Here are my thoughts and impressions after this year’s Mystic South conference, written from the Atlanta airport because my flight was delayed. Again. I should know better than to book an early evening flight home. I used to live in Atlanta and I know the July weather forecast is always “partly cloudy with a chance of afternoon and evening thunderstorms” – and thunderstorms play havoc with airline schedules.
[Edit: I got home right at midnight. But I did get home safely.]
1. So many good presentations
The only bad thing about Mystic South is that there are so many good speakers and so many good presentations that I can’t see all the ones I want to see. I had to make some very hard choices in some time slots. Thumper Forge jokingly told Heather Greene he’d skip his own presentation to see hers, and then he ended up scheduled opposite her.
I can report that Thumper did not skip his own presentation. I have more to say on that below.
The scheduling folks at Mystic South have an impossible job and I appreciate them doing the best they can.
2. Lots of books
Heron Michelle’s Sojourner handled book sales again. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen so many Pagan and magical books in one place before.
I spent an hour and a half on Saturday morning signing books. The Path of Paganism is still selling well despite being seven years old, and I was happy to get The Book of Cernunnos available for sale in person (it’s normally only available through Amazon print-on-demand). I shared the signing table with Rob and Nonie Douglas – I had such a good time talking with them about their new book Unquiet Voices that I bought it… and had them sign it.
3. Thumper Forge is a gem
Those of you who know me know I’m not a fan of chaos and discord. But if it’s Thumper Forge giving a presentation on Discordianism, I’m going to be there. Last year I called his presentation on Lithomantic Divination “both hilarious and informative.” I’ll call this year’s presentation on Discordianism “informative and hilarious.”
Discordianism and its devotion to Eris is silly, but there’s wisdom in the silliness and I enjoyed learning more about it. And getting a card declaring that I’m a Pope.
Thumper also had a series of Facebook posts hashtagged “things you hear at Mystic South.” They’re context-free… unless you were there… unless you know exactly who said it and who they were talking about even though you weren’t there…
If you’re not reading Thumper’s blog, you should be.
4. The other sigil magic
I’m a big fan of the kind of sigil magic usually associated with Austin Osman Spare and chaos magic. I’ve gotten great results with it.
Laura Tempest Zakroff teaches a different kind of sigil magic. It has more intent and more opportunity for art and creativity, and it doesn’t operate on “fire and forget.” Periodically she publishes sigils for use in the wider community – I’ve found them to be helpful.
I went to one of her workshops this weekend where she walked the class through the process of creating a sigil using her methods. And it hit me: this kind of sigil magic would be a perfect companion to hypersigils – the process of long-term visualization to achieve major results. Set your goal, visualize the process, and then also create a sigil to add some more magical oomph to it.
I’m going to design and draw a sigil for the next hypersigil I create.
5. A method for ecstatic possession
I always enjoy watching Ivo Dominguez Jr. teach – I learn something new every time. This time he led a workshop on “Divine Embodiment: Assumption, Drawing Down, Aspecting, and Possession.” Ivo teaches this in the context of the Western Mystery Tradition. My own work is more animistic and shamanic (I don’t like using that word for myself, but I don’t have a better one). Ivo and I do similar things in different ways.
My way works for me, and it works for a few people I work with. But a few years ago I tried to teach it, and honestly, I didn’t do a very good job. I think the structure of Ivo’s method would make it easier for a beginner to gradually wade into the pool without jumping off the deep end, which is pretty much how I learned to do this work.
6. Panel discussion on Folk Magic
One of the things I love most about gatherings like Mystic South is the opportunity to “talk shop” with other experienced practitioners. Panel discussions accomplish much the same thing, but they allow a room full of other folks to sit in on the conversation.
Kelden moderated a panel on “Folk Magic in Modern Times” between headliners Morgan Daimler, Sen Elias, and Wendy Mata Houseman – three experienced practitioners from three different traditions. There was less discussion of specific practices and more on the nature of folk magic – ordinary folks using what they have to fill their needs.
The topic of magic and Christianity came up. All of the panelists made it clear they are not practicing Christians, but also pointed out how much of folk magic uses Christian sources and imagery. Magic is a human thing – it can be practiced in any religious context. And it is.
I had to make a clean break with Christianity – my magic is grounded in Paganism, polytheism, and animism. But that’s not the only way to practice magic.
7. Metaphysics: choose or it will be chosen for you
Metaphysics are our fundamental assumptions about the world and the way it works: what’s real and how do we know it’s real? Everyone has a metaphysics, it’s just that most people base theirs on what they were taught as small children and on what “everybody knows.”
Last year I taught a 7-week course on Modern Pagan Metaphysics. For Mystic South, I tried to condense all that into a 1-hour presentation. Obviously that’s not possible, so I presented the foundations and the highlights – things like animism, polytheism, science, magic, and myth. From here we can explore the Big Questions of Life: where do we come from, why are we here, why is there suffering, and perhaps most importantly, how should we live?
The course on Metaphysics is still available on-demand if you’d like to take it.
8. Morgan Daimler on fairies
Morgan Daimler was back at Mystic South for the first time since 2018. Morgan is one of the most knowledgeable scholars on the topic of fairy lore in the world today. Their first presentation was on European fairies in the United States. Some people claim that fairies are limited to Europe, but there are plenty of stories of the fair folk showing up on this continent dating back centuries.
And some of us have experienced them here ourselves.
Morgan’s second presentation was on fairies and witches. There’s plenty of lore of witches working with fairies, usually to learn magic. As with all things related to the fair folk, sometimes this worked out well for the witch in question and sometimes it didn’t.
There was lots to learn and lots to provide context for our current experiences.
9. Hope
I did not expect to talk politics on this trip. But I wasn’t even in my seat for Raina Starr’s “Desperate Housewitches” live podcast when she asked me for my thoughts on what went on last week, with Joe Biden stepping aside and so many people coalescing around Kamala Harris. As I said on Facebook, the Democratic Party is known for shooting itself in the foot. This time they’re doing it right.
I wanted Biden to stay in the race. He won in 2020, he’s done a decent job, and if his health is worse than publicly admitted, then whoever is keeping things going behind the scenes is doing a good job and I want to keep them in power. But I don’t know anybody who was excited about four more years of Joe Biden.
Lots of people are excited about the idea of a Kamala Harris Presidency. I heard the phrase “cautiously optimistic” numerous times. We all remember that Hillary Clinton had a 70% chance of winning in 2016 and lost. But if liberals and moderates turn out in 2024 like they did in 2020, Kamala Harris will be President.
This election is a simple choice. Either we get Kamala Harris and moderately progressive government, or we get Donald Trump, J.D. Vance, and Project 2025. Which one we get depends on which side turns out to vote.
10. I love the one on one conversations
I lost track of how many people grabbed me (not literally, thankfully!) for private conversations. Some wanted to share their magical experiences and some wanted references for things they were working on. Many had nice things to say about my writing. I so appreciate those comments.
I don’t write for the kind words. I write because I have something to say and I need to say it. But when I hear that what I have to say resonates with someone and helps them navigate the challenges of contemporary life, that means a lot to me.
And it reminds me that I need to keep writing.
11. Going earlier next year
Mystic South has grown to the point that it’s taken over two of the large ballrooms – they were great for ritual. The conference will be at the Crowne Plaza Ravinia again next year, but it’s going earlier – July 11 through 13, 2025.
I’ll be there.
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