“So be Wise as Serpents, and Innocent as Doves.” — Matthew 10:16

These relics are a visceral, ferrous expression of two primary principles observed within an occult framework : Salubrity and Resolve.

The Asklepian or ‘Rod of Asclepius’ consists of the serpent and staff. The serpent here may be said to represent both perpetual renewal & healing as well as the dual nature of pharmakon as both panacea and poison. The staff reminds us that in times of great need we must be willing to be supported. Their respective forms are expressed in hand-wrought iron, born of the hammer & anvil in flickering cacophony that is the ancient and venerable craft of the smith.

Some preparation of material took place the evening prior (cutting, layout, etc.) and final preparations were made during pre-dawn hours the morning of the election. Offerings of cedar, juniper, fir pitch and several native artemisia species were burned in the forge and a fumigatory rite of cleansing took place.

Enough material was cut and prepared for the 13+ relics to be forged, the serpent and staff to be officially intertwined during the beneficent interstice of this potent election. The election allowed a small but adequate window in which the work was to take place.

It was an intense fifty minutes. I can’t recall the last time I worked with as much vehemence, but I did manage to meet our goal. And not without some violence against my own corpus for as the work concluded, I fell into an intense bout of very unpleasant nausea and vomiting, swiftly (and mercifully!) followed by a deep sense of wellness. This speaks precisely to the often purgative, sicken-ing nature of pharmakon and again -- to the dual-nature of the serpent as an embodiment of wisdom and rejuvenation.

As for the iron Asklepians and their care, I recommend only this: while the relics have been treated with a thin coating of wax, I recommend that upon receipt they are further coated in the accompanying oil formulated by Sphere + Sundry during the election, or one of your choosing, preferably that lends itself to the restorative and health-giving nature of Asclepius and the noble art of physik.

I pray these talismanic objects of virtue serve in whatever capacity you desire, be they employed as ceremonial foci or by iron’s physical touch as a means of removing illness and dis-ease, thereby exploiting iron’s capability in the eradication of foul spirit presences afflicting both body and soul.