The hand-parting

On Sunday, my ex-wife Lupa and I did our hand-parting. We've ended the marriage in a very amicable way and are still friends. In fact, we both recognize that we make great friends, but lousy spouses. Since the hand-parting happened, I've noticed a definite shift in my sense of identity, as well as on an energetic level. In my chest, when we did the hand-parting, I felt a loosening up of energy, a final uncoiling of everything that had previously held us together.

Since then I've felt a wide range of emotions. There's some lingering sadness, and also a lot of relief. There's a lot I learned in this marriage, in the life we shared together, and a lot I take away in recognition of that. The biggest lesson I've learned is to be honest with myself as completely as possible, especially if I hope to have a good relationship with someone else. That applies to friendships as much as any other kind of relationship, but it was in my marriage to Lupa that I really learned this lesson...and she expressed similar sentiments at the hand-parting, which tells me I was in good company through this.

Seriously though...For what this relationship with her was, it was what I needed, when I needed it. I wish Lupa the best in her life and I'm glad we're still friends.

Tattoos as magical oaths

I was looking at the green wolf paw tattoo that I got shortly after Lupa and I got married. We're getting divorced now, but it never once occurred to me to get the tattoo removed. In fact, I intend to keep it, because it's a very significant tattoo to me, as are all my other ones. I consider my body to be the most powerful magical "tool" I have. It is a physical embodiment of my life, and a record of that living. When I get a tattoo on my body, I am placing a record of a significant even, entity, or person in my life, but also taking a magical oath in relationship to that event, entity, or person, as it pertains to my life.

My first tattoo is a red orange phoenix with my symbol on it. I got it to signify my choice to move from the East to the West, to signify a Rebirth in my life. It marks my choice to rebirth my life completely and its fair to say since moving to the West coast, I have rebirthed my life in ways I couldn't even imagine.

My second Tattoo is the Green Wolf Paw, with an L in it. It represents Lupa. I got it because I wanted to mark in my skin the permanence of my relationship with Lupa. While we're no longer romantic partners and will soon be divorced, Lupa is a significant person in my life. She will always be in my life, in some capacity just by the fact that we wrote a book together. I'm comfortable with that idea.

My third Tattoo is a Blue Dragon. The Blue Dragon represents PDX and Northern Oregon. It's a magical oath that signifies the recognition that Portland and the surrounding area is my home and a place I intend to live for the rest of my life. While I have admittedly not visited many other countries, I have been all over the US and this is the one place that has always felt like home.

My fourth Tattoo is a pair of eyes and a phrase: From 0 to 1. It represents the year of emptiness work, my connection with my highest self and my vow to recognize and appreciate emptiness, instead of trying to fill it. From 0 to 1 also signifies the choice to manifest possibility into pro-activity, instead of reactivity.

All of these tattoos are powerful for me. They are something I can't remove, because even if I did remove them, something would be left. They are a record of my life, but also oaths I've taken. I've only realized that recently in a fully conscious way, but this recognition speaks mindfully to me of the choices I've made in my life.

Esoteric Book Convention day 2 and pictures

I've been meaning to post this all week, and finally got to it today. I did go to a presentation on Sunday: Brandy William's talk on Chaldean Oracles. It was a really interesting talk and gave me quite a bit of appreciation for Brandy's ability as speaker and presenter.

The lighting on that picture isn't great, but there she is, just about ready to do her talk. The rest of the day was spent talking to various people and selling books. What stood out to me about this convention was the intimacy of it. There was a nice crowd of people, and everyone was there to look at (and buy) books, as well as go to the presentations. I got into some wonderful conversations throughout the entire convention.

Here's a picture of John Coughlin, with his wife Nicole. I met John years ago at Winterstar, but only finally saw him again in person at this event. Needless to say the opportunity to connect with him again and talk at length was really something I appreciated. John's sense of humor, in particular, is something I've always liked and he was just as funny this time as the last time I saw him. He also was a co-panelist with us about small press publishing.

Here's another picture with Erynn and Bill:

And another picture with Brandy and Phil in his furry Fez

The organizers of this event did a wonderful job. William Kiesel, Michael Kolsun, Catmara Rosarium, and Josh Madara put a lot of effort into this conference as did all the volunteers. The volunteers did a great job of making people feel welcome and the organizers put a really good program together for a first convention. Here's a picture of the four above mentioned people:

Finally here's a picture of Lupa and I at our table of books. We definitely left with a lot less books, which made both her and I happy, and from the look on various faces, made other people happy as well. I definitely look forward to going back next year.

Talking About The Elephant now available

Our first order of Talking About the Elephant: An Anthology of Neopagan Perspectives on Cultural Appropriation arrived on the doorstep this morning! If you want a copy signed by Lupa and I click the link above.

This is Lupa's very first anthology that she's edited--She's very excited at how well it turned out! Cultural appropriation is one of those things that really doesn't get broached in the neopagan or occult community very often, and just as when she came up with the idea for this anthology last year, she's hoping that this book will help spark some discussion.

Upcoming Releases from Immanion Press

We here at Immanion Press/Megalithica Books have a couple of surprises! In addition to the imminent arrival of DIY Totemism: Your Personal Guide to Animal Totems, we managed to release two other books this month! Ecstatic Ritual by Brandy Williams is a classic text on practical sex magic that's back in print after nearly two decades. This revised new edition has expanded material, as well as an annotated bibliography and other features. Lupa and I had enjoyed the book as readers several years back, and now we're pleased to be a part of making it available again!

Additionally, a last-minute decision led to the release of the new edition of my Pop Culture Magick. Updated with more recent examples of pop culture, and re-edited to smooth out the writing, the content is still the same innovative ideas about integrating video games, RPGs and other geekery with magical practice. We do have a very small number of the first edition left that we're clearancing out at a discount, too, and you can find information on it at the page above.

podcast interviews on Tarot connection

Interivew with Lupa on Totem cards Interview with me on experiments with tarot and magic

 You know in listening to this episdoe, I'm struck again by how much the ritual I did in it, already has changed my life. Leisa, the host, mentioned that each time a person listened to it, the invocation would occur again...and so there's some space/time magic for you...but also that show and in fact that day made me recognize some realities that were important to me.

The transmutation continues...