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Story, Satanic Witches, and Hell(ier)

My blog post today is about story. And I’m going to begin it by telling you a story (about story).

I like to write fiction, and I’ve been creating and writing stories for as long as I can remember. There’s something magical about the process of creating characters and allowing them to reveal the next stages in what inevitably becomes their story. For the most part, these characters are my creations, beginning as hastily plotted-out spider diagrams on whatever scrap of paper I can find and growing into themselves as I write.

By Human or Non-Human Hands?

But around this time last year, two characters began to take shape in my mind without conscious plotting on my part. I still made hastily-scribbled diagrams, but instead of being spiderlike sigils of creation, they were more like a record of beings that were already there..

I wrote them almost obsessively, unable to think about anything else. And this entire world began to take shape as I worked, growing up around the characters in a suspiciously organic fashion.

But one day around Beltane, they were suddenly gone. The world and its inhabitants no longer spoke to me. I could no longer see where I next needed to go, and so I let the project fall. Because while I could have simply invented the details and carried on writing, it felt wrong to do so.

For months I missed them like distant friends. I wanted to continue their story and spend more time in their world, and in September I got my wish.

They had returned. I could see their world once more, and their stories began to speak to me again.

But instead of jumping back into their world, I held back. Why?

Because I realized that they had returned at the same time as the acronychal Story - pleiadesrising of the Pleiades. Moreover, their Beltane disappearance coincided with the yearly disappearance of the Pleiades from the night sky. It seemed a little too coincidental, especially when the characters you’re writing are Gentry who worship the ‘Seven Queens’.

Now you’re probably wondering why I’m telling you all of this instead of simply getting into the CAOS.

I’m telling you this because I wanted to illustrate the point that story doesn’t always come from humans, and that sometimes there are non-human hands in the mix as well.

Otherworldly Media and Narrative

What do a bunch of ‘cave goblins’, Irish fairies, and a long-dead Icelandic völva spirit have in common?

If my sources are correct on this: they have all either historically been interested in modern communications technology and/or media, have already arguably exerted their influence, or have reportedly expressed an interest in doing so.

As outlandish as all of this may seem, this is not so different from the kind of otherworldly interest in creative types recorded in older sources. The storytelling bard has become the TV show writer, artists who may have painted scenes from Fairy while locked up in Bedlam, now create digitally, and famous Fairy-Firkler Morgan Daimler has been pointing out the weird waves of disinformation about Themselves online for a while.

(I mean, come on…plastic is the ‘new iron’?)

Why would humans be the only beings to adapt to an ever-changing world? Why would the otherworldly not continue to interact with and influence creative types as they have done for generations?

Sabrina Goes to Hell(ier)

Which brings me to the point of this post. Yet again, the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina has angered modern Pagans and Witches. This time though, it’s the depiction of the ‘Pagans’ that seems to be the source of the greatest ire.

I have a lot of say about that ire in general. But I’m going to limit myself to making the following two points:

  • That the ‘Pagans’ are not so much human worshippers of Pagan gods, but beings that were seen as being potentially monstrous (if not outright so) by their own Pagan period peers. Yes, as unjust as a monstrous read is when it comes to figures like Medusa and Circe, that’s probably how many people at the time probably saw them.
  • That the Greendale coven now worship Hecate. Which means that they’re now technically Pagans too. (Congratulations! You no longer have to get mad that they’re Satanic witches.)

Oh and about that whole thing with Pan and the Green Man: didn’t it feel a little familiar? Kind of like we’ve seen that alliance somewhere before?

Ah right, yes. Hellier season two. Again.

And I’m not the only person to have noticed the similarities either. According to the Twitterverse there was even a tin can moment in CAOS pt 3 (that I missed, probably because I tend to watch things like sewing/knitting/spinning).

A Topsy-Turvy Story

CAOS pt 3 was a story of different factions and battlelines. The Satanic was revealed to be codependent on the Christian for not only its ascent and power, but also help in the form of Mambo Marie (who is at one point described as being Catholic as well as a vodouisante). The ‘Pagans’ were largely actually monstrous beings, ‘Robin Goodfellow’ allies himself with the humans, and the Greendale coven end up (a different kind of) Pagan anyway.

If there’s one thing about the underlying ‘string-pullers’ of Hellier, it’s that the history doesn’t quite add up – at least not in the usual way. Greg is sent a pdf of The Rebirth of Pan: Hidden Faces of the American Earth Spirit, a book by a man called Jim Brandon (pseudonym). It’s a wild ride through archaeology, conspiracy theory, cryptozoology, paranormal phenomena, and Crowley. Rather than the Ancient Greek figure, the ‘Pan’ spoke of in this book (a being which the author argues is actually the conscious, collective identity of the earth/contained within the earth) is an aggregate term, a way of naming what the author believes to be manifestations of this consciousness of/within the earth.

The Green Man (a being associated with this ‘Pan’ by Brandon) of CAOS is also aggregate. The ‘Pagans’ of CAOS are trying to resurrect a supposedly ancient god (that’s apparently actually a bunch of other beings masquerading in a trench coat as ‘our lost connection to nature’). In a sense, he is a manifestation of Brandon’s ‘Pan’ (with a representation of Pan serving as his high priest), set within this uniquely American story that began with colonial era diabolist witches.

And then there’s Hecate – a deity that seems to be becoming more prominent among modern Pagans at the moment, often in a protective/tutelary capacity.  Funny how she’s associated with dogs, isn’t it?

The Stories We Tell and the Fucking Zeitgeist

When people on Twitter first began to notice the similarities between Hellier2 and CAOS pt 3, one person remarked that the CAOS producers should have given credit to Greg and Dana Neukirk.

But here is the thing: both series were produced more or less concurrently. Season 2 of Hellier dropped on 11/29/19, and CAOS on 1/24/20. While there are a couple of months between both shows, there wasn’t enough time for anyone to copy anyone else. Moreover, per CAOS showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, they were filming episode six in August – roughly around the same time as Greg and Dana et al. were still filming Hellier season two.

Good humans, I give you the zeitgeist…maybe.

Or maybe instead we see non-human hands in human stories and hints of narratives yet to be shaped?

Lessons from the Story of the Time

In my little corner of the world, I’ve noticed a lot of strange things post-Hellier 2. Moreover, more than a few people have hit me up out of the blue with stories that are spookily similar.

I believe the unseen world gained a new faction, and it’s something of a ‘new kid’ on the block. Based on what I’ve seen so far of this new kid, I’m pretty sure the ‘old kids’ aren’t too happy with it. Something – a collection of beings in a trench coat masquerading as something else is trying to come onto their turf. And as humans, the creators and consumers of stories that shape the dominant consensus, we’re faced with a choice (another one).

In CAOS, the Greendale coven is given the (false) choice of joining the ‘Pagans’. But instead they choose Hecate, their ancestors (of blood and of practice), and ultimately each other.

Despite the fact that it’s a TV show, I think there’s a valuable lesson in that for witches. Because regardless of tradition, most of us already have relationships with have gods, ancestors, and other beings. Some of us also have magical siblings of sorts too. These are the relationships that have long sustained us. And even when we don’t have those things, the older beings tend to have track records that we can refer to when making our choices. Cleaving to those that are proven hael (by experience or reputation) is probably the best choice.

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Hellier 2: Familiar Paths and Thoughts (Major Spoiler Alert)

Hellier: Initium

‘Initiation’ is a funny old word, isn’t it? It’s something I haven’t been able to stop thinking about since I finished watching Hellier season two.

There are a number of threads that need to be teased out here, but the one I will follow for now is the one that came after a number of occultists messaged the team to let them know they were taking part in an initiatory ritual writ large (as well as a hypersigil, but we’ll get to that later).

‘Initiation’ may be a funny old word. But words are ‘funny’ in of themselves; each one carries both meaning(s) and baggage.

The word ‘initiation’ carries a lot of baggage, largely bringing to mind (human) initiates and (human) candidates for initiation. So it’s entirely unsurprising that when the various occultists contacted the team to let them know they were taking part in an initiation, that they began to think of themselves as candidates for initiation.

But in its earliest Latin form, initiation is simply the beginning of something, and when it comes to Hellier, I think the better question to ask here is “initiation of *what*?” (rather than “initiation of/by whom?”).

Portals and Tones

It’s easy for me to come along after the fact (and away from the intensity of the Hellier Project), and act like this stuff is obvious. But things like this often aren’t obvious when you’re in the middle of them. It’s only afterwards or with the aid of outsider perspective that they become so.

To my mind, it’s the tones revealed during the Estes Method experiment with Dana and the talk of the door/gate during Karl’s trance session that make the best sense for the ‘underlying story’ of what was going on. Because in my opinion, the ‘initiation’ is initiation in the oldest sense of the word, and the beginning the kind of beginning brought by the opening of a way between.

Gates and doorways are symbolically rich structures, creating both liminal spaces between that are neither here nor there, but also delineating axes wherever they are constructed. What remains behind a closed door is always a mystery until it is opened, and what may lie on the other side of the door/gate/portal is not explored as fully in Hellier as it perhaps should have been. There is also little in the way of discernment with regards to the spirit contacts made, but that is another matter.

For my own part, I find it curious that the residents of Pulaski county (the location of Somerset) are so well-represented in the local mental health institution, and I see a parallel here with the delusions associated with the more mental symptoms of elf affliction recorded in the Old English magico-medical journals. That’s not to say they are what we would call elves (although some of their style of communication as relayed through Connor, with their use of color and weighty words, did remind me of some of my own experiences communicating with elves). However again, there is no way to know this.

Initially, Hellier has something of a Missing 411 feel to it. There is that paranormal Rorschach test vibe(as Joshua Cutchin would put it), however as the series goes on, the alien hypotheses are gradually abandoned (or at least the interpretation of what aliens are, modified). By the end of the series though, we find ourselves very firmly among the otherworldly as opposed to the children of other (extraterrestrial) worlds.

The Tunnel Rat, the Hound, and the Abyss

Also of interest here is the Terry Wriste thread, with the “UFOnauts” and Thelemic gematria angle. Terry seems to have played into the Orion/Sirius rivalry uncovered by Greg, hunting down non-human entities through the underworld of the US as he had when working as a ‘tunnel rat’ hunting Viet-cong. His performance of the Star Sapphire ritual (as well as the blue star balloons that showed up), is quite fascinating when considered from this perspective.

The Star Sapphire ritual is quite interesting on a number of levels. But the most curious to me is that the Thelemite commentary I’ve read suggests the *purpose* of the rite is something of a mystery. I am not and nor have I ever been a Thelemite and so I am very much spitballing outside of my wheelhouse here. However, from my completely unqualified view (and a few hours reading commentary), it looks like a possible method of ‘bungee jumping’ into the ‘abyss’ or somewhere else (I don’t know, because again, not a Thelemite) depending on which signs are made during what I would call the ‘cosmos recreation’ section of the rite. If this interpretation is true, then I have to wonder what Terry Wriste was doing and where he was metaphysically bungee jumping to.

Or perhaps not? From all accounts, Terry seems to have never left the tunnel rat life behind.

In the final episode, the team receives a major breakthrough in the form of Connor cracking the numbers that Terry gave them and that were previously believed to be coordinates. Instead, Connor reveals this mysterious series of numbers to be a chapter and verse reference from Crowley’s book of the law:

“Lurk! Withdraw! Upon them! this is the Law of the Battle of Conquest: thus shall my worship be about my secret house.”
Book of the Law, Ch. 3, Vs. 9.

This is something which Tyler quickly recognizes from Allen Greenfield’s book Secret Cipher of the UFOnauts and more specifically, the chapter believed to be written by Terry Wriste himself.

’11. How to Defeat the UFONaut Body Snatchers: The Law of the Battle of Conquest’

Here, Terry details (as the chapter title suggests), intelligence gained from communication with a spirit called Kyla (apparently of Procyon), and ways in which the ‘UFOnauts’ might be countered. These methods are both magical as well as physical:

‘Carry to the Alien Nest the Law of the Adepti and the Knowledge of the Portal and, as Andrews puts it, “ …in the Golden Dawn Enochian system, the Great King of Air is the appropriate intermediary to be called upon as a benign go-between in negotiations between Earthlings and extra-terrestrials.” The Great King of Air, in the Enochian Language, is called “BATAIVAH” and is invoked by the 2 = 9 Grade Opening in the System of the A.A. All Adepti know this. But a 9mm pistol in your pocket wouldn’t hurt either. ‘

This chapter also contains mention of the Star Sapphire ritual, of which Terry writes:

‘The ritual, called “The Star Sapphire,” is the revelation to the initiated of the key Secret of the magick of the conquest of the universe.’

The imagery of the blue star follows the team throughout the course of the investigation too. Allen Greenfield connects the blue star with Sirius (the ‘dog star’), and the team notes a sense of animosity towards dogs in particular from the kinds of beings possibly resident in the caves. Animal deaths  and especially those of dogs seem to be quite common in areas where certain types of paranormal activity is taking place. As a ‘tunnel rat’ that seems to have continued to hunt ‘UFOnauts’, there seems to be something very ‘hound of god’ about Terry Wriste and his continued hunts down in the dark, subterranean parts of the earth. I will be curious to see if Terry makes further contact with the team and what his feelings were on the ritual that was performed.

Familiar Threads

While watching Hellier season two, I found many threads that were all too familiar to a number of witchy types in my friend circles.  The themes of being guided to incredibly effective new (old?) magic,  star lore, appearance of Michael in relation to otherworldly beings (accompanied by similar possessory traits to those I have witnessed  IRL), and the deep deep roots of the beings involved, are all things I and my friends have encountered over the course of the past three years. I don’t necessarily track the green man history the same way as Greg does, but many of the beings who have shown up in my life since the otherworldly started to become more present are of similar ancient provenance (I believe). I see their faces in the ancient cave drawings of places like Lascaux as clearly as Greg did his.

The Spectator’s Role

Finally, there is the question of the show itself as a hypersigil, and the wider effects of putting something like this into the world.

Ritual is experienced on multiple levels, depending on the role played by each participant. Dana, Greg, Connor, Karl, and Tyler may have actually done the ritual in the final episode, but I firmly believe that rituals do not simply exist in one layer of time. A ritual is a layer of ‘law’ or story being set down in the well, and every successive repetition only adds to the continuity and strength of that ‘law’ or story. Even as spectators watching after the fact, the emotion and energy we put into watching the ritual adds to the layers, and in doing so, strengthen the story being told.

Which makes it important to understand the underlying purpose of the ritual if we are to participate in this way.

Final Words

I don’t think any of us will ever know for certain what the real initiation was during the ritual that was Hellier 2. But for me, it will always come down to tones being played in a liminal cave and a gate, and as a proponent of what might be termed ‘restoration’, I was fine with that.  Ironically, if I’m right, the ‘restoration’ effort may have gained a huge boost in the accessible nature of the Hellier Project. Fans are already stocking up on investigative equipment and beginning to make use of ciphers and other tools shown in Hellier 2.

As a final note, I write this with my not-yet-literate child by my side (she’s just getting over a nasty bug). It is, at least at first glance a peaceful scene. The day outside is bright and trees still blaze with their late-Fall colors. But I cannot help but notice the Rapunzel my daughter is coloring as I type.  Unlike myself, my daughter is enamored of all things pink and princess, yet her Rapunzel uncharacteristically has a green face and she’s colored the once-pretty eyes into round, purple pits.

What was it Karl said in trance about those green men again?