Yes, I know the name sounds like something from a bad porno film. In actuality, French Lick, Indiana, is a real town. It is the home town of NBA great Larry Bird. People visiting the casinos there included boxer Joe Lewis and gangster Al Capone. Franklin D. Roosevelt announced his intention to run for President here. And in just 10 days, June 9–12, I'll be there at the Babalon Rising festival. Now you can be like them, meet some great occultists, attend some wonderful workshops, and hang with me at what I believe is becoming the best magickal festival in the U.S. There are going to be a lot of great workshops and presenters there, some known and some only known among magicians. I'm

In the blog Gleamings from the Dawn, Morgan Drake Eckstein seems surprised to hear that on another blog, a person wrote that you shouldn't use the term "cult" to describe "Golden Dawn groups." Eckstein writes, "If we cannot use the word 'cult,' especially in its technical sense, then what word are we supposed to use?" Using a simple term to describe an organization (or individual) is a great advantage. After all, rather than give a list of characteristics, I can simply use that term, a label, and not have to describe all of the qualities I like or dislike. The problem, however, is that your definition of the label may not be the same as my definition. Let's use this highly charged

I read an interesting blog post by Leigh-Ann Anderson called Choosing a Magickal Name. It give some interesting ideas on how to choose a magickal name, but it doesn't approach the topic historically. Magickal Names in the Past Anciently, there's no evidence that people used magickal names. While this may be because magickal and mundane lives were one and the same, I'm more inclined to believe that they simply weren't needed. The need for a magickal name developed as the military might of the Christian Church expanded. If you were caught doing magick, you could be imprisoned, tortured, or killed…but not before you revealed the names of your "co-conspirators." So people would take on

Update 1: The winner of the free quartz crystal pendulum contest, Leo O, lives in Mexico. So it took a bit longer for him to receive his prize. However he informed me via email that he did receive it today. If you'd like to see his amazing entry, go to the page here and scroll down. Update 2: The fallout from my interview on Coat-to-Coast AM with George Noory has been amazing. I've been deluged with email comments and questions, especially from people who also visited my website. I apologize for any tardy responses to you and thank you for your support and understanding. Update 3: This is it! I have the final proofs to the new 3rd edition of Modern Magick. I'm working on them to make