Journal Writing Assignment

This is an exercise for the coursera online class I'm currently taking. Nothing fancy here, just basics.

Week 2 Journal Writing Assignment.

List of Nouns

Alden, Lisa, joystick, book, Amazon Kindle, wallet, tarot cards, pipe, Ipod, fridge, dog, cat.    

List of Adjectives

Loud, resinous, abrasive, full, heavy, occult, open, courteous, happy, introspective, clueless.


Alden burst into the room, in his usual abrasive manner, and orated on the day's minutiae.

I fumbled and my tarot deck fell over my desk, spilling cards across my dusty old keyboard.

Week 3
Action verbs

The cat jumped and dashed across the desk, in hot pursuit after a sprawling bag of cheez-its.

Raising his almond staff, Solomon uttered arcane words and the demon materialized a midst the incense, within the triangle of The Art.

Uncle Dave went to hell with himself snorting coke off a hooker's tit.



I sit at my desk, with literally nothing going on around me.

In gloomy overcast, I hear the steady rain pattering on my rooftop.

From the depths of boredom, I ponder what to write about, until my furry subject runs down the stairs and into the dark living-room.

Smokey the cat, looks like something out of an internet meme - fluffy gray fur and derpy yellow eyes, always looking for simple amusements and tasty treats.

The fat cat sniffs his empty bowl with dismay, then shoots a glance at my general direction.

The vacancy in his eyes speak of a "disturbance in The Force."

He then lunges his fat ass across my desk, dashing across my keyboard, in hot pursuit of a sprawling bag of cheez-its.

"zxc klllklo;P" Is the message Smokey left, before stuffing his face with crispy cheesy goodness.

Week 4

In your writing journal, you will begin to practice building sentences with adjective and adverbial clauses. For this journal entry, discuss some of the advantages of the place where you live. Using the lists associated with each of these types of clauses, write at least three (3) sentences including adjective clauses and three (3) sentences including adverbial clauses. Underline the adjective and adverbial clauses. Consider their function in both as a modifier and an aspect of your writing style.


Union Beach, which is only an hour-long train-ride from New York City, is a good place for commuters to live in.

I live across the street from a bar, whose owner I am acquainted with.

My wife Lisa, who grew up in this town, has fond memories of it.

While I still feel like a total stranger here, a few locals know me well enough.

When I moved here, I was oblivious to all but my beloved.

This town is quiet enough so that I can work without distractions.

Unless we decide to move someday, this is our home.

In your journal, discuss any disadvantages to the place where you live and continue your sentence practice with noun and verb phrases. Write at least one of each of the noun phrases discussed in the unit (prepositional phrase, absolute phrase, and appositive phrase) and at least two of each of the verb phrases (infinitive phrase and participial phrase). You will, therefore, write at least seven sentences for this journal activity. As in the first assignment, underline the phrase in each sentence and consider its function in both as a modifier and an aspect of your writing style.

Situated just North of Seaside, along the Jersey Shore, Union Beach is the home of the white trash. Prepositional phrase.

Safe for a few exceptions, Union Beach is mostly populated by crazies, idiots and assholes. Appositive Phrase. 

Incoherent shouts littered the thick and humid air, as drunken imbeciles staggered across the street. Absolute phrase.

To get a good night of sleep on karaoke nights, we have to close all doors and windows. Infinitive phrase.


Spewing senseless political rhetoric, hordes of semi-literate peasants vote against their own interests. Participial phrase. 

Discuss in one paragraph the advantages and disadvantages of the place where you live. Use at least one each of the clauses and phrases you studied in the unit. Also, be sure that you include one each of the four sentence types in your paragraph.  Using your knowledge from Unit 3, use action verbs and active voice, keep your verbs in the same tense, and maintain correct subject-verb agreement. Your description should consist of 9 or more sentences.

Union Beach is not a bad place to live in. Though a suburb, and a low-income area, it's also a mere hour ride from New York City. I moved to this town to live with my wife Lisa, who grew up here and has fond memories of it. While I still feel like I total stranger, a few locals know me well enough. I wish I could say things are always quiet enough for me to write, but I can't. I live across a bar, whose owner I'm personally acquainted with. If apathy was an Olympic sport, she would be a golden medalist. Safe for a few exceptions, Union Beach is mostly populated by crazies, idiots and assholes; they all converge across the street. Incoherent shouts echoing in the swampy air, as drunken douche-bags stagger across the street, and yet, no one besides me seems to care. There will be no sleep for me tonight. 

Weeks 4 and 5

Pick one topic and write a paragraph.

Topic #1
Discuss at least four (4) short term and/or long term effects that finishing Crafting an Effective Writer: Tools of the Trade will have upon you personally, academically, and/or professionally.

Topic #2
Identify and describe a favorite activity or interest and provide at least four reasons why this activity or interest holds your attention and/or is enjoyable to you.

Topic #3
Identify and describe at least three (3) ways a person, male and/or female, is recognized as an adult in your culture.

Topic #4

Identify and describe a traditional ethnic food from your culture. Provide at least four reasons why this food has remained an essential, primary food in your culture. While you may include the recipe, this topic asks you to discuss the importance of the food in your culture.

I believe in magick. Not only do I believe in it, but I also study and practice magick rituals in my everyday life. I don't mean magic as in parlor tricks, I mean magick as spelled and described by the English poet and occultist Aleister Crowley - To cause change in conformity with will. In other words, any deliberate act of change in my life, is a magickal act. This change may range from something as simple as opening a door to a grandiose quest, such as writing a novel. You might ask why anyone who subscribes to a scientific understanding of the world would want to bother with magick? The simple answer is: they're not at odds. Let's face it, we all have goals in life, but we're not always motivated to pursue those goals. C. G. Jung exposed the many ways in which our inner reality affects the outer world. He understood the importance of assimilating unconscious symbols and archetypes into conscious life. A simple, yet fundamental ritual of the pentagram helps me balance these forces as represented by the four classical elements - Fire, Water, Air and Earth. When I lack motivation, I channel the element of fire to rekindle my passion and drive to pursue my will. When life throws me a puzzle, and I lack concentration, I call upon the clarity of air to cut into the heart of a problem. When I can't relate to people, I call upon the watery depths of emotional understanding and become more empathetic. When I feel like a space-cadet, too high on visions and ideals, I call upon the stabilizing force of earth to ground myself firmly on objective reality. This is a continuous process of self transformation, which isn't always easy. I can't change my external reality without first changing my inner reality. Magick may not be for everyone, but it works for me.

 the magician to balance the four classical elements - fire, water, air and earth. 

Ideas/brainstorming

 Why magick?

I have devoted five years to the study and practice of the occult. How has it changed my life?

• Crowley's definition of magick. “Effecting change in conformity with will.”
• Dabble in the relationship between self transformation and the universe.

• Balancing the four classical elements, benefits. Associated with psychology, Jung's psychological types. http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Jung/types.htm
• Dangers, not for everyone.
• Conclusion.

I'm an Equal Opportunity Idiot

Austin Osman Spare. 

Yeah, I knew the name sounded familiar. It came up in discussions with Lisa about chaos magick. Not long ago she was very excited about her discovery (or rediscovery) of chaos magick. She told me about him and showed me pictures. I saw, I listened, but I retained no more than a fuzzy memory. Later I read an account of him in Crowley's biography, which inspired a character concept for Wizard's Wrath. Maybe I was just too high at the time to make the connection, but like I said, the name rung a bell. Fast forward two weeks. I performed the LBRP next door then meditated for 30 minutes. I then listened to a Speech in the Silence broadcast where the name came up again triggering that fuzzy memory again. I said to myself: Self, you should go back next door and actually take a good look at his artwork. I found his young photo on his wikipedia article and was amazed at how his facial features looked like the character I had visualized. 

No sooner did I mention this to Lisa and she started again, with the usual eye-roll attitude. That would've been fine if I didn't pick up on the emotional weight behind her every word and gesture. She gets really incensed when she shares some reference or knowledge with me, and I don't absorb it right away, only to "find" it weeks or months later. She insistently misquoted me: "Look what I discovered" when in fact I was just enthusiastic about finding it in a new light. I'm aware that as attentive as I could be. I'm also know that I don't get really psyched about something just because she tells me I should be. This has been the source of many arguments between us and I'm fucking tired of it. This is such a long running quirk of mine that I'm actually angry that she still hasn't made peace with it. All I can say is "I know this is a thing, and I'm working on it."

I think I know what fires her frustration along. She ascribes a personal choice to me being an "idiot." As if I deliberately dismiss her because she is whimsical. This is a long-running paranoia, and no matter how much I assure her that's not the case, it keeps coming back. For the record, I'm am an empiricist. That means I respect demonstrable results. She has demonstrated the success of her ways time and again. I DO NOT dismiss her, but I also don't always get her, or even remember everything she shares with me. She ranted about remembering a petty conversation I had with her last night about a game - but that was last night, not two or three weeks ago. I'm not about to grill her about the things I try to share with her, because it's futile. She'll either come upon it on her own or not. That's how I work, anyway. But I digress. I want to help her understand that I don't just not listen to her, I don't listen to anyone! The moment she makes it about her, the hamster wheel will keep spinning and she'll just get angrier. I am an equal opportunity idiot.

Anyway, that was rather unpleasant and I have to mind to read any further on him at this great magician right now. Maybe some other time, when my brain isn't apt to associate this great man with a petty and unpleasant old discussion. 

New Main Characters for the Ascension Series.

So I've decided to completely resign two of my characters - Capilla and Finan.

My young friends may have been fine players in D&D, but theirs were the lamest pair of characters. It really mystified me why an otherwise creative role-player gave me such a shit character in Capilla. I thought she was nine, and not four years old. A cat raised by ogres? Really? Finan had a very generic backstory. He could've been great if played well, but I wasn't impressed. Nothing about him is memorable, save things I introduce to make him passable. The mysterious silent guy trope is overdone and unsuitable for this role. It's enough for Volen, the mystic archer in The Heist, to become canon.

Replacing Capilla is Alessa, young priestess in the Sisters of the Moon. She is about twelve years of age, pale complexion, and a long jet-black curtain hair falling to just below her hips. She styles it differently depending on her chosen mantra or prayer. I'll need Lisa's help with details for styles. Like Capilla, most of her priestess powers are of an emotional nature, for such is the nature of The Moon. Most Sisters of the Moon are adept in this lunar school of magick, but Alessa is unusually gifted among her peers (Thus fulfilling Merlin's prophecy which Lucius believed applied to him).


Replacing Finan is Edwin, misfit apprentice turned anarchist warlock. Son of a wealthy lord, he forsook his family estate in order to pursue chaos magick. He had to get by on wits and hard work. He began using magick to get immediate results, like money and jobs, sometimes shady ones. We meet him in Port Everlast as a graduating college student, living and working at the Linfang Inn. He may or may not have had a complicated relationship with Kithri Lionfang. I haven't decided if he is an extrovert or an introvert, or if he wears a mohawk. I think he is covered in tattoo and piercings. He is either a short human or a hafling. Either way, he hates the establishment. He criticizes the "Great Order", calling it an elitist establishment pushing their agenda in world affairs. He should be a hero to the rebelling young atheists of our age.

This is it for now, more notes coming at later posts, I'm sure.

The Legend of King Asar and Queen Isa

The Legend of King Asar and Queen Isa.

The names have been changed to protect the innocent (lol)

Osiris = Asar = Johvan.

Isa = Isis = Gaia.

Horus = Hoor = Heru.

Set = Seth = Pan.

In Archanon, this well known Egyptian myth played out in the ruling dynasty in the ancient city of Thebes, The City of Pyramids. In the story, this was the source of all Egyptian myth. Theban magi formed gateways between worlds and spread the influence of their deities to the Earth dimension. The Old Kingdom of Egypt started as a spiritual colony of Archanon. The influence of Archnon in our world has been around since the dawn of time, but Archanon's Thebes and Earth's Thebes was the first direct link between the two worlds. Sun priests, mystics and magi traveled back and fourth exchanging the mysteries to worthy initiates. Because magick on Earth is subtler and the laws of physics harder to bend, Archanite magi trained on Earth and returned all the more potent. The impact of Theban (Egyptian) and Altherian (Greek) pantheons had a more enduring presence through the ages in Archanon. The portal on earth was such a closely guarded secret, that it remained hidden from the masses long after the fall of the Egyptian kingdoms to the Greeks and the Romans. Only Earth's greatest mystics, like Abramelin (Abraham Merlin) knew of it's existence. With the rise of Christianity, when the Black Brothers began disseminating their lies and misleading the people of Earth, the Conclave sealed the portal between the worlds to prevent the disease from spreading to Archanon. Little did they know then, that Johvan (Asar in his true form) Archanon's patriarch god, would soon become the source of spiritual corruption in their world.

Family Matters

I had an argument with Lisa and Alden today. I started off by sounding condescending as usual, which wasn't my intention. I made a comment about the kitchen being a mess, but if had been more observant I would've noticed that Lisa was still eating lunch and hadn't cleaned yet. This came on the heels of the previous day, when she yelled at everyone, myself included, for not doing enough to keep the house clean.

I can't walk away from this not believing that I'm measured by different standards. Perhaps I am, but rather than sulking or arguing in typical Aquarian fashion, there might be a better perspective. I saw this in my non-thinking moments while working with Irv. We are all held to different standards. If I'm a serious aspirant to the A.:. A.:. it wouldn't do to succeed spiritually while slacking on my secular obligations to my family. I don't think that's even possible.  Like it or not, I will be held to higher and higher standards. The "quest" for inner perfection never ends.

There is something that worries me about all this. Lisa has been inconsistent with matters pertaining to Alden. I could be wrong, but I see her getting emotional and defending him. He then gets a big head and continues in his path of not doing much of anything, while taunting me in small insignificant ways. Yesterday she was very vocal about how little Alden has been doing around the house. Today the story changed. Apparently he has way too many chores and is very busy all the time. It's been two days, which is it?

Yesterday she accused me of being a bad influence on Alden. I made a bet with him that he couldn't beat me in a fighting game, so he spent spent a lot of time playing games and not doing chores. I hoped to encourage him to be cool headed and competitive, able to problem-solve his way to victory even through the rush of emotions. He wasn't ready for it. While Lisa helped me realized how misguided I was, she also said, in her typical exaggeration: "I handed him the tool of his destruction." The truth of the matter is this: He will fuck off all on his own. He doesn't emulate good habits as much as the bad ones in most people. If I read all day, then chose to veg the next day by playing a game, he will only see what he likes - the slacking. She insists that I should strive to be a better influence in his life. I've tried it, and still do in subtler ways, but I don't have to patience to be any more active without being a total dick. This is all I can do without taking responsibility as a full-fledged parent and doing things my way. I simply don't have the final authority of a parent. As much as I picked on him years ago, this would've happened regardless. I am not daddy or mommy, I'm that other guy.

Since that discussion I've been trying but I only met more disappointment. I ask him is he is reading his book and he comes up with bullshit reasons not to, or excuses why he didn't. After all that discussion, the chores Alden should have done last night still didn't get done at the time of this writing. [Update - He did do the stove and went to bed just as I finished writing this] I had to sweep the kitchen today, as I also washed the pots for him last night. He has a lot of little chores and he helps with a lot of other things like bathing the dogs, I'll give him that. But I can't even bring up something Alden hasn't done without Lisa throwing everything that's wrong about me in my face.

There is something strange going on between mother and son, and I can't even begin to dissect it. Lisa may be too close to the problem to see it. I catch hints of unmet expectations, lowering of standards, deflection of blame. I witness this in matters pertaining to Irv, too. She'll complain about certain behaviors, insist that they need changing, but not bring them up to him. Honestly, parenting the Wallings isn't a job I'd want. Sometimes I don't know how she does it. But the effect is this: As bad as I am, it's still easier for her to bitch me out than the other two. Why? I don't really know for sure. Lisa and I are full fledged lovers who are intimately involved in each-others lives, in very intimate ways. I've had a track record of change and self-improvement, which must account for something. Like I said, I'm an aspirant to the Great Work and she is my partner. Like it or not, I will be measured by different standards. The more I learn to balance myself, the thinner the rope will become.

Of course I could be completely wrong about all this, but I'm not a complete idiot. There is something off. I don't like to argue with her. In the midst of an argument I just want us to understand each-other and move on. I'm running dangerously close to just agreeing with her to shut her up. Sometimes it's just easier to assume I'm wrong, because often I am. Yet lately I sense a discord that goes far beyond just my own bullshit. I get that she is stressed and tired of running around the house cleaning after all of us. She was also abused as a child, and there was no adult standing up for her. When Alden is under "attack" it's just so easy for her identify with him and become his defender. It comes naturally to her, though not every time. I love her and I want to help, but whatever I'm doing, it isn't good enough. I hope things normalize a little better when Alden goes back to school, and she won't have to watch him sit around the house being a social disappointment.

The Legend of Queen Babalon

The Legend of Queen Babalon - avatar of Pallas Altheria.



She reacquired her magickal powers through series of sex magick rituals and orgies with those serving under her. She was a Queen-Priestess of Pallas Altheria, her incarnation on earth. She instituted the 12 knights of Pallas. The twelve had to undergo a ritual orgy with the queen to form a intimate psychic link among all 13. There were three grades of intimacy within the order of twelve. They correspond to the numbers 4, 7 and 12. There was a fourth grade which belong to a single knight, this was Lucius, or Frater Lux Maximus the Knight of Therion. Him and the Queen became lovers and stood against Johvan by means of the Great Work, along with Aleph Wraith who sided with them. Over the years the orgiastic ritual required to link all participants has become less overtly sexual and more symbolic. Only 7 of the 12 templars forge a sensual link while 4 of the seven are initiated through an actual sexual ceremony. Of those 4 inner guardians, one becomes chief of the Golden Rose Order and consummates the spiritual link through a highly ritualized sexual initiation with the King-Priest or Queen-Priestess. All are chosen by their sovereign. This is why Lucius' inner guardians are all women.

Magick Missmatch

What the fuck!

I am calm now, but still, what the fuck!

Lisa and I did a cleansing ritual for the house, it went almost perfectly fine except for one time when I spoke up and distracted her. I thought she was missing a spot. I was stupid.

I know I'm a hack when it comes to magick. I'm not making any claim to be something I'm not. Sometimes I am very slow about making connections and understanding the methods of practical magick. If I don't understand something I question it. My problem is that I can't stop and analyse things while actually practicing magick. I have many other faults, but this one is the crux of my misunderstanding with Lisa today. I didn't know when to speak and when to keep silent.

I can say this here, without having to confront her. I did give it my all. I gave all I had within the circumstances. Lisa contested this, but her rant about me not respecting her magick undermined my confidence in her judgement of my character. The truth is, I failed myself. I still haven't been able to balance the elements using the pentagram. I did an LBRP that was so weak I was better off not doing it. I'm struggling with it in many ways, and it's leading to some internal conflicts which I'm well aware of.  I showered, meditated and really had a positive attitude about the ritual. She told me we would be fasting so I ate well the night before. I didn't expect us to sleep in as much and by the time we had to actually mop the floor as part of the ritual, half of my will was devoted to controlling myself.

I was prone to being irritable, and Alden's earlier intrusion in the kitchen didn't help. When I told her to ignore Alden I was actually telling myself to ignore him. I gave her the impressions that I was being controlling of her. What can I say? Alden's argumentative minutiae pisses me off. I don't like doing magick with him around.

She blamed me for ruining the whole thing, but I disagree. It was her working from the beginning, I had no more of a role in her spell than Alden did. She mustered and directed her will through the whole operation while I watched and learned. The most I did was push the mop through the living-room, the bathroom and the laundry room using all of my will to push the qlipothic energy out. That much I accomplished. Over the course of our argument she threw the old Greek adage "know yourself" at my face a few times. What an idiotic expectation of me! Would I even be here if I knew myself?

The fact of the matter is that she works alone. I picked up on many subtle clues about her solitary practice. There could have been more communication, or perhaps what I need is more formal and structured communication. I miss out on a lot in a casual setting. When talking about a ritual we're about to perform, I have to have a semblance of formalism. I need to sit down face to face like when we do serious Tarot reading. She is very organic about things and it works for her. I don't know that it works for me at this stage. I need discipline. That's why getting up early was so important to me.

When she grounded by the tree, she completely forgot about me even as I handed her the components we carried so I could do the same. I just figured I'd do it after bringing everything inside, which is exactly when she began lecturing me about grounding and my bad habits. (I define lecturing here as saying more than a single sentence on the matter.) I admit, I got annoyed, which didn't help. Her rituals are very powerful and I learn a lot simply by observing, but I don't feel even remotely adequate to work with her, or even under her. Magically speaking she is a force of nature while I'm just a tiny little shack loosely held together with Ruach nails.

 As much as she considers herself my teacher in the ways of magick, it doesn't come natural for her. It's the same way with writing and anything she tries to teach me. She has been a solo practitioner for something like twenty years. She works alone and gets results. I am a beginner and a little slow at times. I have some theory, but not enough practice, so I make mistakes. How else will I learn? This was something that she had to do for the house, and the little I brought to the table wasn't worth the trouble. I didn't listen to her or understand the implied subtleties of her methods. The irony in all of this is that it's precisely what I was trying to avoid.

I would love to help her in mundane ways, and watch and learn from her methods. But I can't work rituals with her anymore, at least not until I do some more catching up.