Magic Sigils

Some believe that magic derives its power from the principle that every compelling thought or desire creates a corresponding, semi-sentient energy form on the astral plane. This astral energy form, a form of your will, can then manifest on the material plane. As aids to manifestation, sigils are “glyphs of desire stylized so as not to immediately suggest the desire.”

1. Making the sigil
2. Charging the sigil
3. Forgetting the sigil

1. Concentrate on your desire and reduce it to a short phrase. I want a beef burrito.
2. Get rid of extra letters. Befurito.
3. Rearrange your letters into a connected symbol. CONCENTRATE REALLY HARD ON WHAT YOU WANT. You know the drill. If you don't want it hard enough, you won't get it.
4. BURN IT. FORGET IT. PRETEND THESE SUPERSTITIOUS SHENANIGINS NEVER HAPPENED.
5. Wait for a burrito.

Baoding Balls

I found these at Goodwill and I loved the chiming sound they made, so I bought them, took them home and did some research. I found out that they are called Baoding balls, and they have been around as long as the Ming dynasty. They are used for meditation - They're good for working on your hand dexterity, and with enough practice, one can go from two knocking into each other as they rotate to swirling four in your palm at once without them touching.

"Chinese practitioners claim that muscles remain nimble, bones are strengthened and the mind kept sober through prolonged usage of the health balls. Other benefits are blood circulates more freely, and different chronic diseases such as hypertension are kept from developing. In time (in terms of many years of practicing Baoding balls use) the brain becomes healthier and you will notice that your intelligence and memory improves. Furthermore, fatigue goes away, your worries disappear, stress is reduced, and in the end your life is extended."

Perfectly Satisfying Beans & Rice

Ingredients:

4 ½ cups water 
½ cup dried beans 
½ cup rice 
1 onion, chopped 
3 cloves garlic, minced 
3 C chopped vegetables 
2 T oil 
2 T spices

Cooking Instructions:

Rinse the mung beans and rice. Add the mung beans to boiling water and cook until they begin to split. Add the rice and cook another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Now add the vegetables.

Heat the oil in a sauté pan and add the onions and garlic and sauté until clear. Add the spices and cook 5 more minutes, stirring constantly. Add a little water if necessary. Add this to the cooked rice and beans.

Board Readin'

If you've ever used a Ouija board with friends, you've probably played an extremely fun and exciting party game, but you have definitely not gotten the full experience in using a spirit board. Your roommate was probably a little bit tipsy and pushing the planchette (the little arrow you hold for reading) towards what they think the "spirits" haveto say. The best way, by far, is to do it alone.

There are a few theories on how they work, none of which will ever be able to be proven. Such is magic. Are you channeling a spirit, a muse, a ghost, a creative force inside of you or is it your subconscious hovering over those letters? Who cares! As long as the net catches fish, does it really matter where they came from?

Meditate for at least 20 minutes beforehand.
Your mind should be blank, but eager to listen.
DON'T CONTINUE IF YOU'RE BORED ALREADY. Try again next time.
Hold your planchette or weighted pendulum over the center of the board in a blank spot.
If using a pendulum, start making small ovals that cover the entire board.
If using a planchette, lightly rest your hands on it, trying to balance not pushing, not pulling and not holding it down.
"Ask" (internally) if the board has something to say.
Keep a pen and paper handy. After each letter, I stop and write it down, and then center myself over the blank spot on the board again.
Always stop when the board reads "GOODBYE".

Spirit Board DIY

Find some wood. I found this at night and it was covered in cement, which I didn't realize until I got home, and it made it harder to paint.

Paint or otherwise stain that baby.

This is probably as minimalist as you can go. You can add numbers too, but I'm not planning on doing any math.

Tie a weighted object to the end of a string and then snip the string to run from your elbow to fingertip.

One Theory

"If a pen drops from our fingers, or a penny rolls from our grasp, the former of course falls on our new white dress, while the latter nine times out of ten goes directly to the nearest grating, or crack or rat-hole. I aver that it is literally true, if I ever search for a letter or paper it is almost always at the bottom of the rest, while ink-wipers and pens seem to be endowed with more than mere instinct or reason - the manifest genius in concealing themselves.The Indians having observed this have come to the conclusion that it is all the work of certain busy little mischievous goblins, in which I, to a certain extent, agree with them, holding, however, that the dwelling-place of these devilkins is our own brain. It is a fact that if one's ink-wipers get into the habit of hiding all we have to do is deliberately destroy them and get others, or at least watch them carefully, and they will soon be cured of wandering. On the other hand, sacrifices to conciliate and please naturally occur, and the more expensive these are the better they are supposed to be."

Charles Godfrey Leland
Gypsy Sorcery and Fortune Telling
1889

The Most Metal Thing I've Ever Seen