Saint Cyrian:
I am not an expert and I do not claim to know everything on this saint, so I ask that if you want to start working with him or you wish to set up an altar or whatever that you do research outside of this and do what you feel it right, I am am merely sharing what I have done so far and my experiences with this saint along with a bit of his myth.
I have just started to work with saint Cyprian of Antioch, he was said to be a powerful sorcerer and black magus before converting to Christianity and becoming a bishop. I had always wondered... why would any one wishing to walk the path of sorcery or magic wish to work with a SAINT out of all the spirits? Well, after starting to work with Santa Muerte my thoughts on this changed pretty drastically. Santa Muerte is known to bring swift justice to those who have done you wrong, to be able to strick down enemies and lay them at your feet and she is said to be a saint. Now, if that is a saint... well lets just say this is the point in which I started to look into the others. I asked some a few of my buddies who I know "work" with him about what he has to offer to one who practices things such as necromancy, ceremonial magic or magic in general.
Saint Cyprian was said to have converted after he failed make a woman by the name of Justina fall in love with a man who had come to him for aid knowing he was a powerful pagan sorcerer. Cyprian was said to have conjured up a demon and sent it after Justina, she started to have impure thoughts and soon found out what was going on. Justina was said to have repelled the attack with just the sign of the cross and prayer to god. After Cyprian saw this he too had made the sign of the cross and was freed from the grasp of the devil and offered mercy by god, from then on he became a priest and finally a bishop of Antioch. Now, he did not only work with the 'devil' that is only a small part of his myth. He was said to have traveled far and wide to learn the sorcerous secrets of Argos, Sparta and even Egypt. He had learned the secrets of divination, how to commune with the dead and even how to summon daemons.
I have not been working on developing a relationship with him for long, therefore I do not have extensive knowlege on him, but rather what my friends had told me about him and what I myself have experienced. My buddies have told me that there are cthonic or infernal spirits that are wherever he is, pretty much following him, they are not the only ones to say that as I have also read it in books and I believe him receiving these spirits is apart of his myth.
Setting up the altar:
So, I have read books, have studied him and spoke to people who have altars to him. I have done divination and have concluded that me working on developing a relationship with him would promote growth and that there will be positive overall, and thus the altar construction begins.
I draped the purple cloth over a decent sized, waist high table that I had already washed off and cleansed with holy water. Then I put all of the items listed below onto the altar and said my preliminary prayers and began to invoke St. Cyprian, I gave the offerings, burnt the resin and wafted it all over the altar and asked that it may be blessed and made sacred for him and I then ended it with three our fathers and thanking him for his precense.
Materials and items I have placed on my altar:
- Framed Image of St. Cyprian of Antioch
- Iron cauldron with rosary wrapped around
- Purple Altar cloth
- Purple 7 day candle
- Brazier in which I burn Frankincense and Myrrh resin
- An oil that I had made myself using a recipe from Conjurman Ali's book "Saint Cyprian: Saint of Necromancers"
- A glass of water and an apple as offering
- A black scrying mirror because it seemed to fit his occult filled past
What I have been doing and my experiences thus far:
I have been saying prayers to him daily and making sure the food offerings do not spoil, I refresh the water every other day along with Santa Muerte and St. Michael, and every saturday I light the candles on his altar, invoke him and give new offerings and ask or tell him things, then I will end it with three our fathers. In the beginning when sI had finished setting up his altar it felt strange... maybe a little darker then I had imagined, (I didn't think he was very dark, thought he was going to be the stereotypical saint... white light, fluffy) the first time I had invoked him and prayed my prayers I a very strong feeling that he was listening and was present. I normally will get bubbles in the water glasses of Santa Muerte and St Michael but have not with him. I feel like working with him will help balance me out and I really do feel that I will learn a lot from my experiences with him.
Saint Cyprian and Santa Muerte:
If you know much about Santa Muerte or have read my thread on her then you should know that you must have an amparo in place with either St. Michael or St. Cyprian in order to keep you safe from the harmful energy she brings with her when working her... you may feel free to use Cyprian over Michael or vice versa, the only thing I have to say is that I have learned that they both should be kept separate on different altars because there is tension between them that there isn't between her and saint Michael. Now, some have said the opposite and that the amparo with St. Cyprian is fine on her altar and she doesn't mind. I honestly don't know, so if you ever wish to work with Santa Muerte or currently do it is on you to decide and find out for yourself.
Days and dates in which he is celebrated:
His day of the week is saturday and the feasts of both Justina and Cyrian are the 9 days between september 17th and the 25th in which people will offer a novena to these saints.
I will probably write more on my experiences, what I have learned, and some more advanced stuff later on, thanks!
