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The Modern Merlin’s Corner: What’s in a name? The Power and Magick Behind Names
Names are some of the fundamental words we learn when we’re being taught how to speak any language. Every thing has a name. Every place has a name. Every one has a name. Place names, surnames and first names, middle names, magickal names are just some examples we see everyday, Pagan or not. In magick, both ancient and modern, it’s a pretty well accepted fact that having a spirit (or person’s) name, gives power over them. Examples of this are abundant in the Medieval Grimoire tradition, especially in works like The Goetia and other well-known grimoires. Knowing a deity’s name doesn’t give you power over them, but it does help you connect to their current of energy, and…
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Weyland’s Whey, 2024 Litha/Dyad Moon Column
“In Wicca, rituals are ceremonies which celebrate and strengthen our relationships with the Goddess, the God and the Earth.” –Scott Cunningham Doubleheader Say it “LEE-tha””. (Don’t fret if you’ve had it wrong for years, I just learned how to pronounce it last week.) I prefer the name Midsummer, cause to me it just sounds cooler. Either way, this Summer Solstice Sabbat celebrates the year’s longest day. The focus is usually on the power of the sun. This year’s Litha overlaps the June esbat. To me, that definitely adds another layer to the celebration! I plan to do a Sun Salutation in the morning and a Full Moon circle…
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Weyland’s Whey, June 17th Column, Faun Review
“Magick is the science and art of causing change to occur in conformity with the will.” –Aleister Crowley MUSIC Review Faun German group. Pagan, folk, medieval music and darkwave. Performances combine medieval and modern instruments like the hurdy-gurdy, lutes, bagpipes and celtic harp. Their vocals are in diverse languages including Latin, Greek, German and English. Formed in 1998. I had the good fortune to score a telephone interview with one of the band members a few years ago during my first stint with PaganPages. (How many years ago? Oh, about umpteen, back when I was still in my frisky fifties!) It was an absolute pleasure and the friendliest interview I’ve…
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The Modern Merlin’s Corner: Owls and Oaks: Wisdom of the Seen and Unseen
My personal spiritual journey has been zig-zagging lately, between different topics, practices, pantheons and spirits. Lately, I’ve been on a path of deepening my connection with the land, the animals that inhabit it, and the spirits, too. When I began reading Celtic Goddess Grimoire for my review, which you can read here, I began sensing an even deeper appreciation for nature than I already had. I felt a deep connection with the trees, animals and land that I see everyday, and I can only explain this as Nemetona’s presence, one of the Goddesses in that book that really came through, along with Melusine, as I live in a town that was literally…
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Weyland’s Whey, May 27th, 2024
Working on My Dreams The Weylander has many interests. Coffee! Pizza! And dreaming. Especially lucid dreaming, in which you realize you’re dreaming while you’re actually doing so. This can help you achieve a sort of control over events in your dreams. I can do it once in a blue moon. In the most recent one, Sparkle and I were walking down a road at night. I told her we needed a car. She said we didn’t have one. I said, “I’ll make one.” And suddenly we were cruising down that country road. (I didn’t notice what kind of a car it was, but the steering wheel was on the right. Maybe…
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Weyland’s Whey
Weyland’s Whey by Weyland Smith For Your Deliberation Cody’s Wish Cody Dorman was born with a rare genetic disorder called Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome. It severely impacts growth and development. During a Make-a-Wish visit to Gainsborough Farm, Kentucky, in 2018, a 5-month-old weanling came over to Cody and his wheelchair and placed its head in his lap. They bonded. The horse’s owners decided on the name Cody’s Wish. Cody and his family often journeyed to watch the horse compete. At the 2023 Breeder’s Cup, the horse’s final race before retirement, expectations were low. Too many great horses. No way Cody’s Wish could win. When the bell rang, he started out at the…
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Spiritual First Aid: Defense Against Love Spells
Welcome to the latest edition of Spiritual First Aid! I apologize it’s been so long since my last column. Life has been a little hectic between my personal life, and with my new book being released and the many many side projects I have going on I have neglected the thing that gives me the most joy- writing. Some of these projects, you might know about, such as The Invisible College, the nonprofit I founded to aid the development and infrastructure of the spiritual communities we all hold dear. I also have some other new projects on the horizon that I’m going to keep silent on for the moment as…
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The Modern Merlin’s Corner: Set: The Misunderstood God of Ancient Egypt
Why Set Matters in our Time Set, Sutekh, Seth; for Khemetic practitioners and those with an interest in Ancient Egypt, this name conjures up the fratricide of Osiris by his brother, whose name graces this very article. For those leaning on the Left Hand Path, he is the Pagan Adversarial God, who provokes change through harsh means. For me, personally, I view Set as much more than these limited definitions. Set is essential change, essential chaos. The Ancient Egyptians both feared and revered this deity of the dry, arid, desert, and for good reason. My personal experience with this Dark Lord is that, yes, he can turn things upside down, but usually,…
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Weyland’s Whey, Beltane 2024
Weyland’s Whey Beltane for Old People The Beltane Sabbat is, among other things, a celebration of union betwixt and between masculine and feminine energies. This includes already established families (love and commitment) as well as the making of new ones (hubba hubba). Happy Anniversary, Sparkle It will never be long enough. But eight years is a good start. Feliz Cumpleanos, Delinquent Yeah, we celebrate our little dog’s birthday. Wanna make something of it? Music Review Keiko Matsui has made several absolutely incredible songs. Love and Nothing Less, from her Euphoria album, is my current favorite. Vocals by Lalah Hathaway and harmonica from Gregoire Maret. Sparkle and I needed a song we considered “ours”. …
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Weyland’s Whey
by Weyland Smith Wey’s Predictions (He’s been wrong about everything else!) Pagans–especially Wiccans–won’t like using AI to construct spells, help write how-tos, or do magickal research. An absence of flesh and blood humanity will be thought to taint the effectiveness of supernatural dealings, and many will avoid all use of AI in their shadow work. No real magick is possible in it, they’ll say. (Two flaws in this logic: just how human are the entities and forces we’re dealing with already? And aren’t these objections akin to believing you have to write out spells in longhand instead of using a keyboard to ensure success?) This trend won’t…
