NMR ISSUE 9

An Introduction to Modern Practical Alchemy
Astrological Forecast 9
Birth and Education of a Magician
Calling up the Spirits of Our Ancestors
Editorial
Electric Almanac
Harvest Equinox Sunstead
Obsidian
Protection from the Intoxicated
Raven, Bear and Grizzly Bear
Tarot Images
The Oldest Magick
The Spirit's Dance
The Story of Two Bridges
The Time of Spirits Samhain
The Ugly Witch Figures
Witchcraft: Yesterday and Today

Articles
Authors
Rituals
Book Reviews
NMR Issues
NMR Covers

The Editorial

By Scot Rhoads

Hello Out There

With this issue New Moon Rising is finally getting wide wholesale distribution. Surely it cannot be long before we become a household word. We invite our new readers to get the New Moon Rising regularly, conveniently, less expensively and early with a subscription ($13, basic rate). We also welcome reader participation. If you have an article or some art or just something you'd like to share in a letter, please don't hesitate to send it to us! We would like this magazine to share information and reactions, rather than just present instruction from a few experts.

Scott Cunningham Update

The many Cunningham fans that have been on the edges of their respective chairs lately can now heave a collective sigh of relief. Scott is recovering well from his life-threatening bout with cryptococcyl meningitis. Though it will still be some time before he is 100% recovered, Scott is looking very well and no longer lets pass the occasional opportunity to make a bad pun—a sure sign of recovery.

In related news, medical science has now nearly eradicated one condition associated with aging—financial security. Anyone who has had a brush with our medical system knows the fiscal trauma it can wreak. Scott still has a large bill to help him remember his treatment and hospital stay. Friends and fans who would like to help alleviate this burden can contribute to:

The Scott Cunningham Medical Fund
8431 Beaver Lake Dr.
San Diego, CA 92119

Scott expresses his gratitude to the many people who have offered their support, well wishes and healing energy.

Welded Bliss

As I wrote in the last issue, Judy and I married on June 23rd after having lived together for several years. Our friends are now studying us carefully for signs of an impending break up (that's life in California). As far as I'm concerned, nothing has changed. When we handfasted years ago, I considered that a marriage. I was somewhat taken aback to find how many of our pagan friends seemed to feel otherwise. I heard that it was about time I made an "honest woman" of Judy (she heard that it was about time she made an "honest man" of me). Friends gave us expensive gifts and showed up at the ceremony, etc. All the things that people do around marriages.

I, however, had already felt married. Judy and I have hand-fasted several times. We both very much enjoy wedding ceremonies. I would be thrilled to get married to her in every tradition on the globe (except those that involve pain). To me, this was another ceremony. I didn't think of it as the ceremony, which was when we first hand-fasted for life. I still plan on getting married to her again. It's fun. But this last ceremony was undeniably a big one. This one carried the force of law. If we break up now, it could be a real hassle.

But I don't think it would have been any less tragic if we had broken up before a legal marriage. What's the difference? Commitment. A legal marriage represents the greatest commitment. That doesn't mean that we were less committed before, it means that the marriage ceremony carries more weight. I admit it, I too have more respect for a legal ceremony. I guess I was surprised by our friends' reactions only because I knew how I felt. It never occurred to me how our relationship might appear to others. If others never really thought of us as married before, what does that say about people's attitude toward handfasting? Obviously, they don't take it as seriously. This is what one would expect of a relationship established for a year and a day, or when one member can readily back out on a whim. It is the legal binding that carries the weight. That says where we Pagans focus—the tangible, the law, the tradition we inherited from our judeo-christian ancestors (the ceremony may not be, but U.S. law is).

Face it, a large part of us is still rooted in the society we grew up in. This is to be expected and not necessarily bad—just something to be aware of. What could be wrong with having more respect for the legal handfasting? The problem I see is that this betrays a respect for the institution of marriage more than the marriage itself. Were we in tune with those around us, we would know how much we should respect a marriage. We would be aware of how much the participants loved each other and how deeply they were committed. They would not have to "prove" it with legal ties (which these days can be tenuous, anyway). A marriage would be more of a celebration of emotional ties than a demonstration of commitment.

How do I feel about this? I don't know. I think about it, but I don't think it bothers me that much. After all, I'm describing myself as well as our friends. But I would like to live in a world where the law carries less weight than love. Actually, I think this is already the case, but we have to open ourselves up more. When we can feel others' love, then we will be able to give it more respect. We won't have to worry about fooling ourselves or others. We won't need the law to menace us should we prove less committed than we thought we were. We won't need the law to sanction only loving relationships between two people of different sex bonded "for life." It seems this is where we are headed—that's why it doesn't bother me that we are not there now. But looking at the manifestations of the Old Age can help us to see how we need to change for the New Age. The next time your friends get together, try to be more aware of the love in their relationship and pay less attention to the ceremonies they may use to consecrate it.

Here We Go Again

Last issue, I reported on a book called An Informational Guide to Gangs, Groups, Cults, produced by the San Diego County Deputy Sheriff's Association and distributed by the San Diego Public Library. I encouraged people to get a copy of this book and complain about it. It is filled with potentially harmful disinformation. (Again, the addresses are: Pres. E.F. Murphy, Deputy Sheriffs' Association, 7546 Trade St., San Diego, CA 92121; and Head City Librarian William Sanwald, San Diego Public Library, 820 E St., San Diego, CA 92101.)

My own experience with these two looks like it may bear some fruit. I have yet to receive a response to my two letters to the Deputy Sheriffs' Association, but I have made slow progress with the Head Librarian. It has been a struggle. Each response seemed to focus on one point that he could object to, allowing him to ignore any other suggestions or pleas for cooperation.

In his first letter, the Head Librarian, Mr. Sanwald, explained that the library could not stop distributing the books because that would constitute censorship. He did not agree that active mass distribution was a sufficiently unusual act to constitute an endorsement of the book. To put it kindly, I think this is an awfully weird way of looking at things. However, I was aware of the investment that the Deputy Sheriffs' Association had in this book, and I knew from the beginning that trying to halt distribution was a futile act. That is why I never made such a suggestion.

I pointed out to Mr. Sanwald that I had not suggested removing the books, but rather offering more information. He said it would be censorship to add a flier to the book. It strikes me as odd that it is censorship to mass distribute one piece of information and censorship to not mass distribute another. But, at least he was answering my letters. I kept at it.

My latest letter included two versions of a flier that I thought would serve to defuse the dangerous disinformation in the Deputies' manual. I pointed out that I had asked that the flier receive the same treatment as Gangs, Groups, Cults. Later I received a call from someone at the Library's offices. He told me that they would consider distributing the version of the flier that did not mention the Deputies' book by name. They would consider distributing the other version with the permission of the Deputy Sheriffs' Association board. At this time, their meeting is still pending.

Whether or not the .S.A. "atones" by cooperating, it looks like positive information will get to the public. I expect to be able to report next issue that the Library is distributing informative fliers that will help to reduce the problem of people accusing Pagans and magicians of being evil. Unfortunately, it appears that there may be more to the problem. A friend who has been working on this problem independently, said that the publisher of this manual may be guilty as well. I got this information too late to check into it before now, but I will report on my findings in the next issue. If anyone wants to check into this company independently, the address is: Stuart-Bradley Productions, Inc., 1610 Oak Park Blvd., Pleasant Hill, CA 94523, (415) 932-2156. I would appreciate hearing from anyone dealing with this or a similar situation. Let's focus on eliminating this most serious threat—mass disinformation. Blessed Be