John Beckett

Chaos Magic: A Complete Beginner's Guide by Ivy Corvus Published by Moon Books – February 2026 136 pages Paperback Kindle

In recent years Walpurgisnacht has become a solitary observance for me, a time for meditation and journeying. At this year’s Walpurgisnacht, I heard five messages for me and my spiritual practice, but that I imagine will be relevant to many others.

Author, podcaster, and chaos magician Gordon White has died. Gordon and his work were very important to me as I was moving into public Paganism. And then things changed and I distanced myself from him. I think that story is worth telling.

The loudest voices in our wider society scream that there is only one God and he stopped speaking two thousand years ago. The second loudest voices scream that there are no Gods and that anyone who thinks otherwise is delusional. Meanwhile, those of us who have experienced one or more of the many Gods know that they are alive and they are speaking.

Earlier this week I came across this story from a nearby suburb about a couple who've been arrested and charged with fraud for running a curse removal scam.

Many UUs don't pray because of bad experiences in a previous religion, theological disagreements, or simply because we've fallen out of practice. But prayer is one of the oldest and most universal spiritual practices known to humanity, and it can be meaningful and helpful to us no matter what our beliefs.

Earlier today I was interviewed by a graduate student writing a thesis on solitary practitioners in the modern Pagan movement.

The Wild Hunt by Morgan Daimler Published by Moon Books – March 2026 112 pages Paperback Kindle

The problem is that when parents follow a fear-based religion and then pass it along, they traumatize their children.

When parents follow a fear-based religion and then pass it along, they traumatize their children. No eight-year-old should live in fear of eternal damnation, for themselves or for anyone else. I no longer have any fear around this. But I have plenty of anger.