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Occasionally I wandered in where I was not wanted and gave truthful answers.
Sometimes I even did it deliberately. A little disruption now can prevent disaster later.

Lemon Lime V8

A NeoWayland original.

  • one 20 oz can of crushed pineapple

  • two fresh bananas

  • 1/4 cup of shredded coconut

  • Add one 12 oz can of frozen OJ concentrate

  • 1/4 cup of water

Blend pineapple with it's juice.

Add bananas and coconut. Blend.

Add OJ concentrate and water. Blend.

Enjoy.
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South Carolina Barbecue Pork Burgers

More and more I'm thinking that this is a resource site and blogging is secondary.

So I put Befores, Quotes & Thinkums, Gallery, and the Timetable in the main menu bar. I think people will find these useful if they can find them more easily.

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Very simple cake


  • 1 cup flour

  • 1 cup sugar

  • 1 tsp. baking soda

  • 1 egg

  • 1 can of fruit cocktail

  • brown sugar

Mix and bake at 350º for 1 hour with some brown sugar on top.
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December sunshine

This young lady knows exactly what she wants.

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Egg casserole

Fall down twice, get up three times.

Probably related/derived from the old Japanese proverb Nana korobi, ya oki which translates as “Fall down seven times, stand up eight.”
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“If it works, it’s true.”

If a pattern of belief or behavior enables a being to survive and to accomplish chosen goals, than that belief or behavior is “true” or “real” or “sensible” on whatever levels of reality are involved.
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How we treat the Other

The trust we share among ourselves and how we use that trust is really what defines our community. I've said that how we treat the Other may be the defining characteristic of a great human civilization. I stand by that.
— NeoWayland, Characters
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Biochar

Simple tools and magick

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First truth

This is the first truth.

We share life and through life we are all connected. We are measured in the lives we touch. We live to manifest and we manifest by living.
— NeoWayland
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“That which is sent, returns.”

The sun is making all the green gold.

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Obsessed with Christians

I wrote about my thinking behind the link behavior here at Technopagan Yearnings and how I made it work.

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Link behavior

I wrote about my thinking behind the link behavior here at Technopagan Yearnings and how I made it work.

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“Change your perspective.”

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Unexpected goddesses

“Let It Be Flash Mob for United Girls of the World”

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Greet the sunrise

Between one and the next.

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Ro3 № 31

In the old days, you would chastise people for reinventing the wheel. Now we beg, 'Oh, please, please reinvent the wheel.'
— Alan Kay
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Coward's way

People deserve to make their own choices or the choice is meaningless.

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NeoNote — Mostly

It means I watch for the exceptions where neither IS nor IS NOT applies. It means our understanding is limited by our perception and assumptions at the moment.

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NeoNote — the American compromise

Reopening my path to the world wide web

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NeoNote — This tragedy does not reflect on Heathens.

“In which John compares and contrasts Greek civilization and the Persian Empire. Of course we're glad that Greek civilization spawned modern western civilization, right? Maybe not. From Socrates and Plato to Darius and Xerxes, John explains two of the great powers of the ancient world, all WITHOUT the use of footage from 300.”

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Polarities

Never apologize for grief. For honoring the memory of people you’ve lost by admitting how much they meant to you when you had them.
— David Weber, Uncompromising Honor
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Microdose

Study: People Who ‘Microdose’ LSD and Magic Mushrooms Are Wiser and More Creative

Microdosers also scored lower on measures of dysfunctional attitudes and negative emotionality, which is very promising.

Psychedelics microdosing can mean taking five to 20 micrograms of LSD, 0.1 – 0.3 grams of dried psilocybin-containing mushrooms or very low doses of more exotic substances, like 1P-LSD, ALD-52 or 4-AcO-DMT.

No matter the substance, microdosing implies a dose so low that the individual experiences only subtle changes, not hallucinations. People are not “tripping” on a microdose; they just go about their regular day, whether that means studying at school, going to work or taking care of the kids at home.

There has been no published science on whether microdosing works, but despite this, microdosing for self-enhancement and mental health has hit the media.
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Philosphy foundation

“Conservationists plant a 'super grove' of redwood trees cloned from ancient stumps”

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NeoNote — Protected

I love how the photographer lined up the aurora borealis with the tree

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❝Nothing exists except atoms and empty space…❞

I don't tell you who to fuck, and I expect that you won't tell others who they can't fuck as long as it's unpledged consenting adults.
— NeoWayland, sex rules
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Short version, yes, magick works.

In fact, the ultimate speculation we can make about the nature of Divinity is that Divinity is NO-THING which we can know. In Hebrew, the word for no-thing (nothing) is AIN.
— Donald Michael Kraig
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NeoNote — First lesson

These blog entries have been reformatted and entered into the current directories. Redirect pages have been placed in the old locations.

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Good vibrations

The Moral Guardians® have taken for themselves the exclusive power to decide who will and will not be heard. Or read. Or even mentioned.

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Ro3 № 17

It’s not a real party unless it lasts three days.
— NeoWayland, Rules of Three
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Ro3 № 16

“In which Mike Rugnetta teaches you about Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, and how a lot of their work was influenced by myth and mythology. While Freud and Jung aren't quite as revered as they once were, they were undoubtedly a huge influence on the practice of psychology and psychiatry, and these two fellas were undoubtedly influenced by foundational stories. Today, we'll learn about Oedipus, the collective unconscious, archetypes, Star Wars, and more!”

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The flip side of placebo

Pain can be a self-fulfilling prophecy

Expect a shot to hurt and it probably will, even if the needle poke isn't really so painful. Brace for a second shot and you'll likely flinch again, even though - second time around - you should know better.

That's the takeaway of a new brain imaging study published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour which found that expectations about pain intensity can become self-fulfilling prophecies. Surprisingly, those false expectations can persist even when reality repeatedly demonstrates otherwise, the study found.

"We discovered that there is a positive feedback loop between expectation and pain," said senior author Tor Wager, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder. "The more pain you expect, the stronger your brain responds to the pain. The stronger your brain responds to the pain, the more you expect."

For decades, researchers have been intrigued with the idea of self-fulfilling prophecy, with studies showing expectations can influence everything from how one performs on a test to how one responds to a medication. The new study is the first to directly model the dynamics of the feedback loop between expectations and pain and the neural mechanisms underlying it.
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Technopagan retreat

That sacred space of conscience where you can exercise your rights in terms of religious freedom and deeply-held, reasonable beliefs is the core of human dignity. In fact, that's the basis for civilization itself. And when you lose that fundamental principle... you have no basis on which to build.
— Jeff Fortenberry
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Placebo

The pictures don't do it justice.

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Doing something positive in the world

One of my (suitably edited) Dark Moon rites

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How does it make the World better?

Rewritten.

This has been the year of politics. Even more, it's been the year of Pagan politics, with Doomsayers announcing that the Current Administration is a threat to paganism, women, children, world peace, climate, and the price of organic rice.

Codswallop.

Years ago I chose to separate my politics from my paganism. Lately I've been trying to separate sex around me from politics. We know that politics corrupts. I've no desire to see my faith enslaved to the cause of the day. And I really don't want to give control of my sex drive to the activists. It's not a circus where we all go home safe and sound afterwards.

It's not a fantasy epic. As John Halstead pointed out, fantasy epics are adolescent. Not even thinking, it's desire unleashed. We're not the Ones Chosen By Destiny to Triumph Over Overwelming Evil.

"Me, ME, ME, ME!"

Any blood paid wouldn't be theirs.

We're people, not legends.

The real world, the mundane world, the everyday World isn't like that. Real heroes make a stand, knowing that the price may be more than they can pay. But these poseurs? These wanna-be Big Name Pagans? These shallow sorta victim types? What's heroic about that? It's wish fulfillment. They will never be satisfied. They never see beyond the next moment of What Could Be, if everything goes the way they want. If nothing goes wrong…

Real change in the real world costs blood, sweat, and tears. It means thinking about tomorrow and the week after that. It means accepting the consequences for your actions. It means knowing that big changes start with small changes, not grand gestures. It means something beyond the fantasy.

Let's say there were these hot, uninhibited, possibly bisexual and very well developed 15 year old twins that lived over on the next block. Now there's a part of me that would look at them and think "me FUCK now!!!".

But that isn't an adult thing to do. Leaving aside the social consequences of boinking two underage girls, just what is going to happen next? What do we talk about between sessions? Do I feed them in the morning? Who cooks? If they mess up the bathroom, do I take time away from screwing to clean it up? Would they want to fuck me? Or is it only about my desire? What happens next week? Would I want them back? Would they want me back? When does this little fantasy stop being about me? When does this become something we share and can build on? Beyond the moment, is there something more?

How does it make the World better?

So when I read about the very public hexing of a Supreme Court justice, I see some very adolescent behavior. It's not that the hex couldn't be effective (although not the way it was set up). I just have to wonder what is the point? All those people doing the hexing weren't wronged. But they were making a very public statement that they AS PAGANS WE ARE NOT GOING TO STAND FOR IT.

Maybe they should try sitting.

And maybe listening.

Is there something they can share? Or is it only about their desire?

We know what they want. They want a Grand Crusade Against Injustice. They want to make a difference in the World and be acknowledged for the good that did. With no risk to themselves and no consequences for their choices. They are Pagan. They are Proud. They are Morally Superior. They want you to know that. They are Those Who Want to Be Noticed, who MUST be celebrated for the stand they took against the fuddy-duddy crowds that said no. But what is pagan about it?

While all this serves the ego, what does it have to do with the sunrise?

How does it make the World better?

This isn't the change we should be making. This is selfish. This is about as far away from the natural World as we can get. It's not about harmony and understanding, it's about threats and demands against our fellow humans. It's about cultivating resentment. It's about driving barriers between us. It's about destruction for the sake of destruction.

How does it make the World better?

It doesn't.

Don't be a great Pagan. Just be a great human.

Be the best human you can be. Leave the World a little better than how you found it. Find something good you can share.

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Us versus them

Nature knows best.
— Barry Commoner, third law of ecology
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Another study guide

weird
Duality is singularity reflected.

label
Words matter. Actions matter more. Intentions don’t.

sex
Sharing pleasure through sensation.

path versus tradition

Platinum Rule
“Hope for the best, prepare for the worst and meanwhile, do everything you can to make things better.”

Old Breed

first law of ecology
“Everything is related to everything else.”

second law of ecology
“Everything must go somewhere.”

third law of ecology
“Nature knows best.”

fourth law of ecology
“Nothing comes from nothing.”

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The pedestal problem

I am Pagan because I was born that way, and because I made that choice long before I was born.
— NeoWayland, Why are you Pagan?
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NeoNote — People cherish their passions

I like the leaves and her expression.

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NeoNote — He would deny it

Your desire does not control another's choice.
— NeoWayland, sexual beings
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NeoNote — Political hexing

I love this planet!

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Sexuality without politics

There's something luscious about a woman rinsing her hair.

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On-line biding ritual

It is a fake.

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NeoNote — Religion & responsiblity

If it was what you expected, why do you call it change?

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Paganism isn't a movement

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Condemnation of memory

Someone is pulling your strings. You'd be a fool to accept that.

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Anti-Christian

“Ragnarok! It's the end of the world, Norse style. It's got everything you want in an apocalypse. Earthquakes, destruction, armies of the dead, a giant evil wolf, giants with flaming swords, and a kind of happy ending. It's got it all. But is it really Norse? It wasn't written down until after Christianity had arrived in Europe. So how much influence is there?”

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A book fell on my head

Thou shalt mind thine own damn business.
— David Weber, Torch of Freedom
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NeoNotes – Government should not be trusted

This actually started as a student work

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Difference between the Story and the Journey

The best version of this uses freshly squeezed juice.

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Tainted frisson

We've not had one of these in a while, have we?

I've been busy, but that is not the reason. Politics has tainted paganism in my mind and I am working to re-establish the separation.

Paganism is about the relationship between you, the World, and the Divine. Politics is not a part of that.

This author is Officially Approved this week, but that doesn't mean anything about next week. Next week it may be old fashioned. The week after there may be some scandal as defined by Today's Morality that wasn't immoral when it happened. If it happened.

This isn't new. One of my favorite symbols is the wheeled cross. But it has white supremacist connotations, so I can't use it in "public" pagan discussion. Never mind that it makes more sense to me than the pentagram. It's racist. Off limits. Not allowed.

Sex play and flirting that was allowed a decade or so ago is now denounced. And everyone who participated is expected to abase themselves before the new morality.

As this leaks more and more into how pagans act, it's less about paganism and more about doing the "right thing." Enforcing the echo chambers. Closing out dissent or contrasting opinions. Expelling all that might be tainted by immorality or evil. Part of it is politics, but it goes beyond that.

Some pagans want to change paganism from an experienced faith to a revealed faith. Something with all the bumps and twists and turns ironed out. No unexpected surprises. Nothing not previously declared. No uncomfortable truths. No juice. No frisson. Everything nice and neat and perfectly defined.

The experience has been sanitized for your protection. Truth will be revealed, but only if you do as you are told.

It has been approved by the powers-that-wanna-be.

Not necessarily the gods.

It's politics, not faith.

Some things will be revealed. If you pay attention and ask the proper questions. In the proper order. And no more. Politics will advance you more in this new pagan faith than experience.

Except those people aren't really a part of paganism.

It's about your Journey. Not about their Story.

Paganism is about the experience. The juicy, sexy, messy, screwed up experience that you struggle to make a part of your life. It's about embracing the passion. It's about where the gods point you. It's about finding and living your own way.

Paganism is about the relationship between you, the World, and the Divine. It can't be revealed, it can only be experienced.

Will you live it?

Or will you avoid the taint?
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NeoNotes — Perception and symbols

Why it was removed is unclear.

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I am (the long version)

I'm going to have to redesign and start lexicon 3.0

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Walk away

Yesterday on a comment board I lost patience.

I could handle the backhanded compliments and schoolboy taunts.

But as I was composing a long reply, I realized I was talking about something I didn't really want to talk about. What's more, I was investing time and effort doing it.

I'll give the guy another chance maybe in three months or so.

But I don't like him, I really don't enjoy extended conversations with him, and I don't like what he brings out in me anymore.

Better to walk away.
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“Speak To The Sky” (pagan version)

I'm going to have to take some time.

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I call myself pagan

The union of elements

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Magick everyday

I know that when you borrow from another culture you should honor those elements.
     — NeoWayland
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Special harvest

There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls.
— George Carlin
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Beyond patriotism

I look for the Divine in every woman I meet. Can you think of a better way to find people who are honorable, passionate and reasoning at the same time?
     — NeoWayland
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Pure

I really like the lines and the flow of color on this one.

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Today's really twenty-nine

Thinking by blogging

This week I got back into my discipline.

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Five words

I wish a picture could do it justice.

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NeoNotes — What witch?

I don't think animals should be killed for ritual use. I have issues with animals being killed for food. It's why I still pray before meals. I'm honoring their sacrifice even though I know they don't understand.

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Intuition & Inspiration

According to popular culture, magick is about breaking the rules and molding reality.

Nope.

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Act of Change

Poetic inspiration gives a glimse. That's a long way from manifesting.

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Faith Triad

Thinking by blogging

No, it wasn’t responsible. No, I’m not proud of it. And yes, it lasted longer than it should have with me.

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Earth centered

You can see that politics corrupts pretty much any religion, faith, or path you’d care to name.

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The grand cause

That’s what those trees are for.

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Twenty-seven

Dad had hidden talents that would pop up every once in a while.

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Gaia

I mentioned some of my concerns, but their future is full of utopia and collective effort.

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Better

A little piece of me - Updated

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On commitment

droolworthy and then some

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Witchy stuff in the pockets

Sometimes passion is obsession

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On the Threefold Law of Return

Looking for Pagan fiction? I may not be the guy to give it to you.

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Future

Stuff to hold us together

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Pagans against sexual abuse

Evil spelled backwards is live. And that's what I do.

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“We are the Pagans who have moved on”

These blog entries have been reformatted and entered into the current directories. Redirect pages have been placed in the old locations.

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Taproot: Open the Way

Thinking by blogging
On stage I make love to twenty-five thousand people; and then I go home alone.
— Janis Joplin
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Tool fetish

Organizing my books

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Of gods and men
(updated)

Worth mentioning with some of the latest posts

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Wisdom and the Three Percent

Emotional vs Rational Discussions

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The right thingamajig for the job

Pagan stuff you didn't think was Pagan.

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Keep Moving Forward

Economics, magick, and life

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Elvis has left the building

Neo admits he's still a bit of a nerd, even after all these years

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Creative destruction

Dualism and modern mythology

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Looking for good causes

Because there is very little honor left in American life, there is a certain built-in tendency to destroy masculinity in American men.
— Norman Mailer
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A new balance

Evil spelled backwards is live. That's what I do.
— NeoWayland, October - updated
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Blessings and ethics

I talk about Christians and Christianity at my political blog Pagan Vigil.

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Study notes

Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby.
— Langston Hughes
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Basking in the moonlight

Thoughts before the sabbat

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The Magick of Food


Added Days of the Week and cross-referenced lexicon.

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Sunfell Tech Mage Rede Nine Words Serve The Tech Mage Best Keep What Works Fix What’s Broke Ditch The Rest

A narrow slice of life, but now and again pondering American neopaganism, modern adult pagans & the World.

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