The importance of Pagan books. In the West, the image of a wizard with his books is ubiquitous. Books are not just a sign of knowledge, but of certain kinds of insight. And while we like our science fresh, we often like our magic old and musty. Read more
The Three Gates are the ways that we, practitioners, enter the Path of Transformation. It is how we gain the power to change our lives. Each Gate is an initial approach we might take to enter the greater spiritual world and discover the deeper self. I have discussed them elsewhere as the Priest, Magician, and Shaman; these are the three initial ways to begin training. The Path of Transformation is the way of all magic and spirituality. In other words, these ways... Read more
America’s tribalism is tearing the country apart, and (sometimes it seems) us with it. The danger that we are in is not illusory. But the causes are hard to understand and deeply hidden. The tribalism that we are experiencing was not thrust upon us. It is the result of an attempt to solve an older problem — the dissolution of the powerful extended family. Tribalism has a time and place, but the way America is using it today is counterproductive.... Read more
Getting started with daily practice is hard. I will not deny that. I know the challenges too well. But one of the reasons it is hard is that we try to have a full-blown and developed daily practice on day one. It is a whole lot easier if, instead, we work to develop one. Daily practice might look, from the outside, like having the discipline to commit to something every day. But if we want to accomplish something, rather than... Read more
Real change. It's the hardest thing in the world, and the best reason to step onto the path of magic. How did I come to magic? My life was a wreck. I was on a bad path, destined to end in a terrible mishap. But I refused to accept that fate. Read more
Mind, body, and spirit; these are ideas we take for granted. We are taught to put the everyday mind in charge, and then wonder why we never get anywhere we really want to go. Only by cultivating both the body and spirit can we truly focus the mind. Read more
The Wizard's staff is far more than a big wand. While it might have started as a simple walking stick, it has become an emblem of the wizard in Western culture. It represents age, worldliness, and a willingness to travel beyond the bounds of civilization. Read more
Magic is a craft, and every craftsman has his tools. Finding the right tool for the job means understanding not just the job, but the tools themselves. Read more
While everyone remembers Arnold Schwarzenegger's Conan the Barbarian, we might not remember Mako's Wizard of the Mounds. Conan's advisor and ally, he cuts the figure of a rare but valuable magical archetype. Read more
Though there is no guild stopping us from claiming the title, in truth most of us are not Masters. But neither are we unshaped Apprentices. We exist in the fertile middle ground, the realm of the Journeyman. Read more
The Other Side of the Hedge
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