TEUFELSKUNST Occult Art Blog
TEUFELSKUNST
Occult Art Blog

Frau Holle, Old Mother Frost…

Beginning of this year I started a journey with a goddess I had always known from legend and fairy tales but never actually approached ritually. A simple request, whether my Rauhnächte incense could also be used for honoring her, lead me to change my perspective. Eventually I spent the whole year researching and gathering herbs that connect to her essence and bring out her different light and dark aspects to finally compose an incense which evokes the obscure deity in her wholeness.

Lacking any image representing her I also designed a new sigil for her, who…

  • resides on a white mountain top, at the depth of a well, in the clouds or in hell
  • is the goddess of spinning and weaving, winter and death, childbirth and vegetation
  • contains the souls of the unborn and stillborn in her well, grants fertility and receives the souls of the dying
  • governs legions of elves and gnomes, presides over witchcraft and the sending of nightmares
  • sends snow and hail, rain and frost over the land and leads the wild hunt
  • visits earth during the twelve coldest nights, blesses the diligent and punishes the indolent
  • appears as a beautiful virgin of the dawn, fertile mother of man at day, devil’s sorcerous grandmother at night
  • is the companion of the green-man during spring and summer and the spouse of Wode, the hunter, during the dark half of the year

She is known as Percht(a), Berchta and Bertha in upper Germany (who may have Celtic roots), Holle or Holda, holde Frau, Frau Venus in Middle Germany, Frau Herke/Harke or Gercke, Frau Gode/Gaude, in lower Germany, Murawa (a night demon in Saxony) and Spillaholle in Silesia. All these names are present throughout different parts of Germany and are expressions of an older omnipotent goddess.

In Bohemia she is also simply known as Frau Holle, a small and ugly old woman, who carries a batch of stinging nettles. During the twelve cold nights of winter (twelve yule nights) she visits earth and looks into the homes, to see, if the spinners have finished their work or are still spinning. The latter she punishes by beating them with the nettles. But those who have finished their spinning are blessed with a single nettle twig left in the home that protects the house from misfortune for the whole coming year.

A Silesian rhyme about the Spillaholle goes:

Spinnt, Kinderlein, spinnt,
Die Spillalutsche kommt;
Sie guckt zu allen Löchlein rein,
Ob das Strähnlein wird bald fertig sein.

Spin, little children, spin,
The Spillalutsche comes;
She peeks through all the little gaps,
If the little strand will be finished soon.

Spillaholle occurs as an especially cruel and mean version of Frau Holle, since she kills the children, that she has caught spinning at night. She also scares people to death. She is accompanied by wood sprites, a tomcat and a goat.

November 26, 2023

Posted In: Art, Ritual

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“Dead Astronaut” is aLive

It’s wonderful to be receiving such feedback! Remember last year`s mandrake post about “Alien Monstress” and “Crippled Astronaut”? Well, who would have guessed that! First photo shows a recent post by obviously blessed and knowledgable David ‘Mr. Mandrake’ Simmons. Second photo is of the same root about a year ago and third is of my ink portrait, now framed and adorning D. Simmon’s wall. Thanks David!

In memoriam H.H. Ewers

July 17, 2023

Posted In: Garden, Pflanzenkunst, Herbs & Seeds, Art, Ritual

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Viridis Genii Symposium VII, Follow-Up

For those who missed out on the virtual event, you can still order the VGS publication featuring my essay on Phytography (introducing the term) and my encounter with the guardian of the witch hazel, as well as two illustrations by me: https://viridisgenii.com/product/viridis-genii-series-7-vol-2/

My gratitude goes to the organizers Catamara and Marcus as well as the team of people that made it all possible, especially Kim, Katrink and Prof. Porterfield. Huge thanks also to the people that attended and took part in the workshops, especially David. We made it work, despite catching Covid, despite hurricanes and despite all the other obstacles. I am looking forward to the next point in time when the portals open for communing with the genii of the plant kingdom. Below is a summary of my presentation and workshop.

1 hour live presentation with Q&A

Creating Magical Images of Plants – Combining Phytography and Ritual Magic

1 hour lecture + 3 hour workshop included the following topics:

  • methods of ritual magic, sympathetic magic and planetary magic
  • indepth information on plant pigments
  • short history of nature printing
  • alternative photography processes feat. work by Malin Fabbri and Kristina Feldhammer
  • Datura wrightii flower at Pinwheel Cave California
  • examples of phytographs created with coffee and plants
  • workshop guides through the ritual creation of your own magical plant paper talismans
  • question & answer on anything plant/ritual related

Workshop materials provided to attendents included:

  • ritually harvested, pressed flowers and plants
  • absorbent paper
  • signed print of the witch hazel seal

Phytographs created during the 3 hour workshop:

  1. Magnolia, hour of Venus
  2. Fennel, hour of Mercury
  3. California Poppy, hour of Mercury + Moon
  4. Blue Lotus, hour of Moon
  5. Witch Hazel, hour of Saturn

October 17, 2022

Posted In: Events, Art, Ritual, Publications, News & Site Updates

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Viridis Genii Symposium VII

I am pleased to be giving a lecture and hosting a workshop at this year’s Viridis Genii Symposium!

It is only possible thanks to the event being held online again that I am able to participate and share my knowledge. So this is a rare opportunity for people outside of Germany to attend and ask me all the questions that you always wanted to ask me about plants and my art with plants, including my plant sigils.

So what can you expect that will make it worth to purchase tickets?

You will:

  • receive a unique workshop kit with powerful magical plants that have been harvested ritually and are already arranged and pressed for you (to be purchased separately for a humble 12 USD fee)
  • work creatively in a relaxed and meditative surrounding
  • expand your ritual routine and connect collectively to the plant spirits
  • get a unique chance to ask me questions about your favorite plants
  • at the end you hold a concrete and potentially magical talisman in your hands

In the lecture I will introduce the term “Phytography” and guide you through the history of nature printing, from cave paintings, to medieval herbals, to Leonardo da Vinci, to modern alternative photography, including examples by contemporary artists such as Malin Fabbri and Kristina Feldhammer. We will talk about the “blood” of the plants and their other juices, plant pigments and in how far the coffee based phytographs that we will produce in the workshop can be considered “magical images” of the plants, through the use of sympathetic magic and astrological correspondences.

Tickets: viridisgenii.com

NOTE: The number of workshop participants is limited to 30!

Besides, there is an annual publication accompanying the event. This year’s book features my essay on Phytography, two illustrations and a lucid experience with the guardian of the witch hazel. The book has just arrived fresh from the print and can be ordered now from Rosarium Blends!

Note: deluxe ticket holders will automatically receive a copy.

Preview of the plants that come with the workshop kits – included among others are: thorn-apple, bryony, bindweed, lily-of-the-valley, forget-me-not, periwinkle, ferns, enchanter’s nightshade, barrenwort, wormwood, mugwort, fennel, various spring blossoms such as violets, daffodils, linden leaves, cherry, lilac, elder, hellebores etc. all carefully arranged and ready for use. It’s been a hell of a work… 😉

September 15, 2022

Posted In: Art, News & Site Updates, Pflanzenkunst, Events

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ROOT Art Exhibition Online

Honored to have been asked to take part in “ROOT”, the inaugural online exhibition hosted by The Organic Centre & creatively coordinated by artist Sarah Ellen Lundy as part of the pairs ongoing collaborative ‘Project Earth’.

https://www.rootexhibition.com/

December 22, 2020

Posted In: Pflanzenkunst, Events, Exhibitions, Art

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Artist Takeover #1: Emry Kamahi Tahatai Kereru

For the coming 7 days the Teufelskunst Instagram and Facebook page will be filled with works by the talented Emery Kereru from New Zealand.

Emery is the first artist to hijack Teufelskunst. Read on why…

“Emry Kamahi Tahatai Kereru is a lifelong devotee of the black art from the Mot Valley, New Zealand. His works serve as record of a soul’s descent into perdition, through the arts bequeathed by fallen angels. He favours steel-point illustration as a medium, for its precision and control. Through symbolism he hopes to grasp the language of the divine and the mysteries of the Great Work. By realistic as possible illustrations of baneful witching herbs he has tried to capture the natural forms that carry a trace of their inmost essence. Faith is the basis of all he does, and he strives for as great a distance as possible from ego driven occultism and the empty regurgitation of familiar images and forms, disconnected from rooted contextual meaning. These works are true reflections of a lived experience beyond expression.”

Asked for his signature, Emry sent me this magic quare: 

@e.m.s.a.r.t.s would you be willing to explain to my followers, how you went about constructing it?

E: “The magic square came to me during a period of intense prayer bathing in the river and fasting. It cyphers and rectifies my own name + arts mission into a Latin verse based on Revelation 21:8. EX MORTEM SECUNDUM ASCENSURA REVELATIO TEMPLUM SATHANAE, in seven descending columns, across the bottom line it reads simply A + O, which represents Spirit as the beginning and end of all, and the goal of the Great Work. The raising of the Temple, in a metaphoric sense, by the Sons of Fire, in 49 letters is 7×7, the Lord’s Prayer recited sevenfold and also 4 + 9 = 13, the bloodline of Lucifer. The weeds of the field are pulled up and burned in the fire, second death, which is perdition of the soul upon the descent of seven steps, to dedicate oneself to the spiritual work through the Devil’s pact.

The signification is that works are undertaken as an exercise of devotion and self rectification with approval of spirit.

So these works shown here are actually drawn on the blank pages from the beginning and end of bibles stolen from Christians. At the time I was hitchhiking to town once every week or two and living on about $20 a week mostly eating potatoes or weeds foraged off the land.

So I would hitch a ride to town, steal a Bible, buy a bottle of wine and a packet of lambs hearts and a few other small items. The rest of the books was used as firelighters for ritual fires of Cypress, Laurel even Yew or other specific woods.

The pages marked with the witching herbs are wordless, before Genesis and after Revelation. The rest is torn up and burned in the fire. The series is entirely symbolic and every work is prayed over with offerings to the plant spirits. Each took about three full days outside.”

The next image shows an impression from an exhibition of Emrys botanical drawings. It was this that caught my attention. I had known Emry from before, though only through e-mail contact. He was one of the first to order poison garden seeds from me. Nevermind he was in New Zealand…

Years later he sent me drawings he had done of various plants. It was just a glimpse, but it was clear, that he was serious about drawing and it looked good, meaning, professional. So I followed his steps in art and mixed media over the past 3 years. And it is with joy, that I now present to you this first small retrospective.

1 week, 9 posts. Watch out and enjoy the stories that come with each…

October 9, 2020

Posted In: Art

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Raven King

“Raven King” sigil art + incense, November 2019

This is my second work representing an ‘animal’ spirit. In this sigil I combine mythology and spiritual lore connected to the Corvidae family.

Ravens and crows both feature extensively in the mythology and folklore of basically all continents and nations. I cannot remember when exactly my own journey with these animals started. But they continue to present me with the most auspicious magic and moments, whenever I open up and notice their ever-presence. Hence, when a friend inquired for a crow skull tattoo, I already felt a deep connection to the animal’s collective spirit. But I was lacking actually knowledge and education. So began my reading and study journey, for which I received wonderful help and recommendations. The sigil art presented here is now the quintessence of this autumnal journey with the crows, ravens, magpies, jackdaws and grosbeaks around me and their universal lore.

In November 2019 I created the first 7 of altogether 14 miniature drawings. The sigils are drawn with ink on imbued paper, which has been infused with coffee and a tincture created from the accompanying incense blend. Each sigil is signed and numbered on the back. The sigils come in a black cardboard box + 30 ml bag of “Raven King” incense.

Incense contains: birch, blackthorn, black alder, black copal, black myrrh, black sacra frankincense, cypress, elder, human bone, juniper, oak, rowan, tobacco, walnut, white sage, yew

Artwork size: ca. 12,5 x 12,5 cm, box size: ca. 13 x 13 cm

limited to 2 x 7 (6 available)

November 15, 2019

Posted In: Incense, Art

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Meadow Saffron

The meadow saffron, or autumn crocus, is a highly fascinating plant. Its purple flowers look like crocuses, but appear in early autumn, when most other plants are done flowering. This is also reflected in its German name “Herbstzeitlose”, which means “autumn messenger”. From the “naked” flowers may also be derived the English moniker “naked ladies”.

The leaves, on the other hand, show up in spring and have been mistaken for bear’s garlic. A dangerous and potentially deadly mistake, since the entire plant contains the alkaloid colchicine, which acts similar to arsenic, and has no known antidote. In addition it has a long latency period, which makes poisoning with autumn crocus even more difficult to recognize and treat. Colchicine acts as a mitotic poison, by interfering with the reduction division of the chromosomes during meiosis. While deadly, it is also made use of in medicine, for treating certain types of cancer, as well as in plant breeding, where it causes plants to grow larger and produce bigger fruits.

A plant named Colchicon was first mentioned by Dioscorides. The specific name autumnale given by Linnaeus, refers to its time of flowering. The genus name Colchicum is derived from Colchis, the landscape on the Black Sea, most famously known for the witch Medea, who is told to have poisoned her enemies with meadow saffron, but also restored youth with its help. In Apollonius Rhodius’ Argonautica, Medea rubs a salve on Jason’s limbs, which contains meadow saffron. According to another legend, meadow saffron grew from the blood that dripped from Prometheus’ liver. However, the same story is also related to the Mandrake and both plants are candidates for the mythical plant named “blood of Prometheus”.

Despite a narrow therapeutic index, meadow saffron has been used medicinally for at least 3500 years. It is still a treatment for rheumatism and gout. During the times of the plague the bulb was also worn as a protective amulet around the neck. (You can read more about this plant on my garden blog).

The artwork shown here is one of my more illustrative works, combining symbolism and showing the plant spirit in an anthropomorphic form. It was first show-cased in 2017 at gallery Circle1 in Berlin, as part of the “Bad Intentions” group exhibition. It is drawn with black ink on paper that has been stained with coffee and meadow saffron flower extract. It is signed and dated on the back and comes in a simple black cardboard passe-partout.

You receive the exact work shown here.

Artwork size: ca. 4 x 8 inch, passe-partout size: ca. 6 x 11 inch

For ordering the art please email me at info@teufelskunst.com

December 6, 2018

Posted In: Pflanzenkunst, Art

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