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.”
Yeah, yeah… I know. It doesn’t apply to everything. I’ll probably never feel fulfillment while I’m doing the dishes. Maybe my dishes are never done well… or maybe I just hate doing dishes. Who knows?
But there are some areas where it shows up more prominently — the biggest of which is probably learning.
Learning is hard work that I never appreciated as a kid. But now… I do!
Good morning and happy Monday, friends!
And happy Autumn Equinox to you all! The equinox officially occurs today at 2:19PM Eastern. Go balance an egg or something.
- New Post: Playlist Scrying
- New M3 episode: Jessica Howard and The Art of Lithomancy
It was a really interesting week. This past Saturday was the first day that really felt like a “weekend” day in a few months. I can’t tell you exactly what the difference was, but it was much needed.
I went to a forge and made a thing.
Apparently, there’s this local group of blacksmiths that just… really, really like blacksmithing. And you can show up to their forge once a month and try things. A friend found out about this event and invited me. I’m really glad I went.
They handed me a scrap piece of iron, a hammer, and some tongs, then sketched a quick curved shape on the anvil and told me I was going to make a hook. So I made a hook.
It took me a few hours. And oh my, was it hot! You think Florida is warm on its own? Try standing next to a forge.
This is something I’ve always wanted to try. Maybe one day I’ll be able to go back and make an athame or something.
On Friday, we had our coven Autumn Equinox ritual. It was really nice. Here’s the altar.
We drank some cacao and did a little bit of divination.
Oh, speaking of divination… I wrote a post on Playlist Scrying. If you enjoy music or strange ways of divining… well, I think you’ll enjoy that post.
On Sunday, we went to the farmer’s market. Got a burger and a smoothie. Saw some pretty mushrooms. Typical farmer’s market stuff.
And at some point last week, I took my first midterm. I don’t know how I did, but hopefully I got a decent grade!
If you’re looking for something to watch, then be sure to catch the latest episode of M3. I just finished it recently and it features Jessica Howard explaining lithomancy.
Well… that’s all for now. I’ve got more things to write and more videos to make. Stay tuned for more soon!
Aerik Arkadian 
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