Updated: May 30, 2023
Updated May, 2023
Recommended moon phase for week 2: Waning Gibbous Moon
This week, as the moon continues to diminish from the Full Moon phase, we too will begin losing the fullness of our perceived former self. We sense we are losing sight of ourselves…like we are not as whole, or as full as we were days before. The truth is we are losing the version of ourselves that we’ve always believed in. This can make us feel a little vulnerable, if not completely terrified. After all, while we didn’t necessarily like who we were, we do take comfort in at least “knowing” what we are. This is a natural phase of all recovery programs and something that alcoholics/drug addicts experience when they go through treatment. When destructive thoughts and actions are no longer being engaged…recovering addicts feel as if something is missing in them. Remember that as the Full Moon fades away, a New Moon will soon take its place.
Last week, we discovered Protection as the fundamental basis for recovery. In fact, protection is the foundation of all magickal workings - not just protection from outside influences, but protection from ourselves. The spell work and tasks took us back through time...to detect the people, situations and actions that planted our Dark Seeds. Over time, these seeds grew into Self-Imposed Curses (negative core beliefs), because we agreed to accept them as truth. Self-Imposed Curses are rooted in “stories”- often other people’s negative opinions about us (Dark Magick) - which are the Dark Seeds that we’ve invested our attention on. We’re witches...so when we focus our attention on a Dark Seed, it’s like Miracle Grow...that seed begins feeding on our power, until over time, it develops into a full blown Self-Imposed Curse. A living, intelligent Demon of our own magickal creation.
Self-imposed Curses are complicated, because they mix lies with truth, just like a Demon. As Self-imposed Curses accumulate over the years, they sap a tremendous amount of our magickal energy in order to maintain their deceptive and complicated structure. They adapt, and grow smarter through time - just as we grow smarter throughout our lives and experiences. Self-Imposed Curses track with our growing knowledge in order to cling to us and survive. Some of the more serious Self-Imposed Curses will lead to serious emotional, physical and mental injuries if left unchecked. The remedy is sorting out truth from lies, yielding to faith rather than detouring towards doubt, and establishing discipline with passionate perseverance. But the truth is often buried, blurred and tangled...our faith needs to be honestly assessed then wisely reinvested...and our perseverance needs to be courted like a smoking hot secret lover.
Smoke, Smeagol, and the trauma of Truth
As we unravel the myths others have assigned to our character, our true, yet undiscovered identity begins to materialize...like wisps of smoke about to take shape, yet vanish with the slightest breeze of investigation. We ask ourselves, “did I see something amazing in me? Or am I imagining things?”
That’s usually when a Self-Imposed Curse rears its hideous head to redirect, dominate and sabotage us. Self exploration “suddenly” becomes an internal interrogation process - prompting and badgering us until we resemble Smeagol in Lord of the Rings - having a paranoid conversation in a murky pool of water with something that looks and sounds like our true inner voice. We are being cajoled away from the joy of our magickal potential by a stubborn - and now threatened - false, toxic belief system.
Now that the Demons of your Self-Imposed Curses have been exposed, they are in fear mode. They are scrambling. They are panicking. They are mixing lies with the truth in order to survive. They know that without your faith to support them, they will be critically impaired, banished, and eventually die of starvation. Be warned here: your Demons know they are in danger...they will stop at nothing to defend their food source: you and your magickal energy.
Do not let thoughts like “I’m losing my mind” or “I’m going crazy” flip you out. Practical wisdom assures us that truly crazy people do not question their sanity.
Consider this - discovering our true identities and feelings can be as traumatic as a child who learns he was adopted early on, only to discover his true birth family later in life. Contrary emotions and signals cross fire - “oh my God...all this time I thought I was alone…I thought I was someone else.” That sentence carries a heightened sense of optimism, but also the weight of a previously unknown, if not ominous truth. “Do I really want or need to know this?”...usually follows.
Detecting Personal Mythology
When people ask me, “do you have a personal relationship with God?”
My answer is always the same: “It’s complicated.”
One of my first memories is standing out in my backyard under a canvas of gigantic trees. All varieties of Northern Missouri birds sprinted between pecking the forest hill’s ground cover, then jetting to sweeping heights in graceful flight. The more I watched, the more I envied the birds. Sure, I pretended I could fly…but that’s only make-believe. The more I watched and thought about it, the more irritated I became. “It’s not fair that birds get to fly and walk,” I said earnestly to God. I was deeply concerned about this and really felt jilted by God because of it. I was very annoyed.
So I got to thinking…
I realized that I needed wings to fly. I don’t have wings. But birds do. My brilliant idea was to catch a bird and cut his wings off so I could use them to fly! So my 5 year old self consulted with my older brother, who instructed me on the best method for catching a bird. “All you need to do is sprinkle salt on a bird’s tail, then you can catch him.”
So, I ran into the kitchen and grabbed a box of Morton’s Salt then ran back outside - flailing salt everywhere - as I chased this poor little robin around the yard. Oddly, he didn’t just take off. The robin seemed to be mocking me - letting me get close enough for false hope, but flying quickly and safely out of reach as I lunged to dump salt on his butt. After several frustrating attempts, I collapsed in a heap of aggravation and self-pity.
“I just want to be like a bird” I said to God.
In that instant, the robin returned to the top branch of a short shrub right next to me...well within my grasp. I gently reached out, and yes...believe it or not, that robin surrendered to my capture. Elated, my next instinct was to run back to the kitchen for a knife…so I cut off his wings.
But as I looked into the eyes of this Spirit Animal, I experienced another instinct...my jealousy and obsession were gone…washed away with instant affection and compassion. “How would he feel if I took his wings?” I thought to myself, “I know it will hurt him…and I can’t do that.” I just didn’t have the heart to hurt him. So I released my bird, but rather than flying away as fast as he could, he returned to the scrub. The robin looked back at me, blinked, bowed his head and then took off. I’m not kidding.
But wait! There’s more…
The next day that little robin returned, but this time he flew into the house! He flew under the bed, over the chest-of-drawers…all over my room while I stood there laughing my head off. Believe it or not, he let me catch him again, and I took him outside and let him go. This really happened and it was…in my view…my first spiritual experience. (My present home is surrounded by birds, including three ravens, three white winged doves, and a robin to this day.)
Later that night, a song came on the radio that I had never heard before - Aquarius by The Fifth Dimension. My older cousin was babysitting me that night, and she said “This song is about your sign Danny, you’re an Aquarian, an air sign. Aquarius is about enlightenment.” “What does that mean?” I asked. She continued with a broad smile, “It means you are here to bring peace, love and kindness to others.” My cousin's name is Robbin, by the way…and she is one of the kindest people I’ve ever known.
Fast forward to when I was 10. My mom was diagnosed with advanced stage colon cancer, and preparing me for what was to come...she told me she did not have long to live. With that news, I took my kite and ran up to the highest hill in our neighborhood...to fly. At the time, I was already struggling in Catholic School. All the bullies called me “a little fagot,” and threatening to flush my head in the toilet everyday. I was also contemplating the doctrine of Catholicism, or more specifically, how I was already doomed to hell because of who I am. My kite was the only thing that brought me solace.
Just as I let the ball of string unspool and got my kite to the desired altitude, it suddenly took a nosedive into the heaviest branches of the tallest tree in the world. I tried a counter tug to pry it loose. The string snapped. My kite was lost.
I fell to the ground sobbing…along with a new complicated emotion - the fear of loss. It was a fear I had never known before. Through my tears, I looked directly up into the sky and said, “God...please give me my kite back. If you prove you’re real, and that you love me, I won’t ask you to prove it again.” An eerie silence was broken by a gust of wind…it dislodged the entangled kite, which drifted down like a feather to rest at my side.
So much came to me at that moment. So much was cradled in that moment. God became more than something I was told to have faith in…to me, this was the proof I asked for. A relationship was established, along with another piece of my personal mythology.
Later that night, I heard “Rhiannon” by Fleetwood Mac for the first time. “All your life you’ve never seen a woman taken by the wind. Would you stay if she promised you heaven…will you ever win…” Those lyrics caught me, and gave a special meaning within the context of losing my mom. Stevie Nicks wrote that song about a Welsh Witch. But as it turns out, Rhiannon is actually a Welsh Goddess. In the earliest stories, the three magickal birds of Rhiannon sing a song that wake the dead, and lull the living into sleep. I fell asleep that night not knowing if the wind would take my mom, but I slept with serenity because I knew God was real and that I would never truly be alone.
As it turns out, my mom won her fight with cancer, and lived into her 80’s. She was my biggest champion and teacher...and one of the most gifted empaths I’ve ever known. She was right about every one of my friends…the ones to keep and the ones to dump. She saw straight through people at first sight. And she saw something quite different in her youngest son, and encouraged me to follow my own path. She knew I was gay, and she knew I had alternative spiritual interests. She told me I wouldn’t have it easy…”the world is not kind”, she said. “And your brothers will never truly understand and accept this”. But she also told me that I was smarter and stronger than I let on.
While these experiences provided me with a personal understanding of the Divine…there were no “God Stories” or traditions that I knew of (at that point) to back up my truth…that God created and loves queers.
I began studying Greek and Roman Mythology in high school, and continued exploring it well beyond. When I discovered The Myth of Aquarius, I recovered an antidote to the venom of a toxic Dark Seed.
Prince Ganymede was the youngest son of the king of Troy. He would never inherit the throne, as his oldest brother was next in line to be king. But Ganymede was content, well-loved, and grew up enjoying the luxuries of royal life, just the same. One day, while tending to his father’s herd, on the highest hill in Troy, he was spotted by Zeus - who immediately became enchanted with Ganymede - here was the most beautiful mortal man on Earth. Zeus immediately transformed himself into an eagle, flew down to Ganymede, and carried him back to Mount Olympus...to be Zeus’ lover.
Ganymede was made immortal, eternally young, and was stationed as the water bearer to Zeus. Ganymede also poured the waters of enlightenment into the river Nile, and to all humanity. So taken with his beauty, Zeus placed Ganymede’s likeness in the stars, as the constellation Aquarius.
With the Myth of Aquarius, I discovered a God story that didn’t condemn homosexuality the way mainstream religions do today- on the contrary - here’s a God story that celebrates gay love...a story that literally unfolds in the heavens...written in the stars.
Like I said, when folks ask me if I have a relationship with God...well...it’s complicated.
Seven Signs
Just as you worked your Angels & Demons: Time Travel Log, now scan your life for the uncanny incidents where you “knew” you had special gifts. Spend some time with this, because it’s amazing how small and seemingly inconsequential your Signs can be. They will range from little things we all experience, notice, but brush off...a friend you haven't spoken to in years crosses your mind - then the phone rings - and it’s her.
Maybe you are one of those folks who just always seems to have good luck, as you manage to evade immeasurable odds. Perhaps you’re one of those people who lights up the room, and nearly everyone in your life comments on how safe they feel confiding in you.
On the other side of the spectrum, maybe everyone you meet is intimidated by you. You’re constantly on guard for both defensive behavior (everyone walks on eggshells) - and aggressive behavior (competitive ragers who belittle, manipulate and pull the blame-and-shame card.) Perhaps you’re super focussed. You manifest efficiently. You excel at everything you try.
Then there are the Crystal Visions - gifts & incidents of Divine Intervention. Many of us have passed onto the Other Side, only to return back to life...with memories of our experience intact. Most of us probably have lived in haunted houses, or crossed paths with friendly or not so friendly ghosts. Many of us make a living as healers, tarot readers, witchcraft practitioners, therapists, reiki masters, mediums and so on.
In fact, we become so engaged with our careers - using our magick for other people, that we exhaust our guides and lose touch with our inner guidance. We are tired of identifying as traditional tarot reader, and miss the way our playlist “shuffled” that day. We desperately want to identify our familiar, and shoo away the woodpecker who has been tapping at the wall outside our window for weeks on end.
List and write out Seven Signs or stories from your life. Allow yourself 30 minutes and be as detailed as you can. Even if it’s a vague memory, in broken pieces (and sentences), jot down every detail that comes to you.
Seven Sirens
Once again, scanning your entire life, list seven of your all time favorite songs. Be sure to include songs that you loved when you were quite young. Make a special playlist and save it on your music device. This soundtrack represents your true mythology and you can use it for ritual, or while performing your Shadow Dance.
Continue adding songs to your playlist, as you remember or hear them over time. Music has long been used to connect with Divine Realms. Gregorian chant is transcendent...so is Lord Huron. Ritual music doesn’t have to be ancient in order to work...it only has to affect meaningful feelings in you.
Seven Legends
List seven legendary stories that speak to your Beloved Shadow. Include TV shows, movies, books, comics, fiction & non-fiction or ancient myths. My list includes everything from Bewitched, to Lord of the Rings, to The Myth of Aquarius. These are your personal legends...stories that captured your interest and your I-Magick-Nation.
Seven Masters
This is actually a very easy, yet telling indicator of your true gift-set, not to mention un-excavated character traits that you may be ready to explore a little more closely.
List Seven Masters you love and admire, alive or dead. My list includes Tom Petty, Gene Kelly, Samuel Clemens, Albert Einstein, and Merlin. Increase the creative energy by glueing images and pictures alongside your list. You can do this task in the back of your Shadow Pages Journal. It may seem a little 8th grade-ish and dumb...I realize that...however, light “craft work” brings light to our witchcraft practice. Sometimes the most delicate, beautiful magick happens in the most mundane moments.
Seven Marks of Character
List seven character traits you like in yourself, and want to cultivate. Not character traits as in Prince Charming, but character traits as in Prince, the Artist. Allow some freedom and creative play to fully inhabit these traits as you write.
Again, we become so conditioned into playing the “Good Witch”, who radiates love, patience and compassion...who manifests from a ball of shimmering light - while we ignore the truth of our secret character...who wants to drop a fucking house on everyone because we’ve overextended ourselves. Too often we surrender our true character in attempts to maintain our character’s good standing with our intimates. One of my favorite quotes from Bette Davis is: “If everyone likes you, you’re doing it wrong.”
If you have trouble with this, look at your Seven Legends List. Find one Legend that you admire, list the character traits you respect in them and see if you can encourage these traits in yourself. When navigating obstacles in my music career, I would often ask myself: “what would Tom Petty do?”
The Legend of You: Create Your Totem
Create a totem that represents you, as your fully realized, perfect witch. The medium you use to do this doesn’t matter, as long as it is something that involves your creative gift of choice. Fashion a totem using corn husks, wax or bits of colored cloth.
Draw, paint, sculpt...or just tear out images from magazines and make a collage. Write a short story, poem or song about yourself.
Chapter 2 Check in
In addition to the Tasks and Spell Work of this week, don’t forget to continue with your Shadow Work: The Basic Tools. Write 3 full pages in your Shadow Pages Journal first thing every morning. Practice 1 20 minute Shadow Dance session per week, and take yourself out for a 1 hour Vision Quest once per week.
How many days did you write in your Shadow Pages Journal this week? If you skipped a day, why? How did it feel to skip it? How did you feel on the days you did practice writing Shadow Pages? Any breakthroughs? Recurring themes and issues? Did it feel completely dull and empty? It can take several days or weeks before we learn to trust our intimate writing practice. Don’t let resistance, or boredom trick you out of this life changing practice!
Did you do your Shadow Dance this week? How was the experience? Remember, we are training ourselves to listen to our bodies...as our bodies are our most perfect pendulum.
Did you go out on your Vision Quest this week? If so, what did you do? How did you feel? Where you aware of your Shadow Self? Remember, spending quality time on behalf of ourselves can feel extremely selfish, and indulgent for a lot of people. This is spiritual play with your Shadow Self...whose trust we want to earn. Think of it as if you share custody of a young child. All that child wants is quality time with you. Be patient, be kind, and be steady with this practice. Learning to be good company for yourself takes time, but worth it.
Any other issues, emotions or experiences that emerged this week?
ALTAR BOY from Daniel's 2005 release COLOR OF RAIN
Music & Lyrics by Daniel Link
Patrick Lee Mastelotto (born September 10, 1955) is an American rock drummer and record producer who has worked with Mr. Mister, King Crimson, XTC, and The Rembrandts, among others. For King Crimson, he initially formed part of the "Double Trio" lineup of 1994-1997, joining Bill Bruford on drums.
Mastelotto contributed brillant artistry to Daniel's 2005 release COLOR OF RAIN, on the stand out tracks "ALTAR BOY" & "BRUCE WAYNE."
Moon Phase: Last Quarter (waning)
Magickal Energy Best Practise: Study, Divination, Reflection & Banishment work
THE ARTIST'S WAY by Julia Cameron
THE MYTH OF AQUARIUS by Wikipedia
AQUARIUS song by THE 5TH DIMENSION
STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN by Led Zeppelin
WITCHCRAFT by Frank Sinatra
RHIANNON by Fleetwood Mac
YOUR SEVEN SIRENS PLAYLIST!
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
Video production, Selfie-art, Photography & Graphic Design copyright 2020 by Daniel Link
except Color of Rain photos by Skip Hunt & Pat Mastelotto photo Copyright © 2017