About the Artist

I started studying in 2004 privately with a studio artist in Maine, then continued with self-study after my arrival in Canada in 2005. In 2008 I began working with my husband, Donald Tyson, illustrating his books, and have continued over the past year. I work with different mediums or even a mix. My favorite so far is watercolor.

Bynopar (and Butmono)

These paragraphs detail Jennifer’s evocation of these two kings, as a special bonus addition to her painting below. — Ed.

These spirits have highly shamanistic attributes. They were present before the ritual even started, while I was doing preparation and requesting to start the working. The appearance of the king reminded me strongly of an image of the Lord of the Dance, which I had seen on a plaque in Enchantments, in Maine. The only difference was that he had clothes on, though I would not have been surprised to see him as this image appeared. Initially, I felt very self consciously aware of the times I had not respected life. Though most of this was in the distant past, I was hesitant to complete the connection with these two spirits. They sensed my hesitation and reassured me of welcome in spite of my past shortcomings.

The music of Lord of the Dance seemed to be appropriate to the imagery. The crown was ram’s horns placed on either side of the head, and the torch was more like a scepter — but then it almost seemed like the torch would be more appropriate. Creative energies streamed from this spirit, diffusing through the entire universe. The effect of the energy made everything mundane seem trivial, and a steady white light and feeling of unity and being the phrase I am perhaps the most appropriate expression of this experience. Worries of the physical world became as trivial as the dust on the floor. Questions and worries were silenced, and a quiet stillness took their place. At the same time, there was also an awareness of the dance of life, that this spirit danced the universe into being. The stillness aspect of these energies was perhaps more represented by Butmono. He appeared priestlike with a gnarled staff. The brilliant white like came from Butmono’s heart chakra, into my head, filling me up totally until I was unaware of anything or anyone else.

I then had the realization that a conversation from earlier that morning was related to the influence of these two spirits. The conversation had been about plants, and I realized that the growing of plants, not necessarily the ingesting of them, could be used for the purpose of certain esoteric effects. The spirits pointed out to me the influence of the plants that I have growing in the house, and suggested things that could be added to them to increase the desirable effects of their auras. My task the afternoon following this rite was to re-pot the plants with worn out soil, as well as a couple that needed larger pots in which to grow properly. Only two of these plants have edible parts; the rest are house plants, yet their influence becomes apparent when the Butmono shows me how their auras actually work. An aftereffect of this evocation was a huge influx of physical energy. I re-potted all the plants, fixed a big lunch, and walked a few kilometers.

During the rite, I brought up two concerns with the spirits. That week, there had been some kind of interference with information and with mailing certain items out to another occultist. According to these spirits, the interference had been dealt with already and should not occur again if I allow the package to be charged before sending out. The interference was trivial and prankish in nature, even though it was rather disturbing to the people on my end who were involved in the incident. That was the first concern.The second was regarding our living situation and setting up a physical space for occult workings. The spirits reminded me that these things will occur in due time and that my concern was with the present. I was also reminded that the greatest temple was myself and the environment where I interact with the spirits. There needs to be a stronger emphasis on outdoor work.

The painting of Bynopar was originally watercolor, then scanned and continued with digital tools to improve the painting.

©2010 by Jennifer Tyson.
Text edited and image resized by Sheta Kaey.

About the Artist

I began painting long ago while I was still in high school, but of all the painting mediums I have tried I like watercolor the most because I find it the most challenging. Once the paint leaves the brush and is absorbed by the paper, the entire process is out of my hands. The paint goes where it wills and the final painting rarely looks the way I thought it would when I began. This makes me feel as though my paintings are somehow connected with the unseen, or The Divine. The whole process has taught me a thing or two about Lust of Result and being a patient person in general, but I rarely leave a painting unfinished once I start — I begin and finish in one sitting. I am inspired by nature and by my family. Living in Portland provides me with much of my motivation. I do not do traditional watercolor landscapes, and even though my paintings are inspired by my natural surroundings, they are whimsical and exaggerated representations of what I see. The same is true of the portraits that I have been commissioned to paint over the years.

By the Light of the Moon

Watercolor. In Oregon, there is a vine considered an invasive species that will entirely cover a tree, choking the life out of it. I tried to imagine what would happen and what it would look like if, in order to survive, the tree impregnated the ivy to create a new species.

Ghost Kid

Watercolor. Inspired by a springtime trip to the forest in Oregon, when I came upon a clear cut. I could sense the angst of the creatures that were displaced.

Iron Flowers

Watercolor. Inspired by Russian iron work. In the U.S., we seem to like straight lines and sharp angles. The Russians have a thing for circles and curves, as I do.

H. P. Lovecraft

Watercolor. H. P. Lovecraft, painted while my husband recorded “The Silver Key,” also a title of one of Lovecraft’s novels.

Strife

Watercolor. Originally called “Racing The Clouds Home.” Inspired by a Marillion song called “White Russian.”

Fall

Watercolor. An image from a typical, stormy, Portland day. This is a tree next to our apartment that appeared to be desperately holding on to as many leaves as possible while the wind beat against it.

©2009 April del Campo
Text edited and images resized by Sheta Kaey

About the Artist

I started studying in 2004 privately with a studio artist in Maine, then continued with self-study after my arrival in Canada in 2005. In 2008 I began working with my husband, Donald Tyson, illustrating his books, and have continued over the past year. I work with different mediums or even a mix. My favorite so far is watercolor.

Bnaspol

The painting attached is of a Hepatarchial king — Bnaspol — based on my vision of him. The image of the vision was initially of a very large giant; I could only see his legs and the end of the very large club he carried. My first thought was, “Now what am I supposed to do with this?” The image then transformed to an elderly man dressed in a red hooded robe with gold trim. He had a very long white beard. He gave instruction on the crystal he holds in his hand, among other things. This image reminded me somewhat of a Father Christmas figure with a gold crown instead of a holly wreath.

This is a painting done in ink and water color.

©2009 by Jennifer Tyson
Text edited and image resized by Sheta Kaey

About the Artist

Hettie Rowley is a South African artist and co-owner of the Thelema Trust. Hettie creates all of her work the old fashioned way — by hand, with no computer generated imagery or manipulation. She works in oils, pastels, bronze, pencil, charcoal, watercolor, clay and ink. She collaborates closely with her husband Keith in the production of occult and Thelemic artworks, and also produces a variety of African art, portraits, landscapes and much else. Her husband is still madly in love with her after almost twenty years and considers her to be an artistic genius. He still manages to irritate her, though.

About the Art: The Path of the Moon

Oil on Canvass 1.2mx0.6m

In this occult Thelemic art we see the perplexing journey of the aspiring adept, mired in the duality of all things. Above, the sacred beetle, “Kephra,” surmounts the enfeebled glory of the sick and dying moon, whilst below, the seeker of the light moves forwards in faith, steadfast in hope of redemption through the light of infinity, always conflicted in the choice of paths of light and of darkness. The adept will wonder over the symbolism of this occult art. Does this seeker indeed tread the treacherous 29^th Path of the Tree of Life, The Path of the 18^th Tarot Atu, The Moon? Or does he tread a path of bewilderment as the Angel of Yesod precipitates a storm of confusion within his mind and soul as he is immersed in the Machinery of the Universe?

Artistic Visions is a regularly appearing column featuring original occult oriented art — whether it be traditional, multi-media, or graphic art. (Photography appears in Ocular Distortion.) If you’d like to submit art for publication in RTV, email your images to admin@rendingtheveil.com. We’d love the opportunity to showcase more talent.

©2009 Hettie Rowley
All rights reserved.

About the Artist

My name is Jesse Lindsay. I am a freelance artist currently living in Portland, Oregon after hitchhiking around the U.S. for 6 years.

I refer to my work as “alchemical surrealism.” Most of my art is derived from dreams and studies into alchemical ritual, psychology, and various aspects of the occult. To me, everything is a way of expressing reality in different forms, creating methods that allow each of us to understand.

My work in the public sphere ranges from book illustrations to film projects to collaboration with musicians and galleries. I am working on a project of collected personal works, which I hope to release by the end of 2008.

Aside from art, most of my time is spent with my son Djinn and my daughter Arson. I also enjoy working on personal projects, such as drinking and constant collaboration with my wife and friends.

Artistic Visions is a regularly appearing column featuring original occult oriented art — whether it be traditional, multi-media, or graphic art. (Photography appears in Ocular Distortion.) If you’d like to submit art for publication in RTV, email your images to admin@rendingtheveil.com. We’d love the opportunity to showcase more talent.

©2008 Jesse Lindsay
Text edited by Sheta Kaey

Recently, I decided to do a grieving ritual for my time in academia. I’d dropped out of my Ph.d in 2005 and for almost a year had not really had a chance to process the emotions over leaving under such circumstances. My wife had bought me the Voyager Tarot, and I needed to break it in, so I decided to use it to help me divine the various causes of my grief. By objectifying my grief through the reading, I could draw those elements out of my psyche and take control of my grief, bring it to a resolution.

The central card was Logic, which accurately represented academic thought processes and so was the core of the particular sorrow I wanted to evoke.

The card to the bottom left was a card that explained the mission of the Voyager Tarot. The lines that stood out to me were: “Voyager Tarot is a mirror extension of yourself. Respect it as you Respect yourself¹.” The words “mirror” and “respect” especially resonated with me. I’ve always used mirrors as a gateway to myself, and I realized that I needed to find some respect that I’d lost for myself in leaving academia.

To the immediate left was the Sun card, representing glory and power. In this particular case, it represented a feeling of disempowerment that I’d felt as a result of my academic experiences. That disempowerment came in the form of a loss of self-confidence in my writing and in who I identified myself to be.

On the upper left was Compassion, which indicated a need to forgive myself as well as the others in the situation. I tend to hold grudges for a long time, both toward myself and other people. In order for me to find my peace I knew needed to forgive everyone involved.

Above the Logic card was the Seeker Card. This one represented both my desire to seek a resolution and the vulnerability I’d felt as a seeker of knowledge in academia. It was the loss of my social life (at that point in time), but also the loss of my innocence. When I’d gone to academia I’d sought a community of fellowship and had quickly found that no such community existed and that a lot of competition was involved in the learning process.

The card on the upper right hand corner was time-space and represented my feelings of bitterness over spending three and a half years in a Ph.D. program, without getting the degree. There’ve been times where I’ve felt I wasted those three and a half years. Rationally I know otherwise, because all experiences are never wasted. Emotionally, I was irrational and wanted those three and a half years back.

To the immediate right was the learner card, which represented the loss of wonder and enjoyment in learning I experienced when I realized academia was a game and not quite the place of learning I’d thought it was. I wanted learning to be fun again, instead of being a tedious chore of proving who could drop more names than the other person.

The card to the lower right was confusion, which represents what I felt and still feel about my academic experience. I was confused by how I got to the point where I needed to leave the program. I was also confused by the feelings of bitterness I had over choosing to leave, and the wistful longing that occasionally brought up a desire to be back in academia.

After I did the reading, I left the cards out and pulled out my art supplies. I felt it was useful for me to grieve by evoking and expressing that grief. I allowed each tarot card to register in my mind’s eye and then asked the consciousness of that card to take over and guide my hands in painting the symbols that best expressed the meanings I’d found in the cards. I also wanted to paint how those meanings related to each other, by creating in the symbols a linkage to the other symbols.

During the actual painting, I didn’t feel any grief. The trance I was in focused more on getting the symbols on paper. But the creation and linkage of those symbols was also meant to create a gate in the painting, for the purpose of containing and evoking the energy of the emotions I felt, so that the energy could be put to better use than in a continual cycle of grief and anger.

Once the painting was completed, I vividly recalled the feelings I associated with academia. The frustration I felt at failing the exams, the politics, the three and a half years of time I’d invested into the degree, not getting the degree, the loss of confidence and the feeling of disempowerment I felt; all of these feelings surged with a vengeance into my consciousness. My chest felt heavy, as if a large block was on it. I then opened my mouth and “vomited” the energy into the painting. A loud keening cry of sorrow came from throat as I gave voice to the grief and regret I felt over everything that had happened. This continued for quite a while. When I could no longer give voice to my grief, I stopped. The energy had gone into the painting, where I could access it as needed, but where it would also no longer be a toxic presence in my life.

I’ve always taken the approach that any and everything has its uses. I’ve used similar evocations of emotions before to store away emotional energy. I still feel the energy, but it’s then recycled and stored away until it’s needed for magical workings. I no longer wallow in the pain. Instead, those emotions are directed toward accomplishing specific goals and tasks that will help me achieve my desires. I would note that a person shouldn’t think I’ve closed myself off from the emotions or denied their validity. The purpose of the ritual is to grieve, to vent, and give the sorrow a voice, but also to redirect that energy so it no longer cycles back to the subconscious to torment me further.

As an interesting side note, after doing this ritual, some of my insecurities reared their heads, probably because of the deep plunge into the subconscious to deal with the lingering emotional issues concerning academia. In particular, I had a vivid nightmare of being judged by a panel of people. Over the next day and a half, these insecurities were expressed in several different ways, through online posts and through just feeling the emotions. However, in each case I was able to consciously act in regards to the insecurities and come to a resolution that was beneficial for those feelings. I think these insecurities woke up because they related to the issues in the painting. In other words, it was the rest of the emotions expressing themselves before being funneled into the painting where they could be stored until evoked for magical purposes.

Footnotes

1. Voyager Tarot Kit: Intuition Cards for the 21st Century Wanson & Knutsen 1984

©2007 Taylor Ellwood
Edited by Sheta Kaey

Taylor Ellwood is the author of Space/Time Magic, Inner Alchemy: Energy Work and the Magic of the Body, and Pop Culture Magick, among other works. You can visit his blog at http://magicalexperiments.com/ and his website at http://www.thegreenwolf.com/.