Here’s a summary of activity for the month of August, 2019.
I don’t know where time has flown! It’s already been a month since my last summary, and it’s already September!
I think I mentioned that I’ve been having some contractors at the library working, and that’s been going on for several months. Well, things got worse over the last month. It’s really a cliché, but too true, that it’s been a bit of contractor-from-hell around here. It’s been really difficult to focus on anything else whilst this has been going on. Unfortunately, it’s not over. It has just entered a new phase.
Meanwhile, as difficult as it has been, I’ve been managing to keep working on the library site, even still. And, posting quotes I highlighted from books I’ve read, along with book reviews, and keeping social media posts going.
I’ve been getting submissions for the next anthology as well! That’s showing progress. Most of the submissions tend to come in at the last minute, so that’s on pace; but I always have high hopes that things will work out. The deadline for submissions is the end of the month, and I’ll know more when I get there; but, I am still, of course, seeking new and returning artists that want to participate, as well as still looking for a cover artist for this year.
But, guess what?! This month marks the 10th anniversary of when I took over Hermetic Library. Back in September 2009, after the site had been dormant for many years, Al Billings transferred the site to me. I’ve been working on it ever since. Looking back, so much has happened! I’ve put so much time and effort into the site, and, yet, there’s still so much to do. It really has turned out to be an ongoing passion project for me. I’ve been extremely lucky to have the support of many people, especially ongoing Patrons, who have helped make my work possible and kept the library going and growing.
Will you join me in celebrating this milestone?
When you think back, so many sites that were around and active 10 years ago aren’t there anymore, or have gone silent. I know I can think of quite a few! The library has gone through changes too, but I’m still at it, making improvements, adding materials, and trying new things.
Sure, there’s been setbacks, and disappointments along the way. It’s been a struggle to keep going, to be honest. But there’s also been so much to celebrate and I’m thankful to each ongoing supporter and every guest of the site for the honor and privilege of keeping the site alive and growing.
What an amazing, engaging, ongoing adventure! Huzzah!
Don’t forget! I’ve posted the call for submissions to Magick, Music and Ritual 15, the anthology for 2019.
I’m obviously looking for audio tracks, but also cover artwork, and other bonus downloads! Will you participate this year? Know someone who might want to participate? Let them know about it and have them get in touch with me!
Still looking for help and others to join me in a working community around the library, of course.
Lots of new pages and work on old pages on the site, which is pretty much every week, really. You can always check the front page of the site which shows the most recent changes and new pages, or check out the Recent Changes special page for a full list.
Want to join me on this blog and create new art or writing for Hermetic Library? Pitch your Idea.
Help get some conversations started over on the BBS.
Be sure to check out the actual Hermetic Library, and subscribe on Bandcamp or become a Patron.
Here’s a summary of posts on the blog from the last month
- Gnosis — Review
- The one sure road to trouble, she’d say, is to get mixed up in the middle of a fairy quarrel. — Quote
- The Grand Design — Review
- There’s a city ordinance against eating an elected official without a permit. May I see your permit …? — Quote
- Conan the Raider — Review
- As for Sirius, he is truly the pearl of the cosmos. — Quote
- Romantic Image — Review
- So much of what magicians have taken for granted this century stems from the work of the Golden Dawn and Aleister Crowley. Much of what will constitute standard magical theory and practice in the next century will derive from the state-of-the-art ideas and techniques currently under development in Chaos Magic. — Quote
- The Devil’s Footsteps — Review
- “Vile, depraved souls!” he shouted, trying to remember where he’d left off. “Fools and harlots!” But it was no use. His diatribe had devolved from insulting to incoherent. — Quote
- Does the New Testament Imitate Homer? — Review
- He said nothing: seldom do those who are silent make mistakes. — Quote
- A Princess of Roumania — Review
- This is my fault for being the departmental computer guy: when the machines break, I wave my dead chicken and write voodoo words on their keyboards until they work again. — Quote
- He knew then there was no going back. All paths were closed to him except the plain horror of the present. — Quote
- And then she took her wishes with her into sleep. — Quote
- The Rune Oracle — Review
- Your entire life, your very being, your physical body, indeed, every ongoing living process must be a talisman of the nature of your Angel. — Quote
- The Rosicrucian Enlightenment — Review
- “Is Jane magic?” Martha whispered to Katharine. “I don’t know. I think so,” Katharine whispered back. Jane glared at them. They went for two blocks in silence. “Are we magic, too?” “I don’t know. I’m scared to find out.” — Quote
- The Rites of Odin — Review
- So what is the nature of this library? What function does it serve other than being a filing system for books? What, to use the phrase beloved of cultural criticism, does it say about me, and to whom is it addressing this message? — Quote
- The R’lyeh Text — Review
- I poured out another glass of exercise wine and set my mind to it. — Quote
- The R’lyeh Text — Review
- Much of my rebelliousness starts with indifference to what is urgently important to others. — Quote
- The Prophet — Review
- “Oh, my,” she said, her heart racing. “You are a bad little kitty.” — Quote
- The Pathworkings of Aleister Crowley — Review
- “No, we’re going to provide them with a valuable life lesson.” “Don’t trust strangers?” I suggested. — Quote
- Omnium Gatherum: July 31, 2019
- The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles — Review
- He had a special feeling for what he called the “correct miscalculation,” for he believed that mistakes were often as revealing as the right answers. This gave us confidence even when our best efforts came to nothing. — Quote