Sunday, April 5, 2009

Found on 1word1day - Demonosophy

demonosophy [ dee-mun-AH-suh-fee] noun

Definition:
The state or practice of being inspired by a demon or devil. (adapted from obscure word site The Phrontistery, defining "demonosopher")

Origin:
demon (an evil spirit; devil or fiend, from Middle English, from Late Latin daemōn, "spirit," from Greek daimōn, "divine power") + -osophy (suffix meaning "knowledge," from Old French -sophie, from Latin -sophia, from Greek -sophia, from sophia "skill, wisdom, knowledge," of unknown origin)

Example:
The force employed by the African necromancers is not psychological action but demonosophy.
--"African Magic" by H. P. Blavatsky (Blavatsky.net)

Old-Fashioned Hollyhock: Althaea rosea nigra


1225–75; ME holihoc, equiv. to holi HOLY + HOC mallow, OE hocc

Althaea rosea has now become known in the genus Alcea. Genus Althaea / Alcea, family Malvaceae Named by Linnaeus, who used both Alcea (Latin) and Althea (Greek) from the Greek word meaning 'to cure'. Often said to have first reached Europe in the 16th century. It was used as a medicinal and also a culinary herb. Hollyhocks are among the oldest cultivated plants.
http://www.wuvie.net/hocktrivia.htm


The Hollyhocks have spouted and should be ready for transplant this time next week. In Hoodoo, Hollyhock is classified under the broader category of "Althaea," which includes Althaea officinalis (mallow or marsh mallow), Althaea syriaca (rose of sharon), Althaea rosea (common hollyhock), Althaea rosea-sinensis Althaea zebrina, and other members of the Malvaceae (or mallow family).

While magickally these plants are fairly interchangeable, they should be specified by their proper Latin name when used medicinally to avoid confusion. Old-fashioned Hollyhock (Althaea rosea nigra) is similar to Marshmallow (Althaea officinalis) in its medicinal uses: flowers free of the calyx are used as a demulcent, emollient, and diuretic. They were also used to color herbal teas in the 17th century Europe.

Antiinflammatory; Astringent; Demulcent; Diuretic; Emollient; Febrifuge. The flowers are demulcent, diuretic and emollient[4, 21]. They are useful in the treatment of chest complaints[4], and a decoction is used to improve blood circulation, for the treatment of constipation, dysmenorrhoea, haemorrhage etc [218]. The flowers are harvested when they are open and are dried for later use [238].

The shoots are used to ease a difficult labour [218].

The root is astringent and demulcent [240]. It is crushed and applied as a poultice to ulcers[218]. Internally, it is used in the treatment of dysentery [240].

The roots and the flowers are used in Tibetan medicine, where they are said to have a sweet, acrid taste and a neutral potency [241]. They are used in the treatment of inflammations of the kidneys/womb, vaginal/seminal discharge, and the roots on their own are used to treat loss of appetite [241].

The seed is demulcent, diuretic and febrifuge [240].
- M. Grieve A Modern Herbal


Althaea leaves worn in the shoe will lead you to buried treasure, thus they are one of the few commonly-found substitutes for the very rare Gall of the Earth.

Keep Althaea leaf or root in a jar next to a bowl of water where you burn your candles and helpful spirits will be drawn to you. Burn with Myrrh, Frankincense, Copal, or Benzoin to bring forth benevolent entities.

Carry Althaea leaf, Star Anise, and Angelica Root in a white flannel mojo dressed with Psychic Vision Oil, and unseen hands will protect you from evil, illness, and sorrow.

-Hoodoo Herb & Root Magic, cathrine yronwode

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Welcome to my darker side . . .

Just today I heard a wonderful reaction to an interviewer who had asked his subject to comment on his "obvious pseudonym." The interviewee remarked that even acknowledging one's name as a pseudonym, in effect, undoes the mystery and magick of the created persona. I am, of course, paraphrasing here and taking my own meaning from the response but it struck me as a mind-shattering moment of synchronicity that this topic should come up while I was in the process of creating this blog.

So in the spirit of total immersion, I introduce myself: Zandria Zatara. I am a Luciferian sorcerer who is tired of the White Magick vs. the Forces of Evil discussion. I am a magician who is fed up with the "whatever feels right" approach to magick being peddled by every solitaire witch who ever read a 101 book. I am a mystic who does magick for results, both spiritual and tangible. My answer to anyone not expecting results from magick or defining magick as some form of selfless sacrifice in a funny hat is just don't do it!

And so it is time. Time for me to stop perpetuating this degradation of magick and speak out on the truths of sorcery, mysticism, gnosis, and experimental magick. Will what I say here always be right? No. It will always be my honest, experienced, and uncensored opinion. Do I have any more authority than the 101ers? Meh. I have been an active occultist a bit more than 20 years. What has that gotten me? I have communed with Lucifer. I have shared the essence of Christ. I have been a priestess and a whore. I have built temples and tromped through cemeteries at midnight. I have made love to angels and played host to demons.

Glamorous? Hardy. I was initiated in a makeshift temple in someone's garage. I was consecrated a Gnostic Bishop in a back bedroom over the squeals of a sleepy child in the next room. I have crawled through the political melee of "fraternal" orders. I have said "fuck it all" and walked away, a few times.

Take all that for what it is worth.