Sunday Coven #19

Dec 162018
 

Is there anything more magical than books? Maybe only a beautiful woman studying one. In fantasy games, I loved the idea of collecting spell books in order to gain power. Most games treat spell books as an afterthought, but I always wanted to play a campaign that revolved around seeking, finding and hoarding books. Now that I read about magic as a hobby, I get to do that searching and hoarding for real.

Today’s coven member comes from the wonderful Rich Larson. This is a gorgeous pencil sketch and it adorns the cover one of my magic notebooks.  

Sunday Coven #18

Nov 182018
 

This piece is titled is “Music Witch” and is by Anastasia Catris. I think I bought it seconds after seeing it. Stevie Nicks has been a magical part of my life for a long time, and American Horror Story’s adaption of her as a Witch was a real Pop Culture Magic moment for me.

Years ago when I was a high school teenager, my alarm clock was a radio set to the local rock station. One morning, it played “Rooms on Fire” by Stevie Nicks. My dreams were instantly transformed into something magical and filled with so much longing that my heart felt it would burst. It truly felt like I was experiencing something divine so imagine my surprise when I woke up and discovered that the angelic music I was hearing came from a real life person. I had no idea who Stevie was, and in per-internet days it was really hard to find out who sang that song. I think it took me a couple of weeks, the whole time wondering if what I heard was real.

So yeah, that started a life long love of Stevie Nicks. Everything is more important when you are a teenager and Stevie is one of those touchstones for the whirlwind of emotions I felt back then. She is an instant connection to magic, wonder and beauty so bright that it hurts.

There is something magical about her if I do say so myself.

Sunday Coven #16

Aug 052018
 

Michael Powell drew this picture of one of my characters from the online game, City of Villains. Her name is Humiliatrix. She was a woman committed to an insane asylum for killing her abusive boyfriend. A God from another dimension offered her the power to avenge herself on the world in exchange for being his emissary. She was given the power to read minds and control them. Her outfit is the tattered remains of the clothes she wore in the asylum. I don’t remember why she was blindfolded but odds were I just like the look and rationalized it later.

Mostly, she was a furious woman out to humiliate the world that cared nothing for her own humiliation.  If I am being honest, I would say I projected a lot of my own emotional trauma growing up in an abusive household onto her. She was a character in a video game but man, she was very therapeutic to play.

Years later and City of Villains is no more. I was dabbling with magic and I came across a concept of creating your demons that embody your worse traits to makes it easier to deal with those traits internally. I have a cruel streak that I carefully manage and I couldn’t think of a better representative of that than my darling Humiliatrix.

Tell you a secret. when I get really annoyed with public figures, I imagine what Humiliatrix would mind control them to do. It is a lovely daydream.

Sunday Coven #15

Jul 292018
 

For this week’s coven, I thought I would share one of my books of magic that I own.

Becoming Dangerous is a collection of essays about the rituals that help women feel powerful. Some of the writers are witches and some are just normal women trying to get by in this fucked up shitty world that is 2018.  The rituals themselves range from skincare to visiting haunted castles to affirmations of slut power. Most of all, it is a book about resisting depression, grief, abuse, racism, and all manners of oppression.

I’ve been reading it the past year and like most good books of magic, I have been reading it very slowly so I can digest each essay in turn. There is a lot of heart in these pages and each one feels like an intimate peek into the writer’s lives. The stories are inspiring and give me hope that no matter how bad the world is right now, there are people out there fighting it with everything they have.

It is the rare magic book that I think would have equal appeal to people who are into magic and those who are not. I have found plenty in this book to improve my own magic, but stories of identity, depression and resistance are universal. It is the kind of book I would give to anyone because I know there is something there for them. if you have suffered, then this book was written for you.

There is a part in the introduction that really spoke to me about magic in the modern world. One of the editors, Katie West, sent a draft of the introduction to her friend, Cara Ellison, and said, “I want this to anwser the question of why I make a book about rituals?” and Cara replied, “Because everything else hasn’t worked.” That is pretty much my anwser to why I have turned to magic. Nothing else has worked, so I might as well try something I enjoy doing.

Becoming Dangerous can be bought here.

 

Sunday Coven #14

Jul 152018
 

This is a pin I bought from the wonderful Isabella Rotman. she has a wonderful etsy shop filled with great stuff. I highly recommend her Mermaid booklet.

I started thinking about pins while reading Alan Moore’s Providence. At one point he had a crazed country cultist who was bitter against the big city cult he belonged to that kicked him out. He wore a sash loaded with pins all different kinds. The first thing that crossed my mind was that every pin contained a spell and the guy was literally loaded with magic. Later I read some annotations that said the pins belonged to a bunch of different cult organizations. The notes guessed that the sash was showing off his memberships to everyone because of his insecurity.  I greed with the annotations but I still liked my earlier idea of pins as spell carriers.

Which got me thinking about the kind of magic I might put into a pin.

Anxiety has complicated every part of my life, especially my sexuality. I stress about how every aspect about sex and no amount of therapy has made it any easier. Writing porn is a safe place for me and I struggle to bring that sense of confidence and playfulness into my real life.

Which got me thinking about what kind of pins I would want to put magic into.

I saw this pin and something clicked. Is there any more powerful wand in our modern times than a Hitachi? “You do you!” is a wonderful mantra. The purple is pretty too. This is a pin made for magic.

Now I need to put the right spell in it.

 

 

 

Sunday Coven #13

Jul 082018
 

This is a sketch cover drawn by the ever awesome Boo. It features Doctor Strange from the Marvel comics and Enchantress from the Suicide Squad movie engaged in an intimate ritual.

When I started getting into magic, one book recommended writing down what your wildest dreams version of magic would be like and I listed Doctor Strange. There is a lot I like about Doctor Strange but one thing that always stood out to me is that h symbolized study and hard work paying off, rather than being a chosen one or some sort of natural ability. Strange is the rare hero that you always see with his nose in a book during downtime. Plus I just love those old Steve Dikto art.

Enchantress is something entirely different. I was familiar with her character from the comics but her appearance in the lamentable Suicide Squad movie struck a chord with me. She felt primal to me and I thought she was at her most effective when she wasn’t speaking at all. I was literally enchanted when she appeared on the screen. I felt like she represented chaos in a pure way that I had trouble articulating. It is highly doubtful the film makers had that in mind when they made her but that was the impression she created in me.

And really, when you get right down to it, what something symbolizes to you is far more important than any other interpretation.  The movie Enchantress means something intangible and wild to me. Doctor Strange means something orderly and disciplined. There are the two ways I approach magic and creativity. They are my Yin and Yang, my Light and Dark, my chocolate and peanut butter.

Plus they make a really cool couple.

 

Sunday Coven 11

Jun 242018
 

Jaymie Dylan is an artist I have been following for a few years. She has a lovely style and some of the best butts ever drawn. I already own a few prints of her demons but I wanted to have something more personal. I commissioned her to make a demoness bookmark. I vaguely wanted something that could double as a muse for erotic writing. Jaymie applied her usual genius to the task and now I have this wonderful creation.

Please contact Jaymie to get your own amazing piece of magic.

 

Sunday Coven: 10

Oct 292017
 

Becca Whitaker is a wonderful artist that I support on Patreon. She had a sale recently for a Halloween Package that included an original Halloween pinup of your choice so I had to snag one. This lovely lady is my newest addition to my collection of Witch art.  Check out the dripping pentagram earrings! Marvel at the Ouija planchette tattoo! Delight in the split-color hair! Be bewitched by her giant pumpkins!

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