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Alchemy: The Four Stages (Nigredo, Albedo, Citrinitas, and Rubedo)
One of the classic models for Alchemy follows a map of four distinct stages: Nigredo, Albedo, Citrinitas, and Rubedo. They’re as much psychological processes as much as they are physical indicators. And yes, they have something to do with your perception.
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Scheduled rest is productive rest… Weekly Recap 10/13/2025
It’s hard to balance rest with productivity. Never fear, for I have a very simple solution for you! If you schedule rest, then you will have accomplished something by resting. Good morning and happy Monday, friends! I know it’s just in my head, but for most of this week, it felt like I accomplished absolutely…
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Not Every Piece Is a Masterpiece: But Here’s Why You Should Do It Anyway
Most artists don’t have their first painting hanging in a museum. Most musicians didn’t get a billboard hit with their first song. Have you ever wondered exactly how much work it takes to produce a masterpiece?
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Consistency is hard… Weekly Recap 10/6/2025
If you’ve ever set a New Year’s resolution or any type of recurring personal goal, then you probably know that the likelihood of consistently hitting it eventually falls to zero when stretched over a long enough timeline. We’re good at our goals for a few weeks, maybe for a few months, but a year? Multiple…
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Songs for Villains: The Frightening Juxtaposition of Classical Music
It’s a fairly well-established film trope to have a villain who listens to classical music. The reason why this is so popular might surprise you. Let’s take a look at what’s really going on in these situations.
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Pre-industrial skills… Weekly Recap 9/29/2025
It’s funny how far apart my answers are going to be here. On one hand, most of the skills that I want to develop are pre-industrial ones. I really enjoy making things with my hands. I’d like to do some woodworking on a larger project using hand tools like planes and chisels. I’d like to…
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Jessica Howard and The Art of Lithomancy – Ep. 10
Jessica Howard is an author and an expert on lithomancy — a form of divination that uses stones, crystals, or other small objects to gain insight. In this episode, we discuss her background and her book, plus she gives a full sample reading!
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It’s a drastic change… Weekly Recap 9/22/2025
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,…
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I’m going to pick five at random… Weekly Recap 9/15/2025
I will never pick a favorite album. I just can’t do it. Instead, I’m going to list 5, mostly at random, that I have really enjoyed listening to throughout my life. Here you go: There you go. Those are in no particular order. Do what you will with that information. Good morning and happy Monday,…
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Evoking Deity: Calling Forth the God and Goddess
Working with the energy of deity is one of the primary reasons why we create sacred space. If you’re leaving that out of your ritual, then you’re missing out on a huge potential part of your practice. Where do you start? How do you plan? Who do you call? Those are topics we’re going to…
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Overused… Weekly Recap 9/8/2025
I don’t really have a favorite word, but since I write more than the average person, I’ve been really curious as to whether or not there are any words I’m overusing. I’m aware that words like “actually” and “basically” come out quite frequently in the articles that I write. I usually catch them during the…
Aerik Arkadian 