New Moon Risings

The Art & Architecture section of Chapter I :: Ancient Worlds has been updated with Assyria :: Warrior Artists.

While this may not seem to be specifically related to paganism, how can studying the ancient cultures whose gods we sometimes call upon not be significant?

I majored in art history in college and for me there is no better way to learn about a culture than to look at its artwork, so this project was of particular interest to me, I hope you find it interesting as well.

I just finished updating the biography of F. Israel Regardie, in Chapter IX :: History.

The more personal touches of information, such as how he felt about his teacher and employer Aleister Crowley, comes from the introduction of his book The Middle Pillar. The introduction was written by Chic and Tabitha Cicero who have edited and annotated many of Regardie’s books for their re-release by Llewellyn Publications. Additional information was gleaned from other of Regardie’s books, especially What You Should Know About the Golden Dawn, as well as encyclopedia sources.

Like many other esoteric students of today, I owe a depth of gratitude to Regardie who broke his vow of silence in order to publish the rituals and traditions of the Golden Dawn before they were lost to time. His integration of psychology and metaphysics creates a practical means for the spiritual, mental and emotional development of the individual.

His writings are accessible and easily comprehended, his exercises and directions are steeped in practical experience and are invaluable if pursued regularly. Knowing more about him personally, silly facts such as he enjoyed boxing, only enriches his writings.

Finally, finally information about Hazel, the sixth of the sacred woods has been added to Chapter VIII :: Herbal. It was terribly interesting to write, but then I am a fan of gardening and I love walking beneath the trees in the woods near our home. Now that I know more about it, I’ll be on the lookout for hazel trees for use in magic.

In my regular reading, I discovered more information about John Dee and Edward Kelly, two Elizabethan age alchemists and magicians who left us the legacy of Enochian Magic and language. Their respective biographies have been updated in Chapter IX :: History

I am now working on adding information to Israel Regardie’s biography.  The people who have gone before are always so interesting, none are perfect, none are hermits or monks, but each has made an immeasurable contribution to where the pagan and magical communities find themselves today. Reading about their lives reminds me that failure and imperfection are part of being human.

The New - A new meditation has been added to Chapter XIII :: Mental Magic. So many people complain that meditation is difficult because they can not seem to keep stray thoughts out of their mind, Focused Meditation was written to answer this complaint. Instead of keeping thoughts out, why not welcome them and focus them? A companion blog entry, over at Simple Magics will help explain the meditation and the inspiration behind it.

The Update - After discovering new information (new to me anyway ) while reading Applied Magics by Dion Fortune, I updated her biography in Chapter IX :: History. The more I learn about Ms. Fortune and the more of her works I read, the more interesting she become. What a fascinating and progressive lady.