Wednesday, March 23, 2011

The Onion - Do Glass Pipes, Incense Prove Teens Are Practicing Shamanism?

OH HOW I WISH THAT THIS IS TRUE but it's not. The Onion is a satirical news site dedicated to funny journalism. Man, Coyote is up to his tricky tricks again. Pass the peace pipe please.

Sigil Onslaught!

BOOM! BAM! POW! KA-POWEE!





Right Brain VS Left Brain Creativity Test

So I took this interesting online creativity test in The Art Institutes and I got the following results:

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Thank you for taking the Creativity Test. The results show your brain dominance as being:

Left BrainRight Brain
49%
51%


You are more right-brained than left-brained. The right side of your brain controls the left side of your body. In addition to being known as right-brained, you are also known as a creative thinker who uses feeling and intuition to gather information. You retain this information through the use of images and patterns. You are able to visualize the "whole" picture first, and then work backwards to put the pieces together to create the "whole" picture. Your thought process can appear quite illogical and meandering. The problem-solving techniques that you use involve free association, which is often very innovative and creative. The routes taken to arrive at your conclusions are completely opposite to what a left-brained person would be accustomed. You probably find it easy to express yourself using art, dance, or music. Some occupations usually held by a right-brained person are forest ranger, athlete, beautician, actor/actress, craftsman, and artist.


Your complete evaluation follows below:
Your left brain/right brain percentage was calculated by combining the individual scores of each half's sub-categories. They are as follows:

Your Left Brain Percentages

38% Logical (Your most dominant characteristic)
27% Linear
27% Verbal
27% Reality-based
18% Sequential
17% Symbolic (Your least dominant characteristic)

Your Right Brain Percentages

39% Intuitive (Your most dominant characteristic)
29% Fantasy-oriented
28% Random
28% Concrete
19% Nonverbal
18% Holistic (Your least dominant characteristic)



What Do These Percentages Mean?
Low percentages are common in the Brain Type Test and are not indicative of intelligence. Instead, medium to high scores (30 - 50%) are desireable, as they show an ability to utilize a processing method without an abnormal reliance on it. Special focus should be paid to highly dominant (50% or above) or highly recessive (0 - 30%) methods, as they tend to limit your approach when learning, memorizing, or solving problems.

If you have Highly Dominant characteristics, your normal thinking patterns will naturally utilize these methods. Conscious effort is required to recognize the benefits of other techniques. Using multiple forms of information processing is the best way to fully understand complex issues and become a balanced thinker.

If you have Highly Recessive characteristics, your normal thinking patterns naturally ignore these methods. You may only consider these under-utilized techniques when "all else fails," or possibly not at all. It is important to recognize the benefits of all of your brain's capabilities in order to become a balanced thinker.

Left Brain Categories


Logical Processing
Logical processing is a method that is used by the left hemisphere to take information piece by piece and put it all together to form a logical answer. When information is received through reading or listening, the left hemisphere will look for different bits of information that will allow it to produce a logical conclusion. This aspect of the left hemisphere is what aids you in solving math problems and science experiments.

Your Logical Analysis

When processing information using this method, you may consider the information before you and produce a logical answer, or you may tend to go with your gut. You may discover that you can "guess" your way through S.A.T. questions about as accurately as you can deduce them. It is important that you nurture your ability to use logic whenever it is needed, but do not neglect other methods of processing information if you hit a logical roadblock.


Linear Processing
Linear processing is a method by the left hemisphere to process information. In this process, the left brain takes pieces of information, lines them up, and proceeds to arrange them into an order from which it may draw a conclusion. The information is processed from parts to a whole in a straight, forward, and logical progression.

Your Linear Analysis

When processing information using this method, you will occasionally feel the need to see the "whole picture" before you are able to achieve results. At other times, you are able to piece all of the parts together in a straight and logical progression to form a whole, which then enables you to understand what you have processing. The information, your mood, and your level of comfortable are all factors that determine your response to a linear processing problem.


Verbal Processing
Verbal processing is a method used by the left hemisphere to process our thoughts and ideas with words. For example, through verbal processing, a left-brained person giving directions may say, "From this point continue east for two miles and turn north onto Bellevue Road. Continue north on Bellevue Road for seven miles and turn west on Main Street". With verbal processing, exact, logical directions are given in a very sequential manner compared to a right-brained person who, in giving the same directions, would use more visual landmarks.

Your Verbal Analysis

You have a moderate verbal ability. Using this method you process your thoughts and ideas with words. You tend to combine technical details with illustrations, depending on whatever strikes you. For instance, if giving directions, you might say, "Continue two miles east on Court Street and take a left at the McDonalds," combining the exact details of street names and mileage with prominent landmarks.


Reality-based Processing
Reality-based processing is used by the left hemisphere as a method for processing information with a basis on reality. This processing tool focuses on rules and regulations. An example of this would be how a left-brained person would completely understand the repercussions of turning in a late assignment or failing a test. A left-brained person also usually easily adjusts to changes in their environment.

Your Reality-based Analysis

You process information with a basis in reality, but are not limited to it. You may recognize the repercussions of you actions, but proceed to do something anyway, in the heat of the moment. You can complete projects to whice you are emotionally attached as well as random tasks.


Sequential Processing
Sequential processing is a method used by the left hemisphere for processing information. The information that is received is processed in order from first to last. Information is processed in a systematic, logical manner. Through sequential processing, you can interpret and produce symbolic information such as language, mathematics, abstraction, and reasoning. This process is used to store memory in a language format. Activities that require sequential processing include spelling, making a "to-do" list, and many aspects of organization.

Your Sequential Analysis

You tend process information you receive without any priority as to which is processed first, last, or any place in between. It is difficult for you to learn or perform tasks involving sequence. For example, spelling is a task that involves sequence and you may experience problems remembering exact spelling or any type of rote memorization, for that matter. Creating daily lists and plans are probably not activities you enjoy. If you are having problems with tasks involving sequence, there are methods you can use to improve your skills. One method involves using colors to learn sequence. You assign a color to each task. For example, you may want to make the first step green, the second step blue, and the last step red. This helps because the right side of the brain, your dominant side in this case, is sensitive to colors. The important thing to remember is that consistently using the same sequence will help you both improve and recognize that this strategy can be used in many different circumstances involving sequence.


Symbolic Processing
Symbolic processing is a method associated with the left hemisphere that is used for processing the information of pictures and symbols. The majority of functions associated with academics involve symbols such as letters, words, and mathematical notations. This process is what aids you to excel in tasks such as linguistics, mathematics, and memorizing vocabulary words and mathematical formulas.

Your Symbolic Analysis

You have difficulty processing the information of symbols, and would rather see the real object in order to understand. You probably hated algebra. For example, if solving a math problem, you need to "draw out" the problem to understand and solve it. You rely on the visualization of real objects instead of their symbols. Tasks such as memorizing vocabulary words or mathematical formulas are more difficult for you.

Right Brain Categories


Intuitive Processing
Intuitive processing is a method that is used by the right hemisphere to process information based on if it "feels" right or not. For example, a right-brained person may choose an answer on a test because they had a "gut" feeling and often they will be correct. Another example of this is how a right-brained person will know the correct answer to a math problem but will not understand the procedure of how they arrived at the correct answer. A right-brained person will usually have to start with the answer and work their way backwards in order to be able to see and understand the parts and process that create the whole.

Your Intuitive Analysis

When processing information, at times you are able to go with your "gut" instincts. At other times you may doubt your instincts, or prefer to put information together piece by piece to form your conclusion. You should be careful not to ignore your intuition, but at the same time do not solely rely on it.


Fantasy-oriented Processing
Fantasy-oriented processing is used by the right hemisphere as a method for processing information with creativity. It focuses much less on rules and regulations than the processing method of a left-brained person. Due to the fantasy-oriented processing mechanism of a right-brained person, they do not adjust well to change. Instead of adapting to the change in the environment, a right-brained person attempts to change it back to the way they liked it. But fantasy-oriented processing also provides the advantage of creativity to right-brained individuals, and since emotion is integral of the right side of the brain, anything a fantasy-oriented person becomes involved in emotionally will aid their ability to learn.

Your Fantasy-oriented Analysis

You have the ability to use both creativity and reality to process the information you receive. This is a unique gift that allows you to both focus on rules and regulations but to also act with creativity. You are able to adjusting to change, even though you might not like it, and you can become emotionally involved in your work if it interests you.


Random Processing
Random processing is a method used by the right hemisphere for processing information. The information that is received is processed without priority. A right-brained person will usually jump from one task to another due to the random processing by their dominant right hemisphere. Random processing is, of course, the opposite of sequential processing therefore making it difficult for right-brained individuals to choose to learn in sequence. In order to overcome this, a right-brained person may want to attempt to learn sequence by using colors since the right hemisphere is sensitive to color. For example, you may want to associate the first step with green, the second step with blue, and the last step with red. Consistently using the same sequence will allow you to see that this strategy can be applied to many tasks involving sequence.

Your Random Analysis

You have some ability to process data randomly. You are at times able to make "leaps of logic" and discover unique things by thinking "outside of the box." However, you may tend to ignore your random processing thoughts unless you are desperate for a solution. It is important you recognize this skill as not grasping at straws, but a viable way to discover new ways of approaching a problem.


Concrete Processing
Concrete processing is a method associated with the right hemisphere that is used for processing things that can be seen or touched. It processes much of the information you receive from real objects. For example, a right-brained person is not just satisfied that a mathematical formula may work, but will want to know why it works. A strongly concrete person often finds it easier to solve a mathematical problem by "drawing it out" because it allows them to visualize it. The more a concrete person can visualize something the easier it is for them to understand it.

Your Concrete Analysis

At times, you feel the need to see a real object in order to understand it. At other times, you are able to understand a problem on a symbolic level. For example, you may find that in solving math problems, it occasionally helps you to "draw out" the problem in order to understand and solve it.


Nonverbal Processing
Nonverbal processing is a method used by the right hemisphere to process our thoughts with illustrations. Reliance on this method is why it is occasionally difficult for right-brained people to "find the right words" in certain situations. A right-brained person cannot just read or hear information and process it, but first must make a mental video to better understand the information they have received. For example, through nonverbal processing, a person giving directions may say, "Continue going straight until you see a big, red-brick courthouse. At the courthouse turn right, and go down that street for a couple of miles until you se a gray stone church which will be on your right. Straight across from the church is the road to the left you need to take." With nonverbal processing, the directions that are given are extremely visual compared to the exact, sequential directions that would be given by a left-brained person.

Your Nonverbal Analysis

You have little ability in nonverbal processing. When you process your thoughts and ideas you mainly use words instead of illustrations. For example, if you were giving directions you may say, "Continue traveling west for 3 miles and turn north at the intersection." You would give exact, logical directions in a very sequential manner.


Holistic Processing
Holistic processing is a method used by the right hemisphere to process information. The information is processed from whole to parts. A right-brained person, through holistic processing, is able to see the big picture first, but not the details that accompany it. A strongly holistic person may often find that prior to listening to a lecture given by an instructor, they must first read the chapter so that they better understand what the lecture is about. This function is also what provides to you your visual spatial skills. It also aids in tasks such as dancing and gymnastics. Through holistic processing, memory is stored in auditory, visual, and spatial modalities.

Your Holistic Analysis

You have difficulty seeing the whole picture, especially at the beginning of a project. You tend to process information you receive from its parts to its whole in a straight, progressive manner. When given a task, you tend to not bother asking "why," but instinctively are able to do it.


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What about you? Wanna give the test a go?

On Trolls and Troll Magick

Note: This is a repost of an older article from my tumblr account.






Among the fairies, my favorite is the troll. I could never relate with the more wholesome fairies like gnomes and sylphs but I feel myself very connected with the seemingly brutish and intimidating trolls. It's true that most trolls are not so pleasant when it comes to looks and their minds aren't that sharp. Some trolls are actually smart (though it's more of street-smart cunning than academic intelligence) and trollish women tend to be gorgeous. In fact, there has been legends of human men marrying trollish women as accounted below.



THE grandfather of Reor, who dwelt at Fuglekärr (i.e. Bird-marsh), in the parish of Svartsborg (Black-castle), lived close to a hill, and one time, in the broad daylight, be saw sitting there on a stone a comely maiden. He wished to intercept her, and for this purpose he threw steel between her and the hill; whereupon her father laughed within the hill, and opening the hill-door asked him if he would have his daughter. He replied in the affirmative and as she was stark naked he took some of his own clothes and covered her with them, and he afterwards had her christened.


As he was going away, her father said. to him, "When you are going to have your wedding (bröllup) you must provide twelve barrels of beer and bake a heap of bread and the flesh of four oxen, and drive to the barrow or hill where I keep, and when the bridal gifts are to be bestowed, depend on it I will give mine."


This also came to pass; for when others were giving he raised the cover of the cart and cast into it so large a bag of money that the body of it nearly broke, saying at the same time:--" This is my gift!" He said, moreover, "When you want to have your wife's portion (hemmagifta),[a] you must drive to the hill with four horses, and get your share. When he came there afterwards at his desire he got copper-pots, the one larger than the other till the largest pot of all was filled with the smaller ones. He also gave him other things, [b] which were helmets, of that colour and fashion which are large and thick, and which are still remaining in the country, being preserved at the parsonage of Tanum.


This man Reor's father surnamed I Foglekärsten, had a number of children by this wife of his, whom he fetched out of the hill, among whom was the aforesaid Reor. Olaf Stenson also in Stora Rijk, who died last year, was Reor's sister's son.


- The Fairy Mythology by Thomas Keightly, 1870


Source



Despite their ill reputation of being thieving troublemakers, trolls possess impressive magical powers just like any other members of the fae. Here are their powers as described by Thomas Keightly in The Fairy Mythology:




These beings have some very extraordinary and useful properties; they can, for instance, go about invisibly, [g] or turn themselves into any shape; they can foresee future events; they can confer prosperity, or the contrary, on a family; they can bestow bodily strength on any one; and, in short, perform numerous feats beyond the power of man.
Source


Since I have an affinity with trolls, I've been experimenting with what I call "troll magick". Basically, I invoke the power of the trolls. I read no books on fairy magick so, as a chaos magician, it's all up to me to create my own rendition of troll magick. Expect more articles on trolls and troll magick soon.






Sunday, March 20, 2011

Inkwork Sorcerer QnA (religious parents, influences and the third eye)

Hi guys! It's been a while since I've updated. Guess what? A few people have been inquiring me about certain things in the occult world.



Dear Inkwork Sorcerer, I want to learn to open my third eye and practice magick but my parents are very religious and they don't like anything New Age or occult. What should I do?

- Simon




Simon, since you're still a minor and (I assume) still living with your parents, it's probably not best to let them know about your esoteric interests. However, I advise that you practice your magick in secret until you're old enough to move out and live independently. There's still a chance that they'd know about your magick but if you're really serious about it, you have to stand up to them and defend your right to practice magick. For now, just practice in secret until you're old enough to come out.



Dear Inkwork Sorcery, who influences you the most in your magickal path?

- unknown




There are many figures in magick who inspire me like Franz Bardon, Apollonius of Tyana, Grant Morisson but the most influential for me is Austin Osman Spare the Grandaddy of Chaos Magic. Spare is an awesome artist and an excellent mage who uses his artworks for magical workings. Naturally, I have an affinity to him since I'm also an artist.



Dear Inkwork Sorcerer, how do I open my third eye?

- Curious George




Oh gosh this is the most commonly asked question by non-practitioners in the Philippines. It's alright, I'd still answer it. First and foremost, everybody has a third eye. It's just that everyone's third eye are open in varying degrees. The simplest way to DEVELOP your third eye is meditation. If you want to develop your third eye in a more systematic way, contact Mysterium Philippines.



Well, that's all for now. If you have any questions, post them in this post's comments or email me at gohlico@yahoo.com

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Bishounen Sobek and Bishoujo Hathor

Here are my "bishinized" versions of the Egyptian deities Sobek and Hathor.




Thor Factoids



I can't wait to see the upcoming Thor movie. Yeah it's hardly mythology but still Marvel's Thor is based on the god of the same name. Here are a handful of factoids about the mighty son of Odin. The mythological one I mean.

Some Thor factoids

- In the Norse mythology, the thunder god has red hair.
- Thor devotees wear images of his hammer as pendants as a response to the rise of Christianity in Europe.
- The day Thursday is named after him.
- Thor has two goats (named Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr) that pull his chariot.
- Thor will do battle with the great serpent Jörmungandr during the immense mythical war waged at Ragnarök.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Incredibly Well Preserved 700 Year Old Mummy Found In China

I was checking out weird news and then I came across this news article about an incredibly preserved 700 year old mummified woman in Taizhou, China. Not only the mummy (most likely a member of the ancient Chinese nobility) is completely dressed from head to feet, it seemed like she died recently. It was discovered buried 2 meters under a road during a construction.



China has one of the oldest civilizations in the world. They were like the Egyptians of Asia. I wonder what is the secret behind the amazing preservation process of this mummy?

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Face on the curtains!

This just in: just a while ago while lying on my bed, I saw this image of a glaring man on the curtains! Amazing! Below are a few pics. I swear that they're no photoshopped.





Spirit or just an illusion created by unusual creases combined with shadows? I think I'll go with the crease theory but one thing is certain though: I'll have a hard time sleeping especially with an image that seems to be looking at me. As I'm typing right now, it's still there. GLARING.


Update: Placed my cat near the curtains. No negative reaction. I guess it's just an illusion.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

God's face in the skies



Here's an unphotoshopped photograph of the NGC 281 "PacMan" Emission Nebula in Cassiopeia. It is said that God's face can be seen here. Hold on...


Tyrannosaurus Rex! 8D


That was fun! Wait, there's something else...



... okay now I'm convinced. HAIL SOBEK!!!

Brujo Fantastico



Back in the last night of the UP Fair 2011, I came across some people selling old books along the sidewalk in the campus. To my delight, I've found a copy of Carlos Castaneda's The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge (1974 edition) among the books and it only costs 100 pesos. It's an account of the anthropologist Carlos Castaneda time as an apprentice under the Yaqui Indian brujo (sorcerer) Don Juan way back in the early 1960's. After a harrowing experience, Castaneda ceased his training, wrote a book about it and went back to continue his apprenticeship under Don Juan. It is a tale of sorcery, shamanic journeys and peyote.


I said "peyote". You know, the hallucinogenic plant.


Yeah sure it was heavily debated whether Carlos made the whole thing up or not but that book started the shamanism craze back in the 60's. In fact, anything mystical was a huge thing back in the 60's. Heck, Marvel Comics' Doctor Strange was created in the 60's.


"By the Hoary Hosts of Hallucinogens!"

Whether or not the experiences of Carlos Castaneda were fabricated, it matters not to me. Nothing is true, everything is permitted. If it works for me, yippee-kay yay. However, I don't need the use of hallucinogenic plants thanks to the use of certain trance-inducing techniques. Another thing that intrigued me was the use of lizards for information-gathering. The parts about sewing up their eyes and mouths sounds very iffy though.

"P-pardon me?"

I could just create a lizard-based servitor just for that purpose. Another thing that interests me is Carlos' transformation into a crow. In astral form of course.


For the last time I'm not Heath Ledger.

The Teachings of Don Juan may be very controversial and hardly useful in magical instructions but it inspires me. The Little Prince in Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's book of the same name said "What is essential is invisible to the naked eye." The Teachings of Don Juan may be hardly of use to many but I see the essential in it.

Russian flight controllers talking with Alien Cat Girls

Lico: Here's some bizarre news I've just read in my facebook. Real cat-girls? Hmmm...


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London
, Mar 2 (ANI): Air traffic controllers in Siberia claim to have been buzzed by a high-speed UFO with a female sounding alien speaking to them in an unintelligible cat-like language.

The object had suddenly burst onto flight monitors over the remote Russian diamond capital of Yakutsk, and it was shown flying at a speed of slightly over 6000 mph, and rapidly changing direction.

The UFO was logged at a height of 64, 895 feet above sea level and appeared to interfere with aviation frequencies.

A YouTube footage showed an air traffic controller trying to make contact with the UFO, while a radar showed the UFO moving rapidly through the skies surrounded by planes that were travelling at a much slower pace.

"I kept hearing some female voice, as if a woman was saying mioaw-mioaw all the time," the Daily Mail quoted the air traffic controller as telling the pilot of a passing Aeroflot flight.

The air traffic control monitor automatically designated the UFO as "00000" because it did not have a flight number.

At one point the UFO is shown moving away from Yakutsk at great speed before turning and heading back towards the city. (ANI)


Source: http://in.news.yahoo.com/russian-flight-controllers-claim-aliens-spoke-them-cat-20110302-021255-833.html



Behold the usual obligatory relevant yet funny pic.


Oh how I wish that the said aliens are like the cute anime cat girls but it seems unlikely. I'm still crossing my fingers though.