CRUCIBLE 2012

Another Crucible has come and gone, and what a Crucible it was! There is really too much going on for me to give a full description. In fact there are two workshops going on at any given moment, so there was a lot that I will have to wait to see on DVD when they are ready.

Highlights for me:

• Pre-Crucible brunch at the Alchemist and Barrister in Princeton. Andrieh Vitimus, Jason Colwel, Tau Shawn Knight, Rufus Opus, and Babalon herself among the attendees.
• Two panel discussions: one on magical mishaps and the other on polarity in magic. These will both be broadcast on Deeper Down the Rabbit Hole. Jason Colwell did a much better job moderating his panels than Jim Lehrer did moderating a presidential debate, though I do not envy the job he has ahead of him of bleeping out the many colorful metaphors that both questioners and panelists employed. (Sorry Jason…)
• Skipping out on one of the lectures so that I could get consecrated as an Episcopi Vagans, a Wandering Bishop. The five points are still buzzing…
• My own lecture went OK. Unfortunately I went a bit too long gabbing about the glyphs so the Jupiter blessing did not involve quite as much chanting as I would have liked, but I am told by those in attendance that the presence of the Greater Benefic was felt good and strong.
• Watching Rufus get overtaken by the Hermetic Holy Spirit is truly something to behold. He starts off his lecture kind of quiet and fumbling around with slides, but quickly starts letting the light of the even spheres that he so clearly has worked to be a channel for start guiding him. By the end of the lecture he is shaking with passion and power while sharing the gospel of Hermetics. More than one person in the audience told me they had to hold back from shouting Hallelujah and Amen!
• Andrieh Vitimus closed out the night with a wake up call for those that read and do not do. Apart from his central message of getting your hands dirty he had several other important messages. First, the need to question the basic assumptions of traditions that were written by the winners: many demons in the Goetia and other texts are old gods, why are we treating them like demons? Second, and even more importantly, he spoke about the need to record and analyze results to show what is really working and what isn’t. Often the results are surprising.
• I also learned that Andrieh is a powerhouse! Even though he closed out the night with a lecture that did not end till 12:15 am: he, Jason, Becky, and Monica put together a Mass of Chaos B that must have gone well past 1am!. I am not sure exactly because I had to choose between this and an after party, and after everything else that day I was ready to kick back with some Pizza and friends.  Next time I will be sure to bring more stimulants to keep me up and raring to go!

I can’t wait for the DVD’s of lectures I missed: Omnimancy, Time Space Magic, Parapsychology, EFT, and more!

Hope to see you there next year!