FUCKING MNCON....

OMG, fucking MNCON...

A good time was had by all. If you get a chance to look at pics, they aren't NEARLY as cool as hanging out in person was. We drank, laughed, learned, drank, ate some cheese, drank some more...

Ok, it was mostly me drinking, but that's because there are pros, and then there are amateurs. and I say "mostly" me drinking because I was totally in the presence of pros.

I spoke on "Gettin' Made and Gettin' Paid", a presentation I'm looking forward to doing again in the future. Basically, it was me and a 12-year-old bottle of The Yamazaki explaining how to do a combination of celestial magic and terrestrial magic (you know, Jupiter AND Bune) to get money quickly and in the long term. I totally secretly made it all about the Great Work, the Summum Bonum, and the awesomeness of Hermetic Magic(k) in general at the same time.

It took a few days, but the hangovers wore off, and we cleaned the house, and we mowed the yard, and I got caught up (mostly) on a writing project with Aaron Leitch we're doing with Nephelim Press, and things are getting back to "as normal as it fucking gets around here."

I super enjoyed all the people we got to hang out with. Having a local lodge to be a part of is great, I highly recommend it. Magi on hand to talk about all the joys of working with the spirits, all the time, is awesome. Jason Miller tried to tell me at Crucible, but would I listen? NO.

He was right. Lodge life is super convenient.

Also: ON HOSPITALITY! After hosting 4 people for the con in a house built for half that number of adult bodies at a time, I'd like to say: THANK YOU FOR BEING AWESOME ABOUT SHIT THAT COULD HAVE SUCKED! Derek and Brandy, Dean and Kelly, we had a great time in spite of no air conditioning and the last really fucking hot and humid weekend we'll likely ever have in Minnesota ever. I wish you would have drank more beer and eaten more cheese, but wow, what? Those are the complaints I have?

Life is good. You're welcome back any time.

I also got to meet and speak with some guy who goes by the name Sabazius. I totally ran into him in an elevator at NOTOCON last year, and cornered him after a gig in a small room to thank him, and I managed to make it super awkward both times. I also met his wife, who is awesome in really awesome ways, but I don't know if it's kosher to talk too much about that, as #yesallwomen includes the female saints of the OTO.

But kings are fair game.

Turns out in real life he's human, and a lot like every other magician I've ever met in the flesh. I'm sure it was projected, but there was a huge Damocles vibe, no matter when I spoke with him. I thoroughly enjoyed all our interactions, but totally didn't want to bug him the way I'd be bugged if anyone interacted with me the way I saw some people interacting with him, if that makes sense. Uneasy is the head that wears the crown, I suppose, but also I suspect it spends a ton of time bored, annoyed, but has-to-be-pleasant-anyway.

Again, I'm probably projecting. If you get a chance to hang out with kings in their own courts, pay attention. I imagine it's like watching Michael Cecchettelli at one of the social gatherings he attends. So fucking weird, you know?

Anyway, good times were had by all. I'm looking forward to travelling around and seeing more people in more places over the coming months, and returning to normal activities here on the blog.

Much love, brothers and sisters!