Ex Flammis, Clarior

This is a lengthy article in which I intend to recall my self-initiatory experience into the magical system of the Grimorium Synomosia Dracotaos, an exacting occult text more commonly known as the Dragon Book of Essex – and a voluminous grimoire of Sabbatic Witchcraft, written by Andrew D. Chumbley and published by Xoanon in 2004. It is primarily meant as an article to be kept for my own records.

The Dragon Book of Essex is, after Azoëtia, the second volume of Andrew Chumbley’s ‘Trimagisterion’ cycle of grimoires – but it is also a completely independent, stand alone book, developping its own system, laying out its own pacts, calling out its own spirits. Before engaging with the materia, previous knowledge of the Cultus Sabbati tradition’s line of work (and Chumbley’s research in particular) is suitable, though not mandatory. A strong capacity for trance / mediumship (specifically through dreams, coined as the « oneiric sabbat ») is, however, indispensable, as quite a large portion of the work is expected to take place in the Field / Kahu / Blessed Isle (the astral ritual space of the Book) through intense visionary and meditatory practices.

At its core, the Dragon Book (or, as its adepts refer to it, the DBoE/ DBOE) is a grimoire that teaches how to self-initiate into one specific form of Traditional Witchcraft, and how to develop fruitful relationships and their scrupulous upholding with the spirits thereof. According to Fitzgerald, Chumbley intended for the Book to « serve as a vehicle to attract suitable candidates to the overarching work of the Cultus Sabbati » – whether or not this would work was, as I understand it, a contentious subject within the Cultus, but decision was made to respect Chumbley’s wishes after his death. I do find the grimoire extremely demanding, daunting even at times, and I have personnally no doubt the system is indeed fully equipped to weed out any un-suitable candidate.

Broadly, the grimoire teaches one how to forge a contract with the constellation Draco (the « Dragon », whose spirit is referred to as Azdeha), and how to incorporate and cultivate deep pacts with the starry heavens in one’s own body, with a focus on the Behenian fixed stars in particular. To facilitate the task, the Book comes with a retinue of extremely vocal spirits (gods and ungods alike), drawing from various spiritualities, philosophies, theologies, and mythologies (to name but a few of these influences : Tantra, Thelema, traditional British cunning craft, and Hoodoo all figure amidst the more prominent currents of the Book’s own system of magic). A singular emphasis is made on apocryphal and arguably heretical texts of the Adamic / Abrahamic religions (the Book of Adam and Eve and the Book of Enoch), with the lore of the Fallen Angels, of Cain as First Sorcerer, and of the Primordial Serpent of Eden as Hidden Initiator, being especially present. The work is thus divided into a Sabbatic Ritual Year, with demanding rituals for each calendrical celebration and just as demanding preparations in-between. The Book blends and combines these multiple traditions and beings (which is one of the reasons why the system is so dense) and conjures up multiple images, facets, techniques, faces, masks, to unlock the aspirant’s potential – yet I find that what illuminates most the knowledge that it imparts is what did not make it to the writing medium – and I am not just talking about the richly decorated illustrations. In short – the DBOE is, like any grimoire, a consistent and self-sufficient system. To work it properly, you will be shown your own unique path, and you will have to follow it and navigate it the best you can – for it will be yours and yours alone. Even now, I am struck by how celestial my own experience has been so far, in comparison to at least one good friend’s, decidedly more telluric. The Book provides many keys, opens many doors, and this infinite labyrinth can be accessed through many ways. One aspect which was a point of concern for me, was how best integrate this rich and dense mythology within the devotional structure of my own spirit allegiances. I have certain taboos and prohibitions (a legacy from my fairy compacts) that I thought would clash and interfere – but I’d say things clicked into place much more organically than I feared. It goes to show that spirits will meet, greet, and discuss behind a magician’s back, to guide the hand appropriately.

For before heading into the pages of the Book and delving into its lore, I do believe one has to be somewhat spirit-led. PDFs of the Book are widely available online now, but there is a reason why the obtention of a physical copy of the DBOE is considered such a milestone – and, contrary to what one might initially think, it is not due to cleverly crafted marketing from the publisher (Xoanon / Three Hands Press being known for its coveted editions, lavish materials, and rare, out of prints opuses). I found that the spirits will facilitate the obtention of the Book if one is deemed suitable, and that what is said in that regard about the fierce guardianship of the Book spirits was all true. This is why I think that upon considering working the Book, one needs to consider what they want out of the system very carefully. I was personnally interested in bridging atavistic fairy faith (which is my craft’s foundation) with a more structured, ceremonial form of sorcery : I had a deep yearning to seize by the reins a template such as the one provided by the Book, coupled with a personal (and still very much ongoing) mytho-poetical quest for fixed stars powers and astrolatry.

How it came to be : the Physical Obtention of the Book

As I was hinting at above, urban legends and topical lore shroud with mystic, mystery and gravitas the actual procuration of a physical copy of DBOE. Much has been said about Xoanon’s publishing practices. Whether or not one subscribes to its exclusivity is another matter, but let’s acknowledge the simple facts : extremely rare and expensive, the copies of DBOE are sparse, few and far-between on the occult book market. They appreciate over time, are seen as investments with high resale value by some, and are thus more often than not kept jealously in pristine condition on top of some private collectors’ library shelf (I would in fact argue that if your copy is mint, it is a definitely solid proof that you are not working the grimoire). It is rumoured that, should the time be right : 1) you will find your way to a copy (or rather, a copy will find its way to you), and 2) you will be able to afford it – showing once more how timing is, always, an integral part of the magical law. All I can say is that this certainly proved true for me.

I have an interest in reading such perspective from other practitioner’s, which is why I would like to be relaying mine.

I am the third owner of my physical copy – this much I know. I also know the names of its previous owners, and it feels oddly comforting, to insert oneself into such an impromptu lineage. Before this, I had been presented with two other opportunities to purchase the Book. But in truth, as a budding witch, I had been sitting on a PDF since as long as I could remember getting seriously interested in witchcraft, and had skimmed through enough of its content for the Book to be exerting its disquieting fascination. In fact, I had, from the get-go, the distinct yet inexplicable knowing that I would, one day, own this grimoire, and that I would work it.

The first opportunity I had to purchase the book was when I first moved to England back in 2016 : I stumbled upon it on eBay for about roughly £500 – an excellent price, by the publisher’s standards. I promptly got in touch with the seller, and we got talking about various Cultus Sabbati works and the Viridarium Umbris in particular, while I half-heartedly refrained from getting too excited (yet I was still frantically thinking about how to introduce to my partner the necessity of spending near enough the equivalent of half my then salary on a bunch of ink, paper and cardboard). But, seemingly out of nowhere, the seller informed me of their decision to withdraw the Book from sale, as they had experienced the sudden impulse to keep it and wished to listen to that pull. I said I understood (spirits have their ways), and left it at that.

The second time I stumbled upon the Book was in an occult shop in Chicago while visiting on holiday in 2019. During this trip, I had a weird dream : I met my then mentor, as we often did in our dreams, but they were bidding me goodbye just as we were finding ourselves close to a burial mound, under the night sky. All of a sudden, a dragon made of stars emerged from the hill, and I woke up. In this occult shop, it was my first time seeing the grimoire in the flesh, and once again the retail price (about $700, if memory serves well) seemed « reasonable » enough compared to what could be found online. The shop owner kindly agreed to let me manipulate the grimoire, and as I sifted through its pages my opinion that I would one day own the Book solidified some more. But, travel oblige, and flight restrictions applying (not to mention the expense itself, which needed to be a bit more planned and anticipated than with an impromptu encounter), I decided to let go. I don’t know where the confidence that I would find « my » copy was coming from, but I was feeling in no rush, in no greed, to make this happen. I had other preoccupations too, at the time, when it came to magic – including on this particular trip.

And then comes January 2022. I received, just ahead of my 30th birthday, a long-scheduled astrological consult with « friend of a friend », Sasha Ravitch. (I’ll briefly mention that if you, as a magical practitioner and long term occultist, do not yet know Sasha Ravitch and her wonderful research work of ‘astrology for witches’ – encompassing such groundbreaking practices as scrying the birth chart to excavate spirit pacts, or an animist relationship to the stars and constellations – then you are really missing out : go book a reading with her and let her walk you through the maze that is your own natal chart.) Sasha hit the nail on the head for me in more ways than one, but I ended up particularly impressed when it came to her analysis of paranatellonata (the position of fixed stars in the natal wheel), as someone who had started developping a keen interest in the topic a handful of months ago – noticing particular personal affinity with the star materia of Sphere + Sundry ; looking for gods and spirits in constellations, with a specific focus on the ‘Seven Sisters’ or Pleiades and their link to fairy beings, Orion, Ðirona, and Mélusine ; and trying to understand the bleeding head of Algol / Medusa). Somewhere in the reading, Sasha highlighted a specific « pact » or contract in my chart, which would become uncannily relevant for my Draconic workings : that which I had with fixed star Ankaa, from the constellation of the Phoenix. Sasha, who had spent some time highlighting particular dualities in my chart, commented upon how phoenix imagery would become particularly relevant, and even talismanic, for me, with fire as being a place of rebirth rather than destruction – should I choose to lean into it. And lean into it I did, and the choice, organic as it was, mattered greatly.

Much taken by the reading, I proceeded to fall into a rabbit hole of fixed stars lore, delving deep into Bernadette Brady’s books and consuming as many resources as I could to understand it all better. Until one evening where, for no particular reason or further prompting that I can recall, I decided to log onto eBay and started checking again for a copy of the Dragon Book. Unbelievably enough – there it was : that very same book I saw back in 2016, with an add by the very same seller I had spoken to briefly and who had decided to withdraw his copy from sale last minute. I got in touch again, and (surprise) the seller remembered me. But the Book was, evidently, up for grabs with bids and honestly about £150 too much what I could comfortably afford (since he had put the price up since two years ago – which was fair enough). Rendered agitated by this succession of “coincidences” and “good timings”, I decided to divine about it all – I loved the idea of potentially buying the Book as a gift to myself for my 30th. It felt deliciously compelling, as well as right and proper. The very fact that the add was from the same seller was nudging me in a truly positive way, as if the clouds were parting to let the light show, indicating I was now ready, and needed to seize this opportunity. Divination results, however, came back firm and stern, soberingly matter of fact : the spirits were, in no uncertain terms, telling me to let it go. Precisely, the message was : « It certainly is an opportunity. You want the book, but don’t act on it – you can have it for cheaper, in a way that would make you more comfortable financially – so let go… for now ». Frustrated and honestly more than a little rebuffed and disappointed, I decided to trust in what I was told, placing my faith in my allies, and informed the seller of my decision. I watched anxiously as bids rose, the sale stopped… and, just like that, the Book was gone. Frankly disheartened, I started reproaching myself for acting up when I had the chance. I messaged the seller again – a short line to tell him that if things did not pan out, I’d be delighted to get in touch and discuss – and I started moving on with my life. To my great bewilderment, however, the seller messaged me indeed, two or three days after the whole thing. Rather out of nowhere, he told me that he felt so strongly that the Book had to go to me, he would be selling it for £167 less than he advertised (I never asked him for any discount as I am quite superstitions about negotiating the price of magical tools). What’s more, we realized I just so happened to be close to his place that very week-end as I was traveling to visit a friend, and that it would just so happened to be convenient to pick my purchase up in the flesh… the very day of the Full Moon. To cut a long story short : as Orion rised in the night sky the evening I went to claim my Book, the heavy weight of the grimoire in my lap confirmed the exchange that took place more than the cash money changing hands. The Book was now mine.

On Reading Dreams, Ploughing Through Good Omens, and Choosing a Path

I now ought to dwell a little on a few meaningful signs and omens, as they are vitally important to Sabbatic, Draconic work. I suppose recalling these could help any other aspirant identify what to look for in terms of assentiment or blessing from the spirits – and learn how to spot unambiguous aquiescence. This to me more often than not translates as unprompted visions, the authenticity of which is later confirmed by external sources I was unaware of previously – a feeling close to the one felt when accidentally confirming some UPG through academical research.

Upon preparing myself to delve into the Book and absorb its content, and in the span of only a couple of weeks, sometimes only days apart, I became overwhelmed with a wealth of probing visions and dreams, mostly obtained through hypnagogic trances. Not only did I start consistently and very vividly dreaming of practitioners and occultist friends whom I knew were sustaining explicitly Draconic and/or Sabbatic witchcraft practices, all at various degrees of implication of course; I also met other serious acquaintances and budding friendships in the Field. The following accounts are a handful of striking visions extracted, unfiltered, from previous conversations, or from my own private diary :

☆ (April) After taking some amanita my good friend Dirty sent me one evening, I noticed upon going to bed that these were starting to kick in when I saw some pattern of my altar cloth moving : a leaf started vibrating, and became the green head of a snake. I closed my eyes, and let the flight happen and take me in. I ended up, unprompted, inside one of Chumbley’s drawings. I was a drop of ink / black blood dripping from one of the female spirits / figures’ vagina, which was also an eye, and I fell to the ground and turned into a snake, where I then twisted and coiled my body and changed into a cypher / sigil / some black script at the bottom of the white page of the grimoire. And suddenly, I could see myself from outside : I was standing naked, arms extended in a cross shape. There was a seven pointed star on my chest emitting coloured light (not exactly like a rainbow, but like some sort of prismatic crystal), and a dragon descended from the heavens. I opened my mouth, and it entered there and I swallowed it all.

☆ (April) I dream of my friend S. We are walking through what looks like some sort of bizarre circle of Hell, populated by all kind of bizarre spirits which we were both discovering as we went along. S., who as the dream progressed was taking more of a guiding role, knew some of them and explained their attributes to me. It thus dawned on me at some given point that we were – I am unsure how to best describe it – inside the field of the DBOE, perhaps inside the Book itself – by all means, somewhere the retinue of spirits one becomes acquainted with throughout working the grimoire, reside, and which can be accessed through the oneiric plane. At some point, we reached a gate meant to go deeper underworld, where a spirit granted my friend entrance and safe passage, but denied it to me. It was very clear this was due to S. having completed initiation and thus having both appropriate knowledge and permission within the system to move forward. So we parted ways, but not before she beckoned me to join her and meet her once I had done what was asked of me. We discovered, as I was recalling this dream for her benefit, that S. had performed some related ritual the very same night. She informed me I must have found myself near the Mountain of Qaf Saba, whose Capstone is clearly forbidden to the profane / uninitiated.

☆ (April) I am falling asleep. I see two huge, human or god-like black eyes, crowned in peacock feathers on blue skin, looking straight at me. A regal peacock, walking in circles in white emptiness, with its long feathers brushing behind it, stomps on what appears to be a disk map of the world. It is rhythmically chanting “BIRTH EARTH BIRTH EARTH BIRTH EARTH…”

As for physical, tangible omens and signs, I must say that one particular encounter stood out quite vividly from the noisy crowd of self-doubt and the sometimes self-sabotaging, rational tools of skeptical enquiry. One evening in my neighbourhood, right in front of me, flew a magnificent peacock – its gemstones-coloured tail feathers gracefully flowing behind it like a trail. This uncanny sight, coupled with my candid ignorance such big birds could fly, made this one of the most striking, and blatantly obvious sign I was ever privileged enough to be granted. Witnessing something so rare was a powerfully affirming omen. My partner (largely unaware of the symbolic depths of my practices), who was with me at the time of the encounter, spontaneously exclaimed “It looks like a dragon or phoenix !”, in total awe – and my heart quite simply leaped.

Affirming as these omens and visions were, though – I still had a choice to make.

“The Vessel has long been a votive and sacramental tool of witch and sorcerer, especially within the Sabbatic Cultus. In the work of the Dragon-rites, two primary vessels are utilized. The first, called the Marriage Vessel, serves as the repository of numina for the inception Rite of Ka, in which the practitioner unites himself (sic) with the Stellar Dragon Azhdeha for an entire dark moon cycle prior to Winter Solstice. In this act he (sic) enfleshes the Draconic power of Cain Azha-Ka, who embodies the ever-living spirit of Azra’Lumial. The second, called the Phoenix Vessel, serves as a spectral link to the form of Azha-Cain in his guise of the Peacock Angel, who in turn is a hypostate of Azra’Lumial during the Rite of Ra, undertaken at Summer Solstice. These twin vessels are thus physical foci for both stellar and chtonic manifestation of Luciferian Gnosis.”
— Robert Fitzgerald, “The Hidden Stone”

The Book grants access to its lineage through two different ways, both involving the long and complex preparation of a vessel made in the likeness of the magician, which is then ritually sacrificed, cast in a sacred pyre. One can initiate in the system via its intended, preferred ritual method of KA, the Rite of the Black Sun, consisting in a Hieros Gamos (Sacred Wedding) to the spirits. Or, one can initiate through ‘kinship and fealty’, via the road of the White Sun and the ritual of KU – in a bold, rather risky and potentially suicidal move – in which case the aspirant is to leap the Dragon’s jaws, and either become akin to a phoenix, recognized as kin, or be forfeit to their doom. The first manner presented here is the « normal entrance », when the second is what has been dubbed the Swift Way. These two modes of initiation offered by the Book naturally echo the two modes of spirit initiation most generally employed in traditional lineages – done either through marriage, or through adoption. The marriage is, according to Chumbley himself, definitely the recommended road, because it ensures that one is doing the work and is not just looking for a shortcut and instant self-gratification, proving one’s worth to the spirits over time and effort, blood, tears and sweat – literally. Objectively, then, it follows that this is also the ‘safest’ road. To my utter surprise, as I would describe myself a rather cautious practitioner with little appetite for uncalculated risk-taking, I kept being pushed to follow the latter path of kinship and fealty by my spirits – to burn and (hopefully) be reborn rather than be forfeit to the Dragon’s jaws. Up until the last moment, one part of me was simply terrified of misinterpreting these signs, and to just blatantly spiritually annihilate myself, while the other… the other simply could not bear to ignore all the omens. Previous experience with mercurial beings had taught me that when things go a little too smoothly, it generally means one is either welcomed with open arms, or being lured to their death. Simply put : there was no way for me to know which one it would be, until I conducted the ritual till the end of it. So I chose to place my faith in the spirits despite my fears, my self-doubt, my gnawing imposter syndrome – and to do the thing anyway.

The Phoenix-Rite : KU (Midsummer 2022) – From the flames, brighter

It falls to the aspirant to parse together the necessary requirements for each rite, dispersed throughout the Book, probably in an attempt to reward only the worthy who would have taken the time to loose themselves in the many pages. The confusion arising creates a textual labyrinth which can be hard to navigate at times, and yet, as if in a dark forest, lulled by fairy lights, the path forward magically clears up at some point, and one finds their way. Though the KA / Marriage Rite has been rather well documented by generations of practitioners doing things the right and proper way, being nudged as I was by my allies old and new to “follow the Phoenix” (abundantly clear divination would not say otherwise), I found myself quite frightened – not the least of which because I was at a complete loss for resources when it came to finding people who had entered the system the Swift Way. I reached a point where I was rationally convincing myself this was further proof the Phoenix rite was a trap to feed an hubristic practitioner to the Dragon, and that I was walking right into it. And yet… And yet. Part of the reason why I am today writing this article is to share my Phoenix-related experience in order to mitigate this lack of public records when it comes to the ‘second way’, in hope that this could be beneficial to some.

The providential sharing by my friend S. of a leaflet by the Order of Ku-Sebittu (a particular Sabbatic Lodge which uses the Phoenix Rite as their initiation ritual), was a true relief. It not only provided me with additional scaffolding, but was also just what I needed to solidify my resolve : I decided right there and then, upon reading it, that I would do it. Immediately after, something in me gave way. Evidences of how I would conduct the ritual, when, and why, started outpouring, and I found myself granted miraculous solutions where there was, from my limited perspective, abundant logistical problems before. It was suddenly as if, in acceptance, I had made all obstacles (particularly mental blocks) vanish in thin air. I was being held, guided, and pushed.

My Phoenix-Vessel was an antique wooden urn thoroughly engraved with patterns of leafy vines and scrolling brambles carved throughout the whole surface – oddly appropriate, I found. I came in possession of it guided by the unseen hands of spirits, retrieving it from an intended charity box – another strong physical sign of the system’s approbation. The Vessel was probably indeed roughly about the size of my skull.

One thing to be said about Phoenix as a cautionary preliminary, is that it is very sexually involved. This is true of the Grimoire as a whole, as ecstatic states of consciousness are near and dear to Chumbley’s heart and core occult practices. For a self-initiation ritual, Phoenix truly is also exacting in the number of steps it requires – I can honestly say I had never done a ritual that required so much of me, to the point of actively degrading my sleep pattern, as well as my mental and physical health. It caused tensions in my relationship, it made me less efficient at work, it occupied my waking and dreaming thoughts. It was asking so much, in such a consuming way, that to keep up with any other occult or spiritual duties was off-limit, and I had to set aside any and all other activities. Fortunately, I had consulted with my gods and spirits beforehand, and we agreed on a temporary pause of any temple work during that time period.

The Midsummer Ritual of Ku normally intervenes in the Ritual Year when the apprentice is starting to really step into their power. For me, it was the entry ritual – and it was frankly daunting : one can easily feel overwhelmed, yet one has to place their trust in their spirits, hoping they will deliver them safely to the other side and show them the way. I am happy to report that I made it !

The intended order and steps to perform the Phoenix Ritual, as I understood it, are the following : KA (“marriage”) > RA (Phoenix rite) > IA-RA-KU (also called ‘Bloodied Knife and Bloodied Grail’) > KU (Midsummer).

Entering through Phoenix first requires to perform the Lunar Empowerment of the Phoenix-Vessel, a union of the practitioner to the spirits not unlike the Marriage preparation of KA. For one complete lunar month before the Summer Solstice, from Full Moon to Full Moon (called the Nodes of Light), and either at Dawn, Midday, Dusk or Midnight (liminal times of power), the aspirant is to offer daily sacrifice of bodily fluids and sexual energy to the Vessel, which also requires to be prayed over and fed with other appropriate offerings – during this time period, I gifted ashes, plant materia, incense resins, alcohol shots, honey, beeswax, locks of hair, saliva, and sacred dirt from various power places, among other things – but one may also choose to include written spells, sigils, and other charms. To complete this ascetic process, intense vizualisations of one’s full essence dissolving into the Vessel need to be offered, each day, before repeating the same process the next. The implications here are obvious : the Vessel is the Aspirant, becomes the Aspirant, contains the Aspirant, while simultaneously developping its own spirit. The Vessel mirrors the Aspirant yet also contains everything They can become. In sacrificing the Vessel to the Midsummer Pyre, as one is wont to do, it is themselves that the Seeker casts in the fire. The function of the Lunar Empowerment is that of an incubatory phase through the nodes of the moon – the birthing of the Phoenix egg, and its careful coddling until it hatches. I was granted many affirming visions, too private to share, but suffice to say all such visions were never sought after nor forced, and always arose spontaneously in my mind. At times, I would cry out Azdeha’s name, conscious of His gaze turning towards me from the abysmal depths of space, assessing me, weighing me.

One caveat I should mention here was my own ritual taboo around blood offerings : I am not permitted to use my own blood in spellwork, save for menstrual blood, and shedding or drawing blood voluntarily is, as far as I’m concerned, prohibited by my gods and spirits. Fortunately, it appears that the gifting of menstrual blood seemed to satisfy the spirits enough, in this case. In fact, something weird happened : one day, I found out that my Vessel had cracked almost in half, spilling its liquid content all over the Book, in such a way as to soak all its pages at once, the perfumed blood smelling of altar wine and church incense – a wound, answering to the wound in my psyche, in my body, opening it raw. This obviously rendered the Book virtually un-resaleable, and from then onwards, I felt much more relaxed about carrying it about and it showing traces of use.

The next steps of the ritual are meant to solidify the connexion further, and to test the initiate’s resolve.

Halfway through the Lunar Empowerment, the Phoenix Rite starts (RA) : the proper rousing and invocation of the Phoenix is intoned daily, the Vessel opened to receive the Phoenix Empowerments. The Aspirant learns how to do a basic casting of the Sabbatic Circle, called ‘Hallowing the Kingdom of Cain’. In this ritual, each day, the Aspirant is to envision their Phoenix emerging from the Vessel, born from an imaginary Pyre (IA), and slowly nourished by a thread of blood from the Aspirant’s own heart emptying. Once the Phoenix becomes strong enough, it is to pierce the Sun with its beak and feast on the red-gold life juice of the luminary, until the Sun is emptied out completely, and the integrality of its essence contained within the firebird. From the dark of the sky then emerges seven coloured points, each point a star. Each one is recalled by the Aspirant and integrated within their own body.

This part of the Phoenix ritual teached me about the nature of the Phoenix itself : the firebird is nothing short of one’s own Witch-Fire – the Soul Flame of the Witch, given spirit-form as an independent being, kindled, roused and empowered by the ritual steps of RA. I had a great emotion and broke down at the altar when pouring my black heart-blood into the Phoenix’s for the first time. Physical sensations were incredibly vivid, one really feeling an emptying process, which left me dizzy to the point of nausea.

IA-RA-KU, the next transitional step, happens for the last 7 days preceding KU. It sheds light on the alchemical function of these couloured star-points. Each day, then, the Aspirant is to ritually behead themselves with an astral sword made of a different metal each day, and offer their own head to the spirits of important star points. The head is herewith transformed into a sacred Chalice or Skull-Graal carved out of an appropriate gemstone of appropriate colour, changing and progressing from crystal through to ruby, emerald, opal, sapphire, lapis, and amethyst. The Aspirant is then to mentally envision this offering to transform into a most refined feast, gifting different part of themselves for the spirits to feed off, and receiving permission to bless sacred points of the body in exchange, matching these to a different star each day. This meticulous process is what is called ‘The Bloodied Knife and Bloodied Grail’, and, perhaps because I am, by way of fate and previous pacts, no stranger to mysteries of headlessness as a whole, this was for me the easy part.

Right before IA-RA-KU, I received a gift from my friend Sfinga, and chose to take it as a good omen : a medal depicting a Phoenix flying, its tail feathers craddling a skull. I placed it inside the Vessel to be consecrated and empowered by IA-RA-KU, and it stayed here until the very end, retrieved only before being melted in the Midsummer Pyre.

By the time KU / Midsummer came, a part of me sincerely felt relieved that the ritual was coming to an end, no matter what was bound to happen. I won’t delve much on the specifics, except to say that, against all recommendations, I devised my own version of the rite, simplified greatly thanks to the leaflet from the Order of Ku-Sebbitu, to whom I borrowed a Phoenix-Prayer. In the grimoire, the Qadriga (a conclave of four initiates) is cited time and time again as the basic default setting for fulfilling all requirements and holding rituals, yet the Book also encourages solitary practices. The Aspirant then, still a Novice, is required on an individual practice basis to assume the role of a Brood Magister, and holds responsibility for the performing of all ritual actions, gestures, and chants.

From dawn to sunrise, my KU Midsummer ritual lasted a solid 3 hours of constant, lengthy orations and circumambulations. My lips were parched, and my throat dry, by the time I was done with all necessary invocations and pleas. I then deposited my Phoenix-Vessel to burn on hot coals, at the center of my circle, fueled by the Eight Sacred Woods. I watched carefully as the Sun pierced the horizon and the fire engulfed my Vessel in thick smoke, triumphant beams rising. I was completely exhausted, my body was shaking from cold and fatigue, and upon going back to bed, I was near enough half delirious – I could see smoke everywhere (I even jumped out of the sheets in fear I had accidentally carried some hot ashes with me and was about to set my room on fire). It was as if I myself was burning slowly, smelling of fire and blood.

There are a great many details I have left out of this (already far too long) account, and a great many mysteries left unsaid – most of them purposefully – but I hope others might find this tale useful for their own journey. To each Aspirant, their own Way through.

A transfiguration, however hard it tries, will always be initiation. 
Does the transfiguration make you shiver? Does it? 
Don’t believe the ashes are hot : the ashes are cold beyond belief. 
Do ashes make you shiver? Do they? 
(Ashes are not hot.
Ashes are exceptionally inhumane.)
Down, down, down into the white darkness of the ashes. 
Gently they go – the arctic, the inhumane, the refrigerated –
Into the black light of dawn.

Aftermath : the dragon-stars in attendance

Recently, in one of her exclusive posts, astrolater extraordinaire Sasha Ravitch invited her Patreons to conduct a little experiment. She noticed how, in her own recent magical workings, some of the fixed stars from her natal angles or parans were also showing in a significant manner. Inspired by this brilliant reflexion, I casted a chart for my Phoenix-ritual, to fuel my own curiosity.

Naturally, Thu’Ban (Draco-star) showed rising with the Sun, as the rite is timed for when the star is at its highest in the sky. But what truly floored me was the presence of pretty much every other star associated with Dragon-lore : Alphard (She-Dragon) was on the Natal Horizon and in Lower Culmination with both the Sun and the Moon (a nice symmetry with her presence in my own chart), Aldebaran (Dragon-Slayer) was the heliacal rising star during the rite (a powerful affirmation of ever relevant Elf-knight mysteries, for which I also need to thank Sasha), and Mirach (from the Andromeda constellation – mytho-poetically important, as it is arguably about the Marriage of a Princess and a Dragon), stood still in Lower Culmination. To quote Sasha : “The Lady-Dragon, King Dragon, and the Dragon-Slaying Knight : literally doing a grimoire of draconic witchcraft and sorcery and the stars associated with dragons showing up en masse.”

As for Andromeda… as the constellation sitting at the zenith when I was born, presiding over my fate, I cannot help but wonder at a deeper significance here. A couple months ago, a dear fairy-physicker friend of mine had read for me about my Dragon Book of Essex endeavours before I leaped the Dragon’s jaws. They identified, in particular, a troubling connexion with the risks associated with working the Book : a figure lurking under the surface, ready to lure me even deeper, with scales gloaming far darker. The Black Dragon, a potentiated face of Azdeha, is one of the aspects an Initiate of the system can meet upon following a resolutely goetic, chtonic inclination of the work. But it seemed my dear friend stepped up with their spirits just as I was preparing for my rite, and talks of future initiation within their own tradition are currently being held, as they are about to very generously grant me their mentorship.

Their own zenithal constellation ?

Perseus.