A Visit to WyrdCon

A few days ago I receive a slightly surreal call... there was going to be a panel on "ePublishing - Not For The Faint of Heart!" at Wyrd Con, and somebody had dropped out, and could I fill in at short notice... well, I've never done a panel at a convention before, and I was free on Sunday (today), so I said yes. It sounded like it might be fun...

For those who haven't heard of it, Wyrd Con is a storytelling convention for designers, writers, creators, producers, directors, technologists, inventors and explorers to experience a wide variety of narrative formats in a short period of time. Attendees of Wyrd Con gain an opportunity to improve their craft through education and experience while getting exposed to new methods of storytelling. It sounded like something I would enjoy, and besides, Jim Butcher - author of 15 Dresden Files novels - was going to be thre somewhere.

So, getting up way too early on a Sunday morning, my wife and I headed down to the Westin LAX Hotel, where the con was being held, and met up with Robert Seutter, aka True Thomas, and Angela Hunt of the Hunt Press for a coffee and briefing prior to our 9:00 AM start wit the panel.

I have to say that I enjoyed it as much as I thought I might. Robert and Angela were a joy to work with, and we had a decent audience who seemed genuinely interested in what we had to say.We talked about formatting for ebooks, marketing, the problems with the publishing industry, and why you might want to go to a publisher rather than self-publish, when the latter seems so easy to do these days. The panel ended, and Robert told us he had to dash to another panel with Todd McAffrey (who took over the Pern series of fantasy novels after his mother Ann's death) and Jim Butcher. Robert said if we had time to attend the panel, he would introduce us to Jim. As a huge fan of the Dresden Files novels, how could I say no?

So we sat through a very entertaining panel, where Jim, Todd and Robert waxed lyrical on the art of storytelling. True to his word, after the panel was over, Robert called Angela and I over, and introduced us to Jim Butcher. I have to say that in addition to being a fine author, Jim is a great human being, and I deeply regretted not bringing one of his books with me "just in case"... as it was, I got to shake his hand and tell him how much I enjoyed his writing. We were invited to join them for lunch, but declined, as I had to get back to attend to coven business. I've met a few celebrities over the years, and I think  - with the possible exception of Leonard Nimoy - this was the most star-struck I've ever been.

Todd McAffrey, Jim Butcher and Robert Seutter

In case anyone is interested, I recorded our ePublishing panel in audio format, and we also video-ed part of it, but the battery didn't last for the whole two hours.

ePublishing Panel Audio File (MP3)

The first hour on YouTube video

Predators and Pagans

Today’s news that Kenny Klein, Pagan musician and teacher, was arrested on suspicion of child pornography, raises an important issue that too many in the Pagan community seem to prefer to ignore, the existence of predators in our community.

Now, I’m not going to discuss, for the most part, whatever crimes were allegedly committed by Klein, but rather I want to focus on the bigger issue, which is the community’s response to things like this. We often hear stories of a pedophile being caught, or a sexual predator preying on susceptible victims at Pagan events, or of people leaving a coven because of the predatory actions of one or more of the coven’s leaders. Often the knee-jerk reaction is to say “obviously this person isn’t a real Pagan, or they’d never do these things”. Unfortunately this is, at best ignorant, and in fact it does much damage to the credibility of the community as a whole.

Worse is when the community, or the leadership of the portion of it most affected, turns a blind eye to the whole thing, or even worse still, when they defend the predator. I understand the fear involved – exposing the act invariably rebounds on the community as a whole, and the fundamentalist Christians have a field day, attacking us all and painting us all with the same brush. But ignoring or covering up these problems plays into their hands even more, because it looks like we condone those acts, accept them. It makes preying on the weaker members of our community look like normal Pagan behavior.

So I have a simple suggestion to make – let’s stop doing that. Let’s stop enabling the predators because of our own fear. Klein’s arrest is going to make him the poster-boy for fundamentalist attacks on the “evil Witches and Pagans”, because this time there is no hiding behind the “no true Pagan” defense. He is a highly visible Pagan, active in festivals and conferences, a popular musician, an elder of his tradition (Blue Star Wicca). Any time a predator is convicted or confesses, we need to find the courage to stand up and say “yes, they are a Pagan, and what they have done is wrong, and we condemn their actions and those of all others who betray the trust placed in them.” We cannot stick our heads in the sand, like the Catholic Church did for so many years with the pedophile priests. We need to deal with the pedophiles, the creepy folk who go to Pagan gatherings looking to get laid by forcing themselves on someone caught up in the magic, or a little too tipsy. We need to deal with coven leaders who demand sexual favors of students, while being careful not to get too puritanical on those traditions that use consensual sex as part of their craft.

Above all, we need to, for once, show a united front to the world, one that says that we will not tolerate this behavior in our ranks, that we will not tolerate those who condone, defend, or by their inaction, enable this behavior. Predators are found in all walks of life, so we need to stress that this is not acceptable in Paganism, but at the same time, we must not use the old feeble excuse of “he wasn't a real Pagan”. We have to own our failures as well as our successes.

I don’t know for sure whether Klein has actually done anything wrong – the article about his arrest stated that 25 explicit photos were found on his computer, and he admitted ownership, that he downloaded them and also distributed them to others. But at this point, he has not been charged, and certainly hasn't been convicted. To be honest, it is less today’s arrest that sparked my little rant here, but the comments I've been seeing online from people who say he’s been doing this for 20 plus years, while teaching  workshops for children and mixing with families. Some of those comments are from people who claim it happened to them. If the alleged actions are backed up by evidence, why have community leaders allowed continued access to children for so long?

In the past, I've heard stories of people who have been vilified in the community for exposing pedophiles. Now I realize that there is a fine line between making assumptions and having reasonable certainty, but when there is evidence, we should not shoot the messenger, and even when there isn't, it still bears at least taking a look. Somebody can be mistaken, over-cautious or over sensitive, but if they are sincerely concerned, the leaders of their group should look into the accusations as fairly as possible, and where there is evidence, there should be action. Instead we get people being ostracized and punished for “exposing the group to public scrutiny”… the same excuses the Catholic Church gave for moving pedophile priests to a different parish.

Ultimately, we are always going to be under attack from fundamentalist Christianity – nothing will change that. If in fear of providing them with ammunition, we try to hide the acts of these predators, we not only end up giving them more and better ammunition, but we are allowing our own community to become the victims of pedophiles, bullies, extortionists, frauds and rapists. Already the damage done by this is evident; the large number of seekers who shy away from covens and formal training because they've been burnt by a predator. When we fail to deal with predators, to remove them from our ranks and bring them to the attention of the authorities, we become their accessories, their enablers, and we become in part responsible for their actions, and that carries a heavy coin.

So if you are the victim of a predator, bring it to the attention of a leader and/or the authorities. If you are a leader, then do not turn away from those who claim they are victims – lead, and do what is necessary. We must be careful not to jump to conclusions, but must evaluate the situation, and decide if action is needed. Above all, we must not delude ourselves that if we ignore it, it will go away.

The Positive Power of Negativity

When practicing any “flavor” of magick, it is easy to get caught up in what you are doing, and not notice the ripples of effect it has – that you have – on others around you. I suppose that is true of all sincere spiritual practice.

I used to think that my spirituality was undertaken in isolation, that nothing I did mattered to anyone else. Whether it was my ritual, my crafting, my writing, teaching, or even my podcast, I was convinced that while it had meaning and significance for me, it didn't make one whit of difference to anyone else. But when I was sick in hospital, my friends – and Facebook – made it clear to me that something I was doing was apparently resonating with a bunch of people, as healing, well-wishing and comments about how I had affected peoples’ lives came in from around the world. It moved me, and my spiritual work in all arenas has been greatly influenced since then by an awareness of the effect it can have, those ripples, spreading out and touching other lives.

I have always considered myself to be a very straightforward person – my motivation has always been, I though, pretty evident. In my own mind’s eye, I have always been exactly what I appear to be. I am, I think, passionate about exploring my Craft, and sharing the results. I have a driving need to teach, and, while I find myself in a leadership position because of the students I teach, and the books, DVDs, workshops and the podcast, I have no real desire to lead… it just sort of happened, almost in spite of myself.

But lately I’ve started to try to see myself through the eyes of others, because I think that I might learn something about myself. That isn't hard when listening to friends – the other day a good friend told me how remarkably talented I was at taking deep and complex subjects and teaching them in a user-friendly and understandable way, which was very easy to hear, despite my typically British embarrassment at hearing myself being complimented.

It isn't so easy to listen to the opinions of one’s detractors, however, though that is likely to be the more useful exercise. Ignoring the claims about me that are manifestly ridiculous, or projection from those who do what they accuse me of, how I am seen by those who do not hold me in high esteem can actually tell me things about myself that can help me be a better me… or at least, I think it can.

For example, I've heard that I am pompous and opinionated. Now I have no doubt that I am opinionated, but I've never thought of myself as pompous. I do know that the British accent I speak with can sound pompous to some, and I know that when I am on a roll, I can get very loquacious, which can make it difficult for others to get a word in edgewise. So I can sort of understand that one. But there are plenty of other faults that my detractors are keen to point out, that I find harder to understand.

It has been said that I am a Machiavellian schemer, power-hungry, and manipulative. These are the things that I find hardest to understand, and the most painful things that I hear about myself. As I stated earlier, I truly believe that my motivations are simply to learn and share. Some of this, considering the main source, may be  projection, but I've heard it from people who have never met me. No doubt, they were influenced by who consider me “the enemy” (pretty much the entire Pagan community of Salt Lake City, UT, apparently hates me, though less than a handful have ever met me), and that is something that I find puzzling – I try not to form an opinion on someone based solely on the opinions of others, myself – but it happens a lot in the Pagan community, unfortunately.

Ultimately, I find exploring these negative reactions quite useful, because it both spurs me on to be better than before, and it keeps me humble. On the one hand, everyone says that if you aren’t annoying somebody, then you are not “doing it right”, but on the other hand, it isn’t like I’m trying to preach the one true way. I love to share what I’ve learnt, but I am fine with people having different ideas, disagreeing with me, or whatever. As long as I can make them think, make them feel, make them as passionate about their art as I am, then it is all good. What is a little badmouthing compared to that?

Saying Farewell to Rev Hyperion

Yesterday was a bittersweet day for me.

Last week we were shocked to hear that Eddy Gutierrez (also known as Rev Hyperion and Dr. E) had passed away after a massive heart attack. Yesterday was his funeral, and Linda and I drove down to attend.

I first met Eddy at PantheaCon, around five years ago. We had communicated via email and social media, brought together by our podcasts, but had never been face to face. His first words to me were “Chris Penczak is looking for you”, and for a moment, I thought that I had somehow caused offense and was now in trouble. It turned out that Chris just liked my work, and wanted to meet me. But those words were the beginning of a friendship that largely involved an annual beer at PantheaCon, and occasional visits here in Los Angeles, but a friendship that somehow became curiously close, despite the rarity of our actually getting together. I think that this was just who Eddy was – he developed these strong connections with people, and connected people with each other.

Never was this friendship more evident than on two occasions. The first was when I was looking for someone to help demonstrate guising techniques for the DVD I was filming, “Making and Using Ritual Masks”. Eddy and his then partner came up from san Diego to spend the day cavorting around our temple in various leather masks, demonstrating trance and ecstatic techniques that could be amplified by the use of properly prepared masks.

As a thank-you, I gave Eddy one of the masks I had made for the DVD, a stylized stag skull mask, which can be seen on the new cover for that DVD.

The other occasion was a little over a year ago, in September 2012. I had just had a massive heart-attack of my own, dying and being resuscitated several times on the way to the hospital. The doctors used an experimental technique, called Artic Sun, to freeze my body to preserve my brain function, while people around the world rallied to assist me with healing circles, prayers, and good vibes. It worked – after only seven days in hospital, I headed home, to be met by Eddy and the love of his life, Clayton, at our home. They spent a few hours with us, and Eddy gave me a healing Mojo bag he had prepared for me, along with a special oil to feed it.

Until I had my heart attack, I was largely unaware of the reach my podcasts, books and DVDs had – it never occurred to me that anything I was doing might make a difference, or even had an audience. I did it because I needed to. But lying in that hospital bed, I becan to hear stories about what was going on… how my condition made the Pagan headlines with an article on The Wild Hunt, and how people as far afield as Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone in England, Sufi groups in Africa, and even Christian churches in the Midwest were praying for me, working rituals, or crafting healing spells, each in their own way. The realization that people I never met cared for me hit like a ton of bricks, and I remember sobbing in gratitude and awe that people would feel that way about me. Standing there at my doorstep when I arrived home that day, Eddy became for me the face of all that support.

So when we heard the call for healing for Eddy, we did not hesitate, and I’m proud to say that I witnessed the Pagan community leaping into action once again. Sadly, for Eddy the time had come, and later that afternoon we heard that he had passed away.

And so, yesterday, Linda and I – dressed in the lightest clothes we possess (Lacumi funerals do not allow black or dark colors to be worn by attendees) – hit the road to see our friend off for the last time. We allowed for typical Los Angeles traffic that never materialized, so we arrived early, which gave us the opportunity to connect with Tommie Starchild, David Shorey, and some of the brethren of the Unnamed Path, the tradition started by Eddy for men who love men. The service was beautiful, with many memories invoked of this lovely man and the changes he wrought in people’s lives. His mother and sister were gracious beyond belief, making sure to greet every person with a hand held and an inquiry on how they were holding up. Eddy’s aunt sang an emotion-filled rendition of the Lord’s Prayer, several of the brethren spoke of Eddy, and Clayton did too. A moving video tribute to Eddy was played, then it was time to move from the funeral home to the grave-side.

It is only fitting that Eddy’s last ride through town was an adventure. We had quite a distance to cover, so the procession was escorted by a number of motorcycle cops. As a result, we were treated to the surreal experience of running through red lights, waved on by the cops, and powering down the freeway with hazard lights flashing, encouraged by the cops to drive faster to keep up with the rest of the procession. Eddy’s mother said that he would have appreciated all of that.

Finally, we all stood around Eddy’s coffin, physically connected to each other, to say our final farewell. It was a beautiful event, though one none of us ever wanted to happen. We finally got to meet people we’d only ever seen online… Rex Barbatus, Chris Black (who in addition to being a brother of the Unnamed Path, is also one of our remote coven students), and the others. We also cherished rare moments in the company of Tommie and David, and also Tony and Jo-Ann Mierzwicki… even in death, Eddy was still bringing people together.

Eddy, we may not always have agreed with each other on esoteric matters, but we always had respect for each other, and love. You have changed the lives of many, and your legacy will live on – we will honor you among our Ancestors, and you will never be forgotten!

Home from hospital after my own heart attack, with Jo-Ann and Tony Mierzwicki and their daughter Michaela, Sue and Jay Mayer, my wife Linda, and Eddy.

Rev Hyperion Passes Away

I'm sorry to report that our friend Eddy Gutierrez, also known as Rev Hyperion and Doctor E, passed away today from a heart attack. Linda and I send loving thoughts towards his family, initiates, and students (he was the founder and head of the Unnamed Path Tradition).

Eddy was a good friend, one of the first to respond when I had my own heart attack. We have had many an interesting conversation, and we will miss him.

American Horror Story - and a Book on Enchantment

Now, I live up the road from Hollywood, and used to work in the industry, so I'm not making too much of a big deal about this... but I have to admit, it made my day yesterday.

One of my Facebook friends suggested that I watch a promo piece for season 3 of "American Horror Story". Now, I must confess that I've never watched the show - my wife is not fond of the horror genre, and I rarely watch TV alone - but after watching the promo, I might just have to watch season three...

You see, while the promo piece is mainly still shots of cast members (the brief video bit at the beginning does intrigue me...) while the host talks about it, one pic, at around 1:54, really caught my eye. You see, Emma Roberts, of Nancy Drew, Scream 4 and Hotel For Dogs fame, is pictured during a lunch-break on set with a copy of my book, "Enchantment: The Witch's Art of Manipulation by Gesture, Gaze and Glamour" in her arms - you can clearly see the title in the higher-res images.

 

 

Now this picture, and the others from the same set, have been popping up all over the place - this version is from the website Just Jared - but the photos can also be found illustrating articles about season three of AHS around the world, including the UK's Daily Mail newspaper. It is impossible to know exactly why she is carrying it, for it could be a prop, a guide to the gestures used in enchantment to aid her acting, or she could just like my books. But one thing is for sure - it made me feel really good to see it in the hands of someone who is portraying a member of a coven where the female characters are said to be portrayed as strong, independent and empowered. Also, the cast sounds like a great ensemble for this season. I just might have to watch it...

 

For the curious, here's a link to that promo video on YouTube: Season 3 Promo for American Horror Story.

Training Coven opens its doors to new students

A little over a year ago, the Ancestors made it clear to us that there is a need for us to provide a greater service to the Art, and against all common sense and sanity, we chose to comply with their requests.

So it is that we brought into being a new teaching coven, Agoriadau Tri, part of the Y Ffordd Wen Tradition of Welsh Witchcraft. This coven is a sister to Briar Rose, but is otherwise completely autonomous. As the focus of Briar Rose is to do the Work, so the focus of Agoriadau Tri is to teach the basics, to share the Mysteries of the Crooked Path to those who are willing and able to pass beyond Her Gates.

Having successfully completed the first year-and-a-day course, we are again opening the doors to a limited number of local and remote students. Membership will require a commitment of the traditional year and a day. But do not contact us directly to request that you be considered for membership – all such direct requests will be refused.

Below, you will find information on how those who are interested may make their desire known, and students will be chosen from those who follow the directions given. There are no guarantees of acceptance, and once accepted, no guarantees that initiation will follow – as the old saying makes clear, “many are called, but few are chosen”.

There will be a certain number of local and distance learning positions available in the coven, and those interested in studying with us can make their interest known by following the directions below. Please note that those accepted for training will be committing to the following:

1. Attending all classes (for local students) and handing in all homework, unless a good reason can be provided
2.  Maintaining the confidentiality of the Coven and fellow students
3.  Reading the required reading material for each section of the training
4.  A materials contribution of $10 per month will be requested of students. For local students, this will cover the cost of consumables used in teaching (candles, incense, refreshments etc.), and for distance students this will cover the cost of making the material available via live video streaming and other methods.

 

Local students will be invited to attend weekly classes and the eight classic Sabbats. Distance students will be required to study with the aid of written material and video and audio recordings, and will be invited to attend the eight classic Sabbats if they are visiting the Los Angeles area at the time.

 The Coven will be teaching material for the Crooked Path as practiced by the Y Ffordd Wen Tradition of Welsh Witchcraft. This involves the practice known by such names as “Traditional Witchcraft”, “The Nameless Art”, “The Cunning Craft” and “The Old Persuasion”, which will be expressed through the Myths and Lore of the Welsh Celtic Mysteries as found in the Mabinogion, though it can be expressed through the Mystery of any religion’s more esoteric aspects outside of Coven practice. In other words, we will be focusing on examples and Lore from Wales, but in your own practice it can be used with the myths and lore of your current spirituality.

 Please note that while this process is aimed at bringing students to initiation on the Crooked Path, there is no guarantee that if accepted you will achieve that aim. All students will be assessed on their merits, and those who do not go through to initiation in the Crooked Path will be assisted in finding where their path lies.

 In return for the commitment of the students, we in turn make the following commitments:

1.   To teach the material to the best of our ability
2.   To provide initiation to those who fulfill the requirements
3.   To assist all others to set foot firmly on their Path
4.   To maintain the confidentiality of all students

Directions

This is the way to make known your interest in studying with us. Approaching us by any other means will result in refusal.

·         Send an email to requests@crookedpath.org – this email address will be active until the end of August, so make your request before then.

·         If you are the friend of one or more existing members of the tradition, you may wish to submit your request to them, so that they can forward it to us with their endorsement. You should still use email, and follow the directions given below.

·         The email must include the following information:

1. Your full legal name
2.  Your address
3.  Whether you wish to be a local or distance student
4.  Any prior experience, training or coven work with any Witchcraft tradition, including Wiccan traditions
5.  Your favorite books on Witchcraft (note: you do not get “extra points” for liking my books)
6.  Why you want to study with us
7.  What got you interested in Witchcraft?
8.  Any other information you feel may be useful or relevant

·          Please be honest and do not exaggerate your experiences. Any untruths that are discovered will bring your association with us to an immediate end. You do not have to be already experienced, nor do you need to be a complete newbie – we just want to know where you are coming from.

·          After a period of reflection, those who are selected to move on to the next step will be contacted. All others will receive an email informing them that they were not selected. No other communication on this matter will be made – NOTE: If you are not successful this time, you are welcome to try again when we next announce openings. Not being selected does not mean you are not “worthy”… it is possible that we will receive more requests than we can accept, in which case we may have to turn away candidates who are perfectly suitable.

·         We realize that, to some, this process may seem exclusive and “elitist”, but the simple fact is that not all paths are suited to every person, and some discernment is required to ensure that the needs of both student and teacher are met. If you do not like the selection process, do not submit yourself to it.

Books, PantheaCon, and the Joy of Teaching

we got back from PantheaCon on Monday evening, exhausted, but happy. For anyone who is not familiar with PantheaCon, it is a Pagan Convention held in San Jose, CA, over the President's Day weekend each year. It is the largest Pagan event in the US, with some 2,500 attendees, and a ton of fun.

This year, I launched my latest book, "Enchantment: The Witch's Art of Manipulation Through Gesture, Gaze and Glamour", with a workshop of the same name. Arriving fifteen minutes before the start, I almost didn't get in to my own workshop, as the room was full to capacity, and I'm told over 50 people were turned away. The workshop - an overview distilled from the four two-hour workshops I taught in order to put together and test the material for the book - was well received, and a large number of books were sold, both the new one and copies of my other books.

I also taught two other workshops over the weekend. My "Bringing Lore to Life" one was early on Monday morning, but despite that, it was still packed, and apparently I was in fine form, telling tales both classical (the story of Cerridwen and Gwion Back) and personal (tales from the year I carried Sacred King for my tradition). Once again, plenty of books were sold, including all of the remaining copies of Enchantment.

In between my two solo workshops, I had the honor of co-presenting "Working the Well of Magick" with Orion Foxwood. Orion told me that the only other person he has co-presented with is R. J. Stewart, so the pressure was definitely on, but the packed room (the biggest one in PantheaCon) responded well as we shared the art and philosophy of the Well from our different perspective - mine from traditional Witchcraft, his from Faery Seership and Appalachian Conjure. We finished with a group working, where all four hundred and some participants danced the serpentine around well and stang, and threw their coins in the well, and tied a rag or a sttring on the stang. Feedback afterwards was extremely positive, and both Orion and I are keen to co-present more workshops in future.

But PantheaCon isn't just about teaching and selling books... We enjoyed several workshops, notably Christopher Penczak's "The Mighty Dead", and our coveners were blown away by the Morrigan ritual. WE all had a blast listening to Wendy Rule, such an incredible singer! Most importantly, we immersed ourselves in the wonderland that was the vendor room, and spent plenty of time at the bar, people-watching and chatting with friends old and new. Besides time spent with Orion and his fiance Aubrey, we also got to chat with Dave Finnin, Ed Fitch, Dr. E (Rev Hyperion), Tommie Starchild and Dave Shore, Oberyn Kunning, Oriana, Chris Penczak, Mojo and Sparrow from the Wigglian Way, Faelyn, and I was introduced to Selena Fox. Jo-Ann and Tony Mierzwicki were there too - Jo-Ann is my layout artist and self-appointed slave-driver (she bugs me until I get stuff done), and her handsome husband is the best Pagan photographer around, when he isn't busy teaching his own workshops, on Graeco-Egyptian magick and related subjects.

Meanwhile, back at the covenstead, our great experiment with the training coven is doing well. So well, in fact, that it is changing our whole tradition. Now we find that we have a name for our tradition, Y Ffordd Wen ("The Milky Way"... the original crooked path), and several dedicants working towards initiation. The live video streaming for long-distance students continues to work extremely well, and at slightly over half-way through the course, we have had surprisingly few drop-outs, and comparatively little drama. And I can definitely say that we are learning from our students as much as they are learning from us!

Now to start planning for next year, PantheaCon's 20th anniversary!

New Book on Enchantment

Yesterday I put the finishing touches to my latest book, and sent the manuscript of to Jo-Ann, my layout artist. This weekend I will be takig the photos that will illustrate the book.

This book is a little different from my other books - my first two tomes were on the Ancient Egyptian Mysteries, while the rest have been about Traditional Witchcraft from a Welsh Celtic perspective. But this new book is carefully written to be about as generic as possible, tradition-wise.

"Enchantment: The Witch's Art of Manipulation Through Gesture, Gaze and Glamour" is about technique, pure and simple. It does not borrow examples from antiquity, nor does it provide rituals or lore to dress those techniques up so they are part of a specific path or tradition. In fact, I hope that readers will find they can incorporate these practices into their Craft, whatever tradition they follow.

The book is about manipulation. All magick is manipulation of one thing or another, but in this book, my focus is on manipulating, controlling, or guiding people. It does have a strong message on ethics, but ultimately, it is about controlling yourself, the universe, and the people around you. After recovering from my heart attack in a way my doctors described as "miraculous", I have a lot of faith in magick, and it all stems from my own personal experience.

The book grew out of a series of workshops on enchantment, that I shared with groups around the world, and I will be launching it - along with a workshop on Enchantment - at this year's PantheaCon, on President's Day weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing how it is received.

Visceral Magick - Live Streaming Workshop

I'm very pleased to announce that my first live video streaming workshop has been scheduled, for Friday, December 14th at 8:00 PM PST. The fee for live streaming will be $10 for the 2-hour workshop, and after the event it will be available as an on-demand video for $3.

Visceral Magick Workshop
An in-depth workshop to explore the visceral experiences that lead to the union of magical and mundane, and the techniques to trigger those experiences, resulting in magic that is physical, manifest, and potent. These experiences and techniques empower any tradition. Peter explores both ancient and modern techniques and experiences, using the framework of the Cauldrons of Poesy from Celtic Tradition.
This workshop explores a set of basic experiences, ideas and techniques that used to be at the heart of every magical Tradition, which are frequently overlooked or ignored in modern times. But they are the very things that breathe life into magical systems, the secret key that makes the magic actually work.
 Peter Paddon, author and Witch, lays out exercises and practical applications that enable us experience magic as a manifest force in our life. Instead of visualizing energy in your crafting, feel it raise the hairs on your neck.

Pre-order the event, and watch it live here

A Busy Year Gets Busier...

As if I didn't think my life was busy enough already...

First of all, my Kickstarter project was a success, and I am now the proud owner of a cool little video mixer, and set up ready to start doing live streaming video workshops. I will soon be scheduling the first of these, but in the meantime I will be getting used to the wee beastie by using it for my live video streaming private classes, sharing what passes for my wisdom with our extended training coven (63 or so students, spread all over the world). It is a great way to test drive and familiarize myself with the potential of multi-camera work.

Travel is a big deal over the next few months too. We just got back from an amazing henna retreat, where we learnt from some of the best in the business how to create beautiful henna art. I came home inspired, fired up, and with new friends - and a ton of photos!

Next week it is friends who are travelling to see us - our good friends Doug and Anna Helvie from North Carolina will be exploring the joys of Los Angeles with us. They are the heads of the Eternal Harvest Tradition of Wicca, and also initiates of our Y Ffordd Wen Tradition, and we are looking forward to showing them the sights.

Then a few days after they head home, we are off to Oakland and San Francisco to participate in the Pagan PodkinSupermoot, getting together with other Pagan podcasters to meet and greet the fan, and share workshops and tall tales. November sees us travelling once more to North Carolina, whjere we are attending Shadow Harvest - hosted by the afore-mentioned Doug and Anna - along with Orion Foxwood.

I'm still working on the new book, "Enchantment: The Witch's Art of Manipulation Through Gesture, Gaze and Glamour" through all of this, as well as publishing other books. Our recent release, "Ragnarok Rising" by Doug Roberts, a zombie apocalyse novel featuring an Odinist corrections officer and his law enfocement colleagues, is doing incredibly well on Kindle, and Doug is working hard on the sequel. We also have a sequel  to "Demon's Apprentice" coming out soon from Ben Reeder - "Page of Swords" is almost ready for the press, and is a great continuation of the story.

On the DVD front, we recently released "British Witchcraft", featuring English Witch and master herbalist Nick Ridge, sharing his skills with herbs, poppets, and flying ointment. We will soon be releasing a DVD for Peter Freeman, a wonderful storyteller from Wales, sharing tales from the Mabinogion, along with other Welsh folk tales. Peter's DVD, "Tales of Wales vol. 1", should be out in time for purchase as a Yule present for your favorite Welsh wizard or Celtic crafter.

So that's it for now - there are so many things I want to share with the world, but we can only manage so many at a time!

Catching Up

My word, how busy my life has become!

Here I am, working on my new book, "Enchantment: The Witch's Art of Manipulation Through Gesture, Gaze and Glamour", and I suddenly realize I haven't posted a blog entryfor a couple of months. Part of that busyness is due to the taking on of students in the new training coven, which I have to say is performing way beyond my expectations.

We ended up taking on a total of nine new local students, and 43 long-distance students. I figured catering to long-distance students was a matter of logistics rather than of one-to-one interaction - for the most part - so we did not balk at the number, but dove in head-first.

We ended up with a packed curriculum for the traditional year and a day, resulting in a weekly class schedule. We teach the class with local students present, and share it via live video streaming to the long-distance students, who interact via chat. So far, this has proven surprisingly effective, even for the sabbat rites. In addition, most weeks I do a "Magister's Question Time" via live video streaming, and both the classes and question times are recorded and made available to students. As a result, I am becoming quite expert at this live video streaming thing.

That in itself has spurred me on to try and use up even more of my time. It occurred to me that if I can do my workshops and lectures online using live streaming, I can reach many more people than the limited few who can come to my in-person classes. So I've decided to work towards two methods of getting my workshops online.

The first is the simplest - to provide live streaming workshops on a pay-per-view basis, where "attendees" pay a small fee and get to see the workshop live on video, and interact via chat. The advantage of this method is that anyone can access the class from their computer or tablet device, from anywhere in the world. The recording of the workshop would then be made available as a streaming or downloadable video for a small fee.

The second is more ambitious. I want to get together with stores around the world to offer "virtual workshops". Using Skype or similar technology, a workshop would be held at a store anywhere in the world. Attendees would go to the store, just like a regular workshop, and I would "beam in" via live video, and appear on a large TV or video projector connected to a laptop or other PC. A webcam would feed the audio and video from the store back to me, so we could all see and hear each other, and interaction would be very similar to an in-person workshop. The advantage here would be that locations that would be too expensive to cater for (due to travel and accommodation costs) could be reached for no more than a regular workshop fee to the attendees, which would be shared between the store and myself in the usual way.

I hope to set up similar schemes for some of my fellow authors too.

To facilitate this, I realized that it would be very useful to be able to use more than one camera - for close-ups of demonstrations, etc. - and so I have started a Kickstarter project to raise the funds to buy a video mixer that will allow me to do just that. So if you have enjoyed my books, DVDs, podcasts and workshops in the past, please consider taking a look at the Kickstarter project, and pledging a small amount towards it (even $1 will help). If you can't pledge but would like to help (or even if you can pledge), please do not hesitate to share the project with others you think may be interested in it.

Help get Peter Paddon's Workshop Online

Announcing the Formation of a New Training Coven

For some time now, the Ancestors have been making it clear to us that there is a need for us to provide a greater service to the Art, and against all common sense and sanity, we have chosen to comply with their requests.

So it is that we have decided to bring into being a new teaching coven. This coven will be a sister to Briar Rose, but will otherwise be completely autonomous. As the focus of Briar Rose is to do the Work, so the focus of this new coven will be to teach the basics, to share the Mysteries of the Crooked Path to those who are willing and able to pass beyond Her Gates.
Membership of this coven will be strictly limited, with a set number of local and distance places being available. Membership will require a commitment of the traditional year and a day. But do not contact us directly to request that you be considered for membership – all such direct requests will be refused.

Below, you will find information on how those who are interested may make their desire known, and students will be chosen from those who follow the directions given. There are no guarantees of acceptance, and once accepted, no guarantees that initiation will follow – as the old saying makes clear, “many are called, but few are chosen”.
There will be a certain number of local and distance learning positions available in the coven, and those interested in studying with us can make their interest known by following the directions below. Please note that those accepted for training will be committing to the following:

1. Attending all classes (for local students) and handing in all homework, unless a good reason can be provided
2. Maintaining the confidentiality of the Coven and fellow students
3. Reading the required reading material for each section of the training
4. A materials contribution of $10 per month will be requested of students. For local students, this will cover the cost of consumables used in teaching (candles, incense, refreshments etc), and for distance students this will cover the cost of making and mailing DVDs containing audio-visual material

Local students will be invited to attend weekly classes and the eight classic Sabbats. Distance students will be required to study with the aid of written material and video and audio recordings, and will be invited to attend the eight classic Sabbats if they are visiting the Los Angeles area at the time.

The Coven will be teaching material for the Crooked Path as practiced by briar Rose. This involves the practice known by such names as “Traditional Witchcraft”, “The Nameless Art”, “The Cunning Craft” and “The Old Persuasion”, which will be expressed through the Myths and Lore of the Welsh Celtic Mysteries as found in the Mabinogion, though it can be expressed through the Mystery of any religion’s more esoteric aspects outside of Coven practice. In other words, we will be focusing on examples and Lore from Wales, but in your own practice it can be used with the myths and lore of your current spirituality.

Please note that while this process is aimed at bringing students to initiation on the Crooked Path, there is no guarantee that if accepted you will achieve that aim. All students will be assessed on their merits, and those who do not go through to initiation in the Crooked Path will be assisted in finding where their path lies.

In return for the commitment of the students, we in turn make the following commitments:

1. To teach the material to the best of our ability
2. To provide initiation to those who fulfill the requirements
3. To assist all others to set foot firmly on their Path
4. To maintain the confidentiality of all students

Directions
This is the way to make known your interest in studying with us. Approaching us by any other means will result in refusal.

• Send an email to request@crookedpath.org – this email address will be active until the end of May, so make your request before then.
• The email must include the following information:

1. Your full legal name
2. Your address
3. Whether you wish to be a local or distance student
4. Any prior experience, training or coven work with any Witchcraft tradition, including Wiccan traditions
5. Your favorite books on Witchcraft (note: you do not get “extra points” for liking my books)
6. Why you want to study with us
7. What got you interested in Witchcraft?
8. Any other information you feel may be useful or relevant

• Please be honest and do not exaggerate your experiences. Any untruths that are discovered will bring your association with us to an immediate end. You do not have to be already experienced, nor do you need to be a complete newbie – we just want to know where you are coming from.
• After a period of reflection, those who are selected to move on to the next step will be contacted. All others will receive an email informing them that they were not selected. No other communication on this matter will be made – NOTE: If you are not successful this time, you are welcome to try again when we next announce openings. Not being selected does not mean you are not “worthy”… it is possible that we will receive more requests than we can accept, in which case we may have to turn away candidates who are perfectly suitable.
• We realize that, to some, this process may seem exclusive and “elitist”, but the simple fact is that not all paths are suited to every person, and some discernment is required to ensure that the needs of both student and teacher are met. If you do not like the selection process, do not submit yourself to it.
• The minimum age is 21 years.

PantheaCon Was a Hoot!

I missed PantheaCon last year, because I was in hospital, so I was determined to make the most of going this year, and by golly, I managed it!

Firstly, with six of us travelling together, I decided to rent a behemoth of a SUV, the Ford Expedition EL Limited, which held allof our stuff and us quite comfortably. I've never been a fan of Ford, but this trip may have changed my mind, especially the Sync system. My wife loved the heated seats and the reversing camera.

There were a lot of obvious improvements at the 'Con... the Doubletree in San Jose had obviously heard the calls for more staff and better food, and as a result we only had to wait for a table once in the entire weekend. The menu had more choice, and issues were dealt with quickly.

As usual, we only made it to a fraction of what we intended to attend... and this year we didn't make it to any of Orion's workshops. "Reading the Stones and Bones" was good, informative, but did not match the description or even the title. The "Excorcism and De-Possession ritual" was a great concept that was somewhat lacking in execution, in my humble opinion. The idea was for folks to dance out their negative emotions, such as shame, fear, rage, greed, etc., which they did, but the transmutation into pure energy - and returning that energy to the people - was incomplete, leaving psychic "ick" in the room. There did not appear to be any warding (they may have done some that we didn't see, but it didn't feel like there was any).

The Avalon Ritual led by R J Stewart, on the other hand, was magnificent. RJ - looking very well and full of life - began by explaining the background to this rite, whic hwas to counterbalance the threat of nuclear energy, both in the form of reactors and bombs, describing it as star-fire in the wrong place. He recounted the role of his mentor (whose name I forget) and other adepts in starting this process, and then went on to explain what we were going to do.

It basically involved using the concept of the ley-line (as a line that joins two places/times through the center of the world) to place us all in connection with the ancient Shrine of Avalon. Note, we were not to visualize ourselves "going there", but rather to bring both here and there together in the now, a much more effective thing.

His partner Anastasia(?) effected this process by singing a haunting song, and his assistance brought in the quarters, and then they raised the Fire of Avalon beautifully and simply. RJ shared the birdlike flute playing he received in meditatrion, that would have been played in ancient time on flutes made from the bones of birds.

Apparently they originally intended to obtain representations of the Sacred Tols (sword, bowl, spear and plate) from vendors, but RJ wa inspired to use the actual invisible tools as energy forms, which we all lined up to hold over the sacred flame and then pass on to the next person. It became apparent to us all that the important act( and the one with all the power) was not the receiving of the tools, but the giving them to the next in line, and indeed, we finished by en-masse handing them off to the future students of the Mysteries.

A personal moment that was ver special was when I got to hold one of the tools over the fire myself - although all my coveners were in the same section of the room, and had therefore lined up in the south for the spear, our line was longer than the others, so at the end two of us got moved by Anastasia to the east and west, and as my wife and Priestess Linda held the spear over the fire, I held the bowl and Carrie, our circle sister held the sword, and a man unknown to us held the platter/oracular head, before handing them back to RJ's team.

Those who held the platter, with the Oracular Head upon it, reported that they felt as if the platter was empty when handed to them, and it was their own head that became the Oracular Head on the platter as they offered it over the fire.

All in all, a very moving ritual, that affected all of us profoundly.

Ofcourse, I also presented two workshops of my own. Both of them were well-attended, and I think they went over quite well. As usual, I got a little choked up sharing some of my personal stories in "Gods and Ancestors and the 21st-Century Crafter", but that is as it should be. My "Invocation and the Ancient Art of Ritual Possession" was packed, with people being turned away as the doors closed on a capacity crowd. Over 100 people put up with my jokes and witticisms, and then watched as I commited the supreme act of folly... demonstrating not one, but four distinct full possessions, using three different techniques. Admittedly, the possessions were kept short (I "had a word" with the deities concerned before-hand, to ensure they would allow me to do this and cooperate with the time), but they definitely kicked my ass... in fact I've spent large parts of the last two days dozing in an attempt to recoup my energy - though that could just be post-PantheaCon fall-out!

Lastly, there was the whole Z Budapest vs. the Trensgendered incident. I've spoken at length about this elsewhere, so I'll keep this short here. I must confess that I've never been a fan of Z, finding both her insistance on mixing politics and spirituality and her insistance that all women are victims and all men are rapists distasteful, but the level of bigotry and hate demonstrated against the trans community - suggesting that they are men trying to sneak into the women's rituals - was positively offensive. Some are calling for a boycott of PantheaCon over this, for allowing her Dianic rite, but I feel that Glenn and her team handled this with sensitivity, allowing both sides to have their say and their space. The Trans community and their supporters protested silently and respectfully, and Z responded with mor hate and misrepresentation... she could have been a GOP Presidential candidate!

So now the Con is over, we're all back home, at work, planning for next year. I got great feedback from my workshops, sold a bunch of books, and we have nefarious plans bubbling away for next year too.

And so, to PantheaCon!

The chore of taxes is finally behind us, and in a few days the wife and I, along with S. P. Hendrick and her husband, will be driving up to San Jose, where we will mingle with around 2,500 assorted Pagans at our favorite West Coast event, PantheaCon. Members of our coven will be there, other Pendraig authors, and friend from near and far, some of whom we only see at PantheaCon each year.

This year I'm presenting two workshops, to make up for missing the 'Con last year while I was in hospital, trying not to lose my leg. So I have two years of pent-up hedonism to expend over the long weekend. The workshops I'm teaching are "Gods and Ancestors and the 21st Century Crafter" and "Invocation and the Ancient Art of Ritual Possession". If the turnout is anything like I got for my "Visceral Magick" workshop there two years ago, I'll be very happy indeed!

I'm also pleased to say that the Enchantment study group has got off to a good start... this is actually a series of groups around the world working on the material I am putting together for my next book, "Enchantment: The Witch's Art of Manipulation Through Gesture, Gaze and Glamour". We are communicating by video (on DVDs I send out to the remote groups) and a private group on FaceBook, and there are groups across the US, in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. This is a really enjoyable way to write a book!

If you're going to PantheaCon, look me up and say hello. I'll be signing and selling copies of "A Grimoire for Modern Cunningfolk" and "Visceral Magick", and S. P. will be selling and signing her novels, Ellen Evert Hopman will be doing the same with her new book "Scottish Herbs and Fairy Lore", and Ed Fitch will also be there, selling and signing copies of our re-print of his classic "Magical Rites From the Crystal Well".

Now That the Year is Up and Running...

So as 2012 groans into motion, I'm gradually (and also with much groaning) getting back "on the stick" with getting healthy, and making a concerted effort to move my writing and publishing to a new level.

Over the last year I have enlisted the freelance talents of Jo-Ann Byers- Mierzwicki as layout artist for Pendraig, and her husband Tony as editor, and the fruits of their labor can be seen in my latest book, Visceral Magick - both the standard and special editions benefit from Jo-Ann's clear aesthetic and Tony's attention to detail, not to mention his fearless pursuit of clarification. My book is so much better for their input, and I can't express how grateful I am to them. They have worked similar wonders for all the other recent Pendraig releases, and I have every faith that we will be going places together.

Work has begun on my next book, Enchantment, and I have study groups around the world helping me out as they work through the exercises, techniques and philosophy behind the "Jedi mind tricks". I think this is going to result in a detailed and extremely useful book on this aspect of Witchcraft.

Meanwhile, my previous two books, Visceral Magick and A Grimoire for Modern Cunningfolk have been selling steadily, and have picked up some nice reviews. I'd like to thank all of you who have reviewed, recommended or in other ways passed on the word about my efforts, and I especially appreciate the messages I've received by email, FaceBook or Twitter from people enjoying what I have created.

Last, but not least, we have signed up with SmashWords to provide Pendraig's books in all the different eBook formats. As you are probably aware, we have been putting out some of our books (mostly the fiction) on Kindle and Nook, but now with the aid of SmashWords, we can reach the full range of digital editions out there, so watch out for announcements of new releases.

A New Year, a New Project

2011 didn't quite live up to my expectations, though I really have no reason to complain. Eleven months ago, I was brought face to face with my own mortality, and although I have certainly moved well clear of that precipice, I have not progressed as far towards health as I was hoping. I certainly did not get everything done that I was hoping to achieve.

So I've got high expectations from 2012, and whatever else it turns out to be, it will certainly be busy. For starters, I will be attending PantheaCon next month and presenting two workshops, unlike last year, where I spent that particular weekend in hospital. I've got several other trips planned through the year too, not least another visit to the fine Pagan folk in North Carolina. But that is not my big new project...

The really exciting news is that I am working on a new book, and I've decided to involve others in my process. The new book will be called "Enchantment: The Witches' Art of Manipulation Through Gesture, Gaze and Glamour". It will be a practical manual on techniques like the Witches' Eye (or "Evil Eye"), Jedi mind trickes (or putting the 'fluence on people), and creating illusions in order to get people to do what you need them to. Unlike all of my previous writings, this book will be completely devoid of cultural or religious  context, being the pure theory and practice involved in this very old-school form of witchcraft. That way, you can add your own cultural/religious context to it.

But the really exciting thing is that I decided to set up a study group to work through the material, to make sure I am thorough in my explanations and demonstrations. At first, this was just going to be a local group, but whern I mentioned that on FaceBook, I got a lot of responses from people who are out of town, wishing they lived close enough to participate.

Well, the outcome of that was that I decided to video the study group here in Los Angeles, and share it on a DVD with groups elsewhere, and then get everyone to discuss it online together. So far, there are groups in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Florida, Tennessee, Pensylvania, North Carolina, Long Beach California, and perhaps San Diego too. Which means I'm going to get a ton of feedback on both the techniques and the background material, which means that the book is going to be something very special. Personally, I can't wait to read it...

Visceral Magick

I'm very pleased - and somewhat relieved - to say that my latest book, "Visceral Magick", is finished, and will be released on september 15th. So keep an eye out for it on Amazon...

On September 17th, I will be at the Pagan Podkin Supermoot in Salem, MA, where about 16 Pagan podcasters, including me, will be doing a meet and greet in the morning at Omen. That afternoon, I'll be teaching a workshop on "Invocation and the Art of Ritual Possession" at the store. The following weekend, I'll be teaching "Visceral Magick" at the West Coast Eisteddfod in Los Angeles... both weekends I will have he new book available for sale, as well as my previous one, "A Grimoire for Modern Cunningfolk".

Last weekend I attended "Conjure on the Kern", a weekend intensive on Southern Conjure with Orion Foxwood. It was an incredible weekend that both my wife and I enjoyed immensely. If you ever see Orion Foxwood teaching anything in your area, goto it, because he is inspirational.

In November, my wife and I will be heading to North Carolina for Shadow Harvest, where I'll be teaching a number of new workshops. My friends in NC are all okay after the hurricane, though some of them are still waiting for the power to come back on!

Update

Lots of stuff going on... first of all, there are several new podcast episodes, and the podcast is going live on Thursday nights, courtesy of Blog Talk Radio:

Peter's Crooked Path on Blog Talk Radio

Pendraig has some new books out, more novels by S. P. Hendrick, and "Scottish Herbs and Fairy Lore" by Ellen Hopman. Coming up is a great novel by Ben Reder called "The Demon's Apprentice", and another by Claudia Dillaire, called "Wrath of Amun". The first is a horror story that evokes the world of Harry Dresden ("The Dresden Files"), and the secomd is a murder mystery set in Ancient Egypt. We also have the first in a series of books on Enochian magick due out in August, written by Scott Stenwick.

... and somewhere in there my own "Visceral Magick" will finally see the light of day!

Wendy Rule is back in the US, and the final concert of her US tour is on July 29th, at the Lonny Chapman Theatre in North Hollywood - go to the link for info and tickets. Wendy will be performing with Silver Phial.

I will be in Salem on September 17th for the Pagan Podkin Super Moot, and will also be teaching my "Invocation and the Ancient Art of Ritual Possession" workshop at Omen on that afternoon. The following weekend I'm teaching "Visceral Magick" at the West Coast Eisteddfod in Los Angeles, and the first weekend in November I will be returning to ShadowHarvest in North Carolina. I hope to see you at one of these events!

Busy Busy Busy!

I'm pleased to say that my leg has healed nicely - thanks to everyone who sent healing energy and good wishes. It healed just in time, really, because things are starting to get busy!

This weekend is choc full of goodness, and there are some fun events I'll be attending further away in time and space...

First, this weekend's fun and frippery, which includes a Craft Fair tomorrow at Winnetka Tower in the San Fernando Valley, where I'll be selling books and doing Tarot readings. Then on Sunday, I'm teaching a class on Talismans at The Cauldron in Silverlake, CA, owned by the lovely Lorna and her cat, Mandrake. Then on Monday its back to Winnetka Tower to teach a class about initiation.

By the way, I'm teaching many classes at both locations.

Then in September, I'm off to the Pagan Podkin Super Moot, in Salem MA. This is a gathering of Pagan podcasters and those who enjoy listening to their podcasts, and it takes place over the weekend of September 17th.

Lastly, in November I will once again be attending ShadowHarvest in North Carolina. I had so much fun there last year, and they've beenmad enough to invite me back again this year.

Add to that the usual collection of Pagan Pride events (I'll be presenting at the Los Angeles one as well as Kern County and Antelope Valley this year), and the Wendy Rule concert I'll be hosting at the end of July in Los Angeles, and it is starting to look like a busy year.

... and don't forget to watch out for my latest book, "Visceral Magick", which should be coming out very soon now.