This week I have a few simple updates and pointers.

First, a few days ago Erik at executivepagan graciously asked me to help him out by writing a guest post while he was on vacation.  I accepted his invitation with delight and then, due to one thing and another, completely failed to post while he was away.  However, he stretched the rules and allowed me to post after he got back.  Thanks, Erik!  The post is called The Powers of Darkness, and concerns the mythologies developed by (or revealed to) homeless children, the nature of evil, how powerful evil spirits are, and why we’re so fascinated by this danger.  Fun little things like that.  Go on over, and while you’re there, definitely check out Erik’s awesome stuff.

Second, I finally got my act together and created a physical version of my collection of short stories.  I added a general introduction, as well as a postscript for each story with some notes about how they were written.  The book is available as a hardcover for $24.55 and a paperback for $12.83.  (I wish I could offer these for donations, like my other offerings, but lulu.com doesn’t work that way.)  The book is titled Wild Enough and Free, a reference to the final story in the book.  Personally I love physical versions of books — they seem so much more intimate.  I hope you enjoy these!

If you’re a regular reader, you know that Apollo is one of my primary guides, and was the original inspiration for this blog. Over the past year, I’ve worked at improving my connection with him, to become a clearer conduit for solar energy. It’s been an amazing ride…

Midsummer is the point of Apollo’s maximum power, and it’s also the first anniversary of this blog. There seemed to be no better time to share some of Apollo’s thoughts and reflections. This interview was gathered together from a number of separate meditation sessions as well as automatic writing.

The setting is a grassy, windy hilltop in the sun. We are sitting on a stone bench just outside Apollo’s temple — a small Greek affair, little more than a dome supported by columns, covering a small pool with water rippled by the breeze and dappled by sunlight through nearby trees. The temple is at the edge of a dark green wood, but we are facing away from that, watching the wind play in the tall grass, and the sunlight glittering on the sea beyond the hills.

Like many famous people, Apollo is not as tall as you might have expected. He is muscular, but certainly not overbuilt, and he rarely wears anything. His skin at this time is bronzed, glowing as though with a recent tan; earlier in the spring, when he was as new-born, his skin was actually flowing molten gold. His hair is brown and curly, short-cropped; and his eyes are black as night, studded with swirls of stars.

DJ: Good morning! Thanks for coming by today.Apollo: Thank you! My pleasure.DJ: First off, let me ask you this: was this interview your idea, or mine? Apollo: The very fact that you’re asking that question means that you’re making a lot of progress in aligning your energy with mine. Congratulations! The answer is: it was my idea. And it was also your idea. As you open yourself up more and more, you will find it harder to distinguish your thoughts from mine.

DJ: That seems a little… uh… creepy. Read the rest of this entry »

A couple of days ago, not long after breakfast, my oldest daughter, who is 8, was coming upstairs to ask me a question when I heard her give a little shriek of surprise. In my house, kids are shrieking and screaming and laughing all the time, so I didn’t think twice about it. But then she came up, all a-twitter, and told me she’d seen an apparition behind her on the stairs. Read the rest of this entry »