Shadows & Spiders

spider on net under light

always remember, the light cast onto us is neither the beginning nor the end

Tonight, while sitting here working I encountered a spider. It seems thinner than most of the others I’ve found inside. So I offered it water, but the spider continued on its way without drinking.

It was at first the spider’s shadow I saw along the wall. Having turned on a nightlight, the small spider seemed bigger than most spiders of its kind are and I went over to observe it. Finding the spider uninterested in me, and wondering if it was attracted to the light or heat, I left it to be.

A few hours later, still sitting at the computer I caught sight of something dust-like just out of the corner of my right eye. Leaning back, since the particle was not moving or flowing down like they usually do, I caught glimpse of the spider’s body and legs. I moved over several inches and blew before ducking incase I’d blown to hard and the spider was slated to end up on my face next.

After regaining its stability, the spider walked back up its thin thread. Wanting to make sure it got all the way up and wouldn’t soon be in my hair or on my desk in a danger zone of moving objects, I turned on the flashlight from my phone and watched it ascend.

As the spider climbed, I watched as it grew closer and closer to its less and less distorted shadow on the ceiling. As its paws touched down (up?) I noticed it had again become one with its shadow. Moving together seamlessly and constantly in contact. I wondered what lesson this might teach about my own life, my own shadow(s), and the distance created between me and it.

But as I reconsidered this viewpoint, I realized that the spider and its shadow had indeed not merged. They were still separated by some layer. The spider remaining on this side of the world and the shadow forever attached to something beyond, something intangible but nevertheless able to be interfered with. The human, at a whim, can cause the disappearance of the spider’s shadow from being visible, can wave a hand between the spider and light source and obscure it, cover it within a different shadow.

After stepping its way across a small stretch of cieling, which for the spider seems quite a greater distance, again, the spider began its slow and meticulous descent downwards. Twice it paused for some length of time. The first likely halfway down, and the second time just a foot off the ground. Trust. The spider I see now had so much trust in this delicate strand of webbing. And the fear of being swept off it or the web detaching from its anchor point never once stopped it from accomplishing its goal.

Because I am warmer than the walls, the light of screen is attractive, or the desk and my seated body is higher than the floorboards…I do not know why first the spider came down and likely would have landed on my shoulder. I am thankful for its foresight in avoiding my hair though. I doubt it saw a likeness in the blown glass spider of my straw or in the finely painted white spider of my phone case.

Instead, I watched as it crawled along the floor, finally on the ground and off the cieling. And as it crawled back up a foot to tie something (a flurry of dust? a knot?) into its thin strand of safety, and then back down again. It takes spiders quite a bit to make webbing, so I’ve left it hanging down like a firepole from my cieling to the ground in the hopes that the spider will wander back over to it, and that I won’t walk into it opening my window or straightening out the stained glass moon with its pair of spiders next time.

spider on net under light

It is not that we are the shadow, nor that the shadow is us, but that together we are the self and the dark reflection (casting) of that self.

Paraphrased (Dantalion & Sitri)

Sitri: Of the Darkness and the Deep

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 both 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.

water on glass

If you’re interested in some background on Sitri, check out Sitri: Prince of Lust and if you’re interested in my experiences with healing and abundance magick with Sitri, check out: Sitri: Health & Wealth.

Raw Power

Once, during an obsession ritual (for a client) I was holding with both Dantalion and Sitri present, I was led (in the astral) into a dark, small room by Sitri. There, on a bed with yellow sheets was the “target” of the ritual’s work. And Sitri rolled his fingers and from them dripped little, perfect, golden drops suffused with him, with his power.

I asked, then, how I could mimic this action, how I might find myself with so much power that it would pour from my fingertips at the slightest motion. He laughed his sinful, deadly laugh and with some evil lurking beneath the surface of it, turned to me and smiled. Horrible memories, though his or mine or some fabrication thereof I wasn’t sure, haunting his pointed teeth he said, “It is me.

The meaning was clear, but something was still hidden. I knew in that moment, without a doubt what he meant. That I am, like he is, the magic. There is no tool that separates these, no wand or pendant or crystal ball that is the power behind the mask of the magician. Instead, I am, as he is, and as you are, the power, magic, and skill all in one. The darkness knocking against my chest is not some trivial reminder to wake up and search for what I want, it is the answer roaring to be let free.

Sitri is additionally one of the spirits that most swiftly delivers results to me. Whether miraculous feats of healing in the span of five breaths, messages populating my phone, delivering people to my doorstep in minutes, or lighting people up with drops of obsession, madness, or anything else imaginable. Sitri reeks of power. His presence alone sits heavy in a room, his glowing eyes, and sharpened teeth, his quick-witted words and lust for the dark.

Never have I met another so tremendously and viscerally steeped in their own power. Often spirits mask themselves, sometimes quite cleverly in our presence, but Sitri has never pretended to be anything other than a tempter of darkness with me. From the certainty he would kill me on our first meeting to power he has taught me to harness, Sitri is a spirit and a demon I would truly class as eternally exuding raw power. No matter where his start was, the spirit he is now is unfathomably dangerous, playful, and powerful in all things. Sitri carries his power as though it is all of him, it he all of it. This is a lesson we might all do well to learn from him.

Exploring the Shadows

As a part of a ritual, I made a deal with Sitri. To work with him in a new capacity, to allow him to teach me, to allow him to lead me into the darkness, the shadow, the deep waters from which return is staggeringly unlikely, if at all possible. They say Eve took a bite of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge; in doing so she was so irreversibly changed she was banished and forsaken to a cursed life–though I don’t believe that word is used, the exacted punishment for her choice seems easy to read as a curse, especially with the power dynamic at play in the Garden.

I haven’t found any suspicious trees laying about, or talking serpents. But I have found knowledge and power beyond compare where the shadows dwell. It was August 17, 2023 when I first ventured down this path, with full commitment. Sitri had outlined rules, some of these: Water only, at least 15 – 24 hours advance. (You may eat that which is alive–sparingly and with caution). Bathe. Salt your hair. Be free of excess adornments.

It was a just a couple hours before my ritual began that many of these became relevant, I was surprised at which. At least one seemed a playful joke. But there was no lightness to his voice as he passed them to me and I penned them into his grimoire.

Even though he had outlined the ritual and I had read it over before beginning, I was still caught up in what happened next. There are few rituals I rank as most or near most intense at this point in my practice: my first ritual; my first meeting with Prince Sitri; and two others, this one now included there. It was a meditation, in the sense that my eyes were closed and I was still, but I’ve come to realize not everyone feels their meditations.

When I asked what this was, concerned this was one of those irreversible moments on my path, something I could do and never return from, Sitri met my nerves with quiet sincerity. Mockeries and haunting echoes gone, to my wonderings if I would be different he replied easily.

Not different, more whole. Calm first. Go and learn. Feel power brush against you. Welcome it and know yourself.

Channeled (Sitri)

That night, I drown in the Shadow. Walked soaking wet through labyrinth caves, met with memories I’ve never held, and listened as he spoke of the dark, of The Shadow, and of power so deep it rumbled with every casual movement, beneath every breath, and poured over into All.

It was from Sitri I first heard the phrase, “The Shadow of the All.”

It was from Sitri I first heard the phrase, “The Shadow of the All.” It was not during the first of these dark meditations, but soon after. While the first had certainly felt more initiatory than anything else, quickly I began to see it was not even the tip of the iceberg. Since then, I have learned of incredible divination, prosperity, and healing rites with Sitri. I have learned of portals, fear, and self. Of the Shadow, Heart, and Knowledge.

Drowning in the darkness has never been more beautiful as with you, Sitri, at my side. For this I thank you.

Nightmares of Torture

Following my very first ritual with Sitri, terrifying in it’s own right, I was awakened to the realization that it’s possible to feel in dreams. This is much the same as my reference to feeling in meditation in the previous section. I had no idea then that Sitri had such a reputation for such sinister dreams.

My first glimpse of Sitri’s interest in the magician outside of ritual, was breathtaking in all the best ways. I had never had such an experience before and was amazed at the clarity. I’d worked with “demons,” but never felt the “demonic” so up close. But after that, it was two of the most horrible nightmares I have ever had.

In both, I was chased, caught, and tortured. I’m sure it’s torture lite compared to what humans have inflicted upon each other, but nonetheless I was not expecting it and was feeling both fear and pain within the dream, so much so that when I woke my mind was still racing and I could feel the aftereffects from the dream physically in my body. I was afraid to sleep a few nights following each instance.

When confronted, he laughed. Took full ownership of the dreams, smiled at my distress. Wallowed contently in my suffering at the conflicted feelings of wanting to work with him and having to accept it might just come with a steep price.

Sitri, since then, has given to me several challenging dreams, but never of that caliber again. The themes have shifted from bodily torture to other territories. As each comes I become more used to them, noticing more frequently in-dream what is likely going on. Still, they are often deeply unsettling and the feeling lingers long past waking up. Whether a demon’s amusement, or to further my practice doesn’t matter to me. No matter why, working with Sitri has been one of the most enlightening things I’ve done in all my life.


The Darkness & The Deep

My work with Sitri is far from over, these are just the calm beginnings of so much that lies even deeper below the surface, even darker within the abyss. Shadows, pools of endless “water,” labyrinth cave layouts light does not reach…these and more are just parts of the path I’ve decided to walk alongside Sitri.

Sitri has invoked in me such primal fear, and so quickly I’ve learned to trust him regardless of this. From the first time I met him, I’ve felt pulled in, mesmerized. He is darkness. Shining fangs dripping poison, smelling like the sweetness of a candy shop. He is depth. So full of power and knowledge. It is not the giving up of fear, but the acceptance of it which makes my work with him so powerful.

To wade blindly into the darkest depths you’ve found. Whether it’s into yourself, in the external world, hunting for knowledge, or otherwise. This is how we know ourselves. What it is that you would, without hesitation, even if it meant staring into some unfathomable darkness seek out? follow? chase? hunt? want?

Sitri has taught me that once you have opened the door to unknown, it is not only your choice whether you pursue it. For it will pursue you if you dare to turn your back. I had more than one serious conversation before beginning this type of immersive work with him about where the line of no return is located. It seems we cross them more frequently than I had supposed, each gaining a little in commitment and irreversibility. The darkness of this path and the depths of waters yet unknown are daunting but much more than that they awesome and fill of intrigue.

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

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

Sitri: Prince of Lust

Sitri, Prince of Lust and Carnal Desire

In the dark as the sun betrayed me
You smiled with such malice I thought
Myself no more than yours to possess,

Sugar sweet with candied glowing eyes
You are an enchanter of mortal souls
Whisk them away as blood dawns
Drown them in the shadow’s pool,

Sitri, your power far exceeds
All I have been taught and told
All I have known until you did walk
Alone and drenched in seething,

Over-poured knowledge to me
On that still and quiet night
Lost to the darkness’ call
And lamenting caution’s winds.

Sitri, my blood-drenched,
Sweetness-soaked Kitty,
My friend and gracious mentor
How deep the Well does descend.

For all you teach pleasure, indulgence
A lesson gleams with that which underlies it all
Magick at it’s bones, flesh striped
And boiled down to the blood of Truth.

-Laurel Spider

Formalities

Sitri is known as a Prince of the Ars Goetia. He’s most well-known, to my research, for his associations with “lust” magick, also glamours, attracting others, and the like. Sometimes, I read about his relationship with “love,” but I find just as often that he’s not quite the right demon to employ on that front. Sitri is nearly as “demon” as they come, something he doesn’t bother to hide in my experience.

Some of Sitri’s more common associations include the element of Earth, the color blue, the planet Jupiter, and the metal tin. His enn is as follows: Lirach alora vefa Sitri.

Sitri & I

Sitri is beyond all imagination important to me. There are two others I share a similar relationship with, and of them neither are so overtly sadistic. I met Sitri on Halloween of 2022, there was a rare full blue moon that year and I don’t even know how I wound up in that ritual, on the floor of a dorm room without any candles or incense, just the darkness and a little battery-powered candle to use as light so I could take notes. Sitri had kept me, explicitly, from meeting him for years and then, suddenly, I found his name written across my screen.

I had left the night’s ritual plans open, which was a bit strange for me at that point, but I knew something would come up. And like I had blinked and returned to my senses, his name was in the search bar staring back at me. Sitri has a thing for possession, I didn’t know then but I’ve become keenly aware since. He was perched on my bed, and I was sitting legs crossed on the floor when I saw him. Eyes gleaming some twisted shade of glowing firelight yellow, teeth pointed and dripping venom, or blood, or insanity. And a smile to match the Cheshire cat’s. I was overwhelmed with heat, and then the coldness sunk in. Like snow was falling through the cieling and ice had tricked by blood into freezing over. I thought I was going to die.

There is a reason, I’ve decided, that they call him “Prince” and speak about him like a monster. Sitri is decidedly a monster. A sadistic, twisted, demonic monster. But he is so, so beautiful. As I saw him there, dangling a leg over the side of the bed, the other bent against him, and smiling at me like I was his next treat, I was awestruck by something other than terror, his raw beauty.

Since that meeting, Sitri and I have grown closer by great lengths. Although I admit to being afraid the next time I called to him, I have accepted that fear now as something wonderous. Sitri has taught me much, especially with regard to having my way with other humans, “catching” demons, and blatant obsession-type rituals. He has also taught me about the path I walk, the merits of balance, and the strength of drowning in the waters of shadow (or maybe the shadows of water). There is almost no magick I do, currently, that is untouched by his influence on me.

More recently, Sitri has also shown me his power in the monetary sphere of our mundane world. This is something I don’t see discussed nearly frequently enough. It was during a second or third ritual of a series of wealth rituals that he came to me and spoke quite clearly, saying if I invited him I would see his capability. I was skeptical, but after a few weeks have been relieved of that.

What I value perhaps most about this relationship is that while I enjoy the fear Sitri puts into me, still, I also know I am safe in his care. Even with ridiculous, taunting requests from him and torture dreams as gifts, Sitri is truly an astounding friend to have made and a powerful mentor in all things.

Sitri’s Appearance & Specialties

Appearance & Energy

I believe I’ve spoken to this already, but I’ll highlight it here. Sitri often appears to me as winged, whether in a more human or catlike form. From a little black cat, to a looming (snow) leopard, Sitri seems to like the pointed ears, sharp fangs, and kitty claws especially well, showcasing these even often (even when he appears less cat and more person). When in a more human form, his hair is light in color and shines with beauty, long and either a quiet silvery shade or so blonde it’s like the sun has blessed it. He is tall and lean, but with a glance it’s evident there’s no weakness to him.

His eyes glow with an eerie and ever-moving light, a yellow shade. And his smile is wicked. Sadistic by nature, his stance appears cunning and his voice either passionately smooth or like a rasping, bodiless demon come to prey on unsteady sinners. Sitri is perhaps the most terrifying sight I’ve laid eyes on, in his casual saunter, like he’s always approaching his next meal. But the beauty of him, though off-putting and fear-inducing, makes me think it would be okay if he wanted to slice out my tongue to snack on before vivisecting me.

Specialties

Lust (of all things). Glamours. Enflaming people with feelings. Wealth.

He brings people to a practitioner in record time–within minutes I’ve learned is standard when I ask. Sitri also does a remarkable at torturing a practitioner (for fun, I assume) and others, upon request or otherwise. He is also a wise and powerful teacher, one for whom I hold unconditional respect.