I do use some external magic, but blood and vampiric practices I found to be better than sex on multiple fronts.I don't employ this method anymore either - truth be told, I don't work 'external magick' anymore, only 'internal magick'.
For this matter is not of Tiphereth without, but Tiphereth within.
Amazing post!I’m about to give you a very different answer that won’t be popular. Yes you can depending on the entity and ritual involved. I personally don’t for the most part kill animals in my practice because if I’m going to take something’s life I would want it to be someone I hate, not a sweet or innocent creature that hasn’t hurt me. I definitely prefer the concept of human sacrifice with the requirement that they have to be hateful scum. But alas I haven’t done that because we have laws and I try to follow them so long as they aren’t evil (Yes laws can be evil don’t forget slavery was legal once.).
Now let’s talk shop. It’s important to know when your blood can be used as a substitute, how to do it safely, and when not to. I’m also writing this with the assumption you already know how to safely collect your own blood. If you’re working with a fae or plant spirit then it’s usually safe so long as it knows your blood is part of the incentive to follow through with your request. Same for if you work with the Morrigan. She likes blood offerings and they are safe to use with her. Important caveat: anytime you are bleeding into something you must do this quick little ritual to ensure your blood may only be fed off of by what you name and that it can’t be used for any other purpose. This is to protect you and I’m guessing people who don’t use blood magic in their practice often aren’t aware it’s a possibility.
Alright let’s imagine that you’ve bleed into a very tiny quartz bowl like I do for some rituals. After filling it with blood you are going to hold your hands over it and then make a triangle shape with your thumbs and pointer fingers. You hold this triangle shape over the blood and then say the following: “In the name of the Master of spirits __________, In the name of the Mistress of spirits ___________, I make this other so that it might be pleasing to the (whatever you’re offering it to) and bring them, substance, life force, and vitality. (Then assuming this is for a ritual and not just an offering, add this next part.) May this act as a binding contract witnessed by the _______ (I use the Mistress of spirits but you could say the river styx or a being known for enforcing contracts, oaths, or pacts. The more aggressive the enforcer the better.) and may my blood only be used for my intended purpose and no others.” That’s it. Short, sweet, and to the point. You can switch up the wording depending on your personal practice and what you actually need the blood for but this simple step makes blood magic much safer spiritually.
I mentioned there are times you shouldn’t offer blood. So you’ll need to know how to figure that out in the field. To do this it’s important to consider a couple things. Is the entity demanding blood in a threatening way, if it is, don't give it blood. Is the entity constantly demanding larger amounts of blood, if it is, don't give it blood. Is there other offerings the entity will accept just as graciously, if there is, don't give it blood regularly and make it a rare treat. Are you making a spirit trap, if so blood can be used as a lure, but make sure you do the ritual on it. Try not to go around feeding your blood to malicious entities/spirits. I would say never do. They can’t be trusted with blood and don’t deserve it. Basically I would use the Master of spirits or proper rituals to control them like working with the tobacco spirit for example. Also endeavor not to spill your own blood on cursed land. This can link it to you across distances and you probably don’t want that. Basically use common sense.
Are there alternatives to animal sacrifices and offering your own blood? Yes, absolutely. Let’s go over a few. Some of the most readily available options are honey and milk. If you’re thinking that’s silly and only for fae, you are mistaken and haven’t considered the makeup of them and how they represent life force. Red wine is also a wonderful alternative. To make a very powerful alternative to blood use a mixture of honey, madder root, blood root, dragons blood resin, and wine mixed together. Don’t eat or drink out of whatever you use to contain this mixture because madder root is toxic. A non toxic version would be honey, dragons blood resin, and powdered red wine or liquid.
To make blood go further for watering your garden for example you would want to make blood water. All you need is virgin water. Meaning the water has not been used before this intention or touched a humans lips. Bottle spring water works fine. I prefer spring water but clean well water would also work. Once you have your water you simply want to add your blood to it. Then shake it vigorously to mix the blood. You want enough to color it a clear reddish pink color. After that do the blood ritual over it and give it to your plants or whatever you needed the blood water for. I personally only use this for my garden and plant spirits I’m working with. But I guess vampires that like drinking blood could do this and you could give it to a deity.
Now when a life must be taken and like me you refuse to take an innocent creature that could easily make a pet then what do you do? Simple you use insects. For example my beautiful garden was assaulted by a swarm of Japanese beetles. Normally I like them but not an entire swarm devouring my rose garden that I communicate with and use to honor my goddess. So I captured hundreds of them and filled a XL Masson jar with them then I added scolding water with essential oils known for killing insects such as clove and cinnamon oil. I then sat the jar on top of a sacrificial Sigil to my goddess and let her have their fading life force. As a result after separating the black water from the beetles I had death water to use for particularly vile curses. Now certain rituals will stress that a sacrifice must be Venusian so for that you should pick butterflies, lady bugs, moths, pretty beetles like the rose eating Japanese beetles, crickets, dragons flies, etc. I deliberately left out species that are endangered. But basically think of insects with Venus qualities, so think of pheromones, beauty, lust, harmony, love, etc… You can find insects that have qualities from any planet so it should be an easy alternative assuming you can tolerate killing them… this is not a common practice for me personally, just one I tested for a couple years and proved worked just as well for the rare occasions I might need it.
Now if you are dealing with a Lwa, don’t give them insects unless they have personally told you that is acceptable. None have said that it is acceptable to me but I never asked so who knows. Most are very particular and it’s best not to accidentally offend them. Definitely always ask if your alternative is acceptable. In most cases the spirits usually feel they are but when in doubt always ask.
Another method for acquiring a sacrifice is by being attacked by it. If a wild animal is attacking you and is a threat to your life you may consider that a potential volunteer sacrifice. (Which is exactly how I see home invaders.) For me personally that has meant killing a rattle snake or copper head. I do like snakes but not near my defenseless animals or family members. I find a sacrifice that is an actual threat to your life is the most powerful. The idea is to capture it and keep it alive until the ritual. No this isn’t safe or for everyone. Yes, experience catching poisonous snakes is recommended. I personally volunteered on the venom unit in FL, but I had practice from growing up in places with poisonous snakes already. Usually I release what I catch unless it’s an invasive species or I feel it was brought to me for a ritual. One can also fish for their sacrifices. Just again try to consider what planet has influence over the animal you’ve captured and don’t pick one that is endangered or protected unless you like expensive fines or jail time.
Another important thing is not to make the animals suffer. Please use a death that is as close to immediate as possible. In case you thought beheading an animal wasn’t cruel you are unfortunately mistaken because they are aware and in their mind for potentially minutes. So perhaps a captive bolt gun would be best. The impact causes immediate unconsciousness and massive disruption of brain function. For larger animals, stunning with a penetrating captive bolt must be immediately followed by a secondary step, such as exsanguination (bleeding out) or pithing, to ensure death before the animal regains consciousness. You should follow the second step for any animal to avoid accidental suffering.
But what if you can’t do the blood letting, won’t kill something cute, can’t stomach bugs, are completely out of honey, wine, and milk, and are too afraid of snakes/danger? You can use food offerings. Just remember the hotter the food the more energy it will give. Cold foods and drinks lower and calm energy. Avoid salted food and if the food is red or dark colored even better. Baked apples in a bowl of strawberry milk and honey can be an excellent offering. So if you want action and energy added make sure the food is steaming hot. I like to do this for rituals where I want to encourage physical manifested experiences with spirits or entities such as items being moved, seeing spirits, energy shifts in the room, etc…
And my final piece of advice is if a ritual makes you uncomfortable do not do it. Write your own version or find a different one. But if it literally makes you feel sick to think about it, angry, or filled with fear avoid that ritual. It won’t do good things for you or your spirit. There is so much evidence that animal sacrifices aren’t required for success and that there are acceptable offerings other than blood in most cases. If every ritual you find requires you take a life you may want to consider a different style of magic practice, especially if the thought upsets you.
Thank you. I’m so glad you found it helpful.
This is excellent addition to the discussion. Taking civilizations as subjects offering life to thrive is something I didn't think about before, but it damn makes sense.
I don't think I read anyone here saying it was immoral, so it's interesting you are so worked up. But I do agree that there is a lot of airy fairy light from the Progressive side that has infested occultism and Occulture in general, in fact, I hate the term Occulture, because it glorifies and publicises something that is hidden for a reason, pearls before swine and all that. . .
