apostate

i drew another St. Michael. i did some small adjustments afterward in Photoshop and Procreate. it's nice to dedicate a few hours to drawing a character you like ...

For as thy blood is mingled in the cup of BABALON, so is thine heart the universal heart. Yet it is bound about with the Green Serpent, the Serpent of Delight.

Liber CDXVIII (The Vision and The Voice) by Aleister Crowley

✦ ✦ ✦

We are doing this all May, sweets.

Mary Magdalene as the Verdant Queen, Lady of Resurrection. Praise be🥀

🥀Wishlist🥀

Greco-Roman curse doll

“Do not unsheath me without reason. Do not wield me without valor.”

read it in nrsv(ue) with a commentary, like this one ed. coogan, or online on biblegateway

read it with an introductory textbook, like this one by collins

rely on hebrew lexicons, like sefaria or the bdb

or, teach yourself hebrew with books like those by seow or lambdin

use critical theory resources, like these recs

keep a timeline, like this tumblr one, by you

This is Black Letter Press’ finely made edition of Ars Goetia (2024). It’s edited by Paul Summers Young who, I think, has edited or translated all the BLP grimoires and occult tomes I own. I like his stuff—he aims for (and succeeds at) readability, which is an under-appreciated goal in occult spheres, lemme tell ya.

 As you may recall, the Goetia is a catalog of evil spirits or demons, their seals and the method for summoning and dismissing them. They’re a weird bunch, distinct from the usual portrayal of Judeo-Christian demons and were a big inspiration for D&D’s devils and demons. Their most famous appearance is probably in the 1863 edition of Collin de Plancy’s Dictionnaire Infernal, which boasts gorgeously weird illustrations by Louis Le Breton (who was primarily a painter of nautical scenes, oddly enough).

There are many versions of the Goetia, though, including different spirits and texts from book to book. This edition reconciles five prominent versions — Reginald Scot’s, from a section in Discoverie of Witchcraft (1665); Dr. Rudd’s (circa 1700); cunning man John Harries’ manuscript (circa 1840); Henry Dawnson Lea’s transcription (also circa 1840); and finally, the 1904 published edition by Samuel Liddell Mathers and Aleister Crowley.