Happy people with lots of money (why use that picture)

[If you are lazy, just skip to the end of the post and read the punchline.]


I get a lot of friend requests on Facebook--because I am on Facebook. Some I accept. Some I delete. And some I mock.


This is the mocking type.


One of my latest friend requests comes from someone who seems to be trying to convince people that she is a mover and shaker at the International Finance Corporation Grant which is part of an United Nations grant program. I base this conclusion on a status update and the pictures posted on this person's wall.

I must be big stuff--look at all the happy people.

"Look especially at all the happy people who are receiving oversized checks and FedEx deliveries. Plus I posted pictures of Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, so you totally know that they are close personal friends. And you should totally accept my friend request because you are special; and by being friends with me, you are totally going to get fat stacks of cash."

Totally real photos with real happy people--believe what you see!

Maybe this person is for real--despite the general cynicism that a couple decades of dealing with dubious occult leaders has installed in me--I mean they can't all be photos grabbed from stock photo sites and the internet--some of the photos must be real.


But on that note...

Why is this guy wearing latex gloves and sporting a badge logo? And is that fingerprint sheet on the desk?

If you are trying to convince me that you are real and that you are going to make me rich, you might not want to post a picture of a cop counting money from a drug bust on your wall. Just saying.

Thoughts on the EA Koetting arrest (Living God arrested)

On Friday, November 14, 2014, Matthew Joseph Lawrence (the real name of the black magic occultist E. A. Koetting) was arrested by the Washington County Drug Task Force (St. George, Utah) and sent to the Purgatory Correctional Facility. Both his vehicle and residence were searched, and he was charged with five charges of drug possession (cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana and other drugs), one count of possession of drug paraphernalia, and one count of restricted possessor of a firearm. The arrest came about due to information provided by a confidential informant. Lawrence and his roommate (who was also arrested) were sent to the Purgatory Correctional Facility with bail set at $31,174 each---I understand both made bail and were released. Rumor has it that Lawrence could receive ten to fifteen years in jail, due to Utah's law, and having priors.

News stories are here and here.

My regular readers and friends know that I am not fond of E. A. Koetting. I feel that he is a black hat marketer, and generally not the world's best representative of the black arts. And I made my feelings perfectly clear last year when he headlined an event sponsored by one of the Golden Dawn Orders---I could not reconcile the traditional Golden Dawn oath (which includes a clause about not doing black magic) with the idea that a highly advertised speaker was actually a well-known black magician.

Cartman from South Park reminds me of Koetting.

But I do have a couple of thoughts about this situation that might surprise you.

For instance, I have seen some fuss over the fact that E. A. Koetting is a pen name. Sorry, but a lot of occult writers write under pen names---it is nothing new. And Koetting's real name has been known for awhile. Get over the fact that Koetting is a pen name.

There has also been jokes made that Koetting works a day job---a carpet cleaner---again, get over it. I cannot name a single occultist, who does not have a day job. Even when you are charging big money for workshops and merchandise, occultism does not pay well. And yes, Koetting's day job is not glamorous. Well, none of my day jobs have been glamorous (minimum wage restaurant work, writer of forbidden taboo erotica, house husband). And for some reason, magic---even black magic---is not really useful for acquiring money without a path for the money to come though.

Now I will admit that I am appalled that Koetting got arrested---it makes all occultists look bad to a certain extent. It is probably worse because Koetting talked about avoiding cops and doing illegal things in at least one of his videos. If you are a Living God and know that you could be arrested, one would think that one would take steps not to be arrested.

But the charges---I have mixed feelings about the actual charges. On one hand, getting arrested with a gun when you legally unable to own one, just makes you look suspicious. On the other hand, I am not really on board with the United States extended war on drugs. At the very least, I think that marijuana should not be illegal (the other drugs, I am not so sure about---honestly, I am not up on the research of how much damage they actually cause). I voted in favor of both medical and recreational marijuana---so in my mind, at least one of the drug charges should not even exist.

And are we really surprised that Koetting takes drugs? I think that we could have all made a fair bet on that one.

Besides, the usual offense that occultists seem to arrested for is sexual misdeeds. This incident looks almost positive compared to the normal offense. It could have been worse, much worse.

And before you ask, I am still not an E. A. Koetting fan---but no one should be surprised by that one.

I want to be brilliant

Warning: Do not assume that I am talking about you. I have a laundry list of people who this post might apply to, and you may not actually be on it. And I suspect that the worst offender is probably the person...well if you can't figure it out by the end of the post, then perhaps you are on my laundry list of offenders.

At least once a week, I see someone on the forums, or the lists, or the blogosphere, or in the local pagan community, or on the quad (you get the idea), become upset and accuse someone of being mean to them. This is often after being told that their latest brain storm is not really that great and might even be completely and utterly wrong.

The sad part is that often they are trying to be smarter than Crowley, Mathers, the professor, the President, their spouse (you get the idea), and they are falling far short of the mark. It is believing that you are an A student, when you are only capable of doing B work and only willing to put in C amount of effort.

I understand this problem. At least once a day, I have an attack of this particular mental disease. I open my mouth, and my Advanced Adept Advisor, my professor, my friend, my spouse (you get the idea), tells me that I do not understand the entire situation and am sadly mistaken. Sometimes I even listen...provided that four cats are sitting in Grand Cross formation.

Yes, I want to be brilliant. Unfortunately, I have yet to find the right crowd to tell me how wonderful I am. Damn it, where are my worshipful minions?!

And if you have worshipful minions, please leave a note in the comment section about where you found them; how much you have to bribe them; and how soon you think it will be before they revolt against you.