Upcoming Appearances - Fall 2012

This is always a busy time of year for me, because there are specific events I am traveling to and presenting workshops at (or vending). Below is a summary of where I'll be. I hope to see some of you at these events!

Esoteric Book Conference

I will be vending at the Esoteric Book Conference (no presentations) in Seattle, Washington on 9/15 and 9/16. You'll get to see the entire lineup of Immanion Press's nonfiction books and if you want to chat about magic or other esoteric topics, I'd love to speak with you.

Pan-Pagan Gathering

I will be presenting two workshops at the Pan-Pagan Gathering on 9/29 and 9/30.

Basic Space/Time Magic: In this workshop, we will look at the elements of space and time and their role in magical work, as well as how we can work with space and time as active principles of our magical practice. I will also provide a list of space/time magic entities you can work with, if you want to explore space/time magic further. $5 Suggested Donation

Ley-lines, Power-Spots, and Communicating with the land: In this workshop we’ll discuss what leylines and power spots are, the different between an artificial leyline and a natural one, and how leylines can be used to connect with other planets and stars, as well as how to communicate and develop a relationship with the land. $5 Suggested Donation

Crucible Convention

I will be presenting the Basic Space/Time Magic class at the convention on October 6th. However I will be doing this presentation remotely, from Portland, Or. The convention is occurring at the Hyatt Regency Hotel Princeton in Princeton New Jersey

Some thoughts on Magical protection

My wife was recently on a spiritual retreat and she told me that many of the people there didn't shield themselves and then were visited by the ghosts and had weird dreams. She shielded herself each night and had no weird dreams or encounters with the dead. I have to admit to feeling puzzled that any occultist wouldn't know how to or wouldn't think to shield themselves. But evidently this happens a lot, and I have encountered the occasional occultist who doesn't shield him/herself as a conscious choice. I was once even told that the person didn't shield because s/he wanted to experience whatever s/he encountered. I can't say that's a wise policy as you can end up encountering things you don't want to deal with, but if the person is willing to deal with the consequences...

Personally I'm not willing to go anywhere without having shielded myself and when I sleep in a hotel or anywhere else, I always have the space I sleep in warded. And I think what amazes me the most is that many of these occultists don't seem to know how to do even a basic shielding. I know there are books on the topic, so I'm not sure why they don't know, but its odd and it speaks to a fundamental lack of training.

When I first started practicing magic, one of the first activities I learned and performed daily was shielding. There were a couple techniques provided in Ted Andrew's books on working with spirits...They had you create a shield by vocalizing the names of gods and visualizing different energies enfolding your physical and spiritual surroundings with protective energy. I noticed that when I did that practice that I did feel a sense of protection, as well as a clearing of the space around me, so I did it everyday. I don't do that particular practice anymore, but I still do shielding each day, for the benefit of shielding, but also for the benefit it provides me in terms of starting my day. I feel good, and I feel focused. It takes me a half hour each day to do the practice, and its well worth the time.

Some people say that daily practice isn't that important, but I disagree. Daily practice is the application of your spirituality to your life. Shielding is one form of that, but there can be other forms. However when your spiritual isn't practiced diligently, how can you really know it or rely on it? The answer is you can't because its something you aren't applying to your life. Your mouthing the words, making the motions, but its not something you know. That knowing comes through daily work.

As for shielding...any person who chooses to practice magic knows that s/he is inviting a different awareness of the universe that brings with it possible encounters and experiences that can nonetheless be filtered out through shields. I shield so that I can focus on manifesting the experiences that truly speak to the core of my practice as a spiritual and practical application of my experience of the world.

What about you? Do you shield, or not shield? Why or why not?

The Realization of Power

The concept of power is a funny one. Lots of people discuss having power or not having power. You'll see discussions on the execution of power, the doing as it were. All of these attempts to have power, to establish some way of getting it. Power is placed external to the personal, an object to be obtained, a desire to be fulfilled. You either have or you don't have it. Magic is perceived as one way to "have" power, to get it and use it. We could argue that money is another way, or politics, or any number of other avenues, all designed to somehow or another confer power from an external source on to another person. I disagree with this approach to power.

True power is the realization that power has always existed within you and your choice to use it to create the life you want to live. Magic is a path to power, that reveals to the practitioner how to connect the power within to the power in the universe and create a consensual reality. Power is not something you do or have. Power is the expression of your identity as it mates with the universe.

Now some might justifiably argue that if everyone has power, embodies power as it were, then why do so many people seem to be powerless. I think a lot of it is due to the abuse of power. Some people are much more in touch with their sense of power and have used it to abuse others, to create a perception of powerlessness, and to create cultural rules and boundaries that make it harder for a person to realize his/her innate power or to exercise that power. The concept of privilege speaks directly to that abuse of power, with the idea that certain people have a level of privilege that gives them a greater variety of choices and freedom, because of how the culture is structured to favor them.

To some degree this inequity has been countered, with difficulty by people who have recognized that such an inequity harms all of us. If power is to be realized as something you ontologically have present within you, the ability to execute that power must also be realized. Magic is one method (among many) of executing that power, and as such can be a way to discover empowerment of yourself , both in the environment around you, and within you. It is most effectively utilized when it is combined with other expressions of power, but can still be effective in and of itself.

There is nothing inherently better about one person or another. The realization of power ideally brings with it a realization of the responsibility that accompanies power. That responsibility is not merely to see to your own well-being, but to also look out for others, and to meaningfully contribute to the community around you in a way that shows other how to realize their own power.

Conceptualization and Entities

Recently I got involved in a conversation where I was asked if I'd ever encountered a spirit that hadn't been written about or encountered in mythology. It was an interesting question to ask, and I responded that I hadn't encountered such an entity and I didn't think it possible, without having some humancentric frame of reference to use in context to the entity. In the subsequent conversation I discussed the conceptualization of entities (which I'll explain in more detail below) and the person I was having the conversation with also shared a story of an entity he encountered that ended up using humancentric frames of reference to connect with the person.

When I talk about conceptualization of an entity I'm referring to the mediation of the entity into a context that is understandable by your average person. If there is no frame of reference it would be very hard to connect with a given entity. In the case of the conversation above, the person was given a name by the entity and ended up researching that name and finding it attributed to a company called Accubar. Whether the entity is the corporate presence of that company, or simply used that name to describe itself is debatable, but it could not engage the person without providing some frame of reference, some concept to help that person understand it.

A concept is a frame of reference used to define an idea, entity, etc,. so that it can be understood and related to. Without a concept you don't have connection. An entity needs to establish itself as a concept that a person can understand in order to relate to the person. The concept provides common ground for the entity and person, because the entity also uses the concept to provide itself a context by which it can interact with a given person. And that's something that should be considered carefully. The benefit of using a concept is that it provides mediation both ways. The entity is meditated into a context that helps the person understand it, but the person is also mediated by the interaction with that concept, so that the entity can also relate to him/her.

I don't think its possible to connect with an entity without some kind of context provided to mediate that connection. There needs to be a medium that enables communication and the possibility of understanding that can come with communication. Without that medium, there is no connection, no way to really verify a contact. The context frames the interaction and provides a way to meaningfully interact with a given entity. Both parties benefit from the conceptualization of an entity into a form that makes sense to the person contacting the entity.

That's my opinion, but its based on my own experiences, as well as looking at the interaction with given act of invocation and evocation. It's also based off the realities of human interaction and limitations.

How magic can subvert advertising

Since reading Seducing the Subconscious, I've been thinking about advertisements. Over the years I've done my best to limit my exposure to advertisement, in large part because so much of it is banal, but also because I've always appreciated that underneath the banality what makes commercials effective is their ability to influence subconscious beliefs. Even with no cable, I still get exposure to some commercials. Whether its listening to the radio or seeing a billboard, or watching a commercial on hulu, while waiting for the next segment of a show it is near impossible to avoid advertising. I suspect the only way a person could would be to get rid of access to all media.

So what does the magician do to counteract advertising and its potential effect on the subconscious? One possibility can be seen above, where you subvert the message with a different one that attacks what is advertised. Clever use of photoshop or creating a collage can allow you to create your own "advertisement" that you can then spread on the internet. Or simply use it for yourself every time you feel the urge to get something.

Monitoring your thoughts and desires through meditation can also help you subvert advertising. If you get that sudden craving for a burger, ask yourself what's really motivating it. You might be surprised to realize that what motivates isn't your hunger, but advertisements you've seen. By being aware of those advertisements you can critically examine your desire and then choose to do something different.

You can also work with the corporate entity behind the advertisement or a character in it, although that route can be a bit more dangerous as the corporate entity sees no benefit in being subverted, and if anything wants to subvert you to its own desires, i.e. sustaining its life.

Another approach to take would be doing a banishing ritual that focused on banishing advertisements from your life and home. It might be something you do on a daily or weekly or monthly basis. The idea is that you do a banishing of any unwanted influences in your life. If there are particular companies you've lately shopped at and you normally wouldn't shop there, that could be a time to grab some of the advertising and incorporate into the banishing, with you destroying the advertising in some form or manner.

How would you subvert advertising?

Discourse and Self-Secret Language

I've just started reading The Six Yogas of Naropa and in the preface the editor makes a very interesting point about self-secret language. He notes that not every person that reads a book will get it, because even if s/he knows the words of the language, it doesn't mean s/he understands the message and meaning. He uses an example where a friend picked up a book and read a half page about emptiness and then admitted that although he knew all the words, he didn't understand what had been written.

The editor goes onto note  the following: "When one approaches self-secret literature in its own environment, allowing it to speak in its own words and to use its own metaphors and illustrations, a sense of the profound integrity of the language soon begins to dawn."

Reading that made me think of the word/concept Discourse. A discourse is a specialized use of language for a given discipline and generally its use is only understood by the practitioners of that discipline. Occultism has its discourse, and sub-discourses, but so does any discipline, religion, etc. out there. A technical writer, for example, has a specific that s/he engages in during the process of doing tech writing.

The point the editor makes about people not understanding something despite knowing the words is so true. I've experienced it when I've read books in disciplines I'm not very familiar with and I've seen other people struggle in a similar fashion. My mom, a devout Christian, once bought one of my books and tried to read it and admitted that even though she knew the words, she didn't get the underlying meaning and concepts. I think of this as the discourse protecting itself. After all discourse is also a social indicator as to whether or not you get the culture and ideology of a given discourse community.

You don't get the self-secret language until you can approach it on its own territory and that only begins to occur when you have experiences that allow you to integrate the concepts you've read into actual practices that you embody. Nothing is so esoteric that it cannot be understood, but what is required is a willingness to move past language into experience, so that when you actually do read a book, you have experiences that allow you to use the metaphors and illustrations of the self-secret language you are learning.

The value of any book is not the knowledge contained within it, or the words you read. It is the application of that knowledge to your life, which results in genuine learning and understanding of what you have read. Until that occurs the words are lifeless, etchings on a piece of parchment that can only come to life through your effort to write them in your soul through the embodiment of them in your life.

Book Review: Seducing the Subconscious by Robert Heath

This is an intriguing book that explores the emotional influence that occurs in advertising. The author makes a convincing argument that advertisements are not effective for influencing our consciousness, but are effective at influencing the subconscious. He provides case studies to illustrate his point, all of which are helpful in demonstrating that what really makes advertising powerful is the subconscious. I would've liked it if he'd focused on suggesting strategies and practices for resisting subconscious manipulation. He didn't offer too much in that direction, but this book is illuminating and can help you understand how advertising actually works.

Process of Magic Sign-up Special

Free Tarot Card reading if you sign up for the Process of Magic class this week (special lasts until Saturday). I do a dual-deck tarot reading, which means that I use two different tarot decks to do the reading, using the cards in conjunction with each other. I'll do a free reading for you on a question or subject of your choice when you sign up for the class.

The Process of Magic course is a 24 week correspondence course. You can choose how fast or slow you work on the course. Its at your pace! Contact me, if you'd like to learn more about the class and get your free reading!

How the Wishsong of Shannara introduced me to music magic

I've been re-reading the Shannara books lately and I just finished the Wish Song of Shannara, which has always been one of my favorites of Terry Brooks's books. Something which always fascinated me about the book was the description of the wish song, which allowed a character to sing illusions and/or possibilities into reality. Reading that book was what inspired me to explore the combination of magic and music, especially via singing.

One of my first experiments with music and magic involved the creation of an entity that could was activated by signing or vibrating its name. I found it to be very useful, because I simply had to vocally sign the name in order to activate it. That was inspired by the Wishsong, and also by William Gray's writing on vocalization. But if I hadn't read wishsong, I wouldn't have thought to explore that direction. While I knew, after reading the book, that I couldn't do what the characters could do, I still felt inspired by the idea of incorporating my voice into magical work.

Even now I continue to experiment with my voice and magical work. I've been practicing throat singing, and also even trying different tongue positions in combination with vocalization to see how it changes the tone and vibration of the sounds. This is especially useful when doing invocations because it allows you to sonically and vibrationally connect with the entity you want to work with.

This is why I love pop culture. It can inspire exploration and experimentation. Most books on magic don't talk about music and magic all that much and so for me my inspiration came from reading a fantasy book that provided an idea I could explore in my magical work.

Some thoughts about the Professional Magician

Both Jason and Frater Barrabbas have written some excellent post about the route of the professional magician. Frater Barrabbas notes that the professional magician route isn't necessarily for every occultist and that doing a job he loves is actually good for him in a variety of ways. I can appreciate his perspective, and its one reason I have a professional business that is not oriented toward magic. Jason also makes a good point, that you shouldn't go into magic with a focus on making money off of it, at least not initially, and that ideally it is a calling.

I agree with both of them and I probably fall in between the two of them. I don't offer to do spells for people, although I am happy to give readings and do spiritual coaching. I write books and help to publish other people's books on magic (including a few from Frater Barrabbas) and recently I've started offering a correspondence course (with more planned down the line!). That's likely the extent of what I'll do a professional magician. I don't want to cast spells for people because I feel they should solve their own problems using their own skills. But I also don't want to work at a corporate job. I think it's a dead end, unless you get into the right discipline and frankly the disciplines I've seen that are the right fits are ones that would bore me to tears. Plus I love being self-employed because I'm able to work on my own projects, and help people in the way I've been called to help them.

I do have another business and with both that business and Magical Experiments, I'm making some inroads, which are making my life better as a result, but its taken a lot of work. And in my opinion to be a successful professional magician you have to also be successful as a self-employed person. Not everyone is cut out to be self-employed, especially because you need to actively work on your business, as well as within it. And if its a service business, which professional magic would be, expect it to take even more work. Selling a product is easier than selling a service.

I think its good that magic is becoming more of a professional activity, in the sense that it makes it that much more acceptable in mainstream society. Such inroads are always useful, but its also important to continue to focus on magic as a spiritual path. The main focus of my work is exploration of magic as a spiritual and practical process for improving life, and that focus informs my work as a professional magician.

Audience and Responsibility

Mike recently posted about audience, and specifically writing for audience, in terms of what topics should be covered and who might read what he writes. It's an interesting quandary and one I've occasionally thought about in regards to this blog. What do I choose to say? What do I choose to reveal? How responsible am I to my audience for what I write about? This isn't just about sharing magical techniques but also experiences on a variety of topics, many of which might be considered adult only.

My own take on it is that I already have written books about magic, including one that had an adult only audience in mind, as it was about sex magic. But even the books that might be inclusive of a younger audience are written for mature people (Go here for a great post on the topic of mature and audiences). I certainly feel some responsibility for the audience I am writing for in the books I've produced. I want the books to accurately represent my magical work and help people understand the process of magic and how they can better apply it to their lives. I don't feel responsible for how my audience uses the knowledge gleaned from my books, as my audience is responsible for their choices and experiences (much as I am responsible for my experiences and choices). How they choose to use and/or abuse what they get from my books is their concern and the consequences are also their concern.

When it comes to this blog, I have a different take. While I know I have an audience of readers (thank you so much), this blog is primarily a way for me to write about ongoing projects, discuss internal work and personal realizations, and other such things. It is as much for my benefit as it is for anyone reading it. I feel responsible to my audience in the sense that I want to authentically share my process and work (and even inner struggles) as a way of inspiring them, but I don't worry about who will or won't read this blog. I figure that for the most part, the people who read this blog are other practitioners of magic who want to read my insights on my work, but even if no one read this blog, it wouldn't concern me because it is a record of my work, for my benefit.

I find that when you are clear about the distinct purpose of a given tool you are using, it makes it much easier to use that too effectively. My books are written for other people. I may glance through once in a while, but I know the material in a very personal way and as such when I write a book I am not writing it for me, but rather as a way to shared refined perspectives and processes of magic. My blog is written for me and for other people, but more as a way of providing insight on the ongoing work. In a sense a book captures the end product of the process...and even though it discusses the process, it discusses from a perspective of finality, whereas with the blog there is a continual revision occurring. One is a textual artifact, the other is an organic changing entity in its own right. Each has their own value and audience in mind.

I trust that whoever reads this blog is someone who is genuinely interested in the practice of magic (though there have been occasional exceptions to that rule). There is little else that needs to be said.

Book Review Sphere of Art 2 by R. J. Stewart

This book is a continuation of the first Sphere of Art with some major differences, namely that the author introduces kabbalistic and alchemical aspects to the Sphere of Art working. I recommend this book with the caveat that it is a good idea to have some practical experience with kabbala and alchemy in order to fully benefit from the practical applications described in this book. The author does an excellent job of showing how  the sphere of art working can be refined via the disciplines mentioned above as well as how it can further be used in the magical work he teaches. The work he discusses is doable, but will take some time and discipline on your part...well worth it for the benefits involved.

Month 10 Fire Elemental Balancing Ritual

8-11-12 I haven't written in this post for half a month, not because things weren't happening but because life has been so busy. Part of it's been the catch up on work after you are done with a vacation and part of it has also been coming to the final part of a writing project I've been working on and thus focusing more on it than anything else. Whenever I get close to finishing a writing project it becomes the center of my reality. So let's see...

I've just started reading another book on relationships with my wife. It's one I'd read before, but at that time I was the only one to read it. Reading it with someone else adds a dimension to the experience because of the discussions K and I are having about the book and what the author's take on relationships means to both of us. I think that with this relationship I am discovering what love can really be, not just in terms of loving another but also myself. I can honestly say that I never felt as content or happy in my life as I've felt the last couple of years. We've had our bumps along the way, but we've been able to work through them with a level of openness and honesty that I was unable to give or receive previously.

The fire work has been interesting more in terms of the direction its pointing me to: Eros aka movement. I'll get into that more at some point, but right now its in an exploratory stage. Fire in and of itself has really been about (this month and every month) coming to peace with my passions and desires and recognizing how much they've been driven by a feeling of emptiness and restlessness, which in doing this work and the relationship work has actually become much less prevalent. I still feel restless occasionally, but I am able to identify it and work with it in a way that had eluded me in the past.

8-12-12 When I think about my place in the Pagan-Occult community, I tend to think of myself as someone on the outskirts of said community. I feel that way in just about any community, and I recognize that a lot of it is my own choice, but it also born as much from a disassociation with people in general. At times I feel like I'm an observer who is studying everything around me. What offerings I bring are genuine, but they come from the outside, offering with the unusual perspective that can only come when you choose to go away from the norm and tried and true to discover whatever else is out there.

Even as a writer and publisher I'm on the outside. I've chosen to publish my books with a small publisher that does print on demand books. While my books are carried in independent stores, you'll likely never see them on the walls of a Barnes and Noble or Powells books simply because retailers don't like it when they can't return books that don't sell.  I could probably get published by Llewellyn or another publisher at this point, but I doubt I'd have the level of control over the text or cover art that I have and generally what I've seen from the majority of publishers doesn't inspire a level of confidence in me that the work will be respected in the way it needs to be.

And that's the benefit of being on the outside...very few people care if you fit in if you already don't fit in. And not fitting in allows you some liberties you might not discover otherwise. And sometimes you even discover, as I have, that there are more people into your work then you thought there were and more people who appreciate the perspective because they see the value it brings.

8-15-12 There are days when I wake up and do not like the person I see in the mirror. Fortunately they are few and far between, but on those days I am reminded of my burdens, of my remorse, of the mistakes I've made. There are some things you never forget because you know you need to remember them as a reminder of who you don't want to be. And then too there's that feeling of wanting to find something to distract you from what you are feeling, which is absolutely the worst choice to make. You may not like what you feel, but being present with it, working through it is far better then trying to distract yourself. That's something I've had to learn the hard way, and its still something I'm learning. I'm better at this realization than I was a few years ago, but its still a struggle on a day like today. The urge to run away or lose myself or whatever else because I don't want to feel what I'm feeling is sharp, yet instead of doing all that, I chose to feel it, chose to feel my unhappiness with myself, chose to feel the pain I am feeling. I chose to be present and move in that presence through meditation and mediation of what I'm feeling. I don't know that this makes me a better person so much as it makes me someone who is choosing to be aware of his moments of weakness and vulnerability.

And there is also this other current that has recently come to my attention around movement via Eros. I need to do some movement rituals for areas of my life that I feel stuck in right now. Change happens through movement, but intentional movement is better then just any movement. The point isn't to run away. The point is to move toward a solution.

8-17-12 When you live with fear each day you must learn to face it, or otherwise let it control you. Whether its fear of change, the unknown or something else, you either learn to master it, or it masters you. When it masters you, it stops you from acting, and when you master it, you use it to motivate your actions.

8-21-12 As one cycle begins to wind down another cycle begins to wind up. Still its important to focus on the moment at hand, and appreciate what is happening now. Too many people are focused on getting to the next moment, and thus they miss out on what is happening around them right now. I used to be that way, myself, and now find myself savoring each moment I have far more than I used to. My tomorrows are not infinite and what I have to experience is what is present right now. Maintaining presence is being in the present as it presents itself to you and through you.

Is there tolerance in the Pagan community?

I came across this article yesterday which focused on the lack of tolerance that arises between different Pagan groups, both towards each other and toward other religions. I think its an insightful article that captures an issue that is sometimes swept under the rug in Paganism. I found myself empathizing with the author, having had my own experiences with intolerance in the Pagan community. Indeed one of the reasons I tend to consider myself more of an outsider is because of those experiences.

I think that tolerance, as a skill, is something that people need to practice on a very conscious level. It is much easier to make fun of someone else's beliefs than to consciously accept a person's beliefs, even if you don't agree with them. And consciously accepting a person's belief doesn't mean you agree with that belief...it means you agree and accept that person has the right to belief what s/he will. The problem is that people are so invested in being right that instead of accepting that someone has different beliefs, they insist on shoving their own beliefs down your throat while also trying to prove that your beliefs suck.

Within the Pagan community I have been told at various times that I am a fluffy bunny, a flake, or that I'm reinventing the wheel. I even had a pagan podcast where the people involved decided to attack me on their show because I couldn't be a nice traditional pagan like them. And what all this taught me is that even within Paganism, if you aren't the same type of Pagan as others, then some people will take exception to it.

In the post I linked to the author notes the following:

I don't see how replacing 'One True God(s)' with another 'One True God(s)' is going to change anything. The persecution might switch for a couple of thousand years but after that, it's the same thing all over again. I wish we could all let go of 'One True'. Then there would just be God and Gods and we could finally stop trying to carve out a place for our religion from someone else's hands and focus on creating a space for ourselves separate from the religion of others

It's a good point and one worth considering. You don't have to believe what I believe, but you could accept that I believe it and practice it without judging it or me. The people who try to get others to believe what they believe or try and disprove someone else's beliefs are just creating more intolerance because of a need to have other people be like them, or because they think their God demands or, or they don't believe in any gods and think everyone should be just like them.

I'm of the opinion that you can believe what you want...I may not agree with your belief, but I do accept you have the right to believe it and I'm not going to try and argue against it or convince you my beliefs are better. I have better things to do than try and force my views on someone else. That's not what my spiritual path or life is about. I'd rather devote myself to my practice and share my ideas with whoever wants to discuss them in an intelligent manner. Isn't that better than all the fussin' and feudin'?

Book Review: Living Magical Arts by R. J. Stewart

This is a definite must have book in my opinion. I see it as a successor to William G Gray's "Magical ritual Methods" Stewart does an excellent job of discussing practical magical work, particularly in describing how magic works and what the practitioner can do to refine his/her approach to magical work. I liked the methodologies presented in the book as well as the author's perspectives on different topics within magical work. This book will provide a solid grounding in how magic works and will help you improve your practice.

When Fiction shapes Reality

I read an interesting article which discussed how you can lose yourself in a fictional character and how that can affect your identity in real life: "When you “lose yourself” inside the world of a fictional character while reading a story, you may actually end up changing your own behavior and thoughts to match that of the character, a new study suggests." Reading it reminded me of Pop Culture Magick, specifically where I talk about how you can take on the identity of the pop culture character and mimic their behaviors.

According to the article this is called experience taking and can involve the person taking on the identity of the character, including feelings, emotions, thoughts, mannerisms, etc. But this experience taking only occurs if the person is able to put his/her own self-identity aside in favor of the identity of the character. It's essentially an immersive experience. I'd suggest that this also applies to movies and video games which can be just as immersive as books.

The magician can take this concept and apply it to his/her magical work, whether its with pop culture or more classical culture. It comes down to identification, specifically how well you are able to identify with a particular character and take that character on. And you also have to bear in mind that you are mediating that character's identity. In other words, it's still your perception about the character that's shaping how you take on the identity of the character.

In my own work I've sometimes found it easy to recall a specific character by either visualizing the character or humming a tune from the game that reminds me of him/her. This shows that while reading or watching or playing is needed initially to take on the identity of the character, it's possible to also recall that identity of the character. Essentially you create an anchor around the character experience that is used to recall that experience even if you haven't read the book, etc, in a while.

The relationship between magic and being

When I think about magic and identity, I think about embodiment and being. In particular with the word being, I think of it as a verb that denotes a person's life as as a process of presence entering into collaboration with reality. The presence of a person contains all the potential of the person, as well as access to possibilities of what the person can become. Magic, when employed, is a melding of the identity of the person (his/her being) with the situation. It is presence joining reality, merging possibility with what already is to create something which nonetheless contains the presence/being of the magician.

When we no longer divorce our actions from our state of being what we find is a different awareness of possibility and magic. No longer is a problem looked at as something external and separate, but instead there is an acknowledgement of the connection between the magician and the problem. The magician examines not merely the problem as it shows up in the world around him/her, but also the problem as it shows up in him/herself, to understand the connection it has to his/her life, and also to understand how to solve it, not merely in the environment around him/her, but also within.

When being is a verb there is a recognition that ontology is not some static image of identity, but an active presence of identity that challenges the magician to know him/herself as a fluid reality that mixes with possibility on a regular basis. We are all gates to possibility, and thus our state of being is one of change. Identity, when perceived this way, is not about attachments but about becoming and unbecoming all at once. Magic is a process of identity, part of the becoming and unbecoming, simultaneously binding us to possibilities while undoing connections to others. Reality itself is no longer perceived as static, so much as it is a canvas to be painted on. What seems real falls away as possibilities are embodied in everyday life. What becomes real is a melding of presence and reality and as such it can become unreal under the right circumstances.

Magical practice based on an ontological approach frees the magician from a doing and having perspective which tends to cause the magician to objectify reality and even him/herself. To have something is to own it and possess it, and yet it also possesses you. To do something is to act on it and yet try and separate yourself from it, ignoring that it has its own influence on you. Such perspectives limit the magician and dull the mind. The ontological approach acknowledges that everything is connected and that what is acted on, also acts on the magician. There is no objectification of reality, but instead a profound realization of connection and understanding that any situation encountered by the magician has a connection that goes deeper than what casual observation displays. And when the magician can make changes to his/her presence, the core of his/her own reality, s/he also makes changes to reality around him/her, changing the ontological state of not only him/herself but also reality as s/he interacts and understands it.

Planetary magic experiment update

I finished the last of the drawings. The one pictured above is Neptune's. Once I finished the drawings I did consecrations on each of them which involved asking them how I could work with them as well as asking for them to imbue the drawings with the requisite planetary energies.

Since doing that I've employed particular planets for particular tasks. For example, I've utilized Saturn to help me end a business relationship (so far so good). The other day I worked with Mars, asking to be kept on track while working on projects and found myself very focused, with very few distractions. On Friday I worked with Venus and Jupiter in terms of setting up the energy of the day to enjoy love and wealth respectively. I worked with Uranus to promote creativity.

In each case I noticed that after picking a theme or themes for the day via the planets that the energy of the day shifted to fit the planetary energy being worked with. It's something I'll continue to work with, but I'm rather pleased with how this experiment has worked out so far.

Book Review Financial Sorcery by Jason Miller

This is a practical guide to wealth magic, and just as importantly mundane measures a person can take to grow and sustain his/her monetary wealth. What I like best is how Jason Miller mixes magic with practical advice and shows why mundane measures must be employed along with magical efforts to succeed in wealth magic. He presents a variety of ideas on topics ranging from money management and investments to finding a job and getting a promotion to running your own business. I also like that he includes suggested reading with other books you can read to improve your financial knowledge. This is definitely a book you want to read if you are looking to employ wealth magic in your life.

The Magic List

Recently my wife introduced me to the show My name is Earl. It's a hilarious show with an interesting premise about Karma and lists. On a side note I am glad I discovered this show now, as opposed to a few years back, as I can happily indulge in bad accents, which this show definitely provokes.

But what has interested me most is the concept of the list, and Karma holding the main character to fulfilling the list. The character needs to make up for all the bad things he's done so he can live a good life. It's simplistic in a way and the character's choice to do it is based more on a selfish desire than a genuine wish to make up for harm done, but he changes as time goes on.

I don't necessarily think I'd go and create a list of every bad thing I've done, but I do think there's some truth to the notion that how you live your life creates what comes into your life. For a long time I lived a very chaotic life. Some of that was due to circumstances I had no control over initially, and some of it was due to my own choices. I wouldn't say it was a bad life, but it was chaotic and as such I encountered a lot of chaos as well. Then eight or so years ago I started doing internal work such as the elemental balancing ritual and meditation to work through the internal chaos. And as I did this work, I gradually found that my life started to change. Less chaos, more stability, and more realization of the impact my actions had on others and myself.

Continuing to do this work even now has shown me that it is possible to change your life, but to truly change you must be willing to examine in depth and take responsibility for your choices and the consequences of those choices. I am not an enlightened person and I have definitely made my share of bad choices and mistakes and hurt some people along the way. I'd never deny any of that, for the denial of such things denies an essential part of my life and identity. But even as I don't deny my choices, I also don't deny that I've made some good choices and had some positive impact on others through those choices. Most important however is the continued work to recognize and release myself from reaction so that I can make choices from a well-considered, conscious place of mind, body, and spirit.

A magic list might just be what some people need to change their lives, but genuine change must occur at the core of the person, through a realization of what the person can become, as opposed to some nebulous force that holds you accountable to change. If changed is prompted by an external force is it really genuine? Only if that change brings with it a realization on your own part of a desire to change yourself because you recognize a need to be responsible to yourself and others for your actions. Transformation starts from within and manifests outward in the way you live your life and in what kinds of situations you encounter as a result of your actions.

I can't say I'm a good person. Then again it's not necessarily my desire to be "good." (whatever that is). I can say, more and more, that I am a person of my own conscious choices and that I am content to live with the consequences of those choices, even when those consequences aren't favorable. I couldn't have said that 8 years ago. It's the conscious choices you make, both internally and externally, that speak to your identity and its expression on the world. You don't need a magic list or Karma for that...but what you do need is a willingness to hold yourself accountable and make your choices based on values you have chosen as opposed to ones provided to you by someone else. Move beyond your reactions...embody the life you want to live, based on the values you've chosen. That's magic...living life on your terms.

Charity special for Round 2 of the Process of Magic

For this week until Saturday the 18th, if you sign up for the Process of Magic class, I will donate half of your sign-up fee to Stepping Stones, which is a charity that helps Nigerian children accused of being Witches to reintegrate into their lives, as well as providing education, clothing, and other services to those children. This is a charity I support each time I do this class as a way of helping people who've been accused of being something they are not, being driven out, and/or killed as a result.

You get the satisfaction of helping some people in need, plus the opportunity to take a class that examines magic from a process oriented perspective. Below is an outline of the course:

Lesson 1: An overview of the process of magic

Lesson 2: You and Definitions of Magic

Lesson 3: Results, Change, and their respective roles in magic

Lesson 4: The anatomy of the process of magic

Lesson 5: Culture, Ethics and Ideology

Lesson 6: What isn't essential to the process of magic

Lesson 7: Connection and its role in the magical process

Lesson 8: Intention, Attention, and Magic

Lesson 9: Inhibitory Actions and Magic

Lesson 10: Excitatory Actions and Magic

Lesson 11: Internal Work

Lesson 12: Spiritual allies and the magical process

Lesson 13: Invocation 1

Lesson 14: Invocation 2

Lesson 15: Evocation 1

Lesson 16: Evocation 2

Lesson 17: Divination

Lesson 18: Enchantment

Lesson 19: Astral Projection

Lesson 20: Banishing

Lesson 21: Attunement with the land

Lesson 22: The Role of Limitation in the Process of Magic

Lesson 23: The role of Transformation in the Process of Magic

Lesson 24: The role of Mundane actions in the Process of Magic and What is your process of Magic?

The reality of overnight success in magic

R. J. Stewart, in Sphere of Art 2 notes: "It takes a long time to make something happen instantly by magic." I smiled when I read that, because it reminded me of what's said about overnight success, but also because it's true about magic. Magic doesn't just happen. There is a level of preparation and work that goes into a magical working that is important to consider. And even beyond there is also all the other experiences and training a person has which informs his/her approach to magic. It takes a long time to make something happen instantly speaks really to the experience of the magician, and the realization that even a unplanned, on the spot act of magic nonetheless has a history behind it that informs what's happening.

Experiences are the core building block for a magician. Reading books and understanding the principles of magic are important, but experiences are how you make magic your own and how you really come to know it. You can't know something you've experienced it...until it becomes a part of you and your outlook on the world. It's that knowing which allows you to express it in the world, and in yourself. And through that knowing magic can instantly happen because you've invested the time and experience into the magical work you do.

Book Review: After the Honeymoon by Daniel Wile

This is a must read book for anyone who is married or is in a serious relationships and wants to learn how to use conflict to improve your relationship. The skills in this books can also be applied to friendships, and business relationships. What I like about this book is that the author really explores the anatomy of conflicts, and how it shows up. He provides case studies and examples. Best of all, following the advice in the book works. You can turn conflict into a conversation that really gets to the heart of the issues being expressed in the conflict.

Media page is now up and Process of Magic Round 2 starts today!

First off, I've created a media page which has links to radio shows where I've been interviewed. It doesn't have every radio show I've been interviewed on, but it has a decent number. I'll add more as time goes on, as well as any events where I'm videoed and its accessible to others.

Secondly, the Second Round of the Process of Magic class starts up today. If you missed out on the first round and you wanted to take the class, now's the time. Or if you have questions about the class and want to know what's involved, contact me. I'm looking forward to working with the second round of students!

A word about copyright

I got a Google alert recently that showed that one of my books was available for free download on a site. I checked it out. I never put the book on that site and my publisher didn't either. So I sent them a DMCA takedown notice. Hopefully that will resolve the problem, at least temporarily. It's a good thing that I had an alert in place, because I doubt I'd find out otherwise. When I posted about this on some social networks, one person asked why I was concerned.

I'm concerned because I'm the author of that book. I spent who knows how many hours researching, experimenting, writing, and revising that book. And honestly, I'm not going to get a lot of compensation for the book. I'm writing for a niche audience within a niche audience. I get royalties and if I'm selling the book directly, I might make a bit more money then if the book is sold through Amazon or a bookstore, but either way I'm still not making a lot. But you know what? I want to be compensated for my hard work and effort. I want to get paid, even if its not a lot, for the writing I've done. I don't think that's unreasonable.

I know...some people will say: "Information wants to be free!" It's amazing how they have ascribed a desire to information, but as far as I know information doesn't give a flying fig about whether its free or not. Me, on the other hand...I care about the information I've compiled and written and put together and since I consider it to be my information, I can safely it doesn't want to be free. If it wants anything, it wants proper respect given to it and to the labors of someone who's worked to produce it.

I don't have a problem with Fair Use or a person quoting me (I do like proper attribution though!). I don't have a problem with a person writing about his/her experiences with my ideas and techniques. But I do have a problem when I see a site that offers a free download of my writing. My effort, my creation, my books deserve more respect. And its that same respect that I give every time I buy a book, quote and cite it, and for that matter review it, so others can get my take on it. That's why it concerns me...that's why it matters.