My First Real Magickal Ritual: A Summoning

If you remember this post I talked a lot about symbols and magick. If you haven't read it, it'll help you understand this post.

A few weeks ago I did my first ritual. I chose to create and summon an angel who represents all the good things in my life; all the things about myself that I like, and all the ways I want myself to be. I figured if I were to have a conversation with this being, it might help me realize these things within myself, so that they are no longer just wants.

I set up a fairly tall mirror in front of me, set lit candles around me, and got on my knees. I had a glass filled with cranberry juice as an offering to the angel. Just as cranberry juice is used to cleanse the body, and flush out impurities, it was a symbolic offering to remove all the negative things in my life. I took a drink of the juice, and said "Angel, I wait for you to appear" or something of that nature. I just sat there, staring at my reflection, waiting patiently, trying not to expect much. After a while, I noticed the shadows were casting what looked like wings behind me, and I automatically felt a presence. The hairs on the back of my head stood up. I asked no one in particular "Are you here?" and heard in my head "Yes". Granted, this was not an audible answer, but more like a feeling, or a thought, like when you "hear" your own voice in your head when you think to yourself.

After the presence made itself known to me, I started swinging back and forth, and from side to side, not really able, or willing to stop it. This went on for some time, though I'm not sure how long. Then I felt a push and my back, and I was staring at my reflection in the cranberry juice. The weird part was, even though my eyes were open, my reflection's eyes were closed. Again, I "heard" the presence, which said "When my eyes open, drink the juice." At that point I had an understanding that the reflection was not mine, but that of the angel's, who was not yet powerful enough to have full consciousness. For some reason, I began breathing hard into the glass, effectively breathing "life" into the being. Then, after a while, I saw the reflection's eyes snap open. I sat up, and drank the juice quickly. I understood then, that the "angel" was "within me" and the ritual was over.

I blew out the candles, and put away my various implements. Then I just hung out outside on my porch, had a cigarette, and talked with the angel. She helped belay some fears I was having, instilled confidence in me, and was generally very helpful. She was the same way the next morning. The next day though, she was gone, with only a small whisper a couple times during the day. I haven't attempted to summon her again, but I have a feeling that the more I do, the stronger she will become, and better able to help me. Ideally, I would like to do this once a week, if not once every few days.

For those of you who are confused; I do not believe I summoned a literal entity, nor did I really hear voices. I used this ritual to compartmentalize the positive aspects of myself, and to think of them as a teacher. The ritual was my subconscious acting on the mood and way of thinking I put it in... this is where the swaying, angel wings, and reflection with the closed eyes came from. The voices were my own thoughts, which after focusing on the positive, became more encouraging. They went away after a day or so because the negative thoughts again began to assert themselves. So, if I keep at this ritual every so often, I feel I will become a more positive, and successful person.

I have a few more rituals I am working on, and will talk about soon. The biggest being the inverse of the last. Creating an entity composed of all my negativity, and "killing" it.


BEER! BEER! BEER!

Stone Brewing Company, Escondido, CA

Oaked Arrogant Bastard, 7.2% ABV, 12oz bottle

Stone's Oaked AB is an American Strong Ale.

Dark, reddish and cloudy. Looks a slight bit thick coming out of the bottle. About a finger's worth of creamy off white head. Retention is lower than I expected, but plenty of lacing. I smell mostly caramel and alcohol. A little bit of oak but I'm not sure if that's placebo effect.

I wonder if maybe this has gone bad. It HAS been sitting in the back of my fridge for at least a few months. I bought a six pack a while back and kept one to review, but only got around to it now. Carbonation is a lot less than I remember, but that may be due to poor memory. I don't taste the oak at all. Alcohol warmth and a good bit of bitterness. I taste slight caramel, but I have to really concentrate to find it. Cloves come through as well.

On second thought, I don't think it has gone bad, I just think it has been a long time since I've had it or regular Bastard. Moderate thickness. Carbonation doesn't come through well unless I hold it in my mouth. I could have a couple, but it's not what I would choose to drink often. I'm a little disappointed. It's not as good as I remember, and for the price, I would buy this very sparingly.

I feel bad not giving this beer a better review. Stone has consistently been one of my favorites, but I think my tastes are leaning toward different styles now.

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Finally, I'd like to show you a little video. For those of you who don't know, Budweiser recently rolled out an ale.



This seems a little silly to me. In the video they are really trying to change their image, ostensibly to appeal to Craft beer drinkers, and Beer Geeks. Now, if this ale is fuller bodied, and fuller flavored, what I think it will do, if people like it, is make them more curious about better beers, try some craft offerings, and maybe convert them to REAL beer. I can hope. Either that, or people will hate it, and it'll get pushed from the market. OR people who were already Bud fans will drink it as well as the Lager, and not really make a difference. It's really funny to see people tasting, and swirling around that watery, straw yellow stuff like it was a finely crafted beer, when they KNOW it's not. What they are really tasting for is consistency, not quality. But hell. I'll quit wining and give it a try, maybe even review it for this site. It does look darker, and have more head to it than the lager. I might like it, but I'm not holding my breath.