The Secret Faces of Things — Arthur Cullipher

We're going to talk about some high concept, weird shit today, fam. At the end, you're going to have some sweet new magic tech at your disposal, which some will consider invaluable and some a bit dangerous.

Over some years, I have developed a particular style of Art for my own purposes. I feel the techniques I employ could be useful for anyone who deals with these things.

"These things? Dangerous magic tech? Why are you so vague, dude? What the hell are you talking about?"

I'm talking about divination, spirits, and demons.

This is going to take a while, so bear with me. Fire up those googlemancy skills... ya might need 'em.

For this discussion, we'll engage a contemplation of symmetry and how it relates to our perception of the divine. Particularly the expression of it through Art. Then how that relates to the magical experiences of our kind.

The basic philosophy can be said to begin with Indra's Net, the interconnectedness and reflective nature of all things . We combine the 'net' with the concept of the 'magickal engine'. We will be putting in specific information or code, in this case images, as a way of focusing in on a(n) (un)certain area. When we are utilizing this technique for divination, we have to go back to our training. One important thing to note is to 'listen' for the divinatory 'click' or 'hum' or however you experience your 'stop'. You'll need this if you have to make any adjustments.

"I don't have divinatory training, Arthur."

That's ok, friend. Follow along. I'm here to help.

Most of us have seen familiar shapes and faces in cloud or wood grain or cracked stone. In this exercise, rather than just seeing, we'll relate the symbols to the subject matter, like any other sort of divination. The action we're going to take is simple. Let's say we want to get a feel for our surroundings, perhaps identify what 'invisible' things might be frolicking or lurking about.

So we take a picture. This is the 'initial image'.

Now, in Photoshop or some such thing, duplicate the photo (layer) and flip it horizontally, creating a 'mirror' image.

Reduce the opacity of the top layer by 50%. Now we see the 'secondary image'. We use our Pareidolian eyes and, immediately, new, sometimes startling, shapes and faces emerge.

The closer or further away you get, the more you can see. We'll call these the 'emergent images'. We have laid the two worlds on top of one another and now we can better see what moves between them.

Now you try it!

One of the most relevant and, perhaps, surprising things, is that often images relating to the initial image will appear in the secondary image. As an example, some folks were posting these 'tour of where I am' photos a while back. A friend of mine had taken a pic of the path she was on. In the lower right, you could see she was walking her dog, a German shepherd. I did a bit of divining for her and in the secondary image, a dog's head appeared. Pretty clearly, a German Shepherd. I've since lost the initial image, but here is the secondary one.

What does it mean?

Well, that's where the divination comes in.

Maybe you don't see what I see. That's why YOU'RE doing the divination.

Everyone sees something a bit different that often tends to relate to their life in some, quite usually, telling way.

Again, one of the more significant things I see is a German Shepherd's face, maybe a bit more wolf-like, as if in guardian aspect...what do you see?

Sometimes the concept is the same, but the emergent image differs in a 'logical' way. I was using an initial image of myself as a clown. In the secondary image, another clown appeared. An entirely different type of clown, with a pointy hat and ruffles!

BUT WHY, ARTHUR!? What is the purpose of this in the universe?

If you're just perusing the general landscape, this technique is excellent for education. When you see something, but you're not sure what it means, dive down that rabbit hole. As an example, I see a mosquito with an 'A' on it. Now I know Mosquito has joined the party. What are Mosquito's attributes? To whom is it sacred? What Tarot suit would Mosquito be? What does the 'A' represent? Do any mosquito genus or specie start with A?

As it turns out, Anopheles does, which means 'useless' in Greek, although it sounds like a god/dess. Aedes is another...
http://www.novaroma.org/nr/Aedes

Then we can look up trad meanings...
http://www.whats-your-sign.com/symbolic-mosquito-meaning...

As the great Maryanne Babij says, "The secret faces of things abound, bigtime double-plus. This is a marvelous way to catch glimpses. Skookum."

Let's move into some more complex territory at this point, by which I mean daemon portraiture. We can swap models around, but we'll primarily be utilizing the spirit model (the supernatural is natural) as opposed to say, the psychological model (it's all in your head) for ease of communication.

Demons, as well as divinities, have often been depicted as having bodies comprised from parts of various animals along with some human characteristic. But is this really the way that a summoner sees them? As a plainly material chimera? Not to my experience. More, renderings we see in our various books are, but an artist's interpretation of the entity or the event. They are often lacking and, necessarily so, to convey the idea in a simple manner to the uninitiated.

With daemon portraiture however, we can get a more accurate representation by allowing the entity to create or emerge into its own image. We supply a sort of visual 'white noise' as material for manifestation. It is not merely noise, though. We bring our magickal engine into play and treat this as we would a summoning. Certainly, we can just put ourselves out there for hire in the aether and take the werk that comes along. There's much to be said for that. If we are after a specific entity, we'll want to use what is sacred to them. We are setting up an altar for our i-magery. We gather our initial images, our eye of newt and toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog...

Use your discernment and listen for how your daemon subject feels. It'll show in the emergent images. Guided is not a bad word at all. Something like being a medium to the medium. Werking this way definitely helps to tune the intuitive 'stop'.

After bringing together all of our various elements in overlapping layers, much tweaking, relative color enhancement, and discernment, we might end up with something like this...

What are we looking at?

Well, this is Qhestrael. He is an incubus. I know that because I conversed with 'him' while I did this werk. I use the piece now to communicate with him, like a sort of nethery phone number.

Perhaps, I should give a more familiar example....

In A Dream Of Thoth Unfurled A Scroll Of Light

If you were to think of this as an image of an aspect of Thoth, for example, what might you learn about the concept of Thoth from it?
(More rhetorical, but answer if you like.)

Perhaps you just did a search and discovered who Thoth is. See? You're already getting the hang of it.

"Arthur, the piece seems to be displaying many aspects at once."

Exactly! Not just one 'face', but many! These entities are more able to express themselves through Art in ways we might not consider in our conjurations.

Like the promise of Euryale or Berith's lament...

I don't feel the result is dissimilar from other types of contemplative, sacred Art. Except, in this way, we are observing what happens, rather than attempting to force meaning. Things just begin to add up all by themselves. Try it and you'll see what I mean.

Thangka painting, for example, needs to be symmetrical to be proper.

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Thangka

BUT WHY!? What is it about symmetry, about certain patterns that inspire a sense of the divine?

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-05-jesus-toast-phenomenon-perfectly.html

I think the case is solid! Our Apophenetic Divination comes through the process of creating a Pareidolian situation. It becomes a multiplicative ritual.

Hail to Apophenia! Hail to Pareidolia! Hail to the Sisters of Strange Connections!

"So, Arthur... do you use any image? What if you want a particular god/demon? Do you invoke them and then take a pic of where you are?"

Invocation for e-vocation. Summoning to collaboration.

To answer your question, I don't use just any image. I treat each image just as I would any other magickal item that I might use for summoning or have on my alter/altar. Take to heart that the initial conditions greatly determine the outcome. I use the term 'Pareidolian Eyes... along with Daemonic Ears and a taste for Apophenian Flavors, to describe the useful tools.

As to specifics, I would begin just as I would at any other attempt, except that the screen is my alter and all offerings are made there. Hopefully they'll show up. Look for their symbols to know you've made a connection. Once you've opened a line of communication, interpretation becomes easier.

There's much more to say on this subject, but we'll cut it here for now. I've taken up enough of your time and brainbox for today.

Like the time honored practice of reading tea leaves or utilizing smoke for manifestation, we now have a new tool for our toolbox. A tool of more faithful expression to the experience of such events.

Take it and see what you can build with it.

I'll be werking, too.

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