I keep saying that I’m not bog on the New Year’s resolution thing. But I also recognize that this is a good opportunity to evaluate past goals and set new ones, especially since I did not do so on my birthday. Bach in March, I set some goals for myself. In June I reviewed and […]
Category Archives: Blacklight Metaphysics
Preliminary Divinations
When I first started learning magic, the importance of divination was always stressed to me. I was taught, both by real life mentors and the books that I relied upon, that before you do any spellwork, you should do a divination beforehand to assess the effects of the spell. So I was intrigued when some […]
Harm None
I’ve written about my distaste for the Wiccan Rede before: Harm None. An’ it harm none, do as ye will. Harm who? Harm how? As Kraig asks, does this mean we must all be vegans who sweep the ground to avoid stepping on bugs? Does it just mean to avoid harming other people? Just physically, […]
Identity and Purpose
A little while ago, I described an experience I had in terms of a “crisis of faith.” Of course, this is a misnomer, because I’m pagan, and “faith” isn’t central to my religion. But I was having an issue because of my understanding of how devotion should work and how that defined my relationship to […]
Basics and Assumptions
I’ve written some stuff on wards and energy work. This is an area that I have done a bit of work in, and am very comfortable pontificating on. I saw this post on Tumblr, and it gave me pause. What struck me wasn’t so much the technique describe so much as the assumptions that were […]
Leaving the Fold
Teo Bishop, author at Bishop in the Grove and occasionally at the Wild Hunt, has had a profound spiritual revelation. This year at Samhain I’m coming to terms with the realization that Paganism, itself, does not serve me in the way that I thought it did. Stranger even, I’m feeling pulled back to the Episcopal […]
Relating to Deities
What kind of relationship do you have with your gods? Erin provides an interesting discourse on our relationships to deities. The gist of a lot of it echoes my essay on selecting a patron deity to some respect: figure out what you’re looking for and try to make contact with them. Play nice and see […]
Left Hand, Right Hand
I hear a lot of equivocating about the “Right-Hand” versus the “Left-Hand” paths in the metaphysical community. This is very deeply rooted in Occidental occultism, and very much tied to the white/black magic dichotomy. And of course, we all know that the Right-Hand path is better, and that White Magick is better, right? After all, […]
Understanding Paganism
A while ago Teo Bishop wrote this post about what kind of pagan he is. It’s a very powerful piece, and I recommend that you take the time to read it. Really, read it. First, I’d like to note that in many ways, I am not the same kind of Pagan Teo is. I’d also […]
Honoring Intuition
When you see something up ahead, but get confused on time and wait for it, and start to doubt yourself One of the downsides of reading tarot and having a nonstandard view of time is that you sometimes get glimpses of things that haven’t happened yet. This can be especially problematic if there is a […]