The House of Babalon

It is the sign of life in true Craft and true teaching, firstly that it be your Craft, your teaching, your revelation, and that it not be imposed on anyone else as ultimate rule or final truth. The next sign is constant evolution, and it is my experience that little evolves as quickly and into as many permutations as the stream I have been baptized into, which is 1734. Quickly I found the closest and most sacred revelation inspired by 1734, American Folkloric Witchcraft, native to my own Indiana. I feel such a part of that, but at the same time I was surprised to see how…. Christian… my private revelations and interpretations of 1734 and AFW were. Not that they would find home in any church, but my most powerful magics were coming from what I had learned not by ignoring my Catholicism, but by seriously and mystically working in it.

Because of this, the stream that I have suddenly taken a ride on needs its own name. It needs it so that when I lapse into Christian iconography no one thinks I am applying that to an already existent form of Craft which is not reliant on it. So we will call this, The House of Babalon, the Secret and Most Heretical Catholic Church. Secret, because even I do not know its members or its nature, Heretical because heresy means to follow ones own mind. In ancient times Christians thought this was the greatest danger, and so applied it to mavericks and praised group think, but that is done now. Catholic because it is all encompassing of all tradtions and, honestly, because it is Catholic in its orientation. Church because a church is both a mystical body and a house.

On May Eve, She has another name as well, Babalon, Babalon restored. The churches we have known, homophobic, imperialistic, silent on suffering, supporting slavery, anti woman, anti-choice, anti love, anti life in any real way, these are the Whore of Babylon in all its luridness. Whether a church in England that upheld imperialism, racism and slavery, churches in the southern United States that upheld white supremacy and racial violence or a great church in Rome with gold encrusted priests who regularly work their own black magic to take power from the people while turning a blind eye on suffering, molesting its loyal followers and continuing to attack femininity and the Mother, all of these are whores of Babylon. But what we seek is Babalon restored, not Babalon as a virgin, no, but Babalon as hierodule and high priestess, holy lover. As Cain is the Fiery Male intelligence in the East, the Great Smith, she is the May Queen, Eve, Guinevere, Mary the Magdalene. She is the Secret Fire. She is me. She is we. She is She.