"WTF is Magick?" By Gabriel Roberts

I found this explanation of magick to be interesting, particularly the self improvement aspect. Head on Over to Disinfo.com to read the full blog post. I had forgotten about this quote exchange from the "Black Pullet":

“Do you feel, my son, do you feel this heroic ambition which is the sure stamp of the children of wisdom? Do you dare to desire to serve only the one God and to dominate over all that is not God? Have you understood what it is to prove to be a man and to be unwilling to be a slave since you are born to be a Sovereign? And if you have these noble thoughts, as the signs which I have found on your physiognomy do not permit me to doubt, have you considered maturely whether you have the courage and the strength to renounce all the things which could possibly be an obstacle to attaining the greatness for which you have been born?”

At this point he stopped and regarded me fixedly as if waiting for an answer, or as if he were searching to read my heart.

I asked him, “What is that which I have to renounce?”

“All that is evil in order to occupy yourself only with that which is good. The proneness with which nearly all of us are born to vice rather than to virtue. Those passions which render us slaves to our senses which prevent us from applying ourselves to study, tasting its sweetness, and gathering its fruits. You see, my dear son, that the sacrifice which I demand of you is not painful and is not above your powers; on the contrary, it will make you approach perfection as near as it is possible for man to attain. Do you accept that which I propose?”

"The Society Trap" By Joe Rogan

This rant by Joe Rogan nails it!I just had to share this with you all. It's a trap, and I want as many of us to get out of it as possible. Myself included. I currently suffer through a day job myself (it's hard out here for a sorcerer/stand up comic), but I know that I can get out. So can you.

Napoleon Hill "Laws of Success

I'm currently reading Napoleon Hill's " Outwitting the Devil". I 'm going to post a review of that soon, bit in the meantime here is a great video of him explaining his philosophy. It's long, so let it play in the background while you are doing something else. Enjoy!

Coming Forth By Day

I mentioned in the early days of my blog that I was at one time involved with a “Vampyre” organization known as the Strigoi Vii. I am not active in the community anymore, but I did meet some exceptional and dynamic individuals there. While I don’t include any of their esoteric concepts in my work anymore, one thing that did stick with me was the notion of the “Dayside”. This is something that was inspired by and borrowed from the “Temple of the Vampire”. They describe it as follows:

The Vampire by Day

The Dayside is a fundamental part of our religion.The practical side of the Temple is our Dayside. This is the common sense view of reality shared by most people. This perspective includes our emphasis upon achieving and maintaining success with regard tosix critical issues in life. These include:

• ·        Emergency survival planning and skills acquisition.
• ·        Increased self-understanding and self-acceptance.
• ·        More effective communication skills and strategies.
• ·        Gaining control over personal finance and achieving wealth.
• ·        Improving and protecting your physical health.
• ·        Scientific life extension leading to physical immortality.

Replace the word vampire with sorcerer, and you have a decent list of areas to focus on outside of, or to be backed up by your magical work.  I don’t put much focus on scientific life extension, or survival planning myself. I have actually been on a magical hiatus for the summer and been focusing on dayside concerns which I have let slack for the last couple of years.  Within both the ToV and Strigoi Vii system, Dayside mastery is meant to come before any Nightside practice. The reason begin that when a person has their day to day affairs in order, especially financially, it makes for sounder base to begin magical practice. Far too often, I talk to people that are sure spell casting is their path to riches and success. That someone where out there is a spirit, or spell that will solve all of their problems.  I could be wrong, but in my experience there isn’t one.  To make matters worse, usually the same people that are looking to strike it rich through sorcery often end up spending vast amounts of money on unnecessary tools, books, and charms, in their pursuit. This money could have been invested in more worthwhile ventures, and then backed up with a little magic as well. To me, a good working can come from strong desire, but not from desperation. A sorcerer is a master commanding their universe, not a slave begging from it. 

To some readers of this blog it may seem that I have been losing my “faith” in sorcery. Honestly for a while there I did. I needed to take a step back from it for a while and reevaluate my reasons for practicing. I see it as a weapon in my arsenal of personal advancement, and success. It’s not always the best tool for the job, or needed in every case. I also feel that the same sense of power that one might feel during ritual should carry over into every aspect of their life. If not, what’s the point in doing this in the first place? I don’t consider myself a powerful sorcerer. I consider myself a powerful person that utilizes sorcery as one way of directing that power.

That got a bit rant like at the end. So yeah, consider your Dayside.

Brother Ash

As always.....

“Don’t quote me boy, cuz' I ain’t said shit.” Eazy-E