It's in the Blood

Image from SockUnlimeted.com: Vector Illustration Red blood cells and dna Image ID : 1870101

Post Composed After Conversing With "S"

It's in the blood, it's in the blood. Echoing phrases such as this have been surrounding my awareness the last few days. “It is in ones nature” as in the tale of the frog and the scorpion. Also in what I call my daily morning gymnasts of conscious mental web browsing (as usual geared towards the mystical and occult, my version of “It is in ones nature”) many myths and spiritual results pop up relating directly or indirectly to the subject. From fables as the one mentioned through Buddhism, self help gurus to standard philosophies from Aristotle to Nietzsche or Haagl. Humans. Oft driven by demons or guided by angels. Questions arise of why people do what they do and the consequences of those actions on others and themselves. Deeper conversation of soul, death and karma. Apocalypticism and the end of time. "Oh, what a tangled web we weave When first we practise to deceive!" The pain we may cause ripples further than than some imagine in the moment from object of the subject to others who have been witness to it. And those witnesses who are empaths among us, be they “normal” or enhanced with psychic phenomena, are effected in parallel. In my own life a word or phase has affected devastating effects in me that lasted years. On a human person to person level the key to healing it seem comes down to forgiveness. On the larger scale when things are so intense they cause PTSD such as in sexual abuse or the trauma of war, forgiveness also seems to be the primary tool to heal through use of. Ah war.... Today I say no more. A short post on a large subject. Please visit kethermuse.

Of Psyconauts and Auras

Image captured from here

Do you see auras? In my newest novel Robbyn's Road (scifi/fantasy genre with heavy influences of the occult) my main protagonist, Robbyn is, among other things, a synesthete with extraordinary powers in all her senses. Beginning with readings on electromagnetism I read up on human auras. That is what brought me to Thelma Moss.

Thela Moss is said by many to be the one who brought the occult and New Age belief in auras to the west because of bringing the work of Semyon Kirlian and his wife Valentina Kirlian, now known as Kirlian Photography, to America. Being a psychonaut I liked the simple review of the book Myself and I by Thelma Moss at the end of this post.

First from her Wikipedia page:

“However, she struggled for years with persistent psychological problems, rooted in depression and grief at the loss of her husband (he died of cancer two days after she gave birth to a baby daughter). She survived two suicide attempts. For treatment for her problems, she underwent a course of LSD psychotherapy; she later published an autobiographical account of her treatment, My Self and I, under the pseudonym Constance A. Newland; the book was a bestseller in 1962.”

A book review from the time:

“This book is the true story of one woman's experiences with LSD the new, experimental and dangerous mind drug that is exploding into use across America. LSD is odorless, colorless, tasteless--and potent. One ounce provides 300,000 average doses. One dose can send a user into a shimmering, color-drenched world of wonder...or into a self-contained prison of frenzy and fear.”

please visit KetherMuse

Just for an added read try An Occult History of the Television Set from Gizmodo

Cultural Appropriation And Spirituality

People have asked why I call myself Kether. The story begins when as a pre-teen I had an “entity” come to me. He called himself Rufus. For many years I thought about this entity and came to the conclusion it was just my vivid imagination or some sort of imaginary friend. Then I quit thinking about it. This “friend” told me things and also was a protector of sorts to me. Its voice was with me and gave me warnings about situations. He also told me my real name was Kether. This name stuck in my mind and I told no one about it until I was in my fifties.

I was about eighteen when I learned what Kether meant. It was then I thought perhaps I had subconsciously picked it up from my mother, who was a psychic and read tea leaves and tarot. As I became more involved in Chaos Magic it became my “secret name”. (or Craft name if I were a neo-pagan). As I said, I was in my fifties before I used it publicly in any way. This brings me to the heart of my post today. Cultural Appropriation. Specifically spiritual cultural appropriation.

The most vocal group who are angry about this are Native Americans. They decry “Pretendians” and especially White Shamans and Plastic Medicine Men. The debate goes on about the difference between the two, shaman or medicine man/woman. I began my page on Indians with this in mind. There is a group who tracks “Plastic Shamans” and New Age practices avidly. In their introduction they say “Native people DO NOT use the label "Shaman.”

One of the main points and purposes of my website Kether Muse is to show how myth, spirituality, religion and also science share beliefs and blend together. Even politics is in part a blending of these themes and culture.

The United Nations wrote the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to address this as well as other issues. “The Declaration recognizes and affirms the rights of indigenous peoples to their cultural, religious, and spiritual practices, to have private access to sacred sites, as well as to maintain and strengthen their spiritual relationship with their traditionally held lands, territories, waters and coastal seas and other resources. With the Declaration, Native peoples have rights acknowledged by the international community of nations, including rights to sacred places both within existing reservation or territorial boundaries and beyond.” But as I see it the declaration gives no explicit opinion on a monopoly of ritual or practice. It is more about land. So to me it is a matter of personal opinion.

Back to my Name Kether. I am not Jewish. I am not a Kabbalist per se. But one reason I call myself a Chaos Magick Practitioner is I don't want to be pigeon holed in my spiritual quest. Just because I am not an Indian does it mean I cannot do a Vision Quest? Many Native Americans say so. Or because I am not an Aborigine am I not allowed to Dream Walk or have Dream Time? When Jesus went into the wilderness, was not that a vision quest? Or the forty year adventure of Moses? Or when the Buddha took his walk and sat under the Bodhi tree wasn't that a Vision Quest? For a pantheist a rock is as sacred as a cross is to a Christian? I have many rocks I consider sacred.

When I walk down a mountain trail and I come upon an owl or hawk feather I consider it a gift and a blessing. My spiritual mentor (now dead) gave me an eagle feather which I have on my alter to represent the element of air. Now Native Americans and the law would say that I had no right to keep that feather. According to federal regulations, only enrolled members of federally recognized tribes can possess eagle, hawk and owl feathers according to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Does it not seem odd this is a felony but I can go dig up a grave, and it's only a misdemeanor? (Alabama Grave Robbing Law)

In my last post I spoke about understanding other people, what they consider sacred and the dangers of slipping into ones cultural spiritual identity, sacrificing ones basic moral and ethical standing which has many shared traditions. It is all about coexistance. As our world becomes smaller and smaller the need for this is more important than any time in history.

So in closing I implore you to reject the dogma. Like Matt Johnson (musical heroes) said in the song Armageddon Days Are Here (Again) “The world is on its elbows and knees. It's forgotten the message and worships the creeds.”

“Beware Of Darkness”

It is the day of sexual abuse allegations and basically I am proud of those who are coming forward and I believe most of these allegations to be true. The Me Too Movement is long overdue. It is always better when accusations can be proven.

When reading about recent allegations of sexual abuse by Isaac Bonewits from Moira Greyland, daughter of Marion Zimmer Bradley, in her book, “The Last Closet: The Dark Side of Avalon” I read many things. Personally, like his family and others like Lilith Dorsey,who knew him well, I do not believe it. But that is for you to decide I suppose and as for Isaac Bonewits he is dead and cannot defend himself.

Here is a good article from the Wild Hunt on this matter with Isaac. It is also noted Moira Grey's father, Walter H. Breen Jr., was a convicted child sex offender based on her testimony to police.

But beyond the story of Isaac Bonewits this post is about something else. While reading I came upon the open letter he wrote to Salena Fox that was rather disturbing to me. I have always had great respect for her, as well as for Isaac Bonewits. The Dark Side Of Paganism definitely is a subject of much debate but it is disturbing when any “evil” may be found in the prominent people who represent a spiritual path of any kind.

As in all forms of intolerance there is the element of not understanding things in their entirety. That is why organizations like Religious Toalerance.Org are a good place to start to gain understanding, or of course my website Kether Muse. There are common threads that run through all spiritual paths and religions. If ones desire is to find true peace and justice, in religion as well as politics, understanding of the nature of The Other and of ones true self are imperative.

It is a truth (???) that Belief is a powerful thing in both spiritual practice and in politics. As spiritual seekers say we are seeking the Truth. But too often we settle on something that suits our comfort zone. I rather like this article from Elephant Journal that fits with my “belief” quite well.

Narrow-mindedness is all to prevalent in our world. But I am a dichotomy being one seeking truth and hopeful as well as being a dystopian in many respects. Is Hope just a myth? Is there empirical evidence that all can agree on that hope is worthy of pursuit?

In closing faith, trust and hope are determined by one's World View as we all seek absolutes. Keep seeking truth, keep an open mind and continue to seek balance and harmony, whether secular or spiritual. For no other reason than it feels better. As Edward R. Murrow used to say, "Good Night and Good Luck".