Mastering Witchcraft By Paul Huson Proudly Brought To You By TOC Mastering Witchcraft By Paul Huson A Practical Guide For Witches, Warlocks And Covens Contents: Book Cover (Front) (Back) Scan / Edit Notes Foreword Introduction 1 - First Steps 2 - Preliminary Preparations 3 - Divination 4 - Spells For Lovers 5 - Counter Magic And Protection 6 - Vengeance And Attack 7 - The Coven And How To Form One Appendix 1 - The Planetary Hours Appendix 2 - Glossary Of Witch Words And Terms Bibliography (Removed) Scan / Edit Notes Format: v1.5 (PDF - no security) Genera: Wiccan / Witchcraft Extra's: Pictures Included Copyright: 1970 / 1972 First Scanned: August / 12 / 2002 Foreword In the circle of firelight which we are pleased to call an enlightened scientific civilization, we usually feel secure in the knowledge that most of our worst childhood terrors and nightmares were merely fantasy. But if and when the firelight happens to dim, at those times when the unknown presses hard upon us, in the presence of death or insanity or insurmountable calamity, we again know instinctively that science is ultimately irrelevant, and we once again experience the old childhood terrors. We are still powerless in the face of overmastering fate. Science still completely fails to come to grips with that outer darkness beyond the flickering ring of light. However, down the ages it has seemed to some intrepid souls that only with weapons forged from the darkness itself, and by the aid of those others before them who have made it their business to know the ways in and out of the unseen world, can any man maybe hope to bend to his will an indifferent fate, whose roots appear to reach back into the outer regions of that night. Among those who understand the darkness which is no darkness to them anymore are those that tread the way of witchcraft. They of their own accord have walked beyond the ring of firelight and learned the paths in the wilderness beyond. Now that Aquarius is upon us, the gates have swung back revealing as never before the secret workings of those who practise the Black Arts. No more are we constrained by common law to hide our doings; the stake and the noose are things of the past, and we may once more choose our own gods, bright or dark. The day of the pale Galilean is passing, and the restrictions imposed by his devotees are losing their thrall upon the public mind, leaving people free once more to return to the old teachings of joy and knowledge of arts once forbidden. Our Lady Habondia and her horned consort hold court once more. Should you wish to tread the dark path of witchcraft, the way is open to you now. Whether you believe the Christian bugaboos and fear to lose your soul in return for the powers or, like us, consider the gamble well spent, is up to you. Should you decide the former, then read no further. The aim of this book is solely to teach you the first steps to becoming a witch or warlock. But remember, the choice was yours. We take no responsibility for the results you may achieve, good or bad. Witchcraft is witchcraft. The seeds of success or destruction lie within you and you alone. Night is jealous of her secrets and guards them in many ways; but those who succeed in wooing her may reap many rewards. On the other hand, those who timidly shun the darkness win temporary respite only, until such a time as the darkness itself reaches out and takes them when they are least forearmed. Introduction Before taking any practical steps upon the road to becoming a full-fledged witch, it would be advisable for you to be acquainted with at least the essence of witch history. By this I do not mean such things as the over familiar accounts of Gilles de Rais' necrophilic exploits and massacres or Mother Shipton's quaint prophecies, but rather a general survey of those events in witchcraft which stand out as signposts of the black craft's history. Witch history is steeped in legend, hidden in antiquity. There are few written sources, and those that exist are generally obscure, of an oblique nature, casting light upon rather than informing directly. For instance, Italian witch lore presents us with the following creation story: In the beginning the Great Darkness, Diana, divided herself into two equal and opposite forces, night and day. The night was ruled over by Diana herself as the moon, the day by her alter ego and brother, Lucifer, the sun. Diana, inasmuch as the moon is ever pursuing the sun across the sky, became enamoured of her brother the sun and seduced him in the shape of his pet cat. The offspring from this union was a daughter, Aradia or Herodias, the archetypal "avatar" or patroness of all witches. In this legend of Diana with its gnostic overtones, there are reflections of the Cabalistic tradition of Naamah, the seductress of the Fallen Angel Azael. Naamah, is synonymous with Babylonian Lilith, and Azael is none other than Babylonian Shamash, the Sun-God in his underworld aspect as Lord of Riches and Artificer of Metals. In fact he is the alter ego of Tubal Cain himself, Naamah's own brother. Azael or Azazel, is in fact one of the modern witch's gods. Which brings me to the crux of the matter. According to ancient magical legend, Azael was originally one of those beings of primordial fire, first created dwellers in the high heaven, referred to by the Christian church as messengers, or angels, by the Greeks as daemons. Azael and his followers, according to old lore, in defiance of their masters, elected to descend upon the earth countless eons ago, for the purpose of educating and civilizing primitive man as he then existed. Whether it was part of their original plan or merely a side issue, these angelic beings, "Sons of God" or "Watchers of the Heavens," as they were entitled, elected to mate with womankind. The Book of Genesis briefly records the legend thus: And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the Sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair, and they took wives of all which they chose.... However, the ancient Book of Noah written several hundred years before the birth of Christ is more explicit: ... And the angels, the children of heaven, saw and lusted after them [the daughters of men] and said one to another: "Come let us choose wives from among the children of men and beget us children" ... And all the others together took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and defile themselves with them, and they taught them charms and enchantments, and the cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants... And Azazel [Azael] taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the Metals [of the earth] and the art of working them ... Semjaza taught enchantments, and root cuttings, Arma-ros the resolving of enchantments, Baraqijel astrology, Kokabel the constellations, Ezeqeel the knowledge of the clouds [weather lore], Araqiel the signs of the earth [husbandry], Shamsiel the signs of the sun, Sariel the course of the moon ... (*) According to that collection of ancient Cabalistic lore, the Zohar, Great Azael and his cohorts had had to assume tangible bodies in order to descend upon the earth. Because of their revolt against higher authority and the ties with this world which they had subsequently formed, they were unable to divest themselves of these material forms and re-ascend into the heavenly spaces again. ---- [*] "Book of Noah" from Charles Canon, Book of Enoch, London, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1962. Reprinted from Oxford University Press edition, 1912. ---- It is from these exiled beings that all true magical knowledge and power is said to be derived. Laban, reputedly one of the greatest adepts in magical art of pre-flood times, visited the mountaintop wherein they dwelt, to learn his wisdom. This idea has lingered on and finally became a fundamental part of legends of magical initiation all over the world, from Chaldea to Tibet. The offspring of the Sons of Heaven, however, proved to be a mixed blessing for the world. Like their progenitors, they were gigantic in stature—"great giants whose height was three thousand ells." Some of these Nephelim, as the descendants of the house of Azael were known, were, like Nimrod, men of renown and great in wisdom. Others, however, turned in the opposite direction and increasingly devoted themselves to the pursuit of hideous delights and necromantic pastimes besides which Gilles de Rais' antics are said to pall into insignificance. ... And they [the Giants] began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and fish, and to devour one another's flesh, and drink the blood. Then the earth laid accusation against the lawless ones ... (*) ---- [*] Book of Enoch, ibid. ---- Legend has it that the Watchers, in despair at the evil that had been unleashed upon the world by their hand, took counsel among themselves and wielded their power to cast down the lands wherein the Nephelim dwelt, overwhelming the entire population in one day and night by volcanic upheaval and subsequent flood, of such a planetary magnitude that to this day, throughout many parts of the world, there yet remains evidence of this appalling cataclysm in the form of layers of silt and debris beneath a certain level of geological strata, as well ,as the recurring legends of the flood and Atlantis current throughout the Western hemisphere.