Please, Throw Away Your Trash

Embrace every aspect of yourself, even the darkest, most painful and wicked parts of your psyche. Become a whole human being, not a fragmented creature who is in denial of the trash they house within ... love yourself, every bit of you. Such a position is not a new one, but it is one that I have been coming across as of late and thought I'd very briefly comment on.

The argument runs something like this: The goodness that many think they are is a lie, a falsehood, a sham created  in order to make themselves appear good and righteous, both to others and to themselves. This lie, this denial of the darker aspects of the self ( i.e., the shadow) bifurcates the psyche and causes a whole host of mental, emotional, and physical problems. By becoming conscious of the shadow and embracing it, one becomes whole and healthier. Moreover, one lives in truth rather than a lie.

With just a little bit of honest introspection I'm sure we can all find some previously undiscovered trash scattered about our minds. We are indeed deluding ourselves if we think our house is clean. Becoming conscious of the shadow is indeed important. But being conscious of the shadow is not the same thing as accepting and welcoming the darker aspects of the shadow into one's life. I find the very notion that we should love and accept ourselves (and that others should love and accept us) just as we are, trashy-dark-shadow side included, to be rather repulsive. Trash stinks! By accepting one's trash and permitting it to remain one will always stink. I believe it would be more healthy (and sanitary) if people would locate the trash housed within their psyche and haul it to the dumpster where it belongs. "Personal growth," ... I think that's what it's called.

So You Don't Believe In Magic!

"Bulgarian magician Orfi" by Nikolaeva84 CC BY-SA 3.0

A long standing proposition for many within the magical community (both past and present) has been that belief in the efficacy of magic is a necessary prerequisite for any magical operation to be successful. With just a little bit of reading one can see that this proposition is upheld by both traditional and non-traditional magical practitioners alike. Yet, my personal success at attaining results through magical technique devoid of belief in the efficacy of magic clearly demonstrates (to me at least), that belief is not a necessary element for magical success. Interestingly, there was even one occurrence (during a particularly "dangerous" evocation) where I was afraid that the magic might work that I attained some incredible results. It should be pointed out that I did not "disbelieve" in the utility of magic, but rather held to the notion that it might be effective. I'm not sure if magical success can be had while disbelieving its efficacy, but I am convinced that non-belief in magic while leaving open the possibility that it might work does not ensure failure.(Interestingly, it is my magical successes (devoid of a belief in the utility of magic) that has begun to nurture a belief in the power of magic to bring about results.)
So, I say, give magic a try even if you have doubts about the ability of magic to manifest your desires. As long as you leave enough room in your head for the idea that magic might work, you may just be surprised at the results.   

Let Us Just ...

photo credit: Kool Cats Photography over 2 Million Views via photopin cc

 
                                             Let Us Just ...

                             Let us just be together for a moment 

                             and enjoy the stilled silence 

                             where no words need be spoken.

                             Let us just feel together for a moment

                             and watch the darkness overtake the twilight.

                             Let us just cherish each other for a moment

                             before the torrent of life takes us away yet again.

Working With The Expansive Energies Of Jupiter

Working with the sphere of Jupiter can be rewarding. Since Jupiter’s energies are primarily concerned with expansion and increase, they facilitate “the more” in one’s life and thus can lead to wealth, prosperity and abundance (among other outcomes). For those among you who plan to work with Jupiter to attain this “abundance,” I would just like to offer a word of caution and some advice.

While your Jupiter working may be intended to bring about a positive outcome, you should be fully aware that the energies of Jupiter are quite capable of manifesting unintentional and unwanted negative side effects through your magic. My recent encounter with Jupiterian energies is a good case in point. Having recently found myself burdened with some unexpected debt, I was quite pleased to receive a general Jupiter blessing from Rufus Opus, author of Head For The Red blog (link to the blessing). The day after receiving this blessing it became clear to me that my debt would easily be accommodated. I would be able to pay off the debt by tapping into some vacation pay. This was a sweet deal. A harder pill to swallow was that I also found myself “asked” to pick up an additional shift at work for a couple of weeks. This expansion of my weekly wages, however, though helpful, came at a cost – working sixty-five hours a week for an undetermined period of time. The expansion of my work week was not only unintentional but unwanted as well. I have come to consider it as negative fallout from RO’s blessing.

My brief brush with the energies of Jupiter, while not entirely pleasant, has been informative. I have learned something of the sphere of Jupiter and wish to pass my meager reflections on to you, especially with respect to mitigating some of the negative fallout that may be experienced through working with Jupiter’s energies.

Prior to any Jupiter operation one should ask him or herself a few simple questions.

1. Do I need more?

2. Do I want more?

3. Can I handle more?


If you can answer “yes” to 1-3 or 2 and 3, any negative ramifications of your Jupiter working should be minimal. If you cannot, then I suggest you rethink your desire for “the more” of Jupiter. You can certainly do a Jupiter working if you can answer “yes” to 1 and 3, but the negative repercussions will be substantially higher.

Lastly, make sure you provide some intended avenues through which the expansive energies of Jupiter can flow. In my case, the energies of Jupiter where not directed (i.e., general blessing) and they took the easiest path to manifestation through my only source of income – my job. In other words, make sure any Jupiter working has an intended and specified sphere or field to expand. But be sure to have these spheres or fields in place before the Jupiter working, as Jupiter’s energies often come on quickly.

Can You Recognize Bullshit When You Encounter It?

Can you recognize bullshit when you encounter it? If you can, think again. According to Harry G. Frankfurt, renowned moral philosopher and professor of Philosophy Emeritus at Princeton University, we only have a vague understanding as to what constitutes bullshit. Thankfully, to help redress our imprecise understanding of bullshit, H. G. Frankfort has, with his penetrating analytical mind, provided us, in his work entitled On Bullshit, with a philosophical analysis of bullshit with the aim of devolping a theory or theoretical understanding of bullshit. Does Frankfort’s work smell of bull doody? I highly recommend that you read this small publication to determine the answer for yourself. It is a great read!

I have reproduced the first two paragraphs of On Bullshit below so that you may have a better understanding of the author’s intentions, as well as to (hopefully) whet your appetite for a deeper understanding and appreciation of bullshit.

One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit.  Everyone knows this.  Each of us contributes his share.  But we tend to take the situation for granted.  Most people are rather confident of their ability to recognize bullshit and to avoid being taken in by it.  So the phenomenon has not aroused much deliberate concern, nor attracted much sustained inquiry.

In consequence, we have no clear understanding of what bullshit is, why there is so much of it, or what functions it serves. And we lack a conscientiously developed appreciation of what it means to us. In other words, we have no theory. I propose to begin the development of a theoretical understanding of bullshit, mainly by providing some tentative and exploratory philosophical analysis. I shall not consider the rhetorical uses and misuses of bullshit. My aim is simply to give a rough account of what bullshit is and how it differs from what it is not—or (putting it somewhat differently) to articulate, more or less sketchily, the structure of its concept.(On Bullshit, pp. 1-2.)

Will The Real Truth Please Stand Up.

A few days ago I had a brief discussion with Kalvin. The conversation was short and not very meaningful UNTIL I questioned myself as to whether Kalvin was a real entity or a delusion. Was I conversing with an entity or was I making the whole conversation up in my head? Kalvin got a little irritated that I continued to question his/her existence and instantly demonstrated to me how easy it would be for me to accept his/her existence. In that moment I oscillated between holding Kalvin to be a reality and doubt. This then set off a series of meditations on the nature of reality, belief, truth, knowledge, and reality manipulation. What appears below is some of my thoughts regarding the aforementioned topics. They are recorded here primarily for my own benefit… to establish a foundation for future explorations into my developing models of reality and their practical applications. If anyone gains some benefit from what follows, so much the better.

t=subjective truth/belief

T=objective truth/the real

K= True Knowledge


All human knowledge is subjective truth or belief (t). Such knowledge should be considered as truth claims based upon personal experience and thought. Only when a truth claim or belief (t) corresponds to an objective truth that exists independently of an individual’s thoughts (T) can such a claim or belief be considered True Knowledge. This model assumes that objective truth (T) exists and can be known. Question: By what mechanism can one gauge whether or not one’s subjective truths or beliefs (t) correspond to objective truth (T) and are thus True Knowledge (K)? Tentative answer: We are stuck with our own thoughts and experiences. We have no way of getting outside of ourselves, so we have no means by which to acquire True Knowledge (K) of objective truth (T). This does not deny the reality of objective truth (T), it merely indicates our inability to know that we posses True Knowledge (K).

If the above is correct, then we only have access to subjective truth (t) that is, for any number of reasons, erroneously elevated to True Knowledge (K). If all human knowledge is subjective truth (t), then no truth claim (t) is any truer than another (though it may be more advantageous to adhere to a particular truth claim over another). Ignoring the implications of this position on a large scale (forms of relativism), I would like to consider the impact of this position upon the individual. Knowing that one’s truths are subjective (t) is not the same as accepting them to be without reason or justification. They are bolstered by one’s experiences and thoughts. A person has a huge repertoire of experiences and thoughts to draw upon. Theoretically, such thoughts and experiences could be intentionally utilized to create beliefs or truths (t) that supersede those to which one already adheres. This is similar to the notion of paradigm shifting espoused by some Chaos magicians. I personally feel that paradigm shifting, if at all truly possible (I still question its possibility), is much more difficult and involved than what I am suggesting here.

What Is the Make And Model Of Your Magic?

Photo by alex-s available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license

Last week while driving to work I quite unexpectedly took notice of the many vehicles that shared the same road as me. I wondered what each of the many different vehicles said about the way their owners felt about themselves. Did that sturdy flatbed truck indicate that its owner feels (or wants to be perceived as) rugged? Did that outrageously expensive vehicle indicate that its owner feels (or wants to be perceived as) financially successful? Did that sleek speed demon indicate that its owner feels (or wants to be perceived as) powerful? In all honesty I do not know what (if any) feelings those objects speeding past me reflected from their owners. I do know from experience, however, that the vehicle one drives can be a window to the soul. When I was a teen a low riding Firebird would have said it all for me. In my case, however, owning a Firebird would not have said much about how I felt about myself. It would have spoken a great deal about how I wanted others to see me, however. Unfortunately (or fortunately), I could not afford to own that tiny bit of heaven and had to settle for a Plymouth Duster. While my Plymouth Duster did not speak as eloquently to others as I imagined a Firebird would have, it did say enough about me to suffice.

Anyway, while pondering the many vehicles speeding by and the personalities they may or may not reflect, I asked myself what if anything my vehicle reflected about me. While my Toyota Highlander may say a great deal about me to others, I quickly realized that I was not intentionally projecting anything through it to others. Feelings/thoughts about myself and my vehicle remained separate.

As so often happens nowadays when I think, my thoughts eventually turned to my magical practices and I asked myself if the practices I am engaged in are in any way connected to my feelings about myself or a need to present myself to others in a particular fashion. What I learned is that my current magical pursuits are much akin to my Highlander. My magical practices and how I feel about myself appear to be like water and oil. Oddly, this does not seem to be the case when I consider “demon” work. I have no interest in working with “demons.” However, I realize that the idea of working with “demons” does indeed invoke feelings of extraordinariness and power within me. What is more, I can see myself using “demon” work to project these feelings outward to demonstrate just how extraordinary and powerful I am.

So, my question to you is…”Are your magical practices and your feelings/thoughts about yourself intertwined and do you use those practices in a way that projects those thoughts/feelings to others?” As a follow-up I would ask…”Is using your magic to cause others to see you as you wish to be seen something negative?” I think it can be if you are lying to yourself as to why you are engaged in your practices or your particular tradition. If you are engaged with practices or a tradition in order to paint some picture of yourself in the eyes of others while telling yourself that you do so for other reasons, then you cheat yourself of the true benefits of working with those practices or that tradition.

Some Thoughts On The Great Work And Planetary Magick

For whatever reason, I am currently drawn to planetary magick and will probably be concentrating my efforts on acquiring more knowledge (and hopefully experience) on this segment of occult learning. Presently, I am reading Practical Planetary Magick by David Rankine and Sorita D’Este. I am not sure if this one source will be enough to get me where I want to be, but it certainly seems to be a decent introduction to the material. While I am mentioning reading material, I would like to give a plug to an article concerning the Olympic Spirits and their relationship to the planetary spheres/powers/gods by Nick Farrell. I found this article to be well worth the read.

As of late the idea of the “Great Work” (magnum opus) has been on my mind. Whether or not the concept of the Great Work has always had a spiritual dimension is debatable and I leave it to the reader to reach their own conclusions. Despite this, the term “Great Work” has come for many to signify the culmination of one’s spiritual pursuit. Apparently, exactly what the culmination of one’s spiritual pursuit consists of varies a great deal from author to author and from tradition to tradition. Some see it as a completion of one’s work while others, such as Crowley, intimate that it is a never ending quest (although some of his thoughts on the Great Work would seem to contradict this). What I have found rather frustrating is that many of the so-called definitions of the Great Work are so general that they are essentially useless to me. They are like someone suggesting that I get a diploma without anyone delineating the subjects of study and necessary requirements. When discussing the Great Work I think it would be advantageous to clearly articulate the qualities or characteristics that the Great Work bestows. At least that way, I can see the target and determine if I want to shoot my arrow in another direction.

One of the explanations that I have seen on multiple occasions concerning the Great Work with respect to planetary magick is that the term “Great Work” represents the culmination of the balancing within oneself of the seven planetary powers. This equalization of the seven planetary powers is oftentimes graphically expressed by the septagram (pictured below).

Balance in one’s life is certainly needed. However, I wonder if simply balancing the powers is enough. I tend to think that the planetary powers would manifest within an individual along a continuum ranging from the weak side to the strong side. If this is the case, then there is certainly a qualitative difference between a balance that occurs on the weak side as opposed to one that occurs on the strong side. Is one type of balance to be preferred over another? It is a judgment call, but my gut reaction is that a balance toward the strong end is to be preferred. An implication of this is that the Great Work would become, if the continuum is infinite on either end, a process rather than an end. But then again, maybe a balance at the zero point should be preferred. I certainly have much to think about.

When Your Wand Talks, You Should Listen

Well, there it is… my wand, in all its glory, still incomplete after two years. Around two years ago I purchased the wooden dowel from Magicians-R-Us (aka Walmart) and dedicated it to the Art at 3:00am under a full moon on a particularly auspicious morning. It was later coated with a consecrated white paint (purity of will/ intent/spirit) and then covered with a consecrated red paint (action/fire/will). At the time, red was suggestive of the strength or force needed to banish. At one end I painted the colors of the four elements and drilled a shallow hole down the center of the wand. It was my intention to place some type of fibrous material that had been soaked in water that had been charged with the four elements into the hole and then to seal the hole. It was also my intention to paint the other side of the wand with the planetary colors and place some water charged with the planetary powers in that end as well. To complete the wand, it would have been sealed with polyurethane. Then I would have a duel functioning wand. By rotating the wand I could banish either the elemental powers or planetary powers by whichever end pointed forward. Alas, intentions alone seldom deliver.

For whatever reason, just as I was drifting off to sleep the other day, quite out of the blue, without any prior thought to my wand, I had a vision of how my wand should look. It was a VERY SIMPLE design. I was utterly astounded by this vision and began to question why I should scrap the old design in favor of the new. My wand gave me the answer. Here is what it said:

One of the reasons I remain unfinished after two years is not because you are lazy, but because you are not motivated. You do not feel any pressing need to use me or any other magical tool. You have discussed your inability to want things in a prior blog post (the post my wand is referring to can be read here). However, you only scratched the surface. What you need to realize is that I am incomplete because you are quite comfortable with your life in spite of your inability to admit it to be so. You fight against yourself, unwilling to acknowledge your happiness in order to avoid feeling as though you have “given up.” If you need proof that you are more content than you realize, just look at me and ask why I remain unfinished.

The other reason I remain a work in progress is on account of something that runs very deep within you. You have nearly always been a seeker of God, Truth, a spiritual path, etc. Yet you have never found any belief or belief system to call your home. When confronted with a given philosophy/religion/belief you say, “Yes, maybe, but….” Now, I need power to be effective. Because you lack an external source of power you must find the power within yourself to construct and empower me. Because you have no roadmap (an existing system) to guide you, your choices concerning my completion will require much time and deliberation on your part. But when you do complete me, I will be as powerful as any magical tool ever created.

I might also add that you tend to make things more complicated than they need be. I have given you a vision as to how I could look. Are you able to let go of your need for complexity in order to posses me?

What can you, the reader, take away from all this? You will probably take very little, as my wand’s comments were for me alone. But what about your wand, or any of your magical tools? What do they say to you? I would be inclined to pay special heed to anything they say in unison.

Cages And Liberation

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you felt like you were trapped in a cage, where you had limited maneuverability and were unable to escape? I think we have all felt like this at one time or another. It is my view that such situations feel like cages (and can be recognized as “cages”) because one dislikes the situation in which one finds oneself. Perhaps the “cage” is too small or is constructed from unappealing material. Perhaps the “cage” keeper is neglectful and you don’t get fed regularly or perhaps you are trapped inside with an unpleasant cage-mate. Whatever the reason, it is obvious that some situations become unpleasant “cages” from which you hope to be set free. What is not so obvious is that situations we seek out, enjoy and strive to preserve are no less “cages.” These situations are seldom seen as “cages” because they are willfully self-generated. Such “cages” may be constructed from the finest of materials, spacious, comfortable and intentionally entered, but they are “cages” none-the-less. They limit one’s arena of activity and determine one’s behavior.

This not-so-novel realization came upon me in full force this past weekend. I realized with a great deal of clarity just how much of a “cage” I had been building by pursing an academic career (you can read my laments about my failure to finish the “cage” here and here). An academic career did not appear to be a “cage” at the time I was joyfully pursing it, but I can now, in retrospect, see how such a career would have circumscribed my life. What is more, this realization was accompanied by an intense sense of freedom (more like euphoria) at the thought of being free to pursue avenues of interest and behavior that would never have been “permitted” had I completed my gilded “cage.”

So, the moral of the story is:

“Cages” can be unpleasant. Liberate yourself from them if you can. “Cages” can be pleasant. If you like your “cage” and want to remain in it, you might want to increase its size to allow more maneuverability. If you find that the “cage” you have been trying to build won’t stand, consider and rejoice in the freedom that you have.

Why Continue To Pursue Magic?

In my last blog post I discussed why I began to pursue magic. That post can be read here. Currently, I have been plagued by one question – Should I continue to pursue magic? As I have already discussed in my previous post, I hoped to use magical techniques in conjunction with my efforts to become more engaged with mundane matters. Again, as I have already stated, somewhere along my life’s journey a concern for matters of a practical nature fell to the wayside. I am fairly sure that my spirituality is primarily responsible for bringing me to this point. However, rather than viewing this as a positive state, I found it (perhaps erroneously) to be an extreme- I had gone too far in the spiritual direction. Again, magic was to play a role in redressing this issue. But magic, at least magic that is effective is hard work. Much time is needed to learn about magic and a great deal of time is needed to do magic. The more I learn and practice magic the more my spiritual side screams out…”magic is a distraction to what is important.” So I find myself in the middle of a battle between my perceived need to willfully engage the world and the cry of my spirit to abandon mundane concerns. So, is magic that is used for practical issues a distraction that should be set aside?  Maybe it is so for me now, as a neophyte magus who needs to exert a great deal of time and energy to learn the Art. Perhaps magic will become less of a distraction as I gain familiarity with its use. Like the Buddha, I seek the Middle Path here. Unfortunately, that path is covered by undergrowth and hard to find.

Why Pursue Magic?

Why did I pursue magic? One obvious answer might be that I did so in order to attain my desires. While this may be a common motivation for many individuals, I now think that initially I began to pursue the study of magic in earnest not to get those things I desired but, somewhat paradoxically, in order to get those things that I did not yet desire. For whatever reason I thought magic would be a valuable tool to assist me in evoking or manifesting things in my life. Learning to evoke was important because I had reached a point in my life where I just accepted every turn of fate with no resistance. Whatever happened…happened.  My path in life had functioned like a banishing ritual where the motivation to strive for or accomplish anything had been expunged from me.  Some may say that this state of being is the true goal of the mystic or contemplative. For me, however, it was what is known in Buddhist parlance as an extreme.  It was an extreme of the unconcern for practical matters. I realized that I would never be a hermit or recluse; the vows I held precluded my withdrawal and kept me bound to the world. As such, my lack of concern with practical issues needed to be redressed.  For whatever reason I chose magic as the tool that would help correct this imbalance.  To my dismay, however, my will to evoke has not increased in proportion to my magical knowledge and I now find myself with a set of untapped skills. I find myself hard put to unearth ways to employ my magic. In many ways it is easier for me to identify those things that I do not want as opposed to those things I do want. I don’t want harm to come to my family, for example. I suppose turning such negatives into positives might be helpful. The desire for safety for my family might be something I could work with.

A Gift To My Daughter

Recently my daughter experienced some social relations difficulty with some friends at school. It was nothing too serious, just your typical teenage angst. Nevertheless, it was very upsetting to her and the situation caused some emotional turmoil at home and a great number of tears. I really wanted to help her resolve her difficulties but she was not interested in letting me in on her dilemma. Her mother got to assist this time. I guess teenage girls find their fathers inept when they become a woman of 14 years of age. While I was not able to be of assistance to her when she needed some guidance, I saw that her recent experience gave me the opportunity to provide her with a valuable gift. Unfortunately, now that she is 14, she has no real interest in listening to any “words of wisdom” that come from her father. However, since she enjoys being mentioned in my blog, she might, when she learns that I have mentioned her here, be inclined to read this post and, hopefully, make use of the gift I am about to give her. I hope she heeds my words as Harry Potter would the words of his mentor, Albus Dumbledore (she is a HP fan). I am sure that many of you out there have received this gift and are using it well. It never hurts to remind oneself that they have this gift, however. Sometimes it remains unused in some dusty corner of the mind. I know I have been guilty of failing to apply this gift at times. It is for these reasons that I offer my gift here.


A GIFT TO MY DAUGHTER (and anyone else who finds it of value)

As long as you are an ordinary human being you will have painful or negative experiences in life. It is unavoidable. While you may not be able to change a negative experience into a positive experience, you certainly can use a negative experience to create something positive in your life. All painful or negative experiences have something to teach us. Look for the lesson or lessons the experience has to teach you. What does it teach you about other people and the world in which you live? Most importantly, what does it teach you about yourself? Such knowledge will show you who you are and, if you are unhappy with the reflection you see, who you might want to strive to become. While this gift may seem common and of little value, it is quite the opposite. But for this gift to be of value it must be used. I hope, dear daughter, that you use this gift in your life.