Magical Innovation and Safety

One of the concerns that newcomers have regarding any magical practice is about safety, and rightfully so. The more time one spends in occult communities, the more one hears troubling stories of things that can go wrong. However there are many kinds of magic, and some are safer than others. Compare it to art, where some mediums are entirely safe, but others can be harmful without the right protection.

As a professional pentacle maker I have made thousands of pentacles, and I am also the admin for a social media group where amulet, pentacle, and talisman makers and collectors can both shop and share experiences. Based on all this experience and information, I would say that pentacles are very safe both to make and use, so when I hear stories of people having the rare bad experiences with pentacles, I investigate. In the most recent investigation, I heard that the pentacles made by another professional who had passed away some years ago, were either ceasing to work or becoming malefic. It was odd to hear that the pentacles had lost power, because while I personally can’t test how effective my work will be after I die, I have heard firsthand accounts of pentacles being passed down in families for generations and remaining potent. While that was curious, the stories of malevolence were so far from the nature of the spirits of the pentacle, in this case one of the Venus pentacles, that I felt compelled to investigate the situation further, by calling upon those spirits.

Let me start by saying that I don’t want to tarnish this individual’s work or their memory, for those of you who may guess who I am referring to. It’s extremely common for practitioners, especially professionals to experiment with different types of magic, and find what they feel works the best based on experience. I certainly heard good feedback about the effectiveness of their work. In addition to pentacles, they sold a wide variety of consecrated amulets and talismans, some of which called upon chthonic or demonic spirits for their effectiveness.

When I spoke to a spirit of Venus associated with the first pentacle of Venus, I was told that this practitioner was also calling on chthonic spirits to empower the pentacles, in addition to the usual celestial spirits. The chthonic spirits are the ones causing the unexpected negative issues with those particular pentacles since the death of the practitioner who conjured them.

What happens to unruly spirits when the person who conjured and bound them passes away?

While I was glad to solve that minor mystery to my satisfaction, I can’t help but wonder how many magical innovations that are being presented as safe, are really ticking time bombs waiting to go off after the death of their conjurer.

I contacted my partner, Alexander Moore, who has an enormous amount of firsthand experience and knowledge of goetia, and asked him what happens to unruly spirits when the person who conjured and bound them passes away. In cases where the conjurer has taken grimoire precautions- like creating the brass vessel or a liner spirituum, those spirits continue to be restrained by those items. However, in cases where the practitioner did not take precautions, those unbound spirits can do a lot of damage.

This is not an essay intended to dissuade people from working with unruly spirits, or pursuing innovation. But I feel that it is important to share stories like this so people can make more informed choices about the way they interact with those spirits. Remember that spirits are clever and playing a long game. They can also be manipulative. In all things, but especially the art of magic, discernment is key.