It’s been forever since posted here. I got distracted with the Spring Novelrama. Even though I didn’t hit the 25000-word goal, I managed to finally get my latest Dalliance novella running in the direction I wanted. My thanks go out to my patient friends, family, and editor. Without you all, I would still be writing in circles.
My painting has taken a backseat these last few weeks, with my pace slowing considerably. I am still pushing forward on my oracle deck project, but have only finished two cards this week: Amducious and Unsere. My rendition of Rosier is nearly finished as too but needs accents. Once he is complete, I will have six more to finish to fill out the basic sixteen card set.
Despite this, I have to continue to prioritize writing over art this month and finish my Dalliance novella. I have to complete the rough draft and get it to my editor by May 1st. I’m about halfway there now, but my schedule for the weeks ahead is busy enough to pose a challenge. I know I can do it, but eep!
Whether I like it or not, I won’t get the deck done in time for the April Domagick challenge, starting today. That means I must rely on another form of divination instead. But how to choose which one? To keep things interesting, I have decided to let a roll of the dice decide which system I’ll use each day. Depending on what number the die lands on, that’s what I’ll end up reading.
Tarot
Druid Animal Oracle
Lenormand
Daemonic Sigils
Runes
Ogham
Today I rolled a four, so I pulled a single Daemonic sigil for daily guidance, using my basic sixteen Dukante-based set. The result was Verrine Reversed, indicating imbalance and illness. Indeed, I pulled this card after a shift of work rather than at the beginning of the day and was feeling rundown. It advises me to refresh myself and watch my energy. My guard is down.
As with all my daily divination work, I will be posting these results daily on social media (Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter), with a weekly update here on the weekend. The goal of this month’s challenge is to actually change our life based on the divinatory work we do each day, so I will close this off to go take a break and meditate! Have a good one!
I’m seven days into February Domagick challenge and enjoying this month’s work far more than I thought I would. I had expected my planned artistic meditations on the Daemonic Divine to supplement my daily morning pages, further loosening me up creatively and energetically before any other work I had scheduled that day. I had anticipated that the art would feel much the same way the pages did–occasionally enjoyable, but just as often like drudgery, a necessary chore meant to organize my mind for the day ahead. They help me purge and order my thoughts, hopefully getting whatever might hold me back from out of my brain.
In theory, anyway. If I have a problem I can solve, I find the morning pages extremely helpful. I’m a proactive person. I can only whine about a situation for so long, even to myself, before I have to take action to change it. Unfortunately, some issues will always remain beyond our control. No matter how long we complain or what solutions we try to put in place, we may not be able to effect change simply because it isn’t our problem to solve. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect us, of course. When I journal about such things in my morning pages, my lack of agency sometimes frustrates me enough that it puts a damper on my mood afterward, and I have to work to pull myself back up. It’s annoying, and often feels counterproductive for a method described by its author as a meditation.
My artistic meditations feel utterly different. There’s little sense of getting the garbage out before I start creating for the day with these. Instead, I get lost in the moment, and in the Daemonic itself, never worrying about the long-term consequences of what color I’m laying down or the lines that I am making. It is as if I am filling myself up rather than purging. My mood feels better—brighter and calmer—after this work. It may not produce as much written material, but in terms of shifting mental states it is quicker, longer lasting, and more effective. That’s something to remember and keep in mind for future use.
I split my artistic meditations this week between three daemons. First, I spent time with Unsere, who I venerated February 1-3 for what many would traditionally consider Imbolc. To me, she represents motherhood and familial happiness, so growth, bounty, and nature figured symbolically in the marker sketches I did for her.
From there, I moved on to three days with Lucifer, who I associate with knowledge and illumination. My love of abstract art began to peek through when I tried to convey what I saw in my meditations with him through the use of shape and color. Somehow the shift in style resulted in a change in mood as well, and this was when I began to honestly look forward to the art sessions each day.
Lastly, I spent a day with Astaroth. This was the lone piece I used the computer to create. I could not get the colors I wanted otherwise, hot and searing to the eye. I saw it my mind before I created it, and it came of the closest to what I wanted of all the pieces this week. Strangely, I enjoyed creating at least. There’s something to be said for the energy of making drawings by hand, I suppose.
I’m already looking forward to the next week’s meditations. Are you participating in this month’s Domagick challenge? How is it treating you?
February is nearly upon us, with all the possibilities it holds. It can be a busy month for magicians!
Those looking for romance may feel the pressure of Valentine’s Day fast approaching on the 14th and turn to love spells and divination to foretell their prospects. To help alleviate some of those fears, I’m offering all love and romance readings at a 25% discount for the entire month of February. Simply mention this entry when arranging your reading. You can find more information on my available services here.
Those not concerned with romance this month may choose to work on themselves instead through the DoMagick meditation challenge. Classic forms of meditation are suggested but not 100% required, so I’ll be using artistic meditations to help jumpstart my creativity each day in February. In short, I’ll be meditating on the Daemonic Divine with some sort of art supply in hand, trying to capture a representation of their essence visually. Like trying to force a genie into a bottle, I don’t believe you can actually trap a spirit in a piece of art. If anything, I would describe artistic meditation as freeing. It often helps remove blocks I have, not only warming me up before I begin writing for the day but also working through misconceptions about the Daemon in question and breaking through to new levels of understanding. Overall, this challenge aligns nicely with my current goals in February, so I thought I would participate and share my work on social media as per usual.
Many Pagans plan to celebrate Imbolc this February 1-2. Also known as Candlemas or Brigid, this holiday honors the return of the light after the longest night of the year and marks the halfway point between winter solstice and spring equinox. Although the tradition I practice does not typically observe this cross-border day, I explored Wicca and other pagan paths for many years before choosing Demonolatry, and now my calendar feels empty without a ritual scheduled in early February. Who to venerate instead of the goddess Brigid at this time was never a tough question for me, however. Even if Unsere were not the Daemon who corresponds with February, she is known as the Daemoness of motherhood, growth, and protection. It makes sense to me to worship her during the time of year once strongly connected to childbirth and pregnancy. Originally, the word Imbolc meant “in the belly” and referred to the pregnant and nursing sheep that would be prevalent during this season in the ancient Celtic Isles.
I like to spend this day with my family, playing games and eating some sort of feast – a decadent treat shared together at the very least. My days of having and raising children are now over, so fine food is the only thing getting “in my belly” on this particular holiday. That isn’t to say that those still planning a family couldn’t work fertility magick on Imbolc. After all, not only is Unsere known for nurturing children but February is the month of romantic love – and that can help produce children too!
Personally, I tend to incorporate hearth magick into my Rite to Unsere, preparing as much of the feast as I can with my own hands and making sure to leave her portion in offering. I generally do this right at the dinner table, setting aside the best part of my own plate and saying a prayer either aloud or silently, depending on the acceptance level of those present. In this way, Unsere is included at the table as part of the family, with her blessing and protection requested in that same moment. Afterward, I dispose of the offering with the same reverence I do all others.
Beyond that, I spend some time on divination that night, as I do on all holy days. On the Rite to Unsere, I lean towards using an “in the belly” card spread I developed especially for Imbolc celebrations before I became a Daemonolater. It’s meant to help you check on any personal work you may have been doing thus far in the year and see what you need to do next. The cards are laid out like this:
What’s in The Belly – What You Are Digesting
Potential
Obstacles
What Brings You Joy
What Brings You Dread
What Needs Nurturing
What You Feed Instead
In the Belly card spread.
Hopefully, this reading will make your February a little smoother.
Most of my creative and magickal efforts this week were focused on my next Dalliances with Demons novella. The time I’ve been putting into writing my daily morning pages and generating ideas through the Inner Demons Challenge has really paid off. I have filled a notebook in the last month. Most of it is trash – as it supposed to be – but the bones of the story are starting to line up into a recognizable skeleton. There are definite gaps and the flesh is missing, but I can nearly see the shape of it. I have hope, after spinning in circles for what felt like months. I’m even starting to smile at the synchronicities, at the start of the Daemonic Divine having its way with the piece – precisely as it should. It has a long way to go, but I’m no longer afraid that it will never happen. I’m relaxing into it and realizing it will come as it wishes.
Here are the cards that have helped me generate character ideas this week:
The Domagick challenge is quickly coming to an end. We only have a few days left, and I find myself asking whether or not I have grown any closer to the nine Daemonic Divinities. When it comes to Verrine and Eurynomous, I believe the answer is yes. In both cases, I felt their energies strongly enough to create digital art pieces for them. This is happened in the past with some of the others, particularly Lucifer and Satan, but I’ve yet to feel that kind of connection with Unsere.
Five the nine Daemonic Divinities are honored by holy days. While one could argue that every day belongs to Satan, who represents the all, there are no traditional holidays for Amducius, Verrine, or Unsere. Despite this, the grimoire of the Delaney family indicates Unsere appears “to women during or after childbirth to breath life into infants.”* Her corresponding month is also February, a time when many Pagans celebrate Imbolc. This festival literally means in the belly, referring to the pregnancy of sheep, so this lends credence to her motherly aspects.
I have often prayed to Unsere this way when in distress, but honestly it can be difficult to hear or see Spirit at those times. She could have been the most radiant light in the world, but I was always too blinded by the misery of hospitals or pain. I keep opening myself up to her bounty now, yet her voice remains soft, and hard to make out. I feel it is important to keep trying.
*Connolly, S.. The Complete Book of Demonolatry (Kindle Locations 870-871). DB Publishing. Kindle Edition.
