Stranger and Stranger

I'm reading the Necessity of Strangers by Alan Gregerman, which argues for the value of strangers in your life, because of how they open your horizons. The author points out that everyone you meet initially is a stranger, which is certainly true, but what I really like about the book is that it advocates that what strangers provide you is new perspectives that challenge how you think and what you do. And I think that challenge is essential if you want to experiment in a given discipline. As I've written before, one of the reasons I am able to experiment with magic is that I keep myself open to a variety of perspectives that fall outside the traditional occult disciplines, because I find that such perspectives provide me different angles through which to examine magic and my processes. Those different perspectives are what keeps magic relevant and fresh and provides opportunities to evolve it.

Such perspectives can be found in books and other materials, but also through meeting other people. One of the reasons I like to meet with people outside of my usual sphere of influence is that it provides me an opportunity to get new perspectives by learning about them and how they perceive the world. I may or may not agree with them, but even if I don't agree it still provides me different insights and ways to experience the world, and those insights are critical for experimentation purposes. Indeed, one of the reasons that I like my day time business is that it provides me lots of opportunities to meet with people who don't share the same sub culture interests or beliefs. I feel that such contact enriches me and my practice of my magic because I'm not just meeting people I agree with or people who share similar beliefs. I'm not keeping myself in a bubble that has everything I'm familiar with, but instead challenging myself to experience something new, even though what is new and different may not fit inside what I already know.

Sometimes it doesn't. A lot of times it doesn't. When I work with people that hold different beliefs or values, it can be uncomfortable, but that discomfort is good because it challenges the safe, conventional perspectives I have. Such a challenge is needed in order to keep a person grounded in my opinion. When you get wrapped up in your safe, conventional world view, supported by everyone around you, you lose touch, because you aren't challenging yourself or your views. You aren't staying open to new ideas or to discovering what you might not know. All of this is needed in a person's life, and I think in his/her spiritual practice as well. We see all too often the dangers that occur when a person is isolated from contrary views. S/he can become a fanatic fundamentalist, convinced that his/her way is the only way, Such a perspective leads to a dulling of the person.

So what are you doing to meet strangers, to keep yourself open to new perspectives?

Some Thoughts on Building Community

The concept of community has always been an interest of mine. I think it's been so important because I never really felt like I was part of a community. I felt like an outsider for so much of my life and while I wanted to be part of different communities, I could never really figure out how. Then the answer came to me...instead of trying to be part of something, why not just develop your own community. And that's what I decided to do. My initial forays into community building weren't very successful, but they were illustrative of what I needed to do. For example, when I first moved to Portland, I decided to start up a meetup at my house, where various friends could come and I'd present on some of the magical experiments I was working on. I soon realized that although the classes were a success, they weren't an effective way to build community, because the focus wasn't on being a community. I eventually stopped teaching and for a while just drifted.

My next attempt at building community was a bit more successful. I decided to propose a game night to my friends, where we could get together once a week and play various board games. And sometime after that I started another magical meetup night, but instead of just me teaching people, we decided to rotate it so that different members taught or shared what they are are working on. We also made it in to a potluck so that all of us could share a meal together. And through these activities I discovered that I was building a community. I've learned a couple of key lessons that I think can be applied by anyone seeking to build community in their own areas.

1. Don't assume that belonging to a given subculture automatically makes you part of the community at large. What I've discovered over the years is that although I identify myself as a Pagan and occultist, it doesn't necessarily mean I'm part of the community. This is a lesson I've learned at various locations and what it has really taught me is that to become part of a community you have to work at it. It doesn't happen just because you identify with a given subculture. And something else to remember is that you'll have multiple communities of a subculture. For example, in Portland, there is a chapter of the OTO in town, a community of hermetic magicians, several different general pagan communities, the magical experiments community as well as various solitaries (and probably some I don't know of). Not every community with be a fit for a given person, but given time you'll either find the right community or create one.

2. Shared interests are an excellent way to build community. I have found that shared interests are important for cultivating and strengthening community. I didn't have much in common with the majority of communities I encountered when I moved to Portland, so I decided to form my own and with my friends found people who had similar interests, which helped to build an investment in the community that was forming. Finding people who share your interests, both esoteric and otherwise, can be very helpful for establishing community, and providing a foundation of shared values that also appeals to other people who want something similar.

3. Shared responsibilities increase community participation. My first attempt at forming community didn't work because I was solely responsible for it and it was more or less a class as opposed to an actual community gathering. When I tried again, one of the things I asked for was that other people took turns presenting on topics of their own interest. By doing this, the other people became more invested and participation rose. We also made it into a social event, by making it happen around a meal and asking everyone to bring a dish of food for the meal.

4. It can be useful to keep your community semi-private. We don't post our events on social media sites such as Facebook. The community is semi-private in that people can bring guests, but the only online mention of the community typically occurs in my newsletter and in an e-list that is only for people who are part of the community. The reason it isn't public is because the community isn't automatically for everyone. It's for people who have shared interests, want to share what they are working on and also want to learn from others. The community is for people who feel called to join it and typically what I find is that a person will visit once and know shortly thereafter if s/he feels called to participate.

5. A community gels around a stable place to meet. A stable place to meet does a lot to solidify the community. Kat and I open our home up to the people in our community for our gatherings. I've noticed something similar in other stable communities and I think having one place for everyone to convene is helpful because it provides a stable physical environment that everyone knows.

Building a community of any sort takes effort and participation on the part of everyone that's involved. A community is only successful if the people involved in it make the effort to build and sustain the community together. The tips I've offered above can be helpful, but feel free to share some of yours in the comments below!

Unique

Sometimes I feel so keenly the edge of Zero,the loneliness of one I am unique I'm told as if it were a gift and blessing but such uniquity is a burden as well providing a singular vision not shared by others I see at angles no one else sees understand the universe in a way so rare that it either invokes ridicule or awe from those who witness it. I can put magic together such as you've never known to make the universe dance and sing at my caress but there's no who knows that part of me that dances on the edge of zero gazing into the merging of not and all 0 and 1 discovering the secrets of creations, the tremors of destruction the dissonant harmony of all things and none Oh what secrets I could tell you if you could find a way to walk my path but there's no one to walk this path with me no one to really understand the way I see things. I am as alone as alone can be walking this path with my secret self along tongue lolling out eyes laughing mockingly you know, you know, you know but what you don't know is so much more. I'll continue on this path awhile but I fear I won't find another soul I'm unique you see, so different as far as others can tell. There's no one here to share this journey I'm on. I'm out here on the edge singing my song, telling my story, but there's no one there to hear no one there to tell.

The Magic of your Appearance

When I was growing up, I used to believe that a person's appearance, that what s/he wore didn't matter. I had bought into this counter cultural belief that appearance didn't matter and wasn't genuine (which is ironic because every counter culture I know of has a specific image and appearance that is important and indicative of whether you belong or don't belong). My perspective on this has changed quite a bit, especially once I became self-employed. I find that appearance is important and that how you dress can help make an initial impression that is important in its own right. Your appearance has its own magic, in a sense, and I think it can be quite useful to work with that on a magical level.

The clothes you wear, while not inherently possessing magic, nonetheless do possess something else: The perceptions of other people as they look at those clothes on you. What is the image you convey, the impression that you make, the presence you embody? It is, of course, your presence, but it is a presence mediated by others as well. Tap into that mediation and what you tap into is how to turn the perceptions of others into a glamour all its own. And you know, we do it all the time. The goth wears black clothing to present a specific presence, with different ideas associated with it. To other goths, the clothes indicate belonging, and to yet other people, they indicate that the person is a goth. That's one example, but I'm sure you can think of others that apply.

When I put on a suit, I often think that what I'm really putting on is a magical garb of some sort. The suit becomes ritual garb for business meetings. It's expected at those meetings, and without it I wouldn't necessarily fit in or at least not be as accepted. Yes we can argue that its superficial to judge a person based on the clothes s/he wears, but if that's so why then does clothing matter so much? Why put all the effort into finding the right clothing for the right occasion? No one I know doesn't prepare on some level for an outing without putting attention into the appearance, what s/he will wear, and how it will appear to other people. When I put on a suit, I think about what it is supposed to convey. A suit conveys reputation, authority, as well as belonging in certain settings (and not belonging in other settings).

When you put any clothing on, take a moment to really settle into the presence of that clothing, into the message you are sending? What is your appearance trying to convey? What impressions do you want people to get? How will those impressions help you? Do the color choices of the clothing help you in your appearance or do they create some cognitive disconnect? When you wear your clothes step into them and make them part of your identity, part of what you are presenting to the world. Your appearance isn't you, but it is you...it is what you present to others, and it can be a gateway all its own.

Appearance matters. We can tell ourselves it doesn't and that its superficial to think it does matter, but when we tell ourselves such a message we are being hypocrites. After all, every time you put some thought into what you wear, you care about your appearance...it matters. I say let it matter, and step into it and make it part of your magical part, part of your work with your identity. Be present with yourself in the clothing you wear and let yourself be open to how that in and of itself speaks for you. There's magic to explore there if you are willing to be open to it.

Elemental Balancing Ritual Movement Month 14: Redirection

11-25-13 On Sunday we discovered that our water has been reduced to a trickle. We got the landlord over and he tried to figure the issue out. Tomorrow we'll have a plumber over to do a helium test, which will hopefully isolate where the leak is, but in all this I'm reminded of just how blessed I am to have water. Yes, this is an inconvenience, but compared to many people, it's just that. Kat and I are adapting as needed to handle it and that adaptation encapsulates for me the need to be able to redirect movement, to adjust to the difficulties and pleasures of life as they come your way. There is no certainty, no guarantee and what makes someone able to survive and even live is really based on how they adapt to the difficulties facing them. Do they let those difficulties define them and get them all bent out of shape or do they do what they can, get the help they need, and then focus on what's working. I've always been the latter kind of person. I might freak out for a moment and get upset, but I realize that indulging in those feelings is a waste of energy and effort that could be better applied to resolving the situation more effectively.

11-29-13 The other day, I got into an exchange with someone I consider to be a bit of a troll. This person consistently accuses other people of making fallacious arguments and then makes the same arguments. I think of this person as an Alpha Geek, the geek that always has to be right, always has to have the last word, and is always antagonistic because s/he has nothing better to do with his/her life. So I decided to set some boundaries, and let the troll know that if this person would continue to argue with me in the way s/he had previously done, I wouldn't bother responding. Not surprisingly the response was a typical alpha geek response. How I feel about it, however, is that I did the right thing. I set my boundaries and stopped participating in what I consider to be a non-constructive exchange. Instead of allowing movement to continue in a direction that had no benefit for me, and lots of frustration, I chose to re-direct and whether the person moved with me or not didn't really matter. At one time, I'd have gotten into a lot of drama with a person like that, but anymore I just don't care. I have too much I want to do with my life to spend time debating with someone who feels that s/he needs to be right more than actually engaging in constructive dialogue.

And then there's Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Kat and I had people over for dinner. I made the Turkey, while she made stuffing and green bean casserole. Making the Turkey is my favorite part and I've actually gotten pretty good at it. There's a process of basting and applying a mixture to it so that the Turkey has a taste of herbs to it. Fun stuff that I love to do. But Thanksgiving also brings up some other memories. I actually ended up thinking about my step-mom and her kids, probably because of memories with the holidays and also because my half-brother has recently done a couple of questionable activities, which have gotten him in trouble. I feel some empathy for him, but I also feel some tough life needs to be applied, and I have a feeling neither him nor my half-sister really had much in the way of tough love applied to them. What I recall, from my childhood was that I was the scapegoat and my half-sister was the golden child who could do no wrong. And if she did something wrong, I ended up blamed for it. That never sat right with me, and I recall the last Christmas I spent with my dad and the step-mom and telling my half sister that Santa wasn't real. I'll admit I told her out of a bit of spite and she believed it. My step-mom was furious and yelled at me, grabbed me and and then grounded me. I realize now I told my half-sister that because I wanted to take something from her, from her mom too, because of how I'd been treated. I wanted them both to feel some of the pain they'd caused me. And I say that not because I feel guilty about it now (I don't), but because I realize how much my interactions from those early years plays a role in the narrative of my life and my interactions with other people. My way of handling people in power has been to sneak around and sabotage them. I've done it in personal relationships, professional relationships, and everything in between. It's passive aggressive (and I own that), but it was learned because I didn't feel I could really speak or be me. I had to fit into a role and I didn't like that role...and I see that replicated throughout my life and where I do feel bad about it has more to do with how it has affected people in my life more recently. Because the thing is, I'm not in that dynamic anymore and I didn't have to be at any time in my adult life, and yet there it is...My baggage, my issues put me into that role, no one else. I own that and I also own the responsibility and power I have to change that. I don't have to keep doing the same movement again and again and again...it's my choice if I choose to do so.

11-30-2013 I painted tonight, closed myself off from everything and everyone and just painted. My paintings are highly personal. I share them, but they are for my spiritual work, and I've decided that I'll never put them up for sale, partially because of that reason and partially because I'd suspect that if anyone did my buy my paintings they'd do so more because I'd painted them than for the aesthetic quality of the paintings. I've actually mulled having my paintings destroyed when I die for those reasons. Not sure if I will or won't, but I lean more toward having them destroyed in the event of my death.

12-4-13 I did a talk on networking at one of the chambers I'm a member of. As I got ready to do the talk, I felt myself get restless. It used to be that I got nervous, but now its restless, eager, anticipatory, wanting to move, ready to move, ready to share. When I came up to speak, I felt myself come alive. Truth is I love professional speaking, because it can be quite a rush to share a message, to fully get into the moment and become a conduit for what you are sharing. Afterwards you realize it's time to ground, go back into yourself, but while you are speaking, it's something else...

Some days its hard to exercise. I think of exercise as a redirection of movement, because I'm re-directing myself to exercise instead of continuing to work or be a couch potato. There are days when exercise seems easy to do and days where all that keeps me doing it is my commitment to my health. On those days, the need to redirect my thoughts and movement are the strongest because all I really want to do is not exercise, yet I know that exercising will make me feel better in the long run, and even in the short run. It's that awareness which keeps me going, keeps me exercising, keeps me realizing that the way to being healthier isn't to give into what's easiest, but to focus on what's most important.

12-8-13 Yesterday I hit a wall. Actually I'd been hitting that wall the last few days, but yesterday was when I acknowledged it. I didn't feel inspired to write and in fact was at a loss as to what to write. When I feel that way, it hits hard because for me, writing is my medium of expression. So I started to do some layout work, while watching an episode of Star Trek Voyager and in the episode one of the characters was told to take a break and I stopped and I realized I needed to take a break from the computer, from writing, editing and layout and do something else, so I went to my bedroom and curled up with some books and my PS Vita and alternated between playing video games and reading. And it really did something for my mood because part way through reading I got an idea for an article I'm going to write. I still didn't write, because I realized I needed to give myself permission to just take a break and do something that wasn't focused on trying to generate an idea to write about.

Today, when I did my meditations, I went in deep. I felt/saw/experienced the various forms of movement in my life, becoming those movements, allowing myself to be those movements. There's no other way to really explain it, but it was a profound experience of movement as an element.

12-13-13 Sometimes in order to re-direct a movement you need to actually experience the movement in full to understand how it works and how it affects your life. Then, with that understand, you can make changes to the movement and re-direct it into a direction that is more beneficial to you. It might seem odd to actually go through a movement without changing it, but I don't think change can effectively occur without understanding the original movement.

12-17-13 I hung up the two paintings I recently created. One is hung on the wall over the bed, and the other is hung on the ceiling over the bed. One is used to invoke the sphere of art, which functions similar to a tesseract space/time magical working, and the other is used to interface directly with the cross roads, as a space/time junction of sorts. Both paintings function together and are an essential part of my continued space/time work. What fascinates me is how you can bind a given magical operation to a symbol or tool, like a painting, and then call it forth when you need it, instantly performed. I build a lot my magical tools that way, as I find it useful to have certain operations automated, but it's not something I see with most other people's works. I feel that if you can capture the essence of a practice and embody it into an object, it should effectively be something you can use to call forth that actual working.

12-18-13 Every movement a person makes is chosen. It can be an unconscious or conscious choice, but it is always chosen by him/her as part of his/her life and intention. Something to contemplate further, as I consider my own movements and how I've chosen them both consciously and unconsciously. I realized today that my choices, when it came to significant partners in my life, has been modeled of one degree or another by my interactions with my step-mom. How Freudian, right? But nonetheless certain patterns of strictness and behavior display themselves in different ways with the people I've gotten involved and I recognize that in some way I've been trying to resolve that relationship, to find closure to what happened to me early on, and it has played out in the various relationships I've been in. Makes me look at those relationships with different eyes, different awareness of myself and my movements, and how I will move as I continue on in this journey of life.

Some further awareness on this topic after considering what I meditated on. With just about every person of authority in my life, I have always, on some level, resented their authority and done my best to subvert it, and do what I wanted. It's not the most mature way to handle such issues, in large part because I presume the person has authority, instead of actually developing a relationship of equals. And while its true as a child that my step mom had authority over me, it certainly needn't apply to my life now, and yet I can safely say I have applied it to my relationships and that as a result I have sabotaged those relationships. I have not stepped up to be the man I could be, or the person I could be in my relationships (and yes I think there is a distinction between the two). And while my respective exes share some burden of the responsibility for the relationship, so do I, and while I've claimed that responsibility, I've never claimed it in this way, because I've never really understood that aspect of myself which responds to authority in quite the way that my work with movement has revealed it to me. I feel like I've had a critical moment of awareness occur, which has helped me better understand so many of my choices, not just in terms of behavior, but life choices as well. With such understanding comes change, and fortunately I've already been in a process of change that has shifted my approach to relationships from one where I've sought authority, to one where I seek a relationship of equals.

12-22-13 For the yule version of the magical experiments community meeting I presented on the elemental balancing work and on my work with movement. It was interesting to watch people react to the recognition that committing to the kind of work will change your life. A couple of people acknowledged that they felt uncomfortable with the level of commitment involved and with how it could change their lives. I get that, and yet I feel it important to really call out just how intense this kind of work can be. You do this kind of work and it does change you. It changes your relationships, it changes your sense of self. It calls on you to get serious and own your shit instead of continuing to act it out. If you're not experiencing changes as a result of doing this kind of work, you're not doing it right. This work is intentional and it calls on you to be intentional about your life. And it's not an easy process. If you were to meet the person who first started doing this work nine years ago, you'd have met a very chaotic individual. Over the last nine years, a lot of the rough edges have been worked out, but as with anything there is a cost. And while I don't think all of my life changes in the last 9 years are due solely to the elemental balancing work, I do think it's played a significant role in those changes.

So I noted their reactions and told them that the work could be hard, but also rewarding. At the same time, it's a calling of sorts. You don't do this kind of work on a whim....you do it because you accept the need to change your life and change how you live it. I'd do it all again, because that work, as hard as it has been, has also been liberating. So much of the dross has fallen away and I feel that my life has become much more stable overall, and that I've also focused more on my callings in life because the distractions have been cleared away.

12-23-13 Kat and I got new phones today. We'd gotten fed up with AT&T, which has poor service for where we live. And why do I mention this seemingly mundane detail? This month is about re-direction and it seems fitting to include that as part of the month. Beyond that, we visited the Chinese Gardens, which allowed me to rewrite a memory as well as experience Kat's first visit to the garden. The Chinese Gardens are a magical place. It feels like you look through different windows and see different realities. I feel that as I continue this working, I'm moving into a different reality as ell. Where I'll end up, I don't know, but the destination is perhaps the journey itself as opposed to any specific place.

Pop Culture Identity ideas

I've recently picked up some books on pop culture studies, to supplement the existing ones I had, and to help me with the research aspect of Pop Culture Magic 2.0. While I've written the first chapter of the book, I've felt the need to temporarily focus more on research and experimentation, and this has proven to be a wise idea. One of the books I'm reading is Textual Poachers by Henry Jenkins. I wish I'd read it back when I was writing Pop Culture Magick, because it would've supported a lot of the arguments I made about pop culture, but better later than never. What's most fascinating about the book thus far, is the focus on how fans have made their own interpretations of pop culture, and in a sense created their own identities around pop culture.

Textual Poachers was written over twenty years ago, but I see the same trends in pop culture now, and if anything they are much more significant. Cosplay, for example, speaks to how fans become characters they like, and in turn have their own identities shaped by that interaction. I've written about this topic in Multi-Media Magic, but what fascinates about it now, even more than before, is how identity pops up as an element of pop culture. I feel that the evolution of pop culture magic involves the integration of identity as an essential part of making pop culture a viable medium of magic.

When I examine pop culture now, as opposed to ten years ago, what stands out is how much pop culture seems to involve integrating the people into it. Cosplay is one example, but video games are another, and social media is yet another. There's this creation of multiple identities all linked together, sharing the identity of a person, but also changing that identity via the mediums being utilized. My own experiments with different forms of media as part of the formation of identity has shown me how much those mediums can help you experiment with your identity and map new behaviors and habits onto it as a result of describing the role those behavior/s habits have on you. It indicates to me just how much the identity of a person goes beyond a person's physical expression of that identity (i.e. body) and shows up in the person's life through their art, pictures, textual interactions. At the same time, I think the body is being integrated even more into explorations of identity and pop culture certainly plays a role in that exploration.

I feel that an evolution of pop culture magic will more than ever necessitate the participation of the magician in pop culture, not merely as a replicator of a given pop culture, but a creator of pop culture content that also is an expression of his/her identity and magical work (whether overtly or subtly). The magician mediates pop culture, becomes pop culture, is an expression of pop culture, and brings all of that back into his/her own sense of identity. There's a cycle there and it's one I'm hoping to explore more thoroughly as I continue to research, experiment, and write the book.

Book Review: Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that shape our Decisions by Dan Ariely

In this book, Dan Ariely shares the irrational aspects of our behavior and shows just how much sway and influence those aspects have in our decision making processes. We are far from being rational and logical about our choices, but fool ourselves into believing we're rational (which is irrational in and of itself). Through a variety of case studies, Ariely demonstrates how irrational we are, as well as showing how different environmental influences effect us. He explores the relationship we have with social and business behaviors, money, as well as stealing, dishonesty, and a variety of other behaviors that are all part of our irrational makeup. This is a must read book if you want to understand your own decision making process better and if you are fascinated with human behavior.

Why Practice informs the development of Theory

In my most recent article on Pagan Square, I discussed part 2 of the literacy of magic. I also gotten into an interesting discussion with a commenter. He argued that it was possible for a person to be a theorist in magic without actually practicing it. My response in kind was:

And I disagree with the notion that you can be an armchair theorist and know magic. You may know of magic, but that's different from actually knowing it. To know it is to practice it, to make it a meaningful part of your life, as opposed to just an intellectual understanding.

Having met all too many armchair magicians in my life, I can safely say they weren't even theorists, because all they could really talk about was what someone else had done. To be a theorist involves practicing magic because you necessarily need to have experience working magic before you can develop theories of your own on how magic works. Theorizing without practice isn't theory...it's speculation by a person too afraid to commit to the necessary rigors that any practice brings to any discipline.

Practice is an integral part of theory for the reason I explained above. Without practice, you cannot know magic, and you can't effectively develop a theory either. Any theory is defined by the practice and work that has gone into the theory. A theory is based off practices that are done again and again to obtain the same results. When we "theorize" without practice, then we are speculating. We don't know one way or another if our "theory" is correct or incorrect.

Practice brings with it a necessary rigor that allows the practitioner to challenge his/her own preconceived notions. that function, more than anything else, is why consistent practice is important. When we consistently practice magic, what we are are really doing is consistently applying ourselves to doing the necessary work that comes with any discipline, and consequently developing theories that are informed by the work we do.

I feel compelled to write about this this topic because what I see occur sometimes is a muddying of the distinction between theory and speculation. Anyone can speculate and many do to their hearts' content, but speculation doesn't make you an expert or prove that you know what you're talking about. It just proves you're good at bullshitting about magic. But I want more than that from someone who wants to talk magic. I want someone who can point to their own experiences and explain how those experiences informs their awareness of what magic is or how it works. Then I know the person knows magic, as opposed to knowing of magic (and even that can be argued). As I mentioned above, what I've encountered with armchair magicians is not a comprehensive knowledge of magic, but a lot of pontification, speculation and knowledge of a given occultist (usually Crowley) . It doesn't impress me. They don't know magic, no matter how much they might believe otherwise. Knowing magic demands much more...it demands practice and a willingness to put yourself out there and test what you can do. Not everyone can or will step up, but you'll always know who the real practitioners are , because what they'll speak of demonstrates how they've applied magic to their lives.

Book Review: Make Magic of Your Life by T. Thorn Coyle

This book is a useful guide for doing internal work and connecting with what you desire. The author provides exercises to help the reader work on him/herself, as well illustrating concepts with anecdotes. If you are someone who feels like you're out of touch with life or unhappy with the direction your life is going, pick this book up and do the exercises. You will certainly obtain clarity as a result and be better able to manifest what you truly want because you'll have worked out the internal tensions stopping you from being successful. The author will challenge you to be authentic with yourself and will help you take the steps to reach that goal.

Two Space/Time Magic Paintings

I've been meditating on several symbols I was given during a recent workshop I did with R. J. Stewart and Annastacia Nutt. I found that these symbols are very relevant for my spiritual work, especially with space/time magic and I was told recently that I needed to paint them. Below is the first one:

This one is called cross roads, and represents the intersection of the cross roads. As I meditated on the image of the cross roads as it related to space/time magic, it became very clear how much the crossroads can play a role in choosing to manifest a distinct possibility as a reality. The next painting is below:

This painting is the Sphere of art, representing the the three zeros as they interact to create a precise point of space/time which is removed from the rest. This is something I've been working with since I first started reading William Gray's work. R. J. was an actual student of Gray and has taken the concept and extended it further in his own way and I've found it to be very helpful in my work.

What Defines Advanced Magic?

Recently I finished reading Advanced Magical Arts by R. J. Stewart (see below for the review) and one of the questions I ended up asking is what defines advanced magic? As I read the book, what I took away from it wasn't necessarily what I'd consider to be advanced magic, but I recognized that the context of the material, i.e. how it would be used and who would use it would necessarily inform the perception of it being advanced magic. In other words, because the material is part of a specific magical tradition, for people in that tradition it would be considered advanced magic. However, out of that context the material wouldn't necessarily be advanced magic, and this made me consider that advanced magic is something which can be hard to define, because what one person considers advanced magic another person won't.

I posted an article on the literacy of magic, which I feel illustrates this issue, because a given literacy of magic is similarly hard to define, especially when you consider that different people from different traditions have varying ideas about how important magic is or isn't to their spiritual practices. So where then lies advanced magic and what makes advanced magic advanced? I think that part of what makes a given magical practice advanced has more to do with the practitioner than the techniques. What amount of time and practice has the person put into magic? How has that practice shaped him/her and his/her experience of the world?

Magic is a personal experience as much as its a spiritual force to be worked with, and I think that advanced magic is similar really. All the books, tools, artifacts etc., are not in and of themselves advanced magic. They just serve to provide insight on magic, but ultimately you are needed to experience whatever advanced magic is. You are the ultimate component and your work with magic is what makes it significant to your life. You could read my books, R.J.'s or any other author's book and what you'll see are collections of techniques and practices, but what makes any of it come to life is you, more so than anything else. It's good to remember that, because then you recognize the ultimate authority in your spiritual isn't some author or tool or deity. The ultimate authority is you and what you do with magic speaks more to its significance and the advancement of your spiritual path than any words I or anyone else could offer. At best, whatever influences your practice hopefully inspires you to continue developing your spiritual practice, but you will know you are an advanced magician when you can take hat you've learned and make it your own, while also developing your own practices.

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

In this book the author shares a number of rituals and walks the reader through the mechanics of each ritual, as well as explaining the underlying process that informs the ritual. These rituals are specific to the magical tradition the author is part of, so what makes this an advanced book on magic has more to do with the tradition itself, and how the rituals in this book contribute to a person progressing through that tradition. Beyond that particular facet, the book doesn't necessarily lead to a more advanced understanding of magic in general. A lot of what the author shares can be applied across tradition, in terms of the mechanics, but you'll find similar instructions in those traditions. With that said this is a good book to have in your magical library if you are interested in western esotericism and in particular with utilizing magic for spiritual work.

Why DIY and Tradition ground each other in magical work

Jason Miller recently wrote a post arguing that DIY magic is overrated. He makes a good point about DIY Magic and how it can be overemphasized to the point that a person ignores tradition. In my own experience, you can't effectively experiment with magic or DIY it (if you prefer) until you've grounded yourself in the traditions/foundations of magical work. While I'm a big proponent of experimentation and personalizing magic I agree with Jason that you need to know what's come before in order to understand what you can do with what you've got.

My own magical practice is grounded in tradition, in so much as I've studied various works of authors and replicated their practices before experimenting with them. I am, unlike Jason, not part of any formal occult lodge or order, so in that sense I've never belonged to a spiritual tradition (nor felt called to), but I've always believed that understanding magic involves learning from the people who came before me, and that in order to effectively experiment its essential to ground yourself in the theory and practice provided by others. The choice to ground yourself in the work of others doesn't mean you unconditionally accept everything they've written or done, but rather that you try it and learn it before you experiment.

At the same time, I think that experimentation is essential for advancing tradition. It can be all too easy to get caught up in tradition and mired down by what others have done, but when you do so, you lose an essential part of magic which is found in the creative experimentation with it. DIY is one approach to experimentation and what it provides us is a way to create our own tools for magic, to personalize what we do, based on the intimate recognition that knowing magic can ultimately be a very personal act. now such DIY can't effectively happen without being grounded in tradition. For example, while I paint my evocation circles and sigils, which are a DIY tool, before I even do that I make initial contact with the spirit and get its insights on the process because I understand it to be an essential part of the magical work I'm doing.

What tradition really provides is context for DIY to occur in. In other words, just going and experimenting without really having a foundation in traditional approaches to magic isn't going to work very well, for the simple reason that you can't even call what you are doing experimentation. You don't know enough to experiment without having a foundational knowledge in magic that provides you enough context to question it and examine how you could improve on what you know. That's what tradition provides...the experiences and knowledge to allow you to question what you know and change it.

What DIY does for tradition is show how the tradition can evolve and change. What tradition does is ground DIY by providing perspectives of what came before. Both are needed in magic, and neither is necessarily better than the other. A magician who knows what s/he is doing is able to draw on tradition as well as do DIY magic, and should be able to get consistent results with both.

Upcoming Correspondence and Live Classes

Look below to see the classes I'll be teaching over the next few months. Several of the classes are live, in person events, while one of them is a correspondence course

The Process of Magic Class Round 7 starts on Wed Dec 11th.

Magic is a process that changes you and your relationship with the world, if you understand how the process works.

In this 24 lesson class, we will explore what the process of magic is and how it applies to you and your magical work. If you’re looking for a different perspective on magic that explores the underlying principles of how magic works, instead of focusing on the tools, ceremonies, and other optional features, this class is for you. -

Learn more...

2 live class special January 26th at Deforest House in Portland, OR for Alchemy of Breath and Ritual Sonics. Bring a Friend and Save $10 each on the class

Alchemy of Breath

Your breath is the gate to inner alchemy, which is the cultivation of your internal energy for spiritual work and practical magic. 

In this class we will explore the magic of breathing and how you can use breath to tap into and cultivate internal energy for physical wellness, spiritual well-being, and for practical magic. Your breath is a tool that can help you improve the quality of your life and access reservoirs of power within you, if you know how to work with it.

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Ritual Sonics

Your voice is a powerful magical tool that can change your spiritual relationship with the world, if you know how to work with it.

In this class we will explore the relationship between sound and magic, and you’ll learn how to apply your voice to your spiritual work. Even if you are an off-key singer, this class will be fun and teach you how to use and appreciate the spiritual beauty of your voice.

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Mark your Calendars! Weaving the Web: Using space and Time to Enhance your Magical Practice happens on March 29th and 30th.

Space and Time are a web that weaves the possibilities of magic into the realities of life. When you learn to weave the web of space and time, you learn how to manifest possibility into reality.

In weaving the web, you will learn how to work with Space and Time as distinct principles of magic that can be applied to your life and spiritual practices. These principles of magic can fit with any spiritual tradition, while allowing you to enhance the effectiveness of your magical work, as you apply it to your life.

Learn more...

Breathing practices and movement work

I've been learning some moving meditation from a book I've been reading on Dzogchen, as well as some suggested breathing exercises. It's meshed nicely with what I already do for my daily work, but I've also noticed some interesting effects. The exercises I do don't involve any leg movement (you sit in the full lotus position). You move your neck, torso, your arms, and your pelvis, as well as the perineal muscles. There's a series of exercises you do and each of them is to help you with an elemental energy. What I noticed when I did the exercises is that I felt connected to my body more closely, both during the meditation and afterwards. I also felt that I connected with my internal energy and that doing the exercises circulated the energy.

One night after doing these exercises I did go through a bout of insomnia where I intimately felt connected to my body to the point that I felt every sensation and couldn't do anything to get the sensations to stop. Every itch, ache, and other feeling stood out in sharp relief. This lasted for a few hours. Eventually it subsided and I was able to sleep but it stood out to me and I realized doing the meditation was probably what caused the experience. This didn't stop me from doing it the next day, but I made sure to cycle the energy down a bit when I went to sleep.

Another thing I've been working on is a breathing exercise. With the breathing exercise, when you inhale, you pause and then inhale again. After that you exhale. the inhale, pause, inhale is done in order to use your lungs to their full capacity. I'd never come across this particular breathing technique before, but I've been doing it as I do the exercises and that also seems to contribute to the intimate experience of body awareness that I felt.

From Healing with Form, Energy and Light

"Realizing the nature of mind, we find that what we are in the inseparable state of awareness and emptiness. When we realize that, we realize the essence of space. If we abide in the nature of mind, merged with space rather than identified with what arises in space, there is an effect in life. There is nothing to defend no self that needs protecting because our own nature is spacious and can accommodate everything...Space is the ground of everything, the fundamental reality. We generally think of earth as representing groundedness, and it does as long as we believe ourselves to be one thing separate from everything else. In duality, earth is the ground, space is the absence of ground. But in Dzogchen, space is the ground. The practitioner merged with space is more grounded than earth because he or she is the space in which earth exists"

This saying, to me, fits what I've experienced doing the meditations. It's a feeling of clarity, a feeling of emptiness and awareness, a realization of space. I feel like I am everywhere and nowhere. I experience my body and its place in the world differently than before. I'm going to continue pursuing this meditation and seeing where it takes me as I feel it'll be useful for both the internal work I'm doing and some of my experiments.

Book Review: Healing with Form, Energy and Light by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

This is a fascinating book which explores the elemental principles of spiritual work done in Dzogchen and Tibetan Shamanism. The author shares how to work with elements and provides practical exercises that can be done by the reader, provided s/he is willing to put the time and effort in. I like this book because I feel that it provides further insight into Tibetan spiritual practices and how they work, as well as how they can be integrated into your practice. The author does an excellent job of explaining the concepts and practices. If you are interested in Tibetan spiritual practices, read this book, as well as the other books by the author.

Elemental Balancing Ritual Movement Month 13: Opening Up

10-23-13 The last couple of days I've been working with the three tree spirits and one of the things I've been doing is just opening up to them so that I can let them in and let myself feel the interaction with them. This is not something which comes easily to me. Despite how open I might seem on this blog, in truth I am a fairly closed and guarded person, who rarely lets people (let alone anything else) in beyond a certain point. Something Kat has been teaching me is how to open up to someone I genuinely trust and love. I've been teaching her the same thing, and its a lesson that takes time to learn. So I've been allowing myself to open up to the trees and connect with them on a deep level. When I work with them, I can feel their presence in my body and that has some interesting sensations on its own which has been helpful for me to experience. I am reminded that as much as I am comfortable in some ways with myself and my body and the experience of feeling, in some ways I am not and I am just now allowing myself to be open to the experiences.

10-25-13 I'm frustrated today. My main computer had an update for windows 8.1 and I updated it and then the wireless no longer worked. So I tried to fix it and ended up creating more of a problem. Fortunately I have a professional who can help (hopefully), but afterwards I decided to meditate and calm myself. I knew I couldn't do anything else about the situation and I also knew that what I really needed to do was simply allow myself to feel the emotion and then let go. I've done what I can, and now I can let go.

10-26-13 One of the ways I've been opening up has involved allowing myself to really acknowledge the level of love that Kat has for me. I have never experienced being so loved until her. Indeed when I look back at previous relationships what I see, both on my part, and on the part of others, is conditional love, but with Kat I've come to recognize it is unconditional love. She loves me for me, as opposed to what I can do for her or what role I can play. It's truly an amazing gift.

10-29-13 I've gotten nothing done in the last few days. When these occasional moods hit me, it's hard because I'm functional enough to take care of clients and do networking for the business coach business, but that ends up being the extent of it. This particular bit of malaise was brought on by the main computer crashing, which I now have back, but regardless of what the cause is, the end result is not much gets done. Inevitably I wind myself back up and get more done, but it hits hard.

10-30-13 Today I got myself motivated enough to do more, to get moving. And I had an interesting meditation on a symbol given to me during the Oak, Ash, and Thorn workshop. As I meditated on the symbol, the symbol itself went away and I experienced this multi-colored space. Every time I tried to go back to the symbol I was told to let go and open myself to the experience, as well as being told not to mistake the symbol for the experience. So I opened myself to the experience and at some point the subject of measurement came up, and how measurement is used to define reality and also to turn possibility into reality. It reminded me of definitions and reality (and isn't a measurement just another type of definition). It makes me realize how much measurements and definitions are used to mediate experiences such as space.

11-1-13 Sometimes it's important to know when to put the brakes on movement. Yes we can allow ourselves to be moved, but at the same time it's important to consider what we're moving toward. From my own experiences, I've allowed myself to get swept up in a feeling and to act on that feeling without considering the consequences. The problem that occurs is that when you allow yourself to be moved without examining what you are moving toward, you can find yourself in a place you didn't plan to be in. Its like being on a boat in a river, where you don't use the oars. you're moving along fine and dandy, but because you are taking the time to direct the movement, you go down a waterfall or sink your boat on the rapids. Yes, we need to let ourselves be moved, but we also need to provide some direction for that movement, in order to recognize how that movement is effecting not just ourselves but the people around us. This isn't always easy to do, but it is always necessary.

11-2-13 In meditation today I worked further with a symbol I'd been given during the Oak, Ash, and Thorn workshop. What's interesting is that as I worked with the symbol, I applied a 3 d perspective to it and it created seven directions as a result, which is something that occurs in the Sphere of Art work, as well as the zeroing work that William G. Gray did. It also occurs in the quablistic sigil of the cube of space. It's fascinating to see the parallels. I'm going to start working with the other symbols in tandem to see what I discover.

11-4-13 Sometimes I think I'm a beautiful, toxic, monster. It's an odd belief to have about one's self and it's not something I feel nearly so much as I used to, but on occasion it does come to the surface. In a conversation with Kat last night, and in meditation as well, I acknowledged that I have trouble letting other people take responsibility for their end of things. I'm inclined to take all of the responsibility on myself. It's something I learned early from my step mom and its something which I've seen replicated since in other relationships. I learned early on that I was responsible for everything wrong. If my half-sister did something wrong, I ended up getting blamed. And I took that with me into interactions I have even now. I told Kat that on some level I do recognize that there is shared responsibility, but that emotionally its something I'm still processing. Accepting that other people share responsibility is hard for me, in a sense, because if I accept that it also means I give up some control of the situation. However it's something I'm going to work on because I think it'd be healthy for me to do.

11-5-13 Some further thoughts about other people taking responsibility and how I relate to it. I've always felt that if I let other people take responsibility and validate my feelings that I'm taking away from the validation of their feelings. Again this is a pattern I see going all the way back to my step mom. It's not something which really makes sense, and its actually quite harmful because I'm not really opening up when I don't take the time to acknowledge my own feelings and pain on a given issue. I also realize it doesn't really allow me to connect with someone when I don't share what I'm feeling or allow myself to accept that a person is willing to take responsibility.

11-7-13 Opening up and sharing what you're feeling without trying to blame, without trying to guilt...sharing for acknowledgement and release. Opening up and acknowledging that responsibility can be shared. That's what the last couple of days has been like. I've been doing some dissolving in my meditation and today I ended up meditating about past regrets of people past and allowed myself to stop taking all the responsibility and let some of it go to the other people involved. I think so much of my regret has really been taking on too much responsibility. And I don't know if any of those people I meditated on ever did or didn't own their share of things, but it wasn't really about that. It was about me acknowledging I didn't need to be wholly responsible and that I could allow someone else to share in the responsibility. That feels healthier for me.

11-11-13 Today I tried out movement exercises from Healing with Form, Energy, and Light by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. When I tried these movements out, what really stuck with me is how present I became with my body and how good that felt to me. It's similar to how I feel after exercising, but also different, because I felt myself go into a different altered state of consciousness that was more meditative and energy oriented. In fact as I did the movements, I could feel my internal energy respond (as I've shared in a separate post) and it felt comfortable to me. I'm going to continue these daily practices because I feel they will help me connect even more meaningfully with movement as an element.

Kat and I also got into some deep conversations this weekend about shared responsibility. It feels good to share responsibility with her and to acknowledge my own need for responsibility to be shared. I was able to say a few things that I'd been holding onto and it made me feel more present with her as a result. And it also made me realize how much of a team we already are, which is something I'd never felt previously with other people. We also meditated on one of the symbols I'd gotten from the workshop and fond that there was a lot of connection to the sphere of Art and William Gray's Omnil/zeroing practice. I'm not really surprised at that, but it goods to see that someone else got a similar result.

11-13-13 I meditated on another symbol today and it provided another layer to what I'd already been meditating on. I ended up actually combining the two symbols, and they did so seamlessly. Memory and imagination provide the context of past and future, and when combined provide the present as well. The vertice of space provides the base reality through which the horizontal probability of time flow, while Imaginary Time provides access to both improbable and probable possibilities that can be used to shape reality. A possibility becomes more improbably the more it is based in memory (past) or imagination (future). It becomes more probable when it can be linked to space (typically closer to the present). However improbable possibilities shouldn't stop a magician (in fact a seemingly improbable possibility can become very probable with the right planning and actions linked to magical work). I feel like what I've received is further refining my system of space/time magic and it's something I look forward to developing in even further detail.

Some further reading of Healing with Form, Energy, and Light unearthed this gem: "Though practice will not remove all the difficulties of a life, it will lead the practitioner to better ways to deal with problems...Most people don't know how to be with a problem and often don't have a good method of working with difficulties. Instead they have the pervasive idea that problems have substantial causes and that the resolution of the problems lie there...Some people think that to accept problems is to support them, that acceptance means not addressing problems, but that is not what I mean. Accepting that there will always be problems means opening to all of life, not only to what is positive, but to everything."

He makes a really good point. There will always be problems and its ok to accept that, to accept them and be present with them. I think, from my own experiences, I've tended toward trying to solve problems, trying to move away from them, but not always really making the effort to be present with them. If internal work has taught me anything its that your problems are part of you and unescapable, but that they don't have to define you. Additionally if you make time to really sit with them, really be present with them what you can uncover is so much more than the "cause." You can uncover a lot by just being present. Learning to sit with your problems can also teach you to really be present with yourself and others effected by those problems. Instead of trying to run toward a solution, toward a place of not having the problem, why not accept it and really explore it? It will likely be uncomfortable, but it will also teach you a lot.

11-16-2013 I'm listening to The Rolling Stones song "Down in the Hole." It's a song I listen to whenever I'm feeling down on myself. It's a great song to listen to when you feel like crap because it just hits those feelings and expresses them (which I think is a good thing). Today I was working on the web and flyer copy for a couple different classes coming up. Writing copy, for me, is hard work because it's really focused on concisely explaining why someone should sign up for a class, but a book etc. I can do it, and I even have a formula for it, but it challenges me as a writer. But that's not why I'm listening to this song.

I'm listening to this song because I'm feeling a bit down on myself today. Call it the movement working or the Dark night of the soul I'm experiencing due to Pluto being in my chart. Call it just letting myself feel those feelings and be open to them, and letting the song express those feelings for me. I think maybe why I'm listening to this song as well is because I'm working my tail off as a self-employed business person and while its a journey getting incrementally better, it's taking a lot of work to get those increments. I'm not complaining, because I know that's true for many people who go out to be self-employed, but listening to this song lets me, for a moment, just be in that hole and allow myself to feel the pain and hurt I sometimes feel. Because sometimes I do feel it...sometimes I just suffer, just like anyone else I suppose. And I don't have a problem admitting I feel this way sometimes. It's a lot less often than it used to be, but sometimes I feel this way, and today is one of those days.

11-20-13 Something I've discovered through experience is that the more secrets you hold onto, the more weighed down you get by all the crap that comes with those secrets. I guess a collective "duh!" might be in order, but I think for most people this isn't nearly the common sense it seems to be. Because the truth is we carry secrets with us all the time and not just the obvious ones either, but also the small secrets, ones that you keep from yourself as well as others. the secret can even be something where instead of being about how you feel, you say you're fine. And it all adds up eventually. I think that the so-called mid-life crisis is an example of secrets adding up to a point where the person just has to do something to get those secrets off him/herself.

For me opening up isn't just about opening up to someone else, but also opening up to me. It's about letting the walls down within myself so that I can know and trust myself better, and consequently extend that to the really important people in my life. It's about letting go of the secrets I've held onto, large and small, and seeing them for what they really are: Not protective defenses that keep me from being hurt, but walls of a prison that keep me from really connecting meaningfully with people in my life. I see that as I continue to open up to Kat, while it may not initially be easy, it does makes the relationship much better because there is openness between us. But first I need to be willing to open up to myself so that I can be truly present with myself, instead of continuing to act out old patterns of behavior. Doing that allows me to be ready to open up to other people.

And how all that relates to movement? Movement is a lot easier when you aren't carrying burdens that hold you back from really being present.

Trench Coat Magic

 

The other day I needed to get a new trench coat. I've had my old one for over ten years, and its well worn, well loved, and even has a hole or two in it. In short its time to retire it. So the other day I went to Burlington coat factory and found a very nice replacement. As soon as I put it on, I felt like I was settling into this warm, comfortable garment that served to not only protect my body from the cold but also, in its own way, became a magical robe of sorts. I've actually felt that way about all of my trench coats.

For me a trench coat is a magical garment. It's a lot like a robe, really. It's got nice long sleeves, and it flows most of the way down your body, plus it wraps around you to cover your entire body. When I'm wearing a trench coat I feel like I'm wrapped not only in the cloth, but also magic itself. Perhaps part of what I like about a trench coat is that it is just a bit formless. When you put it on, you can't tell that much about the person's body or what s/he is concealing underneath the coat. As someone who's grown up with some street smarts, I can tell you that anything which is concealing in that way is quite useful as a posturing tool of sorts.

A trench coat is warm. The lining does an excellent job of keeping your body heat. That warmth reminds me just a bit of the description of Raistlin and his body heat. When I put the coat on, and I feel the heat as a result, I also feel like the magic is surrounding me. I've done enough rituals out in the winter cold to appreciate a good trench coat and how marvelous it can be for keeping me warm, but also how it feels as I move around and the garment presses against me, or flows around me, much like a magician's robe might.

I don't know that there is any inherent magic to a trench coat or any other garment, but I think what it evokes for me is what makes the coat special. It's how I feel as a result of wearing it that really matters. That experience is magical and in turn it makes the coat magical.

Expectations and Magic

I came across this intriguing post from Chirotus Infinitum about weather magic and expectations of failure the other day. What I liked about it is that he really explores the expectation that some people carry around that magic will fail, which is coupled in turn with putting it all on a deity instead. I'm inclined to agree with Chirotus's perspective, which is that it's a load of BS to have expectations that magic will fail. But it also doesn't surprise me that some people try to put a moratorium on weather magic or magic of any type that's practical. I think that some people find the idea of practical magic to be a bit threatening. Practical magic is all about applying change to the environment around you and when you do that you're taking something into your hands that typically has been associated with deities and the like. You're taking power into your hands and all the responsibility that comes with it.

Chirotus is quite right that weather is a complex system to work with, but what I find fascinating is how there is this tendency to discourage practical magic in certain quarters of Paganism. Chirotus discusses how there's an expectation set up that a person will fail, and I think that expectation comes from the fact that in some cases people don't know what they are doing with magic. And so the expectation to fail is easily set up because if you don't understand what you're doing, you really can't succeed.

One of the problems I have with spell books is that when you look at your typical spell it's a recipe that gives you a set of instruction, but doesn't really explain the underlying principles of magic or how its supposed to work. You do the spell and then you wait and see if something happens...it's all left up to chance. Chance is a bitch. I have a similar problem with deferring to a higher authority to make things happen. You see that deferment in the Christian religion and sometimes you see it in Paganism, which Chirotus points out in his article. Let deity X handle this problem for me. The problem with doing that is you're relying on the whim of some other being to actually favor you. On the plus side, if the situation doesn't work out, you can always blame deity x for not doing anything, but then you might ask a question which is: "Why should deity X care about my situation enough to do something?" And the answer is that deity x probably doesn't care because deity X is busy doing what Deity X needs to do...or maybe s/he cares, but s/he is busy fielding all the other requests as well (From what I hear this gets pretty tiresome).

There's a saying that God takes care of those who takes care of themselves. I like that saying, because it puts the responsibility back on you. You take care of it instead of waiting for something else to come along and do it for you. You take the power and the responsibility and you do something. And yes sometimes you'll fail, but if you're smart you'll learn from that failure because you'll look at magic as a process instead of as something you do in the hopes that something might happen. You'll look at what you've done and you'll take it apart to figure out what didn't work and then you'll put it back together again, better than before.

And get rid of expectations. They are another form of fixating on results to the point that you lust for them. Yes that's true even with negative expectations. If you expect that magic will fail you are setting up a negative result and focusing on it to the point that you blind to other possibilities. That's the last thing you need in your magical process. Forget expectations about magic and focus on working your process and learning from it. And do some practical magic to solve your problems instead of waiting for something to come along. Do the practical magic because you know it's better to take action and push for a change. That's how magic works really. It works because you do it, because you see a need for it, and you take it on yourself to exercise the power within you to change reality. And for some people that's frightening...but if you're a magician its something you take on because you know you have the power and the responsibility to handle it.

Round 7 of The Process of Magic Starts on Dec 11

 

Round 7 of the Process of Magic class starts on Wednesday December 11th.

Magic is a process that changes you and your relationship with the world, if you understand how the process works.

In this 24 lesson class, we will explore what the process of magic is and how it applies to you and your magical work. If you’re looking for a different perspective on magic that explores the underlying principles of how magic works, instead of focusing on the tools, ceremonies, and other optional features, this class is for you.

I decided to take Taylor Ellwood’s Process of Magic class after many years of magical practice and study as a way to reboot my work. I’ve been involved with a few traditions but have generally been very eclectic in my approach. In my view eclecticism is a strength if you can find a way to synthesize all of those disparate takes on the magical path. Taylor has stripped away most of the window dressings associated with magic. Instead of focusing on style and aesthetics he focuses on the roots of practice and the processes underlying them. For those who are already involved in magic but are wondering how to weave together the rich variety of strands available to us in the 21st century, examining the processes that underly all magic, no matter the flavor, is an excellent place to start. For newcomers and beginners this course will help you quickly move beyond the 101 stage and help you start getting your hands dirty with practical magic.

Testimonial from Justin Patrick Moore

Outline of the class

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

Interested in learning more or signing up? Visit the Process of Magic class page.

The Illusion of Omnipotence: an exploration of relationships with spirits

I was recently reading one of the issues of Batwoman. In that issue, she's with Wonder Woman and she's hunting down Medusa. Before she does that she meets Pegasus, who is a son of Medusa. He's been attacked by another son of Medusa and although he is alive he has wounds which won't heal for a long, long time, because people don't believe in him anymore, and faith is an integral part of his existence, as well as integral to him being healed. He ultimately ask Wonder Woman to end his life because he will be in lots of pain otherwise, so she does, and afterwards Batwoman asks if he'll ever be able to come back and Wonder Woman says only if people believe in him, at which point Batwoman defiantly says she believes. It's an interesting statement she makes, but what interests me even more is that you see similar such statements about deities and spirits in other fictional works. For example in American Gods, Neal Gaiman talks about how each continent has its own versions of the gods, as well as how the belief in those continents affects the gods. David Eddings, in his books offers a similar metaphysics description of the gods and their reliance on the belief of their worshippers.

While I've seen this perspective offered up in Fiction, I think there's enough corresponding evidence to suggest that there's more to this concept than just fiction. For example, Judeo-Christian mythology has plenty of stories which demonstrate just how jealous Yahweh is, and how much he demands the faith of his worshippers be focused only on him. Then there's the various mythologies which suggest similar expectations on the part of the Gods. The desire for offerings also speaks to this concept having some basis in reality. And what all this suggests to me is two things:

1. Omnipotence is an illusion. What I mean by this is simple. There is no such thing as omnipotence on the part of the spirits or our part either. When there is a reliance on faith and belief, then there's also a recognition that the power that comes about as a result of said faith and belief can dry up. Indeed, if you think about it your average spirit won't exert too much power because there may be a longer term need for it. At the same time there is an expectation in the saying that those who help themselves are helped by God. Omnipotence isn't the name of the game with the spirit world. Rather it is about relationships and cultivating relationships that are mutually beneficial to all involved.

2. We have a symbiotic relationship with spirits. In Healing with Form, Energy, and Light, the author talks about how we have a symbiotic relationship with the spirits. They can help or hinder us, as we can do the same to them. Naturally he advocates taking a compassionate approach to such a relationship and I'm inclined to agree.  Such an approach does involve offerings, but also involves recognizing how the spirits mesh with our lives. We understand that the relationship isn't a one way street in either direction. Rather there is a give and take, a symbiotic connection that can worked with consciously not merely in the form of prayers and offerings, but deeper still into the actual connection we establish with given spirits and how that connection plays out in our everyday lives.

Instead of treating spirits as all powerful beings, what if we were to instead consider to just be different beings that have needs, which are different from ours, but nonetheless are something we can meet. Such an approach might change our relationship with a given spirit, in the sense that we'd consciously recognize how we were interacting with it, as well as how that played out in our lives. This could a healthy way to explore the relationship a given person with spirits.

Now for some people this may not work. They have a particular role that they place their relationship with the spirits and that role defines their interaction. I get that. What I suggest for the rest of you is that you take a moment to consider whatever your given relationship is with your spirits, deities, etc., and ask yourself what you want it to be, as well as what you are willing to give to make it become whatever it could be. For example, recently I've taken to thanking my spirits each day. A simple heartfelt thanks offered each day without expectation, but done simply to say thanks and be grateful. I do it not as a form of worship, but rather as an acknowledgement of their presence. It's subtly different and yet speaks to the relationship I wish to cultivate with them. And I find that they are not offended, but rather are pleased to be engaged with in such a way. The acknowledgement of the symbiosis is a profound acceptance of each other as integral presences within our respective existences.

Call for Writers– Bringing Race to the Table: An Exploration of Racism in the Pagan Community

Email for inquiries and submissions: Crystal Blanton Megalithica Books, an imprint of Immanion Press (Stafford, U.K./Portland, OR, U.S.A) is seeking submissions for the Bring Race to the Table: An Exploration of Racism in the Pagan Community.

This anthology explores the topic of Racism and how Racism shows up in the Pagan community, as well as what we can do to recognize it and proactively work to change it by being consciously aware of race and privilege and actively applying that awareness to the Pagan community. We also examine cultural appropriation and its role in racism, and how we can approach issues of culture with conscious awareness that leads to genuine cultural exchanges instead of appropriation.

The vision for this anthology is to include a combination of academic and personally inspired pieces that show the experiences of racism, and the study of racism.

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

• Your experience of racism and how it has impacted your ability to integrate into the Pagan community
• Cultural Appropriation versus Cultural Exchange
• How to recognize and confront Racism in your spiritual community.
• Being an ally within the Pagan community for people of color.
• Intersectionality of privilege, or examples of this within the community.
• Experiences of a lack of cultural empathy, or sensitivity within Pagan groups, and how that impacts safe place for ethnic minorities.
• Understanding how symbolism within Paganism reinforces racism and separation of diversity within Pagan groups.
• Is preserving the lineage of hereditary practices and/or cultures racist? When is it not racist and what defines inclusion or exclusion in such cases?
• How white power gangs are trying to infiltrate the Pagan community?
• Definitions, understanding or experiences of symbolic, adversive, or systemic racism within the Pagan community.
• Stereotypes and prejudice and the impact on spiritual or magic workings. Being the only person of color in a coven, group or community
• Being a person of color at a pagan convention (and how convention organizers can be more conscious of this).
• How Racism harms the Pagan Community, and how it shows up in the Pagan Community
• How, as a community and as individuals, can we increase awareness of potentially harmful racial dynamics and proactively work to engage positive change.
• What is equity and how does it show up in the Pagan Community practically (what are examples of how equity has been or can be applied to the Pagan community)

Rough drafts are due March 15, 2014. These drafts will be edited in a back-and-forth process with the editors. Essays should be 1500-4000 words, although if your work falls outside those limits, do submit it – we can discuss this during the editing process. Drop us an email if you are unsure whether your idea fits into the content. The sooner you start the communication process the better, as after the deadline we won’t be considering additional ideas.

Essay requirements:

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

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

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

The anthology will be edited by Crystal Blanton, Brandy Williams, and Taylor Ellwood. Crystal is the author of two books with Immanion press; Bridging the Gap; Working Within the Dynamics of Pagan Groups and Society, and Pain and Faith in a Wiccan World.  She is also the editor of the first anthology, Shades of Faith; Minority Voices in Paganism, and the forthcoming anthology, Shades of Ritual; Minority Voices in Practice. She may be found online at http://www.crystalblanton.org and her email address for this anthology is crystal@crystalblanton.com .

Brandy Williams is the author of Ecstatic Ritual (published by Immanion Press), Practical Magic for Beginners and The Woman Magician (published by Llewellyn) as well as the editor of Women’s Voices in Magic (published by Immanion Press). She may be found online at http://www.brandywilliams.org

Taylor Ellwood is the author of Pop Culture Magick, Magical Identity, and other books on magic. He is also the managing non-fiction editor of Immanion Press. He can be found online at http://magicalexperiments.com

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

I don't care about Teo Bishop's Spiritual Choices (and Neither Should You)

There's been a lot of uproar over Teo Bishop's realization that he's felt a calling back to Jesus Christ. Some people are upset because he's posted about this decision on Pagan blogs, while other people defend him doing so and feel it's important that he posts about his recent coming back to Jesus, especially given that he's been interviewed in the most recent issue of Witches and Pagans. And then there's me. I don't care about Teo Bishops' spiritual choices and I don't think anyone else should either. They are his choices and I feel that a person's spiritual choice is ultimately a private matter, something that can really only be known by the person and the spiritual forces s/he works with. I know, I know, Teo blogs about his spirituality (so do I for that matter). But while a blog post can describe a person's journey, it can't really speak to all of the moments the person experiences, or what s/he does with those experiences.

I have no doubt Teo will continue blogging about his spiritual journey and I'm fine with that. Let his voice be read by the people who want to read it and find it to be valuable. I'm relatively certain that just as with any other writer Teo will find his audience or they will find him and that what will really matter is what that audience offers each other. The rest of us will move on and life will continue.

I don't think it's such a big deal really. Here's this guy and he's having some spiritual realizations which are causing him to move toward what he feels called to. We all have them. I think the only reason this is a big deal is because Teo has a bit of fame (outside of being Pagan) and so people are upset because this person who has a bit of fame might suddenly not be Pagan anymore. Let's ask the honest and tough question everyone seems to be avoiding: Would you really care so much about Teo's conversion if he didn't have some fame attached? I know that must make me sound terribly, terribly cynical, but really, why are people getting so bent out of shape because someone shares that he's going through a spiritual change? Maybe it has nothing to do with his fame, but the thing is, I never heard of Teo Bishop until a year and change ago. Before then, as far as I knew he didn't exist. Then suddenly he pops up and this is partially so important because he's already a public figure and that just might make Paganism look better as a result. So now he's going through some spiritual changes and people are upset (in my opinion) because this person is A BNP and a public figure in other venues outside Paganism.

I don't care about Teo's spiritual choices, or yours for that matter. Believe what you want, practice it how you want. As long as you aren't hurting people I don't have a problem with it. I also don't think we need to make a big deal about it. Mind your own business, live your life...you get the idea and that's all I have to say on the subject of Teo Bishop and his changing spirituality.

How pop culture magic continues to evolve

I came across this article the other day from Frater Isla about pop culture magic. He makes an interesting point when he argues that pop culture magic has evolved from being a technique or tool set to being a form of genuine spirituality. Like him, I've noticed a similar evolution in pop culture magic. I think that where I saw it occur first was with the system of Dehara, which is a magical system and spirituality based around the Wraeththu series. While there is only book on the system of magic (as yet) it nonetheless has continued to evolve beyond the initial work that was done by myself, Storm, and others. And to this day I continue to have a special relationship with Theide Aghama, who is one of the primary Dehara, and at least in my spiritual work, also a spiritual guardian and guide to working with space.

In my own work with pop culture magic, I have always felt that there is a spiritual dimension to pop culture entities that others might write off because it's pop culture, as opposed to being something that is old and traditional. For me the pop culture entities I work with are more than just a psychological category or set of attributes. They are more than just an archetypes or cultural icons. They are alive in their own right. So it doesn't surprise me that other people have similar experiences with pop culture and recognize a spiritual dimension to their encounters with pop culture spirits. In fact seeing this happen has encouraged my own practice and provided some much needed validation.

When I wrote Pop Culture Magick I wrote it primarily as a book that treated pop culture magic as a set of techniques or a tool set you could draw on for magical work. There were elements in it that hinted at how you could explore pop culture magic as a form of spirituality, but it wasn't something I'd fully embraced in my own practice. I'm now writing Pop Culture Magic 2.0 and I'm taking a different approach, which is informed as much by the additional ten years of practice that occurred, as by my recognition that there is more to pop culture magic than just a set of practices. Aside from my continuing relationship with Theide Aghama, I've also been exploring connections with characters such as Batman who has come to have a lot of significance for me. Additionally I've been doing some work with corporate spirits. And beyond that my perspective on pop culture magic has evolved because how I look at the spirit world has also evolved. I see a place for pop culture spirits in the interactions I have with the spirit world and I don't feel this demeans my magical practice or spiritual work, but rather enhances it because it allows me to apply contemporary culture to the spirit world.

That's an important aspect of pop culture magic. Our world has evolved and what we deal with now isn't what our ancestors dealt with. For me, drawing on pop culture as a spirituality allows me to connect it with the contemporary issues of the time. It also allows me to work with spirits that bring their own understanding to the spiritual equation. I recognize that not everyone sees pop culture this way, but I don't think there's anything wrong with applying this perspective to pop culture magic work. If there's a meaningful spiritual connection, explore it, albeit with care, because as with anything else, not all pop culture spirits are your friends.