spirits, Magic
Taylor Ellwood
The relationship between sacred kingship and ...

One of the books I’m reading lately is King, Warrior, Magician, Lover by Robert Moore and Doug Gillette. It’s a fascinating book that explores the archetypes of the mature and sacred masculine. This is currently part of the spiritual work that I’m engaged in as I explore my own relationship with masculinity and heal the ancestoral and contemporary wounds that I’m becoming aware of as it relates to how masculinity is treated and perceived in modern times.

One of the aspects I’m exploring in particular is related to sacred kingship and the land. I am in the process of exploring the new city and surrounding areas that I live in. While I’ve lived here for a year, I didn’t have much opportunity until recently to really begin exploring the area and developing a relationship with the land. I find it fitting and useful that part of the process has also involved cultivating a relationship with the land, particularly on the basis of the relationship has with their home and how that relationship plays out in sacromagical work one does in connecting with the land.

Crystal Blanton

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Call for Writers for the Second Shades of Faith Anthology

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Shades of Faith Front copy Call for Writers– Shades of Ritual; Minority Voices in Practice

Email for inquiries and submissions: Crystal Blanton
Megalithica Books, an imprint of Immanion Press (Stafford, U.K./Portland, OR, U.S.A) is seeking submissions for a the follow up anthology to Shades of Faith, released in August of 2011.  This anthology will focus on people of color working in magical communities and their spiritual practices.  This anthology will provide another opportunity to get the voices and experiences of minorities within the Pagan community out to the world and address some of the challenges, stereotyping, frustrations and the beauty of being different within the racial construct of typical Pagan or Wiccan groups. These communities include (but are not limited to) groups and individuals working in Wicca, Voodoo, Umbanda, Shaman, and other Pagan paths.
As many of the roots of Paganism come from the lands of people of color, much of the color of Paganism is often forgotten in the cultural mainstreaming that often happens to ethnic cultures. Many people of color within Paganism walk between the worlds of their birth ancestry and culture, and that of their spiritual culture.  This anthology is meant to show how that might look within the spiritual practice of one’s home.
Here are some suggested topics to give you an idea of the focus of this anthology.
·         Rituals
·         Poetry
·         Your experience of integration into the Pagan community and how that might correlate with your practice
·         Magical work
·         Ancestor work
·         Deity specific practices and relationships
·         Integrating your birth culture with your spiritual workings
·         What magical work are you doing now? How do you describe it? Do you work alone, in a group, or in several settings?
·         Your birth culture and spiritual workings
·         Stereotypes and prejudice and the impact on spiritual or magic workings. Being the only person of color in a coven, group or community
·         Sharing your culture and history with other Pagans
·         Cultural history and how that plays a role in your spiritual practice today
·         Family culture and how that plays a role in your spiritual practice
·         Cultural appropriations and how that works in your practice.
Rough drafts are due August 15, 2013. These drafts will be edited in a back-and-forth process with the editor. Essays should be 1500-4000 words, although if your work falls outside those limits, do submit it – we can discuss this during the editing process. Drop us an email if you are unsure whether your idea fits into the content. The sooner you start the communication process the better, as after the deadline we won’t be considering additional ideas.
Essay requirements: • Citations for all quoted, paraphrased, or otherwise unoriginal material • Bibliography of works cited • Prefer APA format
Write in your voice! If you’re academically inclined or trained, feel free to be as intelligent and technical as you like. If your work entirely talks in the first person about your own experience, please include this also. There is a wide range of voices, and we are interested in being as inclusive of style as possible.
Accepted contributors will receive a free copy of the anthology when it is published and additional copies sold at 40% off the cover price to contributors. All contributors will be provided with a contract upon final acceptance of their essays, not when they are accepted for editing. If your essay is not accepted for the anthology, we will tell you after the first round of edits.
The anthology will be edited by Crystal Blanton. She is the author of two books with Immanion press; Bridging the Gap; Working Within the Dynamics of Pagan Groups and Society, and Pain and Faith in a Wiccan World.  She is also the editor of the first anthology, Shades of Faith; Minority Voices in Paganism. She may be found online at http://www.crystalblanton.org and her email address for this anthology is crystal@crystalblanton.com .

Immanion Press is a small independent press based in the United Kingdom. Founded by author Storm Constantine, it expanded into occult nonfiction in 2004 with the publication of Taylor Ellwood’s Pop Culture Magick. Today, Immanion’s nonfiction line, under the Megalithica Books imprint, has a growing reputation for edgy, experimental texts on primarily intermediate and advanced pagan and occult topics. Find out more at http://www.immanion-press.com.

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Radio interview with Crystal Blanton part 1

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In this show, I interview Crystal Blanton about Pagan Group Dynamics, instagroups, and her book Bridging the Gap. Next week I'll be interviewing her about the upcoming Shades of Faith Anthology. Click below, to listen to this week's show!

Listen to internet radio with Experimental Magic on Blog Talk Radio
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I'm now selling all Megalithica books

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The title says it all, kind of. I'm now selling the entire line-up of esoteric non-fiction books published by Megalithica books, which is an imprint of Immanion Press. So what are some books by us that you might be interested in? Dancing With Spirits by Denny Sargent focuses on Shinto and Buddhist festivals in Japan, discussing the mythology and current day practice of those festivals. We've just published this book.

Bridging the Gap by Crystal Blanton discusses what it takes to create a successful pagan community, as well as what can stop it from happening. Another recent publication by us.

Ogam Weaving Word Wisdom by Erynn Rowan Laurie is one of our more popular titles. She explains what Ogam are and how to work with them from a Celtic Reconstructionist perspective.

Women's Voices in Magic edited by Brandy Williams is one of our recent anthologies. It is an anthology of female magicians and their perspective on magic that they are doing and the magic culture as a whole.

And many, many more books with topics ranging from cultural appropriation to chaos magic to pathworking to Ritual Magic, all written by very talented magicians. Check out the link to see a full list of books.

On a personal note, I'm really happy to be selling all of these books again. The non-fiction line of books is something I've put a lot of work into as an editor and layout design person. Other people, including Lupa, my ex-wife have also contributed a lot of time and effort, but I was the one who started the line-up and although there's been occasions where I've felt a little burned out, its one of my callings in life to help publish and sell edgy, experimental, good occult books.

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Call for Writers– Shades of Faith; minority voices within Paganism

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Email for inquiries and submissions: Megalithica Books, an imprint of Immanion Press (Stafford, U.K./Portland, OR, U.S.A) is seeking submissions for an anthology on people of color working in magical communities.  This anthology will be an opportunity to get the voices and experiences of minorities within the Pagan community out to the world and address some of the challenges, stereotyping, frustrations and the beauty of being different within the racial construct of typical Pagan or Wiccan groups. These communities include (but are not limited to) groups and individuals working in Wicca, Voodoo, Umbanda, Shaman, and other Pagan paths.

Many of the roots of Paganism have come from the lands of people of color yet the mainstreaming of Wicca has elevated images of worship and deity that connect with Celtic, Greek or Roman cultures.  This can have an exclusive effect on those who’s culture or ancestry fall outside of those categories.  Interestingly enough people of color within Paganism are often walking between the worlds of their birth ancestry and culture and that of their spiritual culture.  This anthology is an opportunity to share your stories and experiences with others around being a minority in our spiritual community.

Here are some suggested topics to give you an idea of the focus of this anthology.

Your experience of integration into the Pagan community

Magical work

Ancestor work

Integrating your birth culture with your spiritual workings

Personal experiences and thoughts around how being of color within the Pagan community was significant. What magical work are you doing now? How do you describe it? Do you work alone, in a group, or in several settings?

Your birth culture and spiritual workings

Stereotypes and prejudice Being the only person of color in a coven, group or community

Sharing your culture and history with other Pagans

Cultural history

Sub-culture of African Americans, Hispanics or other minority groups within Wicca or Paganism.

Is there a sense of acceptance within the magical community you work in? Do you encounter resistance in your magical community or acceptance?

What do you feel is needed to be more inclusive of racial diversity in Pagan communities

Rough drafts are due July 15, 2010. These drafts will be edited in a back-and-forth process with the editor. Essays should be 1500-4000 words, although if your work falls outside those limits, do submit it – we can discuss this during the editing process. Drop us an email if you are unsure whether your idea fits into the content. The sooner you start the communication process the better, as after the deadline we won’t be considering additional ideas.

Essay requirements: • Citations for all quoted, paraphrased, or otherwise unoriginal material • Bibliography of works cited • Prefer APA format

Do write in your voice! If you’re academically inclined or trained, feel free to be as intelligent and technical as you like. If your work entirely talks in the first person about your own experience, please include this also. There is a wide range of voices, and we are interested in being as inclusive of style as possible.

Accepted contributors will receive a free copy of the anthology when it is published and additional copies sold at 40% off the cover price to contributors. All contributors will be provided with a contract upon final acceptance of their essays, not when they are accepted for editing. If your essay is not accepted for the anthology, we will tell you after the first round of edits.

The anthology will be edited by Crystal Blanton. She is the author of an upcoming pagan/occult nonfiction book called Bridging the Gap; Working Within the Dynamics of Pagan Groups and Society. She may be found online at http://www.crystalblanton.org and her email address for this anthology is crystal@crystalblanton.com.

Immanion Press is a small independent press based in the United Kingdom. Founded by author Storm Constantine, it expanded into occult nonfiction in 2004 with the publication of Taylor Ellwood’s Pop Culture Magick. Today, Immanion’s nonfiction line, under the Megalithica Books imprint, has a growing reputation for edgy, experimental texts on primarily intermediate and advanced pagan and occult topics. Find out more at http://www.immanion-press.com.