Topic: Magick & Spirituality

In the world of alternative spirituality people are on all sorts of paths. There are those who gather in covens to uncover the spirit of the old European paganism. There are Ceremonial Magicians who attempt to open the door on the Magick of the ancient Egyptians. There are those who sit in their asanas and practice the esoteric breath techniques from India to arouse their Kundalini. In the New Age, there are all sorts of crystal and sound and whatever-feels-good bliss ninnies as well.

As disparate as these groups are, they have more in common that one might at first think. For one thing, all of these groups will readily pay homage to Tibetan Buddhism. In fact, in the New Age Buddhism has become something of an orthodoxy, in much the same way that the Catholics and Episcopalians (or Presbyterians and Methodists - take your pick) represent orthodox Christianity.

Carlos Castaneda was a pioneer of the consciousness movement that began with people like Dr. Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert. He died in 1998 of liver cancer there was hardly a ripple in the press.

His work may seem somewhat tame today, but he created a stir back in 1969 with the publication of his first book, The Teachings of Don Juan, A Yaqui Way of Knowledge. The book, supposedly true, was written like a novel and told the story of Castaneda’s trek south of the border to apprentice under Don Juan, an old Yaqui Indian shaman or “brujo,” who was said to possess the powers of a sorcerer. Many hippies and communal types of the day found this approach to expanded consciousness more appealing than eastern meditation, for Don Juan didn’t require a vegetarian diet. He also knew about the peyote cactus and how to use it.

Back in August of 1999, I penned a column on psychic fraud Raylene Van Worth, who'd written me a "personalized" computer letter to let me know that she had a vision concerning my future. I was in for a period of great luck, it seemed, with a Tudor style home and a new car with leather interior in my future. Most of all, however, the letter was meant to prey on my insecurities and supposed lack of a meaningful life. "I felt you have no one you could really trust," she wrote. "And I felt your loneliness."

Another pioneer from the “expanded consciousness” movement of the 1960s died last year. Terrence McKenna, a passionate promoter of the power of hallucinogenic drugs for mind-expansion, died of brain cancer at the age of 53. The announcement came in the form of a simple statement on McKenna’s web site: “Terence McKenna relinquished his body at 2:15 a.m. Pacific time today, April 3, 2000. He died at peace and with people whom he loved and who loved him.”

These days it’s not uncommon to hear from those who practice alternative spirituality that we must choose our own spiritual path. In the New Age, we are offered a smorgasbord of spiritual systems that includes shamanism, Neo-Paganism, Buddhism, Yoga, Hermetics, Sufism, mystical Christianity and more. Further complicating matters is the fact that within each of these divisions are subdivisions. Buddhism offers the choices of Tibetan style, Zen, Theraveda and more. Within the sphere of NeoPaganism you can choose between Celtic, Nordic, Grecian, Roman and others. Shamanism includes practices of the various Native American nations, the South American Indians, Siberians, Australian aborigines and so on. Things would be much easier if we could just go back to the days when there was only “one true religion.”

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Choosing a spiritual is much like choosing a hiking or jogging path.Choose a path that is suited to your unique needs and abilities.

The Light Side Of The Moon

by Christine Hall

The ancients understood many of the things that we’ve forgotten. For example, they knew all about the system of cycles within cycles, which is how nature operates in our lives. According to this knowledge, the 24 hour cycle of the day gives way to the 28 day lunar cycle. On our calendars, this would correspond to the month, if we hadn’t decided that it was more important for this to divide evenly into the 365 day cycle of the year, which is why we lengthened this cycle to 30 and 31 days, which represents nothing that occurs in nature.

The first thing a visitor notices when entering Richard Welborn’s home are the handmade mobiles of the planets that hang from the ceiling of his living room. They are arranged around an overhead light, making a representation of the solar system with the light as the sun. Welborn points them out and shrugs.

I've been thinking a lot about death recently. More specifically, I've been thinking about those who have died. This was brought about by the death last week of my roommate's grandfather, a generous and kind man who had always treated me as if I were part of his own family.

Several months ago, a friend of mine was at a gathering of Ceremonial Magicians in the mountains of Tennessee. The group was an oddball assortment of old hippies and younger New Agers who studied the practices of a turn of the century occult group, the Golden Dawn, that had revived the religion of the ancient Egyptians. During the course of the discussion, they began trying to name exactly what they were attempting to accomplish with the work they were doing.