Dating Angst

The truth of the matter is that dating after the age of 40 truly sucks, especially if you’re a woman. Most dating experts will tell you that the number one complaint of women over 40 is that the lack of quality available men. These experts vehemently insist that this isn’t true and will give you overwhelming statistics to support their claim. These same experts are usually not over 40 themselves, often not a divorcee with children or even single and keep in mind that these “experts” utilize the title “Dating Expert” as an employment vehicle. Their livelihood depends upon you buying into their statistics.

As a 43 year old divorced woman with one child, I really would like to be in a relationship with a monogamous single man also in his forties who is gainfully employed, with his own health insurance, who has hobbies outside of his job and who actually gives a shit about the way he looks. What I can tell you is…there are very few men out there that meet that criteria. Just to be clear let’s highlight that criteria with a numeric list:

1. Single and monogamous 
2. Between the ages of 40 and 50 
3. Employed with health insurance 
4. Individual hobbies 
5. Gives a shit about the way he looks 

It’s incredible to me that I have to defend my position on wanting to date someone who is not currently engaged in another intimate relationship with someone else. I don’t want to have sex with a married man; why is that considered bad form in the modern age? Polyamory may be more mainstream, but I am not polyamorous and there is not a thing anybody can say is going to change my mind on that issue. I am monogamous. I require the same from a potential romantic partner.

There was a time that I opened my dating pool to roughly five years before or after my current age. However the reality is a decade makes a difference. In our twenties we are busy finding ourselves. In our thirties we are busy planning our careers, our families and shaping our lives. In our forties we are planning our children’s lives with college funds and thinking about our retirement. In our fifties retirement is a primary focus. I have discovered I have more in common with a 48 year old than a 38 year old generally speaking. I won’t quibble over a few years for the right person but I’m not interested in someone 10 years my junior. They haven’t been where I have been and it limits our shared experience. I lack the experience of my 10 year senior. We are not in the same place and once again lacking that shared experience.

I am amazed that I have been accused of being elitist to insist upon dating someone who is gainfully employed with their own health insurance. Listen, the reality is that I am a single mother. I carefully direct every penny I earn because I need it to cover my child’s educational needs and I must have childcare. Sometimes I sacrifice my own medical needs to pay for my child’s because money can be that tight at times. All things considered, I do remarkably well. I take my child on fun vacations and we manage better than some. However, I cannot be responsible for an adult who should be able to take care of their own finances, my child must and will come first. Honestly do I need to defend wanting to date someone who has a job? I am no longer quite that desperate.

I will never again date someone who has no outside interests. Being someone’s entire world is just downright creepy.

Before I articulate more on item 5 let me just say that the majority of men who have expressed interest in me have not been able to meet items 1 through 4. It is a sad reality and I am almost beyond hope. I have been instructed to look in the “Friend Zone” for more quality suitors but that is a tricky situation.

Attractiveness is very subjective. I often have a hard time describing what I feel is attractive. I do think that Brad Pitt is attractive. I also think Patrick Stewart is attractive. I do not expect to date their look-alikes however. It is a sad truth that most men over 40 seem to stop caring about the way they look. They must be able to see the ear and nose hair protruding from those orifices, yet they don’t bother to trim it. Their stubble that they are too lazy to shave looks and feels like trashy sandpaper. They wear stained polo shirts, dumpy jeans and baseball caps and then have the audacity to complain about the “mom jeans” women over forty wear because we really don’t want our underwear to show when we are bending down to pick up our child on the playground.

I gave birth to a 10 pound child, therefore I have stretch marks. I have flaws both inside and out and what I consider attractive has less to do with physical projection and more about inner confidence. What is attractive is giving a shit. It’s about knowing your flaws and working with them. Confidence is sexy. However, sometimes you just aren’t attracted to some people. You may love them as a person, but you can’t get your body to respond in a more romantic way. It happens. I have tried to date in the “Friend Zone,” and it ended poorly every time. The “Friend Zone” I think is just rude anyway. It implies that I’m not allowed to have male friends; which is more ridiculous to me than my current dating prospects.

What is most incredible to me is that my single status seems to make everyone around me uncomfortable. After hearing so often that I needed a boyfriend I started to panic and think that maybe I did. What I have learned from my dismal dating encounters is that if I have to have a boyfriend that isn’t monogamous, isn’t within a reasonable age range, has no interests to talk about and is an unattractive jobless schlep, well then I’d rather be alone.

Dating Whoa!s

Dating after 40 can be somewhat of a harrowing experience. Instead of railing at the individuals themselves for their dating blights, I’m sharing my dating Whoa!(s) for humor and posterity.

1. I’m not interested means I’m not interested

I would have to say that the most horrifying Whoa! I have encountered in the world of online dating would be repeat contact after I have sent the generic “No thank you,” email response. Rather than give a person a laundry list of why I don’t think we are a “match” I simply utilize the generic “no thank you,” button. I feel it’s honest and kind. There are literally thousands of other candidates from which to choose; my quick communication allows them to move on to better options. When a person continues to email me after I have stated my lack of interest I find this not only unacceptable but downright dangerous behavior. Essentially, this person is communicating that my opinion has no barring and it is only what they want that truly matters. This is a person who is unwilling to accept “no,” as my answer. Let’s just say that I give in and I respond and we end up meeting. What if I decide to say “no” to a second date? What if I say “no” to sexual intercourse? I have no reason to believe that my wishes will be respected in these circumstances. No means no and anyone who thinks it means anything else is actually a monster.

2. The Reindeer Games

If I see the “No games” written anywhere on an online profile that immediately translates to “Game Over.” I play all kinds of games: sports games, card games, board games, online games, live action role play games…how boring life would be without games. I suppose what these folks are so afraid of is perhaps people lying to them. Dating is a risk, especially online dating where it’s all media easily hyped. People can lie; but you’ve got to have hope and faith, otherwise you might as well just give up and buy some aids for solo gratification. Everyone has issues.  Everyone comes with baggage.  In a relationship you not only have to be willing to negotiate not only the other person's issues and baggage, you have to be willing to negotiate yours.  A person will a "no games" disclaimer communicates to me that they are not willing to acknowledge or address the issues that they bring to the table.  This clearly communicates a lack of responsibility.  A person terrified of the Jedi mind games I might play on them lacks maturity, confidence and will. Remember the Jedi can only fool the weak minded, “no games,” on your profile tells me that is exactly what you are.

 

3. I love you, Whoops! 

It is the height of rudeness to tell me that you love me and then a few days later sit me down and tell me you want to take it back or that my concept of love is not your concept of love. Okay, let’s define love. Love is caring deeply for an individual. When you are in love you feel your heart leap when you see the person and you feel sad when you don’t see them. When something extraordinary happens to you, you want to share it with the person that you love. Oh and by the way, love is usually a finite emotion. It comes and goes, but not in two to three day intervals. It’s normal to panic upon saying “I love you.” It’s normal to berate yourself for wondering if it was too soon and feeling like a schmuck if I don’t return the phrase immediately. But are you really that out of control with your emotions that your mouth turns the phrase independently of your brain? If you tell me you love me and then a second later or a day or two later say that you were brainless, I see no reason why I shouldn’t agree with you. “I love you, Whoops!” is the motto of a brainless schmuck and a one-way ticket to the end of our journey together.

 

4. Dutch is not a date 

I have invited dates to galas and theatre and when I do so, I shell out the cash. I happen to be female. If I cannot afford the tickets, I don’t invite in the first place. If I have been invited to dinner followed by a movie, I will happily pay for the full dinner or both movie tickets in reciprocation of my date paying for that which I don’t. If I have made the invite though, I am fully prepared to pay for both the movie and the dinner. It’s bad form to expect your guest to pay. Asking me to pay for my own share of my own meal is not a date. A date is supposed to be special and value isn't necessarily monetary.   It isn’t about the money.  I can pay for my own food. I do it willingly all the time, and I will continue to do so…without you.

Pagan Accountability

It has been suggested by Sam Webster in his Wild Hunt Article “Accountability in Pagan Leadership,” that the Pagan community faces special challenges because most Pagan groups do not have an economic based accountability. In this more common model of accountability, a leader is given detailed standards and is paid a wage. The wages are suspended or ended entirely if the leader does not meet the standards which were detailed. This model implies that there is a group which pays the leader his or her wage and sets those standards. If we apply this model to a mainstream monotheist religious groups, this implies that the congregation sets up the standards and pays its leader the wage and revokes that wage when the standards are not met. The article points out that Pagan leadership is challenging because the leaders are not paid by the congregation. Pagan leaders are often charismatic individuals who are committed to an idea. They fund themselves and collect followers to their idea. However, no wage is equated to no control. As a Pagan activist I am reminded that I have often asked the question, why don’t we pay our Pagan leaders? Surely if accountability is governed by finance then it would stand to reason accountability would rise with the paycheck.

It seems harsh and simplistic to have everything come down to money but why don’t we pay our Pagan Leaders? It has been my experience that when one of those charismatic individuals comes forward within the Pagan community with an idea that resonates, we of this Western society might be afraid to pay them for their services for the same reason Mr. Webster gives as the reason for the short lifespan of many Pagan groups: We are afraid. If we pay our leaders then their services are no longer a “gift,” their service becomes a commodity and we are the consumer. Or we are afraid that this leader might become too powerful, cult-like maybe, if we were to provide them with the security of our money. They might have resonating ideas, but everyone has ideas and you can’t buy bacon and cook it for dinner with just an idea as your currency. We fear that ideas don’t have financial value.

It is clear that Mr. Webster agrees that fear is the undercurrent for both the success and the failure of the finite Pagan groups. These unpaid charismatic leaders with those resonating ideas can more easily abuse their followers because the victim of abuse is afraid to speak out because the rest of the congregation will side with the leader. If the leader goes, so does the group. Fear keeps the group alive for only as long as the leader is alive. Fear then is its success, but also its ultimate demise because the congregation is afraid to continue with an idea that is no longer unique.

While I would agree that some Pagan Leaders have abused people who trusted them; I disagree that the problem of the abuse of power in the Pagan community and the phenomena of finite pagan groups are intrinsically linked. I also disagree that the abuse of power in religious systems is uniquely a Pagan problem. The reality is that some people will abuse power even in the most well established benevolent setting. It is up to every individual to keep power in check. Every adult needs to accept the responsibility not just for their role as a leader, but as a follower. A person has power over you only for as long as you choose to give it. That may be difficult to hear when one has been the victim of serious abuse, but a victim can flee, a victim can speak out, a victim can testify, a victim can get treatment. A victim can heal and in doing so, can become a leader. They become a leader even if all they do is flee because in leaving the group the abuser no longer has power over them.

So is the problem of the Pagan Community really the accountability of our leaders? It seems that the real issue that Mr. Webster wants to address is our lack of lasting stability. Whether our charismatic leaders abuse their followers or not the fact remains that their unique ideas more often than not die with them. That is clearly the responsibility of the followers. It seems to me that the Pagan community needs to acknowledge that we are afraid to lead.  True courage is defined not by lack of fear, but by acting in spite of it.    

April Owen Society: Odds Fobs and Gear Knobs: Accidental Talismans

While Dr. Xavier Day and I rarely see eye to eye, it is clear that we both couldn’t agree more how important it is for a magician to clean house. Most people of this modern age are familiar with the basic principle of the ancient concept of Feng Shui; in that the flow of energy in our environment is a reflection of the flow of energy within us. If our environment is so cluttered that physical movement is restricted, we should not be surprised if we are mentally restricted as well. The things in our environments are a reflection of our individual development. We all have things, but objects have an uncanny ability to store the essence of a particular memory, concept, emotion or place. Things then have a potential to become Accidental Talismans which was the focus of my presentation, Odds, Fobs and Gear Knobs: Accidental Talismans for the Owen Society April meeting.

There are many definitions of what a Talisman is, however I think a simple explanation is that a Talisman is a charged magical object. It is charged by magic. Magic (if you remove all the mystery and spiritualism) is simply will. Will is desire. Desire is an emotion. What then is an emotion? Well emotion, is a response to a memory, place, people and OBJECTS. It’s a pattern that comes full circle. A circle of which we would all be wise to be mindful.

A simple object can become an accidental talisman in several different ways. Things that are no longer used, such as clothes that no longer reflect your CURRENT size are accidental talismans. Obstructions, like a couch so littered with extraneous things that you no longer can sit on it becomes an accidental talisman. Distractions are accidental talismans, as are things that are avoided, things that hide something else and things that are unresolved. One of the most difficult accidental talisman to address I feel are things that invoke negative thoughts or emotions and these often take the form of gifts. This is that atrociously ugly lamp that your Aunt Mildred gave you. You feel for a multitude of reasons that you can’t get rid of the blasted thing, but it’s so hideous you begin to avoid the room IT lives in. Essentially, you allow this object to hold you hostage in your own home. Gifts from former lovers are also full of talismanic energy. Particularly if it is a portable item to be worn if you come into contact with your former lover and you are still wearing the item, you can only expect that connection between you to be instantly restored. Your lover will invariably think smugly to themselves “I gave her that!” If you restore the connection to your former lover, how can you possibly hope to establish a connection with someone else?

If objects are a reflection of our development, imagine for a moment a hall of mirrors in a fun house. It can be extremely disorientating, because within that hall of mirrors it’s very difficult to determine where you have been and where you need to go. Likewise if we are clinging to objects that have nothing positive to offer us in the present; then it is difficult to focus on the future and who we wish to become.

The best way to diminish the power of our Accidental Talismans is to give them a new home. Send Aunt Mildred’s lamp to a good charity and someone will find joy in it! Where it held you hostage, someone else will see potential and possibility. A question we all need to consider is do we really want our reflection to be of a hideous lamp? Or do we seek more creative possibilities? The bottom line is: possibility needs room to grow. Now go clean your house.

Approximately 13 people attended my lecture including Mr. M, Britney Gears, Televte Sunderland, Lainie Petersen, Alan P. Salmi, Catherine MacPherson, Oktyater Khaboror and Jean Julien Brumaire. Dr. Xavier Day, the professor’s esteemed college was also present as was of course, Professor Marius Mandragore. I am of course Amber McCoy (*), apprentice to the Professor.

(*) Amber McCoy is the Steampunk persona of Ame Kesa Morghan.

2014 March Owen Society: The Steampunk Magician's Toolkit

On this March Sunday Dr. Xavier Day had for all the participants of the Owen Society a complete Magician’s Toolkit. Complete with more than one device for divination which the good doctor explained was crucial for the inner peace of any would be magician, Steampunk or otherwise. When doing any kind of magical working, it is always a sound idea to check the ethics of the desire with divination. A reading that portends a warning does not necessarily mean you shouldn’t proceed with your intention, but it might give you an idea as to what the consequences may be. It’s up to the individual magician to determine if the consequences are worth the desire.

The consequences can be a bit of a messy affair that is the nature of all magic. Cleansing is also immensely important. Dr. Day delighted attendees not only in brewing samples of many cleansing oils for the toolkits, he included the recipes so that Owen Society members could replenish their supplies once they had been put to use. In addition to these oils were oils for charm and spell work with an explanation of their possible uses. However the creative magician of course can divine their own uses for such oils and with some herbal skill could brew up more possibilities of their own.

As an accomplished herbalist himself Dr. Day reminded the participants that plants are also living things. To carefully harvest a flower or a few leaves from an accommodating plant is one thing; but work with the root should be used with care and respect as this is taking the full life of the plant. Humans may have many gifts, but we share this world with many living things that have their own gifts. We should take care not to give the human status one too lofty for reality.

The reality is of course that human beings also have their limits and so too does the magic a human might create. You can’t expect a spell to work in an orderly fashion if you’re living in complete chaos! Dr. Day repeatedly drove home the point, “CLEAN YOUR HOUSE!” He concluded with the idioms be enticed, be specific, be CLEAN, be informed. Words most certainly to live by.

Approximately 20 people were in attendance at Dr. Xavier Day’s (*) lecture including one new member, Mr. Jason Winslade. Additional attendees included Jean Julien Brumaire, Thomas Forsyth, Oktyater Khaboror, Mr. M, Janet Berres, Nikki Deasy, Marie Gross, Mark Lancaster, Janet MacDonald, Alan P. Salmi, Cardinal Hymie Aloysius Pederasium, Helene Plushbottom and of course Professor Marius Mandragore and his esteemed colleges and friends Taliesin McCoy, Ymor Odwyn y dwr, Eitel August Graf Von Pappenheim and the Professor’s apprentices Delores Dion and myself, Amber McCoy (+).

(*) Dr. Xavier Day is the Steampunk persona of Matthew Ellenwood

(+) Amber McCoy is the Steampunk persona of Ame Kesa Morghan

2014 February Owen Society Meeting: Dot Ask, Dot Tell

Always the card, Cardinal Hymie Aloysius Pederasium (or Cardinal Ped, as I refer to him) introduced himself as the “Lounge warm-up act for John Michael Greer,” who will be giving an extensive workshop on European Geomancy in March at the Occult bookstore. However Cardinal Ped gave a wonderful introductory and amusing presentation on the subject at the Owen Society’s February meeting.

Most people might think of the Eastern practices of Feng Shui or of dowsing when they hear the term “geomancy.” However the subject of Cardinal Ped’s presentation is a form of European divination with roots in Arabic sand divination. It is a mathematical and binary system that utilizes four lines of either one or two dots to form sixteen different symbol combinations. To use this divination in its most simple form, you would think of a question you want answered by divinatory assistance, then you would poke a random number of dots into the sand, then determine if the number of those dots is even or odd. If it is even, the first line of the figure gets two dots. If it is odd, then only one dot. You would then repeat this poking three more times so that you would have four lines of dots for a complete figure. You could also use a coin using the “tail” side to represent “even” or two dots and the “head” side to represent “odd” or one dot. You would then interpret the symbol from the classic meanings of the sixteen forms.

The sixteen figures vary in meaning much like any other divinatory system. Some of the figures are favorable, some are a little more ambiguous and some are rather ominous in their suggestion. When presented with ominous divinatory warnings Cardinal Ped recommended a “Pink Freud” approach; and suggests ruminating on the question is this suggestion fate or psychology? In medieval times when many divinatory systems were tooled and studied the state of affairs was very much black and white. In a time where class structures were fixed and no one could (or tried) to “change their stars;” no positive was seen in the darkness. In this modern world, and especially in the Steampunk world, we are constantly tinkering not only with objects and concepts, but even time itself. We can and do “change our stars” and steer the dirigible of our fate in multiple directions. We embrace our darkness, and realize it is a necessary counter balance to the light of day. Cardinal Ped believes the feared darkness of medieval times can be an important learning tool for the students of the modern age.

European Geomancy resonates in the modern age. Cardinal Ped pointed out that it is a mathematical structure that seems to be implicit in the human brain. We see a reflection of this elegant binary system in not only Eastern I Ching, but in computer code. That revolutionary modern development may have been based on the code of life itself, the double, binary helix of our genetics. It is this deep electrical earth current that one is tapping into with European Geomancy.

Cardinal Ped is one of my personal favorite presenters because he is incredibly thorough. If you would like to learn more about his personal research on Geomancy he has a public file on Dropbox.

Esteemed author John Michael Greer will be presenting a three day workshop on European Geomancy in March. Please visit the Occult Book Store for more information.

Approximately 23 people were in attendance at Cardinal Ped’s (*) lecture; including at least people new to an Owen Society meeting: Michael Keane, Matthew Rosenfeld and Lainie Petersen. Additional attendees included Thomas Forsyth, Britney Gears, Aria Healy, Oktyater Khaboror, Catherine MacPherson, Mr. M, Marie Gross, Janet MacDonald, Alan P. Salmi, Helene Plushbottom, Rory "Aquabear" Sunderland, Televte Sunderland, Joseph C.R. Vourteque and of course Professor Marius Mandragore, his esteemed colleges and friends Dr. Xavier Day, Eitel August Graf Von Pappenheim, Ymor Odwyn y dwr and Taliesin O’Brien, and his apprentices Delores Dion and myself, Amber McCoy (+).

*Cardinal Hymie Aloysius Pederasium (Cardinal Ped) is the Steampunk persona of David Steven Rappoport.

+Amber McCoy is the Steampunk persona of Ame Kesa Morghan.

Book Review: Call of the Horned Piper by Nigel Aldcroft Jackson

Mr. Jackson does not appear to believe in biographies as there is no information about his experience written within his work, Call of the Horned Piper or any citable source on the Internet. He also does not include a bibliography in order to gain insight on where he bases his research. It stands to reason then that his work is a description of his personal pathwork, experience and impressions.

I must guess that Mr. Jackson created this work in order to provide a novice interested in the old working of witchcraft with introductory knowledge of the subject. That said, I would argue that the text would be better understood by someone who already has basic knowledge of witchcraft, the tools and the traditions; as Mr. Jackson is clearly a logophile and often switches to old English to display some chants. The one tool that I did not have much understanding of was the broom or the besom as it is also called, which is the cliché symbol of the witch. What Mr. Jackson helped me to understand was that perhaps it is not a literal sky flight that the witches of old were after, but a metaphysical flight of the spirit. He goes into detail (without giving specific recipes) of the hallucinogenic herbs ancient witches uses to induce trances where they would dream of flying and return with new wisdom. The besom according to Mr. Jackson is a metaphor only.

In addition to the broom as a metaphor it seems to me that Mr. Jackson is of the mind that individual Goddesses of different cultures are also metaphors and simply a way of describing a communal divine energy. He is not alone in this ideology. I believe that in many pagan and specifically Wiccan sects a generic “Lady” Goddess is revered. I do think that this mode of spiritually can be useful in some regards but it is not a construct that I use personally; particularly as a devotee of two very different Goddesses.

Goddesses are given some length in his work but of course the main focus of this work is The Horned One, or as Mr. Jackson often refers to him “Old Hornie.” Once again Mr. Jackson seems to lump all horned male entities into one generic archetype; even going so far as to lump The Lord of Forest with the puca nature spirit. I have never been personally comfortable with the term “witch” though I must acknowledge that the term does apply to me. I have gone on many on these spirit flights to which Mr. Jackson refers (albeit without the use of narcotics) and I have encountered on those dream flights a great Lord of a Forest and a puca. As terrifying as the puca can be, he is no Lord of the Forest. I must admit too being very put off by the reference to the devil in association with horned Gods. My personal pagan practices have nothing to do with Christianity and I resent any association of my religion as a left-handed path of the religion of Christianity. Also, I do not have any desire to subjugate myself to any God, horned or otherwise. My Goddesses and I have a symbiotic relationship, much like that as teacher and student. I am sure that like my mortal experiences with teaching, my Goddesses must also be learning something from me as their eager student, or else I think that they would find my offerings very tedious.

While it may seem that my criticisms of the work are strong I did appreciate the collection of this information. I did enjoy the more in-depth analysis of the symbology of the besom. Mr. Jackson also included a great deal of information and history of various herbs. His chapter “Spirit Masks in European Paganism” also gave me new appreciation for the metaphoric properties of masks as a vehicle to enter other states of consciousness, both for the watcher and the wearer. This may not be the right choice of material for a master of witchcraft as they may find their own practices to not confer with Mr. Jackson’s. A beginner to the craft may not have enough information to fully process the material as it is presented. However an intermediate student will find some treasures and will at the very least have another perspective to compare with their own experience.

2014 January Meeting of the Owen Society: Development of the Occult Tarot

On Sunday, January 26, 2014 we heard from the mysterious Dr. Dragonfly for a thorough and historical presentation on the Development of the Occult Tarot.

Most people would think that cards of any sort would come as second nature to me given that I’ve made the majority of my financial wealth playing cards in the saloons of the Wild West and even internationally. However, I privately confessed to the good Dr. Dragonfly that I preferred my cards without pageantry. In poker, a spade is a spade (unless you’re cheating). At the risk of Miss Dion smugly discovering this musing of mine I must admit that I find the complex symbology of the tarot rather intimidating.

My intimidation might be lessen with time; rather that if my travels through time happen to land me in the late 1400’s I might do well as a professional “tarock” player as long as I have the coinage to have the cards commissioned for me. I was impressed to learn from Dr. Dragonfly that contrary to popular belief, the modern tarot deck did not come from Egypt or from the Gypsies. It was just a card game, although an elitist one because before the introduction of Gutenberg Press, cards were very expensive little works of art. The beauty of some of these decks can be viewed in fine museums.


It makes one wonder where the association with the occult began. In his notes, Dr. Dragonfly mentions that in 1589 a trial in Venice associated the game of cards with witchcraft, but it is of course the 18th century that really fuses these cards with the mystic. The French occultist Eliphas Levi worked with the tarot and the Kabbalah and his work later inspired the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

With all of time at my disposal, it might still not make me a master of the tarot. Although that American game that has treated me so kindly has little to do with the physical cards in your hand and more to do with the people with whom you are playing. Perhaps in that regard, tarot is not so different. Symbols are meaningless until an initiate breathe life into them.

Approximately 37 people were in attendance at Dr. Dragonfly’s (*) lecture; including at least seven people new to an Owen Society meeting: Oktyater Khaboror, Oswin Bernerd McGuinness, Arnell Ando, Fiona Cook, Beth Dougherty, Nicholas Efrosinis, and Micheal McAteer. Additional attendees included Oracle Alexandria, Jean Julien Brumaire, Lady Lavinia Cavigndish, Dr. Xavier Day, Delores Dion, Lady Elsa Fairfield Flatstone, Reginald Flatstone, Britney Gears, Aria Healy, Lord A. Kamion the Earl of Oxbridge, Captain Rheinhardt Krieger, Mr. M., Catherine MacPherson, Lady Marmelade, Daria Melnikova, Cardinal Hymie Aloysius Pederasium, Marie Gross, Janet MacDonald, Elmo Gene Painter, Alan P. Salmi, Rory "Aquabear" Sunderland, Televte Sunderland, Eitel August Graf Von Pappenheim, Joseph C.R. Vourteque, Hildebrandt Wilberforce and as always Professor Marius Mandragore and myself, Amber McCoy(+).

(*) Dr. Dragonfly is the Steampunk Persona of Paul James Lewis an occult researcher, astrologer, witch and pianist. He has been involved in the world of the occult since 1979 when he was initiated into a Gardnerian coven. He was also a member of a ceremonial magickal order, but at this time is affiliated with no particular tradition and is a solitary practitioner of the occult arts. As an astrologer he is associated with the NCGR.

As a pianist, he is the Principal Pianist for The Joffrey Ballet. A position he has held since 2002. A champion of contemporary piano music, he has played for Leonard Bernstein, Sir Michael Tippett, and Olivier Messiaen. His performances have been broadcast on PBS radio and television; has recorded 11 CD's of ballet class music and portrayed himself in the Robert Altman film, "The Company".

(+) Amber McCoy is the Steampunk of Persona of Ame Kesa Morghan a pagan activist, ritualist, performer and Steampunk Enthusiast. 

 

Book Review: Aradia or the Gospel of Witches by Charles G. Leland

Charles G. Leland was an America Folklorist of the late nineteenth century who became enamored with the folk and specifically witchcraft traditions of Italy and made an effort to preserve them. He believed that that he was preserving a dying tradition. While there is documentation that he was a hermetic, I do not believe that he was a devotee of Diana, Aradia or regularly practiced the incantations or charms collected in his work. If he did attempt to use the charms, I think that he would find that they didn’t work to his liking. Dr. Mario Pazzaglini points out in his essay “Leland and the Magical World of Aradia” included in this edition of Mr. Leland’s work that it is unlikely that an actual “Witches’ Gospel” really existed. Dr. Pazzaglini does not discount the truth of what Mr. Leland collected; only that it was not universal. I am inclined to agree. What Mr. Leland did not realize that this old tradition of witchcraft is not dying out, quite the contrary; over a century after his own death it is still being practiced by people like me.

I have my own growing collection of charms and incantation. While I might use pieces of those that worked very well for me, what is true of living witchcraft is that it is ephemeral. A spell is designed for a specific moment in time. It is also clear to me that this “Gospel of Witches” has been heavily influenced by Christianity and that it is an example of old folklore and ancient Pagan practices bleeding through into a more modern time dominated by the Christian religion. Here the Moon Goddess Diana (She of night and darkness) has Her Divine Brother named Lucifer (He who brings the light). Diana has another name in the Greek pantheon of Artemis, and Her brother, the Sun God (he who brings the light) is Apollo. It is through an incestuous mating of these two divine forms that Aradia in conceived. She then becomes a female messiah, helping the oppressed women of the country change their lot in life through witchcraft. Diana is depicted in this work as a very wanton, sexual being and at first I was offended by this image of my patroness Goddess. I had an image of her as the powerful and chaste Goddess of maidenhood who eschewed the company of men. The idea of her having a child with Christianity’s Lucifer was inconceivable. However I realized that I was judging this work of myth with tainted eyes. In older times, the idea of Virginity did not necessarily mean a woman who did not have sex; to be a virgin meant to be a woman who held power in her own right.

I was forced then to consider the idea that this was Diana’s definition as Divine Virgin. To see my Goddess as a sexual being forced me to reconsider sex as a divine act and not as an act of subjugation to men. This was a valuable lesson that perhaps I would not have processed, if not for the reading of this work. I do think that Aradia was an important figure to the impoverished women of the Italian countryside, and perhaps still is. She is a figure of hope. Her stories show a way beyond oppression. That said I am not moved to evoke her, or to utilize the incantations of this work that are lost in my world.