Welcome to Lughnasadh! Also known as Lammas, this Pagan Sabbat marks the early harvest. In this issue, we’ve harvested new material and a new contributor for your reading pleasure. The new contributor’s name is Andy Hill, and we’ll be featuring his article entitled Altered States, Shamanism, and the Fun of Psychonautics in this issue.

Also new this issue is our editorial column, which we’ve called The Rapier’s Edge, and a new fiction feature, called Beyond the Veil. Lupa brings us our first editorial, “King of the Molehill,” and Frater Auxilior Arti takes point on our first foray into fiction with an entry he calls “Fables of the Dead.” Sheta Kaey recognized his storyline from an old (unpublished) poem of hers, which brought an interesting synchronicity to underline the significance of this piece. Perhaps this indicates shared archetypal experience, or was it perhaps a sneak peek into another realm? You decide. (Sheta’s poem may see publication here at some future date – if she ever finds it.)

New to our News in Magick feature is a catalog of every book cited in this issue, to ease the way for those of you who would like to own any of the volumes our writers have referred to in their work. Feedback is always welcome!

As always, 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. The site map is being renovated for ease of locating material as our archive grows, and you will find the title index ready, as well as about half of the author indices. Bear with us – wonderful changes are on the way!

One final thing: The Google-based portal for RTV Stuff has some very cool new modules you can add to your start page. If you have an RTV email account, you have access to this page and its contents. As of now, you can add everything from The Onion headlines to YouTube search box to Majong. Have fun with it, and if you don’t have an RTV email account but would like one, just let us know. The start page rivals that of Netvibes or Google.

“Throughout human history, our instinctual drive for spiritual truth has often driven members of our species to the painful edge of rational knowledge and sensation. We have always been compelled to directly discover and face the bogeyman hiding off in the trees, or the great force …” read more…

“One trend I’ve noted in almost all my fellow magicians and myself is an initial focus on learning to manipulate external reality with magic. Later, sometimes much later, this is followed up by an exploration of the internal reality or environment of the magician. I must admit that I think the order …” read more…

This issue reveals our first venture into fiction, with a contribution by Frater Auxilior Arti, entitled “Fables of the Dead.” Here’s a taste –
“We were all there, for how could it be any other way? The place was always Here and the time, predictably, Now. We were suspended in a semblance of our times, our thoughts and our mistakes, merely waiting. Some …” read more…

“The concept of paradigm shifting has been labored over time and again in many classic books in the field of magic. It’s become an almost orthodox feature in many extant magical systems. Thus, it is not my intention here to provide a detailed how-to on …” read more …

This issue we feature Shawn Gray, formerly seen here as Frater I.E.T. “The Star Ruby” is his contribution this issue. Read the poem…

“Magic is one of the slipperiest concepts in the English language. No definition seems to satisfy all requirements, and there have been numerous definitions over the centuries. In my opinion, the word has never been adequately defined, but it is informative to examine the various attempts that …” read more…

“Thelema is a universal philosophy or way of life. The religion of Thelema proposes the idea that physical existence begins with the interaction of two metaphysical principles. In the most prominent Thelemic holy book, The Book of The Law, these ideas are given form by association …” read more…

Our first editorial is brought to you by Lupa. Entitled “King of the Molehill,” she voices her consternation over internet drah-mah.
“I love the subcultures I’m a part of. I primarily consider myself part of the Pagan, occult, and Otherkin communities, three separate subcultures that overlap to some extent. While I’m a part of other subcultures, including the fringes of the …” read more…

“I find it difficult to write much about magic. This is not for any of the usually expected reasons – I don’t have vows and oaths to preserve, nor do I have a great deal of advanced knowledge that requires extensive study to understand. I don’t require specialized tools or delicate …” read more…

“Now a lot of us are preachers, and all of us have our moral convictions and concerns, and so often have problems with power. There is nothing wrong with power if power is used correctly. You see, what happened is that some of our philosophers got off base. And one of the great problems of history …” read more…

This month brings you another impressive bit of artwork from Prezzey, entitled “Spontaneous Recurrent.” She has this to say:
“This image was inspired by the much-debated phenomenon of recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis, and more directly by the fact that my tablet PC decided to self-destruct. RSPK, AKA “Poltergeists,” much to parapsychologists’ dismay, are not currently reproducible under …” Check it out…

“I really, really, really liked this book. I’ve been reading anything I can get my hands on regarding BDSM and sex magic during the process of co-writing Kink Magic, and the pertinent chapter in this book was what first attracted me …” read more…

“I was lucky enough to get to preview a galley copy of Raven Digitalis’ first book, Goth Craft, which is due September 2007. This is one of those books that had the potential to be either really good, or abysmal. Fortunately, Raven managed to stick to the former, avoiding a train wreck of trendiness …” read more...

“The Wiccan Mystic is author Ben Gruagach’s answer to the complaint, “I’m tired of Wicca 101 books! Where are the Wicca 201s?” He’s created a book that, with a few caveats, fits the bill. His basic premise is that Wicca is a mystery tradition, and the …” read more...