Frater Zigmund

Octavia Butler’s The Book of the Living is the foundational text of the religion of Earthseed as described in her two novels Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents. The primary philosophy of Earthseed is that God is Change. As a Hermetic mystic, I find this text valuable for helping us to develop a pantheistic understanding of the Divine, where God is embodied in the world around us.…

I’ve been away for a while but the time has come to start posting again. The short of it is that I am no longer following a curriculum of self-initiation into the Golden Dawn, but instead following a path of Hermetic mysticism centered on having noetic experiences of the Divine using theurgical practices to purify and prepare myself for moments of gnosis. I have discovered that I am a Priest of…

Download your own copy of the Solar Greek Cross of Thirteen Squares solar-greek-crossDownload

Today I’m talking about a subject very close to my heart: Self-Initiation! Here I go over some of the qualities a self-initiate needs as well as some of the practical considerations when attempting a curriculum of self-initiation.

Giving a little tour of my Temple and ritual space. Simple and easy, nothing too fancy!

Today we’re making an Admission Badge for the Practicus Grade of the Golden Dawn, the Tetrahedron / The Solid Triangle / The Pyramid of Flame! You can get your own copy of the printable file here. Print on cardstock, letter-sized paper. tetrahedron-papercraft-1Download Skip ahead to just the crafting of the Tetrahedron.

Leaning into my Leo Ascendant and rambling on about my spiritual practice for about 20 minutes.

Currently working on some new paintings, which I am documenting, but I’m am not done! Decided to take some time today to talk about the intersection of art and magic and how that informs my artwork. I show off some old paintings and my current works in progress!

Many people are attracted to descriptions of intense, life-altering mystical experiences and go chasing after them through a variety of methods, many of which are easily available to the public. Today, I’m going to talk about the dangers and pitfalls of going after and having these profound experiences that are not readily apparent to the would-be seeker.

Mystical diagrams are an important part of the Golden Dawn Tradition, and recreating them oneself is a component of the curriculum of self-initiation I am pursuing. Watch as I recreate one of these diagrams in Adobe Illustrator, Mercury on the Tree of Life, used in the Initiation Ritual of the Grade of Practicus.

The mystical diagrams and admission badges of the Practicus Grade of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. These diagrams are to be reproduced by the candidate on the path of self-initiation, as dictated in the curriculum found in Kabbalah, Magic, and the Great Work of Self-Transformation by Lyam Thomas Christopher. Here I show all the diagrams from the Golden Dawn textbook by Israel Regardie…

A mystical diagram used the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in the Initiation Ritual of the 3=8 Grade of Practicus. This diagram indicates how the aspects of the Divine are distributed upon the Tree of Life of the Hermetic Qabalah.

A mystical diagram used by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in the Initiation Ritual of the 3=8 Grade of Practicus. This diagram depicts the ten Sephiroth arranged in the Seven Palaces of Malkuth, indicating the way the Nephesh arranges itself in a person.

I’m a big tabletop gamer and I play both board games and Magic: the Gathering. Card sleeves are ubiquitous in those hobbies, and it’s time those of us who read tarot take a lesson from the gaming community and sleeve our tarot decks!

A discussion on my thoughts on how sigils work magically.

My first YouTube video showing how I make sigils! Please share, like, and subscribe!

Making my YouTube debut with a video tutorial on how I make sigils. You can watch me design a sigil from scratch and then paint it onto a tiny little canvas. Will be talking about the metaphysics of sigils next week!

Acrylic paint, Aluminum Foil, Cardstock, and Permanent Marker on Canvas. 2’x1′. 2023. This talisman was created as part of the Earth Art Gallery on display at the Unitarian Society of East Brunswick. It is a community-based Earth talisman created with the intention of inspiring environmental action. Talismans such as these are usually personal and kept to oneself, but this work would be visible…