Confessions of an American Witch

Let it be known that I am not going to be suffering from a lack of tomatoes this harvest season.  Center box is all tomatoes. The pit has been taken over by three tomato plants. This spring, due to having to buy a new car for Khari, our garden was put on "no budget." As in everything that is growing this year is from Gifts, or Wildcrafted Seeds, or the mere three seed packets that Khari brought in Nebraska. I am not sure what basket to put my tomatoes in: Gift or Wildcraft. Thanks to what type of tomatoes that came up, I know exactly where some of them came from. Cherry tomatoes, I buy them. If the plants were all cherry tomatoes, then I would say that all my volunteer tomato plants that started to grow in our compost pit which we transplanted were the product of our own household.  What? Ordinary garden tomatoes?!? Plum tomatoes? Wait a minute. But thanks to the presence of ordinary garden tomatoes and the plum variety, plus the timing of when the plants sprouted, I know tha...

This last Sunday (or was it, Saturday), Morning Glory Reader died in hospice early in the morning. Morning Glory was an important influence in my life because she created Herbs and Arts occult shop at Colfax and Race in 1993. Those familiar with my stories about my Denver occult education will recall that I lived my second life in her shop from September 1996 when I entered the open ritual community until 1999 when she sold the store to another owner, and the vibe changed.  Khari ceased to do business with Herbs and Arts when the new owner wanted pottery at a price point cheaper than her loss point. Sad, really, Morning Glory's Herbs and Arts had been the first to accept my wife's pottery to sell in their store. I wish I had photos from the old days. Being braver than Khari, or having been a Public Witch at Work, I had taken full advantage of the classes that teachers had announced at the Open Full Moons. I took several Wicca 101s, and Tarot 101s. From one couple, we went from ...

While I was talking to guests at Smash a Pot earlier this month, I mentioned that I have seen foxes, racoons, and baby bunnies in my yard, yet I have never seen a duck or goose yet in my garden. Well, Monday that changed, for the neighbor brought a duck who needed to rest for awhile to my yard (he has dogs).  Ain't she a cute duck? She stayed in my herb garden for a few hours, recovering from whatever she was resting from. Left sometime during the night, or early morning on Tuesday. So now, I can add Duck to the list of wild life that I have seen visiting my yard and garden. Ah, the blessing of the Earth god, Geb. It's like we created a place for this duck. No sneaking up on this duck.

Our second garden party of the 2026 season (July 18) will be celebrating Gena Marie getting her new kidneys. She was on the list for several years waiting for new kidneys, and finally got them. Yay! Khari has decided that besides the potluck, we are doing a pot smash. So we will be smashing all the "seconds" (pottery that came out of the kiln flawed), symbolizing the negative stuff in our lives going away. It's a fun ritual that I have never been able to do at an OFM (Open Full Moon) at a rented location because of the clean up (churches and spiritual centers frown on the broken pottery shards). But we have a nice wall to use just outside of the studio, so we can smash away. And we own the property, so we can do whatever we want to. Hence, smashing pottery is a go.  Location: 2727 N. Cook St., Denver, CO 80205 Date: July 18, 2026 Time: 6pm to 9pm.  Cost: Bring a pot, or plate to smash, if you have one to spare. The more, the merrier. 

 For those who do not live in reasonable distance of my wife's pottery studio, here is some photos of how the rearrangement of the inside of the studio is going, as well as the back patio.  It was an one car garage before it was a studio. A driveway before a patio. But you work with what you have. And try not to look like a slum. Peace be onto all who visit the pottery shop and herb garden. One of Khari's favorite goddesses. Oh, look--some grapes. Getting bigger, this vine is. But we lost a lot to that last snow. Still a couple of bunches of grapes. Besides the grapes that survived that last late May snow, we have a couple of herbs going.  Dill is doing good.   Basil is going to be here. Tea, anyone? Oregano looks encouraging, doesn't it?

 Given my multiple month silence on this blog, and its recent birthday, let's do a status update. Khari's Garden with a little grape vine. We are still doing the Garden Parties. Because Khari gets bored without friends and company around. The same reason that she is polyamourous---and I am not. All my events have been killed, and with good reason . . . a colon test came back bad, so I have a physical health problem on top of the mental ones. Oh, and me blogging about my secret Mormon daughter and wife for the first time in 22 years was me being Paranoid Delusional, according to a newly minted medical doctor who never saw me before, who checked with other expert, who did not speak to me. Took me off the majority of my meds (bipolar and anxiety/panic) and put me on an anti-psychotic that crashed a brick through my sphere of sensation. The proof that I was delusional was that Khari could not verify that my daughter, Zee, existed. Because I had never talked to her, or anyone, about...

 Years ago, my main supplier of herbs switched hands to a witch I could not support, so I had to learn to make do with subs in my herbal needs in incense and whatnot. Egyptian clives about to go to seed. Sometimes with better results, I find that Egyptian clives seeds serve the same purpose as Devil's Dung, but without that storage odious aroma problem. If garlic had seeds, this would be its babies. I am fresh in stock . . . until I have to burn it all on Trump. That's pure black gold to the "Go away and come back no more" incense.

 As you watch me build these Godform Reference books, remember that ultimately each godform consists of seven layers--each one must be build up by the Hierophant Adept. Three different sources and counting. Mistakes will be made. By Names and Images. As cherry on top, let me give you a brief idea of where I am headed with my formation with the gods and goddesses of the Forty-Two Judges of the Negative Confession. Physical : A position in space (Temple). Please note in the case of the Forty-Two, as part of an Engine, they slowly move in a chain, two rows of twenty-one. But they are present in all Outer Order Golden Dawn initiation rituals; therefore, their power is significant on the initiate, for their decision to cut the student out of the system can come at any time.  Elemental--Enochian : Each godform in GD is associated with at least one square. Astral-Emotional : Mythology surrounding the gods , much that we have sadly lost. Astrological : The Forty-Two work though the po...

 Given our preference for it, I would like you imagine how our preferred text, the Papyrus of Ani, would have been constructed under, to reflect on the workshop.  The Forty-Two have their eyes on you. Various parts of the Book of Dead would have been copied out by scribes, such as myself, as we felt the urge on slow days between important jobs. You know the jobs with proper living clients. And future business prospects. Book of Dead was apprentice work. Or vacation work. I used to take "vacation days" in food service by cleaning. The worst of the gruk. In full view of the customers. It would take me at least ten minutes to clean up; everyone could see that . . . better that my employees did their jobs, right? Nevertheless. the Book of the Dead was piece work. Not done as a whole job. It was done a Spell at a time. Or rather a sheet at a time. Sheets that would be glued together. For instance, the widow of Ani came into the workshop. Was shown the sheets available, selected th...

In the official godform creation sheets provided to newly elected Hierophants worldwide, the Forty-Two Assessors of the Judgement are described as "Various Heads and Colors." A papyrus from the times of the Greek-Roman Egyptians . . . good times. Meanwhile, there is that prick who is using this as his source Image Papyrus. With Westcott's Names. Add in a modern translation, and a decent victim, off we go boom! How can you not love this papyrus? Damaged as it is. All dolled up. Maybe used in ritual once or twice.  All in good causes, we swear. Having declared a Mash-Up weekend, where would I get if I do exactly that:  NOM's 42 Judges' Names plus Images=xyz? What direction do we read in?  Osiris, the most important symbol of the setting, telling us to read Left to Right; so we will designate the Leftmost Assessor to be Number One.  And in this papyrus, he has a human-head. As he does in the Papyrus of Ani. Usekh-nemtet, you are good to go, as soon as we figure out t...

 Just in case, I wasn't clear in some of my previous posts, while the Wiccan Open Full Moons that we were hosting have been cancelled, the Golden Dawn study is still on. Isis always plays three games at the same time; it's not cheating. Yes, the remote and (if anyone shows up) local Denver study of the Papyrus of Ani as Source Code for Hermetic Golden Dawn is still happening. I did not cancel my project. Just Khari's. After all, she's the one that's investing in Dragonfest as if it's going to lead to new members. It won't. If it does, then she deserves to be elected Hierophant.  Sadly, my nearly thirty years of experience in the Denver's Wiccan event community tells me that Dragonfest people only do Dragonfest--nothing else.  They only have time and energy for Dragonfest.  And there are organizational meetings all year round, so it's an all year commitment. No, we just lost Khari as the next Hierophant. Hence, if I attract members who want to elect m...

Attention all students: Posted in the page section is the book list for the Fall 2025 Golden Dawn Remote and Local  Study Group . We meet once a month, starting in September. Look for a James Wasserman edition of the Book of the Dead. For those can, either in person here in Denver, or in astral form, starting September 6, 2025, I will be starting an once an month study involving books, going out in the studio, and performing a ritual, etc. Therefore, I will "heavy lodge study" on Full Moon Saturday  until the end of 2025. Whether I go past that point will depend on how much material that I have discovered, or response, or some other measurement.  I doubt Khari will be a real factor. She says there a desire to study, but she's banking on Dragonfest . . . and Dragonfest people get sucked into that Commitment Black Hole.  No, Walnut Community Church is now a cover just in case I make money as a esoteric teacher, nothing more . . . it's not to exist because I needed a sp...

For those who have been following the Cloud Weather Station Drama, yesterday bird sighting in the Buddha Worship Lounge, was an slightly wounded female magpie. Best chair for keeping an eye out for that evil Hood Cat, Blue. My intent in moving the chairs was to make a clear line of sight between the kitchen window and the Buddha station--in front of which I placed a bowl of water.  Don't judge me, for my mixed pagan magician beliefs and practices. Turns out that the arrangement was bad for human vision. But I was loading the dishwasher, and that might have been more important. Because I want to go write science fiction, and the kitchen being a mess is going to stop the Flow at some point.  I am a Virgo Sun, Cancer Rising, Scorpio Moon, with a Leo Mercury . . . my only Fire.  To say that I am overly "anything" is probably an understatement. It was slightly better when I still had my Demon; I had distance between me and the emotions. Now, I am at the center of the bloody cr...

 Yesterday, I laughed about putting Dead Rich in Lightning Danger. Then there is me . . .  Looking up, what do we see? There be rain clouds here. Look, clouds. Nothing better to do. Give me a camera. Nice picture. Headed towards the east. Can you see the magpie in the corner? Hide birdy, hide from the hail.