The Convocation of Many Shadows
The Doppleganger and the Hosts of the Seen and Unseen

"Master, low and profane, proud and mighty, thou has brought me to the tower of vision,
where I live in the heights but see thee in the depths; hemmed in by mountains of virtue
I behold thy glory. I come to you as a cunning witch, straddling the thorny hedge that keeps the powers
of iniquity from overwhelming the world of daylight. I seek your darksome wisdom and
powerful hand in my works of sorcery, the craft concealed under night from the eyes of righteous men.
Let the Other reveal itself to me, and give force to my task!"

* * *

For everything that is seen, a shadow exists, on the other side of the hedge. Reality is not a one-sided story; it has a sublime depth, a hidden half, which is the territory of the Witch and sorcerer. The world or reality as a whole is singular entity- the two "halves" of which I speak are not ultimately, eternally separate; but from our human perspective, they appear to be, and they behave as though they are. They are perceived in two different ways. They appear to interact.

Witchcraft is an art, a practice within the world bound by perception, and thus it must be approached in a certain manner. Wholeness is a curious and good philosophical idea, but when you wish to assay a Crafting, seek a Witching, you have to align yourself to the perception that walls us all in: we are in the world on the sunlit side of the hedge, and a dark world awaits beyond.

Everything has a shadow there. To know the "Convocation of Many Shadows", you must begin with yourself. The Other exists; the Other has two faces- a shadow-face, and a face of mystery that cannot be glimpsed at first. The Other may appear, at first, as an entity of fearsome, blood-chilling aspect, for the "other" contains not just the mystery of our beings, but all of the darkness that is our heritage as whole beings. It contains our repressed material, our fears and denials, that we have pushed deep down within, and ignored.

When you push something deep down far enough, it crosses your personal hedge, the hedge that separates your conscious self from your unconscious region of mind. But as it sinks deeper, it reaches the "World-Hedge", the dividing line between the daylit world and the nighted Otherness. With enough denial- and there is plenty to go around- your own personal demons and skeletons can be forced even out into the Unseen world, where they have the potential to grow even more mighty than if they had just remain packed in your own basement.

They grow in strength, and begin to affect you from the deep- they inspire you to paranoia, to illogical hatreds, to depressions, to anxieties, to all manner of psychic mayhem. When you finally pierce the hedge and move across- either within to the depths of self, or beyond to the Unseen, you should know that a welcoming committee will likely being awaiting you.

Thus, the harrowing begins. No witch can be a witch without facing the challenge of personal darkness. This is no call to "destroy" the darkness within, or slay the foe with some sword of light- how ludicrous! This is a call to accept and integrate the powers that have grown dark and repressed in you- for they are your "other", intense, vital parts of you that have merely grown strong because of your refusal to allow them a place in your wholeness.

It is certainly easier said than done, but until it is done, the "Other" cannot meet you and bring you the power of Witching. When it is done, those dark powers reveal themselves as your deepest vitalities, and the Other now appears, as a fully-formed spectral twin, a doppleganger or "double-walker" with you through life. You will meet this being one day or another- now, as a Witch, with the power of the Lord of the Unseen giving you the power to do so (and after you have integrated your darkness) or when you die. That being, again shadowy, will happily harrow you then, leaving you no peace in your grave.

Now or later... answer this dilemma for yourself and do as you will.

The Other appears as a human being, though can appear in that manner in various ways; male or female, part beast and part man, and any combination of living forces you can imagine. In its purest form, it is an alluring female for men, and a man for women. But it is a shape-shifter; it can be anything. Before it is met in its friendly form, when it appears in its shadowy hostile form to those who have not worked out the dark puzzle of self, it maintains its power to shape-shift, the more to cause mayhem.

This power is the "familiar" of the witch- the Other can take animal form, and this is the form it often takes to work side-by-side with Witches who have achieved this level of mastery. To attain this "beast familiar", the Witch must approach Old Hobb directly and ask for this boon; the visionary experience in which the familiar is met is a key to the witch's future power.

But the "beast" form is only part of the story. The Other can be attained and worked with as a partner in the Art in a multitude of forms, as we shall see soon- using the "Game of Masks", it can interact powerfully with the Witch, in many capacities. You are going to approach the shadow-world, seeking your own shadow- both its spiteful form and its familiar form- so that you can see what is beyond the dark mirror. There is a court of shadow, where everything reveals its "other side", everything becomes reversed.

The Doppleganger-Familiar you know of. It is the primary source of a Witch's power, now and always. The Craft draws upon resources from shadowy reaches of the self and the world to accomplish its working. Now you must learn of the shadows of people collectively, as they form themselves into a society- for they exert a force on the world seen and unseen.



Every collection of people, from a family to a society, has a shadow- the sum-total of their own otherness. The ideals espoused by families and societies have shadows- and the two powers flow together.

Four "social creeds" have formed in the West over the centuries. Each of these creeds has had more or less strength at different times; often they overlap and become mixed. All four creeds now exist, though some are more powerfully expressed than others. Each of these "society personas" has a powerful shadow. Learn them now: the four social creeds that have arisen in might are "The People of God", "The People of Science", "The People of Liberty", and the "Civilized People".

The People of God center their endeavors around religion and faith. Their symbols are the cross, and the person of Jesus Christ. Faith is their watch-word. The Puritans were such a people- though the People of God can be found everywhere, even today. On the other side of the thorny hedge is their shadow- the People of the Devil. The People of the Devil center their endeavors around self-worship and sensual pleasure. Their symbols are the hooved image of the devil himself and the head of a Goat. Godlessness- or Hedonism- is their watch-word. You can meet these people everywhere too- everywhere the People of God are, you'll find them.

The People of Science center their endeavors around reason and rationality. They despise religion and superstition. They are prideful in the power of their minds, narcissistic to the extreme. They like to produce results, and their sciences do, indeed, yield many good things- good from one perspective, at least- but things with a dark price to be paid for the world. Their symbols are the Lamp and the Caduceus Wand. Reason is their watch-word. On the other side of the hedge is their shadow- the People of Superstition.

The People of Superstition center their endeavors around magical rituals that stave off disaster and tame unseen forces in the world- they are paranoid and particular in the extreme about how they live. They can turn in an instant on other people, even members of their own families or communities, that they come to believe are possessed of evil spirits, or witches. Their symbols are the great variety of magical symbols that have been created throughout time, some painted in blood, to affect magical changes. Irrationality- or Fear- is their watch-word.

The People of Liberty center their endeavors around attaining freedom and liberty and creating a perfect society for men and women- Freedom is their watch-word, and the majestic eagle and trumpets of triumph are their symbols. These people are truly well-intentioned, but argumentative and not beyond (ironically) forcing their ideas of freedom onto others. Their creed of freedom often allows evils within their society to grow unchecked that shouldn't. Across the hedge, their collective shadow is called "The Enslavers"- whose symbols are brands and chains, and whose watch-word is Oppression.

The Civilized People are, in their own minds, the pinnacle of human existence; no society before theirs has ever attained the heights of refinement and wisdom that they have, and their symbols are the Rotunda, the School-house, or the Courthouse. Progress- or competition- is their watch-word, and their lives are consumed with pursuit of control over nature and minimizing anything that might be unpredictable. On the other side of the hedge, their shadow-society is called "The Wild People", whose lives are symbolized by huts and bonfires, and whose watch-word is Barbarism. These people don't care for progress at all, only survival at the most minimal level, content to continue doing things as they have always been done.


We have gone from the personal level of shadow to the social level of shadow- and as with the individual, the shadow of a society or a people exerts an impact on the entire world. Now, we will leap to the third level beyond persons and collectives of persons- the Divine powers of the world.

Like other forces, Divine forces also have a shadow-side. This may be the most disconcerting perspective of all for those unprepared to face the otherness. The world is awash, on both sides of the hedge, with forces or entities- full and powerful non-human persons- that have been crucial to life and death since the formation of the world. Some have been the Gods of the heathen, and still are. Some form the spiritual backbone of Christianity and other religions. All are experienced by human believers and non-believers in various ways. They fall into two categories, of course: the conscious or "revealed" Divine forces of the world, and the shadow or "hidden" Divine forces of the world.

What will drive some to madness is the simple fact that they are parts of one another, two sides of a divine power divided by the hedge. I shall list them now, and pair them with one another, before describing them in detail. The Witch must understand that these powers are the major sources of power- either the vital power of the life of this world, or the power of witching or Hexing from the unseen.


Conscious or Revealed Divine Forces of the World

The Christ, or the Scapegoat, the Self-Giving Spirit
The Sky-Rainer, The Light of Heaven
The Earth-Giver, The Green Gowned Mother
The Sun, The Healer and Strengthener
The Graces or Charites: Beauty, Mirth, and Cheer
Living Men and Women
Saints and Angels or Messengers of Providence


Shadow or Hidden Divine Forces of the World

Old Hobb or Hobbamock, the Wild Power, The Self-Strengthening spirit
The Storm Spirit, called The Loud Crier or The Roaring Beast
The Death Omen or the White, Ghostly Woman, the Watcher at the Death Bed
The Cold, or King Frost, The Flesh Easter, the Eater of Strength from the Limbs and Corpse
The Ungraces or the Furies: Ugliness, Strife, and Sorrow
Restless Shades or Wraiths of the Dead
Spirit-Familiars



The Christ... Old Hobb
The Sky-Rainer... The Storm Spirit
The Earth-Giver... The Death Omen
The Sun... The Cold
The Graces... The Furies
Living Men and Women... Shades or Wraiths of the Dead
Saints and Angels... Spirit Familiars





The dark heresy of these final and ultimate occult pairings is very pernicious, at least to those who have carefully ignored the necessary dark "other side" of divinity. The Christ is the very real spirit of self-giving or self-sacrifice for the good of others; he takes the burdens of others and is punished or killed for their iniquities. He gains power by giving away the self; his dark other side- Old Hobb, or the Devil, is wild and cunning, not caring to sacrifice himself, but to strengthen himself. This being together is the divine "Word" of creation, the intelligent, shaping spirit that formed the world in accord with the deepest patterning of Providence. He/They are the life spirit, the true person and shadow of "God" in the occult and the exoteric sense of the word.

Jesus taught his people to pray the "Lord's Prayer"- the most repeated prayer in Western history; and in it, he adds a curious line- very curious when one remembers that the prayer is addressed to God, the all-good: "Lead us not into temptation..." Why should God lead his faithful into temptation? The answer is simple; God has a shadow side. Those interested in a deep analysis of this occult theme should consult Carl Jung's work "Answer to Job" for deeper insights.

The Lord's Prayer recited as it is written is powerful for the works of the sunlit world: tradition holds that it drives away wicked and mischievous spirits. The folklore of Witchcraft has given it a sinister use, as well: chanted backwards, it either conjures the Devil or adds power to Witching works. The occult logic behind this long-held belief should be plain by now: reversed, the prayer to God becomes a prayer to his Shadow, and summons Witching-force; it taps into the Otherness.

Old Hobb is the Master of Witchcraft; he is both the traditional "devil" of the masses, but something else, as well: far from the caricature of evil that he is shaped as by the masses, he is the vitality of the Divine Word, its power to change and enliven and destroy. He has all the creativity of the "Right" logos, but as the "Left" logos or the reversed word, his creativity is of a sorcerous variety, supreme in cunning. It is no surprise that tradition holds that Jesus' death was an immediate descent into Hell, or that he emerged from that place holding the "keys of hell and of death"- the death of all beings is a descent deep below, to face the shadow, and hopefully integrate it, thereby overcoming death. The Christ is associated with the lamb; Old Hobb with the goat.

* * *

The Sky-Rainer and the Earth-Giver bring us to the doorstep of two more ancient, primal powers, known by all men from the dawn of time, before the illumination of humans to the mysterious workings of the Word or Logos- though it was not the coming of Christ that was the first revelation of the Logos to human beings- the Logos, the world-creating spirit and the dark god of sorcery, was known in many forms earlier. But the "Sky Father" or the Rainer and the "Earth Mother" or the Giver, have been in the center of human spiritual life since forever.

They still exist as vital powers, where they always have been- above and below us, still giving rain and light, still giving beasts and produce, still the eternal parents of all living. The Sky-Rainer took the position of "God the Father" after the advent of Christianity; he held a position very similar before, all over the heathen world. The men and women of this world know them now by their beauty and their life-sustaining gifts; the farmer, perhaps, maintains the last intimate spiritual closeness with the Green-Gowned Mother under his feet.

But these Divine powers, too, have their shadows: the Storm Spirit, or the Loud Crying, Roaring beast, associated with snorting bulls, is the shadow of the Sky; destructive weather and his rage are also known to mankind- and his ability to empower Witch-hexings of vengeance and wrath. The shadow of the giving Earth itself is even more chilling and more sublime to the Witch- in folklore, the ubiquitous image of the "Death Omen" or the ghastly pale White Woman or the Watcher at the Death Bed, the Spirit of Death (not unlike the Classical Persephone or Hecate) reigns in the dark regions under the earth, over the shades of the dead. She is the queen of Hell, the "Devil's Dam" as they say; but not an evil figure herself, merely a Saturnian, darkly wise one whose heart cannot be moved by the pleas of the dead. She is also the "feerie queen" or feminine spirit of many a Witch's coven who teaches sorcery and empowers it. She appears in this world as cats and owls.

The Sun, as we shall see later, was held in the craft of herbalists and wortcunning Witches in New England to be a "healer and strengthener"- almost a supreme divine power for their craft. The Sun is precisely that- the deliverer of humans from the frost and snow and darkness of the Dim half of the year, and the ruler of the bright half. He is the radiant image of life triumphant in the heavens. But his shadow is "The Cold"- King Frost, Jack Frost, the giant spirit of freezes and snow, of ice and deathly chill. This is the cannibal spirit that consumes life and flesh.

Beauty, Mirth and Cheer are the graces of the sunlit world- the three highest attainments of human life in the village. They are not just emotions or feelings or sense-experiences; they are living spirit-persons, divine powers. And their shadows are just as real- Ugliness, Strife, and Sorrow. Everyone experiences them in the mind and body; those who can cross the hedge can experience them as persons. The Cunning Witch does good to avoid them in either case, for they are strange and savage, not easy to control or influence.

It is strange to report, but living men and women are divine powers, too- for God did become Man, after all, and God's spirit lives in men and women. A living man or woman contains within him or herself the wholeness, the "world entire", and the murder of a man or woman is one of the most extreme intrusions of disorder into order- something that swings the Pendulum of the Murderer's soul harshly into the dark region over the hedge. The dead gather on the other side of the hedge; they are the shadows of living men and women, though only in one sense; a living man or woman's "Other" is their true shadow; the collective shades or wraiths of the dead are no longer the "Other", but the remnants of their lives in this world, impressed in the strange medium of the Unseen world.

The final great Divine forces known to men and women in the sunlit world are the messengers of God, and their human allies- the Angels and the Saints. The concept of Godly messengers did not begin with Hebrewism, or Christianity or Mohammedism, but with the heathen Greeks and Romans, who attached to all their Gods choirs of messengers, daimons that could cross the space between God and man. Who can say what these spiritual messengers truly are, but tradition has it that they comfort those pious and holy in need, and deliver messages from Providence. The cult of Saint-worship maintains the ancient idea that the heroic dead can become Angelic messengers of a type, powerful beings from the beyond that support the living.

The shadows of these concepts are none other than familiar-spirits, or the "Others" of the witch-men and witch-women, and the "Other" which accompanies each sorcerer. Did the great saints of old, speaking to their helping and comforting angels, merely perform a great reversed "witching" of their own, a holy sorcery, speaking to the same powers as the Witch when she spoke to the dark Other in some familiar beast form? Certainly. Again, this disconcerting idea will terrify some, and bestow upon others an understanding that unlocks many doors. Saints have their angels; the Witch has her familiar- different experiences, different beings, but when the hedge is removed, not as different as the pious or the wicked would like to believe. And the boundary lines between the world that is seen and unseen begins to fade.

Take now these understandings of the great Convocation of Shadows, and proceed into the next portion of this Grimoire, and prepare yourself for instruction in the Art of Witching- the process of creating Sigil-Pantacles and speaking the language of the Unseen, for the obtaining of all desires.


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All Text, aside from given citations, is Copyright © 2009 by Robin Artisson
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