Teufelskunst

Announcing: Samhain Celebration in Gotha

Teufelskunst contributes to the Samhain Celebration on November 4th, in Gotha (Germany). Teufelskunst provides the central part of the visual concept in the form of the “Samhain harvest” seal, which is featured on various merchandise articles. Teufelskunst also provides the incense of the night. A sample of the blend comes with each of the 100 merchandise kits. Included in this special offering is also a journal, the “Samhain Herald” featuring my essay about Samhain and the Wild Hunt, paying special attention to the European and Germanic traditions associated with the darkest time of the year.

Support: Soth Arts

Soth Arts created unique qliphotic rosaries for the night, eight of which are adorned with our blacksmith’s Teufelskunst bronze amulet. The rosaries are made of ebony and black wooden beads. Besides this will also be available seven rosaries with sawn-out twin-serpents as well as one rosary with a black Calvary cross pendant:

Soth Arts rosaries

Date: November 4th
Location: The Londoner – English Pub, Gotha
Entrance: 6 pm
Begin: 8 pm

Tickets:
VVK: 15€, AK: 18€

November 2, 2016

Posted In: News & Site Updates

Tags: the londoner english pub, incense, samhain, amulets, samhain celebration, events, gotha, november 4th, rosaries

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Harvest Blessing October 2016

Harvest Blessing Oct. 2016

For the past weeks (and with interruption due to sickness), I have been working meticulously on the set-up for ritually blessing this year’s harvest. Of course it is not possible to pile up all the herbs and seeds gathered over the year. So instead I created a new, dynamic working sigil, which can be adopted and rearranged for different needs. In my own ritual the sigil is constructed from different plant parts and seeds, each corresponding with one of the four elements and esoteric symbolism. I.e. the sickles are made out of fennel stalks and vervain herb. For the stang in the center was used a thorn-apple stalk with pods and thornapple leaf and seed for the triangle symbolizing the spirit housed within the green. Of course you could use other herbs, real sickles, or simply trace the lines in the soil.

My offerings given to the spirits included self-gathered pine tree resin, Samhain protection incense, four beeswax candles, water and rum. The operation can be performed in silent contemplation or you call upon specific crossroad spirits and deities of your tradition. When done, all parts of the sigil can be gathered and employed to different sorcerous ends. Important is, if the ritual is dedicated to a certain spirit or deity you should stick with it.

Now I mentioned this was a dynamic sigil. As you can see in the above picture, the ritual aimed at blessing objects (in this case my seed boxes), which are placed inside the blades of the four sickles. A different ritual setting would consist of placing links to the four elements inside the sickles, e.g. offerings corresponding to each or your main altar tools. The point is, that you can construct and arrange the set-up in different ways suiting your needs. Now here are a few suggestions how to go about it:

Recently someone pointed out that the placement of the four elements inside my sigil was “wrong”. He was reasoning from the viewpoint of Western Mystery Tradition / Tarot. Well, as you can see there are different versions that all can be worked with. It is entirely up to you if you want to employ a tradition-specific succession and which you chose. Important is, if you do, that you contemplate and know why you chose one option over another.

Btw. I am looking forward to use the earth-bound altar again. It was altogether a very powerful experience employing sorcerous herbs and soil in this way.

PS: Please remember, I will process any new orders by the 2nd week of November. Until then I am preparing for my stall and exhibition at the Samhain Celebration on November 4th in Gotha (Germany).

October 21, 2016

Posted In: Ritual, Herbs & Seeds, Art

Tags: summer end, harvest Seal, working seal, seal, samhain 2016, ritual, blessing, incense, earth altar, sorcery, earth-bound, altar, harvest 2016, samhain, harvest blessing, harvest, harvest ritual, black earth, offerings, plant magic, plant sorcery, sigil

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Samhain 2016 – important update

I am preparing my stall at the Samhain Celebration in Gotha (Germany) on November 4. All orders placed until October 15 will ship in time for Halloween. All orders placed after October 15 will be shipped by the 2nd week of November. Shipping times on my etsy listings have been updated accordingly. Thanks for your understanding!

More updates on the event, my stall and exhibition to follow this week…

Samhain Celebration, Gotha (Thuringia), November 4 2016 — Harvest Seal made for the Samhain Celebration in Gotha (Thuringia), November 4 2016

October 16, 2016

Posted In: Feast Days, News & Site Updates

Tags: samhain, updates, news, halloween, harvest Seal, samhain 2016, samhain celebration

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Mandrake Roots and Art

This project began earlier in 2016, when parting with a few homegrown live mandrake roots and sending them to new homes. Part of the deal for the new owner was to commission a portrait of the very root they were to receive.

Each root is drawn with ink and quill on stained paper. Attention is paid to the peculiar shape and features of each root. The result are detailed portraits, which are not only unique pieces of fine art but which also give the owner a reference, when the roots are planted back into soil.

Examples of roots that have left my own mandrake family and joined new homes:

Available roots (prices including hand-drawn art, excluding shipping):

For ordering write to info@teufelskunst.com

October 6, 2016

Posted In: Pflanzenkunst, Herbs & Seeds

Tags: roots, homunculus, ritual tools, ink, live plants, plant art, magical plants, plant folklore, mandragora officinarum, plant magic, mandrake project, witch herbs, plants in legend, moly, sorcery, art, original art, witchcraft, drawing, plant mythology, illustration, famuli, portrait, Mandrake, folklore

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Wooden Seed Boxes, Autumn Equinox 2016

The seeds have been gathered and new wooden seed boxes are nearing completion. With joy I offer again this treat for the tenders of sorcerous gardens, just in time for the autumnal equinox. Below is a preview of the boxes:

Available are boxes #23-26. They will contain again a fertile mix of seeds from various benific and venific herbs. Four boxes are available, three of which are already reserved. For those that will not receive one this time, I plan to craft a few more until Samhain. If you want to make sure to get your hands on one, then I recommend placing a reservation now.

For ordering and reservations please e-mail me at info@teufelskunst.com

September 13, 2016

Posted In: Herbs & Seeds

Tags: garden, harvester, plant, seeds, sorcerous herbs, witch herbs, witch garden, sorcery, poisoner, seed boxes, autumn equinox, wooden boxes, wooden seed boxes

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"Sakura Yume" oneiric incense

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The most exquisite incense blend I may have composed up to this day, contains costly aloeswood, sakura blossoms, white lavender, benzoin siam resin etc. and is my personal “if all else fails” agent. I made it recently for myself and for my dad, who was extremely moved and emotional over receiving it. He does not burn it as incense but simply enjoys smelling on the incense glass.

The blend itself is inspired by a dream of flying – an intense and surreal experience. Imagine you are flying on a magic carpet and find yourself enveloped in a whirlwind of sakura blossoms*, their tender petals gently brushing your face. The magic carpet moves swiftly and carries you further, across endless lavender fields, letting you observe the world from a birds eye view. In an abandoned landscape garden fragrant roses release their sweet scent in the sun’s warmth. At the end you land smoothly, in a familiar place, with both feet planted firmly on the ground. In my dream this place was near a cemetery, I had been visiting so often and there I met and received guidance from a dead friend. Whilst the incense blend does not contain any necromantic herbs, it can still open astral channels to one’s tutelary spirits, which may also include dead friends.

The seal adorning the incense vessel is my “dream gate” seal, which is inspired by the aforementioned dream and which I have used in various contexts and in connection with different deities:

dream-seal-web

Uses: restful sleep, inspired dreaming, protection, joy, receiving guidance from familiar and tutelary spirits in dream, honoring the spirit of the cherry tree

Contains: aloeswood, benzoin siam resin, cherry blossoms, lavender buds, fragrant rose petals, star anise, styrax-scented charcoal, black and silver olibanum resin

* in Japanese tradition the falling sakura blossoms stand for the souls of the dead

Available options and pricing:

~~100 ml violet glass jar – 39,90 Euro~~
~~50 ml violet glass jar – 22,90 Euro~~
~~60 ml brown glass jar – 22,90 Euro~~
~~120 ml brown glass jar – 39,90 Euro~~

~~Order this blend via e-mail and from my etsy shop~~ – CURRENTLY SOLD OUT

Besides, this incense provides a good alternative for persons allergic to mugwort etc.

August 15, 2016

Posted In: Incense

Tags: dreams, soporific, ritual incense, incense blends, oneirogenic, oneiromancy, dream gate, dream incense, dreaming, gate seal, high magic

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Incense Blends of the Dead

Veneration Incense of the Dead

This is a basic incense blend that you can use in daily or weekly offerings on the altar dedicated to the ancestral, beloved and the mighty dead. It consists of equal amounts of myrrh, wormwood and white sandalwood. This blend can easily be adjusted for different purposes, e.g. for “talking” to or “appeasing” the souls of the deceased. Fitting herbs for modifying this blend can be ordered along with it. (see below)

Contains: fresh myrrh resin, white sandalwood, self-harvested wormwood

Oneiromantic incense of the Dead

This blend is designed specifically for contacting the dead in dream and receiving advice about the future. It contains the same ingredients as the veneration incense of the dead and is enhanced with soporific and oneirogenic ingredients, e.g. sandarac resin, mugwort, jasmine and brugmansia flowers, privet flowers and white rose buds. The blend should be burned an hour prior to sleep, in a calm surrounding. It is meant to help the practitioner find a calm state of mind and enter a deep and restful sleep, which is the premise for experiencing sustained and long dream sequences. The same blend can be used for ritually recalling these dreams. It is helpful to use a photograph and other personal links to the dead, whose presence is sought in dream. These links can be placed for example beside the bed or under the pillow.

Safety advice: Please do not leave burning coals unobserved! Don’t burn incense if you feel too tired to pay attention. Instead simply smell on the jar before sleep and burn the incense, when you are well rested and want to revisit the dream experience.

Contains: brugmansia and jasmine flores, fresh myrrh resin, privet flowers*, sandarac resin, self-harvested mugwort and wormwood, silver frankincense, white sandalwood, white rose buds

Order these blends via e-mail

Herbs with different properties pertaining to the dead

aconite (death curses, resurrection), aloeswood (protection, sleep, overcoming sadness), benzoin resin (enchantments, sleep), blackthorn (coercing), brugmansia flowers (astral work, divination, coercing), copal resin (appeasing), cornel cherry wood (resurrection), cypress needles and bark (protection), dittany of crete (manifestation), elder flowers (gate opening), galbanum resin (dreams, protection), foxglove (death curses, resurrection), guggul resin (dreams, protection), laurel leaves (sleep, communication), lavender (appeasing, sleep), mugwort (astral work), henbane (manifestation, communication, cursing), mandrake (dark dead), mullein (manifestation, protection), myrrh resin (mourning, protection), opoponax resin (protection, astral work), poplar (gate opening), rose petals (dreams, protection), sandarac resin (sleep), tobacco (feeding, communion, banishing), valerian root (sleep, protection), vervain herb (appeasing, dreams), white sandalwood (appeasing), willow (gate opening), yew needles (gate opening, death curses, resurrection)

This list is far from complete, but gives an idea to which end certain resins and herbal agents can be employed in connection with the dead. The blends presented above are meant as starters for exploring the vast and increasingly complex field of “necromancy”.

July 26, 2016

Posted In: Feast Days, Ritual, Incense

Tags: ancestor worship, astral magic, beloved dead, blessed dead, incense, dream-inducing, necromantic incense, incense blends, dream work, oneirogenic, dreams, oneiromancy, ritual incense, the dead, veneration, ancestor veneration

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Summer Solstice Incense '16 (update)

Summer Solstice Incense '16 This incense blend is dedicated to the rituals surrounding the summer solstice, when the sun reaches it’s annual zenith. The ophidian seal adorning the vessels that contain the solstice incense, is inspired by the viper’s bugloss (Echium vulgare) herb.

The ingredients for this blend are the herbs and flowers traditionally associated with the summer solstice. The incense blend evokes in particular a vision of a summer meadow at dusk: bushes of blue flowering viper’s bugloss cover the ground and transform into nests of serpents. Plantain, thistle and St. John’s wort grow at its side. Nearby, the fragrant yellow flowers of the evening primrose glow in the evening light and emit their sweet scent into the sweltry air, attracting the most wondrous kind of fairy folks…

Contains: amber, chamomile, copal (white), dammar resin, evening primrose, frankincense (aden), mugwort, mullein, plantain, shed snake skin, St. John’s wort, tansy, blessed thistle, vervain, viper’s bugloss, yarrow

Use this incense blend for cleansing, IMG_0655_web2 purification and letting go of the old, for protection, renewal, celebrating the night, inspired dreaming and creativity. The blend can also aid in decision making: cast out the serpent as a symbol of “evil” or embrace it as a symbol of wisdom and become a serpent yourself.

Available options and pricing:

100 ml violet glass jar – 19,80 Euro
50 ml violet glass jar – 12,10 Euro
60 ml brown glass jar – 12,10 Euro
120 ml brown glass jar – 19,80 Euro

Order this blend via e-mail and from my etsy shop

Update: In the previous message the title image and some links were not working. These have been fixed now. Thanks for reading and have a blessed solstice!

June 16, 2016

Posted In: Ritual, Incense, Feast Days

Tags: purification, creativity, purifying, ritual, evening primrose, serpent seal, ophidian, frankincense, solstice incense, ritual tools, solstices, divination & dream, inspiration, st. john's eve, vervain, inspired dream, st. johns wort, cleansing, midsummer, summer solstice, ritual incense, mugwort, tansy, amber, mullein, vipers bugloss, chamomile, plantain, yarrow, copal

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