Saintedsorcery - The Road Beneath The Hill

Demeter and Dionysus, from "Mythology" by Edith Hamilton, illustrated by Steele Savage.

Ukrainian folk haircare minute with Red: if you wish your hair to grow long, as you comb it, whisper, "Grow as long as water, as quickly as grass".

Mother, Queen, Harlot

I feel the need to state that I am not a Thelemite and that my relationship and understanding of Babalon is informed mostly via direct contact with Her.

 It was almost 10 years ago that I first felt Her presence. She would not give me a name but simply images, symbols, and emotions that represented her. I saw images of sex, blood, fire, blades, and serpents. Feelings of lust, love, passion, rage, sovereignty and feminine power.

 Truth be told I wasn’t in the place to have a spirit like that be active in my life so it would be a few years before I set up a shrine to Her.

Her shrine was simple. An inexpensive goddess statue with a red costume rosary wrapped around it, a red candle, and a letter opener with a crown motif. I would burn incense and meditate on Her, sometimes seeking guidance, sometimes just simply being with her. I began referring to Her as “The Red Queen” while still not having a proper name. I was becoming comfortable with her ambiguity and in turn she was helping me become comfortable with myself.

It was around this time that I began working with a teacher who was helping me with visionary work and spirit flight. It was during one of our sessions that I made a breakthrough and came face-to-face with my Red Queen. She sat on a scarlet cushion in a rooms who’s lamps were draped with red scarves. Her hair was a deep brown almost black, her skin was an inhuman pale white. Her arm was casual laying across one upraised knee. She has gold bangles and armlets, gold anklets and rings, a gold hoop around her neck and in her ears, but ironically no crown. Her clothes were reminiscent of an Indian saree the colour of blood. 

I sat across from her and bowed, placing my head on the cushioned floor. When I raised my head, she locked eyes with me. 

“I am have many names, I am many. I am Ishtar, I am Innana, I am Lilith, I am the Queen of Heaven and Hell. But you, you will know me as Babalon.”

Thats when I returned to my body. I was flooded with joy and exhilaration, She had told me Her name, I had a better focus. 

I knew that Babalon was a goddess in Thelema, but I knew next to nothing about Her other than that. To this day I still don’t really know much about her role in Thelema but I've been considering studying it. I’ve continued to go straight to Her when it comes to offerings, prayers, etc. Reading how others interact with her from time to time. Her shrine has grown but not by much, She’s comfortable with it being simple but beautiful. I have been searching for a new statue for Her though, something that I feel fits her better. 

Babalon, The Red Queen, has been my strongest spiritual ally during my transition. She has held my hand and guided my feet as I find my femininity, rediscover my sexuality, and navigate the world as a woman. I’ve taken her epithet “Mother of Abominations” as a sort of trans mother goddess. Trans people are Her children and Her prophets. We are the drops of blood from Her Grail, we are the swords in Her hands. I doubt this is what Crowley had in mind when conceptualizing the goddess but honestly, I don’t care. 

I’ve come to understand Babalon in three sort of facets or faces. The Mother (of Abominations), The Sacred Whore, and The Warrior-Queen. I don’t know if any other people would agree with me or if there is literature to back it up but this is my personal gnosis. 

The Mother I already discussed above. The Sacred Whore and Warrior-Queen are both reminiscent of Ishtar/Inanna, but the Sacred Whore for me personally aligns with her Lilith aspect. Babalon-Lilith is feminine sexuality embodied, but even more she is the taboo side of femme sex, she is trans and kink, she is queer, she is unbridled and selfish, she is the side of our sexuality that is without limit and free. She’s taught me to not be ashamed of what I like and what I want when it comes to sexual satisfaction. My sexuality is mine and no one else's.

The Warrior-Queen is the aspect I am the least in touch with. I’m a pacifist person and seek non-violence in my regular life as much as I can. I have a rather hot temper that I’ve had to learn to keep under control. My most powerful weapon is my tongue and I’d rather talk my way out of a situation than ever resort to violence. Maybe my disconnect with the Warrior-Queen is that I need to recontextualize what it means for me, personally, to be a warrior. We’ll have to see how it plays out. 

I’ll leave this post with an A.I. generated art piece I made as a devotional act using the phone app “Dream”

Thrjár by Maéna Paillet

it is so wild to me the fashions that are called “emo” today. especially given the fact that probably 80-90% of it is actually scene, not emo. this would have started full on wars 15 years ago

[ Bells ] /French Folk Traditions.

1. “Living Entities”____

Since the Middle Ages, the ringing of church bells punctuated daily life and alerted folks in case of danger.

They are also considered as almost living entities : they have a voice and are baptized like children.

At Easter, when they are silent, “they’ve gone on a trip to Rome.”

In the 16th century, J. Wier tells us that the common people are convinced that the devil knocks down the bells that have not been baptized, while those that have been baptized drive out demons and storms.

Father Thiers will explain that they are not baptized but simply blessed, even if they are given, as is the custom, a godfather and a godmother.(…)

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2. Omens_____

In one of her letters (April 1680) a nun from the convent of Loudun recounts that a bell wheel broke while the bell was ringing for the burial of the “Mother of the Cross”. This was immediately taken to be “an omen of some affliction which was to befall the community” à sand indeed, a fortnight later, the mother prioress died [while] in good health.

In the Côtes-d'Armor, the more or less harmonious sound of the bells reveals to a young mother who has just given birth whether her first child will live or die ; for the omen to be favorable, she must succeed in placing the words of a song on the melody that she seems to hear in the ringing of the bells. (this one is for you @hillsarehollow 🧡)

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3. Storm Chasers / Hex Chasers_____

“During the storms, one runs immediately to the bells and one makes them ring with all force and with all their might, as if they were a sovereign remedy…” (Wier, 1569)

In Vosges, they say that you have to act as soon as the first rumbles of thunder strike, because if you ring them too late, they tear up the clouds and cause hail to fall.

The bells are also rung at certain times of the year to protect the territory of the parish from the evil spells of the devil and sorcerers.

Father Thiers relates that a bell must be rung for 24 hours on the eve of Saint John at dawn. (Haute-Marne, Moselle, Vosges, Rhône.)

The bells are also rung on the night of Saint Agatha (February 5) to scare away the witches running around that night.

It should be noted that the protective virtue of bells extends to cowbells and other bells that are suspended from the neck of cattle, against disease, lightning and evil spells.

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[ Miscellaneous outputs from Sébillot, Van Gennep, and M. Delmas]

(& a solstice gift @toverijennspokerij, @graveyarddirt, @poemsandmyths) 🧡

So Arizona launched an “education hotline” that allows “concerned parents” to report “””critical race theory””” and other things like ~gender identity~ being taught in the classroom

It would be a shame if the number and email were spread to bad actors looking to prank call the AZ Department of Education

602-771-3500 or empower @ azed .gov 🤡

Reblog In 5 seconds for good luck

Shadowhunters has becoming one of those book series (and tv series) that feels like home. I come back to it again and again when I need to be uplifted. The world that Cassandra Clare has created and the characters she’s filled it with feel like old friends and family. Getting my first mark is a big BIG deal and I wanted it to really mean something. This rune, the iratze, is a rune of healing. I placed it on my inner forearm to remind me of what I’ve survived and that I am constantly healing and growing. It’s fitting that this is also the first rune Clary receives in the books, though that was more of a happy accident. Remember ShadowFam to always keep fighting, for in you is the blood of angels. ~This is the Hunt~ (peep the demon necklace too 🖤) #shadowhunters #theshadowhunterschronicles #angelicrune #mark #rune #shadowhunterrune #iratze #healing #survivor https://www.instagram.com/p/Ck4GSoLhVg-/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Our Wish for the End, Me, Digital Collage, 2020