Welp, now... I sure hope you all enjoyed that beeeee-euatiful Super Full Moon Eclipse last night and that you survived its lovely tendrils in one or two pieces. She was a doozy, for sure!

What a gift to live on a planet where the best show available takes place every night and doesn't cost a damn thing to get into. And you only gotta trade your life to get out!

As I hope you all already know and have been wracking your noodles to come up with the finest costume you can find for it, we've got our 3 YEAR ANNIVERSARY PARTY this Saturday, September 21st here at our humble little beer hovel, IBW Lodge #1.

To help celebrate, we're releasing a collaboration Bock we made with our friends at THE BUCKLAND MUSEUM OF WITCHCRAFT & MAGICK in Cleveland, OH. Steven Intermill and Toni Rotunda have been stewarding this wonderful museum since around 2017, inheriting it from a long line of curator/owners and locations since its inception by it's namesake, Raymond Buckland, back in the 1960's.

There's truly very little like this hovering treasure of history. Of course, they have a ton of artifacts from Buckland's collection including robes and ritual gear and other such treats. But they also have pieces from all kinds of characters from the very rich history of Witchcraft & Magick including Kenneth Grant, NEMA, Lon Milo DuQuette and even the Great Beast himself, Aleister Crowley. Not to mention their lovely collection of newspaper pieces and magazine articles on Buckland and the Dark Arts. And don't miss their very fine Ouija Board collection. I'm telling you... I'm telling you!!

If you're near Cincinatti, take the time to stop. Not only is the collection fantastic, but Steven is an incredible host and will keep you on your heels for hours with stories and curious finds. And don't leave without communing with the OOSER!

Small businesses and operations like the Buckland Museum of Witchcraft & Magick are the lifeblood of the soul of the personality of any city you can visit. Not only do they deserve your attention and support, they demand it. If you love Mystery, if you love Art, if you love the curious and continued drive by humans to make sense of this hair-brained world we live in, then you would agree with me that we need more places like this around.

Speaking of incredible small businesses, we're going to have some of Chicago's most wonderful small businesses at our 3 Year Anniversary Party on Saturday.

Places like:

BUCKET O BLOOD Books & Records! with their unparralleled selection of Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi and fiction, if you care about books and you love the Weird, the strange & frightening humans at Bucket O Blood are just for you.
SIDESHOW GALLERY has everything you need for your Witchy bender or life-style or curiosity or obsession. Everything from books, to tarot decks, to taxidermy and Frazetta prints, Cherie & Anne have lovingly assembled a playful little fairy ring to slip into for days on end. They also curate some incredible classes with local artists and writers as well out some hot-shot out-of-towners.
ALCHEMY ARTS Metaphysical Books is one of our longer standing Occult book stores in the city. The rare book collection at Alchemy Arts is pretty great, but so is their herb & oil collection not to mention their statuary. And, while you're there, take a ride in the glorious Throne of Pan (or whatever they call it, that's my name for it).
MALLIWAY BROTHERS MAGIC & WITCHCRAFT store is a newer addition to Chicago's solid Occult line-up but they bring a stellar game to the table. They have an incredibly diverse and well-programmed book selection and also offer herbs and oils and odds and ends for your journey into your own weird self. The brothers themselves and the rest of their staff are about as nice a group of folks as you're going to meet in a vicious little city like our lovely Chicago.
GRAVEFACE has an incredible records selection, taxidermy, Ghana film posters as well as running their own film imprint, TERRORVISION. And, while you're there, buy a ticket for their museum, they have an original David Huggins print there that I've been trying for months to figure out who I have to butter up to acquire it from them.
METALEDGE RECORDS & TAPES is Edison Park's best place for used records. I've bought everything from the Kink's to Steely Dan to the 13th Floor Elevators from these guys at great prices and in great condition. I hear they also have some metal...

We're also going to have a 3D printer and engraver here (Chicago Pyro Shop) so bring ideas and things you want to get engraved. Alec will even engrave the Natal chart you get from Spiros' reading if you do it while you're here. We've got a screen printer, a sculptor and a wood worker as well!!! There's probably more and I'm a jerk for forgetting.

One thing I didn't forget is that the wonderful humans from AERIZ CANNABIS will be here to help either ruin or really expand your day. Only you can be the judge!!

And did I tell you that you'll be able to get your Tarot cards read or your Astrological birth chartanalysed? Come ready to dig under the hood. We'll have beer for you to help digest the bad news.

You can also eat great wood-fired pizza from CHUCK'S WOOD-FIRED PIZZA.

Oh, aaaand the DUNK TANK is back!!!! Take out all of your headaches and heartaches by dunking a stranger into an icy cold bath of water. AND WIN PRIZES DOING IT.

And this is all just during the day (2p-6p to be exact).

At 7pm Steven & Toni will tell stories and show you artifacts from the Buckland Museum. Shortly after that, we're going to have a little procession lead by TWO GIANT PUPPETS for crepes sake. So please, no matter what you do, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU COME DRESSED IN A COSTUME!!!

At 9:30 we've got 3 of the best metal bands in Chicago giving you a night of soul-pickling sounds. We've got DRUUNA, BECOME DEATH & C.O.M.A. for all your audio terrors and delights.

Man, that's a lot. It's gonna be so freaking great. I can't wait to see you all. AND WEAR A DAMN COSTUME THERE ARE PRIZES ON THE LINE THAT YOU WILL WANT.

But, even before Saturday, we've got some pretty great stuff going on. Have you ever floated in a sensory deprivation tank? Are you interested?

We've teamed up with our friends at TrueRest Float Spa in Skokie to host a little gathering of flotation tank enthusiasts. We're going to play this one pretty loose depending on the needs of those showing up - do you want to learn about floating or do you want to share your experiences.... or both! - but, one thing I can say for sure is that everyone who comes to this meet up will receive a FREE FLOAT at TrueRest. That is a screaming deal worth updwards of $60.

I love floating, I do it at least twice a month and have been doing it since the late 1990s. Not only is it exceptional for meditation and consciousness exploration, I've also found, in my older days, that it is an exquisite analgesic and cure for minor aches and pains (the kind a brewer picks up now and again). I can't say enough great things about the benefits I and others have derived from floating. If this at all in interesting to you, come by, talk to some folks who have done it and get a free float out of the deal. Come on! This is Thursday @ 7pm.

Bonus points if you want to hang around for our monthly Improvisational Jam afterwards, THE ELASTIC TELEPATHIC WORKSHOP. Lead by Chicago GIANT John Vernon Forbes, this is a mostly judgement-free space to come and explore the world of improvisational music with other talented players. You must bring your own backline and everything need to make whatever strange sound you like making. Try it sometime. We start at 9pm with that.

Friday SMOKESTAFF is back making their phenomenal BBQ. I hear tell Mark is making some crazy hot sauce from J's peppers called like SATAN'S SNAPPER or something like that. Do Satans have snappers? It must be called something else.

That's all I've got for now. I'm beyond excited for what we've got coming. I hope you all are as well. Let's make Saturday a celebration of time, small business, curiosity and JOY and make it one for the ages!!

"IBW: We're here for you as long as you have cash."