Hey folks!
I’ve been writing some non-fiction articles lately on Medium, specifically for the publication Modern Mythology.
I’m still plugging away at The Witch-Doctor stuff, as well as other projects, but everyone needs a break from the usual, right?
Anyway, hope you enjoy these articles!
The Pentagram, Symbol of What Exactly?
Untangling the semiotic shift behind a controversial symbol.
“The pentagram is a symbol rife with controversy in the Western world. Often portrayed as a symbolic representation of Satanism, it has historically been banned in schools, and only fairly recently was approved as a suitable symbol of religious affiliation for United States veteran’s headstones. The horror genre makes liberal use of this stock symbol, as does fantasy.
Infographics, memes, and articles about the ‘true’ meaning of the pentagram flood the Internet, but are often neglectful of mentioning its usage in general Western Esotericism, and of its history beyond modern Wicca.
As someone who generally falls under the umbrella term “Pagan,” and self-identifies as an occultist, I decided to try my hand at creating an easy reference guide. This is my attempt to dispel some of the cobwebs that have settled onto this popular, somewhat misunderstood symbol.”
Read more here.
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Dream Fixation
From Lucid Dreaming to Oneiromancy
“I’d been interested in lucid dreaming ever since learning about it in school. It was a minor blip in an otherwise uninspiring packet of information on sleep and dreams, handed out during Health class. The print-out claimed it was absolutely impossible to have a dream without being in REM sleep, and we couldn’t enter into REM sleep just by taking a short nap.
I remember telling my teacher that I recalled many dreams, while napping. I also remember the look on her face, something that clearly communicated “I don’t know what to tell ya, kid.”
It would be many years later before I started to satisfy this curiosity. A brief stint with non-psychoactive substance related altered states, then later, delving into esotericism, seeking out so-called ‘cutting edge’ occult techniques. All in search of something I couldn’t quite place.”
Read more here.
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Lessons Learned From The Salem Witch-Trials
A Tale of Colonial Cover-ups, Wars, and Witch-Finding
“Rather than a singular grand scene, the events of the Salem witch trials occurred between February 1692 and May 1693, though the town of Salem declared a day of remembrance for the victims of the trials, on June 10, marking the day the first victim was executed. All that played out in that tiny New England town was sewn in the same colonial soil that fed nascent global conflicts: revolts in Boston, the French and Indian wars, political upheavals in Europe, and revolutionary conflicts that would change the world.
Expect some discursion.
This is not an article about the events of the trials themselves — though a timeline is presented later in this article — so much as what precipitated them, the historical context, criticisms of witchfinding, and subsequent reactions taken by colonists and colonial government at the time, in an attempt to present the context which is so often missed in the public’s recollection of these events.”
Equanimous Rex 