tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25940458865860389632024-03-13T05:57:49.892-06:00The Magical WitchBeing a Wiccan witch in Golden Dawn Morgan Drake Ecksteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258538066497554895noreply@blogger.comBlogger1512125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2594045886586038963.post-74980159714218593502022-09-01T15:01:00.000-06:002022-09-01T15:01:09.863-06:002022 Firesdie Wicca Community Church event schedule Denver Colorado<p> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</xml><![endif]--><b>Fireside Wiccan Community Church
(2727 N. Cook St., Denver, CO 80205)</b></p><p><b>2022 event
schedule (Gate opens at 5pm, ritual/drumming at 6pm, close at 9 pm)</b>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>June 18: Burning unwanted mental weeds</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Before you can plant new habits and goals, it’s helpful to
clean up your mental garden space. Live fire!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>July 2: Talk local pagan history with Khari and Morgan</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What brought you into Wicca/magick? What events shaped the
Denver community? Who helped you? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>July 16: Initiated things not to do in an OFM (Open Full
Moon ritual)</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Morgan Drake Eckstein shares stories of mistakes that he
made as a ceremonialist and minister. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>August 13: Golden Dawn godforms as Wiccan metatools </b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Adept Morgana Draconis talks about the role that godforms
play in ceremonial witchcraft and initiation. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>August 20: An horrific Garden Fairy ritual</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Khari shows off her garden while teaching an offering
technique originally taught by Kathy Bruce. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>September 17: Campfire stories—Voices of the Sabbats</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Morgan performs his OFM masterpiece—a guided mediation
(pathworking) of the Wheel of the Year. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>October 29: Remembering the Honored Dead</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Celebrate with us, memories of teachers and friends who
influenced the Wiccan community of Denver.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><u>Warning</u></i></b>: This event is thrice first
timers welcome, kid friendly, conducted by a medical marijuana user.</p>
<p></p>Morgan Drake Ecksteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258538066497554895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2594045886586038963.post-22769079347195463952020-12-05T03:43:00.001-07:002020-12-05T03:47:03.519-07:00The Amazing Adventures of Meltdown Girl (Why my stuff is not available on Amazon)<p>This post was originally written for The Many Pen-Names of Morgan Drake Eckstein under the title--The Amazing Adventures of Meltdown Girl (How losing access to Amazon is affecting my production schedule) </p><p><a href="https://mailchi.mp/5240692be362/the-many-pennames-of-morgan-drake-eckstein-mailing-list" target="_blank">Sign up to receive the monthly Essay of Doom (every 13th of the month) </a></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LgA93RLDheI/X8tlE_JYoiI/AAAAAAAAGF8/9mNYp80xmckUns7M4D8IIK0WAN9pO0ljgCLcBGAsYHQ/s800/The%2BAmazing%2BAdventures%2Bof%2BMeltdown%2BGirl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LgA93RLDheI/X8tlE_JYoiI/AAAAAAAAGF8/9mNYp80xmckUns7M4D8IIK0WAN9pO0ljgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/The%2BAmazing%2BAdventures%2Bof%2BMeltdown%2BGirl.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> It is official. After twenty-five years of peace among the leaders of Denver’s Wiccan community, the Second Denver Witch War has started. And I am the first causality of DWW2. Happy, happy—joy, joy—right? <p></p><p>Yes, it is going to affect the production schedule—as in “Everything is on hold until further notice.” </p><p>Why? Because some witch thought that it was a suitable punishment for me to have my Amazon author account terminated. Me and my wife chose not to march in lock-step with a Big Name Witch, and now we need to be punished for our wrongful disobedience. </p><p>Nice, right? I am guessing that this is going to be another case of putting lipstick on a pig, and claiming that it is about “Community service, and not elevating ourselves over others.” Because baby witches need to be protected from the fraudulent and predatory—and I am an evil predator. Unlike those community serving witches who are protecting you from me. </p><p>For the one person who hasn’t heard the story yet: After enjoying twenty-five years of relative peace in the Denver Wiccan community, three and a half years ago (after the death of a prominent peacekeeping leader) a bunch of apex monopoly seekers decided that what Denver’s Wiccan community needed the most was a Gatekeeper to assassinate all the unworthy witches who had been allowed to infest the community with their pestilence and corruption during the previous twenty-five years of peace and cooperation. </p><p>Did you know that I was a source of corruption and Covid-19? Of course, you did. You are smart like that. Too bad you are not smart enough to unsubscribe from this newsletter. You bad, bad pagan. </p><p>But never fear, the scheme to drive me completely from the occult community is proceeding according to plan. </p><p>The latest step of the plan was to get Amazon to terminate my author account, ensuring that seventy to eighty percent of today’s book market is closed permanently to me and my evil professional liar ways. All over less than five dollars unpaid royalty. Because my wife defriended and blocked a friend—wrongfully, for my wife was supposed to agree completely with Meltdown Girl, killing both the open-to-the-public pagan event I cohost and my author brand. </p><p>Oh yes, you are supposed to love Meltdown Girl for her sunny personality (her blood type is Chernobyl Road Rage hot sauce), and obey her very wish and demand because she is special and should totally be in charge of all things magical and mystical. </p><p>After all, it is not like the honored dead approve of my operation of witchcraft and shaggy dog stories. </p><p>Maybe I need to explain that—what do you think? </p><p>Okay, here goes . . . </p><p>As we all know, the natural state of occult leaders is to be at war with one another. Despite the claims of community service, from the outside the war looks remarkably like self-serving monopoly seeking egomaniacs deciding that they, and they alone, deserve to receive all the bucks, fucks, and ducks that the students of esoteric traditions are willing to shell out to the bestest teacher and lineaged supreme, just to be ordered around by She Who Should Be Pope. Unfortunately, there are many pretenders to the throne—therefore, a Witch War must be fought until there is only one Witch Mother standing. And the Goddess approves, for there can only be one Witch Queen to rule all things magical and mystical. </p><p>War is the natural state of the occult community, and anyone who says otherwise (hinting that we could do better) needs to be driven out of the community at the earliest opportunity. </p><p>Around 1992—about the same time I entered the ranks of coven and lodge initiation—a source of pestilence arose in Denver. Her name was Alia Denny, and she was totally evil. As in, she “inherited” a community church devoted to doing public Wiccan ritual (got to honor the Official History) and changed the rules by allowing just about everyone to conduct an open pagan ritual on the behalf of the church. </p><p>That was evil—because we all know that such nonsense needs to be stopped—the ranks of the occult, including Wicca, need to be prescreened and filtered by properly lineaged witches. Allowing everyone in, oh the horror—next thing you know, people are going to be able to claim to be Wiccans without going through the trials and tribulations of being a properly initiated coven member. </p><p>Several people tried to stop Alia and the spread of this plague—a couple of her critics even joined the board of the church to try to correct things and put them back in their proper place and form—but Alia ignored all of them. </p><p>Sadly, the greater Wiccan community, you know those bastards and bitches who believe that the individual should have the right to choose their own religion, decided that the performance of public Wiccan ritual was the greatest thing since sliced white bread. Oh the horror—oh the humanity—oh why is it illegal to burn a heretic at the stake? </p><p>I was one of the misguided witches who felt that open ritual was awesome. Worse, the community leadership have failed to exile me from the witchcraft community—as in, I ignored all hints to leave the community, and kept worming my way back in, using my wallet as a tool of ultimate evil by paying to attend classes at my local occult shop. Alia was just encouraging bad behavior, and I was the poster child of the evils of an open-to-the-public religion. </p><p> Let me be clear—Alia Denny’s greatest crime was that she did not ban me from the community the very first night she met me. </p><p>Followed by the fact that the idea of lineage as ultimate proof of quality was ignored by the rabble in favor of how friendly you were and how entertaining your public rituals were. Oh dear, High Priestesses had been stripped of their right to be abusive to one and all—Wicca had become a Free Market Economy. </p><p>Enter the Amazing Meltdown Girl. </p><p>Meltdown Girl has never believed in a Free Market Economy. Meltdown Girl feels entitled to fame, wealth, and absolute obedience—and allowing customers to decide who they like the best is the Eighth Deadly Sin. You are a horrible person if you believe that Meltdown Girl might have to do some hard work to earn the mega-star success that she so desperately craves. </p><p>And Meltdown Girl believes that she is entitled to the fame, wealth, and influence that such authors as J.K. Rowling and Stephen King have. </p><p>With just one book. </p><p>Yes, Meltdown Girl believes that she should be earning mega-star prestige with just a single book. </p><p>Not a series of books. No need for an author platform. No need to improve her output—it is perfect in every way. </p><p>And she might be earning even less as a writer than I am. </p><p>If so, lying to Amazon and getting my author account terminated is JUSTICE and just something that I had coming for being a monster. </p><p>Now, I am not saying that I shouldn’t lost my author account, but let’s be honest about my real crime—it wasn’t about paying Meltdown Girl her just dues (royalties); it was the fact that I allowed this person to remain in my life for twelve years. </p><p>And I had plenty of warning that Meltdown Girl was a little bit of a Bleep since the first day I met her. </p><p>We met at my Second First OFM (Open Full Moon ritual)—the first one I did was years earlier and no one knew that I was actually the author of that ritual (I had self-confidence issues at the time). And like every first unrehearsed public performance, the performance was a burning dumpster fire. It wasn’t completely my fault—my volunteers had bolted at the last minute—leaving me to create an one-person ritual as I performed the OFM. (I would later realize that the abandonment of me was the first step in the Bast Temple schism—but that’s a story for the Initiation Book.) Somehow, I managed to survive. </p><p>Well, mostly. I had made a major mistake at the ritual that would burden me to this very day. You see, I am a Wiccan in Golden Dawn—and I don’t try to disguise that fact. So, public ritual—public performance of the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram; isn’t that what supposed to happen? Turns out “No!” One of the audience members that night was Gertrude . . . who got a little upset that a mere man with a dodgy lineage, not properly trained and vetted by a “real Wiccan,” and who preached the radical idea that paganism could be a Free Market System—there should be no way in Hell that I was more powerful than she was. </p><p>But I was. </p><p>For the next twelve years (and counting), I would be punished for this unforgivable pagan sin—mainly because Gertrude really believes that she is the smartest, most knowledgeable, and most powerful witch in the city. And any evidence that says otherwise has to be destroyed. </p><p>Which is why the Official History of the Denver Wiccan community now says that I never once contributed to the community when people were needed to step up. </p><p>It is also why my medical marijuana status had to be weaponized, Alia Denny recast as a villain, and why it is totally ethical, legal, and good business sense to have someone lie to Amazon and get my author account terminated. Hell, the Honored Dead would totally approve of this much needed Witch War—even Alia Denny herself would ban me from the community if she was still alive today. </p><p>(Ethical—“benefiting the Uber-Witch who should be in complete control of the community”; Legal—“what you can get away with when you have a free lawyer”; Good business sense—“Morgan and Khari are morons who will gladly bled out and disappear from the community—they have no independent way to reach the greater pagan community”; Endorsed by the Honored Dead—“History can be rewritten and competition memory-holed 1984-style.” Anything else I should define? Oh, yes: Uber-Witch—“She was has the most greed, the biggest ego, and sharpest knife—she who deserves to receive all the bucks, fucks and ducks that aspiring witches are willing to shell be instructed in the One and Only True Way of Wicca.”) </p><p>Anyways, back to Meltdown Girl—and yes, that tangent ties into the mess later—Gertrude will be empowering Meltdown Girl before it is all over. </p><p>I had plenty of warning that Meltdown Girl wanted to be an Apex Witch Queen. For instance, when she first moved here from Dogsville, she was obsessed with a psychic friend of hers who was attempting to get producers interested in a ghost-chasing television show. </p><p>“Becky doesn’t deserve her own show. All the ghosts she is talking about, all those wonderful spiritual experiences, she stole those stories from me. I am the real talent—not her. Where is my f***ing TV show?” </p><p>It should be noted that as a man and a former business manager, I had opinions about what Meltdown Girl should do next. </p><p>“If you want to have a TV show, you need to build up your portfolio. People need to see past evidence that you know what you are doing. Without it, why would the producers ever consider giving you your own show?” </p><p>This advice to build up her portfolio was also given regarding her children book series, and her failure to get invited to the community church Council that Gertrude serves on. </p><p>“Why did Bunny get invited to join the Council? Why not me? I am more talented and ethical than Bunny is. I deserve to be on the Council that rules all things magical and mystical in Denver.” </p><p>She didn’t like my answer: “Bunny has done an annual children ritual for a decade. Bunny has proven that she contributes to the community. You have never done a single open ritual. Build a portfolio and you will be asked to do things too.” </p><p>Meltdown Girl did not like that answer. </p><p>And she really didn’t like it when I asked, “Why didn’t you volunteer when the Council put forth their call for new Council members?” </p><p>Yeah, I don’t have too much patience for people who want to be asked to be leaders, but don’t want to contribute to the community without getting “paid” for their service. In other words, “I want to be worshipped and I don’t want to have to work hard to become a living goddess.” You know—the attitude problem that drives all witch wars and trademark lawsuits. </p><p>And I knew that there was another person besides Bunny that Meltdown Girl was upset with—Me! </p><p>You see I also got asked to join the Council (despite engaging in Active Avoidance). Why? Because I had a visible to the public portfolio: Former Inner Order officer for a branch of Golden Dawn, a blog where I periodically talked about abusive occultists, a couple dozen newsletter articles, and several open-to-the-public pagan rituals written and performed by little old me.
In other words, I had portfolio. </p><p>Well, I had portfolio clear up to three and a half years ago—history has been rewritten since then. </p><p>Please note, I would have never joined the Council if I would have known that someday the Council would be dragging my reputation through the mud, rewriting history to justify taking over four events/services (and counting), and would encourage others to damage my author platform. </p><p>And yes, I am positive that the Council encouraged this whole mess. Let’s be clear—this is all about several witches believing that they have the right to boss around the entire Wiccan community. As in I was supposed to ask permission to write the Public Ritual as Community Growth Tool book—so that Gertrude and the rest of her Righteous Council could deny me permission to preach a philosophy that they pretended to support for a quarter of a century, but had just really wanted to burn the person who came up with the idea at the stake for ruining their chances of being the boss of every witch living in the city. Oh yeah, these are nice people focused on “Community service, and not elevating ourselves over others.” Pay no attention to how my resignation was accepted: “I feel that the best way for you to honor Alia and her legacy is for you to leave the community.” In other words, allow the Second Witch War to happen (and Denver’s history and Alia’s philosophy to be rewritten) while killing my own open event and my author brand—without me saying a single word about it. Because righteous actions should always be veiled by a cloak of secrecy. </p><p>One can only hope that Meltdown Girl’s manipulation of Amazon finally gets her invited to the Council—because Meltdown Girl would be a perfect addition to the Great Gherkin Collective.
So how did Meltdown Girl get my account terminated? And why? </p><p>Let’s deal with the Why first. </p><p>Last year, Meltdown Girl approached the Council after hearing that another Big Name Witch had threaten to go to the Council, arguing that no pagan (not alone a community leader) should be allowed to be on medical marijuana, and that I should be kicked off the Council and my slot given to her. Meltdown Girl heard me complain to someone about this below-the-belt maneuver and decided to use the gambit herself. Oh yes, last year’s drama was triggered by Meltdown Girl. </p><p>Oh yeah, Meltdown Girl ran screaming to the Council that I was trying to take over the entire Wiccan community. </p><p>Result? </p><p>The Council weaponized my medical marijuana, memory-holing my thirty-five years (now thirty-six) years in the Denver’s pagan and magical community, and forcing me to hand them a resignation that was in direct violation of a promise I made to Alia Denny. </p><p>Why try to get me burned at the stake? </p><p>Because Meltdown Girl realized that my wife, Khari, wasn’t going to kill the Occult Garden Parties “Celebrating with successful writers, artists, and witches.” No, my wife decided that she loved the OGPs and that they were not going to go away—no matter how much Meltdown Girl tried to sabotage the parties. </p><p>“I would not serve those people chicken and ribs. They only deserve hot dogs and hamburgers. You shouldn’t be wasting money on those people.” </p><p>I want it on the record that my Occult Garden Parties were started before Alia died (she was part of first stage testing of the event) and Alia was okay with me doing them despite my medical marijuana status. </p><p>So what set off Meltdown Girl? </p><p>Khari paying attention to someone else. </p><p>Yeah, just that. </p><p>And this is a person who thinks that they should be asked to lead the whole damn community—say what?!? </p><p>Please note that Meltdown Girl came back into our orbit earlier this year—bitching about the horrible stuff that the Council was doing. Mostly she was upset that she was not asked to join the Council to replace me. </p><p>Well, clear up to the moment that she realized that I thought that I still had a chance to influence people through the Occult Garden parties. Oh, and I thought that I could be a partial replacement for Alia in the community. </p><p>Now, when I say that I am in the running to be Alia’s replacement, I don’t mean that I am going to be the Apex Witch Queen ruling the entire city. No, what I mean is that in Colorado, there are fifteen medical marijuana patients per one thousand residents. Fifteen people who are not going to like the libel (slander) that the mere presence of a medical marijuana patient at a no-power open pagan ritual can result in the entire audience having to live in a padded cell for the rest of their lives. I do not see how any medical marijuana patient is ever going to trust the Council to be their pagan clergy ever again. I know that I would never trust someone who used dirty tricks to eliminate a rival, and tried to impose health, business, and personal decisions on someone (decisions that only benefited the Council, and actually increased the person’s chance of hurting themselves and others—yeah, you know, that type of good advice.) </p><p>I knew I was in trouble the instant that Meltdown Girl said that she dreamed of Alia and she had a message for me. </p><p>I knew that whatever the “message” was, it was going to boil down to “cease and desist—just do whatever makes Meltdown Girl happy.” </p><p>In self-defense, I avoided contact with the Amazing Damsel of Righteous Road Rage for several days. I also very quickly finished the section of the Public Pagan Ritual Planning Workbook that I had been working on. The feeling that someone was going to drive me straight into the weeds, if not into an extended bout of panic, low self-esteem, and close to suicidal depression—that caused the professional writer to hurry to the next logical break point in the project. </p><p>And I wasn’t wrong. </p><p>Please note that I cheated—it wasn’t a great feat of precognition and divination to know that trouble was coming. After all, I have known this lunatic for twelve years—and we were long overdue for Ms. Amazing to have a nuclear meltdown. </p><p>Let’s be clear. This is a woman who once accused me of concealing hundreds (perhaps thousands) of dollars’ worth of sales—robbing her of much needed royalties (reality: I couldn’t give her writing away). This is the person who blackballed all applicants to Bast Temple after the schism (“I am getting a bad vibe from them”). This is the person who gave Cos-Neo “Community service, not elevating ourselves over others” the idea of using my health problems to justify their secret banning of me. Not that I am supposed to know about the true extent of that backstabbing—I am supposed to believe that the resulting secret exile of me was merely the church misusing private information—and that Meltdown Girl was innocent of getting me kicked out of the community. And most of all, this is the person who still thought that she deserved superstar treatment (must be the center of attention at all times) and a sweet ass community church board membership with a bad attitude and a portfolio that still echoed from its emptiness. </p><p>Oh, I so knew this was going to be a bad “Alia is spinning in her grave” cease and desist message. </p><p>After all, I have seen the three eye flashes the weekend before. </p><p>Let’s count off the “If looks could kill,” shall we? </p><p>First, there was the glare when I pointed out an artist tip that I learned by watching Bob Ross. </p><p>The second flare was when I a small joke about being more qualified to be Alia’s replacement (more pro-open ritual) than any of the current crop of Apex Monopoly Seekers. </p><p>And the third attack of Medusa Eyes was when I laughed that I would have to decide how much of a discount that I would give her when I was ready to teach my upcoming Marketing For Pagan Community Leaders workshop. </p><p>Yeah, those are the horrible things that I did that triggered the latest round of drama; Meltdown Girl running back to the Council to complain some more, and the urgent need to get my Amazon author account terminated. </p><p>All of which, along with the righteous weaponization of my medical status, should prove to the Imperious Trio once and for all that Meltdown Girl needs to be invited to join the Council. </p><p>Oh, and why does she want to be a member of the Council? So she can ban people from the community simply because they give her a bad vibe. And someday, I was sure to be one of those banned—because I kept thinking that I was better than she was. </p><p>Now, at this point, it might be helpful for the reader to know that I belong to an esoteric tradition that reserves Tier Two training (think—Inner Order Golden Dawn/Second Degree Wicca) to those who can pass three tests—Tier Two cannot be opened without at least one student who can pass all three parts of the challenge. </p><p>One, you have to show a concern about acting ethically. This does not mean that you have to restrict yourself to only spiritual development—no, you can do practical magic. And it does not mean that you are a doormat in the real world either. You can be a bastard and still be ethical. All Tier Two members have to pass the ethics threshold. </p><p>Two, at least one student has to gain (learn) the ability to reach into someone else’s sphere of sensation and adjust their energy. Translation—someone who will be able to initiate others, and not be restricted to handing out placeholder degrees and grades. </p><p>Three, and the most important of them all, you have to be able to detect magical and mystical energies well enough that when you encounter someone bullshitting that they are a High Grade, powerful in magic and ritual, that you can see how often there is absolutely no energy while they are lying about hearing the advice of the Secret Chiefs and the Honored Dead. </p><p>By the way, no one who broke away during Bast Temple schism had passed these tests—not even a single part. </p><p>And Meltdown Girl had constantly failed all three parts—despite thinking that she was a top shelf healer and psychic. </p><p>Which is why when my wife, Khari, passed a second part of the Tier Two challenge a couple of years ago, I started trying to warn Meltdown Girl to knock off the fake medium act. Please note I am not allowed to just come out and say, “I have known that your on/off ratio as a psychic is 10:90 at best, and I have known this for twelve years. And Khari has progressed to the point where she might be able to see what you really are the next time you say, ‘The spirits are telling me you need to do it this way, and you can believe me because I am a psychic’ and I am quite sure Khari will not be pleased once she learns your actual truth to lies ratio.” </p><p>Okay, I did not foresee that Khari’s reaction being quite this bad—surprise, not only did Khari learn that you are a bullshitting psychic, turns out that she is still a little upset that you weren’t more sympathetic when her mother committed suicide [bad health issue]. </p><p>My wife defriended and blocked Meltdown Girl on Facebook. </p><p>Which is why Meltdown Girl ran back to the Council, got egged on by them to use a dirty trick to terminate my Amazon author account (a test balloon to see if the Council can use a quote of forty-three words and a claim that they are the only ones legally allowed to write about public goddess worship and its history to block the publication of my entire OFM support series), and all this because Meltdown Girl believes that Alia Denny should have handpicked her to be the next ruler of the Denver Wiccan community. </p><p>By the way, Alia (despite what the official history now claims) only controlled one event. Not four and counting. Alia never claimed the right to shut down other people’s events and projects—and she would have been horrified that someone was trying to destroy someone else’s business and livelihood. </p><p>Not that I was making money yet. But I had high hopes for my rebranding and relaunch. Especially my science fiction. A relaunch which can never happen now because there is no point in me finishing anything now—how would the readers ever find it? </p><p>I mean it is not like I spent twenty years blogging about abusive occultists—watchdog work I did for free—because I truly believe that the students of the esoteric traditions deserve better leadership than Meltdown Girl, the Righteous Trio of the Cos-Neo Council, the Great Gherkin and the dozens of other monopoly seeking Big Name Witches and Magicians that believe that the world of the occult exists only to serve as their own personal ATM (cash point), sex dungeon, and personal shooting gallery. </p><p>High-fives all around for Meltdown Girl and the legitimate guardians of the One True Wicca, for finally succeeding where so many others have failed—a big round of applause for permanently silencing my voice and exiling me from the occult community forever and ever. Oh yeah, these guardians of all things magical and mystical deserve a big round of applause. </p><p>Applause. </p><p>Not what I think they deserve. </p><p>My fans know what is about to happen—yeah, I will continue writing (both esoteric and fiction); the only difference is that I do it for free, rather than attempt to make money doing it. </p><p>And before anyone asks, the chances of me being able to use facts like “Payout threshold was five dollars; Contributors were being credited according to ereader page count of their submission: and Meltdown Girl had an advertisement for her children book series as part of her payment” to regain my Amazon account is relatively low, as in “Satan will be skating to work.” Amazon is notorious for capricious enforcement of their rules and business standards. Odds are very much that Amazon is permanently closed to me. </p><p>A big round of applause for Meltdown Girl. Hopefully, this deed of excellent community service, unselfishness, and supreme business sense earns her that place on the Council that she so feverishly desires. And if not, well, my wife has banned her from our property—Meltdown Girl is not coming back here. </p><p>So exactly how is all this drama, including the termination of my Amazon author account, going to affect my production schedule? </p><p>First, all projects are on hold. Mainly because of the emotional turmoil that the events of last year and a half has unleashed in my brain. It is hard to make process on writing projects when every draft turns out to be a rant about how I didn’t agree to be a board member just to undo everything positive that Alia Denny ever accomplished as soon as she was dead. </p><p>Secondly, all projects are on hold because I have absolutely no idea how far Meltdown Girl, the Cos-Neo Council, and the other three dozen or so Big Name Witches, intent on restoring Denver’s Wiccan community back to its pristine one true way state that existed during the Denver Witch War years—you know the ideal society that Alia Denny ruined by allowing portfolio (in the form of open pagan ritual done by the unwashed masses) into the community (undermining the ability of one simply to make a lineage claim to be able to boss others around)—I have absolutely no idea how far these fine pillars of the community will go to ensure that my opinions are silenced once and for all. </p><p>Let me be clear: These righteous reformers have blown past all the normal limits that govern ministers. The weaponization of my medical marijuana status to justify (secretly) banning me from a community church that I attended for a quarter of a century—as well as other events controlled by the eager monopoly seekers, the rewriting of history to memory-hole my thirty-six years in the local community, the voiding out of my contributions by claiming that the deeds don’t count because my actions were not done at the right time and for the right purpose (the glorification of She Who Wants It All). The recasting of Alia’s philosophy to make the claim that Alia herself would endorse the antics of the monopoly seekers, the claim that Alia would have banned me from the community herself (stripping me of my right to be a pagan minister) once she learned of my medical status, the lying to Amazon (massive unpaid royalties, my ass) to get my author account terminated, the invoking of Alia’s ghost to try to make my wife kill her (and my) open socializing and ritual event, and all the efforts to stop me from becoming a successful author—so far, from where I sit, not a single one of these Big Name Witches (all of whom claim to be so worthy of being Alia’s handpicked successor), none of them have exhibited any human decency or ethics. </p><p>Oh wait, these supreme Wiccans have showed that they have ethics—morals and business practices—it is just too bad that perhaps they are ethics worthy of a whorehouse madam. </p><p>Yes, that is my personal opinion. </p><p>An opinion that is totally worthy of screaming libel, slander, and character assassination—oh yeah, these Big Name Witches will be suing me in court, proving that Alia left detailed instructions on how she wanted these pillars of the community to deal with critics who think that occult monopolies are a bad idea, and showing a judge that their rewritten of history is what really happened and not what some Arkham asylum escapee claims happened. </p><p>And the BNWs will definitely be proving beyond all shadow of doubt that Alia Denny herself would have stripped me of my minister certificate, my community, my own open event, and my right to write about witchcraft and the occult the instant that Alia learned that I was taking medical marijuana to treat my complex PTSD, bipolar, panic attacks. </p><p>After all, Alia Denny knew the dark truth; she knew that the mere presence of a medical marijuana patient at a low power (nay, no power) open-to-the-public Wiccan ritual would result in dozens of attendees having to spend the rest of their lives in padded rooms. </p><p>And the BNWs will prove all this in a court of law, along with ensuring that their official rewritten history is the only one that historians are allowed to remember, as well as proving the Meltdown Girl is a real psychic, and that the religious laws of Wicca says that a single witch is allowed to micromanage (including shutting down) the religious and business activities of all who call themselves Wicca. </p><p>By goddess, they have historical documents to prove all these points—and by goddess, they are going to use them. </p><p>Easy peasee, once they find a free lawyer willing to swap legal services for a Wiccan degree in the bestest lineage (in fact, the only real Wiccan lineage) that the world has ever seen. And that will be easy to do because any lawyer will be able to instantly see that I am committing libel, slander, and historical revision (worthy of major life-crippling monetary damages) while their clients are a hundred percent innocent of wronging me in a similar manner. </p><p>Oh yes, any and all actions taken to destroy me are ethical, legal, and good business sense. </p><p>Fuck limits—let’s burn Morgan at the stake in the public square to show one and all that Morgan is the wickedest magician living today, and to make sure that everyone knows who Alia Denny’s rightful successors are and what happens to those unwilling to kiss their papal ring.
Us Wiccans like to talk about how Wiccan clergy should be better than the Christian fundamentalists. That’s rich. Someone please explain to me how abusing me is serving the Lord and Lady. </p><p>Worse than the potential legal problems, and far more responsible for causing all of my writing projects to be put on hold, is that Meltdown Girl has already proven that she is willing to lie, omit, and resort to dirty tricks to punish anyone who doubts that she is the one that Alia would have personally chosen to be succeed her. And there is also MDG’s rage when she learns that someone is doing better than she is as a writer, that’s some real sweet poison. </p><p>If I somehow negate the death blow that Meltdown Girl dealt to my author career—oh how do you survive as an indie writer without Amazon—will MDG hunt down and visit similar dirty tricks on each and every pen-name that she knows of? </p><p>Now that Meltdown Girl knows how easy it is to manipulate a book retailer into terminating another writer’s author account, will she ever stop? </p><p>Do I need to abandon every pen-name and project that I ever admitted to? Do I need to create completely brand-new pen-names, new fictional universes, and a totally different writing voice—projects that I would never be able to mention to anyone—do I need to go unbelievable lengths just to protect myself from this fucking lunatic? </p><p>*sigh* </p><p>Even if I somehow figure out how to bullet-proof the parts of my author platform that Meltdown Girl hasn’t destroyed yet, there will still be some deep changes to my production schedule and output. </p><p>For instance, the oral history project (of the “Golden Age Open Goddess Worship Peace Years”) that I wanted to do, that’s off the table. I can’t begin to imagine the type of copyright usage paperwork that I would require from the participants to make me feel safe from similar sabotage. That and sure as god makes little green apples, the Council (egged on by Meltdown Girl) will be taking me to court to make sure that the forty-three most important words are not usable by me, as soon as the Council locates the trademark paperwork and the Last Will and Testament which gives them not only complete and total control of Alia’s intellectual property (and not Doug, her husband)—but everything they need to prove to a judge that I am evil professional liar—a judge who will reward them by giving them the exclusive business right to close down the events and projects of other Wiccans. Yes, the Council will be able demand that others cease and desist—all in the name of community service, and not self-enrichment. </p><p>It will be awesome legal justice. Oh, they are so going to prove that I am a dirty filthy mouthed liar who does not deserve the basic legal protections that all other historians and journalists normally enjoy. Meltdown Girl, the Kosher Coven and their band of Merry Minions, are so going to have that judge wrapped around their little finger. It will be glorious—and at the end of the day, only the Council will have the legal right to call themselves Wiccans. The Imperious Threesome wants it—and therefore, it will happen—they will be the only Wiccans legally recognized in the whole damn world. </p><p>Hence legally, I no longer have the right to write about local Wiccan history. Only the Council enjoys that right. And it is righteous. Can I get an “Amen!” </p><p>So that history project is never going to happen now—one can only hope that the Council writes and publishes their totally true account (with supplementary historical documents) of why they were more important to the development of the local Wiccan community than Alia ever was. </p><p>Also gone is any future participation by me in anthologies, journals and magazines (including guest blog posts) organized by other people. Thanks to Meltdown Girl, I am now off-limits; no one is going to want to take the risk of working with someone who has been blackballed by the greatest witches and magicians in the world, and is now being hunted down by a horde of angry witches determined to root out my brand of heresy once and for all. Meltdown Girl is a lunatic, as are her Righteous Council friends, and they will probably feel perfectly okay with destroying the literary and publishing careers of anyone crazy enough to work with me. After all, it is about “Community service, and not elevating themselves over others.” </p><p>But the most important change brought about by this fun and games is the addition of several new “Great Gherkin Collective” projects—all starring these wonderful ladies who totally deserve to rule all things magical and mystical with a bad attitude and an iron fist. </p><p>Oh yes, let’s celebrate the great business and religious wisdom of Meltdown Girl and the Cos-Neo Council. Just don’t ask me what I know that they don’t know. Because I may not be a top shelf witch like they are, but I do know how to get information to people through non-paid channels. I blogged (unpaid) for twenty years about the antics of the Golden Dawn Trademark War. What would make this situation any different? </p><p>I have opinions about how occult teachers and leaders should act—and have shared these thoughts openly with the greater esoteric community since 1996 in a variety of media (blogs, newsletters, small press publications)—more often than not for FREE. </p><p>Why would I shut up now? </p><p>Between the weaponization of my medical marijuana status, the rewriting of history, and the termination of my Amazon author account—this has become personal. </p><p>And we all know how I get when things become personal. If the Council, Meltdown Girl, and their obedient minions, thought that I was a danger to the community before, they haven’t seen anything yet. </p><p>It is Game On Witches! </p><p><a href="https://mailchi.mp/5240692be362/the-many-pennames-of-morgan-drake-eckstein-mailing-list" target="_blank">Sign up for The Many Pen-Names of Morgan Drake Eckstein to receive the monthly Essay of Doom (the 13th of very month) </a><br /></p>Morgan Drake Ecksteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258538066497554895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2594045886586038963.post-52945393195115170232020-11-25T02:11:00.031-07:002020-11-25T02:24:56.719-07:00Covid-19 update<p>[The following was sent to my All-in-One mailing list, serving all my acknowledged pen-names. You can sign up here for my <a href="https://mailchi.mp/5240692be362/the-many-pennames-of-morgan-drake-eckstein-mailing-list">mailing list</a>]</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After holding out hope forever—me and my hopeless
causes—sadly I must report that my annual OFM (Open Full Moon) ritual scheduled
for October 31 is officially cancelled. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Quite simply, me and Khari could not figure out a way to
make it safe for us to gather this year. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You don’t realize how important a bathroom is until you
don’t have access to one. And it was figuring out how to let attendees use the
bathroom that stumped us. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And once we saw the problem, we couldn’t un-see it. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We had solved all the rest of the problems, but we could not
solve this one. Well, not in a way that wouldn’t become a piece of zombie
apocalypse performance art. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Context for the one reader who hasn’t see my dog and pony
show, I picked up a habit of openly washing my hands between every step taking
and making orders when I was working by myself at Loco Gyro. Some of the
customers loved the fact that me and my crew were so mindful of health and
safety which always made me wonder about the cleanliness of other restaurants.
Of course, me and my employees thought of it as a three-ring circus act—take
off and throw gloves away from previous order, wash hands, take the customer
order and collect the money, wash hands, put on gloves and make the order,
repeat performance for the next customer. We always wore gloves when handling
the food, especially after Dimitris’ college experience of showing up to class
while reeking of onions and feta cheese. Hell, we were going through two
(three) hundred food service gloves a week (vinyl—not latex—I might be allergic
to latex), much to the horror of the restaurant’s owners (the cheap bastards). </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So yeah, I kept picturing myself dressed in full NBC
(nuclear, biological, chemical) hazard gear waiting outside of the bathroom
with an industrial sized drum of Lysol to clean the bathroom after each and
every user. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You know—death by Lysol—I would have to use a level of
chem-clean that my wife, Khari, couldn’t handle. And I am sure there would be
other attendees with similar issues. Including myself. So that wasn’t going to
work. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Outside of that, we managed to find a work-around for
everything else we would need to do for a semi-public open pagan
(Wiccan/magical) ritual, right down to how to make Cakes and Ale (Mystic
Repast) safe.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Oh yeah—event update—every event (whether class, discussion
group, drumming, BBQ, open ritual) is now officially only semi-open. We now
have a “no-fly” list with a solid “Nope—this person can’t attend” on the list. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Gone are the days of “leave your differences at the door,”
thanks to some witch deciding to blow a copyright/lack of payment claim all out
of proportion in order to get Amazon to terminate my author account. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For the record, this is the third major meltdown and
backstabbing I have experienced from this particular toxic friend—a friendship
truly worthy of a haz-mat suit and a full de-com shower. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But more about this false friend (possibly double spy), what
losing access to Amazon means to me and my readers, and how I am going to
promise not to let this small setback stop me from sending stuff to you next
month. Oh yeah, we already know the subject of next month’s Essay of Doom (sent
out the 13<sup>th</sup> of every month). </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So everyone is on the same page, next year will be year five
of the Occult Garden Parties (“Celebrating with successful writers, artists,
and witches”). I am counting this year with an asterisk. We had events
scheduled—we just couldn’t do them safely. Apologies all around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I was hoping to get some field-testing done for the OFM
(open ritual performance) support series done this year—but Covid-19, what can
you do?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I was also hoping to get one of the novels done this
year—that ain’t going to happen either thanks to Meltdown Girl (who also had a
hand in the Cos-Neo drama last year). But more about that next month, right?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Next year—Covid-19 permitting—me and Khari plan on doing an
Occult Garden Party every third Saturday of the month (June to October).
Remember that Khari works as a schoolteacher for Denver Public Schools. We
can’t start the event season before June and we have to end it before Fall
Burnout kicks in. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We will continue using the front and back patios, despite
the three-story house going up in the south neighbor’s yard. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I am also hoping to have a Saturday night OFM (Open Full
Moon ritual) sometime during the 2021 event season. But I haven’t looked at
next year’s calendar yet. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And please remember that I am always up to doing a pop-up
ritual if enough attendees ask me to do one. </p>
<p>[This post was originally sent to my <a href="https://mailchi.mp/5240692be362/the-many-pennames-of-morgan-drake-eckstein-mailing-list">mailing list</a> serving all my pen-names.]<br /></p>Morgan Drake Ecksteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258538066497554895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2594045886586038963.post-39652947618067982302018-12-21T10:00:00.000-07:002018-12-21T10:00:03.096-07:00Planning the cozy ritual and oracle room <a href="http://sacred-healing.co.uk/tbh21a" target="_blank">Previous</a>/ <a href="https://cosmicwhisperstarot.com/yule-tarot-blog-hop-2018-master-list/" target="_blank">MasterList</a>/ <a href="http://joyvernon.com/Blog/tbh-tarot-cozy/" target="_blank">Next</a><br />
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Welcome to the Yule Tarot Blog Hop--gee where has the year gone?<br />
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The theme for this TBH is "cozy." Or as I like to call it, "Another chance for Morgan to talk about how he wants to remodel the house." In this particular case, how I would like to set up my upstairs ritual/oracle room. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sC_GfwQ8mqk/XByyTl9-NVI/AAAAAAAAFro/Vl12gpXRVvYBnXv-nQRDcL8MS6g-uw5wgCLcBGAs/s1600/Emotional%2BSupport%2BMonkey%2Basks%2Bif%2Bthese%2Bare%2Byour%2Bcards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sC_GfwQ8mqk/XByyTl9-NVI/AAAAAAAAFro/Vl12gpXRVvYBnXv-nQRDcL8MS6g-uw5wgCLcBGAs/s320/Emotional%2BSupport%2BMonkey%2Basks%2Bif%2Bthese%2Bare%2Byour%2Bcards.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is this your card?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
When me and my wife first brought the house, the second bedroom was to become my office with the half-basement being a ritual room. Having lived in the house for sixteen years, and having more ritual and fortune telling under my belt, along with the lingering effects of my wife's motorcycle accident, using the downstairs for ritual is not as practical as it used to be. So it is time for changes.<br />
<br />
[The reason that my wife got into a motorcycle accident was that her biological father, an evil old man with a room temperature IQ and the stubbornness of a mule, decided that the daughter he did not know, needed a professional grade motorcycle (which she did not want) and insisted that she was going to ride it (despite the fact that a moped was more her speed and skill level). This resulted in her having an accident the very first day on it--she slammed it into the side of a car--her hip was slammed between the big-ass bike and the car. To this day, she has problems with that leg. Over time, it has gotten harder for her to make it up and down the basement stairs.]<br />
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We have decided that the basement is going to be my office and private workspace for my Golden Dawn related work...<br />
<br />
[I no longer need as much room and "bareness" for my GD work, having left my role as a GD group leader and being completely happy to let someone else deal with the Neophytes--my future GD work is going to be done with just a keyboard and a bad attitude. The odds of me ever doing another GD group ritual--initiation or otherwise is relatively low--more so with the fact that I am far more interested in applying Golden Dawn techniques to a different symbolic framework than I am in fighting to become one of the Big Name Occultists.]<br />
<br />
...and the upstairs room is going to become a shared ritual and mediation room instead.<br />
<br />
Like my yard (which has been the subject for several of this year's Tarot Blog Hop entries), the vision for the ritual room is based on my vast amount of social witchcraft and magical experience. As some of my friends can guess, some of my ideas come from working with Cassandra and my time taking classes over at Herbs and Arts (when it was still owned by Morning Glory) as well as vast amounts of personal practical experience. <br />
<br />
One of the things I have learned is that my magic and Tarot/oracle reading is affected by the atmosphere of the location that I am working in. I have done the public reading route, both in occult shops (up front, in the back room, have yet to do a reading on the roof of one, but it is only a matter of time...) and in coffee houses (that is why many of my Tarot decks have spilled tea on them) and at parties (let's call it being "entertainment"). And I have learned that public reading is just one step away from working in a cubicle, or a boiler room (hey, I seriously explored working for someone with a 1-800 number).<br />
<br />
No, the best environment for me to do reading is lit with candles, private and smells of vast amounts of incense. Think "gypsy tent." Laugh if you will, but I think that they were onto something. <br />
<br />
(Okay, internet police--I know that the term "gypsy" is either an insult and/or a stolen term that I should not apply to my own work--never mind the fact that me and my sisters used to joke about "being gypsies" when we were kids; only political correctness counts in today's world.)<br />
<br />
Basically, a "cozy" atmosphere helps me in my magical and divination work. And my wife would like us to have a ritual room upstairs...<br />
<br />
(We also have a couple of friends who would like to see me focus more on Wicca and such.)<br />
<br />
...so, why not make my wife happy? Besides, I need to get back into the swing of my magical work. <br />
<br />
As such, my wife and I have talked about what we would like to do with the room. My vision tends to be a little more grand (as in "What would I do if I had a boatload of ill-gotten gains from a wildly successful book?") while my wife is more realistic. For instance, I would like to have a fireplace in the room, but that would require a bunch of cash and the hiring of people who actually know how to do the work. There are those fake fireplace heaters, but it is not the same.<br />
<br />
Something that my wife mentioned when I told her about the subject of this Blog Hop is that she would like a corner full of comfy pillows. So, the room is going to have a big pile of soft (and probably tasteful) pillows. And many, many gods and goddesses; it is an artist's house after all. And cats! Many, many cats. The cats will probably vote that the pile of pillows belong to them.<br />
<br />
(The real challenge will be figuring out how to keep Anubis, our big twenty pound black cat, from deciding that everything on the altar and/or reading table is not important, and knocking all such nonsense onto the floor, so that he can take a well-deserved nap.)<br />
<br />
Of course, all this requires me to clean out the room (it ended up being used for storage, due to the lack of enough bookcases in the house--a DIY project that has been delayed while I work on the novel--thirty thousand words and counting...) and then getting out of my wife's way.<br />
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It is totally do-able. After all, I am now on bipolar meds, and can cope with the project.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ee9f7hZOe9o/XBzRjgpq5_I/AAAAAAAAFr0/ZvLAiVZzHI0UaP9F_9QwaPt0rhx5Fxc8ACLcBGAs/s1600/tarot%2Bblog%2Bhop%2Breader%2Binstructions.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="373" data-original-width="389" height="306" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ee9f7hZOe9o/XBzRjgpq5_I/AAAAAAAAFr0/ZvLAiVZzHI0UaP9F_9QwaPt0rhx5Fxc8ACLcBGAs/s320/tarot%2Bblog%2Bhop%2Breader%2Binstructions.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tarot Blog Hop--all about the Tarot.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Thanks for reading my TBH entry. As always, you are encouraged to follow the links and read the other entries for this theme--there is always something new to learn.<br />
<br />
Have a happy Yule and a great 2019. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://sacred-healing.co.uk/tbh21a" target="_blank">Previous</a>/ <a href="https://cosmicwhisperstarot.com/yule-tarot-blog-hop-2018-master-list/" target="_blank">MasterList</a>/ <a href="http://joyvernon.com/Blog/tbh-tarot-cozy/" target="_blank">Next </a><br />
<br />Morgan Drake Ecksteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258538066497554895noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2594045886586038963.post-53435004264147933832018-11-17T17:12:00.001-07:002018-11-17T17:12:41.408-07:00Initiation as an Operating System<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wkVEBgHVRBA/W_Ctrh3S-FI/AAAAAAAAFqY/aCXW26euOfouAMeP-uj5qzI4Qxp0lHvTgCLcBGAs/s1600/Egregore%2B03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wkVEBgHVRBA/W_Ctrh3S-FI/AAAAAAAAFqY/aCXW26euOfouAMeP-uj5qzI4Qxp0lHvTgCLcBGAs/s320/Egregore%2B03.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Egregors--easy to build all by yourself, right? No. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The line to burn me at the stake for violating modern ideas about initiated traditions (Golden Dawn, many forms of Wicca, Thelema) will soon be forming. Why? Because I am willing to say things like this:
<br /><br />You need both--individual and group work--to fully understand and use the [initiated Golden Dawn] system as it was designed to work. This is how it was designed--it is not a bug; it is a feature. Initiation (in a group) is like installing the operating system of a computer. The members of the group itself is like the circuits in a computer. The individual work, rituals, and study, are the programs and the owner's manual...which work best if you have the proper operating system installed, along with the suggested hardware (aka you are not working alone), and the right settings (godforms). And lineage is the official "I did not pirate this software" seal and code which (in my "healed lineage" experience) can be paid for after the fact, and allows for software patches. You would not expect a single unplugged circuit board to be able to run computer programs, so why does everyone expect the rituals of Golden Dawn to work without the set-up that was designed into the system in the first place?Morgan Drake Ecksteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258538066497554895noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2594045886586038963.post-33001002402914085722018-10-30T12:00:00.000-06:002018-10-31T16:42:49.876-06:00A message from the Honored Dead<a href="http://sacred-healing.co.uk/tbh20" target="_blank">Previous blog</a>/ <a href="https://tarotwitchery.blogspot.com/2018/10/master-list-tarot-blog-hop-samhain-2018.html" target="_blank">MasterList</a>/ <a href="http://joyvernon.com/Blog/tbh-walking-life-dead/" target="_blank">Next blog in hop</a> <br />
<br />
I will admit that the theme of this Tarot Blog Hop, Walking Into Life With The Dead, left me at a loss of what to do with it, so I am just going to use the prompt as the basis of a quick Tarot reading. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T-QMW6kbGC0/W9e2WZL6MHI/AAAAAAAAFqA/CTKRxJ4-Ke0d_CC8-O_lwugicwW-sVZ9wCLcBGAs/s1600/tarot%2Bblog%2Bhop%2Boctober%2B2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="885" data-original-width="1600" height="176" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T-QMW6kbGC0/W9e2WZL6MHI/AAAAAAAAFqA/CTKRxJ4-Ke0d_CC8-O_lwugicwW-sVZ9wCLcBGAs/s320/tarot%2Bblog%2Bhop%2Boctober%2B2018.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My message from the Honored Dead. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
1. What is the most important thing the spirits of your beloved dead have been attempting to show or teach you this year?<br />
<br />
For this question, I pulled the King of Swords, which because the figure is not on a horse, I am going to read more like the Prince of Swords instead. [In Golden Dawn, the Kings are mounted on horses while the Princes are seating down--basically, the Kings on horseback are considered to be more active than their seated counterparts.] One of the things I have been struggling with lately is "pre-judgement"--judging my current bit of writing in the light of "You can't write it that way--you will offend all your readers and ensure that you will never sell another book ever again." I have always had this problem which is why I have a metric ton of started, yet never finished projects. This ties into the fact that my mother-in-law (who died last summer) wanted to see me actually complete an entire science fiction novel. <br />
<br />
2. What is your personal connection to Spirit, as you define it, whether that be Gods and Goddesses, the Powers of the Land, the Souls of the Dead (or the Living), or in any other way you define this word. How does Spirit connect with you and at the end of this year, what is the primary energy of Spirit that is showing itself to you?<br />
<br />
For the second question, I pulled Death. Over the last two months, I have actually managed top remain (mostly) focused on a single project--I have managed to rack up 25K words on a single story (that's half of a small novel). This is real first for me; I have never gotten that far on any fiction project before. Interestingly, this is all being done under a brand new pen-name because I decided that I wanted a fresh start as a writer. I guess that is a form of death and change, right? <br />
<br />
3. What will be your personal Gift to Spirit, whether this is an offering made to Deity, something you will do because of what Spirit has taught you, or some other way of acknowledging the influence of the Living Dead on your own life.<br />
<br />
For the third question, I pulled the Four of Swords. Several of the characters that I have created are based on dead relatives, and some of the action involves me exploring my feelings about my childhood and how my mom so did not want me to become a witch, or a writer for that matter. There is my (dead) dad and my (dead) aunt who live again as other characters. I am still debating whether it is polite to use the name of one of my ancestors as my new pen-name.<br />
<br />
One of the themes in the book is PTSD (which I have been told online that I don't understand...despite the fact that I suffer from it personally). It is kinda love offering, the pouring out of my soul. This is almost like going to therapy--which I associate with the Four of Swords--in fact, the book starts off with my main character, Homer Milton Dante, telling his therapist what he thinks of her latest suggestion to foster his recovery. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9IeCTwEdC9g/W9fQ3LUaE1I/AAAAAAAAFqM/Opz8zu_s3REkrbuWOznzdhaCUcTCpc1IwCLcBGAs/s1600/Mercury%2BForty%2BTwo%2B00%2Bc%2B04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9IeCTwEdC9g/W9fQ3LUaE1I/AAAAAAAAFqM/Opz8zu_s3REkrbuWOznzdhaCUcTCpc1IwCLcBGAs/s320/Mercury%2BForty%2BTwo%2B00%2Bc%2B04.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love this artwork...despite the fact that I shouldn't use it. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As an illustration of all this energy, consider the artwork that I really, really want to use for the book cover, despite the fact that "no writer should make their own cover artwork" and "everyone that you are going to be competing with, they are using a different style of artwork--and abstract covers did not help sales from the Big Six--so you really should not use it!" On the other hand, my mother-in-law encouraged my occasional foray into art, and I know my father would have done the same. And I want to do some interior illustrations too--which is something else that goes against what is currently selling on the market. My research says "not to do something different than what customers currently expect"...and I violating the rules nine ways to Sunday, so this project (based on the current market wisdom) is probably going to be dead on arrival (if the experts are right). Still sooner or later, I have to actually complete a project, and I am halfway there (with enough ideas to get to the 50K mark). I might as well finish it up--complete with the inclusion of artwork that reminds me of the science fiction magazines I grew up reading.<br />
<br />
[In many ways, I feel like a grave robber here. This book grew out of a comment that I said out loud at one point while working on another story set in the same fictional universe. At one point, I realized that international space meant "more than just Americans in space" and that meant research. I might be able to fake the British, but most other countries will require lots of research. Then I said, "Why can't I give the Ancient Egyptians rockets and be done with it?" Suddenly I had New Egyptians everywhere in the universe--opps! I am not sure how the Honored Dead of Egypt feel about this, but they were a little star-crazy--so maybe they will not mind.] <br />
<br />
Happy Samhain! Thanks for reading. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://sacred-healing.co.uk/tbh20" target="_blank">Previous blog</a>/ <a href="https://tarotwitchery.blogspot.com/2018/10/master-list-tarot-blog-hop-samhain-2018.html" target="_blank">MasterList</a>/ <a href="http://joyvernon.com/Blog/tbh-walking-life-dead/" target="_blank">Next blog in hop</a> Morgan Drake Ecksteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258538066497554895noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2594045886586038963.post-43049098831642951842018-09-21T09:00:00.000-06:002018-09-21T09:00:05.370-06:00My cunning plan to restore my work life balance<a href="http://aniam.co.uk/blog/the-fine-line" target="_blank">PreviousBlog</a>/ <a href="https://phoenix-lotus.com/2018-mabon-tarot-blog-hop-master-list" target="_blank">MasterList</a>/ <a href="http://joyvernon.com/Blog/balancing-bright-dark/" target="_blank">NextBlog</a>/<br />
<br />
Welcome to the mid-September installment of the Tarot Blog Hop. The topic for this one is maintaining and restoring balance--ironic considering that I am just starting to warm-up to break out of my summer schedule (which is not balanced at all).<br />
<br />
A few years ago, while I was in college, I started to goof off during the summer months. At the time, it made sense--if only because I did not want to take classes during the summer semester (same amount of work--less time to do it in). After graduating (two bachelor degrees--literature and history), I continued taking the summer easy--mainly because of my wife's work habits and schedule.<br />
<br />
Being a schoolteacher, my wife takes the summers off and works on her pottery business.<br />
<br />
Now, this would not be so bad if she was not gifted with an annoying handicap--basically, she can't see when I am actually writing. I can be typing away, and she will walk into the room and proceed to talk as if my fingers flying over the keyboard are non-existent.<br />
<br />
One of the bad things about writing (and art, for that matter) is that it is a "flow" activity. Basically, it is easier to do (and often better quality) if you can enter a mindset where the words and images just flow though you. Interruptions leads one to having to hack the words out at a painful rate of one word at a time.<br />
<br />
Yes, writing is always done one word at a time.<br />
<br />
But when the space between two words become filled with other concerns (such as the fact that one is supposed to pay attention when your wife is talking to you), it becomes a war to convince the next word to show up in a timely manner. Allow enough interruptions to happen, and the next thing you know you haven't wrote anything since like--forever, and one's muse goes on strike.<br />
<br />
In my case, that is really not a good idea. I suffer from Heinlein Monkey--my health (both physical and mental) start to suffer when I haven't been doing enough writing. For instance, instead of sleeping, I will toss and turn for the entire night. And over the years, the problem has gotten worse. <br />
<br />
Under normal conditions, the most that I have to put up with the summer schedule is three months, plus weekends, school holidays, and any day that my wife decides to take off, and...well, my bad childhood programming kicks in whenever someone decides that their schedule, even if it is only goofing-off, matters more than whatever I am trying to do. And I will feel great guilt for the little voice in my head that says that I should be writing instead.<br />
<br />
Why do I have such bad programming? Simple, my mother thought that it was perfectly okay to make the oldest kid still at home, drop everything, including homework, to take care of the younger siblings and the house. That is why I ended up failing high school. Of course, it was not my mom's fault--according to her, I flunked high school because I was stupid--not because I was not allowed to do any homework. And any money I somehow made went 100% towards supporting my siblings. <br />
<br />
So basically, I am programmed to put everyone else in front of my needs and wants--and suffer crippling guilt when I do not have the time or resources to support someone else fully and absolutely. Hence my wife decides to take the day off, and I feel obligated to keep her company--which is followed by frustration that I am getting no work done, and guilt over the fact that I feel frustrated, topped with the feeling that I am supposed to be making money hand over foot without burning up any resources (time or money).<br />
<br />
In theory, my summer schedule is supposed to be three months...<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, my mother-in-law died last year (suicide), so I never left summer schedule last year. My "summer" has now gone on for a year and a quarter. And it probably made sense to extend it to provide emotional support for my wife, but at some point you have to get back to work. Especially if not working has allowed an impressive imbalance to build up. <br />
<br />
How bad is this imbalance? Peeking at my Tarot deck, the top card is the Two of Swords and the bottom card is the Lovers. I will admit that I am not brave enough to actually draw any other cards. Besides, it is not like I am going to change my plan for restoring balance. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fpQa1lcUi3U/W6Rx26kI5UI/AAAAAAAAFpE/MJKDJVamMcEDbqCMRfhOrqUHH6ka_ty4QCLcBGAs/s1600/Mercury%2BForty%2BTwo%2B00%2Bc%2B02%2Ba.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fpQa1lcUi3U/W6Rx26kI5UI/AAAAAAAAFpE/MJKDJVamMcEDbqCMRfhOrqUHH6ka_ty4QCLcBGAs/s320/Mercury%2BForty%2BTwo%2B00%2Bc%2B02%2Ba.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mercury Forty-Two--this might be the final cover. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Before my mother-in-law died, I was considering rebranding and relaunching my writing career. What I had planned originally was updating some books covers, writing and releasing some new stories, writing less political posts, stuff like that. The extended summer basically left me unable to do anything other than research how other writers were making money in the current market, and thinking about what my ideal work schedule would look like as a writer.<br />
<br />
I did take a swing at rebooting and returning to my regular schedule in December, but it all went sideways when the remodeling started. (Not that the Esoteric Comedy Show project was ever going to be profitable, especially after YouTube changed the rules about who got to run ads on their videos.) From late February to...well, the first of this month, I got no writing done beyond the odd blog post (far and inbetween) and spent my writing energies just outlining novels that someday I might write once my wife started to work a regular schedule.<br />
<br />
When my wife works a regular schedule, I get to work in peace while she is at work.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you choose to think about it), my wife had just quit her previous job when her mom died. After several years of dealing with bad charter school administration (that basically decided cheap was better than experienced), my wife was overdue to change jobs. And she was supposed to find a new job over the summer. That got tossed aside by family tragedy--she spent a lot of time dealing with her mom's estate. So she does not have a regular job yet (and I am guessing that it is going to be another whole year before she finds one); therefore, she is subbing again this year.<br />
<br />
The thought of this was making me go a little crazy.<br />
<br />
A little crazy...<br />
<br />
So crazy that I have been forced to create a set of new rules. It is just too bad that I keep breaking them. For instance, I was supposed to have a new Tarot card done for this post (and to illustrate a story that I am working on), and it did not get done--because I allowed myself to step away from the keyboard and drawing board this week to provide emotional support for my wife's first full week back at subbing.<br />
<br />
(I did do a card, but it looks exactly like I was interrupted numerous times as I tried to finish it. So we are just going to skip that one. If you are curious what my "flow-state" art looks like, see the book cover design illustrating this post.)<br />
<br />
What are the new rules that I should be living by? (Rules that actually help keep me stable when I follow them...)<br />
<br />
First, I have to write five hundred words a day. This number will go up later, but my writing engine is still cold as hell with the words coming at a painfully slow pace (three hours for five hundred words--not my best pace). And I need to write at the same time every day to increase the likelihood that my muse will get the memo and start showing up regularly. Most importantly, I am not allowed to step outside until my mandatory word count is done for the day. <br />
<br />
Second, after a project hits a certain word count, I am not allowed to switch projects in that category until the current one is done. I am splitting my writing between Occult and Science Fiction/Fantasy, so that means that I have two projects going at any one time. Any ideas for other stories are written down on index cards and put in the proper file.<br />
<br />
Third, I am aiming to complete a book a quarter (four books a year) using new pen-names for marketing purposes. (Besides the occult under my own name, there is going to be science fiction [Michael Ramalia] and urban fantasy [Charles Bloodmoon]--and possibly a pen-name that I am not going to admit to.)<br />
<br />
Fourth, I need to make sure that I am actually eating lunch. After twenty years in food service (most as the responsible employee) and my childhood, I have bad tendency to realize I am hungry, and then proceed to continue what I am doing without actually taking time out to eat. I have started to make my lunch for the next day at the same time that I am making my wife's lunch for the next day. It is a lot easier if I only have to walk to the fridge and back when the writing is flowing.<br />
<br />
Fifth, I am learning to write while wearing headphones. In theory, this is supposed to cut down on distractions and provide a visual clue that I am trying to work. <br />
<br />
Sixth, and most important, I am not allowed to chase the hottest money making scheme, nor am I allowed to hand over funds and resources that were earmarked for my own business. That includes my time and energy.<br />
<br />
Will these rules help? Yes, provided that I stick to them religiously. <br />
<br />
So that is my current plan to restore some balance in my life. I will let you know later if I actually stuck to the plan, or if I allowed myself to give into the guilt and voices that say that I am supposed to put everyone else first.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://aniam.co.uk/blog/the-fine-line" target="_blank">PreviousBlog</a>/ <a href="https://phoenix-lotus.com/2018-mabon-tarot-blog-hop-master-list" target="_blank">MasterList</a>/ <a href="http://joyvernon.com/Blog/balancing-bright-dark/" target="_blank">NextBlog</a>/Morgan Drake Ecksteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258538066497554895noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2594045886586038963.post-14178107606089531592018-08-01T14:00:00.000-06:002018-08-01T17:20:41.662-06:00Coming soon to my yard (Dark Arts and Crafts BBQ and Drumming Parties) <div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa">
<a href="http://sacred-healing.co.uk/tbh18a" target="_blank">Previous</a>/ <a href="https://tarotbyarwen.com/?p=19462" target="_blank">MasterList</a>/ <a href="https://saucysailoress.wordpress.com/2018/08/01/the-sun-harvest/" target="_blank">Next</a><br />
<br />
Hi everyone--welcome to another exciting edition of the Tarot Blog Hop. The theme for this hop is "The Sun Harvest -- What end of summer harvest do you want to bring in before fall?"<br />
<br />
*falls on floor laughing*<br />
<br />
Hey kids, do you know what time it is?<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa">
"Howdy Doody Time?"<br />
<br />
"Tool Time?"<br />
<br />
"Dinner time?"<br />
<br />
"Time for ice cream?"<br />
<br />
"Oh, no--he is going to talk about his yard again, isn't he?"<br />
<br />
"Again and again and again..."<br />
<br />
Yes, that is right. I am going to talk about my yard again.<br />
<br />
But first, a slight sidetrack.<br />
<br />
Let me tell you about my July. And my original summer harvest goal...<br />
<br />
So my wife was out of town for an entire month. She went to Costa Rica for language immersion--she teaches ESL. And I would be left in peace and quiet.<br />
<br />
I figured that I would work on my summer goal of having a novel (an entire novel--50,000 words) done by September 1st.<br />
<br />
I failed to realize that I was not actually going to get peace and quiet while she was gone. What I got was a bunch of garden remodeling contractors interrupting my schedule--both sleep and work. In the end, I got just a few good writing days out of the month.<br />
<br />
Hence, I am not going to have either "Axe Murderer of Titan" or "Heartbreaker" done in time to meet my original goal. Or at least, I am not holding my breath at this point.<br />
<br />
And in all honesty, it may have been too optimistic for me to aim for that goal in the first place.<br />
<br />
Why did I chose September 1st as a goal for my next release date?<br />
<br />
Well, it was the garden remodeling.<br />
<br />
"See, I told you that he was going to talk about his garden remodel again. And again. And again."<br />
<br />
When my wife decided that she was going to spend her inheritance on remodeling the garden, she thought that it was all going to be done by the first of June.<br />
<br />
I laughed.<br />
<br />
My father used to do remodeling and construction. I spent many summers and Christmas vacations on various job sites as my father tried to get me interested in the exciting and profitable world of construction and remodeling. I was not interested in that type of construction (don't get me started on the task of Fictional World Building--we will be here all day). [I was also not interested in farming and auto mechanics, just in case you are curious.]<br />
<br />
Therefore, I had experience. I knew better. I did not need to pull out my Tarot cards to know that she was wrong. I saw her June first, and raised her a bet of September first.<br />
<br />
And given that I am in the midst of a rebranding and relaunch of my career as a writer, what better way to celebrate than to release a book in one of the two new series I was working on?<br />
<br />
(Axe Murderer of Titan--science fiction--pilot book of Icarus Above a Dark Earth.)<br />
<br />
(Heartbreaker--urban fantasy--book one of Queen's Huntsman.)<br />
<br />
But as I said, I don't think that I am going to make it.<br />
<br />
I am still going to try.<br />
<br />
After all, I still would like to have a book releasing near the date of my first Dark Arts and Crafts BBQ Party With Optional Drumming.<br />
<br />
We will just have to see what happens.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PtpBRl5mWFY/W1_S8S5dybI/AAAAAAAAFos/YR8B8IiBDxMj0f24w_V-hU0GGNZ_EDT8wCLcBGAs/s1600/sun%2Bmonkey%2Btarot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1209" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PtpBRl5mWFY/W1_S8S5dybI/AAAAAAAAFos/YR8B8IiBDxMj0f24w_V-hU0GGNZ_EDT8wCLcBGAs/s320/sun%2Bmonkey%2Btarot.jpg" width="241" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Sun--from the unfinished Monkey Tarot.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So what am I actually going to harvest this summer?<br />
<br />
A sidewalk that does not kill people.<br />
<br />
I kid you not--the sidewalk that they just dug out was that bad.<br />
<br />
And a fence.<br />
<br />
Because I like to pretend that I am not that neighbor.<br />
<br />
You know--the neighbor that might be an evil Tarot reading witch who meets clients at his house.<br />
<br />
Plus my storage sheds and the house trim got repaired and painted.<br />
<br />
Basically, it is the yard and garden that I always wanted. The type of yard that one expects to find strange musicians, pot smoking artists, writers of the odd and wonderful, evil witches, and wise Tarot readers in. You know--my type of party.<br />
<br />
And yes. it will be a monthly thing with BBQ and drumming. (Well, after my wife finishes her second Master degree work.)<br />
<br />
Here is a video showing the current state of the yard...sort of...it devolved into a game of How Many Complaining Cats Can You Count?<br />
<br />
<a href="https://youtu.be/37lrbhHcmFs" target="_blank">[Mad Uncle Morgan shows off his yard.]</a><br /><br />{For some reason, Blogger is not letting me embed the video.}<br />
<br />
Oh about that September first estimate on mine? Well, we were informed just yesterday that the back gate we want will take a month to get the custom order done.<br />
<br />
Damn good fortune telling considering that I never pulled out my Tarot deck for this one.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://sacred-healing.co.uk/tbh18a" target="_blank">Previous</a>/ <a href="https://tarotbyarwen.com/?p=19462" target="_blank">MasterList</a>/ <a href="https://saucysailoress.wordpress.com/2018/08/01/the-sun-harvest/" target="_blank">Next</a></div>
Morgan Drake Ecksteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258538066497554895noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2594045886586038963.post-77979057635288220102018-07-02T18:17:00.004-06:002018-07-02T18:29:21.518-06:00Tenth annual Smashwords July ebook saleIt is once again time for Smashwords annual July ebook sale (July 1st to 31st).<br />
<br />
(Some of these books are scheduled to be expanded and updated--if it has an asterisk [*], it is scheduled to be expanded and revised--in other words, if you want to get it cheap before the expansion, do it now because the price will be going up on these ebooks when I update them later.)<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>Discounted to $1.50 USD</b></span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/102660" target="_blank">Five Reasons Why Magic Fails</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/178929" target="_blank">Golden Dawn Rituals--Three Officer Neophyte Script*</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/561121" target="_blank">Rite of the Magical Images of the Wiccan Sabbats* </a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/435423" target="_blank">Witchy Rants (the Collected MDE Heaarthstone Community Church Newsletter articles)*</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/648498" target="_blank">Denver Witch Quarterly: To Curse, Or Not To Curse--The Big Cursing Issue (Samhain/Yule 2016)</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/669158" target="_blank">Denver Witch Quarterly: Wealth and the Lucky Witch (Imbolc/Ostara 2017)</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/687581" target="_blank">Denver Witch Quarterly: Evil Witches Bind President Trump and His Administration--also Occult Writers and Payment (Beltane and Lithna 2017)</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/667804" target="_blank">Gaius Corbin: Light Out of Darkness--Lux E Tenebris (Thelema and the Necronomicon)</a><br />
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<br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">Free ebooks on Smashwords</span></b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/643601" target="_blank">Denver Witch Quarterly: A Modest Magazine Proposal</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/96814" target="_blank">MDE Hearthstone: Pizza Boxes on the Floor (2010)</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/257253" target="_blank">MDE Hearthstone: Bad Monkey (2011)</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/287586" target="_blank">MDE Hearthstone: Lunatic With a Soapbox (2012)</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/430381" target="_blank">MDE Hearthstone: Biggest Witch on the Block (2013)</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/614643" target="_blank">MDE Hearthstone: Thirteen Signs That Your Occult Teacher is Rotten (2014-2015)</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/688363" target="_blank">MDE Hearthstone: Hex the Vote--Mad Uncle Morgan Talks About American Politics (2016)</a><br />
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/161927" target="_blank"><br /></a>
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/161927" target="_blank">Shakespeare's Monkey (a fiction and poetry collection)*</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/788920" target="_blank">Esoteric Comedy Show: Assault With a Deadly Taco (Mad Uncle Morgan, I am--Your Face is Going to Freeze Like That)</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/795352" target="_blank">Esoteric Comedy Show: Free Guns For Everyone--Lap Cats Are Good Too (A Big Gun Control Show) </a><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-43g0Je8_Pgk/Wzq1x0zpGfI/AAAAAAAAFoM/1zDupaAK_3Q-uyUHkB4sj4TZVFymN5CyQCLcBGAs/s1600/00%2BShakespeare%2BMonkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1242" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-43g0Je8_Pgk/Wzq1x0zpGfI/AAAAAAAAFoM/1zDupaAK_3Q-uyUHkB4sj4TZVFymN5CyQCLcBGAs/s320/00%2BShakespeare%2BMonkey.jpg" width="248" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is one of my favorite book covers. </td></tr>
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<br />Morgan Drake Ecksteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258538066497554895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2594045886586038963.post-47382277592438947092018-06-21T12:00:00.000-06:002018-06-21T16:30:34.297-06:00Please fence me in (I want to drum with witches)<a href="http://www.tarotofchange.com/2018/06/tarot-blog-hop-dont-fence-me-in.html" target="_blank">Previous blog</a>/ <a href="http://joyvernon.com/Blog/2018-summer-blog-hop-master-list/" target="_blank">Master List</a>/ <a href="https://pureblessedtarot.wordpress.com/2018/06/21/dont-fence-me-in/" target="_blank">Next blog</a><br />
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When our Tarot Blog Hop wrangler, Joy Vernon, posted the topic for this hop, I had to laugh. “Don’t fence me in” was the exact opposite of what going on in my life.<br />
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This spring, my wife decided to use her inheritance from her mother’s death last summer to pay for house and garden repairs and upgrades. One of the things that my wife has wanted for years is a privacy fence. And after many, many years, she had talked me around to her position. If nothing else, I no longer wanted to look at the dead brown knee high grass that my southern neighbor insists on having.<br />
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Plus for many years, I have wanted to have “Dark Arts and Crafts” parties. You know—weird artists, indie writers, crazed magicians, and amusing witches, possibly armed with drums and wands—all making noise around a fire pit. One of my entry points into the local occult community was the monthly drummings that a friend of mine (Cassandra Ravenwolf) used to have over at her house. I met my wife at such a drumming. I was heart-broken when Cassandra left town with her husband (Brian) to be closer to her in-laws. And I have waited patiently for some other member of the community to create such an event…but after fifteen years (maybe a touch more), I am out of patience.<br />
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So my wife and I are getting a new sidewalk (goodbye Sidewalk of Death), traded our chain link fence for a nice wooden one, new front windows and doors, got the garden sheds painted. Plus I am doing a major purge of stuff I do not need (“Oh look, it is a stack of Rocky Mountain newspapers—didn’t they go out of business ten years ago?”); so far, three whole SUV loads of newspapers have been taken to the recycling center. Plus we are going to be painting some of the inside rooms of the house, building some custom book shelves, and generally organizing the mess.<br />
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(Please note that one of the reasons that this is all happening is that I am fairly stable—well, more stable than I was for the first fifty years of my life—on my current round of meds and a pot chaser. Don’t knock my pot chaser—it helps keeps the migraines and panic attacks at bay.)<br />
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The work on the outside should be done by the beginning of August. Then I get to switch my attention to Icarus--science fiction—“A thousand people live and work in outer space. They depend on Earth for a supply line. What do they do to survive when Earth goes dark?”—a rather long project that has much in common with eating an elephant “one bite at a time.”<br />
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So what the heck does this have to do with the Tarot? (An important question given that this is the Tarot Blog Hop.) Well, after all this is done, a certain amount of ritual and classes will be attempted at my house, and I might be doing some in-person Tarot readings (I hate reading Tarot over the phone and internet). So for the sake of my business (and my wife’s pottery business), we needed a new fence.
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6STwNKXJrXc/WysITaPOf1I/AAAAAAAAFoA/sQdYvzZehEsjwtKgok5UrknN55JTX7KkACLcBGAs/s1600/Mortimer%2Bthe%2Bguardian%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bgarden%2Band%2Bstudio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6STwNKXJrXc/WysITaPOf1I/AAAAAAAAFoA/sQdYvzZehEsjwtKgok5UrknN55JTX7KkACLcBGAs/s320/Mortimer%2Bthe%2Bguardian%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bgarden%2Band%2Bstudio.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Do you want to see naked witches dancing?"</td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.tarotofchange.com/2018/06/tarot-blog-hop-dont-fence-me-in.html" target="_blank">Previous blog</a>/ <a href="http://joyvernon.com/Blog/2018-summer-blog-hop-master-list/" target="_blank">Master List</a>/ <a href="https://pureblessedtarot.wordpress.com/2018/06/21/dont-fence-me-in/" target="_blank">Next blog</a>Morgan Drake Ecksteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258538066497554895noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2594045886586038963.post-14940572367665668602018-06-18T19:08:00.003-06:002018-06-18T19:08:32.889-06:00Space Force assemble! (Let us mess up that sci-fi novel you are working on)Coming soon to a reality near you: Space Force!<br />
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Do you worry about the Chinese putting military assets in space? Do you worry about aliens showing up from outer space and requesting asylum? Are you worried that you might be replaced by a species with more arms than you have? Are you worried that you might not be able to collect taxes in space?<br />
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Never fear--Space Force is here!<br />
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Or as I like to call it--a fucking organization that totally messes up the outline of the science fiction series that I am writing. Damn you Mister President.<br />
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But let's be honest, shall we?<br />
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The American tax payer has no stomach to pay the massive cost of equipping a Space Force. The odds of us having a sixth branch of the military is nil next to none. If America had the will to deal with the massive cost of space exploration and exploitation, we would already have both a Lunar and Mars colony. There is a reason why private businesses are taking over space--and it is because you can't get the elected government of the United States to touch it with a ten foot pole. Maybe if it was a totalitarian government, or we had a smoking gun that China had military assets in space, we would get there--but with our current government? Highly unlikely. <br />
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If you don't believe me, consider NASA budget. Does it look like we care about outer space? <br />
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Unfortunately, as a science fiction writer, I have to give it some mental bandwidth. What if Trump could actually make it happen? Uh, yes...that would totally destroy the setup for Icarus.<br />
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(Basically Icarus is a world with a thousand people and limited resources in space--and no open military presence--there is a military presence, but it is secret and hidden and extremely small. There is no large military presence in the Icarus universe to save the day...which is why my characters are faced with such a big problem when the shit hits the fan.)<br />
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Fortunately for me, Space Force looks like it is in the same probability box as building that big beautiful war. Costs will trump the idea that winning space wars is easy. I could be wrong, but I am betting against it happening. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1WwgmDO_x4w/WyhOCOOnjBI/AAAAAAAAFnw/brvlBguszrcaBpXUuC6UEQZMBmn3u_3FQCLcBGAs/s1600/axe%2Bmurderer%2Bof%2Btitan%2B001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1WwgmDO_x4w/WyhOCOOnjBI/AAAAAAAAFnw/brvlBguszrcaBpXUuC6UEQZMBmn3u_3FQCLcBGAs/s320/axe%2Bmurderer%2Bof%2Btitan%2B001.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coming soon to a reality where the Space Force did not happen. </td></tr>
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<br />Morgan Drake Ecksteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258538066497554895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2594045886586038963.post-46901015693434408042018-06-07T22:31:00.001-06:002018-06-07T22:32:00.006-06:00Are all sex workers liars? (And should they be barred from GD?)The totally awesome truth that everyone needs to know today is that sex workers, especially porn actresses, have no credibility and should totally be viewed as complete and utter liars. And we know that this is true because the greatest Trump supporters tell us that it is true.<br />
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And who are we to question this wisdom?<br />
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Oh yeah, I am a sex worker—I am not allowed to question this wisdom, nor am I allowed to defend sex workers. So just ignore everything that I am about to say, and go on with your very honored and time proven double standard of conduct.<br />
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Are you still here? What is wrong with you?<br />
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For those who somehow missed it, Trump’s uber lawyer, Rudolph Giulani, has come out and said that Stormy Daniels have no credibility because she has worked in the sex industry.<br />
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“I’m sorry. I don’t respect a porn star the way I respect a career woman, or a woman of substance, or a woman who has great respect for herself as a woman and as a person and isn’t going to sell her body for sexual exploitation.”<br />
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(I wonder how he feels about women who marry for money…)<br />
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In other words, Daniels is a porn star, and therefore, is totally a liar, which means that the President did not touch her, has never meet her, and would never grab her by the pussy, and we can totally believe this because the President is the greatest American ever!<br />
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You know who else has credibility issues? Hint—you can tell when they are lying by the fact that their lips are moving. Yes, that is right—politicians and lawyers.<br />
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During the Great Golden Dawn Trademark War, the last great war for the freedom of occult students to pay ungodly sums to leaders who are totally honest, and who have turned out to be uber Trump fans, we learned that sex workers are evil and should not be a part of the Golden Dawn tradition. And we knew this to be true because they had lawyers backing them up. No one with a lawyer ever lies. Well, not if they are conservatives and patriots. If you are a liberal, and therefore automatically a traitor who needs to be hung by the neck until you are dead, you are a liar, especially if you have hired a lawyer. And doubly so, if you are a sex worker.<br />
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Exactly who is a sex worker? Is it just street walkers, escorts, and porn stars? Or am I a sex worker? Did writing dubious erotica mean that I was a sex worker? My mom would say yes, and claim that I was in jail because it was less shameful. And all I was doing was making up sexy stories. This is totally grounds to bar me from the society of super spiritual seekers of the occult.<br />
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(Oh don’t pretend that it wasn't said about me—I know that it was and who was saying it.)<br />
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So let’s bar all sex workers from the occult. Never mind the leaders, and their big dollar donating supporters, who have used their occult groups as a place to pick up sexual partners. Never mind those leaders who brag about sex magic teachings which seem to be the exclusive property of those who will say to you, “Hey baby! How about a little personal tutoring in the mystical arts? Meet me behind the barn, if you want to learn more.” Teaching sex magic does not make you a sex worker…even if I think otherwise.<br />
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Yes, let’s continue our double standard, shall we?
While we are at it, let’s ignore the fact that our President not only ran a beauty contest, not only gave women number values based on their appearances, bragged that he could grab any pussy he wanted without consequences, and even appeared in three Playboy videos. No, he was not a sex worker. Therefore, we can totally believe him…even if he looked a little pimpy. He was just selling the sex, which it totally fine because he is a man.<br />
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Double standard much, you practice.
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UD3A5EcRfKY/WxoGWapYw-I/AAAAAAAAFnk/92Bn9KqNVhU1-VEcXBrDudwH7laAX6l5ACLcBGAs/s1600/Yoda%2BDouble%2BStandards%2Byou%2Bpractice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="768" height="180" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UD3A5EcRfKY/WxoGWapYw-I/AAAAAAAAFnk/92Bn9KqNVhU1-VEcXBrDudwH7laAX6l5ACLcBGAs/s320/Yoda%2BDouble%2BStandards%2Byou%2Bpractice.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Double standard much, you practice. </td></tr>
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Morgan Drake Ecksteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258538066497554895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2594045886586038963.post-54415489480081133792018-05-30T00:03:00.002-06:002018-05-30T00:03:22.483-06:00Think before you tweet (Didnt like that career anyways edition)<div>
[Warning--the following was written by a dirty rotten hippie--if you believe that you need a White History month, you may not think that this entry is funny.]</div>
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As human beings, we have created rules to survive. </div>
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Rules like: Do not stick pennies into electrical outlets, and Poking a lion with a stick cleans out the gene pool. We need to be told things like this because we are all just biological computers running amok. And in light of changes in society and technology, new rules are rolling off the assembly line everyday. </div>
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For instance, there are now rules to survive on social media without waking up to discover that someone has written "Die witch die!" on your lawn with industrial strength weed killer. So what are the rules?</div>
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Rule number one of surviving in Twitter America: If you ain't Trump of the Great Gherkin, think before you tweet.</div>
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Why? Because a single tweet in our social media enriched environment can cause you to lose your entire career--past, present, and future--causing you to lose your entire source of income in an instant. </div>
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Case in point: Roseanne Barr.</div>
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For those who have missed it, Roseanne Barr decided to tweet "Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=y." ["y" being former Barrack Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett.] </div>
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Now, I am fairly sure that it does not take a degree in rocket science to see how this joke in today's America, with all our rich and varied social media outrage possibilities, could backfire and blow up the entire launch facility, along with oneself in the process. </div>
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Surely, Roseanne knew that there would be a line of outrage; at the very least, some SJWs (social justice warriors) lined up around the block to talk about White Privilege and how jokes about monkeys are not funny. And we all know that is only the lowest setting on the bar, the mere floor of the possible outrage, with the ceiling ranging up into the outer reaches of the atmosphere. Oh, the outrage that this tweet could cause...</div>
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Social media is the thunder dome of our civilization--if you are dumb enough to walk into the dome, there is a good chance that you are going to get mangled by lions--people have been known to die at the hands of social media outrage. </div>
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Or at least, people have lost careers to social media outrage.</div>
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For instance, take Bill Cosby, America's Dad, seller of frozen pudding, bigly successful, making tons of TV syndication money; his fellow actors on his show also making some good cash from reruns of the show--and with one attack of social media outrage, it was all gone in an instant. The court of public opinion crucified the man, and every television show he was ever in got yanked from reruns. Even if he was never found guilty of being that bastard in a court of law, in the court of public opinion, he was sentenced to never making another dime from his former acting career. Cosby, along with all those who worked with the man in the past, were fined with a penalty of a significant loss of income. </div>
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In an earlier time, Cosby could have survived; but we live in a time when the dog faced demons have taken to the internet to shape public opinion. </div>
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Don't believe me? Let me prove it by making a prediction: At three in the morning, some dog faced demon is going to go online and tweet that ABC made a great big mistake for canceling Roseanne's TV show and that all of the Trump supporters, over fifty percent of the population, or so we have been told, all of them are going to quit watching ABC. It was a bigly mistake, and it is so sad that ABC has joined the deep state liberal media conspiracy factory to censor what real Americans think and believe. If we had real justice in this country, Roseanne would get a Nobel Peace Prize for her willingness to tell you exactly what she thinks--especially considering it is all true. But no, liberals are shutting the conservatives down and totally ruining the best part of free speech which is being able to say whatever you want, as long as you are a good conservative, and not suffer any consequences. The only people that need to be censored are those dirty hippies who believe in a progressive government and that all men are born equal, who have forgotten the greatest truth of them all--white conservatives are the greatest thing since sliced bread, and poor people are why we can't balance the federal budget.<br /><br />"Because our military is only spending a dollar a day to fight a godzillion wars. Poor people spend far more than that, using welfare that white people are paying for--far, far more, they spend everyday at Starbucks. Where is your outrage about welfare cheats who belong to the Democratic Party?!?"</div>
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The only real question is: Will the dog faced demon post this before our most honored, and bestest ever President does? And can the President tweet this out before the Great Gherkin does? The betting window is now open--please place your bets. </div>
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This whole situation is a good example of how much power social media outrage has. </div>
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The revival of Roseanne Barr's sit-com premiered to an audience, somewhere northward of eighteen million viewers. The revival was a shoe-in for instant renewal, and looked good for a long and happy run of new episodes. </div>
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Let me remind you that this was only thirteen days ago. Yes, just thirteen days ago. Before the revival, Roseanne said that she was going to cut down on the political posts. But Roseanne Barr could not help herself, and decided to see if her career was now fire-proof. </div>
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It wasn't.</div>
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Her career went up in a fireball. Whoosh!</div>
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There are only two people in the world who are immune to social media outrage--Donald Trump and the Great Gherkin. Both have long term contracts clearly saying that they cannot be fired, and that their followers are obligated to believe whatever they say, even when there is evidence that clearly proves that they are wrong. Furthermore, their followers are required by the Constitution itself--go on, read it, and you will see that this is right--their followers have to instantly circle the wagons and defend them from any and all social media outrage. And this is in addition to the fact, that their followers want them to be Leaders-for-Life. They can do no wrong--they are the uber brain for our society, and they will lead humanity into a glorious future without global warming, without green technology, without nuclear war, without dirty filthy hippies smoking dope, the border secure, with only America making money, and where white people living in trailer parks occupy their natural and righteous place on the top of the food chain, ruling the inferior races and political parties, and there is not a single non-Christian left. Glory to Trump and the Great Gherkin, for they have saved white people from the angry hordes of demon inspired mutt Heinz 57 hippies. </div>
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But outside of these two people, everyone else needs to think before they tweet. </div>
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For instance, I could not tweet that the President has giant monkey balls, larger than his hands, so big that he needs several porn stars to hold them for him--I could not tweet that, for his fans would set fire to my yard. </div>
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Nor can I tweet out that the Great Gherkin is just a little pickle in a big jar--for his fans, which number in the millions of billions, would crucify me before burning me for being a traitorous and very dirty hippie, rotten to my core, and a total heretic for not believing that the Great Gherkin is the second greatest person on this planet, with only Donald Trump being a better and more sainted person. </div>
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Outside of these two people, you really need to think before you tweet. And if you will not do it for yourself, think about your loved ones, your friends, and your coworkers.</div>
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"Did you know that you are working with a Nazi? How can you live with yourself, knowing that your coworker is a Nazi? If you do not quit your job, if you do not punch the Nazi on the way out, I will boycott your job, no longer doing business with you and your employer, and you will no longer make any money."</div>
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Yes, let's just ignore the fact that without a job, I will not make any money either. </div>
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And let's be clear about something, Roseanne Barr did not just torch her own career and bank account--no, she took a flame thrower to everyone's bank account that was associated with her show. If you will not think about yourself, please consider thinking about your coworkers. Just because you think that you are fire-proof, it does not mean that your loved ones are. So for god's sake--think before you tweet. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5jzSc8uxc70/Ww4q_uVTyfI/AAAAAAAAFnY/7Hi17E0LLeUk2Z9TykV3ebgqhMFzTkXuACLcBGAs/s1600/terrible%2Bdog%2Bfaced%2Bdemons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="363" data-original-width="598" height="194" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5jzSc8uxc70/Ww4q_uVTyfI/AAAAAAAAFnY/7Hi17E0LLeUk2Z9TykV3ebgqhMFzTkXuACLcBGAs/s320/terrible%2Bdog%2Bfaced%2Bdemons.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If not evil, what do dog faced demons do on the internet? </td></tr>
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Morgan Drake Ecksteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258538066497554895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2594045886586038963.post-52079017447084552162018-05-19T00:11:00.002-06:002018-05-19T00:11:39.761-06:00A thousand five hundred blog posts later (what have I learned as a blogger) Can you believe that this blog has produced 1500 blog posts since its birth on July 16, 2007?<br />
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And not all of them have been cat pictures...but maybe they should have been.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xuqrn7icV_4/Wv-eQ6CbPSI/AAAAAAAAFmQ/tYcMHSA4Wn4eioJ8QhvkBl-NmicUeXGbwCLcBGAs/s1600/00%2Baccountant%2Bcat.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="446" data-original-width="615" height="232" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xuqrn7icV_4/Wv-eQ6CbPSI/AAAAAAAAFmQ/tYcMHSA4Wn4eioJ8QhvkBl-NmicUeXGbwCLcBGAs/s320/00%2Baccountant%2Bcat.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Accountant Kitty has crunched the numbers--you need more cat pictures! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Let's crunch some numbers...<br />
<br />
First off, does occult blogging pay? Yes and no. Yes, in the fact that I have gotten money from Adsense, have sold at least one book, and moved a bunch of pottery. No, in the sense that I have made more money with less effort doing other stuff. So don't quit your day job to blog about the occult. Remember that I blog for three reasons...<br />
<br />
One, I am a mealy mouthed poopy head.<br />
<br />
Two, I like being the center of attention.<br />
<br />
Three, I assume that you like my sense of humor. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8PsoSIZz-5k/Wv-eqW5wkCI/AAAAAAAAFmY/cXPE6xcKS10ukl1RMFGkdD6wOArdmmvgQCLcBGAs/s1600/My%2Btop%2Bten%2Bposts%2Bfor%2Bthis%2Bblog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="344" data-original-width="588" height="187" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8PsoSIZz-5k/Wv-eqW5wkCI/AAAAAAAAFmY/cXPE6xcKS10ukl1RMFGkdD6wOArdmmvgQCLcBGAs/s320/My%2Btop%2Bten%2Bposts%2Bfor%2Bthis%2Bblog.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pie charts make everything more interesting...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
My top ten blog posts account for seven percent of the views that this blog has gotten over the years.<br />
<br />
So let's assume that we can learn something from them...<br />
<br />
At number one is... <br />
<br />
<a href="http://gleamingsfromthedawn.blogspot.com/2014/11/thoughts-on-ea-koetting-arrest-living.html" target="_blank">E. A. Koetting, the Living God, a single post about his arrest</a>--which I honestly thought would get about a hundred views and no more--is responsible for a whole two percent of this blog's lifetime traffic. (And a third of my top ten traffic.) Not a month has gone by since it was written that I am not impressed by the traffic it gets.<br />
<br />
[It should be noted that I have started to study his business practices--there are lots of "positive" things to learn from his set-up...therefore, more EAK posts are a-coming! Sure, they will not get the same amount of traffic, but I feel like I owe him a positive shout-out...that and he provides a good contrast when you talk about the business practices of other occult writers.]<br />
<br />
My second most read post is about search engines and Google. This is also another surprise. After all, this blog is not about providing helpful advice to other bloggers.<br />
<br />
For ease of writing, and making a pie chart--I had to make a pie chart...I like pie charts...I LOVE pie charts--I combined the numbers of the three posts about David F***ing Griffin. He shows up at slot six in my top ten, and takes up three slots...which account for less than one percent of my overall lifetime views for this blog.<br />
<br />
Now, given the greatness of the man, I expected this number to be higher. Hell, to hear the man talk, all ten of my top ten should be Griffin. Sure he is twelve percent of my top ten, but I expected higher numbers.<br />
<br />
[It was the fact that no post about Griffin has ever cracked the three thousand mark that made me guess that an EAK post would only get a hundred views. After all, at the time, this blog was about Golden Dawn...supposedly.]<br />
<br />
{What this blog is about now is open to debate. If there was an air of doubt before the December re-branding, there is a positive fog of doubt now. But I am fairly sure that it has something to do with cats...}<br />
<br />
And yes, I know that I should go though my entire list of blog posts to determine the actual value that Griffin has...but having seen that five other blog posts beat him in the top ten, I don't feel like doing it today. <br />
<br />
Besides, having watched my traffic on a regular basis, I have noted that Griffin only shows up lately in my keyword search data about three times a month. And no, he does not make it into my top ten search terms for this blog. I know--I am shocked too. <br />
<br />
[The number was never that high even when he was big-mouthing the entire Golden Dawn community--make of that what you will.]<br />
<br />
My number three top ten is actually a poem--Lucky Penny--but it is actually the picture that drives the traffic to it. The traffic the picture gets is one of the reasons that I eventually decided that most of my blog posts need pictures.<br />
<br />
Number four on the top ten hit parade is--drum roll please--<a href="http://gleamingsfromthedawn.blogspot.com/2015/05/red-flag-magic-garden-photos-requested.html" target="_blank">Red Flag Magic Garden Creeper Award!</a> Again, this was a surprise. Even more surprising is the number of "defenders" who showed up in the comment section telling me that I was completely wrong in awarding a Creeper Award...but realistically it may just be one defender using multiple accounts. And it really does not matter, you can read the screenshots for yourself. <br />
<br />
Of course, the most amusing part is that the Red Flag post cracked three thousand--and we all know why that amuses me.<br />
<br />
Number five is a birthday wish to a Golden Dawn authority. Finally, something Golden Dawn shows up. But I am fairly sure that it has nothing to do with Golden Dawn, and has everything to do with the birthday cat picture used in the post.<br />
<br />
[Is this the last time, we will see a cat picture? Stay tuned--anything can happen!]<br />
<br />
So, we finally get to a post about Griffin--sixth slot--remember I added the numbers of three posts for the purposes of the pie chart. <a href="http://gleamingsfromthedawn.blogspot.com/2017/07/super-magician-issues-magical-call-to.html" target="_blank">If you dare go look--this is my most popular David F***ing Griffin post</a>. Try not to read anything into that fact.<br />
<br />
Eight and ten are also Griffin.<br />
<br />
Number seven is my favorite "Beware of bad behavior by occultists" post. It is not really a surprise that <a href="http://gleamingsfromthedawn.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-top-thirteen-signs-that-leader-or.html" target="_blank">Thirteen Warning Signs That Your Guru is Rotten</a> is in my top ten posts. As long as people insist in posting "Looking for someone to teach me!" messages in Facebook groups, I will continue to share the link to this one. This post is currently expected to fight its way into my top five by the next time, I write about my blog numbers.<br />
<br />
We know that Griffin is eight and ten, so what is number nine? <a href="http://gleamingsfromthedawn.blogspot.com/2014/06/crata-repoa-decoded-by-nick-farrell.html" target="_blank">A bloody book review</a>. How did a book review make its way into my top ten, and perform better than 1491 other posts? Simple, people Google-ing the subject of the book. Turns out that a subject with little information on it will result in long tail effects.<br />
<br />
Speaking of Google...<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YuYTtp6Xwc0/Wv-eu_39XwI/AAAAAAAAFmc/rFQ7qCQ12yc4pmXRS_OKhbzBUbhCyoi4ACLcBGAs/s1600/My%2Btop%2Bten%2Bsearch%2Bterms%2Bfor%2Bthis%2Bblog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="342" data-original-width="586" height="186" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YuYTtp6Xwc0/Wv-eu_39XwI/AAAAAAAAFmc/rFQ7qCQ12yc4pmXRS_OKhbzBUbhCyoi4ACLcBGAs/s320/My%2Btop%2Bten%2Bsearch%2Bterms%2Bfor%2Bthis%2Bblog.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...provided that you are a Virgo. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Turns out that my top ten keywords that drive traffic to my blog, eight of them are people looking for cat pictures.<br />
<br />
Yes, it turns out that more people use Google to find cat pictures than they do to find out stuff about the Golden Dawn. Color me surprised. "Halloween Cat" easily outranked Golden Dawn. <br />
<br />
For convenience's sake, I combined the misspellings with the proper spellings for the purposes of the pie chart. And it is easy to see that this blog needs more cat pictures.<br />
<br />
Not only did cat pictures beat Golden Dawn, so did the term "Google."<br />
<br />
Now, in all fairness, my top ten search keywords only counts for two percent of my lifetime page views on this blog, so there might be tons of stuff in the lower reaches that totally trumps the number of hits that cats and Google gets. On the day that I total up all the Griffin post numbers, I will also total up the views for the cats, and we will have proof who is more popular. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OwlLRejbtuU/Wv-ez0MNepI/AAAAAAAAFmg/cIM4QMbqTOUXwEiQf008PVsRuA_WmbMHwCLcBGAs/s1600/Audience%2Bby%2Bcountry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="364" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OwlLRejbtuU/Wv-ez0MNepI/AAAAAAAAFmg/cIM4QMbqTOUXwEiQf008PVsRuA_WmbMHwCLcBGAs/s320/Audience%2Bby%2Bcountry.jpg" width="237" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I am sad that Australia was not higher in the ranks. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In terms of traffic, ten countries account for eighty-one percent of my traffic. The United States accounts for fifty-seven percent, with number two Russia accounting for eight percent.<br />
<br />
In my head, Australia is more important than it actually is. Australia, you need to step up your game. Two percent is a poor showing. Australia, you can do better.<br />
<br />
[I have corrupted a couple of Australian Golden Dawn students--and I would like to corrupt more of them. Therefore, Australia needs to do better.]<br />
<br />
{Do Australians like cat pictures? If so, I can provide.}<br />
<br />
As for traffic from various platforms, Google accounts for thirteen percent of my traffic; Facebook accounts for four and a half percent. And a single blog has sent me a whole one percent of my traffic (which is not bad at all)--<a href="http://headforred.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Head For the Red</a> if you are curious.<br />
<br />
So that is it for my first 1500 posts (eleven f***ing years). Here to the next 1500--of which a whole quarter must be about cats, if I am reading my data correctly. <br />
<br />
Meow!Morgan Drake Ecksteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258538066497554895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2594045886586038963.post-83348569518833499292018-05-12T23:11:00.005-06:002018-05-12T23:11:54.411-06:00Remodeling update (production schedule delay) A quick update for those who are curious about the house and yard remodeling.<br />
<br />
The fallen tree was removed.<br />
<br />
A metric ton of newspapers have been culled from the house.<br />
<br />
This is despite the fact that I got sick the week and a half before the windows and doors were due to be installed. (Actually I am still slightly sick, but I did manage to get a lot of stuff done.)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eSxxS8ONkDI/WvfB3zTzdPI/AAAAAAAAFlI/DH2BV9NCYaM15UBgKr28iGYYkudG5ma-ACLcBGAs/s1600/DSCN3212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eSxxS8ONkDI/WvfB3zTzdPI/AAAAAAAAFlI/DH2BV9NCYaM15UBgKr28iGYYkudG5ma-ACLcBGAs/s320/DSCN3212.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just the tip of the trash iceberg.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
For those who don't know, our house is almost a hundred years old, and therefore automatically has lead paint. All of which means that everything had to be boxed up and/or wrapped in plastic.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oogFIRnLLWE/WvfCBpwbcwI/AAAAAAAAFlM/NGW5sLOZPDwbQaCglwiG6ghXEdAKrnXSACLcBGAs/s1600/DSCN3217.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oogFIRnLLWE/WvfCBpwbcwI/AAAAAAAAFlM/NGW5sLOZPDwbQaCglwiG6ghXEdAKrnXSACLcBGAs/s320/DSCN3217.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh look, a thin layer of cement over brick--no wonder I can't hammer nails into the wall. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Yes, I know that I "could have" done it "cheaper" by doing it myself. But my wife decided to spring for professionals, and who am I to argue with her? Especially given the fact that I really want to start to work on Icarus.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-us0Jz3rWqYo/WvfCQ2adKNI/AAAAAAAAFlU/I_cjWl7xEQ0ULwCTrZZsZ1i8HMmxTDmxgCLcBGAs/s1600/DSCN3233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-us0Jz3rWqYo/WvfCQ2adKNI/AAAAAAAAFlU/I_cjWl7xEQ0ULwCTrZZsZ1i8HMmxTDmxgCLcBGAs/s320/DSCN3233.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is to paying professionals to deal with the job.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The advantage of hiring professionals is that they can do it faster and better. So instead of taking a thousand years doing it myself, they managed to get the three new doors and the four upstairs windows done in three days.<br />
<br />
Still have the four basement windows to do, but that needs to wait until I finish boxing up the basement. I have decided to do that in two stages because of how much plastic wrapping needs to be done downstairs.<br />
<br />
We still have to get the new sidewalk in (goodbye Sidewalk of Death) and the outside painting done--it is scheduled to be done before the Fourth of July.<br />
<br />
Both me and Khari are looking forward to the work being done, and our first garden (drumming) party later this summer.<br />
<br />
(And I am thinking about the possibility of teaching a few occult and witchcraft classes...we will see how it goes.)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZlC6GEcQZ84/WvfCXhWG6dI/AAAAAAAAFlc/gRw1BJNiy-sSJbkn91cWqXKWvxqFMWyXgCLcBGAs/s1600/DSCN3253.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZlC6GEcQZ84/WvfCXhWG6dI/AAAAAAAAFlc/gRw1BJNiy-sSJbkn91cWqXKWvxqFMWyXgCLcBGAs/s320/DSCN3253.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How many cats can fit in the window?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
For those who are eager to see me get more stuff done (Esoteric Comedy Show, Great Gherkin/Sister Seuss, the expansion of the three officer ritual book, etc.), everything is being delayed. Besides the outside work still to be done, it has been decided that some of the rooms in the house are going to get painted, and new bookcases built--mainly because this is the first time, Khari has seen me be able to deal with such things without suffering blinding panic attacks (ask me about how meds can help).<br />
<br />
And then there is Icarus... (which deserves its own post.) Oh yes, Icarus is coming.Morgan Drake Ecksteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258538066497554895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2594045886586038963.post-5824264658274006262018-05-12T17:57:00.002-06:002018-05-12T17:57:27.884-06:00Are people still binding the greatest President ever?Are people still binding the greatest President ever?<br />
<br />
Uh...yes.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-94QeTD4-EYM/Wvd6R7TZRYI/AAAAAAAAFkU/7bR6FObGuUUIuNz2MYfIHz5blYOhnYNBwCLcBGAs/s1600/bind%2Btrump%2BMay%2B12%2B2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-94QeTD4-EYM/Wvd6R7TZRYI/AAAAAAAAFkU/7bR6FObGuUUIuNz2MYfIHz5blYOhnYNBwCLcBGAs/s320/bind%2Btrump%2BMay%2B12%2B2018.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A big shout-out to tonight's Trump binders.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Is Donald Trump the only politician that this has ever happened to?<br />
<br />
Uh..no.<br />
<br />
There was Hitler.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WJGWlkn4f2c/Wvd6qXP8PQI/AAAAAAAAFkc/pK0TqJo4sDElF7bn8Il93bwCo3I4zmGsACLcBGAs/s1600/hexing%2BHilter%2BReader%2BDigest%2BMarch%2B1941.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WJGWlkn4f2c/Wvd6qXP8PQI/AAAAAAAAFkc/pK0TqJo4sDElF7bn8Il93bwCo3I4zmGsACLcBGAs/s320/hexing%2BHilter%2BReader%2BDigest%2BMarch%2B1941.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reader's Digest March 1914.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Am I following this because it entertains me?<br />
<br />
Uh...maybe.<br />
<br />
After all, there is nothing like watching someone scream "Witchhunt!" repeatedly to remind oneself that they have no clue what a real witchhunt looks like.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GAI9CIU4R1E/Wvd68--aWhI/AAAAAAAAFkk/Kf6Nan8-cWoU4ubLt5bvoGbzyMyedHYigCLcBGAs/s1600/witchhunt%2Bscreams%2Btrump%2Band%2Banother%2Bbaby%2Bwitch%2Bgets%2Bher%2Bwand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GAI9CIU4R1E/Wvd68--aWhI/AAAAAAAAFkk/Kf6Nan8-cWoU4ubLt5bvoGbzyMyedHYigCLcBGAs/s320/witchhunt%2Bscreams%2Btrump%2Band%2Banother%2Bbaby%2Bwitch%2Bgets%2Bher%2Bwand.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wands! Wands for every witch! Free whenever Trump screams Witchhunt!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Am I still taking part in this? Have I ever taken part in this? Is this a slow news day?<br />
<br />
Uh...maybe...maybe...maybe.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LglKqHK-oFg/Wvd7JHCzZDI/AAAAAAAAFko/UMiB4-5xLOEEFxFQZO_8s_tt9R-W-QttgCLcBGAs/s1600/keep%2Bcalm%2Band%2Bbind%2BTrump.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="960" height="264" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LglKqHK-oFg/Wvd7JHCzZDI/AAAAAAAAFko/UMiB4-5xLOEEFxFQZO_8s_tt9R-W-QttgCLcBGAs/s320/keep%2Bcalm%2Band%2Bbind%2BTrump.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keep calm and keep binding the bastard. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Am I going to get angry comments and have massive defriendings because I dared to remind people about this?<br />
<br />
Duh--of course, I will.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qvYiHsuH-Bs/Wvd99ph6XxI/AAAAAAAAFk4/xK7XLl1oRoAYiDkLTTPQ_9_bkBHcAsakACLcBGAs/s1600/Hog%2BDee%2Bapproved%2Bservice%2Band%2Bor%2Bproduct%2Bshop%2Bthe%2Bwebsite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="420" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qvYiHsuH-Bs/Wvd99ph6XxI/AAAAAAAAFk4/xK7XLl1oRoAYiDkLTTPQ_9_bkBHcAsakACLcBGAs/s320/Hog%2BDee%2Bapproved%2Bservice%2Band%2Bor%2Bproduct%2Bshop%2Bthe%2Bwebsite.jpg" width="255" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I, the mighty Hog Dee totally think that the President can do no wrong--remember that America is all about exploiting the weak to enrich the wealthy. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />And why am I daring to invoke the wraith of the Holy Trumpers and the Society to Build the Biggest Wall Ever!?!?<br />
<br />
Uh...because I disagree with the actions and goals of this President--goals which still seem to be built on hate, paranoia and fear. And greed--let's not forget the greed and ego--the greatest greed and ego ever to grace the Oval Office.<br />
<br />
Happy Trump Bind Day!Morgan Drake Ecksteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258538066497554895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2594045886586038963.post-14096834921091905462018-05-01T16:00:00.000-06:002018-05-01T16:00:07.163-06:00I have nothing (and it could have been worse) Tree-ageddon TBH edition<a href="http://www.tarotofchange.com/2018/04/tarot-blog-hop-what-i-could-teach-world.html" target="_blank">Previous TBH blog</a>/ <a href="https://gleamingsfromthedawn.blogspot.com/2018/05/tbh03masterlist.html" target="_blank">Master List/</a> <a href="http://cosmicwhisperstarot.com/2018/05/01/finding-the-message-in-the-cards/" target="_blank">Next TBH blog</a><br />
<br />
"I have nothing. Nothing at all to write about. Who picked this subject? Oh. I assume that they mean well. They are probably are going to have a wonderful post. After all, they picked the topic. But still, I have nothing."<br />
<br />
That is my normal response to each and every Tarot Blog Hop topic.<br />
<br />
Well, half of them.<br />
<br />
Well, some of them.<br />
<br />
Well, the percentage is more than zero.<br />
<br />
Of course, the really sad part about this one is that I was the wrangler (think magical cat herder), and I was the one who came up with the topic. And I still almost ended up with nothing.<br />
<br />
Who would have guessed that "What I can (could) teach the world" would be such a hard topic for me to write about? Probably everyone who knows me.<br />
<br />
After all, I came from a very nourishing environment with lots of warm fuzzy positive uplifting messages about my worth.<br />
<br />
"You did everything wrong." "The only thing keeping you out of the nut-house is your mom." "You are an idiot." "That plan will never work." "I wish that you were never born."<br />
<br />
In other words, I am the best example of what not to do.<br />
<br />
(Such as "I have less than forty minutes to get this post finished because I choose to be sick as a dog yesterday, on top of all the computer problems that I have been having lately.")<br />
<br />
Still one thing that I learned as a writer with lots of nothing to say is that the universe will deliver things to write about if you willing to let it all hang out.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fXZDKJrV944/WujcSOB27MI/AAAAAAAAFj8/r_pFJnYo1rQP27khky1KWTAe0nKfDfsDACLcBGAs/s1600/TBH%2BTower%2Balways%2Bcould%2Bbe%2Bworse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="971" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fXZDKJrV944/WujcSOB27MI/AAAAAAAAFj8/r_pFJnYo1rQP27khky1KWTAe0nKfDfsDACLcBGAs/s320/TBH%2BTower%2Balways%2Bcould%2Bbe%2Bworse.jpg" width="194" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Remember--even at the worst of times, it could always be worse.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So, how did the universe deliver this time? What positive message could I possibly share with the universe?<br />
<br />
So I woke up one morning (this was the morning that an airplane lost one of its engines, had a giant hole blown out of it, and partially sucked a passenger out, later she died), read the news (or enough to see the highlight of the day), and looked outside.<br />
<br />
(Trust me, the airplane story is important because of my long association of airplane accidents with the Lightning Struck Tower--you will see.)<br />
<br />
It was windy. The type of day that you expect to see pigs and witches on brooms fly past the window. Hurricane force winds in a land locked state.<br />
<br />
I was following the progress of a box blowing back and forth. I thought about going out there and grabbing it. I thought about cutting it up for the recycle. But that will involve going outside.<br />
<br />
And I did not feel like going outside just yet.<br />
<br />
I was more interested in transferring what I wrote the night before to the computer, editing and printing it out.<br />
<br />
One last look outside before work...still windy.<br />
<br />
"Hmm. Is this part of Three Witches Talk Smack or is it part of Death to the Great Gherkin?"<br />
<br />
Print it out. Write a few things down.<br />
<br />
Fifteen minutes later. (Maybe it was ten.) Look outside.<br />
<br />
"Huh. The pine tree lost a branch. Oh, more than a branch. Oh dear, the entire tree has fallen over. Still it could be worse. It could have hit the house."<br />
<br />
And that is what I can teach the world. Things can always be worse.<br />
<br />
The first time, I heard this truth was when a semi-trailer truck drove though my dad's car at two in the morning. "It could have been worse. If it would have happened during the day, one of the kids may have been killed. After all, they play right where the car was tossed."<br />
<br />
In the case of the tree, I could have been outside and had it land upon me. Or it could have fallen on the house (right on the corner of the house that contained the room that I was working in). The tree could have waited until we got the sidewalk replaced and destroyed a big section of that.<br />
<br />
"It could have been worse."<br />
<br />
There was my blog post, a long video, and endless hours of conversation about how my luck works.<br />
<br />
I had nothing. Now, I had something. It was not uplifting. Maybe it was uplifting (it did toss bricks everywhere). Still, I had a post. Once again, nothing became something.<br />
<br />
The only difficultly was connecting it with the Tarot. And that difficulty lasted only a few seconds because the entire day was just one giant Lightning Struck Tower day.<br />
<br />
So there you have it--lots of nothing, a bad example of how my mind works, and me saying, "It could have been worse." Plus I finished this post with three minutes to spare. I am a shiny example of what not to do; but if you are going to do it, be positive that things could have been worse.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.tarotofchange.com/2018/04/tarot-blog-hop-what-i-could-teach-world.html" target="_blank">Previous TBH blog</a>/ <a href="https://gleamingsfromthedawn.blogspot.com/2018/05/tbh03masterlist.html" target="_blank">Master List</a>/ <a href="http://cosmicwhisperstarot.com/2018/05/01/finding-the-message-in-the-cards/" target="_blank">Next TBH blog</a><br />
<br />
Here is a video...because I could.<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o8Vw-sD_Yrk" width="400"></iframe>
<br />
<a href="http://www.tarotofchange.com/2018/04/tarot-blog-hop-what-i-could-teach-world.html" target="_blank">Previous TBH blog</a>/ <a href="https://gleamingsfromthedawn.blogspot.com/2018/05/tbh03masterlist.html" target="_blank">Master List</a>/ <a href="http://cosmicwhisperstarot.com/2018/05/01/finding-the-message-in-the-cards/" target="_blank">Next TBH blog</a><br />
<br />
<br />Morgan Drake Ecksteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258538066497554895noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2594045886586038963.post-74214151487408230642018-05-01T15:59:00.000-06:002018-05-01T23:08:48.505-06:00Master List Tarot Blog Hop May 1st 2018Master List for the Tarot Blog Hop 1st May 2018<br />
<br />
The theme was "What lesson can (could) I teach the world?"<br />
<br />
1. Morgan Drake Eckstein <a href="https://gleamingsfromthedawn.blogspot.com/2018/05/2018tbh03.html">https://gleamingsfromthedawn.blogspot.com/2018/05/2018tbh03.html</a><br />
2. Joanne Sprott <a href="http://cosmicwhisperstarot.com/2018/05/01/finding-the-message-in-the-cards/">http://cosmicwhisperstarot.com/2018/05/01/finding-the-message-in-the-cards/</a><br />
3. Jay Cassels <a href="http://jaycassels.co.uk/tbh16">http://jaycassels.co.uk/tbh16</a><br />
4. Meniscus Tarot (by Ania M) <a href="http://meniscustarot.co.uk/and-ye-shall-be-answered/">http://meniscustarot.co.uk/and-ye-shall-be-answered/</a><br />
5. Aisling the Bard <a href="https://tarotwitchery.blogspot.com/2018/05/tarot-blog-hop-bealteine-2018-what-i.html">https://tarotwitchery.blogspot.com/2018/05/tarot-blog-hop-bealteine-2018-what-i.html</a><br />
6. Joy Vernon <a href="http://joyvernon.com/Blog/tbh-can-teach-world/">http://joyvernon.com/Blog/tbh-can-teach-world/</a><br />
7. Karen Sealey <a href="https://pureblessedtarot.wordpress.com/2018/05/01/free-association-falling/">https://pureblessedtarot.wordpress.com/2018/05/01/free-association-falling/</a><br />
8. Boglarka Kiss <a href="http://vadrozsatarot.blogspot.hu/2018/05/what-can-i-give-world-tarot-blog-hop.html">http://vadrozsatarot.blogspot.hu/2018/05/what-can-i-give-world-tarot-blog-hop.html</a><br />
9. Ania M <a href="http://aniam.co.uk/blog/lessons">http://aniam.co.uk/blog/lessons</a><br />
10. Jay Cassels <a href="http://sacred-healing.co.uk/tbh16a">http://sacred-healing.co.uk/tbh16a</a><br />
11. Alison Cross <a href="http://www.tarot-thrones.com/2018/05/beltane-tarot-blog-hop-what-lesson-can.html">http://www.tarot-thrones.com/2018/05/beltane-tarot-blog-hop-what-lesson-can.html</a><br />
<strike>12. Robin Wood https://mystictradingco.com/</strike><br />
13. Deirdre Doran <a href="https://thewillowpathtarot.com/2018/05/01/tarot-blog-hop-teaching-connection-through-tarot/">https://thewillowpathtarot.com/2018/05/01/tarot-blog-hop-teaching-connection-through-tarot/</a><br />
<strike>14. María Luisa Salazar http://misteriostarot.blogspot.pe </strike><br />
15. Raine Shakti <a href="http://www.tarotofchange.com/2018/05/tarot-blog-hop-what-i-could-teach-world.html">http://www.tarotofchange.com/2018/05/tarot-blog-hop-what-i-could-teach-world.html</a><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j6Uzk8TrO08/WujRM2cFIoI/AAAAAAAAFjs/V2EkEPw7FaAgvuFtY9dlti-vLEZb5ScdQCLcBGAs/s1600/tarot%2Bblog%2Bhop%2Breader%2Binstructions.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="373" data-original-width="389" height="306" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j6Uzk8TrO08/WujRM2cFIoI/AAAAAAAAFjs/V2EkEPw7FaAgvuFtY9dlti-vLEZb5ScdQCLcBGAs/s320/tarot%2Bblog%2Bhop%2Breader%2Binstructions.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks for hopping with us. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Morgan Drake Ecksteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258538066497554895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2594045886586038963.post-30381038955442110362018-04-28T22:47:00.003-06:002018-04-28T22:47:35.171-06:00And you posted that video--are you nuts? (Why you should not follow me on YouTube)The other day, I was posting a video project to YouTube and noticed that I am far more animated than I thought I was.<br />
<br />
Personally, I don't watch my own videos...because I am too busy working on the next project.<br />
<br />
No, that is not true.<br />
<br />
No, I don't watch my own videos because I spent twelve years in speech therapy when I was in school as a kid. One of the techniques used was to record what I was saying, and then play it back to me. In theory, it is supposed to help one understand the problems that the system is trying to fix.<br />
<br />
In my case, all it did was to insure that I never watch or listen to myself unless absolutely necessary.<br />
<br />
But still, there are those moments when I wonder what I actually filmed. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mdsSDr1l0SA/WuVJ_eEzGLI/AAAAAAAAFjc/4BgyrXWnwl46_-m9e5-E5OPIKOi1yxSqgCLcBGAs/s1600/ECS%2BWhat%2Bexactly%2Bis%2Bgoing%2Bon%2Bthumbnails.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="596" data-original-width="588" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mdsSDr1l0SA/WuVJ_eEzGLI/AAAAAAAAFjc/4BgyrXWnwl46_-m9e5-E5OPIKOi1yxSqgCLcBGAs/s320/ECS%2BWhat%2Bexactly%2Bis%2Bgoing%2Bon%2Bthumbnails.jpg" width="315" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have no clue what I was saying, but I might have to watch to find out.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Such as some moments in the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVQBLBH7p6s" target="_blank">latest video project</a>...<br />
<br />
What could I possibly be saying that would require these faces? No one will ever know. Not even me.<br />
<br />
Nevertheless, I am quite sure that I will get many negative reviews simply because it is one of my videos.<br />
<br />
By the way, the most common complaint about my videos...my voice!Morgan Drake Ecksteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258538066497554895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2594045886586038963.post-26828736107129871712018-04-19T00:00:00.000-06:002018-04-20T17:18:16.975-06:00Changing attitudes about marijuana in the esoteric community (can you change your mind without changing--oh yes, you can)Over the years, I have watched the esoteric community's reactions to marijuana use change. Or not change. Or change, and then go back to the original position, which is just like it not changing in the first place with the additional fun of having proof that certain people are only interested in collecting dues and fees from you despite their claims that they are progressives and not at all stuck in conservative mindset which would totally welcome all pot smokers being burned at the stake.<br />
<br />
My favorite incident of this type is how a few years ago, I watched one of the inspirations for the Great Gherkin tag me in a Facebook post, and then...<br />
<br />
(Yes, the Great Gherkin is a composite monster, a Frankensteinian monster created from all the best bits of all the dubious occult leaders I have encountered over the years. You don't think that a single Big Name Occultist running a single Big Name Occult Tradition was the sole source of the Great Gherkin, did you? After all, it would be rather awesome if a single person was really that bad and manipulative, leaving the rest of the occult community safe to do business with. But no, the Great Gherkin is an archetype, an occult clone of awesome fierceness and frequency, one that appears in the genetic makeup of many of the finest occult leaders of our time. What does it take to be included into the hive mind of the Great Gherkin? Nothing more than holding a hand out asking for money while suffering Superior Tradition Disorder.)<br />
<br />
So I am tagged in a post about marijuana, and then the Great Gherkin gets upset because not only do I weigh in; but so do other people, many of which do not see the awesome truth that all pot smokers are also violent ax murderers. Calling it a digression--a ploy to derail the many fine and excellent posts about magic occurring in their private FB group--they proudly say that it is better for everyone to have a gun, many guns, that many, many guns will prevent mass murders while pot makes people violent and unsuitable for spiritual advancement.<br />
<br />
(Yes, that was the whole point of tagging me--to try to make me wake up to the fact that my ax murdering tendencies would totally be solved by giving me and everyone around me lots of bullets and firearms.--and that pot only made my ax murdering ways worse.)<br />
<br />
In a fit of righteous, the Great Gherkin decided that my response ("No, you are wrong about pot making people violent") was just another point to justify kicking me out of their super and most excellent FB group. While it was not the final straw that broke the camel's back, that would have been my position on the definition of black magic (a position that they too shared a couple of days after kicking me out of paradise), they still bitterly talk about me as that Stinky Liberal Communist Leaning Pot Smoking Hippie Who Does Not Know the First Thing About Wicca and Golden Dawn Magic Despite Having Been in the System Practicing For Far Longer Than They Have...that label might need a trademark to ensure that it is only used by the right people to label the wrong people to listen to.<br />
<br />
(In the meantime, I am barely able to prepare dinner while under the influence of sufficient amounts of THC, not alone the violent mass murders that I am supposed to be doing as a pot smoker.)<br />
<br />
Interestingly enough, just a couple of weeks after kicking me out of their super duper greatest FB occult chat group ever, the Great Gherkin was one hundred percent in favor of legalizing marijuana, and was "the first occultist in the community to do so, having supported marijuana for years and years before anyone else did."<br />
<br />
So why the change? Let's assume that it has nothing to do with the fact that large parts of the esoteric community actually support the legalizing of marijuana and that...<br />
<br />
Okay, I have nothing here. If it is not jumping on the bandwagon to seem progressive and in tune with today's occult community, in order to keep collecting that sweet, sweet membership money, I have no clue. What I do know is that I have screenshots available for purchase in the kiosk that totally proves that someone was against pot, that they did not like my support of pot, and that they changed their tune after seeing that their potential membership pool had more than a few pot supporters in it.<br />
<br />
Which they should have known already.<br />
<br />
Having attended my fair share of classes held at occult shops, having attended my fair share of drum circles, having talked to my fair share of occultists, I have been aware of the fact that many occultists and witches smoke pot. In fact, I have heard stories that some of the biggest names in occultism, who scream that the pot is evil, have actually gone on drug benders which they and their trusted lieutenants have covered up. And I am not talking about just one person--no, this seems to be a pattern among many occult leaders who scream that the pot is bad.<br />
<br />
Now, there are many in the occult community who are against all mind-altering drugs, including actual medicines prescribed by doctors. There are some who believe that I should not be allowed to take bipolar drugs while being a member of the occult community, not alone being allowed to take the edge off of my Inner Ax Murderer with the Wacky Weed.<br />
<br />
But the most interesting part is watching the Big Name Occultist first banning all pot use, embracing it in the name of freedom, and then watching them going back again to condemning it after Jeffrey the Elf and the bestest President ever declared that we are going back to the successful "If you are caught with any pot at all, you will be in jail for the rest of your life" war on dangerous drugs.<br />
<br />
(Please note that the Great Gherkin totally argues that any disagreement with the President at all makes you a traitor to the United States, one who should be hang by the neck until dead like the filthy liberal that you are.)<br />
<br />
I am sorry, but if you can't make up your mind about the dangers of pot, I am just going to suspect that your current level of support is based not on your own opinions, but rather what you think your membership wants to hear--and that your changing opinion is more about being able to claim to be one of the people while taking the people to the cleaners.<br />
<br />
As for myself, have I mentioned that magical pot laced cookies have sufficiently decreased the odds of me murdering you with an ax?<br />
<br />
Happy National If You See Morgan About to Commit an Ax Murder, Please Give Him a Magical Cookie Day!<br />
<br />
{Updated at 5:16 pm on 4/20/18: Changed "subscribed by doctors" to "prescribed by doctors"--thanks Jack Flash for catching that mistake.} <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yZEe4DW5mJI/WsqRP-NRy8I/AAAAAAAAFic/BBijCXC5EJQzHAFxDZV1wYi7dSNq1PXOwCLcBGAs/s1600/Mad%2BUncle%2BMorgan%2Btalks%2Babout%2Bwhy%2Bhe%2Bneeds%2Ba%2BMagic%2BPot%2BCookie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="740" data-original-width="896" height="264" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yZEe4DW5mJI/WsqRP-NRy8I/AAAAAAAAFic/BBijCXC5EJQzHAFxDZV1wYi7dSNq1PXOwCLcBGAs/s320/Mad%2BUncle%2BMorgan%2Btalks%2Babout%2Bwhy%2Bhe%2Bneeds%2Ba%2BMagic%2BPot%2BCookie.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Remember if you see Morgan acting like an ax murderer, give him a pot laced cookie. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="http://gleamingsfromthedawn.blogspot.com/2018/03/ecs-assault-with-deadly-taco-sales-links.html" target="_blank">Want to see more stuff like this, consider encouraging me by buying a ECS script or two from me.</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.patreon.com/madunclemorgan" target="_blank">Here is a link to my Patreon page (show your support and sponsor me with a monthly donation.) </a>Morgan Drake Ecksteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258538066497554895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2594045886586038963.post-67040030102283579722018-04-10T16:19:00.001-06:002018-04-10T16:19:08.411-06:00Only the finest perfume (Poetry Corner)Toxic cloud of gas<br />
Aisle seven chemical spill<br />
We fall back, retreating<br />
Eyes watering, lungs heaving<br />
Someone call Homeland Security<br />
<br />
Lilac, jasmine and roses<br />
Weapons of mass destruction<br />
Does the U.N. know<br />
That you are buying it by the barrel full?<br />
<br />
Did you get it at a discount?<br />
Did it have a warning label?<br />
Is this a laboratory test?<br />
Have I become a lab monkey?<br />
<br />
Oh wait, you think<br />
That it makes you sexy<br />
Maybe, it does--maybe it doesn't<br />
I can't tell, for I cannot see<br />
Though the chemical haze<br />
<br />
That old floral napalm<br />
Aisle seven chemical spill<br />
Was it really necessary<br />
To wear the entire bottle<br />
During your shopping trip?<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n153lH9RS8U/Ws00S6vc6-I/AAAAAAAAFjE/TqYnjH_nBzUNTX8IpFzTxScwXUekuJTugCLcBGAs/s1600/cat%2Bthis%2Bperfume%2Bis%2Bgoing%2Bto%2Bsmell%2Bwonderful%2Ball%2Bover%2Bthe%2Bfloor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n153lH9RS8U/Ws00S6vc6-I/AAAAAAAAFjE/TqYnjH_nBzUNTX8IpFzTxScwXUekuJTugCLcBGAs/s320/cat%2Bthis%2Bperfume%2Bis%2Bgoing%2Bto%2Bsmell%2Bwonderful%2Ball%2Bover%2Bthe%2Bfloor.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nothing to see here--move along.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Morgan Drake Ecksteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258538066497554895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2594045886586038963.post-77204678619851786012018-04-05T17:42:00.002-06:002018-04-05T17:42:13.189-06:00Come Tarot Blog Hop with us Do you blog about the Tarot? Do you want to be part of a Tarot blogging community? If so, consider joining the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/tarotbloghop/" target="_blank">Tarot Blog Hop.</a><br />
<br />
Eight times a year, the members of the Tarot Blog Hop blog about a common topic and link to each other's blogs. Members are required to take part in two of the eight hops every year--which is easy and fun to do.<br />
<br />
What type of topics? Well, the next topic for Beltane is: What lesson can (could) I teach the world.<br />
<br />
So come join in the fun, Tarot bloggers--come join the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/tarotbloghop/" target="_blank">Tarot Blog Hop</a>. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XYtMZvxoc2I/Wsay0mCN6vI/AAAAAAAAFiM/_M0NrikwInQrKyytl1DSbA8iRSjLeW-SgCLcBGAs/s1600/tarot%2Bblog%2Bhop%2Breader%2Binstructions.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="373" data-original-width="389" height="306" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XYtMZvxoc2I/Wsay0mCN6vI/AAAAAAAAFiM/_M0NrikwInQrKyytl1DSbA8iRSjLeW-SgCLcBGAs/s320/tarot%2Bblog%2Bhop%2Breader%2Binstructions.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The basic principle is for readers to be able to explore new blogs.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Morgan Drake Ecksteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258538066497554895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2594045886586038963.post-89047724652091164632018-03-27T00:00:00.000-06:002018-03-27T00:01:06.746-06:00That Ebook Bastard (Why I have embraced ebooks)One of the joys of teaching the occult, or at least being one of the louder people in the room, is that you can install all types of silly ideas into those who accidentally come within the sound of your voice. Ideas that the rest of the occult community, or at least a significant portion, will insist are really bad ideas and that the person who convinced them that these were good ideas should be flogged with an angry cat. Typically, the flogging are reserved for ideas like “Getting sponsored by a legitimate occult group is highly over-rated and may not be worth the price of having to hate the same people as the head of the sponsoring group.” No, I do not make many friends, for I am that whack job. I have made a list of things I believe that I really should not, simply because I am one of the few that feels this way.<br />
<br />
The other day I had to add something new to my list. Not really new—it is just that I hadn’t made a certain business decision yet that puts me firmly in the “Does not believe what the majority of the occult community believes and therefore, he is really, really wrong.” Now that I have made the decision, let the flogging begin.<br />
<br />
But long before the business decision was actually made, I was already wrong. Let me give you a quick illustration.<br />
<br />
One of my occult writer friends recently published a new occult book and was advertising it on Facebook. I hopped over to the Amazon page to take a look. I was mildly curious, and just maybe thought that I might buy a copy to help my friend out (because I know how Amazon sales ranking works). Yet upon learning that the book was not available in convenient and more economical ebook form, I choose to spend my money on a bundle pack about a cowboy who rides a unicorn instead. (Unicorn Western—if you are curious.) Bottom line, while I was mildly curious about my friend’s book, I was not that curious.<br />
<br />
Yes, I have become the Ebook Bastard. That bastard who likes all his class handouts to be in convenient ebook form—preferably in Kindle format, thank you very much. And who plans on issuing all his future handouts on Amazon, for those people who do not live in reasonable distance of my charming voice. The bastard who believes that printed occult books, well printed books period, have become a shrinking niche market, and not worth the effort to format unless they are picture and chart books. I would totally consider buying a pop-up book; but if it is just words and a few pictures, ebooks are now my preferred format.<br />
<br />
It is not just price, and not having to find space on a bookshelf for another book (“Look, I just brought nine novels and my Kindle is exactly the same weight as it was before I brought those books”), it is some of the stuff that I can as an author that really makes me a supporter of ebook technology.<br />
<br />
For those who have not seen my work, I tend to write stuff that less than a hundred people in the entire world will be interested in. The likelihood of a traditional gatekeeper publisher deciding to put my work in print is about the same as me suddenly sprouting wings and becoming an angel. And that is totally ignoring the fact that I am open about some of my opinions; you try to get a traditional occult publisher to publish your stuff when you are openly stating in your book that you are pro-pot.<br />
<br />
The bottom line is that my stuff is only suitable for self-publication. Nevertheless, even as a self-publisher (I prefer the term “indie”), I could go the print route, as my friend did with his latest occult book. So why didn’t I? Because I can do things with ebooks that I can’t do with printed books.<br />
<br />
(A quick aside—all the editing and support that a traditional publisher provides, or should provide, can be done by an indie directly, or paid for by the indie. A self-published book can be as good as a book that was vetted by a traditional gatekeeper publisher.)
For instance, I have a couple books (really short books—articles really) that I have planned on expanding for years (code-named Bootstrap and Walking the Wheel). To do this with a print versions, I have to not only buy a proof copy (or several if I don’t get it right the first time), everyone who currently has brought a copy would have to buy a new copy to read the new material added. Now, there are some that will argue that having customers buy new copies makes sound business sense. But in my mind, it doesn’t.<br />
<br />
First, there are things that I originally thought about putting in the book that I didn’t…because I didn’t have time to. Getting the information out was more important than getting it perfect the first time. And let’s be honest, the core information in the book would still not be available today if I waited for perfection. It was better to issue the information for the interested parties, and plan on updating later.<br />
<br />
Second, I learned and developed the core idea over the last eleven years since I first released the currently available version or Bootstrap (likewise for Walking the Wheel, which was released a couple of years ago). The readers that I would most like to read my developments are actually those who used the information in the first place. And with an ebook, I can be reasonably sure that those who brought the ebook though legitimate retailers will get the updated material. Such an immediate updating and ensuring that it gets to the people who brought the first version is easy with an ebook, and impossible with a printed book.<br />
<br />
Third, I consider those who have used the material from the first edition of the books to be a community. I like my little community—occasionally, people thank me for releasing the information which gives a small thrill every time it happens. These are my tribe, and I don’t see how annoying them by making them buy a whole new copy at a higher price tag would be productive. (Yes, if I add a hundred pages of material, the price is so going to be increased.) I released the information that is the backbone of Bootstrap because it was my solution to a reoccurring problem, a solution that I still believe in. Updating the existing ebook, rather than creating a whole new edition, is more supportive of the idea and the community that uses the idea than being a writer scrabbling after nickels and dimes.<br />
<br />
(Another aside—yes, I know that there are those who believe that if I was really supportive of the occult community that I would just release the information for free and not charge a dime for it. To these critics, I would like to point out that I am a professional writer and what I am charging is far less than what the some legitimate occult leaders charge for their support. On the day that the world abolishes money and everyone gets a guaranteed livelihood, I will quit charging; but until then, I have bills to pay.)<br />
<br />
Fourth and most importantly, by updating the ebook and not creating a new listing, I get to keep all the existing links to the books. And the work I have done over the years to promote the books (blog posts and linking to the sales pages) carries over to the new expanded versions. I don’t lose my current sales numbers, and get to add to them instead. Try doing that with a new print edition that is a hundred pages longer and is essentially a brand new book.<br />
<br />
And that is the crux of the matter, I can do things with ebooks that I simply could never do as a writer with printed books. It does not matter that “Real books are made with paper” and that “One should not never use a Kindle while performing ritual”; what matters is that ebooks allow me to give my customers a better experience.<br />
<br />
Because of that, I am truly that Ebook Bastard.
<br />
<br />
(And no, I am not telling which two books I am updating. If you can't guess from the code names, then you are obviously not part of the existing tribe that I am updating them for.)<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t3Hq00n4-4I/WriOSh512VI/AAAAAAAAFh0/RWQYlR9vrd4J6wRjpJN4im1yiEeO0sr1QCLcBGAs/s1600/cat%2Bneeds%2Ba%2Bbigger%2Bfolder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="748" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t3Hq00n4-4I/WriOSh512VI/AAAAAAAAFh0/RWQYlR9vrd4J6wRjpJN4im1yiEeO0sr1QCLcBGAs/s320/cat%2Bneeds%2Ba%2Bbigger%2Bfolder.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maybe if it was a touch bigger. </td></tr>
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<br />Morgan Drake Ecksteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258538066497554895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2594045886586038963.post-20252883103732805482018-03-20T13:00:00.000-06:002018-03-20T14:16:52.175-06:00Musical Tarot (Esoteric Comedy Show) <a href="http://www.tarotofchange.com/2018/03/tarot-blog-hop-musical-guidance-from.html" target="_blank">Previous</a>/ <a href="http://jaycassels.co.uk/oml18" target="_blank">Master List</a>/ <a href="https://pureblessedtarot.wordpress.com/2018/03/20/anyone-can-play-guitarot/">Next</a><br />
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[In celebration of our fiftieth Tarot Blog Hop post, a bit from a show that you would never actually see happen at a Tarot convention. Trust me. No one would ever be crazy enough to let this happen. So we will just have to imagine it happening together.]<br />
<br />
At this point, I would sing you a song. But my wife has expressly said that Morgan shall not sing. Which is a shame because I have a wonderful singing voice. Yes, it it true that angels do cry when I sing.<br />
<br />
Giant tears of joy. Emotion that has not been experienced since the creation of the universe. My singing is that good. And angels would totally agree that my singing is as powerful as the creation of the universe.<br />
<br />
I should probably point out that my god-daughter disputes the greatness of my singing, and says that the angels are actually crying in great pain and agony. Let's call that Fake News, and move on.<br />
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There are people other than my wife and god-daughter who tell me not to sing. The entire Denver community of witches and pagans has told me that when the singing parts of the rituals happen, I am supposed to hum--softly--just so we don't violate any public noise ordinances. Again, Fake News--they just jealous that I am the best singer in the Denver pagan community.<br />
<br />
Being forbidden to sing, I have thought about learning to play a musical instrument. Even someone who can't carry a tune in a bucket should be able to learn to play a musical instrument. Surely singing and playing a musical instrument have nothing in common.<br />
<br />
And wanting to do it right, I have thought about musical instrument I should devote myself to.<br />
<br />
Now many instruments are automatically off of the table for various reasons. For instance, I can't play any stringed instruments because the strings might be made from cat-gut. Yes, I have done some serious non-research here. And the instrument can't be too large, for I am a lazy bastard who believes that his only exercise should consist of pulling books off a shelf. Therefore, the tuba is out of the question, along with the kettle drum, and the piano. That's last one is rather surprising, but let's be honest--it is hard to carry a piano onto the bus.<br />
<br />
I have narrowed my choices down to three options, and now my choice of instrument is tied up in committee. But I am quite confident that the committee will allow me to have an instrument. There is absolutely no way that the committee will agree with my mother that all I am doing is making an ungodly racket. <br />
<br />
My number three choice is the accordion. My father owned one. I want to own one. Just because his was sent to the attic, never to be seen again, doesn't mean that mine will suffer the same fate. I see that the audience doesn't believe me, and are busy texting the music committee about how much they would love to hear me play the accordion.<br />
<br />
"Dear committee for the protection of those who know what music should sound like, I totally support Morgan getting an accordion, and being allowed to play it in public. After all, the accordion is built on the cat in a box principle--and there is absolutely no way that Morgan could play it wrong."<br />
<br />
That was texted by someone who obviously done more research on this subject than I have. Because when this bit started, I did not know that accordion had cats in them. Is cat alive? Is the cat dead? We don't know. We will never know. But we can all tell that the cat is a little unhappy by the sound it is making.<br />
<br />
My number two choice for musical instrument is the bagpipes. Everyone loves bagpipe music, especially when played by a genius like myself. Plus I will finally be able to convince the neighbor across the street to quit playing their party music at midnight. We all have that one neighbor, who insists on playing their music at midnight on a hot summer night when everyone in the neighborhood has their windows wide open. There is absolutely no danger that this will cause a musical stereo war in my neighborhood.<br />
<br />
"Dear committee for the protection of cats and sleeping neighbors, I totally endorse Morgan playing a set of bagpipes on a hot summer night. It is sure to create world peace, for bagpipes sound nothing like an angry cat stuck in a bag."<br />
<br />
My final choice in music instruments--my number one choice is a bag of rusting tin cans. Because let's be honest, my real goal here is to be the center of attention--and there is not a reality music show that will not be amused and amazed at my skill at playing a big bag of tin cans.<br />
<br />
"Dear committee for the protection of those who do not find this joke funny, for heaven's sake, make sure that Morgan lets the cats out of the bag before he attempts to play it. When will someone think of the cats being tortured for the sake of music."<br />
<br />
I recently discovered that you can make cats sing. I discovered this on Facebook. Someone posted a picture of a cat singing Bohemian Rhapsody. Well, not actually singing. It was a picture of a cat captioned with song lyrics.<br />
<br />
Totally awesome, don't you agree?<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R89z6SxthCI/Wq75MZ7AR6I/AAAAAAAAFgk/rYjtfqhlrKc90V4RHLuye_KPa1CkvB8IQCLcBGAs/s1600/0a1dd0842f9c8c1d90e757c1a73cd0d0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="236" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R89z6SxthCI/Wq75MZ7AR6I/AAAAAAAAFgk/rYjtfqhlrKc90V4RHLuye_KPa1CkvB8IQCLcBGAs/s1600/0a1dd0842f9c8c1d90e757c1a73cd0d0.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm just a purr boy. Nobody rubs me. He's just a purr boy from a purr family! Spare him his life from this meowstrosity!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So I have now developed a hobby of trying to match the song to the picture. And considering that we are supposed to be talking about Tarot, let's go there. Otherwise, this entire bit will make no sense when I put it into a Tarot Blog Hop post. <br />
<br />
Being a "silly person"--that's medical speak for "being a bloody loony"--I have started to put song lyrics onto pictures of Tarot cards. Please note that some of these only make sense if you watch the same television shows I do.<br />
<br />
I think that Wayward Son by Kansas is appropriate for the Chariot. Another One Bites the Dust by Queen fits the imagery of the Lightning Blasted Tower. Like a Virgin by Madonna, that's the Lovers. Great Balls of Fire is totally the Ace of Wands. The Immigrant Song is my chosen one for Strength. Hint--think of the Viking Kitty video. Death is Tiptoe Through the Tulips--what else could it be?<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tCE3aWFROK0/WrCe-tJHDgI/AAAAAAAAFhM/1fFBJb72UuUK17Mdp88ErN5YNGimqVlPgCLcBGAs/s1600/TBH%2BAce%2Bof%2BWands%2Bsings%2BGreat%2BBalls%2Bof%2BFire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tCE3aWFROK0/WrCe-tJHDgI/AAAAAAAAFhM/1fFBJb72UuUK17Mdp88ErN5YNGimqVlPgCLcBGAs/s320/TBH%2BAce%2Bof%2BWands%2Bsings%2BGreat%2BBalls%2Bof%2BFire.jpg" width="187" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goodness gracious, great balls of fire!</td></tr>
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<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ns3-SNlM3F4/WrCe-Y33knI/AAAAAAAAFhE/wZn_0QXkFYEgrIhbYfnAXPNaE9D_ged8wCLcBGAs/s1600/TBH%2Bchariot%2Bsinging%2Bwayward%2Bson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ns3-SNlM3F4/WrCe-Y33knI/AAAAAAAAFhE/wZn_0QXkFYEgrIhbYfnAXPNaE9D_ged8wCLcBGAs/s320/TBH%2Bchariot%2Bsinging%2Bwayward%2Bson.jpg" width="187" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carry on my wayward son, for there will be peace when you are done.</td></tr>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WVjC6PHJfvg/WrCe-poTA0I/AAAAAAAAFhI/dM_LlJiJSgU3m1TMoBn7WHDqwsZLPCl9ACLcBGAs/s1600/TBH%2BDeath%2Bsings%2BTiptoe%2BThrough%2Bthe%2BTulips.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WVjC6PHJfvg/WrCe-poTA0I/AAAAAAAAFhI/dM_LlJiJSgU3m1TMoBn7WHDqwsZLPCl9ACLcBGAs/s320/TBH%2BDeath%2Bsings%2BTiptoe%2BThrough%2Bthe%2BTulips.jpg" width="187" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tiptoe through the tulips with me!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ir91GNw1CBA/WrCfMY5E7_I/AAAAAAAAFhU/p9xs6z2abholcoVkRg8b55uPgmGEkfTkACLcBGAs/s1600/TBH%2BLovers%2Bsing%2BLike%2Ba%2BVirgin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ir91GNw1CBA/WrCfMY5E7_I/AAAAAAAAFhU/p9xs6z2abholcoVkRg8b55uPgmGEkfTkACLcBGAs/s320/TBH%2BLovers%2Bsing%2BLike%2Ba%2BVirgin.jpg" width="187" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Like a virgin, touched for the very first time.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FnfruQ3pn64/WrCfMKKoyfI/AAAAAAAAFhQ/jyOdF9N8_2Aw0lMHecqMpL836VQ3C6C9wCLcBGAs/s1600/TBH%2BStrength%2Bsinging%2BImmigrant%2BSong.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FnfruQ3pn64/WrCfMKKoyfI/AAAAAAAAFhQ/jyOdF9N8_2Aw0lMHecqMpL836VQ3C6C9wCLcBGAs/s320/TBH%2BStrength%2Bsinging%2BImmigrant%2BSong.jpg" width="187" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We come from the land of ice and snow--we are your overlords.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
But I am most proud of the caption that I came up with for the Devil. It is truly something to cause angels to cry in joy.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rPPoXO0Ai2s/Wq8EnY_AHMI/AAAAAAAAFg0/weBD6nsoGoYPYYMCw11nyuX9Zm_2R5TQwCLcBGAs/s1600/TBH%2BDevil%2Bsinging%2BIf%2BYou%2BAre%2BHappy%2BClap%2BYour%2BHands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rPPoXO0Ai2s/Wq8EnY_AHMI/AAAAAAAAFg0/weBD6nsoGoYPYYMCw11nyuX9Zm_2R5TQwCLcBGAs/s320/TBH%2BDevil%2Bsinging%2BIf%2BYou%2BAre%2BHappy%2BClap%2BYour%2BHands.jpg" width="187" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you are happy, and you know it, and want the whole world to know it, if you are happy and you know it, clap your hands! </td></tr>
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And that is what it is all about--causing angels to cry with my awesome ability to make music.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.tarotofchange.com/2018/03/tarot-blog-hop-musical-guidance-from.html" target="_blank">Previous</a>/ <a href="http://jaycassels.co.uk/oml18" target="_blank">Master List</a>/ <a href="https://pureblessedtarot.wordpress.com/2018/03/20/anyone-can-play-guitarot/" target="_blank">Next</a><br />
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Morgan Drake Ecksteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258538066497554895noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2594045886586038963.post-80279603465121607962018-03-13T15:47:00.004-06:002018-03-13T15:47:49.619-06:00ECS Free Guns For Everyone (Lap Cats Are Good Too) sales links“Marge, have you read this?”<br />
<br />
“Sue Ann, read what?”<br />
<br />
“There is a pecker wood in Colorado, who thinks he knows more about the dangers of guns and gun control laws than us super-smart New Jerseyians.”<br />
<br />
“Really? Who?”<br />
<br />
“Mad Uncle Morgan.”<br />
<br />
“Who’s he?”<br />
<br />
“He is that comedian bloke that the Great Gherkin says is a paid hater and troll, and who is being controlled by the time traveling octopods from outer space.”<br />
<br />
“Sue Ann, who is the Great Gherkin?”<br />
<br />
“Oh Marge, you know, the Great Gherkin is just some guy, an unpopular Big Name Occultist with a patented success system.”<br />
<br />
“Patented success system?”<br />
<br />
“Yeah, pick a popular cause, trademark it, and charge bigly fees for people to ride on the same parade float as he does.”<br />
<br />
“Are you sure that the Great Gherkin is not actually the President of the United States?”<br />
<br />
“D’oh!”<br />
<br />
It is Mad Uncle Morgan, everyone’s favorite witchy comedian, versus the Great Gherkin, the most famous occultist of all time. Which one of them is right about the Constitution and gun control? Which one of them owns a catapult? Which one is the greatest American patriot ever? And which one is just a pot smoking liberal traitor of a hippy? Learn the answers to these important and life-changing questions in this Esoteric Comedy Show special, as well learning why gay wedding cakes are so dangerous.
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iqEUFPB4vBM/WqhCodR6NTI/AAAAAAAAFgE/etgM6sPP0TUq-tiyxLO_uDzsYCeA7IaYwCLcBGAs/s1600/Esoteric%2BComedy%2BShow%2BFree%2BGuns%2BFor%2BEveryone%2BLap%2BCats%2BAre%2BGood%2BToo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iqEUFPB4vBM/WqhCodR6NTI/AAAAAAAAFgE/etgM6sPP0TUq-tiyxLO_uDzsYCeA7IaYwCLcBGAs/s320/Esoteric%2BComedy%2BShow%2BFree%2BGuns%2BFor%2BEveryone%2BLap%2BCats%2BAre%2BGood%2BToo.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Now available for your reading pleasure. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079ZLJWLK" target="_blank">Amazon</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B079MQ5TKD" target="_blank">Amazon UK</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/free-guns-for-everyone-lap-cats-are-good-too-morgan-drake-eckstein/1128022308" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/free-guns-for-everyone-lap-cats-are-good-too-a-big-gun-control-special" target="_blank">Kobo</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/795352" target="_blank">Smashwords</a> <br />
<br />
And iBooks/Apple iTunes store (sorry, I am having a devil of a time trying to locate the sales page link) Morgan Drake Ecksteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258538066497554895noreply@blogger.com0