STRATEGIC SORCERY FIELD REPORT - THE SS MINI GRIMOIRE AND GETTING A WORK VISA

As some of you know, while the SS course is designed to work with just about any style of magic, there are spirits and sigils connected with the Strategic Sorcery Arcana. Some of these were presented in the one of the lessons that contained the Strategic Sorcery Mini Grimoire. I have gotten some really good feedback from people who chose to work with them, and since I havent posted a field report in a while, I figured it was a good time.

Here is the e-mail that I received yesterday from a student. Name and country have been omitted

As I wrote in the first homework my original goal was:


"My goal would be to get a visa here in COUNTRY X.  I have been living my partner for 5 years, but as I am in an homosexual relationship, I don´t have any rights in this country, so couldn´t find a job, etc. I am waiting for my papers to come via mail, but they are very late. After that, we will try a civil union, and then, try to get a visa. I don´t know if it is possible to enchant our way into the state´s bureaucracies :-)"

I began the process almost two years ago, when the Constitutional Court allowed same sex couples the right of economic and civil partnership. But a lot of troubles, including the divorce papers from my partner that disappeared from the court, and then the own court burned down!

First I tried the Justice spell from The Sorcerers Secrets, no results. I also tried St Expedite and it was clear he wasn´t doing his job. Then I tried Patotriel from the SS grimoire combined with Ganesha.

I made several offerings to Ganesha, asking to help Patotriel to open the roads. I used "open road" oil and a white candle. I invoked the archangels of every direction and to each one I would pore breath the element and ask for their help  (like, "water, wash away the troubles, etc"). Did the same with the planetary powers.

I also had some links with earth that I took from the notary.

My goal was the end of the year to get my visa. Then I had to travel back to my home country, december was coming, and none of the papers seemed to get here.

Then we went asking again, and suddenly, after two years, it all got solved in less than a week, no huss no fuss, nobody asked none of the numerous documents that have been asked over and over... nothing. I got my visa this december 30th and I give many thanks to Patotriel and Ganesha. I will also begin a new job (lousy payment but what to do) this tuesday.

Thanks for the course.

Keep Your Mind on Your Money and Your Money on Your Mind.

On the 28th, RO Posted a post titled "Money: Getting it out of the Way". I have been meaning to post a response to that post for a while now, but haven't had the chance.

I agree with almost everything that RO suggests people do in that post. The thing that I wanted to respond to was the title itself. "Money: Getting it Out of the Way".  Folks I am here to tell you that you NEVER get money out of the way. That shouldnt even be the goal. The goal should be to have your money managed and working for you without it taking over your life. That requires eternal vigilance. It never gets out of the way. 

Now after talking with RO on the phone it was clear that he meant getting debt and crushing money problems out of the way, but thats not quite how it reads. Unfortunately, the way it reads is exactly how a great many people involved in any kind of money magic want their money magic to work. They want the whole issue out of the way and never have to think about it again. This scanario takes two main forms:

1. Winning the Lottery: Two of the first ten people in the course I asked to pick goals to work towards said their goal was to win the Lottery and never worry about money again. I have written about why this is a bad idea many times and it STILL gets turned in as homework. In fact I have to deal with the request for people to win the Lottery so often that I have the following saved amongst my form e-mails that I send out:

Sorcery can shift probability in your favor, and open opportunities where there were none, but some probabilities are just to long on the odds to be managed.


Just to give you an idea, while it varies state to state, on average your chance of winning the big pot in a Lottery is one in 18 million. Your chance of being struck by Lightning is one in 2,650,000. About 45 times more likely than you winning the lottery. If you drive 10 miles to buy a lottery ticket, its about 30 times more likely for you to die in a car accident on the way than it is for you to win the Lottery.


Now, magic does indeed make your probability of winning greater than the norm, as it does for everyone else using magick to win the lottery. Perhaps it reduces your chance from one in 18 million to one in 9 million or even one in 1 million. Not great odds. 


Of course since so many people would like to use magick to win the lottery, its pretty safe to assume that there are thousands of people aiming their magic at any given lotterypot. Most of this magic cancels each other out. 


Now here is the greatest rub. Lets say you win! 75% of people that win the lottery end up flat broke just seven years later. This is because they never took the time to understand money or how it works. If they did, they wouldn't have pinned their hopes and dreams on willing lottery.


2. Patron/Benefactor: A number of occultists have pined for the days of rich benefactors and patrons of the arts that would supply them with enough money to carry on their magic without the burden of earning a living.

The problem here is that the life they envisioned never really existed for anyone. Yes, there were people with rich benefactors. There still are. The problem is that the effort it takes to keep these benefactors is often more stressful than a regular job. One of my favorite books that all would-be-Sorcerers should read is Baltasar Gracian's "Art of Worldly Wisdom". Gracian was a Jesuit, but this book is filled with pithy Machiavellian tidbits aimed at keeping yourself in the company of the powerful and wealthy.

A great deal of care and conniving is often required when dealing with a patron. Sometimes the price is the integrity of your work. There are a lot of scholars who feel that the stories about Hoodoo initiations in New Orleans that fill the last few pages of Zor Neal Hurston's Mules and Men were fiction written primarily to titillate her rich white benefactor in New York who was essentially paying her to travel and report back with wild stories about what savage activities black people got up to down South. I myself have seen how the son of an important Patron can get recognized as a Tulku in exchange for some land in Mexico. Do you think Dee and Kelley wanted to travel around central Europe during the most of the 1580's putting on hokey alchemical experiments trying to get backing for their work? Nah

My advice is simple: Get your shit together and take care of business. How you do that is a subject for other posts. The thing that I want you to take home is that once you get your shit together, you need to keep your shit together and take care of business. At no point will it be ok to not keep your shit together and take care of business.  There are no exceptions.

Rich people may not have the stress of debt, but they have to tend their wealth throughout their life. Rich people who do not keep track of their finances get it all taken away from them. Think that Leonard Cohen wanted to be touring at 76 years of age? Nah, his manager ripped him off cuz he did not have his shit together and did not take care of business. Think Annie Leibovitz wanted to put up the rights to her photos as collateral for a loan? Of course not. MC Hammer? Nicholas Cage? Ed Mc Mann? Don Johnson? The list of rich and famous who lost or nearly lost everything is long and all of them have one thing in common. Can you guess what it is? Thats right. They didn't keep their shit together and take care of business.

I can almost hear some of you whining internally as you read this: "But Jason, I am a magician, an artist, a mystic. I have no interest in finance and economics. I just want it to be out of the way!". I know some of you are thinking this because these exact words were spoken to me after a class in financial magic. I will tell you what I told that young man. "To bad. Your a fucking adult. Time to nut-up and handle your business. I am not telling you to become Ben Bernanke. Just figure out how to best make money for yourself and keep your head above water."

Or as Snoop Dogg so wisely does "Keep my on my money and my money on my mind".





Speaking of Snoop. This is the greatest cover of any song ever.

20 C+M+B 11

Today is Epiphany, also called Theophany, Twelfth Night, and the Adoration of the Magi. Traditionally it is today we celebrate the extension of grace through Christ to the gentiles represented by the three Persian Magi that traveled great distance to honor the Christ Child. Of course being the holiday of the Magi, this all has special meaning for those of us that are sorcerously inclined and is an excellent time to begin any long term work.

For instance it is the traditional day to bless your house by consecrating chalk and writing the year and the initials C+M+B above the door. Of course the CMB stand for Caspar Melchior and Balthazar but also has the meaning of "Christus Mansionem Benedictat" (Christ bless this home).

It is normally done in this pattern: 20 C+M+B 11

It is also a good day to make a Three Wise Man cocktail:

1 part Scotch Whisky (recommend a blended Scotch for Coctails. Johnnie Walker Red or Black. Green, Gold and Blue should never be mixed with anything else.
1 part Tennessee Whiskey (e.g., Jack Daniels).
1 part Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey (e.g., Jim Beam White or Black Label).
Serve either neat or on the rocks, according to taste.

Variations include:

Three Wise Men go Hunting, which is the recipe above with the addition of Wild Turkey Bourbon.
Three  Men and a Baby: recipe above, add milk. (YUCK!)
Four Horsemen: above recipe with the addition of 1 part Jose Cuervo

Enjoy!

May the blessings of Wisdom and Personal Sovereignty be upon your houses this day. All of you, without exception.

The Magic of the Necktie

Several people have commented about me wearing a tie in the video. Let me just make one thing clear: I did not put on a tie for the video. I did not think about the backdrop, the lighting, or even what I would say, so I definitely did not dress up for it.

That said, I like neckties. I believe in the power of a necktie. I like the sliver of personal expression and color amidst the otherwise formal attire. The necktie can convey a lot. Blue with small red diamonds tells me that you probably vote republican and wish to convey your conservativeness. Pink tells me that you are probably urban, and confident. Your tie with shades of aqua tied in a four in hand knot tells me that you are laid back and possibly enjoy a Jack Johnson CD on the way to work. A red tie with strong pattern tied in a full Windsor with a perfect dimple tells me that you are strong willed and detail oriented. If you wear any color tie in a Pratt Knot, than you probably attending a boarding school or are just being a show off.

Personally I would like to see a return of just a wee bit of formality to American culture. For instance when I am on a cruise and attending the formal dress dinner, I HATE it when people show up without a tie and jacket. Those of us that showed up in a three piece suit and a date in an evening dress were looking for something a little more "Great Gatspy" and a little less "Margaritaville". I would also love it if I could go to a casino in Atlantic City and get more a little closer to the Monte Carlo in Monaco and a little further away from the cigarette dangling out of Grandmas mouth at the slot machine.

In the case of my video I simply wore a tie for business reasons earlier that night, and it being New Years, decided to keep it on, even though the missus and I were having drinks at home.

My advice top all you guys out there: learn to love your neckties. Unless you are working amidst machines that could catch them or are a doctor (they contribute to spreading infections in hospitals) you might want to consider sporting a tie now and then even if it is not required of you. Remember, unless you want to be a Mexican wrestler, you should dress for the job you want, not the one you have. 

Apart from getting a better job it may even save the one you have. From 2000 to 2003 I worked for a VOIP company called Net2Phone. There was no dress code. People could, and did, show up in pajamas. I usually wore jeans and a T-shirt. My co-worker always wore a tie. We both survived 4 rounds of layoffs because we were good at our jobs. When that fifth round of lay offs came, and they could not find a significant work related reason to can one of us over the other, guess who got the axe? Thats right, me. That evening when I was out with my now former boss he basically told me that it just came down to the fact that my co-worker dressed better. Here is the thing: In my opinion, that decision was perfectly fair. 

Now I know that by and large the modern occult scene is casual. Very casual. So casual that some events requiring no clothes of any kind at all. That is fine, a t-shirt and sport jacket is not only the favored uniform of stand up comedians, but of lecturing Sorcerers as well. I think it is a shame however when uber-casual becomes a uniform of its own. I should not be able to identify you as a Pagan because of your airbrushed wolf sweatshirt or pewter pendant on leather string. I was once given a lecture by a prominent OTO member on how pathetic it is that people conform to wearing a necktie to show their status. This same person wears badges made of sticky felt on their black robe to indicate that they are a "Master Magician". I mean who the fuck are you kidding here? 

I am not suggesting that we get carried away with ourselves. Just stick to neckties on occasions that might warrant them. Unless you are wearing a tuxedo, or are a character on TV you should probably avoid bow ties. Likewise unless you are attending a Silk Pajama cocktail party or are a full-time flaneur you should steer clear of Ascots. It goes without saying that unless you are Charles Nelson Riley or Fred from Scooby Doo are you to don any other type of cravat. 

So with all the above I propose an experiment for all my gentlemen readers. The next time that you take your woman (or man)  out on a dinner date, why don't you throw on the theme to James Bond after your shower, take a little extra time getting cleaned up, and throw on a nice shirt tie? If its a first date it will make you stand out from some of the other jokers that she has been running around with. If you are married or have been together for a long time it will make a nice sense of occasion. She will appreciate the effort. She might even let you tie her hands to the bed post with it later that night. 

MY FIRST VIDEO POST!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

One of the things that I promised would be in the pipeline for 2010 was Video posts. Well, in the final hours of 2010 I recorded this. Sadly I had some issues uploading it, so it is hitting the blog in 2011.

Its one take, and done on my IPOD4G so its not exactly studio quality. There may or may not be more in the future depending on feedback.

With all that in mind, please enjoy this video where I FINALLY teach "The Gesture of Conjuring" that I allude to in the books.