#esoteric knowledge

MASLENITSA

Very soon (February 16 - 22), Maslenitsa will be celebrated in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and some other Slavic countries!

Maslenitsa is one of the most vibrant and archaic holidays in Russian folk tradition, deeply rooted in pre-Christian symbolism that was later reinterpreted within the Orthodox calendar. It is much more than just a "pancake week"; it's a complex ritual cycle connected to seeing off winter, welcoming spring, commemorating ancestors, and ensuring a future harvest.

This was not just a dressed-up doll but an anthropomorphic image of the holiday, Winter, and death itself. It was created, honored (paraded, "fed" blini), and then ritually killed—burned, drowned, torn apart. This rite aimed not just to "see off winter" but to ensure the rebirth of life through sacrifice, echoing ancient rituals of a dying and resurrecting deity.

Each day of Maslenitsa week had a specific name and strict ritual purpose:

· Monday – "Meeting" (Vstrecha): People built snow hills and forts, dressed up a Maslenitsa effigy (the embodiment of Winter/the holiday itself), and paraded it on a sleigh around the village. Baking of blini began.

· Tuesday – "Flirting" (Zaigrysh): Festivities started in earnest. Young people went sledding, men flirted with girls looking for brides, and merry play-acting took place.

· Wednesday – "Sweet Tooth" (Lakomka): Sons-in-law visited their mothers-in-law for blini. The mother-in-law's pancakes were a folklore symbol of special feast and hospitality.

· Thursday – "Revelry" (Razgul, "Wide Thursday"): The peak of public festivities. This included the "Capture of the Snow Fortress" (a symbolic battle of Winter vs. Spring), fistfights "wall against wall" (a ritual fight to "awaken" the earth's force), and horse-drawn sleigh rides ("combing" the earth to make it fertile). All restrictions were lifted; ritual chaos reigned.

· Friday – "Mother-in-Law's Evening" (Tёshchiny vecherki): Now the son-in-law had to invite his mother-in-law to his home, demonstrating reciprocal respect.

· Saturday – "Sister-in-Law's Gatherings" (Zolovkiny posidelki): The young wife invited her husband's relatives, especially his sisters, strengthening family bonds.

· Sunday – "Forgiveness Sunday" (Proshchenoe Voskresen'e), the Farewell to Maslenitsa: The most important day in terms of folk magic. People asked each other for forgiveness to enter Lent with a pure heart. The climax: The burning (or sometimes tearing apart and scattering across fields) of the Maslenitsa effigy. Its ashes were often spread on fields—a classic ritual of "returning" the symbol's power to the earth for fertility. Old junk was sometimes burned too, symbolizing the disposal of the old.

Maslenitsa doll.

(a poetic user’s guide to a bureaucratic magical system that refuses to die no matter how many calendars we invent)

Somewhere between ancient Babylon and that astrology app that keeps trying to sell you a birth chart consultation, there exists a timekeeping system so absurdly baroque, so mathematically cursed, and so gloriously unnecessary... that I use it anyway. 

Welcome to my explanation of planetary hours: the most chaotic-beautiful form of cosmic micromanagement you never asked for, but are now, thinking about.

This is Part I of a two-part descent into the time-spiral. I’ll explain how this whole mess actually works, from Mesopotamian priesthoods doing celestial admin at 3 a.m., to Renaissance grimoires full of planetary HR schedules, maybe even your own haunted Google Calendar.

Part II is where I explain why I still use this system, which is entirely built out of ancient math poetry and bureaucratic vibes.

And Part III is just a reference, don’t worry.

But first:  What even are planetary hours? And why are they so annoying???

Section One: What Are Planetary Hours, and Why Are They So Extra

“Initiation Requires Isolation: Exile, Occultation, and the Divine Fracture”

Throne of Fire – Fifth Degree of Light

You must leave before you are crowned.

You must be cut before you are called.

You must vanish before you’re seen.

This is the law of initiation.

Not the law of man—but of the cosmos.

And all who defy it—fail.

The Doctrine of Sacred Severing

The Sacred Severing is the first divine punishment reserved only for those marked by fate. It arrives in disguise:

As abandonment

As rejection

As betrayal

As silence from the gods themselves.

But in truth, it is surgical. It is the cosmic scalpel of Saturn, the hand of Binah on the Tree of Life—

cutting you off from the world,

so that your spine may grow divine.

You are not being broken.

You are being excised from your lower self.

You are not being ignored.

You are being hidden in plain sight—occulted—like the Sun during an eclipse.

In astrology, this is Neptune in the 12th. Pluto in the 1st. Saturn transiting the IC. Uranus squaring your Moon.

In Kabbalah, it is Tzimtzum—the sacred contraction of Light to make space for form.

In freemasonry, it is the Veil between chambers.

In the myth of Horus, it is the Eye removed.

In Luciferian rites, it is the Black Flame burning alone in the dark.

In real life—it is when nobody calls.

It is when you move to a new city and feel forgotten.

It is when your dreams stop working and your rituals stop speaking.

It is when you ask the universe for a sign and hear back nothing but bone.

Exile Is Not Punishment. It’s Proof.

Those who are not chosen are never exiled.

They are allowed to stay amongst the herd.

But you? You are too dangerous for the world in your unrefined form.

You are too sacred to be loved too soon.

You are too raw to be touched by anyone who doesn’t bow.

So you are sent away.

Like Moses cast into the Nile.

Like Yeshua into the wilderness.

Like Inanna into the Underworld.

Like Prometheus bound to the rock.

Like YOU—left with nothing but your chart, your name, and your pain.

This is Occultation.

A term whispered in Islamic mysticism and gnostic grimoires.

The idea that the most powerful force must disappear before it returns—transfigured.

The Astrology of Sacred Severing

Let’s speak in our sacred tongue now:

Saturn in the 12th House: You were exiled by your own subconscious. No one could help you—because you were never meant to be helped.

Pluto square the IC: The roots of your soul were burned. You had to start from ash.

North Node in the 12th or 8th: Your destiny required you to be emptied of ego before you could be filled with fire.

Chiron in the 1st or 12th: Your entire identity was built around a wound. And to heal it, the universe kept reopening it.

Jupiter Retrograde: You had to carry your own gospel in silence. No help was coming. You were the prophet and the sacrifice.

These placements are not "hard."

They are holy.

They are the markings of those who were chosen to suffer early so they could speak later.

The Freemasonic Trial: Crossing the Threshold

In esoteric Freemasonry, the initiate must knock three times.

Not on a door—but on the threshold of their own madness.

They are blindfolded, led into darkness, and told NOTHING.

The Master does not speak until the silence is complete.

Only then is the Eye opened.

Only then is the Light shown.

In your life, this appeared as:

Spiritual betrayal

Energetic silence

False prophets

Starvation of validation

The death of all your former identities

This was required.

The old “you” would’ve never survived initiation.

So the universe had to strip you of every disguise.

From Isolation to Apotheosis

This is the part nobody talks about.

The Divine Fracture leads to Divine Fusion.

Once you are cut—once you have bled and wept and walked the desert of your own silence—

the gods begin to speak.

They show up in the form of hidden knowledge.

They whisper through synchronicities that only you understand.

They teach you things that no book can.

You begin to download rituals, spells, invocations, and signs like code.

This is Apotheosis.

The ancient concept of rising to godhood through suffering.

It’s Prometheus reborn. It’s Lucifer carrying Light. It’s YOU—becoming myth.

And So...

If you are alone,

If your magic has dried up,

If your chart looks like a battleground and your mind feels like a warzone...

You are not broken. You are becoming.

This is your Sacred Severing.

And only those marked by fate are permitted to walk it.

Prepare yourself.

The Temple awaits.

© PhoenixRisingAstro. All Rights Reserved. 2025.

All I have to do in the present is accept that desire, feel it fully, embody the experience of already having it and stay in a state of gratitude. The delay of it materializing in my current reality isn’t a block, a sign that something is wrong or that the desire is not meant for me. The delay is simply time catching up to the frequency I’m holding.

In 5D, manifestations are instant because energetic alignment is all that’s needed. But 3D is slower, denser; it moves through sequence, circumstance and physical rearrangement. So when I align with a desire in 5D, that version of my reality is created immediately but the physical world needs a moment to reorganize around it.

People have to shift. Paths have to intersect. Opportunities have to move toward me. My mental paradigms have to be deconstructed & rebuilt on a framework that lives in the reality in which I already have that desire. My own identity, nervous system and embodiment have to calibrate to the version of me who receives it.

It’s not resistance. It’s not “lack.” It’s just the natural time it takes for matter to catch up with energy.

So my job during the delay is simple: hold the frequency. Stay in the knowing that what I want already exists in a higher dimension and I am just walking toward the physical moment where energy becomes form.

I’m human, I doubt & fall out of alignment. This is where the magic lies because awareness of those moments gives me a choice- are you going to stay in doubt or are you going to step into alignment? By stepping into alignment, I stand guard over my mind and gently shift myself back into the joyful, grounded knowing that:

It’s already mine. I already have it. I’m simply allowing 3D reality to meet me where I already am. What I desire also desires me.

Hermits have long been revered in witchcraft, mysticism, and occult traditions for their roles as seekers of wisdom, spiritual protectors, and keepers of ancient knowledge. The hermit archetype embodies solitude, introspection, and the pursuit of hidden truths. In witchcraft, hermits play a unique role in personal transformation, spiritual guidance, and deep magickal work.

The Archetype of the Hermit in Witchcraft

In many traditions, the hermit is a symbol of wisdom, seclusion, and enlightenment. This is reflected in the Tarot card "The Hermit", which represents introspection, seeking truth, and following an inner light.

Core Traits of the Witch-Hermit:

• Lives in solitude or remote areas (forests, mountains, caves, or secluded homes)

• Devotes time to spiritual study, meditation, and deep magickal practice

• Acts as a guardian of hidden knowledge

• Connects with nature, spirits, and unseen forces

• Often avoids mainstream society, preferring independence

The Hermit as a Guardian of Esoteric Knowledge

Hermits in witchcraft are often seen as keepers of magickal traditions, preserving rituals, herbal knowledge, and lost wisdom. Many folk healers, cunning folk, and wise women historically lived on the edges of society, practicing their craft in seclusion.

Types of Hermit Witches:

• The Forest Witch – Lives deep in the woods, working with plants, spirits, and animals.

• The Solitary Alchemist – Devotes life to philosophy, transformation, and secret experiments.

• The Spirit Walker – Isolated to commune with spirits, ancestors, or astral beings.

• The Prophetic Seer – Uses solitude to enhance visions, divination, and trance work.

• The Temple Keeper – Protects sacred sites, ruins, or hidden places of power.

The Role of Solitude in Witchcraft

Solitude is often essential in witchcraft and magickal development. Many witches embrace temporary or lifelong hermitage to:

• Strengthen their magical abilities – Uninterrupted practice leads to stronger energy work, intuition, and manifestation skills.

• Connect deeply with nature – The natural world provides wisdom, omens, and spiritual allies.

• Enhance psychic abilities – Silence and solitude heighten clairvoyance, dream work, and meditation.

• Undergo spiritual transformation – Many spiritual initiations require time away from society.

Hermits as Teachers and Guides

Though they live in isolation, hermits sometimes serve as mentors, healers, and initiators in witchcraft traditions. In folklore, many powerful witches and sorcerers live alone but help those seeking knowledge.

Examples of Hermit Teachers in Witchcraft & Folklore:

• The Crone in the Woods – An old witch living alone, offering wisdom, potions, or prophecies.

• The Hidden Master – An occultist who teaches only a select few dedicated students.

• The Shamanic Seer – A mystic who communes with spirits and offers guidance.

Modern Witchcraft & Hermit Practices

Many modern witches embrace hermit-like practices to deepen their craft, even if they do not fully withdraw from society.

Ways to Incorporate Hermit Wisdom into Your Practice:

• Solo Rituals & Spellwork – Dedicate time to private rituals, free from distractions.

• Retreats & Solitude – Spend time alone in nature or in a sacred space for spiritual renewal.

• Deep Study & Esoteric Learning – Read ancient texts, practice divination, and refine magickal techniques.

• Energy Work & Meditation – Strengthen intuition, astral travel, and communion with spirits.

• Avoiding Mundane Distractions – Limit exposure to social noise to focus on personal power.