Financial Sorcery: Magical Strategies to Create Real and Lasting - Jason Miller 2012

The Powers That Be

The sorcerer does not work in a vacuum. Spirits, angels, demons, gods, and all manner of beings will be called upon during the course of your career. Some you will pray to fervently for help, others you will merely name in spells, and some you will attempt to communicate with directly. This chapter is a quick overview of some types of beings you may interact with during the course of a financial sorcery strategy. It is by no means complete, or in any way comprehensive, as doing so would fill several books.

Local Beings and Regular Offerings

I believe that the best place for the sorcerer to start building relationships with spirits is not with the angels and demons of famous grimoires or the gods of various religions, but with the local beings in the places where one lives, works, and plays. You probably don’t know the names of these beings; most of them do not even have names. In some cases we are talking about powers that blend with one another in ways that can be perplexing.

There are beings of the sky, of the land, of the rivers, of the underworld, and even of electricity and cities. There are great angelic powers, spirit guardians, shades of the dead, dryadic spirits, and all manner of beings with which you share space and generally do not interact with in conscious ways. In many cases such beings are thought to have influence on wealth and prosperity in your life. In Tibet many people offer Sang (smoke offerings, usually of juniper and pine) to the Nagas and the Shidak to help increase their flow of prosperity. In India similar rites are done to appease the Yakshas and Yashninis, for similar reasons. In Iceland there are areas where the government demands that a shaman come and tell whether the Huldufolk (elves) would be upset by your actions and thus negatively impact business all around.

You do not need to get excessively particular about names and classes in order to make things run smoothly for you with the local spirits. I certainly do encourage you to research your area both psychic-ally and historically, but to get started it is enough to make a general offering on a regular basis to the powers that be.

The type of offering I am talking about here is not one in which you ask for anything in exchange. What I am talking about is an act of spiritual kindness. If you make these offerings a part of your regular practice, then you will develop more powerful and longer-term relationships with the spirits than you do with simple tit-for-tat contracts.

Think of it this way: If you needed $50 and you asked a complete stranger to loan it to you they would probably say no. If you asked people with whom you work for $50, they may lend it or they may not. If you asked your best friend for $50, it’s almost certain that he or she would lend it and then ask if you needed anything else. Your friend would also probably not be as concerned about the date of payback because you have a long history with this person, likely making gestures of goodwill to one another for years.

In my Strategic Sorcery Course I place a great deal of emphasis on offerings, and I have an elaborate classification system for different guests and levels of offerings that can be made for different reasons. For our purposes here it is enough to know that you are making an offering to just about every spirit that would like to show up and partake, from the meekest spirit of nature to the greatest godly power; from beings that are your spirit allies and patrons to those that might be angry with you.

Some people might feel uncomfortable with the idea of making offerings to spirits that are angry with them and might be considered enemies, but in fact nothing is more traditional—or important to do! One of the oldest manifestations of the heal Cs oo make ing arts on this planet is the art of healing the differences between people and spirits. The most common example is a spirit of nature that you’ve angered through your ordinary human actions, such as driving or getting rid of trash. Being a magician, you are even more apt to trample upon the turf of spirits or powers of which you may not even be aware. This is one of the dangers of the endless banishing rituals sometimes recommended in books on ceremonial magic. In the process of financial sorcery it is just as important to pacify angry spirits as it is to make friends with new ones.

In order to get this practice working in your life you should first decide upon a time of day and a frequency of offering. People usually perform offerings early in the morning, if not very first thing. I make them daily, but some people will only be comfortable making offerings weekly. Others I know make offerings three times a day to attract different spirits focused on the morning, midday, and night. You should plan on doing as much as you can, but no more than that. Be realistic. It is better to make a regular weekly offering on Thursday mornings than it is to be gung-ho about elaborate daily offerings three times a day for a few days, then fall off the wagon completely because you have chosen a plan that does not fit your lifestyle.

After the frequency is decided, you should plan what kind of physical support you will use. You can make offerings of energy with no physical support, but I reserve these for moments when I am inspired to make an offering on the fly, such as before I sit and meditate at a city park, or when I am traveling and do not have access to gear. For your regular offerings I recommend having a physical support that will ground your work in our physical reality and open up the lines of communication between you and the spirits.

I recommend the following types of support:

1. Incense: Incense is a great support for physical offerings. The ascending smoke is not only said to carry one’s prayers to the higher realms, but to also actually be consumed by classes of beings called “scent eaters.”

2. Light: Light is a nearly universal symbol for wisdom. It is appreciated by most spiritual beings and is thought to actually be consumed by certain beings. I prefer candles and actual fire to electric light, but some beings have come to appreciate that as well. (I never leave candles burning unattended in my home, so sometimes electricity is what I need, like it or not.) Whatever you use as an offering should be separate from your work lights—the lights you use to illuminate your temple. Offering lights are dedicated as offerings only.

3. Water: Water symbolizes purity and washing clean. It is an extremely attractive and calming substance for many spirits to linger near, especially spirits of the dead. Setting out one, three, seven, or more bowls of clean water in the morning and emptying them at night is a wonderful offering.

4. Libation: In addition to water in a bowl you can offer water, tea, coffee, or another liquid to the ground.

I try, whenever possible, to offer all four on a regular basis. The upward rising of the incense, the outward rays of the light, the stationary bowl of water, and the downward flow of the libation are nice symbols for extending your offering. Whatever the physical base used, you should also multiply it by visualization and energy. In this manner, no matter what the physical basis, it can be patterned to fit the needs of any and all beings.

If you get really into the practice of offering and have the space, you can get more elaborate by putting out fruit, flowers, meat, money, objects, and more. Skilled people Cillcticecan also use sacred acts such as sex as an offering, but in most cases these would not be for a regular and general offering like what I am describing here.

You must be careful when offering to specific classes of spirits or individual spirits. Research the traditions carefully and then use that knowledge to make an appropriate offering. Then listen to the spirits and see if they ask for something specific. Some offerings, such as meat or musk to Nagas and salt to spirits of the dead, can actually offend a guest and make the ritual counterproductive. If you aren’t sure of what you are doing, stick to the basic gesture of offering, with simple substances such as incense and liquor.

A Daily Offering to the Spirits for Financial Wellness

In my last book, The Sorcerer’s Secrets, I included a good general offering, and in my Strategic Sorcery Course I give another, more elaborate example as well as different variations that can be made. In this book I wanted to include something that was even shorter than what I put into The Sorcerer’s Secrets but which also has an eye toward the financial dimension.

There are three segments to a proper offering: the invitation, the offering itself, and the dismissal. When using physical supports, these three should be preceded by a cleansing or blessing of the material to be offered, making it a four-stage ritual.

The following simple ritual follows these four stages:

Cleansing

By Earth, the body of the Gods

By Water, their flowing blood

By Air, the breath of the Gods

By Fire, their burning soul

May these offerings be made blessed and made pure.

Invitation

Aeon of Aeons, Bornless and Perfected Ones;

Angels and Archons and Guardians of the Work;

Every God of Celestial Spheres;

Phantoms of the Dead, the Quick, and in between;

Every spirit of the Earth, the Air, and the Underworld;

Every spirit who causes harm in response to human action,

In particular you Gods and Spirits who oversee the flow and gathering of wealth;

Spirits of luck and opportunity;

Spirits of accretion and affluence:

Come here according to your desires. And be seated upon the thrones.

Offering

During this portion of the rite you make your actual offering. Light your incense and wave it about in the air; hold your candles out to symbolically offer their illumination; pour your libations on the ground; place your items at the altar, or, in the case of making offerings to beings to which you owe debt, move the offerings outside the temple.

Clouds of offerings, I give to you

Food and drink and fumigation.

Let the offerings arise and pervade all space.

Let it take the form that is most desired.

Know that I am thankful for your past kindnesses.

Know that I am regretful for any offenses.

Please accept these offerings and be fulfilled.

Please open the paths of prosperity

And meet kindness with kindness.

Dismissal

Please take your fill of these offerings and go in peace.

Go unto your abodes as you desire.

F Ch=">Please taorever act as friends and helpers.

So Mote It Be.

Amen.

Spirits of the Financially Savvy Dead

Your ancestors may have passed on, but they may still prove to be some of your most powerful allies. They live on in us, in our very blood. Acknowledgment of your ancestors with an occasional offering is a great way to contact beings to whom you already have a psychic connection, and who will almost always be inclined to help you. There is a reason that in many African traditional religions, getting in touch with one’s ancestors is the first step on the path. If someone in your family was known as a magician or psychic, that would be a good person to start with.

Contacting your ancestors can be simple and rewarding. You can lay out a simple bowl of water and a white candle, or go further and set up a proper Boveda. This is a table with a white cloth upon which is set a cross or other symbol of divinity, a white candle, and a center bowl or glass of water surrounded by seven other smaller cups of water. Once a week you set aside an hour or so to set out gifts such as coffee or food that your ancestors enjoyed in life, raise the bowls, and sing praises to them. Even if you are not of their religion, saying prayers that would be meaningful to them is more important than acknowledging your own beliefs. If you want to do a weeklong offering you can raise one of the glasses in their honor each day, telling them that as you do so you are lifting your spirit to them. On the last day, when you are doing the last bowl or cup, you should open yourself up and look for any feelings or messages that come through. This process opens a portal to the convocation of spirits in your bloodline. You may discover ancestors and spirit guides presenting themselves that you never even knew you had. I discovered a twin that died as an infant on my father’s side this way, which I later confirmed with my grandmother.

If you get a particularly strong connection, you can create an ancestor altar where you house pictures and belongings. You can also gather graveyard dirt from their resting place, and use it in spells for your financial strategies. Both of my own grandfathers were shrewd businessmen whom I am honored to have as allies in my work.

Apart from your ancestors it can sometimes be helpful to call upon the spirits of deceased community members or coworkers in the course of your rituals. The founder of the company where you work, for instance, can be a very potent ally for gaining promotion, and a recently deceased council member can help grease the wheels of local government for that new business you want to open.

Working with the dead is not for everyone. Some people consider it best to leave those who have passed alone, so that they can continue their journey without undue attachment to a former life. Others would never think of abandoning their ancestors and believe it would be an offense to the dead to leave them be. I am not interested in arguing one point over the other here. If you decide to work with the dead, it can be rewarding. If you decide not to, there are plenty of other options.

Planetary Powers

In The Sorcerer’s Secrets I point out that although many people think of Jupiter as the only planet/god to invoke in money matters, if you are doing real financial sorcery you should be a little more nuanced in your thinking. In that book I suggest working with a Jupiter/Mercury combo—Jupiter handing the collection of money and Mercury handling its movement, sort of the way your savings and checking accounts complement each other. If you are really intending to become a financial sorcerer, though, you should consider the role of all the planets in your work.

A few years ago on the Strategic Sorcery Blog, I issued “Inominandum’s Two-Week Planetary Challenge,” in which you would consider a goal you are working toward and factor each planet’s influence into your strategy by invoking the power of each planet on its proper day and hour. If you start on a Monday and perform an invocation every other day, you will move through all the planets in their ascending Chaldean order (Monday: moon; Wednesday: Mercury; Friday: Venus; Sunday: sun; Tuesday: Mars; Thursday: Jupiter; Saturday: Saturn) in two weeks.

Of course there are a lot of ways to approach planetary work. You can invoke the Roman gods they are named after; you can call them by the names of the Archangels, or the intelligences and spirits from Agrippa, or the Olympic spirits from the Arbatel, or even the Babylonian/Sumerian gods associated with them. The following is a quick reference chart for some of the more common planetary correspondences.¹

Sample of Planetary Correspondences

I actually hate charts like this one. All too often people feel the need to use all the names for a particular planet in a single invocation, as if the sheer amount of different sources and cultures somehow lent it power. I provide this list only as a place to start looking for more pertinent information. In each column there are different names you should be researching to either follow a traditional rite or construct your own based on those names. It is far better to wax poetic about how Tzadkiel charges into battle right behind Michael, leads the Choir of Dominions, and prevents Abraham from sacrificing Isaac, than it is to yell out, “Iovis, Mustari, Tzadkiel, Iophiel, Hismael, Bethor, Marduk, be here now!” The former method attracts and deepens the connection with a particular power; the latter creates a crowded mess, if it does anything at all.

So how do all the planets impact your work? Let’s give an example—say you want to land a job:

Luna: The moon is often misunderstood as a planet that is only about deep instinct, women’s mysteries, dreams, and such. But it is also about time and rhythm. For ancient peoples the most obvious and easiest way to track days was by the phases of the moon. The tides and some bodily functions also flow with the moon. Tibetans believe that there are certain key Bindus, or drops, that flow through different parts of the body based on a lunar schedule, and to work yoga correctly you need to know where those are. So, if you want your strategy to put you in the right place at the right time, this is an ideal place to start. In our case we might call upon Luna to help us make sure that we are looking at the right time to see the ideal job offerings, and to make sure that our applications also hit at the appropriate time.

Mercury: As I have already mentioned, Mercury is about movement and information. Because you will be applying for a lot of jobs online, you had better have the powers of information in your corner!

Venus: Venus is all about interpersonal communications and bringing people together. Invoke the powers of Venus before you network with friends, former coworkers, and networking groups. Invoke them again before the job interview to sweeten relations.

Sol: The sun calls to mind harmony, divine guidance, health, and sudden bursts of energy and inspiration. If you are stuck in a rut and need to see a different approach to your job search, the sun can help shed light on paths you had not considered. It is also invoked by people looking for patrons and helpers.

Mars: Let’s face it: there is steep competition out th Ctituna:

Jupiter: Jupiter is associated with increase, riches, and wealth, and also has roles that can sometimes overlap with other powers, such as making war, and lust. Use Jupiter to make sure that your upcoming job pays the salary and has the benefits that you need. I’ll talk more about Jupiter in the next chapter.

Saturn: Saturn is your end game. Invoke him to end projects the way you want them to. Just as you banished your bad luck with Mars, you can kill your poverty with Saturn. Saturn is also for binding, so if you find yourself distracted or not making the most of your time, Saturn might be the power to turn to. You can also banish Saturn if you feel its influence weighing you down. Very skilled sorcerers who are used to mediating these influences can both invoke and banish Saturnian influences at the same time, keeping the parts they want and banishing those they do not—but such talents are only conferred by experience and cannot be properly explained in a book.

Those who are deep into astrology will want to not only choose the right day and hour, but also abide by a host of other electional conditions. If you want to go further, I strongly recommend the classes and books of Christopher Warnock at Renaissance Astrology.

A Miscellany of Spirits and Dieties: Furthering Your Financial Network

It is truly dizzying how many different spirits get invoked in financial magic the world over. Some are general and some are laser-focused. Following is just a quick miscellany of beings I have worked with successfully. Do some research before working with any of them. The blurbs I’ve provided are just meant to whet your appetite. Let’s kick things off with some saints:

Saint Expedite: St. Expedite was a Roman soldier and is the patron saint of getting things done quickly. If you have any interest in folk magic at all, chances are you already know all about him. If you belong to a hoodoo or folk magic mailing list, you will see posts thanking him for all kinds of last-minute saves. Those public statements of gratitude, along with a slice of poundcake, are all the offerings St. Expedite needs to help you out with your last-minute needs. He is so popular that there are articles about him in Wired and other mainstream magazines. A word of warning: Do not ask him to do what is simply impossible in a short amount of time, and do not demand his swift action on things that do not need it—his energy will spill all over your life in unpleasant ways.

Saint Homobonus: A merchant from Cremona in Italy, he believed that God allowed his success in order for him to support the poor. He is very responsive when approached with business deals in which you promise to dedicate a small percentage of profits to the poor. Although he is not a popular saint, even among Catholics, I have actually seen cheap plastic statues of him made by a toy company, and there is also a marketing agency in Cambridge, England, named after him.

Saint Jude: This is the very well known saint of impossible causes and last-ditch efforts. If you are nearing the end of your unemployment insurance, if your business is on the verge of bankruptcy, or if your portfolio has lost 50 percent of its worth and you are 60 years old, St. Jude mi C, Se, arght be your guy.

Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal: My grandmother introduced me to this form of Mary, and she has proven exceptionally reliable. In 1830 the Virgin appeared to St. Catherine Laboure and instructed her on the construction of a very specific medal that would benefit humanity. I had mine blessed at the Miraculous Medal Shrine in Philadelphia, and she has acted in good faith whenever I have called on her. There are Novenas for all sorts of intercessions connected with her, but many people are currently looking to her for help with employment.

Our Lady of Prompt Succor: This is a form of Mary that is especially connected with New Orleans, a city I dearly love. She helped turn the tide of battle when she appeared in the sky above the Battle of New Orleans, and has been called upon to save the city from hurricanes and other disasters many times over throughout the last few hundred years. Similar to St. Expedite, she is known to work quickly. I myself have had small requests granted the very hour that the request was made.

Dzambhala: Moving east, we have one of my favorite wealth-building figures. Dzambhala, also spelled Jambhala, is a Tibetan/Indian deity of increase and prosperity. There are actually five different-colored Dzambhalas associated with the five Buddha families and different types of magical action. In all forms he possesses a large, rotund body and, like almost all Tibetan wealth deities, carries a mongoose that vomits gems. Yellow Dzambhala is the most prevalent form and is more or less a straightforward wealth deity. Black Dzambhala is wrathful and overcomes obstacles. White Dzambhala is very peaceful and compassionate. Blue Dzambhala operates primarily through spiritual means. Red Dzambhala increases wealth through influence and charm; he is sometimes shown as being in sexual union with Kurukulla, the goddess of influence and witchcraft.

White Mahakala: White Mahakala is a wrathful form of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. He is actually standing on two Ganeshas who hold the ubiquitous mongoose vomiting gems. He himself carries blades, wish-granting gems, a skull cup filled with jewels, and a hook of attraction. White Mahakala is specifically for overcoming obstacles, and I can testify that he does it with speed and style. As with most Tibetan beings, it is best if you get the mantra and empowerment from a Lama, but even if you do not have such an initiation, you can still pray and make a request to the being.

Ganesha: Everybody loves Ganesha, and there is more than enough information about him out there. He is not only connected with overcoming obstacles, but with gambling as well. Om Gam Ganapati Ye Namah is just one mantra that will connect you with this powerful god.

Mahalakshmi: Mahalakshmi, or just Lakshmi, is probably the preeminent Hindu goddess of wealth. She is the consort of Vishnu and is married to Rama in her incarnation as Sita. All of Krishna’s wives were said to be manifestations of Lakshmi.

The 36 Yakshinis: Yakshas, which I’ve already mentioned briefly, are similar to gnomes: They are spirits widely acknowledged throughout Asia as guardians of national treasures. The Yakshas are portrayed mostly as warriors, and the females, or Yakshinis, are seen as sensual and beautiful full-figured women. The Yakshinis are a bit easier to work with than the Yakshas, and there are numerous pujas (rituals) for asking for their help. Specifically, there are 36 Yakshinis listed as a group in the Uddamershvara Tantra that can be called upon with specific mantras and pujas.

Maximon: Returning west, let’s also head south to Guatemala, where we have a complex god with a quickly spreading cult: Maximon. He is a Mayan god of the underworld once known as Mam, whom locals C, wems, a have synchretized with St. Simon, thus the contraction Maximon. Local priests trying to dissuade locals from worshiping him have tried to identify him with Judas, but this has only lent him popularity. He is often invoked for financial gain, and offered expensive cigarettes, cigars, and whiskey. Many statues have holes for the god to drink and smoke through. There are many complex rites and beliefs about Maximon, but he is also open to approach from people who are not from an area where he is widely worshiped and thus may not know his traditional prayers. One interesting charm associated with him involves jars of the waste water collected from washing his clothes during the pre-Easter festival. The liquid is then blessed and sprinkled in shop doorways to attract customers.

High John the Conqueror: Most people are familiar with the root named after him, but not as many know that he can be invoked as a powerful spirit in his own right. He is something of a trickster figure; having been sold as a slave, all the stories revolve around him getting the better of his masters. Some claim that Brer Rabbit of the Uncle Remus stories is modeled after John the Conqueror. Considering that Bugs Bunny was modeled after Brer Rabbit, this shape-shifting spirit has done an amazing job of staying within the popular consciousness. Call on him when holding a whole High John Root and ask him for his clever help.

Green Devil: The devil is of course no stranger to magic. From Satanic rites to sunrise meetings at the crossroads, he plays a huge role in the history of magic and witchcraft. Those who refuse to see this aspect of the Horned God are cutting themselves off from a major mystery. He finds his way into this book as a spirit to invoke to get people who owe you money to pay their debts. His candles are not easy to find, but they can be dressed with compelling oil and a prayer made to the Green Devil to plague your debtor until he pays his debt. I used it on a company once and it worked just as surely as it does on an individual.

Hertha: This is a German earth goddess that has been worshiped by witches for centuries. All goddesses of the earth are fantastic financial powers, representing the bounty of the earth and its treasures: literal gold.

Habondia: Daughter of Hertha, sometimes seen as the same being. Habondia is specifically connected with abundance and wealth. Bonus: There is a lending society that assists in financially empowering and educating women called The Circle of Habondia.

These are just a small sample of the deities and spirits I have worked with throughout the years. You should do additional research on them if you hope to work with them. You may also find many more deities and spirits to add to this list. Just remember the following rules.

Inominandum’s Rules for Working With Spirits

Whatever beings you decide to call upon in your work, there are a few things to keep in mind.

1. Depth is better than quantity. It is better to extol the virtues and actions of one being in an invocation than to invoke many different gods and names. Just because they are prosperity or Jupiterian beings does not mean that they are the same. Even deities that are traditionally synchretized, such as Thoth-Hermes or Jupiter-Zeus, are not the same. Those synchretizations are pulling together two mythologies in a very particular way—something not to be undertaken lightly. I have been to too many open circles where the goal seems to be to call as many deities into each quarter as possible with absolutely no attempt made to learn much about any of them, other than their names. This is the kind of thing that g C the being.ives eclecticism a bad name. Do some research to learn about the being. Follow this with experimentation and communication. Use what comes through for more research and experimentation.

2. Personal relationship trumps association. If you have a long and ongoing relationship with a spirit, saint, or deity, but it is not necessarily a “wealth” being, you may be better off asking it for help than starting a new relationship with a wealth being. Many entities have more facets than we know, and can turn their special talents toward your goal. One student of mine has worked almost exclusively with Aphrodite for 15 years, and in order to be true to this patron, she has never invoked a wealth god. When she asked me how she should work wealth magic, I told her to ask Aphrodite. Sure enough, Aphrodite used her wiles and influence to create a lot of wealth in this person’s life, landing her her first six-figure position. Sometimes you may need to go to a wealth being or love being for help when you need it, but give your long-term contacts a try first. They may surprise you.

3. Maintain sovereignty. Your life is yours to live. Do not turn responsibility or decision-making over to angels, spirits, demons, deities, or anything else. Many people have a tendency to do whatever a spirit tells them to do, and it’s a growing trend that needs to stop. Yes, it is traditional in many cultures, but not everything traditional is a good idea. The spirits do not live here and do not know all the nuances of how you want your life to run—that’s your job. Evaluate nonhuman advice the same way you would evaluate human advice. By all means develop relationships, praise and worship, and make offerings. If, however, a god tells you to make an offering that will bankrupt you, I would recommend rethinking that relationship. Maintain your sovereignty.

Before we move on to the work, there is just one more being we need to cover in the next chapter, the one whose emblem graces the cover of this book: Jupiter.

References and Resources

Vodou Money Magic: The Way to Prosperity Through the Blessings of the Lwa, by Kenaz Filan (Destiny Books, February 16, 2010). A wonderful book detailing how different Lwa, the mysteries of Vodou, act on different aspects of money magic. Specifically geared toward people who have not been initiated into Vodou.

Encyclopedia of Mystics, Saints, & Sages: A Guide to Asking for Protection, Wealth, Happiness, and Everything Else, by Judika Illes (HarperOne, October 11, 2011). Excellent survey of saints and spirits that may be invoked in financial sorcery. Much deeper and denser with information than your typical encyclopedia of spirits.