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The Alchemist

I initially picked up this book, because the title sounded interesting and because iTunes offered it as a free audio book download. Since I’ve been studying alchemy lately, I figured the title couldn’t lead me anywhere but in a good direction. If that makes any sense.

So, in a nutshell, the story is about a shepherd who needs to go “find his personal legend” in the form of finding a treasure he dremt about. This personal quest leads him from his home in Spain to Tunisia, across the Sahara to Egypt, and more, but I don’t want to spoil the ending. Along his way, he meets people who help guide him closer to his goal, including a gypsy who interpreted his dream, the King who gives him the tools he needs to read good omens, the thief who robs him blind, the crystal shop owner to dreams of going to Mecca, the Englishman looking for the Alchemist, and the Alchemist.

I don’t know if Coelho did this intentionally or not, but his approach to alchemy is akin to the often-critiqued Jungian approach. The Alchemist teaches the shepherd, who has already learned to read the unspoken language of the world, how to utilize that skill for what is essentially personal alchemy. When asked why most alchemists didn’t “get it,” the Alchemist responds that they were too focused on turning lead into gold, rather than on what that process means to them as individuals. Essentially saying that the goal of alchemy isn’t the philosopher’s stone in and of itself, but, rather, the journey one undertakes to get to the philosopher’s stone. Furthermore, the Alchemist teaches the shepherd to rely on his experience, rather than teaching him what he needs to know from the get go. The “treasure” the shepherd is seeking is paralleled with the “treasure” he is unlocking within himself by undergoing the quest.

One of the critiques against Jung is that he internalizes alchemy. I think this book demonstrates that the internalization comes as a result of the experience, and that the two must work in conjunction to produce the philosopher’s stone, which I interpret (and Jung too) to represent the Self, capital S, which is the ultimate archetype, the archetype that links the psyche of the individual with the numinous psyche of the world, which leads me into a discussion of the semantics that Jung is often criticized for and which I will leave alone at this time.

The book isn’t one that took my breath away, but I still highly recommend it. It is not a primer into alchemy, so I do suggest a little dappling into the subject before reading the book to appreciate it on that level. Otherwise, it is a really good mythic story. A couple sources on alchemy that I have read are both source texts, but they deliver the subject in a way relevant to the Western reader are: Alchemy by Johannes Fabricius and Jung on Alchemy, but I forget the name of the editor just now.

Podcast Update 2

Okay, I really had NO idea that getting a podcast launched could be such a headache! The good news is that I learned how to use Audacity and recorded a Coming Soon. Tomorrow’s project will be exporting and maybe uploading.

Podcast Update

So today, I went all over the place and back again (literally) trying to figure out how to get started with the recording side of things. I got a cheap little microphone headset (the kind that goes behind the head) and get ready to do a test run and realize that my Mac-mini doesn’t have a microphone jack. Neither does my Dinosaur iBook. So I went out and got a nifty usb adapter gizmo, only to find out that doesn’t work either. After some forum searching, I found out that the Mac-mini usb ports don’t provide power to microphones that aren’t independently powered. So rather than return the nifty microphone, The Hubs and I decided to get a new laptop. So now my foray into podcasting has become a foray into Vista. May the Mac gods have mercy on my soul.

I hope to get to test record tomorrow, somewhere in between reading James Hillman, Ginette Paris, John Granger and squeezing in an episode of Buffy.

In unrelated news, I got elected into the position of Vice President for the JSA Board of Directors today!!!!!!!!

HP Podcasts, Wizard Rock, and Mything in Action

As a result of attending Portus, I’ve been inspired to start listening to some new Harry Potter podcasts. I normally get all my Harry Potter entertainment from PotterCast, the official podcast of The Leaky Cauldron. I used to listen to Mugglecast, the podcast from Mugglenet, but I got kind of burned out by them. So it was refreshing to find some new podcasts, so here are my recommendations:

HP Prognostications: Of course, I’m picking up this show after the release of book 7, so there’s not necessarily a lot of prognosticating going on. But the hosts, Brad(?) and Penny still analyze and discuss themes of the books. I think what initially attracted me to the show is because I met them at Portus, and I thought they were very nice. Their podcast is not disappointing. It’s insightful and informative, and entertaining too.

The Hog’s Head Pubcast: This is the podcast of Travis Prinzi, who also presented at Portus. He falls in the category of “Harry Potter theorists who tickle my shadow.” I often have inner debates between myself and anyone who discusses Christian symbolism in Harry Potter, mostly because I don’t really see it, and I have yet to have an in-depth discussion with those who see that view. It’s hard to get enough fodder with which to agree from a 1 hour presentation. Perhaps I should e-mail Travis… anyway, what I like most about this podcast is that Travis discusses themes common to fantasy literature that I researched for my massive project (btw, I’m trying to figure out how to get said massive project published. I’d appreciate any leads/pointers/suggestions/etc.). I have kind of moved away from a central focus that ties Harry Potter with LOTR or Narnia, but I am refreshed by the reminders that Travis gives me. Plus, he has some awesome contests.

WZRD: This is a periodical hour long show focused on Wizard Rock. They play some songs, have interviews or information about Wizard Rock. In case you don’t know, Wizard Rock is a (dare-I-say) genre of indy music with songs inspired by the Harry Potter books. It’s like the new punk rock.

Let’s get my shadow criticism out of the way: I worry that the constant energy placed into Wizard Rock or other creative fan outlets are essentially archetypal recycling. Rather than using the energies inspire by Harry Potter to create something beautiful, they create within the paradigm of canon/fanon. Someone ask me, “So what?”

What I like about Wizard Rock is that it has the power to unite and it’s being used to promote the messages of Harry Potter of tolerance, love, peace, etc. Plus, some of it is kind of fun. I find it interesting how much of Wizard Rock sounds more like show tunes than straight up punk rock, though the range of style also spans some grunge, emo, screamo.

All of this has inspired me to launch my own podcast, called “Mything in Action.” It’s still in the planning stages, but it’s probably going to ressemble the love child of the Hog’s Head Pubcast and Insytworks. It’s still in the planning stages. If you think you might be interested in helping out, send an e-mail to mythinginaction at gmail dot com and we’ll chat.

Portus 2008

I just got back from the HPEF conference, Portus 2008, held in Dallas, TX. It was a pretty fun experience. I took my niece, the same niece who introduced me to Harry Potter in the first place. I walked away from the conference with two very different feelings:

1. the fan community felt generally ambivalent. The magic that fueled the community seems to have relied upon the release of the newest installment of the series. Now that there aren’t any more books coming out, what next?

which leads to 2. those who were there for scholarship were serious scholars. Yeah, you can go to the conferences and play quidditch, dress up, attend the ball or some wizard rock performances, but at the end of the day, the conference revolves around the “formal programming,” whether those are presentations, roundtables, panel talks, or workshops. I wasn’t super excited by the overall selection of topics, but I figure that has something to do with the fact that there is no more speculation. but there is plenty of opportunity for analysis..

My presentation was “the seven jungian horcruxes” in which i offered a jungian interpretation/mode of interacting with HP. I think my presentation itself went well, but I was a total bundle of nerves. I’m still working out the kinks of public speaking, especially since I have become increasingly more introverted as I’ve gotten older. Public speaking is definitely one thing i fear the most (and I give myself props for still making the attempt).

The two most exciting things that happened were the friends I feel I have made - I always love meeting new people - and the experience of meeting Andrew, the founder of The Harry Potter Alliance sought me out because he missed my presentation and wanted to talk to me about it. Since he’s a bit of a celeb in the fandom, I was/am really excited about the meeting.

Jim Dale was a very special guest at the conference. He does the narration/voices for the American HP audio books. He gave a special presentation of his favorite passages to read from HP and a talk about how he was inspired to do some of the voices.

Overall, it was a good experience and very fun. I came home with a t-shirt, a hoodie, some buttons, pictures and a dark mark patch, some new earrings, and some books. One of the books i got was written by one of the presenters, and he personalized it for me. His name is edmund Kern and the book is The Wisdom of Harry Potter. I also got John Granger’s book about HP & alchemy, The Psychology of Harry Potter and From Homer to Harry (which is an exploration of mythology and stuff). I’m glad to be home, but I’m already eager for next year.

JCF Update - Esalen in trouble

—–Original Message—–
From: “Joseph Campbell Foundation “
Date: Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:35:07
To:
Subject: JCF Associate UpDate - July 3, 2008: ESALEN ENDANGERED

It’s difficult for those outside California to follow the specifics of the over 1,000 wildfires burning in the state right now right now, so many may not be aware of the Basin Complex Fire in Big Sur. So far this fire had burned over 47,000 acres and is only 3% contained. Even though the area is sparsely populated, 1,300 homes are threatened, and a few have already burned to the ground.

Joseph Campbell shares a history with the Esalen Institute, which holds a special place in the hearts of many JCF Associates who have, over the years, participated in workshops, seminars, celebrations, massages, and cosmic soaks in the sacred hot springs at Esalen.

As of this morning, the Basin Complex fire had burned to within one mile of Esalen.

Nearly 1,400 firefighters are battling the blaze, and 200 National Guard troops have been deployed to the area. Esalen cancelled all programs a few days ago, and yesterday firefighters told Esalen’s 150 workers to
evacuate (along with the rest of Big Sur).

Nevertheless, about 50 Esalen staffers are staying on site to mount a defense. Esalen’s CEO, Gordon Wheeler, made the decision to allow that, based on a consensus from firefighters that Esalen’s location is defensible.

Those who are staying have experience in firefighting and/or as medical care providers.
A team of 20 staffers have been clearing brush from around buildings, and they are preparing to spray structures with a fire retardant gel if
necessary.

Officially, Esalen is closed until July 11 - but any prayers, happy thoughts, or good vibrations you can send to those kind folk in that magick place couldn’t hurt (even spare change might come in handy - should the site survive unscathed, Esalen will lose at least half a million dollars during the shutdown - a significant hit in these financially perilous times)

Conditions change hourly. Regular updates appear at the following URL:

http://esalen.org/home/update.html

Also, Gordon Wheeler, President and CEO of the Esalen Institute, provides detailed daily updates with photos at the following link:

http://esalen.org/home/gordon.html

Several firefighters have lodged on the grounds, and are enjoying the full attention of the kitchen staff. Surplus produce abounds in the absence of regular guest, so Esalen has been contributing produce to the local community. In fact, the inspiring cooperative efforts of the Big Sur community are documented at the following address:

http://surfire2008.org/

Our thanks to Karen Gros, who alerted us to the immediate peril, and concluded her message “Love and hope to all.”

Everyone at JCF echoes her sentiments.

The JCF UpDate Team

George Carlin

I’m on a news hiatus, but I happened to catch the headline on my google news widget that George Carlin died. It’s sad, because he was actually funny. Comedy is filled with too many un-funny comedians, and George was one of the few I could appreciate.

That being said, I think it’s silly to cry over his passing. I’m not suggesting fans shouldn’t honor him. But why cry over someone who made you laugh? Your last memory of this person will be of crying over him rather than of all the happiness he gave you.

It’s the 2nd June RoundTable!

As promised, we are having another RoundTable this month due to various scheduling mishaps on my part. That being said, I’ve planned a “hands on” event this time around. Inspired by Italo Calvino’s book, The Castle of Crossed Destinies, this RoundTable will explore the various levels of storytelling using the tarot. The rules are simple: the storyteller cannot use any words, only tarot cards and some minor gestures. He or she can interpret the meaning of the cards however he or she sees fit. The “readers,” or other participants, try to guess the meaning of the story based only on what they see. This exercise demonstrates the various levels that go into understanding a story, from the teller’s original intent to the actual understanding by the readers. I will be providing a “study deck” based loosely on the Marseilles deck. Anyone is welcome to bring a deck they don’t mind sharing.

We will be meeting at the Book People Cafe on Saturday the 28th at 4:30pm. I made a little table sign with the RoundTable logo that will be on display.

Book People
603 N Lamar
Austin, TX 78703

Please RSVP by the morning of the 28th. I look forward to seeing you there!

just a test

I’m writing this post on my blackberry and I wanted to see if it worked.