POSTED UNDER Magick

Six Items of Interest for the New Year

January 3, 2013 by Donald Michael Kraig 9 Comments

With the new year comes lots of new things. I’d like to draw some of them to your attention and also ask you to share something with readers…

1st Up: Prediction Contest

Yep. I’m going to be announcing this for some time to come. In my last blog post I announced a prediction contest. It’s very simple: make a prediction for this year. The contestant with the most accurate prediction wins his or her choice of any Tarot deck published or distributed by Llewellyn. For full details click on this LINK.

2nd Up: The Latest Issue of Hermetic Virtues Magazine

Hermetic Virtues is rapidly becoming the premier journal of traditional ceremonial magick, following in the great tradition of magazines such as Llewellyn’s rare (and long out-of-print) Gnostica and the Lumen organization’s Gnosis. In regular publication since 2007, the latest issue (Winter Solstice 2012 numbered Volume V Edition 1) is 70 pages in length. Articles include the most complete analysis of the unicursal hexagram I’ve ever seen written by Chic and Sandra Tabatha Cicero, a review by Aaron Leitch of a little-known book, The Grimoire of Arthur Gauntlet by David Rankine, and two articles by Nick Farrell, the first an unpublished Whare Ra [Golden Dawn] manuscript by Mrs. Felkin on group workings followed by Farrell’s idea revealing how magickal work can lead you to become the famous “Star Child” as seen in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. Samuel Scarborough contributes a review of the book Astrological Magic: Basic Rituals & Meditations by Dr. Benjamin N. Dykes and Jayne B. Gibson and a review of Hidden Treasures of the Golden Dawn. Scarborough also shares “An Invocation of Kether” while Jayne Gibson shares an “Invocation of the Powers of Aquarius.”

You can get individual issues, subscriptions, and even individual articles directly from the Hermetic Virtues website. On the site you can also find Golden Dawn tools that have been hand made by the Ciceros. I have been asked many times where people can find these items, so if you need them for your magickal work, take a look here.

3rd Up: More Good News for the Witchcraft Novel that Won’t Die

Years ago, my friend Devin O’Branagan wrote a fantastic multi-generational novel about Witches, going from the Salem Witch trials up to a modern-day Witch hunt. Originally published by Simon & Schuster’s Pocket Books, Devin eventually obtained the rights to it, edited to make it the book she had always wanted it to be, and republished it. Witch Hunt became an international best seller and fan favorite. The characters were so involving that her fans kept asking, “What’s next?”

Two things. First, other writers loved the characters so much they added to the story. The result is Witch Hunt: Of the Blood. Just released, it contains five novellas, one by Devin, one by Keri Lake, and others by Suzanne Hayes Campbell, Krista Walsh, and K. L. Schwengel. Each author takes one of the characters from the original novel and contributes a story focused on that character.

So read the original book, then the follow up. This will add to the excitement in preparation for Devin’s upcoming sequel, Witch Hunt: Resistance, which will be released this year. If you’re looking for great characters and a great story, you’ll love these books.

And by the way, if you’re into great stories and characters but more oriented toward ceremonial magick, don’t forget my novel, The Resurrection Murders.

4th Up: Help a Friend, Author, and Teacher While Supporting Witchcraft

Christopher Penczak, author of numerous popular books such as The Witch’s Heart, has accomplished what so many Pagans have wanted to do but been unable to manifest. Together with Steve Kenson and Adam Sartwell, their Temple of Witchcraft, a nonprofit neo-pagan religious organization, purchased a large building known as Grandview Manor, a beautiful late 19th-century house with detached barn and cottage and over five acres of land in Salem, New Hampshire. Their goal is to turn it into a place where they can hold religious services and teach classes. Their plan has been approved by local authorities, but to meet requirements, they need to have more parking space.

In order to pay for the work they’ve started an Indiegogo campaign. If you can share a bit to help this dream come true, please visit the website and make a donation of any size. If you can’t make a donation, consider letting other people know through your website or social networking.

5th Up: Make Plans for PantheaCon

PantheaCon, being held February 15-18 in San Jose, Califonia, is the premier metaphysically-oriented convention on the West coast. In size it rivals the largest Pagan festivals around the U.S. It literally takes over an entire hotel for this event. Although schedules are subject to change, I am currently planning to be on a couple of discussion panels, helping at the Llewellyn booth, and giving two linked workshops:

Healing with Hypnosis, Part 1 and Part 2
In part one you will get a brief history of hypnosis, the theory of how hypnosis works, and then how to perform the Elman induction. Instead of the long “progressive relaxation” induction, you’ll learn how to lead someone into hypnosis in less than five minutes! This workshop will include practice.

In part two you’ll learn how to use hypnosis to help people change behaviors and heal their issues and problems. Topics will include how to formulate direct suggestions and powerful metaphors, and when to give each. Also covered will be specific techniques, safety, and scope of practice. This workshop requires that you attend part one or have received previous training in hypnosis.

The speaker list at this year’s PantheaCon is incredible. I don’t think any other festival or convention can compare. Besides myself, here is a partial list of the people who are scheduled to appear (in no particular order):

There are many others who will be there (I apologize for leaving anyone out!), as well as music, rituals, a vendor area, and so much more. PantheaCon will be the place to be on President’s Day Weekend, 2013!

6th Up: First Goals for the New Year

I think one of the great things we can do to help achieve goals is simply announce them to our friends. Right now, I have two initial goals for the new year. The first is to finish my next book by PantheaCon. It will have 13 chapters and I’m in the middle of the 11th I have finished the first draft of the 12th, so I should be able to accomplish this.

The second is to learn a new skill. I think everyone should try to learn a new skill each year. In fact, one of my beliefs is that you don’t die when you stop breathing, you die when you stop learning.

This year, the new skill I want to learn is traditional Indian Head Massage. To this end I’ve acquired a mail-order course as well as a dozen books on the subject and I intend to take an in-person training.

What skill or goal will you
announce to the world?

You can do it in the comments below.

 

 

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Written by Donald Michael Kraig
Donald Michael Kraig graduated from UCLA with a degree in philosophy. He also studied public speaking and music (traditional and experimental) on the university level. After a decade of personal study and practice, he began ten years of teaching courses in the Southern California area on such ...