I read some books on chaos magick and Luciferian witchcraft in my early twenties and knew of Aleister Crowley, but my interest in magick wasn’t revitalized until I met my future wife, Brittany, in my late thirties. She had introduced me to tarot and performed a reading for me. I remembered that Crowley had produced a tarot deck, and a friend who is an expert on the occult and magick gave me a rundown on the different branches of the occult and magick, such as chaos magick, black magick, ceremonial magick, etc.
I started to buy my own tarot decks and magick books. Two books stood out right away: Modern Magick by Donald Michael Kraig and High Magick by Damien Echols. These books introduced fundamental rituals such as The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram and The Middle Pillar. I have read and collected many books since I began this journey, but I often come back to these two books. I settled on two tarot decks: The Thoth Deck by Aleister Crowley and The Rider-Waite Tarot Deck. I came across two great podcasts, Glitch Bottle and Rune Soup, that discussed magick and the occult and featured many interesting guests and practioners. I would often listen to these podcasts during long drives.
I learned about sex magick and performed rituals to get what I desired. I researched Solomonic magick and the Goetia for several months and slowly acquired all the tools (Solomonic ring, magick circle, Art of the Triangle, etc.) needed to perform the ritual. The Goetia is a practice of the conjuration of demons. King Solomon evoked and confined 72 demons in a brass vessel. The demons worked for him and helped him build the Temple of Solomon. According to Dr. Stephen Skinner, magick is about working with spirits and having them work for you to help achieve your goals. I figured even if all this was in my head, at least it would help me focus my will. Aleister Crowley once said, “Magick is the science and art of causing change to occur in conformity of will.” I would ask the spirits to help build and expand my business.
Donald Michael Kraig provided instructions in Modern Magick to keep a Dream Diary and a Ritual Diary. Keeping a dream diary is important because your unconscious mind is often trying to relay messages to your conscious mind. And a ritual diary will show your progress and thoughts on magick over time. I recently turned 40, and I have seriously begun to study the Qabbalah and medieval grimoires. I read that one cannot even begin to learn or understand the Qabbalah until age 40. I’m fascinated by the ritual magick of the grimoires, and the history of the occult. I’ve only just begun my magickal journey, but I have already seen results in my personal and spiritual life. Brittany and I continue to explore magick in our daily life and it has helped our bond grow stronger.
~ Danny Stygion