Do you ever wonder why spirits connect with us? What is it they want? What do they provide in return? In this episode, I pull back the curtain and share my insights around spirit work and why spirits want to connect with us. I share what they give and what they get from our connection and discuss why this can be so helpful in working with spirits in general.
Magical Experiments Podcast: How I Modify Magical Entities
In this latest episode of the Magical Experiments Podcast, I talk about how you can modify existing magical entities you’ve created and share why and when you would want to modify them. I share a couple of personal examples of entities that I’ve created and modified and how doing these modifications improved the efficacy of their work.
Elemental Magic and Energy Work
Is there a connection between elemental magic and energy work?
There definitely is and I share what that connection is and why you would want to work with it. I also explore what the broader definition of elemental magic is and how energy work can be applied to that definition.
Sound and spirit: How singing and chanting creates connection
In Holy Daimon (Affiliate link) the author shares how spirits love the sound of humans singing. When I read that it reminded me of a statement what William G. Gray shared in Magical Ritual Methods (Affiliate link) about invocation and how he uses sound to setup the connection between the magician and the spirit. In my own work with spirits, and magical work in general what I’ve discovered is that sound is powerful medium that conditions the receptivity of the human consciousness while also establishing a specific space in the environment around you. Frater Acher shares the following in the first aforementioned book:
“The spoken word is the sword blade of the magician. It forms the bridge between the realm of the spirits and the realm of matter. It is itself a hybrid power, half born from flesh, half born from spirit. Singing - making our voice carry particular melodies and vibrations that express intent not only in the words spoken but also in the meaning of the melody”
When I sing or chant to connect with spirits, I infuse vibration into the singing because it serves to harmonize the connection through the energy of the vibration. The vibration aspect is essential because I use it to find the frequency of the connection. The sound of the words form the essence of the desired connection and provides meaning to the human mind, while the vibration calls forth to the spirit and invites it to connect and work with me. The sound also mediates the shared essence of the practitioner and spirit, creating a relationship between them that enables communication. That communication can come in the form of visual or auditory experiences, but in my experience is more succinct and powerful as a spiritual transmission.
This principle isn’t new, but it is worth coming back to and exploring in depth in your own practice. The sound of the spoken word, the naming of a spirit is a power into itself and this concept of sound and connection underlies what is happening when we call to a spirit. It also can play a role in the naming of a space. For example, my partner and I name our home and the name of the home speaks as much to our relationship as it speaks to what we cultivate in this home and in our interactions with each other. The name is significant but the sound plays a role as well. When I say the name of my home, I’m evoking through the sound of the name all the experiences that have occurred as well as calling for more experiences.
Singing has another effect as well. It elevates us emotionally and energetically. It’s important, as a result to consider what energy you want to bring into your interactions with the spirits you’re connecting with. When I sing or chant, I do it from a place of joy for the experience of the magic as well as for the opportunity to connect with the spirit. I like to make sure that I put myself in the right frame of mind and emotion because I want to give myself over to the experience and showing up with anything less than my best effort is a disservice to myself and the spirit. Singing creates the space, the emotion, the energy, and the presence when you fully invest yourself in it.
How do you incorporate sound into your connection with spirits? Comment below.
How I integrate pentacle work with other forms of magic
Picture copyright Taylor Ellwood 2024
Recently a friend gifted me some planetary pentacles for Neptune, Uranus and Pluto. I was intrigued at the opportunity to work with the pentacles and also inspired to integrate them with other magical process and experiments I’m currently working on. In the past I’ve found that the pentacles have been useful tools for focusing planetary energies in my magical work as well as setting up specific passive magical workings that are activated as needed.
In my initial working I decided to work with two Uranian pentacles that helped inspire creativity. I set them up in conjunction with a folkloric magical working using three sticks in a pattern that’s designed to create focus. That very evening I was going through a class and I found myself feeling very creative and focused on how I could apply the learnings from that class. I started implementing some of the ideas and felt a sense of deep awareness around how the specific application pentacles, mixed with another form of magical could be used to inspire specific states of being and awareness.
In the picture above is another working, this time with a Venusian pentacle for love, as well as a Uranian pentacle for time work, a Uranian pentacle for creative balance and a Neptunian pentacle for power. Three sticks are being used for several purpose. The initial configuration of the sticks is focused on enhancing scrying work that is done for the purposes of connecting across time with younger versions of the self, or with ancestors, or other people. Once the connection has been made the sticks are changed to another pattern to enhance the work with the pentacles. The mirror and flame are used to focus the attention of the magician in a trance state that can then be applied to interface with the pentacles.
picture copyright Taylor Ellwood 2024
In this example above the tree sticks have been put into a pattern of a star. The star creates a focal point above the Venusian pentacle, drawing in the other pentacles, while also aligning the spirits attributed to each stick to aid with the scrying and in this case spacetime magic being worked with. The star serves to both amplify and focus the overall intent and energy of the work so a connection can be made to a past self with the intention of doing self love as a form of healing for the person being worked with AND with the ancestors. The healing work is around the specific traumatic patterns that are existent in both the person and their ancestors. The approach here is driven by a desired result to heal the person and extend that healing into the past while also breaking the traumatic patterns for future generations.
Combining different techniques and systems of magic can be a delicate piece of work, because the original context of the respective techniques and systems is that typically they weren’t intended to be combined with other techniques or systems. The question that always comes to mind for me is: Can I combine multiple techniques/systems in a way that either creates a new magical working or enhances an existing one?
The purpose of the working is another important factor to consider. The purpose of this working involves using scrying to connect with a past self and then applying changes to both myself as I am now and my younger self so I can do healing around trauma, while also sending that healing into the past via the ancestors. The pentacles applies planetary influences, while the folkloric magic calls in the ancestors as well as animal/plant and faerie allies to aid in the process of connecting with the past and healing the trauma. The work is also carried to the future, to future generations to promote peace and harmony in the world. At the same time, I use the pentacles, scrying mirror and candle, and the folkloric magic to also call in that same peace and harmony to the world now. My thought is that this work can apply across time and that through personal healing, using homeopathic principles, it can create a ripple effect in the larger continuum of humanity.
This is part of a larger work I’ll be continuing to work on. It is also my continued experimentation with Scrying beyond what I’ve shared in my book Scrying the Divine.
What makes a spirit a spirit?
I've been thinking about the question, "What makes a spirit, a spirit?"
I'm currently writing Walking with Nature Spirits, and in the writing of this book I've been thinking about this question because of how I approach the work with nature spirits, but also because of the stereotypical imagery associated with nature spirits, which usually has them set up with imagery of gnomes, undines, slyphs, etc., basically humancentric shapes and appearances.
The benefit of the humancentric shapes is that it makes easy for us to identify with those spirits. The downside however is that we all too often get stuck filtering our experience of a given spirit on the basis of the human oriented shape we associate with it. This isn't limited to nature or elemental spirits either.
We see this same tendency to humanize the appearance and experience of spirits with Daemonic spirits, angelic spirits, and any other type of spirit out there. This tendency brings with it a kind of entitlement as well: Namely the entitlement that the spirits are really here to serve or work for us. It's a naïve belief that isn't fully accurate and can create potential problems when we adhere too strongly to notions of what we think spirits are or are not.
One of my main purposes for writing the Walking with Spirits series is to present an alternate perspective to spirit work that is rooted in building a collaborative relationship with the spirits, but also recognizes that to experience the spirits we must be willing to experience them on their terms as much as possible.
What does that look like?
When I work with a spirit what I try to do is engage the spirit on the level of experience that it chooses to show up at. What that means is that instead of expecting it to show up a specific way or in a specific form, I open myself to the experience of the spirit as it chooses to show up.
Sometimes that still includes a human form and human communication, but sometimes the experience is more direct, the feeling of sensations as the spirit makes itself known sensually. For example, I might be walking down a path and feel the spirit show up and connect with me emotionally or through physical sensations. I might experience a transmission of information.
We've gotten so used to spirits showing up in ways that are easily understandable to us, but I'm interested in what gets lost in the translation as it were, because I think that some of what a spirit could share does get lost in translation.
This brings me back to that question of what makes a spirit a spirit?
Is a spirit defined by the categories and taxonomies that we put it in or by the shapes it takes on and becomes for our benefit? Or is the spirit something we can't quite define because it doesn't fit our conventional human experience?
I don't have an answer to these questions...just observations and experiences that help me connect with the spirits, but also help me realize how filtered and biased that connection can be. I recognize that even with the approach I've taken which is a much more sensorial approach I can't necessarily remove all the bias and filter that comes with the human experience. I can be aware of it, but it is still a part of me, a part of the reality of my life, and perhaps it is something that the spirits find value in.
I wonder if they ask a similar question...what makes a human, a human?
Psychology and Religion and their role in Spirit Work
I recently finished reading Joseph Lisiewski’s Howlings from the Pit (Affiliate link), which is a collection of essays about grimoire magic and of curse his particular argument as to why you have to do spirit work with daemons in a specific way. I don’t agree with Lisieswki’s approach and I’ve gotten efficacious results through my own system of spirit work, but I do think he makes some interesting points that are worth considering, both in regards to spirit work and magical work in general.
Point 1: You have to honor the original religious/spiritual belief system you were raised with - Lisiewski makes the argument that if you were raised in a different religious/spiritual system than the current religfious/spiritual system you are in, and you want to do spirit work, you have to honor original religious/spiritual system at least once or twice a year. I disagree with the author on this limited belief and think it speaks more to his religious/spiritual issues than being an actual and effective axiom.
I was raised episcopalian and was a born again Christian for a time and I never found that I needed to go to a sermon or make some kind of offering at a church in order to do effective spirit work. When a person makes a rule or axiom around any magical work, we ought to carefully consider the subjective nature of such rules. What works for one person may not work for another and may not even be relevant.
Point 2: If you put your power in magical tools this takes away from the power you bring to rituals. - This is an interesting argument that I find myself agreeing with in some ways. Lisiewski is specifically referring to the creation of tools for the Golden Dawn rituals and how part of that process involves embedding your personal energy within those tools, which ends up taking away from the efficacy of your work with other magical systems.
I do think its possible to invest a lot of yourself into a given magical tool, which is one reason I recommend not relying on any given magical tool too much. A magical tool is meant to be an aid and representation of something you are working with. It can help you access certain frames of mind and being, but it should never be something you rely upon so much that you can’t do anything without it.
Point 3: If you don’t do the magical working the right way, you can suffer adverse effects (aka his slingshot method). I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way to do magic, but you can definitely tell if a given process or methodology is working by the results that are being generated with that process. Keeping careful track of the results, consequences, and adverse effects that come with magical work is a good idea because it helps you recognize what is working or what can be improved upon.
Sometimes you will experience adverse effects with magical work. These may show up as synchronicities indicating the confluence of possibilities lining up to manifest the result or spiritual forces showing up to help or hinder the work involved. The key is not read too much into anything, and continue doing the work until you’ve finished the operation.
Point 4: Your psychological, spiritual, ideological values play a role in your magical work. This point is a bit similar to point 1, but also distinct. What we believe and think about ourselves, other people, and the world around us plays a role in the magical work we do. It’s important to acknowledge the internal reality and the role it plays in our magical work. In my own experience the majority of the time a magical working doesn’t work is because of the internal reality of a person and what is out of alignment with that internal reality and the desired result the person is going for.
Point 5: You have to do specific activities at specific times with specific items. Ironically, one of the points the author made in contradiction to point 2 was that you need to use certain items at certain times in order to get results. I won’t argue that a given system of magic may speak to specific necessities around magical tools, times, etc., but what I find personally powerful about magic is that you can come up with your own systems and processes and get results that are consistent and powerful. You can also do this with a pre-existing system, but you do operate within the constraints of that system. Either way can work, but its important to figure out what works for you. The beauty of magic is that it provides a versatility that can be explored and experimented with, provided we’re willing to question the underlying narrative that magic has to be done a specific way in order to be effective.
The form and the essence of magical work
I was recently reading Howlings from the Pit by Joseph Lisiewski and I was struck by something he wrote in regards to ceremonial magicians creating magical tools that took away from the actual experience and success of magic they worked. What struck me is that the magicians were giving up the essence in favor of the form, when in fact they ought to take the opposite approach and give up the form to understand and work with the essence.
Being the magical nerd that I am also made me think of a scene in God of War Ragnarok where Brok the Dwarf tells Kratos that to create the form you have to find the essence. The essence is the key to the form. The form doesn’t exist without the essence. It made me consider Lisiewski’s perspective from another angle: How much of the essence do we give to the form, which in turn causes the form to have the power, presence, magick, etc that would otherwise stay with the essence?
In my own magical work, I’ve typically taken a minimalistic approach to my magic and spirit work operations. I have sometimes added some effects because I recognized that those effects would enhance the overall work, but even with the inclusion of those effects the question I always ask is: Does this help me connect with the magic/spirit more effectively? This is the question that any magician ought to ask themselves in order to best understand how magic can work.
What helps me get to the essence of the work? Is the form a distraction or does it actually help me truly connect with what I want to work with? These are additional questions that are useful to ask. I personally would never take the approach that Lisiewski takes, which is grimoire based because I find that form distracts from the essence. My form, developed and personalized to help me with both magical and spiritual work allows me to connect with the essence of the work I am doing…but Lisieswki would have similar issues, in no small part because of his adherence to his own system of magic and the limitations he operates in.
A given system of magic has its specific rules and limitations. If we recognize this we can see past the form to the essence and focus on working with the essence to help us achieve the ideal form we planned for. We naturally want to attend to the details of a magical working but part of attending to those details is taking the time to understand how the form magic takes actually allows us to connect with the essence and what that means as a result of the work we do.
The Role of Boundaries in Spirit Communication
When we don’t establish the right kind of container with the proper boundaries, spirit communication and work can become problematic. I discuss the importance of setting clear boundaries in your magical work and share why this can benefit you.
If you want to learn more about my upcoming class Advanced Spirit Communication, go here.
The role of somatic meditation in spirit communication
Somatic meditations can play an important role in spirit communication, helping us to connect with the spirit through the medium of our bodies and in the way the spirits interact with the body. I discuss that this experience can be like and why it can help you improve your communication with spirits
Can you get results with spirits?
One of the questions that I see asked a lot about spirit work is whether or not you can get results with spirits that are tangible and real. Today I share my own thoughts on doing spirit work and what the results can be. I also discuss what your role and the spirit’s role is in this work.
As I mentioned in the video I’m teaching a class on spirit communication and how to get better results with spirits. If you want better results, sign up for the class!
My ongoing experiments with scrying
I discuss my ongoing experiments with scrying, my upcoming book Scrying the Divine and share how this work is helping me refine my spirit work.
Sensory over stimulation and scrying
Image courtesy of Taylor Ellwood 2023
I've been continuing to experiment with scrying using a combination of tools for the purposes of overstimulation. For this particular process I've been working with Andras and Haures, two of the daemons from the Goetia. The initial process has involved setting the sigil for the given daemon up so its between a candle and the black mirror I have set up. I evoke the daemon using the enn for it and then stare at the at the mirror through the candle flame...but set up an optical illusion so that it seems like the candle is doubled in appearance.
I also have been filming these sessions live on instagram and I have the camera propped up so its directed at the flame. The camera creates a halo effect with the flame which can also be used for scrying purposes. I use it as an additional layer of sensory overstimulation. I'm chanting the enn, looking at the candle and mirror and then sometimes scrying via the instagram live video.
How to apply awareness to spirit work
Just as we can apply awareness to our lives and relationship and practical magic work, we can also apply that awareness to our work with spirits. I discuss why it can be useful to apply awareness to spirit work and how it can help you develop deeper and more meaningful relationships with the spirits.
Goetic pathworking for internal work
Over the course of this year I’ve been taking a Goetic Daemon a week course offered by S. Connolly on her Patreon. It’s been a fascinating course to take and its helped me expand my experiences and knowledge of working with daemons. While I already had some experience working with them going into the course, I’m glad I’ve taken the course because of the insights I’ve gained.
One of the suggestions that S. Connolly is working with the Daemons for the purpose of doing internal work and I’ve found this to be a great practice. Often it seems that people think of working with the Goetia when they need an external result or want to do an evocation, but there is a lot of value to be discovered in doing internal work with them.
Magical Experiments Podcast: Spirit Work with Laurelei Black
In this episode of Magical Experiments Podcast I interview Laurelei Black about her work with Aphrodite and the Goetia. We also discuss divination systems and what a do not call list is for spirit work and why you may want to have one in order to help you determine what spirits to work with, as well as what spirits to not work with.
Laurelei Black is a hedge-rider, a Cunning Woman, a traveler on the crooked path. She is a priestess of love and pleasure, an Ishtar-woman, an Aphrodite-woman. She is a friend to daemons and a mate to the Red God. A bone collector; a temple dancer. Laurelei is the author of 13 books (including Temple of Love and The Witches' Key to the Legion: A Guide to Solomonic Sorcery), a co-Director and frequent presenter at the Babalon Rising Festival, an OTO initiate, a co-owner of Camp Midian, and the proud proprietress of Asteria Books and Events and of Blade & Broom.
The Witches Key to the Legion (Affiliate Link)
Cult of Aphrodite (Affiliate Link)
Working with genius spirit of the land
Recently my magical partner and I visited Portugal. One of the many amazing places we visited was Monsanto, Portugal, which is a village that is built around the natural boulders. The buildings actually incorporate the boulders into the building and the villagers take pride in having a boulder as part of their home or business. I thought that was really fascinating because it struck me that they had made an intentional choice to live with the boulders and make them part of their lives.
When we explored the mountain around the village, my partner and I looked for a place to do some magic. The picture above, of a path between a couple boulders is near where we found such a space, but finding that space required us to listen to the genius of the land, the spirit that inhabits and defines the identity of that mountain. When we first scouted for a place to work magic, we found an area that seemed right and we went back and got our ritual gear, but our search for the right space was just beginning.
The connection between Spirits and the Imagination
I share why your imagination is one of the most powerful means for connecting with spirits and also explore the cultural baggage around the imagination and how this keeps you from connecting with spirits. I also discuss how to determine if a spirit has connected with you.
How to extend your senses in spirit work
Lately I’ve been doing some experimenting with how to extend the senses in spirit work. This experimentation has come about for a few reasons. I’m taking a course on scrying from Harper Feist, as well as doing more spirit work and because I’m teaching a course on my patreon about working with the psychic senses for the purposes of connecting with spirits. All of these things have been helpful for me, in terms of exploring the kind of spirit work I want to do, but also in terms of exploring how to better apply my sensorial awareness to the spirit work.
In the West, we are used to thinking of the senses in terms of sight, sound, touch, smell, and hearing, but these broad categories don’t encompass the subtleties of our sensorial awareness. These subtleties can be worked with in spirit work to lead us to a deeper connection with the spirits we’re working with. At the same time any sensorial awareness is to some degree subjective because its our senses making us aware of something. At the same time, our senses are limited and there’s a lot we don’t experience which is nonetheless happening around and to us.
Magical Experiments Podcast: The Luciferian Current with Anima Noira
In this episode of magical experiments podcast, I discuss the luciferian current with Anima Noira. We discuss spirit work and how to work with Lucifer as well as discussing love spells and magical workings and when one should or shouldn’t employ magic for results driven purpose as well as what its like to do magic for the purposes of internal work.
My magical name has been variously translated as “Breath of Darkness”, “Dark Life Force” “Animating Darkness” or “Dark Fire”. Anima Noira is an occult writer, artist, videographer, and host of the Devil’s Disciples talk show. She has done the Devil’s Work as a model, witch, and priestess. She publishes her essays on the occult on her website, Inner Ignition.