Here is a photo of my magick ring: 

This ring has been part of my life for many years. Part of the concept for it (pentagrams on the front and sides with two circles around them) were suggested by my friend, Raven Grimassi. At the time, I was living north of San Diego in a small city called Encinitas. Raven was living east of there in the city of Escondido. I was studying Wicca with him.

I had met a wonderful lady who lived further north in the city of Oceanside. She was working making jewelry and had offered to make something for me. By luck, while at the San Diego County Fair, I found the perfect sized gem to fit in the ring I had in mind. Actually, it wasn’t a “gem.” It was cubic zirconia that I was told had been dipped in a substance called “aurora borealis,” the same dip that was supposedly used to give cheap carnival glass (so called because it was the type of glass given out at carnival games) its iridescent shimmer. I’m not sure that’s accurate, but I never had a reason to investigate the subject more fully. I just liked the way it looked.

The central gem is a normal gem, but it’s mounted backwards. That is, the flat side you’d normally see at the top of a ring is facing the inside of the ring. The side that is normally facing the inside of the ring, the side that comes to a point, is facing out.

When I wear it, I usually have it on my ring finger. When I’m using it for magick, I will often shift it to my middle finger. Making a fist results in the point of the gem being a perfect device for directing magickal energy out and away.

This ring literally changed my life and way of thinking. Up to that time, I had wanted things to be “perfect.” In my mind I saw this ring as having perfect circles around pentagrams drawn with razor-straight lines leading to perfectly angled, sharp corners.

Obviously that didn’t happen.

When my friend gave me the finished ring, I initially looked at it in utter disappointment. As I looked at it she told me that all of the silver in it was recovered from melted rings that featured Masonic and other spiritual symbolism. She had made it spending many hours of work, and only worked on it during appropriate magickal hours. As I continued to look at the ring, I felt disheartened. It wasn’t what I would call “perfect.” The circles weren’t perfectly round. The lines weren’t perfectly straight.

And then, I had a revelation; an epiphany. No other ring in the history of the Earth had ever been made like this one. No other ring in the history of the Earth had ever had all of the loving energy put into it in a magickal way as this artist had done. No other ring in the history of the Earth had ever been composed of the silver from those particular sources. No other ring in the history of the Earth had this particular design. Even if someone took the design and copied it, even if they made molds from this very ring, no other ring will ever be exactly like it.

My epiphany was that this ring, with all of what I had previously seen as imperfections, was uniquely and absolutely perfect. This also changed my concept that items which were manufactured, stamped out, and one of 1,000 or more identical copies were “perfect.” I no longer consider them so. Even if they’re expensive I don’t care. I’ve come to value uniqueness and individuality over the conformity of of what others might call perfection.

But that’s not what I want to talk about.

The Purpose of Writing

I love writing. Very often I either don’t get paid for what I write or I don’t get paid very well. There are only a few occult writers who make enough off of their writings on which to survive, let along make big profits. The market just isn’t that big. Many years ago, the head of Llewellyn, Carl Llewellyn Weschcke, said that he had to tell authors of books for Llewellyn that the odds are very slight for them to get on the Johnny Carson show. Today the same is true, and few if any will get on the Leno, Letterman, or any shows with Oprah. So why do I write? Simply put, because I have to.

It’s just in me to share. It’s in me to help people become self-empowered. And this goes back to my ring.

Specifically, the point of the gem is outward, not inward as found on most rings. Similarly, spirituality and self-empowerment are great things when their focus is not entirely inward. I believe it needs to be outward, too. I agree with Thornton Wilder who wrote in The Matchmaker (which became the musical “Hello, Dolly!”): “Money is like manure; it’s not worth a thing unless it’s spread around encouraging young things to grow.” However, I would change that to say:

Spirituality is like manure; it’s not worth a thing unless it’s spread around encouraging young things to grow.

So I’m just trying to spread spiritual concepts so people can use them in their lives to grow. I can’t think of anything more fulfilling. Spirituality comes from and is developed from within, but I believe it must be spread out. When giving workshops on magick, one of the things I say about choosing goals for your magick is that they should be ecological. By that I mean:

Good for you.
Good for those around you.
Good for your community.
Good for the Earth.

Follow Up to My Previous Post

In my previous post I called on public leaders of various Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn traditions to announce their position on the Greek Political party also called the Golden Dawn. There have been all sorts of responses, some of which make me wonder if the people actually read what I wrote or if they were responding to what they thought I wrote. One response seemed to say that Golden Dawn groups should stay out of politics.

I both agree and disagree with that. Certainly the founders of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, including Mathers, Yeats, Farr, and others were very involved with politics. I do think that individuals within the Orders should be able to express their political beliefs outside of the Order. However, as much as groups would like to claim they are apolitical, by not at least saying whether the beliefs of the specific Order are in harmony or opposition to the Greek Golden Dawn political party they are accepting the status quo. This leaves members and outsiders wondering what their particular Order believes. Spreading spirituality is more than keeping it within. It needs to go out to the public.

By the way, the following was reported on the day after I made my previous post:

“In dawn raids, Greek anti-terror police arrested Nikos Michaloliakos, who founded the [Golden Dawn] party in 1980, along with party spokesman and MP Ilias Kassidiairis and three other lawmakers, police said.

“The charges against them included belonging to a “criminal organisation”, and for some of the suspects also assault and murder, according to a source in the justice ministry.”

The complete story can be found here: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/?p=564003.

Let me make clear that I’m not suggesting what position the leaders or representatives of any Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn should take concerning the Greek Golden Dawn. I’m just suggesting that they make public the position they do have on the Greek group.

And Speaking of Writing…

I’d like to let my readers know that the latest issue of Hermetic Virtues is now available. You can find out what’s in the issue and order it directly through this LINK. I share a “rant and review” of the book, Commentaries on the Golden Dawn Flying Rolls by The Golden Dawn Community. Aaron Leitch (He is the author of the best introduction to the Enochian system, The Essential Enochian Grimoire—I’ve seen an advanced copy, but it won’t be available until February. You can pre-order it.) has an article on “The Spirit-Magic of Abramelin.” Other topics include a Golden Dawn Summer Solstice Ceremony, The Mysteries of the Pillars, Meditation in the Western Tradition, and several more. It’s 125 downloadable pages, beautifully illustrated, and well worth the six bucks!

This Sunday in Long Beach, California

None of the writers for Hermetic Virtues is paid. I’m also donating my time as a service to the community again this Sunday, October 6, 2013. It’s for the Los Angeles ( and Orange Country) Pagan Pride Day celebration. This family friendly event will be held from 10:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m. at Rainbow Lagoon Park, East Shoreline Drive (near Pine Ave.), Long Beach, CA 90802, Click on this LINK for information.

This celebration will include many vendors, rituals, entertainers and workshops. It’s free, but they are having a food drive benefitting Food Finders, a multi-regional food bank based in Signal Hill, CA, that provides hot meals and food for home use to over 270 agencies in Los Angeles and Orange counties. I would encourage you to bring a donation of non-perishable food to help this organization.

There are going to be seven rituals presented and over a dozen workshops, including Tess Whitehurst speaking on Flower Magic, Tony Mierzwicki talking about  Empowerment – Ideas from the Ancient Egyptians, and several others. There will also be a raffle, musical performances, dance performances, and more. Come early and spend the day.

I’ll be doing a couple of things. First, I’ll be looking for potential authors for Llewellyn. If you have a completed manuscript or just some ideas, please come and see me (or email me: DonK@llewellyn.com). At 3:00 I’ll be giving a workshop on Real Tantra.

What is this about? Many people describe Tantra as “the yoga of sex,” but nothing could be further from the truth. Tantra is an entire way of life with holidays, deities, celebrations, and the belief that the world is a wonderful place and full of joy. Tantra reveals why our world does not always seem joyous and what we can do to make the blissful world obvious. It is more accurate to equate Tantra in the East with Wicca in the West. Both are Pagan systems which see the world as a great place to be. I’ve been initiated into four Tantric traditions and holds parampara, the right to initiate, in one of them. In my workshop you’ll learn many concepts of Real Tantra including Tantric magick.

Immediately afterward, Tess Whitehurst and I will be doing a book signing. So bring your copies of our books for us to sign (or you can get them from us).

See you Sunday!