Magic

LAST WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH so **IT'S DRAWING NIGHT AT SQUISHFACE** Join us at Squishface's studio space in South Melbourne: Studio Hall, on the grounds of St Kilda South Port Uniting Church on Dorcas St. There are FOUR TRAMS you can catch from the city. **58, 96, 12** or the **1!** It is even walkable from the city. Bring your sketch books, bring your pens, bring a friend. It's not a class - it's a drawing hang out. All skill levels welcome. Always lots of regulars, always newies. Be socially awkward, be confident as heck. This is informal, it's just a free drawing session. Go ahead and bring snacks. But no nuts please! Our venue is wheelchair accessible, as are the very toilets. Minors are welcome but will need an accompanying adult. Contact us on 0422509144 if any issues or you get lost. Please follow us both on instagram, for comic and zine related news and events. 👉 [Squishface Studio](http://www.instagram.com/Squishfacestudio) Here's an [instagram video](https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4J5GiOPLxc/) showing where Studio Hall is. You simply enter from the street, walk up toward the big bluestone church, then go left to the car park and you will find Studio Hall!

6pm start. $2 gold coin entry per person. Please order dinner at the bar when you arrive and let the staff know you are with the card group in the Dining Room. Meals are served around 7:15pm. Happy Hour drinks are available until 7pm. After a dinner break we shuffle the teams around so you get to meet, and play with new people. Games are played as 4 handed wherever possible, but an occasional 3,5 or 6 handed game is required based on the number of attendees. If you are a beginner or have minimal experience playing 500, please let your host know before starting a game, and feel free to ask them any question. Ahead of the event you might like to download one of the 500 card game apps on your phone to get familiar with the game. There are also some Youtube videos.

🎉 **Melbourne AWS User Group – June Meetup** 🎉 📅 Wednesday, 24 June 📍 NAB Events Hub – 395 Bourke Street, Melbourne ⏰ Food at 6:00 pm, talks from 6:30 pm (with live stream) Join us for our June meetup, featuring two lightning talks and a full technical presentation covering community contribution, generative AI, and cloud-native security. This month also celebrates the AWS community speaking journey. Sanjana Kailash will deliver her first-ever public presentation, while Bharat Wadhwa returns to present after beginning his own public speaking journey at a Melbourne AWS User Group event. This month’s lineup features: • **Matthew Merriel** giving a behind-the-scenes look at how the Melbourne AWS User Group’s regular “What’s New in AWS” segment is prepared—and how other volunteers can get involved. • **Sanjana Kailash** making her first-ever public presentation, demonstrating an automated market-intelligence pipeline built with Amazon Bedrock, retrieval-augmented generation, and AWS-native services. • **Bharat Wadhwa** presenting a cloud-native approach to malware protection for Amazon S3 using Amazon GuardDuty Malware Protection. Bharat also gave his first public presentation at a Melbourne AWS User Group event, making this a great example of where taking that first step can lead. A huge thank you to our sponsors: 🥇 Mantel Group – Gold Sponsor, 🥈 Cevo – Silver Sponsor, 🏛 NAB – Venue Sponsor The event will also be live-streamed on YouTube: 👉 [https://melb.awsug.org.au/live](https://melb.awsug.org.au/live) *** 🗓️ **Agenda** 6:00 pm – Food & Socialising 6:30 pm – Introductions 6:40 pm – What’s New in AWS 6:55 pm – Preparing the “What’s New in AWS” Segment (Level 100); Speaker: Matthew Merriel 7:10 pm – RAG to Riches: AI-Powered Market Intelligence on Amazon Bedrock (Level 200); Speaker: Sanjana Kailash 7:25 pm – Intelligent Malware Protection Using AWS GuardDuty (Level 200); Speaker: Bharat Wadhwa 7:55 pm – Marketplace (Who’s Hiring) 8:00 pm – Networking + Close *** 🎤 **Talk Details** **Preparing the “What’s New in AWS” Segment** Speaker: Matthew Merriel Level: 100 Format: Lightning Talk “What’s New in AWS” is a regular part of Melbourne AWS User Group meetups—but how is the segment put together? Matthew will provide a behind-the-scenes look at the process used to find, shortlist, and prepare recent AWS announcements for presentation at the meetup. This session is designed to help volunteers understand what is involved and make it easier for more community members to take on the segment at future events. No previous speaking experience is required. *** **RAG to Riches: AI-Powered Market Intelligence on Amazon Bedrock** Speaker: Sanjana Kailash Level: 200 Format: Lightning Talk What if a strategy team never had to manually scan more than 50 data sources again? In this lightning talk, Sanjana will walk through how she built a fully automated AI-powered market-intelligence pipeline using Amazon Bedrock, retrieval-augmented generation, and AWS-native services. The solution transforms more than five hours of Monday-morning manual research into a polished briefing delivered directly to inboxes—with no manual effort required. This will also be Sanjana’s first public presentation, and we’re excited to welcome another new speaker to the Melbourne AWS community. *** **Intelligent Malware Protection Using AWS GuardDuty** Speaker: Bharat Wadhwa Level: 200 Format: Full Presentation This presentation showcases a cloud-native malware-protection solution for Amazon S3 using Amazon GuardDuty Malware Protection. The solution replaces legacy antivirus approaches with intelligent, event-driven malware detection and automated security workflows. Bharat will explore how this approach can improve scalability, operational efficiency, and security visibility across AWS environments. Bharat also began his public speaking journey at a Melbourne AWS User Group event and now returns with a full technical presentation. *** 🙌 Could This Be the Start of Your Speaking Journey? This month, Sanjana will take the stage for her first-ever public presentation. Bharat also began his speaking journey at a Melbourne AWS User Group meetup and is now returning with a full technical session. Every experienced speaker started with a first talk. Whether you have an idea for a full presentation, a lightning talk, or would like to help prepare and present the “What’s New in AWS” segment, the organisers are happy to help you take that first step. Speak to us at the meetup or submit an idea through our website: 👉 [https://melb.awsug.org.au/speak/](https://melb.awsug.org.au/speak/)

Hello everyone! Join us for an Apache Kafka® meetup on **June 24th from 5:30pm**, hosted by Ippon in Melbourne! The address, agenda, and speaker information can be found below. See you there! **📍Venue**: Ippon Australia Collab Hub Level 8, 607 Bourke Street Melbourne VIC 3000 IMPORTANT: Please note that for security purposes, all attendees are required to sign in at the lobby to get into the building. \*\*\* 🗓 Agenda: * 5:30pm: Doors open * 5:30pm - 6:00pm: Pizza, Drinks, and Networking * 6:00pm - 6:45pm: Usman Khan, Technical Support Engineer, Confluent * 6:45pm - 7:30pm: Additional Q&A & Networking \*\*\* 💡 Speaker: Usman Khan, Technical Support Engineer, Confluent Talk: Kafka Connect On-Prem Troubleshooting Playbook Abstract: When a Kafka Connect sink stops writing, the failure can be hiding in one of several layers, Database, the connector config, the Connect worker, the schema, or the topic itself. In this session, Usman walks through a live Oracle JDBC Sink troubleshooting demo built on the kafka-docker-playground, showing a repeatable classify → fix → verify approach. We cover how to check connector and task state via the REST API and internal Kafka topics, navigate worker logs efficiently, use the Connect admin logging API for dynamic trace logging without restarts, Grafana metrics, manipulate sink offsets for replay. Bio: Usman Khan is a Technical Support Engineer on Confluent's Global Support team, based in Melbourne and covering the APAC region. He specialises in Kafka Connect, working daily with engineering teams to diagnose and resolve connector and framework issues across both on-premises deployments and Confluent Cloud. \*\*\* ***DISCLAIMER*** BY ATTENDING THIS EVENT IN PERSON, you acknowledge that risk includes possible exposure to and illness from infectious diseases including COVID-19, and accept responsibility for this, if it occurs. NOTE: We are unable to cater for any attendees under the age of 18. \*\*\* If you would like to speak or host our next event please let us know! community@[confluent.io](http://confluent.io/)

**Event posted in other places so number shown below doesn't represent how many people will actually come.** **Saturday 6th June.** Come along **ANYTIME** between 10.30am and 5.30pm. **Only $20**, pay on the day - BUT PLEASE DON'T COME IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU LIVE WITH FEELS SICK with COVID or FLU! We know how it is … You've read the books and looked up stuff online … and you’re bursting with ideas and questions and you want to talk about it with someone … but … your family won’t understand, your friends won’t take you seriously … and don’t even think about talking to your workmates … That’s why, many years ago, we started Magic Saturdays to provide a safe, comfortable and very pagan space where you can immerse yourself in Witchcraft, Paganism, Magic, Spells, Rituals … everything … nothing is off-limits and there are no stupid questions. Each Saturday, apart from the obvious conversations, we try to do some magic just so you can get a feel for it. The people that come along range from complete beginners to those that have been living the pagan life for some time. It doesn’t matter. Everyone has something to contribute or some just want to soak up the atmosphere. Either way, whether you come for half an hour or the whole day you’ll feel refreshed, empowered and validated … and you may have even met some of our nature spirits. Our shop is also open (it doesn’t cost anything if you just want to come and look at the shop), so remember to top up on your magical supplies while you’re here. We now also have a selection of potted herbs for sale including such magical herbs as Mugwort, Rue and Squill. Tarot readings are also available. When: Saturday, 27th June … Time: … anytime between 10.30am & 6.00pm Where: 130 Boronia Rd., Vermont, Melbourne, 3133 Cost: $20 03 9873 3736 (please note this event is also posted on our website so the number of people attending shown here does not reflect the number of people that will turn up) **Email:** esoteric666@optusnet.com.au **Website:** [https://esotericbookshop.org](https://esotericbookshop.org/) **How to find us:** https://esotericbookshop.org/contact-us/

When people think of shamanic journeying, psychedelics are often the first association. Yet in most traditions, altered states of consciousness are more commonly entered through other methods. These practices shift awareness away from linear and rational thinking into symbolic and imaginal ways of experiencing the world. A central focus of this talk is the role of mythology and symbolism as a map and compass for navigating these inner states. Mythology is not treated as abstract story or merely superstition, but as a living framework that helps organise experience, guide inner journeys, and support processes of healing and transformation. Archetypes, symbols, and mythic narratives form a structured language for making sense of what is encountered in altered states, both for individuals and communities. The talk also explores how these traditional mythological maps overlap with modern psychology. Contemporary approaches to the mind increasingly recognise symbolic processes, layered identity, trauma patterns, and the need for integration - areas long addressed within myth-based systems of understanding. We will look at how altered states are safely accessed and navigated, and how myth and symbolism provides orientation within them. Finally, the talk considers the relevance of these approaches in the modern world, particularly in contemporary Australia - offering ways of engaging meaning, psychological insight, and connection to self, others, and place through direct experience. **Guy** is a traditionally trained and initiated sangoma. A sangoma is a traditional healer of Southern Africa, effectively a shaman of the Zulu and related Nguni cultures. Born and raised in South Africa, he is one of only a handful of westerners that have undergone the long and intense ordeal of thwasa (the formal traditional training and initiation process) in order to become initiated into the traditions of the Southern African traditional healers. Guy is also a Ceremonial Leader and initiated shaman in the Spirit of the Earth Medicine Society (SOTEMS), a non-profit Australian organisation which is dedicated to developing new forms of Australian Spirituality and healing based on traditional healing (shamanic) methods for contemporary Australians. **The MTS is committed to providing events that align with and further The three objects of The Theosophical Society:** * To form a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or colour. * To encourage the study of comparative religion, philosophy and science. * To investigate unexplained laws of nature and the powers latent in the human being. However this being stated, the MTS does not endorse any health, spiritual, science-related, philosophical or theological /other assertions or claims made by any facilitator we host.

We are meeting in the board-room of the 55th floor of 318 Russel Street (The Abode). I'll be in the lobby till about 10 past, if you arrive late call me on 0447 591 141 and I'll come down and get you. Join the group chat via https://imagineering.cc/ ## **🛠️ Meetup Format (2 hours)** **⚡ Project Intros (5 minutes total)** Each participant gets **1 minute (hard stop)** to briefly share: * What they’re building * What they want to focus on today **🚀 Build Sprints (90 minutes total)** We’ll run **three focused build cycles**: * **25 minutes** of deep, uninterrupted building * **5 minutes** of casual chatting, sharing progress, and asking questions **🎤 Demos & Wrap-up (10 minutes total)** Each participant gets **1 minute (hard stop)** to: * Demo what they built * Share learnings or next steps This format balances **deep focus**, **collaboration**, and **show-and-tell**, while keeping things lightweight and fun.

**Every Friday \| 6PM \- Late \| Free Entry** 🎉 *The ultimate weekly hangout for Magic players - new and experienced alike.* Unleash your inner planeswalker at **Mana on Tap**, a free weekly Magic: The Gathering event hosted in Fortress’s Arena. Whether you’re a seasoned spell-slinger or brand new to the game, join us every **Friday night from 6 PM to Late** for games, drinks, and good vibes with fellow Magic fans. ### **Learn to Play** Just picked up your first deck? Want to learn the ropes? Borrow a starter deck for free at Fortress and join a casual Learn to Play session hosted by friendly game guides. Meet fellow new players, pick up tips, and duel in a relaxed, welcoming setting. ### **Play Your Way** Casual, competitive, or something in between, **all formats are welcome** (though most people play Commander). Whether you’re into Commander, Pauper, Standard, or Modern, there’s a seat at the table for you. Bring your deck or borrow one, and play at your own pace. ### **Commander Conclave** Our spacious Arena is perfect for **Commander Night**. Dive into multiplayer games, meet fellow enthusiasts, and enjoy stellar lighting, comfy seating, and easy access to food and drink from our full-service bar. Order via buzzer and get back to the action faster. ### **The Venue** Held in **The Arena** at Fortress, enjoy plenty of space, low-volume ambience, and on-tap beverages while you play. Stay fueled with food and drinks delivered straight to your table - no need to pause the game. **TERMS & CONDITIONS** * *Fortress is a licensed venue, and as such, a valid ID is required and checked upon entrance to the premises.* * *Unaccompanied minors are not permitted in the venue at any time. Please make sure any guests under 18 are accompanied by a responsible adult at all times.* * *Minors are not allowed in the venue past 8:00 pm* * *No outside food or drinks.* *More information on valid forms of identification and Fortress' minors policy can be found here: [www.fortress.games/minors/](https://www.fortress.games/minors/)*

**The Synergy Circle:** *Finding connection and sanity together in difficult times.* **Why a Synergy Circle?** What is often missing in healing is connection. We are relational beings. We are not meant to heal in isolation. Real healing, growth, and wholeness happen through safe, authentic relationship with others. Synergy means the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, we are better together. In these challenging times, we believe real sanity and healing emerge when we come together in community. This is a space to restore our sense of interconnectedness. A place to explore what it means to be human, share stories, and learn to connect, ground, and co-regulate in community. **Who is this for?** * You feel awake in a world that often feels insane, and you're tired of shallow conversations and quick fixes. * You’re on a healing journey and long for real human connection instead of going it alone. * You're exhausted by a mental health system that labels your pain as the problem rather than the world we live in. * You want a space where you can speak, listen, or simply sit in shared presence without judgment, labels, or pressure to be “fixed”. **Come as you are:** To speak, to listen, or simply sit in shared presence. No labels. No judgment. No fixing. Just real people, real stories, and real human connection. Together, we begin to weave a different story, One where healing happens through safe spaces, honest connection, and remembering we were never broken to begin with. **What to Expect:** * We gather in a circle with gentle facilitation so every voice feels safe and heard. * A natural flow of check-in, sharing, reflective prompts, and grounding practices. * This is a co-created space where your authentic presence and participation help shape the energy of the circle. * You are always in control of how much you wish to participate. Full confidentiality is respected by all. **Contribution:** Full Price $15 Concession $10 If money is a barrier, please reach out, we don't want anyone to miss out. All contributions go towards hall hire, coffee/tea and supporting the community. We’d love to see you there! We kindly ask you to refrain from drugs or alcohol at this event to ensure it is safe for everybody to attend. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions: [SynergyProject@proton.me](mailto:SynergyProject@proton.me)

Welcome to the Melbourne Sci-Fi & Fantasy Meetup's first gathering for magic realism and creative writing! If you've read or are new to Haruki Murakami, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Susanna Clarke, please come along. And for writers, this is also a space to talk about the craft of writing (any genre, fiction and non-fiction). I hope to make this a regular monthly or fortnightly event at other locations around Melbourne when the weather is warmer. But it's winter, so we'll have our first meetup at the Mitre Tavern in the CBD. Easy to find, and we don't have to wait outside in the icy wind waiting for tables. Join us for a coffee or glass of wine that stops time, cats with secret names, and good conversation about the books we love. After the event, we can kick on at the Mitre or maybe stroll over to a nearby wine bar or restaurant to continue the socialising. What to Bring: Paper, pen, and a story to share. I'll be giving you all some small, fun writing exercises and we'll see where the day takes us.

The optimum computing machine is a subject many of us have studied. If you were building one how would you design it? First the computer should be able to compute with perfect accuracy on any problem in the universe and produce answers which were always and invariably right. Second the computer would have to be swift, working much more quickly than the problem and process could be vocally articulated. Third the computer would have to be able to handle large numbers of variables and large numbers of problems simultaneously. Forth, the computer would have to be able to evaluate its own data and there would have to remain available within it not only a record of its former conclusions but the evaluations leading to those conclusions. Fifth, the computer would have to be served by a memory bank of nearly infinite capacity and would have to be available to the analytical portion of the computer in the smallest fractions of a second. Sixth, the computer would have to be able to rearrange former conclusions or alter them in the light of new experience. Seventh, the computer would need no exterior director, but would be entirely self determined about its programing guided only by the necessity –value of the solution which it itself would determine. Eight the computer should be self servicing and self arming against present and future damage and would be able to estimate future damage. Ninth the computer should be served by perception by which it could determine necessity –value. Tenth ,the memory bank should store perceptions as perceived ,consecutive with time received with the smallest possible time divisions between perception .It would then store in color-Visio (moving),tone audio (flowing),odor ,tactile and self sensation ,all of them cross –coordinated . Eleventh, for the purposes of solutions, it would have to be able to create new situations and imagine new perceptions hitherto not perceived and should be able to conceive these to itself in terms of tone –audio ,color-visio ,odor, tactile, and self sensation –and should be able to file anything so conceived as imagined ,labeled “memories” Twelfth, the entire machine should be portable. It might be somewhat astonishing at first to conceive such a computer .But the fact is, the machine is in existence .There are billions of them in use today and many ,many more billions have been made and used in the past . In fact you’ve got one .for we are dealing with the human mind. L.RON .HUBBARD Do you want to learn how the mind works?Then do not miss this meetup. RSVP now !!

Private Group. Closed to the Public Knowing ourselves and understanding our abilities is the first step toward wielding our gifts with control and accuracy. In subsequent classes we will verify and hone our talents with activities and discussion. These are hands-on workshops and participation is expected. The goal of our series will be to develop expertise in areas of particular interest such as mediumship, channeling, divination, healing and, etc.. Our ultimate directions will be determined by class members as we evolve. I look forward to sharing and discovering with you. - Cynthia

Join other experienced and aspiring agile coaches and professionals to: * develop and practice your coaching skills in a peer-to-peer environment * share current successes and challenges in your work environment and get support from each other * learn from each other, build better relationships and experiment with new ideas

http://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/2/a/9/6/600_348310902.jpeg Instructor - Crow, HPS Class fee is $30 at the door or approved exchange RSVP with Advance pay of $25 (discounted) by PayPal on the web or by contacting Enchanted Elements (614) 437-2642. Reservations made directly to Enchanted Elements will be added to the class list manually not online. Private Instruction ~ Closed to the Public ~ Initiated Members Only Please come prepared for ritual. Blessings ~ Crow

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK • AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER What if you got to do everything in your life—twice? The heart of Mitch Albom’s newest novel is a stunning love story that dares to explore how our unchecked desires might mean losing what we’ve had all along. When he is eight years old, Alfie Logan discovers the magical ability to get a second chance at everything. He can undo any moment and live it again. The one catch: he must accept the consequences of his second try—for better or worse.

**Pagans on the Patio! Summer/Fall Series** A casual gathering the first Thursday of each month. Time to relax, meet new people, and reconnect with old friends. There is no charge for the event itself and all are welcome but there are a few guidelines: 1. **You are expected to purchase food and/or drink to compensate the Cantina and our server.** 2. **No soliciting. Do not bring samples of your wares or brochures of your services.** 3. **Please respect the spiritual and political views of others that are present. No disruption of the peace.** In case of inclement weather, we will find seating indoors. I hope to see you there. Blessed be! \~ Cynthia ❤️---