Category: traditional witchcraft

Om Mani Padme Hum in Asian Magical Traditions

On By benebellIn free download, Fu talismans, grimoire, Magical in the Mundane, personal spirituality, Tao of Craft (book), Taoism, traditional witchcraft3 Comments

The Six Syllable Mantra (Om Mani Padme Hum 唵嘛呢叭咪吽) is the foundational entry point for Asian folk magic traditions. This is a mini-course where we’ll be covering both the doctrinal Buddhist foundations and the practical applications.

Part 1 focuses on Doctrine; Part 2 focuses on Ritual. The subsequent Video 2 is for ritual, to convey a direct empowerment so you can experience the magic and the Mystery for yourself. Both videos are now up on my YouTube channel and also linked in this companion article, where I’ll highlight some of the key points from the video and also drop in the references you might need for the recommended practicum.

Buddhist Mysteries emphasize the distinction between conceptual understanding (which Video 1 strives to deliver) and direct realization (which Video 2 strives to deliver). Dedicated, repetitive, sincere resonance with the Mantra itself, which Video 2 helps to facilitate, is how you receive direct realization and actualization.

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Five Core Skills in Chinese Folk Magic

On By benebellIn grimoire, I Ching, I Ching The Oracle (book), Magical in the Mundane, personal spirituality, Tao of Craft (book), Taoism, traditional witchcraft2 Comments

A single line statement from Xunzi (3rd c. BCE) becomes the framework for mastering Chinese folk magic. In this lecture, we unpack the “Minister of Oracles”  (Minister of Magic?) in the royal bureaucracy of early China and reveal how it encodes a five-step curriculum.

From 王制, Scroll 9, Section 35, in Xunzi 荀子

There’s a passage in Xunzi that lists out fifteen branches or bureaus of government ending with the one who oversees them all, the Son of Heaven, or the Head of State. The tenth office listed is the Minister of Oracles, chief among the shamans 巫.

You could even make the argument that this translates to the Minister of Magic, as that title more fully encapsulates everything this particular government official is in charge of for the kingdom.

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Protective Talismans for the Chinese Natal Year, Ben Ming Nian 本命年

On By benebellIn astrology, free download, Fu talismans, grimoire, Magical in the Mundane, personal spirituality, Tao of Craft (book), Taoism, traditional witchcraft3 Comments

Wow. I’ve been blogging here for over 12 years. I posted about the last Year of the Horse and crafting natal year protective talismans in 2014. Across East Asia, parts of Southeast Asia, and Tibet, you’ll find this belief in natal years and having to take extra precautions if it’s your natal year. Anyway, for those who have been asking, this page will have the download of all natal year Fu talisman design templates.

Natal Year Fu Talismans 本命年符

Inside the zip file folder is a “READ ME” document that explains how to use natal year Fu talismans, and also, has a reference table of the Chinese zodiac sign corresponding to each and every year, from 1937 to 2056, which you may find helpful for figuring your own Chinese zodiac sign, if you don’t know it already, and identifying all of your Natal Years. The READ ME will also explain the anatomy of the Fu sigil design.

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Chinese Astrology circa 246 BC: Wuxian Five Star Divination

On By benebellIn astrology, divination, feng shui, grimoire, I Ching The Oracle (book), Magical in the Mundane, Tao of Craft (book), Taoism, traditional witchcraft2 Comments

Wuxian’s Five Star Divination 巫咸五星占 is a system of astrology that dates back to the Qin dynasty, around 246 BC during Qin Shihuang’s reign, documented in a manuscript from that era titled Five Star Divination 五星占, the “five stars” being Mercury (Water), Venus (Metal), Mars (Fire), Jupiter (Wood), and Saturn (Earth). The astrological text is attributed to Wuxian 巫咸, and so this system of astrology became known as Wuxian’s Five Star Divination.

Wuxian 巫咸 (also referred to as Xian Wu, 咸巫) is the ancestor god and ascended master of the Wu 巫 shamans. Venerated as the first and most masterful Wu 巫 and thus every Wu 巫’s primordial ancestor, he may or may not have been an actual historical figure; either way, Wuxian is a fixture in Chinese lore and deified as a patron god to shamans, healers, and, in particular, diviners and astrologers. In this video lecture, “Shamanism Meets Taoism: The Hidden Link in 3,000 Years of Magic and Mysticism,” we talk about Wuxian 巫咸, the primordial ancestor of all Wu 巫 shamans, at timestamp 12:35.

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Is magic and mysticism a replacement for trauma therapy?

On By benebellIn opinion, personal, personal spirituality, traditional witchcraft10 Comments

This commentary sums up my responsive thoughts to a certain heated, well, highly-engaged – we’ll call it – provocative discussion that was going on in my social network. The assertion presented was: Magick is not a replacement for therapy and definitely not a form of trauma therapy. By extension, anyone making such claims is unethical, misleading, and hurting vulnerable populations.

Just for the full context so you can catch me if I’m off, the quote was:

“Guys, Magick IS NOT a replacement for therapy and it’s DEFINITELY NOT a form of trauma therapy. Please do not listen to anyone who tells you differently. Such a claim is unethical, misleading; and even worse, hurtful to vulnerable people who seek healing. I am a licensed therapist with 20 years of mental health experience and an occultist. I hope this means something. . . . Jessica says magicians posing as ‘magick healers’ are no different than evangelical faith healers who prey on the vulnerable. She say the key is EMDR, not LBRP.”

I want to start by saying there is nothing there that I disagree with. In principle, the author of this original post is right. And also, this is the right messaging.

“Magick,” beyond Aleister Crowley’s definition of “the science and art of causing change to occur in conformity with will,” is use of ceremonial rituals, sigils, visualization meditations, meditations in general maybe, mantra work maybe and so by extension, affirmations (?), herbalism to an extent, and various other “woo-woo” practices like candle magic, spell jars, spellwork, trying to time certain forms of workings to seasons, lunar phases, or planetary movements, and/or using divination as a form of diagnostics tool.

So what do I really think? Can such modalities that we categorize under “magick” replace trauma therapy administered by a licensed, qualified healthcare provider?

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Frater Setnakh’s Tarot Coins and Archangels Set

On By benebellIn astrology, deck review, divination, grimoire, Magical in the Mundane, numerology, personal spirituality, tarot, tarot symbolism, traditional witchcraft6 Comments

Frater Setnakh is one of the most incredible, detail-oriented artisans of ritual artifacts I’ve come across. I’ve previously reviewed the 72 Angels Talisman Coins and Cards he sent me, which I keep on display in my sitting room. Here I’ll be showcasing his latest offering, Tarot Coins, along with the Guardian Angel Coins, or Seven Archangels.

The detailing on these coins is incredible, so I’ll also be showing a zoomed-in view of several of the coins, photo essay style. You can click on any of the images and magnify the photo to see just how fine the craftsmanship is here and each coin’s delicate engraving.

Per the ritual artifact description, this is the “world’s very first collection of tarot coins inspired by the Rider-Waite deck.” And personally I have yet to see tarot coins crafted at this level of detail and intricacy. They’re simply exquisite.

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Advanced Introduction to Taoist Alchemy

On By benebellIn Fu talismans, grimoire, I Ching, I Ching The Oracle (book), Magical in the Mundane, numerology, personal spirituality, Tao of Craft (book), Taoism, traditional witchcraft2 Comments

This is Part II of what we started in Part I on the Lesser Mandala of Heaven. Part II covers the Greater Mandala of Heaven, and in doing so, provides an advanced introduction to Taoist alchemy.

We are continuing from Part I, so I’ll presume you’re already familiar with what we covered there. If you haven’t watched that video lecture “A Taoist Secret to Cultivating Personal Power: Inner Alchemy Basics,” please do before proceeding.

In this introduction, I want to explore the inner logic that underlies one of the world’s most sophisticated (in my opinion) systems of spiritual cultivation. I intend for this intro to be a deep-dive into the heart of Taoist alchemy by delineating the Greater Mandala of Heaven.

The ultimate goal of Taoist alchemy is to transform the finite into the infinite, matter into spirit, and limitation into transcendence. We cover this ground by first understanding the distinction made between inner alchemy and outer alchemy.

Philosophically, this is a system and tradition that presents a compelling perspective on how Change happens.

Historical Textual References

In addition to the two texts mentioned in Part I, these are some of the oft-cited sources of insight on the Greater Mandala of Heaven 大周天. The titles are hyperlinked to the full texts over at ctext.org (the Chinese Text Project). While CTP as a site has its limitations, it’s one of the best free, accessible, and online databases for primary sources of pre-modern Chinese texts, so it’s the most user-friendly for folks like you and me.

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Create Your Own Metaphysician’s Day Planner: Downloadable Templates

On By benebellIn astrology, cartomancy, create your own deck, divination, free download, grimoire, personal, personal spirituality, promotional, tarot community, traditional witchcraft22 Comments

A few weeks ago I announced that we were retiring the annual Metaphysician’s Day Planner offering, after nine consecutive years of making them, each one custom-made to order with your birth chart and that year’s solar return chart. Plus the companion Metaphysician’s Guide that comes with the year ahead’s astrological forecasts, auspicious dates, inauspicious dates, and the dates to notable astrological or astronomical events.

Although we won’t be selling and making them anymore, we also didn’t want to leave you in a lurch, especially since we acknowledge that many of you have come to rely on it year after year. First, thank you so, so very much for your support over so many years. That’s amazing! Second, thank you for your understanding, patience, and sympathies that it’s just no longer feasible for us to be doing this, as our process is entirely manual and “old school” in this new world of everything getting generated instantly by digital automation.

I changed my mind and I am offering a “MDP Lite” version for 2026, which you can learn more about HERE. The layout design for many of the classic sections have been updated, and I will be updating some of the reference content as well.

You can still download the templates for the past day planner design and layout, however.

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Tarot for the Magically Inclined by Jack Chanek

On By benebellIn book review, personal spirituality, tarot, tarot community, tarot exercises, traditional witchcraft1 Comment

This is a wonderful sequel to Jack Chanek’s Tarot for Real Life, a down-to-earth primer that de-mystifies the tarot, whereas here in Tarot for the Magically Inclined: Spells and Spirits to Stack the Deck in Your Favor, we delve straight into the mysteries of the tarot.

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On Preventive [Spiritual] Care: Nine Precepts of the Healer

On By benebellIn free download, I Ching, Magical in the Mundane, personal spirituality, Tao of Craft (book), Taoism, traditional witchcraft8 Comments

There’s this section in Chapter 9 of The Spiritual Axis (Ling Shu) from the classical medical treatise Inner Canons of the Yellow Emperor (Huangdi Neijing), which in canonical versions is often designated as Verse 27 that I love for many reasons.

Nine universally applicable precepts of healing can be extracted from Verse 27. The way they’re worded, you can interpret them through different lenses and they still hold true. The verse functions as axiomatic to acupuncture, and to both the ancient and the modern healthcare provider.

You can read it through the lens of how to ensure physical health, and also how to ensure mental, emotional health, and — as to the primary scope of work I operate in — to spiritual health.

If you’re looking at it as a road map for your own healing journey, it works. If you’re a healer of any stripe, these are nine clinical axioms for guiding patient care. You can look at these nine precepts as applied medical wisdom, or heuristics for clinical decision-making. They work as key tenets for helping a practitioner refine their diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

And finally, in my view, these nine precepts can be instrumental to helping anyone set the foundation of their personal spiritual practice. It’s designed in such a way that you can account simultaneously for mundane physical health and hygiene tenets and for basic considerations in ritual or ceremonial magic.

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