Pop Culture Magic 2.0 is available!

I just got my first shipment of my new book Pop Culture Magic 2.0, which means its now truly available to any and all. I created a video (below) celebrating the happy news. If you're curious about what the book is about, here is a summary (click the link if you want to order the book):

In Pop Culture Magic 2.0, Taylor Ellwood explores how pop culture magic has continued to evolve. In this book you will learn how to make any pop culture into pop culture magic as well as why you might want to. You'll also learn how pop culture is becoming the mythology of our time and how older mythologies are showing up in contemporary culture. If you've wanted to practice pop culture magic or are just curious as to how magic and pop culture go together this book is for you. You will also learn:

• How to work with corporate entities in pop culture magic

• How to develop your own system of pop culture magic

• How to integrate social media and modern technology into your magical practice.

• How to use contemporary holidays in your magical workings

• How role playing games can help you with your identity work

• and much, much more!

If you've wanted to integrate contemporary culture into your spiritual work, look no further! Pop Culture Magic 2.0 can help you develop a modern system of magic that is relevant to you and allows you to take the pop culture you love and turn it into a spiritual practice that changes your life.

How to Recognize if you've been cursed

How to Recognize if you've been cursed:

If you want work with me

I'm a fairly busy person, always working on some type of project or another. Occasionally I get queries from people about how they can work with me or what it is I'm working on, so below is a list of the services and products I'm currently offering.

Books

I've written a lot of books and all of them are available either on Amazon or from my publishers. If you go to the Publications tab on this website, you'll see a list of books I've written. If you order books from publishers, I will actually sign and ship them to you (because I co-own the publisher).

Classes

I teach classes on magic. I'm offering the following classes currently:

The Process of Magic: This is 24 week correspondence course, where you get a lesson each week. Additionally every other month I do a teleconference with the students so I can answer their questions. In this class we explore the fundamental processes of magic and how they work in order to understand and improve our magical workings. I'm currently accepting students for the next round, which starts September 9th. The investment is $100.

Sign up for the Process of Magic Class

Space/Time Magic Foundations: This is 24 week correspondence course, where you get a lesson each week. Additionally every other month I do a teleconference with the students so I can answer their questions. In this class we explore space and time as distinct elements of magic and learn how they can be integrated into both practical magical workings and spiritual work. The next round starts in November. The investment is $100.

Sign up for Space/Time Magic Foundations

Inner Alchemy Foundations: This is a 4 month teleconference class, with teleconferences occurring every other week. I'm starting the first round this October and in this class we'll explore how to use breathing meditations, energy work, wealth magic, and practical techniques to do internal work and enhance the quality of your life and work. We'll also do a basic exploration of how to work with your neurotransmitters and microbiota magically. The investment is $100 a month.

Sign up for Inner Alchemy Foundations

One shot Teleclasses: On occasion I offer one shot teleclasses on a variety of topics. Nothing is currently scheduled, but be on the look out for future classes.

Consulting and Coaching: I also offer consulting and coaching services.

Magical Apprentice: I also do one-on-one training with people interested in working with me directly. We meet each week for a half hour or every other week for an hour to go over your magical work. Additionally I'll assign you projects to work on that are relevant to your goals. The investment for this is $200/month and I do ask for an initial commitment of 3 months. To learn more, contact me.

Dual Deck Tarot Readings: Do you have a question you want answered, a problem you want to resolve, or a possibility you want to explore? I offer a half hour Tarot card reading using two decks simultaneously. The Investment is $50.

Sign up for a Dual Deck Reading

Magic Consultation: Do you have a question about magic, or a magical working? Do you want some advice or someone to runs ideas by about magical workings? I offer consultations on magical workings, using both my extensive background in various magical practices and systems and my own experimental approach to help you. I can help you with a variety of issues, including healing, career, business, wealth, relationships, etc. Note: I do not do magic workings for clients. I will help you develop one that you can do. The investment is $100 an hour.

Sign up for a magic consultation

Author Coaching: I've recently been getting some inquiries about whether or not I coach people on writing or on marketing and selling books. In fact, I do! I have over a decade of experience in the publishing industry as both an author and publisher and can coach you on writing as well as how to market and sell books. If you do want to coach with me, I do ask for a three month initial commitment, as this process can take some time. I charge $400 a month and that gets you 4 1 hour coaching sessions per month on writing and marketing your books. For more information, Contact me.

Business Coaching: Do you own a business and want to figure out how to run it better? I teach business owners how to plan their business by design instead of run it be reaction. To learn more, visit my business coaching site.

Scarcity and Wealth Magic

One of the problems I have with most approaches to wealth magic is that such approaches aren't really designed to help a person manufacture wealth, so much as help a person manage a crisis or shock of scarcity that has come up in their life for whatever reason. It's a reactive approach and unfortunately its not always an effective approach. The root of the issue is that in such cases what we're dealing with isn't really wealth magic so much as its a response to scarcity. So let's consider for a moment what scarcity and how it affects us:

Scarcity is not merely the gap between resources and desires on average...To be free from a scarcity trap, it is not enough to have more resources than desires on average. It is important enough to have enough slack (or some other mechanism) for handling the big shocks that may come one's way at any moment...periods of scarcity can elicit behaviors that end up pulling us from into a scarcity trap. And with scarcity traps, what would otherwise be periods of abundance punctuated by moments of scarcity can quickly become perpetual scarcity. This, incidentally, does not mean that the only way to avoid scarcity traps is to have wealth large enough to weather all shocks...this discussion highlights the need for instruments for buffering against shocks. From Scarcity by Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir.

Scarcity is partially derived from a person's identity and relationship with money and other sources of wealth, but it is also significantly derived from the environment a person is in and how that environment is set up. The environmental variables a person deals with play a significant role in the experience of scarcity or wealth. I would argue that the more reactive a person is to his/her environment, the more likely that person is dealing with scarcity traps. Scarcity encourages reactions, because when a person is dealing with scarcity, what they are typically dealing with is how to survive the current situation they are dealing with, as opposed to planning for the future. Consequently a person dealing with scarcity of some type is in a place of reaction, and unlikely to find their way out of such reaction, because the solutions generated are primarily short term solutions. Not surprisingly the majority of so-called wealth magic is really a reactive approach to handling problems, and so it would be more apt to label it scarcity magic. It's magic done for the purpose of dealing with a crisis, as opposed to magic being done as a form of proactive planning for the future.

Scarcity isn't just limited to money. Scarcity can also be applied to time, or space, or other environmental aspects that are important to a person, but I do think if you find scarcity in one area of a person's life, you'll probably find it in other areas as well. The reason for that is because scarcity is a domino affect. When you experience scarcity, you cognitively end up tunneling, or hyper focusing if you will, on the actual problem that's causing the scarcity. While that tunneling can be somewhat useful for solving the problem, it causes a person to ignore other possibilities and environmental variables that while not tied to the issue at hand, nonetheless affect the person. This then sets the person for further experiences of scarcity, for further shocks if you will that deepen the experience of scarcity.

Now you might be tempted to believe that if a person just learned the right skills, scarcity wouldn't be an issue, but scarcity isn't simply a result of skill deficiency. While the skills a person has can help that person navigate scarcity, the environmental variables the person is dealing with are not always something that can be handled by skill alone. The truth is we aren't always in control of the environment we are in, and even when do have control of the environment, it's typically a limited form of control. If the wrong situation occurs at the wrong time (for the person, then despite all the skills the person has s/he can still be dealing with scarcity.

But what then of magic? Isn't magic supposed to provide us some means of control over the environment around us? Yes and no. Magic can provide a way to navigate and work with the environment, but even with magic (or science or anything else) you won't control everything around you. And that lack of control is where scarcity seems to show up. So how then can a person manage scarcity, with magic or anything else?

True wealth magic is proactive magic. It's magic which is formulated as a design, a plan, if you will to help you manage scarcity and accept that while you don't have complete control of your environment what you do have control over is how you respond to situations. The best response to any situation are designed responses that anticipate situations as best as possible, and if nothing else give you the breathing room to make a situation that isn't informed by the need for an immediate solution. Wealth magic alone isn't enough, but wealth magic encourages the active development of a plan. The wealth magic practitioner also recognizes the need to actively study different forms of wealth management and integrate that management into their lifestyle, as well as magical practice. Ideally the wealth magic practitioner is learning about topics which can include magic, but should also include education on finances, relationships, business (especially if you own one) and other related topics.

Wealth management is the effective management of your resources for three purposes. The first purpose is the cultivation of the lifestyle you want to live. The second purpose is to maintain that lifestyle should you choose to retire. The final purpose is to be able to handle moments of scarcity, without letting those moments become longer than they need to be. Management of wealth isn't just money, but is also your time, relationships and various other resources that contribute to you living the life you wish to live. It's also proactive management of scarcity. Proactive wealth magic is utilized in tandem with the skills a person learns from other disciplines, in order to design one's life and anticipate as best as possible environmental aspects that could affect the plan. By taking such an approach, scarcity can be managed and planned for. You won't escape the experience of scarcity, but you will be able to limit it and how it effects your life. And you'll also have steps in place to get you back on track to living your life the way you want to.

Magical Experiments podcast: Interview with Stephanie Conolly about Demonolatry.

How Environment Affects your Magical Work

How Environment Affects your Magical Work:

The Process of Magic starts in 2 weeks

The Process of Magic Round 14 starts September 9th.

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. You will learn how to:

• Develop your own definition of magic and why its important to have your own definition.
• Use a process approach to magic to understand how it works and what you change.
• Personalize your magical system to improve its efficacy in your life.
• Understand how to fix mistakes in your magical workings.
• Achieve a new understanding of magic and its place in your life and work.

Whether you are just learning about magic or have been practicing for years the Process of Magic course focuses on what really matters: Learning how to use magic to proactively improve your life. Below is a testimonial from one of my students:

The Process of Magic class really helped me to define what magic is to me and why I was sometimes having a difficult time getting results - and helped me to understand why I got results when I did! The classes lead to some very introspective, and sometimes uncomfortable, moments; but it has helped me to become a better, more aware, magician. The addition of the in-person teleclasses adds a very useful dimension to talk through any concerns and challenges with Taylor and my fellow students. I'd recommend this class to anyone who is interested in doing effective magic.

Testimonial from Victoria aka Leona Oigheag

Who should attend this class?

This class is for Pagans and Magicians who are serious about improving their magical expertise and who want to understand how magic works from a practical perspective. If you are an armchair magician, then this class isn’t for you.

When does this class meet?

This class is a correspondence course, which means that I'll mail lessons to you each week.

Bonuses

When you take this class, you get the following bonuses:

• Access to an online private forum that is specifically for this class.
• Free Teleconferences every other month to discuss the material directly with me!
• Free MP3 Recordings of conferences.
• A Free E-book copy of Creating Magical Entities.
• Two bonus lessons.

How to Register

The investment for this class is $100. If you've been wanting to understand how magic works or how you can achieve more effective results, this class is for you.

The illusion of Will

I've always been fascinated with will power and the depictions of will power that a person can find in pop culture. The hero for example, who prevails against the odds because of his/her will power carrying them through the hardships and temptations that come their way. Will power also shows up in magic, to some extent, in the sense of the magician imposing his/her will on reality. To some degree Will can be treated as destiny or fate, when describing someone doing their true will. In that sense it's almost a compulsion of sorts and may not really have anything to do with will power. The problem I have with will power is that to a large extent it seems to be illusory. It's a trope of the rugged individual, a person who is always in control or uses will power to get control of a situation and yet based on my studies of behavior and environment I find what makes will power effective has less to do with the person and more to do with the person's environment.

The environment you are in, and what you have in that environment plays a role in will power and how successfully you are able to use it. For example, lets say you are on a diet. If you have food near you that you would want to eat, it becomes harder to resist eating that food, especially if you are engaged in other activities that take up your attention. To a large extent what makes will power work has more to do with how you design your environment proactively to support your success in whatever you are trying to change. If your environment isn't set up for optimal success, then it becomes harder to make those changes and while will power can help, it can only do so much.

Magic, to some extent, is about controlling the environment, and so I think that if a person wants to make a change, part of designing the environment should involve doing some magical work to that effect. For example, you might set up specific energetic spaces or zones which encourage the specific change in behavior you want or ping your consciousness when you are about to do something that doesn't support the change in behavior you seek. The more you work with the environment you are in to design it to support your desired change, the easier it is for your will power to execute that change. I'll be writing about this in more depth as time goes on, because I've become increasingly convinced that genuine change is developed when you have the right tools and environment in place to support the change. All the will power in the world won't do you any good unless you have the environment set up to support the execution of will power toward change.

Note: I chose the picture of Dr. Doom to represent will power, because that's the first image that comes to mind when I think of will power.

Magical Experiments podcast: Interview with Lydia Crabtree about Family Covens and Hereditary Witchcraft.

Why pop culture deities and spirits are viable to work with

Why pop culture deities and spirits are viable to work with

Elemental Balancing Ritual Stillness Month 10: Tension

7-27-15 Today I was meditating on tension I was feeling and it became very clear how the focus on tension really distracted me from being still or being present with my whole being. I could feel that tension take up everything, occupying my mind entirely and yet I knew it wasn't the whole of my existence. Sitting with that awareness helped me step back from the tension and realize that my identity didn't have to be defined by it and that I was allowing it to define my sense of awareness and being moreso than it actually might be.

7-30-15 I had a realization today about how I handle closeness with people. I only let people in so far before I start to push them away. It's a fear of abandonment. I'll abandon a person before they abandon me. Looking back on my history of relationships, familial, romantic, and otherwise, I see where I felt I was abandoned and consequently how this pattern developed out of that as a response to possible rejection. Nonetheless it hasn't helped my relationships with people in the past. I do feel I've changed it somewhat and I know that because I've let some people into my life enough for them to at least be some what close to me.

8-1-15 A long. hard conversation with Kat this morning really helped me appreciate on a deeper level how my issues have hurt the people in my life as well as appreciate how stillness is helping me go deep into those issues and see them from new perspectives. I can be an asshole sometimes to the people in my life and I really own that in a way I haven't before. Thankfully I am with someone who is willing to give me the benefit of the doubt and stick it out with me, even when I have made some hurtful choices. And I see how in making those choices I have sabotaged myself with her and with other people...but I also know I can take control or I can be defined by my issues. I'd rather take control and become a stronger, better person for it.

8-9-15 The qualities you want to embody are already within you. That's what Dzogchen offers in regards to working with a quality you want to cultivate. You aren't cultivating, so much as finding it, because its already within you. In my work with stillness, I've been realizing that in going deep within myself I can find my inner resources to draw on. They are already there. I don't have to look elsewhere. I think that in finding and working with the concepts and practices of Dzogchen, I've found a path of internal work that has allowed me to go further than I ever have in resolving my issues. And in stillness I'm finding clarity about who I am and who I want to be.

8-13-15 When I feel scarcity I feel tension and so I've been paying attention to that tension, acknowledging and then letting it merge into the wholeness of my being. This seems to be helpful because it causes me to recognize that the tension is just a moment, as opposed to all of me and that the moment will pass. It's not my identity. In Awakening the Luminous Mind, the author discusses how the tension is the pain mind and that pain mind is a distraction from being present...however to deal with the pain mind, you have to accept the pain, and care for it. You need to not judge it. I've always been judgmental of myself, but I'm finding that just being with the pain is helpful for coming to a different place with it, one where it doesn't occupy my thoughts, but instead is just part of me without encompassing me.

8-19-15 Sometimes I feel envious of some of my fellow authors. They understand the business of selling themselves and their products and services better than I do. I have written more books than most of them, but they've leveraged themselves as a business better than I have. Erik, my astrologer, told me that one of the reasons I'm here is to learn about business, and I am. It's a struggle sometimes. I see what other people do and it seems to come to them much easier. Some of it, I think, is that their writing is focused toward a wider audience that wants the traditional magical material. My writing is focused on edgier topics, with more of a niche audience. I see that with the response and lack of response that occurs around the topics I post about. When your writing is on the edge you get challenged more, either out of skeptical disbelief or envy on the part of other part for not thinking of it first. Still all I can do is keep learning the lesson I am learning about business and being a successful author. I've stumbled a lot on this journey, but I keep picking myself back up, determined to succeed.

8-20-15 One of the ways I'm learning how to work with tension is recognizing the importance of not acting on it right away. Yes I feel it and I hold space with it, but before I do anything else I just let myself feel and wait before I make a choice. I give myself time to fully get to the heart of it and then make an informed decision. To often, in my past, I've just reacted to tension and more often than not I haven't really liked the consequences. I let the tension define me, instead of defining it...now I'm defining it.

Pop Culture Magic 2.0 is coming out in September

I'm pleased to announce that Pop Culture Magic 2.0, will be published in September. It is available for pre-order now and here's why you want to pre-order it:

• You get a personally autographed copy from me when you order it.
• I'll send you a pop culture magic e-book free when you pre-order (this only applies until the book is released!

And of course you'll get the book which has content and ideas about pop culture magic you won't find anywhere else. Pre-order your copy here.

Some Thoughts on Devotionals

The other day my friend Kelli taught a class on Daily Devotionals. What fascinated me about it was the process for coming up with a devotional and why you'd even want to. I'll admit that my approach to magic is fairly technical at times, but there's still a spiritual dimension to my practice. I have entities that I commune with each day, but what this class challenged me to was find a way to connect with a specific entity more intimately. I decided to match this work up with a problem I have sometimes, which is writer's block. I actually have recently reconnected with a Goetic Daemon I've worked with before: Ronove aka Ronwe, who, amongst other things, is proficient in language and writing.

The other day I was feeling a bit blocked with some writing I wanted to do, so I composed a devotional on the spot to Ronove, raising him and asking for his aid to inspire my writing. Right after I did that, the writing became much easier to do. The block just seemed to go away. I haven't done the devotional since, and I don't feel that Ronove is really looking for that. If anything, what I like about it is that its a devotional for a specific situation so I won't use it all the time, but I will use it when that situation occurs.

This makes me think that it might be useful to come up with devotionals for specific situations that match the skills of the entity you are working with. The impression I have from Ronove is that he'd rather have a devotional from me in a moment of genuine need than to just have one for the sake of having it. I'll have to see if I get a similar feeling off of other entities I work with, as it applies to given situations, but I like that approach. Mind you, I'm only applying this to myself, but I think when situations come up that I need help with, I'll develop devotionals for the situation. I'll change them each time as well, because I think the spontaneity of such a change is useful as well. It shows the deity I'm working with that I'm willing to make an effort on my end, which is significant in its own way because if you're going to ask for help, why not show what you can do as well?

Book Review: Aion by Jung

Aion is a continuation of Jung's work in psychology. He explores the role of symbols in archetypes and how symbols are used to creation connection with archetypes, as well as exploring different aspects of a person's sense of self. I found the book to be useful for understanding Jung's contribution to psychology and why his work has continued to be significant. If you're interested in psychology or just want to understand Jung, this is a good book to pick up.

Water Breathing Meditation part 2

Water Breathing Meditation part 2

Process of Magic Round 14 starts September 9th

The Process of Magic Round 14 starts September 9th.

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. You will learn how to:

• Develop your own definition of magic and why its important to have your own definition.
• Use a process approach to magic to understand how it works and what you change.
• Personalize your magical system to improve its efficacy in your life.
• Understand how to fix mistakes in your magical workings.
• Achieve a new understanding of magic and its place in your life and work.

Whether you are just learning about magic or have been practicing for years the Process of Magic course focuses on what really matters: Learning how to use magic to proactively improve your life. Below is a testimonial from one of my students:

The Process of Magic class really helped me to define what magic is to me and why I was sometimes having a difficult time getting results - and helped me to understand why I got results when I did! The classes lead to some very introspective, and sometimes uncomfortable, moments; but it has helped me to become a better, more aware, magician. The addition of the in-person teleclasses adds a very useful dimension to talk through any concerns and challenges with Taylor and my fellow students. I'd recommend this class to anyone who is interested in doing effective magic.

Testimonial from Victoria aka Leona Oigheag

Who should attend this class?

This class is for Pagans and Magicians who are serious about improving their magical expertise and who want to understand how magic works from a practical perspective. If you are an armchair magician, then this class isn’t for you.

When does this class meet?

This class is a correspondence course, which means that I'll mail lessons to you each week.

Bonuses

When you take this class, you get the following bonuses:

• Access to an online private forum that is specifically for this class.
• Free Teleconferences every other month to discuss the material directly with me!
• Free MP3 Recordings of conferences.
• A Free E-book copy of Creating Magical Entities.
• Two bonus lessons.

How to Register

The investment for this class is $100. If you've been wanting to understand how magic works or how you can achieve more effective results, this class is for you.

The Balance of Power

For my fun reading, I've been reading some Star Wars Fiction lately. The other day I was reading Visions of the Future by Timothy Zahn, and in it the characters Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade have a conversation about power versus guidance as it applies to the Force. Luke has been cutting back on how much he uses the Force, trying to rely on himself more and Mara points out that the resultant clarity he's gotten has occurred precisely because he's balanced the application of power. The Sith always use the power of the Force to excess, which is why it burns them out. Reading this got me to thinking about my magical practice and how its changed as a result of a similar realization I had years ago.

When I first started practicing magic, I used it for pretty much every problem I encountered. In fact I did that for about a good decade or so into my practice. A problem would come up, and inevitably I'd utilize magic to "solve" the problem. I enjoyed doing it, enjoyed seeing what I could do with it. But then something changed. I'd always integrated meditation into my practice, but I began doing a lot more internal work and I saw how much my practice was really reactive. A problem would occur and I would react to it. And what I didn't see was how many of those problems were similar to each other, nor did I acknowledge the one constant in those problems: Myself. Doing internal work helped me take a step back and ask myself what I really wanted from my magical practice and from myself.

Over the last decade and change, I've taken a different approach to my magical work. While I still occasionally utilize magic to solve problems, overall my focus has really been on doing the necessary internal work I need to do and as a result the need to do magic to solve problems has exponentially gone down. The majority of magical workings are proactive, focused on achieving specific designs or experimenting for the sake of learning something new. The power is there, but it is focused in a different way. And if anything I've found that by doing internal work and ironing out my issues, I've actually empowered myself in a much deeper way. I'm coming into my own as a person and my actions are guided by an awareness of who I want to be, instead of just reacting to my issues and whatever external variables have come together.

There is something to be said for approaching situations and seeing what you can do to resolve them without magic, or better yet to take a proactive approach with your magical work and create by design what you truly want. But I don't think you can really know what you want until you've stepped back and examined your choices and behaviors and discovered the patterns that speak to the tensions within you that need to be resolved. That's kind of self-discovery takes time. I only really started in my mid twenties and now in my late thirties I can still safely say that I have a ways to go, though I do feel more clarity in my choices and decisions than I previously had.

A measured approach to magical work, as it applies to practical changes, is wise to take. Ask yourself if you really need magic to resolve a situation or if there are other ways to handle it. And ask yourself what you really want out of the situation. Knowing what you want will help you pick the best process, magical or otherwise. It also help you knowingly accept any consequences and proactively plan your life to to help you achieve what you want. If you need to employ magic, you'll do it in a manner that fully respects the power of what you are working with, but also your power as a person.

Magical Experiments podcast: Interview with Laurie Pneumatikos about the Left Hand Path and the upcoming Left Hand Path Consortium in April 2016!

In Praise of Agares

I praise Agares, Justice Bringer protector balancer of scales you who makes situations equitable and create solutions that work for the benefit of all while ensuring that the unjust the prideful, those who look down on others are humbled and brought to their knees to know their true place. I praise you for your protection, your strength, and your guidance.

This devotional was inspired by the recent class taught by a friend. It's also an offering to Agares for his continued support.

Why divination can be a form of enchantment

Why divination can be a form of enchantment

The Tenets of the Sorcerer Scientist

Lately I've been thinking about my approach to magical work and experimentation. I commented to Kat the other day that I am not someone who is focused on one tradition or spiritual path and I don't think I ever will be. I think of myself as a sorcerer scientist (fittingly enough the term comes from pop culture, specifically fantasy books). While I certainly have a background in magical practices, traditions, etc., I'm at the same time fascinated with contemporary disciplines and how those disciplines can be meshed with magical principles. This prompts a lot of my experimentation. So I've decided to come up with tenets that describe the sorcerer scientist, because I feel that in describing it, not only can I help myself better understand my own spiritual path, but also speak to those people who feel similar and don't feel they fit into conventional occultism. To do this, it's useful to define a couple of terms.

Magic: Magic is a methodology of manifesting a specific possibility into reality using specific techniques that help the person connect the possibility to reality. Magic is also a means for communing with the universe as well as entities that exist on other planes of existence, in order to either better understand the universe or in order to get help with turning a possibility into reality. There are a variety of magical traditions and practices that can be learned and experimented with.

Science: Science is a variety of contemporary disciplinary practices that provide specific perspectives for understanding the universe. For example, hard sciences such as biology or Physics provide perspectives and critical inquiry into the nature of life or the "rules" for how the universe works. Soft sciences such as culture studies or psychology provide insight into behavioral patterns and cognitive activities. There are a wide variety of disciplines that could fall under this term of science, including what people might traditionally consider art. For all intents and purposes, the sorcerer scientist recognizes that the categorization of science is used as a way of recognizing the integration of contemporary disciplines into magical work, as opposed to defining what disciplines could be considered science or art or whatever else.

The sorcerer scientist is interested in the techniques of magic and the disciplinary practices of the various sciences and how those techniques and practices can be melded together to enhance the ongoing work of the sorcerer scientist. The sorcerer scientist isn't interested in using science to explain what magic is, but rather s/he is interested in exploring what magic could be. The tenets of the sorcerer scientist are as follows:

1. Cultivate an active interest in various disciplines, both occult and otherwise in order to see how they can be merged together. The experimenter recognizes that having a broad foundation informs and inspires the magical experimentation s/he does.

2. Keep an open mind about what you learn, but also use critical inquiry to refine your work. Ask questions and examine conclusions carefully.

3. Experimentation is essential for the evolution of magic. Respect tradition and learn from it. Research in order to ground yourself in what others have done. Experiment to find out what you can do and get your own answers about yourself, life, the universe, etc.

4. Be your own authority. Create your own definitions. Work with others, but recognize that what they ultimately can offer is just their perspectives and experiences. You still have to come up with your own answers, and your own questions.

Introduction to Water Breathing Meditation

An introduction to water breathing meditation and how to do it.

Stillness and Tension

In Awakening the Luminous Mind, the author discusses how the tensions and blockages a person feels aren't the entirety of the person, but can be mistaken for such. He likens this experience to the clouds and the sky. The clouds are the tension or blockages, but the sky is encompasses them and exists with or without them. He suggests that instead of focusing on the tension and blockages, it can be useful to just still yourself and be aware of the tension, without necessarily doing anything. This is not easy to do. When I tried this and just stilled myself to just be with the tension as well as everything else, I became aware of how much the tension itself occupied my awareness.

I find that in a lot of internal work the immediate focus is to do something about the tension one feels. And this is not necessarily a bad thing, but if that becomes the entire point of internal work, it could be we are missing out on something significant: namely how to recognize that the tension and blockages are not the entirety of our being. When I do this meditation where I am just still present with myself as a whole, it is somewhat disconcerting to not do anything with the tension other than notice it. At the same time in becoming the sky, as it were, I'm allowing myself to recognize that my tension doesn't make up the entirety of me and could in and of itself be a distraction from working with stillness. What I'm learning with stillness is that it's a state of acceptance that doesn't necessarily involve a change of any type and so learning to be still with my tension and with the rest of me is a different sate of awareness than working on tension. It is a state where everything is experienced and let go of, without anything being done.

Doing internal work to dissolve tensions is essential, but cultivating this state of being is also useful because it brings with it a level of non-attachment that enables the acknowledgement of whatever issues you have. By stilling yourself and not ding anything at all, you don't become attached to the issues, even through the act of dissolving. Initially when you cultivate this state of stillness it may cause you to feel a bit disquieted because you are so aware of your tensions and yet are doing nothing. However if you can hold yourself in the stillness, you will find that your awareness of the tension does subside. It may take repeated attempts of working with the stillness, but try each time to become the sky as opposed to the clouds and eventually you'll find that you can hold the state of just being without doing anything, the state of awareness of tension and yet also no tension in other aspects of yourself.

What I feel I'm really experiencing is a state of balance. In stilling myself in this way I'm allowing myself to balance my awareness of tension with just being and using that balance to reach a place of stillness. The usefulness of such a place is that while no action occurs, it nonetheless enables a person to experience a state of awareness that is at one within and around the person. That state of being can be very useful for magical work or in general in terms of creating awareness and presence in your life. As I keep working with this concept I'll share more.

Magical Experiments interview with Brandy Williams about the Woman Magician.

Manifesting Wealth Teleclass happening tomorrow

Manifesting Wealth is about discovering the opportunities that are waiting for you and turning them into realities that manifest the life you want. In the advanced manifesting wealth teleclass, you'll learn what wealth magic is and how you can use it to manifest a life of wealth and success, as well as how to create an identity and plan that proactively supports that manifestation in your life. 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. You will learn the following in this class:

• What wealth is and how to define it in your life.
• Why its important to develop a plan and identity around your wealth.
• How to implement practical wealth magic principles.
• Why love and health are part of wealth magic.
• How to apply wealth magic to your career or business.
• How to use scarcity to manifest wealth.
• Plus, Plenty of time for YOUR questions!

Wealth magic is about manifesting a life of quality and success and the people around you. By learning how to apply wealth magic to your life, you can make changes that allow you to get the life you want. When you take this class, you will achieve the following benefits:

• Discover what wealth truly is for you and have a plan to achieve it.
• Workshop your wealth magic practices with me to discover how to improve them.
• How to turn scarcity and failure into your allies.
• How to discover opportunities and turn them into reality.

Who should attend this class?

This class is for Pagans and Magicians of all spiritual traditions and esoteric orders who are interested in learning how to apply wealth magic principles to their lives and businesses to generate success and happiness for themselves. If you are an armchair Pagan or Magician, then this class isn’t for you.

When does this class meet?

This is a teleclass that meets on Thursday July 30th from 7pm Pacific Standard Time to 8:30pm

Meet the Teacher

Hi, I’m Taylor Ellwood, occult author, magical experiment, and Esoteric books publisher. I love to share my expertise, knowledge, and process with you! I’ve been teaching classes on magic since the late 1990′s. What I love about magic is the endless possibilities for experimentation and process development, as well as how those possibilities can be integrated into existing magical practices!

Learn more about Taylor

When you take this teleclass, you'll get the following bonuses:

• A recording of the call
• A free e-book with articles on wealth magic by me.

What is the investment for this class?

The investment for this class is $49. To rsvp for this class, click on the paypal button