I blamed the chip dip, for the possession mentioned last time, while I was wrong about the dip I was right that it was a chemical contaminant and not spirits. Drinking tea spiked with Brugmansia (a hallucinogen used in South American Shamanism) was the culprit.
The Vatican appoves an international association of exorcists, I assume to handle all the drug-laced tea drinking Ouija board playing teenagers? Actually this is interesting, because it shows the Church is embracing, to an extent, the more mystical/magickal side of Catholicism which they’ve been distancing themselves from slowly over the last while
Like many occultists/magickians/pagans I find the traditional Wheel of the Year doesn’t work where I live. Toronto is a lot colder for a lot longer than the British Isles where the Wheel came from. Anyways Rua Lupa took it upon themselves to make one that is more universal. Here is an entirely redone Wheel of the Year based on Polar astronomy, complete with new months and days and holidays. While I don’t know if I’d adopt it personally (There is no one particular individual who possesses the right allocated time frame to partake in the activity in question) because I’m not in a community that uses the standard Wheel anyways, but I just love seeing innovation and experimentation.
Speaking of innovation and experimentation, my friend Polyphanes has realized/decided that the standard Qabalah doesn’t translate well with Greek, so he’s trying to build a “Greek Qabalah” which he calls the Kampala from the ground up. He’s been doing it for a while, and slowly introducing it. So go check that out, he just started talking about the Tetractys today.
Judge rules against creationist teacher who called Buddhist student’s faith ‘stupid’ and Christians around ‘Murica realized how oppressed they are…wait, no…not at all. Glad to see more reasonable voices prevailed.
A beautiful photo set of what Shamanism looks like in modern Peru. Really cool.
Jason Miller tackles being eclectic, and how it doesn’t have to be a bad thing. I really enjoyed this, not just because of my own eclecticism, but because of how well he illustrates some of the ways it really doesn’t work, and how to be eclectic reasonably, and responsibly.
I’m pretty excited, another ancient temple discovered in Iraq, granted it’s only 2,500 years old, but I’m still interested.
The ancient skulls of children found buried near a lake in Switzerland. Perhaps an early offering to the lake gods? Interesting but short look at some evidence of early European religious beliefs.
As someone who meditates, and teaches meditation, I’m really not surprised that most people would rather do anything than sit and think for 15 minutes. Let’s face it, dealing with ourselves can really suck.
ouija
Wednesday Webshare: Dragons, Dracula, and Meditation: Sex, Breath, and Darkness
Interestingly enough a study says that sex and meditation do many of the same things to our brain. Of course I’d wager that lasting effects are more likely to show up with meditation. Maybe I’m biased, but I know a lot more calm, compassionate monks than calm, compassionate people who just get laid a lot. (But as always I take the middle road)
Mike Sententia makes a good, short, post about foundational understanding. I’ve ranted about this for a long time, but he puts it in a short and simple package. We wouldn’t learn science the way a lot of people want to learn magick.
Everyone’s favourite Chick Track combining Dungeons and Dragons, and the occult is being made into a movie. So excited.
A study suggests that non-directive meditation is the most effective form. Despite all the more complex forms I’ve learned over the years, I still return to anapana/vipassana more than anything else, maybe this explains why.
Researchers think they found Dracula’s grave and want to open it…because that never turns out bad in the movies…
Slyphs, and Gnomes, and Undines too…but there are a lot more unusual creatures from medieval manuscripts. Lots of these weird creatures from medieval bestiaries get used in magick, but many have been forgotten, so who wants to figure out magickal uses for the bonnacon?
My friend Psyche discusses the issues around gender essentialism in their time with the OTO, and why they left. As many people know, I recently was part of a panel on queer and gender queer magick, so I’ve found Psyche’s experience with the OTO interesting and relatable to a lot of my issues around rigid binaries. It’s not without hope though, a few commenters said that not all OTO bodies hold to rigid physical sex and gender prescriptions with the roles in ritual, and allow people to move between them based on what the identify with or feel at that time, which is great to read.
Arkansas bans the creation of a pagan temple when they realized pagans aren’t Christian. I wish I could be surprised.
I <3 Dave, and he recently did a Lyric or Satiric game, using the Bible. Basically he and friend take turns either reading Bible verses or fake Bible verses, and guess if it is real or fake.
Buffersafe has a comic on Ghost Stories…and frankly this is far closer to the ghost stories I live.
Back to Spiral Nature, Psyche addresses a question from someone who isn’t sure if they’re ready to begin spellwork. My favourite part is the advice includes something I see way too many occultists forgetting, and that’s SMART goals (or worse…any goals…).
Frankly I’m more likely to blame moldy chip dip than the Ouija board. Hell, I was at a party last weekend where drunk people made a Ouija board, used it while drunk, with a My Little Pony planchette, and no one got possessed.
The world’s first affordable sensory deprivation tank, only $1,700. Okay, that’s still a fair sum, but a lot cheaper than most. As someone who has had great results with the Ganzfeld procedure magickally, I have to say I’ve always wanted a full-blown sensory deprivation tank, and this is just one step closer.
The dark side of meditation. People in the West forget meditation isn’t about relaxation, it can help, but that’s not the point. It loosens the ego, deals with sankara (impurities of the mind), and that isn’t necessarily a pleasant experience. I feel this person needed more help processing his experience and he didn’t get it, but it’s not an unheard of, or even uncommon response. The times I live in temple or meditation retreat contain some of the more horrible and terrifying thought-experiences of my life, all while on a cushion. Meditation can bring you to some really “dark” places, but it can also take you beyond them, just return your focus to your breath.
A distant dharma sibling is crowdfunding to support her work on an elaborate thangka depicting the chöd practice and it looks amazing.
What a Shaman sees in a mental hospital. Interesting reframing of mental conditions through a spiritual lens. (Though I’m not a fan of people who say all mental/cognitive conditions and illnesses are spiritual awakenings.)
A piece on why the tarot has/needs structure. A bit controversial to some, but I wouldn’t say it’s wrong. It’s not a judgment about tarot v oracle decks, but just clarifying that they’re different things, and there is only so much you can change in the tarot until it becomes something else.