Hail to the Gods...Baalat Gebal

Mother Goddess Baalat Gebal Creatrix of all Earth Soul nurterer thou art the bringer of life bestower of great blessing givver of fortune to the good of heart Blessed Queen nourish and sustain us rain bountiful goodness upon satiate us with your goodness. Great Goddess Blessed be Invocation to Baal Rider of the clouds Prince of the Earth ruler of skies and land wielder of magical weapons against thine foes You bring your enemies down their knees. Give me thunder lightning and strength Scatter those who oppose me baal saphon lord of thunder and lightning and rain Bring great blessing to my family. Enrich us with holy down pour. Invocation to Elbereth Elbereth From The Fellowship of the Ring Snow-white! Snow-white! O Lady clear! O Queen beyond the Western Seas! O Light to us that wander here Amid the world of woven trees! Gilthoniel! O Elbereth! Clear are thy eyes and bright thy breath, Snow-white! Snow-white! We sing to thee In a far land beyond the Sea. O stars that in the Sunless Year With shining hand by her were sown, In windy fields now bright and clear We see your silver blossom blown! O Elbereth! Gilthoniel! We still remember, we who dwell In this far land beneath the trees, Thy starlight on the Western Seas. Invocation to Manwe Lord of Arda, lord of light, Manwë sits on Everwhite Till unforgiving darkness fall Where the brightest shine of all The silver-lucent fire-flowers Sown in ancient dawning hours, When youth was in his shining face, Greatest, eldest of his race. Lord of Arda, lord of light, Manwë sits on Everwhite Great Goddess, Great God, I greet you at the start of another day and ask you to send me the best day possible. Help me to feel my best so I might do my best for myself and others. Send me the strength and energy to do the things I need to do and the focus and creativity to do them well. Send me prosperity in any and all positive ways, and guide me on my path. [Add specifics you need help with for the day.] Help the world to move in a better direction and watch over me and those that I love. So mote it be.

The Mind H.P. Lovecraft

The Dream World of H. P. Lovecraft: His Life, His Demons, His Universe by Donald Tyson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Having read all of Lovecraft's I am more inclined to call him a sci fi/ horror writer. His tales take you to another world quite literally and you definitely enter into his dream. His works have been an inspiration to occultists, horror writers and others. It is the occultists that Donald Tyson focuses on in this work. Donald Tyson himself is an occultist.

There may be better biographies of H.P. Lovecraft out there so I am not saying that this is the best. Plus I am not sure how much research went into this work. The book does give you a great overview of his life and it does give you glimpse into the mind of HP Lovecraft. For someone like me who is more interested in the occult then HP Lovecraft this book is near perfect.

On August 20,1890 HP Lovecraft was born. Sarah Susan Lovecraft his mother was the daughter of a successful businessman, Whipple Philips. His father Winfield Scott Lovecraft was a knife and kitchen cutlery salesman. Whipple married his first cousin. Such close breeding in the family would fuel Lovecrafts fear of madness.

For a time when HP was really young the family lived in Massachusetts for a spell. It was in Mass. that HP met Louise Imogen Guiney who used to make memorize poetry and then recite in front of other people. Great literary training and memorization techniques. HP was only 2 or three at the time. Lovecraft was reading by three years of age. In the third year of his life his father was struck down with a psychotic episode. He as institutionalized in that hospital until his death 5 years later. The cause of this disease was syphilis. Traveling salesmen were not loyal to their wives I guess. This would cause the family to move back to Providence, New England where they would live with Van Buren, grandmother and two doting aunts. HP lived a very sheltered life.

At the early age of 4 or 5 HP became an avid reader of literature. Devouring Grimm's faery tales, Jules Verne and others. His grandfather would encourage him to read from his vast library. HP would also take on a fantasy alias if Abdul Hazred. He is not sure how this name came to him. HP definitely lived in a fantasy world and his childhood existence was very sheltered. He was also very literate, as he was writing poetry. He was also interested in Greek mythology.

While living in this fantasy world he had relatively few friends maybe three or four at the most. He viewed people as objects and always considered himself an outsider. His lack of connection was cause him to be a loner and most of his friendships were conducted via the US Mail. During his youth he had trouble making friends in school. He could have had something called "Asberger's Syndrome" which causes people to be very antisocial. HP also had many facial grimaces. Something which his mother referred to as being cause by in grown facial hairs.

These grimaces could be caused by a build up of sexual tension or a spirit that was trying to use his body as a conduit. When the body does not get enough sex it tends to open the psychic centers and make someone more sensitive. It may also cause the opening of Kundlaini energy.

HP himself was an agnostic who bordered on being a total atheist. There was no proof of god so he could not subscribe to the concept. He did not believe in past lives yet he felt that he should have been born into an older more ancient time. He was nihilistic and believed that humans were ultimately insignificant and one day we would disappear with out a trace or impact.
Yet his writing came from his dreams. He was oft afraid of night gaunts which haunted him in his sleep. His writing may have been a way to control his dreams. One of his main characters would be lost to the dream world. HP himself was a materialist who did not believe in the other realms.

During his life he was not a successful writer and lived his later years in poverty. Complete contrast to his childhood. HP considered himself a proper English Gentleman and for someone like that it was deemed improper to get paid for writing so he stayed strictly amateur. He was proud of his anglo saxxon heritage and he looked down on other ethnic groups. Yet Sonia Greene, his first and only wife was Jewish. His closest friend Ronald Loveman was also Jewish. He could like individual yet despise the race that they came from.

Many occultist believe that the Necronomicon mythos and all it's characters and tomes originated on the astral plane and came to HP in a vision. This is something HP himself would scoff at. Kenneth Grant believes that Aleister Crowley came in contact with Cthulhu but the name he receive was Watulhu. HP considered the old ones to be advanced aliens who wanted to reconquer the planet and enslave mankind . It was advanced science that allowed them to enter our world not magick.

HP Lovecraft lived a hard life, a life filled with the fear of madness, loneliness and depression.He died at the age of 46 . Fame only came after his death.


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Invocations to the Gods

To the Morrigan Oh Great Goddess Morrigan, Hear Me You are the Woman that so many fear, But You are inside me. You are the birth and life and death that creates rebirth and renewal. You are the healer, the giver at the strongest time of need, You anoint the dead, You bless the land and create the harvest. Protect me and Guide me on my travels, As I know only you can stand so strong. A true warrior shows strength in their own vulnerability, and I stand with you. A Prayer to Cernunnos: God of the green, Lord of the forest, I offer you my sacrifice. I ask you for your blessing. You are the man in the trees, the green man of the woods, who brings life to the dawning spring. You are the deer in rut, mighty Horned One, who roams the autumn woods, the hunter circling round the oak, the antlers of the wild stag, and the lifeblood that spills upon the ground each season. God of the green, Lord of the forest, I offer you my sacrifice. I ask you for your blessing.

Dark Goddess

Celtic Lore & Spellcraft of the Dark Goddess: Invoking the Morrigan by Stephanie Woodfield
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Most of us are familiar with Morrigan in her guise as Morgana La Fey, King Arthur’s wicked half sister who seduces him and is constantly trying to bring down his kingdom. Morgana was portrayed in very negative light. It was not until “Mists of Avalon” came out that she was finally portrayed in a positive light. The Morrigan is in fact an ancient goddess of the Tuatha d’Dannan. She blessed the warriors with strength as they fought against the Fir Bolgs. Later on Tuatha D’Danan would fight against the Fomorians. They were victorious in that battle. The Tuatha D Danan were finally defeated by the Milesians and driven into mounds. They are supposed to be the good folk or the faeries. With the advent of male dominated Christianity the old gods and goddesses were either converted into saints or demonized. Morrigan became demonized.
The Morrigan is called, depending on your translation, Goddess of the Sea or water ways, Queen of the faeries, Dark Goddess and the queen of the night. Morrigan is a goddess of war and of love. She took lovers as she would, fought in battle and wielded magic. She yielded to no one. The Christians could not tolerate such a female. She was a woman who stood equal with the men. Which is the way it was in Celtic society.
There are more Celtic war goddesses then there are Celtic war gods. In Celtic society women stood as equals. They could divorce as easily as a man and they even fought alongside men in battle. They were property owner and business owners. True equals.
The Morrigan is a triple goddess just like Hekate and the Wiccan conception. But she is so much more complex then that. Her several guises include Badb, Macha,Morrigu and even Anu and Danu. The Morrigan is the maiden, mother and Crone. She is also the Queen who gives the king his right to maintain sovereignty over the land. If the king loses her favor then she rejects him and couple with someone else.
My original intention with this book was to check it out of the library, read it take notes an then return it. But there is way too much good stuff in this that I had to purchase the kindle edition. The author’s book give the reader a very through history of Morrigan and her role in Celtic history. A great starting point for the novice historian. The author supports what she says with a very in depth telling of the different stories the Morrigan is covered in. For those who want to work extensively with the Morrigan the book offers spells, spellcrafts, mediations and rituals. The book is filled with formulas for incenses and oils. For someone just checking out the Morrigan or really wanting to work with her this book is for you.
This book goes beyond Wicca 101 and you may find that a good introductory book on Wicca or Witchcraft would be very helpful. Enjoys your journeys with the Goddess.


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Indian Jews Revisited

The Last Jews of Kerala: The 2,000 Year History of India's Forgotten Jewish Community by Edna Fernandes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is my second time reading this book. Some may find it a bit opinionated others will love the history that is relayed to the reader in this book. Big question here is what causes a community or society to fold. The author points to community dissension and an apartheid type apparatus operating in the Cochini Jewish community. There are two groups of Jews in Kerala, one is a darker skinned almost Indian looking Jew and another one which hail form Europe is of lighter complexion. The lighter complected Jews find themselves feeling superior to the other Jews and have excluded them from participating in the synagogue, will not eat from their restaurants and intermarriage between the two groups is absolutely forbidden. Jewish racism against other Jews is not something new. White Jews or European Jews have been been constantly discriminating against darker Jews since god knows how long.For poignant example one need look at how the Yemenite Jews were treated or the Moroccan Jews were treated. The Israeli Government had the audacity to kidnap 5,000 Yemenite babies and sell them abroad. Moroccan Jews were subjected to radiological experiments. Look up "Ringworm children" on the internet. The Bene Israel Jews have been at many times called "non Jews"despite several thousands of years of practice. The racism goes on.

Jews first came to India in the time of King Solomon. Traders settled there and took on Indians wives and had children with them . This was the nucleus of one of the Indian Jewish communities. This community would later be supplemented by refugees from the Babylonian Exile an the Roman exile in 70 CE. The Paradesi Jews from Spain arrived during the inquisition. Later on they would proclaim themselves the original community and would look down upon their darker brethren . Joseph Rabban who both Jews claim descent from was sort of like a Jewish governor. He helped one on the Rajas in battle and was given control over several villages. The copper tablet are held in a Paradesi synagogue. The darker Jews claim it was stolen from them. This is a major sticking point between the two communities.

Barriers started to break down during the Ghandi years when Avo Salem turned down a lucrative career in politics and fought a battle on behalf of his brethren. Against the Paradesi. He started slowly to enter the synagogue little bit by little bit until his community gain full recognition and were given a place. Avo's sons Balfour and Gamy would also marry Paradesi women. The women were ostracized to be sure. Some fought back really hard while others just went with the flow.

Edna Flores visited this community while she was pregnant with her child. The community was dwindling in India and was in it's last days. But in Israel those that went there in most cases thrived. They were building profitable businesses in the Negev desert. One guy name Abraham did want to move back to India as the spiritual life in Israel was some what lacking.



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Osiris Awakens

Awakening Osiris: The Egyptian Book of the Dead by Normandi Ellis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This could easily become one of my favorite books. The book is poetic and moving drawing the reader into the world of ancient Egyptian mystery. Awakening Osiris is not just another translation of the "Egyptian Book of the Dead" it goes well beyond that. New evidence has been brought to light regarding these works and this has been duly incorporated. Besides taking things beyond just another translation with new information this book is a poetic reinterpretation. Poetic reinterpretations always make the work come alive and in this books case it also awakens your own inner power. Reading this book makes me want to get the Budge edition just to compare notes. This was the first serious book on Egypt that I have ever read. It will be interesting to make comparisons. With this book I am in luck there is a solid bibliography in the back for further research.

Egyptians mythology does have parallels with the Hebrew Old Testament. Some might say that Egypt inspired the Hebrew bible as the Hebrew lived there as slaves or migrant workers at least. Judeo-Christian fanatics will see it as the other way around. There is a stress on honesty, truthfulness and a hardy work ethic. The goal of our life is to live a life that is worth living and our works are the sacrifice we offer to death and the gods. The power of speech is our power to create and from this all magic arises. Egyptian magick was called Heka. Heka was making sounds or incantations to effect reality. As the deities are made of Holy ether so are we as well. The gods live inside of us. We are god and part god.

As noted earlier this work is what I would call a poetic reinterpretation of the Book of the Dead. I did notice some similiar wording in the Egyptian prayers that was eerily similar to the wording of certain Hebrew prayers that I have read. I wonder if this is an influence that crept in because the author studied Judaism or was in it like this originally and the Hebrews copied it or maybe drank from the same source. Who knows. The word an ain soph crept in. Ain Soph is a Hebrew concept word which I doubt the Egyptians were familiar with at the time. Modernity has it's influences.

Book of the Dead is a misnomer as the original Egyptian translates to 'The Book of Coming forth by day" The book was read whole or in parts upon the death of an individual. It traces the history of Seth Murdering Osiris, Isis putting Osiris back together and mothering the child Horus. The battle between Horus and Seth is related in quite vivid detail. After that the book takes the reader on a journey through the underworld and to Osiris's eventual return. The introduction gives over some real good pertinent facts for layman, scholar and pagan alike. Enjoy.

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Vampire Psychology

Vampires in Their Own Words: An Anthology of Vampire Voices by Michelle Belanger
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When I first heard the term psychic vampire I automatically assumed that it was some pesky person who hung around you and annoyed so much that you felt drained just from being around them. They would leach off you, much like a moocher who has no money. Real vampires of course were the work of fiction and lore and in no way shape or form could ever possibly exist. That a psychic vampire could send out astral tendril and feed off of someone's aura because of their own energy imbalance to me was just like a joke. I did not believe in the existence of vampires.

It was not this book that changed my point of view, I should say that it was Father Sebastian's Sanguinomicon that brought me around. Like me there are other that burn off energy really quickly an thus need it replaced. Of course I do not consider my self a psychic vampire. My entire life I have been addicted to things , especially caffeine that give someone extreme jolts of energy. I a may not be a vampire but I also may have lots in common with them.

This book has essay from Michelle and various other members in the vampire community. These community members discuss a wide variety of topics ranging from awakening to who they are, community structure, vampire donor relations, ethical feeding, relation with Pagans and Ceremonial magicians and the use of blood in rituals. The book was a captivating read that I finished in about two days and it was enjoyable. More over it moved my position a bit and spoke about things with which I was familiar.

There are two types of vampires sanguine and psychic vampires. Sanguine vampires get their needed energy from blood while psychic vampires get their energy from other people's energy. Sanguine vampires usually only require a small amount of blood to meet their energy needs. I still do not buy into sanguine vampires. I think they need help. There are is instruction in the book on how to feed safely with blood. There is also tips on how psychic vampires should feed.

If one wants an in depth view of the vampyre community then I strongly suggest you get this view. It will answer you questions and whole lot more.


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Birth of the Goddess Apophenia

The Apophenion: A Chaos Magick Paradigm by Peter J. Carroll
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Apophenia is the seeing of connection between event that others fail to see. In this small but intense book Peter J.Carrol one of Chaos Magick's supreme mages gives forth to the reader a philosophy that is much different then that offered by any other other magical system. It is totally non theistic in it's own way, challenges assumptions and throws in a whole bunch of science. Chaos philosophy views magic as a technique and regards religion as important only so far as it helps the practitioner reach their goal.

Pan psychism is the author's philosophy. It is a philosophy which tackle first the concept of identity. Things like stones, physical matter and ourselves are not this mass of inert matter. Rather we are doing constantly. In a state of action. The atoms and molecule that comprise the stone or human are in constant motion. So are we. To stop doing means to stop being. There is no state of being on a state of doing. Everything also has a mind and consciousness of sorts. Whether it be tea cups, rocks trees or human beings. The mind or consciousness is tied solely to the body and cannot exist independently of the body. Free will or the illusion of the ability to choose is nothing more than a combination of predetermined factors and randomness. Identity is another factor that needs to be examined. Exactly who are we? Our some total of personality is comprised of influences derived from other personalities that we see in the news, media, parents and friends. All are equally real in our subconscious mind. In effect there is not one self but many selves housed within the physical carcass of our body. To get through life the different selves have to compromise with each other.

Chaos magick has a very do it yourself philosophy and that include making a do it your self religion. This making of a new religion is called neo pantheism. Neo-Pantheism has eight component parts of it's philospophy. 1) Nothing is true and everything is permitted. 2) Belief and intent create reality. 3)Alchemy 4)Female perspective 5) Psy or sky faeries 6) synchronicity and meaning . 7) personal mythos and narratives and 8) Cosmic holism and transcendence.

The author believes deeply in deeply in Quantum theory. In Quantum theory an object can be in more than one place at the same time. Things are made up of particles and waves and while it is not possible to catch a wave it is possible to catch a particle. Time is three dimensional which means that it does not go just forward and backward but that it can move sideways as well. This ultimately that means that while there is one present there can be a numerous possibilities of the past and numerous various of the future. One can change the future by changing the past but only so long as it does not alter the present. Get your mind around that if you can. The author posits that the universe is four dimensional which is why it is able to hold itself together.

The author give the reader his theory on the universe which is based upon physicist theories. The universe is in the shape of a hypersphere which at it's furthest point is antipodal. All points of the universe touch the antipodal point at one time. This movement could be compared to the kneading of dough. The universe is 11 billion years in diameter.

The author does believe that there is life on other planets and that there are superior life forms. The thing is would they care one wit about life on Earth? The author tends to think not. We are too insignificant. If we made progress and evolved instead if destroying ourselves the author thinks that maybe they would be interested.

The Goddess Apophenia was born May 26,2005. She was birthed along with her twin. To find out about her twin you will just have to read the book. The book comes complete with a ritual devoted to Apophenia and the required tools. Enjoy your journey into the profound yet practical world of Chaos Magic.

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Stellar Magic

Stellar Magic: A Practical Guide to the Rites of the Moon, Planets, Stars and Constellations by Payam Nabarz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This one of the best books I have read to date. What can I say it resonates with me. My pre-Pagan spirituality haled from the Middle East. Author, Payam Nabarz gives the reader several rituals dedicated to the stars, planets, moon and constellation. All of them are complete and easy for anyone from beginner-expert to follow and do. The rituals can be performed individually or with groups. The author encourages the reader to modify the rituals to get the most out of them. The author also gives the mythology behind the rituals and the mythology derives from many sources such as Zoroastrian, Egyptian,Greek and Roman. Very thorough! I hope to see more from this author. Not only is the book packed with information but it is loaded with sources for further research.

Ever since Ancient times the stars have been used for divination. The Caesars of Rome valued anyone who could accurately read the stars and interpret what they mean. Some of the Caesars would interview the diviners personally if they failed then they faced the real possibility of being executed. But things went further then that the stars were the center of ancient ritual. People could draw power from those rituals.

After the introduction the author explains the standard opening and closing for the rituals. It is the same every time and it is a variation of the Lesser banishing pentagram ritual in a way. The first part of the opening is the tree meditation which is derived from the Celtic sources and draws energy from the earth and celestial spheres into the practitioner. Next is calling the quarters and then a reading of the Hymns of Orpheus.

The first right is the Orion -Horus Right. As with each of the rituals the author gives the outline and then he gives a thorough explanation of the mythology behind the ritual. He equates Orion with Horus and he explains the similarity and the difference between the two deities. The book is chock full of rituals and to list them all would be far too exhaustive. In closing I would like to say that our souls come from the stars and that each of us has a star in the sky. Our life's journey is to return to the stars. This book is a great guide. Buy the book. The rituals are sensible, practical and easy to follow. You will enjoy the results.

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