Doing Magick and Getting Results by Grant Morrison

This is an "oldie but goodie" that has been around for a while. It's an excerpt from Grant Morrison's talk at the first Disinfo.Con back in 2000. Every once in a while I come across it again and get inspired to do some magic. This short section focuses on the basics of sigil magic. If you have some time, watch the full 45 mins talk as well.

All in a day's work

I found this online the other day. It is supposedly the daily schedule of Benjamin Franklin, who in my opinion was a certified bad ass. It points to one of most underrated (at least in the "magical" community) aspects of getting things accomplished; Time Management. This is a particular skill that I have lacked for some time. One of my good friends is excellent at it, and he accomplishes a lot in one day's time. It almost seems magical how much some people can get done, you would swear that they had a doppelganger. I personally don't do well with structure. But it works, and it's necessary.  I am not the one to start giving advise on how work this out (yet), but I highly recommend that you take stock of your own habits and make adjustments where you can. 

I don't foresee myself every having that structured of a day. I am working on adding a bit time management, and for me the best time for me to do it is in the morning. I dig entrepreneur Noah Kagan and some of the products put out on his website AppSumo. I came across an interview with him and Tim Ferris, where Noah mentioned what he calls G.E.B.Y (Gratitude, Exercise, Breakfast, You). The concept is that you start your day first by acknowledging 3 things that you are grateful for, engage in some form of exercise, eat breakfast, and then do one thing that is just for yourself. The "you" part of this equation seems a bit vague, but I am going to experiment with it, and see what kind of results that I get. Oddly enough, it seems to go right along with numbers 5-7 of Franklin's list. Of course, Franklin's is a lot more spartan. 

Something interesting on Franklin's morning regimen is to "address Powerful Goodness".  As a sorcerer, you probably already have something spiritual, in your daily routine (don't you?), if not it is also something to consider.I found this prayer that I feel he probably recited everyday. I am just going to leave you with it, because it could be a whole blog post by itself. 

“O powerful goodness! Bountiful Father! Merciful Guide! Increase in me that wisdom which discovers my truest interest. Strengthen my resolution to perform what that wisdom dictates. Accept my kind offices to thy other children as the only return in my power for thy continual favours to me. ” 

La Santisima Muerte

Her Most Holy Death at the
Voodoo Spiritual Temple in New Orleans. 

November 15^th is recognized by some followers of La Santisima Muerte as one of her feast days. In the Catholic tradition this day is the “Assumption of Mary”. I have been on a magical hiatus of sorts, so had not been doing altar work. Her most Holy Death made sure to remind me that she had a feast day coming up, and gave me the opportunity to re-establish our connection. The more that you work with spirits, you will find that they can be very patient, sometimes in spite of their notorious reputations, and don’t always require cult like devotion. You do have to be open to “hearing” their request when they reach out to you, and honor their wishes. Of course if you are petitioning spirits to aid your work, you get what you put in. Just like any relationship. So slack on your end, and expect them to do the same.

 If you have ever felt drawn to this saint, I would say that she is worth exploring. I highly recommend "Santisima Muerte: How to Call and Work with Holy Death" by Conjure Man Ali from Hadean Press. It’s a short pamphlet packed with basic information on hers history, how to establish an relationship with, perform a novena to, and work spells with her. It makes a great companion to "Saint Cyprian: Saint of Necromancers" from the same author. If you are a follower of hers,  I would love to hear from about your experiences with this powerful spirit. 

Statue in a local Richmond, Va botanica. 

Joseph Campbell on Right Hand Path and Left Hand Path

A quick video clip explaining the Left Hand Path that I found by way of the Temple of Set on Facebook. Perfect inspiration for me to continue my writing on the "Devil" in Conjure.