Magical Storms

The term "magical storms" in the realm of occult sciences can refer to the conjuring of material tempests, with rain, hail, thunder, and lightning, or a tide of troubles, issues, and adversities in the life of an individual, a family lineage, or a country. The cartomancer identifies it through the Tower cards when drawn.

In Liguria, the witches known as bàzure or bagiue are famous. Near Savona, it is said that the "maritime witches" can unleash storms; they can also spoil bread in mills and wine in barrels, abduct newborns, and suck their blood.

In Deiva, there is a stone slab located near a small church of Lombard origins, where the footprints of the witches who celebrated the sabbath are imprinted. Nearby, there was a place where they bathed, a stream called Fossa delle Strie.

Between Borghetto Pignone and Cassana, there are two natural rock cavities called Bocca delle Streghe, as tradition holds that the cold air that escapes from them is the breath of the witch that once inhabited there. Similarly, there is the Tana delle Streghe where they spun wool stolen from local farmers.

In a cliffside cave overlooking the sea at Monterosso, it is said that a powerful bàzura lived, strangling anyone who approached and causing storms. Speaking of caves, we find the Ciottu da Stria in the Ventimiglia area and the Tana delle Bazure in Agaggio.

In Parodi, it was said that the witches celebrated the sabbath in the huts used for drying chestnuts; indeed, no one approached after sunset. In Podenzana, according to popular legend, the witches built a church in the year 1000. The women of Cicagna, in Val Fontanabuona, were said to be all witches, a claim supported by some late 17th-century sources, suggesting the existence of a true cult.

Between Levanto and Baracca, in the hamlet of Castagnola, the witches celebrated a sabbath illuminated by large torches. Furthermore, it is said that a highly skilled accordion-playing farmer received the ability to move quickly from one place to another as a gift from the witches for playing at their sabbath. In Campore at the Mulino delle Strie, they ground wheat, and from the cave near the river Pagiaissa, the voices of the witches can be heard at night.

In Aquila di Arroscia, the witches gathered to play with a stone ball called the ball of Rolando, which intersects with the legend of the Massi di Orlando, where the epic chivalric myth claims that Orlando, or Rolando, struck the rock, causing it to crack, with his Durlindana in an attempt to destroy it.

Certainly, everyone has heard of the Witch Trials of Triora, a judicial proceeding that took place in the eponymous Ligurian locality between 1587 and 1589, where some women were accused of being the witches responsible for plagues and famine, as well as cannibalism towards children. It was the largest witch trial of the late 16th century, so fierce that the town was nicknamed the Italian Salem.

The priest asked parishioners to report the witches. Thus, twenty women were arrested, which, due to confessions extracted under torture, quickly became thirty. Among them, thirteen women, four girls, and a boy confessed. Some private homes were transformed into prisons, the most famous of which was the house of Meggio, now named Ca’ de baggiure (House of Witches). In no time, the first deaths occurred: Isotta Stella, a sixty-year-old from a noble family, died from the torture she endured, while another woman threw herself out of a window. Investigations by other inquisitors followed, including Commissioner Giulio Scribani, who intensified the climate of terror by transferring the imprisoned women to Genoa and doing everything possible to find new witches.

Among the places frequented by the "bagiue," Lagodégnu is famous, located outside the walls, a memorable gathering place for witches: "a remote and horrible location" where a small lake formed by the waterfall of the rio Grugnarolo flows into the Argentina stream. Then there is Ciàn der préve, a grassy area overlooking the medieval bridge of Mauta. Another interesting place is the public washhouse of Noce and the fountain of Campomavùe. The Noce is indicated as the witches' favorite tree.

In Chapter XLIII of Book I "De Occulta Philosophia" by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (Cologne, September 14, 1486 – Grenoble, February 18, 1535 – alchemist, astrologer, esotericist, and philosopher), it is written that burning the liver of a "chameleon" on the roofs of a house excites thunder and rain, while burning its "head" dissipates hurricanes.

One should draw an eight-pointed star (see figure) with bat blood on virgin parchment, says the Key of Solomon. The pentacle should be kept covered within the Circle until needed. When brought to light, it will cause hail and storms, through the work of the demons that control such phenomena. Inside the circle, it is written, from Psalm CV, 32, 33: "He turned their rains into hail: fire that devours rained upon their land. And He struck their vines and their fig trees."

Black lightning, negative magnetic storms, astral stabs, etc., are part of the jargon of occultists to indicate magical attacks against adversaries or for punitive purposes. These are not to be underestimated; usually, good talismans and defensive shields are employed, along with a certain arsenal of objects that serve as "lightning rods" or such defenses act like Faraday cages.

In my personal astral experiences, not much different from those of others, cyclones, tsunamis, and whirlwinds bring troubles and discomfort, both in personal life and when they are of gigantic proportions, they also act on a collective level. There was a time when they were recurring in my dreams, and once I gained dream lucidity, I got angry and reacted by hurling a pentagram of light with powerful spells against a large dark whirlwind. The Earth Element represented by the pentacle mitigates and dominates the Air Element. A simple basis of occultism. Air spirits calm before the opposing Element.

Among my psychic talents is gathering clouds and conjuring rain; I can say I have full success 7 times out of 10, also because I cannot stand the sultry heat of summer here in our areas.

In the book of Abramelin the Mage, we find words to unleash rain, such as SAGRIR – SAGRIR or to produce thunder HAMAG – ABALA – MAHAM – ALABA – GAMAH. However, to perform miracles, the book itself anticipates that one must first Invoke and Evoke the Angel, that is, awaken the power within oneself manifesting it as the Master and Ruler Angel of the various objectifications of demons or cryptic forces.