NMR ISSUE 7

Astrological Forecast 7
Beaver, Deer & Eagle
Editorial
Lazaris on the Line
Lepidolite
Letters 7
Magical Herbs
Midsummer
Midsummer's Eve
Sage
The Flora Fairy
The Odinist Festivals
The Oldest magick
The Solitary Path
Walpurgia Feast (May Eve)

Articles
Authors
Rituals
Book Reviews
NMR Issues
NMR Covers

The Editorial

By Scot Rhoads

As you can see from our cover, we have undergone dramatic change since the last issue. Jason Rath is no longer with us. To reflect this change, we have renamed our publication. (The title "New Moon Rising" was generously donated by Rick Carleson who published a local magazine by that name a few years ago.) Other than these two alterations, the magazine will be unchanged. We have numbered this issue to follow the last Rose & Quill and will fill all subscriptions with the New Moon Rising.

As we enter our second year, all the help we have received from our friends, new and old, enables us to continue to build this magazine into a positive force in the occult and Pagan communities. We thank our subscribers and those who have donated their efforts. You may have wondered where those efforts were going. I have often explained that the purpose this magazine is to share information. Sharing helps the Pagan and magickal communities to grow and strengthen and become more cohesive. This will allow new, healthier paradigms to take root, and create the kind of world we want. . . . pretty dramatic stuff, but that is what we all participate in, to some degree. But we at the Mystic Moon and some of our friends have more tangible goals as well.

In the long term, we plan to bring about the kind of world we want to build on a small scale. We want to create a Pagan community. We are working toward buying some land (probably in the Pacific Northwest) and running our magazine and mail order business from there. Some of our friends have talked about joining us and we hope others will as well. We do not plan on creating a commune. Our focus is not economic or social structure. Our focus is on attitudes—let the system evolve accordingly. We want a cooperative community that loves the Earth. If we create something that others want, it will spread. In this way, we hope to help bring in the New Age. You are participating in this project when you subscribe to our magazine. I thank you for your support. I hope you will not only enjoy the magazine, but also feel that you are supporting something you value.

Onward into the New Age!

Channeling is not quoting your sources.

My early experiences with "channeling" were so unimpressive that I had no respect for it. I saw people falling all over themselves for empty or readily available information just because it presumably came from some discarnate entity with no vowels in its name. This attitude is common in all circles. You may have seen the bumper sticker,

"God said it, I believe it, that settles it." For many people you could replace "God" with "Prlywkz," or "The Space Brothers," or "L. Ron Hubbard," or "Mao," or "Einstein," or whoever. Some sources simply go unquestioned.

In dismissing channeling, I was guilty of behavior similar to that which I rejected. I was paying more attention to the source than the information. For this reason, I was loath to expose myself to yet another channeler when I encountered my first Lazaris tape. Fortunately, my wife compelled me to listen. I discovered to my surprise that there was a lot of information on the tape that was not obvious, readily available, meaningless, useless or boring. I now find myself as effusive about Lazaris as those that used to amuse me in the past.

It's a little embarrassing, but I admit that I find the Lazaris material thoroughly impressive. Knowing that the information (presumably) comes from a discarnate entity is very interesting, but really has no bearing on its validity (nor should it!). I do not feel that "Lazaris said it, I believe it, that settles it." I simply like what he says.

Lazaris is a product of the New Age and the `New Wage.' He is part of the former in that he espouses new, positive, empowering views of the Universe and the parts we play in it. He is part of the latter in that the material tends to be expensive and widely ignored in the occult field. His primary media are the video and audio tape—inherently expensive, inherently New Wage. But, compared to other tapes, the Lazaris material is priced no higher than average. He finally has some books available which also have ordinary price tags. Yet the same people who gladly throw $25 at someone with a phony copy of the "Necronomicon," will turn up their noses at three hours of good information at the same price. Why is Lazaris so unknown to occultists? To answer, I draw from my experience.

I expect that one reason is the New Age/Occult barrier. They are part of the same thing, but there seem to be two separate markets that I will call by these names. What's the difference between New Age and Occult? One decimal place, according to the old joke. Many occultists see the New Wage as offering old, watered down material, highly packaged at high prices. For instance, if you've been into metaphysics for a year or so, I would be surprised if a $600 seminar with Shirley McLaine would offer you anything new of substance. Thus, occultists avoid things that look New Wage because they are generally a disappointment (or have been, I suspect that may be changing). New Wage shops have different (richer, less experienced) clientele. It is difficult for much material to make the cross over.

Another reason is the price tag. I have heard that Wiccans tend to be smarter and poorer than average. What I have seen makes this very believable. Lazaris has only recently begun to produce items in the magical $10 price range that seems to attract the most attention. The material itself doesn't seem to matter as much as the price. I have found that in a Wiccan shop it is much easier to sell a $5 item for $10 than to sell a $50 item for $25. (Oh well.)

The most interesting possibility is that the Occult is not part of the New Age. In this context, Occult refers to metaphysics based on ancient formulae—Kabbalism, shamanism, Ceremonial Magick, Wicca as it relates to archaeological information, etc. New Age refers to the positive new paradigms of empowerment and conscious creation that seem to be making their entrance. There is much overlap, but there is a fundamental difference. The "Old Age" holds that positive change comes through struggle. The New Age says that positive change can come through ease and pleasure if you so choose.

Occult systems tend to focus on arcane symbols manipulating the subconscious and often involve great struggle in study and use. In practice, this often differs little from the New Age practices, but the fundamental paradigm is that it does not have to be this way. In the Occult, you must struggle down the difficult path to empowerment because that's how it's done. In the New Age, you to struggle down the easy path to empowerment only when you get in your own way. The latter is very frustrating. Who wants to think that life is hard just cause you're being an idiot on some level?

There is a fundamental principle of human behavior called "cognitive dissonance." A good example is the many stupid jokes that go on and on, laying groundwork until they finally reach a rather unimpressive punch line. It is not the punch line that makes you laugh so much as the fact that you have invested so much time into listening to the joke that, by god, it's gotta be funny. Another example is a San Diego county bakeshop that sells bread that (I think) is indistinguishable from that at the local supermarket in quality, flavor and price. But because one has to drive about 50 miles to get it, everyone is convinced that it's the greatest thing since, uh, sliced bread. Similarly, if you pay $6 to see an average movie, you may feel you enjoyed it more than if you'd paid $3. And, the harder you struggle at your prosperity spell, the better you've done. Cognitive dissonance makes the world go round.

Cognitive dissonance may play a large role in Lazaris' exclusion from the Occult market. It is difficult to accept that all the struggle and misery you've been patting yourself on the back for over the years has not, after all, been necessary. It is difficult to imagine that information so easily gained and techniques so easily done can be as valid or as valuable as those that cost so dear. Too bad. It's sad to insist upon a harder path, simply because you've been on it for so long. Even if the new