Thanks Everyone

Thanks Everyone
Current mood: awake
Category: Friends

I just wanted to thank those of you who attended FMC meetings during the Fall and Winter semester at WSU. I had a great time meeting you all and performing rituals at WSU. This past Wednesday was our last meeting for this semester, we will not be meeting during finals week. I hope everyone gets all A's on their finals and has a great Spring/Summer.

Take Care: Merlin

Not Again

It seems as though someone in my neighborhood knows that I'm a Witch. They left some kind of flyer for me on my car inviting me to go to their church. I'm not the kind of person who has a bunch of stickers on my car announcing to the world "I'M A WITCH LOOK AT ME", but I do keep a small little goat and green witch on my dashboard. There really small and cute and you can only see them if your close up. That tells me that the person who left the flyer was peeking through my window outside my house. If I catch the person who is doing this we will see if the myth is true. I'm referring to the one were if you strike a Xian they have to turn the other cheek. If Jesus were alive today he would be dancing in the woods drinking wine with the Pagans. I doubt he would be in some million dollar church dressed in a three piece suit telling all the sinners there going to hell. He would be more concerned with what were doing to the environment rather than concerning himself with who's attending church.

"Free your mind and your ass will follow; the kingdom of heaven is within".-George Clinton

Don't Super Size Merlin

Don't Super Size Merlin

The other day I was at the mall and was a little hungry so I figured I'd stop and get something to eat. I stopped at this Chinese restaurant and figured I'd get something. The restaurant was one of those places where you tell the food server what you like while they make a plate for you. To my horror the lady fixing my plate added mass quantities of rice eggs, meat, mushrooms, shrimp and rice to my plate before I had a chance to stop her. The first thought that came into my mind was who the hell could eat all this food. It's no wonder so many Americans are over weight. The food companies seem to want us to eat more and more of their products.

Those of you who know me personally are aware of the fact that I cannot eat a large amount of food at once. My doctor even told me to not eat a lot of food because it wasn't good for me. I will never forget the night I was rushed to the hospital thinking I was having a heart attack when it turned out to be heartburn. In case you're wondering a bad case of heartburn does mimic a heat attack.

Anyway, when I got my plate I was a bit ticked off at the bill but figured I would make the best of it so I was determined to eat every bit of food on my plate (which is nearly impossible for me to do). When I was done I could barely walk on account of all the food I ate. I guess I'm one of those lucky people who can eat just about anything and not gain any weight, but I'll be the first to say that I need to eat better. I've been making an effort ever since my hospital scare. It's all about fruits and vegetables and not the stupid junk food I've been guilty of eating over the years.
From now own I'll make my own plate.

Live long and prosper: Merlin )0(

M.I.B

In the past there have been a lot of people who ask me why I wear all black most of the time. There are a lot of reasons why I like to wear black and not all of them have to do with Witchcraft and the occult. I actually started wearing black back in the 80's because some of my favorite rock guitar players wore black most of the time. The two guitar players who stood out the most in my mind were Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple and Toni Iommi of Black Sabbath. Back in the early 80's I use to take guitar lessons at Wonderland Music, which was a local music store, in my neighborhood. My guitar teacher at the time would always come to our lesson late so while I waited for him I would thumb through all the guitar magazines. Those of you who play guitar know that one of the first songs we learn how to play is "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple, that's usually followed by Black Sabbath's "Iron Man". Both of these guitar players are well known for there involvement in the occult which I knew about at the time but I just liked the way they looked dressed in all black. There were other guitar players at the time who wore mostly black but those two stood out the most to me.

I liked the Goth music that was popular in the 80's but I was more of a Metal Head back then. I personally think I would look silly wearing black lipstick but I did use to dye my hair black even though it's already black. I use to rodie for a band whose members use to dye their hair black so I figured I'd do the same. Well after I realized that I didn't look that much different I stopped. I figured I could use the money for something else more worthwhile.

Witchcraft and the occult played a part in this as well but it wasn't the most significant part. I always liked the way gold and silver jewelry looked when I wore black shirts because they would bring out the beauty of the pendent I happened to be wearing at the time.

When people from the mundane world asked me why I loved to wear all black I would always tell them that black is beautiful. This has always been my little trick to stir the conversation in another direction rather than start talking about anything that has to do with the magick and the occult. This was my way of applying lesser magic to keep people from asking too many personal questions.

Those of you who know me beyond the Internet and MySpace know that I tend to wear black suits sometimes and there's a reason behind that also. One of the most fascinating figures for me has always been Count Dracula. He always dressed nice and wore mostly black like myself. If you paid him a visit he would always play the part of the gentleman because he was well cultured and courteous (keep in mind that in some mythologies vampires couldn't enter a home if they weren't invited). Dracula was always someone who stuck in my mind because he was always the best dressed and women were naturally drawn to him. This of course is yet another way someone can use a little lesser magic to influence the world around him or herself because the well-dressed man/woman will always go farther in life than the slob that has no fashion sense.

Love is the Law: Merlin

Update

05-14-08 Update
Current mood: annoyed
Category: Web, HTML, Tech

I'm sorry I haven't posted to this blog in awhile I've just been really busy. I want to thank those of you who attended Full Moon Circle this fall and winter I think we got a lot accomplished this semester and my thanks goes out to you all. As I mentioned before FMC will not be meeting this summer, we may get together for one or two rituals but I haven't planned anything yet.

Those of you who attended the last couple of meetings know that I'm trying to start a video blog on YouTube but I've run into some problems regarding this. I've always been fascinated by all the advancements in computer technology that's happened over the years but like everything in life there's a downside to this. About three years ago I had some extra money so I asked some of my friends what they thought was the best computer for me to get. I decided to buy a Mac because most of the people I know who are musicians, or occultists use Macs.

Don't get me wrong I love my computer I just hate the fact that computer companies will go out there way to force you to buy a new computer every couple of years. I spent two thousand dollars on my current computer and because it's a couple years old Mac is purposely making most of their products incompatible to my current operating system. I tried to update my computer with the latest Mac OS X but it's now incompatible with my current computer. I guess they expect me to go and spend another two thousand dollars on a new computer.

With all the video-blogs that's on YouTube these days I decided I would start one of my own so I went to the Mac store and bought a web-cam thinking that I could use it to post videos on YouTube but as fate would have it it's also incompatible. In frustration I went to Best Buy and was able to purchase a small inexpensive web-cam from them that's semi compatible with my computer. I'm still experimenting with it and was successful in uploading a short video on MySpace but for some reason I'm not able to post it on YouTube.

I may be able to use my cell phone to post videos but in order to be able to save them on the web I was told I would have to pay an extra five dollars a month on my cell phone bill to do so. Sometimes I wonder if I should have majored in computer technology rather than music and philosophy they seem to be the one's making the big bucks nowadays. Anyhow I will keep everyone up to date to what's happening in regards to this, I may just pay the extra five bucks and call it a day but I haven't made up my mind yet.

Love is the Law: Merlin

Thirteen Reasons Why

Thirteen Reasons Why
Current mood: contemplative
Category: Blogging

"And now I see the face of god, and I raise this god over the earth, this god whom men have sought since men came into being, this god who will grant them joy and peace and pride. This god, this one word: I." -Ayn Rand

Thirteen reasons why I'm not a Christian, a White light mystic or a Fluffy Bunny.

By MerlinRavenSong )0(

1) The Eastern Philosophers believe in Karma were as I believe in Fate.

2) Christians believe in denying the pleasures of the flesh. I believe in indulgence.

3) Christians believe in heaven and hell. I want to live forever.

4) Christians love their enemies but hate the sins they commit. I hate my enemies and believe in JUSTICE.

5) People of many faiths and religions worship Gods or Goddesses. I see divinity in nature (mother nature) EARTH, AIR, FIRE, WATER.

6) Christians believe in living a spiritual life. I believe in spirits.

7) Christians believe in self-sacrifice. I believe in the honor and respect.

8) Christians see god as external. I see GOD as internal.

9) White light mystics read only occult books. I read PLATO

10) Christians believe in faith. I believe in reason and rational self-interest.

11) Christians believe that god answers prayers. I believe we get what we deserve.

12) Christians believe in a god who is all-good and a devil that is all evil. I believe in nature, which is both cruel and kind.

13) Christians believe in good and evil. I believe good and evil is subjective NOT objective.

I think therefore I'm dangerous -Merlin

The Cockroach

The Cockroach
Current mood: disgusted
Category: Life

Every now and then as a college student I wonder were all the money I spend on tuition goes, well I can tell you one thing it doesn't go to exterminate cockroaches. Yesterday I saw the BIGGEST COCKROACH I ever seen in my life at school, it must have been as big as my hand. The roach was hanging out in the mens bathroom and when it saw me it didn't run it just stood there, I guess I invaded it's privacy so the roach stood its ground. I don't know if you guys have realized this but bugs have become increasingly more cocky nowadays. I had a centipede jump off the wall and attack me once just for looking at it but that's another story. Anyway back to my story, When I saw that the cockroach was not going to budge I decided to leave the bathroom at once. If your wondering why I didn't kill the cockroach lets just say that I didn't want to get splashed with yellow goo (remember this roach was as big as my hand). As I was leaving a guy came into the bathroom to use the toilet next to the roach and when I pointed out that the roach was in the next stall over it didn't phase him a bit, apparently some of his friends took a picture of the roach before I got there. I guess if your a fat disgusting roach you don't have to run you can pose for pictures.I've seen many roaches at my school and the one thing they have in common is their all fat and they never run. I remember leaving class one day and I saw one slowly crawling down the hall as if it were a student. If I had my cell phone I would have taken a picture of the roach in the bathroom and sent it to the dean. If things go on like this the roaches will grow as large as cats if not bigger. But there is a solution to this problem it's called RAID

Danzig Concert

The Danzig Concert
Current mood: blissful

In case you guys were wondering the Danzig concert was great, every band that played that night gave a great performance and it was definitely a night to remember. The show was general admission so basically if you arrived to the concert on time and had main floor tickets you could have had the best seat in the house. One advantage to being in the front row that night was I was able to give Danzig high fives all night long during the show and that's the next best thing to meeting him personally. After the concert there were a lot of people waiting outside next to the tour buses to meet the bands after the show; I would have stayed but I had to go to work the next day so I decided to go home besides I think I'm getting a little to old for that kind of thing anyway.

One of the disadvantages of being in the front row is you feel like your in a fight with a hundred people because everyone wants to get close to the stage and they are willing to do anything to get there even if it involves taking your spot. The thing I found interesting is how many females actually tried to surf their way on stage that night I guess people don't really realize how dangerous this can be. I've been to a lot of concerts in my lifetime and I have witnessed way to many injuries from kids trying to force their way on stage to see their favorite rock stars only to end up breaking a couple bones or getting the shit kicked out of them by security.

For the most part the audience was tamer than usual because the security did a good job keeping everyone in line and I had a great time talking to them before the show, they had some wonderful stories to tell about fans who do some of the craziest things when they come out to see their favorite bands. One of the security guards said that he got into a fight with a drunk guy and ended up hitting the guy so hard that his teeth got stuck in his fist. I guess that's the price stupid people pay when they get a little to drunk and unruly at shows.

Personally I never really understood why concert halls think that selling liquor at heavy metal concerts is such a great idea. I understand they make a lot of money in doing so but to get a bunch of young adults drunk and encourage them to get excited throughout the show attracts way to much trouble in my opinion. People tend to fight more when their drunk, and it's a shame marijuana is not legal because if that were the case the kids would be too spaced to fight and think how much money these concert halls would make off of people having the munchies afterwards. This would be great at concerts that take place outside because there would be no health risks involved because the smoke wouldn't be stuck in one location.

Overall the concert was great and I had a great time, hopefully Danzig will tour more frequently in the future. The new brand of Black Metal bands are great but I still favor the old metal from the 80's.
Cheers: Merlin

Reclaiming the word Warlock

I personally never understood the whole issue over male Witches using the word Warlock to describe themselves. I personally like the term an I do not see anything wrong with using it whatsoever although their are some who may take offense to the use of the term. I believe that Witchcraft is not a one size fits all way of life and their are many ways to practice it regardless what you may read in most of the modern day books on The Craft. Keep in mind that A CRAFT IS NOT A RELIGION and you can practice the art of Witchcraft without the Gods or Goddesses and I know some who do.

If the word Warlock does mean oath breaker (which I do not think it does) Then the only oath I have broken is my connection with the Christian church and it's teaching because in my opinion their philosophy goes against nature were as I live in harmony with nature. For me the Gods and Goddess are representations of the forces of nature and they appear to us through what Jung called the archetypes of the collective unconscious. I do not believe in a heaven or a hell and if that makes me a traitor against Christian dogma then SO MOTE IT BE.

If woman can reclaim the word WITCH then men can reclaim the word WARLOCK. Why because it represents the male mysteries. My dad use to go hunting every year around deer season, he would disappear for about two weeks and at the time I didn't understand what he was doing but I did enjoy the food he would bring home after the hunt. Later on in life as I began to study Paganism/Witchcraft and the male mysteries, I began to understand that hunting and gathering is part of the male mysteries and if you think you are truly making a connection with nature by living in the big city and never going out to the woods you are sadly mistaken. Hunting is a big part of the male mysteries and it is something that I now embrace. I tried being a vegetarian at one point in my life but after I had a conversation with Ted Nugent I began to eat meat again (thanks Ted).

Note: I will have to tell you guys that story one day.

Most Wiccans hate the term Warlock and never use it which is fine with me because I see Wicca as just another form of Witchcraft and if they choose to not use it then it's their prerogative but their are those within the community that embrace the term.

Here's my definition of a Warlock

1. One who thinks for himself and challenges authority.

2. One who breaks away from traditional dogmas of the church and from dogma that are part of fundamentalist thinking. (That goes for Christians and the magical community as well.)

3. One who explores the male mysteries from Hunting to studying Martial Arts, it's all apart of making a connection with nature.

4. A Warlock is a male Witch

So in closing I believe that no one owns the copyright on the word WITCH or WARLOCK, if you are one or the other claim it, and think for yourself, don't bow down to the thought police because they are not looking out for your best interests anyway.

Love is the Law: Merlin

The Following is from an e-mail I received from MstrMacabre in regards to reclaiming the word Warlock. Enjoy

Hope everyone's Yule was grand!

I'm currently sending the following request to many in the Wiccan/Pagan Community in an effort to not only reclaim the term 'Warlock' for we 'Male Practitioners' (of which I must say has spread over the Internet like the proverbial wildfire these last few years) but also to dispel the rather blatant (in my personal opinion) misrepresented (for far too many years now) term of Warlock.

I present the following excerpts from an article I originally wrote a few years ago (as well as my other friends who have since reclaimed the term 'Warlock') in order to illustrate my point.

RECLAIMING THE WORD WARLOCK!

Much like the term "Wicca" which comes from the root term "Wicce" and means "to bend," or "to shape." NOT "The Wise" or "Wise Ones" that has been continuously circulated around the Metaphysical Community by many misinformed Wiccans and Neo-Pagans for years, the word Warlock has befallen the same gross misrepresentation.

Contrary to current popular belief, it does NOT mean an "Oath-Breaker" in "Scottish" as again many Neo-Pagans and Wiccan's love to tell you (which they get from the Old English and later Colonial Wytch Hunter's jargon) but in fact it is a derivative from the High German word "Ward-lokkur" (BTW...W is pronounced V in german) meaning "Spell-Caster" for Enchanter or Sorcerer, much the same as the German word "Hexen" which just means "Wytch" or the Old English "Wizard!" It is generally applied to a "Male Wytch" who practices some form of Magick usually in the Nature of Conjuration or Sorcery....thus, the reason for it's application as a definition for the Male gendered Witch in "Pop Culture" society today!

As "RuneWolf" says in his article "Warlock: The Other 'W-Word" of which ECHOS my own feelings on the matter...

"Matthew Sandow speculates that what we think of as Witchcraft might originally have involved both Male and Female Mysteries, and that much of what we think of as "Wicca" today descends predominantly from the Female Mysteries. The Male Mysteries, on the other hand, would have had more to do with hunting and warfare, and that the "War" in "Warlock" refers to just that - the Way of the Warrior and the arts of "battle-magic," as exemplified by the ulfhednar and berserkers. This only further enthralls me, as I consider myself to practice a "Warrior" Tradition of the Craft, and have long felt the need for a specific term for "Warrior Witch." Given the possible history of the word, "Warlock" seems to fit that bill quite nicely!

"Warlock" also has a somewhat darker connotation than the now-popular definition of "Witch," and that applies to me as well. The whole issue of what constitutes "Dark Paganism" has been addressed by better writers than I, and whilst I won't rehash any of it here, if you tend to dismiss Dark Paganism as an aberration, I suggest that you do a little research. After all, that's one of the first suggestions we make to Christians who try to inflict their stereotypes and misconceptions on us.

And finally, I have to admit to a little rebelliousness in choosing to be known as a Warlock. In many ways it's just my way of saying, "Go ahead - tell me I can't." My personal definition of "Warlock" could be summed up as "Male Witch - With Attitude." It has its own, in-your-face kind of mystique that I find endearing.

Many years ago, my teacher gave me some good advice, and that was to use anything in the practice of my Craft that helped me to "feel Witchier." Ironically, "Warlock" does that for me.
"
---RuneWolf.

Seize the Night

Those of you who know me personally are aware that I'm not by any means a day person, I have never truly been a day person nor will I ever become one. I'm not just saying this in order to convince everyone how dark cool and spooky I'm, that's beside the point. I just get a little frustrated living in a world inhabited by people who are mostly day people and plan their daily life's based on the movement of the sun rather than the that of the moon.

I work mostly nights and for the most part I sleep the better part of the day. Modern technology has made things easier for people like myself. I can pay most (if not all) of my bills online now without ever leaving the house and that my friends is a real blessing for people like myself because I don't care to be around people that much. I've always been a lone wolf and I'm proud to be one. I guess the older I get the more people irritate me.

Anyway after teaching a couple of students the fine art of guitar playing this evening I went to my local coffee shop afterwards to relax and do some reading. Well as it turned out there was a X-Mass party at the coffee shop so I had to find some were else to do my reading so I went to another coffee shop and low and behold they were closing up. Had I known the store was going to close at 10:00 pm I would have saved myself some gas and just went home after work. There are coffee shops here in Michigan that are open 24 hours but I didn't want drive across town and use up a tank of gas trying to find one that was open past 10:00 pm. So here I'm at home blogging when I should be out sipping on a cappuccino.

You may be asking yourself why not just go to the bar and my reply is if I were to drink alcohol as much as I drink coffee I would be a drunk by now, and besides it would look a little strange hanging out at a bar reading a book when everyone else is having a good time. I just wish there were more places open after hours for people like myself because not everyone lives their life during the daylight hours.

Carpe Noctem: MerlinRavenSong )0(

The Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny (or Easter Hare) is a mythical character depicted as an anthropomorphic rabbit. In legend, the creature brings baskets filled with colored eggs, candy and toys to the homes of children on the night before Easter. The Easter Bunny will either put the baskets in a designated place or hide them somewhere in the house for the children to find when they wake up in the morning.

Eggs, like rabbits and hares, are fertility symbols of extreme antiquity. Since birds lay eggs and rabbits and hares give birth to large litters in the early spring, these became symbols of the rising fertility of the earth at the Vernal Equinox.

-Wikipedia

I'm grateful that I'm no longer forced to attend church on easter Sunday. As far as I'm concerned church was one of the biggest waste of time in my entire life. There's nothing more annoying than a bunch of Xians trying to convert a Pagan child. The one thing I did learn while forced to attend church during my teenage years was that these so called Xian's were more often than not bigger sinners than I ever was or hoped to be.

Anton Lavey was the first person that I know of to used the term "THE GOOD GUY BADGE" when it came to describing people who claimed to be one thing but were really something else all together. I'm sure that those of you who willingly or unwilling attended church today know what I'm talking about because they attended church with you.

On Easter Sunday you will see more people than usual attending church today, some are there just to please family members, some are there out of respect and for some it has to do with tradition. In a lot of cases it's just another one of their "GOOD GUY BADGES" they pin on themselves to show that they are good Xians and by the time they get home they take off their badges and transform into the real devils they truly are.

In my life it has always been my "CHRISTIAN FRIENDS" who like to take me out to bars and get me drunk when they know that I rarely drink.

In my life it has always been my "CHRISTIAN FRIENDS" who try their best to get me to go to strip clubs on the weekends and when I try to explain my religion to them I'm the one who's going to hell for believing the things that I do.

In my life it has always been my "CHRISTIAN FRIENDS" who have stolen money from me and denied it when I knew it was them that did it.

In my life it has always been my "CHRISTIAN FRIENDS" who tell me how much of a sinner I'm while they stuff their fat bellies with the churches greasy fried chicken along with other unhealthy food items the church offers after Sunday morning service. I guess they fail to realize that GLUTTONY and SLOTH are two of the seven deadly sins. For them Jesus isn't the answer Jenny Craig is.