Occursion Media has published its first newspaper. It is based here in Idaho Falls, and is the vision of my friend Terri Nelson Ireland, proprietor of the Healing Hands Metaphysical Store. It is called the Metaphysical Times:

In this venture, I am doing the layout and design, and will contribute an astrology/astronomy column, but the bulk of the content is contributed by folks in the “scene” up here in the southwest suburbs of Yellowstone National Park.

The story of how this project happened is abut as improbable as it comes, but the cosmos is full of anomalies, and they tend to bring the most Uranian energies to the system.

I want to say something about Terri. I met her in January of 2020, after ambling into her store and meeting her daughter Megan. I was on the road, working a sales job, and whenever I am in a new town, I like to stop in all of the meta stores and the thrift stores, because, well, my Moon is in Pisces and these are the only places I feel comfortable.

Terri took the time with me one day, and I pitched her an idea about me holding talks about astrology in her meeting room. She was very receptive, and I put together an event. From that moment on she has been the kindest and most encouraging person in my world. In a sense, she saved my life, which was at a bit of a nadir at that point. That’s what she does – gives space for others to thrive.

Not only is Terri riding the same meta-vibe as me, she is also a highly intelligent scientist. She worked at the Idaho National Laboratory for many years, designing nuclear propulsion systems. One of her projects ended up on the New Horizons Pluto probe, which finally reached Pluto in 2015. When I finally found out about this, it was like I knew the Jimmy Page or Hendrix of astrogation.

I did not know this about Terri until a few months ago, actually, which says so much about her level of humility. The road from her INL as a technical nerd to owning a tarot card and crystals store deserves its own article … well, a book actually … and that will be coming forthwith, but after months of hanging out and being in her circle, the funny thing is that the only thing I really knew about her life is that she is a huge Rush fan. (We met just after Rush’s drummer, Neil Peart, had passed away.)

In any event, Terri let me do a presentation at her store on February 29, 2020, a rare “leap day,” about my take on the astrological foundation of the tarot deck. About 10 people showed up. I met some other folks in the local scene, notably the person who would become The Metaphysical Times’ webmaster, Michelle Norton.

Michelle was birthed on the same calendar date as me, November 22, but boasts a much later vintage. Terri is a Gemini, so of course this was a synergistic triumvirate on some hyperdimensional level when everything else was factored in. These ladies are brilliant, and much smarter than I. I’m just glad I’m allowed to tag along.

Michelle is also a person that deserves an entire book about her unique life, but she’s a writer and I’ll probably just be begging to edit it someday.

As we all know, the COVID insanity hit in March of 2020, and so anything any of us had planned was up in the air. I had a slate of astrology classes planned, and about 26 people signed up, but the pandemic disrupted that as well. So, I basically sat around my apartment for a few months, having been laid off from my otherwise lucrative sales job, reading and writing about astrology, and setting up an office her in Idaho Falls in anticipation of … whatever.

In September, a former employer called and asked if I could drive a truck for him in the Magic Valley for two months, and I said yes. When I got back to IF in November, I stopped in to see Terri, and she said she had a vision about starting a publication that would serve the alternative community. She said her guides told he it needed to be called “The Metaphysical Times.” I said, “Hey, I know how to do that!” I had published a straight (sort of) newspaper in Cali for about four years, putting out over 80 issues, and knew how to design such a product. So, from there, “The Metaphysical Times” was borne, bringing the talents of three people together.

Well, it’s more than three, as many in the community jumped in to add content. The Wiccan/Pagan community in Eastern Idaho is bigger than you think, and is blessed with many talented people and practitioners. The quality of submissions was excellent, too.

This is only our first step. We have now crossed this virtual threshold of putting out our first printed and online edition. Our aim is to serve our community of like-spirited individuals with a publication that would not only keep us informed, but also educate the rest of our community what we’re are all about.

Oh, and I get to pen an astrology/astronomy column every edition as well. This time, I explain why cross-quarter dates are a thing in the Celtic traditions of pre-Christianized Europe.

Until next time….

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