The Blasting Rod Enigma

I have to confess I am a Harry Dresden fan.  For someone who is in the trade (in my dreams!)  the Dresden Files hit the right note by being both entertaining and thought-provoking.

Though I have to say I draw the line at bribing the faery folk with pizzas!  In mitigation, Jim Butcher should be allowed to have some fun;  after all, writing is bloody hard work.

So inevitably a novelist such as Jim Butcher will use exaggeration to create a dynamic narrative so even in his fantastic genre he will inevitably create a blurring of what is real and what is made up.

Take the notion of a Blasting Rod.  Somehow, in my 40+ years of magical questing I have not come across such a magical tool.  “Blasting Rod” has a ring to it – “Don’t mess with me, I’m badass!”  And let’s face it, a wand has too many Harry Potter associations now.

So I assumed that the blasting rod in the Dresden files was a piece of artistic/dramatic licence which fitted well with the Harry Dresden character and his adventures where people and things keep trying to kill him – essential kit really!

But then I put “Blasting Rod” into a well known search engine and things got intriguing!

Amongst the Harry Dresden references there were sites selling “traditional” blasting rods using blackthorn wood and thorns.  I dug deeper but got precious little information about the origin and background of the tool.  The cynic in me was tempted to think this was real life imitating art ie.  suppliers perceiving a market for would-be Harry Dresdens and doing their best to give them an authentic background.

I’m still delving into that one but in the meantime am struggling with what the blasting rod is purported to do.

Whilst I accept that a magical implement might retain a residue of energy from its use, I have problems with the notion an inanimate object can act as some kind of capacitor which stores up energy which can be discharged in a blast of destructive power.

I go for the idea of such a powered up tool being a construct whereby energy from oneself acts as though it has been stored for such a concentrated release. ie. irrespective of where the energy comes from the effect is the same?  It depends on what you believe I guess…  and whatever works for you!

Forge

Dousing the Firewall

I was asked to create a sigil to help with the growing concern about the British Government’s plans to censor the internet.

I understand that whilst the apparent prime thrust of the intended legislation is aimed at pornography, there is a strong possibility that a whole raft of other material will get caught in the crossfire, including esoteric material.  Thus there are fears that this could lead to the government being able to filter out anything that doesn’t conform to its vision of what a model citizen should be accessing.

This is a serious threat which must be resisted.

I pondered over whether the sigil should a)  be an instruction such as “oppose the government censorship plans” or a statement of the intended outcome “the government censorship plans fails” and finally came up with what felt right:- “it is my will that the govt censorship plan fails”.

The vowels and repeating letters were extracted and the following sigil constructed and fired.

Eat your heart out Cameron!

The Sigil Strikes!

It has been suggested to me that the sigil known as Reject Junk Food and Choose Healthy Living and Exercise which, after all these months I had assumed had packed its bags and gone on holiday, is in fact responsible for the massive scandal in Europe over horsemeat in beef products and the exposure of seriously dodgy practices etc.

This has really put the spotlight on the low practices of the food industry and hopefully made some people think again about the crap that they are eating.

 

Hooray for our side!!

Forge

My Seat! RIP

Sadly I have to report the demise of another servitor.

It seems irononic that the last two magical operations I have performed have been to absorb (destroy) servitors I have created.

My Seat! was rendered redundant simply because a few days ago the cafe owners decided to re-arrange the furniture. My favourite comfy seat originally located in the best possible spot to observe the world around me is now in the middle of the cafe and the table numbering has gone to pot too. Thus the spec. for the servitor no longer applied and there is no longer a favorite seat to reserve for me.

It was tidier all round to absorb the servitor. This I did this morning.

Forge

MySpace! RIP

In previous posts I have described the frustrations I have felt about other people in my street parking their cars in what I regard as my space when I have been foolish enough to vacate it even for a couple of minutes.

I recounted how I created a servitor to occupy the space on my behalf and how recently I have even supplemented the astral bollard with a large yellow storage tub.

Things came to a head last week when a neighbour moved my bollard to the pavement and parked his 4×4 outside my house. I was incandescent with anger! I grabbed the box and placed it on the roof of his car. But, moments later, after a telling off from my wife, I removed it.

This got me thinking. This was only going to end in one of two ways. Either open warfare with my neighbours or I dump this business of regarding the space in the street outside my house as being my rightful territory.

I chose the latter.

And something wonderful happened. A mass of resentment, tension, indignation, you name it, just went away. It was like a dark, heavy cloud had lifted from me.

Since then there have been times when my space was free and other times it is occupied and whilst my wife and daughter still occasionally vent forth when we turn the corner and see another car in that hallowed space, I just get on with finding a safe place to park.

But what of the MySpace! servitor that is now redundant?

I felt it was appropriate to absorb him. His time had ended and it was good psychic hygiene not to have surplus servitors hanging around.

I retrieved his housing, a crystal hidden in a plant pot in our garden adjacent to the road. I had been given a chunk of rock salt the previous weekend (it’s amazing what ends up in a multi-terrain 10k race goody bag!) and felt that this would provide the salty dip to cleanse the crystal. I took this in a bowl to my quiet place where I created Sacred Space by casting a circle and began the ritual.

I kept it simple:-

I called out to MySpace! whilst looking at his programming symbol.

I visualised him appearing in the circle – a big orange traffic cone with white stripes, angry eyes and threatening spikes radiating out.

When I was satisfied he was fully present I thanked him for his service and told him it was time for him to be ended.

I picked up the bowl which contained the salt water and crystal and washed away the sigil.

“You are hereby ended…

I visualised him breaking up. The fragments moved towards me and I sucked them into me.

… and now you return to me.”

I sucked until satisfied that the servitor was truly absorbed and then gave thanks.

I stayed quiet and motionless for a while and then closed the circle.

Forge

Enter The Servitor “My Seat!”

The servitor known as My Seat! has been created and launched.

My Seat!’s mission is to occupy my favourite seat like a big fat Jabba the Hut squeezing out anyone who is sitting there and giving potential squatters the feeling that the seat they are heading for is already taken.

Here’s the specification.  I have taken out the precise location of the coffee shop to protect its anonymity – if you use this spec you should be as precise as you can as to the target.

Specific Intent:  To manifest on the sofa at table 6 in XXXX Coffee Shop, XXXtown, giving people who are approaching it the impression it is already occupied and incumbents the feeling that they should finish their coffee/food and go in time for my entry into the cafe.

Energy/power source – energised via my ESHE (Energy Store House Entity) directed by me at any time.

Appearance – A large blobby creature not unlike Jabba the Hut

Magical abilities – ability to make its immediate surroundings feel crowded and uncomfortable until I arrive whereby My Seat! will dissipate. Works harmoniously with other servitors.

Housing – n/a     My Seat! to be astral

Activation – to be activated automatically whenever I begin my journey into town with the intention of visiting XXX coffee shop, increasing in effect with every step I take towards the City centre.

Life Span – my lifetime or when absorbed by me

Programming Symbol – a sigil of name

Contact – evoke if necessary using name

Now to see what happens!

Forge

A New Servitor – Time to Create “My Seat”

With what appears to be a “summer recess” having come to a close and the nights drawing in it feels like time to get into the magical work again.

Those of you who recall the servitor Myspace! may be interested to know that I have in the past week supplemented the servitor with a real life makeshift bollard to deter people from parking in the space outside my house.  Whilst I felt Myspace! worked quite a lot of the time, an influx of new people having two cars to park in our little street was just too much for him – and my blood pressure!  Often I’d be gone for only ten minutes and some b**t**d would nip in!!

Undetered and undaunted I am planning to create the servitor mooted a few postings back.  A servitor designed to reserve my favourite (comfy) seat in a particular cafe in our City.

In the intervening months I have indeed done what was suggested.  I have carried out a survey of the occupancy of this seat and can tell you that when it was vacant 52% of the time I visited the cafe.

Once the servitor is created I will monitor the situation again and let’s see what happens!

I see the servitor as a kind of Jabba the Hut entity that will fill the seat when I am en route to the cafe, thus giving people who might be heading towards the seat the impression it is already occupied.

Similarly, if the seat is already occupied the people on it will suddenly feel it’s crowded, will finish their drink etc and will depart.

Frivolous?  Of course it is!

Trivial?  Yep!

Worth a shot?  You bet!

Protrex the Dino Cyclist Protector

I have to confess from the outset – I’m one of the lycra brigade.

Yep, I cycle – with all the flashy gear and hopefully some idea!

Whilst cycling is a great way of getting fit and enjoying the countryside it does have a drawback.

IT’S BLOODY DANGEROUS!

As if the potholes and cow shit on the roads isn’t bad enough, you’ve got other road users to contend with who often just don’t pick you up on their radar until it is too late.  Or they just plain resent you being there and causing them to slow down.

This is not the place to tackle the cyclists v drivers debate – I seen cyclists doing some pretty stupid/provocative/dangerous things in my time – I just want us all to respect each other.

However, I reckon we on two wheels could do with some help and it was on a recent ride I came up with the concept for the Prot(ect) T Rex servitor.

Remember in the Jurassic Park movie when their jeep was chased by the T Rex?  Now imagine a creature of that speed, power and attitude running beside you.  A dino guardian.

I’ve worked up the following specification:-

 Specific Intent:  To protect me as I cycle, guarding me from other road users and warning me of hazards.

Energy/power source – energised via my Energy Store House Entity (pl see previous posts about ESHE  in March and  January 2012) directed by me at any time.

Appearance – A large T Rex

Magical abilities – a dense, threatening presence which prompts other road users to be fully aware of me and treat mewith consideration and courtesy.

Ability to direct my attention to hazards on the road.

Works in harmony with other servitors.

Housing – n/a     Protrex to be astral

Activation – to be activated when called by name out loud.

Life Span – my lifetime or when absorbed by me

Programming Symbol – a sigil of name

Contact – evoke if necessary using name

Of course there is no reason why this protection should be confined to cycling and no reason why it needs to be a T Rex.

It’s a matter of what suits you and your purpose.

Enjoy and be safe, whatever your mode of transport!

Forge

Sigil and Servitor Work: Beware of Unintended Consequences!

Many of my previous posts have described in detail the process by which I have designed sigils and servitors.

These have included describing those factors I have taken into consideration in the “coding of the programme” – and the avoidance of unintended consequences.

Examples can be found in my posts:-

What is a Sigil? 24/12/2011

Allotment Guardian 3  11/01/2012

Powering Servitors 11/03/2012

Often such design flaws are not apparent at first.

Designing a sigil or servitor also has much in common with a legal document ie. contract, where all efforts are made to ensure no loop holes can occur as failing to establish boundaries could for instance see you losing control of the spirit you have created.

This is why it is important to assess your intended course of action and, if possible, run it past a magickal mate.

Because everything we do -very action we take – has consequences.  And, of course, this applies especially to magical work too.

So perhaps “The Monkey’s” Paw ” by W W Jacobs should be required reading for all folk in our line of work.

Many thanks to Tess for her comment which sparked off this train of thought.

Forge

Living Magically

This morning I brought the Parking Eagle into existence.  An hour or so later I went for a run primarily to ground myself in the physical activity but also to shake the lactic acid out of my legs from a hard training session the night before.

The sun was shining and it was breezy.

As I started up the road I called to my Energy Store House Entity and imagined it soaring up into the sky to harvest the rays of the sun and the blustery wind.  I gave it permission to do this indefinitely.

I then called to Parking Eagle and within seconds the distinctive black silhouette sped skywards.  At my command beams of energy shot out from ESHE to strike the spirit raptor with let out a cry not unlike that of the buzzards we see around these parts.

Before long, as I headed out into the countryside, beams of energy were lancing out of ESHE to top up the power levels of all my servitors and I felt I was part of a network of beings, intent and energy.

At times like this life feels truly magical.

I have worked in many different “fields” of magic.  All have been special in their own way but some have also been intensely frustrating due to lack of perceived results.  Many a time I have sat in a cave or at a crossroads in a visualisation working only to feel that the party must be in another place but no one has told me…

The creative side of my personality is really responding to sigil and servitor magic(k) and maybe at long last I have found my niche.  Another part of me knows that in fact the journey continues on whether I like it or not!

Most importantly for me my magical practice interweaves with my daily life and is fully a part of it.

It’s also great fun!

I hope you find something useful in this rambling.

Forge