I love so many things about this curse tablet article.
- It confirms that binding can absolutely be curses (there seems to be this thinking that binding isn’t a form of a curse when in many traditions it is)
- It confirms, once again, that curses are fairly universal and historical in nature. Many cultures have it and it existed in historical, traditional practices.
- That people were paid to perform curses for a client (that’s the theory the scientists are going with)
- That curses can be, have been, and always will be performed for many reasons, even petty ones.
- Graves can be used as vessels to transport curses to the spirits or deities.
- That spells can have multiple forms, such as written spells and oral spells and they were historically combined at times to perform a cohesive spell
You are allowed to mess up.
Your are allowed to make bad decisions
You can by books made by adults who should no better.
You are allowed to make spells with outlandish outcomes
You are allowed to believe one thing then learn something new and change that.You are allowed to grow.
Daimones of lies and falsehoods. sons of Eris,
or created by Dolos.
The sons of Eris are many, and most are personifications of
troubles that we each encounter in our lives. In this case, lies. The
Pseudologoi have no father, springing forth from Discord Herself, according to
Hesiod. Aesop tells us that Dolos, the daimon of treachery created the
Pseudologoi when Prometheus was creating Aletheia, Truth. By the 2nd
century CE, they are understood to be the children of Air and Earth themselves.
Whatever their origin, lies are with us. They trip off the
tongues of politicians and lovers. They dance between acquaintances and around
the workplace. And wherever they are, they cause trouble, even if not
immediately.
Strabo used the term pseudologoi to describe various authors
from India, as a means of besmirching them. Of course, we have little
opportunity to determine how accurate his perspective might be.
Right now, we are seeing politicians using lies to shape an
expedient version of events that paints a picture that serves their own
purposes. Lies can serve in the short term, but they also eat at us. Sometimes
they protect us from things worse than deception. And yet, too often they cause
us pain in the process.
In witchcraft (and I
know I don’t usually talk magic on these posts but…) pseudologoi are dangerous.
They misdirect our meditations, and make us misread situations. Witchcraft
requires a certain brutal honesty with one’s self, and overwhelming our
personal lies is an important step forward on the path. Without honesty, one
cannot embrace the injunction To Know.
Pseudologoi are not something one worships. They range
around the world in the company of Apate (Deception) and Dolos.
Virtue lies in embracing their twin, Aletheia, the Truth.
This is no simple feat, of course. Particularly when we are faced with the very
real harms that can be done to us in response to our truths.
Sources:
Theoi.com
Gialoures, Nikolaos. Ancient
Elis: Cradle of the Olympic Games, Adam editions, 1996.
Gill, Christopher and Timothy Peter Wiseman, eds. Lies and Fiction in the Ancient World,
UT, 1993.
Grant, Michael. Greek
and Roman Historians: Information and Misinformation, Routledge, 2004.
Levine, Timothy R. Encyclopedia
of Deception, Sage, 2014.
Pigon, Jakub. The
Children of Herodotus: Greek and Roman Historiography and Related Genres,
Cambridge, 2008.
Images:
“Renard the Fox and the Hen,” Capital decoration at the
Chateau de Pierrefonds in Oise, France, 14th c. CE. Photo by
Jean-pol Grandmont. Via wikicommons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:0_Ch%C3%A2teau_de_Pierrefonds_-_Chapiteau_histori%C3%A9_-_Le_renard_ligot%C3%A9_et_la_poule_du_%22Roman_de_Renart%22_(1).jpg
It doesn’t exist as far as I know. You’re not going to find a how-to right now on this subject because no one’s written it (that I’m aware of). There are books of a similar nature, like this one here.
It doesn’t really answer your question though. So here’s a how’d I research things if I were in your shoes:
1. Define what you’re looking for. Are you looking for just general information on the connection between music and magic? Are you looking for something more practical as in a how-to? Are you looking for something religious? On a specific instrument or music type?
Depending on what you’re looking for, your sources will change. How-tos are going to be far easier to find with bloggers. Historical references will be easier for the other subjects.
Keep in mind that even books are often wrong. So you’re going to have to use some critical thinking and critical judgement to decide if what’s being described will work for you and/or makes sense.
2. Now that you’ve a list of questions, go to the library and/or search online for books/articles on folklore, superstition, and mythology. Look up specifically what these books/articles says about songs, music, instruments, etc.
From there, you now have a basis to see how people associate music and magic on a regional and local level historically. You’ll see how people start to connect these subjects and may even see examples how they’ve been used for magic historically.
3. Experiment. Can any of what you’ve learned so far be useful in your developing practice or cause any sort of inspiration? What else do you want to know? Write down those questions and figure out what doesn’t and does work for you. Write it down or keep it in mind. Go research any questions that come up.
4. Start digging into the historical and academic works on the subject. There are a lot written but many take a psychological approach on the subject, like this book here but you can definitely find some on the subject if you keep looking.
I highly recommend using google scholar (Boolean keyword search for is here). There are plenty of other scholarly sources, however, such as JSTOR. You’ll probably get a lot of citations instead of actual hits or find that many articles are behind paywalls. Write down the titles anyway and head over to your local library to see if you can request the article or book. Some colleges may let you use their library without being a student (but won’t let you check out a book) and they’ll probably have the books on hand and/or have access to the journals the paywall articles are in. If you’re in college or have friends in college, just as a librarian to help you search for stuff.
As a side note, many of these sorts of books can be found in used bookstores, especially used bookstores in art districts or college campuses. Don’t forget to check flea markets and yard sales. My copy of The Encyclopedia of Medical Astrology in a used clothing store for $6. My 1909 copy of Magic: White and Black and my original 1959 copy of The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology were found at a flea market for $3 and $6, respectively. You’d be amazed at what you can find if you look.
5. Go back to step three and repeat.
6. Search blogs and tags. You don’t have to listen or even agree with anything a blogger says but look at where they’re getting their information and what they’re posting on. What are they talking about and what’s their inspiration? See what others are doing on the subject.
7. Go back to step three and repeat.
8. Now that you’ve gotten a pretty good foundation and experimented a lot, you can start thinking of incorporating other areas of magic into your own practice.
Maybe start looking at how others cast spells or create sigils or whatever and see if those things can be adapted to you. This is also experimentation but gets it’s own little section because of this: take on challenges. The @grimoirechallenge is a good example but there are others out there. These challenges will make you think and question how your practice works and what you’re using in your practice. Adapt these challenges as needed. You might not ever touch upon herbalism so instead take herbalism challenges and look for connections between plants and music, for example.
9. Go back to step three and repeat.
10.
Look at media forms like books, movies, TV, board games, and video games. How is music used in these forms? Can you utilize some concepts from these media forms into your own practice?
This might sound silly but it’s actually one of the best ways to be able to explain things to others when you’re trying to talk about your craft. Being able to say “you know how so and so did X in this awesome book you read?” is a great way of letting you be able to relate to one another.
11. Go back to step three and repeat.
12.
Write and share as much as you feel comfortable in sharing about your own journey and process to see if others have input. Sometimes having someone else’s perspective about something you do can be a great help.
Don’t be afraid to say “No, I don’t want to share that information”. Some things feel special or different because they’re secrets. Don’t be afraid to say no. Also don’t be afraid to say “Hello! Yes I do this thing! Come talk to me!”
13. Go back to step three and repeat.
That’s it. That’s how you build and research a practice. You can do those steps in any order but that’s how people build strong practices. It will take time. You’ll have to be patient. You will probably five yourself with cold coffee at five o’clock in the afternoon staring blearily at an academic text written by some grad student thirty years ago with ink stains on your fingers and a dying cellphone nearby. You will definitely have moments of “I have no idea what I’m doing” and “Am I fake? Am I making this all up? Am I crazy?”. I STILL have moments of this twenty plus years after starting my practice.
Good luck and know we’re all here to support each other so keep asking questions and hopefully people will offer sources and information!
I do know that there is someone’s personal correspondences with the major and minor scales kicking around on tumblr but im On mobile right now and about to leave the house. I’ll try to reblog them later.
A podcast on music and magic aired just last night at Magical Experiments.
This is a great structure for wanting to incorporate anything into a craft.
@upthewitchypunx those are actually my posts! Here’s the major scales, and here are the minor scales c: Hopefully it’s helpful!
I found this dissertation a while back while doing research on the same subject. It’s around 100 pages long: it summarizes some historical approaches to magical correspondences for music, evaluates them, proposes a system of its own for magical compositions and gives some examples. I hope it’s useful.
Full text in PDF:
https://theses.ncl.ac.uk/dspace/bitstream/10443/1318/1/Hasler%2011.pdf
You don’t have to be into stones or herbs.
You don’t have to be into deities or spirits.
You don’t have to be into divination or astrology.
You don’t have to be into particular methods or tools.
You don’t have to be into certain aesthetics or labels.
You don’t have to be into every holidays or event.
Having a different focus than what is “popular” or “the basics” doesn’t make you any less of a witch, and it’s okay to acknowledge that. It’s okay to say, “Hey, that’s not my thing, and I don’t need to force myself to do it.”
Remember, just as there is power in acknowledging what you are, there is power in acknowledging what you are not.
SAY IT LOUDER SO THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK CAN HEAR YOU
Seriously guys, don’t ever let yourself bee made to feel lesser because you’re not into what everyone else is into. I understand those feels and they’re pretty shitty.
If you open old occult books, you will find loads of timetables.
The saying “A time for each thing, for each thing its time” I believe stems from here.
You don’t just have “thursdays are for luck spells, fridays for love spells”. They go much more into detail.They work like this: from bigger to smaller.
So you have the season first.
Then the phase of the moon.
Then the day (as above).
Then, of course considering from sunrise to sunset, the hours.Which means that, according to old occult books, maybe that love spell you’ve just read, should be performed on a spring full moon, friday, in the hours of Jupiter.
While I’m so much happier with the approach that neopaganism has brought to this matter (either: do it when you have the time, or adjust your spell to the timing), this “old fashion” of doing things has its appeal.
Let’s say you want to do a big spell, a lifechanging one, something more than the usual daily glamour or little luck spells.
You select your spell, you select your day and everything else.You look for that on your calendar… it’s five months away.
Oh. You say.
Well, let’s see the bright side.You have five months to start collecting the supplies (the perfect ones, not just those that “will make do”).
You have five months to start acting accordingly.
Let’s say you want to do a job spell, or a home spell, or a travel spell.
Start taking courses, applying to anything, looking for places to live, making lists of what you want, saving even those little cents you can by chosing a cheaper product over another one.
And so on, and so forth.All this will build up determination, focus, willpower, momentum.
To the summa of your spell.Hope this helps 🙂
In ancient Egyptian beliefs, the name was an integral part of the personality. It had to be preserved, even into the afterlife. Some inscriptions on monuments consisted of severe warnings to anyone who would destroy or obliterate the name of the owner; other texts listed rewards for anyone who would repeat the name, thereby helping to maintain the individual’s eternal existence. To know the name of an individual was to have some control over him or her.
P 28,
Divinity and Deities in Ancient Egypt by David P. Silverman (from Religion in Ancient Egypt edited by Byron E. Shafer)
Divinity and Deities in Ancient Egypt by David P. Silverman (from Religion in Ancient Egypt edited by Byron E. Shafer)
“Heavily ingrained in the occult”. Yeah, and the reason for that is due to centuries of cultural appropriation by Christian occultists, frequently using Jewish holy symbols in ways that are actively sacrilegious, such as using the Tetragrammaton. The only good thing from your post’s advice means that your followers wouldn’t be pronouncing the Name correctly.
We are very much aware of how Western Magick occult practices views Jewish traditions and motifs as a buffet bar, and have for centuries. “Oh, I’ll take some Arcane Mispronounced Hebrew Chanting from this tray, and mix it with some Names For God from this tray, and sprinkle it with a helping of Alchemical Symbols from the spice rack, and use some Christian interpretations of King Solomon to bulk things out.” And all we see is a bunch of outsiders that come in, take things completely out of context, and then smugly say that they know how to “properly” use our cultural heritage that they’ve stolen.
I’m not blaming you in particular, but you come from a tradition that has, for centuries, been involved in the parallel processes of both oppressing us and stealing our culture and heritage when bits of it attract interest, magpie-like. Add to implicit equivalence between Hebrew and Latin as dead languages that can just be used without care or consideration or effort, and the reasons we’re… irked with the tone of your post I hope are fairly clear. Does that make sense?
Singing For Her 
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