On Friday, the English translation of poet Tuệ Sỹ's Dreaming the Mountain came in. As per usual, I opened up to a random page. In those moments, just after arriving home and greeting the cats, I read: I live in a sky of boundless spaceA Zen landscape of nothingnessNo things, no people, no busyness,Just flowers … Continue reading Dried Roses, Now Soot
Category: polytheism
Welcoming Cats
In my last update, I disclosed that I have adopted two cats. Their names are Ever and Koiya (although my mom will probably call Koiya "Chloe" — that's OK). The names are both shortened versions of their shelter names. It took me a while to think of what to call the amber-eyed one because she … Continue reading Welcoming Cats
April and May 2023: My Life Looks Very Different Now
The last live post I wrote on this blog was the one when I announced a brief hiatus due to my cat Yoyo dying. Since then, the only post that has gone up is the primer on a Platonizing theurgic practice. We technically have about a week left in May. I'm doing this update now … Continue reading April and May 2023: My Life Looks Very Different Now
Scaffolding Platonic Theurgic Practice: A Primer
When embarking on an undertaking of getting to know Platonism and its commentary tradition, and especially when one is determined to deeply engage in it as one’s primary spiritual path, it can seem like a lot. “Writing is a sea / its reeds are a shore,” as Thoth says in the Conversations in the House of Life scribal initiation text. It takes courage, conviction, and good sense to penetrate into those waters and learn how to swim in them.
Taking a Short Break from KALLISTI
I'm taking a short break from the blog until sometime in May due to the death of my cat Yoyo.
Pop Occulture
Sometimes (or, frequently), I see discussions that use the term Neopagan in a pejorative sense, and I want to present the following notes as one option to clarify terminology in order to get to the meat of what we're talking about. This topic has come up in a few conversations I've had over the past … Continue reading Pop Occulture
I’ll Be Thinking About This Heraclitus Fragment For a Bit
The Thinking Root is a bright blue book with a bright yellow inner cover, like the sun and the lush blue sky, promising joy and expansiveness. I've opened it up a few times, and this fragment in particular (note: these aren't numbered in the book, unfortunately) is lush to mull over. Enjoy. Image made in … Continue reading I’ll Be Thinking About This Heraclitus Fragment For a Bit
Repatriation/Rematriation and Cultural Reception
Out of curiosity a few months ago, I watched a "trends of 2023" video on YouTube from the Economist. One of the big topics was re(p/m)atriation, and this has been an escalating trend worldwide over the past few years. In Europe, this most often involves looted goods from South Asia and West Africa, such as … Continue reading Repatriation/Rematriation and Cultural Reception
For Thinking about Seirai (Divine Series)
This entire post is something I created a while ago to serve as a starting-point for a discussion, and my main goal in posting it here is so that I have an easy way to refer to it (additionally, so I can link to this from something that I'm posting on the evening of the … Continue reading For Thinking about Seirai (Divine Series)
KALLISTI 