One of the classic models for Alchemy follows a map of four distinct stages: Nigredo, Albedo, Citrinitas, and Rubedo. They're as much psychological processes as much as they are physical indicators. And yes, they have something to do with your perception.

It's hard to balance rest with productivity. Never fear, for I have a very simple solution for you! If you schedule rest, then you will have accomplished something by resting. Daily writing prompt Do lazy days make you feel rested or unproductive? View all responses Good morning and happy Monday, friends! New Post: Not Every Piece is a Masterpiece I know it's just in my head, but for most of this week, it…

Most artists don't have their first painting hanging in a museum. Most musicians didn't get a billboard hit with their first song. Have you ever wondered exactly how much work it takes to produce a masterpiece?

If you've ever set a New Year's resolution or any type of recurring personal goal, then you probably know that the likelihood of consistently hitting it eventually falls to zero when stretched over a long enough timeline. We're good at our goals for a few weeks, maybe for a few months, but a year? Multiple years? It starts to get harder and harder.

It's a fairly well-established film trope to have a villain who listens to classical music. The reason why this is so popular might surprise you. Let's take a look at what's really going on in these situations.

It's funny how far apart my answers are going to be here. On one hand, most of the skills that I want to develop are pre-industrial ones. I really enjoy making things with my hands. I'd like to do some woodworking on a larger project using hand tools like planes and chisels. I'd like to turn plant material into cord and then weave it into a basket.

Jessica Howard is an author and an expert on lithomancy -- a form of divination that uses stones, crystals, or other small objects to gain insight. In this episode, we discuss her background and her book, plus she gives a full sample reading!

It's interesting how the idea of fulfillment has changed throughout my life. As a kid, the motivation for hard work was usually to get something else entirely. You clean your room so you can play. You do your chores to get an allowance. That sort of thing. The fulfillment happens afterward. At some point, however, there's a change. Eventually you realize that there's some truth behind that annoying little cliche that says "a job well done is its own reward." …

Did you know that you can divine with music? Shufflemancy is a form of divination where practitioners use randomized playlists to gain insight or guidance. And it's something you can try for yourself in the next five minutes.

I will never pick a favorite album. I just can't do it. Instead, I'm going to list 5, mostly at random, that I have really enjoyed listening to throughout my life. Here you go: Muse - Absolution Radiohead - In Rainbows Elliott Smith - XO Metallica - S&M Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV There you go. Those are in no particular order.

Working with the energy of deity is one of the primary reasons why we create sacred space. If you're leaving that out of your ritual, then you're missing out on a huge potential part of your practice. Where do you start? How do you plan? Who do you call? Those are topics we're going to cover today.

I don't really have a favorite word, but since I write more than the average person, I've been really curious as to whether or not there are any words I'm overusing. I'm aware that words like "actually" and "basically" come out quite frequently in the articles that I write. I usually catch them during the proofing stage and then just delete them entirely.

Elderberry Syrup is a deliciously simple herbal remedy that can be made at home in under an hour. Don't let the simplicity fool you, though... there are real health benefits!

The furthest distance I've ever traveled is from coast to coast within the US -- Virginia to California. I hope to change that one day. I'd like to get out of this little box and cross some oceans. Yes, it's short answer day. Give me a break. It's a holiday! Daily writing prompt Share a story about the furthest you’ve ever traveled from home.

What do you do when you arrive at a point in your spiritual practice where something just doesn't make sense? Spirituality is full of paradoxes... and if you hang around long enough, you're bound to encounter at least one...

Judging from my search history, the last question I needed an answer for was "do dried peppers actually ever go bad?" Well, do they? Apparently not. As long as there's no mold, they will just lose some of their potency over time. Selene and the kids made some amazingly delicious birria tacos over the weekend. Don't they look delicious? The recipe called for a selection of dried peppers, of which we had a few bags tucked away in the pantry.

The lyre, an ancient stringed instrument, is prominent in Greek iconography and has associations with Apollo, Orpheus, and the Muses -- but according to mythology, none of them actually invented it. Who created the first lyre? Read on and find out.

I feel like I've said this before, possibly multiple times, but my favorite time of "day" is the night. And I say this with respect to all of you morning people. Honestly, I admire your morning routines. They seem really great! But I don't want to be a part of them. The night always feels like it's filled with endless possibilities.

Coby Michael is an author and an expert on the Poison Path. In this episode, he returns to M3 to discuss his latest book, The Poison Path Grimoire, and we dive into the nature of poisons themselves.

There are so many physical sensations that are associated with writing. There's the smell of ink, the feel of paper against the side of your hand, and the scratching noise that the tip of the pen makes when it writes. All of those things are incredibly distinct... quite unlike anything else... and if you change just one element in equation, you shift the entire experience.

The Philosopher's Stone, or Lapis Philosophorum, is a legendary alchemical substance that can transmute lead into gold, heal illness, and grant immortality... but it's almost as mysterious as it is powerful. Has anyone ever really created it? Let's find out.

My idea of a "daily carry" has changed over the years. Let's leave out the obvious answers here like "cell phone" and "wallet" or anything related to money. For some years of my life, it was important to always have a lighter in my pocket. Even after I quit smoking, I still carried a lighter for quite some time. I know it sounds strange, but I kept it with me in case someone…

The creation of a bindrune is an incredibly personal and powerful process in which multiple letters of a runic alphabet are combined into one symbol in order to suit a specific intention. Doing magick with the Elder Futhark runes is easier than you might think!

Let’s take a look at Lughnasadh, one of the most confusing points on the wheel of the year. Even though we can’t all agree how to spell it, hopefully we can find some common traditions.