So, as of late I've been very inactive. Schoolwork, job-hunting, etc. Throughout this time I've had this lingering thought in my head: what magically related purpose do insects serve?
I began to do as much research as I could, and the most I could find was linking insects to some Voodoo curses. But I wanted more than that, I'm not just going to curse people just for the sake of using insects in my practice.
No, I want to find a connection to them, understand their natures, their different energies, and find out what they have in the great mesh of magic.
I implore each of you who find interest in this topic, do your research, and find out what you can. Or buy some crickets and meditate to their chirps, understand them.
If you wish to learn more about this unappreciated creatures, them please, report to me with your finding and you may be part of a whole new branch of magic, if no solid connection has been found already.
That'd be great. I am aware that honey and such are semi-common things used, but I was specifically meaning insects themselves. Such as animals: spirit animals, familiars (in a sense), etc. I would like to try to translate the same things to our little bug friends.
We could reimagine how those spells work. I know the idea of energy is a really pervasive thought on how magic works, but one could look at it in a more spirit working way.
Using them in the spell is using their spirit in a petition (albeit a more commanding petition though it does not have to be) . Especially in the case of live things being inflicted upon someone. It'd be like a folklore version of familiars. Sending a spirit to cause pain and mischief on another person. This just so happens to be the spirit of the insects being used. So, if you're theistic, it's another way of looking at those curses and other spells.
And yiss, I must look for the bugs of the theoi. lol
Voo's got a point in how they can be incorporated in spirit work, though I tend to stay away from angering spirits just to pester someone else (unless they choose to do so) as that practice in my religion is called erecting a Nidstang, which is only reserved for when you really want to screw someone over because of the implication that you are bothering other beings to do your dirty work and, as with all actions, has consequences. There is no truly formed morality on the subject beyond our interpretation, so it's not a matter I would look down on; it's just not something I do personally.
Last Summer, or the one prior (I forget), a wasp nest had formed in my air conditioning unit. My mother and sisters absolutely hate and fear creepy crawlies, so I was left to deal with them under one condition; I was not to leave the bodies of the insects in the house. As I found myself not wanting to kill them, I took a clear cup and a piece of cardboard and trapped them long enough to release them from outside my sliding glass door.
I gave myself the title of Wasp Friend because of it as they never once stung me even though they have a nasty reputation for it. It's much like not approaching a dog in an aggressive manner (from their perspective, not ours, as is important to note) or they end up wanting to defend themselves.
It's a humbling experience to need and want to be kind to creatures that could so easily be harmed by my actions. Their lives are no more or less important than my own, as we all have our parts to play in existence and I think a lot of people forget that. To further the point, insects are said to be held sacred to the Dokkalfar in Norse Paganism in shared gnosis, not in recorded lore; the reason people see this so easily is because of the associations Dokkalfar have to "darker" beings and ways of life. When I say this, I do not mean "evil" or anything contrived along those lines. I mean that Dokkalfar culture tends to be harsher in more subtle and violent ways than our human cultures... less in a way that is truly different, and more in a way that they hold no notion of hiding it or looking down on it. It might be apt to say that they realize their ways of life for what they are and embrace it, rather than trying to make it out to be something it is not.
Dokkalfar are not easily trusting or trusted and much of it has to do with a mutual lack of understanding between themselves and humans. They tend to be looked down on, if given thought at all (as is evident in the scraps of written experiences others have with them by quite a few different people) and few venture into their territory because of it. Much is the same with wasps, bats, spiders, or any other manner of creature humans view as "disgusting", though some of them have been given the opportunity for humans to see their "redeeming" qualities.
If you want to understand insects and the like in this context as well as within an occult context, then it is important to recognize their qualities and affects on existence around them. They could teach you many things, like what I have stated about putting things back into perspective or allowing for a different perspective from your own. They could also teach you about how you can, do, and have previously affected existence surrounding yourself in ways you may not have realized prior.
Of course, this is but one paradigm involving practices and beliefs incorporating insects. There are plenty more involving them and I'm interested in seeing where this goes.
As difficult as it sounds, it would be nice to find or create a generalized form of "insect magic." I'll definitely look into the things you two have presented here.
