Dixit Tarot Reading Experiments

Dixit Tarot Card Reading Recently I've been doing some experiments with pop culture magic Tarot readings, specifically with cards from the game Dixit. In the actual game you are given a set number of cards and you are a story teller, sort of. When it's your turn you come up with a word or phrase to describe the card. Then other people choose a card they think represents that word or phrase and give it to you. They all get shuffled together and revealed and people try to choose the card of the actual story teller. The cards themselves are quite beautiful with some excellent art, and no words, all designed to evoke a response from you. I decided to try and use them for tarot readings because the art is quite evocative, but there have been some interesting challenges that have come up with the cards.

The first challenge is just how many cards there are. I have three versions of the game and when I looked on Amazon, they've released even more expansion packs. It's a lot of cards to choose from and you aren't going to necessarily want to use them all, especially if you also want to play the game. When I did a couple of readings I used the entire deck and it made the reading more complicated, so I'm thinking of looking through the deck and just picking the cards that call to me (and I'd still likely use them for the game but mark them in a specific way in order to pull them out for readings).

The second challenge is there are no words (or roles) associated with the cards. When I did a reading with them each time, it made me appreciate how the roles of given cards are spelled out via words (in tarot cards). It was harder to do a reading because those words weren't there and it made me realize how much I've taken those words for granted. The words represent the specific roles of the cards and so I've thought of two possible ways to resolve this challenge. The first way is to make specific cards with specific roles. There is however no space on the cards to write the role. You'd have to keep a separate document and memorize those roles. The other way is to dispense with the roles altogether and just read the cards from an intuitive perspective. Its more challenging but it can be done and I think it can be a good exercise to help the reader hone his/her skills.

The third challenge is related to the second and its that the cards are open to interpretation (purposely so) and in some cases are abstract enough that it can be an additional challenge to read the cards as anything meaningful to the situation or person. However, I think if you have enough practice you can find details that are relevant to the person. It also just may require some experience of doing readings for people with those cards.

This is just my initial foray into doing readings with Dixit cards so I'll post an update in the near future with some further findings.

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Radio Interview: I was interviewed on the Pagan Variety show about Pop Culture Magic 2.0 and the Pop Culture Grimoire 2.0.

Magical Experiments Radio: I interviewed Frater Barrabbas about the difference between Ritual and Ceremonial Magic and his work with the Quabala. Start listening to the show 8 minutes in.

The Realization of Internal Work

Tension In my recent post I talked about how to do internal work without blowing up. Appropriately enough I had an experience earlier this week, which I think demonstrates the point of that post as well as this one. I've been working with the element of Stillness for the last 11 months and I was considering that I should switch to the element of Balance, and then via meditation and what I was reading in Awakening the Luminous Mind, it became clear to me that I really needed to stick with stillness for another year. My inner contacts, who'd previously suggested I move on to balance, also agreed, feeling that the realization I had experienced indicated I was ready to move into deeper work with stillness.

Internal work isn't something you force. Well you can force it, but as I wrote in the previous post its not a good idea. Internal work happens to you and it unfolds and as it unfolds and reveals itself, it takes you to the level you can handle. And make no mistake it can be quite uncomfortable, but you can handle it if you are willing to do the work. The realization I had with stillness was just such an experience. I was ready for it and it was uncomfortable, but it made me want to continue doing the work and I recognized that I needed to stick with this element longer to really do that work.

The thing about internal work that many people don't get is that internal work is rarely dramatic in how it unfolds. There is no Hollywood moment when the person sits up and everything comes together. Internal work is realized through consistent work and gradual realizations. You may have the occasional moment where you put some of it together, but more often than not you'll do the work for a while and not noticeably have an experience...but it will be happening in a very subtle way and as you open yourself to it, it will come to you and you'll know it...quietly and yet thoroughly you'll know it. You just have to do the work and let the results happen to you without trying to force it.

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Magical Experiments Radio: This Week I discuss how to Divorce a Real Witch with Diana Rajchel.

Book Review: Scarcity by Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir

Scarcity is a must read book for anyone, in order to understand how scarcity shows up in your life, as well as why it is an inherent part of society. The authors explore the myths and realities of scarcity in depth and show that there are no easy solutions, but rather that we must come to understand scarcity in our lives in order to even begin to appreciate in others. Reading this book has helped me to recognize my own scarcity as well be more present with the scarcity of others. It's given me direction on what I can do to deal with scarcity, but also taught me that scarcity is not something we can easily solve. It is a part of our lives and learning to be with it can teach us a lot about how to make better changes occur that are realistic and actually help people instead of keep them in a place of scarcity. Read this book and let it change your life.

Would you like to be my patron?

Taylor Ellwood Would you like to become my patron?

I've set up an account on Patreon, a website that has revived the model of the artistic patron. The artistic patron is someone who supports the creative efforts of artists, writers, and other creatives, and fortunately you don't need to be rich to support your favorite author or artist. You can donate a dollar a month or more to the artists and authors you want to support.

My patreon account enables you to send me a fixed amount of money each month, to support my writing, art, and magical experimentation. Best of you get something in return, beyond the satisfaction of supporting my efforts to continue being creative. Here's what you get:

  • A weekly update on my progress on different projects, as well as sneak peeks at blog posts, and excerpts of my future books.
  • An opportunity to get a painting from yours truly. I've rarely painted for other people, but I'm starting to do more paintings and would love to share them with you.
  • Advanced access to longer essays.
  • Advanced access to fiction that I've started writing.
  • Special thank you for when monthly goals are reached.

All of this is only available to my patrons.

Through your patronage, I am better able to pay my monthly bills as well as put funds aside for research , experimentation, and travel to conferences so that I can present. You also help me put more time aside to write my books. It's another way you can show your support for my creative work.

Want to be my patron? Click on the link to get started.

Inner Alchemy Foundations Starts Nov 3rd

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Inner Alchemy is the cultivation of your potential through breath, sound, energy work, and practical skills that help you achieve, clarity, presence, and purpose for your life and turn the lead of failure into the gold of success.

In this bi-weekly Teleclass, we'll explore how to cultivate clarity, presence, and purpose in your life through a combination of meditation techniques, energy work, and practical skills, all designed to help you step more fully into yourself as a person and professional. Whether you want to show up more fully in your personal relationships or your profession or simply want to dive deeper into a better relationship with yourself, this class will teach you the foundational skills of Inner Alchemy. You will learn the following:

  • Taoist Breathing Meditations to cultivate your Chi and enhance your quality of life.
  • Dzogchen Stillness Meditation to cultivate presence in your life.
  • Dzogchen Sound meditations to cultivate clarity in your life.
  • Practical skills based off western meditation and neuroscience that help you discover opportunities.
  • Wealth Magic techniques to help you manifest your goals into reality.
  • Plus, time for YOUR questions!

Whether you've just started practicing magic or have been practicing it for years, this class will teach you the fundamental skills of Inner Alchemy and how to step more fully into your life, relationship and work.

When you take the Inner Alchemy Foundations class you get the following benefits:

  • Greater clarity about the purpose of your life and work.
  • A deeper, intimate connection with your body, mind, and spirit.
  • A comprehensive exploration of Taoist, Dzogchen and Western breathing and sound meditations
  • New skills and tools to enhance your magical work.
  • Hands-on work with me helping you implement these practices into your life.

Who should attend this class?

This class if for any pagan or magician that wants to achieve more with their life and wants access to skills that can help them be more successful. If you are an armchair magician, then this class isn't for you.

When does this class meet?

This class meets every other week via teleconference starting on Tuesday November 3rd from 7 pm to 8pm Pacific Standard Time until February 16th.

About 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.

Learn more about Taylor

Bonuses

When you take this class you get the following bonuses:

  • Access to a private online forum where you can interact with other class mates and me as you take this class.
  • Free recordings of the class for your records
  • A Half hour one-on-one conference with me to help you get the most out of this class.

How to Register

The investment for this class is $100 a month (for 4 Months). To sign up click on the button below.

Suggested Books

The following books will enhance your work with this class.

Inner Alchemy The Book of Good Practices Manifesting Wealth

How to do Internal Work without Blowing up

Meditation In Exorcising the Tree of Evil, William G. Gray points out that when doing internal work to get rid of dysfunctional issues, there is necessity for taking an approach where you don't change too much, too fast, because if you do it too fast, you can end up creating problems with your sense of identity. Nick Farrell offers similar advice in Magical Imagination, noting that the removal of an issue can actually cause other issues, if you haven't taken the necessary time to fully work through the issue. I agree with both of the authors, having seen this happen and having it occur as well with some of my internal work. And its important to remember when you do internal work, it doesn't just effect you, but also the people around you. Most times this is for the benefit of all, but if the work is done too fast, it can be more traumatic than helpful.

My own approach to doing internal work has been revised over the years to become more systematic and careful. I figure that internal work is something best done consistently over time, and done in a manner that allows you to have your realization and sit with it, and after consideration, you make the changes that are helpful to your life. Making changes without consideration is reactive...it may get rid of the symptom of the issue, but what it doesn't do is allow you to really dig into it and discover why it is the way it is. That can only happen if you are willing to spend some time with the issue and tease out it came into your life. You may have some realizations quickly, but don't rush to act on them right away. Give yourself time to be with those realizations, because you'll likely get more insights as a result.

Pick a practice and stick with it. I've been practicing some Dzogchen practices for the last couple years, and I feel like I'm only now beginning to appreciate the depth of that work. I've been doing Taoist breathing meditation work for over a decade and its a practice that continues to reveal itself in the work. My point is that internal work and the methods of doing internal work can't be rushed. Nor should the realizations and changes you want to manifest. To make changes that are healthy for your life, give yourself some time. Take care of you and really sit with what you learn before you act on it. This is advice I would give to a younger version of myself, because while I've made some good changes in my life, I've also rushed where it'd have been better to still myself. Take your time with internal work and with the changes it can bring. You have more time than you think and you are worthy of taking that time so that when you make the changes you seek, it truly empowers you and the people in your life.

Book Review: Exorcising the Tree of Evil by William G. Gray

Exorcising the Tree of Evil is an exploration of the nature of good and evil, as well as the Quiploth. I found the book to be insightful and liked how the author explored the nature of evil in depth and showed how it related to the Quiploth as well as to the Tree of Life. What I found invaluable is how the author explored the different types of evil and where they show up in the quiploth as well as how they show up in a person's life. This book will give you a lot to think about in relationship to your own life and magical work. Gray also provides some useful exercises for exorcising the evil within as well as appropriate cautions about changes in behavior and how to handle them. My one complaint about the book actually has to do with the editing and layout. This is a reprint and yet there are some typos that show up throughout the book, which surprises me, given how exact Gray is about his work. I suspect this is more of an editor/publisher error than that of the author. Overall though this book is a must read for Quabalists, ceremonial magicians, and anyone serious about their spiritual development.

Magical Experiments Radio: A fun interview with Vincent Piazza about pop culture magic, lovecraftian magic, and Taoism.

The Elemental Balancing Ritual Stillness Month 11: A pause

Courtesy of Wikimedia 8-23-15 As I've continued reading about Scarcity and reflected on what I've read, I've come to a fundamental recognition: Scarcity is simultaneously a motivator to action and also what keeps people in a place of discord within themselves as well as with others. Its an experience that is embedded in us physiologically and psychologically. I see it in the various interactions I and others have, in how businesses are run and how relationships are approached. It is a good recognition for me, because it demonstrates how much scarcity is so much more than just a person's choices. Certainly behavior is part of scarcity, but when the environment is set up to encourage scarcity, it makes it much harder to change those behaviors, much harder to find your center in your stillness as well. Nonetheless, I also see ways to approach scarcity that can work, if the person is willing to recognize the environmental aspects and plan for them. And I think part of that is actually found in stillness, in the ability to give yourself moments where you just are, instead of always doing. I have been an always doing kind of person...this last year of stillness work has taught me, more than ever, the value of just being, and how that can enhance your live significantly.

8-30-15 Part of stillness work involves learning how to be still not just with yourself but around other people. It can be hard to be still around people, because it requires you to put aside your attachments to what those people are doing or saying and just be still with what's happening. Yet it can also be a useful exercise for learning how to be present with someone and can show that person that you genuinely want to be present. Lately I've been stilling myself around other people and paying very close attention to those moments when thoughts do surface and I move away from stillness. It's helping me recognize what disturbs my stillness so that I can work with that more closely.

9-4-15 The other day I did a writing exercise from Ensouling Language and one of the questions the author asked is what do you hate. I put myself in that section and in reflecting on that answer I came to realize how much I do hate myself in some ways. It's ingrained from my childhood, when I was told I was a disappointment, told really that I wasn't good enough and never would be. Consequently there's always been part of me that's believed that I'm not worthy of anyone in my life and that I'm useless. Pretty sad and harsh and doing that exercise really helped me get in touch with that part of myself. I expressed it this morning to Kat, really just let her in and recognized in the process how much that part of me has hurt myself, has sabotaged me at different times of my life. I feel, after the fact, a bit drained, but also ready to do more work. Being still has helped me get much deeper into these issues that have dictated my life.

9-9-15 It came to me today, in meditation that stillness will only be until October and then I'll move into the next element. I thought initially it might be two years, because of movement being 2 years, but today it was made clear that stillness is one year and that I need to prep for the next element. I feel good about it. I've learned a lot from stillness, but at a certain point, with any element, its time to transition and it feels that way with stillness.

9-10-15 In my meditation I got further confirmation. I went deep and Zadok appeared and explained that knowing stillness was good, but knowing how to balance stillness with movement, to balance everything is just as important. It points the way to the next element.

9-14-15 In Dealing with People you can't Stand, I learned of a technique called the Pygmalion Power. It intrigues me and I'm going to apply it to myself and see how it helps with behavior modification. Basically they way it works is that you set up an expectation verbally. so for example if you want to encourage positive behavior you tell the person they are special or wonderful...or if you want to change, you might say, "That's not like you, you are X." Quite fascinating (and a bit manipulative), but I can see how it can be applied to create specific changes in behavior in one's self or in other people, especially if you use it to interrupt a person's behavior, causing them to reset.

9-17-15 I've just started to set up a patreon account. I've known about it for a little while, but I was on the fence about it. In thinking about it though I realized it's actually a good idea and seeing a few other people I know who have such accounts and seem to be making it work. I sometimes feel that when it comes magic, I'm ahead of the curve, working on projects and creating new techniques, but when it comes to business, I see other people who seem to do it effortlessly. I'm sure they'd say otherwise, but the perception is there. Still I figure I'm learning how to be better at business with experience and mistake I make.

9-22-15 You can't always control a situation, but you can plan your response to it. A planned response is always better than a reaction. It allows you to put the situation into a context that is favorable to you, and either puts the other person into neutral or puts them into a negative light. Be still, consider how you want to respond and then make the response that provides you a way to come out of the situation favorably.

9-23-15 I've been reading Exorcising the Tree of Evil by William Gray and he talks about lust and how its insatiable. You can't ever satisfy it. It reminded me a lot of emptiness. then later I did my meditation and Gray and Zadok showed up and talked about lust and how stillness could be used in regards to lust. It gave me a lot to consider and really helped me examine my relationship with emptiness, because I could see parallels to lust in what they discussed.

How to merge Anthropomorphic and Non-Anthropomorphic meditations

Neurotransmitter In my weekly meditation meeting, we are currently in the process of doing some work with neurotransmitters, bacteria, and other microbiota of the human body. This is a continuation of the work I started in Inner Alchemy, but it's also been an opportunity to experiment further with non-anthropomorphic meditations, in a group setting, which has provided some valuable information. What I've confirmed is that just launching into non-anthropomorphic meditation is hard because the frame of reference is so different from the usual frame people have. It can be done, but its not as successful as it would be if an initial "human" context was provided. Note: Are you curious about the terms anthropomorphic and non-anthropomorphic...scroll down past the rest of the article to see definitions and then scroll back up to read the rest.

In contrast, if I've done a meditation with an initial anthropomorphic reference its provided a level of context that has been helpful for the participants. What I've then done is actually had the meditation transition from an anthropomorphic reference to a non-anthropomorphic reference. This has worked out very well. The initial meditation provides enough context for the person so that when the transition occurs there is something recognizable they can still use as a frame of reference. So let's break this down in practical terms...

Let's say you decide to do a meditation to connect with epinephrine, a neurotransmitter. The initial meditation would be an anthropomorphic one, where you ask Epinephrine to appear in a form that is recognizable to you and ask it to communicate with you. Typically the communication will be in your first language, and the form will be something that is either human or rooted in what we know. You might ask the neurotransmitter for a symbol that you can use to connect with it.

Next lets say you decide to transition into a non-anthropomorphic meditation on the same neurotransmitter. What this involves is experiencing the neurotransmitter and its effect on you. You would ask the anthropomorphic version to become the experience that it creates in your body and you would communicate with the neurotransmitter through that experience. No language, no form based in human perception, just the experience itself. Let that experience in...let it move you, let it become part of your consciousness.

The anthropomorphic meditation provides enough context for a person that if s/he chooses to do the non-anthropomorphic meditation it becomes easier to work with. With that said a person can just attempt a non-anthropomorphic meditation and see what happens. It's not impossible to do and can be interesting to experience without the human filters in place.

Definition time! Anthropomorphism refers to the tendency to ascribe human qualities, emotions, values, language to something that isn't human. In magic, it is essentially used as a way to communicate with nonhuman beings.

Non-anthropomorphism is the attempt to experience the entity with as little human filters as possible.

Radio interviews

I was interviewed on Main Street Radio about Pop Culture Magick and Pop Culture Magic 2.0

I was interviewed on Pagan Musings Podcast about Pop Culture Magick and Pop Culture Magic 2.0

Magical Experiments Radio: I interviewed S. Rune Emerson about Tarot Sorcery.

Mad Max and Supernatural Values

Mad Max I am playing the new Mad Max video game and one of the aspects of the game that really stands out to me is how some of the characters talk about their cars, treating them as spiritual entities that can be worked with and bonded with through various driving activities. Why I think this is worthy of note is because I see it as a commentary on spiritual beliefs and how spiritual beliefs are formed around need and form. In Mad Max, you're dealing with a post apocalyptic society, where every person is on the edge of survival and cars are the significant form of transportation. Consequently it makes sense that the cars are invested with a supernatural meaning and authority because those cars are a significant part of what keeps those people alive.

Now granted this is fiction, but such a commentary is invaluable in that it can get us to consider our own spiritual needs and how those needs are shaped by the forms available to us. In the universe of Mad Max the form is the car, and the need it fulfills provides the impetus to invest supernatural authority in the car. For us, so fortunate to live in a world that is not post apocalyptic, spirituality takes many different forms. What prompts a person to identify with one form or another is partially dependent on what calls to that person and to the marketing around a given spirituality. The need of the person defines the form to some degree.

One of the reasons I've focused on pop culture magic is because I think its important to be open to different forms of spirituality. Conventional, mainstream religion never worked for me, and while I do find some value in traditional approaches to magical work, I also find a lot of value in expanding outward and drawing on other resources that don't fit in the traditional frameworks of occultism. Pop culture is one of those resources. It provides a wealth of context and is something more people are identifying with in a spiritual way.

Every so often I inevitably hear from people who try and knock pop culture magic as not being magic enough, authentic enough, or whatever else. I find it odd that they need to comment on why they don't like pop culture magic. It's OK that it doesn't fit their needs, but why knock people who do find spiritual value in pop culture magic? I personally find no value in such statements made usually out of ignorance. It is, perhaps, one of the reasons I find myself pessimistic at times about magic and occultism, because too often it seems people just want to get in each other's way instead of just accepting and supporting that there can be a variety of experiences that fall outside traditional paths.

What matters most isn't how you do magic. Certainly you do need to learn the fundamentals and knowing the tradition and history has its value. But what matters most is how we make the magic our own, how we personalize it and make it a part of our lives in a way that is useful. I figure if someone wants to perceive their car as being a supernatural mystery in its own right, there's really nothing wrong with it (provided that person isn't going around and harming others). It may not be anyone else's cup of tea, but its rather boring to insist that everyone be the same when it comes to the spiritual practices or anything else. Where I choose to ascribe meaning and how I let that effect me is what's important and that I might share it with others...well that can be important to, in terms of what a person can learn from others, but to quash what someone believes or practices because it doesn't fit your own paradigm. That's just stupid and ignorant. You don't need to agree with what someone practices or believes, but you don't need to bash them either. It serves little purpose beyond validating your own egoic frailties.

And for those inclined to trot out critical thinking and critique being open-minded, let me remind you that being close minded does not involve critical thinking. You can be open-minded and still use critical thinking. What you are doing by being open-minded is accepting the possible experience, but you can be critical in your experience and use that to help you determine if you wish to proceed further. When you are close minded, you aren't even open to having an experience and so it is much harder to be able to critique something, if you've already decided to be closed to it.

Magical Experiments radio: No show this week or last week due to a guest cancellation and technical difficulties but the show is continuing.

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Pop Culture Magic 2.0 is available!

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Pop Culture Magic 2.0 arrived! 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.

If you want work with me

DMP_Taylor4medium 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

Scarcity 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.

 

The Process of Magic starts in 2 weeks

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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

Courtesy of Wikipedia 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.