The Story of Willow – as told by Aunty Lunah

March 29th, 2016. 13h15.

Life as the d’Eir tribe knew it, changed forever.

It was a beautifully sunny day at Frankie’s place, where we’d all met up to celebrate Chevelle’s (Frankie’s daughter) birthday. The potjie was on the fire, the red wine was flowing, there was playful banter and laughter all around. Needless to say, it was a perfect day to find out that two of my closest friends, Tamaryn and Dagan Nightalon, had decided to try for another baby.

An open letter to the South African Vampyre Community – by Octarine Valur

I am Octarine Valur. You may have heard of me, you may have heard a few interesting things about me. Some of them may even be true. I’m called the founder of South Africa’s VC. I’m called ‘Regent’ of the SA Vampyre Alliance. Some have called me ‘despot’ and some have even mocked me by calling me ‘Queen’. You may wonder which of these things is true, and you may be wondering what the SAVA is about.

Despot? Queen? No. I am neither of those things. Anyone who knows vamps, knows that getting a group of us to face in the same direction at the same time is like herding cats. Not all of us would agree about anything at the same time or in the same way, and neither would all of us get along or see eye to eye. A strong leader gets things done, a passionate leader holds on until it is.

I am Regent of the SAVA, yes. I founded the SAVA, yes – after spending several years in search of the elusive South African Vampyre Community online, and of finding nothing more than a handful of solitaries interested in becoming something more, something bigger, and more real and significant. An actual community. A family.

That’s what the SAVA is about – making the community around it into a family. The SAVA is an organization started in May 2011, and its purpose was to build the SA VC, beyond the isolated little FB groups and offline solitary vamps scattered across South Africa – to create a thriving network of real-life Vampyre covens, courts and social groups. To some degree, SAVA has succeeded.

Today we have at least one House in our community, House Valur and its two covens, d’Eir and Veritas – and the SAVA and its various projects are our legacy. Today, thanks to the efforts of the SAVA, vampyric Pagans can participate openly in Pagan groups and within the Pagan community with understanding and without fear of prejudice. Thanks to the SAVA, the SA VC has a face and a voice. Despite the criticism brought against us over the years, our critics have never delivered anything worthy of compare to the SAVA.

This is to let you know – the Awakened of South Africa – we are here. We’re here for you, and we’re not going anywhere. Take our hand – join us in making the SA VC better!

Congratulations, Lunah!

Congratulations to Lady Lunah Valur Eir (Primus of Coven d’Eir, Secundus of House Valur, Praetor to the Regency at SAVA) on her induction into that prestigious, greatly respected and noteworthy international body known as the Voices of the Vampire Community (VVC)! 

The Future of the SA VC – Decided

The survey launched on last Friday has now closed. As promised, the results are tallied and posted below for transparency.

Despite the survey being linked to and distributed across all known South African VC groups as well as cross-posted to in local Pagan groups and even a few international VC groups, and several admonitions to complete the survey, the number of responses received in this week was only 25.

SAVA & the SA VC – A South African Success Story

SAVA & the SA VC – A South African Success Story: An Open Letter To The South African Vampyre Community by Octarine Valur

2015 was a long and difficult year for many of us and I have again watched the SA VC’s activity dwindle over the past few months, from a continuously bubbling and bright pot of cheer into a dull gray stagnant cauldron. Honestly I can’t point fingers at anyone this year as I too have been very quiet since August, distracted by dayside matters requiring my full attention just to make ends meet and to survive. Life in South Africa today is easy – yes, as easy as treading water in an ocean, surrounded by hungry sharks.

There are some who have made a habit of lurking in the shadows, waiting to see if this year will be the year that the South African Vampyre Alliance (SAVA) and the community it spawned will breathe their last. Will it be 2015? Or 2016? Does the SA VC – and SAVA its core – still have any life left to it?

The SA Vampyre Academy Reiki Survey: How It Came About

I’ve always been curious about what we as self-identifying Vampyres are – and as a vamp myself, what it is that makes us different from other people – if we are at all different – and if so, if there is a way to identify us by these differences.

For a while I have been consulting various Reiki practitioners – face to face and online, for a variety of different reasons. In July I was chatting to a Reiki practitioner who has become fairly well-known in the local VC as a Reiki healer specializing in the care of Vampyres or ‘vampyric people’ as some prefer to be called.

The topic came up about how a Reiki healer might be able to tell the difference between a Vampyre and a non-Vampyre, and if a random Reiki healer might even notice a difference between the two.

Are Vampyres Perceptibly Different To Non-Vampyres? 10/10 Reiki Practitioners Say “YES!”

In a poll conducted between July and August 2015 the South African Vampyre Academy, a VC research and statistics gathering entity, found that ten out of ten Reiki practitioners interviewed claimed to be not only aware of Vampyres and vampyric people, but also to be able to identify them by their energy signatures, by sight, feel or touch, suggesting that there is something definable and different between Vampyres or vampyric people and non-Vampyres which warrants further investigation.

RIP Sanguinarius 1970-2015

The South African Vampyre Community mourns the loss of a great international VC icon, Sanguinarius, a pioneer and an inspiration. Our sincere condolences to her next of kin, friends and associates and to all who have been touched by her immense support and community work over the years. RIP Sangi ❤

Vampirology Poll Ruffles A Few Feathers

In the past few days, a poll was posted on the Vampyre Academy website, one which asked essentially one question twice with two sets of alternative answers. The poll began with a statement:

“The dictionary defines a vampirologist as ‘one who studies vampirology’ or ‘A person that researches, studies, and discusses vampires in both the fictional and real world and the trends that follow them.’ Please give your input on how you as a VC participant think a vampirologist should measure up to this definition.”

House Valur Announcement: Consolidation Into Family

[It is my honor and pleasure to share this here – Val]

As of today, members of the esteemed House Valur will act as one family within the Vampyre Community.

In what is hoped to be the first example of its kind in the South African Vampyre Community, the House membership will consolidate its VC-related assets into one grouping, creating something not unlike a conventional family structure, and harking also after similar House/Coven structures abroad.