Naudhiz

After reading my friend Galina Krasskova's excellent new book, Runes: Theory and Practice, I became interested in the magical use of the ancient Sacred Alphabet.  These are some notes of my working with Naudhiz, the rune of Necessity and Need-Fire.

I was immediately impressed with how powerful this rune is. I can see where adding it to a bindrune would definitely increase the speed, force and efficacy of the working. But I can also see how it needs to be used with caution. If you really need the magic to work it is a powerful aide but if not it's likely to turn on you. Naudhiz is the adrenalin burst that lets you lift a car off your child or the force of will that lets you keep going long after your body should have collapsed miles ago.  I got the sense it only likes to be called when there is a real need: it feeds off the fear and stress of desperation. If that isn't there, it feels cheated and will put you in a place where you can feed it. It will teach you very quickly the difference between "want" and "need."   I think Naudhiz could also be a very useful rune for those who desperately need to grow the hell up and accept responsibility for their actions. Meditating on Naudhiz and taking its advice would likely be considerably less painful than having it manifest uncontrolled in your life. This could be a powerful rune in love magic for making someone fall hopelessly, desperately in love with you or for inflicting a painful obsession on a target . I would probably give it an animal were I using it for that purpose. While it would be feeding off the target, I think it would also expect payment from the caster. Naudhiz is very much about getting reimbursed for anything it does. Galina identifies Naudhiz with Sigyn, the wife of Loki in her role as Loki's protector in the cave. I totally agree: Sigyn embodies the kind of terror, suffering and perseverance at the heart of Naudhiz. Naudhiz can give you the stamina to prevail over obstacles and the wisdom to know what to keep and how to get by without that which you have lost. It's definitely an unforgiving rune but a powerful one to those who are ready to pay its price.

Vodou Responses to Spiritual Oppression

On Tristatevodou, one poster asked about Vodou countermeasures to Spiritual Oppression. Here is my response:

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That's a great question. While Vodou has become (in)famous for "Vodou curses" and the like, in practice Vodou is far more interested in defensive than offensive magic. Houngans and Mambos spend a great deal more time protecting themselves and their congregation from negative magic than casting it on people. There's more demand for removing curses than for sending them. Keep in mind that Haitian Vodou has a strong animist streak: the universe is seen as a sentient and not always friendly place. Many times deaths are believed to be caused by poison or malevolent wanga -- and it is believed that the best way to avoid these is to have a strong team of spirits working on your behalf.

One of the great protections against malevolent wanga and oppression is the kanzo ceremony. When you kanzo it is believed that you have died and been reborn: because of that you gain a great deal of resistance to magical attacks. It becomes much more difficult to steal your soul because it's been protected (in ways which I can't discuss in greater detail, unfortunately). Spiritual oppression and obsession can be seen as a sign the sufferer needs to kanzo. This may not be seen as "demonic possession" but rather as a family spirit acting out to get your attention. Another ceremony which can help with your problems is the lavé tet, a ceremony which feeds your head and can remove spiritual parasites.

The gad or garde is also used for protection. There are gardes made by rubbing certain powders into shallow cuts, and a gad migan (stomach garde) which is believed to provide protection against poison. One famous gad migan involves the blood of a pig sacrificed to Ezili Danto. This is mixed in a basin with Florida Water and a few other ingredients and then each person in the house drinks three teaspoons of it. It is believed that after this you will vomit up any poison you consume: for a few days afterward you may well feel like vomiting up your lunch. ;)

And certain lwa and spirits are seen as especially powerful protectors. If you feel like you are suffering from spiritual oppression, you should definitely petition St. Michael the Archangel. If he can kick Lucifer's butt out of heaven, he can probably run off anything that is troubling you. And you need not be a Vodouisant, or even Catholic, to ask for St. Michael's aid: as an archangel, he will answer the call of anyone who needs his help.

A Note on Demonic Obsession

After reading my blog post, another friend of mine (who wishes to remain anonymous) sent me this

Regarding demonic obsession:  I've experienced this and so has B. [another friend]. There are interesting parallels

1) You feel like you're going crazy
2) During the initial experience, everything looks red-- as if a veil of blood was over one's eyes.
3) There is a very strong sense that the urges and preoccupations are out of control and foreign
4) The psychological state does not feel entirely human, at the mildest at the furthest extremities of psychopathology

When I got hit, I also felt inexplicably hot. I had to strip naked in order to stay within the most basic comfort zone and then locked myself in my room to protect mom and the cats from my hard-to-resist  compulsion to cut them open and rape the wounds as they died.

B. just became violent and her husband at the time said her eyes looked crazed and wrong, presumably the pupils going big. That's actually what caused the divorce. Instead of going to a spiritual person, he had her thrown in a mental ward.

With me, I contacted a few other people who did a remote exorcism. I kept myself busy by fantasizing doing what I described above while stabbing a bookcase with an icepick hundreds of times and masturbating about ten to twenty times. My libido was utterly inhuman too. So, during that period was when I got my insights on how demons thought about stuff. Pretty terrifying.

Demonic obsession begins suddenly. It goes on and off like a lightswitch. B. reports similar. My rational mind was strong enough to realize that something was dreadfully wrong, and was able to restrain myself. But my emotions and preoccupations were totally displaced and usurped by the invading entity. I also knew I was me, but my personality was largely suppressed.

In short, demonic obsession per se is not subtle at all.

But demons tinkering with minds in subtle ways is real, it's just not the same phenomenon. Or perhaps a very very downgrade version. I sort of look at demonic obsession as a wholesale displacement of the emotional structure of the victim which can be expelled with minimal scarring. Demonic tinkering is basically permanent, inner scarring. It takes more work to purge.

Spiritual Obsession

During the recent discussions on Goetia, the word "obsession" came up a few times.  Balthazaar said

Demonic obsession gets mentioned a lot in this discussion. Well, I know a lot of people who are obsessed by the Holy Spirit - to the extent that the other day I had to deal with a DNS poisoning issue with this blog, which kept redirecting the URL to some evangelical ministries website, assumedly devised by some righteous holy hacker. I also had to deal with a spiritual attack from the self same bunch waged most likely with imprecatory prayer. Talk about obsession. Lord only knows why my little blog would provoke such an effort - I wasn't going to give them any air time, for fear of encouraging their bigoted shenanigans but it seems appropriate to mention. I am not going to even go into the religious nut-jobs who kill, beat and maim for Jesus. Is the Holy Spirit a corrosive, inhuman demon?

This is a very interesting point. The atrocities committed in the name of Satan pale next to the death toll from people who killed, tortured and enslaved in the name of Christ. Is this the fault of the Holy Spirit and are these people suffering from spiritual obsession?  Spiritual oppression leads to personality changes: so do many mystical experiences.  And trying to sort out positive from negative personality changes is a tricky endeavor.  Lots of martyrs were inspired by mystical experiences to go to the stake for their faith, and very few people would say that being burned alive is a positive life-change.  What some may call devotion to a cause others may call brainwashing by a cult.

I suspect that many of these cases are not spiritual obsession, but rather psychological imbalance propping itself up with religion.  If they weren't Hackers for Christ or Fag-Bashers for Jesus, they'd be using Karl Marx, Allah or some similar excuse for their misbehavior. But this of course begs the question: how many of the people who report "Goetic obsession" are merely suffering from a psychological imbalance triggered by the events which led them to resort to the Goetia?

Perhaps it would be helpful to draw a distinction between individuals who have sustained changes after an encounter with the spirit world and those who appear to be suffering continued oppression from a spirit entity. Divine encounters frequently result in changes in the mystic's life and outlook, but the entity in question doesn't stay around and micromanaging the mystic's consciousness.  With spirit oppression, there's Something Else which steps in and starts reprogramming the person. In my experience, this Something Else is typically either a wandering ghost or a lesser spirit: gods and archangels don't generally do this. Neither do lwa or orisha: they may ride a horse but they depart when the ride is finished.

Those who can see spirits will frequently see something hovering around or just within the auras of those suffering from spirit infestation. Those who can't will sometimes note that the person "doesn't feel right" -- their eyes are "weird" and their aura feels "tainted," like you're standing next to a sculpture made out of rotting meat. Unfortunately, this is difficult to replicate in a laboratory and so it is hard to use these guidelines as hard and fast rules for determining when infestation is taking place.

It also appears that in cases of infestation "like attracts like." Someone with anger management issues is likely to get infected by a wrathful spirit, greedy people may host spirits of avarice, sexual obsessives become prey to lust-spirits, etc. Since the Goetia focuses primarily on working changes in the material world, it's not surprising that those who use it are generally greatly desiring a new sex partner, more money, an ass-whipping for a hated enemy, etc. And since the Goetic spirits appear to be closer to and more interested in this material plane, it's not surprising that they both work more quickly and are more likely to stick around and have some fun with their new host.

Again, this is all rather preliminary. I think the nature of spiritual oppression needs more careful analysis and discussion. The term gets bandied about a lot, and most working magicians I know would agree that such a thing exists. But there's no clear-cut definition and little in the way of theories as to why it occurs, what the spirits gain from oppressing individuals, and how spiritual oppression relates to other forms of spiritual or etheric alteration or damage.

Happy St. Joseph's Day

In honor of St. Joseph's feast day, here is an excerpt from The New Orleans Voodoo Handbook. While in Haiti St. Joseph is most famous as the image used to represent Papa Loko, in New Orleans he is a major saint in his own right. I listed him as one of the "bringers of good fortune" because he is such a powerful intercessor in financial matters. If you need some financial success, here are some ways you can call on his assistance.

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Oh, St. Joseph, you worked as a humble carpenter, earning your wages by the sweat of your brow. Assist me in obtaining my wages that I may be able to support myself and my loved ones as you supported Jesus and Mary. Oh, St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, assist me by your powerful intercession, and obtain for me from your divine Son all spiritual blessings, so that I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of Fathers.

After the Civil War New Orleans became a favorite destination for Italians traveling to the New World. Between 1850 and 1870 the city had more Italian immigrants than any other city in America: the French Quarter became known as “Little Palermo” and “Little Sicily” thanks to its large Italian population. These new residents brought with them their cuisine (which is still enjoyed today in po’ boys and muffaletta sandwiches) and their work ethic. They also brought with them an undying devotion to a saint who has become a New Orleans favorite – St. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus.

In Italy, as in New Orleans, one celebrates a holiday by feasting. St. Joseph is typically honored on his day (March 19) with groaning tables of food put out in his honor. This tradition has been carried over to the Crescent City. A table put out in the 1920s by Mrs. Messina, a New Orleans Italian, gives you some idea of how big these repasts can be:

I have five hundred different kinds of food. Besides the three sorts of Saint Joseph’s bread, I have stuffed artichokes, stuffed crabs, stuffed peppers, stuffed celery, stuffed eggs and stuffed tomatoes. I have lobsters, red snapper fish, shrimps, crayfish, spaghettis, macaronis, spinach, peanuts, layer cakes, pies, pineapples… My God! I have everything!

In addition to food, these tables are also decorated with flowers, candles, electic lights, and statues of saints, with a large statue of Saint Joseph occupying the place of honor. Whatever else they may contain, they always have St. Joseph’s Bread (a braided egg bread which is almost identical to the challah bread served on the Sabbath in Jewish homes). They also have a large bowl of fava beans. At the end of the feast the leftover food is given to the poor. Participants take with them a bean and a small piece of bread. The bread is kept in the house until next year: it is said that in return St. Joseph will keep the household from going hungry. The beans are said to bring good luck. While it is traditional to leave a coin on the altar in exchange for this gift, gamblers will sometimes leave large sums of money in exchange for a lucky bean.

If you want to win St. Joseph’s favor, you can make a special St. Joseph’s potpourri for him. Place in a white bowl the following: Balm Of Gilead buds, juniper berries, tonka beans (also known as wishing beans), fava beans and star anise. If you can find them you can add fishberries, also known as Levant berries. Fishberries were part of the original mixture catalogued by Zora Neale Hurston but can be difficult to find as they are quite toxic and no longer widely used in conventional or alternative medicine. Basil (also known as St. Joseph’s Wort) will be an acceptable substitute. Put this bowl before your St. Joseph statue or image and add fresh potpourri regularly: not only will it be a great offering, but it will fill your space with a subtle fresh scent that will draw positive energy and good fortune.

To make a powerful St. Joseph’s oil, place this mixture at the bottom of an oil lamp: fill the lamp with high quality olive oil and place it before your St. Joseph image, then light it and leave it burning while you say a Rosary in St. Joseph’s name. When you are finished, snuff out the lamp: repeat this for nine days (a Novena). After you have said these prayers, strain out the potpourri and save the oil. You can then use the oil to anoint the doorway of your business or your workplace: you can also put a few drops on your wallet or bankbook if you are looking for a raise. As the patron saint of workers, St. Joseph will be happy to offer his assistance if you’re willing to do your share and earn your money.

And while St. Joseph is typically called upon to help out in money matters, he is also a sympathetic defender of lovelorn men. New Orleanians who suspect their wives of infidelity will often come to St. Joseph for his help. They reason that since his wife had someone else’s baby, he will understand their plight and come to their aid. This may seem disrespectful, but it has a long history. In medieval mystery plays, St. Joseph was often played for comic relief as a cuckolded husband: among Eastern Christians, he was frequently presented in Nativity scenes as despondent and downhearted, unable to comprehend the great mystery of the Incarnation and filled with doubt at his wife’s purity. Yet he was able to overcome those doubts, become a loving husband to Mary, and support the young Jesus as his own child. It is not surprising that he would take pity on others who find themselves in a similar situation and offer them his help.

New Review on Amazon.com: Runes: Theory and Practice by Galina Krasskova

I have just posted a review of Galina Krasskova's Runes: Theory & Practice on Amazon. Galina has written a number of excellent books on Heathenry and the Northern tradition, including Northern Tradition for the Solitary Practitioner and Exploring The Northern Tradition. But in this case she has really outdone herself. Galina is one of the first writers to treat the runes not as tools for divination but as sentient beings which not only tell us about the world and the future but actively create and shape it.  Her work is profound yet clearly written and accessible to anyone who wants to put in the work to truly master the Runes for divination and magic.  I can't recommend this one highly enough and congratulate New Page Books on putting out yet another great tome.

And the Goetia Discussion Continues

In his latest post, Frater Rufus Opus says:

Have you noticed how quick people are to blame the spirits in Goetia when things go badly? I've never seen any system so quick to get booted to the curb in spite of previous successes. Magicians can have years of good results with a spirit, but if they have one bad experience, all the spirits of the system are bad bad bad.

There are so many assumptions and prejudices surrounding these spirits that the skills required to use them effectively, consistently may never be gained, documented, and disseminated to the occult community. It's annoying as hell. If people shelved Angelic Magic, Planetary Magic, or even your average Pagan conjurations of Hekate every time they had a ritual provide results they didn't like, no one would do any magic at all.

I think one of the reasons for this is that when Goetic workings go bad they tend to do so in a spectacular fashion. Planetary or Pagan workings don't generally explode with quite that degree of messiness.  (I have, however, seen this kind of blowback from lwa and orisha workings that went awry. I've talked to at least one person who sought Oya's assistance in solving the problems with the money pit house he had just purchased. Oya solved them by burning said house down. Unfortunately, he had been so busy paying for repairs that he neglected to purchase homeowner's insurance. He later on became an initiate in Lukumi: I don't recall whether or not Oya was his crowning orisha, but I trust that in any event he was more careful about asking her for favors).

If lots of people who have worked with the Goetia tell horror stories about the Goetic spirits turned on them, they may all be falling prey to their Judeochristian conditioning. Or they may have decided the risk outweighs the reward. It seems that lots of people who have worked with the Goetia talk about getting their fingers burned. Not all of them are cowards, Christian fundamentalists or incompetent magicians.

That being said, I would be interested in seeing a useful system which allowed magicians to work with the Goetic entities safely, consistently and effectively. Such systems exist for the lwa and orisha: those who get badly burned generally do so because they don't know those systems or think they are unnecessary.  I suspect that consistently safe Goetic workings will involve many of the trappings which some modern magicians believe are unnecessary.

The really funny part though? When things go well with Goetia, it's because the magicians are following the grimoire's instructions properly, or are psychically shielded, or somehow appropriately initiated, or otherwise prepared the way a good magician should be, but if things go badly, the spirits themselves are somehow corrupt, kick you when you're down, or are "corrosive."

If a spell works, I presume it is because the magician did things correctly. If a spell blows up in the magician's face, I presume it is because said magician made a mistake. I'm not sure why Frater R.O. would object to that classification. If one keeps a magical diary, presumably one of the reasons is to ascertain what works, what does not work, and what really, really, really does not work.

I hear many more tales of Goetic workings gone awry than Angelic, Enochian, Wiccan, Planetary, etc. workings.  My own experience suggests that the spirits I worked with had detrimental effects on my mental and spiritual well-being. (I believe that I could have avoided much if not all of that pain by being more careful with shielding and coming at the ritual from a place of calm rather than a highly emotional state: I found that Goetic work, like boxing, requires concentration and focus and once you start fighting rather than boxing you've lost the match... ). So I think it is reasonable to at least entertain the idea that these creatures are hard to handle at best and actively hostile to humanity at worst.

Again, I am not using the words "corrupt," "evil," "demonic," etc. to describe the Goetic entities. I am simply suggesting that there may be some good reasons for their bad reputation.  I believe they are more difficult to handle than many other spirits and less forgiving of mistakes on the part of the summoner. This is not the same as saying they are "evil." Venomous snakes are no more "evil" than nonvenomous snakes -- but I don't recommend handling a king cobra the same way you handle a boa constrictor.

Objectively speaking, I've had at least as many, if not more positive results that I was happy with after Working the so-called demons as I've had with alleged Angels. I've been disappointed more with the Angels, but mostly because when I want something badly enough to do magic about it, I want the results like fucking yesterday, man! Not in a couple of weeks.

This is another thing which makes me think the Goetic entities are very like the "djabs chaud" (hot djabs) of Haitian magic. They get you quick results, and tend to specialize in making changes to the material world. But they are hard to handle and can do injury to the summoner and those in the immediate vicinity if they get too riled up.  It doesn't mean they are to be avoided altogether: there are many magical workings one can do with a djab as an ally or a travay (work) spirit. But it is vital that the practitioner recognizes the danger and takes the appropriate precautions.