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Hi Morgan This is fascinating stuff, I would love to read your PhD when it is finished. What jumps to mind for me is that many people think magic is not "real" anyway, so from the outside its all part of the same delusion. We almost all live with large amounts of virtual, but very real, communication, and the most powerful tool of magic is the mind of the magician, so how can the magic not be real? Do we need to be in what you call "meat sapce" (I do not like this term is it meant to be derogatory?) I have found that with increasing years in magic my props and rituals for personal stuff get ever less, with much of all the sytems I have worked now internalised, but I am not sure that would have been a good way as a beginner, but maybe the younger generation are so immersed in virtuality that it is a natural space for them, and of course it is practical in terms of location? But then I still like to do some complex ceremonial rites as all that effort is for me the best way to access those particular spaces, and nothing quite compares to the combined effect on the senses. I also appreciate the way much of the western mystery tradition is passed down lines of physical, almost apostolic, succession, where much is learnt by imitation, absorbtion and the socratic method, which are as much a part of it all as the technology of magic itself. Its all something that has largely passed me by, but I know some people have been doing rituals in second life for years, and see it as a very useful teaching tool. Anyway, sounds like you will have some very interesting papers/ a book out sometime, I'd buy it. regards Melissa. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Morgan Leigh" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Tuesday, December 10, 2013 2:53 AM Subject: Re: [ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC] I'm Not Comfortable With Clothing That Casts Spells... > Greetings, > When I started my PhD research about magical practice in virtual worlds > I got a lot of criticism from the academy that it wasn't a real > endeavour, but rather some kind of cute, pretend thing that the younger > generation was mucking around with that wasn't worthy of our attention. > Essentially that it was 'just a game'. Having spent five years doing > rituals in virtual worlds I am now in a position to say that rituals can > be excellently effectual in virtual worlds and though, for some, these > worlds are 'just a game', for others they are the foundation of strong > community and real religious activity. This understanding would have > been impossible without doing the thing. > > The way rituals are done in virtual worlds is quite particularly > different to meatspace rituals and it is only by performing those > rituals in a virtual space that one learns how the virtual mechanics > work and how to increase their efficacy. Building interactive props, not > dissimilar to the technohoodie, is on of those ways. You can't > stimulate all the senses in virtual space, there is no sense of smell > for example, so you have to work out ways to increase sensory > stimulation to compensate for that loss. > > The main thing virtual rituals teach one though is to consider more > widely the nature of the real and not get hung up on things being 'not > real'. The ancient Egyptian conception of effectiveness is useful in > this case. A good thing is an effective thing. Don't worry about real or > not real, but rather see what works and go with it. > > Regards, > > Morgan Leigh > PhD Candidate > School of Social Sciences > University of Tasmania > > > > On 10/12/2013 3:40 AM, Pitch313 wrote: >> Aloha, >> >> On Sun, 08 Dec 2013 21:48:21 -0800, Morgan Leigh <[log in to unmask]> >> wrote: >> >>> Greetings, >>> I was made - see http://hyperritual.com/blog/technomancer-hoodie/ I like >>> the idea but its a bit ugly imho. >> >> Honestly, I think that this example of clothing that casts magic spells >> shows >> us a different vector of occultural learning/practice that I, for one, >> do not >> quite know what to make of. The technomage hoodie provides feedback on >> the practitioner's posture/gesture/performance--so that the spell is >> accomplished when the practitioner behaves according to the clothing's >> parameters. >> >> Conceivably, a Lodge or Trad or School could encoded the postures/ >> gestures/performances that characterize its magical outlook into the >> clothing, >> and use that encoded clothing to pass along its style and outlook. >> >> Or the clothing might accomplish something else magical that I haven't >> imagined. >> >> I shared the technomage hoodie holding it to be a sort of stagey >> accessory. >> But I can envision it (and similar such clothing) as having >> possibilities for >> innovation and the formation of postmodern magical outlooks and >> organizations. >> >> (OK! An example. Here in the USA we hold Pagan Pride Days with parades >> and festivities. A groups of practitioners wearing technomage hoodies >> marches >> in the parade, performing choreographed spells that they have learned >> from >> wearing their encoded clothing.) >> >> Musing I Suppose That We Ought To Wear Techno-Magical Clothing >> That Does Effective Magic With Us! Rose, >> >> Pitch >> >>