Season of the Witch

Fire and glass.

Hand of Glory.

"What the shit, man? You abandon your blog and then you come back with some filtered, out-of-focus photos?"

Well. Yes.

I can safely say that the past year has been very difficult on a personal level. I spent much of the winter and spring depressed; I had a falling out with my sister, and after we moved apart there were many days where I would come home from work to my beautiful new apartment and just cry.

Things improved, as they tend to do, but there have been lingering issues. I had my surgery, which I don't regret one bit but which did take a lot more out of me than I had been anticipating. My working conditions are less than ideal due to the fact that the office is a disgrace. I have been working to become a warmer person, and that too comes with its own challenges.

But now it's almost Autumn again. A full year since things started going sour, almost, and a few days ago I finally hit that point where you truly just let shit go. Not the fake "oh, I'm totally over it" thing you do where you lie to yourself, but the honest "fuck this action."

Which is good, because summer is dying.

I will be returning to more regular posting about all the usual crap, as well as extensive Halloween ridiculousness. Because that's how I roll, bitches.

I is for Integration

This post is for the Pagan Blog Project.

I've just finished Jason Miller's Sorcerer's Secrets. Aside from one or two petty details, it was a book I enjoyed very much and would recommend to anyone who practices magic. One of the reasons I so thoroughly enjoyed it was that the focus of the book is on creating a practical system of magic that combines the occult with the mundane. It is, essentially, a how-to guide for magical integration.

In case it wasn't painfully obvious by now, that's kinda my whole deal. I don't like reserving magic for special occasions and emergencies. I prefer to see it as an active current, working its way through all aspects of life.

I don't have a lot of apps on my phone. One of the few I've downloaded is a moon phase calender. Every day I check my almanac, just to make sure nothing's sneaking up on me. There is a shrine to my dead relatives in the kitchen, by the window, across from the herb and candle supply cabinet. Everyday issues are considered from the physical and the spiritual; if you're going to have a hot bath to wind down from the day, you may as well add rosemary and sandalwood.

These are fairly passive actions. Fully integrating the magical and the mundane requires deliberate decisions. You must choose to create a routine of meditation and other spiritual acts, and fit them into your everyday life. You choose to utilize magic more often - you don't wait until you get sick to cast a healing spell, but instead work preventative magic in conjunction with common sense. Maybe you carry Commanding Oil in your purse, or a mojo bag for good luck in your pocket.

I've always believed strongly that you've got to get up off your ass and DO something if you want it. The natural extension of this, to my mind, is to augment your mundane actions with magical ones. Now, at first this might seem like overkill. "I don't NEED all this assistance," you might think. And no, you don't. But why wouldn't you pull out every trick you know to get and maintain a life you love? I sometimes wonder if it's not leftover guilt; a great many people do not believe they are worthy of good things, and any attempt to change their situation is seen as greedy or somehow immoral. Obviously I think that's utter horseshit.

Gradually one just turns to magic as a matter of course when one wishes to influence events. It's still an active decision, but now it feels organic. Your practice has become integrated.

Dunno about you, but that's how I always figured a witch should live.

5lbs.

I lost five pounds in one day without diet or exercise! ASK ME HOW!

...I had it cut out of my boobs in a three hour surgery in a hospital that seems to have very nice staff but severe communication issues! YEAH!

IX Daily Interview

Balls Deep in Burlesque: An Interview With Mama Fortuna.

That'd be me, ya'll.

Currently

Drinking: Bois de Rose.

Coveting: fucking everything in this shop.

Watching: Snog, Marry, Avoid.

WOO-HOO!

Love That Lovecraft: Part Two is up!


In other very exciting news... I have a date for breast reduction surgery: July 24. I've basically been counting all the things I'll be able to do in a month... go bra shopping at more than ONE store, buy an actual sports bra that might WORK, jog, do yoga without occasionally suffocating myself, do dance moves that require your arm go across your chest smoothly, find shirts that fit, be able to do up my own corsets because I can actually SEE the hooks, see my fucking feet when I look down, sleep in different positions without pain, not look like a drinky-bird at my desk because I'm constantly dipping forward, not want to bitchslap people who say 'going braless is better for you' quite as hard, have pasties that don't double as small hats...

Am I scared of surgery? Fuck yes! Will it probably scar? Fuck yes! Do I give a shit about either of these things? FUCK NO. Hell, if scars super bad I'll tattoo the mothers.

Growing Up Gawthic

Fallen a bit behind on the blogging lately, but not for lack of things to talk about!

First and foremost... Stripped, Scared and Sacred is back. Love That Lovecraft! (Part One.) The sound quality of the podcast is much improved, as we went and got a decent microphone. Part Two of the Lovecraft extravaganza will be up soon, and features Andrew Harron and David Quast, both of who were in the recent production of An Evening With Professor Byron Price.

Also soon to be featured on the podcast... Tristan Risk! We talk a little about her role in American Mary but mostly we discuss growing up spooky. Keep an eye out for those upcoming guests!