A Year in Review: 2025 – 2026

It happens every year—both my website and I turn one year older.

I know what you’re thinking… something like, “Aerik, of course that happens. Aging naturally occurs for all things. It’s just how time works.” But you’re missing a key detail: both of these “birthdays” happen in the same month: April! Also, time is a construct.

While I just turn some insignificant number, my blog turns 3! Please join me in a moment of quiet reflection… a time to look back and see what interesting things have happened since a similarly-themed post from the previous year.

But first, what are the hallmark qualities of children at this age?

Well, I certainly understand the concept of “two.” And while I could build an infinite tower of blocks, given enough time, I’m not always the best at sharing my toys.

Still, there has been growth all around. Just look at the below chart, which… for the most part, is continuing to trend upward!

I know my word count and posting frequency here has gone down when compared to previous years. Since the start of 2026, I’ve written a total of 20k words on this site. Most of my extra time was spent publishing a book, however, plus writing a manuscript that will become another book. So I feel like it was a fair trade off. We’ll talk more about that in a moment…

As of today—and not including what you’re reading right now—I’ve put out a total of 373 posts.

The most popular these days?

• Divination: How to Use a Pendulum
• Alchemy: The Three Principals (Tria Prima)
• Alchemy: The Four Stages (Nigredo, Albedo, Citrinitas, and Rubedo)

I’m really glad people are searching for and reading Alchemy-related articles. That makes my heart happy. But are so many people really looking for pendulum information all the time? Hey, I won’t argue… if y’all like to read it, then y’all like to read it.

Despite the fact that my posting output may have declined, I have not missed a single Monday update in years. Even when we were on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean with zero internet or cell phone reception, I had a post scheduled to go from the previous evening. It’s kind of weird having weekly highlights of my life chronicled ad nauseam, but it certainly makes for a good reference when I forget about things. I didn’t really intend for that when I started, but I find myself looking back at it more and more to confirm “yeah, that’s the week we did _____.”

Okay, okay, let’s get back to the book. Obviously, that was a significant highlight of… well, not just of the past 12 months, but of my entire life. And as I promised in last year’s review, I will now actually tell you how to acquire said book.

You can get it:

• Directly from me on Etsy (the coolest way because it’s signed)
• From my publisher, Crossed Crow
• Through my affiliate link on Amazon
• Also, you know, from your local bookstore if they carry it

And if you’d just like to learn a little bit more about the book, you can check out this video I made that’ll show you most of the highlights.

On my YouTube channel, there are a total of 332 videos. If you decide you’d like to watch all of the current 33 episodes of M3, I applaud your effort, but it’ll take you a couple of days straight to do that. I’ve officially started my show’s 4th season, which is pretty crazy to think about.

About a year ago, I got the bright idea to try doing video book reviews. I mean, I like books, so why not talk about the books I like? It’s kind of a trial and error sort of thing, but some come up quite often in searches… like these:

• The Practice of Magical Evocation
• The Chicken Qabalah
• Initiation Into Hermetics
• The Doctrine and Ritual of High Magic

So that’s fun!

I will tell you this. In January 2024, my YouTube channel hit 150 subscribers. I was really excited about it. Two years later, I’ve grown past 1500. Guess what? I’m still really excited about it! If you have supported me by subscribing or watching my videos, I really, really, really appreciate that.

Our festival attendance may have been a little light this past year. We’ve got more coming up on the horizon, though. One thing that makes a big difference is that Selene and I have both decided to become full-time students, which obviously takes up a lot of time. When I’m not writing a post here or a chapter for a new book, I’m probably writing a random paper for a class. Plus, we have a great deal of other things going on in our lives right now.

Well, friends, that about wraps up our annual review. For the most part, I’m very pleased by how everything has turned out.

Obligatory reminder of gratitude: I very much appreciate anyone who has taken an interest in what I create — listening to my music, watching my videos, reading my writing, or buying my book… and people who have expressed that interest by subscribing to my mailing list, following on social media, or even supporting me on Patreon. My ongoing goal is to have raised enough support funding to cover the expenses of things like hosting this website (websites are expensive, man) or some of the software I use for interviews. I’m still not quite there yet, but I’m sure I’ll get there soon! And I also very much appreciate my wife, who both puts up with me and supports me doing all of these crazy projects all the time.

End of review.

I know I said “end of review” and everything, but wait… there’s more. I always have to include fine print like this for two reasons. First of all, it’s just fun to write fine print. I mean, have you ever actually tried it? Trust me, it’s satisfying. Especially when there’s no one telling you what to write or how long it needs to be—like, I could just go on for paragraphs and paragraphs if I wanted. Don’t worry, I won’t. The second reason is that there are Amazon affiliate links on this page that will take you to my book. If you use one of those links to make a purchase, Amazon will pay me a tiny commission. That’s all for real now. End of fine print.