Politics Influences Magical Practitioners

Once again we find ourselves participating in an election where the potential impact is existential to our republic. Yes, DJT has not disappeared after being fired by most of the American people almost four years ago. He has persisted simply because it is the most rewarding grift that he has been able to pull off. Why stop doing something that can make him so much money, and if he succeeds to regain the presidency, he could also eliminate most of his legal problems as well. It might even be possible that he could end our republic and replace it with an oligarchy governed authoritarian regime. While Trump himself is a cunning, unintelligent, and ruthless tyrant, he has individuals around him who more than make up for his errant stupidity. Still, at least 46% of the population will vote for him, and due to the electoral process, he might even win.

I have asked myself the question that is why do so many people like Donald Trump and would vote for him when he represents everything that is against the principals, norms and legal precepts of a representational democracy? He doesn’t care anything for those who are powerless and without material wealth, including his ardent followers. He is a typical rich asshole, and is only interested in those who could transactionally benefit him. He is the kind of lout that the fathers of our country worried about when they were formulating our republic and writing the constitution.

I have discovered for myself that the reason why some folks are MAGA adherents is because they find Trump and his over-the-top outrageous statements to be a great source of entertainment. They know that he isn’t a politician, but they identify with his grievances, paranoia, and fear, and they laugh at his crazy and deluded statements. He is a presidential version of the TV show “The Apprentice” and as long as the MAGA crowd is entertained, they will believe his lies, delusions and despicable racist and misogynist rantings. He is their mirror, and they see themselves in his beliefs and actions. He is also incredibly lucky and has been able to avoid self-destruction and incarceration through the most amazing occurrences and the help of various friends, allies and a system that favors the rich and famous.

However, I think that this time, Trump’s luck and being fortune’s favorite will fail to help him to regain his role as a world leader and banish the consequences of his illegal activities and felonious proclivities. I believe that Trump will fail to be elected president again, and he will then succumb to the various indictments that have been levied against him for his nefarious activities. Trump will fall, but he will also cause many others to fall with him. He may even bring down the entire Republican party. Of course, that is not a reason to be complacent, we need to ensure that this event does happen.

Meanwhile, between now and then, before that pivotal moment which I believe will trigger Trump’s fall, there is something of a concerning and nail-biting period of worry and insecurity. This is because, I, as a ritual magician and a practicing and even public Witch, have much to be deeply concerned and worried about a potential Trump electoral victory. Thinking about the nation remade by Trump’s minions is a fearful exercise, since I am one of the vulnerable populations living in our country. This change, and the institution of Project 2025, will profoundly affect many people, but occultists, pagans, witches and magicians will be especially vulnerable to a renewal of persecution and even forms of penal punishments. I suspect that those who are part of the various LGBTQ communities and other minorities will also suffer under a Trump regime. That is why we must as a group, vote against Trump and the entirety of the Republican Party and act as if each our votes are critically important, because truth be told, they are.

If you think that Trump’s rhetoric is just an empty threat, and that the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 has been disowned by him, you should seriously rethink your position. In 2016, after Trump won the election, the Heritage Foundation came out with a set of directives in a document named “2016 Mandate for Leadership” and Trump’s administration managed to institute over two thirds of those directives. It is inconceivable that Trump would ignore the directives of 2025, since they were developed by his former administration officials and were guided by Trumps beliefs and rhetoric. Project 2025 is a vision of a MAGA American where there is little or no room for those of us who do not represent the ultraconservative mainstream. Let me quote a paragraph written by Beau Breslin from the Boston Globe, who has pretty much defined what that remaking of a MAGA America would look like, influenced by Project 2025.

“If actualized, Project 2025 envisions a nation where abortion is universally outlawed, free exercise of religion is enjoyed only by certain worshippers [sic], procedural safeguards for the accused are relaxed, previously protected categories of speech are reconsidered, diversity initiatives are forbidden, environmentally conscious programs are shuttered, same-sex couples are threatened, drag shows are banned, and true stories of our racist past are ignored. It’s not a pretty place for the tens of millions of citizens whose identities are affected, or for the tens of millions more who align with these voiceless neighbors.”

Of course, I would consider myself amongst those ten of millions whose identities are affected and have been made voiceless by a vicious, ruthless, and aggressive ultraconservative minority. Anyone who espouses or practices an occult, pagan or witchcraft tradition would be highly vulnerable to this theocratic regime. It is like the book “Handmaid’s Tale” where a pluralistic nation becomes a theocratic religious tyranny. While that might be extreme, it is what the majority of the Supreme Court envisages for our nation, and it is what Project 2025 is vigorously seeking to promote, which is a unitarian president with the total powers of authoritarianism. Wittingly or unwittingly, they all seek the end of our democratic republic, because somehow, democracy is bad, especially when your party loses.

You might be asking yourself, why does Trump seek to undue the bonds of democracy and put into its place a religious autocracy? The strange truth is that Trump doesn’t care or even understand the nature of the job of a unitarian president. He is seeking the abrogation of his many indictments and his own enrichment. For Trump, it is personal and transactional. He will leave the hard part of governing and dismantling the laws and powers of the constitution of the United States to others simply because he wants to be kept an unaccountable, powerful and a wealthy oligarch. He has proven himself to be a failure at every business venture that he has undertaken except one, the grift and empowerment of a corrupt and power-hungry political minority that is the Republican Party. Trump has broken that political party, and he intends to break our democratic republic, all simply for the power to help himself to the wealth of this nation.

I know that some who call themselves Pagans, Witches, Magicians, Mystics, or Occultists find politics to be worldly and boring, that both parties seem to be the same and therefore, they do not engage and vote as a way of expressing their disdain for all forms of politics. However, the last three elections, including this one, have been quite different. Not voting, or voting for the Republicans and therefore, voting for Trump goes against our steadfast requirement for freedom of religion and the press, which would protect us from unwanted prosecution. If Trump gets reelected, you can be certain that those rights will disappear for anyone who is not the proper kind of religious adherent. It might even affect Jews, Mormons, Catholics, and anyone else who is not a member of a conservative Protestant Christian church. It will certainly impact those of us who are not members of that kind of ultraconservative Christian movement.

Then there is the positive messages of Harris and Waltz, with the hope and freedom that such an alternative choice offers us. The difference is quite stark! On one hand is a dystopian failed nation state full of grievances and the desire for racist redetermination and ethnic cleansing, and on the other hand, a nation that has a place for everyone, including immigrants, and treats everyone equally, allowing for diversity, freedom of speech and religious practice. The choice is really that simple. I am not saying that there are problems and issues both within our country and in how we deal with the world, but at least with Harris and Waltz, there will be the opportunity to make our nation and the world a better place. With Trump, that is not a possibility, as he has made abundantly clear in his various rally rants and word-salad speeches.

So, we need to step up and vote! I have already voted, but I would like my sisters and brothers to vote when they can and help move the nation past the dark vision and potential tyranny of Donald J. Trump. Never give in to complacency, cynicism, or disdain for politics, since our freedoms depend on being vigilant and active.

Frater Barrabbas

Swamp Mystics Mini Con and Liber Nephilim

I was honored last week to attend the second annual Swamp Mystics mini convention in Tallahassee, FL. They asked me to be the headliner for the gathering, and I agreed. This was an event put on by my friends Erich and Alannah, who I have known for many years. I had initiated Erich into the Order of the Gnostic Star back in the early 1990's before I moved to Santa Fe, and I gave him the complete library of magical rituals and lore associated with that organization. I have periodically given him updates so that he has been one of the few individuals that has been privy to my work, both as a ritual magician and a founding member of the Order. Over the many years of our friendly exchange, Erich is one of the few individuals who has continued to develop his own techniques and methodologies based on the lore of the Order. In fact, of all the individuals who have been involved with the lore of the E.S.S.G., he is the only one who is currently active and using this lore in an adapted form.

While I had lived in Tallahassee from 1990 to 1994, I had performed nearly all of the workings associated with the conjuration of the Nephilim in my rented townhouse located on Keily Run, off of Old St. Augustine road on the southeast side of town. I met Eric during the last year of my residence in that town, and he was a most apt and precocious student. Since that time, Erich and his wife Alannah have formed the Temple of Limitless Light and brought the practice of ritual magic in vogue in the area of the panhandle of Florida. Swamp Mystics was an idea that they hatched a year previously, and it had been a very successful event, so they decided to promote a bigger venue this year. The event was located at a spacious Air B&B mansion that was generously sponsored by the owner, who was also deeply interested in magic and the occult. You can find the link for the event here, and see what was planned and the speakers who contributed to its success.

True to its theme and location, it rained off and on for the entire period of my visit to Tallahassee. My wife and I did not see the sun or blue skies until we were almost to the airport in Jacksonville on our return drive. We had opted to fly into Jacksonville and then rent a car to travel to Tallahassee, which was a lot cheaper than flying directly. The wet and the rain didn’t succeed in dampening the spirit of the occasion because there were several major speakers at the event, and we were buoyed by the exchange of ideas and by the demonstration of magic that occurred every day that we were there. We adapted to the rainy periods, and the beautiful mansion that where we stayed gave us refuge from the rain when it occurred.

This visit was kind of a home coming for me, although the folks that I met were not the same folks that I knew back when I lived in Tallahassee. Except for Erich and Alannah, everyone was someone new that I had not met before, but because of Eric, they knew about me. As the headliner with both a discussion/lecture and a ritual to perform, I was quite busily engaged and was only able to attend a few of the classes that were offered. However, on Friday night and Saturday night there were intense rituals performed, the first night by Erich, Alannah and the speakers, and the second night, I performed the Mass of the Great Goddess. On Friday night, a series of rituals were performed using the Archetypal Gate ritual to invoke the archangel Raziel, and this was performed outdoors in a covered stage that overlooked the pool in the gated back yard. The property was large, consisting of many acres that included a blue berry farm and many old oak trees covered in Spanish moss. In this beautiful and haunting space we shared our lore and performed magic to enrich the experience of the event.

When the invocation of Raziel was completed, I felt the presence of the archangel, who I had invoked many times in the past, particularly for the most powerful ordeals that I had performed in the previous years. He touched my mind and we shared some past experiences, and then he asked me in a kindly and humorous fashion, “What have you done, Barrabbas? What have you unleashed by publishing your works?” His question was not an interrogation, but a reminder that I had been challenged with the task years ago to present my methodologies and magical lore to the public, and I was now successfully completing that task. Liber Nephilim was now in print, and I had arranged for fifteen copies to be mailed to the event. In February, my book Abramelin Lunar Ordeal would be published, making that methodology available to my reading public for the first time. All of this lore was the most advanced magical techniques that I had developed, and much of it was developed in Tallahassee over 30 years ago. I was returning to the place where it all began, except that now I had revised the magical lore so that it could be performed by any experienced occultist or magician.

On Saturday evening I performed the Mass of the Great Goddess inside the mansion foyer and front room to a goodly sized crowd of attendees. I hadn’t said this Mass rite over seven years, and in fact, I was still in my wintering stage, so I had doubts about my ability to perform this ritual working. I even suggested that it be skipped to Alannah because the timing was running late and our bellies were full of good food. However, I was told that this ritual was a very important part of the event, so I had to persevere and perform it. By the time it started, I felt less full of food and able to perform this rite. Eric and Alannah, and the attendees performed the circle consecration and a Rose Ankh vortex rite, and then the focus shifted to me. I had set up a makeshift altar that was approximately the correct size, and I had variations on the standard mass kit to work with.

While I had doubted that I would have the stamina to perform this extended Mass rite, I surprised myself by performing it with more power and ability than I had assumed I possessed. I not only impressed my audience, but I impressed myself! The Mass was said with the greatest magical power and precision that I have ever performed it. I stumbled over a few of the barbarous words of evocation while saying the introit, but overall, it was a magnificent presentation, and I was in awe of what I had done. I had believed that due to age and lack of practice that I would perform this rite poorly, but as it turned out, I had so many years of magical practice in my past, and so much untapped energy that I was able to connect with the powers and inspiration that I had believed were long dormant. That event opened my eyes to the fact that I was not yet over the hill, and in time, I would have the opportunity to perform more workings and ordeals before the day when I would be truly retired, incapable or simply dead.

Swamp Mystics mini convention was only for one day, but I had another task on the following evening. I had discussed with Alannah the possibility of initiating her into the Alexandrian tradition of Witchcraft, giving her both first and second degree initiations in a hybrid of the traditional Lexie initiation that would allow her to assume the role of a priestess and be able to initiate men into the craft. When she would have elevated a male practitioner to the same degree as herself, she could perform the great rite and be a fully vested third-degree Witch. I left that task in her hands, but a second degree Witch priestess can be given full authority to initiate and run a coven. Additionally, I gave her the complete set of lineage documents for my Alexandrian line, which amounted to over 800 pages of written lore and history. I am handing my Witchcraft lineage off to women that I believe are worthy of this investiture so that it will continue on after I am no longer in this world. It is part of my task to distribute my legacy to worthy individuals, and I will continue to do this work while I still have the strength and stamina to do it.

Alannah’s initiation was performed in Eric’s small but efficient temple in the home they share, and we had the privilege to work this rite with two other people from New Orleans, Erich and my wife. The rite was performed effectively and even smoothly, and the end result produced a very charged and empowered Alannah. I had successfully passed my Witchcraft lineage to her, and now she can function as both a ritual magician of the Order of the Gnostic Star and also as an Alexandrian Witch Priestess. Giving this lineage to her was significant to me, because it was the one thing that I had not yet passed on to the town that I once called home, but now, all my magical and spiritual lore are fully grounded in the wonderful and mysterious location of Tallahassee. It is my hope that others in that community will be able to engage and share in the twin lineages that I have placed there. It is a legacy that will continue to bless and empower others as they further extend their magical and spiritual process.

Overall, I felt that the mini convention of Swamp Mystics was a great success. It was very magical, but the people were friendly and fun to be with. I also happened to sell a lot of my books, and Liber Nephilim was so successfully promoted that there was only one book left in that set of fifteen. I felt that the people in that location were ready to engage with my more advanced lore, and that the Temple of Limitless Light had done a lot of work to help folks get to that point of instruction. Returning to this place after so many years was an important stage in my own magical and spiritual process. I was reminded that after decades of magical work and study, I still have the capability to work powerful magical rituals and ceremonies, and that although I am no longer young or even middle aged, I remain a competent practitioner of the magical arts.

Frater Barrabbas