C O N T E N T S
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C O N T E N T S |
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Talisman by Studio Raziel
A Magical Experiment in Economic
Activism
by
Taylor Ellwood
Sometime in early 2009, I
was approached by a person about creating a sigil to help him get more
business. While I'm personally of the belief that if you want
something, you should do it yourself, I was also intrigued by his
request, partially because I was in the process of working to get more
clients for my own business ventures. However, as I thought about it, I
realized I wanted to do something magical that worked for more than
just one or two businesses, and had more of a positive effect for
people in general.
I took this request to a
group of other magical practitioners I work with on a regular basis. We
started out by asking ourselves what the best method of delivery was.
Should we use a sigil that we could give out to people, or should
we work some kind of ceremonial magical working and then share that
working with others, or should we work with a deity or daemon of
wealth? We discussed all of those possibilities and ended up rejecting
all of them for various reasons.
Another concern we
discussed what exactly what we'd focus that'd really be representative
of economic activism. We didn't feel that helping corporations to be
economically healthier was really benefitting everyone, and also felt
that magically prompting people to spend money was both unethical and
not a definite solution to the poor economy.
The more time we spent
discussing what would be a viable form of economic activism, the more
we realized that it was very hard to come to a group consensus about a
magical act that all of us could be comfortable with. However one theme
that consistently came up was that any magical work we did needed to
incorporate the theme of collaboration in it, the idea that people
would actively help each other out and work together.
Eventually we decided that
we would create a networking entity; specifically an entity which would
help people network better. While the stereotypical image of a
networker is a person holding a business card in one hand and a drink
in the other, the reality is that a networker is someone who is focused
on creating quality relationships with the people s/he knows and
finding out what each person needs, while matching him/her up with
someone who can meet that need. In essence, the very quality of
collaboration that we'd agreed on, and an essential ingredient in
really building up a community.
The next step was to create
an entity. We decided to use a technique where the entity would tell us
it's naming using a pendulum and letters. One of us would use the
pendulum and be guided by the entity, while the rest of us put our
energy into the creation of the entity. This was a fairly exhausting
method for determining the entity's name, especially for the person
using the pendulum, but we also thought it was a useful way of
introducing ourselves to the entity, while also creating it. Eventually
we did get a name: Zi Fupsekip Vosri. It actually rolls off the tongue
fairly well, and the image that came to mind was of some Eastern
European person in a suit, with a pleasant smile and an eagerness to
help others and collaborate.
Having the name wasn't
enough. We also needed a message from this entity that embodied what it
had to offer and a symbol that embodied the concept as well as a method
of transmission by which we could share the entity. The method of
transmission we decided on was to create a business card format.
Because business cards are used as a transmission of a person's
information we thought this might be a successful way to share the
entity with other people.
On the front of the card we
placed the name of the entity, and a symbol that represented
networking, the bringing together of many different connections to form
a pattern of success that could be shared to the benefit of everyone.
We wanted the concept of networking to focus on success, regardless of
whether it was monetary or bargaining or some other form of success, so
we came up with a phrase: Mutually Assured Prosperity, Inc(arnated):
Wherever people meet to create abundance. The idea being that if
people met to share and collaborate this entity would be there, helping
them to do that, as well as encouraging the possibility of other
opportunities. On the back of the card we provided further details
about what Zi Fupsekip Vosri does and how to feed Zi Fupsekip Vosri
(simply pass out the card to other people).
All it takes to activate Zi
Fupsekip Vosri is passing out the card. We've already put together a
small batch of cards, and more will be sent to a professional printer
so that we can start passing them out to our local community. The best
thing about this card is that it can be a conversation starter, which
is the spirit of true networking. Passing the card provides the
opportunity to explain what the card is about, but also will provide
you the opportunity to find out more about the people you are meeting.
Remember to ask the phrase, "What do you need?" It's a powerful phrase
that will allow you to find out what someone else needs and start
figuring out who you know that can help this person. And of course,
don't be shy in sharing what you need. You never know who that person
is connected to, who could help you!
Below are images of the
front of the card and the back of the card. I invite readers to create
their own cards and share Zi Fupsekip Vosri with the people they know
and don't know. Network, collaborate and share, and through that create
an act of economic activism that helps everyone as opposed to only a
few.
I would like to thank
Innowen, Cobalt, Rowan, MM, and Bill Whitcomb for their help and
participation in creating this entity. To print the cards below, see:
