Words are the true magic. They are what allow us to bring about “action at a distance” so-to-speak. You’ve seen me play with them here. I have become extremely aware of the power that lies in word choice. Choosing to construct this sentence rather than another one will have this consequence rather than the other. Though I wouldn’t go so far as to champion Form over Function, I do mean to draw your attention to both and the delicate balance that we strive to attain between them.

On June 23rd of this year, an independent artist, Ren, launched his new clothing line, “Sick Boi” with the release of a bad-ass black starter jacket embroidered with sigils that carry a strong meaning for him. While I could extol his numerous qualities as a person, this isn’t the intent of this written entry so I will resist the screaming urge to gush over this exemplary human being. Suffice it to say, he is a masterful magician (though he might not use such terms nor share my worldview) and he wields incredible power, which he has been using benevolently and generously.

The human being, Ren Eryn Gill, has for many years been battling numerous ailments and medical complications. Given this history, he has come up with the name “Sick Boi” which he’s used as a reference to himself in a few of his songs.

But here is where my worry-bells went off:

The timing of this launch is delicate, as are the choice of words. Ren is just now beginning to reap the benefits of a lengthy medical procedure, and with that renewed strength and an eye toward securing his financial future, has launched this ambitious and potentially long-lasting enterprise. I mean… Levi Strauss is a clothing line too… The name Ren chose will be around for a long time—I have every confidence in his dedication and capabilities—but that’s the very reason for my concern:

Does he want those two words to follow him around for the foreseeable future?

And here’s where the careful arts of magic must be plied: in order for those words to not stick  to him like a black tar, and potentially bring more sickness or prolonged treatments for his future, he must use the very act of encapsulating those two words into a brand so to trap his ailments and keep them away from his spiritual body, much as one might imprison a malicious djinn in a mundane brass oil lamp, thus transforming the mystical into the material.

I am brought to consider a page from the magician’s grimoire concerning “True Names” and how knowing the true name of things gives us power over them. In creating this brand, and in creating fine quality clothing with a visually striking aesthetic, I feel Ren is doing several things at once : he is reclaiming his health by detaching that part of him and he is turning it into something beautiful, thereby rendering it beneficial for himself and his many, many future customers.

After all, the word “brand” does come from the ornately-wrought fire-heated poker used to uniquely identify the livestock of a given rancher. In making a clothing line, the “brand” mark will be on his products; not on himself.

It is my hope that, perhaps if he ever reads this, this post might serve as a gentle reminder and a word of caution: be mindful of the power of words. May this enterprise and label serve as a means of entrapping your ailments, of externalizing them, and if I may loosely invent a word, mundanify them. May your sicknesses forever be removed from your life so that, in growing this very cool and uniquely-styled clothing brand, you may secure a bright and joyous future for yourself and your loved ones, Ren!