [enchantment] that he woll.“

Image from the Sword of Moses.

A seventh text, The Sword of Moses (see Peterson, 1998) provides a formula using Divine Names that can be used, not to cause rain, but to ward it off (“If thou wishest that the rain should not fall upon thy garden, write out No. 48.“).

My own approach on this particular day was closest to this last source, for it aimed, not to cause rain, but to ward it off. However, on the day at hand, I did not have these Names on hand, nor any of illustrious stones noted above. As a result, I had to rely on a much simpler approach than any of those given above. The approach I used, therefore, involved no tools apart from faith and prayer with precedent, not only in European Christian folk magic of the 17th to 18th centuries, but also in Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (1533). To this point, in his Third Book of Occult Philosophy, Agrippa (1533) states, in Joseph H. Peterson’s edition thereof:

“Our mind being pure and divine, inflamed with a religious love, adorned with hope, directed by faith, placed in the hight [height] and top of the humane soul, doth attract the truth, and sudainly comprehend it, & beholdeth all the stations, grounds, causes and sciences of things both natural and immortal in the divine truth it self as it were in a certain glass of Eternity.

Hence it comes to pass that we, though Natural, know those things which are above nature, and understand all things below, and as it were by divine Oracles receive the knowledg [knowledge] not only of those things which are, but also of those that are past and to come, presently, and many years hence;

Moreover not only in Sciences, Arts and Oracles the Understanding challengeth to it self this divine vertue, but also receiveth this miraculous power in certain things by command to be changed. Hence it comes to pass that though we are framed a natural body, yet we sometimes prædominate [predominate] over nature, and cause such wonderfull, sodain and difficult operations, as that evil spirits obey us, the stars are disordered, the heavenly powers compelled, the Elements made obedient;

So devout men and those elevated by these Theologicall vertues, command the Elements, drive away Fogs, raise the winds, cause rain, cure diseases, raise the dead, all which things to have been done amongst diverse Nations, Poets and Historians do sing and relate: and that these things may be done, all the famousest Philosophers, and Theologians do confirme; so the prophets, Apostles, and the rest, were famous by the wonderfull power of God;

Therefore we must know, that as by the influx of the first agent, is produced oftentimes something without the cooperation of the middle causes, so also by the work of Religion alone, may something be done without the application of naturall and Celestiall vertues” (bold sections added by me for emphasis) (Agrippa, 1533).

Woodcut printing of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa.

In more succinct and simpler words, Agrippa (1533) suggests here that in some cases, mere prayer, coming from a place of faith, love, and hope, can be enough to work “wonders” including affecting the weather.

Although I make no claims to be a “devout man elevated by Theologicall vertues”–indeed, like Paul, I am surely “the worst of all sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15)–I was at least, in this situation, motivated by sincere need, humble faith, a nudging from my Spirits, and possible assistance from my ancestral relative with whom I aimed to connect.

Therefore, I used the simplest of approaches. I turned my full attention, Will, and energy toward the Goal at hand, inflaming faith, love, ad hope as Agrippa recommends, to generate sympathy with the means and intent at hand, tuned into the Divine and simply prayed “Dear Lord, please move the clouds and rain away from Boucherville if it be your Will, b’shem Yeshua, Amen.” I ended the prayer with “b’shem Yeshua,” Hebrew for “in the name of Yeshua” or Jesus, in accordance with Christ’s words in John 14 that:

12 Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I am doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

13 And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14 If you ask Me for anything in My name, I will do it.

Working within a folk Christian context, I paused to meditate on the Power of the Divine over rain and water–Agrippa recommends drawing on Scripture for “narrative charms” or historiolae in his Third Book of Occult Philosophy (1533). The historiola is a term for a kind of incantation that incorporates a short mythic story that provides the paradigm for the desired magical action. It can “be found in ancient Mesopotamian, Egyptian and Greek mythology, in the Aramaic Uruk incantation, incorporated in Mandaean incantations, as well as in Jewish Kabbalah.” There are also Christian examples evoking Christian legends (Frankfurter, 1995).

As sources of ancient biblical historiolae in prayers and stories relevant to weather magic, for instance, Job 37:6 Verse notes of YHVH that, “For to the snow He says, ‘Fall on the earth,’ And to the downpour and the rain, ‘Be strong.’

Jeremiah 51:16 expresses reverence for how “Ha Shem utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, And He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain And brings forth the wind from His storehouses.”

1 Kings 18:1 says that “it happened after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the face of the earth.”

Job 28:26 states that God “set a limit for the rain And a course for the thunderbolt.”

Psalm 68:8, a useful Psalm for weather magic in a Hoodoo context for instance says “the earth quaked; The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God.”

Psalm 68, Salvum me fac deus, quoniam intraverunt aque usque ad animam meam, Jonah and the whale – Psalter of Eleanor of Aquitaine (ca. 1185) – KB 76 F 13, folium 088r.

Another relevant Psalm, Psalm 135:7 says that the Lord “causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; Who makes lightnings for the rain, Who brings forth the wind from His treasuries.”

Psalm 147:8 muses of God that He it is “Who covers the heavens with clouds, Who provides rain for the earth.”

Jeremiah 14:22 prays “Are there any among the idols of the nations who give rain? Or can the heavens grant showers? Is it not You, O Lord our God? Therefore we hope in You, For You are the one who has done all these things.”

Christ walking on Water (Matthew 14:22-36; Mark 6:45-56; John 6:16-24), God bringing forth and ending the rains of Noah in Genesis 6:9-9:28, Moses bringing forth water from a stone and crossing the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21) (“Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided”) can also be called on here as relevant Scriptural historiolae.

I did not overtly include these verses in my prayer on this occasion, but one certainly could do so to fortify a prayer with a chain of passages that have been prayed and used in rituals for thousands of years. Instead, these passages hovered, as it were, in the a background of my simple prayer.

Having prayed it, I simply took faith and continued walking towards the storm.

And, as it turned out, the prayer was granted.

Sky above the road near the Louis-Hipolyte Lafontaine House in Boucherville upon my arrival there.

When I arrived at the childhood house of my ancestral relative Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, I was amazed to find that the clouds had broken into blue sky and the unobstructed radiance of the Sun.

Divine Power, either directly or through mobilizing spirits down the hierarchy to do the work in accordance with the Will, appeared to have driven the storm-clouds down a completely different trajectory away. While the clouds should have been bombarding thick curtains of rain upon my destination, they were simply… gone.

I couldn’t help but imagine that the spirit of Louis-Hippolyte had there been praying with me to aid the result.

And what a result it was.

Looking over the river across the street from his ancestral home, I saw this:

Sun and Clear Skies over the St. Lawrence in Boucherville when I arrived at the childhood house of Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine. Miraculous results from folk weather magic.

C. The Revolutionary Rebel Turned Unifier of Canada: The Life and Death of Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine

Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine (1807 – 1864) was much more than simply a family relative; he was a significant figure in Canadian history. At once jurist and statesman, La Fontaine was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada in 1830. He was a supporter of Papineau and member of the Parti canadien (later the Parti patriote). After the severe consequences of the Rebellions of 1837 against the British authorities, he advocated political reforms within the new Union regime of 1841. The Union united the previously separate Lower Canada and Upper Canada into a single United Canada (Ville de Bourcherville, 2022; Saul, 2010; Shrauwers, 2009).

Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine from the Archives of Montreal.

Under this Union of the two Canadas he worked with Robert Baldwin in the formation of a party of Upper and Lower Canadian liberal reformers. He and Baldwin formed a government in 1842 but resigned in 1843. In 1848 he was asked by the Governor-General, Lord Elgin, to form the first administration under the new policy of responsible government” (Ville de Bourcherville, 2022; Saul, 2010; Shrauwers, 2009). Baldwin and Lafontaine would prove to be fiercely loyal friends as well as skilled co-politicians who ruled with a remarkable synergy and aimed to unify French and English-speaking Canadians (Ville de Bourcherville, 2022; Saul, 2010; Shrauwers, 2009).

The La Fontaine-Baldwin government, formed on March 11, battled for the restoration of the official status of the French language, which was abolished with the Union Act, and the principles of responsible government and the double-majority in the voting of bills. While Baldwin was reforming Canada West (Upper Canada), La Fontaine passed bills to abolish the tenure seigneuriale (seigneurial system) and grant amnesty to the leaders of the rebellions in Lower Canada who had been exiled. The bill passed, but it was not accepted by the loyalists of Canada East who protested violently and went so far as to burn down the Parliament in Montreal.

“L’incendie du Parlement à Montréal.” (The Burning of the Parliament in Montreal). Attributed to Joseph Légare, 1849. Made available by the McCord Museum.

After burning down the parliament, the rioters shot up Louis-Hippolyte’s Montreal home, which was recently restored and can still be visited today. About this home, John Ralston Saul, author of Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine & Robert Baldwin (2010), said that the building witnessed a great extent of the planning of Canada’s democracy. “Of all the buildings that are central to Canada becoming a democracy,” Saul told National Post in 2015, “it’s the only important one left.”

Until 1851, La Fontaine was a member of the Executive Council and Attorney General of Lower Canada, a position that corresponds to our current conception of the office of Prime Minister.

La Fontaine retired to private life in 1851 but was appointed Chief Justice of Canada East in 1853. In 1854 he was created a baronet by Queen Victoria and a knight commander in the pontifical Order of St. Sylvester by Pope Pius IX in 1855. He died in Montreal in 1864″ (Ville de Bourcherville, 2022; Saul, 2010; Shrauwers, 2009).

The story of his death was notably described by Jacques Monet (1976):

On 25 Feb. 1864 La Fontaine had an apoplectic fit in the judges’ chambers. He was taken home, where he gathered his son in his arms, made the sign of the cross, and lost consciousness. He received extreme unction from the vicar general, Alexis-Frédéric Truteau*, and died during the night. At his funeral, presided over by Bishop Bourget, 12,000 persons gathered. Lady La Fontaine gave birth to a second son on 15 July, but he died in 1865; his elder brother, Louis-Hippolyte, followed him to the grave in 1867.

He now rests in Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges here in Montreal, in a family tomb.

Family Tomb of Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine here in Montreal.

To anyone interested in learning more about this incredibly significant figure of Canadian history, I would highly recommend reading the article on Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine by Jacques Monet in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, which is available online for free here.

Our Family Connection

Interestingly, Louis-Hippolyte was originally named, not Lafontaine, but Ménard. Lafontaine was for him what here in Quebec, we call a “nom-dit.” A “dit (pronounced like the last name of John Dee) name” is an alternate last name that French Canadian people in the period chose to take on, usually to distinguish themselves from other people with similar names in the region.

It was through my father that I first learned of our family’s connection to him through my father’s mother, my grandmother Pierrette Ménard. Her bloodline was connected to Louis-Hippolyte’s father, Antoine Ménard. And through my father and my grandmother, my own blood connects me back to Louis-Hippolyte.

Funny enough, Lafontaine was in some ways the first proto-Prime Minister of Canada and my family are also related to Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson on my father’s side and American President Richard Nixon’s family on my mother’s side. The Fates must have not been pleased when I chose not to go into politics!

Map of the Seigneurial System in the region of Boucherville from 1724.

D. Touching Ruins, Honouring Spirits: Ancestral Work and Psychometry at the Maison Dite Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine

The house to which my travels in Boucherville took me on this particular day was built in 1766, many years before the birth of Louis-Hippolyte. François Truillier had the house built for his family; when he died, it passed to his son Joseph, who married Louis-Hippolyte’s mother Marie-Josephte Bienvenue after Louis-Hippolyte’s father Antoine Ménard died. This is how from 1813 to 1822, the young Louis-Hippolyte came to live in this house.

As fate should have it, I walked onto the property for the first time in one of its oldest sections, where I saw this old ruin from the late 19th-early 20th century:

Past that, I came across the ruined wall of one of the oldest buildings from the property:

Invoking the rebellious spirit of Louis-Hippolyte, I dipped under the DANGER tape and placed my hand on the wall to do a brief session of Psychometry.

For those who may not be familiar with the term, the word Psychometry (from the Greek: ψυχή, psukhē, “spirit, soul” and μέτρον, metron, “measure”) was coined by American physician and Professor of physiology Joseph Rodes Buchanan (December 11, 1814 – December 26, 1899) in 1842. The term came to refer to the metaphysical practice of obtaining information about the history of an object or place by “tuning into” it while touching it or placing it to one’s forehead (New World Encyclopedia, 2007).

In his Manual of Psychometry: The Dawn Of A New Civilization, Buchanan stated the following about the practice as he saw it:

“The past is entombed in the present, the world is its own enduring monument; and that which is true of its physical is likewise true of its mental career. The discoveries of Psychometry will enable us to explore the history of man, as those of geology enable us to explore the history of the earth. There are mental fossils for psychologists as well as mineral fossils for the geologists; and I believe that hereafter the psychologist and the geologist will go hand in hand, the one portraying the earth, its animals and its vegetation, while the other portrays the human beings who have roamed over its surface in the shadows, and the darkness of primeval barbarism. Aye, the mental telescope is now discovered which may pierce the depths of the past and bring us in full view of the grand and tragic passages of ancient history.”

Joseph Rodes Buchanan (December 11, 1814 – December 26, 1899)

As I understand the practice, what we essentially do with Psychometry is open up our astral senses and then attempt to tune into the the region of the Astral Plane that corresponds to the physical object or location. Then we attempt to surrender to the reception of images, sounds, smells, touches, and other impressions that sometimes show “snapshots” or, as it were, “movies” of things that happened there in the past (I call these “psychic history traces’“), and at other times allow us to tune into the spirits of the dead who still have a connection to the place or object in question (I call these “connected spirits“). I had no success with it at all for years until I started to develop my astral senses and also improve at spirit conjuring, divination, and scrying, after which I found it to be a very similar practice. Psychometry is almost like doing a divination and reading, assisted by touch, of an object or place instead of a set of Tarot cards, Runes, Geomancy markings, etc. combined with the kind of reception of spirit impressions that we experience in an evocation.

Funny enough, the good old New Thought pioneer William Walker Atkinson, who wrote the infamous Kybalion under the pseudonym of “The Three Initiates” also wrote a book touching on Psychometry under yet another alias, namely, that of Swami Panchadasi.

In the book, titled Clairvoyance and Occult Powers (1916), he rightly–in my experience, at least!—writes

“Many persons suppose that it is necessary to travel on the astral plane, in the astral body, in order to use the astral senses. This is a mistake. In instances of clairvoyance, astral visioning, Psychometry, etc., the occultist remains in his physical body, and senses the phenomena of the astral plane Clairvoyance and Occult Powers 21 quite readily, by means of the astral senses, just as he is able to sense the phenomena of the physical plane when he uses the physical organs−−quite more easily, in fact, in many instances. It is not even necessary for the occultist to enter into the trance condition, in the majority of cases.

In Psychometry some object is used in order to bring the occulist “en
rapport” with the person or thing associated with it. But it is the astral
senses which are employed in describing either the past environment of the
thing, or else the present or past doings of the person in question, etc. In
short, the object is merely the loose end of the psychic ball of twine which
the psychometrist proceeds to wind or unwind at will. Psychometry is
merely one form of astral seeing; just as is crystal gazing.”

“Swami Panchadasi” goes on to share some information about the kind of use of Psychometry as a vision into the past of an object or place that we will explore with more practical examples later:

“Still another form of psychometric discernment is that in which the

psychometrist gets en rapport (in connection) with the past history of an object, or of its

surroundings, by means of the object itself. In this way, the psychometrist

holding in his hand, or pressing to his head, a bullet from a battle field, is

able to picture the battle itself. Or, given a piece of ancient pottery or stone

implement, the psychometrist is able to picture the time and peoples

connected with the object in the past−−sometimes after many centuries are

past.”

As a relevant and interesting side note, The New World Encyclopedia offers the following interesting information on three famous examples of Psychometry in practice:

“William F. Denton: In 1854, Denton, an American professor of geology, was fascinated by Buchanan’s work. A professor of physiology, Buchanan had found that his students could often successfully identify a drug in a glass vial simply by holding the vial in their hand. Denton enlisted the help of his sister, Ann Denton Cridge, to see if she would be able to correctly identify geological specimens wrapped in cloth. By holding the wrapped specimens to her forehead, she was able to accurately identify many specimens.

Stephan Ossowiecki: Born in Russia in 1877, Ossowiecki claimed several psychic abilities, including aura reading and psychokinesis. Ossowiecki was well-known for being able to perceive the contents of sealed envelopes. It was claimed that he perceived the ideas of handwritten letters, but was unable to do so if a statement were typed or printed. Ossowiecki was also tested at the University of Warsaw, where he produced apparently accurate information about the detailed lives of prehistoric humans by holding a 10,000 year old flint tool. After the Nazis invaded Poland, Ossowiecki used his abilities to help people find out what had happened to their loved ones, by holding a photograph of the missing person. He refused to accept payment for these services. Ossowiecki died before the end of the war, having accurately predicted such a thing would happen.

George McMullen: McMullen, a carpenter and wilderness guide, was tested by educator J. Norman Emerson in 1971. McMullen was able to correctly identify a fragment of clay as belonging to an Iroquois ceremonial pipe, as well as describing how it was made and used. McMullen went on to assist Emerson and other archaeologists with their research, providing information about prehistoric Canada, ancient Egypt, and the Middle East that were later confirmed by research. When he visited an Iroquois site with Emerson, McMullen claimed he could actually hear the Iroquois talking, and that he could also understand what they were saying.”

Stefan Ossowiecki (

Interest in Psychometry seems to have waned from the late 19th century into the 20th century. This is unfortunate, as it is a fascinating domain of occult practice that deserves more contemporary attention. I hope that this article will spark some curiosity to practice with it and record your results in some of you, dear Readers. As a word of advice, the key thing to keep in mind with Psychometry experiments, is that it should not result in merely Unverifiable Personal Gnosis (UPG). As much as possible, to fully explore the power of the practice and the results it can yield, we should aim to use Psychometry to find out testable and verifiable information. I’ll provide some examples to illustrate this point below.

I am by no means an expert at Psychometry, but have had some meaningful experiences with doing Psychometry readings on old places, which sometimes led to contacting spirits who had lived there in the past. For instance, while doing Psychometry on different regions of the Manoir Papineau house in Montebello, Quebec, a former home of another famous figure of Canadian political history, Louis-Joseph Papineau, I experienced a number of visions of different people who had lived in the home over its long and robust history.

Photo of the Manoir Papineau by James-Louis Demers / bibliothèque et Archives Canada.

There, I had a vision of a man I later recognized in a photograph as having been Talbot Mercer Papineau (great grandson of Louis-Joseph Papineau), a lawyer and decorated soldier, walking through the sitting room in his uniform. Archival documents from Parks Canada (2022) confirmed he had lived in the home from 1903 to 1929.

At the Manoir, I also saw a vision of Papineau’s children playing on one of the porches. I received clairaudient impressions of their voices in French and laughter as they played.

Near another part of the house, I saw a woman who turned out to be Azélie Papineau, mother to Henri Bourassa the famous journalist and founder of Canadian newspaper Le Devoir. I later confirmed that she had lived in the home.

I also encountered the spirit of an unknown servant who had died at the home in one area where the energy felt considerably darker and heavier. Him, I prayed with and for, that he might find the Light and pass on, for part of him still lingered in that place.

Photo of Azelie Papineau: James-Louis Demers / bibliothèque et Archives Canada.

Returning to this particular day in Boucherville, when I placed my hand upon the aforementioned ruined wall on the Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine family home property, I received an immediate and unwelcoming feeling of severity. I had impressions of serious men, some dressed in suits and overcoats and others in religious garb. They seemed to be very concerned with rules and propriety and I had the feeling they did not take kindly to my tuning in to them, so I stopped immediately. I later found out who the religious men were; they were Jesuits who had previously lived in a structure on that very property in 1902, as I confirmed through an archival photograph of the area in question:

Image of Jesuits in 1902 on the Lafontaine House Property, whose spirits I connected with during a Psychometry session in the area they had inhabited.

Tuning in to an area at the edge of the property near the road, I received impressions of some spirits who were eying the home with a cold and resentful gaze. They appeared jealous that they had not been able to live there. I prayed for them to find acceptance and peace with the past and release it that they may be released.

Walking on, I came to a beautiful and stately statue of Louis-Hippolyte himself:

Statue of Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, after I cleaned it up.

Unfortunately, however, and as I soon discovered, spiders had covered his face and body in thick, tangled webs! I climbed onto the statue and removed the webs with a stick as a gesture of love and devotion to my ancestral relative. It bears repeating that acts of service can be a fitting gesture of devotion and means of connection in Ancestral Work.

A stick full of spiderwebs that I removed from the statue of Louis-Hippolyte.

Having done this, I greeted his spirit with love and respect and asked for his permission to connect with him and learn from his experience in this place. I received a warm, affirmative feeling in return.

When I tuned into him, however, I was surprised that I did not see his adult form step forward. Instead, I saw a little boy. When I later walked closer to the house he had lived in, this image got stronger. I saw him playing with a ball with another boy. I did not know at the time, but later learned, that the reason for this was that the adult Louis-Hippolyte had not lived there from 1813 to 1822, but in Montreal, and he had only lived there as a child! As it turned out, baseball was one of his favourite pastimes.

Not far from the ruined wall, I came across this beautiful Cross, a replica of a Cross that stood nearby facing the St. Lawrence River, and which was made and blessed in 1879:

For my final Psychometry experiments on the site, I finally approached the main house. I started with the front wall of the house in front of the room on the left. Immediately, I received the image of a welcoming woman with her hair tied up. She appeared to be greeting me as a guest to her home. She presented as proud of her home and happy to welcome guests to it. It took me a while to figure out who this lady was, but I finally came to believe she was Marie-Josephte Fontaine dit Bienvenu (b.1782). She was Louis-Hippolyte’s mother, who lived in the house with him when he was a child.

The energy of this house, unlike the Manoir Papineau, which had had its dark regions, was entirely light and positive. When I connected with it at different places and on different sides of the building, I received visions of a family eating a meal together, Louis-Hippolyte’s mother washing clothes in a grey basin and hanging them in back of the house, men sitting, smoking, and sipping whisky in the sitting room. I received a clairolfactory impression of the smell of the cigar smoke outside that area of the house. I heard whisps of French Canadian songs being sung with joyful feelings accompanying them. Overall, the energy was strong and positive. I had the feeling that a lot of love had been expressed here and many fond memories lived.

At last, with final prayers for the spirits who had lived and still lived there, I said goodbye to Louis-Hippolyte and the other spirits who had been linked to the land there over the years.

As I left, I could almost see Louis-Hippolyte’s son playing with a wheel and laughing a wild, free laugh.

E. Conclusion: Personal Experiences Offering Fruit for Your Journey

This was a beautiful day filled with magic linked to weather, ancestral connections, the history that informs places both materially and physically, and the surprises yielded by Psychometry.

My hope in sharing these memories is that these personal reflections might inspire some new ideas and practical applications that can serve you in your own practice. If you undertake any Psychometry experiments or Operations in weather magic, I’d love to hear your results in the comments. Pax Profundis!

References

Agrippa, H. C. (1533). The Third Book of Occult Philosophy. Joseph H. Peterson Edition. Retrieved June 15, 2022 from http://www.esotericarchives.com/agrippa/op3.htm

“Boucherville’s Origins.” (2020). Canadian Community Stories. Retrieved June 15, 2022 from https://www.communitystories.ca/v2/pont-tunnel-louis-hippolyte-lafontaine_bridge/story/bouchervilles-origins/

Frankfurter, David (1995). “Narrating Power: The Theory and Practice of the Magical Historiola in Ritual Spells”. In Meyer, Marvin; Mirecki, Paul (eds.). Ancient Magic and Ritual Power. E. J. Brill.

“Maison Dite Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine.” (2022). Ville de Bourcherville. Retrieved June 15, 2022 from https://boucherville.ca/histoire-patrimoine/maison-louis-hippolyte-la-fontaine/

Monet, Jacques (1976). “La Fontaine, Sir Louis-Hippolyte,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 9, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed June 22, 2022, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/la_fontaine_louis_hippolyte_9E.html.

New World Encyclopedia. (2007). “Psychometry.” Retrieved June 22, 2022 from https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Psychometry

Panchadasi, S. (1916). Pseudonym of William Walker Atkinson. Clairvoyance and Occult Powers. Retrieved June 23, 2022 from https://www.awakening-intuition.com/clairvoyance_and_occult_powers_by_swami_panchadasi.pdf

Peterson, J.H. (1996). “Sepher Raziel.” Esoteric Archives. Retrieved June 15, 2022 from http://www.esotericarchives.com/raziel/raziel.htm

Peterson, J.H. (2022). “The Secrets of Solomon and the art Rabidmadar.” Esoteric Archives. Retrieved June 15, 2022 from http://www.esotericarchives.com/solomon/csds.htm

Peterson, J.H. (1998). “The Sword of Moses.” Esoteric Archives. Retrieved June 15, 2022 from http://www.esotericarchives.com/solomon/sword.htm

Peterson, J.H. (2019). “The Key of Knowledge.” Esoteric Archives. Retrieved June 15, 2022 from http://www.esotericarchives.com/solomon/ad36674.htm

Peterson, J.H. (2008). The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses. Newburyport, MA: Ibis Press.

Peterson, J.H. (2016). The Sworn Book of Honorius: Liber Iuratus Honorii. Newburyport, MA: Ibis Press.

Saul, John Ralston (2010). Extraordinary Canadians: Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine and Robert Baldwin. Penguin Canada.

Schrauwers, Albert (2009). Union is Strength: W.L. Mackenzie, the Children of Peace and the Emergence of Joint Stock Democracy in Upper Canada. University of Toronto Press. pp. 211–243.

“The Manoir Papineau National Historic Site.” (2022). Parks Canada. Retrieved June 22, 2022 from https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/qc/manoirpapineau/culture/histoire-history/site/occupation

Frater S.C.F.V on the Glitch Bottle Podcast

Glitch Bottle #033 – Solomonic Bells, Wands & Consecrations (Oh My!) with Frater S.C.F.V.

By Frater S.C.F.V

I recently had the great pleasure and honour of appearing on Alexander Eth’s fantastic Glitch Bottle podcast.  We discussed my own multitraditional spiritual background, Solomonic grimoires, Dr. Stephen Skinner’s interesting typology of magic, Mystery, and religion, Wand traditions, Bells and Trumpets of Art, Circles, binding, Consecration by Mass, scrying, cryptoconsecratio, Angelic invocation, and a host of other fascinating topics of magical theory and practice. Please feel free to share any comments or questions you may have. Thank you!

In LVX,
Frater S.C.F.V.

The Rite of the Crook of Saint Cyprian: A Powerful Ritual Revealed Through PGM Lecanomancy

By Frater S.C.F.V.

Altar set-up for Novena of Saint Cyprian of Antioch Day 9 and PGM lecanomancy: large bowl filled with spring water, Holy Water, and Saint Cyprian Oil (bottom center). Brass cauldron with offerings of Church wafer and incense (bottom right). Key of Solomon Aspergillum and Water Glass Offering to Cyprian (bottom left). Offering of wine (center). Two lavender candles fixed with Saint Cyprian Oil, cinnamon, all-spice, and sage offered to Saint Cyprian (middle left and right). Statues of Saint Cyprian and Justina (back center), Vial of Saint Cyprian Oil (back right), and Novena Candle (back left).

A Sudden Change of Plans

On Day 9 of my 2018 Novena of Saint Cyprian of Antioch, I woke up and performed a ritual bath and morning worship. I then traveled to the city to do social work community service with older adults in the community as a form of Offering to Cyprian. At the end of the day, I meditated  on the Mystical Theology of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite on the journey home, and having arrived, prepared for ritual.

I performed a second ritual bath of the day and session of prayers and put on my robe, stole, and golden crown. I then fixed two candles as Offerings to Saint Cyprian, both lavender candles, fixed with San Cipriano Oil, allspice, cinnamon, and sage. I had originally planned a completely different series of rituals for tonight, but after receiving a strong intuitive nudge of the kind that Cyprian usually produces when he is giving guidance, I scrapped the initial plan and opted instead to focus entirely on the Papyri Graecae Magicae (PGM) or Graeco-Egyptian Magical Papyri. Indeed,I felt a strong sense that the focus of the night should be on classical Graeco-Egyptian lecanomancy. As the night unfolded, it became clear that I was in not just for a powerful experience with Cyprian, but for learning an entirely new ritual directly from him…

The Oracle of Delphi presented as performing lecanomancy or evocationary scrying via a bowl of water and olive oil painted by a Kodros painter and dating to 430 BC, roughly 100 years before Dr. Ryan Bailey (2017) estimates the Acts of Saint Cyprian of Antioch was written.

The Lecanomantic Origins of the Rite of the Crook of Saint Cyprian

I entered the Temple, and began, as usual, with offerings and preliminary prayers to the Divine. I then picked up my Solomonic Bell, sounded it three times before entering the Circle as per the Hygromanteia and then, from within it, sounded it thrice to each of the Quarters, greeting the Spirits of the East, South, West, and North with great love, respect, and  blessings. Next, I used my Key of Solomon Aspergillum of Art to sprinkle Holy Water all around the Circle and on the tools and Altar to purify the area for the workings to come. I then proceeded to give additional Offerings to the Divine and to Saint Cyprian and prepared myself for the intensive work to begin.

I lit both of Saint Cyprian’s twin candles and offered him a glass of red wine as well as consecrated incense. Then, I breathed deeply until I entered a quasi-trance state and standing and brandishing my Wand, I began to powerfully recite the Rite of the Headless One from the Stele of Jeu or Papyri Graecae Magicae V. 96-172.

The Rite came on strongly and powerfully as it always does. Before I knew it, I had been transported into a kind of ecstatic frenzy as the primal force of the “awesome and invisible god” began to overwhelm my mundane consciousness.  As I strained to not fall into the state of momentary transcendental dissolution in the Absolute that the Rite is known to produce, and still immersed in the frenzied, ecstatic state of the “Holy Headless One,” I shifted into a modified Cyprianic form of the lecanomantic spell of “evocationary scrying,” to borrow a term from Dr. Stephen Skinner, from PGM IV. 154 to 285.

Inquiry of bowl divination and necromancy. Whenever you want to inquire about matters, take a bronze vessel, either a bowl or a saucer, whatever kind you wish. Pour water: rainwater if you are calling upon heavenly gods, seawater if gods of the earth, river water if Osiris or Sarapis, spring water if the dead.

Holding the vessel on your knees, pour out green olive oil, bend over the vessel and speak the prescribed spell. And address whatever god you want ask about whatever you wish, and he will reply to you and tell you about anything. And if he has spoken dismiss him with the spell of dismissal, and you who have used this spell will be amazed.

– PGM IV. 223- 243

In keeping with Saint Cyprian’s necromantic theme, I had filled a large bowl with spring water prior to beginning the Headless Rite. It was into this bowl that I now turned to begin my necromantic lecanomancy guided by Cyprian. I poured a libation of Saint Cyprian Holy Olive Oil into the bowl of water, into which I had also poured a small amount of Spring Water mixed with Holy Water used in a prior magical ceremony. I then began to recite the conjuration from PGM IV 223-243, modified to include Saint Cyprian in place of a Graeco-Egyptian gods:

The spell spoken over the vessel is: “AMOUN AUANTAU LAIMOUTAU RIPTOU MANTAUI IMANTOU LANTOU LAPTOUMI ANCHÔMACH ARAPTOUMI, hither to me, O Saint Cyprian; appear to me this very hour and do not frighten my eyes. Hither to me, O Saint Cyprian, be attentive to me because he wishes and commands this ACHCHÔR ACHCHÔR ACHACHACH PTOUMI CHACHCHÔ CHARACHÔCH CHAPTOUMÊ CHÔRACHARACHÔCH APTOUMI MÊCHÔCHAPTOU CHARACHPTOU CHACHCHÔ CHARACHÔ PTENACHÔCHEU” (a hundred letters).

But you are not unaware, mighty king and leader of magicians, that this is the chief name of Typhon, at whom the ground, the depths of the sea, Hades, heaven, the sun, the moon, the visible chorus of stars, the whole universe all tremble, the name which, when it is uttered, forcibly brings gods and daemons to it. This is the name that consists of 100 letters.

– PGM IV. 223- 243

Immediately after finishing this powerful conjuration, I sat before the Altar with the lecanomantic bowl on my knees as described in the spell text. I began to scry into the olive oil swirling in the water and invited Saint Cyprian to guide me with a vision of whatever he felt would be helpful for the development of magical wisdom. I gazed and gaze into the swirling Cyprianic oil within the bowl until my eyes grew heavier and heavier before falling shut completely…

Suddenly, I saw him. Saint Cyprian, carrying his iconic Crook stepped out of the darkness of my closed eyelids and stood before me, exuding great power and mystery.  I greeted him with love, respect, and the blessings of the Divine, which he returned.  Then I asked him what he guidance he would like to offer for the next phase of my magical development and he said:

“Follow my example. Find connecting lines where others see gaps. Integrate the wisdom to which differing traditions cling into a broader vision of magic. Do not fixate on the outer forms of things. Instead, peer behind the techniques, at the principles that underlie them, and behind the symbols and language at the fundamental forces on which they draw. Having realized the concealed and foundational mechanics that power the techniques and rites of magic beneath their surface forms, you will be best equipped to enlist them in your work. Let undeniable results rule over the rigid opinions of the ignorant.”

I thanked Saint Cyprian for this wise message and promised to do my utmost to put it into practice.  I then asked him if he was pleased by my efforts and Offerings thus far in the 9 preceding Novena days of intensive magical work conducted in his honour and if so, whether he would do me the great honour of granting me his patronage as a result.  Smiling, he spoke into my mind in his deep calm voice, saying:

“It is with pleasure that I bestow on you my Patronage. Wherever you go, my Crook will follow you there.  Whatever work you embark upon, my hand will be in it to strengthen it as well.” 

I felt very moved and grateful for these inspiring words and asked the great Saint if he would be willing to kindly bless me with a new magical technique that I could both use myself and pass on to other esteemed Magicians to empower their own work. Nodding in assent, Cyprian instructed me to open my eyes and begin to write.  As I did so, I was startled by the automatic rapidity with which the words of the rite that follows flowed, fully-formed onto the page as a potent gift from Saint Cyprian himself. I pray that you, dear Reader, will find it as useful as I have, that it will release blessings and power over you, your house, and your work, and that Saint Cyprian will pray for your success in all things, in the name of the Most High, Amen!

The Invocatory Rite of the Crook of Saint Cyprian

Perform a ritual bath and stand to perform the ritual, ideally in the center of a ceremonial Circle of your choosing. Breathe deeply multiple times until relaxed and ready.

Hold a Wand, Dagger or extended finger straight up into the air and call out:

RAI ATAH IA YAH YAH
(Ray-Ah-Tah Ee-ah Yah-Yah)

Begin to trace a Spiral symbolizing Cyprian’s Crook out from the center of your forehead. Continue spiralling faster and faster while declaring:

I draw out the Eternal
GA RAHP TA GAKAIOL
(Gah-rahpt-tah-gah-ka-ee-ol),
Beyond all, at the Source of All,
Beyond the First, after the Last,
Nowhere and Yet everywhere,
Here and Now And evermore,
ONTA GA SHALEIO KA
(OH-N-Tah-Hah-Shah-Lay-Yo-Ka)
RAMATA GAH RAH KAA!
(Rah-Mah-Tah Gah-Rah Ka-Ah)

Thee I Invoke, The Ancient One,
As You, as I, Without A Second
GOKAHRAI TAH AGAI
(Goh-Kah-Ray-Tah-Ah-Gah-Ee)
OVAYOTOGAIOL
(Oh-vah Yoh-toh Gah-ee-ool)
RAHGAH PEII RAH TAI!
(Rah-gah Pay-Ee Rah Tah-Ee)

Pull the potent force evoked down towards the ground to complete the Staff portion of Cyprian’s Crook, tracing your wand, dagger or finger down from the forehead over the throat, heart, and solar plexus.

Finish with your hand over your genitals and your finger, Wand, or Dagger pointing to the floor. Exclaim:

Planted am I, the Eternal Root,
Fiery Source, Birth and Destruction,
Mighty am I, Force Beyond Force,
None do breathe except through Me —
GAH RAH TEII AIOL!
(Gah-Rah Tei-ee Ah-Eee-Ol)
Life and Death are naught but coils
In my Ancient Serpent’s Form,
Beyond the Hidden and Revealed
OTA GOH KARAIOL!
(Oh-tah Goh-kah Rah-Ee-Ol)
GOGEI AN PA-AH-IOL!
(Goh-gay An-pah Ah-Ee-Ol)
As That Alone which Is declares,
So must yet it be:
__________________ (Call out petition / desired magical outcome)!
KAH GEI RATEI GAIOL,
(Kah-Gay Rah-tay Gah-Ee-Ol)
OMEI GATEI ALEI PHA,
(Oh-may Gah-tay Al-Ay-Pha)
AMEN! AMEN! AMEN!”

Cross the arms over the chest like the resurrected Osiris and abide in that position for some time, monitoring the sensations that result, certain that what has been declared will come to pass.

Novena of Saint Cyprian 2018 Day 8: Invocation of Archangel Uriel

By Frater S.C.F.V.

This Novena has been without a doubt the single-most magically intense series of operations I’ve ever attempted… To invoke 8 Archangels in 8 days, perform the most intense Stele of Jeu of my life, and officiate the G.D. Equinox Ceremony, with all of the other prayers, consecrations, exorcisms, fasting, community service, charity work, scrying, Church services, preparation of Saint Cyprian Oil, and so on… have all left me grateful and inspired, but also utterly drained and with so much to process.  Thankfully, however, tonight completes the Invocations.  Tomorrow is a fairly relaxed Novena day and the day after, I celebrate Cyprian’s Feast Day and formally adopt him as my Patron. Then it’s time for a break from magic for a while to integrate all of the intense results of these tremendously charged 10 days…

On this Eighth Day of my 2018 Novena to Saint Cyprian of Antioch, September 23, 2018, I arose and performed a ritual bath and worship. I attended my research seminar, listened to multiple spiritual talks while traveling about, completed my work for the day, and then went home for another ritual bath. With that done, I set up the Temple with the Altar facing the North in preparation for today’s formal Invocation of Archangel Uriel.

After yet another day of vegetarian diet and minimal food, I prepared the Offering candles for the night’s Ritual. For Cyprian, I fixed and dressed a candle with San Cipriano Oil, cinnamon, and all-spice. Archangel Uriel’s candle, in contrast, was dressed and fixed with Solomonic Holy Oil, rosemary, and white sage.

After ritual bathing, I entered the Temple, where I began, as usual, with offerings to God and prayers. I picked up my Solomonic bell, sounded it three times before entering the Circle as per the Hygromanteia and then, from within it, thrice to each of the Quarters, greeting the Spirits of the East, South, West, and North with great love, respect, and  blessings of Adonai. I used my Key of Solomon Aspergillum of Art to sprinkle Holy Water all around the Circle and on the tools to purify the area to receive the Archangel. I then proceeded to give Offerings to God and to Saint Cyprian and began to pray and recite Psalms while holding my Solomonic Wand of Art.

I then used the prayer from the Heptameron to ask for God’s help in calling Spirits and proceeded to a formal Invocation of Archangel Uriel. As the Angel’s mighty presence began to grow in intensity, I greeted him with love and respect and offered him gifts of Incense and his fixed Candle as Offerings of friendship.  After receiving them, his candle begin to flicker wildly.

Archangel Uriel’s presence felt ancient, supremely peaceful, and powerful, yet equanimitous. It was easy to be drawn into the calm space of his presence, which made me feel comfortable to proceed slowly and with great attentiveness rather than to rush through the ritual. Unlike the to-the-point and no-nonsense Archangel Cassiel, Uriel did not rush me through the ritual at a rapid pace; instead, he was gradual and patient.

I asked the Archangel if he could give me a vision of his nature. My eyes fell closed, heavily and slow. Suddenly, I beheld a totally different scene.

A powerful ancient figure, an Angel clad in black and green. He moves his glowing hand of light over the land and plants began to grow. A motion of his other hand causes rain to fall upon the land. And on he drifts over the soil and greenery…

Suddenly, I was back in the Temple, kneeling before the Altar once more. Because Uriel was said to specialize in prophecy and clairvoyance, I asked him, as I had asked several of the other Angels, if he could assist me in developing my Crystal-scrying abilities. He kindly assented to my request and I found myself gazing deep through the crystal as his candle flickered hypnotizingly in the background.  I gave him my consent to speak guidance into my mind as he willed, requesting that he speak in my tongue in a manner I might understand. His instructions were mysterious and enigmatic  Uriel instructed me to:

“Gaze not into the Crystal pretending you were a separate individual “Adam” gazing into a separate stone through which to gain a vision of an Angel. That which gazes, the seeing itself, and the seen are all the Supreme itself. Let all phenomena fall away. Rest as the primal No-thingness. And as That, gaze as the Void into the Void, as God into the Wisdom and Mysteries of the Mind of God. Then see what comes forth.”

I asked Uriel if he could give me a sense of what God was like. He replied:

“How could such a thing be done? Cast aside all of your thoughts and concepts about Him, all that has ever been thought, is thought now, and ever will be thought. For the Divine is greater than the greatest and beyond actual and possible cognition. Out of compassion, God permits his children to relate to Him through metaphors — even “Children” and “Father” and “He” are metaphors. But do not confuse metaphors with truth. No concept of God is true. God is beyond all concepts. If you wish to know what He is like, you must leave all concepts behind and dive, unhelped and unsupported, directly into the Abyss of not-knowing itself. There alone, in complete non-knowing and non-seeing is Divine Seeing and Knowing to be found, and not by “you,” but of Him, through Him, and by Him alone...”

From these infinitely subtle metaphysical topics, which pushed the boundaries of the intelligible into the mystical and the unfathomable, the conversation turned to more practical matters on the mundane human level. When asked how best to develop as a social worker for the greater service of my clients and the greater Good, Uriel instructed me to:

“Turn to the Most High repeatedly for guidance, for He knows all and you do not. Do your best to learn all you can. Study fervently. Practice each moment as if it were your last opportunity to serve. Work for your clients as if they were your own children or parents. Care for them with just as much seriousness, tenderness, and yet, humour. Lose not compassion. Step into your fear to do what you have never done before, reaching out to mentors, resources, and peers to carry you through. Turn all over to God and all will come out well in the end. For He from whom all possibilities come, all is possible and without Him, nothing is.”

As a final question, I asked Uriel how we could best connect with Nature. Uriel answered:

“The very question is meaningless. There is no “human” separate from Nature. How can you connect with what you already are? Does your wrist need to practice to connect with the arm? They are already beyond connected; they are One. Instead, realize that in truth, there is no human apart from Nature, and therefore no need to connect one to the other. As you stand in the forest, cast aside your human identity, emotions, and thoughts about “how to connect.” Silently, without knowing what you are doing, in complete surrender of all ideas, drink in the forest and simply be. Natural Unity is. Apparent disharmony veils only eternal harmony in the Whole. Rest in the inter-being that alone is. Let all be as it is, entrusting it all to the Power of the Eternal. In That which is beyond all questions and answers, your question will be answered by seeing that there is no need for a question. No solution is needed when there is no problem. Let “how” drop. Be in its absence. In such fullness, what question is there of “how to connect”?”

The illuminated peace Uriel embodied continued to shine forth throughout the Temple space.  Exhausted, however, I offered Uriel to remain for the final prayers or feel free to depart in peace at his leisure. I asked if he had any final words and received simply “all that need now be said has been.” When asked if he would accept the gift of my friendship, pray for me, aid me as best he could, and kindly come again to share with me again should it be his will and God’s, his candle flickered intensely in affirmation. Finally, I obtained his permission to share the record of our communication and invited him to kindly communicate any wisdom he cared to share with me in dreams.

I said a final set of prayers and closed the Temple, exhausted, but content, at having finished the 8th Archangelic Invocation on the 8th Day of the Novena.  As Saint Cyprian’s statue gazed upon the Altar, the Offering candles continued to flicker silently into the night, long after I had left the Temple…

3 Hours of Abysmal Scrying Failures

Date: May 18, 2018
Time: 9:22 p.m to 9:35 A.M.
Sun Phase: Set
Moon Phase: Waning Crescent in 25 degrees Gemini, Lunar Mansion of Batn al-Hut
Planetary Day: Day of Jupiter with Jupiter in Retrograde
Planetary Hour: Hour of Saturn, Hour of Jupiter, Hour of Mars, Hour of the Sun, into Hour of Venus
Activities: LRP, Prayer, Offerings, and Invocations of HGA, crystal scrying, prayer, Temple closing

I performed ritual bathing and anointed my eyes with Solomonic Holy Water and Holy Oil. I then performed the Lesser Invoking Ritual of the Pentagram with my consecrated Dagger and proceeded to “inflame myself with prayer,” invoking God and my Holy Guardian Angel and requesting a vision in the scrying crystal of whatever my HGA would like me to see to develop wisdom, to be more of service, or just increase the glory of God.

I then sat before the crystal flanked with two candles while consecrated incense burned and began a whopping 3 hours of scrying, repeatedly invoking my HGA and praying.

The result? I saw absolutely nothing. Zero. Neither astrally nor physically. This is a topic that most Magicians tend to avoid writing about, but I am writing about it to encourage beginners to magic that even after many years of experience, we can still have nights when absolutely nothing happens.

Tonigh was such a night. 3 hours of abysmal failures, a mind that wouldn’t settle, attention that flitted around, inconsistent and inconstant magical gaze states, and no visions, impressions, or insights at all to show from it.

How do we relate to a night like this? As a great Adept once told me, we learn what we can from it and then laugh, brush it off, and get back on the horse and try again another day. Abysmal failures are simply part of the process and the Path, just as much as towering successes. So if you have them, know you’re not alone! We all do. This remains the case even though some of us prefer only to talk about the successes. 😉

The take-home message? Learn what you can, be patient, compassionate, and gentle with yourself. And keep walking the Path anyway, refusing to be dissuaded through perseverance and commitment.

In truth, as we say in neuro-linguistic programming, there is no such thing as failure: only feedback. So take the feedback you can, keep an open-mind, and live to try again and potentially get more “feedback” another day!

Consecrations of Solomonic Linens, Tablet of Lights, Aspergillum, Incense, Scrying Crystal, and a Crucifix of Art

By Frater S.C.F.V.

Since today is the last waxing-Mooned Day of Mercury of the Lunar month before the Moon returns to its waning phase, it is a big day for me as a Solomonic magician. I did no less than 4 hours of ritual today, divided between three Hours of Mercury with some additional time thereafter in each case for supplementary prayers. In addition to that, I fasted throughout the day and did additional prayers and singing in between Hours of Mercury while crafting Solomonic tools and painting my Solomonic Circle.

I woke up before Dawn, performed a Ritual Bathing, in the Sufi Ghusl method I have long used, ate a small meal of toast with peanut butter and an apple, and prepared my tools for the first Hour of Mercury.

During the First Hour of Mercury, I consecrated a series of incenses as Holy Incense following the Key of Solomon method, with suffumigations, purifications with Solomonic Holy Water, and anointing with Solomonic Holy Oil.

I also consecrated the Tablet of Lights used in Balthazar’s Solomonic candle magic methodology, which I plan to experiment with in its fusion of Solomonic methods with Hoodoo/Conjure techniques, as well as a secondary plate for drawing circles on the Tablet of Lights that I call the Plate of Circles.

In addition, I consecrated the Solomonic Linens to wrap these two tools. Over the Incense, Tablet of Lights, Plate of Circles, and Linens, I prayed Psalms 72, 118, 124, and the Benedicite Omnia Opera.

In the Second Hour of Mercury, I inscribed the Sigils and Names of God as given in the Key of Solomon‘s Book II, Chapter 20 method for the linens in a number of separate wrappings to be used for all of my Solomonic tools. I also cut the Aspergillum used for sprinkling water according to Key of Solomon’s Book II, Chapter 11 method and blessed and consecrated it as well.

Between the Second and Third Hours of Mercury, I continued to paint the gold around my Solomonic Circle:

Finally, in the Third Hour of Mercury, I Solomonically consecrated a Gold-plated zinc-alloy Crucifix of Art to be worn around my neck for protection during the exorcism of Soror C.R. that I will soon be performing… I hand cleansed it with soapy water before I consecrated it, then suffumigated it, cleansed it with Holy Water, anointed it with Holy Oil, and recited the exorcisms, blessings, and Psalms over it.

Finally, also during this Hour, I Solomonically consecrated my Scrying Crystal for use in the invocation and evocation of Angelic beings and the seeing of Holy visions, suffumigating, sprinkling, and anointing it as with the Crucifix of Art.

All in all, it has been a very exhausting, but beautiful day. I saw sparks around the Circle at times, and felt like my heart opened up more in faith and loving devotion. Preparing and consecrating each of these tools according to the grimoire is an act of devotion, of faith, of love, and of magic in its own right.

These rites should not be rushed through, but done with presence, care, and due consideration, for as the pseudo-Agrippa, the author of the Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy, points out, grimoiric magic strongly relies on the consecrations used to invest the tools with Spirits of their own according to their shamanistic roots:

“And now we come to treat of the Consecrations which, men ought to make upon all instruments and things necessary to be used in this Art: and the virtue of this Consecration most chiefly consists in two things; to wit, in the power of the person consecrating, and by the virtue of the prayer by which the Consecration is made.

For in the person consecrating, there is required holiness of Life, and power of sanctifying: both which are acquired by Dignification and Initiation. And that the person himself should with a firm and undoubted faith believe the virtue, power, and efficacie hereof.

And then in the Prayer itself by which this Consecration is made, there is required the like holiness; which either solely consisteth in the prayer itself, as, if it be by divine inspiration ordained to this purpose, such as we have in many places of the holy Bible; or that it be hereunto instituted through the power of the Holy Spirit, in the ordination of the Church.

Otherwise there is in the Prayer a Sanctimony, which is not only by itself, but by the commemoration of holy things; as, the commemoration of holy Scriptures, Histories, Works, Miracles, Effects, Graces, Promises, Sacraments and Sacramental things, and the like. Which things, by a certain similitude, do seem properly or improperly to appertain to the thing consecrated.”

~ The Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy

 

Non-Qabalistic Pathworking Systems

By Frater S.C.F.V.

Qabalistic and non-Qabalistic Pathworking

When most contemporary occultists here the term “Pathworking,” their first thought is of an approach of astrally travelling through visionary journeys on the 32 Paths of the Qabalistic Tree of Life, that is, along the 22 Paths of the Hebrew Letters and the 10 Sephirot themselves, which represent Paths in their own right. The Qabalistic Pathworking system, particularly as practiced by the Adepti of the Golden Dawn, is a very powerful system and I have had some amazing and transformatively initiatory experiences by working it.

However, the Qabalistic system is by no means the only Pathworking or system of visionary journeying out there. In this article, I will briefly introduce some non-Qabalistic Pathworking systems. For the purposes of this discussion, I will define a Pathworking system as a collection of methods for skrying-based or astral travel-based visionary journeys through a set of associated specific realms, regions, symbols, or inner planes.

Tarot, Tattwa, and Enochian Tablet Pyramid Pathworking

Naturally, as the Golden Dawn pointed out, each of the 78 cards of the Tarot can be astrally projected into and each yields its own unique experiences to the magician.

This Tarot Pathworking system is often integrated with the Qabalistic Tree of Life Pathworking system, but it need not be. Indeed, the cards reveal distinct and unique meanings when worked alone without the astral influence of the Qabalistic symbols and energies shaping the vision. For example, the Trumps can be Pathworked in sequence from 0 to 21, a method called the astral Fool’s Journey.

Other Golden Dawn Pathworking systems include projecting through the Tattwas or each of the Pyramids of the Enochian Tablets. In this case, one enters an altered state and projects one’s consciousness ‘through’ a square/pyramid on one of the Enochian Tablets then examines the visions that follow.

For a great source on G.D.-style Pathworking approaches, see my friend Nick Farrell’s excellent Magical Pathworking: Techniques of Active Imagination. His Osiris Scroll lays out his own neo-Egyptiana version of an initiatory Pathworking system designed to lead through the reader through a series of visionary ordeals culminating in the realization of the Higher Self.

Ancient Roots of Scrying-Based Work

Certainly, the use of pools of water, crystals, and so on as scrying aids to visionary work is ancient indeed, so I do not credit the 19th century occult revival or Golden Dawn with inventing the notion of ‘pathworking’ or visionary journeying; the practice often mediated by scrying tools, seems to have ancient roots. We’ve already mentioned some of them above. To add onto the above discussion, in a well-known passage in the Old Testament, which would have been as familiar to the Grimoiric priestly-clerical magicians as the stories of Enoch, and Jacob’s ladder, the silver chalice that is placed in Benjamin’s sack when he leaves Egypt is described as being used by Joseph for divination.

In ancient Egypt, scrying and spirit communication seem to have been practiced with the aid of ink or water and there are myths about Hathor that present her as bearing a reflective shield in which visions could be seen, a kind of proto-scrying mirror. Aztec tlatoani read the reflections in obsidian. For the Egyptians, Babylonians and Greeks water and bodies of water were from the earliest times associated with conduits to the realm of the gods and of the dead; indeed, the Papyri Graecae Magicae (PGM) have detailed instructions on communicating with spirits via bowls filled with water and an offering of oil (see PGM IV, 154-285). And, indeed, as we know, and as Dr. Stephen Skinner showed in his own work, many of the PGM practices and much of its theory were integrated into the Solomonic Grimoires.

Indeed, compare “…name of Typhon, at whom the ground, the depths of the sea, Hades, heaven, the sun, the moon, the visible chorus of stars, the whole universe all tremble…” (PGM IV. 223- 243) to “…this ineffable name Tetragrammaton Jehovah , which being heard, the elements are overthrown; the air is shaken, the sea runneth back, the fire is quenched, the earth trembles and all hosts of Celestials, Terrestrials & Infernals do tremble…” (Heptameron and Key of Solomon). And this is a passage directly taken from the same Papyrus that explains how to work with spirits through a bowl filled with water, or lecanomancy.

The earliest written evidence of lecanomancy or bowl-based scrying and divination are from the Babylonian Ritual Tablets dating to the 7th Century BCE, so these roots run way back into our magical history. To me, it is not inconceivable that these ancient scryers may have used their scrying media not just for divination, but also to generate immersive visions of the type generated in what we today call ‘pathworking’ in its various systems and manifestations.

Merkavah Pathworking

In Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires, Aaaron Leitch notes that “a form of Jewish shamanic magick known as Mahaseh Merkavah, or the “Work of the Chariot,” which he describes as a “practice of astral travel through the seven palaces of heaven (i.e., the planetary spheres), where the ultimate goal was the vision of the throne of God.”

It’s worth noting, however, that some authors contend that while the Seven Heavens may be equivalent with the Seven Planetary Spheres, other authors suggest that the Seven Palaces of the Merkavah system are distinct from the Heavens exist either in or beyond the Seventh Heaven. Regardless, however, as a visionary travel system, the Merkavah system is a Pathworking system, which greatly influenced and indeed, served as a precursor to, the historically later Qabalistic Tree of Life-based Pathworking system which followed it.

For anyone interested in the Merkavah system, my friend David Benton wrote a fantastic book on it entitled The Work of the Chariot. His book contains detailed instructions for performing merkavah mysticism, adapted from Medieval Hekhalot sources, along with the names and functions of the entities you will encounter, all in an easy to use and clearly-written format.

The Shahnameh System and Islamic Pathworking

The Shahnameh, a 10th-century epic work narrating historical and mythological past of Persia, gives a description of what was called the Cup of Jamshid (Jaam-e Jam), which was used by the ancient mythological Persian kings for observing all of the seven layers of the universe. As mentioned by Ali-Akbar Dehkhoda, it was believed that all seven heavens of the universe could be observed by looking into it (از هفت فلک در او مشاهده و معاینه کردی), a view that suggests the Merkavah tradition described above.

It was believed to have been discovered in Persepolis in ancient times. Most notably to our beloved Solomonic tradition, in the Islamic world, the name and legend of Jamshid was often linked to legends and lore about Sulayman (Solomon) himself. Indeed, it’s well worth diving into the Sufi traditions around Sulayman, which draw on the same source as the Western Grimoires, namely, the Testament of Solomon as filtered through the interpretations in the Qur’an and Hadith!

Indeed, astral or visionary journeying is built into the Orthodox framework of Islam, so it certainly long-predates the Victorians. Sufi magical traditions have ways of working with it. Indeed, according to standard Islamic theology, the Prophet Muhammad took a “Night Journey” in which he traveled from Mecca, now in Saudia Arabia, to a location in Jerusalem now identified as the site of the al-Aqsa Mosque. He was said to have ridden a white, winged Pegasus-like being called ‘Buraq’ on this very distant journey.

According to the legend, Muhammad alighted, tethered Buraq to the Temple Mount and performed prayer, where on God’s command he was tested by Gabriel. According to a hadith or oral tradition narrated by Anas ibn Malik, Muhammad said: “Jibra’il (Gabriel) brought me a vessel of wine, a vessel of water and a vessel of milk as a test, and I chose the milk. Jibra’il said: ‘You have chosen the Fitrah (natural instinct).'”

In the second part of the journey, the Mi’raj (an Arabic word that literally means “ladder”)–an intentional allusion to the Jacob’s Ladder tradition–Jibra’il took him to the heavens, where he toured the Seven Heavens, and spoke with the earlier prophets such as Abraham (ʾIbrāhīm), Moses (Musa), John the Baptist (Yaḥyā ibn Zakarīyā), and Jesus (Isa). Muhammad was then taken to Sidrat al-Muntaha – a holy tree in the seventh heaven that Gabriel was not allowed to pass.

Ibn ‘Abbas’ Primitive Version narrates all that Muhammad encounters throughout his journey through heaven. This includes seeing other angels, and seas of light, darkness, and fire. With Gabriel as his companion, Muhammad meets four key angels as he travels through the heavens. These angels are the Rooster angel (whose call influences all earthly roosters), Half-Fire Half-Snow angel (who provides an example of God’s power to bring fire and ice in harmony), the Angel of Death (who describes the process of death and the sorting of souls), and the Guardian of Hellfire (who shows Muhammad what hell looks like).

These four angels are met in the beginning of Ibn ‘Abbas’ narrative. They are mentioned in other accounts of Muhammad’s ascension, but they are not talked about with as much detail as Ibn ‘Abbas provides. As the narrative continues, Ibn Abbas focuses mostly on the angels that Muhammad meets rather than the prophets. There are rows of angels that Muhammad encounters throughout heaven, and he even meets certain deeply devoted angels called cherubim. The idea of traveling through subtle planes while ascending spiritually and communing with entities there is the essence of what we now call ‘pathworking,’ and here we find the Prophet Muhammad doing it 621 CE

This tradition speaks to the point of visionary journeying far predating the Victorian and methodologies of the Golden Dawn’s tradition of occultism–certainly the shamanic traditions in many Indigenous traditions of visionary journeying date all the way back into prehistory. It also shows how the Merkavah material seems to have influenced the development of early Islamic mysticism and mythology along parallel lines to the influences of the same material on the Grimoires around one thousand years later.

Tibetan and Ancient Egyptian Pathworking Systems

The Tibetan Bardo Thodol or Book of the Dead and Egyptian Book of Coming Forth by Day both lay out something akin to pathworking systems, but these texts and their attendant systems were mainly intended for guiding the soul after its passing from this mortal coil. Thus, they may be seen in a sense, post-embodiment or post-death Pathworking systems. Both systems are generally understood as presenting maps of the geography of the underworld, deities encountered there, trials undertaken, although there are advanced esoteric ways of doing this work while still alive. Indeed, Delog: Journey to Realms Beyond Death records the “vivid personal account of a journey through the “bardos” and “pure realms” was recorded by 16-year-old Dawa Drolma of Eastern Tibet, a renowned female lama” who became a “delog”-one who crosses the threshold of death and returns to tell about it.”

Moreover, some authors, such as Jeremy Naydler in Shamanic Wisdom in the Pyramid Texts: the Mystical Tradition of Ancient Egypt, argue that The Book of Going Forth By Day was used by Egyptian priest-magicians to train them in what some call “practical eschatology,” that is, the afterlife experience while still alive. Indeed, Chapters 125, 17 and 151 can be worked in an initiatory framework. David Nez has suggested to me that the Orphic golden tablets may have been used in similar fashion by Hellenistic Initiates. I have little experience with these systems, however, and so I must defer to my more-knowledgeable peers.

In this connection, in his in his fantastic Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires, my esteemed friend Aaron Leitch writes that “the Chaldean or Babylonian priests of later times made this after-death journey while still alive-creating a kind of controlled near-death experience.” This Chaldean system represented their own version of this kind of post-death-stage Pathworking system.

Runic Pathworking

Although this is not a traditional method of Norse spirituality, I have also found that the Runic systems can be Pathworked, whether one is using the 24 Runes of the Elder Futhark, the 29 or 33 Runes of the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc, or the 16 Runes of the Younger Futhark. In this system, one simply applies the G.D. “Travel in the Spirit Vision” method and projects through the Rune symbol in an altered / trance state (e.g. theta-gamma synchronized state) and then notes the visions that ensue. For more on the Golden Dawn’s method, see Flying Roll XXXVI – Of Skrying & Traveling in the Spirit Vision and Flying Roll XXV – On Clairvoyance & Travelling in the Spirit.

John Dee’s Enochian Aethyric Pathworking System

John Dee’s Enochian system lays out a Pathworking system through the 30 Aethyrs, which are conceived as forming a map of the entire subtle universe in the form of concentric rings that expand outward from the innermost to the outermost Aethyr. These Aethyrs are entered using Enochian Calls, which function as Keys for entering the Aethyrs in visionary journeys. Dee’s Enochian map of the universe consisted of the Great Table of Four Watchtowers and the Tablet of Union surrounded by 30 concentric circles, the Aethyrs. These 30 Aethyrs are numbered from 30, namely TEX, the lowest and consequently the closest to the Watchtowers to 1 LIL, the highest, representing the Supreme Attainment.

In Aethyric Pathworking, Magicians working the Enochian system record their impressions and visions within each of the successive Enochian Aethyrs from TEX to LIL. Each of the 30 Aethyrs is populated by “Governors” — 3 for each Aethyr, except TEX which has four, for a total of 91 Governors. Each of the governors has a Sigil which can be traced onto the Great Tablet of Earth. In practical work with the Aethyrs, the Nineteenth Key of the 30 Aethyrs is the only call necessary for working with the Aethyrs.
It is only necessary to vary appropriately the name of the Aethyr itself near the beginning of the call. Once the Call is recited, the names of the Governors are vibrated one at a time and a record of the visions is kept. In this system, one can gaze into the Crystal Ball / Skrying Crystal after doing the Call and see what images form there or do a full-blown astral projection into the Aethyr after entering it with the appropriate Key. Aaron Leitch’s The Essential Enochian Grimoire: An Introduction to Angel Magick from Dr. John Dee to the Golden Dawn is a great help for working with this system.

Astrally Working the Stations of the Cross as a Pathworking System

Among Christian mystics, particularly Catholic mystics, there was a kind of experiential, initiatory tradition of working through the Stations of the Cross in a systematic, progressive initiatory framework that is reminiscent, in some of its more visionary workings, of a Pathworking tradition.

That particular visionary legacy lies in the background of many of the Renaissance Grimoires; indeed, some of the Catholic clerical grimoiric writers may have learned the working of the 12 stations during their standard clerical training. It began to be widespread in Europe in the 15th-16th centuries and was well-established as a common practice by the 17th century. Indeed, the Stations of the Cross system of ‘contemplative pilgrimage working’ was well-established by the time Johann Weyer’s Pseudomonarchia Daemonum in his De praestigiis daemonum (1577) was written. The system was even more in vogue by the time of the Lesser Key of Solomon’s composition in the mid-17th century.

To quote one author on the subject, the “Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as Way of Sorrows or Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The stations grew out of imitations of Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem which is believed to be the actual path Jesus walked to Mount Calvary. The object of the stations is to help the Christians faithful to make a spiritual pilgrimage through contemplation of the Passion of Christ. It has become one of the most popular devotions and the stations can be found in many Western Christian churches, including Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, and Roman Catholic ones.

Commonly, a series of 14 or 15 images will be arranged in numbered order along a path and the faithful travel from image to image, in order, stopping at each station to say the selected prayers and reflections. This will be done individually or in a procession most commonly during Lent, especially on Good Friday, in a spirit of reparation for the sufferings and insults that Jesus endured during his passion.”

I have read Medieval and Renaissance accounts of Christian mystics from the 15th and 16th centuries, contemporaneous with some of our late-Medieval, early-Modern grimoires, in which they describe meditating on each image at each Station while reciting the associated prayers until they enter a kind of trance-state where they describe feeling like they are seeing the picture come to life or feel like they are transported within it and are experiencing the scene as if they were there with Christ in that moment. Worked astrally and systematically, this exoteric system could be adapted into an esoteric Pathworking system in the magical sense.

The Armadel of Magic

The the Armadel of Magic (not to be confused with the Arbatel or Almadel) could also be regarded as presenting a kind of evocational pathworking system. It has unfortunately taken a lot of criticism from some Grimoiric scholars, but in essence it is highly shamanic system, which works with the perennially shamanic Terrestrial/Infernal/Celestial world division. As Aaron points out in Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires, “the focus of the work seems to be upon visionary quests or spiritual encounters facilitated by the magickal characters, as well as gaining some magickal powers such as healing, alchemy, agriculture, etc.” The emphasis on shamanic visionary quests seems very reminiscent of other Pathworking systems although the framework is here one of a simple evocational system centered around Spirit sigils.

 The Zoroastrian Arda Viraf Pathworking System

Within the Zoroastrian tradition, there is a shamanic tradition around visionary ascensions recorded in the Book of Arda Viraf. In this system, the Magician performs some preparation rituals such as a ritual bath, suffumigations, prayers, and so on, and then drinks wine and comes a psychoactive brew. Thereafter, he or she travels through a system of hells and heavens. Of the method of the Magician’s travels, the text says:

21. And then Viraf joined his hands on his breast before the Mazdayasnians, and said to them (22) thus: ‘It is the custom that I should pray to the departed souls, and eat food, and make a will; afterward, you will give me the wine and narcotic.’ (23) The Dasturs directed thus: ‘Act accordingly.’

24. And afterward, those Dasturs of the religion selected, in the dwelling of the spirit, a place which was thirty footsteps from the good. (25) And Viraf washed his head and body, and put on new clothes; (26) he fumigated himself with sweet scent and spread a carpet, new and clean, on a prepared couch. (27) He sat down on the clean carpet of the couch, (28) and consecrated the Dron, and remembered the departed souls, and ate food. (29) And then those Dasturs of the religion filled three golden cups with wine and narcotic of Vishtasp; (30) and they gave one cup over to Viraf with the word ‘well-thought,’ and the second cup with the word ‘well-said,’ and the third cup with the word ‘well-done’; (31) and he swallowed the wine and narcotic, and said grace whilst conscious, and slept upon the carpet.

The “narcotic” is labeled here as Vishtasp; this was a hemp or marijuana extract or, according to some sources, a variant of hashish. In this text, some of the Pathworking locations are described as “the Star Track,” “the Moon track,” “the Sun track,” in addition to various other locations in the “Heavens” and “Hells,” in which the Magician undergoes visionary experiences and discourses with spirits and deities. Chris Bennett describes this system and other similar shamanic systems extensively in his Cannabis and the Soma Solution.

The Arda Viraf has been argued as an influence on the Prophet Muhammad’s Night Journey and on the much later Purgatorio, Inferno, and Paradiso of Dante Alighieri, in which Dante the Pilgrim undertakes his own journeys through purgary, hell realms, and heavenly realms respectively.

It’s worth noting that in this text, as in many others, a “magic carpet” is used to facilitate astral travel in the spirit vision. My friend A. Wretch wrote a very fascinating compilation of texts that use carpets as aids to Pathworking and visionary travel entitled Magic Carpets, Sensory Deprivation, and Entheogenic Ceremonial Magick, which I would highly recommend.

In our discussion of the Arda Viraf, he pointed out that “the Book of Arda Viraf is extremely important! While there seems to be some question as to its original dating, it could well be the origin of magick carpets. It also seems like Merkabah precursor. Keep in mind that in the book of Kings it describes Solomon’s chariot, which is also called a bed, but this is in reality a palanquin.

This likely comes from the Zoroastrian influences in Judaism as with Arda Viraf, which puts the magick carpet over the “couch” which is a term that is also sometimes used for a palanquin. You mentioned the cup of Jamshid, but the Shahnameh also explains palanquin Merkabah like experiences among the kings like Kay Kavus and Nimrod… you will find a reference to a great article in the start of my Magick carpets anthology.”

Conclusion

While the Qabalistic Pathworking system is remarkably rich and can be very powerful and transformative, it is not the only Pathworking system. My hope is that in this article, you have found some interesting pathways–no pun intended–for further research and experimentation. See you down the astral Rabbit hole…

Discussion Questions

1. Have you had any notable experiences with any of these systems that you’d like to share in the comments?
2. Are there any other key non-Qabalistic pathworking systems that this article has left out? What can you tell us about them?