“…and they taught them charms and enchantments, and the cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants…And Azazel taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all coloring tinctures…Semjaza taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, ‘Armaros the resolving of enchantments, Baraqijal (taught) astrology, Kokabel the constellations, Ezeqeel the knowledge of the clouds, Araqiel the signs of the earth, Shamsiel the signs of the sun, and Sariel the course of the moon.”

Excerpts from the Book of Enoch

The Divine

Shekhinah שְׁכִינָה

• The indwelling presence of the divine

El Shaddai (אֵל שַׁדַּי)

• Name for God
• From the root word ‘shad’ (שד) which means breast, compounded/multiplied in the name Shaddai. El Shaddai is often connected with blessings, abundance, protection, fertility. Sometimes referred to as the Many Breasted One.
• Maybe connections with the Akkadian language word for ‘shadû’ meaning mountain or shaddā`û or shaddû`a meaning mountain-dweller.

Tohu vaVohu (תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ)

• The Void. Depth. Oneness. No thing. Time before time. And space before space. Older than old. The most ancient before anything existed

Gods

Asherah

• Mother of the gods in the Canaanite pantheon
• Tree and plant goddess
• Connections to the tree of life and the menorah, a stylized tree candelabra

Qedeshet

• Also called Qudshu/Qetesh
• Goddess of healing, sexuality, and magic in bronze age Canaan.
• Depicted in art with a Hathor style hair or head-dress standing on the back of a lion with a staff/wand with a serpent coiled around it and holding Egyptian blue lotus (blue water lily) or other plants and snakes.

Shapshu/Shapash

• Canaanite Sun goddess.
• Associated with healing, divination, meditating messages between worlds, cleansing, and the ancestors
• Carries an underworld aspect from dusk until dawn as she lights the way and protects the rapi’uma or the dead as they move through the underworld.
• Called “Shapash, lamp of the gods”, also translated as “torch” or “luminary” of the gods
• She has a healing aspect and it is said that she burns off poison/venom like the Sun burns away fog.

Spirits

Serpent(s): Ancient spirits of nature, healing, protection, creation, and chaos. Soul of the earth, wisdom, healing (transformation), power, medicine, medicinal plants. Nehushtan is the name of a bronze/copper snake wrapped around a pole described in the book of Numbers used by the ancient Israelites as a source of healing.

Angels: Androgynous spirits of the Jewish tradition. Messengers, healers, protectors, teachers. Connected with the divine/unseen celestial spirit realms. Can be invoked for charging amulets, charms, incantations, and more. The ‘fallen’ angels are described in the non-canonical book of Enoch as spirits who were said to have taught humans magic, healing, divination, and plant knowledge:

“The angels taught the daughters of men incantations, exorcisms, and the cutting of roots, and revealed to them healing plants.”

Book of Enoch 9:7

Spirits of the Directions + Crossroads: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel of the four directions and elements air, fire, earth, and water or briyah, atzilut, assiyah, and yetzirah + above and below and center.

The Ancestors: Spirits of lineage of blood, spirit, or both. They exist outside of material space/time, therefore, they can be of the past or future. Called on for their merit, guidance, healing, and blessings.

Sheydim: Shades or demon spirits from the Jewish tradition. Spirits of the edges and in-between spaces. Shapeshifters. Created at twilight on the 6th day of creation just before Shabbat. They are morally ambiguous, likened to the Jinn. They can cause upset to humans but also support magical workings and aid in protection rites. The Talmud describes them as:

“In three ways they are like ministering angels: They have wings like ministering angels, and they fly from one end of the world to the other like ministering angels, and they know what will be in the future like ministering angels. And in three ways they are similar to humans: They eat and drink like humans; they multiply like humans, and they die like humans.” 

Babylonian Talmud Hagigah 16a

Lilith: Demon or Sheyd of the night. In traditional witchcraft, she is sometimes encountered as a goddess of witches. In the Jewish tradition, rituals and magic are generally done to protect against Lilith. She has been reclaimed by feminists as an archetype of sovereignty and empowerment and she is interpreted by modern astrologers through this lens.

Plant Spirits: Guides, teachers, healers, and wisdom keepers. Boundary and protection spirits, especially the ‘poisonous’ plants. More about plant spirits, here.

Bee Spirits: Connection to the Faery, seeds, flowers, pollination, plants, nectar, honey, offerings, land spirits, mead, healing, apples + pomegranates, cooperation, community, dance + rhythm, venom/poison, trance and altered states. Swarming, hosting, buzzing, defense, and offense. Herbalism, medicine, salves, and healing. Honey is often used in Jewish rituals for health, hope, sweetening, celebration, thanksgiving, and offering.

Butterfly Spirits: Spirits encountered in work with the dead, mediumship, mystical states, dreams, and spirit travel. Movement and migration. Currents of nature, regeneration, and pollination. Expressions of color, brightness, beauty, sensitivity, and daytime. Psychic. Aether or spirit element. Mystery. The ephemeral.