Well, this will be a post with a lot going on. I am going to try to keep it quick. So much is happening in my life right now. I have a lot to write about, which of course ironically means I have little time to write.

First off, seminary is even better and more useful than I thought it would be. This semester, I am taking a course on church administration and a course on the history of western esotericism. Both have already expanded my outlook beyond my wildest dreams. The church administration course is giving me insight into how religion works in action, and the western esotericism course is providing the same insight into how it works in theory. They are surprisingly perfect compliments to each other. I will share more about what I am learning later– and I will also be dropping a ton of PDFs from the latter course into my google drive for all of you to enjoy.

My pact with King Paimon, which was intended to get me into grad school, help me be successful there, and help me pay for it, is going beautifully. To show my appreciation, I’ve developed a habit of picking him up a brownie every week from the really good cafe near my school. He really likes sweets as offerings, and it feels extra appropriate to bring him something from near campus.

In other news, I have entered the Qliphoth.

I did not plan to do this. But in December, right around when sweet little Wednesday passed on, I had a dream. In the dream I met a dragon that told me its name was Neshimiron. I had never heard this name before. When I woke up and googled it, I discovered that I had met one of the princes of the Qliphoth, specifically one who dwells in Nahemoth.

Nahemoth is the bottom qlipha on the tree, the equivalent of Malkuth, and is ruled over by Naamah, with whom I already have a good relationship. I thought the message was very clear. Nahemoth is the natural place to enter the Tree of Knowledge, and I had received an invitation.

Life got in the way of the ritual, but eventually, on February 4th, I pulled it off. It was the new moon, a time when the qliphoth is supposedly more accessible. It also happened to be my first day of school.

Before the ritual, I contacted the spirit of Wednesday, my familiar. It had been communicated to me that this little cat was going to help me navigate the tunnels of Set. By placing my forehead against the forehead of the little cat sculpture that serves as her urn, I was able to connect to her powerfully via my third eye. I could feel her purring, all around me. It was an intense, vivid sensation, surprising in its power. I even held my breath for several moments to ensure that I wasn’t mistaking the rhythm of my own breathing for a purr, but it continued, as strong and steady as my own breath or pulse, yet completely independent of it. I was overwhelmed with love and relief to finally be able to feel her again. I had missed her so much. I invited her to come along and show me the way, then went into the bedroom for the ritual.

I had spent the prior week abstaining from orgasm, as did my partner, in order to store up magical energy. The details of the sex magick ritual we performed that night are not important, but it successfully launched us both into the realm of Nahemoth.

What does it mean to enter Nahemoth? Well, in my understanding, it means that Nahemoth enters your life. You come under the influence of this sphere, and experience growth, tests and challenges pertaining to it. I am still finding out what that will look like.

I did astrally explore a bit immediately after the ritual. What I saw was confusing and strange. Nahemoth feels earthy and aquatic– I saw caves, and submarine vistas, tunnels, grimy hotel hallways, dingy bedrooms, and a theater with a red curtain. I saw a nautilus, and understood that Nahemoth is shaped like that, chambers spiraling in and in and in to the center. Was I in the center or on the edge? I don’t know yet. I saw images of traumas that are not mine, yet felt like mine and like everyone’s– archetypal in nature, frozen in time. I didn’t really understand everything I saw.

After the working, my partner and I both suffered mysterious headaches and nausea for about twenty four hours. Asking other more experienced practicioners, we learned that this can happen upon entering the Qliphoth. Now we know, I guess. It felt like a combination of airsickness and jet lag, plus a migraine. A feeling of having come a long way.

I believe the trials and challenges of Nahemoth are beginning to show up in my life already. The details are personal, but broadly I am going through some things related to mothers, femininity, sexuality, money and work. I was warned that entering Nahemoth can increase libido, and once the “Qliphoth sickness” wore off, I found that to be the case, which for me is sort of disastrous because my drive is quite high already. Oh well, what can one do?

That’s about enough for one post.