As a blogger, one of my responsibilities is to read other blogs and see what others are communicating. If you've been reading various blogs, you might note that one recent point of contention is the type of person known as a "fluffy bunny." Ah, the fluffy bunny. Anyone who has been involved with magick, Paganism, or occultism for more than a brief time tends to dismiss the infamous fluffy bunny. Unfortunately, it has become a catch phrase for just about anything someone wants to denounce. In looking over some of these blogs, here are a few of the various definitions of the expression that have been posted: They are new to the study of an occult field Their ideas are based on

In my post entitled Labels, Cults, and Politics I focused on the idea that by not defining terms, people (ab)use the terms to influence others. They use a term to get your support because you believe the term means one thing even though they use the term to mean something different. An example of this phenomenon, used in politics, might be a politician seeking your vote by saying, "I'm going to vote to improve our education system." To some people that might mean, "I'm going to increase funding to schools." To others it might mean, "I'm going to cut funding to teachers." To others it might mean something else. What does it mean to the politician? Unless that person defines what is meant,

The holiday season is upon us! Hindus and Tantrics have just had Diwali. Of course Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa are coming, as is the Winter Solstice and the coming new year (Wow! 2012 already). All of these festivals (and don't forget Festivus!) have two thing in common: the concept of bringing in new spiritual light and the sharing of gifts. For me, the best way to bring in light is to share something that brings new learnings. One of my personal mottos is "We don't die when we stop breathing, we die when we stop learning." Right now, the single most effective and efficient way to share in-depth information is through books. I can think of no better way to share new ideas than

This season has holidays that involve candles and lights. The Tantric/Hindu holiday of Diwali is a multi-day holiday which includes lighting more candles each night. Hanukkah, also a multi-day holiday, also has people lighting more candles each night. On Christmas, electric lights (formerly candles) would like illuminate the tree and the home. Pagans light a Yule log. Kwanzaa uses a special candle holder for seven candles that are lit according to a specific pattern. This is also a time of sharing gifts. Traditionally, these gifts were relatively small, although commercialization has made the giving of gifts into something huge. This is a great time to wish health, well-being, and