During this time of upheaval, lots of folks are getting stuck, scared, and confused.  There's a strange level of emotion in the air, and not all of it is good or pleasant, and that can cause creating helpful interactions to be difficult, trying, and an altogether upsetting experience.

Forcing your way through these troubles isn't pleasant, but it is doable. You've just got to change the way you think and approach the situation.  Perspective is everything, so sometimes a change of headspace is all you need to have an "aha!" moment.  Considering this, the same works for other folks.

If you want to change their mind about how they think of you, you can do so by first clearing the air and then switching the view.  By changing your viewpoint via meditation mid-working and then projecting it outwards towards your target, if you've got a solid link its possible to merge your awareness with their own.  It takes a bit of practice, but works wonderfully.

Herbs for this include wormwood, mugwort, ashwaghanda, and damiana.  Absinthe is a useful alcohol base, if you're given to such things.

Expect that you may pick up on someone else's issues and problems.  They do tend to transfer through such a link, so afterwards you will need to spend time purifying yourself.

Just some food for thought.
Be well folks,

SE

There are plenty of tools at our disposal, and sometimes the most innocuous ones go unnoticed. Nails, pens, cords, wires, drink bottles, screwdrivers, webcams, computers....all good examples. Today, however, we're talking about incense sticks. Yep, you read that right.

As a general rule, the deciding factors on whether or not you can use a tool effectively are willpower and creative focus.  If you're not able to still your mind and focus on a specific intent with the work, well, you're not going to have much luck...that pretty much goes without saying where magical work is concerned.

I find that colors don't really make much difference, but picking materials which are compatible with your intention is really very important where using incense for magical effect.  If you're going to try to create luck, using Wormwood is probably not going to be very useful; Mugwort and Sage, however, could be plenty potent.  

I like to say a quick ditty when lighting the incense too, as I find that this tends to lock the vibe I'm using into the stick in question. By doing so, I am concescrating the materia magica and then setting it alight such that the spirits I employ may do the deed I ask of them.

Its a simple methodology, but one worth remembering.

Regards.
SE

Most folks have some experience with setting up and carrying an emergency roadside kit around should the worst happen.  As a general rule, folks like to be prepared for what happens.  How many of you do the same sort of thing, but for magical things? Are you prepared should you step into "another world" and encounter something wonky? I am, so I thought I'd give you guys a few ideas on how to construct such a thing.

Like a medical kit you keep back in your car, the Magical Emergency Kit (or MEKit, for short) should be stocked with things that you consider essential for your practices.  Most aren't going to be able to fit three wands, two knives, a bowl, and a bunch of candles into their back pocket, so you'll want to pick and choose from your options and pick the more sensible necessities.

You'll need to decide how big this is going to be.  The one I'll be talking about here will fit into an Altoid's can. Its not high tech, but its effective.

According to measurements I found online, an Altoid's tin is 3.9" long, 2.45" deep and .875" tall. This means you can fit the following in it:

1. 5 birthday candles
2. 6" of twine
3. Sigil paper (I recommend flash paper for this, but even small sticky notes'll do)
4. A small pen
5. Incense matches
6. Small Swiss Army Knife
7. A small pen (Fisher Space Pen, like the X Bullet model, will work)
8. A nail or three
9. A 1/4 dram bottle of holy water, florida water, or anointing oil of your choice
10. A packet of salt
11. A packet of sugar

This is a small enough kit to fit into your back pocket, but there's enough in there to take care of any particularly urgent situation on the go. ;)

Of course, you're welcome to ponder and come up with your own ideas here.

Be well & safe travels.
SE

Of late, I’ve felt a bit like the Genie from Aladdin.  Lots of love-related work to accomplish, and even more concerns about money, power, and climbing the socioeconomic ladder in order to succeed in the long-term. Resultantly, I’ve spent time observing how such a large gap can be bridged. Logically, doing so is necessary to really achieve long-term financial stability, and the more you make, the more difficult it is to climb.

Strange as it might sound, initially, your tax bracket does matter.  In the US, we have a class system of a sort, but its not dependent on what you look like or who you are…not strictly speaking, anyway.  It has everything to do with what you earn and what you have in savings, which is a bit strange. Those who make $20,000 a year and pay their bills with no debt left over are consistently better off than those who make $100,000 and have debt up to their eyeballs. It’s a slight shift away from the American Dream that says that you can have everything you want and be happy if you’re rich enough, but its an important distinction to make.

Debt is a status-killer. Seriously. I’ve seen folks do very well for themselves on the surface, but be financially leveraged in such a way that they’ve not been able to put food on the table for themselves and their family without going further into debt.  It’s a stark contrast from the ideals the media feeds us in the States, and its more than a bit miserable. You can have all the things in the world, but if you can’t keep your electricity turned on, be able to eat, or pay for your child’s tuition, you’re not going to be feeling powerful and well-off.

Thus, this is a bit of a PSA about debt and proper management thereof, since you can’t climb the social ladder if you’re not able to take care of your needs.  Wants are great, but they aren’t everything. Fulfill your needs according to Mazlow’s Heirarchy and you’ll be more likely to be happy, especially if that doesn’t drive you further into debt.  Managing your needs before your wants is key, and rest assured, any debt is a “need”, rather than a “want”.

This should readily impact our decision-making process too.  If you’re going to do magic or have magic done, and one of the issues in your life is debt, attend that first.  You can’t pursue the lady of your dreams if you’re up to your eyeballs in unpaid bills. We live in an age where some companies do credit checks before hiring or promoting folks, even…if you’ve got debt, you’re going to look like a patsy and you may be passed over. Attend debts before they grow to an insane level, as that’ll be one of the best ways to help yourself in the long-run.

If you’ve got the appropriate magical skillsets and want a free tip to recover your losses and move on up, here’s a short-winded path to follow:

1. Tally up your debts. Figure out what has the highest interest rate, the lowest interest rate, the highest amount owed, and the lowest amount owed.  Make a spreadsheet tracking them, then put them in order from highest to lowest.
2. Work to pay off the highest of the high interest rate plans first $10,000 at 4.5% annual is a hell of a lot less annoying than $2,500 with a monthly rate of 45% (seriously, these exist: credit cards are becoming notorious for this).
3. Get yourself a side business doing something you're good at.  Whatever income comes in there goes to your debt.
4. Perform magical workings to decrease your expenses and increase your earnings.
5. Perform magical workings to recover your losses and expenditures with interest.
6. Work your butt off.

Its not a perfect system, but its a hell of a lot better than many of these blundering half-assed plans that exist on the internet. You can even track your progress in a visual way using charts, if you choose.  That's a good way to make yourself feel good, and the chart itself can become a sigil of your intent.  We've got the technology, so if we're going to bother bettering ourselves, we might as well use it.

Anyways, just some rambly thoughts for the day.  Be well folks!

SE

It’s a pretty common question these days: “can you teach me how to do [insert skill here]?” Most times, whoever is asking the question really has no business trying to learn it (yet), but periodically I encounter folks who have the aptitude, but lack the know-how. They’re frequently frustrated when I turn them down, and some have taken it personally.

I read another blog post by someone recently that touched on this subject, and it got me thinking. Unfortunately, I cannot remember who wrote the article, but they made some particularly valid points that hit home for me.

I’ve taught a few classes in the past, and while I had some fun with the experience, it became pretty clear that teaching is not for me.  I love the practice of magic in its entirety: I enjoy evoking spirits, talking shop, and working the energies to make things happen….trying to teach it to someone else, however, is totally not my game. Whenever it comes up, I just feel awkward and bumble around. Some of it is genuinely that I’m unsure what to say, but most of this unease comes from the fact that I don’t really feel as though its mine to teach. I learned these Arts from spirits, so it seems to me that it is their job, responsibility, and pleasure to teach it to others.  I shouldn’t be stealing their thunder and taking credit for the things they taught me to do do.

Furthermore, I’m a Leo.  Arrogance is a major influence and tendency with my sign, and so I know that attempting to teach others will lead to my getting a big head; once the Magical Arte devolves into an ego-stroking contest, no one gets anywhere. Especially not the person whose ego is being stroked.

The pondering I’ve done on the subject has lead me around to another point that I felt more strongly about in the past: we’re human beings in meat suits trying to learn from other human beings in meat suits.  We are imperfect, flawed, and altogether screwed up in our own individualized kind of way. We’re victim to our own needs and wants, as well as to a strictly human perspective.  Spirits have their own needs and wants, but their perspective is different because they live and breathe magic in a completely different way. Thus, the intelligent and wise ones make some pretty excellent teachers if you can get through their lesson plans. I’m more comfortable sending folks to their door than I am with trying to teach them myself.

This isn’t a knock against other workers who teach, but its just not really the focus for me. I’ll stick to writing out informative blog posts. ;)

Happy hunting,

SE