The Raven's Crucible

A blind raven

The Raven’s Crucible

Musings on magic, divination, and the occult.

  • Solomonic Magic in Practice: Exorcism and a Clean Slate

    Last week we talked about some high-level theoretical frameworks of Solomonic magic. This week we’re going to be diving into the details of putting them into practice. Starting with the first step in nearly every Solomonic operation: consecrations. Why are tools and materials in Solomonic traditions consecrated prior to an operation? There are a couple…

  • Solomonic Magic In Practice: A General Framework for Conjuration

    I’d like to start a series of posts that dig deeper into the practical aspects of Solomonic magic. It’s a form of magic that seems to be frequently mischaracterized in some modern circles, as needlessly adversarial or coercive towards spirits. I find that view to be somewhat shallow. Solomonic magic has a tremendous amount to…

  • Belief & Magic: A Skeptic’s Guide

    I often see questions come up around the role of faith versus skepticism in occult practice. Do you need to believe in your results for them to manifest? How do you know any of this is real, rather than all in your head? I’ve personally struggled with this question for decades. A huge part of…

  • Closed Practices: Initiation, Secrecy, and Context

    I recently saw some discussion around the idea of “closed practices” – those spiritual methods that are not generally available to the public. It’s an idea that is regularly misused or misunderstood, so it seemed worth exploring more deeply. Generally, closed practices fall into one of two categories: those that include an initiatic lineage, or…

  • Ink Making III: India Ink

    This week I continued my experiments in ink making with India ink. India ink is an extension of the carbon black inks that I have made in previous experiments. It is traditionally made using soot or lampblack as a pigment and shellac as a binder. Because shellac is more challenging to work with than gum…

  • Beginning Spirit Work: Solomonic Conjuration for the Modern Mage

    I’ve written previously about how to get started with divination, and how to build a solid magical practice more generally. The vast bulk of my magical work at this point, however, is spirit conjuration – specifically in or inspired by the Solomonic tradition. Let’s say you’re learning your chosen divination system and you have your…

  • The Magic Triangle: Ease, Consistency, and Miracles

    I’ve discussed in previous posts my own long and meandering exploration into magic. I’ve spent over a decade struggling with a simple question: what can be accomplished through magic? I’ve tried to consistently find ways to push the bounds of what I thought was possible. In doing so, I’ve repeatedly struggled with cases where magic…

  • Materia: Frankincense – Boswellia spp.

    Overview Few substances are associated as strongly with the Solar current as frankincense. Tapped from the wounded bark of desert-dwelling trees, the fiery breath of frankincense serves as both balm and offering. Physically, it soothes pain and inflammation, tightens the tissues, and combats microbial infection. Magically, it cleanses and uplifts the spirit, clears the subtle…

  • So You Want to Practice Magic? A Guide for the Overwhelmed

    In a previous post, I offered some options for people interested in getting started with divination. But divination is only one piece of the puzzle – and usually not the one people are most interested in when they find themselves drawn to the occult. What about magic? How does one get started? In this post…

  • Building an Alchemical Incubator: Modern Heat for Ancient Work

    In our series on spagyric alchemy, we mentioned the benefits of letting an alchemical preparation extract or mature at a consistent temperature. In herbal spagyrics, and doubly so for more advanced types of alchemy, there is a distinct benefit to being able to hold the work at some prescribed temperature for a long period of…