The Grey Matters
August 2021
Table of Contents
1.) Weekly Lodge Meet-N-Greet
2.) vGSW Maintenance 9-1-21
3.) GSW Class Rings Shipped Out
4.) Call For Potential Club Leaders
5.) Refer-A-Friend Raffle Ongoing
6.) Signups for Wizardry 100 and 200 on Zoom
7.) Wizardly Q&A With Provost Kingsley
8.) The Power of Paraphrasing and the Problem of Plagiarism
9.) Ask the Wizard
Weekly Lodge Meet-n-Greet
By Prefect Sky Walker
Join us tomorrow night at 9:00 pm EST (6:00 pm PST) for our Weekly Lodge Meet-N-Greet. This meeting will take place on our Second Life at the Winds Lodge. Please come by if you can.
Come and discuss a great deal of topics, you could even bring your own topics if you wish. This is a good opportunity to get to know your fellow apprentices, not to mention the Grey School Of Wizardry as a whole.
vGSW Maintenance 9-1-21
By Provost Nicholas Kingsley
VGSW will be down for maintenance on 9/1/21 from the hours of Noon Est - 2:00 pm Est for seasonal updates. If you wish to use the virtual space that day, please plan accordingly.
GSW Class Rings Shipped Out
By Grey Matters Staff
Those who have been eagerly awaiting for the arrival of their gorgeous GSW class rings should keep an eye on their mailbox; they were shipped out last week.
Call For Potential Club Leaders
By Dean Emrhys Starhawk
Interested in being a Club President? Let me know! I'm thinking of starting up a book club and to make it happen I need an Apprentice to serve as the club leader! The club will be focused on reading books that deal with magick, Wizardry, or the supernatural in some way. Book ideas to explore include the Dresden Files, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and many many others! If your interested in being a club leader drop me a comment below or send an email to DoS@greyschool.com
Refer-A-Friend Raffle Ongoing
By Dean Emrhys Starhawk
Hey everyone, don't forget the refer a friend challenge is still ongoing! For every friend that you refer that enrolls at the Grey School, you get a raffle ticket that goes into a wise wizard's hat next spring! The winner of the raffle gets a custom walking stick from the Provost! With the sale currently going on now is a great time to take advantage of this! When your friend enrolls make sure they put your name down as the referral and post the magickal name of the person you referred into this thread: https://www.greyschool.net//forum/office-of-the-dos/refer-a-friend-raffle-challenge
Signups for Wizardry 100 and 200 on Zoom
By Provost Kingsley
Zoom class sign-ups for Wizardry 100 and Wizardry 200 are now live!
Wizardly Q&A With Provost Kingsley
By Grey Matters Staff
Join the GSW's Provost Nicholas Kingsley for a session of Wizardly Q&A in this recording at https://www.facebook.com/100022108565475/videos/213579880745752/
The Power of Paraphrasing and the Problem of Plagiarism
By Apprentice Soran Mahnus
There's an old phrase that Jazz soloists say: "Good musicians borrow; Great musicians steal!" but here's the interesting thing about that: even the greatest don't actually steal. What the great musicians do is paraphrase. Even the best soloists, while quoting another solo directly, will do so out of context of the original. This gives an homage to the original artist and applies the original art in a new context. This makes both the original and the "stolen" solo exceptional! Now, if a musician were to simply play the original solo in its original piece and claim creative ownership, it would be a direct carbon copy and while it may be beautiful, it wouldn't be in any way adding to the art. This is where my thoughts on plagiarism begin. I believe plagiarism to be a diminishing of a scholar's art. Those writings which we produce ourselves are our music. Each word we choose to write or type is unique to ourselves and by simply stringing copied sections without paraphrase and accreditation there is no personhood or soul within the writing. Without realizing it, the plagiarist not only robs the original author or creator but also themselves of a uniqueness birthed of their own mind.
Ask the Wizard
By Grey Matters Staff
Apprentice Willowind asks "What happens when you become a journeyman? What do the next steps look like?"
Well, that's a good question! Let's say that you've completed your seven levels of studies, earned all the credits, completed a Major, and successfully completed your Practicum. That's a lot of work to accomplish, so it's quite healthy to congratulate yourself and bask a bit in the glory of a job well done. Soon after, you'll receive your Journeyman Letter and red cingulum in the mail, which serve as physical tokens of your new status. No longer are you an Apprentice Wizard, but a Journeyman Wizard.
Of course, at that point you may well ask "what now?" Well, I can tell you that there may or may not be some secret knowledge only made available to Journeyman; don't push me too hard for an answer on that, though! Beyond that, though, this is the entrance to a new stage of life. In the old craft guilds from which our ranking system is derived, a journeyman was considered a qualified and competent person to go forth and ply their trade, to earn wages for themselves, and generally to conduct their affairs as practitioners of their craft without their masters or teachers holding their hands.
And so it is today. As a Journeyman Wizard, you are trusted and empowered to venture forth into the world to employ your skills, knowledge, and wisdom as a wizard as you see fit. Keeping in mind the Three Rules of Wizardry and the cornerstone of service as foundational to wizardry, a Journeyman is expected to pursue their own endeavors and plans in order to be of service. This can mean founding or joining groups, teaching others, supporting or championing noble causes, and otherwise actively doing wizardry in the world.
Over time, you may find that your skills and knowledge are refined even further, and you may find yourself transitioning into the position of Master Wizard, for growth and learning does not cease with the completion of the formal apprenticeship . . .
Thank you Dean Adservio for putting this together. It is appreciated getting to read a monthly pamphlet of writings and what-have you's of the going's on of GSW!