Maskmagick and Alisha’s Emporium
As could be known since one of my very first entrys here (The Tree that is Fruit and makes Fruit), I am a user and read of deviantART. So every now and then I just look at the newes deviations and surf pictures, Items and poems from the odd person around the world.
Today I came across an Item which is known for its usage in the pagan and wiccan lifetsyle, a book of shadows:
A book of shadows is used to keep note of youre magical workings and there are a lot of rules, views and dogmas around this kind of thing. Well I do like to keep a couple of Diarys myself, including two for my Psychonautic experiments, but I tend to use a normal black moleskin book. I just like the way all my diarys sit nicely next to each other all looking the same.
But this sure is a beautiful handmade book with an equally beautiful price, outch! But thanks to this book I found other things I like and stumbled upon the ETSY Shop of the DeviantART user in Question. At Alisha’s Emporium you can buy very nicely made leather Masks. I especially like this one:
“Whats that good for?” “Not too many people need Masks” you might say, but I think Maskmagick is something which is done much much more often then people think.
People probably do not know they do it, but I think that social networks like Facebook are making a lot of people to mess with Maskmagick. We are wearing our Avatarmask on the Net and we are more often than not happy to accept what the Mask does, what people it attracts. Do we show our Jester Face? Are we the Clown on Facebook? Or do we show our seriouse Face on the Avatar picture, are you wearing a tie? Some people even change their Name to something else … more fitting to the Mask they are wearing on the Social Plattform … and I would love to find out how many carry their self created Maskimage over to Real Life? Change the way they are because suddenly they notice that it does work?
So Masks are nice, not only as Symbols. Buy one, wear it … NO … let IT wear YOU. WHO is this Mask, what does IT want, what does it do with YOU?
:.
Lifestyle Magick 
Hi there,
this is a nice post, thx for your kind of view. But is it all about Avatars ? We currently observe how a Guy Fawkes Mask is standing as a Symbol for itself. The Freedom of Speech and the Freedom to receive uncensored Information.
Would your point of view include this ?
P.S.
I got over 800 unread Mails, sorry if I missed one of yours, but i just don’t get an overview anymore 😉
Sure, a Mask gives and a Mask takes. This Mask you are talking about already has its own life, people who are using it connect feelings, viewpoints, Lifestyles and whatnot with it. Try it, get one, put it on, see what it does to you … what will you do with it?
Masks can change a lot and you will be surprised how wearing a Mask might change youre own Mindset … btw. there are many magical traditions which use this. From African Cults to Larven in Southern Germany, from being ridden by a Loa to Tibetan Bön Mask … or even the No Masks of Japan.
🙂
Using masks in magic is a very old and powerful tradition and it has always fascinated me. I think that idea of wearing mask is something that lives deep in the make up of our psyche because everyone, every single day wears some form of a mask, in the psychological/energetic sense.
I think that it’s interesting how much people fear masks. There is a fear of them because they can be sinister, impersonal and unable to read. You don’t have that sense of connection that comes from subtle facial expressions.
In sympathetic magic(k) masks are extremely useful because you are able to simulate the form of whatever you are trying to effect. Have you ever tried this at all?
Shaheen
Yes, I have a couple of Masks which I brought back from Tibet. I work with them in a couple of ways.
I especially like how the MASK comes with a Character. If Children play with Masks the will play different depending on the Mask. It is interesting to let the Mask wear you rather than you wearing the Mask.