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The legend of Hell house (1973) Florence assaulted by Belasco

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Love this book!

The Devil's Dozen Book Review

I picked this book up and first read it a while ago. It's often recommended for rituals to connect with the Old One (the folkloric devil) of traditional witchcraft. I admit I had to reread this one as I never wrote down my initial thoughts and didn't annotate as I do with my other books.

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Content:

Synopsis

What I Liked

What I Don't Like

Overall Thoughts

Conclusion

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Published 2021

"The second edition of Gemma Gary's The Devil's Dozen, expanded to include an attentive exploration of the witch's exploration with the Old One as initiator, empowerer and liberator in history and lore.

The operations of magic and witchcraft deal with the hidden worlds of spirit and the powers innate within the natural world; within pant, stone and magical loci. The Old One, who in folk tradition is often named the 'Devil' embodies both the 'rend in the veil' and the spanning bridge between the worlds of the material and spiritual, the revealed and the hidden. It is through union with this entity that witches and folk magicians gained access to the powers that reside both within the hidden realms and the natural world and could awaken the potent fire within.

To the witch, he might also represent the 'darker' aspects of the Divine - the keeper and the revealer of the Divine Light, the psychopomp guide of souls, and sentinel of the threshold unto the mysteries of death and the Otherworld.

Witch-lore and history records varied rites of initiatory contact, via which the worker of magic and witchcraft entered into a close, working relationship and union with both the Old One and the spirit world. From this wellspring of inspiration The Devil's Dozen - a modern 'gramarye,' or 'black book' of thirteen Craft rites of the Old One - has been created and is offered by a present day initiate of the 'Old Craft.'

Within its pages there are to be found thirteen rites - for both the 'lone' practitioner and the assembled companie - of vision, sacred compact, dedication, initiation, consecration, empowerment, protection, illumination, union, transformation and devotion. 'They are my own creations all; given in hope that they may provide usefulness or inspiration, and each a personal offering of devotion unto the starlit and smoking altar of the Old One.' - Gemma Gary"

-from the back of the book

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What I Liked

A lot of times you’ll find rituals for initiation to be group centered, here Gary gives an initiation to be done solitarily, but not really. The spirits will be present to witness. If you’re brave enough to go to a church graveyard at night to call upon the devil, this makes a perfect introduction to the devil of folkloric craft.

I’m also very happy that the book talks about acknowledging the guardians of the graveyard and being prepared to give them an offering for safe passage. They can be very helpful in hiding your workings while within the bounds of their protection.

Gary also discussed the witch blood, which is more nuanced than the hereditary idea of blood that most people think of. Here we are talking about the sprowl, the magic that lives within our veins and is awakened, in some traditions, through initiations with the devil or other spirits or through activities that are more commonly thought of as “raising energy.”

There is an entire chapter explaining the stang with a ceremony for creating one. If it’s a tool that you’ve ever struggled to figure out the purpose and practical use of, this would be a good chapter to read to get your bearings.

There’s one chapter that focuses on the black dog and I really enjoyed the accurate folklore. The way Gary has woven these beliefs into a practice is really enticing and I think I’ll play around a bit with it myself. The folklore is nothing new if you’ve Black Dog Folklore, but calling on them for protection as well as curse work is enough to get ideas flowing.

This book talks about sexual coupling with the devil as a form of initiation (see me caveat in the next section), describing the various ways he presents himself as a form of societal inversion at the time the folklore came from. I like the inclusion of all the different ways the devil changes because he is not always a he. The coupling can be heterosexual with the devil in the guise of a man or a woman, easily changing between the two (though in some folklore the devil has a Witch Queen who is sometimes the Queen of Elphame). There are same sex coupling as well. Then there are the times in which the devil appears and initiates diabolical marriage (spirit marriage). He’s very inclusive.

All of that comes from a section of the book about union with the devil. The actual rituals have nothing to do with sex but taking the devil within through spirit, which is also discussed. What I thought was really unique with this one is that it doesn’t say “if you’re afraid, you’re wrong”, it says “if you’re afraid, good. Use it.” It expects you to be afraid and to use that fear to help enter a trance.

I really like the way Gary thinks of bones. She describes them as being the last of us to decay, taking an incredibly long time, and thus being the easiest thing to use to call back the spirit. Which is why they are used in our work with spirits in housing them, especially skulls. This is a summary, her explanation is more eloquent.

The last chapter goes into a deep dive of the folklore that the Gary drew from. It’s a long chapter that encompasses quotes and citations galore and touches on everything she spoke about previously, and still adds a bit more.

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What I Didn't Like

One of the first rituals has you use a knife to draw blood from your finger, and while I think that’s more aesthetically pleasing it’s also more dangerous (what is punctuation). I suggest using a needle meant for drawing blood (Its early in the morning and I’m forgetting what they’re called). Theres a lot less risk of you cutting too deeply as the fingers skin is pretty thin.

Sexual initiation outside of spirits can be a tricky idea to work with. There are many people who would take advantage of physical sexual initiation with the magistre position. I implore you to be careful if you are looking for a coven and sexual initiation is part of the deal.

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Overall Thoughts

The book is very much centered on British folklore, so if you do not live there not everything will be applicable. It’s worth looking into devil folklore in your own country and perhaps using this book as inspiration for how you might implement those tales. Though some of it may also be the same considering British colonialism.

You will also need additional information to understand some of this book. It’s not meant for beginners despite the initiation rituals involved. It assumes an understanding of the different colored spirits of the cardinal directions and that you know what a lunar winding horn is and where to get one. Among a few other things.

I do like this book as inspiration for figuring out how to incorporate the devil into your practice more and seek him out, as you’ll hardly find him in your home (though there are occasions). I suggest reading two of Gemma Gary’s other books (Traditional Witchcraft and The Black Toad) just to understand the vernacular she uses before getting this book. I also suggest reading The Witches Devil by Roger J Horne for a better understanding of this figure before beginning the work in this book.

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Conclusion

If you feel like you’re ready to set out and meet the devil, you can find the book on Amazon, Apple Books, Portland Button Works & Spiral House, Scribd, Abe Books, Troy Books (the publisher), Internet Archive, and more.

*all images from the book

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I was seeing a lot of Doreen Valiente on my dash today, and I wanted to reflect on how influential she has been on Traditional Witchcraft, the path she pursued after she parted with Gardner and went looking for something she could consider more authentic. She got to know a lot of the figures who practiced different witchcraft traditions, from those as bizarre as Charles Cardell of the Coven of Atho that faded into obscurity, to her close friend the very influential Robert Cochrane, she even got to meet Austin Osman Spare whose quiet influence on Traditional Witchcraft is greater than most people know.

What strikes me the most is how like us she is. Look at her young vibrant face there, selfie-photographing the goat foot candle sticks she obviously was proud of and photographed often. Doreen was proud of her education and reading, the tools and artifacts she collected and used, and her mystical experiences as a witch. She was a prolific and amazing writer, yet always wrote for a general literacy rather than an ye olde obscurantist style. She never seemed to be too big for her britches showing a humbleness and wonder at witchcraft that somehow aligned without contradiction to her self-empowerment.

We can’t ever know for sure, but based on how she interacted with media in her own time: I am confident that if Doreen were young today she would be blogging along with us and sharing instagram photos of her books and tools and writing up her latest poetry for her community to use and reblog. The Lady witch that did so many dignified and authoritative interviews wouldn’t shy from Youtube vlogging. She balanced her oaths and secrecy and privacy with a love of sharing what could be ethically shared freely with grace. We are still learning so much about this woman that seemed so public yet held so much back. This is my witch mighty dead role model. When folks get grumpy and make fun of how much we share and document of our practice, I always think of her and how she traversed the world of the witchcraft revival and documented it with common sense and attitude.  Much of what we know about important witchcraft figures is from her testimonials and historical research.

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Art by Entangled Roots Press.

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Large, affordable, fire-safe cast iron cauldrons with fitted lids are not rare! They sell them right now at camping stores.

You can be out here at the Walmart or the camping store buying literal cast iron cauldrons with heavy-duty lids and legs to stand them up off of the ground.

This 5 quart (almost 5 liters) baby costs $25 in my area. Twenty-five bucks. It's even got three little leggggs.

Do you want a big boy cauldron? Look at this round guy. I used to have one, gave it away like a fucking fool. It comes in at $75, and it has volume.

Anyway my point is you don't have to find a literal wizard blacksmith, there are actual companies making fire-safe cast iron cauldrons for you this very day.

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The Devil appears — cloaked in midnight he roams the crossroads waiting to strike a deal. He is shrouded in myth and mystery as the great charmer, the snake, the initiator. The Green Devil is an aspect of the Witch Father that deals with ecstatic mysteries - he is the God of Tricksters, Thieves, and Witches.

There are plenty of myths that involve leaving coins as offerings to him at crossroads, as well as legends of people selling him their souls for some form of talent or reward. Witches write their names in his black book to receive his boons, but always for a cost.

The Green Devil is a fairy king in his own right, for his knowledge of the earth is astounding, and the lessons he gives are hard, but worth the effort.

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Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp Minor, Op. 27 No. 2 "Moonlight": I. Adagio sostenuto

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W E E D

W I T C H

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It wore a crown of thistle-down upon its wicked head.

illustration by dappermouth (2021)

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CRR1dF2rJqe

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W E E D W I T C H

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