#chaos magick

While spirit work is really a category of its own, it’s important to have a basic understanding of what local spirits are and how they function. Having the ability to detect spiritual energy and identify it’s source is a great way to get started. I’ll start off by saying the spiritual realm is virtually endless,but there are some common “categories” spirits can be placed in.

Every culture has recognized the spiritual realm in some form, but for this purpose, I’m going to break them down into a few standard categories. I’ll be talking specifically about local spirits in the sense that these beings are not omnipresent. They move through the world far differently than us, but they still are required to travel or may be bound to a specific location.

• Natural Spirits (elements)
  
• Dream Spirits
  
• Non-Natural Spirits
  
• Ghosts
  

Natural Spirits

Natural spirits are, quite simply, those that reside in nature. Their energy is of the earth and its elements. Natural spirits come in many forms and shapes and are mostly found in large parks and other areas that still retain their natural form. These spirits are like wild animals, and should be treated with reverence and respect. They will never enter your home, and if you respect their natural environment you may be rewarded with a visit from them. They come in many forms, often depending on where they are found. They may appear as an animal, or a special type of plant not usually found in the area.

Dream Spirits

Dream spirits exist only in the dream realm. You can access them through methods of astral projection and lucid dreaming. They will often act as guides or keepers of wisdom, and will often keep a form that you would be willing to accept. Some see these spirits as loved ones who have passed away, or maybe a talking animal. If you begin learning lucid dreaming, try to identify a character that appears in your dreams often. They will not be the focus of the dream, but if you are able to break into a lucid state and approach them they may reveal themselves to you.

Non-Natural Spirits

Non-natural spirits are those who reside in this world but are not of this world. They take many, many forms and often perform specific functions. Non-natural spirits will most often not contact you or take you seriously in any way unless you have something to offer. This can be used to your advantage, though. For example, I use a non-natural spirit for protection. The way our agreement works is that they will alert me to the presence of a supernatural threat, and be able to feed on that threat without exception. This works well both ways since I am protected, and the spirit is getting the energy it needs. Use caution when interacting with non-natural spirits, as they may have their own motivation on approaching you. Keep things very specific, and don’t make any agreements until you are fully comfortable with them.

Ghosts

Ghosts are layman's terms for ancestral spirits. They were at one point human, and for some reason stay behind. Some just want to live as they did when they were alive, but others have different motivations to saying such as seeing a loved one accomplish something, or to protect them. The reason I use the term ghost is that in order to work with them, you don’t necessarily have to be related. As long as you can connect with them on something, whether it be an actual family member, location, or any other factor, they may be inclined to assist you.

In my last post, I talked about making your spells count. Focusing on one or two goals at a time to maximise the effectiveness of your spell. There are, however, ways you can boost that even more.

Lots of time and energy are spent on cleansing, protecting, and banishing. But what if I said you could, in a way, “outsource” those tasks? By utilizing local and non-local spirits to do those tasks for you, you can spend more time and energy focused on what you really need. This is a bit advanced, though, so if you’ve never really encountered non-local spirits or deities, you may want to keep this off to the side for later.

There are a few ways to approach this. I suggest starting low and working your way up only if you feel it necessary. Over the next few days, I'll be posting the levels and how to approach them. To start off though, let’s talk about sigils.

Level 1: Sigils

Sigils are used by many, and some people have their own understanding of what they are and how they work. In my experience, though, sigils are a low-level, local spirit created by your own energy and intent. Because of this, most sigils are designed to affect only you and the flow of your energy. The symbology of a sigil simply connects it to this plane of existence.

Some people may hear me use the term “contracts” when talking about sigils. This is mostly a formality, but sigils have a very focused intent. For example, if I created a sigil that says “I will find a new job”, that sigil is designed to affect me. It may not have that same effect on others. But if I created a sigil that said “Anyone who sees this will find a new job”, it will give energy towards that goal to everyone who reads it. This is a double-edged sword, though, because anyone who reads it would draw energy from it, effectively killing the sigil if it’s seen by a lot of people. Some people will post pictures of sigils in order to “charge” them, but I believe that sigils can only be charged while being created or through ceremonial processes. A carefully constructed sigil could move energy rather than expend it making it more effective for a larger amount of people, but that’s another topic.

Creating effective long-term sigils

In order to create long-standing sigils, you’ll need a couple of things. I use a box on my desk and some 5/9 cards. I create a sigil with long lasting intent using my own specialised ritual (you can come up with your own too! Play with formulas and see what works best for you), place it in the box and simply forget about it. Every so often, I may look into the box to see what I have going. If I come across a sigil that I no longer need, I burn it to release it. 

And really, that’s about it. The biggest step is learning to focus your intent on creating the sigil. Not all sigils are going to be pretty, but if the intent is there you’ll usually create something to your liking.

So, you’ve just started diving into the world of the diviner. Spells, readings, charms and talismans: it’s all super cool and you’re really excited. Awesome! Be excited! Fuel your interest and knowledge - but keep in mind all of these things require time and energy.

I feel like a lot of people, myself included when I first got started, want to dive right in and do all the things. They start running with a bunch of cleansing and banishing spells, do 27 tarot spreads a night for the first week, then try to load up a bunch of personal spells on top of it. 

Suddenly they hit a brick wall. The spells stop working like they did in the beginning. They begin feeling the burnout. They keep asking themselves “What am I doing wrong? It was working so well before. Maybe this isn’t for me.” This doesn’t only apply to new diviners, many seasoned people of magick are often guilty of the same thing if they have a burst of energy.  It isn’t so much that something was done wrong, just that it overloaded their energy flow. I’ve seen perfectly awesome spells thrown out as they were perceived as “not correct” or “not functioning” only because they were performed during a burnout- especially banishing, protection and cleansing rituals.

Instead of throwing around spells at everything that moves, identify a few important things. Is the goal of this spell a true need of mine, or simply something I want? Am I willing to dedicate the proper amount of time and energy to see this spell through? Am I willing to make any sacrifices to see this through?

As a practical example, I recently bought my first home (I’ll get back to this in a later post). My first home happens to have a pool. I know that I’ll need to clean it regularly, maintain the chemical levels, and occasionally relocate any critters that happen to wander in. Am I going to do these things every single day? Of course not. If I did, I wouldn’t have the time or energy to actually enjoy the pool. So instead, I set a loose schedule. The beginning requires a lot of attention and work, but then only every few days I would check and maintain the chemical levels. Maybe once a week, I deep clean the filter and bottom of the pool. Only if absolutely necessary would I need to relocate a critter or two. Then down the road, I’ll decide to add a water feature, or a new pool toy.

The same applies to magickal practice. Once you have found your base level of understanding, you don’t need to power through spells for the rest of your life. Not every day has to be “magically enhanced”, in fact it may be better off without. Every couple of days, throw a general tarot reading as a spot check. Once a week or so, do some deep meditation to clear out the depths of your psyche. Wandering spirits aren’t always bad, and most go away on their own, so only banish if you need to. If you identify something that you need, consider taking traditional routes before casting a spell for it. The more energy you store, the more energy you’ll have to spend on something you really need.

By employing these types of practices, you’ll start to find that you are able to cast powerful life-altering magick for better or worse. Am I saying to stop writing every neat spell you come across down? Absolutely not! Just keep them off to the side. Maybe when you really need it, you’ll look back and find it and have the true energy and drive to cast it successfully.