In various Vedic, Mahayana and Vajrayana schools of Buddhism, the intermediate, transitional, or liminal state between death and rebirth is known as the Bardo. There are also several other kinds of Bardo states. But for the purposes of this Halloween message, let's take a moment this weekend, transitioning from October to November, to focus on the symbolism of the Bardo of death as we enter the month most associated with death.

Whether it's Halloween, Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead), All Saints' Day (La Festa di Ognissanti ; Allerheiligen) or All Souls' Day (Giorno dei Morti; Allerseelen), in general the entire month of November is the seasonal change into darkness, when harvesting is finished, accounts settled, supplies and necessities stored for winter, and when visits to cemeteries and liturgies to the deceased are performed.

With these thoughts in mind, I send out heartfelt blessings of the season, that you may have positive connections with the dearly departed beings (humans and animals) who have touched your life in meaningful and profound ways. Think loving thoughts to them and remember that everything in this life is impermanent, beginning from the moment we're born. So value the preciousness of all that you have - in this moment, while you have it - so that you have no regrets or sadness once it has passed.

Relevant to theme, I'm sharing a lovely video clip I recently discovered - a most noble goodbye to a stalwart Jack-o'-lantern, by Joe Pera (please watch til the end; it's only 2½ minutes!).

In the Sethian Liberation Movement, the birth of the ancient Egyptian deity Seth/Sutekh is celebrated annually for a thirteen day cycle between 16th-29th of July. To mark the conclusion, Zeena releases two additional new designs to her Magic and Mysticism apparel collection. Descriptions below! You can also check them out on our new Etsy shop! 

-SLM

In the ancient Egyptian calendar, the third epagomenal day of the year - the equivalent to July 16th of our current Gregorian calendar - was celebrated as the birthdate of the most powerful of all deities Seth/Sutekh. Today we celebrate with the unveiling of a Sethian talisman created by Zeena (Hemet-neter tepi-Seth) especially for the Nativity of Seth. Made in the ancient magical spellcasting tradition during a trance-meditation state, the original of this Sethian talisman is designed and hand-inked on virgin linen with the prescribed religious ointments. Zeena now shares the magical working on a new apparel item so that like-minded spiritual practitioners may benefit from it and writes:
"The graphic incorporates two glyphs representing the ancient Egyptian god Seth in his zoomorphic canine-like form and as the ancient Egyptian symbol for His name, which is also the symbol of the Sethian Liberation Movement (SLM).
Encircled by a Sethian incantation text from the Greek Magical Papyri, the letters in spiraling format represent the churning waves and confusion of endless cyclic existence. The words themselves are an invocation for stability within the sea of samsara.
When the talisman is worn over the heart chakra, as it is on this shirt, its intended effect is of an ancient pectoral to calm the heart and promote strength in the central channel and spine, fostering a sense of centeredness within chaos – as with the calm in the eye of the Storm. 
And with that, on this sacred day, and always, may you enjoy Happiness and the causes for happiness and Peace in the Eye of the Storm! -SLM-" ~Zeena
 
To order, visit our new Etsy page!
​
[posted by Thomas]

The title of this post, "Last Day of a Bummer Year" is a reference to the below 1988 letter to me from my godfather Kenneth Anger, penned on his personal stationery bearing beautifully intricate artwork by Bobby Beausoleil.

If '88 was "A Bummer Year", then thirty-two years later, as we come to the end of 2020, how should we classify this year? Surely Kenneth, and most of us, will be happy to see the door shut on this year.

Whatever your usual New Year's Eve celebrations, most everyone throughout the world will be having a quiet, lockdown New Year's Eve this year. There are myriad self-help articles and endless updates on every platform about the pandemic and how to deal with it in practical medical and psychological ways. I don't have anything to add to all of that, on that level. 

I know many who have lost loved ones this year, not only to Coronavirus but countless other ways. Many are feeling grief, pain and sorrow because they couldn't see their loved ones one last time before they passed. Others have been separated from family, friends or partners, unable to travel due to quarantine or lockdowns. In times like this, it's important to remember that we're never truly separated from the mind streams of those we love, not even after physical death. If you consider yourself a true mystic, magician or spiritual being of any kind, it's important to develop the mind, and the ability to focus, so that we may connect with those we've lost or are unable to physically be with. 

This WWII song "We'll Meet Again," sung by Vera Lynn who died this year at the age of 103 years shortly after the first lockdown, is as relevant to our feelings of loss and disconnect in the current world-wide situation today as it was eighty years ago. 

I extend my wishes and prayers that all of you stay physically and mentally healthy, that you have strength to get through these difficult temporary times and that you try to do whatever possible to generate loving-kindness, joyfulness and life affirming thoughts for yourselves and others. Try to not spend too much time taking in disaster oriented news but do stay connected to animals, nature and real-life offline experiences within your immediate environment. It is more important to stay grounded and compassionate than hateful, divisive and accusatory, which doesn't help to heal anything. If we remember that everyone is experiencing their own pain and suffering through all of this, and their own experiences of Impermanence, we can hopefully try to remain calm if and when heated and stressful situations arise. 

My thoughts and blessings for a strong and healthy New Year 2021 are with you all. Through the power of our combined magic and prayers, may we see positive changes in the year to come!

I close now with the closing words from Kenneth Anger's above letter to me, "Keep Well" !

Om Mani Padme Hum & SLM
-Zeena

Medicine Buddha mantra blessings to anyone ill or experiencing mental and psychic disturbances, also for the wellbeing of all animals: 
​Tayatha Om Bekandze Bekandze Maha Bekandze Radza Samudgate Soha

As we're upon the The Witching Hour of Walpurgisnacht, I'm sharing how I celebrated this holiday twenty-eight years ago in the Harz Mountains of Germany. Filmed in 1992, this footage is of the first public Walpurgisnacht festival after decades of being banned by the former DDR. The footage is from my film 'Germania: The Theory of Ruins'. Some described this scene as eerily reminiscent of the Danish silent classic 'Häxan', but in color. 
While this world-wide pandemic has had varying effects on everyone, and public events must now be cancelled, we can take heart in the fact that for many years, many people weren't able to partake in the sort of celebration shown in this video. If they were able to maintain a continuum to their spiritual roots and folk traditions, even if practicing privately, certainly we too can find ways of making the best of this holiday.
Whatever you do tonight, worldly or other-worldly,
​may you have a very wonderful Walpurgisnacht and May Day!
Many blessings and stay well!
--Zeena

Walpurgisnacht 1992 is an excerpt from the Originally titled GERMANIA: The Theory of Ruins, A Film by Zeena Schreck.

In 1992, during a pilgrimage to several Germanic pagan holy sites, Zeena filmed scenes at the first publicly organized Walpurgisnacht celebration in the Harz Mountains since WWII. In an attempt to remove all traces of religion, including pre-Christian Germanic pagan customs, from the East German Democratic Republic (DDR), public Walpurgisnacht celebrations were banned. Therefore, this footage is a pure document of the people in the Harz region of Germany - the original birthplace of Walpurgisnacht - reviving a long lost tradition, pieced together from scraps of relics and memories from the elders of their community.
An exhibit in the Walpurgishalle was held that year to display Walpurgisnacht folk costumes and decorations which had been gathered from cellars and attics, unused for decades.
The twilight performance footage seen here was held at the outdoor theater, Das Harzer Bergtheater, on the Hexentanzplatz.

From these modest beginnings, the Harz Region now enjoys a thriving tourist industry dedicated to the magnificent Walpurgisnacht festivals they host every year. For information visit www.harzinfo.de 
Music in this video is Die erste Walpurgisnacht, Op. 60, Ouvertüre: I. Das schlechte Wetter (Bad Weather) by Felix Mendelssohn. Performed by Kurt Masur, Rundfunkchor Leipzig, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
​
Video footage copyright Zeena Schreck 1992/2020
All rights reserved.

That also includes all autographed products, vintage collectibles, apparel, and the new 2020 Calendar "Meditations on Death & Impermanence"
ALL items in our Featured Products shop will be reduced by 20% until Monday Dec 2, 2019!!!

The below article was originally posted in San Francisco newsgroups for Halloween by Jeff Farris, who shares first-hand impressions of Zeena in early life. Farris and Zeena attended the same schools yet have never met. Many thanks to Mr. Farris for allowing us to reprint his article here! An afterword from Zeena follows his article:

In San Francisco on California Street, between 23rd and 24th Avenues in the Richmond District, there once was a house that was painted pure black long before it was fashionable or cool to do so. The home was rumored to have a real live roaring lion as well as human occupants, we were warned, who were devotees to the Prince of Darkness himself. Other than the austere and gloomy color, it was an unassuming little home just a few blocks down the road from where I grew up.
​
A typical San Francisco A-framed, 3 story Victorian, The Black House, as it was known for many years, was the official First Church of Satan and the home of Anton LeVay, aka, The Black Pope and Lucifer’s Great High Priest and author of the Satanic Bible, as well as his family, including 2 young children and his companion, the self professed sorceress and High Priestess, Diane Hegarty. An ex-carnival worker and notable chronic liar, Anton established the Church of Satan in 1966 where it had a run for about 35 years until it was eventually torn down in 2001, only to be replaced, unceremoniously, by a cheap, 4 unit apartment complex commonly known among locals as a Richmond Special. The son of Russian and Ukrainian immigrants who had arrived in the United States sometime near the turn of the 20th Century, Mr. LaVey had finally made a name for himself in the late 1960’s with his audacious ambition to create the first church of Satan ever, anywhere.
​
San Francisco, at the time, was ripe for such a plan and Anton soon found himself at the center of controversy along with much welcomed attention from the ranks of luminaries such as Hollywood elites, avant-garde artists, and rock superstars of the time. One of his first and most celebrated religious ceremonies held at The Black House was the “Baptism” of his youngest daughter, Zeena, in 1967, when she was just 3 years old.

Anyhow, as the years have transpired, I have kept my eye on the life and times of Zeena LaVey, or Zeena Schreck, which is her current last name. I wouldn’t say that I am a stalker, but I have always felt for her as one would feel towards any misunderstood outsider. I felt bad for her, actually, not that she needs my sympathy and she could probably care less of what I think, for that matter. But I’ve always believed that she was a good soul under extraordinary pressure from circumstances beyond her control. She was a San Francisco kid, caught up in those crazy times, no different than I, but definitely more complicated and dark.

As you can imagine, Zeena and her family weren’t very welcome in our working class, multicultural, mostly Catholic, and Asian, and Russian Orthodox neighborhood. In a 2012 interview with Vice Australia, she explains that she had to transcribe for the SFPD death threats left for her on her father’s answering machine wherein she was to be raped and killed. She was 11 years old at the time. She also states that her father may have haphazardly fallen into the role of The Black Pope by sheer accident and that the Church of Satan was created after a local publicist described Anton as a neighborhood eccentric and “the first priest of Satan.” Anton then seized the idea and transformed it into a religion and that it all took off from there.

To be clear, Anton’s belief system did not include an actual deity or entity that one would call Satan or Lucifer, the Angel of Light. He believed that there wasn’t a devil at all. It was an ego driven theology. Each person is a God, in essence, and the tenets of the religion are almost all selfishly motivated and self aggrandizing. It’s also important to note that the Church of Satan, for the most part, was ultimately a failed venture leaving Anton destitute by the time he died. He sold his soul for nothing more than a limited and fleeting run at popularity, poor thing.

By 1990, Zeena had renounced her father’s church and belief structure, and likewise the Church of Satan vehemently denounced Zeena, commencing a campaign to discredit her name. I don’t think she ever had contact with Anton after that. She claimed that her father was basically a charlatan and a con artist and that he never had the depth of knowledge to be a true Satanist and that it was all for show and celebrity.

Whether or not I believe her completely is predicated upon the publication of the Satanic Bible, which is still the definitive go to resource for anything Satanic. It is clear that he gave that book some thought. Nonetheless, Zeena then applied her spiritual endeavors towards the Temple of Set, which could best be described as a pre-christian, Egyptian mystery religion, but highly influenced by other ex-members of the Church of Satan and the writings of Aleister Crowley. But even here, Zeena failed to find an environment that was to her liking and she resigned from her post as High Priestess in 2002. She then formed the Sethian Liberation Movement, donned with a title that could only be conjured up by an ex-San Francisco kid who survived the citywide pandemonium that the Symbionese Liberation Army caused when they kidnapped Patty Hearst in the early 70’s.

Currently, Zeena is a self avowed Tibetan Tantric Buddhist and she offers counseling services and specifically ministers to victims of extreme circumstances, the socially stigmatized, outcasts, and those otherwise subject to prejudice. By use of yogic, meditative and shamanic exercises, she offers short-range treatment, she says, without having to become an initiate of any particular spiritual path. Like the Phoenix, she claims that she can help you rise from the ashes of difficult experiences, find your own inner mystical resources, and have a spiritual awakening towards a foundation of inner strength.
​
Personally, I believe in her and I want her to succeed. If anyone has experience of overcoming difficulties, Zeena is among those who have. It seems poetic to me that a young girl from San Francisco, without any act of her own volition, was baptized at the tender age of 3 into the milieu of post-modern sensationalized Satanism, only to come out the other side finding peace and stability from the teachings of someone as self effacing and modest as the Buddha. I sincerely hope that she ultimately finds the peace that surpasses all understanding. As a fellow San Franciscan, I am rooting for her. How about you?

– Jeff Farris
San Francisco, Halloween 2014

Thank you Jeff, wherever you are! Though it's true we never met, nor shared any words in those years, I never forget a face and knew it was you, because you still look the same, some 40 years later. You are correct that most people didn't have the guts to speak to me then in school, unless antagonistically. The same character traits usually remain on into adulthood. People who refuse to educate themselves about what they're frightened of, find comfort in remaining ignorant. So thank you for your curiosity to educate yourself, and for your candid recollections.
And, as you alluded to, I have found peace and contentment. When we have peace within ourselves and develop intrinsic happiness and relinquish hope for extrinsic sources of happiness, we have peace and joy wherever, and in whatever, situations we find ourselves. 

Wishing you [all] a fantastically Happy Halloween. 

~Ƶeena

Milarepa mantra chanted during meditation by Zeena for CHÖKHOR DÜCHEN, 2017.
In the Buddhist tradition, today is celebrated as the first teaching given by the Buddha Shakyamuni after attaining Enlightement. Any mantras recited on this day accumulate the positive merit ten million times. 
During the day's mantra meditations, as Zeena chanted the Milarepa mantra, birds came to listen.
The Tibetan sage Milarepa, born nearly a thousand years ago, was a powerful black magician in Tibet who renounced his sorcery ways, dedicating himself to the Dharma teachings. As a result, he become fully enlightened in one lifetime.
Milarepa is not only a source of inspiration to Zeena, who has also followed a similarly extreme path in life, but it is also into his lineage that she is initiated by her heart lama H.E. Ayang Rinpoche, one of the yogi lineage holders who has maintained Milarepa's teachings in pure, undiluted and unbroken form. 
​
Gratitude to H.E. Ayang Rinpoche for the image of Milarepa, Vajradhara and Vajrayogini used at the beginning of the video and for his wisdom and compassion which are boundless.

To learn more about the magical life of Milarepa, visit this page. ​
http://www.thranguhk.org/buddhism/en_milarepa.html 

A slideshow and video from the Summer Solstice ritual can be now be seen on the
NEW permanent feature 'Photo Gallery of Events and Activities' page of our website.
Click  on this link: 
http://www.zeenaschreck.com/photo-gallery.html

Video  clip of the ritual is below in this post.  

EXCLUSIVE- Zeena will conduct a rare Summer Solstice Ritual and Blessing by the Sea in Italy: Open to the first 12 people to reserve their place. A teaching with guided practice and the possibility for individuals' questions answered are also included in the ritual event. More details below in Italian language, then followed by English.
Because of the very limited number of participants allowed, to reserve a space NOW use THIS PayPal Button:

ESCLUSIVO: Zeena guiderà un raro rituale Tantrico-Sethiano per il Solstizio d'estate con la benedizione del mare italiano, l'evento è limitato ad un gruppo di 12 persone. Durante la giornata saranno inclusi anche alcuni insegnamenti aggiuntivi con pratiche guidate. 
Seguono più dettagli.

* In sintonia con il lignaggio yogico del saggio buddhista tibetano Milarepa, a cui Zeena è iniziata, il tema dell'insegnamento sarà basato sulla consapevolezza intuitiva che il guru avrà al momento dell'insegnamento, e riguarderà quindi ciò che sarà più utile in quell'istante per i partecipanti. Per questo motivo,  il tema dell'insegnamento non potrà essere annunciato precedentemente. 

* L'insegnamento inizierà alle 15.30 ed includerà istruzioni sulla pratica dello yoga; verrà dedicato del tempo per fare in modo che i partecipanti siano guidati attraverso la pratica. 

* Ci sarà tempo per domande brevi e conseguenti risposte.

* Alle 18.00 dopo l'insegnamento, ci sarà un piccolo break per cenare. 

* Ognuno dovrebbe portare con sé il cibo che preferisce, non possiamo accontentare ognuno con dei piatti speciali. Ma ci saranno alcuni snack leggeri per tutti. Vi preghiamo di portare anche le bevande di cui avete bisogno. Per rimanere vigili durante l'insegnamento e il rituale, si chiede di astenersi dal bere alcolici finché non sia giunto a termine il tutto. 

* La pausa serale durerà approssimativamente tre ore. Durante questa pausa sarete liberi di andare fuori a passeggiare, parlare con gli altri, fermarvi o visitare la spiaggia. Ma per favore siate puntuali per il rituale che inizia alle 21. 

* Incontro privato con Zeena: se qualcuno ha domande personali sulla spiritualità o l'iniziazione, potrà farle durante la pausa serale. Quando farete il pagamento tramite PayPal siete pregati di far notare che volete anche parlare in privato, oppure rendetelo noto a un assistente durante il seminario.  

* Il rituale avrà inizio alle 21.00.

* Richieste di benedizione per sé stessi, per gli altri o per animali, potranno essere scritti sulla carta e dati a Zeena alla fine del rituale. 

* CHIUNQUE NON POSSA PARTECIPARE, MA VUOLE COMUNQUE CHE LA PROPRIA RICHIESTA DI BENEDIZIONE SIA INCLUSA ALLA FINE DEL RITUALE, è pregato di mandare solo il proprio nome OPPURE il nome della persona o dell'animale per cui è la benediIone a kch_info@yahoo.com. Scrivete chiaramente il motivo per cui chiedete la benedizione (es. esseri deceduti, persone malate o animali), oppure brevemente lo scopo per cui è la benedizione. PER FAVORE, NON LETTERE LUNGHE!!! Solo il nome e lo scopo. Sarà aggiunto al rituale. 

*L'evento si concluderà alle 22.00.

*Per domande rivolgersi a kch_info@yahoo.com . 

[FINE]

ENGLISH VERSION :

EXCLUSIVE: Zeena will conduct a rare Tantric Sethian Summer Solstice Ritual and Blessing by the Sea in Italy to a limited group of 12. Additional Teaching with guided practice also included. – more details below.

*In accordance with the yogic lineage of the Tibetan Buddhist sage Milarepa, from which Zeena is initiated, the theme of the teaching is based on the guru's intuitive understanding of what the participants need at the time of the teaching. Therefore, the theme of the teaching cannot yet be announced.

*The teaching begins at 15.30 which includes instructions of yogic practice plus time for participants to be guided through the practice.

*There will be time for short questions & answers afterwards.

*At 18.00, after the teaching, there will be an evening break.

*Everyone should bring their own preference of food, for themselves - we cannot accommodate each person's special food wishes. But there will be some light snacks for everyone. Please also bring your own drinks. To remain alert through the teaching and ritual, we ask that you to refrain from drinking alcohol until the teachings and ritual are over.

*The evening break is approximately three hours. During the evening break, you're free to go for a walk, talk with others, rest or visit the beach. But please be on time for the ritual which begins at 21.00.

*Private Meetings with Zeena: If anyone has spiritual or initiatory questions of a personal nature for Zeena, there will be time during the evening break to do that. When making your Paypal transaction, please note that you would like to speak privately, or mention it with one of the assistants at the seminar.

*The ritual will begin at 21.00.

​*Requests for blessings for yourself or others, or for pets/animals may be written on a paper and given to Zeena at the end of the ritual.

*ANYONE NOT ATTENDING, BUT WHO WOULD LIKE THEIR REQUESTS FOR BLESSINGS TO BE INCLUDED AT THE END OF THE RITUAL, please send only your name OR the name of the person or animal for whom the blessing is for to kch_info@yahoo.com. Write clearly what the blessing is for (i.e., deceased being, or sick person or animal), or briefly what the purpose of the blessing is. NO LONG LETTERS PLEASE!!! Just a name and purpose. They will be added to the ritual.

*The entire event concludes at 22.00.

*For any questions, contact kch_info@yahoo.com.

[END]

An Excerpt from a 1992 film by Zeena Schreck originally titled "GERMANIA: The Theory of Ruins". Filmed 25 years ago today at crossover from Walpurgisnacht to May Day, at the top of the Harz Mountains in Germany, home of the original Walpurgisnacht. 

In this clip, the personification of the May Queen ushers in Springtime with a speech of rejuvenation for the Pagan New Year, the day after Walpurgisnacht.

The raw footage of "GERMANIA: The Theory of Ruins" is being digitally rescued from old VHS master tapes for re-release in a series of theme-oriented short films and sound art recordings by Zeena Schreck.

The subject matter will focus on the history of German music, cinema, art, pagan lore, natural landscapes and architecture.

For more info, sign up to the mailing list on this site 

To my Fallen Angel Godfather, wishing him a spectacularly cosmic 90th solar return. -Zeena Schreck

Interview with Zeena recalling memories of her artistic mentor and godfather Kenneth Anger
​[begin @ time-code 4:00]

"On this darkest night of the year, may all survivors of war and violence be blessed with strength, perseverance, peace and an end to suffering. 
May we take a moment of silent contemplation, during our Yuletide festivities, to honor those who have perished as the result of war and mindless violence."
-Zeena Schreck, Winter Solstice 2016

Photo of Gen. George S. Patton's dog, Willie, mourning Patton's death.
"How awful war is. Think of the waste." -Gen. Patton, moments before the car collision in Heidelburg, Germany that ended his life on Dec. 21, 1945.

Tune in Tuesday night Oct 25th @10PM CET for a NIGHTWATCH Halloween Special, when Zeena will discuss her current music and writing projects and much more. As always there's sure to be surprises! The show will be a double-feature pairing Zeena alongside actor Richard Sammel, currently known for his role as Thomas Eichhorst in the FX vampire horror drama series 'The Strain.' Tune in live on the Nightwatch homepage at: http://www.zombiebloodbath.com/nightwatch/front.html