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Occasionally I wandered in where I was not wanted and gave truthful answers.
Sometimes I even did it deliberately. A little disruption now can prevent disaster later.
rite & ritual

Lexicon mini-indexes

One cannot and must not try to erase the past merely because it does not fit the present.
— Golda Meir
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Unexpected goddesses

“Let It Be Flash Mob for United Girls of the World”

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Greet the sunrise

Between one and the next.

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One tripod leg

The lore behind magick is only one tripod leg. Even there it's about real mastery, not rote recitation. I call it moving beyond the recipe. When you can adapt your technique to what is there and what is needed with a minimum of effort, that's mastery. The lore is about core ideas, not specific practices. That's one of the hardest lessons I've had to learn and I am not good enough with it yet.
— NeoWayland, A Rule of Three
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Short version, yes, magick works.

In fact, the ultimate speculation we can make about the nature of Divinity is that Divinity is NO-THING which we can know. In Hebrew, the word for no-thing (nothing) is AIN.
— Donald Michael Kraig
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Animism means

Thinking by blogging

In passing, I mentioned some of the differences between a Story and a Journey.

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Paths to the Innermost

There are two Paths to the Innermost: the Way of the Mystic, which is the way of devotion and meditation, a solitary and subjective path; and the way of the occultist, which is the way of the intellect, of concentration, and of trained will; upon this path the co-operation of fellow workers is required, firstly for the exchange of knowledge, and secondly because ritual magic plays an important part in this work, and for this the assistance of several is needed in most of the greater operations. The mystic derives his knowledge through the direct communion of his higher self with the Higher Powers; to him the wisdom of the occultist is foolishness, for his mind does not work in that way; but, on the other hand, to a more intellectual and extrovert type, the method of the mystic is impossible until long training has enabled him to transcend the planes of form. We must therefore recognize these two distinct types among those who seek the Way of Initiation, and remember that there is a path for each.
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Technopagan retreat

That sacred space of conscience where you can exercise your rights in terms of religious freedom and deeply-held, reasonable beliefs is the core of human dignity. In fact, that's the basis for civilization itself. And when you lose that fundamental principle... you have no basis on which to build.
— Jeff Fortenberry
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Facing the fire

Words matter. Actions matter more. Intentions don’t.
— NeoWayland, Rules of Three, see also Would you know?
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Authentic symbols

Ritual, provided it uses authentic symbols, is no more or less than what H.P. Blavatsky called 'concretized truth'.
— Stephan A. Hoeller, from "The Gnosis of the Eucharist," Gnosis № 11, Spring 1989
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Six new pages

I learned a long time ago that it's worth the trouble to make sure she's got at least two climaxes for every one of mine.

Keeps her smiling too.
— NeoWayland
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It's a FERTILITY religion!

It's very easy to find abusers.

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Worship

If a bible is left outside in the sun and rain it will eventually fade and decompose. A pagan's bible IS the sun and rain.
— anonymous
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Fantasy setting

I was working on the lexicon and realized I had totally forgotten Isaac Bonewits' The Laws of Magic.

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NeoNotes - clergy claims

I'm seeing people using their victimhood to control what others in the group will do.

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Broken

A swimming hole is always a good reason to shed clothing.

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Purpose of ritual

Between that and the floating, it's a pretty good bet that this depicts a psychedelic trip.

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Limiter

Thinking by blogging

I'd stop blogging for a while, but I think that's one thing keeping me going.

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We walk between the worlds

As a pagan, I've long since learned that the World isn't mine to control.
— NeoWayland
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Can't keep the magick

Paganism is about the relationship between you, the World, and the Divine.

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Hollow

Gimme that old time religion.

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“Circles”

Moonlight is sculpture; sunlight is painting.
— Nathaniel Hawthorne
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“Treating depression in a Pagan context”

Thinking by blogging

My time has not been my own.

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Journal 08Dec2017

When someone starts talking about THE truth, it's to exclude the thoughts and ideas they find uncomfortable.

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Old mind

He who cannot blast cannot bless.
— Gwydion Pendderwen
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Transcribing Faith

Know yourself. Know what you can do. Know what you're willing to do. Know the price you're willing to pay.
     — NeoWayland, Quick notes to a new seeker
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❝4 Rituals That Will Make You Loved❞

Make it better today. Keep polishing.
     — NeoWayland, Quick notes to a new seeker
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Special harvest

There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls.
— George Carlin
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Gather

“All Women are Goddess and deserve to be Cherished, unless they prove otherwise.”
— NeoWayland
All Men are God and deserve to be Adored, unless they prove otherwise.
— Juliaki
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Sex magick

Pagan temples are timeworn forests, secluded gardens, sun-kissed seashores and emerald pastures.
— Amelia Dashwood
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Gateway to summer

While these won't be necessarily pagan, they help show that life doesn't need clothing.

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A selection of bolines




Bolines can be fancy, but I think they sum up what can be wrong with today's paganism. It's about the flair rather than the practicallity.

This pocket knife is very similar to the one I carry. It's simple, inexpensive, and doubles as an athamé and a boline. It blends in and raises no questions. I can carry it easily in my pocket as I hike or tramp.

You don't always have to work with the fancy stuff. The best symbol of a thing is the thing.













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Affirmation of NeoWayland

This particular photo was taken on the customary Earth Day at Valdez, Alaska.

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Speaking of athamés

Chas S. Clifton, one of my favorite pagan writers, has a piece called The Story of Three Athames.

So I'm pointing it out.

You should go read it now.


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A selection of athamés

Home should be more than a place to hang our hat.

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Really real pagan

I have this mythical construct in my head of a bonfire with people I would like to hang out with, and maybe discuss matters large and small.
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Journal 10Apr2017

We pretty much agreed that women sometimes lie about rape and the code needed to take that into account. We added one small paragraph that said accusations of rape didn't necessarily mean rape.
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Clean

It's the last bright moon before Summergate, the Lady Moon is entering the Court of Stars and I am ready.

For what I am not sure.

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Five words

I wish a picture could do it justice.

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Inspiring space

Sex is one of the nine reasons for incarnation. The other eight are unimportant.
— George Burns
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Speculate this

Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.
— John Muir
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Ravens

Be careful the cloaks you wear lest you be soiled by their dirt.
— from the shadow book of Red Cedar Owl
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Winter begins

I've not been handling people very well this season. I'm glad that winter is finally beginning.

Wintergate is my three day
WebTree High Holiday that marks the gateway between autumn and winter. The middle day (tomorrow) of the holiday is the cross quarter day or midpoint between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice.

Wintergate also marks my semi-annual
Hair ot the Bear. I did it myself yesterday this year. This autumn made me prickly, I've been trying not to take it out on the people around me that I care about. That includes my companions, bless their hearts. Well, my mood should start improving in a couple of days. Then I owe them both big time.

So it's with shorter hair and hot chocolate that I anticipate this High Holiday. Solar Festivals last from dawn to dawn, but High Holidays last from sunset to sunset. I still have a few hours to prepare.

And that means I need to put this entry up.

Bright & Dark Blessings, everyone.

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Before this Year ends

The simple answer is that moral responsibility is always a personal choice. You can't compel virtue or it ceases to be virtue.
     — NeoWayland

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Rhythm Of Life

The last few days you may have seen some site issues.

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NeoNotes — What witch?

I don't think animals should be killed for ritual use. I have issues with animals being killed for food. It's why I still pray before meals. I'm honoring their sacrifice even though I know they don't understand.

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Daily

Since I don't have much time this week, I thought talk about the daily things we sometimes overlook.

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Bloody sacrifice

This year it's a bit cooler than I like. And we had scattered rainstorms, so the party was inside. Then the heat pump blower quit (on a Saturday), I built a fire in the firepace (fire GOOD grunts Neo).

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Act of Change

Poetic inspiration gives a glimse. That's a long way from manifesting.

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Fireplace

I joke about it, but that is the heart of it. Or maybe the hearth. It’s the center.

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Midwinter

More and more I think I was wise to separate my pagan blogging from my political blogging.

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Starwell - Solar Festival

I think that a Greater Pagan Community™ for the sake of the institution is a extraordinarily Bad Idea®.
— NeoWayland
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Hearthside

After dinner, we move to the kitchen. Easier to sweep up the hair, you see.

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Before the Gate of Winter

But kids (especially BRIGHT teens) know when you’re different. They like different, they’re attracted to it.

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The hard rain

They want flashy cheap answers to their problems. In easy to swallow pill form if possible.

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Time to scry

NO SOLICITORS
NO RELIGIOUS GROUPS
(This Means You Everyone)
NO PEDDLERS
NO PROBLEMS!
HAVE A SUPER FANTASTIC DAY!
— three minutes and fifteen seconds into the movie Growing Op
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Flexing your calendar

Today is the first day of The Lady in the Court of Stars.

One of these days I really should tell that story. But not today.


No, today I’m going to talk about calendars.

This is a partial list of dates from my Lore and Wyrd calendars. The exact dates don’t matter in this example.

Pay attention to the symbols before the title in each listing.

The
ankh symbol is my shorthand for a Before. Before are those who’ve inspired me and those who I choose to honor by living their example.

The
shadowed star is my shorthand for a pagan.

The
inverted triangle is a symbol for philosophy, I use this to designate philosophers.

The ≠ not equals sign means that I acknowledge but do not celebrate (ABNC). Just because the day is important to other people doesn’t mean that I have to celebrate it. And if you think I have a lot of these days in my Lore and Wyrd calendars, you should see the birthdays and anniversaries in my Kinship calendar.

The
solid star shows that this day that while not distinctively pagan is still important to my practice.

Okay, the
circled times symbol. I don’t want to use the circled cross because of it’s association with the KKK (and yes, my feelings on that go back years). This is a good alternative that maintains the same elemental associations. Of course someone who takes a title based on Wayland is going to celebrate The Firing of the Anvil. Especially someone with strong ties to the American South.

Let’s see how that actually works. As you can see, this is an event from 1971.

The ankh and the inverted triangle tell us that this man is one of my Befores and he’s a philosopher. I’ve used the location field to give more expand the information a bit. This field will also show in the day list view of the iOS calendar or in my preferred option Fantastical.

I’ve included a quick URL so I can call up in-depth information.

I’ve unchecked the “Busy” box so I still show available.

My notes show his lifespan and how old he was when he died.

And I’ve listed some of the things he was known for WITHOUT giving specific works. Otherwise the entry would be way too long and clunky.

The whole purpose of this exercise is that I have a calendar in the palm of my hand that will quickly show me what I need to know for that day.

I haven’t even mentioned my Sky calendar with the astronomical events and symbols.

Have I mentioned that I have a calendar obsession?

Here’s the most important bit.

After the initial setup (and the once a year update on my Sky calendar), I don’t have to worry about it. It’s there. If I absolutely have to I can print it up (and I still do for some events and rituals).

A little bit of work, a little bit of planning, and I’m ready.

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Spark

“Do you believe, you believe in magic, 'cos I believe, I believe that I do”

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Glimpse

I'm willing to start at mutual respect. Not everyone is. That creates a problem.

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Prep Work

I have this thing for snow.

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Rocket

Where else would She be now?

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Not Samhain

“Taproots”

Where ever it may lead

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☯ Lady in the Court of Stars

“Taproots”

How my family influenced the relationship I have with the Divine

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Before the Deepest Night - updated

Bone, Heart, Thought, Deed, and Spirit, I choose to honor these people this season

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Dirty hands

Rambling on time & calendars

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Direction

The sun comes up other there…

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Pangere

Rambling on time & calendars

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Mark time

You can tell she's a witch by her pendant.

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Poking around and organizing

“I haven't found Jesus, but I haven't lost Him either!”

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Before Our Worlds Touch

It's not quite... ancestor worship

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Lightning and ritual

Paganism should spread through experience and art, not theology. The theology comes later, if it comes.
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So does my tool fetish
really qualify as a fetish?

Making technology sing

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Taking full measure

Fiction and nonfiction collide and spawn in my semi-fevered brain

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Dream a little dream for me

An internet quiz to tell how you think

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Before the Wheel Turns

Here’s the secret to being a pagan

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“Thunder in the vicinity”

A pagan author and blogger also notices the trendlines

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Before a Winter's Eve

Thinking by blogging

Beware the Egos

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Any suggestions?

A not so smart technical advance

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A new balance

Evil spelled backwards is live. That's what I do.
— NeoWayland, October - updated
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Before me

The sun comes up other there…

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Flake off

It always worries me when I can hear the capitals in what other people say, even if it is only what they are typing on a computer screen.
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The V ritual

Moving from the politically correct

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The Focusing Flame

Harvestpoint differs from Lughnasadh, but that is a good place to begin your studies.

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Scrying with the Dark Moon

This is a page from the third version of Technopagan Yearnings. There are some formatting differences. Originally published at www.neowayland.com/C1325529963/E20060627034440

One of my (suitably edited) Dark Moon rites

The Dark Moon is one of my favorite times for reflection.

I'm not particularly gifted in augury, but some methods work to find a meditation focus or settling exercise.

When I can, usually two or three times a year, I like to do a more formal ritual.

I know that the tools aren't strictly necessary, but I find it reassuring to use them when I can.

I start at twilight, when the sun has slipped below the horizon and there is a deep violet at the edge of the horizon. That is when I start cleaning the ritual space. Can't use a circle in this one.

By the time full dark has set in, I am ready. I have a small candle on a small stand at about eye level at about chest height.

My scrying bowl is black with a slightly reflective interior. It sits beside me at first. I put the dry ingredients in a mortar, moon blessed sea salt, cinnamon, a few other things. I grind it into a very small powder. Not much. When the dry has been thoroughly crushed, I put the mortar and pestle down and take up the scyring bowl. Very carefully I hold it up to the stars, letting their light fill it. Then I close my eyes and pour the light into my face.

Very carefully I take a small amount of oil on my finger and draw a quick sign in the bottom of the bowl. I sprinkle the dry ingredients over the sign. Then I breathe on the sign.

Then I light the candle.

Holding the bowl in my lap, I very slowly add water. I crouch over it and look through the candle reflection in the water.

Of course, this description is incomplete. But you can see where it is going.

Posted: Tue - June 27, 2006 at 04:44 AM

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Hair of the bear

My personal view

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Mistress Moon

The perils of using what we aren't to define what we are

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In the moment

Adapted from an IM session, but it is just my words and beliefs

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The price

An excuse to embrace victimhood, or a reason to seize our own power?

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Wheel

My response to a question about being skyclad. Taken from Wicca: General Chat from the Timerift Forums

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Discussion on initiation

Sometimes my email is worth it

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“I'm being attacked!”

I'm going to watch this one a bit before adding it to the blogroll, but I do agree with the idea.

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Intensity and withdrawl

Feed2JS messed up this blog too.

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NeoNote — Skyclad

"all of that sunshine,
all of that sweet golden sunshine,
that thrills me and fills me and…"

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Keeping vigil

Actual web locations and frame pages

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What's in a word?

Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces up, snow is exhilarating; there is no such thing as bad weather just different kinds of good weather.
— John Ruskin
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The Magick of Food


Added Days of the Week and cross-referenced lexicon.

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Spells for Democracy?

The knocker sells this one.

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A Blast from the Past

This is a page from the third version of Technopagan Yearnings. There are some formatting differences. Originally published at www.neowayland.com/C550866538/E1479161501

A selection from the original version of Technopagan Yearnings - updated

By way of making it up to you, I uploaded converted one of my old pages from the original Technopagan Yearnings site.

Not all the links are active, but here is The Affirmation of NeoWayland.

Enjoy!

Posted: Sun - May 15, 2005 at 11:25 PM

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Sunfell Tech Mage Rede Nine Words Serve The Tech Mage Best Keep What Works Fix What’s Broke Ditch The Rest

A narrow slice of life, but now and again pondering American neopaganism, modern adult pagans & the World.

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