Daemonic Shamanism_ A Beginner' - William Briar

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DAEMONIC SHAMANISM
A Beginner's Guide
WILLIAM BRIAR
BRASSVESSEL BOOKS 2017
Edmonton, Alberta
MMXVII
Electronic Edition
Daemonic Shamanism: A Beginner's Guide © 2017 by William Briar. No
part of this book may be reproduced in any form, electronic or other, without
express written permission from the authors and publisher. Please respect the
authors’ copyright. Book design and cover design by William Briar. Please
contact the author directly for more information.
Table of Contents
Dedication
Introduction
What Is a Shaman?
What Is a Journey?
Necessary Supplies
Exercise 1 – Brainstorm
Journeys and Mindset
Cleanliness and Respect
Cleansing Light Mediation
Elemental Light Meditation
Wash Those Hands!
Exercise 2 – Cleanse & Adorn
How Will I Come Back?
Exercise 3 – Personal Callback
Exercise 4 – Journey On, Journey Off
The "Orange" Technique
How Does Shamanic Drumming Work?
Where Does the Drum Take You?
Where Should a Journey Start?
Exercise 5 – Place of Power
Astral Temples
The Middleworld
Exercise 6 – Elemental Absorption
Exercise 7 – Location! Location! Location!
What Is the Lowerworld?
What Is a Totem?
What Are Familiars?
Exercise 8 – Daemonic Familiar
Bonding with Your Familiar
But What About the Dead?
What Is the Upperworld?
What Is Ascension?
How Do We Ascend?
Exercise 9 – Seeking A Mentor
Happy Journeys
About William Briar
Suggested Reading
Dedication
Writing can be a lonely profession at times, but I wouldn't have been
able to complete this book without the help of several people.
First, I'd like to thank my editorial team and students for helping me
to refine these lessons over time. In particular, I'd like to extend a thank you
to S. Connolly for her endless encouragement. If it wasn't for her, this book
wouldn't exist.
Lastly… Thank you, Kodiak, for twenty years of pounding drums
together. My journeys would not have been as sweet without you. Hay Hay.
Introduction
Welcome to Daemonic Shamanism! By practicing the exercises in this
book, you can learn how to travel across the astral realm easily and safely.
I originally taught these lessons as part of a four-week long course for
the Temple of Atem, an online Daemonolatry Temple. Although they are
aimed at practitioners of all levels, I assume you have at least read The
Complete Book of Demonolatry by S. Connolly. The "Introduction to
Demonolatry" and "Meditation and Ascension" sections of that book will
prepare you for this material.
No warranties are implied or expressed herein. Results may vary
based on the magician's competency, work ethic, and morals.
What Is a Shaman?
Historians first documented the word "shaman" near the turn of the
18th century. It comes from the Siberian term šamān, but words with similar
meanings exist around the globe. A shaman is a member of a tribal society
who acts as a go-between for the visible, day-to-day world and the
typically invisible Otherworld. He or she engages the spirits found in the
astral realm to gain the ability to heal, divine the future, or influence the flow
of natural events. The shaman undertakes these tasks to benefit their
community, their family, or themselves.
Here rests the key difference between traditional shamans and modern
shamanic practitioners. While today's shamanic practitioners may perform
many of the same duties as tribal shamans, they rarely do so for anyone other
than themselves and a relatively small group of friends and relatives. Those
who make their living from shamanic practice usually do so in exchange for
cash rather than an exchange of goods and/or services, as is common in tribal
societies. More importantly, modern shamanic practitioners likely will have
learned their techniques from books and workshops that advise healers to
heal themselves first.
On the other hand, shamans put their tribe before everything else.
Unlike shamanic practitioners, who can often decide to give up their roles
with little or no consequence, tribal shamans must guarantee there is another
to look after their people first. These shamans may never have known a way
of life other than serving their tribe; indeed, some are marked from birth for
their role by a congenital defect or disability. This is a far cry from many
modern shamanic practitioners who simply decide to learn journey-work out
of curiosity.
And that's fine! I'd be hypocritical if I said otherwise. After all,
curiosity is what prompted me to attend my first drumming circle twenty
years ago. It's what still motivates my occult work.
That said, curiosity is sometimes not enough. Regardless of how
badly you might want to be one, or how earnestly you practice these
exercises, I cannot make you a shaman. I must make this clear from the start.
I'm white and I don't have the ability to induct you into a tribe. I'm also a
writer and picky about the words I use. I believe it's grossly inappropriate for
anyone who is wasn't granted the title by an actual tribe to benefit from using
it without also taking up the same burdens under which shamans once lived
—and still do. At best, all I can do is set you on the path to becoming a
shamanic practitioner. A shamanic practitioner works as an intermediary
between the mundane world and the astral planes, often using the same
techniques as a traditional shaman.
What Is a Journey?
The exercises in this book outline how to journey, the main skill in a
shamanic practitioner's toolkit. A journey occurs whenever the shamanic
practitioner purposely alters their conscious state of mind so he or she
can reach the astral realm.
How they alter their consciousness can vary, but most shamanic
practitioners use the repetitive beat of a drum or shake of a rattle to change
their brainwaves. Although the line between meditation and journey-work is
very thin, I define the difference as such: you do not need to leave your body
or this plane to meditate, but with journey-work you generally go elsewhere.
Journey-work was largely brought to the western world by
archeologist Michael Harner. After living and studying alongside the
shamans of Ecuador and Peru, Harner began to experiment with monotonous
drumming. Once he expanded his research to include other geographical
areas, he discovered shamans around the world frequently held symbolism
and ritual in common with each other despite their cultural and religious
differences. In the 1980s, he presented his finding to Western audiences as
Core Shamanism. 
Although Harner's original research did not lead him to explore the
ancient Abrahamic faiths, scholar Aaron Leitch theorized that they had their
own version of the shamanic tradition as well, called the Merkavah. In
Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires, Leitch outlines how the Hebrew
Merkavah and similar paths came to influence the texts many Daemonolaters
still use, such as The Goetia, The Heptameron, and the Dee Diaries.
The staple of Core Shamanism—the shamanic journey—can easily be
blended into every Daemonolater's daily life. By proving journeys work
independently of religious or cultural underpinnings, Harner also proved
anyone can journey. That includes you!
Of course, just as some people can only draw stick figures and others
can paint the Mona Lisa, some people may be more innately skilled at
journey-work than others. However, keep in mind that no supernatural gift
makes you more suitable to journey-work than anyone else. You have to
practice to become better at it, just like any other type of magick.
Now let's get started by gathering our supplies.
Necessary Supplies
Here's a list of what you will need for each journey-work session:
A blanket, cushion, or yoga mat to make sitting on the
floor more comfortable.
An extra pair of socks and/or a sweater for warmth.
A scarf to cover your eyes and block out excess light.
Headphones or speakers to listen to pre-recorded
drumming discs or MP3s.
A journey journal or paper, plus a pen or pencil for taking
notes.
Water and a snack to ward off dehydration and hunger.
A quiet place where you won't be disturbed for
approximatelyonly by your creativity
and its own abilities.
Say that your familiar is a giant firebird. No doubt this being would
be an excellent mount in the Otherworld. He might be able to teach you about
courage and self-empowerment too. On the other hand, he might not be the
best spirit-helper to turn to when it comes to sneaking about and being subtle.
I suppose it depends on the firebird's individual temperament.
Of course, you're just as likely to end up with a mouse for a familiar.
But don't under estimate the wisdom of the common rodent! Every spirit has
their knowledge to share and personality through which to communicate it.
Spending time with them is ultimately the best way to learn their strengths
and weaknesses.
Shamanic practitioners often make a fetish or power object as a show
of respect and to tie them to their spirit helpers. In some tribal cultures, it is
believed the helper lives in the fetish, just as a genie would inhabit a bottle in
Arabian myth (and the good old brass vessel of the Ars Goetia). This is
mirrored by the familiar baskets used by English witches during the 15th –
17th centuries. Witches routinely fed the scraps of cloth held in these baskets
milk and blood, believing they were actually empowering their spiritual
helpers by doing so, and thus started the rumor that they suckled their
familiars directly from a "witch's teat." In today's modern world, Hindu
statues are still regularly offered milk. Roman Catholic saints are left votive
offerings as well. This can be seen as a sort of energetic feeding of statues
too, since prayers typically accompany the votive offerings.
Nowadays both Hindus and Roman Catholics tend to buy the effigies
they wish to honor, but shamans and shamanic practitioners still make power
objects for their spirit helpers. The effort put into making a home for or a
representation of the helper strengthens ties to the spirit itself. Not everybody
loves arts and crafts as much as I do, though. If you choose to purchase a
fetish for your familiar, make sure to purify, consecrate, and dedicate it
specifically for them. The Complete Book of Demonolatry and The
Daemonolater's Guide to Daemonic Magick describe techniques for this.
Indeed, these steps should be taken even if you make the power object
yourself. Doing this is what transforms the craft supplies into a spiritual tool.
But What About the Dead?
No discussion of the Lowerworld would be complete without the
Land of the Dead. Ancient world myths and modern horror stories alike say
the realm below the earth belongs to those who have gone before us, whether
they are the dearly departed or restless shades. Shamans and mystic heroes
are well known for acting as psychopomps, beings who help the newly
dead across over to the other side. Consider the story of Orpheus and
Eurydice, where the hero must lead his lover's spirit all the way out of Hades
without looking back at her once. He does not succeed, but archaeologists
believe that the famous Orphic mysteries may in part be based on his
legendary descent.
Shamanic practitioners today still act as companions for the dead,
either by ensuring that those in their own circle arrive safely in the hereafter
or whenever they feel called to perform this service for those outside their
familial group. When disasters have occurred elsewhere in the world, I've
taken part in journey circles to help the huge number of souls displaced all at
once, regardless of the geographical distance between us and the crisis. I have
also worked on my own to aid the passing of murder victims within my city
and to energetically send their families what comfort I could.
This is not the only way in which shamans and shamanic practitioners
work with the land of the dead, however. It is the realm of our ancestors in
every sense of the word. Science says that we evolved from other forms of
animal life and that we remain animals still. Likewise, even though we may
have moved out of our parents' homes, we remain part of their family.
Journeying to the Lowerworld is the easiest way to seek out both the
instinctual wisdom encoded in our DNA and the ancestral wisdom held by
familial guardians.
This can involve doing direct ancestral work such as venturing into
the Lowerworld in the hopes of meeting a specific person from our family
line. Other times, it may mean seeking out a representation of your family's
might or power—your actual totem. If a family has suffered poor
circumstances for many years or generations, shamanic practitioners can also
travel to the Lowerworld to discover how far back in the family's history a
"curse" was laid. The curse may not have been cast with ill intent, but can
refer to afflictions like alcoholism, genetic predispositions, or childhood
abuse.
When the shaman finds the cause of the curse, they must then battle
or negotiate with the spirits involved to set things right, a method which may
seem familiar to anyone who has ever done work with a wounded inner child.
Returning to the precipitating incident and rewriting it is particularly
prevalent in modern psychology's treatment of childhood trauma and PTSD.
One of the most common styles of trauma treatment, EFT, even includes the
use of the rapid drum-like tapping to help the client process and release their
traumas.
Just as I would not advise taking on the practice of necromancy until
you are a well-rounded magician, I cannot advise handling your own traumas
in this fashion until you are a seasoned journey-worker. It is for this reason
that I have focused explorations in the Lowerworld on finding a familiar
rather than working with the dead or confronting your shadows.
While the Lowerworld is not the hellish place that Christianity has
made it out to be, it might best be likened to the human subconscious. We
may want more insight into our own motives, but we cannot throw the door
open on that area of our minds without expecting to see at least a few things
that will shock or disturb us. That's why it is best to go down there with a
trusted friend who can help you. I suggest developing a strong working
relationship with your daemonic familiar before venturing into the rest of
these wilds.
What Is the Upperworld?
Just as new shamanic practitioners must set aside Christian dogma
when looking at the Lowerworld, they must do so again when considering the
upper-realms for the first time. The Upperworld is no more Heaven that the
Lowerworld is Hell. I admit, however, that it is my experience that spirits
with higher frequencies such as Enochian "angels" do tend to congregate in
the upper level of the Otherworld.
If you research the Upperworld in just about any shamanism book, the
word that comes up repeatedly when describing the beings you will meet
there is "teacher." Mentor spirits or spirits that wish to educate and elevate us
seem to flock to the Upperworld. Considered from this perspective, it makes
perfect sense that many cultures believed their gods lived "on high."
What Is Ascension?
Regardless of who you meet there, actually reaching the Upperworld
requires that we "rise above" our typical plane of existence. On the surface,
this sounds exactly like daemonic Ascension, doesn't it? In The
Daemonolater's Guide to Daemonic Magick, S. Connolly defines Ascension
as the way in which we connect with Daemonic Divine on an alternate plane.
She goes on to say, "Many Daemonolaters use ascension for divination, to
learn how to perform certain rites, to see physical manifestations of the
Daemons, and to learn about the nature of the Daemonic." 
In other words, shamanic practitioners and Daemonolaters share
similar goals. More importantly, learning journey-work can only refine your
Ascension techniques. No one can provide you with a clear map of the astral,
but keeping your own maps and controlling the process of journeying is
possible with the ON and OFF switch you have developed.
Note that Connolly said Ascension occurs on an "alternate plane"
rather than on a specific tier within the shamaniccosmology. The spirits
which make up the Daemonic Divine can be reached on any level of the
Otherworld. They are divinities and can therefore travel where they like. As
discussed with Enochian angels, certain spirits simply originate on from a
particular place in the astral, so to speak. Realistically, if the All is truly One,
then all these cosmological models result from humanity trying to handle the
entirety of creation with our all too mortal brains.
How Do We Ascend?
Dukanté suggests that facing our fears is integral to Ascension. His
journals provide us with little information on the process itself besides a
recipe for anointing oil, a few lines of ritual, and the knowledge that we must
"go through black caverns and face [our] fears one by one." The problem here
is that Daemonolaters may not have any idea how to reach those caverns if
they haven't practiced sufficient meditative or journey-work in advance.
Confronting portions of yourself that you do not like, such as phobias
or fears, has always been part of traditional shamanism. Among modern
shamanic practitioners, this is called shadow-work and generally takes place
in the Lowerworld. Again, developing a strong relationship with your
familiar is essential before undertaking this sort of work. They have your best
interests at heart. When things get hairy, you will be able to call on their
resources as well as your own.
Many shamanic practitioners journey to the Upperworld without
facing their fears first, however. They do so because they want to gain
another powerful ally for their spiritual work, such as a teacher or a mentor.
Teacher spirits can help you with nearly all aspects of magickal study.
Upperworld spirits can also help you develop aspects of your self that
you feel are lacking, whether these are physical, mental, emotional, or
spiritual. Speaking to them is sometimes likened to speaking to your higher
self, which means that they beyond that of our everyday consciousness, but
may also have standards higher than we regularly would. Just as an
apprentice must past many tests to study with the sage at the top of the
mountain, do not be surprised if you must undergo certain trials before
working with an Upperworld teacher.
Exercise 9 – Seeking A Mentor
This journey brings together all the techniques you have learned in
previous exercises. Read it through at least once before starting.
What you need:
Anything necessary for pre-journey cleansing and
adornment.
All typical journey-work supplies.
A fetish or drawing of your familiar, if you have made
one.
Whatever you need to construct a balanced Daemonic
elemental circle.
The enn of the daemon you want to meet (and their sigil
if you want to make an offering).
Lancet, parchment, matches, and burning bowl if an
offering is desired.
Complete your pre-journey routine.
If you are working with a specific daemon already or wish to
approach a specific daemon and initiate a working relationship, construct
your ritual circle starting in their particular elemental quarter. Invoke them
just before your highest power or Satan, while greeting the Great Above. If
you aren't working with anyone or wish to meet a new mentor daemon,
construct your ritual circle starting in the east. Invoke all the daemons as you
normally would. Again, here are the needed enns:
Lucifer (East) – Renich tasa uberaca biasa icar Lucifer.
Flereous (South) – Ganic tasa fubin Flereous.
Leviathan (West) – Jedan tasa hoet naca Leviathan.
Belial (North) – Lirach tasa vefa wehlc Belial.
Unsere (Below) – Unsere tasa lirach on ca ayar.
Eurynomous (Below) – Ayar secore on ca Eurynomous.
Satan (Above) – Tasa reme laris Satan—ave Satanis.
Once you have constructed your circle, return to the center. If you are
working with a specific daemon, write their sigil or enn on one side of your
offering paper and your intention on the other. Either way, write your
intention briefly but clearly on your offering paper or in your journey journal.
For example, write "I will visit Lucifer in the Upperworld" or "I will visit the
Upperworld and meet my mentor." Bloody and burn any offerings you wish
to make.
Start your drumming track, connect to the Axis Mundi, and enter your
astral temple. Look around for a moment and see if anything has changed. If
you have made arrangements to meet them here, your familiar may be
waiting for you. If so, you could take them with you during your travels or
ask them to guard your body while you are gone. Don't forget that they are
part of your team now.
Begin to look for an opening or doorway that leads upward, making
sure to concentrate on the realm you wish to visit during this journey. Set
your intention clearly in your mind and notice when you have started your
ascent.
How you travel will differ from everyone else, especially if you are
using your familiar as a mount. Keep your attention fixed on your goal of
reaching the Upperworld. If you find that you are distracted, repeat the
intention you wrote down. If you are working with a specific daemon,
repeating their enn or visualizing their sigil can also keep you on track.
Otherwise, try not to formulate any preconceived notions of what you will
see or who you will meet. Make sure to use all your senses as you go.
Eventually, you arrive at your destination. If you are continuing work
that is already in progress with a daemon, go on as necessary. Otherwise,
greet the daemon who has met you respectfully and explain that you want a
mentor and why. They may agree to this right away, or they may send you off
to see someone else. The daemon may want to question you or negotiate first.
They may even have a series of tests for you to complete. Engage them in
conversation and keep your wits about you. Explore the daemon's appearance
with as many senses as you can.
If you meet a mentor, try to find out their name and how you can
contact them again. He or she may or may not be recorded in any book! Ask
them if they need to tell you anything at this time. Take note of all they say to
the best of your ability. Thank them for their time and energy.
When you are done or when the callback comes, journey back the
way you came. If you cannot remember every step of the way, trace the steps
of your journey as best you can in your mind. Go back through the same door
and close it between you and the Upperworld. Visualize a complete return to
your astral temple. Perform your personal callback and come back to the
mundane world.
If your familiar is there, thank it. Thank all the daemons you worked
with as well and then open your circle. After writing down the details of your
journey, ground yourself with some food and drink.
*
If you made a fetish for your familiar, you might find it helpful to
make something for your mentor at a later date. In the meantime, what is the
biggest thing that you think your mentor can teach you? What do you think
they will get out of the relationship? What you can learn is limitless.
Happy Journeys
These nine exercises are just a small taste of the adventures to be had
in the Otherworld. In addition to all the techniques you've learned and tidbits
of knowledge you've picked up along the way, you can use journeys to do
energy-work at a distance; to work with the spirits around your home and
local area; to heal fractured souls; and to help soothe a wounded planet. Any
magick you can work on earth can be completed in your astral temple—and
what you do there is limited only by your imagination.
I hope this book will inspire you to read more about shamanism and
to explore the Daemonic Divine. Thanks for this opportunity. Atem and
Naamah!
About William Briar
William Briar bought his first Tarot deck at the age of thirteen. This
sparked a passion for the occult, and he has explored everything from
ceremonial to chaos magick in the years since. With the help of shamanic
journey-work, he has now traveled regularly to the Otherworld for nearly
twenty years to meet spirits "face-to-face." Will recently finished a two-year
programwhere he worked with all 72 daemons of the Ars Goetia. He is a
practicing Daemonolater and member of the Temple of Atem.
Keep up with William on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/thebrassvessel or http://www.williambriar.com.
To learn more about Daemonolatry, visit www.demonolatry.org.
https://www.facebook.com/thebrassvessel
http://www.williambriar.com
http://www.demonolatry.org
Suggested Reading
Connolly, S. The Complete Book of Demonolatry. Arvada: DB Publishing,
2006. Print.
Connolly, S. The Daemonolater's Guide to Daemonic Magick Arvada: DB
Publishing, 2006. Print.
Connolly, S. Daemonolatry Goetia. Arvada: DB Publishing, 2010. Print.
Connolly, S. Lake of Fire: A Daemonolater's Guide to Ascension. Arvada:
DB Publishing, 2017. Print.
Harner, Michael. The Way of the Shaman. New York: Harper and Row, 1990.
Print. 
Ingerman, Sarah. Awakening to the Spirit World: The Shamanic Path of
Direct Revelation. Boulder: Sounds True, 2010. Print.
Leitch, Aaron. Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires: the Classical Texts of
Magick Deciphered. Woodbury: Llewellyn Publications, 2005. Print.
Wilby, Emma. Cunning Folk and Familiar Spirits: Shamanistic Visionary
Traditions in Early Modern British Witchcraft and Magic. Sussex: Sussex
Academic Press, 2010. Print.
	Dedication
	Introduction
	What Is a Shaman?
	What Is a Journey?
	Necessary Supplies
	Exercise 1 – Brainstorm
	Journeys and Mindset
	Cleanliness and Respect
	Cleansing Light Mediation
	Elemental Light Meditation
	Wash Those Hands!
	Exercise 2 – Cleanse & Adorn
	How Will I Come Back?
	Exercise 3 – Personal Callback
	Exercise 4 – Journey On, Journey Off
	The "Orange" Technique
	How Does Shamanic Drumming Work?
	Where Does the Drum Take You?
	Where Should a Journey Start?
	Exercise 5 – Place of Power
	Astral Temples
	The Middleworld
	Exercise 6 – Elemental Absorption
	Exercise 7 – Location! Location! Location!
	What Is the Lowerworld?
	What Is a Totem?
	What Are Familiars?
	Exercise 8 – Daemonic Familiar
	Bonding with Your Familiar
	But What About the Dead?
	What Is the Upperworld?
	What Is Ascension?
	How Do We Ascend?
	Exercise 9 – Seeking A Mentor
	Happy Journeys
	About William Briar
	Suggested Reading30 minutes.
You'll notice I recommended the use of recorded drumming tracks
rather than purchasing a drum or rattle at this time. This is for three reasons.
To begin with, decent shamanic drums can be expensive and may
exceed the price range of some Daemonolaters. I wanted these lessons to be
as accessible to as many people as possible.
Secondly, new shamanic practitioners often wouldn't know a decent
drum if it bit them in the ass. Many of the drums sold in Pagan shops have
been improperly stored and require significant care before being played.
Thirdly, those new to journeying cannot always travel and play a
drum at the same time. It's simply too distracting. Worse yet, some newbies
find they can't journey to specific drums and have to sample around a bit. It's
far easier—and cheaper—to switch things up if you haven't already
purchased a drum.
But if you're jumping up and down to bang on some bongos, don't let
me hold you back. Feel free to return to journeying with a drumming track if
you encounter any difficulties.
Visit your local Pagan or spiritual store to purchase a shamanic
drumming disk. Otherwise, you can look them up on YouTube with these
keywords:
shamanic drumming 15 minutes
shamanic drumming 30 minutes
While you can find tracks lasting two or more hours in length, I
suggest beginning with shorter, more focused journeys. This way you are less
likely to tire yourself out while still developing your journey-work muscles.
As far as I'm concerned, Michael Harner and Sandra Ingerman make the best
drumming disks in the business. They should be readily available for
purchase online or in stores.
Exercise 1 – Brainstorm
Your ability to journey comes down to the intent and effort you are
willing to put into practicing it, just like everything else in life. Mindset and
routine make all the difference.
What you need:
Two pieces of paper.
A pen or pencil.
Write down the word DAYDREAM at the top of the page. Now write
down everything that daydreams make you think of, free-associating until
you run out of ideas. When you are done, jot down your personal definition
of a daydream at the bottom of the page. Don't look it up in a dictionary or on
the internet.
Now flip the page over. Write the word JOURNEY at the top and
brainstorm all the things the word makes you think of underneath until you
run out of ideas. Finally, answer these questions at the bottom of the page: Is
a daydream different than a journey? When you go on a journey, where does
the experience come from? Write for as long as you'd like, using the second
piece of paper if necessary.
Journeys and Mindset
Approaching journey-work when in the wrong frame of mind can
impede your progress. Just as with any other ritual, the mood you bring into a
journey will color the choices you make within it and thus the outcome.
When it comes to journey-work, however, exactly what you think journeys
are can sometimes limit your success.
Bluntly put, you do not need to believe in spirits or the Otherworld to
make good use of journeying. You can decide before your very first attempt
that the beings you meet exist only within your own psyche. This is perfectly
your right. If you think about it, great ideas are born from gray matter every
day, just like values and ethics. Some people even pay psychologists and
counselors a great deal of money to help them figure out just what is going on
between their ears.
Even so, I have never successfully been able to dismiss bizarre or
frightening journeys as "all in my head." Believing that I'm only speaking to
my conscience just never lets me off the hook! As a Daemonolater, I am
dedicated to continual self-improvement, and that means I cannot ignore what
my journeys tell me no matter how much I may want to do so; I'd be letting
myself down. If you want to use journey-work to better yourself but still view
spirits through a psychological lens, I suggest keeping self-respect in the
forefront of your mind. Try approaching this material as an open-minded,
skeptical inquirer.
Be that as it may, I've seen too many odd things now to not believe
that spirits have consciousness outside of our own. Their motives may not
come through clearly right away, or even be in our best interest, of course, so
figuring out what spirits want requires discernment and keeping our bullshit
meters finely tuned. Despite that effort, I prefer a proactive approach to
sitting on my butt and waiting for a sign. The one drawback to this speedy
communication is how fast we can misinterpret or be tricked by a spirit. It is
perhaps for this reason that tribal shamans have always taken great lengths to
purify and protect themselves before meeting the beings that live in the
Otherworld.
Cleanliness and Respect
Purification prior to journey-work may seem counter-intuitive to
many Daemonolaters since we construct ritual circles to balance the energies
inside rather than to keep "nasty" influences out. We also do not dismiss
daemons at the end of our rites. We do these things to show respect for the
entities we worship as well as ourselves, for we too are divine.
While it is highly unlikely that you will want to worship every spirit
you meet in the Otherworld, you can foster good relations with them by
showing respect up front. Demonstrate this respect with attitudes and actions
towards them as well as the amount of effort you put into preparing yourself
and your environment before you journey. Tribal shamans ritualistically
cleanse themselves with baths, herbs, fasting, and sweat-lodges before
engaging spirits. Many wear elaborate headdresses and costumes during their
ceremonies and can end up weighted down beneath pounds of leather and
beads. Other shamans journey completely nude, painted with special symbols
from head to toe.
I'm not suggesting you go this far with your pre-journey routine, only
that you do something purposeful before each session to cleanse and adorn
yourself as a sign of respect to the spirits. If you do not believe in spirits,
consider this act a show of self-worship and respect for the process of
journeying itself. Whatever you choose to do doesn't really matter as much as
the intent and the attention behind it.
If you wish, gather the materials for smudging before you journeying.
To be truthful, nearly every drumming circle I've ever attended has used
either sage or sweetgrass, typically moving in a clockwise fashion from the
east. Regardless of whether or not smudging is perceived as integral to
"shamanic" ceremonies, it's impractical for me to ask everyone to follow this
tradition due to availability and expense alone, not to mention allergies. I've
known more than one person who cannot be in a room with any sort of
smoke, much less the huge clouds that can be produced by a dry sage bundle.
Before you light some inside, test it outdoors first. Your lungs and smoke
detector may thank me.
Also, smoke-cleansing isn't specific to the aboriginal people of North
America. Consider not only the strong use of incense in India, but also the
ancient Anglo-Saxon act of recaning (pronounced "reekening") or burning
fragrant herbs. In fact, thanks to New Agers demanding sage and sweetgrass
for their ceremonies, the plants can be difficult to find in some areas. I now
use Daemonic Temple incense or Frankincense instead.
Whatever herb or incense you use, concentrate on urging any
negativity out windows and doors as you move around the room. Chanting or
intoning the enn of your patron or highest power while doing so aids in the
process.
I typically journey in clean black clothing rather than an elaborate
costume too. However, I have occasionally used a cloak or hood to cover my
eyes when I've practiced oracular journey-work. If you wish to create or
acquire an amazing journey-work outfit, have at it. Masks, make-up, and
jewelry can all be deeply transforming.
As I already said, however, it is the intent and effort that you put into
journey-work that matters most. I have journeyed with no tools whatsoever
whencircumstances have demanded it, without even a drum. I have let
necessity and the sound of my own heartbeat carry me where I need to go, for
direct astral interaction. Therefore, visualization exercises can be just as
effective as smudging when it comes to cleansing yourself before your
journey-work. Likewise when it comes to adornment. The following two
techniques can be incorporated into your pre-journey routine.
Cleansing Light Mediation
This meditation is a blending of the "Middle Pillar" ritual developed
by Israel Regardie and exercises found within The Complete Book of
Demonolatry by S. Connolly. I have adapted these rituals so they can be used
for cleansing purposes.
Find a comfortable sitting position, either on the floor with your legs
crossed or on a chair with your feet firmly planted on the floor. Feel free to
sit on a pillow if you need to or to put a pillow behind your back to make
yourself comfortable. Conversely, you can stand, but make sure to keep your
legs roughly shoulder-width apart and a chair nearby for balance. No matter
what position you choose, the main idea is to keep your spine straight but not
rigid. Keep in mind that this meditation can last as long as ten minutes.
Once you've gotten comfortable, close your eyes and focus on your
breathing. You will know that you are breathing properly when the rhythm of
your breath slows slightly and your inhalations and exhalations are close to
the same length. Don't try to force or extend your breathing. Just focus on it:
the pattern, how it makes your body feel and move, how it sounds, et cetera.
Breathing is something that we rarely pay attention to, so indulge yourself for
a moment.
When you are ready, picture a bright, clear light directly above your
head. It can be any color that you associate with purification. For many
people, this is an intense white light, but that may be different for you.
Once you can see the light in your mind, simply experience it for a
moment. Attempt to explore it with your other senses. It may give off heat,
make a sound, or have a scent to it. Whatever way the light has come to you,
take a few deep breaths to sit beneath it and drink it in.
The light slowly descends until it rests on the very top of your head.
Breathe deeply and feel the light there, crowning you with radiance, a halo
extending out into the universe. Then, little by little, the light gently enters
your body. As it does so, recognize that it has come to you to clear away all
physical, mental, and spiritual negativity. You may see this negativity leaving
your body, or sense it in some other fashion, but it will not trouble you.
Knowing the light is taking care of this process entirely, you feel it descend
to your forehead.
The light rests in the space between your eyes, shining, clearing away
all negativity. Again, try feeling it hovering there with all your senses if you
can. It may seem to have a weight or heat. It may even tingle or pulse. This is
completely normal. Relax as the cleansing light eases all tension and helps
negativity drain away.
The light drifts down your throat. As it shines there, you may feel the
urge to roll your head from side to side or roll your shoulders. Go with it. Let
your muscles soften and become supple. Just keep breathing and maintain
focus on the light as it purifies your body.
The light descends to your heart. It blazes like a star, sending out
brightness in all directions, clearing all negativity. Make sure that you can
feel the light fully established in your heart before it continues downward.
Try to feel it with all of your senses.
The light lowers to your solar plexus. It may begin to grow heavier
now, or feel like it is gaining speed. That is because it will soon give your
negativity to the earth, and it is eager to do so.
The light moves down to your groin. It glows fiercely, clearing your
physical, mental, and spiritual negativity away. Can you feel how the light
has changed as it moved? If not, that is all right. Every light and meditation
are different. The light may change for you next time you do this exercise.
The light descends to the base of your spine. It shines and shimmers,
clearing away all the negativity stored in this part of your body.
The light slowly passes out of you, into the floor, through the layers
of concrete and building below you, and into the earth. Look how it blazes,
even there! It has changed from sky star to earth star, just as your negativity
has changed back into something the earth can use again.
Completely renewed, the light rises back out of the earth and into you.
Take a few deep breaths when you feel it re-enter your body. Again, the
sensation of the light may have changed, so allow yourself to experience it
again.
The light is yours, and you can do with it what you need. If you still
feel any muscle tension or negativity in any part of your body, concentrate on
actively moving the light to that spot. Once you have it shining there,
manipulate the light in whatever way will heal or help that part of you best.
Let the light stay for a moment with any parts of you that need extra care.
When you are done with this work, bring the light back up to your heart
where it can energize and refresh you.
Finally, release the light slowly back through the top of your head.
Watch it re-establish itself in the sky. It waits for you there, until the next
time you need it.
Elemental Light Meditation
Although many cultures believe humans house energy centers along
our spines, their exact number differs from one religious system to another.
One of the oldest shamanic traditions in the world, Bon Buddhism, teaches
that we have only five chakras—and as well as five corresponding elements
and their matching syllables. Practitioners of Bon will chant these Warrior
Syllables repeatedly in sets of three, five, or seven to cleanse, heal, or to
move obstacles out of their lives and the lives of others. While the Bon
system flies in the face of the seven chakras taught by most modern occult
texts, the idea of five energy centers / elements is highly compatible with
Daemonolatry.
To begin, get into a comfortable sitting or standing position that you
can maintain for up to ten minutes. Make sure to keep you back straight but
not rigid. Close your eyes and breath naturally, without forcing or
lengthening your inhalations or exhalations.
Calm your mind and turn your attention upward to the bright light
hovering high above your head. Explore the light with as many of your
senses as you can, and then watch as it drifts slowly down to the crown of
your head. It merges with your body, filling you with dazzling brightness that
expands outwards to the ends of the universe. When you feel the light shining
through you, vibrate the word SATAN, who is the All.
The light drifts lower through your body and into your throat. As it
hovers there, its color changes. It flares and flashes yellow, bright as a new
idea. The yellow light pulses and expands, filling you with fresh, energy.
Vibrate the word RENICH, the daemonic term for Air.
The light floats down to your chest. It changes from yellow to red,
flickering and sparking with determination and drive. Its brilliance expands,
ever brighter, filling you with new energy. Vibrate the word GANIC, the
daemonic term for Fire.
The red light drifts down to your belly. It seems to shimmer and cool,
turning a composed, almost dreamy shade of blue. The rippling light
expands, filling every fiber of your being with clean energy. Vibrate the word
JEDAN, the daemonic term for Water.
Lower still, the light floats down to your groin. Its glow shifts from
blue to the verdant green of a stable oak. It grows and grows, brightening
everything you are, filling you with new energy. Vibrate the word LIRACH,
the daemonic term for Earth.
Finally, the green light passes through your legs and feet into the
floor. As it fades, you feel any remaining tension drain away with it. By the
time it has dwindled to a small point of light far beneathyou, you will feel
completely relaxed, clean, and energized.
Wash Those Hands!
You don't need to do an elaborate meditation to cleanse yourself
before journey-work. A ritual bath or shower can also do the trick.
I taught the first version of this class in a rented space and had to
spend about a half hour moving chairs and picking up after the previous
renters before each circle. This left me sweaty, so I always washed my hands
and face afterward in a concentrated and ritualized fashion, focusing on
sending my mental and physical grime down the drain. After dotting my
temples and third eye with sacred oil—BAM! Good to go.
Don't feel as if you are slacking if the pre-journey routine you come
up with to cleanse and ready yourself is that simple. Just roll with it. Wash
your hands devotedly if that is all you have time for, and do it well. Respect
does not mean having to put yourself on parade. Respect comes from doing
all you can with all that you have at any moment.
Exercise 2 – Cleanse & Adorn
What you need:
Any supplies you feel are necessary for you pre-journey
routine.
Your journey journal or paper.
Pen or pencil for taking notes.
Decide how you will cleanse and adorn yourself as a show of respect
to the spirits before journey-work. Test out the routine once to see if it is
practical. If not, revise. When you've perfected it, write it down so you don't
forget it.
How Will I Come Back?
When emerging from deep meditation or sleep, the world can feel
fuzzy and far away. That's why so many magickal texts urge us to stretch our
limbs and get up slowly after dealing with altered states of consciousness, so
we can reacclimatize ourselves to our regular state of being. The longer we're
in ritual space, the more profound this effect can be, hence the reason why
consuming "cakes and ale" after most Pagan celebrations has become a
tradition.
Personally, I think drinking alcoholic beverages may not be the best
idea if you're trying to get back to earth. Try preparing a small snack and
something to drink in advance instead. Eating will ground you after the ritual
but, more importantly, it will replenish the energy you expended during the
rite itself. Keeping food on hand also remedies problems such as low blood
sugar and thirst far more easily should they occur. When new to journeying,
it can be especially difficult to predict how much a trip will take out of you—
and even harder to judge how long it actually took.
The elasticity of time in journey-space surprises many new
practitioners. They will feel they journeyed for five hours, yet their clock says
only fifteen minutes has passed. Other times they will be sure almost no time
has passed at all but they will have journeyed for over an hour. Unless you
drum for yourself, the length of your journeys will most likely be determined
by whatever drumming track you use. Professional tracks produced by
drummers who practice Core Shamanism typically end with a callback,
or a series of beats differing significantly from the normal rhythm of the
drum. This signals the end of your journey.
If you purchase a Michael Harner or Sandra Ingerman disc, you can
hear one of the more popular callbacks being used by shamanic practitioners
today. Slow, even drumming will be interrupted by four sets of seven quick
beats, like such:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, (brief pause)
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, (brief pause)
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, (brief pause)
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, (end journey)
Those listening would bring their journeys to a close during the rapid
drumming afterward, finishing up by the second time the callback sounds.
Within a journey circle setting, it's considered bad manners to keep
the rest of the group waiting while you linger in journey-space. When the
callback comes, you're expected to finish up whatever you are doing in your
journey immediately so that everyone can move onto the next activity
planned. As a solo practitioner, you're demonstrating poor psychic hygiene if
you cannot snap yourself out of a journey or meditative state whenever
necessary.
For example, what if you forgot to shut your phone off and it rings
mid-journey? It could be an emergency you need to handle with a clear head.
That means you must leave journey-space now!
Of course, Harner could have used any short pattern as his callback.
Anything brief enough to memorize easily would have worked. Now, since
I've used Harner's specific callback for years, I've trained my mind and body
to disengage from the Otherworld as soon as I hear that familiar seven-beat
rhythm. Whenever I need to leave journey-space unexpectedly, all I have to
do is slap my hands against my thighs in that same pattern.
One shamanic practitioner I know snaps his fingers repeatedly to
come back from the astral realm, while another clicks her heels together and
says, "There's no place like home." These little tricks may seem silly, but by
combining sound with a simple action you can break free of the Otherworld
even more efficiently.
Exercise 3 – Personal Callback
What you need:
Your journey journal or paper.
Pen or pencil for taking notes.
Decide what movement and sound combination you will use to get
out of journey-space whenever necessary. Test it out several times to make
sure you can perform the combo fluidly, and then write the act down so you
do not forget it.
Exercise 4 – Journey On, Journey Off
Now that you have figured out how you will prepare for and end your
journeys, add these elements to your daily meditative or magickal practice. If
you do not have a daily practice yet, try the following sensory development
exercise for at least one week, making sure to include your pre-journey
routine first and your personal callback afterward each day.
Either way, concentrate on establishing a rhythm: prepare, practice,
callback. Link them in your mind, firmly connecting how one leads to the
other. If you maintain these routines while journeying, you will have trained
your mind to switch gears every time you perform them. You will have
created magickal ON and OFF buttons.
The "Orange" Technique
Have you ever driven somewhere and not noticed how you got there?
Have you ever eaten a meal and hardly tasted a single bite? This exercise will
engage all your senses and make you mindful of the moment. In turn,
mindfulness can bring great clarity to your meditations and journeys. After
all, if you're going to scale a mountain in a journey, you might as well feel
the stone beneath your fingers, not to mention hear the wind rush past. This is
how rich the Otherworld can be with practice and mindfulness.
What you need:
An orange. If you can't eat oranges or hate them, try
doing this exercise with a raisin. If neither of these appeal
to you, go wild and try chocolate!
Your journey journal or paper.
A pen or pencil.
Pick up the orange and really look at it. Observe its shape and color.
Is it perfectly round or somewhat lopsided? Is it orange all over, or is it not
ripe yet? Are there any marks on its skin? Did you forget to take off the
sticker? Does the orange have any other distinguishing features that you can
see? Hold it in your hand and take a moment to take in the orange with your
eyes.
Bring the orange to your nose and inhale. Does it have a smell? Peel
off the top of the orange and inhale its fragrance again. Has the smell
changed or become stronger? Pull off another strip of peel. Did you notice a
mist of orange oil rising from the peel when you pulled it away from the
fruit? If so, was the smell of the orange enhanced at that time? Compare the
smell of the peel to the smell of the fruit. Is it different? Really take the time
to know the scent of the orange.
 
Rub the peel between your fingers. How would you describe the
outside of the peel compared to the inside? Can you separate the inner layer
of white from the orange skin? Run your fingers over the fruit itself. How
does it feel compared to the peel? Make sure to explore the orange long
enough to feel its texture and weight. Finish peeling the orangethis way.
 
Pull out a section big enough to eat. Look at it. Smell it. Feel it
between your fingers. Can you see through the slice if you hold it up to the
light? Does it have any seeds? Did it leak juice when you separated it from
the rest of the orange? Does it feel tough or fragile? Is your mouth watering?
How is your body reacting to the orange? Sit for a second or two and assess
your reaction to the orange, if there is one.
Now bite into the orange slice. Taste the juice. Is it sweet? Sour?
Where did it hit your taste buds? Was it messy? After you swallow the
orange section, how do you feel? Did you like it?
Eat the rest of the orange, savoring each mouthful. Take your time.
Notice what happens. Does the scent linger in the air or on your skin? Did
you get juice on your face or hands? If you had to clean up a mess, did it
leave a stain on your napkin? What color was the stain? Did the stain have a
scent of its own? 
 
When you are completely done with the orange, record your
experiences. Note key sensory and emotional details. Wash your hands.
Then, when you are ready, find a comfortable spot where you won't be
disturbed for at least five minutes of visualization. Sit, get comfortable, and
close your eyes. Clear your mind as best you can. Finally, recreate the
experience of eating the orange, incorporating every sensory experience you
can remember.
When you are done, ask yourself again how you feel physically and
emotionally. For example, is your mouth watering? Did eating so slowly
make you feel bored or uncomfortable? Record your visualization and
compare it to what you originally wrote.
In your next meditation, recreate the experience of eating the orange
again without having actually had one first. Record your experiences and
compare them to what you've written down previously. Experiment by
conducting this exercise when you are hungry and see what happens. Does
your body react differently to your visualization then? Experiment with
different foods too. Always keep a record of your work on paper or in your
journey journal.
How Does Shamanic Drumming Work?
Shamans have used drums, rattles, and other noisemakers to achieve
an ecstatic state since ancient times. They also utilize frenzied dancing,
ritualized sex, strenuous flogging, and mind-altering drugs to entrance
themselves. Because these practices remain controversial in a good deal of
the western world, however, Michael Harner concentrated on drum and rattle
techniques when bringing Core Shamanism to the North-American public in
the 1980s.
When we are awake, our brains produce beta waves of roughly 12.5
and 30 Hz (12.5 to 30 transitions or cycles per second). Scientific studies
prove listening to continuous rhythms of approximately 4.5 beats per second
will induce theta waves instead, bringing on an altered state of consciousness
similar to that of deep meditation or dreaming. This is the speed at which
most drumming discs play. It is also why callbacks must shift in rhythm
abruptly: to jar us out of journey-space and back into the waking world.
Where Does the Drum Take You?
Shamans around the world have described their drums as animals or
boats that carry them to the Otherworld. These mounts or vehicles are
sometimes pictured as winged—a metaphor which seems particularly apt
when we consider "shamanic cosmology." While the religions of indigenous
tribal cultures obviously vary, a large number believe the universe was made
up of three tiers: an upper, middle, and lower world. In turn, these worlds
revolved around a central pole, with the Axis Mundi or cosmic axis typically
depicted as an enormous tree or mountain. 
 
Yet myths from societies we might not initially consider "tribal"
feature similar cosmological structures. Although it does not have three tiers
per se, the cosmos of the ancient Norse holds nine worlds which revolve
around Yggdrasil, the world tree. Greeks likewise believed their gods lived
atop of Mount Olympus and their dead spend eternity in the depths of Hades.
Lastly, the Abrahamic Tree of Life shows traces of a multi-layered
cosmology with its ten sephiroth and four worlds: Atziluth, Briah, Yetzirah,
and Assiah.
Unfortunately, I cannot compare any of these maps with a cosmology
all Daemonolaters have in common because there isn't one. Daemonolaters
raised in the Christian church tend to reject its dogma about the astral plane
(about where spirits come from and go, i.e. Heaven and Hell), but not all do.
Also, while many of us have embraced the concept of reincarnation, this is
hardly universal. Moreover, how our belief in reincarnation connects to the
theological structure of the universe isn't always clear in our discussions—if
it connects at all! This could be due to how loose most definitions of the
astral plane truly are.
For the purposes of this book, I define the astral realm or
Otherworld as where your consciousness goes when it breeches the
barrier between mundane reality and the reality where spirits reside.
Please note that I used the word reality and not place, as this might
conjure pictures of a specific topography or landmarks. Each of you will see
the Otherworld differently—if you "see" it at all. The journeys of some
shamanic practitioners do not involve imagery whatsoever. They are made up
of sounds, textures, emotions, et cetera instead. Everyone perceives the astral
realm differently. You can work towards experiencing more visual journeys
if you want—or journeys that involve any of your senses more completely,
for that matter—but it isn't wrong to experience the astral realm in a fashion
other than how sense this one. That is because it is a completely different
world.
I cannot stress this enough. Even if you see the astral realm as clearly
as you do this one, its physics may not work the same way for you. Up may
be down, and air might act like water. As I said before, your usual sense of
time may not apply, either. New and seasoned practitioners alike report
spending hours in the Otherworld when they have truly been gone a half hour
or less. Conversely, a half hour can feel like a lifetime when your journeys go
pear-shaped… and they occasionally will.
One of the most important reasons to remain respectful to the spirits
you meet "over there" is the fact you are a foreigner in their land. No matter
how long we spend in the Otherworld, we can never truly understand why
some spirits do what they do. The dead once lived among us, it's true, but
other denizens of the astral have never been human. It doesn't matter what
shape they show us or what mask they wear. Their thought patterns run on
different paths than ours do. Use caution when journeying among them just
as you would when interacting with spirits who visit our world.
So where does that leave shamanic practitioners of the daemonic bent,
if we have no cosmology in common to draw upon? The three-tiered
shamanic map provides little to go on.
Personally, I feel a bare bones map does us a favor rather than a
disservice. If our shamanic atlas were too detailed, it might influence what we
expect to see. This way, each individual is left to be his or her own astral
Magellan.
Get used to taking notes in your journey journal now. Draw pictures if
you like, if you think that will help you better remember what you
experience. Your world map will be like no other in the entire world, so
document it in the way that makes the most sense to you. Use whatever
works best.
Where Should a Journey Start?
Although the cosmologies of shamanic cultures differ, their numerous
planes and worlds all revolve around a single point, the Axis Mundi or
cosmic axis.
Shamans traditionally access this from the outside, first greeting the
six directions of their cosmology and then proceeding to travel up or down a
world tree or mountain. This may seem similar on the surface to what many
modern magicians do when we cast or construct sacred circles, but shamans
do not always attribute elements to the directions. In addition, any
correspondencesnoted by archeologists between directions and elements,
animals, et cetera aren't necessarily consistent from culture to culture or even
tribe to tribe.
More importantly, however, shamans honor realms above and below
the cardinal directions, while many of today's magicians do not. By
acknowledging six directions, they are not creating a space "between the
worlds," but rather recreating every tier of their cosmology and locating the
axis at the center of it. This difference can be hard to wrap your head around,
but is of utmost importance since shamanic travel depends on finding your
own Axis Mundi.
In Egyptian iconography, the mysterious Djed pillar is thought to
have acted similarly to the Axis Mundi, symbolizing the spine of Osiris as it
held up the heavens. As hinted in the Elemental Light meditation, our own
spine and the energy centers running along it can serve the same purpose,
connecting us directly to the Otherworld.
Let's begin.
Exercise 5 – Place of Power
Make sure to read this exercise through to the end before you start.
What you need:
Anything necessary for pre-journey cleansing and
adornment.
All typical journey-work supplies.
Whatever you need to construct a balanced Daemonic
elemental circle.
Cleanse and prepare yourself and the area where you will be working.
When you are finished, construct a balanced Daemonic elemental circle as
you usually would, starting at the East. For easy reference, here are the enns
for the elemental daemons of the Dukanté hierarchy. You can also work with
the four Great Kings of the Ars Goetia if you wish.
Lucifer (East) – Renich tasa uberaca biasa icar Lucifer.
Flereous (South) – Ganic tasa fubin Flereous.
Leviathan (West) – Jedan tasa hoet naca Leviathan.
Belial (North) – Lirach tasa vefa wehlc Belial.
Come back to the East, making a full circle, and then move to the
Center.
Turn your attention to the ground or floor Below you. Visualize all
that the earth is: the womb of all life as well as its tomb. Here, work with the
daemon(s) that symbolizes this best for you. I suggest Unsere, Eurynomous,
or both.
Unsere – Unsere tasa lirach on ca ayar.
Eurynomous – Ayar secore on ca Eurynomous.
Finally turn your attention the ceiling or sky Above you. Take a few
moments to connect with your patron daemon or highest power. If you are at
all unsure, I would recommend reaching out to Satan.
Satan – Tasa reme laris Satan—ave Satanis.
Start your drumming track and get comfortable. Keep your spine
straight but not rigid. Close your eyes and cover them with your journey cloth
if you like.
Imagine that you are a tree. The type of tree doesn't matter, only that
it is strong and healthy. Picture roots spreading out from the base of your
spine and down through the bottom of your body. They grow through the
floor into the dark depths of the earth. A river flows through the darkness,
sparkling with silver light, full of the potential of the Great Below.
Take a few deep breaths and watch as your roots dip into the river.
You draw light up with each inhalation, all along the strong trunk of your
body, all the way to your head. As you breathe in this powerful energy, the
tree grows and grows until its branches seem to fill the sky Above.
Over time, a different light calls to you. The sun rises to its peak
overhead. It beams down on you, it life-giving warmth nourishing you from
the crown to the roots. Yet a tree cannot live on sunshine alone. Storm clouds
are also your friends, even if they are a little colder.
The first drops of rain strike you on the crown of your head. The wind
blows harder as the storm picks up, and your branches bend but do not break.
Feel the stability of the tree and the stability of your own body. Absorb the
glittering rain as it flows down from the crown of your head to your third eye.
From there, the rain runs from your throat to your heart. The droplets
race down the trunk of your body, from navel and groin, all the way down to
the base of your spine and through your roots into the soil. Watch as the rain
disappears into the earth to be absorbed by the river Below, forming a circuit
between sky and earth.
This tree, and the flow of energy up and down your spine, is your
personal Axis Mundi.
Now visualize yourself standing inside the trunk of this great tree,
right where its body meets the earth. This is the exact center of the Axis
Mundi, of your cosmos.
The tree stops rustling. The rain stops and night falls. Darkness
shrouds the entire land like a velvet curtain.
In this blackness, in the center of the tree, in the center of the
universe, you see a door. Walk forward and open the door. On the other side
is a place of great safety and comfort. You may have seen this spot before or
it may be completely new to you. It may be outdoors or it may be somewhere
inside. Whatever you see or sense, do not judge the environment. Simply
accept it for what it is.
Step out and investigate the immediate area. What is the ground or
floor like? How does the air in this place feel on your skin? Inhale deeply.
Can you smell anything in this environment? If you do, how does your body
react to the smell? Does this place bring any tastes to mind? Listen for sounds
other than the drum. Finally, take a slow look around. What do you see? If
this is an area you've been to in mundane reality before, is it exactly the same
as the other location? If this area is entirely new to you, note anything
unusual about it that will help you remember it in the future.
Explore this area thoroughly, but do not leave it. If there are doors or
paths that lead off to other environments, stay where you are for now. If
someone approaches you and asks you to follow them, thank them politely
and decline. You can take them up on their offer at another time.
When you have seen all there is to "see," or if the drumming track's
callback sounds, bring your journey to an end. Make sure to finish with your
personal journey "off switch" to cement the close of the journey in your
mind, as discussed in Exercise 4.
Open your circle, starting with Above and working back to the East.
Make sure to thank each of the daemons you worked with for their assistance.
Write down everything you saw in your journey journal immediately, before
you forget. Finally, finish up by having a snack to ground yourself in the day-
to-day world. You've earned it!
Astral Temples
Visit any online occult forum and you can read about magicians doing
work in their astral temples. Ask where those temples are located, however,
and I bet few will be able to answer you. It won't be because they are worried
about security, either. One, most will never have mapped their astral travels.
Two, those that did try might not understand how their map fits into a bigger
cosmology. Without that understanding, how can you give directions from
point A to B?
You have a step up on them. You have found your own Axis Mundi,
and through it your power spot or astral temple.
While you might have discovered an area that is exactly to your
liking, your astral temple may still require some work. Don't despair. Our
astral homes exist fully within our psyches. Whether they resemble real-
world places or fantastical ones, they are as much a part of our being as our
spine or energetic Axis Mundi.
Still, Witches are always talking about how the Veil is thin at this or
that time of year. Realistically, we bump up against the Otherworld all the
time. Another practitioner I know once likened our astral homes to the foyer
that stands between the outside world and the rest of a mansion. It exists to
allow you to access to the numerous planes of existence that the cosmos is
said to be made up of throughout world mythology. Whatever you call it—a
happy place, a power spot, or an astral temple—this home base is part of you.
Remembering this fact will help you learn to shape the area to your will. By
building on techniques like the Orange Exercise, you can learn to recreate
objects in your astral temple. With effort, you can transformthis landscape
into the place of your dreams.
Your happy place connects directly to your psyche, your body, and
the main flow of energy through both. By starting and ending all of your
journeys there, you are less likely to become drained by traveling the astral
realms. The more you investigate or shape the place, the easier you will be
able to perceive it using all your senses, and the more refreshing it will be.
The Middleworld
Make sure that you can perceive your astral temple reasonably well
before proceeding. The further we get from our astral homes or temples, the
harder it becomes for us to shape or even understand Otherworldly reality
due to how differently it may work from the mundane world. This depends
highly on the skill and willpower of any magician, of course, but I theorize it
goes back to the fact that we are strangers in these strange lands. As we
venture from our home base and into the Middleworld, this is important to
remember.
 
Exercise 6 – Elemental Absorption
What you need:
Anything necessary for pre-journey cleansing and
adornment.
All typical journey-work supplies.
Whatever you need to construct a balanced Daemonic
elemental circle.
Lancet, parchment, matches, and burning bowl if you
wish to make a blood offering.
First, determine which of the four elements you currently lack the
most. There are several ways to figure this out:
1. By intuition alone. Ask yourself: What element do I feel the most
drawn to at this time? Which one would I benefit from working with
the most? Choose that element.
2. Analyze recent difficulties in your life and look for patterns. For
example:
Too Much Air – Scattered thoughts, too many ideas
Too Much Fire – Bursts of temper, irritated easily 
Too Much Water – Weepy, one emotional extreme to the other
Too Much Earth – Lethargic, no get up and go, slow to move on
opportunities
Pick an element you feel will balance these problems and work with
that one.
3. Generate your natal chart through www.alabe.com. Count the
number of sun signs you have of each element.
Fire – Aries, Leo, Sagittarius
Earth – Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn 
Air – Gemini, Libra, Aquarius 
Water – Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces
http://www.alabe.com
Pick the element of which you have the fewest number of astrological
signs. If you have a tie, use one of the methods listed above to break the
tie.
4. Next time you do this exercise, work with your second weakest
element and so on until you have dealt with them all.
Now collect all your necessary supplies and go through your pre-
journey routine just like before. Construct your ritual circle starting in the
quarter of the element you have chosen. For example, if you are weak in
Earth, construct your circle starting in the North. Here are the enns again, just
in case:
Lucifer (East) – Renich tasa uberaca biasa icar Lucifer.
Flereous (South) – Ganic tasa fubin Flereous.
Leviathan (West) – Jedan tasa hoet naca Leviathan.
Belial (North) – Lirach tasa vefa wehlc Belial.
Unsere (Below) – Unsere tasa lirach on ca ayar.
Eurynomous (Below) – Ayar secore on ca Eurynomous.
Satan (Above) – Tasa reme laris Satan—ave Satanis.
If you wish to make a physical offering, write the sigil or enn of the
daemon matching the element you have chosen to work with on one side of
your offering paper. Draw the sigil of Belial if you have decided to work with
Earth, for example.
Write your intention for this journey clearly on the other side of the
paper. In this case, someone working with Earth might write "I will visit the
realm of Earth." If you are not making an offering, write your intention in
your journey journal. After you have completed these steps, bloody and burn
any offerings you wish to make. Do not burn your journey journal, of course.
Start your drumming track. Close your eyes and visualize yourself
briefly becoming a tree again, linking the energy that flows through your
body. When you feel like you have gotten in touch with the Axis Mundi that
runs through you, open your door to the astral temple you discovered in the
last lesson.
Take a moment to look around and re-accustom yourself. See if there
are any tools or gifts that have been left there by spirit. Take them with you if
you feel they can help you on this journey to strengthen yourself. If you take
them, make sure to say thank you to your patron or highest power when you
do so.
Now begin to look for an opening or door located somewhere in your
astral temple. As you search for it, concentrate on the elemental realm you
wish to head to during this journey. Set your intention clearly in your mind
before you open the door, perhaps repeating to yourself what you wrote down
on paper: I will visit the realm of [element.] If your astral temple has no
walls, be clear with yourself that you are leaving its boundaries as you walk
away. Begin moving in the direction of your chosen element.
How you travel and the Otherworldly landscape you travel through
will differ according to your personality and destination. Your method is as
valid as the astral scenery you pass through. Simply keep your intention fixed
in your mind: I will visit the realm of [element.]
Use all your senses. Look around as you go. Feel the ground beneath
your feet or the air on your skin. Listen to the noise you make as you move.
Otherworldly beings may want to talk to you. If they do, be respectful but
keep your attention fixed on your destination and your intuition sharp. Will
they take you to the elemental realm you seek? If not, thank them for their
time and continue on until you find a representation or denizen of that realm.
Finally, you reach your destination. You may find a daemon or some
other type of spirit waiting to share their wisdom and energy with you here.
You may also find the element in the form of an object or in its raw, untamed
state. No matter how it greets you, respectfully tell the element or elemental
why you have come. Take in its energy until you do not need any more.
Depending on the element, how you do so will vary. Be creative!
If the element is resistant to this, or if you are having trouble
absorbing its energy, ask why. Ask if there is anything you can do to
integrate this element better into your life. Make sure to thank the element
and/or its denizen for how it has helped you.
Travel back the way you came. It is fine if you cannot remember
every step of the way; just rewind the journey as best you can in your mind,
concentrating on its key features. Return through the same opening in your
astral temple. Close the door on the Middleworld firmly. Again, if there is no
door, mentally distinguish that you are leaving that realm. If the callback
comes before you're finished, visualize returning to your astral temple fully.
Perform your personal callback and come back to waking reality.
Thank the daemons you invited and open your circle. After writing
down the details of your journey, ground yourself with some food and drink.
*
Now you can journey to the Middleworld any time you need to absorb
a specific elemental energy.
Beyond that, you've explored one theory of what the Middleworld
contains: the building blocks of our everyday world. You could expand on
this exercise by seeking out specific daemons in their corresponding
elemental quarters. Exploring the daemons of the Ars Goetia on a purely
elemental level could yield 72 shamanic journeys alone!
Does this mean that the daemonic plane and the Middleworld are the
same thing? In Lake of Fire, S. Connolly speculates that daemons are closer
in vibration to the mundane realm than other types of spirits. If this is the
case, it would certainly explain why so many ancient grimoires attribute
elemental correspondences to them. I tend to agree with her based on my
personal experience. When I slip into the Otherworld, I hear spirits as a
continual hum or note, and celestials resonate at a higher pitch than daemons.
As a Daemonolater, I obviously don't believe daemons are less pure than
angels, but that the differences in "pitch"simply have to do with their place
of origin. That's why if I needed to seek an angel out, I'd head to the
Upperworld. If I needed daemonic assistance, I'd journey to the Middle or
Lowerworld. I wouldn't be buying into Christian propaganda about Heaven
and Hell but honing in on their signal, so to speak. Like I said before,
everyone senses the Otherworld differently.
You will begin to get a feel for such things yourself. Being a
shamanic practitioner demands that you develop your theories based on your
experience. But remember: you can only have experiences if you get off the
couch and journey!
Exercise 7 – Location! Location! Location!
What you need:
Anything necessary for pre-journey cleansing and
adornment.
All typical journey-work supplies.
Whatever you need to construct a balanced Daemonic
elemental circle.
Lancet, parchment, matches, and burning bowl if you
wish to make a blood offering 
Once you feel like you have elemental absorption down pat, or if you
feel like it is already too easy for you, challenge yourself to visit real life
locations in the Middleworld. Pick one to start with that is well known and
safe such as your own living room or kitchen. Start by observing it as closely
with your five senses in mundane reality. You might even want to take notes
about it. Make sure that you write down where you intend to go beforehand,
either on offering paper or in your journey journal. This will fix the intention
in your mind.
When you've done this, prepare yourself and your working area for
journeying as always. Construct a balanced ritual circle starting in the east
and make any offerings desired.
Start your drumming track and enter your astral temple just as before.
Concentrate on finding a door to the area in the mundane world you want to
visit. Set your intention clearly in your mind before you open it and
consciously cross from your astral temple into the Middleworld.
Travel to your destination. The terrain may be very different this time
than it was during your elemental journey. Take note of what you see, but as
before do not let yourself be sidetracked by any Otherworldly beings wanting
to take you on adventures.
When you reach your destination, examine it with all your senses.
Does it seem different astrally? Are there any spirits there? Can they sense
you?
Before you leave, make an effort to change something in this space.
Don't damage the environment unless it is yours, but perhaps move furniture
or charge something with your own energy.
Return to your astral temple and purposely close the door on the
Middleworld. Finish your journey and ritual as you've practiced. Write down
your experience and ground yourself.
Visit this place in the real world as soon as you can. Find the item you
changed. Does it seem different in any way on this plane? Were you able to
effect mundane reality? How could you use this technique to affect people at
a distance?
What Is the Lowerworld?
If you were raised in a Christian household, you might feel nervous
about visiting the Lowerworld for the first time. That's understandable, since
the Church teaches Heaven waits Above while Hell rests Below. Most
Daemonolaters I've met no longer believe this, but occasionally fears of the
Lowerworld linger. Maybe they have read a myth about the Land of the Dead
being beneath the earth, or a horror movie could have convinced them of the
same thing. So many film zombies have clawed their way out of graves that
the image has become a cliché.
Yet while it is true that many societies do consider the Lowerworld to
be the Land of the Dead, their views about death are not necessarily the same
as ours. Think about the newfound popularity of El Día de los Muertos or
even how common it is to place pictures of deceased relatives on the
mantelpiece. In some families and places within the world, people spend as
much time revering the dead as they do protecting themselves from them.
Within the shamanic paradigm, the Lowerworld is the realm of our
ancestors. It is where they go when they die.
It is not necessarily where they stay. Psychologists have sometimes
called the Lowerworld the Collective Unconscious. You can visualize that
concept by thinking back to the sparkling, silver river of limitless potential
deep below the earth, the one that fed your personal Axis Mundi. Both
Mesopotamian and Egyptian creation stories speak of primordial beings
rising out of a great, watery nothing. Humanity once evolved from other
creatures the same way, by pulling itself up onto dry land. Therefore, the
Lowerworld is not only the tomb of our ancestors but the womb where
all life on earth begins. It is strongly connected to the (re)generative
powers of the plant and animal world for this reason.
If you look at how television and movies tend to stereotype shamans
nowadays, you would think no spirits outside of the Lowerworld exist.
Shamans are constantly shown speaking these animal spirits, taking on one or
more of their characteristics, or even shapeshifting into them completely.
Hollywood has ignored the other aspects of their work so long that many
would-be practitioners who attend shamanic workshops do so purely in the
hopes of "getting an animal totem." Unfortunately, they're mistaken about
what a totem even is.
What Is a Totem?
Totems are spirits that have special spiritual significance to an
entire tribe, family, or group. We take this term comes from the Ojibwe
word dodaem, but such guardian beings exist in other tribal cultures. For
example, the ancient Norse made offerings to the disir, feminine spirits who
looked after their family lines. The Marathi people of Western India also
worshipped the devaks, protective spirits in the form of trees.
A spirit-helper, on the other hand, chooses to work with a specific
individual. Evidence exists of traditional shamans developing one-on-one
relationships with spirits too. Each Norseman had his own fylgja, while the
Irish had a spirit called a fetch, both beings concerned with your personal
luck and power. These are the kind of spirits the people at drumming circles
actually mean when they show up looking for an animal or plant totem.
Spirit-helpers come in any shape imaginable and are able to help you
navigate across the Otherworld much more quickly, among other things.
Exactly how they help you travel and what other talents they have to share
with you depends on their species. Birds and snakes cannot teach you the
same things, and their lessons will certainly differ from those of a flower or
tree.
While I've heard a few people complain that using the word "totem" is
cultural appropriation, I will let you decide that for yourself. Just know that it
is correct to call the being you're working with on your own spirit-helpers,
since that's what they actually are.
Regardless of what term you choose, make sure to find out your
spirit-helper's name!
What Are Familiars?
Quite a few Pagans call their pets familiars. They'll talk about how
their cats love to stretch out in the middle of ritual circles, paw their Tarot
cards, and more. Be that as it may, I wouldn't trust those felines with much
beyond wandering back and forth to the food bowl. I love my own cats
dearly, but I doubt they have the smarts attributed to witches' familiars during
the trials of the Middle Ages.
According to court records, familiar spirits appeared to witches and
cunningfolk as small, ordinary animals. The manner in which they arrived
varied from person-to-person, with some familiars showing up out of
nowhere during the soon-to-be witch's everyday activities, and with other
familiars handed down from one individual to another. The ways in which
practitioners called upon their familiars differed too. Some documents
indicate the familiars came whenever they sensed their owners had need of
them. Occasionally, witches confessed to drawing ritual circles and praying
to Satan to summon their familiars.
We can never know the degree to which these claims were
exaggerated by interrogators of thetime. Just as the Inquisition labeled
practitioners who believed in the dogma of the Church cunningfolk and
branded those who did not witches, so were familiars split into two camps
over time—the faerie and the daemonic. Daemonic familiars were seen as the
more malevolent and treacherous of the two types but in truth both helped
their partners survive the harsh circumstances of the era.
Historians like Emma Wilby believe the witchcraft trials record the
remnants of pre-Christian shamanic beliefs. This would support Aaron
Leitch's theory that texts such as the Ars Goetia carry on Pre-Abhramic
shamanism (see Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires). Unfortunately, the
author of the Ars Goetia never describes what a familiar can do for the person
who summons it. If Leitch is right and the Goetia was written by disgruntled
clergy, then this makes sense. An angry priest wouldn't have needed to detail
the habits of daemons for his potential readers—which were most likely other
unhappy clergy. Keep in mind that few outside the church could read in those
days. It was a luxury afforded only to the rich and those who ministered to
them. Moreover, familiars are exclusively seen as the province of daemons
within the Ars Goetia, which says something about the mindset of those
usually writing about them. To them, familiars weren't faerie helpers.
In the Ars Goetia, the following daemons are said to either be or give
"good familiars." I have included their elemental alignment, some of their
better-known talents, and the enns for easy reference here.
Valefor – Earth. Charm and manipulation. Keyman vefa tasa Valefor.
Buer – Fire. Herbalism and healing. Erato on ca Buer anon.
Purson – Earth. Discovering hidden things or treasures and divination. Ana
jecore on ca Purson.
Marax – Earth. Scholastic pursuits and retaining information. Kaymen vefa
Marax.
Gaap – Air. Can cause or cure both ignorance and hatred. Deyan anay tasa
Gaap.
Malphas – Air. Security and warding. Lirach tasa Malphas ayer.
Shax – Air. Gives and takes away gifts. Ayer avage Shax aken.
Alloces – Air. Clear thinking and building with clay or metal (architecture).
Typan efna Alloces met tasa.
Amy – Fire. Divination and magickal craft work. Tu fubin Amy secore.
Amducius – Air. Aggression and execration. Denyen valocur avage secore
Amducius.
Belial - Traditional – Earth, Goetia – Fire. Titles and favors. Lirach tasa vefa
wehlc Belial.
When reading through descriptions of the daemons in the Ars Goetia,
you'll notice how many have animal characteristics or ride an animal as a
mount. It's highly probably that the visions were perceived in a trance state. I
bet that explains why so many daemons have three heads! Still, don't be
surprised if daemons choose to manifest themselves to you completely
differently.
Exercise 8 – Daemonic Familiar
 
What you need:
Anything necessary for pre-journey cleansing and
adornment.
All typical journey-work supplies.
Whatever you need to construct a balanced Daemonic
elemental circle.
The enn of the daemon you want to meet (and their sigil
if you want to make an offering).
Lancet, parchment, matches, and burning bowl if an
offering is desired.
Go through the list of daemons above and chose one that calls to you.
Afterward, complete your pre-journey routine and construct your ritual circle
starting in the elemental quarter that corresponds to the daemon you've
chosen. Those working with Valefor would begin in the north, while those
working with Shax would start in the east, et cetera. This time, however,
either substitute or add the enn of the daemon you are working with to those
you use when greeting the Great Below. Again, here are the enns of the
necessary daemons in case you haven't memorized them yet:
Lucifer (East) – Renich tasa uberaca biasa icar Lucifer.
Flereous (South) – Ganic tasa fubin Flereous.
Leviathan (West) – Jedan tasa hoet naca Leviathan.
Belial (North) – Lirach tasa vefa wehlc Belial.
Unsere (Below) – Unsere tasa lirach on ca ayar.
Eurynomous (Below) – Ayar secore on ca Eurynomous.
Satan (Above) – Tasa reme laris Satan—ave Satanis.
Once you have constructed your circle, return to the center. If you
will be making a physical offering, write the sigil or enn of the daemon you
intend to meet on one side of the paper. Write your intention clearly on the
other. For example, write "I will visit Valefor in the Lowerworld to ask for a
familiar." (If you are not making an offering, do the same in your journey
journal.) Bloody and burn any offerings you wish to make.
Start your drumming track, connect to your Axis Mundi, and enter
your astral temple. Take a few moments to look around to see if anything has
changed. If any new tools or gifts have been left behind, decide if you want to
take them with you. Make sure to thank your patron or highest power for
them if you do.
Now begin to look for an opening or doorway that leads downward,
concentrating on the fact you want to visit the Lowerworld during this
journey. Set your intention clearly in your mind before you cross the
threshold, repeating to yourself what you wrote down on paper. Should your
astral temple have no walls, make sure to notice when you have started your
descent.
How you travel through the Otherworld and what you see will be
different for everyone. Keep your intention fixed in your mind: I will visit
[Daemon name] in the Lowerworld and ask for a familiar. If you become
distracted along the way, try repeating their enn or visualizing their sigil to
focus yourself again. Make sure to use all your senses as you go.
Eventually you arrive at your destination. Greet the daemon
respectfully and tell them that you want a familiar that can help you with your
spiritual and magickal pursuits—one that has your best interests at heart.
Promise that you will look after the familiar in the fashion he or she requires.
The daemon may agree to your request right away, or they may want
to ask you questions first. He or she might want to negotiate or have you
complete a task before introducing you to your new familiar. You may even
be introduced to more than one being. Take note of which spirit appears to
you multiple times or shows you more than one side of itself (i.e. its face, its
side, its back, and so on). Spirits that show themselves in this way are going
out of their way to be noticed for some reason. No matter what, use
discernment just like you would when starting any new relationship. Ask
questions. Don't be disheartened if the conversation doesn't go like you
thought it would.
If you do meet your familiar, make sure to find out its name and how
you can contact it again. Examine it with as many senses as possible. Ask it if
it needs or wants to tell you anything at this time. Take note of all it says to
the best of your ability. Thank it and the daemon for the time and energy they
have spent on you.
When you are done or when the callback comes, journey back the
way you came. It is fine if you cannot remember every step of the way.
Rewind the journey as best you can in your mind, concentrating on its key
features. Return through the same opening and close the door between you
and the Lowerworld. Visualize returning to your astral temple fully. Perform
your personal callback and come back to waking reality.
Thank your familiar if you have met it, and then thank all the
daemons you worked with as well. Open your circle. After writing down the
details of your journey, ground yourself with some food and drink.
Bonding with Your Familiar
The best way to connect with your familiar is to work with it
regularly. Ask it to assist you in your day-to-day magickal work. Instead of
creating a servitor to guard your home or astral temple, request that your
familiar do it instead if it is within their skill set. If you want to see something
going on at a distance, ask that your familiar travel there and witness the
event in your stead—and possibly even leave a spell in their wake. The ways
in which you can work with your familiar are limited