TEUFELSKUNST Occult Art Blog
TEUFELSKUNST
Occult Art Blog

Plant Riddle #3 – Solution

As a reminder, I gave the following hints:

This time the herb I’m looking for is not a poisonous one – quite the contrary! It is a classic healing herb, which belongs in any herbal apothecary. A giant in the garden, its name relative is associated with an adversarial hero, who helped man and offended the gods…

The riddle included an illustration, which was to aid in finding the answer. Here is the drawing again:

Fennel

The illustration hinted at the legend of Prometheus, who stole the fire from the olymp in the shaft of a Giant Fennel (Ferula communis). The drawing also shows the planetary ruler (Mercury) and associated element (Fire), which apply to both herbs. Hence the relative I was looking for, was the Common Fennel (Feoniculum vulgare). I admit this time the riddle was a little more tricky. 😉

Thanks to everyone, who commented and shared their ideas! It was great fun reading your remarks and seeing the chain of thoughts that lead most of you to the right answer. 🙂 Other suggestions included angelica, dill, chamomile and yarrow. Since Angelica had been mentioned often, I’m sharing here for comparison my sigillum for it:

Angelica
Angelica

Some of you recognized, the difference in foliage and some other elements. 🙂 I feel inspired though to give this image, which is already a bit older, a make-over and add planetary as well as some more hints at its folkloristic and magical attributions…

For more info about these herbs, please visit my new blog dedicated solely to the Green.

December 30, 2015

Posted In: Art

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Plant Riddle #3

Only few days left until the Winter Solstice, I am excited to share my next plant riddle with you. This time the herb I’m looking for is not a poisonous one – quite the contrary! It is a classic healing herb, which belongs in any herbal apothecary. A giant in the garden, its name relative is associated with an adversarial hero, who helped man and offended the gods.

The riddle is again accompanied by a new illustration I did earlier in autumn and which may help or confuse…

riddle-no3

Which is the plant in question?

December 17, 2015

Posted In: Art

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Lilith Incense

Completed on this new moon, 11/11 – 1,2 l of Lilith incense, blessed in a black moon triangle of manifestation underneath the talon feet of the skull-masked corpse queen.

Lilith Incense

This is the second incense blend dedicated to the qliphoth. It contains flowers, herbs and resins connected to the death moon and honors Lilith as the black queen of the night side. Lilith is a demonic deity, often associated with seductions and sexual perversions. Of the seductress it is said

“Her house sinks down to Death, And her course leads to the shades. All who go to her cannot return And find again the paths of life.” (Proverbs 2:18-19)

In the qliphotic working system Lilith rules the qliphah Gamaliel, which is referred to as “the obscene ones” within the qliphotic context, even though it rather translates as the “reward of god”. Gamaliel is seen opposite the sephirah yesod on the tree of life, which is associated with the planetary influence of the moon – the unconscious in which the other spheres are present yet dormant, like a lake filled with emotions and fluctuating reflections, situated in between the higher planes and the physical plane of manifestation. Therefore Gamaliel is connected to an inversion of these lunar flows, the dark of the moon, lunar eclipses and may be envisioned as a lake filled with black water or “soul matter”.

The absence of the sun’s reflected light facilitates recreation and healing, calm, meditation, genuine inspiration and independent creativity. It is also a period, during which the influence of the mundane and ordered world is weakened. A time of silence and looking inward or it may mark the beginning of a journey on a less traveled road… Ventures undertaken during the dark of the new moon are out of sight and safe from the light of the world. Hence it is also a time beneficial for criminals and unlawful acts.

In the darkness of a new moon strange and fantastic flowers may blossom, and in the redness of the eclipsed harvest moon the flow of life’s currents might be reverted, facilitating the occurrence of manifestations or incarnations from the other side.

Of Lilith is also said she is a mother of demons and rules over 480 legions of shadows. Among these ‘shadows’ are the souls of the children that have died as infants, in childbirth or due to abortion. In this context Lilith is envisioned as a demon who “snatches away the souls” of these children and she is portrayed with bird talons or referred to as “screech owl”. Hence protecting amulets against Lilith were hung above cradles for protecting the infant from the grip of Her talons.

Among the herbs sacred to this demonic deity are Mugwort and Wormwood (both potentially abortive). Both herbs are also often employed in astral workings, as part of incense for divination (e.g. in dream, necromancy etc.) and philters. Besides these, the blend contains flowers of Jasmine, Lilac, Lily, Lotus and Rose. Jasmine is a classic for any “lunar” blend. Sweet Lilac covers the stench of death. Lily is not only evocative in name but also perhaps the most iconic funeral flower and there’s just tons of religious lore connected to this flower. (To me the sweet morbid smell of white regal lilies is simply most evocative of Lilith.) Lotus is the flower representing female divinity and bears links to the realm of death, rebirth and resurrection. Lastly Rose, both white and red are the traditional flowers used in Her veneration, as they both represent mystery and sacredness.

Further ingredients are myrrh, dammar, a small amount of camphor and colored frankincense in red, black and silver – for red is the color of the blood, the red moon and gamaliel, silver evokes the astral and black is for the goddess veiled in darkness. Calamus root and musk seed address the seductress and dominatrix. Orris root as an aromatic binding agent most often employed in dream work may not be missing. White sandalwood adds a warm balmy scent and is a sacred wood traditionally employed in veneration and pleasing the souls of the dead.

And then there is willow bark, added not only because its typically associated with ‘female problems’ and facilitating the blood flow. This bark is harvested from an old hollow willow tree, for it was in the trunk of such tree that the creature named ki-sikil-lil-la-ke (translated as Lilith) had made its nest and the tree, named huluppu, is generally identified as a willow tree. In another account Lilith is also described forming the branches and further demons forming other parts of such tree.

Use this incense for general veneration of the dark goddess Lilith, in combination with the black mirror and scrying bowls and for other types of astral workings that aim at manifestations.

Scent: camphorous, floral sweet, slightly morbid

100 ml, limited to 11 jars

Note: There are 11 filled jars charged with the vibrations of this most auspicious date coinciding with the dark of the moon. They are available for purchase here and will also be listed in my Etsy online store.

Edit: all jars sold over night. More of this incense will be available after the next new moon, Friday, 11 December.

For ordering and all other inquiries write e-mail to info@teufelskunst.com

November 13, 2015

Posted In: Ritual

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New Wooden Seed Boxes

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Good things come to those who wait. I have received many requests for new wooden seed boxes, but it was only during the past month that I was able to finish new boxes. So here they are: stained in the colors of fall and charged with the vibrations of the blood red moon, the boxes are filled with the year’s harvest of seeds coming from 50 different herbs.

The philosophy behind the boxes is to share the seeds, which I gather from my own witch garden, so that other practitioners may grow herbs from them as well. This means, we keep in touch, exchange experiences and compare our results with growing and sowing the herbs under different conditions. I am also giving advice here and on my garden blog, for growing and handling these herbs. Besides this the boxes also contain some seeds from new herbs, that I yet plan to sow and where I wish for others to join in.

Seed Boxes Fall 2015 copyEach box is pyrographed with the Teufelskunst Sigilum Maior/greater sowing seal on the cover and Sigilum Minor/lesser sowing seal on the inside. The boxes are stained in a warm red hue and finished with a thin layer of transparent varnish. There are THREE boxes filled with seeds (see the listing of the exact content here). The price for one box is 99 Euro + shipping.

Accepted payment methods: Paypal, SEPA bank transfer inside Euro countries

Update: the boxes are SOLD

NOTE: I have been asked whether these boxes are also available without the seed content. If you would rather have an EMPTY BOX with the same or different decor, please contact me and we work something out!

For ordering and all other inquiries write e-mail to info@teufelskunst.com

November 2, 2015

Posted In: Herbs & Seeds

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New Plant Riddle

New Plant Riddle

Tonight I share this new artwork with you, which is again a riddle. The game is as usual: guess the plant depicted and leave a comment with your suggestion! If you have been following my recent postings on my new herbalism blog you will easily find the plant in question. A hint: it has to do with autumn. 😉

October 14, 2015

Posted In: Art, Pflanzenkunst

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Art Prints, small edition

I’m sorry if you have been browsing the Teufelskunst website and found that most of the items listed here are sold out. This is because I have been working mainly on commissions since some months and had little or no time to add new ready-made items. However, there are still some incense blends as well as amulets available and of course the herbal supply continues.

But there is also a sign of new things to come. Find added NEW a small color print edition of my plant “soul-paintings”:

The original paintings are done with plant juices and blood. The images are ca. 110 x 150 mm, the paper format is A5. Protected inside simple black carton and envelope. Available are 10 copies of each. Nice price for all three: 13 Euro + shipping!

NOTE: I am also preparing an offer for mounted and signed prints of the “Regina Amandrakina” art. The passe-partouts for these measure 400 x 300 mm and the prints themselves will be ca 305 x 230 mm. Estimated pricing: 39 Euro + shipping
https://teufelskunst.com/catalogue/art/prints/

I’m also working on more new items to offer here the coming months! More news tba soon…

August 31, 2015

Posted In: Pflanzenkunst, Art

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QQ Incense

IMG_5348 copy-s

A commission I have been working on for a few weeks and which happened to be completed on the seventh of this month, was the creation of an incense blend for Qayin and his twin-sister/bride Qalmana. The ingredients for these blends are mainly inspired from the workings outlined in Liber Falxifer I and II.

Both blends were completed at the stroke of midnight from August 6 to August 7. At this time Venus was retrograde and at the edge of “plunging” into the underworld. Dark astrology says, “Particularly matters connected with ‘poison’ are accentuated badly”.

I took inspiration from this dark venus aspect and enhanced my Qayin blend with some venific herbs, such as aconite, henbane and mandrake root, which are added in moderate amounts. These address the poisoner aspect and at the same time all have links to necromancy and the underworld. Further ingredients, that count among the more traditional are myrrh, patchouli, blackthorn, sandalwood, wormwood and yew. Cloves are added for fragrance as well as palo santo wood. Tobacco, long pepper and red chili pepper spice up and enhance the blend’s effectiveness. Some rare additions are ebony dust and ironwood shavings, the latter which have been granted to me by a long-time customer. Beside myrrh resin I added also black copal (one of my all time favorites) and opoponax as well as asafoetida. These all possess to links to the dead and necromancy as well as underline the darker aspects of the Qayin. Red carnation flower petals, black and yellow mustard seeds and some more ingredients refine this incense blend, which is suited for special occasions and feast days but also as part of regular offerings.

Scent: earthy, spicy, hot, but at the same time fresh, resembling the smell of a cold grave or crypt, dominant notes of clove, cypress and opoponax

The incense blend for Qalmana in turn, has an overall flowery sweet scent and emphasizes benific aspects of Venus, such as beauty, lovingness and splendor but at the same time also has protective qualities. It contains among others flowers of apple, cherry, elder, lilac and rose. Precious benzoe siam resin, labdanum, vanilla bean etc. combined with spicy ingredients such as coriander and clove yield an exceptional, sweet, floral mystical fragrance. Besides these the blend contains also rosewood as well as whitethorn. The latter is added also to underline the twin/dual aspect of Qalmana towards her spouse, whose incense blend contains blackthorn. A small amount of blue Papaver somniferum seeds reveres the queen of magical plants and adds a dark touch.

Characteristic for both incense blends are woods and resins, as well as fruits, leafs and flowers from thorny trees, such as myrrh, rose, whitethorn and blackthorn respectively, in harmony with the esoteric doctrine pertaining to the path of thorns, upon which Qayin and Qalmana guide their disciples. Protective and baneful, benific and venific elements balance out each other. The blends come along strong and may be mixed in equal amounts with myrrh and frankincense or copal.

Both blends happened to amount to 182 ml each. I am currently not able to sell them on a larger scale. But I consider offering simplified versions better suited for daily usage soon.

On the side, I do not know of any other book dealing as exhaustively with the female counterpart of Qayin as LF II. And it is with some excitement that I see Ixaxaar announce a 3rd and even 4th volume in the series. Looking beyond the controversy surrounding these books they still remain as works of love and devotion to the spirits. They also continue delivering interesting details and pieces in the puzzle to those, who continue searching…

364

August 16, 2015

Posted In: Feast Days

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