As the fifth book in the series of the Books of the Master Emil Stejnar published a volume called ‘Magic with Astrology - The Genetic Code of Spirit and Soul’. What follows is my personal review of the first edition of the book in German language.
Read MoreEmil Stejnar (* 1939) is an austrian born gold- and silversmith, a hermetic magician as well as a famous author and astrologer in many German speaking countries. He is known as the spiritual successor to Franz Bardon and has worked with, corrected and expended Bardon’s works for more than fifty years.
Read MoreAnother year comes to an end. An opportunity to clean our desks, get rid of dead freight, misperceptions and to answer some essential questions. To me the essential question I take away from this rich year of magical practice, learning and sharing is this: ‘Why use Magic?'
Read MoreIt’s a simple fact of life that every force manifests in power and direction. Each force might carry its individual threshold at which it converts from being stagnant to setting into motion. Yet once this level has been surpassed, the result is movement in a defined direction. Thus the two states any force within or around us can assume is either being stagnantly bound or being set free in motion.
Read MoreWhen I wrote the earlier parts on Working in Service I knew there needed to be at least one more. The first one is focussed on tearing down the divide between inside and outside, the second one explores the concept of creativity in relation to working in service magically. In this third post I am looking at the fundament to all of this - our ability to live in self-confidence.
Read MoreIn the previous part we looked at how magic works from an inner perspective, wether triggered consciously or unconsciously. The focus of the model shared was to examine how our 'True Will' and our unconscious desires interact with the world around us, in order to create experiences that resonate with their charges. It also showed how the impact of our behavioral reply - both on ourselves and our future experiences - will vary wether we chose to think about it, talk about it, act upon it or process it in form of a ritual.
Read MoreJust in time for the upcoming Saturnalia, I am learning a lot about strength these days. Unfortunately, the way I am being taught is by being pointed to what it is not. I am learning about the fleetingness of boundaries we thought we had erected around us safely. About the permeability of the stone we had come to mistaken for our skin. About the fragility of the locks we had hung before the things we feared to lose.
Read MoreAfter all the inner work of recent months I needed a break and happily returned to a different kind of work - something a little more structured and outwardly focussed. In fact I had started this piece of work more than five years ago and then continuously refined and adjusted it. Still, sharing it today doesn’t mean it is final - like all models it will always remain work in progress. Yet, hopefully it has arrived at a stage where its logic is consistent and can be advantageous in sparking new thoughts about how magic actually works?
Read MoreAs mentioned in the previous post on the subject, I am currently working on several rites which in return triggered this small blog-series. Before we continue, however, let me point something out. This second part in particular was equally inspired by a TED talk by Elizabeth Gilbert on the subject of Creativity.
Read MoreSince a few moths I am working on a series of rituals related to the land I cannot share much about. As we all know - starting from young love all the way to establishing new magical contact - some things only grow in silence. Wherever we put our attention, energy follows. And the energy of every conscious carries a specific pattern that is passed on to everything it grasps. So if all of your work aims to establish a specific new pattern, to lay a seed in a virgin ground, untouched by other influences, you got to keep all attention away from it as good as you can.
Read More
When explaining how to work magic based on inner vision it is helpful to take a look at one of the main differences between traditional Shamanism and Western Ritual Magic. It lies in the different pathways chosen by its practitioners to achieve a clear state of Inner Sight. Wether we aim to develop it in the circle of practice or in the forests at night, wether we use a crystal ball to fix our gaze or wether we keep our eyes closed with our fingers following the lines of our mesa: Inner sight knows no differentiation between paradigms and so don’t the spirits we aim to work with. Inner vision represents a gift we can only give to ourselves.
Read MoreAfter almost 10 months of preparation I consecrated my new temple today. We had moved houses in September. Cleaning out my old temple, which had been in use for almost four years, had felt like sawing off the branch on which I was sitting, cutting down the roots that gave me strength and a place in this world. Yet, it had to be done. As my wife always says: 'You got to die one death, if you are lucky you only get to chose which one.'
Read MoreIn the previous chapter we explored the nature of poison, its relation to magic and the concept of transformation. In this post we will return to our first assumption and explore its relation to the magical chalice specifically.
Read MoreReading Daniel Schulke's VENEFICIUM is a bit like talking a walk early in the morning, when the fields are still covered in fog. It's the time when it is most easy to loose your way and much of the beauty of the land is still hidden behind clouds of mist. It can be a beautiful walk or it can really piss you off if you are trying to get somewhere.
Read MoreJosephine McCarthy’s new novel The Last Scabbard is not a novel indeed. It is an exercise in magical vision waiting to be activated. In ancient Tibet sacred text were buried to be found by designated people in the future and unfold their power when the time was ripe for what they had to say. Similarly, there is a secret text in this book, buried in the earth of a fantastic novel, waiting to be released by each one of us as a reader.
Read MoreI had planned this vacation for a long time, a very long time indeed. Finding a hideaway in the Bavarian Woods - the largest national park of closed forest space across Europe - that would allow my wife and I to spend weekends out in a completely remote environment. It took me more than three years to find the place we were finally about to visit.
Read MoreWith the recent release of the Magical Knowledge III I thought it's a good time to share a fundamental magical insight I only realised through Josephine McCarthy's liminal books. Actually it's a quite embarrassing to admit that I have spent so many years practicing magic without understanding this very basic principle - as everything you want to achieve in magic really flows from it. Yet, embarrassing or not - a life led to looking good must be pretty boring? You simply miss out on all the playfulness. So here we go...
Read MoreOn writing the fourth chapter on the Holy Guardian Angel I discovered something interesting. It relates to our readiness to translate philosophical theory into living ritual work - and how this competence changes, evolves and matures over years of practice and experience.
Read More