Commentary
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Question Our Conditioning
In 1995, Hermetic Press published what ended up being a controversial book, Magic and Meaning. I don’t believe it was intended to be controversial by either the publisher nor the authors, Eugene Burger and Robert E. Neale. It was an extension of conversations that the authors had during their time together at the Mystery School… Continue reading
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Black Friday and Other Reflections
Well, we’ve survived another Black Friday week. My thoughts about the shopping extravaganza haven’t changed since last year’s post. Once autumn arrives, it’s best to hold off purchasing any magic items as some are offering great discounts or free stuff. Two items caught my attention; although I didn’t purchase either as I’m in the process… Continue reading
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News Break
“Of course, the news has a way of scattering your brain regardless of when you catch up on it. In 1852, Henry David Thoreau complained in his diary that he had started reading a weekly newspaper and he felt that now he wasn’t paying enough attention to his own life and work. “It takes more… Continue reading
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What’s the Effect?
“The great difference between the professional magician and the amateur magician is that the professional magician knows what an effect is. He knows what the audience sees. It doesn’t matter how crude the method of performing-as long as the effect is good, he will use it. The amateur is more interested in the method. If… Continue reading
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Quotes of Note
Whenever I read a quote that speaks to me, I put it into a file that I keep in a text editor app that syncs to the cloud. I’ve been doing this for many years so you can imagine it’s a long list of mostly random quotes. Here’s a few recent on the performance of… Continue reading
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Strange Phenomenon
Recently I’ve noticed a trend of magic effect trailers where the workings are exposed. I became aware of a small independent creator that has all of their tutorials posted on their website to view whether you purchased an item or not. I find this to be a curious decision. In the days of magic shops,… Continue reading
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The Mystery School Book
In my recent post on books that aren’t just effects or just theory and philosophy, I neglected to mention one of my favorites. It’s such a favorite that I happen to have two copies: one pristine for reading and one with printing errors but filled with signatures and inscriptions from the various contributors. While Eugene… Continue reading