Cavern, fire and ink

This weekend someone asked me if El Salvador has a word like “coven.” I said, “That’s an American concept.” They didn’t believe me. Googled me in real time. Then: “Oh… I guess you’re right.” So a Salvadoran tells you, you doubt it; Google nods and now it’s gospel. Cute. That little moment shows how normalized occult practices have become in the U.S.—treated as trendy, buyable, part of the everyday. Step outside America, though, and you’re in a whole different weather system. The Invention of the Coven When I told them it was an American concept, I didn’t get the chance to fully explain why. The word itself comes from Latin conventus via Old French/English “convent/covent,” meaning a meeting or assembly. The “gathering of witches” sense shows up later, with Scottish associations and a 19th-century revival-era boost. The tidy “thirteen members” idea? That’s a modern add-on. What most people think of today as a “coven” comes straight out of modern witchcraft movements in Britain—particula...

Earlier this year, I found myself putting together ideas with my good friend ajarn Wutkongmon, I had talked to him about my spiritual practices and he shared some of his way of working and we found out we have very similar ways of approaching our spiritual workings, so much that our animal symbolism are similar within our practices. Keeping this in mind, and seeing his work, I wanted to blend our work into a few projects which draws power from both practices to work well with people who are interested on working with such items. Blessed coins. These coins were designed by me, I put together the design of a rooster with a spear hiding within it’s tail. Surrounded with sigil working aimed to protect against enemies known and unknown, to send back hurtful gossip to its sender, part of the magic of this rooster is that it can help as an alerter of situations not good for you, or to bring awareness and keep an eye on things (people, situations, etc.) closely. On the back of the coin is a sp...