The following is a poem I wrote back in 2004 when the Ca Supreme Court shut down San Francisco’s Same Sex Marriage offerings and annulled the marriages that happened during the Spring of Love. Reading it reminded me of how joyous and painful that experience was, a mingling of joy and pain that we experienced again in California in 2008. Whether or not each of us believes that the fight for Same Sex Marriage is one that we as individuals would have chosen or we as a community should have chosen, I think it is important to acknowledge the wounding that this battle has caused to our community. Because I want that wounding (not to mention the billion dollar political industry that has grown around Same Sex Marriage initiatives and drained our community dry of resources) to end, I send all of my best wishes and support to those arguing in the current federal court case about the constitutionality of Prop 8.

“I’m sorry”, I cried as I plunged off the side

To ascend the precipice of hell,

“But I know who I am and I know what I want

And you won’t turn me into my shell.”

Pain drives toward excess

And shutters still hide

Though I learned how to act an emotion

Anger and bitterness,

Triumph and Pride

Deeper, wider than the ocean.

It Wasn’t Enough.

I searched through the bars, I played in the clubs,

Drank myself dry, tried all the drugs

But never could I find the peace

That comes with a care that will not be denied,

The love that refuses release.

And then you came–

And when I shrieked my pain into your darkness,

You would not let go.

And when you tried to spare me life’s hardness

I did not except your no.

A moment of hope, a faint ray of light

Quickly covered, plunging again into night.

What my parents obtained

The courts have retained

And the president preaches must always remain–

Recognized love we can’t own.

A mere slip of paper, professional, sleek,

Stating not business but family I seek

Denied–

Else nations will crumble, society fail

Communities crumble, civil life pale

For reasons myriad and unknown.

Four thousand coupkes laid across their altars

Knives to the chest, all movement falters.

Eight thousand hearts fed, still beating, to wolves.

That should teach those who seek similar moves.

And our friends?  Where are they?

Except for a scant few

Who dare to espouse the unpopular view.

“That’s not important,” they say,

“Just a distraction from the big moves at play.”

Bull shit.

Since when is my status as a second class citizen

Any less important than that of any other?

Cause and effect are still kith and kin–

Brother is taught to kill brother.

The shutters once again rise

To buffer against anger’s tide

And I shriek agai into your darkness

As I flip through the new Modern Bride…

The notion that we have equal control in our “virtual world” and “real world” experiences really stuck with me, and I decided to take this a step further.  As we create our reality in various realms, it stands to reason that we can work sympathetic magic between various the planes upon which we operate.  So I began experimenting.  The big issues for me (and many others of course) were economic—how do I find a job?  How do I pay my bills?  As it turned out, my gaming obsession for the summer was Farm Town on Facebook, which involves finding jobs working for other players, planting and harvesting crops, and selling your harvests for money.  Perfect for the sympathetic magic I needed!  Every time I was worried about how we’d pay a bill, I’d harvest a crop on Farm Town and visualized the money I needed coming to me in this world as easily as there.  And the money was always there when I needed it!  Every time I got hired for a job on Farm Town, I saw myself getting a job in this world.  I am now currently employed!

Computers and online technology are huge parts of our lives today, and so of course they have magical properties that we need to explore and learn to utilize as modern witches and magicians.  Have a problem to figure out?  Turn on a game of Free Cell and as you move the cards to their proper places, see yourself making the right moves toward solving your problem.  Looking for work or money?  Go into Farm Town or YoVille or Second Life, find work there, and call out “As This is So Mote It Be!”  Experiment, explore, and find what’s right for you.  But be careful—just because you are playing games intentionally to spell cast doesn’t mean that you can simply play games and expect the universe to provide.  Work your Farm Town Job and then apply for a couple of real world jobs.  Flirt with that hottie avatar on Second Life and then ask your real hottie real neighbor out on a date.  Magic does happen, but you have to do your share of the work.

Sympathetic Magic using my farm on Farm Town