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Underground > Temple >

What's Daddy doing?

12:45 / 30.12.02

My wife and I are expecting our first child (*whistles and cheers from the stands*), and I've been thinking lately about having a child in the house might effect my magickal practice (along with everything else in our lives!!!). It looks as though there are at least a handful of parents among us, so I ask you: how do you do it? Especially those of you who use ecstatic ritual, which can get a little noisy and worrisome to the outside observer. How do you deal with magickal questions, especially from your children's friends, or their friends' parents?

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Lepidopteran

"Our parents are having a baby, too."
"They had sex."
~Addams Family Values

13:04 / 30.12.02

Congratulations.

(1) Put a lock on your bedroom door or other magickal workspace, and/or investigate other (quieter) venues for achieving ecstasy/gnosis—e.g., meditation, yoga, and suchlike.

(2) It's none of anybody's goddam business, just like it's nobody's business if there's a menorah on the dining-room table or a crucifix on the wall: not equating magickal practice with religion here, but it is like religion in that it is (a) a spiritual technology, and (b) essentially private. Treat it as business-as-usual and the kids will too: "This is what we do. Not everybody does, but this is an important part of who we are," is an effective answer to question about religion, and should suffice for magickal practice as well.

17:48 / 30.12.02

I will add this to what Jack said: I find myself doing less (but keeping a better dream record) now than when I was footloose and fancy free.
So some of the more time-consuming stuff is going to suffer.