LJ info thingy:
1. My LJ username is gmskarka, because, duh, that’s my name. I’ve never been much for witty usernames, mostly because my online life has always been a facet of my chosen career, and so being easily identified was important. I have thought of changing that from time to time….if I was to change it, I would use “knightwriter.”
2. My journal title is “The Designer Monologues”, which is a play on “The Vagina Monologues” and the fact that I’m a game designer, suggested from a forum post by
3. My journal’s subtitle is Thoughts and Ramblings from Writer/Game Designer Gareth-Michael Skarka….’cuz that’s what it is.
4. My friends’ page is titled “The World-Class Irregulars.” A long time ago, I started writing down notes for adventures of a Buckaroo-Banzai-esque modern pulp hero named Erasmus Quinn. Quinn, as is usual with these sorts of heroes, surrounds himself with a group of highly talented individuals, whom I named “The World-class Irregulars”, in reference to the Baker Street Irregulars of the Sherlock Holmes stories, and the fact that despite being “irregular” (in the “odd” meaning of the word), they are paragons in their own right (world-class). It seemed not only a nice hearkening back to something which I *still* might get back to writing (Quinn is the focus of my “Heroes of the New Wave” concept), but a pretty damned good description of my friends as well: World-class Irregulars.
5. My default userpic is a shot of me at KCRF 2005 taken by
and, a thought:
Reading
If you have some distance between yourself and your magical practice, it may well be appropriate for you to step through a formal rededication, taking a new identity within that space which jibes with the approach you now take to the practice.
That name is tied to who and what you were. If it did not play a part in your evolution, it is appropriate to connect to where you are at this point in your evolution, as you reconnect to that part of yourself.
Assuming, of course, you still consider a magical name even necessary.
D.
Here’s my take on magical names. You don’t get to choose them, they choose you (I totally would have picked Boudica or Breaca, but not together and CERTAINLY never Gwenhwyfar). If you picked up your magical name as a teenager, and especially CHOSE it, it is most likely NOT your magical name. Even if it did happen to choose you at that time, the likelihood of your being the same person you were then is slim to none. There is NOTHING cavalier about changing your name. After all, it’s YOUR fucking name and if it doesn’t resonate with you anymore, then it has outlived its usefulness and it is time to lay it to rest. A magical name is a representation of who you TRULY are. We change throughout our lifetimes, so what’s wrong with changing your name to accompany it?
Assuming, of course, you still consider a magical name even necessary.
That is a rather salient question….especially considering the fact that I have often felt that my True Name (Gareth), suits me so well that I find it odd to use another.
A magical name is a representation of who you TRULY are.
See my above comment to D.
Yeah the magical name (or, really, since I was a “teen witchling”, I suppose I should write that as “magickal”) was chosen….with all the cheese that comes with over-enthusiastic new-to-it-all teenagerishness.
Names
Star started out as a nickname and became my name and then I realized it was also very magical for me. I didn’t choose a “magical name” it came from within me.
I don’t hink a name and a dedication go hand in hand. If you choose to re-dedicate that may or may not include a magical name, nick name or any change in naming at all.
Since I think magic is all in my head (not a bad thing!), and things hold no more value than what I give them, I’m pretty cavalier about changing such things.
It holds no more meaning for you = that means it has no more power. Easy enough to shed that skin, IMO.
My name(s) have gone through a few changes since I was a teen… thank god. What I had chosen for myself originally was pretty darned clunky and ill-fitting, although it had great intentions… much like Mrs. Weasley’s handmade sweaters. Since then, I chose a name that fit me worlds better, but still largely reflected who I was at that point in time. It got an addition after undergoing my second degree, acknowledging another dimension of myself that the original didn’t quite encompass.
When it came near my third degree, though, I realized that my name didn’t really fit me anymore: the name I’d had connected with who I *had* been, aspects of which I wanted to distance myself from because I had come to terms with them and embraced them as part of me, but was no longer how I wanted to live and perceive life. (I know I’m phrasing things terribly vaguely, so if it gets confusing, I apologize.) I wanted, as well as felt a deep need, to completely change my (magical) name and take something that resonated with me on not just one, but multiple levels.
I have to say, though, that it all came part and parcel of a reawakening of sorts and a kind of personal rededication. There was no accompanying formal ritual ceremony, though; what I did was get a tattoo, symbolizing that rededication to my path.
Long story short: if you feel a need or a call to change your magical name, then do so. I don’t feel it’s being cavalier; it’s recognizing that it just doesn’t work for you. Don’t think of it in the same way as dumping someone without a phone call. Think of it more like telling someone you used to really like that it’s just not working, although you will remain fond of him/her.
I have often felt that my True Name (Gareth), suits me so well that I find it odd to use another. And there’s not a damn thing wrong with that. Who says your parents didn’t capture your essence when they named you? Sounds kinda like maybe you were given your “true” name at birth. Well done mommy and daddy. I actually can’t imagine calling you anything else…except maybe fuckstick.
except maybe fuckstick.
You know I love it when you talk dirty….