TEUFELSKUNST Occult Art Blog
TEUFELSKUNST
Occult Art Blog

Birch is for Fertility and New Beginnings

I have been silent but not lazy, as I am heading into the last weeks of pregnancy and continue being creative, while embracing the transforming effects of this wondrous process.

I continue working with the birch’s wood, which will likely be my last artworks before giving birth. Here is my second “Berkano” disc:

Pyrographed during the lunar eclipse, that occurred earlier in January 2020

I have also began work on the third and fourth birch wood disc, which will focus on the birch’s roll in the Ogham and other animistic attributions connected to the birch, featuring the heron as one of my favorite spirit animals.

There have been a lot of requests for new seed boxes – expect an update on these next week!

Bloody halo and partial lunar eclipse, photographed January 10th 2020

January 24, 2020

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Seed Boxes 2019

The past months were spent crafting and filling another row of Teufelskunst seed boxes. This year’s regular series included again a variety of new and old witch herb classics, while the recent “Black Flowers” edition, which was finalized this week, holds again a little treasury of extravagant, black or near black flowering plants as well as some vegetables with black fruits. Below are a few impressions of the final boxes. All remaining black flowers boxes will be shipped on the 15th of July. Please watch your email inboxes (and spam folders) for shipping notifications.

July 13, 2019

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Seed Boxes 2018

Over three months in the making – the seed boxes for 2018 are finally here! All those, who had asked to be added to the reservation list, have been notified in e-mail earlier and pre-orders have now been processed. It is with joy, that I can say, the special “black flowers” edition sold out within a few days. There are still 3 of the regular seed boxes left. For ordering please go here.

Some impressions of the work progress on these latest seed boxes:

6 regular (red) with seeds for 69 different witch herbs + 4 “black flowers” boxes

wooden seed boxes, pyrographed, stained and varnished by hand

new motif for the “black flowers” special, applied by hand with blueprint paper

finished “black flowers” seed boxes, pyrographed, stained and varnished by hand

For details about the seeds contained in these boxes and growing info please view the listings in the Teufelskunst webshop and visit my garden blog at Pflanzenkunst.

June 16, 2018

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Walpurgisnacht Followup

“Walpurgisnacht” incense and “Sabbath Seal” pyrographed on willow wood, April 2018

Thanks to everyone that ordered the incense and especially to those, that made use of the opportunity to get their hands on the pyrographed “Sabbath Seal”. The offer was sold out within 24 hours, which makes me proud and encourages me to proceed on this wicked journey. Special thanks to Antinomian Antipodean and Hanged Man’s Seed Apothecary for extra supplies.

I am now working on the next offer, which will be 6 regular wooden seed boxes, 4 black flower themed wooden seed boxes and 5 mandrake drawings + live plants. Reservations may be placed via email.

Thank you for your patience and continued support!

On a personal note, my move went well. The new work place is nearly set up and I have started discovering  Düsseldorf and making new friendships. It is still a big change and I have to get used to living without a garden here and adopting to a new rhythm. I still have a few plants in pots and sown simple kitchen herbs last weekend. Meanwhile the green in the garden in Dresden are exploding. Likewise does the nature around me.

So continue the hunt and the attempts at trying to capture fleeting moments of enticement. The grey heron watches and leaves, only to return in unexpected moments. The shower of cherry blossoms in the light of the rising sun is long gone again. The impressions live on in the mind and heart and art of the magician, who keeps collecting and processing, surrounded by the current bloom of fragrant lilac and carnation…

 

May 3, 2018

Posted In: Feast Days, News & Site Updates, Incense

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Wooden Seed Boxes #31-36

Wooden Seed Boxes, April 2017

In follow to the wonderful feedback and many emails received after the last boxes had been sold, I spent the past weeks crafting and researching what would become the content of the next row of wooden seed boxes, these being numbers 31-36.

This time my focus was drawn towards magical herbs, which can be found on a blooming summer meadow and are traditionally used on the summer solstice. Many of these herbs are sown in April and May, hence the timing. Some annuals, such as poppies, you may be able to harvest already this summer, if sown now.

Besides this I wanted to include some new venific herbs, to accompany the well-known nightshades and popular poison plants. In my search my attention was drawn to the spurge, more precisely the caper spurge (Euphorbia lathyris). Earlier I had been asked for spurge to use in a martial incense recipe and had trouble finding the right type. By chance I came across references pointing to the caper spurge with its poisonous milky sap, prominent size and auspicious shape. The plant seems to have been well known in Germany. It would be planted near one’s home as a protection against curses and it was used to break the spells of other witches. It was also thought to ward of moles and is hence also known as mole plant in English language.

Besides this I included the wild relative of the candle larkspur, named field or rocket larkspur (Consolida regalis), with its lovely deep blue flowers. The flowers are used in protection spells and the herb is planted to protect the home, similar to the closely related delphinium. The rocket larkspur is unfortunately in decline due to intensified agriculture. Another reason, to include it here.

A threatened herb with strong healing attributes is the lovely centaury (Centaurium erythraea). It has been attributed a plethora of benific properties and is rare to find in the wild these days. I am thus happy to have found a supplier of seeds for this rare healing herb. Another old and perhaps forgotten about healing herb of antiquity, which is now experiencing a renaissance is the wood betony (Stachys officinalis). Likewise the motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) was a popular healing herb in medieval times until interest in the plant declined. It makes for a nice background plant with other purple and pink flowering herbs and interesting addition to the ‘witch’s garden’.

In selecting the herbs I also paid attention to the 13 plants described in Harold Roth’s book “The Witching Herbs” (signed copies available here) and thus included seeds for each.

Altogether there are now seeds for over 50 different sorcerous benific and venific herbs contained in one box. The box itself is pyrographed stained and varnished by hand. The sigil on the box is the “Sigillum Major” or “Greater Sowing Seal”. It includes references to the work with plants, crossroad symbolism etc. and is also used as the official logo for Teufelskunst. The sigil inside the box is called “Sigillum Minor” or “Lesser Sowing Seal” and is an abbreviated form of the former, traceable in one stroke of a line. Each box is numbered on the bottom.

Printed sowing instructions in tabular form are included with each box. For detailed information on each herb please visit my plant blog.

Update: The boxes are sold. You can still e-mail me for the complete list of seeds contained in this series at info@teufelskunst.com. I will work on 4 more boxes this spring to round up the number before the summer solstice. Than that’s it for a while.

April 20, 2017

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Seed Boxes Follow-up

The latest seed boxes have been sold and shipped. I received much more inquiries than expected and will get back to each individually. Please bare with me if this takes a few more days. I have also started preparations for the next boxes, these being #31-36. It will take a couple of weeks to complete these. My plan is to have them ready in time for mid-spring – for sowing all those herbs that like it warm. The other seeds that come with the box can be sown in autumn or given the artificial cold treatment in the fridge.

About the boxes: they contain seeds from at least 44 different venific and benific ‘witch’ herbs. The boxes are pyrographed with the “Sigillum Major” or “Greater Sowing Seal”, which you also see as the official logo of Teufelskunst. The boxes are then stained and varnished. Following this, hundreds of little paper bags are labeled and filled with the seeds, which I partly gather by myself and partly purchase from other places. I usually spend at least 40 hours on four of these boxes. It is a tedious but also rewarding process, which gives me the chance to connect deeper with the herbs and it also empties the mind and brings new inspiration. I also learn how the seed for each herb looks and what it requires to break its dormancy. It is my hope that the content of these boxes will bring joy to others and aid them in their own studies.

Please write to me at info@teufelskunst.com if you wish to reserve one in the future!

March 17, 2017

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Wooden Seed Boxes #27-30

Seed boxes #27-30, completed

The boxes contain seeds from at least 44 different venific and benific ‘witch’ herbs. The boxes are pyrographed with the “sigilum major” or “greater sowing seal”, stained and varnished. Then hundreds of little paper bags are labeled and filled with the seeds, which I partly gather by myself and partly purchase from other places. I usually spend at least 40 hours on four of these boxes. It is a tedious but also rewarding process, which gives me the chance to connect deeper with the herbs and it also empties the mind and brings new inspiration. It is my hope that the content of these boxes will bring joy to others and aid them in their own studies.

Update: the boxes are sold. Please write to me at info@teufelskunst.com if you wish to reserve one in the future!

March 9, 2017

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