In Absentia

Well, faithful readers, I got an IM from a friend asking if I LIVE. I assure you, I am alive. I've been particularly not-interested in sitting at my computer lately. Spring is Springing, and I've returned to my garage when I have time to. I also had my washing machine break down over the weekend, requiring some moving and rearranging of stuff that I had stored across creation. One should always have a spare washing machine stored somewhere, imho. The weird thing is that I started to take apart my old machine as if I would be able to fix it. I had the top off and the internal basin about removed when I realized I would have no idea what to do next when I got the basin out. If I could get the basin out. At that point it made more sense to get the other one out of storage.

I don't know where I get the idea that I know how to figure out whatever I set my mind to. I mean, in magic it's pretty easy. If you want to know something about anything, chances are Agrippa's written about it somewhere, and Google can fill in the blanks. And at this point in my magical career, I have a really good relationship built up with the seven governors of the seven planetary realms, the demons of the Goetia, and hell, even the Enochians. I have a lot more resources for magical information than I did three years ago, and most of them aren't physical.

But this can-do attitude of mine, a definite boon, can have its drawbacks. I end up having stuff all over the house that I've taken apart and realized later that I had no business taking that apart...  And I clean it up, eventually. I have managed to scrounge a lot of copper and tin and other odd bits of metals for mercury talismans out of electronics as a result. But still. I don't know how to fix the laptop. I might think I do, but I'll likely only break it more. I don't need to take it apart and play with it.

Yes, I am trying to convince myself, and no, it isn't working.

Anyway, I'm alive and well. I quit one of my jobs and am now looking for a way to make some extra money. You can expect to see some updates on things that I sell in the near future as a way to make up for some of the lost income. The problem is, I don't make nearly as much for an hour of time spent making something magical as I do at my day job. I'd need to charge more than the stuff could possibly sell for to make a profit in this niche market. That explains to me why Chris Warnock's talismans are so expensive, not only are they pretty and really effective at magical work, but they take a lot of time to make, both for him to set up the elections, and for his jewelry guy to design and develop the molds.

By the way... All you cheap bastards that think we should give away our knowledge and learning for free, everyone who thinks spiritual teachings are OWED to you by the people that spent years researching, practicing their art, and developing methods of passing on the information: KISS MY ASS. You'll spend $107 per credit hour at the local community college, $780 per credit hour at a medical school, but you'll tell me it's unethical to charge someone to teach them how to conjure Raphael. How in the fuck are we supposed to support ourselves while we spoonfeed you cheap assholes the fruits of years of our intensive studies? You want it free? Go read the source material and put it together yourself. You're not obligated to buy anything I sell. I tell people where it is for free all the time on my blog. Joe Peterson's site is beautiful. Take the years it takes of using the material and figuring out what cross references are being made, experiment with the demons and angels, and figure that shit out on your own. The experiences you get will be worth thousands of dollars of teachings you can get from master magicians. Do the Work yourself. No one's telling you you have to buy it from people like me or Jason to get the results.

Fuckin' freeloaders.

Ok, end of rant. I meant to post on that last week, but I got distracted.

So anyway, yes I live. I will be publishing more often now that half my workload is gone.