Call for Writers for the Second Shades of Faith Anthology

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.

Why Immanion Press is so Important to me

I don't write much about the work I do with Immanion Press on this blog. Indeed, as far as many of you know, I'm just one of its authors. But the truth is I'm not just an author of Immanion Press. I'm also the Managing Non-Fiction editor of Immanion Press. (Cue in the jokes about being a Hair club for men member). For me, Immanion Press is one of the vehicles by which I express my passion for writing and publishing and magic in the world.

My service to Immanion Press is one of the ways I give back to the magical community and is also an offering to the magic itself. I am not paid a salary at Immanion Press. I get a small royalty for books I edit, but I don't get paid for the layout I do, or a lot of the other work I do and I am fine with that. My service to Immanion is a dedication of love to occult writing, occult authors, and to the magic itself. It is done because I want to publish books that I know will likely not see the light of day because other publishers are afraid to touch the books. It is done because I want to empower authors who have had bad experiences with other publishers, and show them that someone has their back. Indeed as I write this I reflect on an email a prospective author sent me on Thursday, telling me how validated she feels to have a publisher interested in her work who will respect her voice, who will edit the book, but not to commoditize it for the mass market. I like hearing that because to me a publisher has two clients: The Authors and the Readers. Too often, imo, most publishers focus on the latter and forget or neglect the former.

Way back in 2003, I had written Pop Culture Magick. I shopped the book to Weiser, New Falcon, and a couple other publishers. In some cases I didn't hear back from the publishers and in other cases, I got a rejection letter. I was told that my book was too niche and controversial. I was told that I shouldn't try to publish it because it wouldn't sell. So during a trip to England, I talked with Storm Constantine, owner of Immanion Press, and to this day a good friend of mine. I showed her my book and even though Immanion Press had originally been intended for Science Fiction and Fantasy books, she saw the potential in my book and agreed to publish it. In 2004, Pop Culture Magick was published and thus we started the non-fiction line of Immanion Press. It strikes me as ironic that NOW bigger publishers want to publish books on pop culture magic. I guess it's no longer so controversial, but in 2003, a decade ago, no one would touch my book. I doubt I'll ever really get the recognition I think is deserved for paving the way, but I know I paved the way. Not just with my books either, but with other books by other authors as well. Of course, I didn't do it alone.

I had help over the years from the authors, from Storm, from Kat, and from other people and I am thankful to all of them to this day, because the nonfiction line for Immanion Press couldn't be what it is without the authors, editors, and volunteers who've offered time, blood, and sweat to make things happen. Immanion Press has always been a team effort, and so really it's that all of us paved the way to one extent or another.

A couple of months after Pop Culture Magic was published, Nick Farrell emailed me and asked if Immanion Press would consider publishing his book Gathering the Magic. It's a book about magical group dynamics and big surprise, none of the bigger publishers wanted to publish it. So I asked Storm about it, and Immanion Press took it on. I was still just an author then, but as more authors found out about us, and discovered that we wanted to publish intermediate to advanced books on magic that were for niche markets and that no book was too controversial for us, Storm asked me if I would be willing to be the managing non-fiction editor. She respected my expertise as an occultist, and the way that I knew the market. I said yes and I began what has been and continues to be one of the most important callings of my life: I publish the books other publishers won't touch because I know there is a market and that those publishers are wrong. They don't get it...how can they, when what they are focused on is really the bottom line? And I get why they are...and they have a place, and the books they publish have a place, but even so, on a certain level they just don't get it, and they never will. They aren't publishing for the same reason and what they publish is for a larger market. They aren't going to publish the controversial books, the risky books because they don't want to alienate that larger market. But the truth is that anything that is published is bound to offend someone. It's not always about hitting the largest market possible. It's about reaching the right market...the right people and meeting their needs even if it isn't an automatic hit. It's about knowing the market, knowing the people, knowing what they want...and knowing that giving it to them does involve some risk, because you can't please everyone...and maybe you shouldn't.

Working at Immanion Press hasn't always been easy. At one point I came very close to leaving, burned out, and fed up with how taken for granted I felt by everyone involved. And being a strong personality, I know I am not always easy to work with and that I've made a few mistakes along the way. But overall, I love the work I do at Immanion Press and over time the process has gotten easier. What people forget sometimes is that Immanion Press is a small press. We don't have a paid staff of editors, publicists, marketers, etc. We run on a tight budget and the people who work for us get paid in royalties. And yet they do it anyway, which I am so thankful for...because they believe in the vision of Immanion Press. They believe that what we are doing is important enough to support it. And despite not having what traditional publishers have, we make it work and we find ways to help our authors out. It's not a perfect system, far from it, and sometimes it doesn't work out as well as it could. But we make it work anyway.

And I am proud of our authors and books. I am proud that I've played a role, however small it is, in helping authors launch their writing career and when I see that one of my authors got a book published by another publisher I feel good about it, because I know that getting published by us helped with that. We publish the controversial books, and we also bring books back into print and what we have available is awesome. We've published books on the subjects that the other publishers won't touch and we've played a role in getting conversations to happen. We've also told the authors that we want them to write in their voices and that we won't sanitize those voices. At the same time, we've insisted on academic standards of in-text citation and quotations, which readers tell me they love because they see it so rarely in the majority of books published on magic and paganism.

At this last Pantheacon, two of my authors, Tony Mierzwicki and Crystal Blanton, told me in their respective ways how much they liked working with Immanion Press. Tony told me how he'd shopped his book Graeco-Egyptian Magic everywhere and was about to self-publish it when he remembered meeting me and decided to see if we'd publish his book. We said yes and he told me how getting his book published opened doors for him. He told me how much he appreciated a free marketing seminar I gave to the authors (and inspired me to start it up again for my authors). And I know that even if he never publishes another book with us, we played a role in his life and in his writing that he'll always remember. And that touched me so profoundly and I was so grateful for his appreciation and recognition of Immanion Press and my role in all of it.

And at one point I was talking with Crystal and she abruptly stopped me and said, with much emotion, "Thank you" several times. And later she told me how much she appreciated my vision for Immanion and she said that she didn't think I knew what an impact I had on her community because of how I'd supported her as an author and as an editor of The Shades of Faith Anthology we published. And she's right I didn't know it, but that weekend gave me a glimpse...and later she acknowledged at a panel my role in the anthology and how I'd recognized I wasn't the right person to edit that anthology, and that I knew I needed to find someone who could do it justice. I was so touched by what she said, so honored that she felt I had contributed to her vision and work.

And I've had other authors on occasions tell me similar things and I have always felt touched. To me that is the biggest payoff. I have helped authors reach their audience. I have respected their voices, their culture, their audience...I have done my job as a publisher and an editor and as a magician...I have believed in them and provided a platform to help them reach others who can believe in them as well.

And I've continued to write my books and place them with Immanion. I'll admit I do find it frustrating when I go to Powells books and don't see my books on the shelves or the Barnes and Nobles because we use print on demand and because we don't take returns. Yet that frustration pales to the joy I feel writing my books my way...knowing my voice will be respected, knowing that the cover of the book will be the cover I pick. And I know I'm reaching my audience. I'm reaching the people who need my work and that is what is really important.

I'm writing a book on Wealth Magic and I flirted with the idea of letting another publisher publish one of my books. I even sent a proposal in and then...I went to a panel held by the publisher and in that panel I heard everything that was an antithesis of my approach to publishing. They wanted trendy, marketable ideas. They wanted books that had cute titles and approached magic in a hip marketable manner that would hit the largest market possible. I left feeling sick to my stomach and I knew that none of my occult books will likely ever be published by a larger publisher. I simply can't imagine emasculating my vision and my words in that way just to make a buck. And I don't feel they will really get my vision or my approach or understand that I know the market better than they may know it. I know I'll write non-occult books (I'm starting one as soon as I finish the wealth magic book) and those books will go to more mainstream publishers, but my spiritual work, the work that touches the heart of the universe and speaks the language of magic...that work needs to be the way it is...not written for a general audience...not written to make a buck, but written to speak to the people who need it...written in my voice, written the way I want it to be written. And yes it means my books will always be with a small publisher. It means that I won't get some of the advantages that some of my other occult authors have. And I can live with that...because even though its a harder road to walk and there is more work on my end as an author, I've already been doing it for ten years, and I like how I feel about myself as a writer and as a magician. I don't say that to pass judgments on other authors. I recognize that many of the other occult authors have had awesome relationships with the publishers they've worked with. I just feel that for me I know where the home of my occult books are...and hopefully always will be. And that's Immanion Press. My press...my publisher and one of my loves. I love Immanion Press. I love what we stand for and I love that I serve the magic with the work I do for the press. That is more important than anything else. I serve the magic.

Mote 2.0 Reminder

This is a reminder that the deadline for essays for Magic on the Edge 2.0 are due by October 15th. What I need is a rough draft. Right now I have approximately 9 essays, but I need more if this anthology is going to go to print. I've received one new essay and promises of other potential essays, but what I'd really like to see is a full set of 20 essays, none of which are by me. I do have plans to write an article or two for the anthology, presuming it goes through on some of my side projects.

Would you like to see an essay in Magic on the Edge 2.0? If so contact me via email and share with me a rough draft. If you aren't sure to write about, I'm happy to brainstorm with you. I am looking for essays between 2k and 5k in length and they should be on experimental magic, i.e. magical work you are experimenting on which is either entirely original or is an exploration of how a traditional technique can be taken in new directions. Again, if you want to bat some ideas around contact me.

Updates on current projects

Here's a few updates on various projects I am working on. Magic on the Edge 2.0

I've just finished first round editing of all the essays I received. I have about nine essays. I could use more and I have two people working on essays. If you would like to write an essay for Magic on the Edge 2.0, check this post out, and contact me. I am pleased with what I've gotten so far and I plan on publishing this anthology by fall of this year.

The Book of Good Practices

Bill Whitcomb and I have a project we are working on, the title of which is marked in bold. It admittedly feel to the wayside while I worked on Magical Identity, but now that MI is finished I've started to focus more time on this project. I'll have more details in the future.

Wealth Magic book

Yes I am writing or rather researching for a book on wealth magic. I've got a decent outline and also some practical experiments that I'm currently running, which seem to bearing fruit as it were. I hope to finish the first draft of the first chapter by tax day of this year (how apropos).

Process of Magic Correspondence Course

This hasn't been forgotten. In fact, I and another person are in the process of getting this website ready for a change that will practically support the ability to do a correspondence course. I already have some of the lessons for this course written and I have a better idea of how such a course should ideally work, so my plan is to fully manifest this course by Memorial Day Weekend. It will be the first of a number of courses on magic experiments ala Taylor Ellwood's style of doing magical experiments.

Current magical experiments

I'm also engaged in a few experiments as well as regular workings.

The regular workings include the year long invocation of the element of Fire (I post about that work once a month) and daily meditation practices. A weekly offering to Dragon has also been added to the mix.

Experiments include working with Bune on my businesses (This is a long term working and it has worked marvelously with all three of my businesses). I'll be writing about this experiment in the wealth magic book in a lot of detail.

Another experiment has involved improving healing work, with an eye toward exploring past life regression as part of the healing experiment. I've posted occasional updates and it is fascinating work. It also convinces me further that there needs to be an emotional component factored into healing (that and my internal work experiences).

There's more in the works as it were, but I don't share anything until its the right time to share it.

Strategic Sorcery Course

I am taking Jason's Strategic Sorcery course. It's proven to be an interesting course, in terms of getting a different perspective on how someone approaches magic. It reminds me of my traditional roots in magic (which is good) and I'm definitely getting a lot from the course.

That's it for updates on current projects.

My books are now available on Kindle and newest radio interview

I'm pleased to announce that my books are now available on Amazon Kindle. We recently were able to work out a deal where we could get them  placed on Kindle. We'll also be converting other Immanion Press books into Kindle files as well, so be on the look out for those in the near future. My latest book, Magical Identity, is now available in print, on smashwords, and Kindle.

In other recent publishing news, I was pleased to hear that smashwords was able to come to an agreement with Paypal where paypal will continue to accept payments on books published on smashwords. It's definitely a victory for free speech.

I was recently interviewed on The Infinite Beyond radio show about my newest book Magical Identity. Take a listen. It was a fun show to be interviewed on, and we got into some interesting discussions about identity and magic.

A commentary on paypal and smashwords

Recently I learned that smashwords, which is an online e-publisher site is getting hit with possible sanctions from paypal, because paypal and credit card companies have decided they have a right to interject their moral codes on other people. Basically paypal is telling smashwords that they'll shut down the smashwords paypal account as long as smashwords publishes fictitious works that include sexual stories. You can read the article to learn more, but suffice to say I find the matter to be another example of how some people think its perfectly acceptable to impose their moral issues on other people. They want to censor people that don't comply with their perceptions, and in this case they're basically censoring fiction. So why should I care? I write non-fiction, so it doesn't effect me. That's true, but it does effect my small press, since publish fiction and some of what we publish fits in the categories they want to ban. But even if that wasn't the case, I'm opposed to censorship in general, on the basis that when a society bans what people can or can't write, discuss, etc., then it becomes a case where they are trying to limit essential freedoms. That's why I care. I like smashwords a lot. While Immanion Press is moving forward with converting books over to Kindle, I like knowing we have an alternative to amazon.

Those are my thoughts on the issue. If it bothers you, speak up and make your voice heard.

Magical Identity is now Available as an E-book

Magical Identity is now available as an e-book through Smashwords. I'm working on the Kindle version and hope to have it available some time next week.

The print version will also be available soon. We will hopefully be getting proofs in the next couple of days and once they are approved, it will be available in print. You can still pre-order the print version and take advantage of the pre-order special to get a free e-book from me.

I'm really excited. This book not only features my latest research and experimentation in Space/Time Magic and Inner Alchemy, but also the exploration of an ontological approach to magic.

The Latest Update on Magical Identity

I've finished final revisions and I started layout last night on the print version of Magical Identity (It will also be available at Smashwords and on Kindle, but that will happen a bit down the line). If you haven't pre-ordered Magical Identity, now is a good time. From now until the book is in print, I will offer a free e-book of your choice from my other books, when you pre-order Magical Identity. This is a great opportunity to not only get my next book in print, but get another book for free. Once the book is in print, I won't offer this promotion.

Magical Identity Pre-orders

Magical Identity explores magic from an ontological perspective, to show why identity is an essential part of your magical practice. In this book, author Taylor Ellwood explores how you can change your identity and why making changes to your identity is the most effective magical practice you'll ever learn. In this book you will discover:

• Advanced neuro-magic techniques for working with your body consciousness and neurotransmitter entities.
• The web of Time and Space, a space/time magic technique for changing your life.
• The key to successfully changing bad habits into positive habits.
• and much more!

Magical Identity challenges you to take your magical practice to the next level. You will learn techniques that will change how you think of magic and yourself and will show you how to create effective change for your life.

Here's what other authors are saying about Magical Identity!

Like Space/Time Magic and other of his works before it, Taylor Ellwood has filled Magical Identity with a potent combination of magical techniques for change, the neurological discoveries that explain how these techniques work, and accounts of how he has applied them in his own life. -- Bill Whitcomb, Author of the Magician's Companion

Throughout this book you'll find a sparkling clarity in the writing (seriously; no mystic mumbo jumbo, no obscure oh-so-spookyness). And when you've read this book the chances are that you'll have discovered an attitude to magic that is rich in new ideas and perspectives and will undoubtedly enhance your own approach, whatever your style or tradition. -- Julian Vayne, Author of Magick Works and Now That's What I Call Chaos Magick

Learning the answer to the question “Who am I?” may prove vitally important, at some stage of the game, for most magicians. Allow Taylor Ellwood to be your guide; his answers aren’t simple ones, rather, he describes a method for exploring the interconnectedness of human and universe in a way that promises to help you find your own answers. -- Phil Farber, author of Brain Magick

This book is now available for pre-orders. The book will be available in March 2012. The cost is $20.99, plus Shipping and Handling.

International orders

Domestic orders

Books will also be available on Amazon, Immanion Press and in your local Occult bookstore

Call for Papers for Disabled Paganism Anthology

E-mail for inquiries and submissions:  tara.miller21 (at) gmail.com; please put “Immanion Press Anthology Submission” in your subject line. Megalithica Books, an imprint of Immanion Press (Stafford, U.K./Portland, OR, U.S.A.) is seeking submissions for a magic anthology from the perspective of practitioners with disabilities or developmental differences. This includes but is not limited to practitioners with mental, cognitive, emotional, physical or sensory impairments and/or practitioners who are part of the Deaf or Blind community.  We have not come up with a title for the anthology yet. That will hopefully present itself through the contributions.

There is much debate about how the words “disabled” and “disabilities”. For the purpose of this publication; however, we'll use the World Health Organization's definition: “Disabilities is an umbrella term, covering impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions. An impairment is a problem in body function or structure; an activity limitation is a difficulty encountered by an individual in executing a task or action; while a participation restriction is a problem experienced by an individual in involvement in life situations.”

This anthology is intended to explore magical, occult, and esoteric topics from the view points of practitioners who are disabled or part of the Deaf and Blind community. Equality and access within the magic/Pagan community and society in general are important issues. You can include them as a part of your submission but not the whole. Keep in mind that addressing such topics aren't the sole purpose of this anthology. When thinking about your submission consider what rituals and practices are or have been most beneficial to you. What mystical or magical experiences or knowledge shaped your life for the better? Contributers can be from any magical background or tradition. With all Megalithica publications, the intention with this anthology is to go beyond introductory matters whenever possible.

We are accepting:

essays (academic and personal)

short rituals, prayers, meditations, activities, or spells (not lists of correspondences)

We are especially interested in rituals that take into account limited mobility or immobility, sight impairments, and rituals for the Deaf and blind. Also, some practitioners with disabilities have limited attention spans and would benefit from shorter rituals that include minimal visualization.

Some suggested topics:

Practicing magic in hospitals or other facilities. How can you improvise while complying with facility regulations?

Is the state of the body and mind a reflection of a persons purity or power? Is it a sign of the practitioner working out past wrongs?

Psychological or physical emergencies as shamanic or magical breakthroughs.

Do we choose our bodies and experiences? Do the Gods/Goddesses or Divinity create our bodies or experiences this way for a reason?

Medical symbols and their Pagan history and magical properties. How to enchant and use these symbols.

Gods and Goddesses of Health- such as Asclepius and his daughters. For example: Hygieia whose name is the source of the word hygiene. There is a lot of Pagan history in the medical community.

How to discern spirits, entities and magical experiences when you are dealing with health issues that can impair judgment such as being on pain medication, dealing with mental illness, etc.

How a disability or impairment offers a new perspective on magic practice and theory.

How communing with nature has it's rewards (i.e. ecopsychology or closeness to a specific God(dess) etc.) and challenges (i.e.  mobility issues)

Working magic with companion and/or guide animals or stories about their spiritual significance.

What are some ways to find self-acceptance and empowerment?

Viewing scars from surgery, injury or otherwise as part of your story or “battle scars” or proof of survival.

From the first diagnosis of disease or disability to the loss of a physical function or independence, we feel grief. How can we cope with grief?

Ways to mend the fragmented self i.e. lucid dreaming, soul retrieval, astral travel.

Working with archetypes or mythic images.

These suggestions barely touch the myriad of possibilities. We're interested in any other topics contributors wish to explore. It's your voices that will make this anthology powerful and possible.

Requirements for submission:

Citations for all quoted, paraphrased, or otherwise unoriginal material

Bibliography for works cited

Use the Modern Language Association (MLA) Style http://www.library.cornell.edu/resrch/citmanage/mla

Send the file in Word or RTF 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 speaks in the first person about your own experience, that is also permissible, but please use a more formal writing style for as much as possible in your piece that is not quoted speech. Unless you do so sparingly, or define your terms (either in the main text or footnotes), DO NOT use lolcat-speak, text message speak, or anything else that could be considered para-English. Our lives are full of abbreviations and “lingo” which we understand but others may not, even people with different disabilities. Please define any “lingo” you use such as Talk Doc (psychotherapist) or P Doc (psychologist) or medical abbreviations.

Rough drafts are due March 01, 2012. These drafts will be edited in a back-and-forth process with the editor. Essays need to be 1500-4000 words, although if your work falls outside those limits, do submit it – we can discuss this during the editing process. Do drop me an email if you are unsure whether your idea fits into the content. We hope to include many voices and the sooner you start the communication process the better.

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

The anthology will be edited by Tara “Masery” Miller. Her blog, the Staff of Asclepius, is featured in the Pagan Portal at Patheos.com. It's for Pagans with mental, physical or sensory impairments; who are in recovery from major injuries or addiction; and/or who are members of the Deaf or Blind community. “It’s a place to share how a spiritual and magical life gives us strength or peace through all of life’s joys and struggles. There are also news updates and interviews with Pagans and experts on various topics affecting the community.”  http://www.patheos.com/community/paganswithdisabilities/  She has Turner Mosaic which created a massive failure of her endocrine system causing many health problems.

Immanion Press is a small independent press based in the United Kingdom. Founded by author Storm Constantine in 2003, 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.

Call for Papers/Writers: Queer Magic Anthology

E-mail for inquiries and submissions:  aediculaantinoi (at) hotmail (dot) com; please put “Queer Magic Anthology” in your subject line. Megalithica Books, an imprint of Immanion Press (Stafford, U.K./Portland, OR, U.S.A.) is STILL seeking submissions for an anthology on queer magic and/or ritual.

For the purposes of this publication, “queer” is primarily defined as anything of a non-majority sexual orientation (e.g. gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, etc.), or atypical gender identity (e.g. transsexual, transgendered, intersexed, genderqueer, metagender, etc.).  Other things may be part of the widest understanding of “queerness,” including relationship styles (e.g. polyamory, etc.) or sexual practices (e.g. BDSM, fetishes, kink, etc.), and indeed magic, occultism, and paganism themselves (since they are “non-normative,” which is an agreed-upon definition of “queer” within many academic circles), but the focus of this volume will be on queerness particularly as it applies to gender and sexual orientation.

This is not an anthology that is intended to be about “personal stories of the intersection of magical/occult/pagan/spiritual identity and queerness,” but instead about queer perspectives on magical, occult, and esoteric topics especially, but also possibly the impact of queerness on pagan or spiritual topics (e.g. theology).  Further, where and when these topics of paganism and/or spiritual identity and affiliation might be addressed, this is not an anthology about “coming out spirituality” (i.e. the idea that it is okay to be LGBTQ and pagan/Thelemic/Santero/Hellenic/whatever/&c.; “coming out” as ritual/initiation, etc.), nor should essays primarily be about how queerness of whatever sort gives one a better perspective or understanding on energy polarity or gender wholeness within any of these magical/occult/pagan paradigms (e.g. the idea that gay men are more naturally gifted, magical, or shamanically-inclined because they are more in touch with their femininity, etc.).  The latter has been done to death already; the former is an important first step in these matters, but as with all Megalithica publications, the intention with this anthology is to go beyond introductory matters whenever possible.

Personal stories that are primarily about alienation from mainstream magical/occult/pagan circles because of one’s queerness are not the focus of this volume; if discussion of such is relevant to the wider aims of one’s essay, that’s fine, but having those wider aims is a necessity, and thus personal stories should be small parts in a larger overall discussion.  If you want to do a piece on “queer love spells,” it would be better to address theoretical issues of how they’re different or in what ways their methodology is unique and presents challenges or enrichments, rather than giving templates or sample ritual/magical texts.  Essays on how to adapt “non-queer” spells/rituals/practices to a queer context, or lists of correspondences and deities for particular queer issues, are not very desirable…unless they’re extremely innovative and unique!

Some particular issues of interest might include:

How does one’s queerness suggest different viewpoints on particular aspects, methodologies, or theories of magical practice?

Just as one’s queerness may give one more useful insights on some magical or spiritual matters, are there likewise blind spots that one’s queerness may cause, and how can one address those usefully from a queer perspective?

Are there historical precedents or particularly interesting figures in relation to queerness within one’s own magical or spiritual tradition?  If so, what are their histories?

Are there any useful practices or texts from the past (e.g. the Greek Magical Papyri; mythological tales featuring queer figures; established traditions with queer themes; historical figures who were known to be what we understand as queer; etc.) which can be used today, usefully adapted, or mined for insights for use in the very different contexts of the modern world?

What are some magical methods or procedures that one might use to creatively deal with what are viewed as queer-specific issues, like homophobia/transphobia/etc., safer sex practices and education, forming and interacting with the LGBTQ communities, legal and political activism, LGBTQ rights and equality struggles, etc.?

Are there “pop cultural” and “multi-media” magical techniques (see Taylor Ellwood’s various publications for further ideas/information!) or practices that can be employed in interesting ways for queer folks?  Ideas may include:  use of personals websites/Craigslist for spell casting or divination; drag performances as aspecting/invocation; uses of cruising and the entire bar/club scene for ritual work (which can be rather edgy, and not always in a good way, but nonetheless it’s a possibility); using queer-themed literature and films as bibliomancy or interactive ritual texts/sacred drama (on the latter, think The Rocky Horror Picture Show as ritual/liturgy, but with other possibilities for the film that is the subject of the interaction); use of historical figures (e.g. Harvey Milk, Oscar Wilde, Gertrude Stein), living personalities (e.g. RuPaul, Ellen DeGeneres, Elton John), or characters (e.g. Valerie from V for Vendetta, Sterling [Patrick Stewart] from Jeffrey, Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist from Brokeback Mountain, etc.) as archetypes or spirit/deity-forms/egregores/etc. for queer magical/spiritual work; and so forth.

What are the challenges that can be encountered with the interactions of LGBTQ people and non-queer folks in magical/spiritual communities, and (most importantly) how can they be overcome creatively?  What are the challenges that can be encountered with having interaction with a non-magical/non-spiritual person in one’s personal life as a lover/partner/relationship, and (most importantly) how can they be overcome creatively?  (By “overcome creatively,” what is meant is anything non-manipulative, non-triumphalistic, and non-resentful that can be done to address and/or alleviate the issues in a situation—which is to say, specific actions, not adoption of attitudes or viewpoints that run the gamut of “try to be open-minded, understanding, and compassionate; deal with people on an individual and context-specific basis,” etc., as the main resolution offered.  These should be things that are tried and tested, not theoretical matters.  In this type of essay, of course personal experience and sharing of stories are necessary, but if the one you’re considering does not meet all of the above criteria, it will most likely not be considered for inclusion in this anthology.)

…And anything else you might think of which is innovative, interesting, different, new, unique, challenging, fascinating, scintillating, wonderful, and fabulous that involves queerness of whatever type, and its relation to and intersection with the practice and theory of magic, occultism, and paganism/spirituality!

Requirements for submission:

Citations for all quoted, paraphrased, or otherwise unoriginal material

Bibliography for works cited

Preferred format should be “Vancouver Style” footnotes—look it up if you are not familiar with it!

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 speaks in the first person about your own experience, that is also permissible, but please use a more formal writing style for as much as possible in one’s piece that is not quoted speech.  Unless you do so sparingly, or define your terms (either in the main text or footnotes), DO NOT use lolcat-speak, text message speak, or anything else that could be considered para-English.

Rough drafts are due January 31, 2012. 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. Do drop me 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.

Compensation will be ($25) (paid via twice-yearly royalties from book sales) plus 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 P. Sufenas Virius Lupus.  Lupus is the author of several essays, poems, and pieces of short fiction in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina devotional anthologies to Artemis, Hekate, Isis and Serapis, Zeus, Pan, the Near Eastern deities, and Thoth, as well as in the anthologies Datura:  An Anthology of Esoteric Poeisis, ed. Ruby Sara (Scarlet Imprint, 2010), Spirit of Desire:  Personal Explorations of Sacred Kink, ed. Lee Harrington (Mystic Productions Press, 2010), Etched Offerings:  Voices from the Cauldron of Story, ed. Inanna Gabriel and C. Bryan Brown (Misanthrope Press, 2011), and three full-length books:  The Phillupic Hymns (Bibliotheca Alexandrina, 2008), The Syncretisms of Antinous (The Red Lotus Library, 2010), and Devotio Antinoo:  The Doctor’s Notes, Volume One (The Red Lotus Library, 2011).  Lupus is a Graeco-Egyptian syncretist, a Celtic Reconstructionist pagan, and a founding member of the Ekklesía Antínoou (queer Graeco-Roman-Egyptian syncretist reconstructionist polytheism dedicated to Antinous, the deified lover of the Roman Emperor Hadrian).  Lupus’ e-mail address is aediculaantinoi (at) hotmail (dot) com.

Immanion Press is a small independent press based in the United Kingdom. Founded by author Storm Constantine in 2003, 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.

My books are available as e-books

I'm pleased to announce that my books are available as e-books. Immanion Press has also made some of our other occult books into e-books as well. You can purchase my books as e-books if you visit Smashwords and search for them, or if you visit the book page and click on the link that directs you to the e-book page. Smashwords publishes the books in a variety of e-book formats. I'm really pleased to have them available as e-books and hope you will enjoy them in that format as well as the print format.

Drumming the Spirit to Life by Buddy Helms now published

We've just published Drumming the Spirit to Life by Buddy Helms. You can order the book on the Immanion Press website or on here. Below is a picture of the cover and a description of the book:

Drumming the Spirit to Life” is about why people drum. Drumming has affected all cultures and is an indispensable tool for healing, joy, evolution, and community. Russell Buddy Helm’s drumming journey includes pictures and some simple explanations of technique without the need of musical training or paralyzing self-criticism.

Rhythm is our old friend that we will always need for healing and to help us celebrate. We can’t help but develop an eager interest in drumming as a tool for personal growth and wisdom. There is humor and excitement in this type of drumming, and acceptance, regardless of the individual’s musical ability.

Those already drumming can use this book as a reference for improvisation. There are no wrong notes. The Downbeat, a New Orleans jazz term, unites everyone in our common world grooves. Rhythm is our most ancient survival tool. There is encouragement for the beginner and also the advanced players. Scientific insights show how rhythm affects our minds and bodies, yet exists outside the intellect, residing in our hearts and our souls, always forgiving, ready to be played so share the groove!

I'm now selling all Megalithica books

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.

Call For Papers: Oops, Wrong Chat: A Survival Guide to World of Warcraft

Taylor's Note: I posted this because of my own interest in Pop culture and also to support my publisher. Most of the books you’ll find written about WoW attempt to come at the game from an academic viewpoint, thereby to give it some credibility and respectability among the uninitiated who look at it with a dubious eye. We already know that non-gamers regard us MMO fans as geeks and freaks, somehow sucked into this nerdiverse that is anathema to real life.

Well, we think it’s about time the balance was redressed. We don’t need to apologise for our passion to those who just don’t ‘get’ it because they simply haven’t tried it. Neither do we need to dress it up as academic study. ‘Oops, Wrong Chat’ will be an affectionate yet honest look at the world of Azeroth, informing those who are not informed and entertaining those who are already fellow travellers in that world.

We are looking for well-written witty and/or insightful articles that talk about the gamer’s experiences in World of Warcraft that will be helpful for new players but also of interest to veterans. Articles will typically be named after Achievements or Quests in the game, and any potential contributor should inform us what topic they wish to explore and what title they’d like to use, in order to prevent duplication of submissions.

Articles can be anecdotal, involving the writer’s experiences in WoW, or else can be informational, focusing upon particular aspects of the game, but with a light touch, accessible to non-aficionados. Or they can be more like social commentary, talking about the community within WoW itself.

Raiding, questing, role-playing, PvP, the lore of WoW, working on professions and achievements, being a pro trader in the Auction House, collecting pets and mounts, exploring the least trodden and secret corners of Azeroth, WoW as a sedentary sport – all these are potential topics. Or perhaps your idea is different. We are open to all submissions that are written well and entertain. Submissions can be between 3000-10000 words, and the deadline is 1st March 2011. All articles should be submitted in Word or RTF to editorial@immanion-press.com

Short notes

A Note about Definitions and Meaning My post about definitions could easily also apply to the word models. The word models is used a lot in magic theory. There is the spiritual model, the psychological model, the model for this or the model for that. But I don't think definitions are really models. I do think models are metaphors that attempt to categorize magic, whereas I think definitions are less about categorization and more about making meaning, or maybe even making connection through meaning. You can't really have connection if some kind of meaning isn't involved and definitions are all about meaning, the establishment of it as the way to understand what's around and within.

A Note about Immanion Press

I'm still involved in Immanion Press. At one point, in the winter, I gave some serious thought to leaving Immanion Press as the managing editor and heading for the hills as it were, but then the divorce happened and I figured that was a big enough change in my life. The purpose of Immanion Press, as it applies to occult books, is to publish the books other publishers won't touch and/or reprint what's out of print. And I think we've published some great books by some great authors and I hope we continue to.

What isn't realized, I think, is that for all intents and purposes Immanion Press is volunteer run. I don't really get paid for doing the editing, layout, or managing of other editors. It's a lot of work and it's mostly a labor of love, save on those occasions when it can become a labor of hate.

I won't be at the Esoteric Book Conference this year representing Immanion Press. Lupa will be there, and you can buy books from the press through her. I have mixed feelings on how much I will represent the esoteric book line in the future, since I no longer do any of the distribution for it, beyond my own books. I'll still do the managing editor part, but I figure it's time to focus on myself a bit more, which includes finishing some writing I've been working on, so I actually have a justifiable reason to show up at a conference.

Review of Sacred Kink by Lee Harrington

What I most enjoyed about this book was Lee's efforts to provide detailed information about each path and create a framework for people from multiple belief systems to engage in the incorporation of kink to their spirituality. Lee's expertise as both a sex educator and spiritual teacher shows through in this book time and time again. He provides excellent examples and also useful definitions for understanding each path. I found a lot in this book that I know I can apply to my own spiritual practices and I think anyone else would find a similar treasure trough.

5 out of 5

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Magical Experiments is now a website

As you may or may not know, My ex-wife Lupa and I have gotten a divorce. It's a very amiable divorce, but we've agreed we're better off as friends, as opposed to romantic partners. One of the results of this has been a mutual decision to remove me from her website the Greenwolf. As such, in my persona as an occult author, I've moved my online presence to This blog, which I've turned into a website! I've created pages for each of my books, as well as the anthologies I've edited and you can order autographed copies of my books directly from me. I've also set up an e-newsletter list, where I'll post special content as well as occasional contests. You can sign up for it, either by clicking the link in this post or clicking the link on the right side bar under subscribe to my e-newsletter.

I've also set up a twitter account called magicexperiment and I'll be posting all my magical and spiritual content there from now on, while reserving my teriel account for my other business. Finally I've set up a Facebook fan page for my site, so please feel free to fan me.

In the near future, I'll be starting to offer teleseminars of some of my talks, so be on the look out for those in the near future.

There's been a lot of changes in my life recently, but I think they are all mostly positive. claiming this blog as a site is also part of my journey to claim my identity as myself.

Announcement of new book - Neuro-Space Time Magic

I'm at Pantheacon this weekend. On Friday I presented my talk on Space/Time magic and included some new material on identity and cultural analyses of space and time. It was very well received. Later today I'll be at the Immanion press author panel co-hosting it with Lupa. I want to announce that I have started writing my new book Neuro Space Time Magic. I'm just about finished with the first chapter. I'll be making periodical updates on here as I progress with it.

Esoteric Book Convention day 2 and pictures

I've been meaning to post this all week, and finally got to it today. I did go to a presentation on Sunday: Brandy William's talk on Chaldean Oracles. It was a really interesting talk and gave me quite a bit of appreciation for Brandy's ability as speaker and presenter.

The lighting on that picture isn't great, but there she is, just about ready to do her talk. The rest of the day was spent talking to various people and selling books. What stood out to me about this convention was the intimacy of it. There was a nice crowd of people, and everyone was there to look at (and buy) books, as well as go to the presentations. I got into some wonderful conversations throughout the entire convention.

Here's a picture of John Coughlin, with his wife Nicole. I met John years ago at Winterstar, but only finally saw him again in person at this event. Needless to say the opportunity to connect with him again and talk at length was really something I appreciated. John's sense of humor, in particular, is something I've always liked and he was just as funny this time as the last time I saw him. He also was a co-panelist with us about small press publishing.

Here's another picture with Erynn and Bill:

And another picture with Brandy and Phil in his furry Fez

The organizers of this event did a wonderful job. William Kiesel, Michael Kolsun, Catmara Rosarium, and Josh Madara put a lot of effort into this conference as did all the volunteers. The volunteers did a great job of making people feel welcome and the organizers put a really good program together for a first convention. Here's a picture of the four above mentioned people:

Finally here's a picture of Lupa and I at our table of books. We definitely left with a lot less books, which made both her and I happy, and from the look on various faces, made other people happy as well. I definitely look forward to going back next year.

Esoteric Book Convention pt. 1

I've taken some photos today, and will take more tomorrow and do a picture post. So far I've really been impressed by this convention. It's one of the more occult leaning conventions I've been to and is focused primarily on scholarly presentations and occult books. I've liked the handbound work I've seen as well as the diverse range of books. One's even caught my eye. I wish I had gone to some presentations besides the immanion panel and will make it a point to go to one or two tomorrow. But I have really enjoyed catching up with John Coughlin of Waning Moon Publications about his work and also speaking with various other people I'd met today. It's always a pleasure to speak with people who are really serious about their practice. I've also enjoyed staying with Erynn and Phil as well as catching up with them.

Overall I'm impressed by the quality of the books, the convention itself, and everything else I've seen. Assuming this occurs again (which seems a bit likely) we'll definitely vend and participate again, and I highly recommend it out for the variety of books and perspectives on magic, the convention offers.

On another note, this is the kind of occult culture I like participating in. It's focused on magic, it's focused on small press, and it's focused on people in a very intimate way. I like talking magic with others, and also like that there's no branding going...simply people sharing in their passion for magic.