Tenth annual Smashwords July ebook sale

It is once again time for Smashwords annual July ebook sale (July 1st to 31st).

(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.)


Discounted to $1.50 USD

Five Reasons Why Magic Fails

Golden Dawn Rituals--Three Officer Neophyte Script*

Rite of the Magical Images of the Wiccan Sabbats*

Witchy Rants (the Collected MDE Heaarthstone Community Church Newsletter articles)*

Denver Witch Quarterly: To Curse, Or Not To Curse--The Big Cursing Issue (Samhain/Yule 2016)

Denver Witch Quarterly: Wealth and the Lucky Witch (Imbolc/Ostara 2017)

Denver Witch Quarterly: Evil Witches Bind President Trump and His Administration--also Occult Writers and Payment (Beltane and Lithna 2017)

Gaius Corbin: Light Out of Darkness--Lux E Tenebris (Thelema and the Necronomicon)



Free ebooks on Smashwords

Denver Witch Quarterly: A Modest Magazine Proposal

MDE Hearthstone: Pizza Boxes on the Floor (2010)

MDE Hearthstone: Bad Monkey (2011)

MDE Hearthstone: Lunatic With a Soapbox (2012)

MDE Hearthstone: Biggest Witch on the Block (2013)

MDE Hearthstone: Thirteen Signs That Your Occult Teacher is Rotten (2014-2015)

MDE Hearthstone: Hex the Vote--Mad Uncle Morgan Talks About American Politics (2016)

Shakespeare's Monkey (a fiction and poetry collection)*

Esoteric Comedy Show: Assault With a Deadly Taco (Mad Uncle Morgan, I am--Your Face is Going to Freeze Like That)

Esoteric Comedy Show: Free Guns For Everyone--Lap Cats Are Good Too (A Big Gun Control Show)

This is one of my favorite book covers.

Why should a magician study astrology?

Why should magicians and witches study astrology? Because it is damn useful if you are working with either practical magic or spiritual development.

Now if you believe that rocks, bits of ice, and hot balls of super-heated gas have no effect upon you, then you can skip the rest of this and safely leave astrology out of your studies....because nothing I say will convince you otherwise.

And there are a lot of people who are just looking for an excuse, so that they do not need to study astrology. After all, astrology is complicated enough that you can spend an entire lifetime studying it; and who has that amount of time when you are busy trying to knife your way to the top of the food chain? Won't it just be better to study some form of chaotic new age woo woo that does not give any credit to the whole astrological nonsense?

And if you can reproduce the effects of astrological magic without resorting to the use of astrological magic, then good for you. Go forth with your bad-ass chaotic new age woo woo-ist self.

But some of us find that astrological based magic works pretty well.

There are two underlying assumptions beneath astrological magic. One is that the universe was set in motion by a divine force, and that there is a plan for the universe with the planets and stars being hands on a cosmic clock enabling one to figure out the current state of the universe and the people who inhabit it. The second assumption is that the celestial bodies are the bodies of supernatural intelligences who can influence events on Earth.

As such, a study of astrology will boost the effects of any magic cast at the right time and place, the act being imbued with the time stamp of the celestial bodies present in that moment. In other words, the moment that a spell is cast colors the spell, just like your birth moment colors your personality and potential.

And with the right techniques, one can overcome the effects of one's birth-chart with magic. For an instance, a person born under a sun in Virgo can over time become more like a person who was born under a Leo sun---if the magician desired such a change. And someone who had a crippled moon in a water sign could lessen the effect that transits of the moon had on one's daily emotions and reactions.

Now, it should be noted that such changes do happen naturally, but the changes come slowly and only work in one direction as one birth-chart progresses forward. The magician does not have to accept this snail-pace of change. A magician can override this slow gradual development and choose to be a product of an early century if they feel like putting in the work. Or a much later century. One should note that such a grand working would make it harder to interact and understand those of this century, but great mages are never concerned with the real world because of their unique nature and need to be greater than the drooling mass of humanity that surrounds them.

The basic way of working with astrological magic is though symbols. For instance, the fixed stars are associated by tradition with powers and entities, who in turn are associated with names, which are composed of magical alphabets and magical images. By using the images, one can use the forces of the energies of the celestial entity to work change in oneself and the world.

For those who are curious of what such symbols would look like, just take a look at the cards of a Tarot deck. Thanks to a great magus in the past, the stars are connected with the Hebrew alphabet, which in turn is associated with the Tarot cards. This is why one can both study astrology with a Tarot deck, as well as perform magic with a deck of cards.

So yes, the study of astrology is a long and hard process, but there are reasons to undertake it if you are a witch or magician. Bottom line: it is damn useful.

The Golden Dawn stance on marijuana

One of the difficulties with a large tradition that is decentralized, and ran by numerous independent operators--such as the modern Golden Dawn tradition--is that it is hard for such a system to come up with universal policies.


And some people expect universal policies--it disturbs them when the leaders of two different Golden Dawn Orders disagree about a policy, for they expect a certain level of agreement within the tradition.


One of the policies that I am watching develop and evolve currently is the tradition's viewpoint on marijuana use.


It used to be more or less universal that admitting that you used marijuana would get you a demerit in Golden Dawn---after all, marijuana was an illegal drug, and no Order wants its members to engage in illegal activities---it was an offense that would end your membership in a proper GD Order.


(In fact, one of the nasty rumors spread though one of the flare-ups of the Golden Dawn flame wars---that wonderful time when certain Orders tried to drag the reputations of their competitors though the mud, in an attempt to create a monopoly for themselves---was that the leadership of a certain branch of the Order was engaged in the illegal trade of marijuana. Interestingly enough, no one ever went to the cops...so it might have just been one of the numerous lies told during the heydays of the GD flame wars.)


A few years ago, I openly came out as a supporter of legal medical marijuana, and later as a supporter of legal recreational marijuana. A lot of people in high positions of Golden Dawn leadership wanted to see me openly expelled from the system for my political beliefs about the subject. (Hey, I heard though the grapevine what people were saying about me.) To their dismay, they learned that the branch of the system that I belonged to was not inclined to expel me for my political beliefs, anymore than they were inclined to expel me for being a loud mouth blogger.


Today, you literally have to check with your superiors in the system to know which way to jump on the issue of marijuana. Some Orders will still expel your ass for using it; others are doing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy; and some Orders are going "if it is legal in your state, then we guess that we have to accept the fact that you are allowed to use it."

(I do find it highly amusing that one of the parties that used to trot out the "and their Chief is guilty of trading in marijuana" is now saying "ok, we guess it is ok if your state voted to make it legal"....which just proves my suspicion that the rumor was always about destroying the reputation of another group, and getting more customers for themselves.)


 So where is the Golden Dawn tradition ultimately going to end up on this issue?


Given that the national view on pot is changing, with half of the United States being able to use medical marijuana, and citizens voting to let recreational use happen, plus the little fact that the Feds have started to ignore it on the state level (all the recent busts in marijuana legal states involve syndicate, money laundering, and transporting of pot into states where it is still illegal), I think it is only a matter to time before the Federal Government reclassifies marijuana as a drug more akin to alcohol than cocaine.


Once that happens, I think Golden Dawn as a whole in the United States is going to be forced to embrace the "do not operate under the influence" stance on marijuana, which is the same stance that the system has on the use of alcohol. In other words, do not show up to Order events under the influence, and do not perform magic under the influence.


(Well, more or less...I have heard rumors that some GD leaders do not allow the use of any mind-altering substances, including meds for depression and bi-polar---as in being on prescribed meds will get you expelled---a rumor that worries me to no end, considering that some people like myself actually need such drugs. [Note that I was NOT on meds when I was allowed into GD, so my mental state is acceptable to some without meds...still I am a better, nicer person when I am on my meds.] And the rumor always makes me wonder if said leaders drink coffee, liquor, and use sugar--all of which are mind-altering substances, not alone do magical ritual which also alters your mind.)


Now, at this point, someone always brings up Crowley and Thelema--the Thelemic stance on drugs is much more simpler thanks to the fact that the Book of the Law contains a line that can be read as being pro-drugs. One could argue that you cannot be true Thelemite without doing drugs.


But here is the thing, Golden Dawn is not Thelemic---Thelema is just another religion, and we have to respect all religions. (The reason that Thelemics get tossed out of GD circles is that they insist that everyone needs to follow the Book of the Law and act like Crowley; in other words, they openly disrespect other religions.) While we have to respect your religion, we are also allowed to say that you cannot attend lodge while under the influence---it is not a religious right to be a disrupting agent in lodge.


And shamanism, and voudoun, and what not, again Golden Dawn is not those things---therefore, the stance that those systems have on drug use does not apply to GD either. Golden Dawn techniques are meant to be used for people who are sober...well, soberish.


Now, I know that someone will say "Gee, Morgan, we presume that you are doing the happy drug, surely that means that you have to allow people under the influence into a meeting." No, in fact, given my experience with marijuana, I must insist that you should not be operating under the influence. Honestly, I have a hard time cooking dinner under the influence of some strains of marijuana, not alone calling the divine names in the correct order. If I can't do magic under the influence, I presume that no one can. And no, I am not going to watch as you try to prove that you are better at handling drugs.


(For the record, I am using marijuana because I get migraines that can last for days on end. My record is twenty-two days. Given that fact, I think that my open support of legal pot is understandable.)


To recap: Do not operate under the influence, and "don't ask, don't tell," and stay legal.

Don't you hate it when dinner becomes a math problem?

Magic is NOT for everyone

Late last night, a person posted, in the Golden Dawn Facebook group that I help moderate, that they and their partner were in the process of creating a new course. This course is to be aimed at a mainstream audience, so it could not be too occult--but they are planning on cherry picking techniques from Golden Dawn and other systems...so essentially the occult would be disguised. And most importantly, the course had to be effective and reliable for the average individual in western society--all in the name of empowerment.

To say I have a few problems with this idea would be understating things. Personally, I think that the whole idea is a giant bag of poo. Here are a couple of comments that I made about it before the entire discussion got deleted (and not by me...I think that the original poster did not like what I had to say about his project):

"My mind keeps coming back to a problem I see with aiming it at the average individual---your average person is averse to change; your average person is averse to work. So unless you are making another "Law of Attraction" level course (most LOA stuff is...well, flawed---the only real work most of it does is to transfer money from the clients pockets to the person running the course), you have to figure out a way to make your average person accept change, and a way to make them actually work at the process."

"Unfortunately, GD methods are full of change and work....so you are probably going to have to lose this part of your course plan if you want your course to appeal to your average individual."

"And yes, if I was to create a course myself, aimed at the average individual, I would not go for anything more than happy New Age talk aimed at confirming that individual's opinion and biases are absolutely correct....because that is the amount of work and change that your average individual is willing to accept---absolutely no work and no change at all. Therefore, all the GD stuff has to be left out....along with the working bits of any other spiritual development system."

When the person shot back that they want to create human beings that think--I merely rolled my eyes...I have seen what passes nowadays as "critical thinking" training (basically if you do not agree with what the creator of the course thinks, you are labelled a troublemaker and showed the door). And I have seen firsthand the lack of actual thinking in this person's own postings on the internet, so I do not hold out high hopes that they can teach something that they themselves seem incapable of doing.

My "polite" parting shot was: "Here is the bottom line---if any of us knew how to accomplish this goal, we would be doing it already. And that includes you--if you knew how to pull this off, you would not be asking for input."

At this point of time, I was declared a defeatist by the other person, who then cited Gandhi, Einstein, and Tesla as people who had vision and had made a difference. It was right after this that I said "I guess that you are the Messiah."

I didn't get to say anything else because someone (and I think that it was the original poster, aka the creator of this "soon to revolutionize humanity" course) deleted the entire discussion.

Seriously, ideas like this worry me. Every course I have ever seen aimed at the masses is nothing more than a control and asset reallotment scheme (think like me, and give me your money! and feel good about yourself for making a difference....in other words, thanks for being gullible and buying me a new jet). And this individual's idea that people who subscribe to courses actually do the work is flawed---just look at the numbers of subscribers that pay for the BOTA course, who do not do a lick of actual work with the course...and that course is about empowerment and change.

No, the only real reason to create an occult course, no matter how watered down, aimed at the masses, Joe Q. Common, is that you are running a scam and want to fleece people of their hard-earned money, so that you do not have to work hard yourself.

If you actually want to make a difference, you aim at those individuals who can and are willing to become exceptional--you do not have to disguise the occult or make them feel good about themselves--and you never mistake them for the common herd.

Yes, magic is for all of you---and God wants you to send me your money because I need a new jet. 

A prayer for the asylum seekers down under

To magically affect the conditions in Australia. 

Oh Lord and Lady, please soften the hearts of those who believe that asylum seekers are simply parasites. Show them that all human beings are worthy of compassion, health, and kindness. So mote it be.

Night time satelite view of Australia. 

Australia--the land down under. 

Poor magicians

One of the reasons that I am welcome as a plague in certain circles is the simple fact that I became a magician to keep the wolf away from the door. I am not in the esoteric arts for spiritual development or to be a service to mankind; I am here merely because I was looking for a big enough stick to smack the wolf on the nose and survive the crisis of being a poor kid and young adult.

Now, there are some that will roll their eyes, and ask how poor could I have been when I entered the field. Let's see, my father lost everything that he owned; I am the oldest of eight kids; and I grew up constantly wondering if I would have a roof over my head tomorrow. Plus, where my next meal was coming from was always a concern. I wore whatever could be brought at yard sales for a quarter. When I left home, I joined the military...because I was poor. I was a high school dropout that got bad grades because my folks could not afford a real babysitter. And I worked twenty years in food service making minimum (or just above) wages.

And if you still don't believe that I know what it is like to be poor, just remember that I have done Tarot readings and practical spells for the payment of government surplus cheese and peanut butter--because all I had to offer was my skill as a magician, and all my clients had to offer was some food (which I was very glad to eat).

Just admitting this stuff bars me from entry to certain select circles. Part of it is simply misunderstandings of what magic is. [If you want to know why I started to think about these matters today, go read this entry on Aaron's blog.]

Talk to most people in the Golden Dawn/Western Mystery Tradition community (and this includes Thelema and Wicca) and you will hear that the purpose of the mysteries is spiritual development and service to mankind. In fact, there are groups that will bar you from entering if you say anything other than those two reasons for wanting to join. Anything else, especially practical magic, is viewed as black magic and power seeking.

But this is what the documented record of Western magic is all about--weather magic, power magic, legal magic, treasure magic, health magic, love magic--all about fulfilling basic needs in a hostile wolf at the door world. Even alchemy was about the practical nine times out of ten. Yet we in the modern world are not allowed to have these needs or desires.

Why? Because H. P. Blavatsky tells us that it is wrong. Yes, the modern view that the only acceptable uses of magic are spiritual development and service to mankind comes straight out of the writings of Blavatsky, the mother of Theosophy. And the modern Orders have embraced this fact, rejecting anyone who admits that they actually need to practice practical magic. Blavatsky made the esoteric Orders into the mystic dreamlands they are today. You can mediate all you want on the glories of the divine, just don't attempt to better your life conditions with practical workings.

Therefore, we do not find truly poor magicians in the ranks of the Orders (unless they lied to get in). The members of a Law of Attraction group are always living above the poverty level. The members of your typical esoteric Order can always pay their annual dues, no matter how much they are. And people can charge hundreds of dollars to do workshops, to teach magic that does not actually work, because everyone who attends can afford for magic not to work. It is all theory and no practice because anything other than spiritual development and service is considered black magic.

In the meantime, people like myself tend to remain outside the Halls of the "True Mysteries" working our small low practical spells, hoping to keep the wolf from the door for one more day. We are simply too poor to be worthy of proper training. And Heaven forbid that we ever decide to retake the mysteries back; after all, we are the unwashed, unsaved, impure masses.

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.

Remains of the Undesirables (Open Full Moon follow-up)

For those who attended the June Hearthstone Community Church's Open Full Moon Ritual, where I told three slightly warped myths, and for those who could not attend (but are still curious): Here is a picture of the remains of the "undesirables," those things that we did not want to have in our lives anymore. (Information for those who did not attend:) We gathered a little note from everyone stating something that they did not want in their lives, and placed the notes in a shoebox coffin and duct-taped it shut. The shoebox was burned in the possession of the other lodge members that weekend (because it wrong to burn things in a church that has already suffered a major fire). We discovered that duct tape burns faster than paper and cardboard---a helpful tip that I might use for magical effect in the future (I do a lot of fire sacrifice magic). The reason for the photo being posted so late is simply that it has been sitting in the camera for days on end.

Harry Potters Wand

Over on the Golden Dawn Group (yahoo forum), there is currently a discussion going on about wands and their use. Being the clown that I am, most of my thoughts about wands and their use are irrelevant.

Nevertheless, I am going to share some of them with you. Free feel to mock me in the comment section.

Before the current semester started, I was reading the Harry Potter books. In my defense, it is my first time reading any of them past the first two books; and considering that the Fall 2011 senior seminar in Literature is going to be Children Classics for Adults (The Hobbit, A Winkle in Time, Alice in Wonderland, and other books which titles escape me at the moment), I thought I would finish the series before the summer was over (I am only 23% of the way though book 5---Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix---so I do have a ways to go still). And during the course of my reading, I decided that I want Potter's wand (or one of the same family).

While we joke in ceremonial circles (or at least I do), that Harry Potter's wand is a wimpy wand (it is so small)---just look at the stuff that wand can do. My own wand can barely convince the cat to get off the kitchen counter. In fact, my cat thinks that the lotus is good for itching his face against. (I get no respect, I tell you.)

As for the amount of information about wand use that I have picked up in Golden Dawn circles, well before dealing with my current Advanced Adept Advisor, it mainly came from the Thelemic Golden Dawn (which I spent a year in). Or at least, the information that the rest of the Golden Dawn community would find acceptable.

(Hathoor Temple did have some teachings about the wands and their use, but the information is not the type that the rest of the Golden Dawn community embraces. It is one of those times that if you only know Regardie's stuff, then the practices of a working lodge look highly wrong and downright awful.)

Honestly, as I noted in a post to the wand discussion (whether it was true or just a joke is for the reader to decide), I picked up more about proper wand use when I was a kid and studying sleight-of-hand and stage magic. One of the things that has been said in the discussion is that a wand is supposed to be used without thinking about it (you know it so well it is an extension of you). That sums up what a stage magician would say about using a wand, if you ignore the bits about distraction and showmanship.

There is a section in one of the Potter books (it may be in one of the movies also) where part of learning a spell is practicing the proper swishing motion with the wands. Outside of practicing the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram in a group setting, both in TGD and in a couple of classes at the local occult shops, I have no training in how to "swish" a wand correctly. (Or is it "swosh"?)

My current Advanced Adept Advisor has addressed some of these issues with me. (If you are curious, they belong to the awful and completely wrong version of Golden Dawn, especially if you think Regardie is the only way to do things.) I pass the information onto my lodge (which makes them completely and utterly wrong also).

Another thought about the wands in the world of Harry Potter: the core of the wands contain magical stuff. In the case of Harry's and Voldermort's wands, it is a phoenix feather (both from the same bird). This reminds me of two things.

First, the Golden Dawn Fire Wand which contains an iron rod that is magnetized (if you go by the literature). Second, it reminds me of the liquid condensors of the Franz Bardon school of magic. Make what you will of those two ideas.

My final thought about wands for today is how flashy some of the wands are in the occult shops and on the internet. Crystals wrapped with feathers wired to a tree branch. And all for the sweet price of a couple of hundred dollars. I am sorry...is it a cat toy? Or something else?

(And if you are curious, my wands, like my Enochian Chess set, are runner-ups in the world's ugliest and worst made magical tools. Blame it on me making them myself.)

Differing definitions of magic

Today, I spent the day writing Law of Attraction articles in my mode as a copywriter. (To the person, who thinks that the Law of Attraction is just a New Age gimmick, just remember that there is a market for these articles and I do need to make a living---who am I to deny myself a living?) Or to be more exact, I finished one five hundred word article (pending cool-down and final edit before submission) and started several others. (I also pulled some weeds, did some laundry and dishes if you are curious.)

During the writing of these Law of Attraction articles, I caught onto the fact that I am using at least two definitions of magic. Around ordinary non-magical people, I am using magic to mean "instant results"; with students of the occult, I am using magic to mean (more or less) "a tool to manifest coincidences."

Either definition will make everyone happy. And I am quite sure that the students of the occult will be more upset with me...especially considering both definitions will be viewed as completely wrong by the most vocal of magicians. For the record, I was copywriting with the expected audience being normal everyday people...you know those people who have never see the inside of a lodge or circle (those whom the only experience they have with magic is the Harry Potter Hollywood Dungeons and Dragons style).

I did find it interesting that I was insisting that the Law of Attraction is not magic, despite the fact that it sure seems to work by the same laws. Again, I was copywriting (my name is not going to be attached to this stuff) for ordinary people...I have to use the vocabulary and definitions that they are familar with.

Anyway, now that you know what my definitions are, I am curious about yours---please leave your definition of magic in the comment section---and if you are using a different definition depending upon who you are dealing with.

Practical magic's missing half

The other day, a friend of mine asked me if I had seen any results from a ritual that we did earlier in the year. I had to say No. I also had to explain why I haven't seen any results yet.

Quite simply I am missing the most important half of the working---actually getting off the sofa and doing some work.

In my defense, it has been a busy semester (everyone I talk to is having a "What is due tomorrow?" semester where you are turning in homework with the ink still wet, and you simply never catch up).

I knew that I was going to have to delay the practical side of the working until later in the year. It was a group ritual, and I aimed for increased money flow. In order to increase my money flow, with or without the use of magic, I know that I have to actually get some writing done before I could even hope for the spell to kick in.

Which brings up the question: Have you gotten up off the sofa since the last ritual that you did? If not, why not? Do you really expect magic to...well...work like magic?

Is this a two by clue?

The big question of the day for me: Does recieving the same occult book again when you are positive that you ordered something else constitute a hint that despite one's time crunch that one should really be working with it?

Yes, I recieved a duplicate book yesterday in the mail. I believe that it is simply a messed up order, but one always like to be sure about these things.

The universe I live in starts off with subtle hints, and then works its way up to two by clues (a phrase stolen from a friend).

When I ordered a copy of this book the first time, I looked at it and said "I do not have time to properly work though this at this time." I am looking at the second copy with the same feeling.

Now I do plan on working with it...but I am not sure if I should give it a higher priority number or not.

For the record, I do feel that I am guided. Some of my earliest magics as an occultists was book finding magic. But I am not sure in this instance.

In this case, it may not be my luck, just a bad shipping center. I did have to complain about my order not shipping once already.

(For the record, I am not going to name the publisher, the book, or the shipping center. I used to run a business; I know how easily mistakes happen.)

Why Golden Dawn officers frown on the use of drugs for magical purposes

There is something that needs to be stated about why Golden Dawn lodge officers (this includes the RR et AC and mythical Third Order) frown on drug use for magical purposes. Not only are drugs illegal (as an organization, we do not like having any meeting end with a police raid), drugs lead to random illuminations at best, delusions that you are spiritually advancing at worse.

It does not matter if drugs kill brain cells.

What matters is that drugs sensitizes the energy bodies, leaving one open to suggestion from any wandering entity that comes by. If you are lucky, they are higher in the chain than you are; if you are unlucky, they are less evolved than you are. Drugs also inflate the ego and lower passions.

Golden Dawn is about bringing a person to a certain energetic and spiritual place. The use of drugs in magic and spiritual development randomizes this process, and works against what Golden Dawn is trying to accomplish.

Our Magic is about control. It is not about visiting random spots in the universe, nor is it about making you feel better. Our Philosophy concerns controlled evolution. Randomness and the lack of controls works against what we are doing.

This is my official opinion as a lodge officer.

Who is my audience?

Lately, I have been kicking around the question of who is my audience. A little bit more than I normally do.

Part of it is the fact that I am starting another semester of writing for Campus Connections, the student newspaper of the Community College of Denver. And we just switched editors, so it is time to refocus what the paper aims for.

Now, a lot of this refocus for me is cleaning up my astrology column based on what I learned last year. But some of it is simply trying to figure out who reads the college newspaper in the first place. Outside of myself and a couple of friends I do not know anyone who reads Campus Connections. (And I read anything, especially if I am bored, so I am not a typically reader. Plus I am a non-traditional student.)

But the question extends past the newspaper. Who exactly is reading my stuff?

I think the high point of pondering the mystery of my audience came recently when I was writing an article on money spells to post on Associated Content. Should I aim for people who know something about magic and money spells (why are they reading AC if they already know something) or should I aim for everyone who does not know the first thing about magic?

In the end, I tossed another item on the stack of beginner's material, doing just a simple money spell that in theory anyone can do. It boiled down to a pageview answer. I just don't think that there are that many advanced people out there to justify writing something complicated (I could be wrong).

What I would really like to see is a market study of the pagan/wiccan/ceremonial magic readership. One that does not rely solely on guessing the audience profile based on the number of books sold (if you go just by the numbers, only beginner pagan/wiccan and new age books and articles should be written). But I am betting that if such a study existed, it would be a trade secret. Alas, I can dream.

Whole Nutmeg

There are times that I really notice that I am a wicca and ceremonial magician.

Yesterday, my wife and I were at Whole Foods (formerly Wild Oats) shopping. And in the spice aisle, I spotted a jar of whole (non-ground) nutmeg.

My first thought was "What type of spell or incense would you use nutmeg for?"

It was not "What type of recipe would that be good for?" or "How would you grind that up?"

No, my mind went directly towards the estoric. Kinda scary, isn't it?

(And for the record: yes, I did buy it. Now, I just need to figure out what I am going to use it for.)

Hammer and Chisel

One of the things that can be said about occultism is the tendency of many to write about it in an extremely dense manner, so wordy that one needs a hammer and chisel to figure out what they are going on about. This may or may not be a bad thing depending upon what your purposes are. If your purpose is to figure out what the writer is going on about, it is a bad thing; if you are trying to conceal something, then it is a good thing.

I was reminded of this today when a new writer got added to my “What is this writer prattling on about” list. I tried to figure out what they were talking about, but gave up after a few minutes and several articles. If I want to work at chiseling meaning out of something dense and convoluted, I have pretty of university homework to do.

Basically, if it takes you forever to get to your point, or if it is concealed under layers of nonsense, I wander off and start doing something else. I suspect that the same is true of many readers.

So why do people write about the occult, and magic, in such a manner? My current theory is that they are trying to conceal how much ignorance they have about the subject; they figure if they imitate the classical writers on the subject (or academic writers) that no one will notice that they have not a clue. Or that they are trying to attract a following that associates that style of writing with knowledge and scholarship.

Personally, I just find it easier to admit that I don’t know everything. It saves time and effort for both me and my readers.