Goetic Musings
Aug. 3rd, 2024 05:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lostianvsGoetic Musings
I've spent some time reading about goetia and listening to various magicians describe their experiences. I've always found the grimoire traditions fascinating, but like many witches I am weary of engaging with the Abrahamic aspects of these traditions. The fact is that my attraction to magic was rooted in a desire for personal power and a rejection of dogma. For better or for worse, I've associated Yahweh, Allah, and Christ with bigotry, discrimination, and self-loathing. I just cannot bring myself to call on these gods and actually mean it. This lack of conviction seems like it could result in a lack of efficacy at best and in dangerous side-effects at worst.
I regularly interact with other spirits and gods with whom I have a more authentic connection, so I've accepted that the grimoire tradition is closed to me. The message in reply to this sentiment from most grimoirists seems to be "good riddance." These would be the same magicians that consider the grimoires the basis of all "Western" magical practice for which non-Yahwists are apparently not good enough to inherit. As a queer POC living in the U.S., I've grown accustomed to hearing appeals to "Western European" tradition and inheritance as reasons for my exclusion in many things.
Enter the late Jake Stratton-Kent's Encyclopedia Goetica. This curious series of books makes the convincing case that the grimoire tradition has pagan roots. This is particularly interesting given that Mr. Stratton-Kent's grimoire of preference is the Grimorium Verum which is a somewhat later addition to the literature. He draws several parallels between grimoire magic and the traditions of ancient Greece and the Near East. He describes a successful adaptation of Verum spirits to a ritual format based on Hekate that still includes acknowledgement of the LBA (Lucifer-Beelzebub-Ashtoroth) based hierarchy of the text.
Mr. Stratton-Kent also offers a refreshing contrast to proselytizing lodge magicians. He enthusiastically encourages readers to experiment and cites Quimbanda as one way in which modern practitioners have incorporated goetic spirits in exciting and innovative ways.
The Encyclopedia Goetica also includes some musings about the possible influence of the rituals of the Anatolian mother goddess, Cybele, on Greek mystery religions, the PGM, and ultimately the grimoiric methods. Interaction with other goddess traditions may have influenced his choice of Hekate as supreme authority, instead of Yahweh. The text also makes a connection between the Four Kings of the directions and forgotten wind gods. These connections are particularly interesting to me, given the way my practice has headed over the last year.
The correlations are not direct, but I've been compiling some threads that I think hint at a method of entry for a practitioner like myself:
My practice tends not to incorporate explicit names of gods and spirits, so there is some work to be done to take these pieces of poetic inspiration and adapt them to idiosyncratic rituals. I'm optimistic that there's a workable operation to be found here. I've found that the egregore of my practice has reached a point where I'm not only confident in the techniques I can bring to bear, but also in the relationships I've cultivated with supporting spirits willing to assist me in this endeavor.
Ianvs
I've spent some time reading about goetia and listening to various magicians describe their experiences. I've always found the grimoire traditions fascinating, but like many witches I am weary of engaging with the Abrahamic aspects of these traditions. The fact is that my attraction to magic was rooted in a desire for personal power and a rejection of dogma. For better or for worse, I've associated Yahweh, Allah, and Christ with bigotry, discrimination, and self-loathing. I just cannot bring myself to call on these gods and actually mean it. This lack of conviction seems like it could result in a lack of efficacy at best and in dangerous side-effects at worst.
I regularly interact with other spirits and gods with whom I have a more authentic connection, so I've accepted that the grimoire tradition is closed to me. The message in reply to this sentiment from most grimoirists seems to be "good riddance." These would be the same magicians that consider the grimoires the basis of all "Western" magical practice for which non-Yahwists are apparently not good enough to inherit. As a queer POC living in the U.S., I've grown accustomed to hearing appeals to "Western European" tradition and inheritance as reasons for my exclusion in many things.
Enter the late Jake Stratton-Kent's Encyclopedia Goetica. This curious series of books makes the convincing case that the grimoire tradition has pagan roots. This is particularly interesting given that Mr. Stratton-Kent's grimoire of preference is the Grimorium Verum which is a somewhat later addition to the literature. He draws several parallels between grimoire magic and the traditions of ancient Greece and the Near East. He describes a successful adaptation of Verum spirits to a ritual format based on Hekate that still includes acknowledgement of the LBA (Lucifer-Beelzebub-Ashtoroth) based hierarchy of the text.
Mr. Stratton-Kent also offers a refreshing contrast to proselytizing lodge magicians. He enthusiastically encourages readers to experiment and cites Quimbanda as one way in which modern practitioners have incorporated goetic spirits in exciting and innovative ways.
The Encyclopedia Goetica also includes some musings about the possible influence of the rituals of the Anatolian mother goddess, Cybele, on Greek mystery religions, the PGM, and ultimately the grimoiric methods. Interaction with other goddess traditions may have influenced his choice of Hekate as supreme authority, instead of Yahweh. The text also makes a connection between the Four Kings of the directions and forgotten wind gods. These connections are particularly interesting to me, given the way my practice has headed over the last year.
The correlations are not direct, but I've been compiling some threads that I think hint at a method of entry for a practitioner like myself:
- Hera is associated with the element of air in the Orphic Hymns.
- According to Homer, Hera gives birth to Typhon who subsequently produces the storm winds.
- Typhon and the storm winds are thrown into Tartarus (or a mountain) from whence they can be released.
- Typhon, Echidna, and Python are sometimes portrayed as children of Gaia and Tartarus that cause specific disorders.
My practice tends not to incorporate explicit names of gods and spirits, so there is some work to be done to take these pieces of poetic inspiration and adapt them to idiosyncratic rituals. I'm optimistic that there's a workable operation to be found here. I've found that the egregore of my practice has reached a point where I'm not only confident in the techniques I can bring to bear, but also in the relationships I've cultivated with supporting spirits willing to assist me in this endeavor.
Ianvs