Category Archives: Sam Webster: Initiate of the Mysteries

The Sacred Images of Kat Lunoe

You may be interested in checking out the art of Kat Lunoe, newly available in The Sacred Images of Kat Lunoe print series through Thelesis Aura, in both standard and limited editions. You’ve no doubt seen Kat’s “All-Beneficent Ra-Hoor-Khuit” (which was on the cover of Hermetic Library fellow Sam Webster‘s Tantric Thelema and very recently in Knights Templar’s Thelemic Seasonal Holy Day Wall Calendar) but you may want to check out her other work as well.

Kat Lunoe IO The Great God Pan from Thelesis Aura

“At the request of many of our customers, we searched for the right artist whose vision of beauty, detail, color, and most of all magick, was up to our exacting standards. Well, we sought. And it was opened unto us.

Kat Lunoe is a Northern California-based artist who is quickly becoming one of the most popular in the spiritual and occult genre. Classically trained at some of the best art schools in New York and Russia, her style and technique is becoming the talk of both the spiritual and mainstream art world.

Kat creates images that are more than just beautiful pictures. She is highly trained in both the Western and Eastern Mysteries. As a student and initiate of several traditions and orders, Kat is able to embed deep knowledge and symbolism into her work. Sacred geometry, Qabalah, symbolic correspondences–her paintings contain a level of esoteric depth and detail seldom seen in this day and age.

Now, Thelesis Aura is proud to offer the Sacred Images of Kat Lunoe. High quality prints of her fabulous oil paintings priced for any budget, along with investment grade limited edition prints that are sure to become valuable collector’s items in the years ahead.” [via]

Pantheon Foundation

You may be interested in Pantheon Foundation: building 21st Century Pagan infrastructure, an event planned for Sunday night at this year’s PantheaCon, being organized by Hermetic Library fellow Sam Webster.

“Announcing the Pantheon Foundation: building 21st Century Pagan infrastructure.

We are a California non-profit religious corporation applying for 501(c)(3) status with the IRS. Our mission is to provide IRS group exemptions for Pagan organizations through fiscal sponsorship, develop Pagan ministry, study the history, promote the culture, and advance the social welfare of Pagans and the Pagan community.

Come to our reception at PantheaCon, Saturday night at 9pm in Suite 1060.” [via]

Coreopsis, a Journal of Myth and Theatre

Hermetic Library fellow Sam Webster has announced the revival of Coreopsis, a Journal of Myth and Theatre under the Concrescent Scholars imprint. The journal will be independent and freely available online; and will be online-only publication, at least to start. While peer-reviewed, the journal is open to non-academic authors. In addition to making available past issues on the new site, you can check out the call for papers for Spring/Summer 2013 and Fall/Winter 2013 on their announcements page.

Coreopsis, a Journal of Myth and Theatre from Concrescent Scholars

 

“Coreopsis is a multidisciplinary peer-reviewed journal dedicated to humanistic scholarship in the arts of sacred performance in areas of interest that include — but, are not limited to — ritual studies, liturgical considerations, musicology and composition, dance, folklore, mythology, historical research, theatre arts (including technical aspects), mythopoetics, ethnography and selected areas of psychology, brain science, neuraesthetics, cybernetics and the science of thought, shamanic studies, and consciousness.” [via]

 

“I am proud to announce the relaunch of Coreopsis, a Journal of Myth and Theatre!

In the spring of 2009, Dr. Lezlie Kinyon with a staff of volunteers launched Coreopsis Journal and produced six issues before going into abeyance. Now with the publishing support of Concrescent Scholars, the academic imprint of Concrescent Press, Coreopsis has been moved onto a new WordPress platform and a new host to improve access and publishing flexibility. Paul Rucker (paulruckerart.com) has taken on art direction for the publication and it is his work you see in the banner and background.

We are now in preparation for our next issue, Spring/Summer 2013 Vol. 2 No. 4: Musing upon Euterpe: Electric and Acoustic Music of Our Times.

Suggested subjects include, but are not limited to, music of the ancients, music and mythology, music in myth and theater, Pagan and traditional music, and modern mythical topic within popular and folk music. The publication date is April 29. See the Announcements tab for more information.” [via]

Enough of Because

Hermetic Library fellow Sam Webster has a new post about the “problem of authority” in the Pagan community at “Enough of Because: The Nature of Pagan Authority“:

“In my last post endeavoring to explain the project of this blog, I made the statement, “And, no, you can’t worship Jesus Christ and be a Pagan.” It provoked heated response. The content, regarding the nature of the relationship between Christianity and Pagans, will be the topic of my next post. What is more interesting and immediate is the underlying assumptions about the nature of authority projected upon me, my writing, and to generalize, within Paganism as a whole.

Let’s start with the concrete: I’m the author. As such I have complete “authority.” I wrote the words. But do they amount to anything? Well, they must, they were published in a blog! Is that enough?

Admittedly, it was a provocative assertion. It was stated as an injunction—”you can’t be”—and this rankles some in our rather oppositional community. For me, this was just a rhetorical flourish, and when I go into the content I will represent this idea with greater precision and exposition. But it clearly annoyed some. I am speaking to get your attention, and I see that you have given it to me, but truthfully, I have no desire to irritate, just to focus you. I sincerely offer my apologies.

That said, we need to deal with a bigger problem than my diction: the problem of authority.” [via]

God’s Boredom or Why we are not Enlightened

Hermetic Library fellow Sam Webster has a new post over on his Arkadian Anvil blog at “God’s Boredom or Why we are not Enlightened …”

“Why are we not enlightened? In this case I mean why do we not experience ourselves, from the moment we are conscious, as an inalienable part of the Divine, with all Its resources and presence? Our fears and worries tell us that we are not immortal, omnipotent, omniscient, etc, etc … even when we know we are part of the Divine. We don’t feel it, at least at first. I think there is an explanation, and it’s a good one, if a bit weird. But, it requires a suspension of our assumptions to understand it. So, please give me a chance to lay it out. You see, God was bored …” [via]

Eco-spirituality and theology

“Eco-spirituality and theology” over at Sermons from the Mound discusses, in part, and links to Hermetic Library fellow Sam Webster’s essay “How Close the Gods?”

“Baruch Spinoza and Giordano Bruno both viewed the universe as divine. Their ideas were broadly pantheistic. The implications of the idea that the universe itself is divine are explored by Sam Webster, who prefers immediacy to immanence. The universe is a theophany, the manifestation of the Divine. The implication here is that everything is sacred, and we should take care of the Earth and other beings; we certainly don’t have dominion over them.” [via]

The Gods Themselves

Hermetic Library fellow Sam Webster has posted “The Gods Themsleves” over on his Arkadian Anvil blog.

“What of the Many Gods? Are they really all One? Are they distinct individuals? Is it the same deity in many cultures? We continue our development of a Pagan Systematic Theology by addressing the Gods Themselves and some thoughts on how to think about our work with Them.” [via]

Pantheacon 2013 program guide posted

The program guide for Pantheacon 2013 has been posted and there’s quite a number of people I recognize on the schedule, too many to list really except for Hermetic Library fellow Sam Webster and anthology artists T Thorn Coyle and Pandemonaeon, and, of course, Lon Milo DuQuette. Lon appears multiple times on the schedule, including one class, at 7pm on Fri, where he and T Thorn Coyle will be offering “Love Your Demons, Love Your Self: a Conversation & Working”. This last class will apparently also be offered in an extended format at Oakland later in May.

Pantheacon 2013

Creation and the Divine Being

Hermetic Library fellow Sam Webster has posted over on his Arkadian Anvil blog about “building a positive notion of the Divine, a constructive, systematic, theology” at “Creation and the Divine Being“.

“As promised, I’m beginning below the process of building a positive notion of the Divine, a constructive, systematic, theology. Of course, this is built on my own thoughts and views developed from my studies of science and the humanities, informed by the various theologies and narratives I have been exposed to. It is the output of that internal discussion and so I’m not constructing this as an argument, rather as something of a discursive story.

I presume your milage will vary, and well it should. I’m not writing this for you to agree with me (although you are welcome to), rather as an expression of my thoughts on the matter and as an example of one way to do this. We can debate forever, but at some point we need to make and here is my current product, ever subject to change. Frankly, you should do this for yourself, based on your own foundation. Nor do I claim the below is complete. I expect to be adding to it as time goes on and this is just the first layer. There are many issues with the Divine that need to be discussed but that won’t happen in one blog post. For now I simply invite you to read, reflect, and if you wish, respond.” [via]

Between the Worlds: An Interfaith Esoteric Conference

Between the Worlds: An Interfaith Esoteric Conference will be held in Wilmington, DE on Dec 13-16, 2012. A number of people you may know from the library are on the presenters list, including Hermetic Library fellows Sam Webster and John Michael Greer, anthology artist T Thorn Coyle, interviewee Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki and a number of others not directly connected to the library, but who may be both familiar and of interest, such as Ivo Domínguez, Jr., Anaar, Jason Miller, Christopher Penczak, and more.

“Between The Worlds is an interfaith esoteric conference. It occurs when the stars indicate that such a gathering is needed and favored. The previous BTW’s were held in 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2007. This is the 5th in the series.

This conference is known for the quality of its workshops and rituals. This event is intended for those at an intermediate or advanced level in their spiritual and magickal studies.

Remember it is not a yearly event, so don’t miss this opportunity for amazing rituals, deep learning, and dialogue.” [via]