As I look back over the years, I've received and given lots and lots of gifts. Some have been as simple as hand-made cards. Others, to loved ones, have been rather expensive. When you give a gift you usually hope that the person who receives it will like it enough to keep. You hope that they'll enjoy it, use, it, be happy with it, and that it serves as a reminder that you care. But no matter how much effort you put into it, there's always a chance that the recipient either won't want it or will need to give it away, sell it or discard it. As far as I can tell there is only one gift that cannot be returned: wisdom. Unfortunately, wisdom cannot be given. Wisdom results from a combination

Planning for the upcoming year? I'm involved with several exciting events. I hope you can participate. Talk With Me on the Witchtalk Blog Radio Program On January 10, I'll be on the Witchtalk Blog Radio Program at 1pm PST. I'm told that people will be able to call in with questions, so you'll have a chance to talk with me. I'm scheduled to be on for 2 hours, so come on by, listen, and let's chat! A Special Honor and Lecture On January 30 I'm being given a very special honor. It's not common that universities host people such as myself to discuss the topics in which we specialize. Well,  I'm going to be the keynote speaker for the 6th Annual Current Pagan Studies Conference at the

After Modern Magick was originally published, I began to receive a flood of questions. First they came by what we now call "snail mail." I've received questions from all over North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Southeast Asia. Over the past decade the number of those letters has decreased, but it's been replaced by email. Although many of those questions are unique, after a time I started to note that some questioners were asking versions of the same question. In the second edition of Modern Magick I addressed this problem with a new section called the "Modern Magic FAQ." FAQ, of course, is an acronym (or in the Kabalah, a Notarikon) for "frequently asked questions," and in that

Herbert who? There have been many magazines about the paranormal, UFOs, ESP, mysterious animals, ghosts, magick, the occult, etc. To the best of my knowledge, the magazine of this type that has lasted the longest is FATE magazine. It has now been in print for over 60 years and now, as a bimonthly, it continues better than ever. What does that have to do with this Herbert Spencer guy? I had the priveledge of being the Editor-in-Chief for FATE magazine for three years. During that time we increased the circulation four-fold and ran numerous articles from a wide variety of authors. The publisher of the magazine at that time, Carl Llewellyn Weschcke and Llewellyn Worldwide, gave me