TEUFELSKUNST Occult Art Blog
TEUFELSKUNST
Occult Art Blog

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

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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

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Sacred Bee

This is the first work in the “Sigilla Magica” series representing an ‘animal’ spirit. In this sigil I combine mythology and folklore connected to the honey bee and pollinators in general.

In ancient Cretan civilization the honey bee was part of religious worship and priestesses, the “melissae” were named after it. There are depictions of half human, half bee-shaped spirits and fertility goddesses, hinting at an ancient bee and honey cult. The art of bee keeping was viewed as sacred. Bees were believed to have fed the infant Zeus in the Diktaean cave on Crete. On the other hand bees were also connected to the underworld and the dead, since bees would inhabit crevices in rocks and caves and the bodies of kings and other important persons were embalmed in honey. In Asia existed the practice of preserving the dead in honey for a year and then eating the honey. One superstition holds, bees were (along with lizards and snakes) carriers of ill omen and the evil eye. Hence amulets with beheaded bees were worn to ward off the evil eye.

Since I foster an own witch garden, it was only logical to create an atavistic artwork for the spiritual essence that connects all the insects, which pollinate my plants. After a visit to Crete and the archaeological museum in Iraklion, as well as reading Hilda M. Ransoms book “The Sacred Bee”, I felt all the more inspired to create small talismanic works with my own take on the topic. The sigil itself though is already a few years old and I originally titled it “Regina Bombina”, a reference to the divine and royal nature of the bee.

In 2018 I created 4 drawings with ink on a coffee- and honey infused paper. The paper sigils are signed and dated on the back. They are mounted on a black cardboard passe-partout and come in a black cardboard box, which is signed and numbered. Along with the artwork you also receive a 30 ml bag of “Necroneiromancy” incense.

Artwork size: ca. 9 x 10 cm, passe-partout size: ca. 12 x 12 cm

4 available

November 21, 2018

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Some news and a glimpse of spring…

Teufelskunst is slowly returning from the darkness of its winter cave, where most time was dedicated to the creation of new artwork and crafting of baneful incense, blackthorn crowns (sold out) and cursing sigil discs (available again in autumn). Thanks to everyone that made use of the opportunity to purchase and leave feedback for these items!

The first months of the year were also spent processing herbal harvest as well as sorting seeds and filling the next seed boxes. There will be 6 larges boxes again, as well as 4 black flower themed boxes. Accepting e-mail reservations now.

Further work in the making: new sigil talismans and incense blends for Walpurgisnacht and Beltane celebration. Expect updates on these in April. A few new mandrake plants and art are also planned to be available again in spring.

Lastly, a special item is in the making: a commissioned black alder goddess pentacle – the design for which has been keeping me busy for the past days. I look forward to sharing more about this work with you soon.

Some impressions from January and February 2018:

March 12, 2018

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Sigil Cards

This is the first time that I am presenting my plant inspired sigil art in a comprehensive way – in the form of these cards. The sigils on them are wordless expressions of subjective impressions from the plants I work with in my garden and surroundings. Their main purpose is to serve as a visual focus and starting point for contemplation and meditation.

Each card carries the signature of one herb and is hand-numbered on the back. By comparing the number with the accompanying list you find the name of the corresponding herb. The first 22 cards are inspired by potentially venific herbs. The next 16 cards carry seals of traditional healing herbs. They are complimented by 6 further cards, which are inspired by herbs of Meso-American culture and one ‘Joker’ card, represented by the High John the Conqueror root. All herbs are of relevance to different sorcerous lines of practice.

The first 22 cards could also be compared to the Major Arcana of Western tarot, even though that was not my initial intent. And whilst it may suggest itself, comparing these to existing divination systems is misleading as that was not the original impulse for these images.

Part of the motivation behind these abstract depictions is to go beyond the attributions given in magical correspondence tables and written lore and to find new forms of expression. Each ‘sigil’ is the summary of my memories connected to these herbs and condensed into simple line drawings, which are loaded with symbolism. However, what is drawn up in about 20 minutes is the result of a much longer and work-intensive process: I study the plants in different ways, reading, photographing, drawing and writing about them as well as gathering first-hand experiences by sowing and growing and thus observing the plant in all stages, from seed to harvest. This is the task I set up for myself and it is one not always possible to accomplish. But I am getting closer each day, always learning something new about the kingdom plantae.

Making sigils for plants and their spirits, or devas, has been done before. But I don’t think it’s been done in the way that I am doing it and I have already received some very positive feedback: When I showed these cards for the first time to a live audience in London, people would pick out their favorite card and riddle and guess the plant in question. New aspects and meanings were found in these images that I myself had not been aware of. This way the cards became a basis for inspired conversation.

So sit down with your witch friends, take out this card set, sort them or shuffle them and lay them out before you. Let each draw a random card and start brainstorming. Get your herbal book out and read up on the herb you picked and contemplate in which way its characteristics could be of relevance to yourself or your current life situation… There are no limits to how these cards can be consulted and I hope and wish that people find their own ways to utilize them.

Finally a note on the four colored cards that come as an extra with this set: these are paintings based on the seals for Belladonna, Black Nightshade, Thorn-Apple and Mandrake, which have been composed with corresponding plant saps or extracts, blood and red wine. On the cards you are being presented inverse versions of the original paintings. The process behind these is always intense as it is a very direct way of approaching the herbs in question. The resulting paintings feel real and powerful, especially since they are still undergoing transformation as they age and the pigments change in color.

This set may be expanded in the future, as there are many more plants I am exploring. But for the time being, I hope that this first illustre gathering will be a joy to explore for the one who owns it.

Yours,

X.A.121/W.

March 21, 2014

Posted In: Art, Feast Days, Prints, Pflanzenkunst

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