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blackthornwren · 10 days ago

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Walking the Dragon’s Head – Part 1

The tongue, the fang, the eyes. These are the points to be walked by the seeker; the pathways by which the Black Dragon manifests through the vessel of the adept.

Remember: the transgression, the imbalance, is the entire point.

The Tongue: This journey begins with the tongue. The immaterial breath, and the humming prescience of space before it gives life to word. This is where the serpent rests; and while power lies in knowing what words to speak, it is more important to know when to utter them.

The words spoken here are a betrayal; an upheaval. As it is said, they must “seethe with treachery”, in direct opposition to the silence of these spirits.

To defile the silence with sound.

The emissaries hold their place as the keeper of all sorcerous words ever uttered from the tongue. In temptation, the seeker is lured to dance upon the word – however, it is this betrayal of silence which entices the emissaries to steal the breath and let the seeker become the sacrifice.

#wren rambles #botbd #book of the black dragon #grimoires #personal practice #traditional witchcraft #witchcraft #grimoire

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blackthornwren · 4 months ago

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Mostly I would add that the books seem to "sleep" when not in use, they "wake up" and speak when it's the right time for me to work from them again.

Book of the Black Dragon is what I'm currently working through and have been for a few years now. My process is slow, there's a certain amount of waiting for right timing and that's when the books really talks to me.

DBoE works on a similar wavelength for me, and there are points in working Black Dragon that I hit a bit of a wall and just *know* where I need to look in DBoE to find what I'm missing.

Attachment goes hand in hand with the presence, when it's time for me to return to Black Dragon work I have a very hard time being physically away from the book itself - I sleep next to it, I carry it with me, it even goes to work with me. I open the pages and think on how best to perform the next steps and the book speaks, giving me instruction.

They can be kind of loud, though 😅

Another question for the vvitch community…

Do you own grimoire books? I'm not talking about your "grimoire-note-book" but about purchased books, which, when you open them, something really manifests. Whether it's the manifestation of a spirit, a breath of change, or whether it's filled with noises and ghosts. If so, how do you proceed with it? When do you choose to open it rather than another time? What positive things has this book brought and what problems has it brought to your daily life and your life as a witch or a "cunning" one, or whatever you call yourself? Did you know the book was "possessed" before you bought it, or not?

(Of course I would l-o-v-e us not to only talk about things that start with A and end with zoétia... please have pity ;)) I tag some here whose opinion I would love to have, but I would also love to have lots of different opinions, so don't hesitate, there is no wrong answer, and above all don't forget to tag me.

@buddyblanc @satsekhem @satsuti @windvexer @friend-crow @lailoken @witchcraftingboop @wildwood-faun @graveyarddirt @grayladyofthewell @aechlys @licksmenhirs @gamayunsteward @stormcrow513 @fair-is-foul @gryphis-eyes @blackthornwren @redspringthorn @plantwitch @unseelie-witch @spiritsprout

#botbd #grimoire

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balladofthebirddog-blog · 6 years ago

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✨Mini gems ✨ . . @jaxkelly . . . . #botbd #balladofthebirddog #trustyourgut #brenham #hillcountry #birddog #roundtop #downtown #houston #austin #sanantonio #handmadeceramics #specialtyretail #smallbatch #supportlocalmakers #redwingheritage #handstitchedleather #gemstonejewelry #handmadejewelry #crystals #bespokedenim #fragraceoils #mensfashion #smallbusinesstexas #returntothebasics #buyqualitybuyless #revivevintage #supporthandmade (at The Ballad Of The Bird Dog) https://www.instagram.com/p/BphaXtyg2lo/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=yefuzhnhsd80

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blackthornwren · 15 days ago

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I wanted to share some thoughts on my ongoing work.

Pictured above is the Apotropaic Chamber Vessel that features in my work through the book of the Black Dragon. The vessel serves to function as a lantern, drawing in the spirits that engage with aspirants of the books.

The Black Dragon itself encourages the aspirant to forego all expectation. In doing so, we begin to accept the unexpected as the work begins to take on a formless shape and go beyond the known norms that one could expect with spirit work. And so, by striking down the demarcation between mundane and liminal, the Black Dragon encourages the aspirant to live and work within contradictions; not least of which is understanding that a bodiless corpse can also be the host of hundreds of spirits.

This contradiction has been especially relevant in the last few months as I deconstruct my basics and rebuild while integrating the new lessons learned.

#wren rambles #botbd #grimoire work

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blackthornwren · 10 days ago

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Psst, where did you happen to pick up your copy of the book of the black dragon? I cant find it in my price range ;0;

I got it directly from Atramentous Press. They're currently out of stock at the moment but they're working on releasing a new run of the book.

In the meantime, I completely understand the frustration, especially with the cost. You can keep an eye on eBay and Miskatonic books, abebooks actually has a feature to sign up for an email whenever a seller posts a listing for the book you're looking for too.

There are also Facebook groups for occult book collectors and oftentimes users post listings for books they no longer need and want to sell - I've found that some people are open to trade, if you have something they're looking for. Some folks may be willing to accept payment in installments (this is also true of book listings on etsy).

Unfortunately, the Black Dragon series isn't likely going to ever be cheap - there's just too many in the collection, it's not finished yet, and given Hamilton-Giles' close affiliation with Chumbley it falls in that category of cultus sabbati-like grimoires.

(*I just want to clarify I don't mean cheap as a bad thing. If there were a $20 paperback version I'd be soooooo on board. There's a weird notion around these books that the cost adds to the magic or mystique of it and I'm not a fan of it)

#i wish i had a better answer anon #botbd #book of the black dragon #wren rambles

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blackthornwren · 1 month ago

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You know you've hit a certain point in your magical practice when you're really excited about the arrival of a circular chalkboard. I really can't wait to use it in my Black Dragon work.

No random insights for tonight because I spent the day doing scrying exercises and my brain is completely useless right now. Maybe that is the insight: don't overdo it, and don't forget to rest.

Milldust and Dreaming Bread arrived today with a beautiful art print and a lovely note from the author (to be quite honest, I just wanted a hardcover edition but these are nice perks that went along with that tier). I didn't realize backers would be named in the acknowledgments 😂 whoops.

#wren rambles #botbd #personal practice

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blackthornwren · 2 days ago

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Walking the Dragon’s Head - Part 2

The fang wields the poison that ignites the flame. The adept will take the venomous fang into themselves to lose their grasp of the preconceived.

This is, as Giles describes it, “replacing the rationality of logic with an unleashed imagination”. This is an affliction upon your mundane self: it is actively working to disassemble yourself - to be looking in the mirror and not recognizing the form staring back. Something to be endured, breaking the barriers.

Infecting and unraveling. Distortion and dismemberment.

This is a changing maze of locks and keys, and it begins with unlocking the adept’s own understanding of their self and flesh - this is not so much an unlocking for the sake of opening doors, but unlocking for the sake of taking up the dagger and cutting away the old, recognizable flesh - becoming infused with the absence.

This is death in service of spirits, and while all points of the dragon’s head are meant to enact this change - this preparing of the vessel - the transition undertaken here is perhaps the most prominent of these.

It is important to note that with this body of work, at every step, the seeker is inviting the emissaries of the corpus to afflict, infect, and injure for the sake of attuning to this current.

#wren rambles #book of the black dragon #botbd #traditional witchcraft #grimoires #personal practice #witchcraft #grimoire

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blackthornwren · 2 days ago

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About the Black Dragon posts...

If they seem a bit vague, it's intentional - these spirits determine what can and cannot be shared openly and I typically end up changing so much of my wording before I can share anything. It's frustrating, especially when I have so much more I would like to say and what I actually am saying is very little.

My goal so far is mostly to re-examine my early experiences and give myself a frame of reference I can look back on. We'll see how far I can actually go with that...

My other reason is to go back and work it all again; now with more understanding, depth, and nuance I've found since initially approaching these crossroads.

In many ways, these early steps resembled other working magical systems in that there is a path to walk, and at each cardinal direction, a door to walk through. Spirits at these threshholds are to be approached in a particular order, the lamp acting as a beacon to call them, lighting their way towards me...

The Black Dragon work is (in a sense) ancestral and necromantic, akin to burying yourself in a cemetery for the sake of being devoured by the dead who hunger there.

#wren rambles #book of the black dragon #botbd

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blackthornwren · 6 days ago

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Did u start working with The Book of the Black Dragon before you started working with Liber Eximo Carnem? I’m trying to decide which to order

Book of the Black Dragon is the first in the series, you'll definitely want to start in order as it lays the groundwork for the rest of the books.

If this is about my fancy book ask 😅 I mentioned Liber Eximo Carnem because I bought the ✨️fancy edition ✨️ I'm not quite up to the point of working that one yet.

(But oh how I so love to look at it)

#wren rambles #botbd #traditional witchcraft #grimoires #book of the black dragon

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blackthornwren · 2 years ago

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She...who makes the grave and turns the earth to stars.

#wren rambles #botbd #words to remember

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