Hey everyone,
I’m deep in my preparations for the market/concert this Saturday. Reminders: it’s at the First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia. It starts at 3 pm and goes til 9.
I’ll be there selling handmade magical items, ritual supplies, copies of Amor Fati, and some surprises too. Come say hi to me! It will be fun.
Speaking of Amor Fati, the limited edition box sets are selling in places as far afield as Israel and Brazil. It’s really cool to see that all over the world people want to play role playing games about tarot and medieval magic.
There are still some copies left in this limited run, and I don’t want to say too much yet but I’m already working with another artist on an exciting expansion to the game. You can check out the Amor Fati Box Sets here.
Enough mercantilism, let’s talk necromancy for a bit.
Maybe it’s just the growing dark, the gnawing cold, but I have been really feeling the dead lately. Not just my family, blood dead, but especially the “randos”, the forgotten and nameless ones, the ghosts that have lost their identities, the ones nobody prays for.
America is full of those. There are various words for them. Anima Sola comes to mind, the “lonely soul in purgatory” from Catholic tradition. One can get an icon for these lost souls and pray for them to gain Jesus points (read: sorcerous power glossed in Christian terms. And you need not be Christian to apply. It’s easy to understand that miserable ghosts who have been abandoned by their families would probably be happy to help out pretty much anyone who gave them some candlelight, prayer, time. Time is the big one, the most precious thing we can offer…)
The icons of the Anima Sola look pretty metal too:
I’m into her stare of defiance. She may be burning but she has not given up.
Thinking about abandoned souls reminds me of the Gede nation in Vodou. Compared with the Anima Sola(s) suffering in the school of purification by fire until they are made perfect enough to join the people feeling guilty at Sunday Mass, there’s something much sweeter about the way the Gede are spoken of.
According to Mambo T’s pamphlet Gede: The Forgotten Dead, “Two special Lwa gather up forgotten or lost souls and give them new purpose as Gede: the constantly growing, innumerable horde of the dead.”
I like the idea of these lonely ones being gathered up. Mambo T also says that while Vodou requires initiation, anyone can serve the Gede. I recommend that pamphlet if you want to know more.
Speaking of all these dead people, I have been working on a new publication. It’s an annotated, heavily footnoted re-presentation of a Spiritualist pamphlet written in 1870.
I’m excited about it because it provides simple explanations of the methods for forming séance circles. It’s approachable for newcomers and experienced mediums alike and I really think it’s worth reading and giving the practice a spin (if you’re not too chicken!)
Wow, I guess we’re already nearing the end of this letter. I hope your week is going well. I know stuff might feel intense with Mars retrograde. Be careful during this full moon. The “cold moon”. This year it’s extra gnarly so don’t take any unnecessary risks next few days.
12/10 looks like a lucky day. 12/14 is decent too, with Mercury and Venus clustered together in Capricorn and the Sun right around the Midheaven in Sagittarius.
Maybe you’re looking to get some Jupiter magic done before The Greater Benefic leaves his comfortable surroundings in Pisces, and before the Mercury retrograde starts near the end of the month (12/29).
Get it while the getting’s good.
Before I go,
Phoebe Hildegard Presents— thee best ov thee occkult inner-net!
-in keeping with the necromancy theme, here’s an oldie but a goodie: Naples is for Necromancers
-I’ve been impressed by the simultaneous scholarly rigor and transgressive, original thought of the editor-writers of Tower Quarterly.
-I recently came across this video on the Weizza of Myanmar. I have to say, the reporter is a particularly unfaithful witness to this beautiful tradition, but the footage is still fascinating. I particularly liked the bits about snakes being both 1) descended from dragons, and 2) inherently related to sorcery.
Sorcery is a global affair! The dead are all around us! Grow flowers, pour out libations, adorn yourselves, write poems and read them to the moon! Scream! Pray out loud and see who answers! Dive headfirst into fear, festoon yourselves in taboos and break the limits of this straightjacket culture!
Here’s to you, your power, and the flawless execution of your Will!