Every book has to begin somewhere. This one begins here.
Welcome to The Black Book of Vitriol.
This is not intended to be a formal grimoire, a collection of absolute truths, or a polished account written after everything has already made sense. It is my working record—a place for the things I encounter, attempt, question, learn, and occasionally get completely wrong along the way.
My practice is rooted primarily in ceremonial magick, spirit work, divination, and the grimoires, particularly the Keys of Solomon and the Grand Grimoire. Over time, however, practice has a way of wandering beyond the boundaries of books. What begins as study eventually has to become experience.
That is what I want this Black Book to record.
Workings. Evocations. Tarot. Experiments. Conversations. Observations. Lessons. Successes and failures. Things that make perfect sense at the time and things that may take months or years before I understand what they meant.
I kept a working journal on the previous Occult Corner. That journal ended in 2025 and has been preserved in my personal archives. I considered bringing those entries here, but ultimately decided against it. They belong to another period of my practice and another incarnation of this community.
Perhaps someday I will return to those archives. There is enough material there that I may eventually develop some of it into a grimoire or another more permanent record. But that is a project for another day.
The Black Book of Vitriol begins with The Occult Corner 2.0.
I don't know what will eventually fill these pages—and that's precisely why I want to keep them.
I want this book to give me a reason to practice when I have become distracted, to write when an experience deserves remembering, to question myself when something doesn't fit, and to leave a record that I can return to years from now and see how my practice actually changed.
Some entries may be long. Some may be nothing more than a photograph and a few sentences. Some conclusions will probably change. That's fine. This is a record of practice, not a performance of certainty.
So, with a new Occult Corner comes a new book.
Let's see what gets written in it.
Quaere · Experiere · Iudica.
— Vitriol
Black Book Entry — Duke Astaroth
September 7, 2026
Today I evoked Duke Astaroth and offered him rum, candlelight, and incense.
During the working, I was advised to turn my attention toward the affairs of the forum and the work now beginning around it. I was also directed to make contact with a spirit I had not previously encountered.
For this purpose, I drew three cards from The Occult Tarot by Travis McHenry. The spirit revealed through the draw was Marquis Marchosias.
I record this without rushing to impose a conclusion upon it. The name has been placed before me, and I intend to approach the matter with due preparation, respect, and discernment.
I look forward to meeting Marquis Marchosias in the proper course. When that encounter has taken place, I will record what was done, what was observed, and what I am able to understand from it.
Meeting with Marquis Marchosias
14 September 2026
I hate it when spirits hold you to secrecy, especially when so much was discussed. Unfortunately, that is the case with today's meeting, so there are parts of the conversation I simply can't write about. I can, however, write about the experience itself and my first impression of Marquis Marchosias.
For some background, last week Astaroth tasked me with meeting a new spirit, someone I had never worked with before. I used the Occult Tarot to determine who wanted my attention for this particular exercise, and Marquis Marchosias was the answer.
As a side note, I still find it weird how well the cards and pendulum work together for this. I had three cards face down and hovered the pendulum over each one. Whether I'm picking up the energy of the being represented by the card or simply whatever energy the card itself is projecting, I honestly don't know. But the responses can be surprisingly strong. They're also sometimes pretty damn funny. Spirits can apparently be very blunt when they don't want to meet you. With one of the cards the pendulum looked like a damn fan lol. Message received.
Anyway, back to Marchosias.
I spent about a week deliberating over when I was going to call him, and today the stars finally aligned and I managed to get some time completely alone. I prepared my temple, printed his sigil and set up the altar. My normal working direction is west, so I'm facing west during my ceremonies, and I'm used to spirits showing up or manifesting somewhere in front of me.
Marchosias didn't do that.
I was chanting his enn when I started noticing a shadow in the southeast corner of the temple, basically behind me and to my left. There wasn't any apparent shape to it. It was just a black shadow standing there, and after a while I started getting that very distinct feeling that I was being watched.
The impression I got was predatory, but also strangely playful. I didn't feel threatened. It was more like, I could hurt you if I wanted to, but I'm not here to hurt you. More than anything, I got the feeling that he wanted me to hurry the hell up, stop chanting and get to the conjuration. Naturally, I ignored that for a little while longer, until I heard very clearly in the back of my mind: Hurry up.
Fair enough haha.
So I proceeded with the conjuration, asked permission to turn off the enn chant and asked if I could sit down. Then we talked. Most of the conversation involved an offer Marchosias presented to me, and unfortunately that's the part I can't discuss. I'll just say it was interesting and gave me quite a bit to think about.
What I can talk about is the impression I got from him. Marchosias felt like someone who is constantly on guard. The closest comparison I can make is a battle-hardened warrior who has physically returned from war but still has part of his mind on the battlefield. Always alert, always watching, never completely lowering his guard.
There was also another side to him that I find much harder to describe. Underneath that warrior-like presence there was something surprisingly humane, maybe merciful, maybe even a little sad. I don't really have the right word for it. It almost felt as though part of the reason he remains so guarded has something to do with us humans. That's probably the best I can explain it. It's simply the impression I walked away with.
Something else that stood out was the distance he kept from me. Marchosias never came close. I didn't force him into the triangle—I don't force spirits into it anyway—but he also never entered my immediate working space. He stayed near the door in the southeast corner of the room for the entire encounter. I've never experienced that with another spirit before.
That being said, I realized afterward that I never actually offered him a seat at the altar, so maybe there's a much simpler explanation: I was a terrible host and forgot my manners lol. I did at least welcome him with a shot of rum, so hopefully that counts for something.
For anyone interested in reaching out to Marquis Marchosias, these are the correspondences I used for the working:
Enn: Es na ayer Marchosias Secore
Planetary correspondence: Moon
Day: Monday
Candle: Purple
Incense: Jasmine
If anyone else reaches out to Marchosias, I would really like you to write about your experience. I'm especially curious whether anyone else gets that same guarded, battle-hardened presence I experienced, or whether he presents himself completely differently to you.
There is a lot more I wish I could write about today's conversation, but apparently some things are going to remain between Marchosias and me.
Thank you, Marquis Marchosias, for taking the time to come to my temple. You have my respect and gratitude.