Names and Magick One of the strongest aspects of magick is the use of names. By this I mean the use of one word or phrase to represent something much grander. For example, if someone were to mention my name, you might think of a blogger, a writer, a workshop leader, a hypnotherapist, an occultist, a magician, a Tantric, a musician, or something else. Perhaps you might think of several of those things. To me, my name is a representation of all of those things and more. The same is true of designing a word to represent a magickal goal. You don't have to think of "After doing a divination to show a positive outcome of doing a ritual, I'll be doing that planned rite to obtain $1,000 to

When I was very young, because of the death of my father, my mother, brother and myself were very poor. My grandfather had made a deal with the bank (they did that back then) so we could stay in our house until my mother was able to get her life together and earn money. Still, although we had a nice, small house, we lived in poverty for a long time. I remember driving in our old, smelly (the upholstery was molding) Plymouth to the Fairfax district where my uncle worked in a butcher shop. I believe he probably gave us food for free or at a deep discount. I always hoped to get a piece of spicy, smoked meat known as a "schtickle for a nickle." For me that was a great treat. My "new" clothes

"NCIS" has been on the TV for ten years. Most series are lucky to last half as long. Not only has NCIS survived, it's currently the most watched TV show in America. "Bones," like NCIS, is a police procedural show. It's been on the air for eight years and its popularity ranks below the 40th most popular show. Personally, I like them both. They have quirky characters, aspects to the stories that go on over many episodes and even across seasons, twisting plots, and reasonable acting. Both usually have a killing or death in the first few minutes and spend the rest of their hour-long shows solving the crime. If they were on at the same time I'd have a difficult time choosing which to watch. As

This post is coming out late because I was in Las Vegas giving workshops over the weekend. Sometimes, in the most unlikely of places, I get an epiphany. In this instance my received information occurred in a most unlikely place: Caesar's Palace…or rather, next to it. I needed to get a replacement battery for my laptop, and one of the places that had it was in a high-end mall known as the Forum Shops that had been added to the Caesar's Palace hotel and casino.  Photo by Pedro Szekely under Creative Commons license This giant, indoor mall currently has over 160 high-end shops and 11 gourmet restaurants. It brings in more money than any other mall in America—including Minnesota's