On Thaumaturgy

Thaumaturgy is a word from Greek.  Since the Greek Hermeticists are responsible for drawing together the strands of magical lore from the ancient Near East, we naturally revert to their terminology when speaking of such matters.  “Magic” is another Greek word which originally referred to the Magi of Persia.  The singular form is Magus which [...]

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Spiritual Mentoring and Initiation

Last evening I attended a meeting with my lodge brothers who are forming a team to do investigations of men who have petitioned the lodge for the degrees of Masonry.  An “investigation” is essentially an interview of a prospect by three brothers meeting with him at three separate times.  The man petitioning a lodge must [...]

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November is Upon Us

Another Samhuinn has come and passed and the veils between the worlds have opened and closed, yet our ancestors remain a presence if only we do not close the veils in our minds.  In the druid calendar, the old year has ended with the passing of summer and the new year has begun in the [...]

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Pelagius and the idea of Grace

The figure of Pelagius has long interested me.  He came from Britain, lived in the 5th century A.D. and I have often wondered if some druid teachings had not persisted in the culture of Britain that influenced his view of life.  In college, I read the “Confessions” of St. Augustine and I have felt since [...]

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On rainy nights in July

I have gone several weeks without an Owl.  Partly this is because I have been writing in a new blog called Emily Glass Notes. Not a very exciting title, but I wanted to dedicate a separate log to my writing thoughts. And since most of my time is consumed with writing thoughts (or at least [...]

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On Laptops and Cats

As I wait for my daughter to come home from school on the penultimate day of fifth grade, my cat Minerva has sprawled herself on my lap and is trying to subtly push my laptop off.  Her tail keeps straying onto the trackpad to make the cursor go bananas.  This seems to me to be [...]

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On Witchcraft in Africa

There was a brief article in the magazine “The Week” which prompted this entry in the Weekly Owl.  We in the U.S. and the rest of the English-speaking post-colonial world have arrived at an odd cultural point.  I hazard the guess that most Americans today have at least heard of Wicca.  Many know that it [...]

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Natural Religion and Druidry

It is fair to speculate that modern Druidry was influenced by the ideas of Deism current in the 17th and 18th centuries when the seeds of the modern druid orders were planted.  I have suggested elsewhere in these pages that Druidry and Freemasonry are related, probably cousins although each might lay a certain claim to [...]

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On Pancake Breakfasts and Fraternity

I am a relatively new Freemason, only in my second year of service to the Craft.  I am still learning and always will be, but I have learned enough about the Craft to realize that its true purpose is to provide a safe community of men where one can do inner work, to improve oneself [...]

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The Nanny State and the Superego

Driving around the other day, I heard some “conservative” complaining about the “Nanny State” as if that is what the Democrats stand for and want to institute.  Its a bit of political rhetoric for Socialism.  Of course, the Democratic Party is hardly Socialist, so the “conservative” rhetoric is nothing but the erection of a straw-man [...]

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