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Underground > Temple >

Now what?

18:18 / 13.12.04

I'm very close to finishing a 52-week course in hoodoo (taught by cat yronwode from luckymojo.com). The course has been wonderful, not just for the content, but also for the structure it offered to my usually flighty, dabble-prone self. It helped me focus on a single (albeit broad) magical system for a whole year and consequently I have gotten deeper into actually doing hoodoo than any previous magical thingy I've played about with.

Now that class is almost over, and hoodoo is pretty firmly established in my life, I'm thinking about setting myself on another more-or-less structured path for a while. The idea would not be to leave hoodoo behind and start over, but just to add further to my practice by concentrating on something else for a while. Then, afterwards, my personal knowledge base will be an alloy of hoodoo and ________. And so on the next year, or whatever.

Problem is, I'm not sure what to go for. There are a lot of things I'm interested in, but nothing is jumping at me in particular and saying "now!"

Ideas? In the absence of a formal class in something new, I'd be happy with a course of study or reading list. What have you studied that really did it for you? What would you dive into right now if you weren't so busy getting on with what you're already doing?

Thanks,

~Lepidopteran

18:40 / 13.12.04

What would you dive into right now if you weren't so busy getting on with what you're already doing?

Zen Buddhism or Taoism, but I'm not sure that that's the type of thing you'd be looking for.

Shamanism?

18:47 / 13.12.04

Zen Buddhism or Taoism, but I'm not sure that that's the type of thing you'd be looking for. Shamanism?

Actually, I'd be interested in all three. Could someone suggest, though, a structured way of approaching any of these subjects? That's really what I'm looking for at this point.

~L

18:58 / 13.12.04

Structure is where I come unstuck. I could think of something but I certainly wouldn't recommend it to anyone, I'd have to test it myself to see if it worked.

For Theravada Buddhism though incase your interested, one of the the most structered things I've ever come across is The Wings To Awakening, something I've been conveniently (laziness) forgetting to go back to until now when I just Googled it for you.

edit > > > Woops, here's the general structure of it.

Unconditional Love

18:59 / 13.12.04

the shadow tarot have just been reissued by linda falorino, well back in august, fancy a wander in the dark with black peter throwing lumps of coal at yer? some burning , some knot.

alternatively try a body breaking stretching and rending form of kung fu taught by a strict disciplinarian buddhist monk with overtones of pain for pleasure.

or become a male prostitute and devote your body to ishtar, and use your skin as a temporary canvas for ejaculation spit and blood, divine the results.

have a hot drink? put your feet up and stare at artex? get bored and hoover everything the walls the ceiling the floor, yourself, your neighbours as they they turn up at your front door complaining about the noise.

have you read crowleys oto reading list? then add all of kenneth grant to the end.

bugger knows.

19:11 / 13.12.04

wolfangel, thank you. I will consider your suggestions.

.....

.....

*thinks*

*has a hot drink*

~L

19:23 / 13.12.04

Good choice.

I'm currently reading a very cool book on Zen meditation which I'd recommend - makes the whole thing fairly accessible to Westerners, and goes into a lot of the actual science behind Zen meditation and breathing practice. It's Zen Training: Methods and Philosophy by Katsuki Sekida.

You might look around, Lep, and see if there are any other online seminars that interest you. RAW's online academy is probably enrolling for some classes, and I'm sure there are other things available that would be as rewarding as Cat's course. Buyer beware and all that.

I'm thinking of signing up for the Hoodoo course at some point based on your descriptions...

19:41 / 13.12.04

Lep,

You could read anything by Jan Fries (if you haven't) and just run with it. I think his books are great for those who dabble. He wrote a book called Living Midnight: Three Movements of the Tao. I haven't read that one yet, but I'll bet it's good.

Or you could take a breather (hot drink, feet up--but god don't start cleaning!!!) and see where you seem to headed from here.

rising and revolving

20:59 / 13.12.04

To offer some stuff with structure...

The BOTA tarot correspondance course is generally well regarded, and pretty ridiculously comprehensive. Can't speak for it personally, but I've never heard any bad word about it.

Of course, how their Western-tarot style would intercut with Hoodoo, I have not the foggiest idea. But it'd be interesting, for sure.

The mob over at Sanctuary of Maat work people through Golden Dawn self initation in a structured fashion. Again, very Western Mystery Trad focused (duh) and quite possibly a weird splice with Hoodoo, but I've heard of stranger things. Once more, can't speak for them in terms of personal experience, but have heard nothing but positive reports.

Not sure if either of those are helpful avenues, but I thought I'd throw them out there.

Unconditional Love

23:39 / 13.12.04

yeah jan fries books are great, living midnight is particularly good combined with a soft martial art, or even kung fu......

seidways is good as well so far, only a few chapters in, but already compelling, perhaps joining a snake handling cult would add to the flavour of it...... or just take up belly dancing.

Unconditional Love

23:42 / 13.12.04

take up astronomy and focus on the black sun of sirius c.

trouser the trouserian

03:40 / 14.12.04

Why hurry into anything? Just chill out dude, and let the Universe suggest something to you in some unlooked-for way. Let it come to you...

08:06 / 14.12.04

I'd second Trouser the Trouserian's sound advice. Let it happen. Let the Universe/Spirits put you in the right place at the right time to find what you're looking for. If you want to take a more proactive, hoodoo based, approach to this. Light a white candle dressed in something like van van oil, and ask your "guardian spirits" (keeping it pretty loose and non-specific) to guide you on the next stage of your magical development.

08:43 / 14.12.04

Perhaps don't look at "what to get into", but more look at "what's around"? You've already said you've got a great deal from a structured course - I'm not surprised as I think we often learn best in context, with other people around us (even if it's online). What other opportunities are around in your area, that give you face to face contact with people, not mediatied by the 'net? Any Buddhist temples or study groups? Martial arts classes? Even forests to take long walks in?

On a personal note, if I had more time, I'd just deepen the stuff I'm doing already. More martial arts, take the brakes off academic study of the I Ching, and plough into some Tantric stuff.

12:23 / 14.12.04

Thanks for the suggestions, everybody. My reactions to each of them told me a lot, and I think I have a better idea of my (very roughly sketched) near-future agenda.

I am going to be taking it easy for a while, and continuing to grow in my hoodoo practice. New stuff will probably filter in on an as-encountered basis now that my hoodoo-"only" focus is relaxing.

The Sanctuary of Maat has got my attention, though. Not for now (I don't relish the thought of trying to work through G.D. self-initiation in a cramped house trailer with a toddler, and, uh, ditto for the whole male prostitute bit, sorry wolfangel), but held in mind for some time in the future.

Black sun of sirius c or no, I think I'm going to increase my rate of dabble in astronomy. I'll keep it simple.

And, wolfangel, is there really a tarot featuring Black Peter?

Thanks again!

~L

03:54 / 15.12.04

T. Thorn Coyle just released a book, Evolutionary Witchcraft, which contains an eight month long course in Feri Tradition craft. Her take on Feri diverges (pleasantly) from a lot of the "Celtic shamanism" stuff, and the Introduction alone -- tracing how Feri came to be from American folkcraft, herbcraft, and yes, hoodoo, blended with ancient Near Eastern soul mysticism, West African ancestor work, and the Kahuna tradition in Hawaii -- is a gem.

(And if it piques you, I can refer you to teachers in your Neck of the Dark Woods.)

I'm starting Thorn's book now, and would be happy to Study Group via Barbelith on it if anyone's down.