The New Lifestyle Accessory: Magic

Lifestyle Accessories, add a Wand please

I will probably get some hate mail for this, but as Gorden from Runesoup.com would say, don't post a blog unless you are scared to post it.

Magic and the occult are getting even more popular today.  I was chatting with Kia Dragon from paganchaosmagic.com as we are friends in real life, about the occult being the next big thing.

There are a few signs he might very well be right.  More famous stars are gravitating toward the OTO.   Wicca is now the 5th most populous religion, and generally there has been an explosion of small press occult publishers.

However,  we were talking about a friend and talking about his search for Love.  Ki'a was quick to point out that the friend could have the pick of multitudes of Pagan or Occult Woman.  I pointed out a simple fact that the friend was looking for someone who did magic, that most people who are into the occult/paganism are into it for a lifestyle accessory. Flabbergasted, he paused. After he thought about it, he came to the conclusion I was right and this was the perfect term.  For many people, paganism and the occult is a lifestyle accessory that really has no real impact on their life except for stylistic concerns.  Don't think I am being a jerk to pagans alone.  It is also true for most Christians, some Buddhists, even some Hindus.  Every religion has this happen, but riding the wave if Kia is right, we will see ALOT more of it in the occult and we're already seeing it a lot.

This often means that books will sit on the coffee table, and of course they have to be the best quality.  Of course, there are lots of publishers publishing some animal skin books with stuff in them.  Likewise certain authors, depending on the look your going for, have to be in the bookcase, to get that certain image, whatever that image is.  It all adds to the certain ambiance of personality that we are creating and broadcasting all the time.  Does this book go with this culture and the like?  Often, when a person changes occult subculture, say going from the OTO, to a more new age circle... they purge their books. It's not part of the new lifestyle.  I have actually heard this happening more then once.  Whether or not I was running a Reiki Circle, you'd have a tough time getting me to sell my Rudd's Goetia.

I cannot possibly be the judge of whether or not that is true for a person so NO, I am not talking about anyone specific and as an author, what do I care whether or not a person uses my book.   I shouldn't , but I do... I'd like to see it used.  That was the point.

I have never been big on lifestyle accessory.   One can buy 1000 rare and animal skin books.  The finest Chalice and the best wand, and still not do much to actually feel the presence of the Lord and Lady in Wicca.  Likewise one can go to Sacred-texts.com and do the work, and get get down to the hard business and no one would ever know.

Allow me to simply ask, in our heart of hearts how much of the Occulture and paganism is just for show?   How much is marketing, and how much is just informercials.    Really how much is just a lifestyle accessory? Let's all be honest with each other for a second, and most importantly with OURSELVES.

Magic is fucking hard.  No Really It Is.  Easy to do, but really the process is hard.  Fixing up the internal blocks, manifesting and externalizing powers.  Dealing with failure and success ( both can be hard).  Hell a Lifestyle Accessory is so much easier that I really can no longer blame anyone.

I work hard for the Numinous experiences I get to have, and I know it is not about the show.  While I might be more "results" orientated, clearly I am striving and struggling to perfect things.  Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I don't.  I am fairly willing to risk things to move toward that.

I can hear the critic saying, but Andrieh, you don't know what other people do.  Nope I do not, but I can tell the difference between a ritual which has a purely social purpose and maybe has some trappings of a ritual, versus a ritual where their may be a social purpose AND a clear connection to spirit in intent.  The energy, preparation, and even demeanor of the people presenting the ritual give it away.  That doesn't mean rigid seriousness either, but I bet most of the people reading this can tell which rituals are have a real intention to do more then be a social focal point.

Unfortunately, even if regular ritual is done, but done for entirely social reasons, isn't this just for the purpose to adding a certain flair to the lifestyle.  Its just a lifestyle accessory to augment a certain flair.
So again allow me to ask the question, really how much is just a lifestyle accessory and how much of what we all do is something else?  

To be clear, my purpose in writing this is not to belittle or judge anyone, but to start a discussion on this. More then the back and forth as well, really to get some people to ask WHY are they doing things that look "magical"?  Whether it is just a lifestyle accessory or something more.  Either answer has consequences and choices and either answer is acceptable for yourself, if honest.

My choice is pretty obvious if you go to http://www.magical30.com

Categories: Rant, Spiritual Discipline

Initiation and Magic, a Personal View.

What its an initiation, crazy shit of course.

So for the past 4 weeks, I have been working on  initiatory work for some of the peeps I work with.  The initiation period was a full 13 months of trials that was about Faery magic.

Not weak Faery Magic, but kick your teeth in Faery magic, as it should be.

That's not exactly the point of the post.  I have had lots of initiations.  Some were more meaningful then others.

Some I wish that the initiator had taken more weight of the after care and the initiation.

Initiation is always supposed to accomplish a few things.  From a psychological POV, it is supposed to shake things up.  Initiations are supposed to give an opportunity for the solidity of mind to be cracked.  In that cracking, opportunities for restructuring arise.  This technique of shock and awe allows for radical changes to the mind to occur.  Used in a negative context, you can break someone.  For many groups, the initiation is little more then a hazing using the techniques of psychological shock and awe,  a sort of group hazing that has little spiritual consequence but allows for a shared bonding experience. This to me is unfortunate.  It allows a group to break the ego of an individual practitioner to conform to radically transform to group norms.

Often,  an initiation introduces the persons energy system or subconscious mind to a certain new energies through a transformation of symbol.  These energies open up different spiritual vectors, hence why not all initiations serve the same purposes.

Ideally, I believe successful initiations should produce some sort of psychological change immediately but often initiations will take much longer to process.   Our initiations were a type of introduction to a certain class of spirits from a magical current that really hasn't been really explored in a very long time.  It will take a very long time for the people to process the initiation.    Because of the extended time it took to set everything up, I haven't been writing as much.

The initiations we did are far less formulaic then most and very intense.  Oh certainly, people had radical transformations right way.  It will take a while for the people to fully process it.

All that work, tons and tons of work... Service to the people...... and in that instant of transformation, a whole new life for a couple people.  Right there....   A whole new world brought by service, time, tears and blood to them.... to just bring a little more of the world on the upward spiral, and that is the best reward of all.

Categories: fae magic, Spiritual Discipline