December 17th, 2008 §
Update: the Athenaeum is no longer available for download. The articles Meeting the Dream Master, Mapping the Inner Landscape, and the Coligny Calendar are available as blog posts.
The Athenaeum is a biweekly magazine / almanac, a fortnightly gathering of philosophy, religion, puzzles, language, spirit, meditation, inner landscapes, art, magic, manifestation, weather… There are 26 fortnights in the year, and 26 letters in the English alphabet. This is issue Z of 2008.
In this issue:
- Three original articles:
- Meeting the Dream Master. Who is the Dream Master? Easily told: he is the Sandman — the one who brings dreams. He is your guide through the one third of your life you spend asleep. In this interview / meditation, I ask him what sleep is for, how dreams work, and the relationship between sleep and death.
- Mapping the Inner Landscape. My personal landscape in meditation has been consistent for a couple of years now. Why is it arranged the way it is? Insights into spiritual development.
- The Coligny Calendar. A description of the Druid lunar / solar calendar from 2000 years ago, and musings about how life would be different if it were in use today.
- Word Puzzle
- Letter of the Fortnight: Z
- Almanac Information: holidays, moon phases, weather, etc.
- Two Words of the Week: SHOE and SNOW.
- Original Art.
- And more!
A few notes:
- I am considering offering subscriptions to the Athenaeum – for example, 26 issues (a full year) for $70, 13 issues (6 months) for $40, something like that. The Athenaeum would be emailed directly to you, so that you don’t have to download and pay for it every two weeks. If you’d be interested, let me know via the Contact Form.
- It has been brought to my attention that the last Word Puzzle was unreasonably difficult. I’ve tried to make it easier by making some of the clues more obvious, and by organizing the puzzle so that there are longer words with more crossings and fewer abbreviations. Let me know how it goes!
- Also, if you would like the answer to the previous word puzzle, let me know via the Contact Form.
- The Athenaeum is a time consuming labor of love. I cannot keep it going unless I receive more donations. But it won’t take much! If every subscriber to this blog donates just $1 — JUST ONE DOLLAR! — it will completely compensate me for my time, and make it possible for me to continue putting out the Athenaeum every fortnight, indefinitely. It will also allow me to spend more time writing, developing, and improving Druid Journal. Nothing would make me happier! So please do consider donating.
Thanks! And enjoy!
Similar Posts
December 3rd, 2008 §
Update: The Athenaea are no longer available for download. The articles listed below (Barack Obama: A Reading, Dealing with Anger and Fear, and Becoming Death) are available as blog posts.
What is an athenaeum?
Athenaeum (noun). Originally it’s from Greek Athenaion, “of Athena”, borrowed into Latin and then into English around 1700. It first referred to Athena’s temple, and the teaching and performance rehearsal that was done there. (Pronounced ath-en-EE-um.)
Spiritually, the sounds of athenaeum tell a story of Source energy that travels a path of trials and challenges, and empties into a relaxed pool; then is gathered up, narrowed and targeted, raised in pitch and intensity, and then released once more, resulting in magic.
This is the energy of learning, germinating, teaching, and the new manifestations that follow.
The Druid Journal Athenaeum is a biweekly magazine / almanac, a fortnightly gathering of philosophy, religion, puzzles, language, spirit, inner landscapes, art, magic, manifestation, weather… All for the low, low, LOW price of [donations gratefully accepted!]. Each issue of the Athenaeum will include:
- Three full Druid Journal articles. This issue has:
- Barack Obama’s Astrological Reading. A complete analysis couched in terms of Steve Pavlina’s Truth / Love / Power system — an in-depth look at Obama’s heart, mind, and soul. What manner of man is this new president?
- Dealing with Anger and Fear. Musings on the sources of fear and anger, and what to do about them.
- Becoming Death. A landscape meditation unlike any I’ve had before.
- A Word Puzzle of a new kind — an unholy union between a crossword puzzle and philology.
- The Letter of the Fortnight. There are 26 letters in the alphabet, and 26 fortnights in a year. This issue, for the 25th fortnight of the year, is brought to you by 25th letter of the alphabet: Y.
- Almanac information. Two weeks of holidays, weather, etc., just like last year’s Druid Journal Almanac.
- Two Words of the Week, in the tradition of the Word of the Day.
- Original full-color art, in the Druid Journal style.
- AND MORE!
Like everything else I offer, the Athenaeum is available for a donation of any amount. I have set the default donation at $3.50, but in accordance with the principles set out in Selling Salvation, please pay whatever you think is fair. If you can’t pay what you think is fair, please pay what you can. If you can’t pay anything now, please take it for free — I’d much rather you read it free, than not at all!
If you’re not sure whether you want it, then by all means simply download it for free and take a look. You can always leave a donation later by clicking on my “DONATE” button in the sidebar.
I had a real blast putting this together, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. And I hope it’s a huge success, so I will have an excuse to do it again in two weeks’ time…!
Similar Posts
December 3rd, 2007 §
The New Year is coming! Here in Massachusetts we’re in the midst of our first major snowstorm, and while it’s too cold for the big white fluffy flakes, the fall of the tiny ice crystals is like the tinkling of fairy bells. The acres of grass surrounding our new home (in Avallonia, on the east side of the Connecticut River!) have transformed into a field of swirled cream, and the apple tree standing guard alone in their midst seems to be laughing as it lifts its branches up to the sky and catches the snowflakes. (The tree has been much more communicative and friendly since we gave offerings to it at Samhain…)
So it’s my very great pleasure to offer to you the 2008 Almanac and Planner of Nature and the Ancient World, put together by my wife and myself over the last few months when we probably should have been unpacking or something. This has been a labor of love for us — for me, because there is a “Word of the Week”, landscapes, and quotes from the Druid Journal for every week — plus it was tremendous fun putting in the holidays, because I got to learn about so many celebrations from all over the world (did you know that Dec. 3 is International Basque Language Day??) — and for my friend Esmerelda, because she got to indulge her new love of weather wiccecraeft: she contributed a long essay about the theory and practice of weather control, and added tips for helping to alleviate global warming throughout.
I probably can’t do better than to quote from the introduction:
In this volume I have tried to bring together the most useful and interesting information — weather, astrological influences, holidays, passages to invite thought and spiritual reflection, and landscape art inspired by nature and the ancient world — in a simple format that allows you to plan and weave your life according to the rhythms of the earth and sky.
Each week you’ll find expected temperatures and rainfall, moon phases, important astrological events, and holidays from a multitude of traditions. You’ll also find an inspirational quotation — usually, but not always, from my site, the Druid Journal — and a “Word of the Week”, an in-depth exploration of a single word’s history and spiritual energy. Finally, the week is capped off with artwork created by myself in the style of my web site.
On top of all this, the quarter and cross-quarter holidays of modern paganism, which mark the grand turnings of the ancient year, are given special note, with history, etymology, and notes on climate. And last — but certainly not least! — Esmerelda, a local witch, has kindly provided an in-depth essay on weather magic, with particular attention to global warming — and what you can do about it! » Read the rest of this entry «
Similar Posts
May 3rd, 2007 §
To my great surpise, delight, and slight embarassment, Kara-Leah Masina has posted a staggeringly positive review of the Druid Journal over at her site. Thank you, Kara-Leah! I’m so glad you’re enjoying my site. And thanks also to all of you who are reading my words: it’s such a privilege to be able to share my ruminations and explorations with such a diverse, inquisitive, and insightful audience. To reach out, to touch and inspire even one person, one time, with this blog, is a tremendous privilege; so when I see my subscriber list and traffic growing week by week, the word gratitude seems woefully inadequate.
One thing Kara-Leah mentions is that she wishes I had a Top Ten list of popular blog posts available to help her navigate deeper into the site. Until recently I actually did have such a list out — in fact, I had half a dozen lists of popular blog posts, sorted by month. However, for whatever reason, no one ever clicked on them! So last week I took them down, and I decided to rely more on the “More about…” links at the bottom of each article.
However, for the talented and winsome Kara-Leah and anyone else who shares her preferences, today I offer two Top Ten lists: the Top Ten most visited blog posts, and my personal Top Ten favorite list.
TOP TEN MOST VISITED BLOG POSTS
- Eight Reasons Why TV is Evil
- How to Choose a Religion VIII: Old Religions, New Religions
- Do Evil Spirits Exist?
- The Structure of Consciousness, Part One: Archetypes and Circuits
- Alban Elued Revival Druid Ritual
- On Subjective Reality I: Strange Questions
- Carl Jung’s Shadow on the Stairs
- Great Articles on the Law of Attraction
- Possible New Celtic Language Discovered
- Phonosemantics: Find the Meaning of Your Name
TOP TEN PERSONAL FAVORITE BLOG POSTS
- The Purpose of the Universe
- Children in Paganism
- Running with Cernunnos
- My Anima
- Why I Blog (or: I’m on a Mission from a God)
- On Subjective Reality II: the Belief Community Model
- How to Choose a Religion VII: Languages of Spirit
- How to Choose a Religion VI: the Search for Truth
- The Mist-Filled Path I
- The Mist-Filled Path II
Similar Posts
