Magickal Correspondences
January 19, 2008
by Jeffrey Pierce
If you've been reading
Magickal Correspondences lately, you may recall that I've mentioned a couple of upcoming
special features (don't worry, they're still upcoming) as well as the mysterious "few other things" that I've been working on.
In
last week's installment of MC I mentioned, "Speaking of blogs, I'm still trying to find my voice on that area of the site. Chances are they're going to shift in perspective from time to time until I find my niche - and hopefully they'll be either useful or enjoyable to you, possibly both."
I think I finally have that one figured out.
Starting Monday (January 21), I'm going to be taking a new approach with
my blog, focusing on specific categories on Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
Mondays will continue the concept of
Pagan Snapshots, short snippets of lore, theory, and technique that I originally started some time previous to 1994. (Yes, that predates Old Ways. As unbelievable as it may sound I've been teaching via the Web for almost 15 years.)
Wednesdays are going to focus the darker side of paganism, everything from magickal combat to death and dying. (I was taught if you truly want to be able to work weal - typically defined as well-being, prosperity, or happiness - you must also have a full understanding of woe.)
Fridays are going to be things you can add to your world - from new music, favorite books, and useful Web sites to magickal recipes and instructions on creating your own ritual tools. All of the blog entries will be short - typically between three and five paragraphs - as opposed to the articles and lessons which are running amost 4,000 words each. So if you're short on time, it's definitely the place to stop.
If you'd like to subscribe to the RSS feed of the blogs, simply add
http://www.oldways.com/blog.xml to your favorite RSS feed reader and you won't miss a single post.
I also have one more article on magickal theory that I'll be offering next week (a really useful piece on a concept that I've relied upon for years) and then we're going to shift and focus on application for awhile. This is how I teach offline. We cover a lot of really intense theory and then start applying it left and right. Offline students end up knee-deep in ritual and magick in no time flat - so hang on and enjoy the ride!
I've got a couple of other surprises up my sleeve... Would you believe that only about one quarter of what I'm intending to share via Old Ways is in place? I'm testing out different possibilities "offline" to see how feasible they are to continue once started. What kind of things, you ask? Well, please allow me to start the rumor of a "print" version of Old Ways. I'm studying the feasability and time involved in laying out each month's articles as if they were a magazine and distributing them via the Web, most likely in PDF format. You'd print them yourself, but considering that I'm a writer... and a photographer... and I have a background in graphic design... well, the possibilities are endless. I'm currently working on the January 2008 issue and, if it's not too big of a challenge, it could very well become a regular part of what I offer here through Old Ways.
Of course, the unprinted print version will be all offered free of charge. C'mon! You guys know me well enough by now that all of this is just my gift to you.
And speaking of "you," well let's take a look at the email that you sent this week.
Last week I wrote a
blog called,
Letting Go. Keith wrote in to say, "Thanks for your blog on this topic." I don't have my blogs set up to allow comments, so he chose to email me directly.
Keith facilitiates a discussion group in Phoenix and, "The main topic that people kept bringing up was seeing the ability to just let go of the feeling of the need to have to control all aspects of things. What was talked about falls right in line with what you wrote about....thanks for the confirmation." Thanks for your email and your kind words, Keith. Letting go has been a big part of my path and something that I continue to attempt to master. I'm glad to hear that the blog was useful to you.
Every now and then, I get an email that really touches me. Beckie's letter definitely fell into that category. She's an experienced pagan teacher herself and for that (and a number of other reasons) I immediately felt a kinship with her. in addition to some really wonderful sentiments,
Beckie wrote, "I am particularly grateful that you choose to not charge a fee for your teachings. I have found that not involving money in the initial exchange of information and energy, allows for other ways of reinbursement to come through - some of it magickal. I have also found that the needs of the mundane world of open and generous teachers are always taken care of through the most unexpected ways." I appreciate that you understand the importance of teaching free of charge. I actually
wrote a blog this week that outlines one of the reasons why I do so. And you're absolutely right. Sometimes it takes an act of faith to make it from paycheck to paycheck, but something always comes through. Of course the best blessings in life are typically those you can't attach a price tag to - and my life is generally overflowing with those. Beckie, thank you so much for your email and all that it contained. It meant the world to me.
The article,
A Field Guide to Humankind, inspired
Victoria to write in. She could personally relate to much of the article through her own past life experiences. "But what of the Fae?" she asked. Her question pertained to the portion of the article where I shared that, "There's no better way to reconnect someone to your specific energy than to be born into their bloodline as one of their children, your energy influencing those who are connected to that life."
Think about it this way. Instead of the fae and a spiritual bloodline, let's say that we're talking about physical traits. For generations, your family was known for its dark hair and olive complexion. Then your grandmother married a tall blonde gentleman from Sweden and now, out of the five kids in your family, one of them has blonde hair and another has fair skin and blue eyes. Instead of Northern European physical traits, when the fae merged with the reader's spiritual bloodline, that lineage inherited a portion of the energy and some of the traits that the fae naturally possess. Does that make sense?
That's all the email for this week. Please accept my thanks to each of you that took the time to write in. And to each and everyone of you, I hope these words find you and yours well and filled with joy. As always, may you be well and truly blessed.
In peace and light,
Jeffrey Pierce
www.oldways.com
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