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A Stoic Discourse for Modern Pagans, Polytheists, and Magickal Folks
You have power over your mind-not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength ~Marcus Aurelius, Meditations Stoicism has gotten its fair share of criticisms throughout history; oft misunderstood as a “stone cold, calculated” philosophy, many believe that Stoics, both ancient and modern, are unfeeling, cold and calculated people. That’s farthest from the truth; Stoics, both now and in the times of Aurelius, Seneca and Epictetus, do most certainly feel and process their feelings, just not in the way that current society expects them to do so. Instead of suppressing those emotions, the modern, and thus, Christian, practice of “turning the other cheek”, we instead remove ourselves (how about you look…
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The Sorcerer’s Notebook: Walpurgisnacht, The Green Devil, and Witches’ Sabbat
Blessed Walpurgis to all, and Beltane Blessings! Today, and specifically, tonight, holds a special power that those of us who endear themselves with the more traditional cunning arts should not only welcome and observe, but work with, and cast effective magick for actual change. Yes, I am getting a little political, but only because current events and regimes threaten to bring us to brink of extinction: either via war and destruction, or via climate change. To be clear, I’m no climate scientist, but, I can read, and read I do; everyday. From the small bit of research I’ve done on the worsening climate issue, we’re already at the point of…
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Sounding the Alarm: Occult Revelations from The Mass of Baphomet on the Egg Moon
First, let me preface this article with a disclaimer: much of what you read here is going to be personal gnosis that will likely be controversial, not only among folks who aren’t particularly inclined to postmodern ideas of magick and mysticism, much less conceptions of the world and reality, but also from those who may argue that Baphomet as a spiritual entity doesn’t actually exist. For those folks, I would encourage you to do research on the specific issue you have with anything in this article. I’m not saying I’m right, either here, or all the time, and I certainly don’t profess to know everything. However, these revelations come at…
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Yuletide, Saturnalia and Closing Out 2025
Hello everyone, I hope you’re all enjoying your holiday season, and that it continues to go well for you. For many, this time of year is difficult for a multitude of reasons, including myself. While I won’t get into why, I do want to offer some closing thoughts for those who have had a less-than-spectacular 2025. For many, 2025 is the final shedding of the skin (it is the year of the Snake, after all), and that skin shedding process can be painful. Loss, death, change, and even dramatic life altering events are likely to have happened. Whatever 2025 brought you, I wish you resolution, peace, and joy as the…
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Time to Cut the Shit: The Rant About Magick, Paganism, the Occult and Witchcraft That No One Else Wants to Have
My first entry in a little while is going to be brutally honest, and I’m not apologizing about it, either. I’m going to cuss, talk a little shit (from a place of love), and hopefully get some gatekeeping assholes to get off their fuckin’ high horse! To be frank, I’m fed up with the toxicity I see in the online Pagan community, and the Pagan community at large. It’s absolutely fucking ridiculous; some of y’all are out here acting less mature than a toddler throwing a temper tantrum! This is a rant about, and to, the Pagan community, the witch community, the occultist community, and the magickal community. It’s time…
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Messages of the Mums: Reflections on Grief, Samhain, and Honoring the Departed
Hello friends, I hope you’re all doing well and staying warm during these last few days of spooky season. It’s cold where I live, as November’s soggy and cold climate approaches. I originally had an entirely different idea for a Samhain/Halloween piece, but life has a way of showing you what’s most important, and what you should share. I unexpectedly lost my oldest cat, Maxwell, who was only 5 years old, two and a half weeks ago, and my home and family has been reeling from that since. He was the heart and center of our family and household. Life has been difficult without him, to say the least. Grief…
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The Modern Merlin’s Summer Reading List: Lessons, Perspective Shifts, Transformation and Impermanence
Hello friends! I know it’s been a hot minute since you’ve last heard from me, and I do apologize for that. To be honest, I hit a moment of deep inner change, one that I’m still not completely out of. During this process of change, I came to realize that returning to my roots in Buddhism and Taoism wasn’t enough; I had to apply those practices in my daily life, something that I still struggle with, and likely will for the remainder of my time in this life. That’s not to say that it isn’t worth it; in my view, it’s well worth it to be mindful, live in the present moment,…
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Following Threads of Life in Chaos: The Tao for the Modern Occultist and Pagan
Whew! I haven’t written a creative piece in quite some time; life really hit me with a curveball, and I had to a take an unexpected leave of absence from pretty much everything here, spare the occasional book review. I’m happy to say that while the things that caused my absence aren’t completely resolved, I am at a point where things have slowed down enough for me to write this piece, which I’ve been wanting to write for a little while now. My spiritual seeking started in high school. Until late in my sophomore year, so about 2010, I found that science, like I previously thought, couldn’t account for everything…
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Spring, Beltane, and the Magick of Renewal: A Special Column from The Modern Merlin
Hello friends, and welcome to May! Happy May Day, and Merry Beltane/Bealtaine! After a short hiatus, I’m back, and will slowly be picking up the pace in my writing so as to not burn myself out. How often I’ll be posting this month is TBD, if I’m being honest, but I’m excited to be back! That aside, I’m excited to be sharing with you a unique perspective I’ve come to regarding Beltane. Beltane is, and always was, a fertility festival; there’s an energy of renewal in the air, and love, too. Culminating with the Solstice at Midsommer, this season is truly about life renewed, as the bees and various critters…
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Special Announcement from The Modern Merlin: My Hanged Man Era
Hello everyone, I hope you’re doing well and that the week, and month, are getting off to an excellent start for you. Mercury stationed direct, and Venus is up next in less than a week, so things are looking up Astrologically. Every year, I do a “year ahead” tarot reading for myself, laying out a card for each month, respectively. April’s card this year, for me, is the Hanged Man. For months, I couldn’t understand exactly what was meant by that card, until certain events occurred, and began becoming overwhelming, thus voiding any creative impetus I may have had left in the tank. These events have forced me to put…
