Here’s a picture of the cover, done by Kat Lunoe. Doesn’t it look great? Magical Identity is currently being edited. I had to switch editors, which pushed the book release date back to March of 2012. However I’m not presenting at Pantheacon this year, so it actually works out that the book will be out a bit later. It gives me time to finish revisions and add in some more content that I’ve developed since I finished the first draft.

I’m reading the very last book I need to read for research. I’ve actually taken a little break from it, because I’ve spent the last couple months reading books I’d found out about that could be relevant to the book. All that reading reminds me of graduate school, where I’d literally spend up to 12 hours reading (they’d have preferred 16 but I believed in having fun time…it’s not an approved academic activity however).

I’m really excited about almost having this book done. I’ll be doing radio interviews soon about it and just knowing that finally, after so many years I’ve got another book on magic coming out…That has me pumped.It might be the last book for a little while as well. I have ideas for other books, but I’m very much at a pre-research phase with those books. However, I think Magical Identity will be my best book yet, especially because it deals with themes of space and time as well as neuroscience.

• Innovative explorations of magical traditions
• Experimental techniques with contemporary disciplines such as space/time magic, internal alchemy, laboratory alchemy, etc.,
• Creative meditation practices
• Got an idea? Run it by me and I’ll give you feedback (see contact info below).

Megalithica Books, an imprint of Immanion Press (Stafford, U.K./Portland, OR, U.S.A.) is seeking submissions for a magic anthology from the perspective of practitioners with disabilities or developmental differences. This includes but is not limited to practitioners with mental, cognitive, emotional, physical or sensory impairments and/or practitioners who are part of the Deaf or Blind community.  We have not come up with a title for the anthology yet. That will hopefully present itself through the contributions.

There is much debate about how the words “disabled” and “disabilities”. For the purpose of this publication; however, we’ll use the World Health Organization’s definition: “Disabilities is an umbrella term, covering impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions. An impairment is a problem in body function or structure; an activity limitation is a difficulty encountered by an individual in executing a task or action; while a participation restriction is a problem experienced by an individual in involvement in life situations.”

This anthology is intended to explore magical, occult, and esoteric topics from the view points of practitioners who are disabled or part of the Deaf and Blind community. Equality and access within the magic/Pagan community and society in general are important issues. You can include them as a part of your submission but not the whole. Keep in mind that addressing such topics aren’t the sole purpose of this anthology. When thinking about your submission consider what rituals and practices are or have been most beneficial to you. What mystical or magical experiences or knowledge shaped your life for the better? Contributers can be from any magical background or tradition. With all Megalithica publications, the intention with this anthology is to go beyond introductory matters whenever possible.

We are accepting:

essays (academic and personal)

short rituals, prayers, meditations, activities, or spells (not lists of correspondences)

We are especially interested in rituals that take into account limited mobility or immobility, sight impairments, and rituals for the Deaf and blind. Also, some practitioners with disabilities have limited attention spans and would benefit from shorter rituals that include minimal visualization.

Some suggested topics:

Practicing magic in hospitals or other facilities. How can you improvise while complying with facility regulations?

Is the state of the body and mind a reflection of a persons purity or power? Is it a sign of the practitioner working out past wrongs?

Psychological or physical emergencies as shamanic or magical breakthroughs.

Do we choose our bodies and experiences? Do the Gods/Goddesses or Divinity create our bodies or experiences this way for a reason?

Medical symbols and their Pagan history and magical properties. How to enchant and use these symbols.

Gods and Goddesses of Health- such as Asclepius and his daughters. For example: Hygieia whose name is the source of the word hygiene. There is a lot of Pagan history in the medical community.

How to discern spirits, entities and magical experiences when you are dealing with health issues that can impair judgment such as being on pain medication, dealing with mental illness, etc.

How a disability or impairment offers a new perspective on magic practice and theory.

How communing with nature has it’s rewards (i.e. ecopsychology or closeness to a specific God(dess) etc.) and challenges (i.e.  mobility issues)

Working magic with companion and/or guide animals or stories about their spiritual significance.

What are some ways to find self-acceptance and empowerment?

Viewing scars from surgery, injury or otherwise as part of your story or “battle scars” or proof of survival.

From the first diagnosis of disease or disability to the loss of a physical function or independence, we feel grief. How can we cope with grief?

Ways to mend the fragmented self i.e. lucid dreaming, soul retrieval, astral travel.

Working with archetypes or mythic images.

These suggestions barely touch the myriad of possibilities. We’re interested in any other topics contributors wish to explore. It’s your voices that will make this anthology powerful and possible.

Requirements for submission:

Citations for all quoted, paraphrased, or otherwise unoriginal material

Bibliography for works cited

Use the Modern Language Association (MLA) Style http://www.library.cornell.edu/resrch/citmanage/mla

Send the file in Word or RTF format

Do write in your voice! If you’re academically inclined or trained, feel free to be as intelligent and technical as you like. If your work entirely speaks in the first person about your own experience, that is also permissible, but please use a more formal writing style for as much as possible in your piece that is not quoted speech. Unless you do so sparingly, or define your terms (either in the main text or footnotes), DO NOT use lolcat-speak, text message speak, or anything else that could be considered para-English. Our lives are full of abbreviations and “lingo” which we understand but others may not, even people with different disabilities. Please define any “lingo” you use such as Talk Doc (psychotherapist) or P Doc (psychologist) or medical abbreviations.

Rough drafts are due March 01, 2012. These drafts will be edited in a back-and-forth process with the editor. Essays need to be 1500-4000 words, although if your work falls outside those limits, do submit it – we can discuss this during the editing process. Do drop me an email if you are unsure whether your idea fits into the content. We hope to include many voices and the sooner you start the communication process the better.

If your essay is not accepted for the anthology, we will tell you after the first round of edits. All contributors will be provided with a contract upon final acceptance of their essays, not when they are accepted for editing. Compensation will be a free print copy or an e-book of the anthology when it is published and additional copies sold at 40% off the cover price to contributers.

The anthology will be edited by Tara “Masery” Miller. Her blog, the Staff of Asclepius, is featured in the Pagan Portal at Patheos.com. It’s for Pagans with mental, physical or sensory impairments; who are in recovery from major injuries or addiction; and/or who are members of the Deaf or Blind community. “It’s a place to share how a spiritual and magical life gives us strength or peace through all of life’s joys and struggles. There are also news updates and interviews with Pagans and experts on various topics affecting the community.”  http://www.patheos.com/community/paganswithdisabilities/  She has Turner Mosaic which created a massive failure of her endocrine system causing many health problems.

Immanion Press is a small independent press based in the United Kingdom. Founded by author Storm Constantine in 2003, it expanded into occult nonfiction in 2004 with the publication of Taylor Ellwood’s Pop Culture Magick. Today, Immanion’s nonfiction line, under the Megalithica Books imprint, has a growing reputation for edgy, experimental texts on primarily intermediate and advanced pagan and occult topics. Find out more at http://www.immanion-press.com.

My writing has been called chaos magic for dummies and I’ve been told it hasn’t broken much ground by people who have as much admitted they don’t really practice magic (that one still boggles me). I maintain I’m not a chaos magician. I’m an experimental magician. Chaos magic is  just one of many systems I’ve drawn on, and not even the most significant, but I guess when you don’t do anything that’s considered traditional, its get lumped in as chaos magic. Regardless if it isn’t traditional, you will get flak for it, or be ignored…

I get my books published by a small independent press, that I co-own, in part because I don’t trust large publishers who seem more interested in the bottom line and in the broadest possible audience than in anything I might have to write. I’ve built the non-fiction line of Immanion Press based on the belief and idea that there is an audience for niche and advanced topics. It’s something I continue to hold to and as a result we’ve been able to publish books and anthologies that likely would never be published otherwise.

I’m saying all this because I am a contrary person and I don’t regret any of it. I’m saying this because fitting in isn’t all that important. I fully acknowledge my responsibility for not fitting in…because it’s a choice.

I stand on the outside looking in. I have stood on the outside looking in many, many times during my life, and in many different communities.I stand on the outside and I welcome it because of the perspectives it has brought me. I welcome it because being outside the mainstream of a subculture or culture can take you some interesting places and can cause you to challenge what is accepted in a way that forces whatever is accepted to really examine itself.

I don’t know that I will ever fit in to the pagan or occult communities. I’m grateful that I have, over the years, gained some recognition from people who have found real value in my work. There is something very humbling about hearing someone tell you that you’ve inspired his/her’s magical practice and even life choices. It makes you realize that you can have a positive effect on people’s lives.

I have always advocated that people should challenge authority, and should go their own way. My entire life has been about going my own way, even though going my own way hasn’t involved taking the obvious routes of rebellion that some occultists take. I’ve had many people try and discourage my vision for my life. “That book will never get published” or “your reinventing the wheel” or “Your not hardcore enough” or any number of other things. I’ve always maintained they’re wrong and I’m right…because when it applies to my life, the only person who can really make a judgment call on if what I’m doing is right or wrong is me. The people who have tried to discourage me are people who just don’t get it…they don’t get that you don’t need to fit in with what everyone else is doing. You just need to be who you want to be…and let that manifest in your choices. You also have to accept the consequences, like some of the ones I mentioned above. You have to accept that you won’t fit in, that you will be disliked and that what’s more important is your vision. Life isn’t about pleasing everyone…it’s about being true to yourself so you can also be true to the people who really matter.

I stand on the outside looking in…It’s a pretty damn good view, if I say so myself.

Book Review Earth Light (Affiliate Link) by R. J. Stewart

This book is a continuation of Underworld Initiation. In this book Stewart presents further refinements to his system as well as explaining and presenting information about the faery and how they can be worked with. The pathworkings he provides are useful for exploring the tradition further. I’ll admit that my main interest is in the techniques and I found these to be solid and very helpful for some of my ongoing work. I highly recommend this book.

Fulltrui: Patrons in Asatru

Throughout history, the ancient Northern people claimed themselves devoted to their gods. In many of the sagas and folklore, the ancients even trace back lineage directly to the divine. Today, in modern heathenry close personal relationships with deities have returned with full force. FULLTRÚI examines this phenomenon by showing real life examples of people living with patron gods.

The Inner Guide to the Megaliths by Alan Richardson

Megalithic remains are still scattered across the countryside thousands of years after being built, and their meaning – like dreams – are often the subject of intense and varying interpretation. Ordinary folk have been unexpectedly touched by these ancient sites, had the most inexplicable experiences, and have felt their own lives enlarged.

Advancing the Witches Craft by Marcus Griffin

What would you do if one of the most powerful magical forces imaginable were within your grasp? There is an entity that exists on the spirit plane that, in its purist form, is an astral projection of your magical self. And the only boundary it knows is you. This unknown entity is your shadow spirit, your “other”. Through as series of exercises, guided meditations and realignment, you will discover how to contact and join with this entity to obtain a flow of magical power and balance you never thought possible. Advancing the Witches’ Craft delves deeply into this greatly untapped resource of power that has always been available to every Witch.

Drumming the Spirit to Life” is about why people drum. Drumming has affected all cultures and is an indispensable tool for healing, joy, evolution, and community. Russell Buddy Helm’s drumming journey includes pictures and some simple explanations of technique without the need of musical training or paralyzing self-criticism.

Rhythm is our old friend that we will always need for healing and to help us celebrate. We can’t help but develop an eager interest in drumming as a tool for personal growth and wisdom. There is humor and excitement in this type of drumming, and acceptance, regardless of the individual’s musical ability.

Those already drumming can use this book as a reference for improvisation. There are no wrong notes. The Downbeat, a New Orleans jazz term, unites everyone in our common world grooves. Rhythm is our most ancient survival tool. There is encouragement for the beginner and also the advanced players. Scientific insights show how rhythm affects our minds and bodies, yet exists outside the intellect, residing in our hearts and our souls, always forgiving, ready to be played so share the groove!

Dancing With Spirits by Denny Sargent focuses on Shinto and Buddhist festivals in Japan, discussing the mythology and current day practice of those festivals. We’ve just published this book.

Bridging the Gap by Crystal Blanton discusses what it takes to create a successful pagan community, as well as what can stop it from happening. Another recent publication by us.

Ogam Weaving Word Wisdom by Erynn Rowan Laurie is one of our more popular titles. She explains what Ogam are and how to work with them from a Celtic Reconstructionist perspective.

Women’s Voices in Magic edited by Brandy Williams is one of our recent anthologies. It is an anthology of female magicians and their perspective on magic that they are doing and the magic culture as a whole.

And many, many more books with topics ranging from cultural appropriation to chaos magic to pathworking to Ritual Magic, all written by very talented magicians. Check out the link to see a full list of books.

On a personal note, I’m really happy to be selling all of these books again. The non-fiction line of books is something I’ve put a lot of work into as an editor and layout design person. Other people, including Lupa, my ex-wife have also contributed a lot of time and effort, but I was the one who started the line-up and although there’s been occasions where I’ve felt a little burned out, its one of my callings in life to help publish and sell edgy, experimental, good occult books.

My post about definitions could easily also apply to the word models. The word models is used a lot in magic theory. There is the spiritual model, the psychological model, the model for this or the model for that. But I don’t think definitions are really models. I do think models are metaphors that attempt to categorize magic, whereas I think definitions are less about categorization and more about making meaning, or maybe even making connection through meaning. You can’t really have connection if some kind of meaning isn’t involved and definitions are all about meaning, the establishment of it as the way to understand what’s around and within.

A Note about Immanion Press

I’m still involved in Immanion Press. At one point, in the winter, I gave some serious thought to leaving Immanion Press as the managing editor and heading for the hills as it were, but then the divorce happened and I figured that was a big enough change in my life. The purpose of Immanion Press, as it applies to occult books, is to publish the books other publishers won’t touch and/or reprint what’s out of print. And I think we’ve published some great books by some great authors and I hope we continue to.

What isn’t realized, I think, is that for all intents and purposes Immanion Press is volunteer run. I don’t really get paid for doing the editing, layout, or managing of other editors. It’s a lot of work and it’s mostly a labor of love, save on those occasions when it can become a labor of hate.

I won’t be at the Esoteric Book Conference this year representing Immanion Press. Lupa will be there, and you can buy books from the press through her. I have mixed feelings on how much I will represent the esoteric book line in the future, since I no longer do any of the distribution for it, beyond my own books. I’ll still do the managing editor part, but I figure it’s time to focus on myself a bit more, which includes finishing some writing I’ve been working on, so I actually have a justifiable reason to show up at a conference.

Review of Sacred Kink by Lee Harrington

What I most enjoyed about this book was Lee’s efforts to provide detailed information about each path and create a framework for people from multiple belief systems to engage in the incorporation of kink to their spirituality. Lee’s expertise as both a sex educator and spiritual teacher shows through in this book time and time again. He provides excellent examples and also useful definitions for understanding each path. I found a lot in this book that I know I can apply to my own spiritual practices and I think anyone else would find a similar treasure trough.

5 out of 5

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Megalithica Books, an imprint of Immanion Press (Stafford, U.K./Portland, OR, U.S.A) is seeking submissions for an anthology on people of color working in magical communities.  This anthology will be an opportunity to get the voices and experiences of minorities within the Pagan community out to the world and address some of the challenges, stereotyping, frustrations and the beauty of being different within the racial construct of typical Pagan or Wiccan groups. These communities include (but are not limited to) groups and individuals working in Wicca, Voodoo, Umbanda, Shaman, and other Pagan paths.

Many of the roots of Paganism have come from the lands of people of color yet the mainstreaming of Wicca has elevated images of worship and deity that connect with Celtic, Greek or Roman cultures.  This can have an exclusive effect on those who’s culture or ancestry fall outside of those categories.  Interestingly enough people of color within Paganism are often walking between the worlds of their birth ancestry and culture and that of their spiritual culture.  This anthology is an opportunity to share your stories and experiences with others around being a minority in our spiritual community.

Here are some suggested topics to give you an idea of the focus of this anthology.

Your experience of integration into the Pagan community

Magical work

Ancestor work

Integrating your birth culture with your spiritual workings

Personal experiences and thoughts around how being of color within the Pagan community was significant.
What magical work are you doing now? How do you describe it? Do you work alone, in a group, or in several settings?

Your birth culture and spiritual workings

Stereotypes and prejudice
Being the only person of color in a coven, group or community

Sharing your culture and history with other Pagans

Cultural history

Sub-culture of African Americans, Hispanics or other minority groups within Wicca or Paganism.

Is there a sense of acceptance within the magical community you work in? Do you encounter resistance in your magical community or acceptance?

What do you feel is needed to be more inclusive of racial diversity in Pagan communities

Rough drafts are due July 15, 2010. These drafts will be edited in a back-and-forth process with the editor. Essays should be 1500-4000 words, although if your work falls outside those limits, do submit it – we can discuss this during the editing process. Drop us an email if you are unsure whether your idea fits into the content. The sooner you start the communication process the better, as after the deadline we won’t be considering additional ideas.

Essay requirements:
• Citations for all quoted, paraphrased, or otherwise unoriginal material
• Bibliography of works cited
• Prefer APA format

Do write in your voice! If you’re academically inclined or trained, feel free to be as intelligent and technical as you like. If your work entirely talks in the first person about your own experience, please include this also. There is a wide range of voices, and we are interested in being as inclusive of style as possible.

Accepted contributors will receive a free copy of the anthology when it is published and additional copies sold at 40% off the cover price to contributors. All contributors will be provided with a contract upon final acceptance of their essays, not when they are accepted for editing. If your essay is not accepted for the anthology, we will tell you after the first round of edits.

The anthology will be edited by Crystal Blanton. She is the author of an upcoming pagan/occult nonfiction book called Bridging the Gap; Working Within the Dynamics of Pagan Groups and Society. She may be found online at http://www.crystalblanton.org and her email address for this anthology is crystal@crystalblanton.com.

Immanion Press is a small independent press based in the United Kingdom. Founded by author Storm Constantine, it expanded into occult nonfiction in 2004 with the publication of Taylor Ellwood’s Pop Culture Magick. Today, Immanion’s nonfiction line, under the Megalithica Books imprint, has a growing reputation for edgy, experimental texts on primarily intermediate and advanced pagan and occult topics. Find out more at http://www.immanion-press.com.

I want to announce that I have started writing my new book Neuro Space Time Magic. I’m just about finished with the first chapter. I’ll be making periodical updates on here as I progress with it.