The Skull as a Symbol

There is hardly a graphic icon that symbolizes death and mortality more than the human skull.  A dead body eventually reveals the bony structure hidden beneath rotting flesh.  This is horrifying to humans on a visceral level.  The skull's morbid associations are rather easy to understand.  What seems odd to me is that so few see the skull as a symbol of anything other than death and decay.

For me the image of the skull is a reminder that there is something hidden at our core.  In a way the skull is evidence of the secret, unseen person - the real you- and as such suggests our spiritual nature hidden behind a facade of flesh.  Because it is the hard structure upon which our muscles, tendons and skin are attached it symbolizes (for me) inner strength.  The bones remain long after all other body parts are gone so it is a fit representation of the inner self, the true self that survives death. 

There are alternative perspectives.  Here's an article that offers diverse cultural views: Death's Head Symbol.   While you're at it check out another link that suggests other ways to think about skulls: Skull symbolism.

In my own magickal workings the skull carries a very positive meaning.  It embodies the center of the mind and, therefore, the seat of spiritual power and consciousness.  Adorned with the symbols I inscribed on it, the skull engenders the qualities of the various spirits and deities that are significant to me.

Where Are The PAGAN Grimoires?

Google "Grimoires" and you get the usual results that invariably include the Key of Solomon, The Arbatel of Magick, The Lemegeton and many others after that style.  Have you noticed that they almost always use Christian and Jewish symbolism and iconography?  Even when you add the word 'pagan' to your search, you will be hard pressed to find an ancient Grimoire that is not stuffed full of prayers and supplications to Jesus, Adonay, Elohim, Arch angels and more heavenly hosts than you ever knew existed!  I'm sorry but these texts just don't say 'pagan' to me at all.  I understand that the further back in time you go the scarcer people capable of authoring Grimoires or books of shadows become but, surely there must be SOME purely pagan texts available!  I wonder if the scarcity of ancient and exclusively pagan texts is the reason so many people gravitate toward Egyptian magick, for example.  The Egyptians left much writing about their mystical traditions.


There is much talk of the witch's Book of Shadows, the burning times and how these individuals kept their book secret but, where are these texts?  Were they destroyed by relatives after the witch's death or buried with them?  Why are there so few surviving records?  To listen to neo-pagans you would think a BOS was standard equipment for any self-respecting witch, wizard or magician.  To the contrary, its beginning to look like witches writing a BOS was not a common practice at all.  Honestly, I would be delighted to be proven wrong on this point.  How lovely it would be to know that we today are following in the foot steps of the witchy folk of days gone by!  Be that as it may, I suppose the proliferation of modern books of shadows and Grimoires will be the legacy, the 'ancient texts'  of centuries to come.

Does anyone know of ancient Grimoires, magickal texts and tomes that are NOT steeped in the mythology of Christianity and Judaism?  Let me know! 

Finding the PSYCHIC ZONE

Accessing our 'sixth sense' is all about finding the 'zone' when we need it. What is that zone? It is a frame of mind that does not interfere with the data flowing from sources outside of the usual 5 physical senses. In what we like to call "normal" consciousness, working our day jobs or doing our taxes, for example, our so-called conscious mind and awareness are focused in the realm of our immediate surroundings and the hustle and bustle of life's mundane activities.

In fact, so much attention is focused on this mental 'busy-work' we literally shut out more subtle sensations. These gentle, quiet sensations are what carry information to us from sources of knowledge beyond the confines of time and space. Most times we are not even aware of these rarefied etheric levels of consciousness, due mostly to the fact that we keep our earth-bound minds pretty busy tasking away.

Getting in the zone requires that we shift our focus away from the comparatively loud, dense thoughts and feelings of normal wakefulness and learn to hear what is often called the "quiet voice" inside us. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying you will hear voices or have strange experiences. The truth is, even psychics who use the expression, "I hear my guide saying..." are rarely talking about hearing an actual audible voice. Usually a psychic will "see" and "hear" things as a mental perception, and not literally as a function of the eyes and ears.

Some people use meditation to quiet the mind. Other people will scribble on a pad or distract the conscious brain with some other method designed to keep it occupied. The specific method is unimportant provided it works for you.

Once your brain static is low enough, intentionally focus on receiving impressions of other people, places and things. Whenever possible try to confirm the accuracy of your impression. There are any number of ways to seek knowledge from that 'quiet voice' inside. Now you should be forewarned that what comes to you may feel very much like your own imagination! There is a good reason for this. I found in my own experiences and from talking with other psychics like myself, that the impressions we get are often interpreted and delivered to us using our natural capacity to "see" images in our head. In other words, our psychic impulses often come to us through the imagination.

So how do we know the impression we are getting are from a psychic source and not just our imagination playing tricks on us? The answer is simple to write but not so simple to apply. Practice. Exercise your psychic "muscles" by using them. Seek out the quiet mind and listen closely to the quiet voice. Then what? As you get more impressions under your belt you will begin to see which impressions turned out to be accurate information and which ones did not. The last step is to remember what the right impression felt like. There is a subtle difference between how psychic impulse and normal imagination feels. Learning THAT, my friends, is the key.

Dawn of the 'OLDE AGE'

The brighter the light of the so-called "New Age" gets, the clearer it becomes that we are at the re-birth of the 'Olde ways.' I couldn't be happier! Let the world return to the days of magick, sorcery, wizards, witches, cunning-folk, dragons, beastly familiars and the olde gods.

These days the average enchanter bears little resemblance to her counterpart of ancient times. Technological advances have transformed the world in fantastical ways. I embrace the very new as easily as the very olde. And why not? There is a sort of 'magick' happening every time we use our cell phones. Let us use ALL technologies at hand to sculpt our lives into the masterpiece of our choice.

You would think that the lords of science would have vanquished the olde ways long before this 21st century ever saw the light of day. But, look! The magickal, mystical aspects of life have more adherents today than ever before! As far as I am concerned, THAT is as good a "Good News" as anything the Christians can offer. On that score, as a former devout Christian leader, I can say without equivocation that a Pagan or Gnostic path is best for me.  My path does not generate an irrational guilt that must then be forgiven and atoned for. Secondly, my relationship with SPIRIT (insert whatever word for the Supreme Being you prefer) is intimate and direct. It does not require an intercessor. The olde ways, adjusted for the modern mind, suit me just fine!

On Nature and White Light Addicts

Here's my beef. I look at Pagans and Wiccans and observe that many (but not all) are as deluded and backward minded as the most extreme religious fundamentalist wacko. There are scads of books, sayings, axioms and prayers about embracing Nature as our warm, fuzzy 'mommy' and how much we L-O-V-E Her. That is all good and well. I love nature too. Without nature where would we be? NOWHERE, that's where! We are not merely a product of nature, ie. the goddess, we ARE nature. That is to say, we are an inseparable part of the whole. This is one reason why we must preserve and protect her at all cost.

So what's the problem here? Well, in true extremist fashion, many of us choose what facets of Her that fit our own personal biases but do not care to accept the totality of this particular goddess. For example, to listen to some Pagans or to some health nuts, for that matter, all that is 'natural' is good, right and far superior to anything man-made. For instance, Apples= good, healthy, keeps the doctor away, right? Granted, apples are great, but you know what else is natural? Snake venom. Not so healthy. How about anthrax or some of those exotic flesh eating organisms? Ever see a pride of lions rip Bamby into bloody shreds and taters? Ever hear of a little town called Pompeii? The entire population was incinerated and/or suffocated when the volcano erupted. And let's not forget those exhilarating 100 foot tall tsunami waves that snuff out hundreds of thousands of lives in the blink of an eye. Yep, all natural. Mother nature has many faces but some people only want to see the smiling, benevolent one! To me that looks a lot like disrespect for the goddess, not the contrary.

Then there are what I call the 'white light' fanatics. Hey, I'm a huge fan of white light. In fact, let's all give a collective thumbs up for the entire spectrum of colors white light divides into! Having said that, these 'white light addicts are not unlike people who imagine that white equals good, black equals evil, night and darkness is for Devil worshipers while daytime is the domain of the righteous. Thoughts are subjectively categorized as either "positive" or "negative" - once again, positive being equated with goodness and negative, badness. The arbitrary "rule of three" or harsher "rule of ten" is sometimes tossed into the mix by people who love to fish a handy rule out of their witch's magick pouch and - woah! - its enough to scare you into giving up thinking all together!

To the 'white lighters' anything that isn't good, soft, kindly, loving, merciful and angelic is beneath them and surely evidence of an immature spirituality. For anyone who is enamored of the fluffy-white-winged angels a la Biblical tales, I suggest you run a tally of angel stories. You will make an interesting discovery. The angels were pretty bad-ass and very often used as spirit HIT MEN! Who was it that killed the first-born of the Egyptians in the time of Moses? An angel. Who was it that killed 185,00 soldiers of king Sennacherib's army- while they were sleeping? An angel. Who was it that suggested to God that he become "a deceptive spirit" and go down to earth on a secret mission? (wrong, it wasn't Satan or a demon) It was an angel in good standing. (btw, God approved his mission of deceit.) And let us not forget the most famous case of angel gone bad - the Devil himself! Kind of puts a new light on your fluffy-bunny angel oracle cards, eh?

To those white light loving folks who look down their noses at the rest of us, I respectful say; despite your pretensions, you are no better than anyone else. Not even a little bit. Get over yourselves.

Here's a thought: Why not see a wider, more complete version of reality? One that isn't drawn in stark black and white, good and bad lines. Why not embrace nature as She is and not how you would make Her? Why not refrain from standing in judgment of your fellowman and, instead, accept the fact that we ALL have a part to play in this extravaganza called life?

And that concludes this Public Service Announcement! :)

The MAGICK Life!

Life is magick. It isn't simply 'magickal.' It literally IS magick. It cannot be quantified or measured by any scientific instruments of the day. In fact, the only way we know life even exists is by drawing obvious conclusions based on empirical evidence. It is a truly mysterious force whose existence cannot be denied and yet, paradoxically, neither can we point to hard evidence that it exists at all!

Humanity is ever delving into the mysteries of the cosmos. This is our nature as human beings. While trying to peek under nature's skirts, why not also honor and celebrate the unknown? I, for one, am grateful that there are still mysteries that lend themselves to wonder and exploration. While still unexplained, we can appreciate the magickal nature of life. We can be one with it and play its delightful games of hide-and-go-seek. We wizards, witches, sorcerers, cunningmen and suchlike ones take it a step further and try to guide and manipulate those mysterious forces, seek discourse with spirit beings and peer beyond the vale of material illusion.

Each of us can live a magickal life, even amidst the frenetic buzz of today's activity. We do this by taking moments to stay connected to the wider spiritual reality- our truest reality. This can be done with brief rituals. A ritual or prayer to greet or farewell the day. Give blessings over food, friends, love and life. Seek guidance using any method that feels good to you. Tarot cards, casting lots, reading tea leaves, pendulum work, prayer. There are many options. Mark the earth's natural cycles with Sabbats, esbats or some other commemoration of your choice. Develop your own spiritual senses and skills. If you haven't done so already, explore and discover your own spiritual gifts and then make use of them daily.

You are a wondrous being, an unexplored country, a world unto yourself. Glory in the adventure ahead of you! Make it a DAILY practice to see the reality just beneath and beyond what appears to your eyes, ears and nose. All life is magickal but not all lives are truly lived. For me there is only one choice; I will take each day of life and LIVE it the magick way!

The Gods

The gods are real. But let's not miss the fact that the meaning of the word 'real' is a slippery fish to catch. In my view there is more than one kind of real. The bedpost you stub your toe on in the wee hours of the am is real in the make you jump up and down on one foot while spewing every curse you know kind of way. Then there is the 'real' you feel while sitting in church or temple, communing with your deity. There is also the real of your emotions; love, hate, gratitude. Then there is the 'real' of a concept like patriotism or civil rights that moves you to action in the real world. You could make a case for the gods being real in ALL these ways. Never stubbed your toe on a god you say? Fair enough, but you never stumbled over a microwave or bumped into a cell phone signal either. The nature of gods is to be immaterial and undetectable (by current technology anyhow.) What can I say? To my mind if something has affects in the real world and on real people, then that thing is REAL.

Personally, I give special homage to several incorporeal beings: The great god Pan. The goddess Inanna is someone with whom I have some sort of attachment that never made logical sense to me but... it is what it is, as they say. Chango shares the same room with Inanna in my affections. There are others such as Merlin and "Luc" who are very special spirit beings and never far from me. Finally, last but not least, there is Eru Iluvatar, Ealanen, Ealadar, Ealanar and Ealavista (the "ALL father," and the spirits of water, earth, fire and air.) I do not worship so much as honor and respect them.

I encourage anyone who feels a pull or attraction toward any of the gods of olde to embrace and partner with them.

Care to share your thoughts or questions? Feel free.