Magic

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How to use distraction to improve focus

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Sometimes when I do my daily meditation, I turn on the TV or music and play it in the background where I can see or hear it. And then I do my meditation, using the distractions as a way to focus my mind. You wouldn't think it would work, because it is a distraction, but it does work, because I use the distraction as a focusing tool to help my improve my discipline. Anyone can meditate in a quiet room with nothing going on around them. Admittedly, the distraction then might be the monkey mind chattering away, and it is a potent distraction, but sometimes I find that external distractions are even harder to silence, as it were, because they grab the monkey mind's attention and get it chattering about the distraction.

That's the whole point of having active distractions going on. It forces you to focus or get lost in the distraction. I see meditation as not just a practice to calm my mind, or even focus it, but also as a discipline tool for any kind of magical work I do, and since magic doesn't always occur in the confines of a quiet room, it can be very useful to create an environment where you might need to do some magic.

Its the same reason I'll sometimes meditate near a busy street or in a park where people are playing. Learning how to tune out the distractions is an important skill all occultists to cultivate. When your dealing with the chaos of people around you, or a TV or video game playing it forces you to sharpen your mind, to pay more attention to what you are doing. And that's something we need to do. When we start to take what we're doing for granted, we get sloppy. But if you have to focus all of your attention on what you are doing because of a distraction, it causes you to appreciate anew what it is you are doing and why you're doing it.

So next time you do your daily ritual, do it with a television on, or an obnoxious song playing. Do it where other people are doing things. Use it to focus you on what you are doing. Everything else is just an illusion in the background. All that really exists is you and the magic.

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Further thoughts on theme music and magic

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When I think about theme music, I think of how I can graft a particular song to an emotional mood and then use that song to inspire emotional energy I can use for my magical or business work. Not just any song will do. For instance, I'm listening to DJ Soulslinger while I write this. It's good music, but it doesn't pitch an emotional response in me, so while I enjoy listening to it, I wouldn't use it as a theme. The song has to be something that resonates on an emotional level, something that gets you to feel something, and something that you can sing within your own head, when you can't listen to it. And the emotional response needs to be something you can actually use. If a song makes you feel depressed and you can't find a magical use for it, then it's not a theme song. It might be a song you listen to when you feel down, but a theme song is a call to action, a call to make a change. Now if you can use that song as a way to channel your feelings of depression then it could be a theme song.

Your song doesn't need to have words either. I love the score to Dynasty Tactics 2 and can hum it and find inspiration from it. I've used that score in magical work, as a way to charge my energy. There's no words, but the sounds are enough to invoke an emotional response and that's enough to make it work.

It really comes down to finding music that makes your soul sing and consequently stirs the very power within you necessary to make magic happen. Different music can and does embody different themes. What I would use for a wealth magic working would differ from what I'd use for a love magic working. So long s you can identify a theme that a song fits...use it. You don't need to listen to it to invoke the theme. Just sing it and let it carry your emotions into the magical work you'll be doing.

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Religion and Business part 2

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I recently attended a business luncheon where the keynote speaker spoke about his business. Among other things he talked at some length about how he dedicated his business to God and trusted in the vision and path God revealed to him. Before every major business decision, he'd pray to God for guidance. It was interesting to note that many people in the room seemed quite comfortable with his god talk and seemed to agree with what he did. I'll admit I had my own knee jerk reaction, but I got over it fairly quick and then I really paid attention to what he was discussing, because I realized I could take what he was discussing and apply it with a magical focus. Instead of working with a god (though one could be useful), I could work with a wealth or business entity who's sole purpose was to focus on growing the business. I could even work with the business itself as an entity, consulting with it about major decisions and using its advice. Maybe it sounds a little farfetched, but is it really?

The keynote speaker's business is doing really well and what's most fascinating is how many times they've gotten really good business deals because they brought it to God and let him does his work. As a magician, it's clear to me that this person has gotten a direct tap to the field of probabilities and gotten some useful results. And you don't need to be a Christian to make that happen, because it's not so much about the religion as it's about the process.

This business owner prays to God each time a decision comes up and is specific in his prayers. Then he lets go and lets it happen. Sounds similar to sigil and spell work.

The magician can take a similar approach. I've actually done that in corporate world, by creating an entity out of the project I was working on and having the entity guide me in my work and interactions with co-workers. Applying it to your own business works in a similar manner, with the added benefit of already having a logo and name for the business, which can house the entity. Before you make any major decisions, do a consult with your entity, explaining what you want to accomplish and directing it's focus toward helping to manifest the desired result. Then let it work and do your part and watch what happens: Manifested reality.

As simple as that.

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Definitions and Personalizing Magic

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One of my passions, when it comes to magic, is really about personalizing it to fit the circumstances of your life and what you draw inspiration from. When I learned ceremonial magic, I realized that to make it really effective, I had to personalize it, fit it to my style and understanding of the world. Thus Pop Culture Magic came about, a direct answer to how I could personalize magic to fit my cultural background and interests. Recently on the Magical Experiments page on Facebook, I asked what pop culture others drew inspiration from. One person found the Justice League to be an effective pantheon, while another person drew on the Circle of Magi  series. Another mentioned the Dune series, and another mentioned the Invisibles series. All of these people found inspiration from non-traditional sources and yet clearly those examples worked for them.

Magic really needs to be about personalization, which is why I always urge that people develop their own definitions, while also learning from other people's definitions and explanations about magic. The ability to draw on your own understanding of magic and to personalize what you do magically is what makes magic work so effectively. Learn the foundations of magic...learn how others do what they do, but then challenge that in your own work and don't let others gainsay you from doing so. You can only know your limits, if you are truly willing to experiment and test what you've learned by personalizing to fit your understanding of your place in the world and universe and how you move that place, and move all else to create perfect alignment with your desired change. That truly only happens when you challenge what you've learned with experiences and make the knowledge your own through experiental doing!

How to get out of the Funk

I've been feeling a bit funky, a bit depressed lately. Nothing I can't handle, but sometimes circumstances will get you down, and of course, in the end you need to pick yourself up. I found my answer for getting out of the funk from a somewhat unlikely but rather useful source. I've been watching episodes of Ally McBeal on Netflix (It was a lawyer dramedy from 1997 to 2002). It's a quirky, funny show, for the most part, but there was something I found relevant for getting out of my funk. The main character Ally is told she needs a musical theme, something she can draw inspiration from when she's feeling unhappy. And you know...that's actually a useful idea to play with. She certainly did, dancing to it, singing it, etc. She used a song to set the tone of her emotions.

I've actually used music quite a bit, both for setting up the mood in magical rituals, but also for inspiring emotions. The right song, the right words, can do a lot to get you out of a funk or put you into a particular mood. So when I watched the show, it didn't surprise me, so much as it reminded me of how I can use music to get out of a funk. I think it's a kind of magic (pun intended).

Seriously, though, I have used music to to create specific moods and used that to charge sigils, or used it to create a persona for a situation. Music moves us, and so its wise to use it as a magical tool to move us to the spaces we want to embody in our lives.

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Banishing people

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Over time, I have found it occasionally necessary to do a banishment working to banish people from my life. I've found that continuing to tolerate their influence, energy, or presence in my life makes me unhappy and so instead of continuing to compromise the overall value and happiness in my life, it's easier to just banish the people. When I talk about banishing someone, I'm not talking about harming the person. While I may not like the person and may not want him/her in my life, I also don't want the person harmed. I just want him/her gone. For me, its not a matter of harming, so much as removing something that no longer belongs in my life. I wish them the best (even the people I don't like), but I don't need to continue to put up with them.

There are several techniques I've developed for this purpose. One is to create a sigil web and include in it all the people, experiences, events, etc that I currently have in my life. The ones I want to keep, I strengthen and the ones I want to banish, I cut out of the web. I then burn their symbols and put the ash on the road. I don't want it on the ground I live, since that would invite them back into my life.

The other technique is somewhat similar, but also different Instead of creating a web, I create a sigil for the person I no longer want in my life. I put in that sigil all the feelings I have about the person. Then I burn the sigil take it off property. By putting the emotions I feel toward the person into the sigil, I'm able to free myself of an feelings I have toward that person. This is a good technique to use for someone you don't like.

I think its healthy to banish people from your life. You can't and won't necessarily be friends with everyone and it's important to maintain your boundaries and protect yourself from undesirable influences. Banishing allows you to do that and also allows you to ground yourself.

Evocation and the process of magic

Want to actually do this, not just read about it?

Advanced Spirit Communication is where I teach how to build a working relationship with a spirit instead of a one-off summoning. Start the class →

Not ready to buy anything? Why Your Spells Don't Stick is a free guide to the most common reasons a working stalls, and where to start fixing it.

If you want help with a specific situation, work with me one to one.

What evocation is, and how it differs from invocation

Traditional evocation is a technique magicians use to work with entities. It differs from invocation in that the magician is summoning the entity into the environment around him/her. Evocation is typically used to summon an entity so that it can perform a specific task that the magician requests of it. Some forms of evocation involve summoning an entity and then compelling it to aid you by invoking other entities that are opposite of it. This essentially amounts to threatening or compelling the entity into doing the task for you. I recommend against it, and would suggest bargaining with entity, and honoring your end of the bargain. When doing evocation, it's a good idea to consider why you are doing the evocation, and if the task you want the entity to perform can be accomplished another way. There will be certain types of tasks that are better suited to entities and certain ones that you can resolve yourself. I use evocation when I want the entity to perform that involves influencing a specific behavior or activity in my favor, but still leaves me with the actual decision. For example, one entity I work with is focused on making me aware of potential opportunities. I still have to choose to follow through on those opportunities, but the entity takes care of an essential task that I simply couldn't do. Its focus is on scanning space/time for the opportunities and than making me aware of them. It's not a skill I have, but it's a skill that entity has.

Deciding what to hand to an entity

On the other hand, evoking an entity to do something you could handle yourself is wasteful and also keeps you from sharpening your own skills. It's important to recognize this distinction so that you can improve your skills. For example, I once wanted to buy a car. Instead of creating an entity, I did an enchantment to obtain the money I needed to purchase the card. I already had a job, but I knew I needed more money than I'd have available at short notice. By doing the enchantment, I was able to focus on very specific details the entity might not have considered. I realized I needed to attend to the task, instead of assigning it to an entity. It's a case of picking the right tool for the right job, and with evocation, it's better to have an entity do something you can't do, then have it do something you could've easily handled yourself.

Tools, props, and evocation without ceremony

In ceremonial magic, evocation is done with specific tools, incenses, and other props that are used to create a specific atmosphere that accommodates the entity as well as the altered state of mind the practitioner needs to be in to work with the entity. However, evocation can also be done with collages , paintings, and other techniques that are non-traditional but still enable the magician to make a connection with the entity. Although some magicians will claim that traditional approaches are more powerful, I've found that using more artistic approaches to evocation has been successful. I think it comes down to understanding that evocation, much like any other magical technique, is really based on your understanding of the fundamental principles at work. If you understand those principles, you can make evocation regardless of what tools you use.

Evoking more than entities

Evocation isn't limited to evoking entities. The magician can evoke specific behaviors or emotions, or even do an evocation of another person or a past/future version of him/herself. Just as with invocation, it ultimately comes down to connection, and understanding how to use evocation to create and embody a connection you want to manifest in the environment around you. I have successfully evoked people into my life, by using specific attributes as a way to create a connection with people who had those attributes. Evocation operates on the principle of connection and names. The name of an entity, or an attribute, or a person is a powerful tool that allows the magician to create a connection to the manifestation of the entity, attribute, or person. That connection is used to pull the entity or person into his/her life and to embody the attribute from within him/herself in the external environment.

Before you evoke: a short checklist

Most evocations that go nowhere are already broken before anything is summoned. Work through the following first, and be willing to postpone the working if one of the answers is vague.

  • Name the task in one sentence. If you can't, you don't yet know what you're asking for, and neither will the entity. "Bring me an opportunity I can act on this month" is a task. "Bring me success" is a mood.
  • Ask whether you could do it yourself. As above, if the answer is yes, do the enchantment instead and keep the entity for work you can't reach.
  • Decide whether there is a connection. A spirit you already have a working relationship with is easier to evoke than a name lifted out of a grimoire. Where a connection needs building first, a chant or enn is one way to establish it before you ever set the space.
  • Choose a method that actually shifts your state. Tools, incense and a circle work for some practitioners. A sigil used as a summoning gate, a painting, a black mirror, or a collage work for others. The method matters less than whether you can hold the connection with it.
  • Set the bargain before anything arrives. Decide what you are offering and how you will recognise the entity has done its part. Then honour it.
  • Plan the close. Decide in advance how the working ends, and leave time for it rather than stopping mid-stream because you are tired.

Ending an evocation cleanly

Closing is part of the technique, not an afterthought. When the task is stated and the exchange is made, thank the entity, tell it the working is finished, and release the connection. If the result depends on later action, name the point at which you will report back, and then actually do it: a bargain that is never acknowledged stops being a bargain.

Write down what happened while it is fresh. The date, the task, the method, anything the entity did or said, and the result you are waiting on. Evocation is a skill you improve by keeping a record, because the record is the only way to tell a working method from a lucky one. Where a spirit becomes a recurring presence rather than a one-off, the project sigil entity approach is a way to hold a task-focused relationship open across several workings instead of starting from nothing each time.

Why evocations fail

The failures repeat, and they are dull rather than dramatic:

  • A task you cannot check. If there's no observable result, you can't tell whether anything happened.
  • No reciprocity. Compelling and threatening gets compliance in the short term and a relationship you have to keep re-forcing.
  • Mistaking the props for the mechanism. A correctly drawn circle with no connection behind it is furniture.
  • No follow-through. An evocation that isn't backed by ordinary action on the opportunity it produces usually closes on nothing.
  • Evoking what you should be learning. Every task handed over is a skill you don't sharpen.

The point of evocation is a working relationship with something that can do what you can't. Treat it as one, and the technique stays useful for years rather than being something you try once and abandon.

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Invocation and the process of magic

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Want to actually do this, not just read about it?

Advanced Spirit Communication is where I teach how to build a working relationship with a spirit instead of a one-off summoning. Start the class →

Not ready to buy anything? Why Your Spells Don't Stick is a free guide to the most common reasons a working stalls, and where to start fixing it.

If you want help with a specific situation, work with me one to one.

Traditional invocation is a technique magicians use to connect with entities. Invocation involves allowing the entity to access your consciousness and take partial or full control of your body.  Invocation is done for a variety of reasons, as follows: Information: Invoking an entity can give a person access to the entity's knowledge, though usually the entity will want something in return. Since invocation is the easiest way to pass information along, what the entity usually wants is the opportunity to enjoy some time in the person's body, having experiences it might not normally have. The magician will share consciousness with the entity, allowing it a taste ofh is/her experiences. It will provide the information in return, so that the magician has access to it when needed. This type of invocation could be considered a form of divination, though usually it's for very specific information the magician wants.

Possession: Sometimes an entity will be invoked in order to give it possession of the invoker's body. For example, in voudon, the invoker will allow the loa to fully take over his/her body. This type of possession isn't limited to just voudoun, but you are less likely to encounter in other traditions. With this type of invocation, it is very important that the magician has other people on hand, both to keep his/her body safe, and to keep an eye on what the entity is doing, while also recording any information it offers.  When the person is possessed s/he will move differently than normal, may talk in a different language, and otherwise will act like the entity. The entity will use the possession to express itself, not just in language, but in movement, and in whatever other ways it can, in order to convey its message to other people.

Healing: An entity can be invoked to help in a healing ritual. The magician will invoke such an entity when s/he wants to heal someone and wants to draw on resources the entity can offer to help with the healing. The benefit of invoking an entity is that it can help guide you as you're doing your healing work on the person. You can also invoke an entity when you want to ask it to heal you. This can be useful, because the entity is drawing on its own energy, as opposed to drawing on the impaired resources of the body.

Worship: In a religious context, an entity is invoked as a way to worship it. The person who invokes it doesn't allow it full possession, but will channel it, so that the worshippers can interact with the entity. The ritual that's performed to invoke the entity is part of the worship process.

Non-Traditional Invocation

I mentioned traditional invocation, which implies that there is non-traditional invocation, and in fact there is. I developed non-traditional techniques, which I've discussed in full in Multi-Media Magic, when I realized that invocation is a two way street. In other words, if I can invoke an entity into me, it stands to reason that I can also invoke myself into the entity. Pathworking, which is a type of meditation, where a person creates a virtual reality, can actually be used for that purpose if you're working with an entity. Invocation works on a principle of identification. In order to successfully invoke an entity, the magician needs to identify with the entity, and through that identification provide a pathway that it can use to access the body, mind, and spirit of the magician. But this same pathway and identification can also be used to invoke yourself into the entity. It's a matter of being able to understand it enough to access its consciousness. I've found this type of invocation most useful for obtaining information from the entity, but it can also be useful in a situation where you want to do an exchange of essence with the entity. By being able to access the entity in its native environment, you can get a better handle on the essence it provides you, in return for what you give to it.

You can also invoke yourself into a person. Since invocation is based on connection, if you can connect with the person, you can invoke yourself into him/her. I've invoked myself into people to help them unblock or heal themselves. I've also this practice as a way of aligning with other people when we do long distance rituals. This kind of invocation should only be done with the permission of the person you are invoking yourself into. It's important to remember that you will be getting access to that person's emotions, memories, etc., but that person will also be getting access to you and could just as easily invoke him/herself into you. I think it's ideal to use this kind of working to help someone work through an issue or to synchronize people before doing a major magical working.

Am I missing anything? Would you add anything else about invocation?

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Using the dual Deck system for enchantments

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While I find using Tarot for divination useful, I typically use it for enchantment purposes. My latest experiment with the dual deck system involved doing an enchantment for a specific situation. If you go to the Facebook page for magical experiments, you can see a picture of the latest dual deck working, which is the enchantment I did. Here's a link to a close up of the photo as well. The core issue of the reading is at the bottom of the picture. There are two arms to the reading as well. The left hand arm represents the enchantment to control and mitigate negative influences that would effect the enchantment adversely. The right arm represents the desired outcome as well as specific node points and influence factors that will be drawn on in order to make the desired result manifest into reality. The three nodal points that spread out from the right arm, are the specific spheres of influence to be drawn on, with the connectors representing the best possible avenues to manifest those influences into the actual desired result.

Not all enchantments would need to be conducted this way, but for this instance it has been useful to approach it with an eye toward mitigating undesired influences. The dual deck system is useful because it provides visual symbols that can be manipulated physically, which the person can use to also manipulate possibilities in imaginary time. The cards provide an interface for the possibilities to manifest from, while making sense to the person doing the action, because the conceptualization of the possibilities is mediated through the cards and the maneuvering of them into specific spaces.

Intuition is also a useful component for this process, as a way of accessing imaginary time. Intuition is used in the placement of each nodal point as well as in the placement of the best connector for each nodal point. On the imaginary time level, intuition is used to match the possibilities to the nodal points and connectors, and help the person establish a meaningful connection between the reading and the events the person is influencing via the enchantment of the reading.

It's useful, with enchantment, to recognize that what is being worked with is the placement of a specific possibility into an existing system, in order to turn that possibility into reality and make it an inherent part of the system. Each nodal point represents a specific conceptual space within the system. The connectors (in this case) represent emotional states of being that are key influences for realizing the impact of the conceptual spaces on the desired result. Since we want the positive conceptual spaces to have maximum impact, in order to ensure that the desired result becomes reality, we need to use connectors that will embody the path of least resistance and maximum empowerment of the desired result.

Further experimentation to come...as a note this is a system partially derived from Calyxa Omphalos's work with dual deck tarot readings, and partially derived from ongoing work with using Tarot for enchantment purposes.

 

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Further experimentation with two tarot decks

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I've been continuing to experiment with two tarot decks and have found each reading to be useful. The primary deck is what I would call node cards. They represent specific people, events, issues, etc. The secondary deck is the connector cards and represent what connects the node cards to each as well as influences acting on the nodes. In cases where a connector card only connects to one node, it indicates either there isn't enough information or that the person hasn't done enough to get information.

From an enchantment perspective, I think the dual deck has potential as well. I'd use the connectors as specific influences to make a desired outcome for a specific node come into reality, while also using all of the nodes to support the outcome that was being created through the dual deck reading. That's the next experiment I'll be working on.

I find that using two decks in synch with each other is an interesting exercise because of the information that can be derived from using two sets of cards. It's an interesting approach to making meaning of the reading, because both sets of cards need to have some relevance to each other, but a lot of that relevance is derived from the reader or other people involved. What makes a connector have the influence it has, and why is that particular outcome shown? It's a system I recommend experimenting with for the sake of seeing what it'll show you. then compare to a reading done with just one deck and see if there's a difference. I've noticed more information with a dual deck reading than just a one deck reading, but your results may vary.

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Does magic still have a role in Paganism?

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I've never really identified myself as a Pagan. I think of myself as an occultist, when it comes to my spirituality, and I'd have to say that what primarily defines my spirituality is my practice of magic. To my perspective and experience with Pagans, there's been a tendency to treat magic as a religious practice. It's not a primary concern, and as such it hasn't surprised me when I see blog entries such as this one, which shows the deepening awareness that some pagans are turning away from magic. I think the reason for that is due to a desire to be perceived as a legitimate religion, and because magic always carries a stigma with it, some pagans want to divest themselves of it, and embrace more traditional religious trappings. Then too, the traditionalism that grips a lot of Pagan practices strikes me as similar to the fundamentalism that I've encountered in Christianity. I've encountered pagan fundamentalism at various times and usually it's been a reaction to magical practices that didn't toe the traditional line of thought and inquiry.

It seems to me there is a definite subcultural difference between occultists and pagans, as it applies to magic's place in spirituality, and for that matter experimentation with magic. When there is drive by some pagans to remove magic altogether from the equation, it seems like their also taking an essential part of Paganism out as well. But then again, are they really if magic is more of a secondary concern in paganism?

I couldn't imagine a life without magic or magical practices. For me, my spirituality is my magical practice, with all that entails. I've always identified as a magician and an occultist as opposed to a pagan, because of my own negative experiences with pagans. While the majority of experiences have actually been good, the experiences where pagans tried to naysay my approach and practice of magic have been experiences that demonstrated that what's really important is not the label so much as the practice, but that people will use your practice to label you and if they don't like what they see, they will attack it.

Does magic still have a role in paganism? It's up to the pagans who practice it to make a case for it. I hope they do, because I think getting rid of magic is getting rid of part of what has made different pagan traditions what they are.

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Making an offering

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When I was eighteen I made an offering to the elemental spirits and every so often I make offerings to different spirits I work with. Sometimes the offering is an exchange of one service for another, but sometimes its just to make an offering, with no strings attached. The reason I make the offerings is to show respect, but it's also sometimes a release of attachment. An offering gives you a chance to give something that has meaning, but also release you from that meaning. The other day I took my old wedding ring and the handfasting cord off the wall and decided to make an offering to the elemental spirits. I no longer felt a sentimental attachment to either object and I realized I needed to let go of them, to let go of whatever lingering emotions there were that were attached to the objects in question. I took a walk with both objects and found a place where I could make my offering to the elements...and I made it.

The release was palpable, as was the response, a surge of energy that shot up my body after the offering was made. A sure sign of approval as any, and also a release for me. They accepted the two objects, accepted the meaning associated with them, and accepted the value of the release of those objects for me.

 

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How I like experimental magic to other people's practices

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Recently when I taught a class on Space at Pantheacon, one of the issues I had to address was how my focus on space could actually be converted to other people's more traditional practices of magic. I'll be the first to admit I'm not a traditional magician by any means, although I am well versed in ceremonial magic and other traditional approaches. Still a glance at my book Multi-Media Magic, or any of my other books wouldn't necessarily convey how my approaches could fit into or apply to more traditional approaches to magic. Nonetheless all of my books are based in part on my own background in ceremonial magic. The main difference is that I've looked to outside inspiration for a lot of my workings. So in Multi-Media Magic I've combined my interest of acting methods with traditional techniques for invocation, and I've looked at how art can be used for effective evocation of entities. To me that's part of what magic is about: It's taking those creative activities we already do and integrating them into our magical work.

My writing and my experimentation is driven by what fascinates me. I have a boundless curiosity as it applies to the world around me and to what other people are doing. But I'm also interested in how all of it can be meaningfully applied to magical work and that's what my writing is about. I think any of the concepts and practices I discuss can be applied to more traditional approaches to magic. For example, my workshop in space focused on how we define ritual space as well as what we bring into it. By helping the participants understand space from a creative perspective, I was able to provide insights into how movement and arrangement of space could play a role in creating an effective sacred space for ritual.

If you haven't read my books, consider giving them a try. They will provide new insights into your magical work and perspectives and sources for you to look at that don't necessarily fall into the usual resources you'd draw on. But those non-traditional resources can provide some useful ways of thinking about magical work and the processes we use.

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What's missing from academic inquiries into magic

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I'm currently reading A Cognitive Theory of Magic (affiliate link) by Jesper Sorenson and the Anthropology of Magic (affiliate link) by Susan Greenwood. So far, they are fascinating reads, but in looking over their bibliography I find myself annoyed because in their effort to comment on magic the only sources they have pulled from are academic sources, and they have not even done a complete survey of that body of literature. But most importantly they have not also drawn on what occultists actually have to say about magic. Greenwood, being an actual practitioner, has no real excuse for not doing this, but Sorenson also doesn't have an excuse because he hasn't even drawn on contemporary academic examinations of magic. Actually neither of them have, instead drawing on the academic work of scholars from the early to  late twentieth century. Certainly it's good they are drawing on those sources, but both authors have done something I see occur in a lot of academic work on magic, namely limited themselves in drawing on very specific sources, while ignoring others. It's an academic tactic I'm familiar from my own days in the institution and paradoxically there's also this cry to be "rigorous" and thorough in drawing on available sources.

However even looking at the academic works of people who practice magic, we see more of a focus on pagan academic studies than occult or esoteric studies. And while that is still a good development, the pagan focus as it pertains to magic is more of a religious approach and less of a practical approach.

The aforementioned authors are focused on discussing the practical application of magic and where it fits into civilization, or lack thereof, but there's always this curious lack of inquiry into the actual occult texts that are available. I've seen it in other academic texts as well. There's lots of commentary on what other academics had to say about magic, but little to no commentary on what occultists might have to say on the subject. To claim authority in defining magic there necessarily needs to be familiarity with the entire field of study, which means drawing on a wide variety of sources that aren't academic, but also involves doing a thorough reading of the available academic literature. I'd like to see more of that kind of rigor in academic works on magic.

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Weather magic on a dial

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When Kat and I were driving back from Bend recently we both focused on doing a bit of weather magic to help us get through Mt. Hood before the weather got cold enough to turn rain into sleet or snow, and wet roads into ice. I made an observation to Kat that it'd be interesting to attach an association link to the cool/heat dial for your car's air conditioning/heating. When you adjusted the dial, you'd metaphysically adjust the weather as well. By creating an association with the dial, you'd also automate part of the process involved in doing weather magic. It was, as I mentioned, an observation, but its those kind of observations that come to me that lead to some kind of experimentation to see if the observation can be implemented into a practical magical working. I'd note that such a dial could not "control" weather per se, but rather would be used to work with specific weather possibilities, such as strengthening the possibility that the weather would stay at a specific temperature or increasing the possibility of rain (or decreasing). Weather magic, much as with magic in general, is all about working with possibilities and influencing the outcome that a specific possibility will become an actual reality.

Book reviews

The Octavo (affiliate link) by Peter Carroll

Reading the Octavo is kind of a rehash of some of Peter Carroll's other ideas, but at the same time is a clear extension of where he has developed those ideas to a level of sophistication that mathematically proves his points. The Octavo isn't an easy read, and I recommend doing some research into the technical jargon that Carroll uses, but underneath the jargon the reader will find a concise explanation of specific magical concepts and how those magical concepts fit into our particular universe. It's worth a read, especially for the magician who is focused on practical magical work.

Four out of five.

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Tarot card readings with two decks

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Calyxa Omphalos, who created the Elemental Hexagon deck, told me about this concept of using two tarot decks to do readings at Pantheacon. I thought I would give it a try recently, and I was very pleased with the results. I used the elemental hexagon deck and also Ray Buckland's alchemy deck. I interspeced the cards I laid down from the elemental hexagon deck with the alchemy cards I laid down, using the alchemy cards as connectors. What I found was that the connector cards naturally seemed to enhance the cards that were being used for the main reading. They provided complementary information that helped support the overall reading. It was also interesting to use two different sets of cards in conjunction with each other, particularly because with these cards it was as if I was forming specific equations (which could be really useful for using cards from the enchantment end of things).

I have to admit that just using the elemental hexagon deck has been very effective, but I also think its pretty to novel to use more than one deck for a reading, and what I liked about this approach is that it managed to fit into the theme of both decks, in terms of symbolic representation of processes the cards depict. I'd suggest that if possible it's a good idea to do this kind of reading/enchantment work with two sets of tarot cards that have complementary themes.

I'll report more as I continue to work with this rather novel approach.

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Magical Experiments classes coming up

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Since I've started teaching the year long magical experiments class, I've really enjoyed the process of learning and teaching that has unfolded for all of us. At the same time I've realized that I want to teach shorter classes that are focused on specific subjects. Below is a list of classes I will be offering on different specific subjects. I'm also open to suggestions about classes people would like me to teach. A full list of classes can be found here. Below is information about two upcoming classes, one starting in March, and one starting in April. Creating Magical Entities Class

Starting Monday March 28th through Monday April 18th from 6 to 7pm (PST)

Sometimes you need a magical entity to do the job for you, especially if you’re too close to a situation. In this class I’ll teach you how to create a magical entity as well as help you determine why you should create one. You’ll also learn how magical entities can be programmed to perform specific tasks that allow you to free up your time and focus for other purposes.

Learn more...

Pop Culture Magic Class

Magic is all around you in pop culture, if you just know where to look. In this class, I’ll show you how you can turn pop culture and modern technology into a magical toolset that you can use just as effectively as you would use any other magical practice. Pop culture magic is based off foundational principles that can be found in traditional practices of magic, with a focus on applying modern culture to your spiritual practices.

Learn more...

I'll post an update once or twice a month on upcoming classes, and if there are ones you want, please contact me.

I'm really excited to be teaching classes again and I look forward to working with all of you.

Some thoughts on linkage and connection in magic

I've been rereading Nemesis and Other Essays by Stephen Mace and also reading the Octavo (Affiliate link) by Peter Carroll, which is his latest work.  Both discuss linking and connection, which are activities that are part of the magical process. You could even think of linkage and connection as the same activity, or perhaps the link as the noun and connecting as the verb...or whatever. They both maintain (and I agree) that for a magical working to be successful you need to somehow create a connection between you and the result you wish to obtain. This connection won't be overtly causal in nature, but it is nonetheless a very important part of the process, because without a connection you can't really have a magical process. So what makes a connection? A connection is made partially through the meaning a person reads or imbues into the various elements that comprise the magical process and the situation the magical process is being used to resolve. A person's interpretation, although subjective, is powerful because it is how s/he is making sense of the world and his/her place in it, as well as making sense of the situation, and the ideal resolution of the situation.

A connection is also partially made by the actions a person takes to realize the connection. In other words a person needs to perform some kind of activity that justifies and explains the connection. Thus a magical working is actually a justification and explanation of the connection that a person is working with.

Mace advocates also cutting the connection in order to erase all traces of your participation in the magical working. I can see the benefit from a banishment angle. By banishing the connection you are freeing yourself from becoming overly obsessed with the working. There's also something to be said for trusting in the efficacy of your magical working and allowing it to run its course. By cutting your connection, you are allowing it to run its course without needing to put more of yourself into it.

Personally, I take an approach where I fuel my workings through the associations of the connection I make. So I can remove myself from the connection, but make sure the working is still getting something put toward it by the associations that were created in the magical process. That would be my recommendation for connections in magical work. Use the associations to fuel the work, beyond the initial creation process.