May 2022 Grey Matters
- Dean Adservio
- May 5, 2022
- 22 min read
The Grey Matters
May 2022
Table of Contents 1) Creating a Mojo Bag
2) The Story of the Cave
3) Ethics in Leadership
4) Class Preview: Spellcraft
5) Apprentice Level-Ups
6) GSW Ring Sale
7) Two Wizards Talk Podcast
Creating a Mojo Bag
By Apprentice MedeaMoonstone
I’ve always wanted to create a mojo bag, which I did for a class. There was a layout on how to do it in Mari Silva’s Hoodoo and Voodoo; I followed the basic steps on how to create the bag, and how to activate it. But the spell and the items placed in the bag were completely my own, the color of the bag and cord was my own as well because they needed to fit the correspondences of my spell for helping with studying and education. The first thing I did was decide how many items were going into my bag. I needed to meet the traditional rules for it to work to its maxim potential. More than 3, 13,or less, and it be best if the number was odd. Looking into some numerology, and keeping in mind what the bag was for, I chose the number 7. This met all requirements and had meaning behind the number of signifying not just luck, but symbolizing knowledge-seeking, studying, education, and learning just to name a few. So, a good start in just picking out a number set for my items.
Next, was a little bit more difficult yet fun. Choosing my items. Coffee, ginger, citrus quarts, tigers eyes, thyme, sage, and a magnet or lodestone. I wasn’t aware of the properties of coffee until a YouTuber popped up and the headline read "Coffee Magick" and it piqued my interest. I looked up what coffee grounds could be used for. It seems that coffee will help give any spell work an extra boost and help manifest things a little faster and also by placing it in my mojo bag it’ll help clear the mind and remove mental blockages. Next, I thought ginger and citrine would be nice seeing how they correspond very well together. I chose ginger for its success property and how well it seems to correlate well with citrine. Citrine was chosen for its excellent qualities for, clearing the mind and opening it to new concepts filtering out the negative blockages and replacing them with positive ones. It's a great brain stimulant and helps bring in more clarity and creative energies as well as kick-starting motivation. I chose the tiger’s eye to promote will and clarity of intention to manifest at the highest level. This is also a great booster in confidence towards exams and sharpens one's senses to help pay attention to detail. It’s also a stone that helps the mind find new horizons and realizations of all capabilities. I choose thyme next; its main associations are with strength and courage. I chose it because it’s a plant that helps reinforce the needed confidence. It’s a plant that helps promote a positive attitude and keeps it in place so one can achieve the seemingly unachievable. Next, we have the sage, a wonderful plant for purification of an area or the self, but for this spell we’ll use it for its wisdom properties. Sage is a great attractor as well for one seeking knowledge. The last item I chose was a lodestone bead. not just because the bead is what I had, but also to match the intent. Not only that it also helps balance the left and right sides of the brain so you don’t have a feeling of being overwhelmed.
Now I had my items gathered with my intention set and began to choose the color of my mojo bag. I chose blue for my fabric as it symbolized wisdom and intelligence. My tie and cord would be orange for success and, in hoodoo, the color is said to give the items in my bag more vitality and speed. Usually the fabric of the bag is flannel, yet more often than not I use what I have on hand. I went through a bag of clothing that I was going to donate and found 2 old shirts - one orange and one blue. I made a ribbon-like cord from the old orange shirt and made it about a foot and a half long. This was my tie and to be fitted around my neck. Once everything was put together I cut off the excess.
To make the mojo bag I took my old blue cotton shirt and cut out a piece 4” by 12”. I folded it in half and began sewing the bottom and the sides together. I used black nylon thread; black to protect the mojo bag from falling apart and nylon because it is a sturdy thread. I left the top unsewn and turned my mojo bag inside out so it looked like a tiny pillowcase. I folded it in half twice and cut slits on the top so I had a total of 4 cuts. This is where my tie ribbon would be woven through. I cut off 6’’ from the orange ribbon threaded it through the slits in the top before cutting off any excess, but I made sure not to cut off so much that it would affect being able to retie it. With the ribbon that would go around my neck, I tied the bag to each end of the neck cord, securing it so it could be worn around my neck. I cut off any excess, not making it too short or too long.
Once my bag was made, it was ready to be filled with my items. I put each item in and as I did I stated each intention it was meant for and verbally affirmed the properties for each item:
“Coffee, I call upon your powers of speedy energies and of the clear and sound mind;
Ginger, I call you to bring me your success;
Citrine, I call upon your qualities of clearing your mind and filtration of negativity to creativity;
Tiger Eyes, I call upon you for your courage and detail;
Thyme, I call upon you to aim to achieve the unachievable;
Sage, I call upon you for your wisdom and guidance;
Lodestone, I call you to magnify and manifest aid and help bring forth all properties.”
Once all items were in the bag I “breathed life” into your bag. It’s traditional to give your bag a name and a personality. I often thought I would name it "study buddie" so I combined it and named it "Eddie."
There was a spoken charm to breathe life into Eddie in “Hoodoo and Voodoo,” but I made my own:
“ As I breathe the breath of life so do you;
I blow into the bag;
I give you life my power and by extension,
Eddie, I bring you into creation.”
After I brought Eddie to life, I pulled the strings close and tight.
I took some sage essential oil and anointed Eddie with the traditional 5 dots pattern; one on each corner and one in the center. Stating my intentions. I held Eddie in the palms of my hands and expressed my intent:
“Eddie, I bring you forth with great intention, and to aid my disposition;
Study buddy of mine, help me stay aligned with this school work of mine;
Help me with positivity, keep a large abundance of creativity;
Help me with courage so my knowledge will flourish;
Keep me nice and ground, so my mind can stay open and sound;
Eddie, study buddy of mine, everything will manifest in due time.”
Next, I finished giving life to Eddie by taking a candle and engraving on it the purpose which I pursued - doing well in school - and sticking 9 pins in the candle with the last pin through the wick. Seeing how this mojo bag was an extension of myself I decided to make my own candle for the occasion. I used an orange candle to signify success. I made a small one and carved into it my intention of doing well in school. I stuck my pins in with the 9th through the wick and let it burn next to Eddie while visualizing a type of spirit from the flame going into Eddie. Once it burned out I said, “So Mote it be Eddie.”
Last, you are meant to keep a mojo bag on your person for a week to bond and grow together. A mojo bag must be fed with oil once a week. I choose my sage oil to help with his intention and purpose. I also needed to make Eddie a home after our week is up. I found an old wooden cigar box. I used a rotary and a wood burner to create nifty designs and put his name on the box. Mojo bags that are used only occasionally should be stored in a wooden box and a candle set on top, letting the wax burn to seal it closed until the bag is needed again.
The Story of the Cave
By Apprentice Luxx
It seems, as the lesson-video in Wizardry 100: Becoming an Apprentice so aptly discussed, that there are many valid interpretations of this parable. So many questions come to mind after reflecting upon it. What is the light? What is the pervasive darkness we are all wading through? Who is the elder from whom we receive the lesson to be learned? I'd like to move through the story systematically to share my interpretation of each part and how I came to answer these questions. In the interests of brevity, I'll summarize that I found that the story was a definite hint at just what kind of personal transformation of worldview it takes to achieve new heights in the apprentice wizard's journey on their path towards eventual mastery. I approached this as more of a stream-of-consciousness writing assignment as I read the story, instead of a technical literary analysis, so that my impressions remain raw and genuine instead of tempered by my tendency to overanalyze and formalize.
The Setting: We are in a dark cave. Cold, wet, and teeming with figures yet unknown. I'm immediately reminded of Socrates' "Allegory of the Cave", where we find ourselves unintentionally imprisoned by our ignorance, fear, and lack of ambition to ask or answer questions about the world around us. Where our mind has known nothing but the cave our entire lives and neither sees nor hears anything of the world outside other than two-dimensional shadows projected upon the cave wall from time to time, the sounds of our own breathing, and those horrifying echoes coming from the mouth of the cave that we dare not look towards out of fear of where they may come from. As one takes on the courage to know more, they can easily escape their simple binds and venture to the mouth of the cave where they see this three-dimensional world of color and wonder beyond their ability to illustrate. Then, out of excitement as they move to the mouth of the cave to tell the others the wonders they see and to urge the people therein to escape, he only sees that they cower at the sound of his voice, distorted by the cave walls into incomprehensible horrifying echoes. The freed prisoner leaves, saddened upon the realization that they believe him to be yet another monstrosity come to torment them with a fear and imprisonment that they have unknowingly imposed upon themselves.
I'd say the darkness is ignorance and inexperience; some of it natural from the absence of light in the cavern (where so few people carry it), but some of it is a result of our failure to look beyond the light to pierce the darkness. As I see that symbolism, my mind flashes to a line from my favorite bit of Shakespeare. Prospero, a sorcerer and the exiled Duke of Milan in Shakespeare's Tempest, has a musical soliloquy where he binds his magic and reverses the enchantments upon his enemies' minds that were based upon their own fears and egos. The line where he announces their release has always seemed very profound to me in a strange way.
"[A]nd as the morning steals upon the night, melting the darkness, so their rising senses begin to chase the ignorant fumes that mantle their clearer reason."
Previously, I've always paradoxically associated the quote with the importance of utilizing ones senses and observations as a tool to combat against fears of unknown things (such as hearing a bump in the night) in addition to its literal meaning in the play, where the deception of their senses is what drove them to ignorance in the first place, because they relied so much upon them. After reading the story, however, it seems that this paradoxical conflation isn't very much of a paradox. This story shows succinctly how relying on your senses is detrimental when focused on the wrong place. How knowing the limitations of your perceptions and knowledge, while not dwelling on them, is the key to overcoming them. Your "rising senses" will chase back ignorance in so far as you are willing to look deeply into what you know about yourself and the world around you. As an aside, it seems that there could even be a sort of temporal evolution attached to an isolated interpretation of Prospero's line. A sort of personal change over time can be signified therein in the same manner that I've done so in my conflation of the story in the lesson with the Path of the Apprentice Wizard, where the properly directed use of the apprentice's senses in the story dispelled the darkness as well as his ignorance. But, I'll digress since I'm moving on a bit of a tangent.
There is a detail in the setting that stuck out to me. The fact that we are standing ankle deep in fluid as well. As I read this part, I immediately thought of what that fluid might be. Perhaps it is the light lost as people moved or jostled about, bumping into each other because they were so focused on their own hands, or maybe even a more symbolic thing, like the ever present biases amongst us (or the superego, that part of our self-image which is not of our own making, forged by society and its influences), which are fluid and shifting as others walk about and can be kept in cupped hands but are utterly devoid of that nourishing light and in-fact can only be kept where that light is not. I could be looking too deeply into that detail, but I like to think that there's a significance to why it stood out so profoundly in my first reading of it.
The Apprentice Wizard: The story is told in the second person and we are the protagonist. As the apprentice wizard, we are inquisitive and curious. We have intellectual rigor and emotional awareness. All actions made by the apprentice show those values which are internalized by the apprentice wizard throughout their journey towards the heights of Wizardry. All senses are engaged: Sight, sensation, sound, and smell. Even in a new and mysterious environment, the apprentice is empowered by their patient exploration of self and world, as well as their sincerely held love for service to others. This is reflected clearly in the story. Even more emphasized, however, are the pitfalls of apprenticeship. The fall into the mundane habits that had so easily pervaded their life before they embarked on the noble journey towards mastery: the excessive focuses on social egocentrism, the focus on past loss instead of past/future gain1, and the focus on the large variety of pleasing instant distractions from far more rewarding experiences that require a dedication of learning, time, and/or effort. Just as stated supra regarding the Allegory of the Cave, the apprentice has found the wherewithal within themselves to undo the simple bonds that keep them in that two-dimensional worldview, and have used their courage and thirst for "knowing" to venture out of the cave, but survival alone in the unknown world is highly improbable without guidance. Were it not for the master wizard, a sort of ancestor on the path, the apprentice in our story would be woefully stuck in that cavern, faded and indifferent from the rest of those shifting figures moving about in the darkness, until, by some miracle, he happens upon light once more and has another chance to learn the lesson. The role of the Master cannot be understated in this journey.
The Master Wizard: It is profound that the Wizard was standing there amongst those figures who move about fumbling in the darkness. She is there as a beacon or Menhir (an old Celtic-Breton word for the standing stones and monoliths throughout northwestern europe), guiding those that have the curiosity and courage to approach her. Though she could have likely been in a much more comfortable place, it is there that she chooses to stay. Not simply providing light, but giving something far more valuable: The means to find and hold the light for one's self. She acknowledges her past of succumbing to the same pitfalls as the apprentice had. She had been in our shoes and has found the answer to our quandary through a process she wishes to bestow upon us, so that we too may find ourselves overflowing with the warm and nourishing light. The presence of the Master Wizard is an unparalleled hope for all the denizens of that cavern. Eventually, as more and more receive the service of the Wizard towards empowering themselves, that cavern of damp darkness may soon become a warm spring of light and life. If only more would come to hearken to that which she has to teach... Or, in time, what the apprentice shall teach likewise.
The Light: This is probably the hardest piece of the parable to decipher. What is that light... The clearest answer to me is knowledge. The master overflowed with it. The apprentice had a portion of it (small though it was, when compared to the master) and many moved about seeking it but not realizing the source of it being the clear view of one's self in the world, being so much more focused on it's possession instead of its acquisition, just as the apprentice was. This knowledge the apprentice had, was of himself and of the small portion of the world he could see with that light of knowledge he had. As he could see more of the world by looking deeply within, the amount of knowledge he possessed grew as the light filled his hands.
Under my interpretation here, we could possibly go deeper and see why our light diminished after giving it to one who had none. I would say by interacting with that person, and giving them that knowledge, we had interacted with that which we didn't know, and because of that, our perception of how much knowledge we truly had was diminished. Then as we walked about, focused on that we lost and what we have left of that knowledge, we bumped into others and stumbled and fell into that ankle deep water (which I associated with our biases before) we lost more and more of that which we were so focused on possessing.
The Shift from Apprentice to Journeyman: We took the Master's lesson to heart and found our reflection within the light we held. Instead of looking at ourselves we looked within and in doing so, saw more of the world around us. With our newfound knowledge we can give it at leisure, keeping our own image in sight so that we never lose that light. In this service to others, we "carry it forth" and become the Wizard.
FOOTNOTES:
1There are a number of interesting clinical research studies (especially among youth and young adult age groups) that people almost always recall negativity with extreme accuracy even across protracted periods of time, but when they are praised or experience positivity, they can barely remember the details of it the next day. It is likely to be a sort of evolutionary prioritization of memory for environmental/social safety and survival in wilderness, but is a function of memory that can be easily eliminated through conditioning. This is one of those "habits" to which I refer, while beneficial in most cases, it can be detrimental in fields where introspection and the subjective analysis of experiences is important (like knowing thyself). (See generally, NY Times, Why People Remember Negative Events More than Positive Ones, https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/24/your-money/why-people-remember-negative-events-more-than-positive-ones.html, March 24, 2012)
Ethics in Leadership
By Captain Merqatyl Draconis
Transparency and Authenticity are two of the 8 important attributes mentioned below. In an attempt at both, I will be posting monthly 100% Assignment Posts from my Captain's Course (Leadership 201: The Commendable Captain). This essay has been the topic of several of my Facebook and Forum Posts, and it sets the stage of how I will present myself and the Captaincy during the March 21-September 21, 2022 Term. Here is some thoughts on very real and touchy subjects that Leaders face, Enjoy, and feel free to contact me directly, or on the Forums, Facebook, Discord etc. This is YOUR Captaincy, I'm only its steward.
What do you believe are the attributes of a good leader?
Optimism. Glass is Half-Full; What CAN I do, not what I cannot.
Ability to Make Difficult Decisions. By putting the Needs of GSW first, many decisions can be justified, no matter what the circumstance.
Ability to Delegate. Leverage other people’s Strengths to capitalize on Opportunities and mitigate Weaknesses.
Must be Approachable. Humility. Leadership is Service, we must be open to the needs and issues of our constituents.
Integrity. Acting consistently to a code or in keeping with a specific Role/Job.
Humility. Approachability; Not only being open, but also being approachable, and not projecting the “power” stance.
Transparency. No hidden agenda. Being open, honest and acting with integrity in keeping ALL actions in the public view.
Authenticity. This one was hard. Ultimately it means “don’t be fake” as my Wife would say. Acting with Integrity in all things, online and offline. Don’t kill someone one day, then go online and say how much a humanitarian you are. (Alliant International University, 2022).
How do you think a Wizard apprentice should behave in a leadership position?
A leader should act in a manner as to enhance and provide a consistent example of the 8 Attributes mentioned above. As Captain, it will be my Responsibility (as an example of Rule 3) to act with Optimism, Decisiveness, Integrity, Humility, and Authenticity. I will need to be Approachable when Apprenticeship has needs, and be Transparent in the solutions suggested. It will be my honor and privilege to be Authentic to my constituents in that cultivating a Reputation of Authenticity in Delegations as well as in Conflicts will cement my ability to be a good Captain in the eyes of the Apprenticeship.
How will you use your wizardly ethics to support and enhance your role as Captain?
Ethics will support and enhance my roles as Captain because it is my ethics that will deliver on the promises made. By consistently acting with Integrity and Humility, I will create a Reputation of Transparency and Authenticity (Rule 2) that will give me the Power to Transparently resolve conflicts and Delegate with authority and Transparency. Doing so Optimistically will empower others to Approach me and consider what i suggest, thereby empowering me to remain consistent in my role and Responsibilities (Rule 3).
Is humility a valuable quality for a leader?
Yes, because without Humility a leader is not approachable, and will not be considered an expert or someone to associate with. Leaders need to be considered as authorities in order to provide example and guidance in a decision without excessive questioning and mis-trust. Leaders need to be Approachable so others will refer to them as having Reputation and being Approachable enough to be a good source to solve issues. Without Humility, organizations create schisms, where the leaders are perceived as unapproachable, unauthentic, and thereby untrustworthy.
Write at least a paragraph to answer each of these questions:
What is something obnoxious or potentially destructive that you’ve seen a leader do, and how did you respond?
When leaders, supervisors, managers say that they are busy. That is a pet-peeve of mine. Are they not there to address my concerns. I’m not naive to think that they don’t have other responsibilities, but at least schedule an appointment, or give me a timeframe in which to get back to me. I find this potentially destructive because it undermines trust, and demonstrates avoidance. When this happens to me, I reflect what I am experiencing. I gradually lose trust in them, and begin to avoid them.
What are the top three personal offenses you find least forgivable, and why?
Basically, anything that would undermine any of the 8 leadership traits mentioned in section 1. However, If I had to pick 3, they would be Transparency, Approachability and Integrity. Not to say that the others aren’t important, but if any of these three are compromised, then many of the other traits will be compromised as well.
Transparency
Trust is a two-way street, Power is the ability to influence others to achieve a common goal. However, if I find out that hidden agendas are behind this “common” goal, then that trust is undermined, and that Leader’s Authenticity, Humility and Integrity come into question.
Approachability
If a leader is there to “boss” or “manage,” then they are simply a trained monkey with little value. A leader empowers, they inspire. Whether they lead from the front (Follow Me), or lead from the back (Let me help You), the focus of leadership is on the people, not the things. Managers manage situations, inventories, schedules, etc. Bosses, dictate policy, or a specific goal, with little or no room for feedback. However, Leaders develop, they look back to see that everyone is keeping up, or they step up to help that person accomplish a goal, knowing that his or her reward is paid forward in seeing that person develop, and hopefully, that person will help someone else in the future. People need to see their leaders as assets, and as resources they can call on, and approach during these times of need. If I can be such a leader, then I will have accomplished something great indeed.
Integrity
Integrity is the name of the Ethics Game. For without it, all of the other 8 traits become impotent and the leader will become a leader of 1. Integrity is our ethical code, it tells others how we operate and why we do what we do. If we don’t have Transparent Integrity, then we are no better than the Boss dictating policy, or the Manager, too busy for his/her people.
How would you handle it if a GSW student asked you to conceal a dangerous secret about something happening between two students?
First thing I would do is Listen. I would consider all the sides and weigh all the consequences. Then I would encourage the learner to resolve the issue themselves, without my intervention, and in accordance with published policy. I would mention the situation I am now in, and if it was me, I would do X. However, I would hope that the other person would do that instead, or something similar, because this is someone you have rapport with. I am a firm believer that more can be accomplished from inside the situation than acted on from with-out.
Golden Rule
Go to this site on the “Golden Rule”:http://www.homeplanet.org/fourint.html Find three versions of the Golden Rule that you find interesting or surprising.
Give them here, and share your responses.
1) Therefore all things whatsoever you desire that men should do to you, do you evenso to them. (Jesus, Mediterranean)
7) Whatever thou dost not approve for thyself, do not approve for any one else. (Zoroastrian, Persian)
1) lay not on any soul a load that you would not wish to be laid on you and desire not for anyone the things you would not desire for you. (Baha’i)
The Golden Rule is all about reciprocity and giving others the same respect you want. For example, when I first left the military, I would have liked to have met a mentor that would develop me and had given me some direction and opportunity. Therefore, as Captain, I am focusing my entire Captaincy on Empowerment and Developing Leaders. I want to be the Mentor I didn’t have in my formative years. Then they can pay it forward by developing others.
As for the three excerpts above they are all different points of view on reciprocity and the meanings behind the Golden Rule. The basic similarity is its explicit nature of doing to everyone what you want done to you. The differences I find are more subtle, yet profound:
The first one is the one I was raised in the Western Tradition with, so that is what I would call the “control,” the baseline, the ones the others are compared to. It basically focuses on actions, and given the war-time and conflict filled environment Jesus taught in, that makes sense.
Though the Zorastrian version predates Jesus’s, we can see how the implication goes to approval, and not simply actions. Now we can see how we see the realm of thought brought into the mix. So no longer is it about simply physical actions, but now about anything that would require approval like actions, ideas, thoughts, etc.; giving a broader scope to the statement. (Even though one can extrapolate one from the other, I’m simply looking at differences in explicitness.) .
Continuing on with the explicit analysis, The Bahai, goes even further with the explicit nature of the Soul being the object. I have to agree that I have been guilty of this one, and being from the West, I never thought about the implication of a bad feeling or thought towards another. However, in Quantum Physics, we learn that those thoughts and feelings can affect the individual on a Cosmic-Conscious level, especially if one is in Leadership (they have the agreement of Power to compound those feelings)
Conclusion
Ethics in Leadership is the ability to check yourself at the door and do the greater good, while mitigating conflict. I mentioned on Facebook that a Wizard’s Power is in Community, and I fully believe that, which is why I will be changing my Captain’s Project. I know that in my Captain’s Log I wanted to focus on a Video Archive for GSW, but I’m being called to focus on leadership recruitment and development as a necessity. By focusing on a full-resource Leadership Marketing and Recruitment Campaign is the project I should be focusing on. Enough have we had the same 5-7 people in Apprentice Leadership. We need some new blood and I’d like to focus on this as like a club and market it to the Apprenticeship, in hopes to get more people involved. I will meet one-on-one with all members of Apprentice Leadership and see what they need in their term while empowering them to develop while focusing on this campaign.
!!! Fiat Lux !!!
References
Alliant International University. (2022). 8 qualities of effective leaders. Retrieved from https://www.alliant.edu/blog/8-qualities-effective-leaders
Poison. P. (2006). Do to others as you would have them do to you: An opening anthology of reciprocity adages. Homeplanet. Retrieved from http://www.homeplanet.org/fourint.html
Class Preview: Spellcraft
By Dean Adservio
The science (and art) of making spells is something that many Apprentice Wizards are understandably eager to explore and dive into. A major rewrite of the required class "Spellcraft," which introduces all Apprentices to the subject, is now underway. We're pleased to share with you this preview of things to come.
Lesson 1: Learning to Spell
Many types of magick used by wizards and other magickal practitioners involve the casting of “spells.” A spell is an organized act of magick designed and performed to alter probabilities in the direction desired; simply put, probability enhancement. Before we get ahead of ourselves, let's cover a few helpful terms we’ll be using in this class.
Terms of Note
In discussions of spellcraft, the following terms will be used.
Reagent: A component used in spellcraft.
Correspondence: Something which symbolizes or represents something else. See lesson 2 for more details.
Statement of Intent: A formal statement expressing your desired outcome in a spell. Spell: An organized act of magick designed and performed to alter probabilities in the direction desired
Ritualistic Action: A planned and intentional action performed during a spell to symbolically represent the manifestation of your goal.
Spirit: Any non-corporeal intelligence or force.
The Models of Magick
If you reviewed the video content in “Wizardry 100: Becoming an Apprentice,” then you should already be somewhat familiar with the Models of Magick. The Models of Magick serve to explain the operation and mechanics of the various types of magick found in the world today.
The Three Models of Magick are:
The Psychological Model: This Model concerns magick which works by altering consciousness, awareness, perception, attitude, emotions, and the like. The effects of the Psychological Model often only influence the psyche. Spells operating under this model affect change by instigating mental change. These changes occur internally and can then manifest as external changes in the world at large.
The Spiritual Model: This Model concerns magick which works by enlisting the assistance of one or more noncorporeal (lacking physical form) intelligences or forces, who may take on many forms and guises. From Gods to land spirits and Fae to the Self, spells that operate under this model can affect both internal (psychological) and external change.
The Resonance Model: This model explores magicks which work by accumulating items, objects, and circumstances. Under this model one organizes items in line with their correspondences such that their unique resonances work in harmony to affect change.
The spells you design and perform will fall under one, if not all, of these models. It is vital for you, as a Wizard, to have a working understanding of these models. A spell that is designed to operate under the Psychological Model, for example, will only affect the minds and perceptions of the people who are subject to it. Knowing which model will work best for the situation at hand is a valuable tool in your mental Wizard’s Kit!
Apprentice Level-Ups
By Dean Adservio
We would like to recognize the following hardworking Apprentices who have leveled up recently:
Apprentice Cosmo Rubiconis - Level 2
Apprentice Zhang - Level 2
Keep up the excellent - and wizardly - work!
GSW Ring Sale
By Magick Alley Staff
Have you ordered your School ring yet?
Not only are GSW Rings a great way to help support GSW, they also look great! Be sure to order yours before they leave Magick Alley on May 31st!
Order now at https://www.magickalley.com/wizard-s-wardrobe
Two Wizards Talk Podcast
By Grey Matters Staff
If you haven't heard, the Grey School has an official podcast: Two Wizards Talk! Current and past episodes are always available to enrolled Apprentices and Magisters at https://www.greyschool.net/videos