Spirits, Books & Learning Magick

Just a bit on how I learned magick & my views on learning it

When I set my heart on learning magick,

I had no idea what I was getting into. I had turned away from a religion that meant the world to me because I was denied something I felt was immeasurably important, that I hadn’t done anything so wrong it should be reasonably withheld.

I was eleven or ten or six or…kneeling at the bedside praying, reading books on dogma I didn’t understand, writing poems convincing myself that lying wasn’t the same as breathing, begging a god who was always looking the other way for calm.


When I began learning magick,

it wasn’t through a lens of “magick,” or even “magic.” It was books that put manipulation at their center. Understanding, or trying to, the principles behind manipulative tactics in interpersonal interactions. I read a bit on hypnosis too, but it never grabbed me. It was learning to control the self, and how that extended to others that most moved me. Related I’m sure, was how deeply I valued being able to convincingly lie for a while.

I wanted to learn astral projection. I wanted to learn how to fly, and how to move energy in intense (fiction-focused) ways. I wanted to be a “witch” more than I wanted to hold onto a religion that had scorned me for existing, that had kept me bound in the throws of fear for so long.

It wasn’t through books or spirits. It was in stillness. It was the quiet between the loudness of breath, speech, and movement. It was counting the heartbeats that sped and slowed in fear and calm. It was the fear of shadows loitering overhead and the plunge into the dark.

The first four years of my practice, because by then I was actively and intentionally practicing magick, were sans spirits and sans occult guidebooks. I read a little on spirituality, and definitely on philosophy, quite a bit on myths as well. But that’s because I was (and am) interested in those things, not because I was seeking a certain path or didn’t know where to go.

Of course, it can’t really be said that I did know where I was going, and I’m not sure I can say for sure now that I know where this path winds through but I wasn’t lost. I was limited in materials then too, trying to make my way through manifesting and energy work, trying to understand what would become, and was even then and even before, the foundations of my craft. Which is not only the foundation of my craft, but also so much of who I am, these things are impossibly intertwined (as they should be).

If at eleven I decided to list my grievances of the bible, at fourteen I wondered about atheism, and at sixteen began reading on spirits. There was overlap, between the demon-summoning and begging, desperate, prayers and worship to the god I had revered for years prior. In this time, most of my focus was on energy work and meditation.

The first magick I actively participated in was important to me, it was empowering and in many ways intense. But it was nothing like calling a spirit into my space, like being a conduit for it, or hearing the energy roar and quiet into a calm overwhelming.

The first spirit I set out to call intentionally and did call into a ritual was Dantalion. And among the careful moments of that ritual I’d planned and cautiously executed, I was thrown into another world. One where spirits exist not in a void or vacuum, but as welcomed through us into our world just as we exist through them as part of theirs.

For years, I relied on Dantalion’s teachings primarily to guide me through this craft and practice. So much at the beginning, as had been the case before reaching out to him, was feeling adrift as though there was so much in the mundane and magic worlds both that I had no answers for. I was forbidden from reading certain (many) texts in these years as well. Something that has gotten mixed results when I’ve told others (mostly, though, disbelief, doubt, and scorn).

But why bother to practice in a way that is not ours, mine? How can someone else’s beliefs or removed judgements on my path be more important to me than mine?

Several years into my practice, then, I began discussing with others on similar walks about their paths, about our shared experiences, the types of magick we enjoyed–or even begrudgingly partook of–that resonated. And not even then did I begin to pick my way though occult books, not long revered authors’ words and not contemporary views or guides.

It has long been, for me, reliance on myself, on spirits I’ve welcomed in, and those people around me who have offered stories passed that has brought my magick to life. It was much more recently that I began to contemplate the works of others who have walked this and similar paths before me.

I believe people should not frequent tables to which they have brought nothing.

For that reason, I believe it is crucial for people to form their own views, opinions, and more often than not collect their own experiences before sitting down to learn of others. I, of course, as someone who loves literature, reading, and understanding others’ perspectives, advocate dearly for consuming knowledge and learning from others. However, how can we ever hope to be in conversation with a text–or its author–if we do not have anything with which to converse?

Blind consumption of others’ stories, and acceptance of them ought be reserved for people we trust blindly.


People like to ask how to get started with magick, which books people have read, which resources they have seen, which rituals are the most powerful, which spirits the quickest, what is “the best”? These questions are entirely contrary to what and how I have learned, which is to learn first through the self.

To understand what compels you in the mundane world, what brings you closer to the magical. These are the things which should be exalted as a path into the magical is lit. Even in teachings that seek to standardize avenues of learning and texts consumed, anyone successful understands that people are not all the same and thus cannot all grow when treated as if the external is the only thing which matters, is a catalyst for growth, or otherwise should inform how learning is conducted.

Understanding of the self, however fleeting it may be, is a greater key to your magick and a likely path, than any number of spirits or books can provide. There are many ways to know yourself, at least to dip your feet into the pool of knowledge (of self and others), my suggestion to anyone who wants to learn magick would always be to start with the self.

What has brought you to this path, and when shed, what remains of yourself to follow deeper into it?

Success and Regression: Results

green aloe vera plant

When you see results and then they seem to disappear or reverse…what’s really happening?

Whatever the case, seeing and experiencing (tangible) results has a special place in the practice of witchcraft, magick, and the like. So much so, that there are frequent questions on how to attain certain results, whether keeping results also requires magick, and how it is that results seemingly come in and leave at times. Below: Getting Results, Keeping Results & Disappearing Results.

Getting Results

One of the most exciting aspects of magick is getting the results you’re looking for. The primary reason results-based magick exists, is to attain certain results. Many magicians and practitioners work hard for their results, and take pride in them.

Sometimes, results come after years of experimentation, and other times they’re just around the corner of a new ritual, spell, or otherwise similar practice. And sometimes, a little bit of patience goes a long way and results pour in a month or two, or even a year or so later from a standalone ritual.

Regardless, experiencing results is a big milestone for any and all magick done. It marks a turning point in each ritual, spell, request, etc. to have results. Likewise, it’s often personally exciting to see the fruits of our labor clearly laid before us, especially when we consider the obstacles sometimes present in getting results or the speed at which they come.

Keeping Your Results

Next, keeping results is also very important in many cases. While a lot of magick is done on a one-off basis and doesn’t require constant attention, in certain cases, keeping results gained from magick is a little more tricky, time consuming, or otherwise requires continued attention.

For example, if you make use of a death curse and find your target no longer breathing, you may decide your results have been attained and move on. However, if you decide you aren’t finished with this project, you may engage in seeking out their “soul” to perform more magick on. This task may require continued attention even after you initial results are attained.

In another example, you may have been interested in “sweetening” someone’s emotions toward you and decided on a jar, doll, or material-less spell to attain results. Once that person’s attitude has initially been swayed, you may decide either that that is sufficient, or that something is still lacking. In the latter case, it’s likely more magick will be fed into the already existing framework for the spell, instead of beginning a new one. In this way, you are working toward keeping (& expanding) your results.

In a third example, an obsession ritual is used. You are eager for someone to chase after you, fawn over you, show care about you, and consistently engage with your lifestyle. An obsession ritual is performed. You see results quickly, more so than you had imagined. You can either, wait and see what happens or engage with more magick. But there’s a secret third option here as well, and that third option is to explore the mundane.

That means, consider what in the mundane world is likely to keep this person attached to you. You can go back to magick and seek out more powerful opportunities to keep the results, which may or may not deliver what you want, but you can also consider the way mundane life factors into your results. Are you pushing that person away when they try to get close? Are you crossing boundaries they have expressed? Are you systematically expressing cruelty to them? All these questions, and many others, are ones you should consider as you strive to keep results in this example.

In other projects and types of magick, the questions will change but the baseline idea that mundane needs should be considered and met before turning to magick remains. If you’re continuously causing your own problems, they’re going to be harder to clean up and fix.

Disappearing & Reversed Results

Now that we’ve discussed the role of the mundane a little, let’s get into “disappearing” and “reversed” results. Some people are also fond of using the term “backfire.”

What these things have in common is that they are a manifestation of your request, magick, ritual, spell, etc. and nothing else.

All these words, like regression, reversed results and backfire, and others frequently used in their place have in common that people use them to deflect real issues and reallocate problems to something external. Placing the blame of consequences onto something removed from one’s own actions is something commonly engaged in by humans. So common, it’s much easier to find people who turn a blind eye to their own place in blame and act complicit in their own stories than someone who takes responsibility for how things turn out.

Magick and it’s practitioners are no exception to these generalizations. Perhaps, the higher up the food chain one climbs, the more likely one is to consider their own accountability, but too often enough this isn’t the case either.

When considering where magick went “wrong” or turned into a situation you no longer want, it’s important to remember: what these things have in common is that they are a manifestation of your request, magick, ritual, spell, etc. and nothing else. As the magician, witch, or whatever else you refer to yourself by, you are to be in complete and absolute control of your situation, especially regarding your magic and craft.

While experimentation has a wonderful role in magick, it’s usually not people openly experimenting that claim something has gone wrong and changed their magick’s course. Just as you have confidence in your work when it’s initially being performed and after initial completion, you must maintain that faith even when results seem incongruous with your hopes for results.

It is most likely that your magick is behaving exactly as it should. And as the magician, the caster, the witch, or practitioner, it is your role to evaluate with scrutiny and intensity what is going on if your results are behaving in ‘strange’ ways.

Here are some questions to consider on the way to finding yours.

  • Have you neglected the mundane aspect of your magick?
  • Have you overworked a ritual and performed the same ritual for something rather minor–at irregular intervals perhaps–many times in a short timeframe?
  • Have you been talking to a lot of people about super amazing new spell that you cast?
  • Have you taken a step back and let your ritual breathe or is it consuming your every waking moment, and even appearing in your dreams you think of it so much?
  • Did you really choose the right ingredients or did you substitute 80% of them for the sake of convenience?

There are, of course, other means to decide what’s going on with your magick: meditation, divination, energy work, spirits communication, etc. But not only do some of these create a dependency on something outside the self if used with frequency, they also let you give away a chance to discover something fascinating about how (your) magick works.

Performing a banishing or cleansing is similarly something that could be important in some cases, but perhaps isn’t the best of choices in all cases, especially when you’re presented with an opportunity to tweak your craft and get to know yourself, your rituals, and your results just that little bit better. In my experience, banishing and cleansing are best reserved for when they’re truly needed.

Sometimes, results behave in ways we don’t anticipate or want.

Magick is sometimes best understood by the naïve and sometimes best understood by those who practice it regularly, with passion and at times precision. Magick can be spoken of in the most complex of words, but ultimately the concept at it’s core is very simple. In my practice at least, which is really the only thing I talk about or from at Magick of Spiders.

Sometimes results behave in ways we don’t anticipate or want. Instead of looking outside the self, instead of looking to lay blame elsewhere, or delving into complicated questions about why your results seem to be changing from positive to negative, consider that they are manifesting exactly as you’ve ordered.

Magick is simple, allow yourself to also be simple with it (at least sometimes). What you have asked for is presented. Understand this and consider how to alter your requests of magick to keep them in line with what you’re really seeking.

Abundance Banishing Clairaudience Creating Curse Dantalion Death Demon Divination Dreams Energy Evocation Focalor Furcalor God Goetia Grounding Halloween Healing Health Invocation Jinn Magic Magick Manifestation Meditation Mind Obsession Poem Possession Premonition Protection Results Rite Ritual Shadows Shadow Work Sitri Spirit Communication Story Tarot Reading & Cards Trance Visions Visualization Wealth

Next, we’ll talk about alignment! And how when your magick, mind, and heart aren’t in alignment, there’s little magick will do for you.

Sitri: Health & Wealth

Sitri is associated with much, and in my practice these associations include healing and abundance. I am hoping to share a little about this part of practice with this post, and hopefully foster some shared personal gnosis or inspire others to consider these spirits outside their most commonly described niches.

The energy from within becomes the energy from without.

When you breathe, each breath is magic.

It is the most basic of all cycles a human can learn.

Through each breath magic is released.

Channeled (Sitri)

6 of Pentacles from Shadowscapes Tarot

Before checking out the rest of this post, you may be interested in checking out Sitri: Prince of Lust & Sitri: Of the Darkness and the Deep (previewed below).

When my work with Prince Sitri began, I was shockingly terrified of being swallowed up by the dark and drown alive in his presence. It took me years to begin understanding how truly deep his power runs and how expansive it really is. A while ago, I began a more in-depth learning path with him, wherein I asked to be taught about his nature of overwhelming power.

If ever there was a spirit that revels in his power, that hungers and hunts for the thrill of exercising it, it’s Sitri. In the dark, many things roam. In the dark, many demons lay, and many more are ready pounce.

Sitri, from what I have seen, is most often discussed in terms of lust, but this is a trivialization of his true talents. Considering lust and other types of magick, there are certainly more instances of “other” that I have worked with Sitri on. In fact, I held ritual with Sitri for a little over 3 years, on a somewhat frequent basis, before I first approached him regarding the topic of lust, or even obsession which he’s helped me understand better since.

Amusingly enough, none of these other topics were either health or wealth. But in this post, I’ll talk about my experiences with those!

Sitri: Spirit of Healing

March 24, 2023.

Candles lit, billowing smoke from the incense drifting around temple. My phone held in my hand, recording. A deep breath and closed eyes as I invited Sitri, repeating his enn and speaking all manner of praise in turn. And the, the invitation to Sitri, who is often so deeply unsettling during possessions, to posses me.

Again, the enn is repeated with startling clarity and consistency. And as he speaks through me, the crackling sound of bones is loud against his voice. He says,

Your human skin crackles with movement. Are you always this way?

I respond that I am, and then with his enn. There’s a deep sigh and the topic of crackling bones and popping joints isn’t addressed further. But it takes almost no time at all to evaluate what has just happened, and only a few days to understand the truth of it: the problem I’ve had with my shoulder, that I remember beginning at age 8, is resolved.

Over a year later, sometimes my right shoulder will “click,” either audibly or in feeling, but there has never once been pain to accompany it. Previously, there were weeks I spent with my right hand resting against my left shoulder to keep from moving it unnecessarily and days at a time lifting even a glass of water in my right hand would make my shoulder scream in pain. But now, the only ghost of a reminder is the click I hear when I stretch and bring my arms back in.

I’ve referred to this is a miracle before, and I don’t think it’s short of one. In that possession, he questioned whether it was a problem, questioned the frequency of the issue, made an assessment I assume, and removed the problem entirely–all within the span of rotating my arm, at the elbow, three times. Three loud cracks later, Prince Sitri, demon of the deepest depths, haunter of the tortured, had healed what I had assumed to be a permanent, painful, and delicate feature of my body.

Sitri: Spirit of Wealth

A little over a year ago, I began experimenting with wealth rituals. The first of these went well, especially for a type of ritual I hadn’t done before. There are times I like to plan my rituals before performing them, and others when I sit down, meditate, and do as I feel is right. The second of these rituals was a little more planned because I had a template to use from the first.

It was the the third of these rituals where Sitri appeared. He subtly, which isn’t truly subtle but was subtle for him, came into temple and offered his counsel. Surprised, I accepted. The first suggestion he made was to let him participate in my wealth workings, that he would bring in more money than I’d considered. His second suggestion, was to raise the amount of the money I was looking for.

When Sitri gave me his number, I was caught between excitement and hesitation. Until then, I’d been hitting my numbers. But this, this was twice my monthly pay I would be aspiring to collect in the month. Still, knowing Sitri and trusting him without pause, the number was written down.

He smiled and spoke into my ear.

As the days went by, I found myself counting money and realizing with astonishment that the likelihood of reaching my goal was growing. For as much trust as I had and have in Sitri, to watch results like that unfold still captivates me.

Since that ritual, Sitri has been involved in all my wealth rituals. While I’m happy I had the experience of trying out these rituals alone, I’m also incredibly happy at the opportunity Sitri presented me when he offered his help.

How can you make use of this information?

First, if you’re so inclined, consider working in any capacity with Prince Sitri. He is knowledgeable in all fields I’ve asked him of, and powerful beyond imagination.

Second, if you’re interested in either health or wealth workings and have worked with spirits before, consider asking Sitri to join your health, wealth, and/or abundance rituals.

And finally, remember that while some of these spirits seem remarkably friendly or intimidating in text, you should get to know them and make your own judgements. I have had all manner of experiences with Sitri and would encourage everyone to draw their own conclusions from their own personal experiences as well.

green plant close up photo

If you are interested in learning a little more about my Wealth rituals, as mentioned above, please check out Let’s Talk Money Magic.

If you are interested in Health or Wealth rituals for hire by Magick of Spiders, please check out: Magick of Spiders’ Cleansing and Banishing Rituals for Hire, Magick of Spiders’ Wealth Rituals for Hire, or Magick of Spiders’ Ritual for Hire where there are some additional topics, like protection and healing listed.

Abundance Banishing Clairaudience Creating Curse Dantalion Death Demon Divination Dreams Energy Evocation Focalor Furcalor God Goetia Grounding Halloween Healing Health Invocation Jinn Magic Magick Manifestation Meditation Mind Obsession Poem Possession Premonition Protection Results Rite Ritual Shadows Shadow Work Sitri Spirit Communication Story Tarot Reading & Cards Trance Visions Visualization Wealth

Let’s Talk Money Magic

So, Saturday night is coming up tomorrow (and it’s the first weekend of the month), which makes it perfect for my money manifesting rituals. Generally, I’m a bit hesitant to talk on my own rituals, because I design all the rituals I preform myself but this is pretty simple and has been helpful to me in the past. Whether it’s trying to get a new job secured, an interest in a good bonus, looking for some overtime as an hourly worker, eagerness for some extra cash to appear, or anything else, wealth rituals matter.

In truth, I didn’t hold my first true “money magic” ritual until last year, which is part of why it’s something newer (not job hunting, but money as it is, alone) in my list of rituals for hire offered. I was kind of intimidated the first time I held this type of ritual; it was the first time for this new category and I was eager to reap the rewards of it. While I do believe that desperation has (or can, at least, have) a fascinating role in magic and witchcraft, I did not go into that ritual with a real, tangible, or desperate need. I was just looking for a bit of comfort and to try out something new and different in my practice.

At this point, I’ve been practicing ritualist magick for over a decade! So, I’m rather familiar now with sitting down and having before me something I’ve never done before. It was exciting, and a tiny bit nerve-wracking as well.

It was a Saturday and I’d been in conversation with another couple practitioners about days and times (planetary correspondences) with regard to money specifically. I figured, since I wasn’t planning on inviting any spirit(s), that I needed to find a way to set the ambiance. It had been some time since I’d actually moved myself into my ritual area, affectionally called “Temple” even if it isn’t quite at the dictionary-level definition of such a place, and held a true ritual–as opposed to a quiet meditation or just energy directing–for something I wanted without a spirit present.

Ingredients

Have a look at what I brought to the first of these rituals (those in italics have been featured in later rituals):

shallow focus photography of four leaf clover
  • 2 green tea light candles
  • 1 half-size, tall green candle
  • Incense: I believe a stick of green-colored jasmine
  • Crystals/stones
    • Bigger: Kyanite, kunzite, pyrite, dragon’s blood jasper
    • Towers: Moss agate, kunzite, another
    • A selenite “wand,” a long cylinder shape with curved edges
    • A little glass jar of hematite crystals
    • A little stone, with one of those natural holes going through it
  • 2 dragon heads
    • Beautiful resin pieces I’ve custom ordered, filled with stones and the like
  • A resin “fairy door”
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Money
    • 1 larger bill, 1 medium bill
    • Coins of varying values placed atop the dollar bills
  • Tarot cards (Smith-Waite, Centennial edition)
    • 4 of Pentacles, Ace of Pentacles, 10 of Pentacles
  • A small (torn), blank thick piece of white paper and sharpies
  • A Spotify playlist!
  • My ID & debit card
  • Some items that belong to Sitri and typically reside on his altar
  • Different variations of dollar bills and coins
  • Cloves, more bay leaves, salt, water
  • A pendulum
  • Additional/different incense, rocks, crystals, and tarot cards

What you’ll find about the items I gathered and placed onto my altar, is that many are personal to me. I’m a firm believer in magic being something that comes from within. Something that circulates into the air around us and then grows with our breath into becoming what we desire (of it, of/for ourselves, etc.). I strive to make my rituals somewhere I feel comfortable, somewhere my mood suits the tone of the goal, and somewhere I feel myself. While rigid rules and regulations regarding magic and similarly called craft have a place, I prefer to go the way I feel called to before indulging in others’ carefully regulated rituals.

These ingredients will not be necessary to all successful money magick castings. Instead, you should explore the items in your own home and practice that resonate with you, your ideas of abundance, and your practice of the craft. Perhaps coins, bills, and bay leaves are important; or perhaps it’s a set of green candles and a statue of some kind that make it onto your altar. Magick is what we make of it, and pretty trinkets are never where your magick comes from–you are.

My suggestion, of the listed ingredients, would be physical currency, a candle or two, bay leaves, cloves, and something personal to you (something that represents you). However, this still isn’t something that need to be followed to the letter. The ritual described in this post is one of many, each slightly different to each other, each personalized by the inspiration of the moment. Whatever you have on hand, whatever you feel is needed, or best left out, that is what’s right for you. A clove, bay leaf, crystals…these things will not be what makes or breaks any ritual founded on personal energy and power, as this ritual is.

Ritual

Let’s get into this! So, all things appropriate scattered around the altar and dressed as one dresses for such rituals, I took my place in Temple and set about lighting candles, turning off lights, and getting the music started. I try to begin rituals, especially those without any spirits present, with a decent mediation.

Once focused, there’s a moment to pause and consider if everything is as it should be. Is the music still right? Are the candles where I want them? Does everything look like it’s somewhere it belongs? Do I feel like I’m in the right place? Etc. Making adjustment as needed for a few moments, soon everything is as it should be and ritual continues on to the next stage.

And the next stage is…meditation! There’s something great to be said for meditation. The stillness, the power that fills in the void, the voiceless echoes of energy banging around, the way you feel the swell of magic rising and becoming so “tangible.” Not all meditations are this way, but in ritual I tend to try to lead them there. When I feel myself, when I feel like power is whatever Sitri’s not-description of it is, is filling me to the brim and running freely from my fingertips and not-claws, I let the energy move through me, move me.

When we listen to music, when we become possessed, when we breathe without restriction, the body moves. So I let my body move as it likes as I breathe and listen to the music and sit quietly in temple, staring into the candles’ growing flames and watching as both physical items and non-real shadows flicker and run across the altar. And when I feel comfortable in this distortion of reality, the shift from where we usually walk, and the feeling of infinite power that drenches the mock-quiet of temple, I make my move.

A calm, steady focus on each aspect of the ritual is next. Each tarot card, each stone, each coin and dollar bill. And with each, the accumulation of their energy into the altar, into myself, into the air around me and “held” within Temple. Everything has an energy, ascribed or inherent. This time is set aside to parse out the sounds/words to the music, to breathe feeling or life or direction into this moment of time where everything is amplified. A subtle shift in gaze from the 6 of Wands to the 10 of Pentacles, a slight movement to better look upon a stone tower, or a closing of the eyes and deep breath before looking, meaningfully, importantly, to and between the feeling of what is in this moment and the debit card laid out among bay leaves, candles, and cloves.

What is ritual if not coming to terms with ourselves?

How have my rituals changed?

I’ve changed my go-to ingredients a little, and I now have a go-to sigil and a couple of incantations and/or spells to choose from when I’m in ritual. I also have made the choice to call Sitri into my wealth rituals as he was eager to participate once and now is more than welcome and appreciated.

copper colored coin lot

Abundance Banishing Clairaudience Creating Curse Dantalion Death Demon Divination Dreams Energy Evocation Focalor Furcalor God Goetia Grounding Halloween Healing Health Invocation Jinn Magic Magick Manifestation Meditation Mind Obsession Poem Possession Premonition Protection Results Rite Ritual Shadows Shadow Work Sitri Spirit Communication Story Tarot Reading & Cards Trance Visions Visualization Wealth