OccultForum.org

That's a great idea, Nahemah, but I'm afraid the extent of my artistic ability is drawing stick figures. Oddly enough though, I can carve designs on wood pretty well. Hmm a wooden tarot deck? Now you've got my brain working.

The idea of picking up a tarot deck has been gnawing at me to no end. The only deck I ever really connected with was lost in a flood and I've been mourning its loss ever since. For those interested, it was Mathers' "Hermetic Tarot". Now I'm not really a big follower of the Golden Dawn, but...

I'd like to just toss my two cents in and hope I don't anger the forum gods and godesses (that means you nahemah!). I've noticed that the beginner section has a plethora of information, but it's all mixed in with other questions and conjecture and oftentimes (I'm guilty of this), a certain question ...

Nahemah: The topic of ancestor veneration does interest me, though I've no interest in working with my own ancestors. jthorp: I'd be delighted to see what you've written. It's a rare occasion to be able to speak with the author of a book. Perhaps after reading, you will allow us to pick your brain a...

According to Daniel Ogden's "Greek and Roman Necromancy", curse tablets were also often a part of necromantic ritual. Libations in conjunction with a small pit served as an offertory and a summoning circle. After proper rites, the spirit to be contacted would appear from the pit and then b...

I thought I might add that Jasmine has been known to be a preferred incense during Necromantic work. I've also heard that frankincense and myrrh are also useful.

What is your incense of choice during your practices? What do you suggest avoiding besides the obvious choices like sage or sandalwood?

Another person you may wish to look into is Diane Vera. She's fairly high-profile in the satanist community and has advocated for understanding of the different satanic belief structures. Her style is polytheistic satanism and you may find that to be what you're looking for as "spiritual" ...

I think it's fairly obvious that the original purpose of a dryer was to serve as a gateway to the Underworld for ancient Grecian ceremonies. After being filled with brimstone, there would be offerings of funeral shrouds, as well as small cloths and rites to Hades, Hecate and Persephone would be conc...

Vashta,

Your grasp on the topic is staggering and I doubt I could ask for any better answer. Thank you so much for taking the time to really provide the best answer possible. I'm humbled both by your knowledge and your generosity in taking the time to share all of that with us. Many thanks.

Kabbalah is definitely an interesting topic to delve into. I've been studying the Qlippoth lately and bumped into Thomas Karlsson's book on the topic. Normally my ideology doesn't mesh with Karlsson's Swedish occult circle "Dragon Rouge", but it definitely helped pay credance to authors li...

Nahemah, Firstly, I'd like to apologize for not commenting on your very cool picture. I've got, for the time being, *gasps* dialup! So it didn't load the first time I came to this thread. I love it though. This kind of info is just what I was looking for. It's honest, practical, and thought provokin...

Hyper, I'd completely forgotten about those first two books. I've got to dig into those asap. Thanks a bunch for reminding me. As far as Wendell, I've already explored her "Necromantic Ritual Book" and found it a bit too filled with hyperbole (just like I've found Connolly's work) for my t...

Nahemah, This is definitely very helpful. I use the term evocation as a general sweeping term to define the contact of an entity outside of our immediate plane of consciousness, not just binding something to a physically visible form. In my study, I've read of the use of a deceased person's clothing...

I think the work has been hard to find in-depth resources for because of the bad rap Necromancy has received from Christian scholars back in the day (many of which used to be or were secretly practitioners of the "dark arts"). Greek hero cults and ancestor veneration was commonplace until ...

The only practical work that I've done is working on mental focus and creative visualization. When I got serious with the occult, I worked for about a year with Liber MMM to improve my mind for the work I would undertake. When I was a young teen, I played with tarot and I say played because I knew n...

It's been said that a strong enough focus on connection alone can offer some results. Initial working can result in anything that appeals to your senses. For instance, my mother was very close with her grandmother Rose for her entire life and especially before she finally passed away in the hospital...

I certainly don't take any offense, Wazzup. When I come to a public place with potentially conflicting ideas or styles, I delete any sensitivity I have. Perhaps jumping right into something is the best way to go, but I'm taking the next step in my understanding of the process by asking for people's ...

Nahemah, You've touched upon perhaps the very heart of what I'm writing about and looking for. I recall reading about the polytheistic satanist, Diane Vera, and her theories on these deities. The results of her musings were that each god such as Tiamat, Set, Kali, Angra Mainyu/Ahriman and the others...

szone: I have to politely disagree with the other post that says circles are only needed to help an evoker focus on their work and that when skilled to a certain degree, becomes unnecessary. Circles depend entirely on what kind of evocation work you're engaging in. For example, in traditional spirit...

If this is something covered elsewhere, I apologize. I'd like to know if any evokers have had success in their endeavors by the use of charged objects (jewelery, trinkets, clothing, anything). If so, what makes the best materials for ritual? I know some ceremonial magic calls for specific rings and ...

Just a couple of beginner questions on the topic: What are the best bones for divination of this kind? Could a LBRP suffice for purification of the bones? Does anyone know of books or a treatise on this style of divination? I'm completely unfamiliar with the arrangements of the bones and such, so if...

UPDATE: Per Wazzup's thoughts, I decided to head down to the local hardware store and I bought a light cherry stain. It's accentuated the light tones with soft golden/red hues and the darker tones with an almost scorched blood color. It looks excellent and I look forward to hearing what other sugges...

Wazzup: I can definitely see something like that. Perhaps like a bird or flame itself, the wood flows wild and free as it pleases. That's what first attracted me to it. Nahemah: I'm not entirely sure what kind of wood it is because there's a ton of indigenous species around here. My hypothesis is th...

One thing has never managed to escape my curiosity since I began studying the magical arts when I was younger. I found myself inexplicably drawn to cultures that embraced the darker, sometimes entropic, gods of their society. The left hand path was the term I heard for it years ago. That term has co...

I've recently returned to my hometown in New England from Florida where I lived for a few years. One of my many hobbies includes trampsing around the woods (something you can't do much of in Florida) and getting myself into general trouble while doing it (stories I could tell about raging rivers and...