Another astrology column done

Wrote another astrology column today for Campus Connection, the student newspaper of the Community College of Denver. At first, I thought this column was a throw-away, but it turned out rather good in my opinion. Today is one of those days that I wish that I could share the column with my audience faster, but the writer agreement is that I am not allowed to republish until the issue is off the stands (about six weeks from now).

I would consider directing people to the issue when it came out, but the pdf issue that is currently up on the CCD website is from April. Yes, the pdf is six months out of date. I wonder if anyone on the publishing end is aware of that tidbit of information. Plus, getting to the pdf is harder than it should be. *sigh*

What was this column about? Well, I was explaining how some of the traits of the sun signs were echoed in the zodiacal glyphs. You know the drill: What does the symbol of the two fishes of Pisces say about natives Pisces? And so forth.

Anyways, if you find yourself impatient to see the column I just did, remember that I feel that way also.

Update (August 4, 2011): Reading the comments, I was reminded that I should really provide my readers with a link to this article now that it is "reprinted." The name of the article is "What the Glyph of Your Zodiac Sign Represents."

The Sun Signs and Love article link

Well, after kicking it around for awhile, I decided to republish my lastest astrology column that I wrote for Campus Connection (the student newspaper for the Community College of Denver) a few days early. Technically, I should have waited until Tuesday when the next issue hits the stands; but considering the subject of the column, love and relationships, I decided to push the envelope and republish early. The other two articles (a follow-up on Amendment 50 and how much funding it has brought in, and an introduction to probability theory) will not be republished until Friday.

You can read What Your Sun Sign Finds Surprising About Love and Relationships over on Associated Content.

Professional astrologer am I?

When does someone become a professional astrologer?

That is my latest question that I am kicking around. And have I crossed the line?

As some of my readers know, I am currently working as a Staff Writer for the Community College of Denver's student newspaper, Campus Connection. It was a gig that was supposed to expand my portifolio. Instead as the year has gone on, I have drifted in writing for the same type of stuff that I always write: esoteric and occult.

In this latest issue, I had both an article about Divination Addiction and an astrology column.

So does writing a monthly astology column for a college newspaper make one a professional
astrologer? I don't know. But it is sure to bug my mother if she ever learns of it.

Reiki Circle tonight

Tonight is the Capitol Hill Reiki Circle. And like I have done the last few months, I will be attending. As many of my regular readers know, it is organized by a friend of mine, Jo, who is a Reiki III (Master).

Jo was the person that got me interested in Reiki. While my wife had a couple of books on the subject that I had leafed though, and only leafed though, I knew really nothing about the subject.

When I wrote a short article on the subject for CCD Campus Connections (the student newspaper of the Community College of Denver), I was starting from scratch.

[The Reiki article I wrote, I have since posted on Associated Content.]

I still don't know all that much about Reiki. Yet. But eventually, I plan on getting the first attunement. Perhaps the other two attunement also.

Honestly, it shores up a weakness in my own training as an Adept. We are a Rosicrucian Order in the Inner, except when you look at the Inner Order material, we have next to nothing on healing.

Perhaps, I should say nothing about healing; off the top of my head, I can't think of anything official in the RR et AC that deals with the subject, at least not openly.

So for awhile, if several of my posts and articles read like I am obsessed with Reiki this cycle, it is just that I am trying to figure out what should have been placed in this blank spot in the Golden Dawn lesson plan.

Who is Morgan Drake Eckstein?

Exactly who is Morgan Drake Eckstein? Occasionally, even I wonder about that.

The short answer is that I am a forty-one (forty-two come September) year old college sophomore who goes to the Community College of Denver. I am also a freelance writer, more by luck than by talent and ambition. And an elected officer of a small Golden Dawn lodge here in Denver, Colorado.

It is that last fact that is probably the most concern for the readers of this new blog. After all, this is a blog about Golden Dawn and the Western Mystery Tradition (though to be fair, I will probably talk about Wiccan and other systems too--I am slightly eclectic in my personal studies).

My history as an occultist started when I was young. My aunt was a Gardnerian witch, and my mom was a believer before she became born-again. My father knew some rune lore (from where he learned it is a mystery to me) and hexcraft (Pennsylvania Dutch). So I was raised around strange happenings, including a house haunting by a dog.

So it was natural for me to get involved with Wicca and Heathrenry. It also seems natural that I got involved in Golden Dawn. After all, I like complicated systems and having to read and research things.

I got involved in Golden Dawn officially in March of 1992 when I became a member of Hathoor Temple. While there are some who claim that it was not really Golden Dawn, I do consider it legitimate (just like I consider my current lodge legit). In late 1994, it disbanded. I left it an Adept Minor Neophyte. I also left it bearing an Administrative Grade of 9=2, as my last office in the lodge was that of an Archive Officer.

For several years, I bounced from group to group; some of them Golden Dawn based, some of them not.

In October 2000, I became one of the founding members of Bast Temple, which eventually would turn into the Mother Lodge for the BIORC. I have been elected officer of Bast Temple since its formation. I am also currently the webmaster and Praemonstrator General for the BIORC.

This blog, unlike the official BIORC blog, will be more about my opinions and personal experiences than official statements concerning Golden Dawn. I hope that my readers find it useful.

Yours in the Great Work, Morgan Drake Eckstein

Bast Temple (Golden Dawn in the Outer, BIORC in the Inner)
[Edit June 5, 2012: Changed web address of preferred contact point.]

Weekly Thoughts about Golden Dawn (the official BIORC blog)
[Edit 17 May 2010: This blog no longer exists; it was lost when Geocities shut down.]

Official Ba Iset Order of the Rosy Cross blog
[Edit June 5, 2012: Added the web address of this blog.]