When Does Wrong Become Right?- Musings on Spiritual Traditions and the Materia Magica

I sit here, way past my bed time, when I should be editing new items for the shop. Something has long been preying on my mind that maybe has no answer, or is at the very least, highly subjective.
I have been fortunate enough to have had ample time over the years to pour through magical texts, both ancient and modern, and even more fortunate to interact with living magical traditions for the majority of my life. That said, when a certain component is mistranslated, either purposely or in honest error, and a formula is transmitted through the generations in its uncorrected form, when does that become the correct "way" and the original wrong?

An example: Abra-Melin Oil. There are at least three major versions, four if you count the original Oil of Tanakh. The version most widely used on a regular basis is the Crowley, used regularly by Thelemites the world over. As per Crowley's instructions, it is composed of essential oils, not by the classical method of macerating the herbs in olive oil. By his own admission, this is a burning, "biting" oil. It burns the hell out of your skin, it leaves red marks, and even blisters on more sensitive skin! And he liked it that way. So that particular formula, one could argue, is correct for adherents of Thelema. There isn't a bloody chance in hell you'd get that much pure cinnamon oil near MY skin, but that is just me :P Even the cinnamon leaf oil is a bit much, though much more tolerable. I don't like galangal EO either; it goes rancid too quickly. Pain in the butt to find, too.

Certain other translations insist on galangal's inclusion in the formula, while others deny that this is so, and insist on calamus. Now, knowing what I do about the regional specifications of the oil, calamus IS perhaps more likely to have been included in the original. Calamus, of which there are many varieties, is native to India. Galangal is native to Asia and India. One can argue trade routes, and the extent to which traders would go to acquire precious spice and scent is very well postulated and documented. One can even argue about true plant origins; I've met people that insist that calamus is native to Northern Africa (it isn't). Debates rage about mistranslations found in different texts, and it all comes down to who wants their version to be the right one.
We come to another problem. The amount of oil prescribed in certain translations is not even enough to cover the herbal dry matter. Most practitioners have not found this to be a problem, and simply add more oil. Who'da thunk? Common sense, yes? But it still bugs me, and tickles at the back of my brain.

Practice magic for any length of time, and you develop ritual quirks. You use a particular incense regularly, even if it is the cheap-y sticks 10 for a buck at the local shop, and that scent triggers your ritual mindset. After years and years of spraying my ritual area with a blend or myrrh oil mixed with water (quite handy for outdoor magic, when you want to avoid fire) I still "trigger" at that particular scent. As Ac has so kindly pointed out, the sense of smell is our only known sense that bypasses the hypothalamus, and reaches us directly without filters.
Everyone has experienced that moment of, say, bread baking takes you back in time to your Grandmother's kitchen, or someone walks by, wearing the same perfume your first sweetheart wore... You can re-visit entire periods in your life from a smell catching you unawares. Magical practitioners have harnessed this, to some extent.

What I would like to touch on next are formulas found within traditional American folk magic. Hoodoo, Root work, etc.
While I have nothing but the utmost respect for those who not only preserved the traditions, but popularized them (thus keeping them from dying a slow, sad death), I take issue with some of these folks as well. Many traditional formulas are reproduced for the benefit of all that use them. I firmly believe that you do not have to practice Hoodoo to enjoy the amazing power of, say, Abre Camino, Love Drawing, or Van Van Oil. What I have a problem with is the over-standardization of these formulas. There are some Root Workers that say that you have to use jojoba oil for this kind of condition, or almond oil as a base for that condition oil. That is all well and good, but frankly, the ladies who I grew up around insisted on using olive oil for just about everything. Granted, there are many things that I was not privy to, being a young un' but I kept my eyes open and my mouth shut, and it was always the bottle of olive oil (sometimes, one or two of them used Crisco for macerating herbs, though). Maybe this was just because it was the most widely available "living " oil. Not denatured by heat and chemicals, in other words.
I still remember being allowed to come along to seal a house from... whatever was in it, and the surrounding property. I was instructed to dip my finger in the small white bowl of olive oil, and make crosses on the lintels of the doors, and any place I "saw" something. That was it. Very simple, not as product heavy as many Hoodoo spells that are in popular modern circulation. There are certain condition formulas that seem to have a great variance by region, even among modern practitioners. This is only natural, we find what works for us, and most Root Workers don't just make the stuff, but pray over it, "charge" it, and make it active for their client. It's natural that they would alter a formula slightly to their liking, as they are the one using it.
Some formulas vary drastically by region, in great part to availability of herbs, the influence of previous occupants of the land (those who practice in Pennsylvania are more likely to have been influenced by German settlers) or Native Americans. Despite what many within the "New Age" community believe, there is no such thing as a single group called " Native Americans", and believing so is delusional. I am 1/4 Cherokee, and look fairly typical in facial features to other Southern Cherokee women. Large eyes, set far apart, a nose you'd have to see to believe, strong jaw, and high cheekbones. We look different than, say, the Diné, or Mattaponi, and we have different rituals, magic, and medicine (medicinal plant and illness varying by region). Hoodoo being the natural result of African magic blending with local tribes, will have variations according to magic of origin, region, and stability of community (how much time you had to pass a formula on). But if a magical practitioner is accustomed to a particular variation above all others... Unfortunately, this is a much neglected area of study, and many practitioners are completely unaware that there are variations. Greatly in need of cataloging and description. Kinda wishing that Harry M. Hyatt was still around ;)

But magical practitioners get set in their ways, and despite the modern resurgence of the occult and the seeming erasure of geographic barriers that the Internet pretends to, we are still very much separated by our geography. Occultists and Pagans in certain towns in the Midwest have a different style of practice than those on the Coasts; the West Coast being heavily influenced by Reclaiming, Feri, aspects of the Hermetic, and Buddhism, and the other being heavily influenced by British Trad, Southern Folk Magic and Root work, etc. Not only that, we all experience different levels of in house politics. Some regions have more domineering, charismatic, or catty "leaders" or human focal points. Some have strong, stable, and supportive communities. Some actively engage in magical warfare as par-for-the-course. We are not a singular community yet, but plural communities that occasionally engage in tentative contact.
So, if you've read this far (and who reads this many bloody pages on the Internet, lol), I just want to pose the question: When does wrong become right? When does the weight of years overcome what was done long ago, and become the "right", standard way to do something? When does the personal experience of a practitioner outweigh Tradition?

Let me know your honest thoughts and opinions on any and all of these topics. Right now, it's 2AM. Currently reading "The Mote in God's Eye", by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle :)

-Carmin

Maceration vs. Essential Oils

It's about time that some herbal information made it up here :P
I'd like to touch on not only the technical difference between macerated and essential oils, but how their effects vary in ritual and spell craft.

Okay, first of all (and most of you already know this), but an essential oil isn't really an oil at all, having little or no fatty substance . By-the-by, if you're buying essential oils from a metaphysical store, and they have a slightly greasy feel to them, more likely than not, they have been cut with grape seed oil, which has no real scent of its own, making it a popular carrier oil. Just a heads up.

Sorry for the detour, just thought that it bore mentioning! Okay, essential oils are the volatile oil/essence/heart of a plant. They can be extracted using steam distillation, alcohol/solvent extraction (necessary for some plants that won't react to steam, or for tough root-based essential oils), or through a labor-intensive process called enfleurage, in which fresh blossoms are delicately pressed into a screen that is first layered with fat. The flowers release the full range of their precious scent as they die, and the fat is scraped and refined. Enfleurage created essential oils, while they tend to be terribly expensive, are also more layered and complex in their scent.

While magical practitioners as a rule, tend to enjoy making their own tools, most of these methods are beyond the scope of the average person. Creating essential oils, even in minuscule amounts, takes a lot of raw plant matter (land, ability to harvest, or access and ability to purchase large amounts of fresh material locally), a large monetary investment in equipment and tools, time to experiment and get a pleasing end result. So many variables go into creating a proper essential oil; scent varies dramatically depending on the time of day that the plants are harvested, heating temperatures during distillation, etc.

Okay. Maceration, in this sense, refers to covering dried plant matter with oil, and allowing it to release it's scent, medicinal, and magical properties into the oil. Anyone with access to dried herbs, or a bit of a garden to grow and dry their own, can do this.The end result varies dramatically, depending on what you are using. Dragon's Blood resin, for example, stains the carrier oil to a brilliant, bloody red almost immediately, and releases its potent scent very well by this method. I recommend a bit of sunlight to help it along.
Others, such as licorice root, have almost no perceivable scent, and if you are using a strongly scented carrier, such as olive oil, may be buried completely.
Don't be ridiculously disappointed if your oils aren't strongly scented. They still pack a magical wallop, and are far superior to those pretty packaged fragrance (read, plastic) oils at the messy-physical store.

A lady recently contacted me about making macerated oils, and said that she was having trouble finding info on it. So, in the interest of helping along the magical herbalist, what follows is a fairly detailed explanation of making oils, and keeping them from going bad:

Sterilize your jars thoroughly. Very, very important. Wash them with antibacterial dish soap, allow them to dry, and then another wash with alcohol. Dry them out with a hairdryer or heat gun. Fill the jar about halfway with your favorite herb, cover with your chosen carrier oil. Use extra virgin, cold extracted oils. Cap tightly, and let it macerate for about a week and strain. If the scent or effect still isn't strong enough for your taste, add fresh dried herbs to the strained oil, and perform the same process over again, until you get your ideal results. During the last straining, add a bit of Vitamin E oil, benzoin, or tincture of benzoin for preservation.

Macerated oils are delightful to use in spell craft, and have a much longer history of use in magic than essential oils do. Hoodoo Condition Oils are traditionally made by this method, though many modern practitioners pump up the effect with essential oils.

Essential oils have gotten a glamorous reputation lately, partly because of their exorbitant cost. Many believe that they are more powerful, as they contain the essence of a plant. Macerated oils are a bit homely, not having the noticeable scent that EOs do. Both are quite effective in spell casting, but layering and tailoring effects is more effective with the soaked versions (they play well with others). They seem to hold a greater amount of energy, and blend well with each other. EO's tend to work very quickly, and are unsurpassed if your intent lies on a highly psychological level; it is similar to the difference of medicinal herbalism and aromatherapy. One isn't necessarily BETTER than the other, except in the condition and the individual they are treating.Magic is nothing if not personal, and specific. Natural perfumery is well worth study; learning which EO's blend well with each other, composing scents based on base, heart, and top notes, as well as using your magical training to tailor intent.

Just please, please, always use the natural varieties. Fragrance oils have no magical power in and of themselves, and whatever results are the outcome, are all you, with a bit of the placebo effect thrown in.

-Carmin

p.s
Almost forgot to mention. There will be an oil or tincture that you will struggle with. Mine was basil. No matter how clean the bottles were, no matter how carefully, thoroughly dry the basil, it would always mold on me. It took me two full growing seasons to master the art of basil tinctures and oils; don't be afraid to experiment until you find what works for you :)

A Good Reason To Read A Bad Book

All right, prepare to point and laugh :D

I am currently reading a bad book on Wicca.

Admittedly, there have been some real steaming piles written on Wicca, Witchcraft, and really magic (or magick, or majyck, lol) in all forms. Among certain circles of high-falutin' practitioners, it is a SIN to not only read these books, but to own them *gasp* is reason enough to commit hara-kiri. Not wanting to be considered "fluffy", ill-educated, or simply be criticized by the peers that they hold in high regard, many avoid these books like the Black Plague, and simply carry on the flag of scorn to a new generation, without reading the offending text (thus polluting their pure minds).

My education in the Craft of the Wise has been an odd one; I didn't start out with the "right" books, the "right teacher", or the "right tools". In other words, at the time I was coming into it, I did not have a ton of money to spend on those shiny books with the Llewellyn crescent on them, a giant athame from THAT catalogue, or "properly Witch-y clothes". Yup, someone has actually said that to me before, lol.
My athame is an absolutely ancient extra-long boning knife that I swiped from the kitchen, and painted the handle. I've used it so much that the oils in my hands have made the paint sink into the wood permanently, and I can no longer recall the original color. But the balance is true, and the steel is beautiful. It doesn't look like much, and certainly doesn't have a fancy pseudo-archaeological symbol on it.
I never watched "The Craft". Still haven't, though I'd like to see what the fuss is all about, especially considering that it was the #1 complaint of every Elder in the Pagan community back then... Some girl watches "The Craft", throws on gobs of eyeliner, gets a pentacle that you could beat a mule to death with, and calls herself Wiccan. Those were the days, lol.

So, without access to most of the stock in the local metaphysical bookstore, I got my hands on better books, all by accident. Culpeper's Herbal (found it for sale at my school library) because I couldn't get Cunningham, for example.

The real point of this? I borrowed a copy of "The Grimoire of Lady Sheba" from a friend. This is a much maligned text in popular circles today, but it had a few good points. It's just a matter of stripping away the extraneous bits.


1. It's a bit pompous. Ugh, okay, very pompous. Ignore that bit where the author is Witch Queen of the Universe times infinity, and that the necklace that she owns (never before revealed to the public) is undeniable proof of this fact. Ignore that too.

2. It claims that every spell, rule, law, and recipe in the book is ancient. Ignore that bit, most people during the 70's, and before that, really, tacked that on there to validate (in someone else's eyes) what worked for them. It's set a BAD precedent, with people still claiming that they were taught by mysterious "Gypsy" women, but now is the time that we can get this right. No worries.

3. The recipes. Oh boy...where do I start? The "Witches Flying Ointment" is insanely poisonous in the proportions given, however, the author openly admits that she has never used it.
The majority of the remaining recipes are swiped from the widely inaccurate work by Lewis De Claremont, "The Ancient Book of Formulas" (originally published in 1940). Most of the recipes in that particular text are simple variations on one another. They all contain a rotating pattern of about four of the same ingredients, in different proportions, plus the addition of De Claremont's company's secret Compound/ Bouquet formulas.Which a practitioner had to buy in order to make the recipe for their ritual. Lady Sheba has left out the stock compounds, but printed the others word for word. I don't see a darn word of credit in Sheba's book either.

3.5 Did I mention the recipes? The "Abtina Incense" really sets me off. The Abtina family made the most prized incense in Jerusalem, and would not give the recipe to anyone, even with exhortations from their Rabbi. The incense that they made was offered twice daily in the temple, and the penalty for composing it incorrectly (at the time) was death. Not only must it be composed in the proper proportions, but in the correct total amount, all at once. Certain aspects of the formula have been revealed through oral tradition, but it most certainly did not contain "winters bark", for crying out loud.

Okay, so the good bits.

1.She describes a fair, albeit garbled and over simplified, method for making a topa, or spell thought-form.

2.She says that a Wiccan must keep a clean house *goes to dust the bookshelf*

3.Insists that practitioners keep their word and tell the truth.

4.Gives a good description of the Witches Pyramid, one better than I've heard in a thousand glib literary re-tellings.

5.A decent description of the Eight-fold Path, though, again, it is oversimplified and doesn't touch on the where, why, and how (to what end) a practitioner would use certain methods to achieve a specific altered state.Two pages certainly does not do them justice.

6. Insists that a practitioner should be prepared to perform magic when necessary; Knowing the day, Moon phase, time, planetary hour, and the current ruler ship for each. I approve. Who carries around a stack of correspondences anyway? Know your craft, inside and out.


Okay, okay. I would NEVER, EVER recommend this book for a beginner. It's too easy to take seriously if you have no prior study of magic, and are not able to separate the gems from the poo.

If you consider this book more as one practitioner's use of magic than THE BOOK OF ALL WICCA, then it is an okay read. She put the stuff in that worked for her, and a few other bits to flesh it out, which I don't really agree with, but know that this was kind of expected at the time. What I am really overjoyed to discover is what so many modern authors are using as source material. The "Oh, Duh!" moment. That sentence sounds just like... etc.

Reading a bad book can be a good thing. :P The recognition of concepts buried within a text can be immanently valuable; not to mention that this was the first book that many practitioners got their hands on. It's nice to recognize where people are coming from.
Proceed to point and laugh.

And It Goes Something Like This...

Race against the sun to get good pictures (the light dies at 3pm).
Edit, crop, size, and hopefully put them in the right folder.
Write a short piece about each new item, write the code, get it placed properly, make payment buttons, fumble with the new organizing system, shout at least three incomprehensible swear words, have a cigarette.
Realize that you are 10 minutes behind schedule with the upload. Mutter eighteen expletives, some of which are only known in certain remote bits of Australia.To wombats.
Do the upload. Check it on the B machine, only to realize that the stone pictures came out broken. Scream.
Wish for the liquor fairy.
Re-upload all the pictures. Realize that the new herbs that were set in place for a future installment are there, but no one can have them.
Fearful of being branded an herb-tease, you make new buttons. Re-upload. Double and triple check, still with the vague paranoia that you have forgotten something. Growl.
"Where's that damn liquor fairy?!"

Urm, yeah. That's me and web design. The monthly specials are all in place. There is a prosperity and luck theme this month, with Algiers Fast Luck Oil, Green Calcite, Organic Peppermint, and the perennial favorite, kyphi incense. Just because you guys * lurv* it ;) Excellent for chasing away winter doldrums.

Tomorrow, more of the same. The new year brought with it a windfall of beautiful, drool-worthy new stones and crystals, all ethically harvested and mined, like the rest of the collection, and it should be up by tomorrow evening.

Class will be held on Tuesday night, and now that the end of winter is in sight (fingers crossed), the "Power-Walks: Magic in the Great Outdoors" class will begin again.
Hoping for mid-March.
Heck, hoping that more local Pagans actually want to get outside this year. <----Broad hint.

-Carmin

Hacking the brain

Back in high school, my art teacher took us into the gallery and taught a simple way to move into a controlled Alpha state. It was his way of teaching that the mind did not need drugs in order to be creative, surrealistic, or think in abstract ways. That drugs were, in fact, a crutch and a hobble to creativity.
That lesson has stuck with me for many a year. Our dear friend Randolph dug up an interesting article from the Boston Globe, on using mental techniques to overcome pain, create vivid visualizations, and quickly enter dream states. Hacking the brain, so to speak. Or at least reverse-engineering it.

Food for thought :)

Have a great day!

-Carmin

Pagan Plagiarism

"The Bewick Thief" courtesy of Wikipedia commons

Dear f!@#ing gods, how much longer is this going to continue?

Yes, I found yet another Pagan merchant who has plagiarized my writings. I should just start a running blacklist, but being fairly certain that it would be a 9-5 job to keep up with all the thieves in the Wiccan community, I must be content with outing them here.

All right, here's the deal. I logged into Etsy (a nice handmade website) looking for Yule gifts for fiends, friends, and family :)
I found a listing for "Command & Compel Oil" (not a terribly common condition oil to find on the open market) from Magickal Enchantments(Johnston, Rhode Island). I'm always interested in fellow herbalist's and root-workers take on a formula, so I clicked it. Only to find that my description and usage had been stolen, word for word. What she didn't steal from me, she stole from Lucky Mojo Curio Shop.
While it is quite flattering to be placed on the same level as Cat Yronwode (Hoodoo Goddess that she is!), it is, once again, enraging to find that someone claiming to follow a Pagan path would stab a fellow Pagan in the back.Of course, I wrote the shop owner, as follows:

"Hi, while I was browsing Etsy, I noticed your Command and Compel oil. After reading the item description, I realized that it bore a remarkable resemblance to the one on my website. In fact, an entire paragraph was taken, word for word, from my website, lodestoneandladysmantle.com While I have had certain problems with other Pagan shops stealing my work (one memorable case in which a vapor-ware seller stole my Witchvox announcement, word for word), I cannot believe that this is a coincidence. I'm giving you the option of changing your item description, and if I see my original writings attached to your shop again, on or off Etsy, I will bring the full force of the legal team of TTR Group down on you like a ton of lawyers. Are we clear? Perhaps you should consider living up to the Pagan title you so proudly proclaim."
-Carmin

Response:
Dear Carmin, I never copy anything from anyone else and I would appreciate it if you didnt threaten me either. I tried the link for your store and it wouldnt come up so I cant see your item description. I have no problem changing the wording in my item description if it is like yours however I will have you know that I got my description from my book, The Book of 5,000 spells. Perhaps that is where you got yours as well? I tried the link and it didnt work. Is your website down right now? As I said, I have no problem changing anything that is exactly the same as yours but please understand that I in no way copied your item. I am pretty sure I have never been on your site as it doesnt ring a bell. Let me know when your site is working so I can change the wording that is the same as yours...I finally got to your shop by using google, for some reason the web address wasnt working for me. I am sorry, but I really dont see how your wording is anything like mine at all. Maybe I am on the wrong site? I copy and pasted what I found under your listing of the command and compel oil and posted it below. Am I on the wrong site? This doesnt sound like anything I have on my listing of this oil. I did put the listing as inactive until this is settled. I have had people copy my work and understand how frustrating that is and I would in no way do that to others as I know the law of karma quite well(emphasis mine). I am all set with getting into that area. So let us work this out as adults. With that said, please tell me where you see the same wording in our listings. Thank you, Brightest Blessings, Kat

Now, my fellow root-workers probably (hopefully) know that the Book of 5000 Spells, while entertaining, is NOT a great formulary.In fact, it looks a bit like Herman Slater's (prolific plagiarizer and owner of The Magickal Childe). Judika Illes comes a lot closer (for one, she doesn't put lavender and honeysuckle in every formula, or melon oil in D.U.M.E),and her spells are well researched, but if this is Kat's formulary, she's got more than a few things wrong. Of course, listing High John root, cherry tobacco, and mace as components in her "old family recipe" were a dead give away too.

My response:
Dear Katherine Cotoia, "As an anointing oil and spell powder, it can be used to boost your magnetic qualities and inspire confidence. Excellent for strengthening the Will." That was taken, word for word (excepting "spell powder")and placed on your listing. You didn't even change the capitalization or punctuation. No, it was not taken from Judika Illes' Book of 5000 spells, she doesn't use that phrase anywhere in the description. I'm looking at it right now. It is MY original writing, in MY distinctive style. For another, our tracking software is showing a hit (from Johnston, Rhode Island), on the 24th of October (same day you listed your oil), using the keyword "Command and Compel Oil", and landed on "Counter Oils". The click through display is also showing that you clicked "more" to arrive at the full description and usage page.
1.So it is very clear that you DID visit my site.
2. It doesn't appear in your supposed source material.
3. You say that you wouldn't take anything from anyone, but you stated yourself that you may have taken it from "5000 Spells", obviously contradicting yourself.Published works are still subject to copyright, and if you had ever actually used the oil, you wouldn't need to steal someone else's words.
4. No self respecting root-worker would ever put High John(or half the other ingredients you list) in Command and Compel, and stating that it is an "old family recipe" is clearly a falsehood. Especially when you have revealed the source material in your letter.
5. The phrase "like many other ipomoeas, some of which are psychedelic..." etc, is stolen straight from Lucky Mojo Curio Shop. Who exactly do you think you are fooling?
Your lack of honor and honesty goes without saying; It has been revealed in your every word and deed. I'm sure if I went through all of your listings, I would find another half dozen people you have ripped off. Karma indeed. Take my description of off your page, and it will be considered 'substantial compliance'.

Oh, btw, I found her full name on her Witchvox account, we can't (and won't) track our visitors to THAT degree :P
It's been 2 days. She hasn't responded yet. Big surprise. Scared that she was caught in the act? Who knows. I have spent too many years collecting, experimenting with, and refining formulas to have them stolen off my back. If someone actually had experience working with a particular formula or ingredient, they could relate personal experience/notes. Shouldn't a merchant (any merchant) have familiarity with their own product? Since then, she has removed the item from her shop. Meh.

In Black Magic pt. II, I related that I had a feeling that two issues, "Pagan Plagiarism", and "What Wicca can learn from Hoodoo" would be tied together. I guess this was just the manifestation of that intuition.


So, I honestly want feedback, why is plagiarism so rampant in the magical community?
Nearly every website listing magical herbs stole the correspondenses from Cunningham's "Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs", without a word of credit or source material. Sirona Knight was convicted of plagiarizing Freya Aswynn's work for the "Little Giant Book of Runes (her response was hysterical, read it, please). Let's not forget the nonsense of Y Tylwyth Teg, who stole the bulk of their material from Francesca deGrandis, while simultaniously offering sex tours to Thailand.
It isn't just in the rarified world of Llewellyn authors (*cough*), but is plaguing the local levels as well.

The pattern that I'm noticing, honestly, is that the first people to scream "The Rede!!!" or "Karma!!!" or "The Secret!!!" are the most likely to perpetuate this, the greatest threat to our community, ever.
Think I'm exaggerating? Consider this: Imagine that you've spent the majority of your life sincerely pursuing a path, deeply studying and practicing it. You've written something original to help others on the path. And someone cashes in on your work, waters it down, and combines it with 'Egyptian Shamanism' and their channeled spirit guides (i.e, the voices in their head told them to do it), or something equally trite. What is the point of being original or creative if someone is just going to steal it a month later!?

And this is how we die as a community. This is how we come to distrust one another, because so many are not worthy of trust.
This has been a very long post, and for that, I apologize. If you have read this far, I thank you. Something had to be said, and something has to be done.

-Carmin

That Old Black Magic, or " A Long Hard Look at Wiccan Ethics" Part I

"Saul and the Witch of Endor" Courtesy of Wikipedia Commons

Haha!
Now that I have your undivided attention, I'd like to address that most taboo of subjects within the Wiccan and Magical community. As Azzerac deftly pointed out, we have suffered as of late from an extremely Westernized, watered down ethical system poorly extrapolated from Mahayana Buddhism that has little to nothing to do with Wicca, Witchcraft, or Paganism.
Ethical and religious systems that cannot survive contact with the physical world are to put it bluntly, useless. If it doesn't meet physical and emotional needs, it is highly doubtful that it can meet the spiritual needs of its practitioners, yet another reason in a LONG list why more people are turning away from "traditional" religious ideologies.

So, black magic, then. The slightest whisper of performing bindings, curses, or what is perceived as 'controlling' magic is guaranteed to bring a gale-force sized petulant verbal slap of: "but the REDE SAYS...! Never mind that Rede doesn't mean law, but instead "good council", and is meant to be an easily remembered set of advice. Disregard that these are the same people who cannot say more than "Harm None" from memory; convinced that a coven must have "perfect love and perfect trust". That last bit of advice refers directly to the Rede, not to covens or any other group of practitioners. ( "Bide the Wiccan Rede ye must, in perfect love and perfect trust"), yet seem to entirely overlook this bit of good advice: "with a fool no season spend, lest ye be counted as his friend". Nope, just Harm None.

Part of me wonders if this isn't a nasty side effect of the "look normal for the Christians" movement of the '90's, when every author from coast to coast made sure to include a section in their article or book that we don't eat babies or wear black makeup, as if the two were synonymous! Geez, I still remember the pressure within the community to denigrate any practitioner who looked counter-culture. These were popularly perceived as newbies, or doing it for the rebellion factor. But when you meet an old school punker with a mohawk bigger than he is, that has been practicing for twenty years, well... I doubt he was still rebelling after 160 Sabbats.

The modern spillover effect: more and more high profile members of the community are actually trying to convince the Mundies that we don't cast spells! The worst bit is that real practitioners are actually starting to believe this, or at least repeat it en mass, at high volume. In an attempt to be accepted within the mainstream, the cries of 'we are all safe, suburb-living- khaki-wearing-PTA-attending-bake-sale groupies' has done nothing but water the Wiccan community into a fluffy bunny hypocrite parade that is MOCKED within not only the mainstream culture, but the metaphysical and Occult communities as well. When acquaintances learn that I'm Wiccan, its invariably followed by a long pause, and "you don't look Wiccan". It isn't just a few people. This is a wide sampling of people, of very different socioeconomic backgrounds, ethnic makeup, professions, etc. From the deep South to the Pacific Northwest, a score of Brits, a handful of Europeans, Jamaicans, Russians, and New Zealanders; it has been determined almost universally that the stereotypical Wiccan is a 400lb emotionally crippled doormat with poor hygiene.
Before you launch a tirade at me, remember I am one of you. I love my Pagans and Wiccans. I have watched this problem grow from inside the community. Let me give you some more stats. We at Lodestone & Lady's Mantle offer free classes, one of which is geared toward improving health and physical activity."Power-Walks: Magic in the Great Outdoors". To date, it has received 90 views on Witchvox. Compared to our other free class, Occult sciences 101 (454 views). Both posted at the same time, with the former being more well advertised. Goddess forbid a member of a Nature religion actually go outside, or apply their ethical system to their own bodies, or their own lives! Like I said, fluffy bunny hypocrite parade.

Those of you that insist on rubbing our noses in the Rede, or your convoluted and ill-researched version of it do not get a vote in this.

That was a huge lead-in to this: I am currently working on an article about what Wicca can learn from Hoodoo. What it all boiled down to was this. Hoodoo practitioners expect their workings to, well... work. None of this mucking about with "I move the Universe with my WILL alone, well, no, that's not right, but I can affect the universe around me with a change in consciousness. Well, a little bit. Not really. Umm.. sometimes I have dreams and stuff. Wanna see my new crystal?"
No, Hoodoo spell craft and formulas have the weight of centuries of practitioners using them because they work, in the real world, and meet physical emotional, and spiritual needs.

Wow, this has gotten to be a rather long-ish rant. To be continued on the 'morrow. :) Sleep well, my pretties!

-Carmin

Harvest festivals, hag's tapers, and garden bagels

Everything looks better on a full stomach, right? I'm a little buried right now, so a full round dinner is sort of out of the question. I grabbed a thing of bagels, some tomatoes from the garden (they took FOREVER to ripen this year!) extra sharp cheddar, cream cheese, and fresh basil (also from the garden). Delish! Protein, carbs, veggies, and comfort food, all in one.

I saw the first deer of the season, grazing outside a motel around sunset. Three does, utterly content with their grass, and end-of-season tourists so busy getting to the sites they are supposed to see, that they did not even notice these gorgeous creatures right in front of them. People continue to astonish me, usually on an hourly basis.

Mullein is growing everywhere this year; in between the cracks in the stone walls, between the steps of the Grand Ave short cut, inside, outside, and upside-down. I've got a few stalks drying by the door, and am planning to see if the plant's nickname "hags tapers" really holds up to practical use. It is historically used as a torch in ceremonies to drive out evil and malevolent forces; to clear out the old and make way for the new; to communicate with the dead. Mullein stalks were dipped in tallow, dried, and lit for these purposes, according to various texts, but so much in the metaphysical community is passed on by rote instead of practice! I would like to see how mullein candles hold up in ritual (maybe for Samhain?) , and if they can be made with anything other than pig or cow fat. Although, pigs themselves have always played a role in Celtic myth, particularly those involving the Underworld. Hmm...

We got an order in today for magical inks, specifically, Raven's Blood, and Dove's Blood. For those of you unfamiliar with magical inks, these are strictly picturesque names applied to classical formulas. I make the Raven's Blood Ink from iron oxide derived from Iron Springs at the foot of Pike's Peak, and the Dove's Blood from a resin called Dragon's Blood and various essential oils. These inks are used to inscribe talismans, charms, and other bits of spell craft.

Nearly time for Mabon, and my heart is already turning to Samhain, turning over the garden, and plans for the spring. I've got a load of peaches (courtesy of our local bear breaking the tree) to turn into mead, and a batch of white sage incense to hand roll before the night is done. I must be off! Thank you for stopping by, and have a great night!

-Carmin

'Allo allo!

Having decided to step into this technological revolution called "blogging" at 2 am yesterday, I failed to introduce myself, or post any content. In fact, I was so sleep deprived at that point that I may have stolen the technological revolution's underpants and worn them on my head!
The details are fuzzy, but welcome to the tea party!

My name is Carmin; I am the co-owner and co-founder of an all natural and organic occult store
( Lodestone & Lady's Mantle) and along with my dearest love and business partner, Azzerac, will be shouting sweet nothings and everything's across the web. Trust a witch to have a great set of lungs and an opinion :)

My passion has always been for putting the Earth back into Earth worship.
The shop began, as many things do, over a cup of coffee at the now defunct (and sorely missed) Java Buddha.
I think that I was yet again bemoaning the 'sameness' of every metaphysical store. That they all buy their products from Azure Green, that the statuary is made by child slave labor in China
( how is that for "harm none"?), that most everything is plastic, acrylic, and the very antithesis of natural magic. That there are so many talented crafts people in the Wiccan, Pagan, and Magical community, but their work wasn't getting seen, except at the occasional craft fair, farmer's market, or Renaissance Fest. Even then, the booth fees were exorbitant, especially for a hobby crafter.
Azzerac, in a sublime example of Occam's Razor, began everything with a phrase that fell like farmhouse in Oz: "So why don't we start it?"
We have made a home for talented artists to show and sell their work, a place to get everything that we as serious occultists always wanted, natural, organic, handmade ritual tools, and moreover, a hearth and home for the community.

Oh, and I should warn you, I'm a rabid fan of Doctor Who and Terry Pratchett.

I hope that you will stop by often; take some scones for the road!