text:
Page of Magick
Taylor Ellwood
Magick on the Edge: An Anthology of Experimental Occultism edited by Taylor Ellwood
The Importance of Understanding
"You can have the best intentions in the world, informing your actions and your magic, but what people forget is that it's the consequences of your actions and the impact of your magic that are remembered, long after the intention has faded away." – From Sayings of a Wise Fool.
One trend I've noted in almost all my fellow magicians and myself is an initial focus on learning to manipulate external reality with magic. Later, sometimes much later, this is followed up by an exploration of the internal reality or environment of the magician. I must admit that I think the order should be reversed. Focus first on understanding with the internal environment and then focus on interacting with the external environment (Though as we'll find the two are inextricably connected). Briefly, though, I want to consider why people focus initially on working with the external reality, instead of the internal reality.
The manipulation of external reality is usually done to gain a result. Unfortunately the process used to obtain that result isn't always understood, nor do some people care if it isn't understood. For them it is enough to get the result, to have the desire temporarily met[i]. Another reason the manipulation of external reality is focused on, at least in the West, is because we live in fairly materialistic cultures. The U.S. in particular is a culture that is focused primarily on the acquisition of materials. In one sense, the ability to manipulate external reality to gain more material is really a method of attempting to gain control of the external environment. However, such control is fleeting, usually because the magician doesn't fully understand why s/he is trying to obtain the desired result, beyond addressing an immediate need or want that demands the result. A final reason the external environment is focused on so much is due to the fact that Western approaches to internal magic still ultimately focus more on dealing with external reality. Approaches such as metaprogramming and NLP focus much more on how to shape interactions with people and much less with how to interact with the self. Where do they focus on internal reality, it's primarily as a way of changing specific thinking patterns. While that can be useful to do, there's a fundamental area of the internal reality of the magician that is often ignored in most of the current Western magical approaches, namely the emotions.
This focus on manipulating external reality before really understanding the internal environment is problematic for a number of reasons. The simplest reason is that if you don't know what you really want, then how can you be sure if you've actually gotten what you want? Building off that reason, another reason is that a person will sabotage hirself when s/he has an internal conflict with the external result manifested. Yet another reason is that the distractions of external reality can only divert you from any internal unhappiness for so long. A final reason is that any sense of control that you think you have over external circumstances can easily fall apart like a house of cards, if the right internal pressure is applied.
I want to make it clear that I'm not advocating that everyone becomes a monk and withdraws from life. However, I am advocating that a magician spend some time learning how hir internal reality works before focusing too much on shaping external reality. When you consciously understand the motives behind your actions then you've taken a step toward mastering your internal reality. Hyatt points out, "It is safe…to say that the majority of our problems arise from the lack of consciousness of our programming and the belief that we are more or less helpless in changing our condition…Tension is a fact of life…Stresses and strains are not only an integral part of life, but they often appear as life itself" (2002, P. 49). Conscious realization of the motives that inform your intentions can help you begin to identify the tensions and stresses that impact you and cause a need to act. Consciously acknowledging how you program yourself to deal with life will show you how effective or ineffective that is as well as showing you the source of your reactions, which could be considered your programming.
A reaction is an automatic response to a situation. The problem with reactions is that they aren't always appropriate for the situation being dealt with. Because a reaction is an automatic behavior, it's not easily controlled. You're probably not thinking about why you've reacted in the way you have. You're just reacting in a manner that worked before and might work in a similar situation. But what if it doesn't?
A reaction is usually tied to an emotional trigger. When the emotional trigger is sparked, the reaction is unleashed. Now imagine for a moment that you've done a ritual and you got a great result, but something about that result strikes an emotional trigger. You react and suddenly the result is sabotaged. Your internal reality has spoken and explained that this result goes against its fundamental reality. This can happen in magical practice.
I've seen it occur with other magicians and of course I've sabotaged myself before as well.
What is really frustrating is seeming to get what you want and then realizing that in fact it wasn't what you wanted after all, but was instead just a foil for your subconscious to express itself it to you. If the subconscious isn't being listened to, it will manifest itself into your life through the situations you get involved in, until you get the message it has to give you. For me, this has resulted in making some bad relationship decisions because what I thought I wanted wasn't really what I wanted at all, but it was the only way my subconscious could communicate to me. In fact, making those decisions helped me realize that not knowing myself had a big impact on not just myself, but on other people in my life, because if I couldn't communicate with myself, I most certainly couldn't with them.
The question that arises then is how we learn to communicate with the subconscious and organize our internal realities so that we can manifest effective magic as well as live mindful lives. One NLP technique, pathworking, is really useful because you can use it to interact with your subconscious mind through symbolism[ii]. You create an imaginary reality and then go through it, interacting with the various personas and other symbols, which represent situations in your life. This kind of work can be a good initial approach to dealing with internal issues and the interaction they have with your reality.
To engage the subconscious at a deeper level, meditation that moves beyond visualization is necessary, so that you can still the mind and more importantly feel the emotions. Your goal with meditation isn't to label, define, or confine your emotions. Instead it is to learn how to feel them, but in a manner that also allows you to step back and decide if the method of expressing the emotions is really the method you want to use. For instance,
it's perfectly normal to feel anger, but throwing a temper tantrum isn't nearly as effective as telling someone I feel angry because of what happened in a specific situation. Emotions aren't rational. They aren't something you can think out, but the expression of them is something that can be controlled by accepting that you actually feel the emotion. In fact, accepting what you feel is a very liberating experience that allows you to begin to change how you act in a situation.
One form of meditation, I've found really useful is the Taoist water breathing technique. On the inhale, the person raises hir internal energy up from the belly to the top of the head. On the exhale, the person lets the energy flow down into the body. The energy is used to dissolve internal tension and stress. At the same time, emotions wrapped up in the tension are released so that they can be felt and the stress can be worked through, instead of repressed. The benefit of letting yourself meditate as you feel these emotions is that you can feel them and work through them without necessarily having to be overwhelmed by what you feel.
As you continue to do meditation that works on your internal environment, you will begin to organize that reality. You will have a much better idea of what you want. Consequently when you do external magic to manifest that, you won't encounter the obstacles you might have experienced before. You may even find that you don't need to do as much magic to effect the external world, because you've already done the internal work and everything lines up for you.
Even when you know your intentions and are aware of the impact your actions have on yourself and others, there is no guarantee that you won't sometimes make mistakes. I've been doing meditation to work on my internal reality for the last two or so years and I still occasionally sabotage myself and discover patterns of behavior and belief that shape my life and impacts others in ways that aren't always good. The internal meditation is on-going work. Sometimes I'm able to work through behavior patterns and emotions before they sabotage a situation and sometimes I only figure it out, after the sabotage has occurred.
Remember that no matter the mistakes you make, those mistakes only last as long as you continue to perpetuate them. If you have the courage to face yourself, than you can discover a way to work through them, and eventually avoid making some of them. Be honest with yourself and that honesty will extend to others, because you will find it's less hard to express yourself when you actually know why you feel what you feel.
I end this article with a thought. Managing yourself can be one of the hardest tasks you ever embark on. It can also be one of the most rewarding, because when it is all said and done, you will truly know you act from a conscious and authentic place. You won't inadvertently hurt people or yourself, and when you have to do something difficult, you will do it from a place of awareness and acceptance that will give you the strength to see it through. The magician's greatest tool and strength is hir own self-awareness and how s/he chooses to employ it is what shows a true mastery of magic.
Works Cited
Hyatt, Christopher. (2002). Undoing yourself with energized meditation and other devices.Tempe: New Falcon Publications.
Suggested Reading
Alli, Antero. (1985). Angel tech: A modern shaman's guide to reality selection.Tempe: New Falcon Publications.
[i] I say temporarily because eventually the desire will come back. This isn't a good or bad thing, so much as it's a fact of life.
Author bio
Taylor Ellwood lives in Seattle. He's a co-author of Creating Magickal Entities (with David Cunninghman and Amanda Wagener), and Kink Magic (with Lupa, forthcoming). He is the author of Pop Culture Magick, Space/Time Magic and Inner Alchemy and the editor of the Magick on the Edge Anthology. When Taylor isn't editing Non-fiction books for Immanion Press, or working on his latest work, he can be found gaming, reading,For more information about Taylor, please go to http://www.magicalexperiments.com/
Taylor Ellwood
Magick on the Edge: An Anthology of Experimental Occultism edited by Taylor Ellwood
Money, Magic and Paganism
Ever heard of the stereotypical "poor pagan"? The one who barely lives paycheck to paycheck, drives a hunk o' junk around because s/he has no credit, and never seems to get ahead? This stereotype, when it comes to money, is justified by the idea that being poor is virtuous. The rationalization is that it's okay if you're in debt, don't have much money--you're keeping it real by not too materialistic or capitalistic. But this virtue of being poor isn't really a virtue at all. For many (but not all), it's a rationalization for why a person is poor, so that s/he can feel better about his/her decision to stay poor. Pagans aren't alone in this, but it seems that we are pretty good at providing reasons for accepting poverty over wealth. For those pagans who are disabled or chronically ill, poverty may not be a choice, but instead an unfortunate reality that can't be avoided. Even so I have a suggestion at the end of this article as to how we as a community can help the members of our community who aren't as well-off because of situations radically out of their control.
While you don't have final say on how much you're paid at a job, or the social situations you're in that can negatively or positively impact your life, you can decide what you choose to do with your money. Even the debts you pay were debts that you took on, whether it was to purchase luxury items on a credit card or to deal with an unfortunate situation such as a car accident. You may never have complete control over your life or the situations you're in. But you do have control over your reactions and how you choose to deal with a situation.
You also have complete control of your attitude when it comes to money--but you might not learn you have that control until after you're knee deep in debt and sinking further. The problem that many people face (not just pagans) is that they aren't educated in financial literacy, i.e. how money works. High schools generally don't teach many classes on finances and other real-world issues and unless you decide to take courses in college about accounting or other related majors you likely won't get the education there. At home, unless your parents talk to you about money and how they handle it you likely will only learn how they handle it from observation. (And, of course, if your parents don't handle money well, chances are you won't either if you use them as examples!) Most of us learn what not to do with money, and that through hard experience, which is the absolute worst way to learn about finances.
This is because you usually have to make costly mistakes to learn. Run up some credit card bills and you're stuck with high interest rates and struggling to pay the debt off. Don't put money away into savings or investments and you may find yourself working a fast food job in your eighties. Spend too much on books, video games, and other luxuries and you may not have enough money for the bills, therefore accumulating even more debt. Live paycheck to paycheck and when something big comes along, such as the transmission going out on your car, or an uninsured medical emergency, you're not going to have any way to pay for it. None of those experiences strikes me as particularly virtuous or desired.
Pagans don't have to be poor. I suggest, in fact, that we adopt the attitude that having money is a good thing. Money is good to have because it can insure relative self-sufficiency, and it can pay for unexpected situations, such as an accident or sickness. Money can pay for education and provide security for old age, and it can allow you to travel to other countries and experience other cultures at their source. Of course, those are just a few reasons why having money is good; I'm sure you can think of plenty of others.
We first need to look at our current attitude toward money. Take a moment and look at a bill or a checkbook or something else that's financially relevant. Take a pen in your hand and on a blank piece of paper write down your initial impressions when you look at the financial artifact and think of your monetary situation. If you find yourself writing and/or thinking of money in negative terms then you need to adjust your attitude. The reason you need to adjust it is because your attitude about finances is sabotaging the conscious choices you make when you have money.
Because most people haven't been taught financial literacy we usually have negative experiences with money. This negativity imprints and we soon regard money as an affliction or a problem as opposed to a means of offering potential security and/or freedom from bad circumstances. Certainly this was the case for me, up until recently. I always had some form of debt that needed to be paid off and yet no matter how I tried I just couldn't seem to get ahead or feel confident that my money would last beyond the current paycheck. But one day, having complained about money for the umpteenth time, I happened to pick up a book Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach their Kids About Money--That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! by Robert Kiyosaki. The core concept I got from this book was that I alone was responsible for how I spent my money and that my education about money and how I thought and felt about it greatly shaped my spending of it[1]. This seems like such an obvious point, but to someone who felt that money was an amorphous force that controlled his life, I found it to be liberating. No longer did money control me. Instead I could take control of it.
I suspect that
many other pagans, were they to examine their attitude about money, would come
to a similar realization. Although this awareness is liberating, we still need
to undo the negative attitudes we have. There are a couple of ways to start doing
this and I've found both of them have really helped me get a handle on my
financial situation.
Meditation, Magic, & Consciously Loving Money
My first solution involved meditation. I prefer using Taoist meditation practices that involve dissolving internal energetic blockages. These energetic blockages usually also have emotions, beliefs, and attitudes attached to them. By dissolving the blockages I can allow myself to feel those emotions, beliefs, and attitudes, and then consciously change them so that they no longer sabotage me[2]. However, any technique will do provided it allows you to enter into a state of mind where you are receptive to examining and changing your beliefs on a particular subject. The reason this is important is because our everyday mundane consciousness tends to operate on autopilot, which means we don't always examine why we are doing what we are doing. By being contemplative and reflective about the problem we can see it from a perspective outside the everyday tunnel vision. This in turn can lead to conscious change.
Once you've examined the attitude and decided you want to change it, you need to determine what you will change it into. For example, I changed my attitude of money from dislike into love of money. I decided that I would love money and in return invite it to love me. Using meditation, I changed my memories of bad experiences with money into positive experiences where I learned to love money. I visualized myself in the various moments where I'd gotten negative imprints about money. I then visualized myself changing the actual occurrences into ones that were more positive in terms of how I handled money and felt about it afterwards. Through these meditations I was able to undo the negative imprints and create more positive ones that helped me feel more comfortable with handling money.
To reinforce this positive attitude further I decided to create an entity that would encourage my wife and me to love money and become more knowledgeable about it. My wife made a pouch out of blue leather (we associate the color with money). In the pouch we placed a couple of coins and other personal effects that represented our desire to change our attitude and approach to money. I then came up with a phrase: "I love money". I took out the repeating letters, condensing the phrase into "Ilvmny", which was now the name of the entity. To bring the entity to life we decided that the energy that would feed it would be both the spending and receiving of money. Every transaction would give the entity energy to perform its task, which was to help us cultivate better financial habits. Our first transaction was to go out and buy books on money management. After each purchase and every time we make a sale, deposit a check, or invest in stocks we hold the pouch and say, "Thank you Ilvmny."
Although my
first solution was to use magic to help me change my attitude, I also knew I
needed to learn more about money. It wasn't enough to have a positive attitude
about magic. Something I've noticed in myself and many other people, Pagan and
otherwise, is a decided lack of knowledge of how money works. Living from
paycheck to paycheck illustrates this because it involves using money strictly
for day to day survival with little preparation for the future. My second
solution was to acquire financial literacy.
Financial Literacy: Making Money Work For You
When you live paycheck to paycheck you're working for money. This is what seems to happen to a lot of people. We go to work, we make money and we spend it, putting little, if any, aside for a rainy day or retirement. When a situation does come up we wish we had more money to solve it, even though it's not really more money that will solve the problem — it's making money work for you.
First, you first need to learn how money works. If no one talked with you about money and how to use it responsibly then what you need to do is educate yourself. This doesn't have to involve evening classes at a college (and in fact that would probably be the most expensive and least successful way to learn about money in the immediate real world). Instead, I'd suggest going to your local bookstore or library and looking in the business and finance section. You'll probably want to get several books on how to handle personal finances because you never want to get just one person's opinion on any situation, let alone how to handle money. I'll list a few recommendations at the end of this article, but you might also want to see what members of your family or friends have read about personal finances. Speaking of family, if you have kids, start talking to them about money as you learn. You can never educate your children about money too early. In fact, you may help them avoid mistakes you made and come out ahead when it comes to retirement and other financial matters.
Many people don't pick up books on money because they think such books will be loaded with technical financial jargon and hard to read. But a good book will explain the different terms and principles in a clear and concise manner. They also may think that money management is boring. While it may not be as riveting as, say, a mystery novel, once have a basic understanding you may find that it's actually an interesting subject to learn about. Even if you still don't find the subject fascinating, it's important to educate yourself about it. You don't need to know the intricacies of the daily life of a stock broker, but knowing the basics of how money works and how you can make it work for you will make your life a lot less stressful.
Making money work for you means learning how to invest in stocks and IRAs, maximize your 401k plan, and getting the most out of your bank accounts. When you know how to make money work for you, it becomes its own magic, with the result being more numbers than you had before, provided you take advantage of the systems in place. For instance, with stock investment, you don't have to invest stocks through a broker. You can invest in a company directly. This allows you to make your money work for you and know where that money is going. At the same time the wealth that is generated isn't wealth you had to earn. Instead you let other people (i.e. the employees in the company) earn it for you. To use another example of making money work for you, there's a lot more to a bank than free checking or savings. Do you know the interest rates of your account? Do you know the other options available to you at a bank? Do you know the differences between a bank and a credit union? Knowing the answers to those questions can impact how much your money works for you as opposed to you working for it[3].
Ideally, when
money works for you, you have money to pay your bills, some set aside in
savings to take care of emergency situations and some applied toward
investments for your eventual retirement. You want your money to grow in such a
way that a lot of the money you make isn't even money you had to work for. Your
goal isn't necessarily to end up rich (though that doesn't hurt) but it is to
end up financially secure, without having to worry how you'll pay off your debt
or take a day off work without pay or even retire.
Are We Getting Too Materialistic?
I suggested earlier that the poor
Pagan stereotype is not virtuous, for the simple fact that being in debt and/or
have to worry whether you'll make your ends meet each week or month is never an
ideal place for anyone to be in. But is having money evil? I think, in and of
itself, money isn't good, evil, or any other moral value we may place on it. It
is however a force, one that must be acknowledged and respected because it's
one we interact with everyday. Even learning how money works
Where the virtue
(or lack thereof) comes in is with you and your choices. Once you know what
your spending habits are you can choose to change them. If you find yourself
spending most of your money on luxury items for yourself, perhaps it's time to
stop purchasing them. Find other uses for your money such as your child's
college fund or funding for that trip to
Another stereotype that pagans are accused of is of not offering enough public services or charities that help the community at large. As pagans become more successful with money this perception can be changed. When you have more money to spare you can put some of it toward the charity or public service of your choice. Better yet, you can help those members in your community who are poor and have no choice in it. Adopt a pagan family or person who's less well off. Donate money or food or other goods to help them out. Support your community and in doing so create a closer connection so that everyone can benefit. Remember though that money alone won't solve the world's problems or even that of a local community. Devoting some time to public service or giving some food to food banks or doing some other form of community work is equally valuable and worth doing.
Loving money doesn't mean you're a materialist and out to steal from the poor. Loving money merely means that you enjoy being prosperous and prefer it over other circumstances. You won't turn into a yuppie or a snob by choosing to love money, unless you want to. For me, loving money isn't about putting money before everything else; it's really loving the idea that I don't have to worry if I'll be able to pay this or that bill or feel guilty because I wanted to buy the latest Jim Butcher novel. There's enough to worry about in life. Security about money or bills or buying a book without clean out your checking account is something all of us can have provided we accept that having money doesn't equal being materialist. Remember, it's your choices that define how you think of yourself and who you are.
Money is a
medium. Without it, we can't easily survive. With it we can enjoy what life
offers while establishing financial security for the rough times and old age.
Remember that it's not how much you make that insures a good relationship with
money. It's how you use the money you do make that determines if you have a
good relationship with it. Even someone who doesn't make a lot of money can
still come out ahead by using the resources s/he has wisely. And you can always
help other members in the community who aren't in as good a situation as you
are. None of us have to be "poor pagans".
Frantzis, B. K. (2002). Relaxing into Your Being: Breathing,
Chi, and Dissolving the Ego.
The Motley Fool: you have more than you think by David and
Tom Gardner
[1] Kiyosaki
Author bio
Taylor Ellwood lives in Seattle. He's a co-author of Creating Magickal Entities (with David Cunninghman and Amanda Wagener), and Kink Magic (with Lupa, forthcoming). He is the author of Pop Culture Magick, Space/Time Magic and Inner Alchemy and the editor of the Magick on the Edge Anthology. When Taylor isn't editing Non-fiction books for Immanion Press, or working on his latest work, he can be found gaming, reading,For more information about Taylor, please go to http://www.magicalexperiments.com/
Taylor Ellwood
Adaptable Meditation
A couple of years ago I incorporated Tibetan meditation practices into my daily meditations. I've found that the Tibetan practices resonate with me. I enjoy the meditation and it has a physical effect as well as a mental effect. In the case of the Tibetan meditation practice, it raises the heat of the body. But incorporating this form of meditation into my practices has gotten me thinking about a couple of issues with meditation.
The first issue is what makes one
form of meditation for a person useful?
That is what makes a particular type of meditation resonate with
you? The second issue is how you adapt
or change the meditation (if you change it) to fit into your style of magickal
practice. And my final issue in regards to meditation is where a person does
So what does make a particular
type of meditation resonate for you?
When I was younger I did the LBRP (Lesser Banishing Ritual of the
Pentagram). I also did the Ritual of the Middle Pillar. However these
meditations never really appealed to me. They were formal and ceremonial and
for me devoid of feeling. Not only that but they represented belief systems
that I did not have much interest in. And because they were devoid of feeling
for me doing these meditations was empty. There was no benefit to be found in
doing them for me. Now that is not to say that people who choose to do these
types of meditation get nothing out of them. For me, they weren't what I
needed, but for other people these types of meditations work.
I needed to find meditation
techniques that resonated for me. And I needed to understand why they resonated
for me. Over eight years ago on an e-list, I was sent a meditation technique by
a friend in
I felt, when I did this ritual,
and other similar rituals since then, that the ritual made sense to me and met
a need that couldn't be met when I did the western styles of meditation. I
realized then even as I realize now that doing meditation comes simply down to
doing what works for you. You'll know when a style of meditation works for you
when you feel the energy within you react to it.
To go along with that, I think that meditation, when it is done, should have a practical use for you. For me the Chinese technique represented the concept of banishing in a very practical way. If it was done right you were sweating the toxins out of your body. Now the physical effect of sweating the toxins did two things. It physically purified me and physically banished the toxins from the body. On a spiritual level this practicality resonated for me and I felt spiritually purified, even as I spiritually banished what was spiritually toxic for me.
The second issue is as important
as the first one. How we adapt/change meditation techniques to suit us
personally is how we make the meditation fit our needs. As an example, part of
the Tibetan meditation techniques I've been learning call for you to visualize
a ruby goddess. At first I did this visualization, but eventually I cut it out.
Now I know purists will say that changing a technique is a bad idea, but I happen
to think it's a good idea. The majority of the Tibetan meditation techniques
resonate with me, but a few of them don't and this is because of several
The first factor is cultural. Short
of living in Tibet or finding monks who would train me in their techniques my
exposure to the techniques are through the books I read on the subject. But for
me to make those techniques work requires me to place into my context as
opposed to the original context they are from. I don't worship or Tibetan gods
and don't feel any particular urge to do so. Accordingly I'll cut out what I
don't need and focus instead on the techniques I can readily apply to my own
level of understanding.
The second factor is resonance. If
the technique doesn't resonate with you then don't use it. There's no point in
doing meditation or magick that doesn't inspire feeling within you. Feeling is
how you connect to magick. Without it whatever you are doing is dull and
flavorless. For me, the majority of the Tibetan techniques resonated, but a
couple didn't and were excised. Despite that loss I have not felt a loss in
what I'm doing because I've adapted the technique to work for me, based off my
own understanding and resonance with that technique.
Adapting meditation techniques
also doesn't always mean that you have to cut a technique or part of a
technique out to make it work. Sometimes what you need to do is change the
format. One meditation technique I work with calls for you to take one hundred
pranayamic breaths while laying in the corpse pose (A yoga pose where you lay
on your back with your hands at your side and your feet straight). Pranayama
breath is where you take a deep breath in through your nose (expanding your
stomach) and a deep breath goes out through your mouth. This kind of breathing
is meant to bring in the vital energy of life. For a while I just counted one
hundred breaths to myself, while doing the breathing. After a while though I
didn't feel I was getting what I wanted out of the meditation. I realized that
I liked the meditation, but I needed to change something about it to work for
The problem I had was that I
counted too fast and consequently sped my breaths up. I was missing out on the
benefits because I wasn't pacing myself. So to counter this I decided to
hypnotize myself when I did the meditation. I changed the technique by first
saying out loud why I was doing the meditation and then counting each breath
out loud, slowly. I also told myself that I was feeling a tingling, relaxing
energy that relaxed all my muscles and helped me sink deeper into the trance.
With this change in the technique
I found that I was getting what I wanted out of the meditation. I no longer
counted too fast, but took my time with each breath. The trances I experienced
as a result of doing this hypnosis with the pranayama were deep inward voyages
in my consciousness. And I didn't have to scrap the technique. All I had to do
was change it.
The last issue I brought up is
where you do meditation. Ideally for myself I've found two settings to do
meditations in. One setting is at home. My home is my sacred space, a quiet
place where I can get away from everything external to it. It's also where I
balance and center myself. Usually your home is an ideal place to meditate. Sometimes
though even your home is busy and hectic. You may need to set aside a room to
meditate in. Fortunately for myself I've never had this problem, but if ever I
do I will set aside a room specifically to meditate in so that I can achieve
the centering I need.
The other place I meditate is when
I am dancing at a festival or in a club. The energy is stirred up and dynamic
and there's lots of noise. But it is also possible to meditate in such
circumstances. When I dance I meditate. My focus is entirely on feeling and
acting out the energy. I don't control my movements, accept to avoid running
into someone. All I do is dance and feel the energy, meditating in my
movements, working the energy to spread it and let if flow over everyone. And
this meditation is as powerful as when I meditate at home.
What I've found about doing
meditation is that you do it where you feel comfortable. The best kind of
meditation is meditation done without any hint of self-consciousness or the
like. When I dance I let all my inhibitions out and just feel the energy. And
when at home, in the privacy of my place I also let all of my inhibitions go
and meditate. In each case I achieve a grounded center and a feeling of
Regardless of how you meditate remember that the meditation technique should resonate with you, and be practical to you. Remember that you can change the technique and sometimes should to get a better effect. And finally remember to meditate where you are comfortable.
Author bio
Taylor Ellwood lives in Seattle. He's a co-author of Creating Magickal Entities (with David Cunninghman and Amanda Wagener), and Kink Magic (with Lupa, forthcoming). He is the author of Pop Culture Magick, Space/Time Magic and Inner Alchemy and the editor of the Magick on the Edge Anthology. When Taylor isn't editing Non-fiction books for Immanion Press, or working on his latest work, he can be found gaming, reading,For more information about Taylor, please go to http://www.magicalexperiments.com/
Taylor Ellwood
Taylor Ellwood
Unconventional Magic
Experimenting with magic means going off the beaten path of
the tried and true methods is often the best way to advance the practice of
magic. However, this also means the magician must be mentally and spiritually
flexible and open-minded. S/he will find that opportunity strikes in
unconventional ways, through fields of study and approaches to life that on the
surface have very little to do with magic practice.
Once you've found inspiration from an unconventional source, you need to experiment with it. First do some brainstorming. How will this unconventional source help you do magic? What about it makes you think of a magic ritual or working? Are there any correspondences to current magical systems that you could draw on to help you flesh the idea out? Or if it's a technique you're working with, ask yourself how the unconventional idea offers a different approach than traditional methodology. How would you incorporate the unconventional idea into the technique? These are just a few questions to get you thinking. Keep yourself open to any idea or situation that can offer input into how you do magic. A commercial could provide you inspiration and experimentation beyond your wildest dreams, as one did for me.
One of the first experiments I did involved working with
Miss Cleo as a goddess of divination. One of my friends and I were watching an
infomercial while chatting with each other and we joked about working with her
as an entity. At first we laughed, but then as we thought about it, we realized
it might be a workable idea. We both felt our divination skills were lacking
and she presented a good front as a skilled diviner. We saw that a lot of
people paid attention to her, even if it was to make jokes. All that attention
needed to go somewhere, and we figured we could use it for a better purpose
than Cleo was. We created our first pop culture entity, by deciding to treat
Cleo like a goddess who could teach us divination skills. And for me, in
particular, it not only further inspired my work with pop culture as a form of
magic, but inspired Space/Time Magic,
because the Cleo godform gave me advice on how to work with space/time. As you
can see an unconventional idea can take you far in your magical practices.
you may face the same criticisms I have, it's important to not let what others
think decide how you do magic. Magic is a personal journey. There is a process
and there are results, but the journey is just as important. If you have a good
idea and it's different from what others put out there, explore it anyway.
Don't let what anyone else tells you decide your approach. Recognize as well
that sometimes the person might just be jealous that you have an original idea.
Whatever the motivation is, don't let that person stop you from experimenting,
learning and discovery. Your journey is your own and whatever inspiration you
have in that journey is yours to what you will with it..
Author bio
Taylor Ellwood lives in Seattle. He's a co-author of Creating Magickal Entities (with David Cunninghman and Amanda Wagener), and Kink Magic (with Lupa, forthcoming). He is the author of Pop Culture Magick, Space/Time Magic and Inner Alchemy and the editor of the Magick on the Edge Anthology. When Taylor isn't editing Non-fiction books for Immanion Press, or working on his latest work, he can be found gaming, reading, For more information about Taylor, please go to http://www.magicalexperiments.com/
Taylor Ellwood
Magic and Paganism
The other night I got into a long conversation about the
difference between magic and paganism
So, for me, Paganism and magic are not one and the same
thing. In other words, just because
someone is pagan doesn't mean that person practices magic. I know several pagans who don't practice
magic, but do believe in ideas that are often associated with paganism. These ideas can include, but are not limited
to, worship of nature/Mother Earth or worship of a polytheistic pantheon. Likewise I know many magicians who do not
call themselves pagans or consider themselves pagans, but they do practice
magic. And of course I know many people
who are both Pagan and magician and identify themselves as both.
The question then is what magic is. If magic is not innate to paganism, then what
is it? Often it seems that magic is
viewed as being synonymous with paganism.
If you're a pagan you must do magic seems to be the view of what
paganism is, in pop culture, and yet what happens when we do magic? What are we really doing? Are we praying to a god, burning a candle for
a specific desire, or making a spell to help someone? That can be one definition of magic, but I'll
admit it's not my definition of what magic is.
In fact, I would probably say that's more of a religious approach to
magic. But again, that's my
opinion. I am sure there are readers who
will say: "No
Nonetheless I will share with you my definition of what
magic is. For me, magic is an
exploration of as many different systems of belief as possible and belief, in
this case, is not limited to religions or spiritualities, but also includes
scientific paradigms, paradigms of art, writing…anything really. Magic is this exploration of these systems of
belief, and it is also an assimilation of all of those systems into one's
personal way of shaping reality to one's will.
But magic is also a discipline.
It's not a hit or miss affair and it's not something to be done only
when you really need something to happen.
Magic is something you do everyday…it's a way of life and it requires
discipline and focus. The ideal magician
is always working on and perfecting his/her techniques and experimenting with
how to do magic to understand the why behind it. The magician is not praying to a god (though
sometimes one will be worked with as an equal), but is shaping reality for
him/herself, through his/her own abilities and s/he is constantly seeking to
improve on those abilities.
Magic doesn't need any of the props that are often
associated with it, though those props can be useful for illustrating the
purpose of what one seeks to accomplish.
Such props include athames, wands, spellwork, but can also include paint
brushes, glue, scissors, etc. I don't
always use props in my magical workings.
Sometimes visualization is enough.
Sometimes the body, with its various fluids, is the tool for the purpose
at hand. But when I do use props, I use
them because they help me do magic and the whole point of doing magic is to do
it and to understand the method behind the act.
If props are part of that for you, use them. I use paintbrushes, glue, scissors,
newspapers, magazines, body paints, and watercolor paints for my props because
those props are the ones I identify with.
Someone else will likely find an athame, wand, sword, and cup just as
useful for that person, as my tools are for me.
I don't consider magic a religion. I do consider it my way of life, but if I
were to say what religion I belong to, my answer would be none. I don't belong to or have strong feelings for
any particular religion. I'll sample
them all if they will help me understand my practice of magic, but for me that
practice of magic is what spiritually matters.
It is my quest, first and foremost, to be a practitioner of magic. The magic is what matters and if I were to
worship anything it might be that force we identify as magic. I do consider myself a pagan, however, in the
sense that I do draw on a lot of pagan perspectives when it comes to my
practice of magic.
I don't think there's too much focus on magic and spells in
the community. I do, however, think
there are a lot of books out there, which don't really teach what magic is
actually about. Unfortunately the
majority of occult/new age publishers focuses on what will sell, and more often
than not what sells are books that give out spells, but don't explain the
process behind the spell, the dynamics involved in manifesting a particular
reality or the consequences that can occur, as well as the necessity to be
responsible for such consequences. We
have large quantities of books available to anyone, but the quality suffers
when such details, as mentioned above, aren't attended to.
I think to get a really good perspective on magic, a diverse
understanding is required. It's not
enough to read up on Wicca and presume that books on Wicca detail any and
everything about magic. Nor is it enough
to solely be Wiccan and do Wiccan magic and think that those experiences alone
will give you a full understanding of magic what is. Likewise this is true with other magic
traditions. Any one perspective is not
enough, in and of itself, to provide an understanding of what is involved when
we do magic.
How you get that understanding though is a hard question
to answer. Partially you get this answer
through experience. Explore other
beliefs, try out new ideas, and talk to people who practice a different form of
magic than your own. Also do some
research. There's a lot of history
behind magical practice, but it always amazes me how few people actually take the
time to really dig into the history behind a particular belief system. It's a sad state of affairs that many
pagans/magicians don't know the history behind magic practice. I'm not just talking of Gardner or Aleister
Crowley either. I'm talking of people
such as William G. Gray, Franz Bardon, Julius Evola, Peter Carroll, Stephen
Mace, Phil Hine, Nick Farrell, and other writers who have helped shape the practice of magic
into what it is. I'm also
talking of exploring different forms of ceremonial magic, chaos magic, Tibetan,
Tantric, Quabala, Norse, and Shamanic approaches to magic, etc. If you read some of the authors I mention
above you'll find that they have disciplined, rigorous approaches to magical
practice. These approaches emphasize the
process, and not just the results, as opposed to a lot of the modern books that
emphasize results over process.
Maybe what really needs to be changed is how we understand
magic, how we approach it. Do we
approach it as something which gets us results, or do we approach magic as a
discipline which can inform our spiritual/religious practices (whatever those
may be)? I opt for the latter
choice. By focusing on magic as a
discipline and a process, we can use it to not only inform our spiritual and
religious practices, but we can also use it to achieve a better understanding
of the consequences of our actions, the need to be very responsible and honest
in the actions we choose to take.
Author bio
Taylor Ellwood lives in Seattle. He's a co-author of Creating Magickal Entities (with David Cunninghman and Amanda Wagener), and Kink Magic (with Lupa, forthcoming). He is the author of Pop Culture Magick, Space/Time Magic and Inner Alchemy and the editor of the Magick on the Edge Anthology. When Taylor isn't editing Non-fiction books for Immanion Press, or working on his latest work, he can be found gaming, reading, For more information about Taylor, please go to http://www.magicalexperiments.com/
David Rankine
Without Peers: A Course in Progressive Witchcraft For The Solitary Practitioner
For the Page of Magick Archive. click here.
Developing the Magickal Personality
"I for
"As for
The above passage, fro
When we take our clothes off to work rituals sky clad, we
are casting off our social selves, and co
There are different viewpoints as to the place of the
Magickal Personality in everyday life.
In the passage quoted above, Vivien Le Fay Morgan consciously lives her
W. E. Butler, in "The Magician, his training and
work" (pp 122-127) says that the
In this way, one
Begin this ritual sky-clad, and without jewellery. Cast a circle, and then
Begin to speak as your
In future, you
It is i
It is a good idea, therefore to practice
As a
Magickal na
Use of a
David Rankine
The Oak and Holly Kings
The Oak King is born at Yule, and starts waxing fro
Taking the conjunction of the two Kings, we see that,
although at Litha the Oak King is starting to wane, he is still stronger as the
Holly King has only just been born. At
Lughnasadh the Holly King no
As with Lughnasadh, I
The Oak King sy
The Holly King sy
One point I should
If one keeps in
When the Oak King is born (Yule) and starts to wax, we
Brackets indicate the change-over points of rulership between the two powers.
©2001 TWPT and David Rankine. Article may not be reproduced without the express permission of David Rankine and TWPT.
David Rankine
Of Gods, Animals & Men:
Egyptian magick and culture has something of a special place in western occultism, and one of the most powerful and dominant features of the Egyptian deities is that most are anthropomorphic. Obviously there are exceptions, the most obvious being deities such as Isis and Osiris, but even these have little known elements of lycanthropy in their backgrounds, waiting to be revealed. So how does one work with the different deities, and what energies do the differing animal headed deities represent?
Synonymous with the Sun and the Sun God (Atum then Ra), the scarab (a translation of Khephri) beetle was thought to have been born from a ball of dung, without recourse to the sexual process. The scarab pushed the sun through the night in a ball of dung. Also depicted as a beetle headed man, Khephri was strongly associated with good luck and magickal power, being the creator "He who becomes" (the other translation of the word Khephri). A good force to work with during difficult times ("the dark night of the soul") to change the direction of events, or when you seem to be having a run of bad luck.
The cat and lioness were particularly sacred in ancient Egypt, and there is a strong degree of sharing of aspect between the most common Goddesses Bast and Sekhmet. Bast was originally portrayed as a lioness headed Goddess, and it was only around 1,000 BC that she became commonly depicted as cat headed. Bast is the protective mother, sensual and strong, fertile and even orgiastic. To the Egyptians Felines represented sexuality and sensuality, and it is perhaps in these roles that these Goddesses can give us the most, embodying as they do the power of the unrestricted feminine.
Sekhmet is more a purifying fire Goddess feared by all demons, and on one occasion She had to be made drunk by the Gods to stop Her slaying humanity on a rampage after killing demons; Sekhmet also ruled plague and pestilence, and so could be appealed to for healing diseases. Bast also displays a warrior side of course, in some versions of the myth She slays the serpent Apep when it threatens Ra on his journey through the twelve hours of the night. Tefnut and Mut were also lioness headed Goddesses Tefnut being the Goddess of moisture, who was thought to protect sleepers through the night (hence the carvings of lions on beds), and Mut often being interchanged with Bast and Sekhmet (it is worth noting Mut also had a vulture form).
The crocodile headed God Sebek, was a God of Water, associated with the Nile. He was also in some versions of the Osiris myth the final resting place of Osiris' phallus after it was thrown in the Nile. In this sense he could be seen as the necessary agent of change, an agent of the primal forces requiring change, as manifested by Osiris changing from being a fertility deity of the land to the ruler of the Underworld. Sebek represented the might of the Pharaoh, and in this we can perhaps see the continuation of the divine king as representative of the deities, in their more primal form. Sebek could be seen as the acceptance and integration of the shadow.
The jackal and wolf headed deities are a very common feature throughout Egyptian history, and are usually associated with the underworld and war. Early deities like the wolf headed Sed and Khenti Amenti became assimilated into deities with stronger cults (i.e. Anup [Anubis], and in the case of Khenti Amenti subsequently into Osiris as one of his titles). The jackal and wolf would be called to as guardians and openers of the ways (the translation of Wepwawet, another jackal headed deity, twinned with Anup the pair representing north and south Egypt), and the association with war can be seen in light of this, as the protector of the Pharaoh and peoples.
Anup was also viewed very much as a deity of magick, and there is a very strong polarity and sharing of roles with Jahuti found throughout Egyptian texts (a good example being the sharing of the titles Hery Seshta Master of Secrets, and Ur Hekau Mighty One of Magick, also shared with Isis, and misrepresented by Kenneth Grant as originating with Hekate). Anup is the best known of the jackal headed deities, and is certainly one of the oldest archetypes in the Egyptian culture there are cave carvings from c. 30,000 BC of fertility scenes showing a copulating couple, with the man wearing a jackal head and tail, as well as much later images of priests wearing large and cumbersome looking masks, with their eyes being barely visible just below the snout. This is possibly the most frequently represented, and certainly the oldest recorded use of masks in Egyptian magick and culture.
Sirius, the dog star, was sacred to Anup and Isis (being a binary star this is not surprising), and Anup (symbolised by the invisible Sirius B circling Sirius A) was often portrayed as protector of Isis, being one of the deities who accompanied Her on the quest for the parts of Osiris (along with Jahuti and Horus the Elder). In the Jumilhac Papyrus, a very interesting version of this myth is given, for when Set comes to steal the body Isis has so painfully gathered together and reconstituted with Anup and Jahuti's help, Isis assumes Anup's form, and bites Set, driving him away (Isis also turns into a kite on occasion to perform magick, and copulate with the corpse of Osiris another shapechange showing anthropomorphic roots). Combining this with the suggestion being made by some Egyptologists now that Osiris was originally a wolf headed deity, who changed to being seen as human in form, and we have a clear pointer to animal aspects behind the human form of these deities.
The cow is a major influence in Egyptian theology. The most well known cow goddess is Hathor, but Nuit like Hathor was depicted as the cosmic cow, and Hesat (whose name means milk) the mother of Anup in early papyri, was also a cow goddess. Hathor is a goddess of many aspects. She is often considered to be conjoined with Sekhmet as two aspects of the same. She is a protectress in the underworld, a goddess of love, music and dance, and cosmic mother. She is also depicted as the seven Hathors in the underworld, the mistresses of fate. She is also a goddess of healing, it was Hathor who restored Horus' sight to him after he lost his eyes. As can be seen, Hathor can be worked with for many things, for she is both bountiful and benevolent (unless treated with disrespect).
The goddess Hekat was like Tauret a protector of women in childbirth (which is not surprising considering the higher level of deaths in childbirth then and hence the importance of enlisting the help of the goddess) and also a protector of the home. It has been suggested that Hekate was derived from Hekat, though I feel this is unlikely, given the considerable difference in the significance and natures of the deities.
The falcon/hawk is a symbol of power, light and royalty. Both Horus and Ra, the ruler gods, were hawk-headed. Khonsu, the moon god, was also hawk headed. Khonsu was a deity of healing and also exorcism. The eyes of Horus were the sun and moon. As a bird of prey, it is not surprising that Horus was Lord of the Sky. Hawk deities aid clarity of vision of purpose, giving the insight and power to overcome obstacles.
The goddess Tauret was a hippopotamus deity, and this animal is also sacred to Set. Interestingly, like Set, Tauret is often depicted as a composite deity - with the head of a hippopotamus, arms and legs of a lion, tail of a crocodile and breasts of a woman (Plutarch suggests Tauret was a consort of Set). She protects women in childbirth, detering any malevolent influences by her ferocious appearance and power. She also has a cosmic aspect as a deity of the sky, sharing this role with the cow goddesses. A good deity to work with for empowerment (for women) and removal of preconceptions.
Sacred to Jahuti (Thoth), the ibis was revered in Egypt. Jahuti is a deity of power and mystery. He has a strong lunar nature, and is concerned with knowledge, speech, magick, healing and much more. In some versions of the Egyptian myths it was Jahuti who created the egg which gave birth to the universe. A staunch advocate of truth, Jahuti checked the balance in the underworld to announce the virtue (or otherwise) of the souls. Jahuti is often considered the patron of magick, hence the (dubious) suggestion of the tarot as originating in Egypt (the Book of Thoth), and also of healing, the caduceus having become the symbol of the medical profession. Jahuti aids all who seek truth, wisdom and knowledge.
Strongly associated with creator gods, both Khnum (the potter god) and Amun/Ra have ram-headed forms. The ram was seen as a strong force, creative (as shown by the large phallus of Khnum) and powerful, a bringer of fertility. The distinguishing feature between depictions of the deities is that Khnum was always depicted with wavy horns, whereas Amun was shown with curving horns. These gods are energisers, good for empowerment and creativity, and also male potency.
The Set Creature
Resembling an anteater with a truncated snout, the exact nature of this creature is still hotly debated amongst Egyptologists. What we can say is that Set has repeatedly been mistakenly identified with "evil". Set is the dark principle balancing the light of Horus. Although they fight for sovereignty, it is Set who kills Apophis when all the other gods have been hypnotised, and also Set who holds the celestial ladder for Horus to ascend to the heavens. There has been suggestion that Set was originally a female deity, as all the names of Egyptian deities which end with "t" are for goddesses (the other exception being Wepwawet, who may also have been female anyway).
Set represented the hot desert winds, and the amoral and harsh aspects of nature. As such it is not surprising that many attempts were made to placate Set, and one of the Pharaoh's names was always a name dedicated to Set. Set burns away dross, and could be seen as the fire of transmutation, showing us the pain of loss but also the beauty of growth and change. If his methods seem drastic, they are effective and rapid. Set has much to teach anyone with ears to listen.
©2001 TWPT and David Rankine. Article may not be reproduced without the express permission of David Rankine and TWPT.
David Rankine
The Role of The Fool - The Lord of Misrule
I have long found the role of the fool in rituals fascinating. As we know, the fool symbolises many things, among them the psychopomp or guardian of the soul (the harlequin - from Hel-licon or messenger of Hel, Norse Goddess of the Underworld), the divine innocent following his/her will unaware of even doing so (the Fool of the Tarot, stepping into the abyss), the disruptive element (the Lord of Misrule) of chaotic influence, the wise yet malformed advisor to royalty who has the king's ear (for a perfect example read King Lear). In the context of this piece I am considering the fool as a magickal guide, and referring to his/her place in magickal rituals designed to affect the consciousness of all present (not Morris dancing, plays, etc where there is a non-participating audience).
Within the parameters of a ritual, however, the role of a fool could be considered more strongly defined by magickal common sense and inspiration. The person playing the fool must not lose sight of the importance of their role, or lose contact with the inspiration behind the fool, otherwise s/he merely ends up playing a prat, and having a negative effect on the ritual. The fool should be the most aware person in the circle (for the duration) of where the flow of energy is in the ritual (even more so than the priestess and priest), and for this reason I would suggest that any one playing the fool should be very experienced in group ritual (at least second degree in Wiccan terms), and with experience of the energy of this powerful archetype. The fool does not really disrupt a ritual, s/he changes the perspective of someone within the ritual of its events, by humour, action or subtle wisdom. (In my experience the fool is usually played by a man, but why should it be? Sexual stereotyping rears its head again!)
The fool never orders people around or victimises (knowing what it is to be the victim), if s/he feels the need to make a point, it is done through inspired activity and may be subtle or blunt as required, (ranging from the use of language to confound and overload the ego's censor mechanisms, like the use of Zen koans; to creating impromptu statements to induce fascination and direct the consciousness - e.g. whilst writing this piece the couplet at the end popped into my head) but never forced or rigid. The fool would never disturb anyone performing an invocation or raising/directing energy within a ritual, recognising the negative effects s/he might have by doing so. The fool would also not try to force someone into doing something they do not wish to do, this entirely loses the essence of the fool as a subtle guide and focus of the ritual.
The wearing of distinctive markings - as mask, clothes or body paint help separate the fool from the commonplace. A mask is very good for playing the fool, for it can help remove perception of the personality of the fool character. Behind the mask, the fool is able to study and judge when and where to act next, who to trick into raised awareness (in this the fool can be considered the divinely inspired shaman). The temptation to degenerate into silliness is held in check by a mask as well, reminding the wearer of the importance of their role, and taking them further into it.
The creation of the mask, and the research and meditation and preparation which go into it are a good starter for anyone preparing to play the fool. The bright colours worn by the fool draw attention to him like the plumage of a bird, warning the ego and perhaps causing a slight amount of trepidation as the fool moves through the crowd. This subtle magick prepares people for the actions of a fool going with the flow of events, demonstrating the incisive qualities of a character apart from the crowd.
So should the Fool be at open rituals, where the ritual is purely celebratory, or reserved for more esoteric rituals, where the complex lessons of wisdom and folly can be better understood and integrated? Personally I feel the fool has much to offer at any ritual as long as the energy is channelled well, experience shows people soon get irritated by someone floundering around being foolish, which usually happens when someone is told to be a fool without preparation. However an inspired fool can transform the meaning of a ritual for the participants - s/he does not have to try too hard, it flows and happens if the preparation is put in and the invocation done well.
Marry nuncle, you may disagree
©2001 TWPT and David Rankine. Article may not be reproduced without the express permission of David Rankine and TWPT.
David Rankine
What Is Magick
What is magick? Forget all the fallacies and stereotypical pre-conceptions taught to you out of fear and ignorance and approach this question with an open mind. You will probably find it is not what you have been taught to think. Magick has been defined as "The art and science of causing change to occur in conformity with will *1" which could be put more simply as making desired change happen; or as "energy tending to change"; a definition I use is "magick is conscious evolution through directing energy". This does not really explain magick though, so I will try to elaborate on these phrases without jargon.
An aim of magick is to train the mind by harnessing and making more consciously accessible such higher faculties as intuition, inspiration and the creative imagination, and by drawing on the power of the unconscious - to try and use more than the 10% of our brain's capacity that we do.
Magick assumes belief in, or rather experience of, subtle energies. We can only see about one seventieth of the light spectrum, yet what we cannot see still affects us - such as x-rays and ultraviolet light. Similarly, magick is about focusing more subtle, non-physical energies, and directing them to create change. To go about this requires experience, and training to improve the power of the mind, and specifically, the will.
Acts such as meditation, breath control, voice work, body work, visualization, drama, ritual, and others, are all designed to improve our body and mind, to better sharpen us and balance us, and to enable us to perceive and wield more subtle energies.
In the same way, an individual is as strong as their will, and the more balanced and integrated a person is, the stronger their will (note, this is probably one of the main reasons why so many magicians have experience of counselling and/or psychology, recognising the help these processes can give, both through training and experiencing them. This also acts as a removal of farcical social stigma often attached to these processes).
Practising magick tends to act as a deconditioning mechanism and can be a subtle process, the longer you practice, the more you change and the unnecessary inhibitions, stigmas, guilts and sin complexes that society builds in are removed. This has the effect of releasing their energy into the psyche, where it can strengthen the individual.
The more physical side, such as yoga, bodywork, dance and massage, also removes the tension held in the body as body armour, and releases this and removes energy blockages which impair full efficiency and may result in illness.
Possibly the major difference between magick and many of the religious paths to spiritual growth is that magick is more dynamic, and places the emphasis on you to work for change - there are no gurus in magick, rather there are fellow students with different perspectives and experiences - we learn from each other, as in other areas of life.
Magick tends to work a lot with symbols, as these are the language of the unconscious, and this is an area of tremendous power to tap. Symbols have many functions, and one of these, released through magick, can be the ability to confound the ego and the censor mechanisms, and enabling us to perceive more subtle truths, or experience direct revelations. Although we may not be able to fully explain how symbols work, we know from experience that certain symbols seem harmonious with certain types of energy.
For example a magician may tell you that if you want to attract love you should wear green, and rose perfume, perhaps wear copper, like a bracelet or necklace, etc. These are all things attributed with Venus, who is associated with love, and so the principal is one of contagion - sympathetic magick, or making something happen by working with items linked to it. This is one of the oldest and most commonly practised forms of magick. Working with the symbols of a type of energy does seem to attract that energy.
A cautionary word here, magick is often seen as a way to hidden powers, and entered for the wrong reason, the "I want sex, power and lots of money" syndrome. Now there is nothing wrong with these things in themselves, but when you do magick you will discover that you tend to get what you need rather than necessarily what you want.
When you do magick you generally use techniques to alter your state of consciousness and raise energy, and then direct that energy to create a desired result. The channel that energy takes as directed by your altered state of consciousness is not necessarily the path you might expect in your normal everyday state. Magick does bring you power, yes, but it is power over yourself, not other people. It is the power that is important, to grow and to create positive change.
This does not mean there is anything wrong with using magick to gain more physical things, there is nothing wrong with doing a ritual or spell to get a job, whereas trying to make a specific individual go to bed with you would be wrong. Magick is very much about intent, and if your intent is to get work, you are not imposing on people, whereas if you were trying to make somebody do something that they would not naturally do, you are imposing on their will.
If you did a ritual to attract love without specifying a person, but opening yourself to the opportunity to meet someone where love may arise, and to feel more attractive and better about yourself, you are not imposing, you are trying to create positive change.
Magick is a commitment to yourself, and it requires determination, perseverance, strength, openness to change and absence of rigidity, a love of life (including yourself), and a desire to grow and fulfil your potential. It may be that you already have all these qualities and do this already without calling it magick - magick is not about labels, and those who think and talk as if it is unfortunately put some people off. Magick is learning about the natural flows of energy in the universe, and working in harmony with them to effect positive change, both in yourself and in your environment.
Some people ask why magick is spelt with a 'k' on the end. This is to distinguish it from magic, associated in the popular mind with illusionism and prestidigitation, stage magic. Magick is not about illusion, it is about creating real change, and the 'k' signifies this. K is the eleventh letter of the alphabet, i.e. the one beyond ten. Symbolically this is very powerful, as we work in base ten, and eleven represents the unseen, or hidden energies - the subtle energies of magick, eleven is considered to be the number of magick.
Magickal training and experience bring forth the energies of the unconscious, and so it is no surprise to see that symbols become more important as you develop, providing not only the language of dream and the unconscious, but also helping create a more flexible perception grid of the universe. To grow spiritually, it is vital that you remain flexible and do not become dogmatic, rather that you are open to experience and willing to question your ideas and beliefs as a result of those experiences.
Magick can be a painful process. It is not easy to maintain the discipline and honest self-critical approach all the time. It can also be hard work dealing with the energy released without being knocked off balance sometimes. The important thing in these cases is to remain honest and keep at it. Nobody said magick was easy! It takes a lot of practice and hard work and pain, but the rewards are spiritual and mental growth, the joy of life and the beauty of unconditional love. Beyond the limits there are no limits!
*1Magick - Aleister Crowley
©2001 TWPT and David Rankine. Article may not be reproduced without the express permission of David Rankine and TWPT.


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There are several different formats of CD. Originally CD was developed by Phillips and Sony as a replacement for vinyl. They defined a standard audio format to be used by all domestic CD players and published it in a book with a red cover, thus we have the Red Book Audio CD standard format! Being a digital data format also allows the CD format to be used for computer storage and so there are a number of other "book" types.
All CDs have three distinct areas. The Lead-In Area contains a TOC (Table Of Contents) and is the first area on a CD occupying the innermost 0.4mm of the disc. The TOC contains a list of everything on the CD including the Track ID positions (or start times) of all the audio and data tracks on the disc. The Program Area contains all the actual audio or data tracks. The Lead-Out Area simply marks the end of the Program Area.
All audio CDs can have a maximum of 99 tracks. Tracks IDs mark the beginning of tracks. A track can be a minimum of 4 seconds long (600 sectors).
The data on all CDs is stored in chunks called sectors. There are 330,000 sectors on a CD each of which can hold 2352 bytes. This adds up to a total data capacity of approximately 744MB (Mega Bytes). Different CD formats use this capacity in different ways..
There are now a number of 80 minute CDs available but beware, your software and hardware may not be able to write CDs longer than 74 minutes.
Red Book audio CDs use nearly all of their storage capacity to store audio samples. A single minute of 16-bit 44.1kHz stereo audio uses 10MB of storage. The maximum running time of an audio CD is 74 minutes using 740MB of its total 744MB capacity. The remaining 4MB holds error correction and sub-channel data.
Sub-channel (or sub-code) data is designated by the letters P through to W. In the Lead-In Area the Q sub-channel contains the TOC complete with Track ID positions. In the Program Area the P sub-channel data indicates where music tracks start and end while the Q sub-channel contains time information. During CD Production Mastering it is often necessary to edit the PQ sub-channel data in order to set the Track ID positions, particularly where music tracks crossfade into one another. Incidentally, sub-channels R to W are mostly unused at present.
The Q sub-channel contains four other data fields which we will need to set during Production Mastering.
A session is a collection of tracks. Every time data is recorded to a CD a session is created. Red Book audio CDs must be written in one complete session without pauses, a process called "disk-at-once" by CD-Recorder manufacturers. Because domestic CD players only read the TOC in the Lead-In Area of a disc, a subsequent session which places a second TOC followed by audio tracks on the program area of a disc will never be "seen" by the player. CD-ROM drives are able to recognise all the sessions on a disc and treat them as separate drive volumes.
After the Red Book standard had been established it was realised that CDs which store digital audio could just as well store any other type of digital data and the CD-ROM format was defined (Yellow Book). CD-ROMs use a significant number of their bytes for error correction and thus the room left for storage of actual data is approximately 650MB.
CD-ROM drives are included as standard with all desktop computers and with the appropriate software these drives can extract Red Book audio CD data as computer files and copy it to the computers hard drive where it can be treated like any other audio file.
Subsequently many other formats have been developed (Orange, White, Green and Photo CD) but Blue Book (CD Extra) is probably the other format of interest to music makers. Essentially it is a mixed format that allows both audio and CD-ROM data to be included on the same disc. Such a disc will have two so called "sessions". The first will include all the audio data complete with its TOC. The second will be a CD-ROM session, unplayable by a domestic CD audio player but recognisable when placed in the CD-ROM drive of a computer system.
The idea is that an artist can include some new (multi) media material such as animation, interviews, videos etc to complement the audio section. Because a CD-ROM session will eat into the total storage capacity of the disc this material may only be a taster for a more comprehensive and separately available CD-ROM production. Recently several LPs (including Coldcut's brilliant "Let US Play") have included a complete second CD-ROM disc. Many sound recording magazines include Blue Book cover CDs containing PC, Mac and audio sessions.
Now we know something about CD data formats we can move on to discussing different types of CD recorder hardware and the CD discs they are capable of creating. There are currently two recorder/disc types ...
Both of these formats are implemented in two hardware types ...
These recorders can accept either a stereo analogue signal, SPDIF (Sony Phillips Digital Interface), AES, or optical TOS-Link digital input from a device such as an audio interface, digital mixing desk, CD player, or DAT recorder. They are capable of automatically converting DAT ID markers into CD track markers.
The second recorder type are computer front-ended. This means they are connected to a computer system like any other storage device, usually internally or externally using a FireWire or USB 2 interface/cable which supports the kind of sustained data transfer rates necessary for creating an audio CD. The data to be recorded is prepared and stored on a hard drive and an appropriate application is employed to transfer it to the recorder and write, or burn, the disc.
Such a system has several advantages over a stand alone recorder ...

subset: commoncrawl


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The Marin County Sheriff Office is committed to providing the public with information that is vital to the health of the community. This is done by providing timely assistance and public records when requested. One of the services that the office provides the public is the online jail booking log which allows residents as well as researchers to find information on individuals that are currently booked in the County jail facility. The online search log allows the public to check the Marin county arrest records and look for individuals who are currently in-custody, types of charges they face, the police agency that made the arrest, bail and the court appearance of the offender.
To access the online search tool, visit the Sheriff's official website provided below. Click the "Jail Booking Log" and indicate the last name of the offender or if you are interested in bookings made for the last 48 hours. For bookings beyond the said period, it is best to contact the Sheriff's office as the booking logs do not provide details with regards to offenders that are not currently held in the county jail.


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January 15, 2020 - July 29, 2020
Mountain Adventure Horseback Ride
Phone: 800-234-3833
Venue: Tanque Verde Ranch
Time: From: 08:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Recurring weekly on Monday, Wednesday
Every Monday and Wednesday, year round, expand your horizons with a half day Mountain Adventure Ride through the desert. Starting at 8:00 AM you will set off with your favorite horse deep into the Rincon Mountains where you will be able to take in the beautiful scenery and broad wildlife of the Sonoran Desert. This walk ride is an adventure for all skill levels of horsemanship so long as you are involved in the riding program or have passed the lope check. With large elevation gains and losses and narrow trails, this is a unique way to explore the desert on horseback. Complete with a packed lunch in the winters and pack breakfast in the summer, it is a great opportunity to live like the cowboys and cowgirls of the old days. Perching next to your favorite Saguaro or in the shadows of one of the low lying trees, you can take in the beauty of the Saguaro National Forest. Back by high noon, it is a great chance to take memorable photos or simply enjoy the sights the Tucson area has to offer. See you in the saddle!


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Steam account required for game activation and installation This content requires the base game Endless Space® 2 on Steam in order to play
PC System RequirementsMINIMUM:OS: Windows (64bits only) 7 / 8 / 8.1 / 10Processor: i3 4th generation / i5 2nd generation / A6 seriesMemory: 4 GB RAMGraphics: Intel HD 4000 / AMD Radeon 5800 series / NVidia 550TiDirectX: Version 11Storage: 8 GB available spaceSound Card: DX11 compatibleAdditional Notes: Minimum Resolution: 1280 x 720
RECOMMENDED:OS: Windows (64bits only) 7 / 8 / 8.1 / 10Processor: i3 5th generation (or newer) / i5 3rd generation (or newer) / FX4170 (or newer)Memory: 8 GB RAMGraphics: AMD Radeon 8000 series or newer / NVidia GTX 660 or newerDirectX: Version 11Storage: 8 GB available spaceSound Card: DX11 compatibleAdditional Notes: Recommended Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Mac System RequirementsMINIMUM:OS: MAC OS X 10.11 or higherProcessor: Intel Core i5 2.7GhzMemory: 6 GB RAMGraphics: GeForce 775M | Radeon HD 6970 | Intel Iris ProStorage: 8 GB available space
Activation Details
Endless Space 2 – Penumbra introduces the long-awaited hacking feature, invisibility and the community-created faction: the Umbral Choir.
The Umbral ChoirThe Umbral Choir have been roaming the universe since the dawn of time, silent observers of the woes of the world. At last, they heard the death cry of the Endless Galaxy and decided to rush to the aid of those who suffered.
The Umbral Choir only own a single hidden system throughout the entire game. They can however expand and fuel their economy by building sanctuaries on neutral or enemy system anonymously. This faction heavily relies on its ability to stay undetected and on its formidable use of the hacking feature.
HackingIn the new scan view, players can now initiate hacking operation from a system they own to a target system. While the hack progresses, the player and their target will be able to set up offensive and defensive programs to influence its progression. If the hack succeeds, the attacker will be able to choose among several potentially crippling outcomes..
Invisibility Penumbra also comes with new invisibility modules allowing your fleets to infiltrate enemy lines without being detected. However, there are multiple levels of invisibility and these can always be countered by detection modules.
You can create a Steam Account HERE .
Click HERE to download Steam to
your PC/Laptop.
You can activate Steam key by:
Open the Steam client.
Create/Sign in to your Steam account.
Click "ADD A GAME" button in the bottom corner of the
Select "Activate a product on Steam...".
Paste in the activation key you received from Voidu.
Click on "Library" to find your game.
Click on your game and select "install" to start your download.


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CityScan has analyzed the urban street ecosystem and translated all of its oddities, quirks and standards into data. From this, the company is able to draw insight about what, exactly, works best for, say, catering to pedestrians at the intersection of two busy one-way streets. With its vast database of urban and infrastructure data, the company can quickly make a set of best recommendations to clients, be they planning firms, developers, or to cities themselves.
To get its data, CityScan uses images, Mobile Terrestrial LiDAR technology and other open datasets. CityScan empowers municipalities to accurately predict and proactively respond to changes that impact their communities. Established in 2011, CityScan is headquartered in Chicago.


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The Cathedral Museum is hosting an exhibit of Byzantine Icons from November 2015 - February 2016. The museum is located inside the Cathedral Center next to the Cathedral (515 Cathedral Street, Lafayette 70501). Its hours of operation are 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM Monday - Thursday and 9:00 AM - 12:00 NOON Friday.
For additional information please visit www.saintjohncathedral.org or contact the parish office at 337-232-1322.


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Today is very windy and cold in NJ and it feels like Christmas. I baked a wonderful cheesecake last night for company this weekend. The house smelled wonderful with gingersnap crust, butter and vanilla extract. When the cheesecake filling was added and baked the house smelled like home!
We went with more rustic type trees in this house, twig trees to be exact. They are pre-lit incandescent soft clear bulbs and add that touch of soft glow that is loved at Christmas. 6.5 ft. and 4.5 seemed to be a great choice, perfect for me to decorate.
Thought this gave a good shot of the branches of these trees.
The tree in the foyer is placed in a wooden sled I bought 25 years ago. It used to be bright red and have holly leaves on it. It felt it to cartoonish for me as we got older.
Years back, before I even knew what blogging was I painted it with black paint and aged over that with silver paint I mixed with umber paint and clear glaze. So wish I had those pictures now.
I added stencils using joint compound that gave it the raised look. After it was dry I added my silver mixture. Bam, beauty.
This tree is filled with German glass ornaments, adore the soft glow.
This tree is our 6.5 ft. tree and is in the Great room. This tree has all glass ornaments also, many that are Christopher Radko and Old World ornaments. It also has some ornaments from Poland and all German ornaments on it that I cherish.
I don't have a theme to our trees. I add any glass ornaments that are beautiful, have shimmer and touch me in some way.
Added an Italian ornament for me. John has quite a few of Irish on our tree.
John placed our Mercury glass tree topper on and put some bulbs inside to make it glow, LOVE this man, always thinking.
I tried our old tree skirt and it was to fancy for this tree, these are more old-fashioned and rustic. So what to do in a hurry, well, you make one with what you have on hand. I had a roll of burlap and some French Script ribbon I purchased from Ballard on sale a couple of years ago.
I had some burlap around and French Script ribbon I purchased from Ballard on sale. I've been stalling to use this ribbon. Love it and I know I can't get it from them again but this was perfect.
I think the tree skirt adds the perfect finishing touch. What do you think???
Have a great weekend everyone. Much to do and more posts to get out.


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Forts in Al-Riffa
Browse 21 attractions, meet 1 travelers, 9 tour guides and discover 38 photos
Travelers are voting Qalat Al Bahrain, Riffa Fort and Arad Fort as the best of 3 forts in Al-Riffa. You can find 3 Fort in the country of Bahrain and Qalat Al Bahrain is our members favorite Fort in all of Bahrain. Want more? Check out our map of forts in Al-Riffa.
Qalat Al BahrainPlaces To Visit FortsManama, Bahrain
The Qal'at al-Bahrain (also known as the Bahrain Fort or Fort of Bahrain and previously as the Portugal Fort (Qal'at al Portugal) is an…89
Riffa FortPlaces To Visit FortsAl-Riffa, Bahrain
Built as a fort during the reign of the Persian Safavid Empire of Iran over Bahrain during the 17th century, the fort was converted into a residence…7
Arad FortPlaces To Visit FortsArad, Bahrain
Arad Fort is a 15th century fort in Arad, Bahrain. Arad Fort was built in the typical style of Islamic forts during the 15th century A.D. before the P…7


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Keep up your easy swagger with the lightweight style of the Vans® Black Ball SF shoe!
Lightweight textile upper with signature leather side stripe design.
Designed with water-based inks and glues.
Removable and washable UltraCush Eco insole for support and comfort.
Vulcanized construction for rock solid durability.
Sticky rubber outsole with the signature waffle tread of Vans.
Vans logo at foxing of heel.
Measurements: Weight: 15 oz
Featured Products
Converse Ct Lite 2 Trainers - Women - Rose Metallic Reptile Snake Exclusive
$185.31 $92.66
Save: 50% off


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HP Board Class 12th Results 2017 Available Now
HPBOSE Plus 2 (Class 12th) 2017 Exam Results:
Official Exam Released Dates of Class 12th 2017:
The Himachal Pradesh Board of School education (HPBOSE) has decided to release the results of hp Plus 2 results 2017 or hp board class 12th results 2017. results in the first week of May probably on 6th of May 2017. Hence, the students are advised to to keep their hall ticket or admit card of 12th class ready. Huge numbers of students have appeared for the exams, which were conducted in the month of March 2017 at various centers. The HPBOSE senior Intermediate Results 2017 or 12th class results 2017 can be available at its official web site, The results can also be checked at other sites such as www.schools9.com .Other social media platforms like Face book also can be used to get the latest updates on the results. Around 1.2 lakh students have appeared for the examinations this year for all the streams like Arts, Commerce and Science.
- HPBOSE Class 12th Results 2017
- HP Board Plus 2 results 2017
- HP Board SOS Class 12th 2017 Exam Results
- Himachal Pradesh 12th results 2017
- hp board class 12th results 2017
- Sr Secondary Results 2017
- HP Board SOS 2017 Exam Results
- HP Arts results 2017
- HP Board Commerce 2017 Results
Tips to know HP Board Plus 2 Results 2017:
The Exams for all streams like Arts, Commerce and Science will be conducted at a time. The students are under the impression Plus 2 exams are very important as the marks obtained in this examination will be useful to get good professional courses. They are preparing well for the examinations well in advance. The students can check their hp board class 12th results 2017. or himachal Pradesh school education board dharamashala 12th result 2017 by using their roll number or by using name wise search option at the site.
Himachal Pradesh Board +2 results 2017:
The Himachal Pradesh Board of school education (HPBOSR) was setup as per Act 14 by the Government of Himachal Pradesh Government in the year 1968. Initially the head quarter was at Shimla, later in the year it was shifted to Dharamshala. Prescribing of Syllabus, Text Books and conducting examinations comes under the responsibilities of the board and it is striving continuously to improve the standards of education in the state.


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Here is another character from Animal Crossing that is one of the first figures you will see in the game. Here is "how to draw Tom Nook", step by step. He is one of the very first figures you see in Animal Crossing as he is the one that sets you up with your house. Tom also lets you work at his shop so you earn enough bells to pay off your mortgage. When you sell stuff at the market, Tom is usually one of the villagers that buys your fish, fruit, and other items you have for sale. He is a pretty simple character to draw considering the fact that he is a raccoon that has a lazy look on his face. I think you will find this lesson easy to follow as well as fun to tackle. I still have one more character to upload but it will not be of an animal from Animal Crossing. Enjoy your day and be sure to lave your thoughts below each tut. Peace out or adios!
DragoArt members upload artwork and drawing tutorials! They are also allowed to leave comments on tutorials, profiles, etc. Many more features, as well; it's way better than just being a boring guest! Register Now!


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Mehdi Yousefi, DMD, MS Geriatric and Oral Pathology
Dr. Yousefi began practicing dentistry in 1971. He holds a Doctor of Medical Dentistry (DMD) with honors from the National University of Iran. Dr. Yousefi has received extensive specialized training. He trained in Geriatric Dentistry at the Harvard University School of Medicine and Dentistry, where he was awarded a second-place prize by the American Academy of Implant Dentistry Research Foundation. He also trained in Oral Pathology at the University of Maryland, where he graduated with excellence and became an honorary member of Phi Kappa Phi.
Raha Yousefi, DDS
Dr. Raha Yousefi grew up in Maryland. She attended the University of Maryland – College Park and went on to earn a Doctorate of Dental Surgery (DDS) from Howard University College of Dentistry in 2010. After receiving her DDS, she went on to further studies, earning a Multidisciplinary Master of Public Health and a Certificate in Periodontics from the University of Pittsburgh


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UnitedHealthcare has implemented a reimbursement policy that applies to all laboratory services to align with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) requirements. The effective date for the policy was Nov. 1, 2016 for participating providers and Aug. 1, 2016 for non-participating providers. The reimbursement policy applies to UnitedHealthcare commercial and Medicare Advantage members claims submitted on either a CMS 1500 claim form or HIPAA 5010 837 P claim file.
The policy requires that all claims for laboratory services include the CLIA number for the servicing care provider. The lab servicing provider's physical address also will be required if the address differs from the billing provider's address noted on the claim. The billing or servicing provider's address must match the address associated with the CLIA ID number. CLIA regulatory requirements vary by the kind of test each laboratory conducts. Tests are categorized as waived, moderate complexity or high complexity. CLIA requires all lab testing sites to have one of the following certificates to legally perform clinical laboratory testing.
Types of CLIA Certificates:
- Certificate of Waiver
- Certificate of Registration
- Certificate of Accreditation
- Certificate for Physician-Performed Microscopy
- Certificate of Compliance
For more information on CLIA requirements and test complexity categories, go to CLIA website at cms.hhs.gov/clia/.


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Word Art Wednesday Challenge#96 - Anything Goes with a Scripture or encouraging sentiment
Thursday, September 5, 2013
I played my best for Him!
Word Art Wednesday Challenge#96 - Anything Goes with a Scripture or encouraging sentiment
8 comments:
- kiwimeskreations said...
Grace this is a stunner - love the shabby look you have achieved to mirror the drummer boy image.
- September 5, 2013 at 4:39 AM
- Carla S. said...
Gorgeous card, Grace! Love the sweet image and the shabby style! Wonderful design!
- September 5, 2013 at 9:50 AM
- Mary Ann said...
Beautiful card!Love how you colored your image,Awesome design!!!
- September 5, 2013 at 7:40 PM
- SarahGeorge said...
Lovely colouring and thanks for the steps on how you made this card Grace.It was really helpful. And the stitching is so nicely done and it adds to the simple beauty of the card.
- September 6, 2013 at 4:48 AM
- Karen Letchworth said...
Hello Grace!
What a darling new ODBD image. You did an amazing job with it, and I am so grateful to have you share your art in our challenge. Hope you're doing well and having a blessed week.
Word Art Wednesday
- September 6, 2013 at 3:19 PM
- Conniecrafter said...
Way too cute, Awesome coloring, such great design, and combo of the sets!
- September 6, 2013 at 5:28 PM
- Anne Fenton said...
This is adorable, great coloring. Thank you for joining TTCRD this week.
- September 6, 2013 at 9:23 PM
- Unknown said...
He is just so adorable... I think You just inspired me to buy him and try him out myself this Christmas for a very special someone!
Perfect coloring, great layout, Grace...
Have an amazing day! :)
- September 10, 2013 at 5:00 PM


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On-Scene Controller
The purpose of an On Scene Controller (OSC) is three-fold; Protection of Life, Protection of Property and Protection of Environment. This one day course provides training for those who, in the event of an incident, will be required to take on the role of On Scene Controller. Participants in the course will learn essential information through both classroom presentations and hands on exercises, covering a wide range of subjects set out in CARs Regulations under Section 302, specially dealing with sections Sections 302.201,302.203, 302.204, 302.306, and 302.207. For more information click on the flyer!


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Veteran sports writer Jim Utter covers NASCAR for The Charlotte Observer and its racing site, ThatsRacin.com. In this space, Jim writes about all things NASCAR and other forms of racing which may also be relevant ... or not.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
RCR loses court fight to prevent Matt McCall from joining Chip Ganassi Racing
McCall, who was a team engineer on Sprint Cup driver Ryan Newman's team this past season, is slated to become crew chief for driver Jamie McMurray beginning with the 2015 season.
In its order issued on Dec. 19, the court ruled, "the Court finds that Plaintiff (RCR) has not
presented sufficient evidence to show that it is likely that it will succeed on the merits of its claims, that Plaintiff will suffer irreparable harm if a temporary restraining order is not entered, or that the issuance of a temporary restraining order is necessary to protect Plaintiff's rights during the pendency of the litigation."
In the case, RCR claimed that even though McCall was employed as a team engineer, he "routinely performed the tasks of the crew chief." When no crew chief position was available in the Cup series with the organization, McCall notified RCR he was resigning at the conclusion of the 2014 season. Days later, McCall accepted the crew chief position with Ganassi.
RCR claimed McCall's contract included a clause that he could not work for a competitor in a similar capacity for 12 months and sought a temporary restraining order preventing him from working immediately at Ganassi.
You can read the court's full opinion here.
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