“Just read your entry. VERY interesting. love your sense of humor. How do u come up with spells? How do u know they will work?”

Daé (via Afro-Punk)

I come up with spells depending on the situation, what I want out of it and what feels right to obtain it. I don’t use spell books because they’re not personal to me but I know I can make something because I already know how to create a spell.

Spells do have a way of showing they have or have not worked but not always in the solid manner that everyone is fairly accustomed to. For example, if you charge your cell phone, you know when it is fully charged because there’s at least one indicator (light, the battery symbol changes or move, etc) to let you know that the phone is currently charging, about to die or finished charging, otherwise it would all be a surprise or potentially unfortunate guesswork. Magick is a bit more subtle than that since you’re modifying already existent energy to bend to your favor. A good way to find out is if the situation turned out as close to your desired result as possible and to continually analyze the situation to make sure that it was magick and not simply going through the motions that brought about change. In my experience, it’s usually the more unlikely the string of events or improbable the outcome, the more likely it was magick.

This is a pretty big question often gotten when it comes to practicing witchery so there will be a column for it in the future for certain.

Now, what’s this whole Fandom and the Fan thing that I’ve been going on about? It’s my first ever Black Witch series exploring fandom primarily within the music business. It’s not entirely as it seems. Fans are important to the industry but not all are the same and how much of the love to the musician is created by the fan or just persuasions of the industry? And is the musician really as big as they live or what percentage is smoke and mirrors with a little hype?

All this and more will be explored in Fandom and the Fan, with the help of a friend of mine, Angela, a radio dj who really knows her stuff when it comes to the industry. The whole series will run throughout March every Friday, everything from the columns to the installments will circulate around this subject. I’m making an aim and effort to run a series every March that may or may not be related to being Black or Pagan (okay, this one won’t but the next two will, mainly Blackness). However, because I waited so long to get out my three initial series (Fandom and the Fan was written in August, Black Witch started in June), there’s going to be three series squeezed in between March 2011 and March 2012, starting with Fandom and the Fan.

As for the installments, they will be modified as I have mentioned above. The Arts will be a surprise (even to me too, seems like ideas are constantly happening) but Ask Black Witch will be modified for the series. That means if you have any questions about fandom and the music industry, they’ll be greatly appreciated. If you ask any Black Witch questions, they’ll be answered too but mainly if there’s not enough Fandom and the Fan questions to answer. Otherwise it may have to wait ‘til April’s Ask Black Witch.

See you in March! (Oh, and have you checked out the Lupe Fiasco Lasers giveaway that I’m currently holding? Win a free copy of Lasers on Black Witch.)

Nota Bene: Sorry for the short notice but I’ll be in NYC on Sunday for the free Lupe Fiasco concert. Gonna be there? Lemme know!