A Place of Worship

A simple Batman altar built around preexisting elements (ancestor box, antlers for Artemis, roses for Mary, nazar boncugu to ward off evil.)  Always the red and the black.  The rosary I chose has the holy family on it:  St. Martha, St. Thomas, St. Bruce.  His incense is leather; strong, masculine, powerful.  Under his watchful gaze may the righteous be upheld and the the unjust be punished.

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Consecrated Prayer Box

The origin of the Bat-veve.  Etched in blood and paint on a circular box painted to resemble a pearl.  Pearls are wisdom.  They represent the righteous, the innocent, the pure.  These are the things which the Batman fights for and strives to protect.  This sigil can be used on just about anyone or anything; use it whenever you wish to invoke the Batman, to receive his protection, to bring an enemy to justice.  It represents the all-seeing eyes of Batman, the guidance of the four elements, the protection of the night.  In this context, the Bat-veve draws up and protects the contents of this box.

The embodiment of Justice, Guardian of the Night.  Always watching, always guarding his city, his people.   

 Who is the Batman?  What makes the Batman?  His origins have been encapsulated in this box.

•  Blood and pearls, the darkness of night.  Blood is life, power, energy, strength.  Pearls for the innocent, the honest, the faithful.  Darkness is the unknown, the terrifying, the hidden places.  These are what surrounded him the night his parents were murdered.
• Red roses of mourning, one for each of the lives altered that night.  Symbolizes his great love and commitment, his promise of justice.
• Apache tear to heal grief, ease pain, loss, sadness, anger; for protection and removal of negative forces. 
• Bat nut (or devil pod) used for protection; a literal representation of the Bat which was sought to strike fear into the hearts of enemies.  Its terrifying face scares off all those who would harm you.
• Quartz for  general protection and amplification of all included objects.

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Binding Two-Face

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Le Mystere de Koyle Pearl

2 am on deserted streets with my hand in my pocket, clicking stones strung together on a string made to resemble a pearl necklace. They're wrapped between my fingers like a rosary. I'm thinking about the Mask of Zorro, the yellow circle of light on concrete, and the gun, the gun.

With one end of the string held against my eye and the other pointed at the moon, the pearls become a glowing pathway. After weeks of meditation, they've become a tether connecting me to something deep and old. The necklace is the circle broken forever. It is the veil torn away. Divine hymen.

St. Thomas and St. Martha, the masculine and feminine, struck down by the bullet, leaving little Bruce alone and stripped to the bone.  It's the part of initiations they don't talk about in the Golden Dawn handbook: the bone-rattling fear and the ache in a corner of your heart "that cannot be pointed to".

St. Thomas: W-What is this?

Joe Chill: A stickup, buddy! I'll take that necklace you're wearin', lady!


The scene plays out as an anxiety dream with a million angles. The pearls and the pool of blood always waiting at the end.

And look: who's eyes are reflected in that pool?

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How to Stop the Revolving Door of Arkham

___Demonology___

Yeah yeah yeah. Demons are real beings made up of negative psychic energy, living on the astral plane. Demons are metaphors for the negative emotional states within the psyche. Demons are the empty shells left over when the divine manifestation departs.

I'm not smart enough to figure out what they really are, but just like you, there's a shit ton of them running around in my brain and making a nasty mess. So grab a broom and follow me!

(As always, the following is purely conjecture. Any more insightful approaches will be greatly appreciated.)

The Rogue's Gallery, or the Tree of Death, resides in all of us. The devil really did make you do it.

___Riddle Me This___

The Riddler is the demon of pride. He tells you how much better you are than everyone else. How much cooler and smarter. Always acting like he has the answers, but speaking only in riddles. You've heard his voice in your head, narrating the documentary that's all about you. 'He was a wise and handsome man. So amazing and inspiring in every way.'

Here's how you throw him back in Arkham:

You will need three candles. I used black, white, and yellow (for air, the Riddler's element). You will also need a length of cord, eucalyptus incense and something to serve as an idol. I got a sweet heroclix Riddler figure. A sigil would be fine, as well.

One part of the ritual involves the use of the "black mirror". I'm still experimenting with this and can't really judge if it works yet. The image of the demon is supposed to show up in the mirror. It's the secret of goetic evocation, or so I'm told by some youtube video.

The video says that one must use a mirror of polished obsidian, so I bought a cheap frame and spray-painted the back of the glass black.

-Set up the 'black mirror' within a triangle of candles. Place the idol in front of it.

-Perform banishing.
-Perform the invocation of the Batman.
-Light incense and candles.
-Stare into and through the black mirror. The reflection of the smoke and the candle flames may be the key to this trick..
-In your best Batman voice, call to the Riddler. Demand that he enter the triangle. I did this for about ten minutes when I found myself talking like a stuffed up Christian Bale and shouting, "Show yourself, Nygma!"
-Once you feel his presence, get all alpha-chimp and start interrogating. Ask whatever you like. See what happens. (This is where it can get weird)
-Take the cord and tie three knots in it. As you tie each knot, say 'Zur En Arrh'.
-Command the Riddler into the idol. Tell him he's going back to Arkham, and he won't be allowed out unless you say so.
-Wrap the cord around the idol. As you do so, imagine Riddler sitting in his cell, the door slamming shut on him.
-Put the idol away for later use

This template can easily be adapted to fit any of the Batman's foes. Replace incense and candle color with appropriate substitutes.


___KNOW YOUR DEMONS!___

Jonathan Crane- fear
Victor Fries- detachment
Ra's al Ghul- self-righteousness
Pamela Isely- narcissism
Waylon Jones- attachment
Jervis Tetch- obsession
Edward Nygma- pride
Oswald Cobblepot- One Percenter

Further "Reading":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S03X4Ug-EIE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuhrnhQC0PA&feature=related
http://newtarot.com/goetia/goetic-invocation-alternative.htm

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Expanding Consciousness with the Batusi

Let's start at the easiest place: the dismantling of the false ego.

A great bald man (Sir Grant Morrison) described the false ego as a scaffolding around the structure of the true ego.  As the fragile skeleton of our ego rises in childhood, the false ego is built up as a support system.  We learn to like this and hate that.  We learn to "express ourselves" and "be an individual".  We learn to believe in Jesus instead of the Batman. 

All of these lessons give us a stable sense of of ego continuity which is very useful for the budding human being. We use it to compartmentalize our experiences, allowing us to function and live in the world.  But at a certain point (usually in early adulthood), they become a hindrance, keeping us trapped in an unforgiving world-view.  Unfortunately, we've missed the skyscraper and placed all of our attention on the guys installing the window panes.

That's why it's so embarrassing to find out that your homeboy from high school is still listening to Marilyn Manson and wearing eyeliner.  He's still stuck in the reality tunnel he had when he was 15, and never figured out that there's an infinite number of different viewpoints out there.

My generation only knew about the dark and gritty Batman of the 80s and 90s.  We were told that he was probably a psychopath and most definitely a fascist.  But what about the pop art Batman of the 60s?  He would go out in the daylight and dance the Batusi .  In the 50s, every issue had him in an alternate reality, or on a distant planet fighting aliens.  And, yes, there's even a gay Batman that can be found with very little imagination on the part of the reader.

I would not be the first to posit that all of these Batmen are equally valid.  There is no "real" or central Batman, just the current canonical model.  The different versions are like a rotating lens, focusing on different aspects and never containing the whole.  In this way, the Batman can be in any place or situation and still be the Batman.  Dig?

Now take a look at your "self".  You've spent years defining it.  You wear certain clothes, listen to certain music, like certain people.  It's just a mask.  Right now, you may be the happy-go-lucky 50s model, but does that mean you can't be the grim and gritty 90s model?  Just think of all the experience you're losing.

Here's a project: Pick something you hate.  When I did this years ago, I chose rap music.  Spend some time getting to know it, and then trick yourself into liking it.  Start telling people you meet how much you love it.  Next thing you know, you're swangin and bangin to the baddest Bun B mixtape on the block, and you won't know why you ever said you hated it in the first place.

This isn't an exercise to open your mind, but to see how easy it is to create the artificial boundaries of the egoplex.  The real idea is to recognize that the self is a construct.  You invented the rules of the game years ago, and the only one who can break those rules is you.

The Batman went to Nanda Parbat to experience death in the Thogal ritual.  All I have to do is try the Dougie in public.

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