If you’ve come to my old page, you should be transferred shortly — hopefully with all of the old bells and whistles still intact. The new site remains under renovations, with a deadline of mid-June. For now, I wanted to make sure the domain was transferred.
Delilah is a sassy lady. She’s interested in the Daemonic, like me, but she prefers to pay homage to these spirits through fiction. She’s also my new pen-name, and I look forward to sharing more about her upcoming books very soon.
Who knows? Delilah may end up with a couple more friends as both my writing life and my publishing imprint, Brassvessel Books, continue to evolve. The terrain feels rocky at the moment, but I’m taking advice from friends who have walked it before.
I’ll keep this short. It’s Friday and, truth be told, I want to get to my weekend! Since yesterday’s practice worked so well, I decided I best duplicate it this afternoon. If it works, do it again. I read my cards first and pulled Lenormand’s THE BOUQUET, indicating I was on the right path; I’d nourish my heart chakra through the gift of an easier practice today. After a short body scan, I went straight to chanting the five warrior syllables. I didn’t concentrate on moving energy through my body at first, just air. After about ten minutes, I started working Reiki energy along my core and down through my legs along with the syllables as well. My head felt much more clear afterward, and my body felt better from having been at work all morning. Success! It does my heart and its chakra good!
I struggled with today’s Loving Kindness meditation. After a week of saying “no” more often than usual, I had trouble understanding how I was extending kindness to all beings. Supposedly it can be a kindness to be cruel—but I’m also Canadian. We pop out of the womb saying “I’m sorry.” It was hard to let go of my guilt.
My body scan pointed out that my posture was all out of whack during meditation too. I was hunching my shoulders: curling in on myself as if to protect my chest. Sure enough, my green chakra was out of whack too. After sitting with this and trying to simply accept the situation as is for a bit, I work the tension out of my back and tried to work “the gunk” out of my chakra. It was stubborn, so it is time for a full elemental / chakra balancing.
I read four cards today, relating to what the prompt: Become more financially secure by…. In order, I pulled Renewal, Release, Self-Worth, and Service from my Chakra Wisdom Oracle. I interpreted this to mean that the time for change is here. I must let the past go, aim higher, and just do the work.
Today’s prompt was aimed at strengthening and nourishing my red or root chakra, which has to do with safety, security, and the physical world.
(Asafoetida remains a gentle but subtle presence, contacted at the beginning of each session and thanked at the end. I will check in with her in a greater way on a weekly basis.)
Because I am not doing the galdr work with the runes that I thought I would be this time around, I want to point out someone in this Domagick challenge who is. I don’t know them (him? her? zir?), so make no commentary on this blog other than pointing people at the current subject matter. I do wish them good luck! It is a fascinating subject.
Today’s Month of Spreads prompt encourages us to discover our strengths as readers and how we can grow in the area of divination. Shuffle your deck until you feel satisfied and deal five cards for the Reader’s Journey. Here are the Lenormand cards I pulled today:
What are my strengths as a reader? The Gentleman – myself, personal intuition is strong;
What makes my reading style unique and special? The Letter – writing, understanding of symbolism as a writer;
What other skills can I develop to become a better reader? The sun – my outer self, be less afraid to share my intuition, just go with it;
How can I grow further in my divination journey? The Birds – discuss more with other readers;
How can I become more confident in my divinatory skills? The Clover – do more daily readings, rely on quick thinking and intuition, again just go with it; could refer to luck; could refer to lucky charm
One way you can read five cards in a row with Lenormand is to choose the card in the centre as the topic, with those on either side giving you more information. In this case, the Sun is the heart of the matter. It refers to warmth, confidence, electricity, goodwill, cheerfulness, optimism, a comedian, and a charismatic person. I definitely think I read better face-to-face than I do via text. Gentleman + Letter is “a man of letters,” or a writer. Again, got that. Birds + Clover = fun or spontaneous discussions. That also underlines what the main reading said.
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Death Daemonic card for meditation and contemplation – Aken – Determining exactly what Aken did in the mythology of ancient Egypt is somewhat difficult. He was not directly worshipped but was mentioned often in funerary texts, usually as the custodian or ferryman of a boat called Meseket, which transported souls to the land of the dead. When the boat was not needed, Aken remained deeply asleep. When his services were required he would be awakened by a god called Mahaf. At other times in Egyptian mythology, however, Mahaf himself was the ferryman.
Both became conflated with the ram-headed god Kherty, whose name may have meant “the slaughterer.” Kherty was not only believed to act as a ferryman like the other two deities, but was also feared as an incarnation of death that could stop the hearts of men. Egyptians prayed to Kherty to ward off his touch, for modern day magicians could attempt to contact for cursing of the strongest type. If you make that kind of bargain, just make sure to pay the Ferryman.
Shuffle your deck until you feel you are satisfied.
Turn it face up and look for the card that best represents money. In Lenormand, this is the Fish.
The card to the left represents where your money problems reside.
The card to the right represents how your money problems can be solved.
Remove these three cards from the deck and shuffle the remaining cards until you again feel satisfied.
Flip over the top card. This is where you can start making money.
In After shuffling my Lenormand deck, I pulled the following cards for the Money maker spread:
Where My Money Problems Reside – The Birds – discussion, chatter, nervousness, anxiety, opinions of others, gossip, disquiet, busyness, one project after another
How My Money Problems Can Be Solved – The Child – listening to my inner child, new ideas, exploring new avenues, wonder, being a student, a rookie, a minor, purchasing nothing that is for a project
Where Can Start Making Money – The Coffin – This card can mean bankruptcy and misfortune, that obviously doesn’t make any sense here. It can also mean death, illness, need for healing, ghosts, undertakers, someone from your past, closing something off, a box, a container. Since I’m a writer who explores these topics, this isn’t out of line. It could also mean that I need to bring a project to a close.
Triplet of Fish + Birds + Child = “Money is stressful and makes me feel small.” Yes, I do feel discussions about money are stressful, and they do bring up issues for my childhood.
Triplet of Birds + Child + Coffin = “Vulnerable talks end.” Does this mean I don’t like dealing with money because it makes me feel vulnerable? Yet from vulnerability arises true art… Hmmm.
Pair of Fish + Coffin = “Money from the end of something.” Possibly from an illness or an inheritance, but more likely from the end of a project. Strangely enough, the book that is plagued me for years is about an inheritance.
So what’s my money maker? Death!
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“Beleth” by William Briar. Original stock photography by Martin Lindeblad Jørgensen. Model Maria Amanda.
Death Daemonic Card for Meditation and Contemplation – Beleth – Beleth is unique among the Death Daemonic in that she represents Thanateros, the combined forces of love and death. In addition to being able to helping practitioners reach their loved ones beyond the veil, it is said that she causes love in both men in women until the magician’s desire is fulfilled. But desire for what exactly?
While the Ars Goetia clearly implies sexual release on the magician’s part, or perhaps emotional fulfilment, it is not specific on this point. Apt magicians with wicked minds might contact Beleth for cursing and execration magick, including the creation of vampiric servitors.
Although Beleth appeared to me as a daemoness, the divine is fluid. According to the both the Ars Goetia and Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, Beleth appears a great and terrible king, riding on pale horse. In some versions of the Goetia, Beleth is also considered one of the four Great Kings. I have experimented constructing circle inviting Beleth as one of the elemental daemons with immense success, but I wouldn’t recommend it for the beginner. Get to know the basics first.
Today I reorganized my ancestral altar. In Daemonolatry, this month is dedicated to Eurynomous and the other daemons of the death. I placed lamens I had made with their sigils out of clay on the altar too, along with some items that reminded me of my grandfather.
My invocations were a tad more elaborate than they have been over the last month. I not only invited Eurynomous, Baalberith, and Babael to join me, but also the personal face of the Death Daemonic to which I feel the most drawn. Finally, I asked my grandfather to join me. I burnt my offerings and shuffled the cards.
The Lenormand was easy to read today. I pulled Snake + Clover + Sun. To me, that reads as “Short term complications melt away.” That’s good to know! It’s just as positive when looked at chronologically, since I am moving away from the complications into a present of short term luck and a future of success. Either way, this was a pleasant message to receive from Eurynomous and the Death Daemonic.
This alternate sigil for Frucisierre is listed in the Grimorium Verum under the name Frulhel.
I also turned over one of my Death Daemonic Divination and Ritual cards. (I haven’t used this deck often for divination so far, but for meditation the white on black print works perfectly for me.) Today I got Frucissiere, a daemon from the Grimorium Verum that I’ve never dealt with before. He is also known as Fruhel or Frastiel, and in Quimbanda is called the Exu dos Cemiterios, the spirit of the cemeteries. He is supposedly able to raise the dead, aid in divination with dry bones, or someone anyone from anywhere.
In her book, the Key of Ocat, S. Connolly explains how these abilities could be used for execration or cursing. Looking over this material again this morning, I realized how it might also be used for the retrieval of soul piece. Deeper research into this aspect of the Death Daemonic helped me an alternate sigil for Frucissiere. This one also comes from the Grimorium Verum, where it is attributed to Fruhel and Frastiel. Experiement at your own risk. Frucissiere is said by some to be a difficult spirit to work with, especially if you are struggling to leave your previous religion behind.
(And if you’re going to get The Key of Ocat, do yourself a favor and get the hardcover!)
Look at this daily reading! The Lily again? It has shown up for me as often as the Snake now. The Lily isn’t always a bad card like the Snake, though. It’s an ambigious card that can fall either way—possibly because it can also refer to the querent’s grandfather. Mine are long since passed away, so I’m beginning to think it simply points to the oldest person in my household, the person with whom I have spent the majority of the week. Sorry, granddad. You’re simply my elder.
The Bouquet – appreciation, abundance, beautiful, pleasant, gift, award, grace
The Ways / Crossroads – choices, decisions, options, fair-mindedness, free will
It looks like some sort of decisive pleasantry is headed his way. Well, we did decide this was a vacation day for us…
In that vein, with the Nine was uneventful. I felt like I have been going through the motions quite a few mornings this last week, with my contact with sporadic and brief. I’m looking forward to having the house to myself again on Monday.
Really, I think most magicians work best on their own. That may sound strange from someone studying to be a priest, but in my opinion attending church should make up the majority of your practice. It should thrive outside church doors too and continue independently of any rituals you might participate in as a group. The dark nights of the soul we learn from best are almost always suffered alone. Perhaps that’s why so many people prefer to read about magic rather than actually attempt it. This kind often posts endlessly on forums asking for magickal advice, but rarely even pray. Daily practice isn’t for connecting with others—although when we’re lucky it can lead to that. It’s about the work, plain and simple, and the changes it produces in you.
Death Daemonic card for meditation and contemplation – Aken – Determining exactly what Aken did in the mythology of ancient Egypt is somewhat difficult. He was not directly worshipped but was mentioned often in funerary texts, usually as the custodian or ferryman of a boat called Meseket, which transported souls to the land of the dead. When the boat was not needed, Aken remained deeply asleep. When his services were required he would be awakened by a god called Mahaf. At other times in Egyptian mythology, however, Mahaf himself was the ferryman.
