Voudon Gnostic Temple Vévé "Coasters"

Some images from my sketchbook with my own vévé interpretations of the main Lwa from the Voudon Gnostic canon. Taking a cue from artist Hagen Von Tulien (whose work I find tremendously inspiring for it's practicality in ritual use), I'm hoping to convert these into full color laminated cards for use in my workings. Hopefully the lamination will protect them from candle wax drippings, and they will be of great use for years to come! I will have each Lwa's corresponding colors and planetary attributes accounted for and hope to begin using them soon! More images to come once I have them completed.

Ted Sirota's Heavyweight Dub at Emporium Arcade Bar

 

Just finished up a nice poster design for a sweet upcoming local dub and reggae show at Chicago arcade bar, Emporium. Thanks to Ted for hitting me up to design this sucker!

David Beth on Occult of Personality

I've been a devoted listener of Greg Kaminsky's Occult of Personality podcast for quite a while now, but there are still so many episodes I've been meaning to catch up on.

 I stumbled upon a nice surprise while reviewing the archives and found a fantastic interview with David Beth, which was recorded years back. If you are unfamiliar with his work, please do yourself a favor and read up on the history of LaSociété Voudon Gnostique, an organization of which he is one of the chief adepts and teachers.  It turned out to be one of my favorite guest interviews so far with a very rich, dynamic and enlightening conversation with Beth. 

Being a Chicagoan on the Voudon Gnostic path and having personally met with Michael Bertiaux (and hopefully will continue to speak with and learn from him at his lectures/film series here in town), I was greatly surprised to hear how relevant Beth's words were to my own particular experience and the richness and depth I found in my own work after hearing him speak. A crucial interview, follow the link to listen. 

Now if only Greg can lock down an interview with Daniel Schulke of Xoanon/Three Hands press!

 

Sounds of the Dawn

Check out Sounds of the Dawn for an amazing cache of great obscure private press new age tapes. Ranging from blissed-out synth and electronics excursions to intimate, but out-there, flute and harp explorations. Incredible graphics on these tapes as well. There's something to please everyone willing to take the trip deep into the spiritual stratosphere of the 1980's new age underground!

 

"We are orbiting into a new space-zone, which is causing an acceleration of the vibratory rate of the nucleus of every atom." 

- Iasos from the sleeve notes of the "Inter-Dimensional Music" LP

Nighttime is the "rite" time

New Moon in Gemini.

 Qutub "Rite of the Opposer"

Cut Hands

I can't seem to get enough of the intense and incredible new sounds from power electronics innovator William Bennett (Whitehouse). He's been brewing up a potent and hypnotic blend of African tribal grooves and darkly esoteric Vodun-inflected ambience in his newest project, Cut Hands.

Although quite different from Whitehouse's dense sonic excursions into noise terrorism, Cut Hands is perhaps as confrontational as it's musical predecessor. One is forced into rhythmic copulation with the trance-inducing beats. Like the imagery surrounding Cut Hands suggests, listening to these tracks feels like an initiation into some primal Vodun cult.

I highly recommend any of Cut Hands' releases. As a bit of a primer, here is a video of a live DJ set from William Bennett performing as Cut Hands at Berlin's Boiler Room:

Website Finally Back Up & Running!

Head over to johnnydeckermiller.com and peruse the new additions! I'm using a more reliable web host now that shouldn't cause any more issues going forward. Enjoy!

Some Recent Sketchbook Utterings

Heavy Times at Observatory

Just finished up this rad flyer for Heavy Times. Go see this show! Thanks for the beer, Bo!

Also, be sure to check out my friend Jim's band, Hanging Gardens. We used to play in Sadhu Sadhu together, and from the couple tracks I've heard, sounds like they're gonna slay.

New book from Fulgur Esoterica highlighting Jack Parsons & Marjorie Cameron!

Very much looking forward to this. From Fulgur Esoterica (always top notch):



JOHN W. PARSONS
and MARJORIE CAMERON
Songs for the Witch Woman
To mark the centenary of Jack Parson's birth in 1914, we are delighted to be able to offer you a major work in partnership with the Cameron-Parsons Foundation. Songs for the Witch Woman represents a creative collaboration between two of the most important names in 20th century occultism: Jack Parsons and Marjorie Cameron. A record of love and loss, this substantial book provides an intimate glimpse into the final years of a relationship cut short by the tragic death of Parsons in 1952.
176 large format pages, hardback, limited edition, from £40.00

Richard Stanley's "The Secret Glory"

Having thoroughly enjoyed the fantastic new documentary "Jodorowsky's Dune" (go and see it!) last week, I was reminded about South African director Ricard Stanley and his often overlooked contributions to esoteric cinema. He is interviewed numerous times in the film and makes some illuminating comments about Jodorowsky and his uncompromising artistic vision.

After re-watching Stanley's early 90's cult classic, Dust Devil, a genre-defying occult/horror/western filmed in the starkly beautiful Namibian desert, I decided to snoop around a see if I could dig up some of his documentary work which I'd read a bit about. 

"The Secret Glory" is a fantastic piece focusing on the life's pursuit of Otto Rahn, a German student & folklorist whose obsession with the Holy Grail became the stuff of legend (supposedly influencing the Indiana Jones films) and is tied up with all manner of secret society speculation, WWII history and Nazi tomfoolery.

Watch and enjoy!

AOS Silver Pendant

Really beautiful silver Austin Osman Spare talisman from Tveir Hrafnar. I just stumbled on this while doing an image search and was blown away by the craftsmanship and detail in each piece on the site. They have a wide range of designs that dip into many different facets of the western esoteric tradition including runes, traditional witchcraft, ceremonial magic, even the Process Church of the Final Judgement logo. Do yourself a favor and check them out.

Allegory of the Pomegranate

"Allegory of the Pomegranate" Acrylic on reclaimed wood 

Very pleased to unveil my newest painting from the series of esoteric works I began at the start of the new year. 

These new paintings are created on found pieces of wood from an old greenhouse I used to work at for many years. They are bound up somehow in the magic of that place and the many years (nearly 100) they served as walkway planks between the the display house and the nursery. 

I'm hoping to show this series as well as some new drawings (and a possible book?) in the coming months. If anyone would like to see these works on display, please let me know. I'm hoping for an early summertime unveiling of all the work.

Working on getting my website back up and running. I'm going with another hosting site, so it's taking a little time to get it sorted. I'll update when it's back up!

A New Series for 2014

 "12 Mystics" Ink on watercolor paper

 "Astral Body in Flight" Ink on watercolor paper

 "The Blacksmith & the Peacock Angel" Ink on watercolor paper

I've begun work on a new series of drawings as well as some new paintings, which I will be posting images of shortly. The pieces are influenced by some of my recent ritual work and reading. I'm also hoping to do a little facelift on the blog here, so please check back for updates.

I've been having some hosting issues with my website, so if you haven't been able to access it, sit tight, I'm working on getting it going again.

Yeats's Golden Dawn Notebook

In the collection at Trinity College, Dublin. Amazing.

Johnnydeckermiller.com Updates!

Follow the link above for a preview of some of my newest work. I've just updated my site with new drawings, paintings and commissions!