Yggdrasil and Non-dual Gnosis

 I had dream of Yggdrasil recently that left me with the certain opinion that Midgard, this realm of embodied existence, is the best place for the operative sorcerer. Let me firstly say I disagree with the idea that all dreams are necessarily meaningful or illustrative – most aren’t. The inherent subjectivity of the dreamer makes extrapolating significance into the objective world potentially fraught with psychic narcissism. The ancient Greeks were aware of this, poetically observing that dreams coming through the gates of ivory were deceptive whilst those coming through the gates of horn were true. I tend to have a pretty active dream life but I’m pretty sure most of my dreams have their origins in the gates of ivory as the misfiring of synapses and snatches of memory that I impose a narrative around. That said, I very occasionally get the sense of something of an altogether different quality.

 The dream ran like this: an impression of something male, cloaked, a predominance of atmospheric dark blue yet lacking distinct features. The shadowy entity presented me with an image of the dynamic relationship of Midgard to the other worlds on the cosmic world-tree. Specifically I was shown how embodied existence as understood here in Midgard is only possible because of the tension created by the orbiting planes of existence. I was just in the middle of looking at how the eternal renewal and fecundity of Vanaheim balances the chaotic potential in Jotunheim when my girlfriend woke me up but I’d seen enough to come to have my worldview influenced.

 At this stage, I don’t feel the technicalities were quite as important as the subtle observation that I I’d somehow missed before, that Midgard is the realm of greatest freedom and potential for us. As Edred Thorsson opines; “We stand at the cross-roads of reality – a realm in which there is more potentiality and more challenges than anywhere.” For the magician who truly embraces Midgard it can be so much more than just a proving ground for whatever comes post-mortem. Feet in Hel, head in Asgard; it is the only place where we can most fully materialize the formula of man, beast, god as a living daemonic reality.


 David Beth treads similar ground in his essay Krist – Sun of God, describing the practical and ontological applications of the “Germanic-hyperborean” weltanschauung. The Hyperborean initiate, like Wotan, straddles the worlds, his sacrifice being in truth, the shamanic formula by which “he descends into Hel and takes the souls of the damned up to heaven with him bringing them into wholeness and equality with God.” Numerous mysteries can be discerned from this principle. The misinterpretation in exoteric Christianity as a model for moral salvation should be obvious. From a magical perspective however, we can see that such a descent occurs on a personal and cosmic scale simultaneously for there is no difference. Descending into the icy-cold realms of the dead the multifarious aspects of self become transparent are can be yoked by the will of the sorcerer to achieve “unity of desire”.

 Dave Lee calls this The Work of The Magical Self (see his quite Bright From The Well) whereby the various “mundane selves, knots of desire and will” can be rebuilt along willed lines. Lee utilizes Yggdrasil as a mythic model to describe “levels of consciousness involved in magical action.” In brief the formula involves invoking the primal sexual energies signified by the Dragon energy lurking at the base of the tree to meet with the observing faculty signified as the hawk. This Dionysian-Apollonian marriage flowers as the Dragon-Eagle of magical consciousness capable of performing all manner of sorceries and transpersonal communications. I’ll recommend interested readers to Lee’s book but I think it is important to note that this formula is must truly active here in temporal reality.

 For me the importance of the Germanic mytho-magical model (yes, I understand it’s a broad generalization) rests on the value it places on worldly existence without eschewing transcendence. I am naturally suspicious of any occult doctrine or pattern of beliefs that insists on escapists fantasies and let’s be honest there’s a lot of them. Don’t care quite frankly what you were like in a past life or where you’re going next, don’t really care about your rainbow–unicorn spirit guide etc. If your magic isn’t operative in Midgard then what is it really for? On this I think Dave Lee says it best:

“ The overall aim of the magical path, if I define it in a way which opposes it to the mystical path, is always to return to Midgard, with the rewards of one’s magical action there for one and, if it be your Will, all the world to see. Magic has to be a celebration of the world, of spirit in it’s manifest form as the flesh, the body. The magician plays with the transcendent, but always returns to the flesh. The flesh is corruptible, mortal, subject to the worst the world has to offer, but surely it is still the most precious thin, to be born into this death-bounded ecstasy.”

 Yes, Midgard is the best place for us.

Review: Voudon Gnosis by David Beth

For the working occultist and academic alike, I wholeheartedly recommend David Beth’s Voudon Gnosis from Fulgur Limited. It’s worth mentioning that VG is a re-issued title previously published by Scarlet Imprint. That said, the Fulgur edition is significantly expanded, containing far more practical material and artistic contributions. To save the google search, Beth is the former Sovereign Grand Master of the Gnostic orders La Couleuvre Noire and the Ordo Templi Orientis Antiqua.  He now continues his work as founder of La Societe Voudon Gnostique.

Ideally VG should be read alongside Michael Bertiaux’s The Voudon Gnostic Workbook in the sense that it clarifies and enlarges on some of the more bewildering concepts in that notorious text. Yes, I’ve read Kenneth Grant but I’m not sure how much he actually helps.

From the beginning, Beth makes clear the distinction between esoteric forms of Voudon and exoteric Voodoo. Whilst we see similarities in terms of spiritual lineage and spirit contact, Beth’s fascinating discussion of eroto-magical cosmology and esoteric philosophy takes us deep into a Gnostic appreciation of existence. Be warned, however this is not a light discussion of magical sexuality – it is raw, primal, archaic.  Much like the atavistic work of Austin Spare, the Voudon sorcerer descends into the Stygian depths to evoke the most primal forces for practical use and research. Rightly, Beth cautions that this path is not for every one and intensive self-analysis is a prerequisite for working in this fashion.

Beth’s investigation into the mysteries termed Points Chauds - Hot Points – is worth the price of the book alone, describing them as both intelligent entities and energetic centres of occult power. The complexity and application here is dazzling, revealing a system that is both intellectually demanding and yet based on the primacy of the physical body – possibly one of my main attractions to work in this line. These concepts are further extended in separate chapters on Les Temple des Houdeux and Grimoire Ghueddhe, important commentaries for those who actually want to work with the gods of Esoteric Voudon.

Chapter discussions on the Nightside magicks of the Qlipoth, Fetich Sorcery and the cult of JuJu Rouge indicate the evolutionary nature of the Voudon continuum. Indeed this is one of the hallmarks of Voudon Gnosis that it is dynamic, individualistic and creative.  Evidence of this principle is abundant throughout the book with artistic contributions from key initiates complementing Beth’s evocative prose. Notably Beth writes in the Epilogue:

This sorcery of language alone may activate occult dimensions of our soul which then allows us to undergo more than human experiences. We enter the gates to unknown magical universes and become the true Dionysian man who lives his dream images of creative ecstasy.

The appendices to Voudon Gnosis offer practical rituals composed by Beth himself. The rites are quite shamanistic in nature and illustrate how Esoteric Voudon can be adapted to a number of purposes.  For example, we find workings for time travel, empowerment and an enhancement of the Lucky Hoodoo ritual first described by Bertiaux.

It does bear mentioning that VG is not aimed at the novice, nor does it claim to be an introduction to Haitian Vodou – there is a reason it’s called Esoteric Voudon. If, however, you’re even remotely interested in pursuing work with the Voudon Gnostic current VG is an invaluable guide.