Carl Neal at Pagan Square offers an interesting and stressful experience in a local wooded area years past: When I opened my eyes and looked around, I saw there was a young couple on the adjoining trail with their small child. Although the look on the adult’s faces was priceless, it was clear that they […]
Magic and Narrative
Taylor Ellwood has an interesting discussion regarding magical work and narrative structure. The way words are used and even the format of the text can set up pacing for the book. For example, if you use a lot of dialogue you’re usually trying to move the narrative along. The same applies for action sequences. Now […]
Color Magic: Orange
Orange magic is the gnosis of thought. Associated with the realm of Mercury, this focus of magic includes any manner of charlatanry, trickery, fast thinking, fast talking, quick wit, manipulation, and the building of quick connections. Salesmen, stockbrokers, petty thieves, and comedians all employ this mode of operation. This is the fast, witty thinking that […]
April 2014
It’s been kind of a rough and exhausting year so far. I’ve set a lot of goals for myself, and had a lot of problems motivating myself to achieve them. There is progress, though, and some of those goals have changed. So I want to look at where I’m at and what I’m still working […]
Color Magic: Black
Black gnosis is the gnosis of entropy and death. It is associated with the powers of Saturn. Humans die. The death process is built into our genetic code. We are designed to fall apart and cease functioning. And that weighs heavily on our psyches, even if it does so in ways hidden from conscious thought. […]
Setbacks
I’ve been setting a lot of goals for myself lately. And I’ve been failing to meet them. A lot of those goals have been related to writing, specifically on this blog. Some recent work I’ve been doing to get rid if writing blocks and find motivation have been helping (although the Mars and Saturn retrogrades […]
Color Magic: Green
Green gnosis is the gnosis of love and Venusian energy. Carroll complains of the muddling of love and sex that often occurs in magical systems, and I think he has a good point. Speaking from personal experience I can think of several people I love very dearly that I would not have sex with, as […]
Fear
There’s a young man at work that I’ve been talking with quite a bit. He’s a rambunctious, obnoxious sort who’s more inclined to have fun than worry about the consequences, but he’s got a sharp mind and is a lot more self-aware than most people I know. (He’d make a great magician should he decide […]
Blessing the Growing Season
Preparing seeds to plant in the spring was something that was approached with great solemnity and ritual. The seeds to be planted would be sprinkled with water, in a sunwise motion, while a blessing charm was recited (Carmichael, 1900). This was done on a Friday, as it was seen as the day best for any action not needing the use of an iron tool (Carmichael, 1900). Interestingly Friday is also the day that the Good Neighbors were thought to be most active – they who are said to abhor iron – and in Irish belief the growth and success of crops is intertwined with the favorable interactions of the Good People.
Find Your Passion
When I was in high school I first ran across the maxim “carpe deim” – seize the day. I remember reading it and feeling how much the idea resonated with me, but I was unable to actually take the advice. My life for a long time revolved around doing what I needed to do and trying to conform to what others expected me to do – none of which involved seizing the day or embracing the moment. I was a people pleaser, even in my non conformity. How that changed is a long story, but I think we all at some point come to a place where we realize that making ourselves happy matters as much as making other people happy and that we need balance between the two. Whether we choose to act on this realization or not, and whether we over-react and go to far towards only pleasing ourselves, will depend on the individual.