Have you seen the Black Dog

 

Blessed be. 

Velumbound. 

A new transmission exploring how grief, depression, and pain can become so familiar that they feel like a companion. 

A black dog. 

It captures a deeply human truth: 

Healing is rarely a clean, sudden break, and the familiar weight of sadness can sometimes feel safer than the empty quiet that follows it.

The transmission highlights a critical crossroads: 

The temptation to call back the familiar darkness ("that old friend") versus the choice to reach outward into the light ("ring up my real friends").

The voice in the transmission is conflicted because true healing leaves a vacuum. 

Your home feels empty, and the silence is loud.

However, self-awareness is the saving grace.

Recognising that the darkness is seductive but ultimately isolating is the first step toward staying on the path of recovery.

Reach out to your real friends. 

Maybe even me. 

The transmission warns against facing the emptiness alone.

Reconnecting with human, living relationships is exactly how you fill the space left behind by the shadow.

(A tired voice whispers)

It was 3 years ago that I first saw it in my long mirror.

A black dog watching in the shadows.

Then 6 months later, in full view but at a distance. Watching.

Now four years later, it's my best friend.

He follows me everywhere. 

Sleeps beside me, and lately I can hear him talking.

Talking about my father and about his end.

I went to see Old Shala, and she read my aura and said I was being stalked by a Lylak. 

She asked if I had lost anyone. 

I said my wife, and she said depression had opened a portal, and it had gotten closer and closer.

So with her permission, we had a ceremony.

Candles, incantations, and incense.

Looking in her long mirror, I sensed and watched my only friend leave my side with sad, heavy eyes, and slowly move away to the shadows.

When it was in the shadows, the mirror was suddenly broken, trapping it, and another thing happened, which I cannot say to this day.

I paid and left.

Now back alone. 

I still see its red eyes in the dark.

Everywhere in my now empty home 

Shall I call it out?

To that old friend of mine, or ring up my real friends?

(C) 

Copyright John Duffy 

Have you heard the sirens call

 

Blessed be. 

Velumbound. 

In Homer's Odyssey, the Sirens sang beautiful songs to lure sailors to their destruction. 

By comparing old memories to these sirens, this transmission highlights how dangerous and alluring nostalgia can be. 

It calls to you from the past, threatening to pull you away from your present life.

One of the most unique lines in the transmission refers to memories as "spiritual subpoenas." 

A subpoena is a legal order commanding someone to appear in court. 

By framing old memories this way, the transmission beautifully expresses how nostalgia isn't always a choice;

The past commands your attention, forcing you to look back and "relitigate" those old feelings whether you want to or not.

This whisper captures the haunting, almost inescapable nature of past romance through a powerful mix of spiritual, cinematic, and mythological imagery.

Let us begin. 

(A lone voice whispers)

Have you revisited old memories in the way hours of night

When ghosts of old love call to play

And you reminisce about all the sweet things they once said

First love

Now love 

Old love

Do they still wake you in deep dreams of an old life 

Once led

Summoning your attention with spiritual subpoenas

With memories of a time

When you rode your chariot proudly with them

Like a hyper Judah Ben-Hur

Into all arenas 

Before that old love 

Shattered into a million pieces 

Like glass

And which now call like midnight sirens 

In your own Odyssey

From the past

From a once holy dream

You thought

Forever

Would last

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

Have you walked through Hell?

 

Blessed be. 

Velumbound. 

A continuation of today's theme. 

The philosophical belief that deep despair and "hell" are mandatory prerequisites for personal growth and finding true "heaven."

Have you walked through Hell to find a version of your own personal Heaven? 

(A lone voice whispers)

Consumed by time's long reach

My old love now walks on a new beach

No more Greenwich Village walks

Trips downtown to Manhattan

No more listening to Van Morrison on a hot Sunday afternoon 

Drinking cold lemonade 

In the shade 

As passing yellow butterflies played 

Smiling in unison 

Watching the local ice cream van sound its arrival

With that particular catchy tune

Or reading Dostoevsky 

Page by page 

Aloud 

Or creating poetry

Together

I guess 

Looking back with my rose-tinted glasses taken off 

It was like a prophecy in the Book of Revelations

To find heaven,

You must first face hell

Walk through the oncoming Apocalypse

Breathe in the final moments of despair 

See your once bright sunflower wither and float away 

To some sacrificial altar where they all go

Drawn by a dark power

Down some old black as death itself river

For like the Lotus flower

 

We sometimes need to grow in the sludge 

To bloom

(C)

Copyright John Duffy

Have you been refined?

 Blessed be. 

Velumbound. 

Sunday's transmission is based on "Have you been refined?" 

As it expresses a core principle of spiritual dualism and soul refinement, suggesting that both positive ("light" / "the Good") and negative ("darkness" / "the Bad") life experiences are essential components of human spiritual growth.

For every time you smiled, you grew. 

And every time you hurt, you found the inner strength 

To renew

For a life devoid of hardship or darkness would be incomplete and incapable of fostering true spiritual maturity.

Let us begin. 

(A lone voice whispers) 

Cosmic Law says we all need darkness and light to grow.

For the Good and Bad refine the soul

Before we are recalled

By our Lord

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

Are you a spellcaster?

 

Blessed be 

Velumbound. 

This transmission speaks of the transformative power of spellcasting using poetry. 

Framing the act of writing as an ancient, sacred, and redemptive form of magic.

(A lone voice whispers) 

Did no one tell you that true Magic exists

Just hidden somewhere deep 

In most societies

Sought after by convicts of the mundane

Profane addicts, who cry out in the mists

Whenever they're asleep 

In pain

Some crying out for redemption or anything linked to temptation 

But still, it subsists in so many obscure places

And upon so many new or old altars, does it reside

For when it comes out to tempt the eyes of the juggernaut 

Known as The Great Metatron 

To look

One of the most powerful archangels, and interdimensional scribes

To the Book of Life

It causes so many other emotions, to like atoms collide

In the deep minds behind inquisitive eyes and faces

From all genders and races

As imagery

Emotions and engagement run wide

For the Philosopher's Stone

The Great Secret

Is simply this

There's an old piece of magic in us 

All 

But sometimes, it only chooses to come out in those it made to speak

After a mighty fall

Maybe like you

Too

A new acolyte who once heard the nightly call

And now speaks a sacred hidden language

That summons the craft of 

Reconceptualising the enchantment of the human experience

Through an incredible naming magical act

Breathing 

Moulding and weaving 

Words into life

Like a pagan mage giving shape to energy 

A molten flux to entertain the curious ones 

Of any age

That needs something magical written in verse

As they turn one of your spiritual pages

To help save them from their own form of self-destruction 

And maybe anything that still hurts

Before their last ride home

In Old Nick's black hearse

As you serve your new masters and mistresses 

Of the magical vibrations known as Poetry

By sharing your magic as it pleads to be dispersed

(C) Copyright John Duffy 

The Postman

 

Elham Speaks

 

 Blessed be. 

Velumbound. 

(A lone voice whispers)

Hey you

My curious reading friend

One of the bright lights 

Not tempted or dimmed by consumerism

Big Tech and all it dumbs down 

As it slowly infects

Thanks for visiting me at Halloween

In 2026 again 

Did you know all Time is just like a slow-moving river

And you're all walking unconsciously upstream 

Through its wet, ever-flowing waters 

Of glistening gold and silver

As it flows from the Great Lights

Many hidden fissures 

Walking upstream towards your own inevitable end

Wandering alongside all those you respect 

Adore or even hate

But if you're lucky

Like I think and know you are

You'll be forever surrounded by incredible, extraordinary people 

Who'll all try to support and help you

Find the profound strength to empower and fire up your dreams 

Like a Drag car engine

And not fall 

As you try to walk upstream

Those from the Lands of the Living and those from in here  

Your ancestors like your much-loved forefathers or beloved mothers

Uncles or Aunties

Sisters or brothers

All watching from just behind this Blue Portal

Here in the Great In-Between 

Who wants you to succeed in this

The oldest of great games

Playing your role in the grandest of Schemes

This is my new message that I send all the way from Jagaroo's Cove

Just for those like you

Who may need it

So they can live by a new code 

As they walk through those cold waters 

Which will, for Eternity

Flow

I can only pray it helps you cope 

More than you'll ever comprehend 

It's simple, really

If you're lonely

Neglected or feel rejected

Reach out to someone

Anyone

Or just talk it through 

In the light 

Never in the dark

For you're never alone before you ascend 

And someone will create a bridge 

To a new form of happiness

Through an act of inconceivable magic 

Some know it as kindness

Some know it as the Laws of Attraction

But action in whatever name 

To help dispel those dark clouds brought about by one of life's eternal elementals

Mr Tragic

Tasked to collect walkers early for his master

The Grim Reaper

Just be courageous to talk as you walk

Until the next time 

Your forever friend

From within the long Shadows

Standing getting wet 

In the gold and silver river that never bends

Elham 

The Lost Angel 

Praying your soul is soon purified and cleansed

Through a small act of magic 

Whenever needed 

As you walk upstream 

To see the soul-lifting sights at the End

(C)

Copyright John Duffy

 

Are you walking down Freedom Road

 Blessed be. 

Velumbound. 

Tonight's transmission is a song of spiritual redemption, resilience, and the transition from earthly suffering to eternal peace. 

It frames life as a journey (a "race" or "Freedom Road") where pain, loss, and darkness are not the end, but necessary steps toward a final, divine homecoming. 

The message is deeply hopeful: faith acts as an unshakeable anchor that removes all fear of the unknown, transforming scars into stories and earthly endings into spiritual beginnings.

Shall we begin? 

(A lone voice whispers) 

As my cards turn

As this old world burns

I know not where I'll go

Down Freedom Road

As this lone white candle

Blows into the night

I know not where I'm going

But I'll follow the light

All those sweet things

We once shared

Drift like autumn leaves

Upon the air

And the wind keeps calling

So I keep walking on

With nothing left to fear now

And a faith that's growing strong

Down Freedom Road

I carry my soul

Where the wind keeps calling

And the lost find home

I'm not afraid

No, not anymore

The Lord is waiting

At the journey's door

Down Freedom Road

Where every broken heart comes home

Oh, Freedom Road

Oh, Freedom Road

I'm carrying my soul

Down Freedom Road

I'm not afraid of the pain

Not afraid to walk

Barefoot in the rain

For I run to the Lord

Now my work is done

To rest in the shade

Of the Eternal Sun

And I'll wait to see

The Almighty

And the Holy Son

When my race is run

And the wind keeps calling

So I keep walking on

Every scar becomes a story

Every ending leads me home

Down Freedom Road

I carry my soul

Where the wind keeps calling

And the lost find home

I'm not afraid

No, not anymore

The Lord is waiting

At the journey's door

Down Freedom Road

Where every broken heart comes home

As these cards keep turning

And this old world burns

Every mile I travel

Is another lesson learned

The candle may flicker

The night may be long

But faith keeps singing

Its quiet song

I have walked through the darkness

I have weathered the rain

I have loved, I have lost

I have lived through the pain

And if the road grows narrow

I'll keep moving on

For the light is still waiting

At the end of the storm

Down Freedom Road

I carry my soul

Where the wind keeps calling

And the lost find home

I'm not afraid

No, not anymore

The Lord is waiting

At the journey's door

Down Freedom Road

Where every broken heart comes home

Down Freedom Road

To the Eternal Sun

When this life is over

And my race is run

As this lone candle flickers

And the night winds blow

I'll follow the light

Where the faithful go

Down Freedom Road

Until I see

The Almighty

And the Holy Son

Down Freedom Road...

(C) 

Copyright John Duffy 

Have you got secrets?

 Blessed be. 

Velumbound. 

This short, evocative transmission explores the tension between secret desires, vulnerability, and the boundaries of expression. 

It uses rich, contrasting imagery to capture a deeply private internal state.

Let us begin. 

(A lone voice whispers (

Will you confess 

Have you felt a sweet disorder in distress

Laid in bed

Wet mentally with thoughts of such wantonness

That can never be shared or expressed

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

The Kuntilanak Queen

 

Blessed be. 

Velumbound. 

This transmission is a dark, contemporary folklore piece that blends Southeast Asian mythology, New Age occultism, and modern sports culture. 

The transmission recounts a terrifying, supernatural ambush by the Kuntilanak (a vampiric ghost in Indonesian and Malay folklore), using highly physical, rhythmic, and subversive imagery to explore themes of vulnerability, spiritual predation, and the loss of innocence. 

"A lone voice whispers" effectively modernises a classic piece of Southeast Asian folklore. 

It does so by framing the Kuntilanak's attack through the lens of energetic harvesting ("Looshe") and using aggressive sporting metaphors. 

It captures the helplessness of a seventeen-year-old victim caught in the grip of a powerful, ancient force. 

It is a cautionary tale about the unseen dangers lurking just outside the boundaries of our understood reality.

Shall we begin? 

(A lone voice whispers)

She came like a beautiful house crow

In the middle of the night 

Under the full Moon

Dressed all in white

Flying straight from somewhere 

So hidden 

And out of sight 

Smelling of the Plumeria flower

She looked me 

Straight up and down 

With a frown 

Like a crying baby

Where she stood 

Then knocked me 

Suddenly

To the cold ground 

Mounted me like a young Hayley Turner 

Looking for a quick earner 

With a Ke-ke-ke sound

With a new learner 

And that my friend 

Is how I got bit 

Bit really darn hard 

By the true queen 

Of all humanity's hidden backyards 

The Kuntilanak

The crow queen who appeared one night 

Hidden out of sight

From The Great In-Between

And mounted me like Hayley Turner 

For a quick Looshe earner

When I was only seventeen 

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

The Kuntilanak (Indonesian name), also called Pontianak (Malay name), or Yakshi in Hinduism/ Hindu mythology, is a mythological creature in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. 

Hayley Turner is the most successful professional female jockey in history.

Looshe

1. A New Age term applied to energy produced by human beings that other entities use to feed from. 

 It's also used to refer to the energy that is produced by suffering that entities feed from.