Grey School Summary :: June 2019

I've had some health issues this month, and have had trouble sitting in an upright chair (i.e. at the computer) very much, but I managed to finish a couple of assignments. I'm still having trouble with the final essay for Core Energy Practices, on my experiences of meditation and visualisation practices. I decided to start meditating every day again, in the hopes that it would inspire me, but it's been difficult to find a routine.

I'm working on 4 classes at the moment, but I'm thinking of reducing to 3 once one of them is finished. Perhaps this will help me focus better.


Classes In Progress:
✷ Core Energy Practices 102
✷ Colours of Magick
✷ Herb Use & Safety
✷ Path of the Lorekeeper


Assignments in Progress:
✷ Final Essay (Core Energy Practices 102)
✷ Skills Assessment (Path of the Lorekeeper)


Classes Completed:
✷ none


Assignments Completed:
✷ Classes to Take (Colours of Magick)
✷ Self-Assessment (Path of the Lorekeeper)
✷ Herbs in Everyday Life (Herb Use & Safety)



Credits:
✷ This month: 0 Total: 11
(24 credits are required to finish Level 1)

Yearlong Astrology Experiment

I've mentioned before on this blog that I'm not too sure about astrology. The sign that's been assigned to me doesn't reflect my personality at all, and it's hard to imagine the alignment of planets so far away from us can affect our everyday lives.

Still, many very intelligent people I've come across online not only believe in astrology but organise their lives in accordance with it, so I wasn't willing to dismiss it out of hand. So at the start of this year, I decided to embark on a yearlong experiment to see if astrology can really predict my life, and if so, which star sign I actually am.

I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up with daily horoscopes; I thought weekly would be best. I did some research to find a site that gives a free horoscope that isn't too long and tedious to read. I settled on Hidden Insights at Spiral Nature magazine.

At the start of this year, I set up a spreadsheet to record the weekly horoscopes for four signs: Aries, Sagittarius, Aquarius and Pisces. Aries is my sun sign, Sagittarius is my moon sign, Aquarius is my rising/ascendant sign and Pisces is the one I most relate to. At the start of every week, I copy the information for each day into the spreadsheet. Unfortunately the horoscope doesn't come out until Tuesday Australian time as we are ahead of the U.S. but that's only a minor inconvenience.

Later in the week, perhaps 2 or 3 times during the week, I check back on the spreadsheet to see if the predictions for the previous few days have come true. I also check and make a note if something significant has happened in my life. I have a colour code system for recording the accuracy of the predictions. I've noticed that about half the statements are advice on what to do rather than actual predictions. I leave those ones black.

I have to admit, I've skipped a few weeks when I found the process too tedious, but I'll persist until the end of the year, when I should have enough data to be able to draw some conclusions. I'm looking forward to finding out the results and I'll be sure to publish them here.

Grey School Summary :: May 2019

I had a slow couple of months, study-wise, and there wasn't much to report up until this month. I was working, then I had an exhibition to organise. I finally had some free time towards the second half of May though. I'm happy to report that I finished a class: Wizards Don't Whine. It's a jokey title for a class that has a very important lesson -- having a positive attitude to life and taking action can take you so much further.

Students can take up to 6 classes at a time, but I try to stick to 3 or 4 so I don't get overwhelmed. Because I finished Wizards Don't Whine, I signed up for Path of the Lorekeeper, the introductory class to the Department of Lore. I have a strong affinity for lore. I love writing, both blogging and stories, I love reading, and I work in information management by trade. I don't know yet if I'll major in Lore, but it's a possibility.

I'm still procrastinating on writing the final essay for Core Energy Practices 102. I haven't meditated for nearly 6 months, and it just feels a bit hypocritical to write an essay on how meditation has benefited me when I'm not even doing it! This class is my last compulsory class though, and I need to finish it in order to do certain other classes, so I need to get past this block. I've decided I'll start meditating every day, for a week, then perhaps I'll be in a better position to write the essay.



Classes In Progress:
✷ Core Energy Practices 102
✷ Colours of Magick
✷ Herb Use & Safety
✷ Path of the Lorekeeper (New)


Assignments in Progress:
✷ Final Essay (Core Energy Practices 102)
✷ Herbs in Everyday Life (Herb Use & Safety)
✷ Classes to Take (Colours of Magick)


Classes Completed:
✷ Wizards Don't Whine


Assignments Completed:
✷ Manifestation Painting (Wizards Don't Whine)
✷ Final Essay (Wizards Don't Whine)
✷ Personal Learning Style and Interests (Colours of Magick)



Credits:
✷ This month: 2 Total: 11
(24 credits are required to finish Level 1)

Eight Great Spiritual Podcasts

To parallel my Eight Great Podcasts on my other blog, I thought I'd do a specialised version for spiritual podcasts. As with my other selection, there are so many out there that it's hard to choose, and just because a podcast isn't on this list, doesn't mean that it doesn't deserve to be here!


* Rune Soup
Rune Soup, the blog, podcast and community, is the brainchild of Australian Gordon White. Known for chaos magick, he also covers the topics of animism, permaculture and much more. I always come away feeling like I've had a brain upgrade.
Website

* The Fat Feminist Witch
Paige has a friendly and personal style, whether it's interviewing one of her guests, or doing a solo show. Her book reviews are always insightful, and she's not afraid to cover topics that others might think are fluffy as well as the hard-hitting ones.
Website

* Medicine Stories
Medicine Stories focuses mainly on herbalism but also covers a diverse range of topics from indigenous spirituality to death rituals. I always feel peaceful and in touch with my own spirituality after listening.
Website

* The Lucky Mojo Hoodoo Rootwork Hour
A chatty radio show with interesting stories and guests. Every episode features questions from callers, which the hosts do their best to answer. I've found out about other practitioners from the show, such as Madame Pamita (who I might feature in a future episode on YouTubers!).
Website

* Witches & Wine
Chaweon interviews interesting people from all sorts of occult circles. She's not afraid to ask the hard questions and dig deep to get the most insights possible. This is an audio-visual podcast on YouTube.
YouTube

* Circle of Salt
Circle of Salt is hosted by two friends, Felix and Rune, who love to dish salt out on whatever and whoever they feel like. Tarot, magickal nerds and TV shows are all fair game.
Website

* Witch Wave
Each episode, Pam interviews an occult figure about witchcraft, often with a bent towards art and creativity. I always feel inspired to work on my art afterwards.
Website

* Hippie Witch
To be honest, I only heard about this podcast a few days ago, and I've only listened to one episode. But Joanna Devoe's enthusiasm and positivity was so engaging that I added her podcast to the list!
Website

Grey School Summary :: February 2019

The first half of this month, I was 'between jobs' (I'm a contract worker so that's normal for me). I had plenty of time but little motivation to study. Well, to be honest, I watched a lot of educational/spiritual Youtube videos, but I didn't do much written study. Then I was offered a job, and suddenly I became very enthusiastic about studying again! When I had all the time in the world, I didn't feel like studying, but as soon as that was taken away, my motivation returned. Does everyone's brain work that way, or is it just me?

I have almost finished my last mandatory class, Core Energy Practices 102, so I thought I'd earned the right to sign up for another subject-specific class. I chose Herb Use & Safety. I love working with herbs, and this class is a pre-requisite for many other herbal-themed classes, so I wanted to do it early. I also decided to sign up for Colours of Magick. I wasn't going to do it, but the class focuses on the different courses of study at the Grey School of Wizardry, and I'd been having trouble deciding which course to go with, so perhaps it might give me some insight.

The other good news is that my new work is in the same building as a library. It's a specialist library that only covers certain subjects, but I've been able to find some books that will help me with my studies.


Classes In Progress:
✷ Core Energy Practices 102
✷ Wizards Don't Whine
✷ Colours of Magick (new)
✷ Herb Use & Safety (new)


Assignments in Progress:
✷ Final Essay (Core Energy Practices 102)
✷ Manifestation Painting (Wizards Don't Whine)
✷ Personal Learning Style and Interests (Colours of Magick)
✷ Herbs in Everyday Life (Herb Use & Safety)


Classes Completed:
✷ Basic Divination


Assignments Completed:
✷ The Power of Words (Wizards Don't Whine)
✷ Meditation (Core Energy Practices 102)
✷ Exploring Basic Oracles (Basic Divination)


Credits:
✷ This month: 1 Total: 9
(24 credits are required to finish Level 1)

Making My First Magickal Oil

Yesterday I made my first magickal oil. Oils have many names, depending on tradition: anointing oil, dressing oil, holy oil, condition oil, hoodoo oil or conjure oil. The oil I made was based on the Hoodoo tradition, and they have various names in that tradition alone. Spiritual oil is a good general name that doesn't tie the oil to any one tradition or religion.

My oil is made from things I had around the house -- essential oils and herbs from my stash. It's inspired by some Van Van Oil recipes I found online. Van Van Oil is a great oil for general success and luck, and is also worn as a perfume. It has a fresh, citrusy, grassy scent, and often contains vervain or lemongrass.

Please note this is not an officially recognised Van Van Oil recipe!
I have never used it before and cannot vouch for its effectiveness!

I mixed the oil in a small jar, which I'd purchased from a metaphysical shop and had previously contained herbs. I added the essential oils first:
* lemongrass, approx. 9 drops
* ginger, approx. 8 drops
* patchouli, 1-2 drops
* bergamot, 1-2 drops

Then I added the herbs:
* Melissa (Lemon Balm), approx. 1/4 teaspoon
* Poke Root, as above
* Bee Pollen, approx. 7 grains
* Pink Salt, a pinch

I didn't measure anything out precisely as I wasn't following any particular recipe. I tried to choose oils/herbs that have a fresh and citrus note. One source said that some Van Van Oil recipes have patchouli as that adds an earthy note, and I had some, so I added it. I have no idea whether it will smell good or terrible! I added Poke Root as it's good for protection and luck, bee pollen as its golden colour made me think of success, and pink salt as it was the only kind of salt I have, plus the pink colour added a warm and friendly aspect.

I then filled the jar with good quality olive oil. I was going to use standard olive oil from the supermarket, but then I found an extra virgin oil from a small company at the back of the cupboard, which we'd purchased while on holiday. I'd completely forgotten about it. I feel it must be a sign. There's enough to make perhaps 4 more oil blends.

I placed the jar on my kitchen windowsill to infuse. I will shake it every day (multiple times if I remember!) and open it in a month's time. The moon is waxing right now and it will be again then, so it seems appropriate. I'll report back then!


Sources:
http://doctorhawk.blogspot.com/2014/10/free-hoodoo-formulas.html
https://www.groveandgrotto.com/blogs/articles/eight-famous-magickal-oils-and-how-to-use-them

Magic is "Getting Something for Nothing" - My Thoughts

Recently I was listening to a podcast and one of the guests mentioned that some people disapprove of magic because they think it's "getting something for nothing." I apologise that I can't recall now which podcast it was. The guest didn't quote a particular source so perhaps it doesn't matter anyway.

When I heard that some people have this opinion, I was taken aback. Magic is certainly not "getting something for nothing," not in my experience or the experience of people I've observed who practice magic.

Magic takes a lot of time, effort and in many cases money, to practice. Let's start with money. Of course, you don't need to spend a lot of money on performing a spell or other magickal work, but for many people, having the right tools is essential to put them in the right frame of mind, and this may mean purchasing rare or antique tools or ingredients. Knowledge is even more valuable. My library of books is quite small -- only two bookshelves' worth so far -- but I've heard of people who own thousands of books, which is quite an investment. Then there's the online courses and workshops one can take to increase their knowledge. For those who interact with deity or other kinds of spirit being, there's the cost of procuring and preparing offerings. In several cases, I've even heard of people who've purchased a property due to it's suitability for performing magick at.

As for time, I've done spells that lasted 3, 5 and even 9 days. It takes commitment to get up every morning and spend up to an hour or more working an enchantment, setting up an altar, or worshipping beings. It takes time to track down the correct ingredients for a spell or find just the right tool for the job. The research required to follow a spell or ritual correctly can take days, weeks or even months. Magickal practitioners who follow the planetary hours may find it necessary to get up at any hour during the night to perform rites, or clear their schedules if a particular hour during the day is called for. Those who practice in groups need to spend time and effort in organising all of the logistics that come with that.

All of the above activities require effort, but there's also the effort and intention put into making handmade items, tools or offerings. Most people agree that magick involves energy, and the practitioner's personal energy is essential for magick to work. Expending energy is draining. Organising group activities requires effort, as does the study required to do magick effectively. The Grey School of Wizardry, for example, is a seven-year undertaking, requiring hundreds of hours of study and practical activities.

So, for those who claim that magick is "getting something for nothing," I beg to differ!

Plans for 2019

First of all, happy new year!

I didn't make any new years' resolutions/goals this year (a break from a long personal tradition of mine). I wanted to try something different. Deep down inside though, I still have that urge to change, to be better than I was last year. To learn more, study harder, do more. But also to relax more, worry less, have more fun. Sometimes it seems impossible to do all of these things at once!

On my other blog, I talked about how, instead of setting goals for the year, I'm trying a different system. Instead, I have a cycle runs for 6 months, from equinox to equinox. The idea came to me after experiencing the semester system at the Grey School. The seasons are important to me, and there are many activities I only do in Summer or Winter, so I thought, why not try setting up my plans and goals around the seasons?

I divided up all the activities of my life (both fun/voluntary and obligations) into seven categories. Spirituality is a whole category to itself. At first I was surprised at myself for this, but instinctively I must have realised that my spirituality is a very important part of my life, and it deserves its own category!

For this cycle (which is already more than half over!), my spiritual goals are:

★ finish 2 classes at Grey School of Wizardry (1/2)
★ continue Rune studies
★ work 3 magicks (2/3)
★ do divination 4 times (2/4)
★ meditate 10 times (1/10)
★ Spring/Summer altar refresh (done)

Most of these goals are underway: I've already refreshed my altar, which I posted about here. I've also pledged to blog more, both here and my other blog. I'd like to write more about what I'm learning. I'd also like to do write-ups of spells I've done, but I don't like to do that until after the effects have become known, which can take several months. Look out for them in future.

Until then, a teaser: