NEWS UPDATE April 9, 2007: After contributors to the zine requested more time to prepare for each issue, a group discussion resulted in a new dateline for magazine release. From here on out, unless there are more changes, we will be releasing on the cross-quarters (Neo-Pagan holidays) rather than monthly on the new moon. We considered a straight bi-monthly format, but that seemed too long, and as the cross-quarters occur roughly every six weeks, that timeline seemed a good compromise. These dates are chosen not because this magazine subscribes to these holidays nor because we assume our readers subscribe to them, but only because they are widely recognized, convenient markers for issue release. The next issue will be Beltane, and will be released on May 1. The calendar page will be updated in the next few days to reflect submission deadlines and so forth. If you have been planning a submission but found yourself out of time, you just received a two-week extension.

NEWS UPDATE March 23, 2007: The Rending the Veil blogs are nearly ready! These blogs will be based on LiveJournal source code, and we may be ironing out a kink here or there once they’re live, but we’re almost ready to launch. We may have to tweak usernames you may have signed up with: those including a space as part of the username may need to have the spaces changed to underscores. If we find this is necessary, you will be notified via email, assuming the email you signed up with is functional. If you have not yet validated your account, please do so. Check your email for instructions in your original validation email or write webmaster Matt to resend it for you.

Rending the Veil is hungry for your submissions! We are accepting articles, poetry, artwork, and suggestions for a debate topic. We are also seeking editors for various departments (see right-hand sidebar). Don’t wait – send them now! If we fill up for the next issue, we’ll queue your submission for a later issue. If you’ve published this article previously elsewhere, that’s fine – as long as the original publisher is okay with a re-issue. (However, if you publish with us first, we’d appreciate a 30-day exclusive before you pass the article around to other publications, including your blog or website.) See the Account Structure page for information regarding submission of reviews, editorials, and book excerpts.

Greetings, and welcome to the Ostara issue of Rending the Veil ! This issue we premiere two new contributors, poet Shawn Gray (formerly here as Frater I.E.T.) and Edward Cynanthropos.

Former, expired issues of Rending the Veil have been relocated to the archives, and all prior content, articles and columns alike, is accessible from the Site Map. We had hoped to debut the blog function by the release of this issue, but our patient webmaster is struggling to understand the LiveJournal source code, which we intend the use as the basis for our magical blogs. This is no small amount of code, so it’s taking longer than anticipated – as many things seem to do when you start out with big plans and then have to apply time and effort into bringing them to fruition.

As yet in the works on managing editor Sheta Kaey’s project list is the Art Gallery, featuring magical art, photography, and handmade projects. There will be a meta-gallery area with each artist having his or her own personal sub-gallery. This plan was initiated when Sheta discovered that Gerald del Campo was a photographer with some really artsy ritual photos in his collection. He’s still gathering his material together, and Sheta is collecting submissions from other artists in the meanwhile. Real life, as always, intervenes, and Gerald is presently busy with his band, while Sheta is working a new day job on top of her editing job for Immanion Press. Never fear, however; we are equally dedicated to this magazine and while some things may take longer than planned, they will manifest here eventually.

The current plan is to use the art galleries as a means to sell prints of photos, artwork, magical crafts, and so forth, so if you’re interested in buying original art or prints by your favorite author(s), you can look forward to that. If you’d like to get involved and showcase/sell your art, write to Submissions or Sheta with your information.

We have new volunteer positions available for “behind the scenes” work at the magazine. Someday we hope to actually turn these into paid positions, but that remains to be seen. All volunteers will be credited for their work. These positions are permanent so please, only seriously interested parties need apply. See the Positions Available page for details. All volunteers will receive a Rending the Veil email address so that your usual level of email privacy remains intact.

“Modern occultists are working practical magic based on the fictional characters of H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937). This would have amused to no end the Old Man of Providence, as he preferred to be known among his circle of …” read more…

“Inevitably, once a person has chosen a mystical, magical, or spiritual path, there comes a time when s/he is challenged in his or her commitment to that path. After the initial enthusiasm and often rapid forward movement, there is a period of stillness …” read more…

“Initially, the ethics of government and business were to be examined under separate sections. I found it impossible, however, to speak of one without mentioning the other, and for good reason: government and business, at least in the U.S., are one and the same…” read more…

This month we are offering our first selection of magically oriented poetry. This issue features two poems by Frater I.E.T., a new contributor to Rending the Veil. Read the poems…

“I recently created a new tool for some of my space/time experiments, a tool which is basically a box of memories. The function of it is similar to that of the pensieve in the Harry Potter books. The Pensieve is a cauldron that holds…” read more…

“Silence is golden, according to the old saying. Remaining silent seems to be one of the hardest things that anyone can do, especially in the face of different pressures…” read more…

“In the thousands of years since human and wolf decided to play nice around the campfire and work together for mutual survival, the dog species has exploded into a wide plethora of shapes, sizes, personalities and attributes. When I look at the wide range of books out on the market dedicated to animal totems…” read more…

“Okay, you prepared your space. You sat and raised the Circle. You called your allies and astral entities to help. You have called the Quarters, done the Middle Pillar, communed with the Spirits, traveled to the Akashic Record…” read more…

“My interests of late have mostly involved energy work of one form or another, primarily those taught in Franz Bardon’s Initiation Into Hermetics. Bardon only briefly mentions the chakras…” read more…

“In recent years there have been a number of books using quantum physics to explain the way magic works. Of all of the ones I’ve read, this one lays it out most plainly and simply – but it’s got some serious material…” read more…

“I am not very experimental in my magic. At least, I don’t tend to come up with any interesting new ideas myself. I love trying out other people’s ideas, though, and am highly encouraged to find that so many other magicians are willing to put themselves and their reputations on the line to…” read more…

“Based on personal experience and observation, and anecdotal evidence from various other magical practitioners, the stages of development for magicians, mystics, and spiritual practitioners follow a fairly predictable route, at least with regard to common denominators of experience…” read more…

“Depending on where on the internet you hang out, you may have run into the acronym UPG. Unverified or Unsubstantiated Personal Gnosis is essentially any information about a deity or other entity, magical topic, or related spiritual…” read more…

Gerald del Campo offers a monthly selection of ten words pertinent to magick users everywhere – some serious, some firmly tongue-in-cheek. Check out his newest selection in this issue. Read the Dictionary…

Upcoming Thelemic holidays and more. Read more…