An irregular hodgepodge of links beyond the library curated together from @OmniumGatherum at Hrmtc I∴O∴ and more … Omnium Gatherum for June 22, 2022.

Here’s a selection of notable things I’ve recently found that you may also be interested in checking out:

• “How (not) to do Juneteenth, from freedom panties to horrifying video game cosmetics. There’s no single way to observe Juneteenth, but corporations have shown us some fairly major ways to get it wrong.” Also “Amazon Tells Warehouse Workers They Get to ‘Dress Up’ Instead of Getting Day Off for Juneteenth. Rather than giving employees the holiday off, Amazon is promoting staff swag and “dress-up week”—a decision some workers and union activists call deeply insulting.”
• “More than 6,000 gather at Stonehenge to celebrate the summer solstice.”—”It is the first time in three years people have been officially allowed back to the World Heritage Site to mark the occasion. Around 6,000 people joined together to watch the sun rise just before 5am marking the start of the longest day of the year.”
• “Abyss of Hallucinations Vol. 2 – A MÖRK BORG Setting. Volume 2 of the MÖRK BORG compatible setting based on Aleister Crowley’s Book of Lies.”—”A full-frontal assault on truth, the resulting text is rife with falsehoods, misnomers, and utter disregard for accuracy. Yet, from beneath love and death a new LAW for a new AEON is erected: PLAY WHAT THOU WILT.” Crowdfunding effort with 29 days to go … Obviously this is related to Hermetic Library Anthology Figure Aleister Crowley, but, check it out, this effort also includes art by Hermetic Library Anthology Artist Luciana Lupe Vasconcelos.
• “Seas Of Strangehollow – An Art Book By Emily Hare. A fully illustrated art book filled with all the weird and wonderful creatures you will find on the coasts and seas of Strangehollow.” Crowdfunding effort with 28 days to go …
• “Horse and Hattock. Isobel Gowdie: The Woman, Healer & Witch.”—”Isobel Gowdie, the accursed witch of Auldearn parish and wise woman to her community in Lochley, has been the most well-known and infamous of all cases in Scotland’s witch craze during the 17th century. She was trialed and prosecuted as a witch at Auldearn, Scotland in 1662.”—”our mission to … show the true story of who she truly was … telling her story from modern historical perspectives” Crowdfunding effort with 28 days to go … Also, watch “Morvoren performance for Isobel Gowdie fundraiser project“—”Morvoren performance video produced for the ‘Honouring Isobel Gowdie’ Live Fundraiser.”
• “A Look Back at Jack Parsons on the 70th Anniversary of His Explosive Death. Was the blast that killed rocketry pioneer Jack Parsons, whose work helped lead to the founding of JPL, an accident, murder or suicide? Seven decades later, we still don’t know—and we probably never will.”
• “Midsummer Wreaths — a generator by watabou. A browser generator made in HTML5. Grass, leaves and some flowers.”
• Maybe Day, July 23, 2022 is upcoming!
• “The Golem of Venice Beach: A Graphic Novel With a Truly Legendary Creative Team. Some of the most talented artists in the industry are joining forces for a very promising new graphic novel.” About “The Golem of Venice Beach—A Graphic Novel by Chanan Beizer. Art by Vanessa Cardinali, Bill Sienkiewicz, Jae Lee, Paul Pope, Nick Pitarra, Stephen R. Bissette & Michael Allred.” Crowdfunding effort with 8 days to go …
• “Tarot for Dreamers & Visionaries: A Dialogue of Self and Soul, Friday 18th November – Sunday 20th November 2022, 9:15 am – 5:15 pm (UK Time)”—”Three days. Nine speakers. A myriad of enlightening perspectives. Welcome to The College of Psychic Studies’ inaugural Tarot Symposium.” Including Robert Shehu-Ansell of Fulgur Press on “The Scent of the Secret Rose: Ithell Colquhoun and the Taro” and Jonathan Allen on “Rediscovering the Austin Spare Tarot Deck”.
• “10 Female Adventurers That Changed the World“—”10 Aimée Crocker” “Crocker was born in 1864 and was known for her collection of husbands, lovers, adopted children, Buddhas, pearl tattoos, and snakes. She survived headhunters in Borneo, a poisoning in Hong Kong, a murder attempt by knife-throwing servants in Shanghai” I don’t get to mention this Hermetic Library Figure Aimée Crocker too often!
• Hermetic Spirituality and the Historical Imagination: Altered States of Knowledge in Late Antiquity, New Edition, by Wouter J Hanegraaff—”In Egypt during the first centuries CE, men and women would meet discreetly in their homes, in temple sanctuaries, or insolitary places to learn a powerful practice of spiritual liberation. They thought of themselves as followers of Hermes Trismegistus, the legendary master of ancient wisdom. While many of their writings are lost, those that survived have been interpreted primarily as philosophical treatises about theological topics. Wouter J. Hanegraaff challenges this dominant narrative by demonstrating that Hermetic literature was concerned with experiential practices intended for healing the soul from mental delusion. The Way of Hermes involved radical alterations of consciousness in which practitioners claimed to perceive the true nature of reality behind the hallucinatory veil of appearances. Hanegraaff explores how practitioners went through a training regime that involved luminous visions, exorcism, spiritual rebirth, cosmic consciousness, and union with the divine beauty of universal goodness and truth to attain the salvational knowledge known as gnôsis.”
• The Modern Craft: Powerful Voices on Witchcraft Ethics eds Alice Tarbuck and Claire Askew—”Galvanizing and electrifying glimpses from the brink of the contemporary Craft. This eclectic collection of essays on responsible witchcraft is a fascinating snapshot of contemporary occult practice. Essay topics include the ethics of decolonization, meditations on what it means to honour Mother Earth during the Anthropocene, the reclamation of agency for working-class and queer witches through practical spellwork, a gender-fluid perspective on breaking down traditional hierarchies in magical symbolism, a day in the life of a disabled Pagan Irish practitioner, and so much more. These essays show how we can all find inspiration and a force for powerful change in the modern Craft. Featuring contributions from: Claire Askew, Lisa Marie Basile, Stella Hervey Birrell, Jane Claire Bradley, Madelyn Burnhope, Lilith Dorsey, AW Earl, Harry Josephine Giles, Simone Kotva, Iona Lee, Briana Pegado, Megan Rudden, Sabrina Scott, Em Still and Alice Tarbuck”
• Switching Sides: How a Generation of Historians Lost Sympathy for the Victims of the Salem Witch Hunt by Tony Fels—”Tony Fels traces a remarkable shift in scholarly interpretations of the Salem witch hunt from the post-World War II era up through the present. In Switching Sides, Tony Fels explains that for a new generation of historians influenced by the radicalism of the New Left in the 1960s and early 1970s, the Salem panic acquired a startlingly different meaning. Determined to champion the common people of colonial New England, dismissive toward liberal values, and no longer instinctively wary of utopian belief systems, the leading works on the subject to emerge from 1969 through the early 2000s highlighted economic changes, social tensions, racial conflicts, and political developments that served to unsettle the accusers in the witchcraft proceedings. These interpretations, still dominant in the academic world, encourage readers to sympathize with the perpetrators of the witch hunt, while at the same time showing indifference or even hostility toward the accused. Switching Sides is meticulously documented, but its comparatively short text aims broadly at an educated American public, for whom the Salem witch hunt has long occupied an iconic place in the nation’s conscience. Readers will come away from the book with a sound knowledge of what is currently known about the Salem witch hunt—and pondering the relationship between works of history and the ideological influences on the historians who write them.” On the face of it, this seems like an exercise in what mental gymnastics are necessary to Left bash. What a crock this appears to be, but it’s subject matter relevant. ::sad trombone::
• The Prophet’s Wife: A Novel of an American Faith by Libbie Grant—”A sweeping, lyrical tale of historical fiction that tells the unbelievable story of the early days of the Mormon church through the eyes of the woman who saw it all—Emma, the first wife of the prophet Joseph Smith. In 1825, in rural Pennsylvania, Emma Hale marries an itinerant treasure-digger, a man who has nothing but a peep-stone in his pocket and a conviction that he can speak directly to God. His name is Joseph Smith and in a few short years, he will found his own religion, gather zealous adherents by the tens of thousands, and fracture Emma’s life and faith. While the Mormon religion finds its feet and runs beyond the grasp of its founder, Emma struggles to maintain her place in Joseph’s heart—and in the religion that has become her world. The Mormons make themselves outcasts everywhere they go. Joseph can only maintain his authority by issuing ever-stranger commandments on God’s behalf, culminating in an edict that men should marry as many women as they please. The Mormons’ adoption of polygamy only sets them further apart, and soon their communities are ravaged by violence at the hands of their outraged fellow Americans. For Emma, things take a more personal toll as Joseph brings in a new wife—a woman whom Emma considers a sister. As Emma’s family grows along with Joseph’s infamy, she knows there will never be peace until Joseph faces the law. But on the half-wild edge of the frontier, he’s more likely to find death at the hands of a vigilante posse than a fair trial. For the sake of her people—and her soul—Emma must convince the Prophet of God to surrender… and perhaps to sacrifice his life.”
• “Why Failure is Necessary for Creative Growth. Brandon Stosuy on Making Space for Mistakes and Setbacks.” About How to Fail Successfully: Finding Your Creative Potential Through Mistakes and Challenges by Brandon Stosuy—”From Brandon Stosuy, cofounder of the Creative Independent, an interactive guide to navigating disappointments and finding happy accidents in a creative life, filled with advice from artists across disciplines. The third in a series of three interactive guides to the practical and emotional sides of living a creative life, How to Fail Successfully tackles the inevitable challenges that come with making work and releasing it into the world. Whether you are confronting “failure” in the form of fear, imposter syndrome, or negative feedback, this book provides insights and exercises to help you reframe these vulnerabilities as vital components to your process. Working artists from all walks of life—such as musicians, authors, filmmakers, dancers, designers, and visual artists—offer their advice throughout the book, providing ample evidence that even the most accomplished among us deal with ongoing self-doubt. Part memoir, part zine, part “how-to,” and part oral history, in How to Fail Successfully author and curator Brandon Stosuy taps into his own experiences and an incredible network of talent to provide diverse (and diverging) perspectives on how success and failure are intertwined. Taken as a stand-alone guide or the finale of a series (including Make Time for Creativity and Stay Inspired), this book provides the support you need to take creative risks and make work on your terms. The book also includes quotes by Jason Reynolds (YA author), Björk (musician), Matthew Day Jackson (visual artist), Josh Fadem (comedian), Hanif Abdurraqib (poet and author), Sasha Grey (actor and DJ), Sigrid Lauren (choreographer), and many more.”
• “John Waters: ‘Why Is the Gay World Fighting With Each Other?’ Ahead of his Barbican show, the cult director and author talks about political correctness, bad taste and “Liarmouth”, his debut novel.” In part, more about Liarmouth: A Feel-Bad Romance: A Novel by John Waters.
• “When Will Novels Fix Society Already? Fiction can help us understand our world, but that doesn’t mean novels can solve our problems.”
• “Scientists accidentally create super-vicious HAMSTERS in a lab after gene editing experiment goes wrong and makes aggressive rodents chase, bite and pin each other down“—”Gene editing lab test inadvertently makes horde of rage-fuelled hamsters. Scientists removed key hormone in the hope it would boost animals’ cooperation. But it turned them wild, prompting chasing, biting and pinning among hamsters.” Ugh, not now murder hamsters!
• From 2019: “How Does Music Affect Your Brain? Every Imaginable Way. In the latest episode of Tech Effects, we investigated how music gets into our brains—and our bodies.”
• “A NASA rover just found trash on Mars. Signs of exploration.”
• “Sacrificial altar among 13,000 relics unearthed at Sanxingdui archaeological site in China.” Also “New Sanxingdui findings tell story of exchange, integration in Chinese culture.”
• “Leaving Russia: Rockstars, Writers, Actors, and Filmmakers on the Country’s Cultural Brain Drain. ‘I was shaking, and I suddenly realized that maybe I’m never going back.'”—”We are all hostages on board a plane that has been hijacked by a madman—and he’s about to fly it into a cliff face.”
• “The farmers restoring Hawaii’s ancient food forests that once fed an island. Maui is a hub for GMO research but Indigenous farmers are trying to bring back the abundant and thriving landscapes of their ancestors.”
• “Genndy Tartakovsky Inks Cross-Studio Overall Deal With Cartoon Network Studios & Warner Bros. Animation.” ZOMG SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!
• “Is black metal without distortion just surf rock? Yes, and this guitarist proves it. YouTuber Kevin Balke has exposed the truth about black metal that was right in front of us all along.” Watch “Black Metal Without Distortion Is Just Surf Rock.”
• “Solo Tabletop RPGs Are Really Fun, Actually. The world of single-player TTRPGs is surprisingly varied.”
• “Take your role-playing game to the stars with Ironsworn: Starforged. Explore the mysteries and magic of space with this new TTRPG from Shawn Tomkin.”
• “Beloved Tabletop RPG Will Now Let Fans Make, Sell Their Own Games“—”Monte Cook Games announced last week that its core set of tabletop roleplaying game rules, known as the Cypher System, is switching to an open license that will allow anyone to design and sell content using its rules.” See also: “Announcing the Cypher System Open License” But, wait for it, there’s a hint it might be something akin to Chaosium’s lackluster effort: “Charles Ryan, CFO of Monte Cook Games, told Kotaku that folks familiar with Wizards of the Coast’s open game license should expect very familiar material here, though he stresses designers wait for the finalized license and source material before making any final product decisions.”
• “Introducing Crowdfunding by BackerKit.” Shots fired! Also “Miniatures of Gloomhaven, Frosthaven, & MORE! Launching Early 2023 by Cephalofair” via “Starting Production“—”our next project, Miniatures of Gloomhaven, will be launching on BackerKit Crowdfunding, as opposed to Kickstarter. We’ll be launching the project in early 2023” “It will feature over 500 miniatures for all the monsters and summons” On the new BackerKit Crowdfunding!
• “Tree Rings Shed Light on a Stradivarius Mystery. Analyses of 17th-century stringed instruments suggest that a young Antonio Stradivari might have apprenticed with a particular craftsman.”
• Tweet—”Hasbro has just introduced, and this is not a joke, their new nightmarish mascot for NERF brand products named’ ‘Murph.’ Murph’s terrifying catchphrase is ‘unleash the play in you.’ Here is Murph.” Be Not Afraid.

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