For centuries, humanity struggled to make sense of the natural world and its unpredictable weather. Sometimes, the blood and sweat of months of hard toil could be torn apart in a matter of minutes; an uprooted crop or spoilt harvest often spelt total disaster for a poor farming family. One of the most feared natural events here was the sudden storm or violent wind and many explanations were once proffered in an effort to make sense of these; the most popular being that certain, gifted, people could control the wind and storm.
Today I was reading Lee Morgan’s book A Deed Without A Name: Unearthing The Legacy of Traditional Witchcraft and in chapter 2 titled: Who is Called and Who is Calling wherein he brings up an aspect of witchcraft that I hadn’t considered in depth for quite some time into my path, hence the title name of the chapter. Those two questions aren’t really what I would like to discuss, what I would like to discuss is more along the lines of the vocation of the witch and what they are called on to do. Lee brings up this point regarding the witch’s function and service, both to this world and the Otherworld and how this aspect is forgotten in modern witchcraft in favor of spiritual evolution and self discovery ( which Lee doesn’t dismiss as unimportant). Lee mentions that not all witch’s are called to work for the same forces and they do so as necessary representations of the giving and taking forces of life and death. I haven’t met many “real” witches but the ones that I have met seem to have particular natural talents/skills/proclivities without former knowledge, study or training in certain areas of the Craft. Whether these are inborn talents, “gifted” to the witch through familiar spirits or the result of work in these areas of witchcraft from a past life (if you place stock or belief in such things) I can’t be sure. What I do know based on personal experience is that some of us are called to work for the gates of life or the gates of death and I’m of the opinion that it’s important for the witch to find out which path one is being called and to take that path when one is ready. It should be obvious that the path of death, the path of shadows, the path of night is generally despised, mocked, misunderstood, etc. Go figure. Whatever gate you are called to work for is irrelevant in my opinion, JUST EMBRACE IT! Damn the consequences, damn the price to be paid! If you’re a genuine witch then you generally won’t give two shits what others have to say about your path or what they think about you; If you stray from your path you’ll feel it in your bones, in your spirit and you won’t feel “right” until you embrace what you’ve been called to do in service and in function. It’s not easy especially if you’ve been called to the darker paths in the craft but honestly isn’t integrity and walking your path with authenticity better than the alternative???? The path of the witch is not for the faint of heart, for sheeple or folks who can’t carve their own path through the jungle and not give a damn about being a social pariah, ostracized and/or segregated, etc. If you have what it takes then welcome to the family, whether you work for the gate of life or the gate of death is irrelevant to me. What matters is your commitment and dedication to the path and to do anything less feels like an insult to all the witches who came before you who risked death and torture to walk their path, especially in a time that is not our own where you almost certainly were executed for being different or practicing a religion/spiritual path that differed from the dominate Judeo-Christian paradigm. Never forget this! Never forget the Red Thread of witches and those who came before and paved the way for those of us in the modern age just as you help pave the way for future generations. Be strong in your craft! Be strong in your authenticity which seems so rare these days when soo many would cash in their integrity and principles for a steady paycheck or a life of creature comforts.
Chris is a professor of European Archaeology with interests in Archaeology, Landscape and Identity, Archaeology and intelligence, History of the rainforest, Eurasian connections, Papua New Guinea. I’ve provided a link to his University of Oxford page here. I’m also providing two YouTube links where he discusses the contents of his book and answers questions from listeners at the end of his discussions. The first link is The School of Archaeology Oxford YouTube Channel and The British Academy YouTube Channel . His book starts on a timeline of 40,000 BC up to the present and is a cross cultural look at magic’s history worldwide and it’s development alongside religion and science. It’s a “broad strokes” approach to this subject matter and doesn’t necessarily go into a deep dive regarding each cultures approach and response to magic but I highly recommend it and suggest you check out the link at the top of this post to his amazon book link and suggest giving a listen to his discussions before purchasing this book.
The Red Cellar Research Articles: Slaughterhouse Blood: An Emerging Source of Bioactive Compounds *Page 5 of pdf contains important info in Figure 1 and Table 4 regarding what blood constituents are used, what they are utilized for in food products (it’s function), and references are included.
Below are listed links to books regarding the spiritual as well as socio/cultural/medical/financial uses of blood. Great stuff for those curious about the properties of blood, it’s functions as well as it’s use in various industries today including myths, superstitions and religious aspects of blood. The first entry is a link to Basse Stittgen’s online studio where he features physical goods made from 100% cow blood and discuss his reasons for doing so. He also features blood from those who are HIV+ and transforms their blood into physical objects to help spread awareness reduce the stigma of tainted/infected blood; Each object comes with an interview of the person who donated the blood for the particular project piece. The second entry is from one of my favorite blood artists, Vincent Castiglia who uses his own blood to produce metaphysical and horror themed paintings. The last book entry by Mary Roach does not cover the topic of vampirism or blood related knowledge per se, but more so about our bodies and the postmortem journey they take and the process of decay that did contribute to more than one vampire myth in the past. Besides, it’s an engaging and fun read as well as holding relevance to vampirism. But first I’ll provide a link to a quick Youtube video explaining the composition and function of blood brought to you by Professor Dave Explains. Another useful video covers blood groups provided by bloodbankguy, he’s got a whole host of blog articles and videos on blood related info you might find helpful. And if that wasn’t enough, I’ve provided a link to an ebook on blood groups and red cell antigens if you feel like digging deeper into The Red Thread that is blood. A shorter 24 page read about the human red blood cell by Russell Haden M. D. via the Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine can be read if you do a quick google search. Please note that the above link to the paper is for personal use only and any additional use requires permission as stated at the bottom of each page of Russell’s paper. For those who enjoy visual information I’ve provided the human blood chart via Hospital Equipment Manufacturing Company website. Last but not least is the database of red blood cells provided by NCBI (National Center For Biotechnology Information provides access to biomedical and genomic information), it contains information about blood, including clinical data about different blood groups and stores DNA sequences which encode different blood group antigens. Enjoy!
Clinical Vampirism: The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law article about the myth and reality of clinical vampirism http://jaapl.org/content/22/4/533
Below I have provided a huge list of links to some online real vampire community resources that I recommend checking out. These range from blogs, discord instant messaging platforms, forums, articles, general faq sites, and a few documentaries (intentionally cheesy yet serious) and the very last link contains an amazon link to purchase candy bars from russia made from processed cow blood in case you need some extra iron, very tasty!
Two literary academic sources regarding real vampires and their subculture that I enjoy are from the following two gentleman: John Edgar Browning who is currently a Professor of Liberal Arts at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta (John Edgar Browning | Savannah College of Art and Design – Academia.edu) as well as Joseph Laycock who is an Associate Professor of religious studies at Texas State University (Faculty Profiles (txstate.edu)). Joseph Laycock’s book, Vampires Today: The Truth about Modern Vampirism (Amazon.com: Vampires Today: The Truth about Modern Vampirism: 9780313364723: Laycock, Joseph P.: Books) is one of my absolute favorites when it comes to investigating and discussing the origin of the modern vampire community. He discusses different types of vampiric experiences, the vampire’s social environment, initiatory vampire groups/houses/covens, vampires and religion, and it’s evolving community from pre internet zines to the modern web as we know it today.
Links (real vampiric practices which covers blood drinking and energy feeding among other techniques of energy manipulation):
Vampyre Magazine (articles as well as links to vamporium shop, sabretooth clan, strigoi vii, black veil vampires, father sebastiaan, etc.)
Vampirism and Energy Work Research Study (A survey in which I participated in filling out with a total of over 900 questions, took me about 2 hours to complete around 2007): http://www.suscitatio.com/main.html
*Clicking on the Web Directory and scrolling to the bottom of the page will list over 500 real vampire related sites for further research/information and is worth checking out.
Merticus (Merticus set up the Atlanta Vampire Alliance, primary contributing author to the vampirism and energy work research study, a lead researcher for suscitatio enterprises, current administrator for voices of the vampire community, founder of vampire community news and organizer for the Atlanta Vampire Meetup Group): http://merticus.com/
Below is a list of various vampire subject matter for you to sink your teeth into. These topics can range from folklore, mythology, academic studies to real vampirism and various philosophies and spiritualities built around the archetype of the vampire and are usually within the realm of left hand path occult practice as it’s commonly referred to in the west. Enjoy:
So, Needless to say it’s been awhile since I’ve posted on this blog with any regularity. Let’s just say that it’s been a long summer and I needed some time away from computers and the majority of the online world, my participation was not mandatory so I took a much needed break. However, it’s been that time of year (since about Mid September for me personally) where we shed old skin to allow for new growth. Letting go of old energy, old ways of thinking and being in the world are shed to allow for new currents of energy to express themselves from within and without. As above, so below as it’s said… I’m sure it’s obvious that during the season and time of “death” and it’s energy reigning for the dark half of the year on the northern hemisphere we shall swerve ever soo slightly to a topic that may to some seem counter to death in a way. Essentially I’m going to introduce an occult topic that is the polar opposite of embracing death and it’s energy…. Well, what are we having for dinner you say? I was thinking vampires and vampirism and it’s associated connection with blood magic might be an enjoyable road to travel at this time. A road I’ve travelled before, a road that is forever new and yet forever old. Ouroboros . Vampirism is something I actively practice/live and study in the occult sense of the word. I may or may not discuss blood drinking and resources to useful supplies (bought new and sterile of course) and folks blogs who are more knowledgeable in the medical end of all things related to vampiric practice using body fluids such as blood, etc. I will also share links and resources to online presences of varying aspects/philosophies within the vampire community that should not be confused with fetish lifestyle/practice or role players. As always, my blog posts tend to be short and sweet so don’t expect comprehensive access and knowledge to the various topics we explore together. That doesn’t mean that I don’t know what I’m talking about, don’t get me wrong… I just like to offer some resources that have helped inform me on my path at some point and influenced my approach and practice of vampirism, feel free to use what works and throw out the rest!
This post is written in honor of Marbas’s assistance in a recent healing working that I’ve used for myself a few times with good success and wish to share it with my readers. The demon used for the purposes of curing and causing disease (among other talents) is Marbas from the Goetia. Yes I provided wiki links for both the goetia and the demon mentioned just as a brief introduction to some information regarding demonic attributes and the book I copied the demonic seal from. So, knowing the basic attributes of this demon and possessing knowledge of it’s name and seal which serves as a direct calling card to the energy you require should provide an easy route to healing power/energy in a simple ritual working. This post is intended to provide food for thought and allow you to design your own ritual for whatever intent you need to have manifest for you, as there are plenty of resources online and in books by other practitioners that can provide interesting frameworks and templates for practice.
All that is really required is the demons seal and knowledge of it’s name…..perhaps a candle or two and some incense if that sort of thing puts you in the mood or gets you off. In fact, rituals should be tailored towards what turns you on to magic, plugs you into the socket of life force so that you can fuel your intent and essentially send it down the line to the “demon” and hopefully get a response and feedback in the form of your intent being manifested in an obvious and powerful way. As long as your ritual is respectful to the energy of the demon and your intent is strong and clear in what you desire then your intent should be amplified, magnified and sent directly to it’s “target” (i.e. intended goal). Results for me have manifested in seriously reduced illness duration, quicker bounceback from illness related lethargy, more energy/physical performance/endurance and mental clarity. Your results may be similar or varying degrees of difference from mine so stay open to varieties of manifestation of your intent when working with this demon or any third party for that matter. Please note that a demon is not required to perform healing upon yourself but I’ve done this enough and compared results to doing things on my own. The interesting difference appears to be that my own power/intent is amplified and returned with more exacting force and longer duration of effects compared to me doing a working with just my own power. That’s not always true 100% of the time but I definitely have noticed an amplification and swiftness to any intention you use in tandem with a demonic energy. Try it for yourself and perhaps take a peek at other goetic demons that may specialize in an area of sorcery you might require or desire their assistance.
Note: I’m not a demonologist/demonolater/satanist and my work with demons has been limited but intense with one or two in the last couple decades but it has never been a huge area of interest for me in particular and I don’t wish to claim much knowledge or experience in this area.
The Sorcery Lab 