Confessions of an American Witch

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 ...

In her attempts to get gold stars for her decision to nuke my Mormon wife out of my life, Khari made it clear that she thought I would be a bad father. Announcer, please . . .  How to produce an artistic genius--slide one   "Weighing in at six pounds, six ounces, we have the Riverside Shakespeare . Know the first line to that poem, or song, then this is the book for you--it has the indexes. Heavy, too. Raise a daughter hefting this once a month, and you build Supergirl , able to crush bricks." During my community college years (my 40s), me and another parent of a daughter got exposed to the idea that the way to keep Shakespeare (or any great author) alive in your memory was constant refreshment.  We had a professor who read a Shakespeare play a month. Toss in the Homer and the Milton from the class, and her daughter was sure  to have exposure to classic literature. I know that at least one kid grew up in a more enriched environment, thanks to that idea. I know becaus...

For those who care about such things, yes, I did indeed take part in the Global Bind Trump ritual this month. Used the Denver City Golf Course for my Scottish witchcraft. After months of preparation, which book got used? A planned part of my Global Bind Trump "if I have to do this every damn month while he's in the Oval Office" was to do at least one ritual on the public golf course. At this point in the blog post, I must say that I am sorry to my secret Mormon wife. She thought that my use of the public golf course as a power base for black magick and witch war activities to be wrong; she might had a golfer as a brother, given the attitude.  So before I did my ritual "in the dark of the night," I said a prayer at the Catholic Church. Virgin Mother, if it must be done, let it be done. Again, sorry Ginny, it was that Catholic Church that supports that school. That one which I threatened to send my own children to, if they misbehaved. Yes, that horrible place. I s...

When I was younger, I used to wonder how supervillains got away with being bad guys. Didn't I just scream Professional Menace in my younger days? Being older and more experienced, today I know it is because it's serves their interests for you to be a villain. It's not that they can't see how corrupt you are; it's that if they admit to it, then they would have to see their own darkness also. Better that they reflect their darkness onto you, giving you power to work their underground dealings, ruling luck.  I keep thinking that the day will come when Khari will take a look at the growing "Necronomicon" study book that I am creating for the Justice Forty-Two Project, and she will pull the plug. Scrub the shuttle launch at the last moment; save the school teacher's life; not go for the we must do this, or else we suffer detention as a nation option.  But then again, I understand everything that I am putting into my Book of Shadows. Or at least, the skeleto...

Because I must serve the Spider Queen, thanks to the blundering non-help of a "I can teach myself" magi-theraphist-something-or-other deciding to impose her standards on me, I had to confess to Khari in full who my Mormon Wife is, and what happened. Is Three Sisters Mugwort, thee most harvested herb of mine? See this clear patch? This big patch where herbs were supposed to grow? Right here . . . see that shave off spot. Those poor plants.  I was not a kind barber--more of a butcher. Because I came prepared this Xth harvest time. This is the Before photo--can you see the tile? Or the herbs? The fact that I have to harvest my dear lady's plant every so often insures that I always have Persian Catmint of usable quality in stock for use. It's a reminder of how a little comment can forever change how you view something, and make it a guilty secret.  When me and Khari met, she was polyamourous.  I told her that would work only up to the second that someone else set their ca...

Some people are born farmer's sons in America; some are the nephew of Gardnerian Wiccans--and imagine that in 1965 Nebraska . . . yeah, I was born demonic. My witchy aunt represented America to me. My aunt, Victoria Josephine Ramalia, declared me, a reincarninated witch, just like herself. She hated children--yet loved me. This mystified my mother. I loved my aunt.  One of my prize possessions, the first thing I made sure to recover the one time I returned home for Christmas after my military escape, was my Red Piggy Bank that she gave me. A ruling question of my childhood was "Why can the Christians have their Ten Commandments at the county courthouse; and not us, our Horned God?"  At age thirteen, I consciously chose the religion of witchcraft . . . in part to be like Vickie. Then in my freshman semester of high school, my aunt got murdered.  And my family, in their grief, blamed it on her religion. I got broom closeted. Satanist. That is what my religion became. And my...