or Conquering Shai-Hulud
(Version 1.2 - 29/10/2018)
Last week's New Moon has been a very special occasion for me.
Having Followed a suggestion by my occultist pen-pal Len W. to perform the Stele of Jeu rite on New Moon every month (the night sky is headless), this last one marked the half-year anniversary since I started on the day of the Great American Eclipse last summer - my self initiation.
This last one was an eclipse too. To me it felt like a turning point or "levelling up". Besides the semi-anniversary aspect, it has been the most powerful performance of this ritual ever, with lasting effects.
Inspired by Spiro' report I have wanted to perform the ritual in demotic Greek for quite some time now, as that's the language it was originally composed in. I finally got around to doing that and I have to say that despite my stumbling over the words and pronounciation of this unfamiliar language it felt very poetic and emotionally gripping.
As if that were not enough of a challenge I also worked up the courage to modify the Headless Rite to give it a darker and potentially more dangerous twist - just to see how it would effect the outcome. I have been fascinated by ancient myths around solar eclipses about the sun being devoured by dragons or serpents like in Egyptian and Slavic skylore.
During a solar eclipse that always occur on New Moon for obvious astronomical reasons, it's not only the night sky that is headless, but also the day sky on the other side of the globe! This occasion seemed auspicious to try to approach the dark and slithering ancient dragon in its attempt to swallow the sun right at its climax and divert some of it's indomitable serpentine energy into myself.
I remembered a very powerful Greek prayer to the old snake from a ritual by the German magical order of Fraternitas Saturni and I incorporated it into the Headless Rite after the part of self-exorcism and divine ascension. This is the Call to the Serpent:
ho ophis, ho archaios
ho drakon, ho megas
ho en kai ho on kai ho zon
eis tous ainonas ton ainonon
meta tou pneumato sou!
It translates roughly to the following:
The primeval serpent
the great dragon
who was and who is
and who lives through the aeons of aeons
He is with your spirit!
I like to start many of my rituals with orphic hymns to the planetary gods of the hour and the day, so for this one I chose the hymn to Phanes, the Protogonos, as it suits the occasion and ritual perfectly.
Here is the full ritual in phonetic Greek, followed by my personal report, which I recommend skipping to avoid spoilers if you want to try it out yourself :)
Akephalos Ophiouchos Ritual
Preparation
Wait until the climax of the eclipse has been reached to catch the moon's waxing energy alongside the serpentine power.
Light Myrrh incense as an offering to Phanes, anoint yourself with some holy oil, wear the papyrus strip with the six names and the auspicious sign as described in the Stele of Jeu. Meditate until you feel ready. Face towards the celestial North and recite the words:
Orphic Hymn to Protogonos
Protogonon kaleo diphyé, megan, aitheroplagkton,
ôiogené, chryseaisin agallomenon pterygessi,
tayroboan, genesin makaron thnetôn t' anthropon,
sperma polymneston, polyorgion, Érikepaion,
arreton, kryphion roizetora, pamphaes ernos,
osson os skotoessan apemayrosas omichlen
pante dinetheis pterygon ripais kata kosmon
lampron agon phaos agnon, aph' ou se Phaneta kiklesko
éde Priepon anakta kai Antaygen elikopon.
alla, makar, polymeti, polyspore, baine gegethôs
es teletén agian polypoikilon orgiophantais.
Stele of Jeu With Call to the Serpent
Se kalō, ton akephalon,
ton ktisanta gēn kai ouranon,
ton ktisanta nykta kai ēmeran,
se ton ktisanta phōs kai skotos.
Sy ei Osoronnōphris, on oudeis eide pōpote.
Sy ei Iabas! Sy ei Iapōs!
Sy diekrinas to dikaion kai to adikon.
Sy epoiēsas thēly kai arren.
Sy edeixas sporan kai kaprous.
Sy epoiēsas tous anthrōpous allēlophilein kai allēlomisein.
Egō eimi Mousēs o prophētēs sou,
ō paredōkas ta mysteria sou ta synteloumena Israēl.
Sy edeixas ygron kai chēron kai pasan trophēn.
Epakouson mou! Egō eimi aggelos tou Phaprō Osoronnōphris.
Touto estin sou to onoma to alēthinon to paradidomenon tois prophētais Israēl.
Epakouson mou.
Arbathiaō reibet athelebersēth ara blatha albeth ebenphchi chitasgoē ibaōth iaō
Eisakouson moth kai apostrepson to daimonion touto.
Epikaloumai se, ton en tō kenō pneymati deinon kai aoraton theon.
Arogogorobraō sochou modoriō phalarchaō ooo
Agie Akephale! Apallaxon ton deina apo tou synechontos ayton daimonos.
Roubriaō mari ōdam baabnabaōth ass adōnai aphniaō ithōlēth abrasach aēōōy
Ischyre Akephale! Apallaxon ton deina apo tou synechontos ayton daimonos.
Mabarraiō ioēl kotha athorēbalō abraōth
Apallaxon ton deina.
Aōth abraōth basym isak sabaōth iaō
outos estin o kyrios tōn theōn.
outos estin o kyrios tēs oikoumenēs.
outos estin on oi anemoi phobountai.
outos estin o poiēsas phōnēs prostagmati eaytou panta.
Kyrie! Basiley! Dynasta! Boēthe! Sōson psychēn.
Ieou pyr iou pyr iaōt iaēō ioou abrasach sabriam oo yy ey oo yy adōnaie
Ēdē, ēdē, eyaggelos tou theou.
Anlala lai gaia apa diachanna choryn
(center yourself in the universe, omnipresent in all eons)
(call to the serpent:)
ho ophis, ho archaios
ho drakon, ho megas
ho en kai ho on kai ho zon
eis tous ainonas ton ainonon
meta tou pneumato mou!
(continue Headless Rite:)
Egō eimi o Akephalos Daimōn, en tois posin echōn tēn orasin.
Egō eimi o Ischyros, o echōn to pyr to athanaton.
Egō eimi ē Alētheia, o misōn adikēmata ginesthai en tō kosmō.
Egō eimi o astraptōn kai brontōn.
Egō eimi ou estin o idrōs ombros epipiptōn epi tēn gēn ina ocheyē.
Egō eimi ou to stoma kaietai di’ olou.
Egō eimi gennōn kai apogennōn.
Egō eimi ē Charis tou Aiōnos.
Onoma moi kardia periezōsmenē ophin.
Exelthe kai akolouthēson.
(the divine vowels:)
Aié aiôi éôiaé aé iô ôé aiéoueuôai eai uo iaô iôé oau aeé uôuô
(call to the serpent again:)
ho ophis, ho archaios
ho drakon, ho megas
ho en kai ho on kai ho zon
eis tous ainonas ton ainonon
meta tou pneumato mou!
(the six names, greatest name that adds to 9999:)
Chabrach phneschér phichro phnurô phôchô bôch
(subject to me all daimons...:)
Ypotaxon moi panta ta daimonia, ina moi ē ypekoos pas daimōn ouranios kai aitherios kai epigeios kai ypogeios kai chersaios kai enydros kai pasa epipompē kai mastix ē theou. Kai estai soi ta daiamonia panta ypekoa. Estin de to agathon zōdion·
(meditate until you feel ready to leave)
Personal Report
I usually do most of my rituals outside in a park nearby at my favourite quiet spot.
It was slightly snowing when I left the house walked towards my "temple". I already started breathing deeply and in a slow rhythm to prepare mentally.
After arriving I did the planetary prayer to Zeus and closed my eyes for a brief meditation. Right after that I followed a gut feeling and walked away from my usual spot to a more secluded one as I somehow didn't feel enough "privacy".
Closer to the naked branches of some wintery trees I felt more secure and I lit my Myrrh incense stick and put on the papyrus crown I usually use for the Headless Rite. Facing North, after some minutes of quiet breathing I started reciting the Hymn to Protogonos. It felt strange to not do it in my mother language, but powerful.
I continued with the Stele of Jeu text but couldn't help but feel like there was someone nearby. I read the words slowly, trying to get into a rhythm and to pronounce everything correctly. After the first paragraph I turned around to see if someone was there. Nothing. The usual paranoia. I continued.
I visualized myself growing slowly as I spoke the words. The Earth became smaller and smaller under my feet. As I gazed upwards into the dark sky I had a vision of a black serpentine body moving amorphously like seeing it deep under a surface of water. Although I looked up, it felt like the movement was far below me. It was a sense of loss of orientation.
As I continued to recite the text, I imagined myself floating downwards towards the pile of slithering scales. I myself was gigantic. I could see the entire universe. But I realized the draconian creature under me was much, much bigger. I felt a hint of fear, but pushed it away and I was approaching the part of the barbarous words and self-exorcism, so I put a lot of effort into sounding authoritative.
There it was again, the feeling of being watched! I recited the powerful call to the serpent and saw myself floating towards it again, sinking down - now it did not seem as gigantic as before. I felt courageous and I resisted the urge to turn around again in paranoia and I spontaneously started turning slowly around my own axis, tracing a spiral around myself with the incense stick.
I created a whirling vortex around me, circling around the Northern celestial pole above me, and around the serpent below me. The flux pulled the snake up in a kind of dancing motion. It spiralled around me creating a gigantic tunnel of energy and I was in its center, controlling the rotation. I have never had such strong images during a ritual and such a physical feeling of energy flowing through my body.
When I spoke the "subject to me all daimons..." formula the vortex slowly faded from my mind's vision and I was back in the park. It started snowing more heavily and I felt high like on cocaine. Pumped with energy I had the urge to flex all my muscles at once very strongly up to the point where I felt a strain in my neck. I focussed on my breath to calm down a bit, stuck the incense stick into the ground and stared at its glowing tip for a while.
On the way home I felt very high and I could hear my heart pumping. I envisioned having slit shaped reptilian pupils and it made me smile. I turned my phone back on from flight mode and received a text message.
It was Ricardo, a fellow mage friend who knew that I was out to do the ritual. I expected him to ask how it went, but instead I read:
He wrote me that he had meditated like every evening and because he knew I was out for the rite, he had spontaneously tried to visualise remotely watching me performing it. I was speechless when he continued to tell me that he had a blurry vision of slowly approaching me from behind, seeing me wearing a crown and holding a stick in my hand, being surrounded by a vortex of energy. He came closer and tried to touch my shoulder when suddenly he felt a surge of energy pushing him back, completely losing me out of sight. He even talked about my location, which wasn't exactly where I had been but only around 150 meters away from where I had done the ritual. He did not know beforehand which park I would go to. I was shocked!
I could hardly sleep that night, it felt as if I had had too much coffee. Until today, a whole week later I feel pumped with physical energy and very mindful of my presence in the here and now, almost like when microdosing psychedelics.
One negative outcome of the performance is that my ego seems overly boosted. I lack my usual humbleness and feel almost a bit arrogant from time to time and my patience level is lower than usual. I feel distant waves of aggression lurking under the surface. But I am aware of the differences and it's all under control.
Overall I must say it has been an amazing experience.
The next morning images from the movie "Dune" came into my mind, of the main protagonist Paul Atreides running towards the giant sandworm called Shai-Hulud to climb and ride it. See for yourself :)