ivy-kissobryos

[ivy-kissobryos]

About "Twin Flames"

If you scroll through the witchcraft, tarot, or divination tags with any sort of regularity, you are bound to come across the mention of Twin Flames - and you may be thinking, “oh, this is just another flaky term for soulmates”. You’re partially right, but it’s also a cult. The Harmonious Twin Flames Universe is a cult that was created by Jeff Divine (formerly known at one point as Ender Ayanethos) and his wife, Shaleia.

Much like Scientology, HTFU aims to take your money by exploiting your weaknesses - specifically, a desire to love and be loved by a soulmate. HTFU relies on similar cult models as L. Ron Hubbard’s Scientology and Keith Raniere’s NXIVM; combining new age concepts with religious belief, as well as multi-level marketing and wellness. Twin Flames recruiters often use YouTube or other social media platforms, offering divination readings using numerology, tarot, angel numbers, etc., to essentially cold read a new recruit and get them interested in the HTFU.

One of the main features in the HTFU is the use of the “mirror exercise” which aims to take any event that left the participant feeling sad or unhappy and re-frame it in a way that places the blame directly on them. It is specifically designed to adjust someone’s thoughts and keep them within the cult, and rapidly becoming more dependent upon it.

How:

By offering courses for “ascension” and instruction on how to “clear blockages”. Participants pay for these classes and begin a cycle of instruction which frames every bad thing in their life as being their fault; and that they must continue to pay for further teachings to remove these spiritual blockages which prevent them from ascending to their more divine self - which will make them deserving of their own perfect Twin Flame.

Additionally, because the HTFU demographic is a majority of women, former members of the cult have stated that the leaders and the readers will attempt to even out this imbalance by informing cishet women that they are actually the embodiment of the divine masculine in their Twin Flame relationship. The gaslighting is real, y’all.

Former members have cited abusive behavior amongst the leaders and inner circle members; this information can be found in books, podcasts, news articles, and documentaries that have been created about the HTFU over the last few years. The point of the cult is to create a vicious cycle of emotional abuse that keeps its victims dependent on expensive classes that give nonsense answers and shift blame back onto the victim, which then keeps them coming back for more.

Why it’s Important:

Current spiritual and witchcraft communities can use similar language - a repetition of jargon and buzzwords that shut down critical thinking. No, witchcraft as it currently stands, does not have a specific cult that I can tell you to watch out for; but it is important to familiarize yourself with the language so that you know what to look for. Influencers can be dangerous; people who put themselves in a position of authority, promising things such as:

-Online attunements, alignments, or initiations. You know how reiki has attunements and you have to pay for them in order to level up your reiki skills? Yeah. That’s because reiki is a holdover from a cult too. The internet has made it so much easier to work these kinds of grifts as well - because everything can be done online, over zoom or a voice call; and well, sometimes it “doesn’t take” and you have to get the ritual done again…for a fee, of course. But hey, maybe you’ll get a discount if the first one didn’t work!

-Things that build dependence such as the promise of exclusive mentoring, healing sessions, guidance and ritual. In and of themselves these are not necessarily a red flag, but it’s how the person behaves, how they attempt to steer a customer’s mind that makes the difference. Do they try to keep you coming back for more? Do they tell you that you are under some kind of attack? Do they make you feel special or chosen?

-Perpetuating an Us versus Them mentality that is both hostile and isolating. A charismatic leader will also portray themselves as a victim of unfair persecution; and with this they look to get you on their side, make you isolate yourself going to extreme lengths to defend and protect them - after all, you may be “the only one they can trust”.

There can also be specific focuses on things like the law of attraction, spiritual hygiene, and paid-for purification rituals to clear your miasma or put you in tune with your higher self/guardian angel/guiding spirits/etc. These practices can be extremely exploitative; not just taking a customer’s money, but also creating a mentality of blame - if things are still going wrong, they feel as though they haven’t been purified enough or they’re not “clean enough” to reach their guardian angel/attunement/higher self/whatever. Additionally, the fear of things like spiritual or psychic attacks, psychic vampirism, or spiritual parasites cultivates this feeling of dependence upon a person who appears to be wise and powerful that can “save” or "protect" the victim.

The capitalism and the consumerism of the current witchcraft community is literally setting us up for a cult. The substantial increase in influencers working to monetize their craft by selling expensive services and classes is already a very good entry point for someone who wants to take things further and create a very dependent, very parasocial, very exploitative relationship with a group of loyal followers.

[ivy-kissobryos]

You said people shouldn't begin with goetia, what could we start with? I'm interested in goetia but don't want to mess anything

Hey there.

I’m not saying you should never ever start with that Ars Goetia, but I do believe that working backwards through the full Lemegeton may be beneficial. Most people (myself included) tend to skip the Ars Notoria, even though when the full rite is performed it may grant perfect knowledge and memory. However the text is sketchy and most editions totally omit the actual Notes and symbols in which one must draw.

So working from Almadel, to Paulina to Theurgia Goetia will build up a healthy and protective relationship with aerial and celestial spirits. As I’ve said numerous times, the spirits of the Goetia are feral to a degree, they carry a heavy power to them, a power that can be better faced when you are backed by spirits of a celestial nature.

I’m not saying it’s a requirement as many magicians (myself included) jumped straight into the Goetia before building up these relationships and boundaries. If anything I’m lucky that I haven’t fallen foul or incurred any serious consequences, as one must remember that even though demons may be misunderstood and complex in their nature, they remain infernal spirits of malevolence.

So really I would recommend that you purchase or read the full Lemegeton, if you really want to give the Ars Goetia a solid crack, read that book in particular and keep on reading it. Acquire the essential tools, substitute those tools that are more difficult to acquire.

Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis (‘The Lesser Key of Solomon’)

This is the wonderful Joseph Peterson’s version of the full Lemegeton which remains as true as possible to the original manuscripts.

Your doing the right thing by being hesitant as it’s certainly a procedure to not go wrong in, so all I can truly advise is to just read the material and gather your tools.

Here for any other questions 😊

[ivy-kissobryos]

— Let This Darkness Be a Bell Tower, Rainer Maria Rilke (translation by Joanna Macy and Anita Barrows)

[text ID: And if the world has ceased to hear you, / say to the silent earth: I flow. / To the rushing water, speak: I am.]

[ivy-kissobryos]

divinity will stain your fingers and mouth like a pomegranate. it will swallow you whole and spit you out, wine-dark and wanting. you will reach for it again and again, greedy human fingers clutching at everything you can reach. the divine will curl its way through your veins and take you over, and it will not leave you quietly. i feel divinity in my bones like aching; like fire.

[ivy-kissobryos]

“I used to be a hopeless romantic. I am still a hopeless romantic. I used to believe that love was the highest value. I still believe that love is the highest value. I don’t expect to be happy. I don’t imagine that I will find love, whatever that means, or that if I do find it, it will make me happy. I don’t think of love as the answer or the solution. I think of love as a force of nature – as strong as the sun, as necessary, as impersonal, as gigantic, as impossible, as scorching as it is warming, as drought-making as it is life-giving. And when it burns out, the planet dies.”

— Jeanette Winterson, from Lighthousekeeping (via wishbzne)

[ivy-kissobryos]

the divine comedy, volume I: inferno — canto 2, dante alighieri

[ivy-kissobryos]

REST NOW LITTLE SHRIKE-FLAYED THING MOTHER IS HERE AND SHE LOVES YOU AS SHE LOVES THE BRANCH THAT PIERCED YOUR RIBS AND THE HUNTER THAT CAST YOU UPON IT

[ivy-kissobryos]

'The Goose Girl at the Well' from Grimm's Fairytales by Rie Cramer, 1922

[ivy-kissobryos]

The Red Goddess was scorched into being, a writhing, angry mark on the land. Her father commanded her slaughter, and she did, til she and all the land was drenched in the evidence of love for her father. She was stopped, eventually, we all know the story.

But when she arose again, she looked upon creation, and declared 'I am not a weapon'.

---

The Red Goddess holds me by the neck. Her claws, just grazing my fragile skin, raising red marks upon my Ka.

"You are not a weapon," she says, and it is a command. 

"How can what is made to fight learn to love?" I ask her, and her nails dig in deeper.

"How can what is made to love learn to fight?"

---

The enemies of Ra fall beneath her claws. She is unmatched in slaughter, her arrows stalk with her with blades brandished. Her children fight and rejoice in triumph, and in every victory, the Red Goddess feels pride, feels again the taste of their Ka on her tongue as she speaks them into existence, holding the newly-formed soul in her wicked claws. She knows they will fight, but more than this, she knows they will have something to fight for, and with this, she speaks their name into being once again.

---

I am young and I am in love and there is a very drunk woman next to me. My body is frozen cold but my Ka remembers burning in the mouth of my mother, knows the shape of her fangs as well as my own blunt teeth, and in this moment, I know that, even if I cannot defend myself, I will defend this love at all costs.

---

Purpose, she says, reason, meaning.

She speaks through Tolkien- "I love not the sword for its sharpness nor the arrow for its swiftness,". She holds the back of my neck as a lioness holds her cubs, and I understand it now.

Love, she says, is what drives humans to be brave, daring, reckless. Love fuels our wrath and cools it, deepens our melancholy, turns these crooked grasping hands into weapons under our command, that we might protect those we love.

---

"Then why am I learning first to protect myself?"

"Do you not love yourself?" And I know at once that I cannot answer, I shrink away from her touch.

"We did not teach you shame. I did not breathe you into this world to shrink and cower. My spit dwells in your soul still, feel the burn of it, and know that you honour me with every action."

Through sweat, and pain, and nausea, I find dignity. I look my opponent in the eyes, and in each step and strike and slip and parry-

I learn to love myself.

[ivy-kissobryos]

Got any super duper cleansing magical tips?

hell yeah I do brother (nongendered)!

this is just kinda how I do things and people definitely have different opinions but here we go, in no particular order:

If at all possible, physical cleaning is going to go a lonnnnng way towards magical cleansing. Even a little cleaning helps. If we're discussing cleansing something big (like, an entire person, a room, or an entire home), there may also be "key points" which deliver the most cleansing returns if physically cleaned. For example, a human person may find that their spiritual cleansing is very much aided by washing of hands, feet, and face - even if they can't fit in a whole body scrub.

Likewise, certain areas within a room may hold more influence than expected. A certain shelf, bookcase, or corner may alleviate the room of much badness if they alone are tidied and dusted.

In the home overall, look for major thoroughfare areas (perhaps near the front door or kitchen) which have little corners that have gone too far untidied, perhaps sticky with dust.

When it comes to objects, even a little wash, rinse under soapy water, wiping down with a damp cloth, and so forth, can go a long way towards magical cleansing. Often I do not magically "cleanse" at all, as a normal clean suffices for me in most situations.

I don't find physical cleaning to be totally necessary for magical cleansing, but it can be very helpful both as a first step, and to tackle stubborn cleansing problems.

Speaking of physical cleaning, home cleaning recipes also tend to work well for magical cleansing. A little vinegar is a very strong cleansing agent. Steep some lemon and rosemary in that vinegar for a few weeks, and forget about it - that's both a general household cleaner, and it'll cleanse the shit out of your magic stuff, too.

Ammonia is regarded to be an immensely powerful magical cleanser - one that must be heavily diluted, and tends to strip not only negative influences, but positive ones too.

Early on in my education, I was advised that a bit of bleach can go a long way towards destroying magical bonds. So, don't discount the household chemical cabinet.

For the own self, applying bleach or ammonia directly to the skin simply doesn't do - but a very gentle shower scrub containing a bit of salt, plus various kitchen herbs (dealer's choice - try sage and rosemary to start with) goes a long way. Wash from top of head to bottom of feet, and don't forget the back of the neck.

Other mundane things, like filling a space with fresh air or good vibes, are useful in cleansing in general, but may not suffice in heavy-duty situations.

A very fine cleansing charm is created with saltwater, this being from Paul Huson's rhyme in Mastering Witchcraft:

Water and Earth Where you are cast Let no spell, nor ill intention last Not in complete accord with me As my word, so shall it be

My personal lazy modification for the use of incense:

Fire and Air Where you flare Let no spell, nor ill intention last Not in complete accord with me As my word, so shall it be

Speak this over a little bit of salt water (after mixing) or incense (after lighting) and then sprinkle/wave it all about the thing to be cleansed. To be done when physically cleaning did not suffice, or when physical cleaning is not possible, or when feeling a bit fancy, or when preferring to just do magic.

In cases of emergency, or when it's desired to strip all magic and influence away from a thing, put it inside a plastic bag and bury it completely in salt. Seal this entire thing up (ziplocks are under the purview of true magicians) and then cover it up in a black cloth (or inside-out black graphic t-shirt, or oatmeal gray pillowcase, or whatever's on hand - doesn't matter really) in the back of the closet for 3 days and 3 nights, or until you feel like dealing with it.

When retrieved, the object should have no magical influence on it whatsoever.

In cases of confusing or unsatisfying results, consider if "cleansing" is really the action you should take. For example, if a tool is acting up and producing bad results, it might not be because it's "dirty." It could be that the tool needs to be fed. It could be interference from an ancestor looking for attention. It could be because your technique needs an adjustment.

Cleansing is a fine first step, and it's probably not going to hurt anything, but it's kind of like the "have you tried turning it off and on again" of magic. A lot of the times it fixes a lot of problems, but it's not going to fix actual issues that require a mechanic. (The good news is, the mechanic is you, so you're going to save a lot on repair fees)

In advanced cases, consider why things cleanse the way they do, and employ this to your advantage. Rosemary and frankincense may be considered to be "cleansing" because they "raise the vibes" and create an atmosphere incompatible with a lot of heavy bullshit. But, neither of these Allies are really attack dogs (at least, not in my experience).

Clove and Jalapeno are "cleansing" in that they will take the offending energy out behind the woodshed and teach it a lesson, and tell it not to come back to town or else. But, in my experience, neither of these allies really elevate a space with the heavenly touch of more celestial Allies.

So while I would say the average "cleansing formula" (whether it be a vinegar, an incense, and so forth) works in most situations, from time to time a more nuanced approach is helpful. Like a stubborn little stain, difficult-to-cleanse energies aren't necessarily powerful or bad - they're just nonreactive with whatever formula you're trying to use.

[ivy-kissobryos]

During my most recent Dark Moon Dapis—in which I give Housel to my Witch-Mother—I wanted to give an extra offering, in a bid for heightened protection while I take on a particularly challenging magical endeavor. In the end, I allowed intuition and omen to guide me in arranging a bouquet of Chive Flowers and Valerian Blossoms, bound together with cordage made from Cala Lily.

[ivy-kissobryos]

The Body of Flesh is the Vault of Ancestral Wisdom; it is the Silent Teacher of a Living Truth.

Andrew Chumbley, The Azoëtia

[ivy-kissobryos]

Marina Tsvetaeva, from "Bus", Selected Poems (trans. Elaine Feinstein, with Simon Franklin) [ID'd]

[ivy-kissobryos]

love you so much, my Castor

[ivy-kissobryos]

The Witch’s Payment

Come to see the witch, have you?  Need a little magic?  Here’s what it will cost you.

Pay me in coin. Grant me wealth by sharing your fortune.  True, you won’t understand what wealth looks like to me, but your luck will certainly help me find it anyway.

Pay me in hearts. Bring me the heart of your pain, your hope, your rage.  Hearts beat, my love.  They sustain.  Place a heart inside something, and you can make it live.

Pay me in keys. Give me a pass-ward into your spirit.  Keys open doors, or shut them, and if you give yours to me, then I can use it to go places I desire to go.

Pay me in rose petals, in cloves, in cinnamon and marjoram and vanilla. And perhaps in something more mysterious.  The gifts of this world are a delight, and when one understands the true value of such things, a gift from them is always a powerful blessing.

Pay me in stars. Lend me the light in your life.  The stars guide you, and if you share them, they may guide me and protect me as well.

Pay me in shadows. Let me fold the sign of your passage into something which stays with me forever.  Give me your cloth, your paper, your sigils and names and the marks of your presence, and I shall grant our friendship life of its own.

Seeking payment from a witch, for that which she weaves?  Don’t shy away from the jar of spiders, from the pouch of rose petals, from the strange little dagger or the box of matches.  She knows what you need, and she’s come prepared to pay.

Nothing is free. Everything is costly. The future costs the present, so we pay in gifts.  Thus, we avoid debt, and live happily ever after.

[ivy-kissobryos]

The Graces Crowning Venus, late 19th century

Antonio Frilli, after a design by Antonio Canova

[ivy-kissobryos]

The Sunday Prayer:

The sun of my heart

reaches out to the sun of the skies.

Mirrors of light. Twin flames. Lovers.

Explode and burn.

Destroy and disintegrate.

Turn them into ashes,

the things I offer you.

As you explode and burn, give life.

As you destroy and disintegrate, revitalize.

From the ashes I offer,

from the glowing embers

sprout chrysanthemums of glory

gilded with victorious light

with petals of grace and richness.

Scent of joy, strength, and abundance.

I bow down in the white temple.

Your golden helmet gleams

and it burns my eyes deliciously,

and straight to my center.

Oh yes I hear it now,

your wisdom in tongues of flame that do not burn

but nourish.

I am undying and from this undeath may your eternal light warm the sadness of this earth,

and most importantly,

the sun of my heart.