Category: Newsletter

  • Pentacles for Entrepreneurs

    Pentacles for Entrepreneurs

    As the founder of Practical Occult I know what it is like to be self employed and work to get a small business off the ground. It is amazing and rewarding to have the level of autonomy associated with being your own boss, but it’s a lot harder and more stressful than working for someone…

  • The Year to Come

    The Year to Come

    As each new year dawns it’s not uncommon for people to make high-hoped personal resolutions and promises to themselves in an effort to kick-start things. We all want improvement and we all want to see our lives enrich. Some of us are in less-than-ideal circumstances and we want to make a change. Here at Practical Occult, we…

  • Kthonia Ritual Apothecary

    Kthonia Ritual Apothecary

    We at Practical Occult continue our focus on providing the utmost quality wares to our legions of discerning individuals as time goes on and as we expand. With the advent of our one-off classes which have in part a folk-magic focus on practical spellwork, we would settle for nothing less than the finest purveyor of…

  • The Sorcery of Pentacles

    The Sorcery of Pentacles

    We here at Practical Occult make no secret of being great fans of Pentacles and their miraculous effects on our world. However, an often spoken-of but little elaborated-upon aspect of magic is the reality that the Solomonic Pentacles can be employed across a wide range of sorcerous systems and thaumaturgical technologies. With this class, Alexander…

  • Spirits of the Fourth of Mercury

    Spirits of the Fourth of Mercury

    Much has been speculated about the Allatori, in the wake of the description in Clavicula Salomonis, MS Aub 24, 1674 which I will not repeat here. However I will say that the description from that grimoire is nothing like what I and others familiar with the Fourth Pentacle of Mercury have experienced. To set the…

  • Mercury Success

    Mercury Success

    From the Veritable Key of Solomon: “For the success of Negotiators, Travelers, and Students.” In the Veritable Key of Solomon there is a pentacle under Mercury with the description “For the success of Negotiators, Travelers, and Students.” Working with my scryer, the spirits revealed that this pentacle was created for the wandering scholar who travels…

  • To Open the Inner Eye:
    The Fifth Pentacle of Jupiter

    To Open the Inner Eye:The Fifth Pentacle of Jupiter

    From the Key of Solomon: “This hath great power. It serveth for assured visions. Jacob being armed with this Pentacle beheld the ladder which reached unto heaven.” It’s no secret that many a frustrated occultist agonizes over the nature of spiritual perception. It’s further common knowledge to proclaim that the debate rages, externally and internally,…

  • A Garden of Roses: Picking the Right Venus Pentacle

    A Garden of Roses: Picking the Right Venus Pentacle

    At first glance, selecting the right Venus pentacle might be difficult, even for the most discerning of individuals. From the grace-maker of the 2nd of Venus to the various forms of love-drawing glamours of the 3rd and the 5th, one has a variety of copper-colored shine to add to one’s life. When viewing them merely…

  • The Cairo Zodiac: A Peer Review

    The Cairo Zodiac: A Peer Review

    Each zodiac has been consecrated using PGM IV. 1596-1715: The Consecration of All Things. “Give glory and honor and favor and fortune and power to this phylactery!” Guest author Sfinga writes about her experiences with Practical Occult’s Cairo Zodiac in this newsletter. When Alison first contacted me to tell me about her plans for her…

  • Candle Magic: Harnessing the Philosophy of Fire

    Candle Magic: Harnessing the Philosophy of Fire

    It’s a ubiquitous part of magic today, the idea of burning spell candles upon an altar. These vessels of magical force and bright-burning, world-shaping energy come in many forms and are used in many ways. Mastering fire to illuminate our witchcraft is second-nature to most practitioners in our world and, yet, often people find their…