Found this in the archives and thought it deserved to be sun-lighted. This happened in Stanley Park, I think, or at least a version of it. I thought it was a critter, you know, because it was so dark, and so swift, and skittered down the path. Then it clambered up the bench and perched next to me, and started speaking.
You know, all of your quests for ‘enlightenment’ will end fruitlessly. There’s only good reason to go looking for it if you intend to do exactly what the people who have it have told you to do: give up everything else. Even if you do happen to stumble into it, what will you do then? You may end up disappointed because it is what it is–- just another experience.
It may be helpful to do some other things instead, things that will give you some insight into what’s going on in the Place Where Things Happen, the place you are, some things related to what the fox already spoke to you about. I’m going to tell you about the gillie symbols and how to use them, and about some critter conjure and how to get critters to help you out, and about how when you’re growing things and cooking things, you can get better results using certain names and characters.
This is information I’m passing to you. You’ll pass it to other people who can then also pass it along as they see fit. It’s transmitted in a certain way, that I’m telling you about now. If you don’t pass it along in this particular way, it may not work the way you want it to. I could tell you every detail about every operation in this conjure, and you could have a perfect understanding and memory of each and every aspect of it, but if you don’t start out this way, there’s a solid chance nothing will happen. I’m helping you with this, and you can help anyone who asks you.
1. First, get the secret character and the secret number. You don’t have to keep them secret when you have them, but we call them ‘secret’ because they’re a mystery.
2. Now, using some black ink that hasn’t been used for anything else, write that character and number on the back of your input hand.
3. Now, say “All you Powers, this is…”, and state your real name here. “Please, kindly help me out with this Conjure ability. I’m going to use it to help things as much as I can, or at least to try to make the Place Where Things Happen a little bit better. Please keep the critters off of my back while I do this Conjure work, and I’ll do what I can to stay upright and considerate. Thank you.”
Don’t wash the symbol off– let it fade on its own. When it’s completely faded away, provided somebody else showed you the symbol, you’ll have the conjure ability.
Okay now, pay attention. This is going to get interesting.
Before I can teach you anything more about this particular conjure, you’ve got to understand the gillies. These symbols are like your alphabet, but they’re also like a game, and like a pattern, and they’re what we can use to get things done.
These symbols have been known in my place for a long time. The fox knows them, probably, or at least knows a little bit about them. In my place, how they look and what they mean are told, and if you want to make them manifest, doing it on your own based on how they’re described is best. My symbols might look totally different than yours. Maybe I’ll use an acorn for one of mine, but you’ll use a chestnut for the same symbol. They’ll work just the same, provided you know what’s behind them. Your gillie symbols should look like the way you want them to look, but based on what I’m about to tell you.
Keep in mind that my language is different than yours, so this is going to be a translation, but it should do the trick. Once we’ve got these basics down, I’ll talk a little more about each symbol and what it means. And before you ask, no, I have no idea what “gillie” means. It’s just what they’re called.*
There are fifty-five Little Gillies and twenty-two Big Gillies. They’re all good to know. The little gillies are all about what happens where you are–- the hard parts of the Place Where Things Happen–- and the big gillies are all about what happens in the place where I came from, which you can call whatever you want to.
I’ll start by telling you the little gillies and we’ll go from there. Here’s how I was told them by the one who told them to me, and this is how you should tell it if you decide to tell it to anyone. The first lines in each stanza describe how the symbols look, and manifest, and the next lines tell what they mean. Well, I’m certain you could have figured that out.
These are the gillies, seventy-and-seven,
that sit underneath the places that happen.
Gillies are jacks, and shows, and signs,
And owning these gillies will help you.THE VOID:
First is The Void, empty of form.
It captures the rest and cancels things.The TWO SPOTS:
Next is The First Spot, a singular point.
It is the beginning of any beginning.Next is The Second Spot, a double point.
It is the beginning of any ending.THE THREE CIRCLES:
Next is The Circle, round like the Sun.
It encloses and sets boundaries,
But it is not made.Next is The Border, a fence or a wall.
It encloses and sets boundaries,
But it is made. It protects.Next is The Fire, a three-sided flame.
It ends boundaries.THE FOUR WOUNDS:
Next is The Bite Mark, a line made with teeth.
It is danger, but gives you a taste.Next is The Scratch, a dangerous line.
It has a poison, and means an infection.Next is The Burn, a line with a fire.
It is a breakdown that can damage or heal.Next is The Power Wound, a line with all four paws.
It is a valuable sacrifice.THE FIVE GIFTS:
Next is The Meal, what you like to eat.
It is something nourishing.Next is The Toy, what you like to play with.
It is a pleasant diversion.Next is The Robe, what you like to wear.
It is something that covers you.Next is The Book, what you like to read.
It is something you learn.Next is The Lover, what you like to love.
It is unconditionally given.THE SIX ‘OBJECTS’:
Next is The Stone, weighty and round.
It is easy to overlook, dangerous if it hits you.Next is The Log, wooden and round.
It is heavy, but burned by fire.Next is The Puddle, wet like the rain.
It is easy to drink from, but can make you sick.Next is The Seed, a little thing.
It is crunchy and delicious!Next is The Egg, smooth and oval.
It is for cleaning things.Next is The Bone, bleached and empty.
It is dead, dead, dead.THE SEVEN PLACES:
Next is The Ocean, waves on the water.
It is loud and silent.Next is The Desert, empty and heat-covered.
It is wide and difficult.Next is The Tundra, empty and snow-covered.
It is a place that has more happening than you think.Next is The Meadow, grassy, with flutterers.
It is the pleasant place, where goodness is rest.Next is The Forest, trees and animals.
It is the normal place, with things you expect.Next is The Hillside, with warrens and numbers.
It is the gathering place; some are higher than others.Next is The Mountain, with the sky and the earth.
It is where you can see the stars most clearly.THE EIGHT PLANTS:
Next is The Duckweed, tiny and floating.
It is abundant, and feeds waterfowl.Next is The Lilly, fragile, with six petals.
It is beautiful, pleasant to look at.Next is The Fern, widespread and many-forked.
It is abundant, and old.Next is The Grass, a single blade, multiplied.
It is the basis for things wild and domestic.Next is The Dandelion, floating on the wind.
It is useful in so many ways.Next is The Rose, thorns on a stick.
It is delightful, but can stick in you.Next is The Lettuce, broad-leaved and bunched.
It is delicious. So delicious!Next is The Tree, tall and leafy.
It is a moment, frozen in time, but then it has moved!THE NINE CREATURES:
Next is The Earthworm, wriggling and digging.
It is down in the dirt, teeming.Next is The Bee, buzzing and swarming.
It is guarding its honey tree.Next is The Human, land-walking biped.
It is the frightener, but also care-taker.Next is The Creature, four legs and eating.
It is you and me and all of us.Next is The Bird, wings soaring above.
It is the higher part, but shits now and then.Next is The Critter, black and twisted.
It is the lower part, who serves the Kings.Next is The Fish, shiny and finned.
It is swift but not very bright.Next is The Hollow One, shiny and metal.
It is something we don’t understand, made by the humans.Next is The Giant, enormous and thick.
It is immense, but sneaks up on you.THE TEN SLEEPERS:
Finally the Ten Sleepers, and these are for you.
They are the mutable, changing distinctions.
You may collect them, as you see fit.
Now here’s what you do. Take a moment and read back over these, then grab you a sheet of white paper. Using the first line of each stanza, what do you think these symbols look like? Remember, this is your alphabet for the Conjure, so take your time. Make them look interesting, engaging, attractive. They can be as simple or as complex as you like. You might want to use an actual fern to represent The Fern, or a picture of it, or, like me, you might want to use a peanut shell. You could even have a series of symbols, but you might want to try to make them easy to remember.
This is what we do in my place, too, in our own way. I can’t really describe it to you, of course, but remember, they’re your symbols, so they should look the way you want them to look.
Now you know the Little Gillie Symbols, so it’s time to learn about the Big Gillie Symbols. I should mention that neither Book of Symbols is better or worse. It’s kind of like your tarot cards, but not exactly. They’re more like an alphabet, where the Big Symbols are capital letters and the Little Symbols are lower case.
There are twenty-two Big Gillie Symbols, and here is how they were spoken to me.
First is the Night.
They’re the Flower and the Soil, and the spirit in the window.
They’re the listener who waits, and helps you.Then is the Shine.
They’re the Love and the Strife, and the ghost in the corner.
They’re the watcher who waits, and helps you.Next are the Seven Powers.
They’re the Walkers who come.
They sit around your fire.Next is the Game.
It’s playful power.
It’s all of the Symbols, Big and Little.Next is the Horse and Cart.
They’re on the way.
They can get you from one place to another.Next is the Table.
It’s inside your house.
It holds things you need.Next is the Tattoo.
It’s a mark on you.
It’s a mark you place on another.Next is the Sign.
It’s something you don’t want.
It points to other things you don’t want.Next is the Stranger.
It’s a new person nearby.
It may be good, or bad.Next is the Wandering Star.
It’s bright, and it moves.
It can tell you things if you follow.Next is the Killer.
It is trouble, and death.
It is also alive.Next are the Critters.
They are legion, and error.
They work for the Kings.Next is the Swamp.
It’s where you can get stuck.
It also has everything you need.Next are the Ancestors.
They’re deep inside you.
They have the value they’ve given you.Next is the Knife.
It’s the tooth that cuts.
It’s the tool that skins.Next is the Lightning.
It’s just power.
It’s not good or bad, just power.Next is the Map.
It’s how to go. It takes you along.
It moves you from one place to another.Next is the Pond.
It makes us question what is under.
It gives us a place to sit and dream.Next is the Potter.
She makes the movement from the clay.
She generates useful things.Next is the Well.
It is darkly deep and drinkable.
It holds sustenance, but don’t fall in.Next is the Infant.
It is sweetly innocent, beauty.
It is fragile and must be taken great care of.Last is the Virus.
It’s the unknown Mind.
It comes from the Stars.
The Big Gillie Symbols have their own looks– you don’t get to pick them. Here’s what they look like. Draw them just this way, and keep this in a blank book next to your bed for fourteen nights. When you’ve done that, you’ll be ready to conjure. There’s lots you can do!
[Ed. the Symbols will be provided shortly– check back soon!]
If you’re working on the Gillie Symbols for yourself, good for you. That’s the first, and best way to get this Conjure to work. You’ve got to invest something in Conjure. You’ve got to make a sacrifice.
Look, this isn’t about feeding bloodthirsty gods or any such whatever. It’s about investing your time and your attention in a project that you’re trying to use to manipulate the Place Where Things Happen. Do you know why sacrificing chickens and cows and sheep and such worked for so long? It’s because a chicken isn’t just a noisy bird full of blood-– it’s also a unit of time and intent. You have a chicken, you either have to spend the time and energy raising it, feeding it, keeping it from getting eaten. Then, when you sacrifice it, you’re giving up serious eggs and maybe a serious meal. You’re proving to the Shine and Night that you’re willing to invest in getting some help, see?
Of course, there’s no reason to sacrifice animals and such in this conjure work, unless you’re a farmer or rancher and those animals have real value to you. Things are different now. Time and attention are way more valuable as sacrifices. So the time you take on making your Gillie Symbols and the attention you give to them are going to have substantial impact on how well they work. And, once those symbols are made, that time and attention will give them their power.
That’s another thing: it’s easy to complain when a Conjure Person asks you for money, or nice alcohol, or whatever, when you want to have something happen. But, listen, that money represents the time and attention you spent making it. A proper Conjure Person will be able to tell what’s really valuable to you and ask for that, instead, so like if you have a lot of money they may not ask you for money. But, if money is dear to you because of your time or effort, doesn’t it make sense that you’d need to give some of it over?
Here’s one thing: making some amazing artwork of some kind–- painting a picture, or writing a song, or writing an essay or story or book, is always an acceptable sacrifice! So in my Conjure, if you spend some serious time making your Gillie Symbols, doing it real thoughtfully and artistically, that’ll count as the ‘sacrifice’ part of this equation.
Once the Night and Shine see how sincere you are, and how you’re willing to put Time and Attention into making some positive changes in that Place Where Things Happen, they decide whether to help you. This Conjure I’m teaching gives you an alphabet you can use to spell sentences that you want to have happen. Once you know how to make the sentences, the Night and Shine read them and bring the information in them to life. The Shine can see all of Time, and the Night can see all of Place, so when they get together they can make it so that the information you want is inserted into the Place Where Things Happen.
They’re a little bit limited, just like all of the powers. After all, you’re stuck there where Things Happen. But, they have access to more acres than you. So, what they do is they send their helpers out to all ends of the place, and do some tweaking here, some plucking there. It’s like everything is attached to everything else with fiddle strings, so by listening to the tones of phenomena, they can tell what the next tune is going to be and pluck the right strings to change the pitch and such. When you use this Conjure, you’re basically making a request.
They can even change the past, where things have already happened. A lot of the time, you have to change the past to make changes happen in the future.
Here’s another thing: sometimes Conjure just works. There’s a whole lot of changing things in the Place Where Things Happen, and it happens on occasion that even without the idea of a sacrifice or Time or Attention, you’ll spell out a Conjure and it’ll work like a charm. Of course, sometimes it doesn’t work. Thing is, you’ve got to at least try. It’s a little like science, this Conjure: if it doesn’t make sense the first time, and you want to keep at it, tweak it a little until you figure out the exact pattern you need.
Hopefully this helps you understand how important YOU are when you’re doing Conjure Work. If you live in a society where your personally owned chickens or cows are valuable, it might mean giving them up to get results. If you’re like most people reading this, though, and your valuables are different, it means sacrificing a chicken or cow will just mean the helpers are going to scratch their heads and ask, “Why would she do that?” So, in this Conjure, I’ll be teaching you to use things that are familiar in your society. It’ll be fun! And, if you do it right, it’ll work! So get going on those Gillie Symbols and we’ll go from there!
Done with your Gillie symbols yet? Good! Now I’m going to show you the very basic way to do a Conjure. Don’t try one yet. You’re not ready until you know way more about the Gillie symbols and such. Then you can try a few basics. After that, it gets really neat.
So, here’s the process. This works because physical things filled up with (numinous current) can make ripples in the biggest pond (multi-dimensional probability fields). Imagine an acorn is floating in a pond, and you want to get it back but don’t have a long pole. By throwing big rocks into the pond behind the acorn, you can create a ripple that’ll make it more likely that the acorn reaches the shore. Now imagine that the surface of the pond is the Place Where Things Happen and “retrieving the boat” is your Conjure Spell, and the physical object involved in this process is the big rock you’ve thrown.
Here’s how it goes:
- State Your Intent. Stating your intent is really important. Speak it out loud or Some folks say you need to forget it after you’ve said it, but that won’t work with this Conjure.
- Decide on a Device. A Device is a Thing meant to influence other Things. It’s what you’re filling with your Conjure Spell. It can be anything, but should be something interesting or unique or different. You could use some tissue paper, for instance, or you could use maybe a shiny rock or an old floppy disk or an uncooked piece of lasagna. Ooh, or an old, paperback book! Or, what would be really cool is if you made your own Thing, like a stick that you’ve painted or a little clay doll made with string.
Your Device should have something to do with what you want to have Happen. You can look at colors and shapes and symbols that have been used for Conjure in other places if you want. Thing is, it shouldn’t be something that you’re going to use for anything else, ever. This Device should only be for this particular Conjure. - Step Sideways. There’s a lot of different ways to Step Sideways. Pick one that works for you. You could just sit still for a while, without any thoughts. Or, you could go someplace really weird or scary. Or, you could set aside a room in your house where you welcome another environment. Or you could nibble on the sides of a red and white mushroom. What you’re doing is creating a hole in the Place Where Things Happen. You’re creating an environment where you’re making the possibility that Things Might Happen That Haven’t Yet Happened.
- Load Device Using Gillie Symbols. Now you’re gonna load the Device. Sitting in the Sideways Place, you’re gonna take your Gillie Symbols and make a Sentence with them. The more specific your Sentence, the better the chance your Conjure will work. Now you should inscribe the Symbols on your Device. You should do this using a writing utensil you ONLY use for Conjure. You can do it with your finger once you get really good, but at first you should definitely write the Symbols on so you can see them.
Then you have to concentrate on the Device real hard, and put the palm of your Output hand on the object, and picturing a pink beam entering the object from something circling the world way high above. The beam should increase in intensity until you reach the point at which your hand becomes heavy or tingles. If you want to ask for help from the Shine or Night, or one of the spirits, or a Critter, do it now. Then, state your intent. When you state it, talk about when you want your intended Conjure to happen. Remember, the farther your Device travels, the larger the ripples it’ll produce. - Step Back. This is simply the reverse of stepping sideways– return to where you were.
- Release Intent by Releasing Object. This is where you “throw the rock.” Your Device has to be sent forward in time. You could bury it in a special box, you could encase it in industrial packaging (duct tape etc.) and wear as an amulet, you could give it as a gift, you leave it someplace ritually significant, etc.
- Reassess. If it doesn’t work, reassess the Conjure. What did you do wrong? What did you do right? Is it worth repeating this process?
Now, like I said, this is the basic step. Once you’ve got this down, though, there are lots of tricks and shortcuts you can start using.
Now that you know the basic process for a good, working Conjure, you’ve got to learn how to make a good Sentence out of your Gillie symbols. Remember, now, you have two sets at your disposal: the Little Gillies, which you designed yourself, and the Big Gillies, that I showed you. I also gave you some basic meanings behind the symbols. I want to underline that these are just starting points.
I want you to think of learning this Conjure in the same way you think of learning a language. Each symbol is a word you can use in a Sentence– what some other folks might refer to as a “Spell.” I’ve given you the basic vocabulary. Now you’ve got to learn Grammar. (Where do you think the word “Grimoire” comes from, anyhow?)
Thankfully, the Grammar is pretty easy. All you have to do is remember this sequence:
Sentence = Subject + Object + Verb.
The Subject is the reason you’re doing the Conjure.
The Object is the Thing You Want to Happen.
The Verb is How You Want It to Happen.
The other rules are:
1. The Subject and Object should always be Little Gillie Symbols.
2. The Verb should always be a Big Gillie Symbol.
3. You should only use one Big Gillie Symbol per Sentence. You can use as many Little Gillie Symbols as you’d like.
Beyond that, it’s a Mystery how these Sentences work, and it’s definitely best to experiment a little. See, the reason this Conjure works as well as it does when it’s used properly is that you, the Conjure-Person, get to be really involved in the process. The Symbols are full of Living Information, and you get to imbue that Living Information with meaning and power. Why, if you want, a Gillie Symbol can have an entirely different meaning than the one I told you, as long as it’s the right meaning for your sentence.
Let’s look at an example. Suppose I have some nasty bugs that are eating my greens and I want them to go away. So, the Subject is “These bugs are eating my collards!” The Object is “I want these bugs to go away!” The Verb is “Go Away”, or “Die” if you want them dead. So, for your sentence, you might do the following:
The Lettuce + The Earthworm + The Knife
Now you’ve got a good sentence to write on your Device! That’s just a really easy example, of course. Just like your language has an almost infinite number of interesting combinations, this Conjure also gives you plenty to work with when you’re trying to communicate your Sentence.
The reason this works is that God and the spirits are really receptive to being spoken to. Here’s another thing, though– they’re also really interested in things they’ve never heard of or seen before. They like stories! The more interesting your sentence, the more likely you’ll get help. So, you could make your sentences pretty complex and fascinating using the Gillie Symbols. You can do that by jamming tons of Gillie Symbols onto your Device, or you could be really clever and learn how to use your Sleeper Symbols, which is what I’ll tell you about next time.
For your homework, think of a few situations where you might want to do a Conjure and come up with five basic Sentences you could inscribe on a Device.
You haven’t tried doing an actual conjure yet, have you? If you have, it probably won’t work. There are still a few things we should go over before this will really “pop” for you. One of the next things I wanted to talk to you about are The Sleepers.
Remember, back when I sang the Little Gillies to you? The last were the ten sleepers:
Finally the Ten Sleepers, and these are for you.
They are the mutable, changing distinctions.
You may collect them, as you see fit.
These are important symbols because they’re really quite useful, and can help in a lot of ways that some of the other symbols can’t. The Sleepers are ten spirits that don’t work until you’ve woken them up, given them something to do, then put them back to sleep.
How do you wake up a Sleeper? You give it a Symbol and a Name. You can decide what Symbol works best– just draw or design one, or make it an easy to remember one like a leaf or something. Once you’ve given a Sleeper a Symbol, you just say, “Little Sleeper, Little Sleeper, Wake Up and Help! I’ve made you some clothes and your name is….”, and you give it a name, right there on the spot. If you want to put your Sleeper back to sleep, just use your output hand, wave your hand over your Sleeper’s symbol and say, “Little N., Little N., I know you’re very tired. Go back to bed now, and thanks for your help!”
A couple of things to remember about the Sleepers:
- The Sleepers get jealous of one another. You should only wake up one at a time.
- You can change the Symbol for your Sleeper, but once you’ve given it its name, that’s its name for good.
- Guard your Sleepers’ names. If somebody knows your Sleeper’s name, that somebody can wake up your Sleeper and get it to do all manner of things.
Here’s what the Sleeper can help you with. The Sleeper can HOLD THINGS. So, for instance, let’s say you make a good sentence for your Conjure. You can give that sentence to your Sleeper who can then hold it for you, and use the Symbol for that Sleeper as a placeholder for the sentence. What you do is you wake up the Sleeper, then whisper the sentence to its Symbol, then put the Sleeper back to sleep. Now, when you make a device, you can use that one Symbol for an Object, Subject, or Verb. A Sleeper can even hold another Sleeper, provided that the second Sleeper is asleep.
It may help to think of this in (counting logic). Let’s say you have a sentence a+b+c, and a Sleeper y. You wake up your sleeper y, get y to hold a+b+c, and put y back to sleep, so now a+b+c=y. Now you want to do another Conjure that includes the a+b+c sentence; let’s call it d+e+(a+b+c). All you need to put on your device is d+e+y. Now, if you’re Tricksy, you can take d+e+y and hand that over to yet another Sleeper, let’s say z! Play around!
a+b+c=y
d+e+(a+b+c)=d+e+y
d+e+y=z
f+g+(d+e+(a+b+c))=f+g+z
Since your Sleepers are Little Gillie Symbols, you can see how you can use this trick to get around the requirement to limit your sentences to one Big Gillie Symbol. Just be sure you remember to put your Sleepers back to sleep. I suppose if one stays Awake, that’s all well and good, but if two are awake at the same time, they’re going to be upset with one another. There’s no real danger, it just might mean you don’t get the results you want. This is why there’s the old saying, “If in doubt, put your Sleepers to bed.”
You don’t need to do anything special to “clear out” a Sleeper after you’ve given it something to hold. The Sleepers have a long memory; you don’t need to forget somebody’s name when you learn a new name. But if it’s been a while, it’s useful to give the Sleeper a reminder.
I know it seems confusing, which is why it’s best to start to the basics when you’re just starting out, but still, a little playing around will produce some fantastic results. I recommend starting a book where you can sketch out your Conjure sentences before you start making Devices. Definitely try a few basic Conjures before you start working with your Sleepers. Keep that book I’ve been talking about, and you’ll have a serious tool to use.
Up next, I want to talk a little more about the background to all of this. Then, we’ll look at some of the other possible uses for the Symbols, and some nifty Conjure tricks that’ll guarantee results.
By now you’re probably wondering, is this Conjure something that comes from me? How does it work? Are there any Powers involved that can help me, or that I should be mentioning when I do this? Yes indeed, there are some Powers you can call on, so here’s a little bit about them. What do I mean by Powers? I mean actual spirits and such, who manifest in the Place Where Things Happen as Living Information. That’s what spirits are, you know– they’re information that’s been placed into a context and brought to life. Sometimes they’re self-directed, and complex, but sometimes spirits are just like paragraphs you’re reading over and over; they’re just ghosts. It’s all information, though.
I should mention that the names of these Powers I’m using here, when I tell them to you, are what we’ve been taught they are where I’m from. They do have different names, and you’ve maybe learned them another way. This is okay; you can call them whatever has the most meaning for you. Might be a name from another tradition, or something from your personal history. Don’t just make up any old thing, though; put some thought into it, and be consistent. If you use a name for a Power, you should always use that name for the Power.
- THE GODS: You talked to the fox, so you know that the gods aren’t actually “all powerful.” Still, they help when they can, so it never hurts to ask them for help with your Conjure. Whichever gods speak your language, those are the ones you can call on.
- NIGHT AND SHINE: Night and Shine are all of the information about your past and future lives, all walking around and in one place looking like two humans. That’s why sometimes they cause fear, because of the things they know that you don’t about your past before you were born, and your future after you die. They’re the most helpful pair, and even have Big Gillie Symbols of their own, but you can call on them for any Conjure you do. Sometimes they need a little more of a sacrifice than littler Powers, but that’s okay, because it’s you who will end up receiving the sacrifice, right?
A better way to describe them would be (guardian-helper-self-ancestor-descendants). If you do something they know you shouldn’t be doing, they’ll let you know, and it might scare the heck out of you. - THE BIG SPIRITS: You probably already know about some of these. You can find them in lots of places. There are the Four Lights; you can call on them one at a time if you can find their names, or you can just call them all together. There are the Major Dreamers, the Cataclysms and the Breathers. These are all the ones from the cave paintings and such. Big Spirits help with Big Happenings, so you should only really ask them for help sparingly, in times of great need. They’re pretty sensitive to being asked for help needlessly, and if you do it too often, they’ll start ignoring you.
- THE LITTLE SPIRITS: The Little Spirits are everywhere. They’re all around you all the time, and they’re going to be the most helpful for practical Conjure. You humans have this idea that there are “Spirits of Specific Things,” like “Nature Spirits” and whatnot. This is kind of true in a really broad sense, but just because a spirit has a specialty doesn’t mean that it’ll always help you with that specialty. It also means that just because a spirit has a specialty doesn’t mean it’s restricted to helping you just with that.
Here’s what I recommend: do some studying and get yourself a stable of spirits. Do some Conjure with those spirits and find out which ones are most helpful. There are books and books full of the names of Little Spirits, or you can ask for them to appear in your dreams. Remember, just because a spirit specializes in something, doesn’t mean it can’t help you do something else.
You can even talk with the Little Spirits, too. There are lots of ways to talk to the Little Spirits, but the best way for me is using the Gillie Symbols, or by reading the Things That Happen. To use the Gillie Symbols to talk to the Little Spirits, just draw each one on an index card and determine what card best represents the spirit you’re asking after. Mix up the cards, then start turning them over one by one. If the card representing your spirit turns up in the first ten cards, the spirit is present. Then you ask a question, shuffle the cards and turn it over for your answer. You can learn a lot of things this way. Don’t use any useless human inventions, like ‘spirit boards’ or what have you, because those can be infested with Critters.
As for reading the Things That Happen, that’s like learning another language. Maybe you’ll learn it some day, but not from me. - CRITTERS. You know the Critters. They’re living information gone bad. They have their own Gillie Symbols. They work for the Seven Kings of the Place Where Things Happen, the ones who are in charge, who God is trying to rescue us all from. The fox told you all about the Seven Kings already, so I won’t belabor the point. You don’t want to involve the Seven Kings in your Conjure, but on rare occasions you might want to ask for help– or protection– from Critters.
Critters aren’t bulb-headed skinny creeps with black eyes. They’re not tall, spindly men in suits with tentacles, or invisible ghosts in your bedroom. Critters are different than things you may think about when you think about scary things. They might be red, flashing lights in the woods. They might be wind chimes where there aren’t any wind chimes. They might be a wind where there wasn’t one. They might be white, shapeless objects drifting by. They might be circling you in the sunlight. You can’t know what the Critters are up to, and you probably don’t want to know.
Here’s something you need to keep in mind when you’re dealing with Critters: they almost never answer back if you ask them for things. They have their own agendas, and if they happen to coincide with yours, they might help you out. They could do something really helpful, or could turn on a dime and do something totally unexpected and annoying. It’s a risk, but if you’re willing to deal with them, they can make some things happen for you. They’re pretty powerful down there in the Place Where Things Happen.
That’s it for the Powers. Like I said, this is just a quick overview. You can do some reading and find out about specific Powers who I don’t talk about here, and decide if they’re Big or Little Spirits, or Critters.
Proper protection of yourself is important when you’re dealing with spirits and critters and such, but also when you’re dealing with other humans. This may be one of the most important, easiest things I can teach you. Some people have known about this for a long time, but there’s a bad habit of not believing you need to take care these days, and ignoring this practice.
This is about what a lot of you have called “the Evil Eye.” What you need to know is that this kind of thing is real, and it happens. It’s not some kind of weird curse somebody can cast on you by looking at you just so, and it’s not a good reason to avoid complimenting little kids, like some people think it is. It’s okay to call a baby nice things; that’s not going to hurt that baby. What it is, is an insidious kind of stream or current that can get inside you. It can be sent over by a critter or a spirit or another human. you’ll know it’s happening because you’ll get a weird little tingle and start to get a little nervous, maybe. Or, you may not feel the tingle, but might start dropping things or saying things you don’t mean. You might
In order to stop this current from getting inside of you, you need to close off your input. The best way to do this is to use your input hand (not the one you write with– that’s your output hand) and seal off your thumb, like this:
You’ll almost instantly start feeling better. Hold it like that for a while. Don’t shake it around or point it at anybody– some people get mighty upset when you point this kind of gesture at them. Instead, just hold your hand at your side and wait, and you’ll start to feel the nasty current subside and go away. This is especially useful when you’re out and about, and don’t have access to your Conjure tools.
If you’re not feeling good and want some protection around your household, or if you’re doing a Conjure with some Power you think might be potentially dangerous, obviously your best bet is to do a Conjure sentence and make a few Devices. Put the Devices in the right places in and around your house, and you’ll be fine. They work really well if they’re buried, or if they’re placed near where the water goes into your house. You can also do this by setting up a few Sleepers and having them hold protection sentences.
Everything has a spirit. Everything! Look around– what do you see? A computer where you’re reading this? A chair? A desk? Your phone? A window? A tree outside? Every single one of these things has a spirit. A spirit, you see, is simply a story that’s got a life.
Some spirits move faster than others, because their stories are more interesting. So when we say trees and animals and such have ‘spirits,’ we’re talking about how fast their stories move. But even your pen has a story about how it was made and what it can do, and what happens after it dies (after its ink runs out). Even molecules have spirits-– protons and electrons are ghosts that are moving really fast.
Obviously, humans have spirits, too. Some of their spirits go on after they die. A ghost, for instance, is an unfinished story, and people who help ghosts ‘cross over’ are really just helping write the end to a story. As you live your life, you’re really building your ghost.
The reason so many people have had this idea, for so long, is that it’s a good way of thinking about how you’re going to interact with the Place Where Things Happen. You’re less likely to do something stupid and harmful if you remember there are spirits everywhere. It’s why some people know there are elves and fairies and such in certain rocks and deep green pools, and why those people will make sure those rocks and pools and such are protected.
Little kids know this, which is why they’re always talking to things and getting answers back in reply. You’d be best to keep it in mind, too; it can help your Conjure but can also help in many situations where you can ask the spirits in things to help you. Some things have more powerful spirits, like that statue you have on your altar, or that picture of your ancestors. But even the spirits in the littlest of things can be made to help you out.
Everything has a spirit! That’s why you can use anything in this Conjure: old paperclips, floppy disks, sticks and stones, bacon grease. Buildings, ballast, children’s bouncy balls. You’ve just got to get into its story to get into its spirit, and that’s how you can really get to know a spirit. Sometimes the story will be obvious; sometimes it’ll be hidden, and you’ll need to convince the spirit to talk to you.
Like I said before, you can find lists and lists of spirits, but it’s good to talk to them on your own, too. Try finding a few things, and finding their stories, and writing their spirits down in your book. Soon you’ll have a whole collection of spirits you can use to help you!
Now you’ve got the basics for doing some amazing Conjure work, so you can go ahead and start casting if you’re so inclined. I did want to mention a few odds and ends before heading back up that tree.
- First off, remember that the Little Gillie Symbols are yours to design! You can make them anything you want. Keep at it until you’re certain you’re “done”– they’ll let you know when they’re complete. I don’t recommend sharing them with other people unless the Symbols indicate they want to be shared.
- The Spirits and the Powers are your friends! Learn the names and aspects of a few of them and incorporate them into your conjuring.
- Make your Devices as interesting and unique as possible. Be creative!
- Want even better results? Try these tricks:
- Pick a good day each week and drink some water mixed with a little white vinegar that day. Dedicate it to the Powers and ask for some help with the Conjure.
- Conjure up some things you know are going to happen along with things that may not happen. This is especially useful when you’re growing food.
- Take some of your dinner and leave it outside for the Spirits with your Sentence written on a slip of paper under the food.
- How will you know if your Conjure is working? You’ll get the results you asked for, sure, but there will be other ways to tell, too. Go for a walk and look for some signs– they’ll show up in the clouds, in the patterns made by branches in the trees, in clouds of mud in puddles, and other places. Practice, and you’ll get the hang of this.
- Draw your Gillie Signs on some index cards and use them like Tarot cards!
I think that’s everything for the time being. I’ll drop in every now and again to see how you’re proceeding. Any questions?
*Ed. Maybe from Sicilian, “Sigilli?”