Uncategorized – Page 2

Shake Your Money Maker!

Today’s Month of Spreads prompt was called the Money Maker. To read this spread:

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!

***

“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.

Frucisierre – An Alternate Sigil

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.

frucisierre frulhel frulthiel frastiel daemons grimorium verum demons daemonolatry demonolatry sigils — 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!)

Respect your elders!

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

The Lily – maturity, old, wise, peace, wisdom, passion, intention, grandfather elder

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.

Blood Offerings – How Are They Made?

Domagick Sept 03

Today’s prayer and offering to the Nine went quietly. At the moment, I’m having to perform these short rites in the morning while everyone else is still sleeping, so that is something of a necessity. I look forward to using more ecstatic forms of ritual when my partner is finally at school.

The need for put energy into to our prayers and offerings has been on my mind since a recent conversation with another priest in training. He emphasized that the offerings should never become rote. If the spirits are getting nothing more a smear of blood on parchment or a glass of wine, what’s the point? The personal connection has been lost.

For those shocked by my mention of blood… Yes, Daemonolatry can involve bloodletting. So does Diabetes. In both cases, safe and sanitary lancets are used to poke a finger. Daemonolaters typically burn their blood offerings, thus transforming the physical into spiritual. Diabetics put their blood on a test strip and then dispose of it in a sharps container. That’s what my partner does with his, anyway.

If you choose to offer blood, be sensible. Don’t share lancets, just like you wouldn’t share needles. S. Connolly goes over what to do if you are a Daemonolater who can’t use blood in Modified. She also addresses how those with other challenges and disabilities can alter their practice.

As for my daily reading…

The Bear – strength, power, the boss, an influential person, possessive, protecting, overwhelming, grandmother

The Ship – adventure, long distance travel, transport, navigation, far away, far-seeing, foreign, yearning, wishes

The Anchor – security, stability, lasting, persevere, standstill, livelihood, obligations, targets

Hmmm. A far-off person in power will either lend stability or test endurance. Interesting.

Besides a brief upset at the grocery store yesterday, it’s difficult for me to pinpoint where the Snake in the grass was. I’ll continue to keep my eyes open, especially with today’s message from the Nine.

Gay Lenormand – Can It Be Done?

Domagick Sept 01 2017

I said my prayer to the nine Daemonic Divinities and made my offering to them as soon as I woke up this morning. It was a peaceful way to start my day. I like starting off this way because it helps me focus on what’s important to me. I pulled three Lenormand cards afterward for daily guidance. They were:

The House: security, home, hearth, family, hospitality, refuge, shelter, domestic

The Sun: confidence, courage, happiness, vitality, success, will, outward self, charisma, daytime

The Lady: the querent if female, otherwise a woman, female energy, a women’s business, girlfriend, lover, partner

The Lady and Gentleman cards can be two of the most difficult for modern Lenormand readers to interpret. On the surface, it seems quite straight forward. In this case, if the person asking the question was female then the Lady card would normally refer to her. Otherwise, it would refer to another woman.

Gendered cards can complicate romance readings for same sex couples, however. They can even make readings for LGBTQ individuals even more complicated if they are asking about multiple friends of the same gender. The Fairytale Lenormand helps with this by having two Lady and Gentleman cards each. I’ve yet to see this in any other Lenormand deck.

Seeing that I’m about to spend the day shopping for the house with my partner, this reading could mean that either I will lend success to the venture or that an outside female force will. From my Lenormand experience thus far, I believe the Lady actually refers to me. The only way to know for sure is to compare my intuition with what actually happens. Over time, I’ll hopefully gain a better feel for this deck and figure out how I relate to the gendered cards. I suggest anyone else in this community do the same. Take good notes and establish your own meanings.

A Good Week, All in All

Domagick Day 16

Errands! Some days you have to run ’em. Today was that day. Before heading out grocery shopping, I said my last prayer to Botis for the week. I will continue carrying his enchanted disk on my keychain over the summer (and most likely well into the school year) but today will be the last day I run energy through it for its initial charging. I will top up its charge through repeated handling and prayer after this. I’ll round out my work with Botis with an offering this afternoon too.

For now it is back to work for me; I have some weekly meal prep to attend to before I can get to his offering, which will most likely consist of art I burn ritually. I hope to do the same for Vapula. Practical work is fine, but I like to make offerings to the spirits whenever I work with whenever possible.

This weekend I will relax a little less with Ipos that usual, as I am picking up a few hours of paid work. That’s okay. For one, it all goes towards the school fund. Secondly, I can concentrate on learning to relax after I’m done helping my brother at his place of employment.

Welcome!

Welcome to williambriar.com, where you will find an eclectic mix of fiction, art, and occult ephemera. Feel free to wander through its pages, and please check back frequently to find out more about Will’s latest services and upcoming events. Thank you!