Nick Farrell is mean to the Alt-Right (and they are upset about it)

Yesterday, in a howl Nick Farrell wrote a Facebook group moderator post about the posts that would get you banned from one of the Golden Dawn Facebook groups that he moderates. One of the things on the list was posting Alt-Right stuff. And his howl was met with screams that he was being unfair to the Alt-Right; and that by not mentioning the Alt-Left, he must somehow be supporting the Alt-Left.

Personally, as a fellow moderator of that particular GD FB group, I thought that backlash was ridiculous. First off, it is the Alt-Right posts that people keep trying to make that are the issue. Second, I haven't been seeing any Alt-Left posts in the pending stack. Third, the Alt-Left is a myth of the Alt-Right, who just assume that those who hate them are somehow organized beyond the Punch the Nazi level. Fourth, if Alt-Left posts were found in the pending stack, I would reject them (as well as Nick) simply because that particular GD FB group tries to remain focused on magic, and not on bovine end-products.

[If you are an Alt-Right, there is a Golden Dawn Facebook group ran by David Griffin which will totally let you post Alt-Right stuff. I am not sure if Griffin is an Alt-Right supporter, but he sure seems to hold their political position. In fact, the quickest way to get banned from his GD FB group is to be a liberal, and to tell him that his Alt-Right views are full bovine end-product goodness. And his GD FB group seems to be 100% about politics and 0% about magic, so there is a place for you.]

In response to the outrage that he was being unfair, and is somehow a member of the Alt-Left, Nick Farrell wrote a blog post. He wrote: 

"Some people think that the issue is political and you should not be talking about politics on a Golden Dawn chat group anyway.  While there is some truth in this, for me the issue is NOT political at all. Alt-Right ideas are not political at all but are the antithesis of everything the Golden Dawn represents.

Stripping away “political” ideas of alt-right we are still left with the following fundamental beliefs which are alien to the core of the Golden Dawn:

• The superiority of white males.
• Hatred of Jews and Muslims and homosexuals.
• A misogynistic opposition to “feminism” which is a call for women to adopt traditional roles."

You can read the rest of his blog post on his blog: Sorry, you can't be Alt-Right and a member of the Golden Dawn.

If Alt-Right is banned, why not Alt-Left?

Want to blog in the Tarot Blog Hop?

Are you a blogger? Do you blog about the Tarot? Do you want to be part of a community of Tarot bloggers? If the answer is yes to these three questions, you might be interested in becoming part of the Tarot Blog Hop.

What is the Tarot Blog Hop? The Tarot Blog Hop is a group of Tarot bloggers that do a blog on the same theme eight times a year for fun and community building. Each participant links their blog to a Master List (which contains links to all the bloggers doing a particular Hop), and to two other bloggers in the blog ring for that theme.

The eight times of year that the Tarot Blog Hop occurs is timed to the eight Wiccan/pagan holidays of the wheel of the year---not because the Tarot Blog Hop is particularly pagan/Wiccan, but because it was a convenient division of the year according to the Arwen Lynch Poe (the organizer of the Tarot Blog Hops).

Imbolic, February 2
Ostara (Spring Equinox), app. March 22
Beltane, May 1
Litha (Summer Solstice), app. June 22
Lammas/Lughnasad, August 1
Mabon (Autumn Equinox), app. September 22
Samhain/Halloween, October 31
Yule (Winter Solstice), app. December 22

The theme of the Wiccan Sabbat may or may not have anything to do with the the holiday that the Tarot Blog Hop occurring on them. The theme of the Tarot Blog Hop is chosen by the volunteer who steps forward to organize the Tarot Blog Hop of that holiday. The theme will always have something to do with the Tarot, even if it is only using the cards to talk about a particular subject. The wrangler (as the volunteer is called) also sets up and hosts the Master List which is used to help readers get past any breaks in the blog chain. 

Participants in the Tarot Blog Hop must have a blog where they write about Tarot (at least occasionally), must commit to participating in at least two Tarot Blog Hops per year, must agree to link their posts to the Master List and to two other bloggers,and must agree to commit on five of the blog posts in any of the Hops they take part in.

If this sounds like your cup of tea, send a membership request to the Tarot Blog Hop Facebook group. A group moderator will private message you to confirm that you have a blog, and agree to participate in two Blog Hops per year---upon confirmation, the moderator will approve your membership in the Tarot Blog Hop group.

Not a blogger and just want to stay informed about the Tarot Blog Hop? There is also a Facebook fan page for the Tarot Blog Hop for those who just want news about the Tarot Blog Hop.

Open letter to Watcher of the Dawn and Mike Thomson and David Griffin

Dear Watcher of the Dawn, Mike Thomson, and David Griffin,

Today, Mike Thomson decided to write a blog post revealing why the good folks behind Watcher of the Dawn write posts badmouthing David Griffin. You can read his post here. And you can read what Watcher of the Dawn does here. 

There is only one problem with Mike Thomson's post--I am not actually part of the staff that does Watcher of the Dawn.

But at this point in time, I so want to be a member of their staff. Of course, this is much like the fact that I wished I created Hog Dee, or was the ever amusing pine teeth wearing Mitzy Gaynor.

(And if I ever convince the creator of Hog Dee to allow me ownership of the character, Hog Dee will return!!! I wonder if Watcher wants a feature cartoon starring numpties.)

Yes, my comment to Inriel Lux was true, except that I was speaking for myself, and not the staff of Watcher of the Dawn. My hatred of David Griffin was sparked by his inability to live with a THREE STAR book review. By casting me as a conspiracy member, he made sure that I would remain a hater of all things Griffin. I went straight from neutral book reviewer to a torch carrying rebel against the "one ond only true Golden Dawn Order" (trademarked and marketed nine ways to Sunday).

As for things I am actually guilty of, I just hit "publish" on three blog posts that I had wrote, but never published. I figure if I am going to be the center of a flame war, I just as well be up-to-date with my hatred of Griffin. I am not sure why Mike Thomson cares about how people view Griffin; but hell if I am going to be damned, I just as well be damned.

So to Watcher of the Dawn, do not let Mike Thomson blaming an innocent reader of your blog stop you from doing what is right. Warn people about the numpties!

To David Griffin, keep being yourself--because as long as you badmouth other people, you will be hated.

To Mike Thomson, keep up the hatred and blaming of people--I can always use the blog traffic.

To everyone else, consider buying an ebook or bumper sticker from me.

As for myself, I will continue to be here, the same hateful person that I have always been. Writers like me are not loved...mainly because we are the enemies of everyone who might be guilty of harming occult students.

Yours in blood, hate, and sweat, Morgana Draconis, aka Morgan Drake Eckstein.

Bully time (31-HP Day 18)

[This poem was inspired by something I read by Wil Wheaton. Warning: Triggers--abuse and bullying--or maybe it is just me...because I am writing about my own bully.]

Your eyes lit up
First time you saw me
Short, thin, talking funny
A perfect target for abuse

I disliked you
I hated you
I loathed you
You were the perfect bully

I knew not your pain
I knew not your past
No clue about your home
How could I?
No friend, you were

New in town, I was
Unhappy at home
Miserable in school
With you as the cherry on top

Name calling
Mocking my voice and strangeness
Shower room pranks
You were the perfect bully

You remember this fondly
As you think I should too
Not with rage
And anger bubbling
Venom in my veins

Wish you harm, I do
Wish you restraint
And unhappiness
When I remember the past

Yet I must thank you
Others have tried
To control and bully me
To bend me to their will

But they are not you
And I have grown
Confident in my abilities
To endure abuse and threats
For I learned this at your hands

[Needless to say, bullying is wrong, even if it made me stronger.]

Kitty being stalked by monster (31 Days of Halloween Kitties Day 17 Year 3)

Hide, the monster is coming to get you.

Here is a picture that tells a story. Poor kitty hiding from a monster, obviously one of the qlippoth, while its master does nothing to help (seriously, put down the camera and save your cat!). Of course, this is the way my cats used to react to my god-daughter when she used to visit--one of the nicknames for my god-daughter was monster.

(In all fairness, I should probably refer to her as my ex-god-daughter...long story, mostly boring, all you need to know is that I am completely and wholly at fault--which is also the reason that I am now a former elected GD officer, who will never serve in an elected office ever again.)

For more cats dressed up in costumes (monster costumes, that is), check out this post by the Bloggess (her poor kitty).

Won an eight hour challenge

Fools and Cthulhu is the first ebook that I put up on Amazon.

Last week, Joe Konrath (one of the writers and bloggers that I read on a regular basis) offhand was talking about how easy it was for writers to forget that writing can be fun (quite easy to forget when you are focused on the business end of things). And he mentioned how he cranked out a few items over a beer--really short humorous ebooks) in the space of an hour.

Then he issued a challenge to his readers--write, edit, format, cover illustrate, and upload a short ebook in eight hours. And he said that he would blog about the winners...hmmm, there was no way that one could go south, was there?

Now, I am not sure how many writers read his blog, A Newbie's Guide to Publishing, but he was shocked that over an one hundred and forty of us actually completed the challenge.

Including myself.

Now, I will admit that I knew ahead of time that I could complete the challenge; after all, a lot of the erotica I write is short stories completed within ten hours (outlined, written, edited, cover made, formatted and uploaded with just ten hours used to complete the whole nine yards).

But it had been awhile since I wrote something just for fun--at least, ebook-wise.

The tricky part was that Joe Konrath likes Amazon (he does not think that they are the devil), so he wanted you to do the uploading to Amazon. And in my case, I have never done that before (I have been dealing with Smashwords and their distribution network).

Yes, I had been putting off learning how to do so...for awhile...much to my surprise, it was not nearly as painful as I imagined it to be.

Anyway, I now have another short-short story up in ebook form on the internet. And yes, I know, I should have stuck to writing erotica.

Fools and Cthulhu is 99 cents on Amazon.

My shocking disbelief: Primordial Languages of Power (1/3)

Over on Postmodern Magic, there is a three part series about things that the blog author does not believe in--Atlantis and Secret Chiefs are the first two parts (as I write this, the third part is still forthcoming). Of course, this got me thinking about the things that I do not believe in, and I decided to also blog about three things that I do not believe in...because that is how the blogosphere rolls. Given that they chose to pick on Atlantis and the Secret Chiefs, I will pick something else to start off with.

(For the record, both Atlantis and the Unknown Secret Chiefs are high up on my list of disbelief...as they are commonly thought of in esoteric circles--go read the Postmodern Magic posts; they touch upon many of the problems that I have with the two subjects.)

One of the things that I disbelieve in is the idea that there is a primordial language out there which when you speak it, magic automatically happens.

Armanic, Hebrew, Ancient Egypt, bastardized Latin, have all at one time been thought to be a language that if you speak it, wonderful horrible things happen--walls bleed, worlds get created, Republicans burst into flames. The Enochian language of Doctor Dee is also a candidate, as well as certain esoteric forms of mathematics, for this "too dangerous to be revealed to the great unwashed" language.

Much of our time in esoteric circles and studies is involved in studying these mystery languages. If you are in the Outer Order of Golden Dawn, you spend time studying the Hebrew alphabet, which you are oathbound not to reveal to others (seriously, the Hebrew alphabet is actually oathbound in some GD circles to this very day). You also get to hear some Greek, some badly spoken Ancient Egyptian, and Enochian, as well as some Latin. In Inner Order, the RR et AC, you deal a lot with Enochian and Hebrew...not enough to order soup, but enough that one can make the occasional odd pun that no one understands.

The esoteric theory behind the Great Primordial Langauge of Magic, Light and Creation, is that it is the language of the gods, angels and ascended masters. At the beginning of the universe, some deity created the universe by uttering some magic words. Later, the same deity (often, but not always) created the art of writing. Over time, this pure language of creation got corrupted into the languages that we humans speak on a daily basis.

The important part is the idea that IF you could RESTORE the language to its precreation/creation/divine state, you can perform MIRACLES.

Think Harry Potter meets the Tetragrammaton.

Because of its awesome power, the primordial language must be guarded from those who are not yet ready to use it--aka everyone who has not paid you enourgh lodge and Order dues yet. Seriously, you would not want a Democrat to gain access to it, they might go around healing the poor for free.

And in esoteric circles, a lot of training goes into making sure that you are spiritually ready to learn the primordial language...because time spent paying lodge and Order dues are the purest form of tithing and spiritual development. Without the training, you could seriously hurt yourself using the primordial language.

Yet here is the thing to remember about the claim--secrecy reveals what it conceals, and conceals what it reveals--it is not the language that does the work; it is the training that you undergone to qualify to use the language that does the heavy lifting.

Of course, the fact that I do not believe that it is the secret esoterically guarded primordial language that is important is SHOCKING. And probably a form of Golden Dawn heresy. You can buy your pitchforks and flaming torches from several GD vendors if you want to form an angry horde and burn me at the stake (hey, I am Wiccan--I am allowed to make witchhunt jokes).

Here is the real secret to know if you see me use a primordial language of power in your presence to perform some bit of magic--what you are percieving is a mere one-seventh of what I am doing. It is not the language by itself that gives its power--it is the hidden six-sevenths that is happening elsewhere; six-sevenths that is only possible with a lot of occult training.

So the next time, you see me ignore someone's claims that they know magical words that automatically causes certain events to happen when uttered, and that one must be highly trained, developed and vetted to learn, just remember I do not believe that it is the language doing the work--rather it is the training and development that they are insisting that you do first...provided that they are actually training you and not just milking you for Order dues, which probably the thing that esoteric language most often gets used for.

The Bloggess dresses up her cat

Yes Bloggess, your cat looks so thrilled by this costume.

It is not often that I can send you to someone else's blog, so that you can see how a Halloween Kitty costume was made. But this is one of those rare times--the Bloggess, a divinely funny lady, has just posted the instructions on how she made the costume for her kitty. Go read her insanity now!

And this is all related somehow

My cat loves this statement from Joe Konrath. Copied and pasted [sic].

[As you read this post, please remember that I am trying to decide how much guilt I bear for the sad state of the Golden Dawn community. Is my dislike of the HOGD/AO poisoning the well? And do I need to completely walk away from Golden Dawn if the only way for peace and haramony to reign is for people like myself to completely disappear from the system?]

[And yes, yes--I know that I should just apologize to HOGD/AO, and never admit that I am struggling with the idea of peace with them. Even if it means that I have to completely disappear from the Golden Dawn scene thereafter.]

Occasionally, I treat the internet as if it is only talking to me (I think that anyone who has taken or considered taking the Oath of the Abyss does this--along with most of the rest of the people on this planet).

So today, I read Joe Konrath talking about how Amazon's allowing of one-star book reviews allows people to trash books:

Buying reviews isn't wrong. Using sock puppets isn't wrong. Leaving fake one star reviews isn't wrong.

It's shitty, and I wouldn't do it. And that's how I'm able to prove I'm right.

Amazon allows one star reviews. In other words, the existing system allows and encourages people to publicly trash books.

[Big snip, and then Joe Konrath continues to say:]

I pick on groups. Big groups who do authors harm.

I don't pick on authors behaving badly.

I'm fine with going against a mob of 400 even though it is an incredibly unfair, one-sided fight. (Hint: you'll need at least 500 more signatures before I'd consider us evenly matched.)

But I'm not okay picking on individual writers.

For those who are curious about how I feel about the on-going sock puppet and paid book review scandal that is big news in traditional book and ebook publishing (three normal novel authors have been caught using sock puppets and using paid reviews) and the resulting one-star campaign against them--just remember that I openly declared war on the HOGD/AO earlier this year when they decided it was ok to give a writer one-star reviews on their entire product line, and not just the two books that offended them.

(Previous to that point, I considered myself NEUTRAL despite the fact that I have been labeled as a menace by them since 2009 for disagreeing with them about the merits of certain books. It was this event that made me consider them enemies...because if they were willing to do it to one writer; sooner or later, I felt that they would do it to me.)

Personally, I think that if they really wanted to convince the writer to quit doing what they were doing, they should have just given him one-star reviews on the two offending books. Trust me, writers notice when just a couple of their books tank--and they tend to just write those books that continue to sell well. But I am obvivously biased because I gave both of the books in question good reviews...I saw merit in them because, well, see the end of this post.

Now continuing with this blogosphere is talking to me, consider the fact that Donald Michael Kraig is talking about the process and purpose of forgiveness and its effect on magick.

To figure out how this ties into the whole scheme, please remember that I have been asked to forgive the HOGD/AO for attempting to destory my reputation, which was their response to me saying that one should not use the tactic of condemning a writer's entire line of work. And I have feel that I am required to take responsibility for the fact that they believe (or "know" as they would remind me) that what went down was an attempt to destory the egregore of their group.

(Please remember that I do not believe that publishing the rituals of a group destorys its egregore--and that I saw the HOGD/AO encourage people to download pdfs of another group's material years ago. I presume that their knowledge changed because now they are against the publication of any information that was once oath-bound. In all fairness, one does need to remember that the material that they were encouraging piracy of was the material from the evil EOGD headed by Robert Zink. Today, the HOGD/AO would not encourage the publication of the EOGD material--how much things change in just a couple of years.)

In all honesty, I still find it hard to believe that there is an organized conspiracy against them. Especially, a conspiracy to destory their Order. But what do I know? I tend to be excluded from all the really neat conspiracies. (Yes, I used to be the last person picked when teams were decided.)

[For this lack of belief in an organized conspiracy, I apologize.]

The final piece of today's internet conversation with me came from Star Foster. Star was writing about how the pagan community needs a library to record and archive the modern pagan history. Star mentions that our pagan elders are dying, records are being lost, and we might have to repeat mistakes simply because we did not record the fact that mistakes happened in the first place.

Unfortunately, I honestly think that Golden Dawn itself needs such a library. And this, I definitely have to apologize. For I believe that the only sure way to preserve our history is for people to write about it, even if this results in biased and false versions of our history. Likewise, I believe the only way to ensure our rituals and lore are preserved is publication of said material.

I apologize for such beliefs, and my lack of trust that a completely secret underground esoteric tradition oathbound is the best way to actually safeguard oathbound traditions, lore and ritual techniques.

So at the end of the day, and this conversation with the internet, I will admit that I am guilty of thinking that the HOGD/AO is an enemy (if only for professional reasons), and that I have said bad things about them in the past. But I am fairly sure that I would react the same way if the events unfolded today.

Essentially, I need to apologize for being me. It makes me wonder how I managed to get into any Golden Dawn Order.

[Yes, yes, I realize that hitting publish on this post also requires an apology. But let's be honest, I believe that it is better to admit that I am struggling with making peace with the HOGD/AO than to just disappear and never write about Golden Dawn again. For that opinion, I owe someone an apology.]

Do we really use just ten percent of our brain?

We can now see inside the working brain.

Rufus Opus (Head for the Red) and Jason Inominandum (Strategic Sorcery) are kicking around a list of five things that western occultism needs to rethink (it is time to retool). For the most part, I agree with their comments (after all, they did hit one of my pet peeves).

And to their list, I would add a sixth item--"We only use ten percent of our brain."

This explanation for why we can perform magic, have ESP, and generally do the unexplainable annoys me. The reason it annoys me is much the same reason that people talking about the Observer Effect and the Uncertainty Principle annoy me; the people who use it take the sound bite and forget the context that the original statement was made in. Anyone who uses it to explain the existence of ESP and magic is using a false reason. It would be just so much better if they just shrugged their shoulders and admitted that they did not know why ESP and magic actually works.

(Personally, I lean towards a kabbalah reason--it is called a soul.)

The statement that we only use ten percent of our brain comes out of the early days of modern brain studies. And much like the parts of Quantum Physics that people use to prove New Age concepts, the ten percent rule is about an lack of proper equipment and sensors to see what was going on.

The original statement was about the fact that the equipment that early modern brain scientists were using could only detect what was going on (activity) in ten percent of the brain. None of the scientists involved believed (to the best of my knowledge) that only ten percent of the brain was being used--no, they merely could not detect what was going on inside of our skulls.

What we have learned in the last ten, twenty years with better imaging equipment and sensors is that no part of a normal person's brain is completely unused. Parts switch on and off as needed, but there is not ninety percent of it just sitting there completely unused. In fact, unused parts of the brain either get rewritten or disappear--there is no unused real estate in your skull. The only people with unused parts of their brain have suffer some form of brain damage. We use all parts of our brains.

Yet people still trot out the ten percent all the time as an explaination...when really we should be more concerned about the brain rewiring that is happening during our practices...but that is a post for another time.

Religions of the United States

Religions of the United States.

Ok, this may seem like a side-track to many people (especially those waiting for various part twos), but it is actually not a side-track. It is actually related to both topics.

The graphic above I found on Ananael's blog; he was talking about how Christians have been praying for the economy of the United States for the last deecade. Yeah, I did spit-take. You just can't help chocking when you realize that prayer has been involved in the slow death spiral of the last decade of the US economy.

Looking at the graphic, which shows the membership percentage of each religion in the United States, I could not help thinking about both part twos that are being awaited on.

What this graph has to do with the size of the Golden Dawn market? (skip down for Ouija part)

On the Golden Dawn market front, it is obvious that Golden Dawn Orders must cater to Christians and their viewpoint if...if...if they want a shot at the biggest section of the pie. After all (provided that you think that Roman Catholics are Christians), they represent 78.5% of the potential market.

Of course, this is assuming that the overall potential market for Golden Dawn memberships and products mirrors the overall population religious outlook.

There is a chance that those interested the most in Golden Dawn come from particular religions and sectors, and do not mirror the overall population figures in religious outlook.

But let's presume that the potential market for Golden Dawn mirrors the religious percentages for the overall population.

Now, what Christians find comfortable often other religions do not find comfortable. For instance, the idea that sheep go to heaven and goats go to hell (hehe) is not something that the pagan religions find comfortable, especially when own their gods are classified as demons. Heck, what Catholics are comfortable with Protestants are often uncomfortable with.

This does lead us to the possibility of product differentiation (a nice economy and business term) in the Golden Dawn marketplace. For instance, one Golden Dawn Order could focus on serving Roman Catholics, another on serving the needs of Protestants, and another on serving the needs of the Wiccan community.

Unfortunately, past experience makes this unlikely to happen, except on the small scale. The bigger Orders, and those who want to become big, tends to take everyone in...and then either alienates them or converts them to the religious and philosophical standards of the leadership of the Order.

Please note that I do realize that such differentiation goes against the advice given to the Neophyte...if you are a literalist. I am not saying that the other religions are bad, just that perhaps focusing primarily on different religious comfort zones would be a way to avoid a lot of the in-fighting that we see flaring up on occasion. It is lot easier to live and let live when you are interested in completely different sections of the market.

Teach respect for other religions; don't try to convert your membership to your religion. And be honest when you see someone of a religion that will find your emphasis unbearable and send them to an Order that they will be more comfortable with.

What does religion has to do with Ouija boards?

One of the problems with a Ouija board (a point I will be expanding upon in that particular part two) is the fact that there is a living human being(s) involved. In fact, without a living human being involved, an Ouija board would do nothing.

(Ok, this ignores really powerful entities---but what would they be using a Ouija board for if they were so powerful that they could communicate without one? If you can move the planchette without using a living human being's help, then you are powerful enourgh to get their attention in other ways. For me, this is one of the reasons that the whole Secret Chief myth seems rather shaky.)

Now, the majority of people who would be using an Ouija board would be Christian (definitely counting Roman Catholics as Christians for this thought). Which means that there is a Christian component to the operation and interpretation of Ouija board activities.

Please note that I will expand on this thought in part two of the Ouija board series. I merely wanted to briefly mention this as a factor along with this particular graphic. But for those who want more, consider this---would a pagan view some of the entities that communicate though Ouija boards as hostile (and demonic) as Christians encountering the same entity?

Things that I am reading today QoD edition

Here are three quotes from things that I have been reading on the web today.

First up is Rufus Opus, who is talking about his unwillingness to be sold a bill of goods in his post Idiocy and the Secret Papers.

"If you want to play those reindeer games, by all means feel free to do so. But don't try to tell me your personal fantasies are really the really real truth. There are no secret documents that weren't developed in the last century, there is no secret Order of initiates from Atlantis, there is no hidden group of ascending masters who will be able to teach you anything you can't find on the internet for free (www.esotericarchives.com, www.hermetic.com) or figure out on your own if you try hard and ask the right spirits for help."

Yes, Rufus makes people upset---all the time. I think that why I like him so much. And here is a hint, if he gets you upset, ask yourself "Why?! Is he telling the truth?"

Second up is Jenn from A Broom and the Moon, talking about Spiritual Menstruation.

"Bottom line, it is immature for any man on this planet not to be comfortable with the fact that women have periods. A woman's body is quite possibly the most beautiful thing on this Earth. Love your woman, her body, and her bodies cycles."

To this day, I am amazed at the discomfort displayed by most men when it comes to the functions of the female body, even men who should know better. Hint---the taboos were installed by the exoteric "no magic allowed" religions.

And finally, Chris Brennan is writing about his concerns about astrologers jumping on the 2012 bandwagon in his article Do Not Associate Astrology With 2012.

"Virtually all claims by astrologers about the significance of 2012 have been made as a result of a preconceived notions that something important is supposed to happen that year because that is what the New Age writers have told people that the Mayans predicted. So most contemporary predictions about 2012 by astrologers are attempts to justify why 2012 could be important from the perspective of contemporary astrological theory, trying to account for the preconceived notion rather than identifying something that stands out as astrologically significant in its own right."

Personally, I extend this concern to all the esoteric sciences, not just astrology. Of course, my regular readers have read my opinion about the 2012 Doomsday. Basically, I think it is not going to happen.

So there you have it---a quick peek into what I have been reading today.

Upcoming Events and a new blog to follow

Tonight, I am going to be doing the final research for Friday's Open Full Moon ritual. That and watching So You Think That You Can Dance? Yes, I watch TV; it is so sad how I chose to spend my time.

My wife is getting ready for a Psychic Fair that happening at Spiritways on Saturday, June 11th. She will be selling her jewelry---as if you didn't already know. The Psychic Fair is actually both Saturday and Sunday. 10 am to 7 pm Saturday/ Noon to 4 pm Sunday. Spiritways is located at 3301 E. Colfax, Denver Colorado.

And for those who are not aware of this yet, Tabatha Cicero is doing a new blog and has posted an entry on Westcott's Enochian Tablets. This brings up the number of blogs that I am following up to 185. Recently, Tabatha also did an article on Westcott's Enochian Tablets for Hermetic Virtue Magazine---and there will be an upcoming book on this subject (I forget who is publishing the book).

Why I dont use Opening by Watchtower more often

Jason Miller, over on his blog, just asked why all the ritual outlines we see tend to start with LBRP or LBRH, and not the Opening by Watchtower, when doing practical magic in the Golden Dawn/Modern Magick context.

(For the sure-to-stumble-upon-this-post newbie: LBRP---Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram; LBRH---Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram; Modern Magick is the title of a book by Donald Michael Kraig, which has became the core textbook for a lot of people.)

I am not sure that I have a good answer for him. For that matter, I am not sure if I am in the context that he is talking about. I presume that I am. If not, *shrugs*.

So here is my personal answer, I generally skip the LBRP and LBRH in my own workspace; it is used for lodge and ritual related work mainly, so I only occasionally have to clean up after a non-ritual use. But I teach that if your ritual room is used for something else, then one really should do the Lesser Rituals of Banishment.

(The use of the room by the cats do not count...though occasionally I do wonder what they are doing with the simple Enochian Chess set.)

And most of my rituals start with the proper Opening of the Grade that I am working in. The kicker is that the Opening by Watchtower is not part of any of the Golden Dawn Openings that my Order uses. Therefore, I do not spend a lot of time working with it. (There is Enochian in the Openings, but not this particular ritual.)

As for the greater Golden Dawn/Ritual Magick community not using the Opening by Watchtower more often, I would venture the guess that they are taking their cue from what they see other people doing. Given the fact that most are learning from reading books and other material, it is natural for them to think of this as the proper way of doing things. If you see a hundred outlines saying that the Lesser Rituals of the Pentagram and Hexagram is the proper way to start, and only one that says otherwise, you tend to go with the majority opinion.

I learned practical magic by observing actual people doing the work, therefore I picked up a different set of habits. Of course, one wonders how the people who showed me Our Arte and Craft overlooked the fact that most of the Regardie examples start off with the Lesser Rituals of Banishment. Then again, one wonders how the Modern Magick community have ignored Kraig's examples. I know the answer to the former, but not the latter.

If you have a better answer than mine, please hop over to Jason Miller's blog and tell it to him.

Blogger Reading List Bug

As I noted on my writing blog yesterday, there currently seems to be a bug involving the Blogger Reading List. I can read some of the blogs that I follow (150 plus and not all openly) in Google Reader, but not all of them are showing up there. So if you wrote something brilliant and are upset because I did not comment about it...well, there is a chance I just have not seen it yet, and have no idea that you have updated your blog. And if it is a bug, then odds are that you haven't read this update on my blog either.

In the busy season I read blogs

I haven't blogged much lately. Or done much of anything else lately (I did take some photos of some of my wife's jewelry, but have yet to edit the photos). Reason: it is the busy end of the Spring semester (papers to be wrote, books to be read, quizes to take).

I have jotted down some notes for a few more cards in my Magic The Gathering NOT series. Debating when poking fun at someone goes too far. There is a card I want to do that is based on the collective wisdom and rumors surrounding a real person. Decisions, decisions.

In the meantime, as I avoid a certain amount of homework and studying, here are a trio of the blogs that I have been reading. Warning: they are not Golden Dawn related.

There is a great post on Seth Godin's blog about the Bully-Victim Cycle. "Being a bully is a choice, and falling for this cycle, permitting it to continue, is a mistake."

Julien Smith over on Copyblogger wrote an entry on one-star book reviews that have been posted on Google. “Like ‘The Secret’ for Aspergers patients”

Ed Stein has drawn a political cartoon commenting on the demise of the US space program. "We somehow became a nation more obsessed with cutting taxes and spending than with exploring the universe."

What I am reading 2 March 2011

It is now time for another espisode of what I am reading.

But first a rant...

D*** computer quit crashing on me. I do not like it when you just shut off without any warning. I don't care if it is a bad update, a flash issue, or overheating and electrical problem. Just quit bloody crashing! You are killing my productivity.

Sorry about that, but there is a slight chance that the post I am currently writing will be interrupted by a sudden "I do not want to work fit" by this computer.

So what have I been reading on the blogosphere lately?

First up, Tori Alexander has written a blog post about how to write a book review. This is something that I occasionally wish some of the more rabid reviewers on Amazon would read. Not that it would do any good. My own training in book reviewing (ignoring K-12) has been in history and literature classes (more in history than literature). Not that my book reviews make anyone happy, but at least some of my techniques are right.

Second up, the latest broadside in the great magical energy debate is over on Magian Runination. While
I have not been commenting on the dust-up, I have been following it. I have learned a few things, including the fact that perhaps the Egyptians had a good reason to place more importance on the heart than the brain.

Third up, Susanne Iles has painted a wonderful painting imnspired by the first verses of creation commentary from the Bahir. I really like her artwork. I wish I was as good as an artist or kabbalist as she is.

And finally a great quote from Dionysian Atavism from an open memo from the black brotherhood to the ascended masters of the universe:

We know you're concerned about the spread of The Witchcraft, and The Wiccaz. Don't worry. With further influence from Stregha circles, soon Harry Potter fans will have a new target. We understand that they are not “spiritually enlightened” in the same way that you are, but surely you can at least admit that the Potterites give one a sense of amusement. At their expense, of course. But then – isn't the universe laughing with all of us, anyway? In any event, would you might telling some of your more annoying Adepts to drop that shit when it comes to bitching about witches? It's getting old, already. Don't they have enough all-powerful angel-summoning rituals to perform, rather than pestering us about what we're up to?

I am not completely sure what I have missed, but obviously someone is belly-aching somewhere. I wasn't aware that there was gathering horde of witches to expel---which is a crying shame considering I haven't taken part in a good looting in ages. Oh, opps, I just admitted to be part of the gathering Wiccan horde, haven't I? On the Harry Potter note, while I must admit that my high school had the same colors, we had a much lamer mascot (a beet digger does not exactly inspire awe in anyone). Someone please send me the information about when and where the raiding party is leaving from.

Anyways, that is what I have been reading on the blogosphere lately. Have a good evening everyone.

Stuff I am reading today Part Two

There is a belief that in order to be a writer that you must read. There is also a belief that reading sometimes is just an excuse for not writing. That would be true for me today.

Gordon over at Runesoup posted examples of ways to use the probability control aspects of magic to accomplish bigger results. He gives examples of Job Hunting, Love Hunting, Wealth Advancement, Career Advancement, and Glamours. One of the glamour examples I am going to have to try is the "Big Ears" the next time I have to interview someone.

Over at Postmodern Magic (name of the writer so escapes me), there is a post about invoking Och for wellness and coming down with a cold. This is something that all experienced healers are familiar with. The very next post that was posted mentioned an article that explains that perhaps this is exactly the result that one should end up with whne invoking for increased health.

And here is a great quote. Seth Godin said, "Organizations have always been good at title inflation, because it's free and it serves their purposes. The net, though, makes it easy to see what the hierarchy actually looks like, so it's better to just be clear, I think." I think that some lodge organizations need to learn this lesson. It makes me rather glad that I just claim to be an elected officer of a small Golden Dawn lodge, much less chance of getting egg on my face that way.


Another great quote for today comes from Elysia one of Llewellyn Books' acquisitions editors (Witchcraft), who was talking about a recent statement that the Pope made about religious freedom. Elysia said, "It is also painfully ironic that the Pope has said, 'It is painful to think that in some areas of the world it is impossible to profess one’s religion freely except at the risk of life and personal liberty.' Well, that’s kind of been your game for centuries, hasn’t it?" I almost had to clean my keyboard. And I must agree with her, the Pope coming out and complaining about Christians being persecuted is the pot calling the kettle black.

And finally, there is a great definition of Kabbalah for Wiccans and pagans posted by Frater Barrabbas. I am so borrowing that one for sharing among my lodge. (What? You think that I am going to work hard and reword it? No, I am lazy and could care less about my fellow lodge members knowing who my sources are.)

Anyways, that concludes my reading for today. Hopefully, tomorrow or Monday I can get my motivation to show up and actually write something (Sunday is lodge, so there is no hope there). As for the rest of today, I have to clean out litter boxes, feed cats, do some other minor chores before heading to tonight's Open Full Moon ritual.

Stuff I am reading today Part One

Here is some of the stuff that I am reading today (instead of working on whatever writing that I was supposed to be doing today):

Neil Gaiman is trying to get writers and other creative people (those who are creating intellectual property) to create (and update) their wills. Personally, I know that much of my work would disappear if I am not careful on this front. The same people are upset with my choice of profession and religion would do their best to make sure that my work is never seen again. I can imagine them taking my common-law wife to court to ensure that my writing disappears. Sad, but true. And as a community, we know the problems that not leaving a clear will stating your wishes creates. There are several occult writers that I really hope that have their wills properly filled out.

Witch Doctor Joe talks about pagan shops and one of the problems that he encountered while doing his charity fund raising. Joseph Merlin Nichter is a volunteer Wiccan Chaplin in California, and has wrote a book, Carcer Via for inmates practicing Wicca while in prison. Joe has been selling the book both online and at the local occult stores in his neighborhood with the proceeds going to furnish inmates with free copies of the book. One of the central California occult shop owners seem to be missing the point of the entire exercise. Heaven forbid that we place charity above the bottom line.

Dharmaruci (Astrotabletalk) has an astrology chart for Julian Assange, and some comments about Wikileaks and its founder. Talking about the possibility of an UFO cover-up, Dharmarcui says that "applying a sort of reverse logic to the Wikileaks phenomenon, if something doesn’t eventually appear on Wikileaks then it probably didn’t happen!" Sorry guys, but I have to agree with Dharmarcui's logic; it is very unlikely that there has ever been an UFO cover-up.


This concludes part one of today's installment of Stuff That I am Reading today...stay tuned for more stuff.

Interesting blog post by Alex Sumner

Alex Sumner just posted an interesting blog post about a Golden Dawn ritual that he found in the collection at the Freemason Library and Museum in London. It is a ritual method of vibrating ADNI Ha-AReTz to unite with one's personal Kether. Well, I found it interesting; I plan on experimenting with it after the semester is over. Enjoy.