~ NOVEMBER 1st - 15th, 2007 ~

(the latest entries are always added to the top)

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. - AL I:40

Thursday November 15th 2007 – For the history buffs: Fredrich Mellinger, an early Agape Lodge initiate of Aleister Crowley’s Ordo Templi Orientis, was born on this date in 1890. ..... also, of interest, the silent film titled The Phantom of the Opera opened on this date in theaters in 1925. It is based on Gaston Leroux’s novel about a badly disfigured phantom, a masked man, who terrorizes the famous Paris Opera House as well as one particular actress; a famous lyric singer named Carlotta who gives up her role as Marguerite in Faust in order for the unknown Christine Daae, the phantoms protégé to assume the role but what is he secret? ..... and it was on this date in 1930 that James Graham Ballard, one of most influential avant garde writers of our time who wrote novels, essays, science fiction and short-stories, was born in Shanghai. He wrote such works as The Drown World (1962), Vermilion Sand (1971), the best-selling novel Empire of the Sun (1984) and A User's Guide to the Millennium (1996). ...... I would also like to mention an article which appeared in the Puebloan Chieftain on November 15th 1938 which stated, “Old-timers living along the Arkansas River near Salida have told tales for many years of the fur-bearing trout indigenous to the waters of the Arkansas near there.”  The basic story was that the waters of certain lakes and rivers in the area were so cold that a species of ‘trout had evolved’ to grow a thick coat of fur to maintain its body heat. This would begin one of the greatest ‘fish stories’ ever perpetrated. It was amazing how many people actually believed in the story, especially after seeing photographs of the hairy fish stuffed and mounted in the newspaper. ..... I should alsp point out that on November 15, 1956 Gerard Sorme becomes involved with a practitioner of sex magick named Caradoc Cunningham, a character loosely based on Aleister Crowley, according to the novels written by Colin Wilson. The first book in the Gerard Sorme trilogy was Ritual in the Dark (1960), the second was Man Without a Shadow (1963) and the final one was titled The God of the Labyrinth (1970).  ..... and finally, on November 15 1966 at about 11:30 p.m. on the evening of this date two young married couples, Roger and Linda Scarberry and Steve and Mary Mallette, were driving on Route 62 near Point Pleasant, West Virginia. As they drove past the old abandoned power plant building they suddenly saw two large glowing red eyes staring at them from a distance. Roger Scarberry slowed his vehicle to get a closer look, and in the dark they all could make out something that seemed to be about the same size and shape as a man but it didn’t seem to have a head. Its glowing red eyes were on its chest. It also had large wings folded behind its back. Within minutes the creature turned back toward the door of the power plant, walking with a “strange, shuffling gait,” and Scarberry took this as his cue to floor his car but he soon discovered that the creature was following him and keeping up, even though he was doing almost 100 mph. They later described the creature as flying without flapping its wings, while emitting a screeching sound like “a big mouse.” At the Point Pleasant city limits, the creature turned away and disappeared. Over the next year there were over a hundred sightings throughout the area of the now infamous ‘Mothman.’

Wednesday November 14th 2007 – For the history buffs: Aleister Crowley evoked the 30th Aethyr of John Dee’s Enochian system in Mexico on this date in 1900 and later wrote, “What I saw was not beyond my experience, but what I heard was unintelligible to me as Blake to a Baptist.” ..... also, amusingly to report, on November 14, 1992 a six-inch high blue and white porcelain statue of the Virgin Mary in Santiago, Chile began weeping tears of blood on this date; mainly when children were around. The statue belonged to Olga Rodriguez, a housewife from the working class La Cisterna district in the south of Santiago. The liquid staining the image was later verified by scientists as human blood; type 0 Positive.

Tuesday November 13th 3007 – 12:15pm I wrote to a student this morning replying to one of his previous questions ... “Liber Resh is going well. I do really good with 3/4 times. It seems like mid-day is the hardest as I am usually in the middle of something in the day time. The weird thing is its almost like an alarm clock for me now at sunset and sunrise and mid-night. I always feel like the time is coming to do it just before hand. What should I do for the sign of my grade? Where can I find out more about assuming the god form of the adoration?” ..... Answer: In the frontpiece of Magick in Theory & Practice is a page of black and white drawings of ten God forms.  Numbers 7 thru 10 correspond to Water, Earth, Fire and Air.  However, if these forms are too difficult to do because of where you might be [i.e. in public or at work] then simply put the right index finger to your lips and with mouth closed [being the God for Silence] say the Adoration in your mind to yourself ... Also, you should review my blog entry for Monday October 15th 2007 7:30am. It’ll have some helpful insights into this ritual. 

12:10pm Rey from New Mexico read my blurb about my health and writes, “Ave Lux, Jerry! 93. Ugh! That's not good.  :(   Did they give you a 'stress-test'? I suspect that 'beer bongs' and late nights with the ladies will have to slow down?! ;) Siriusly, I do hope that you are enjoying your time on terra firma with a salaciously hedonistic glee!” ..... Answer: I’m ‘gleeing’ away as much as I can!  But seriously, back at you, I'm actually doing OK!

12:00pm Jerri from Sacramento writes, “Jerry-Thank you for the update on your health. I am very concerned, though!! You need heart surgery and THAT is what all the fuss is about! You are waiting for some type of approval from our lovely government? Is there anything we can do to speed things up? I am glad that you are feeling good, but please take care of yourself... Who's ass do I need to kick to get things moving????--'Cause I'll do it (I really will...). I've said more than once, YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE, YET--and I meant it...(yes, I suppose YOU have a say too...) I hope to hear from you soon--but no rush, no stress. 93 93/93.” ..... Answer: Yes, I’m waiting for the old Government stamp of approval but I’m not holding my breath with the ‘Terminator’ in Office and with him cutting all the Medical funding but, in truth, 75% of all people with my condition live quite long lives without surgery. I just have to keep monitoring and regulating my habits. I plan to be around awhile. My astrologer of twenty-plus years says he sees in my chart, or life that I’ll be married at least three times; since I’ve only been married twice so I’d hate to prove him wrong.

7:05am This is to let everyone know that over the long weekend most of my test came back and the doctor called me yesterday to let me know I'm not doing as good as hoped. He's taking me off some of my meds and giving me stronger ones which I now have to take twice a day! Anyone have an extra heart they're not using? Ah, such is life; you got take it all with a smile! Actually, I'm feeling pretty good so I don't know what all the fuss is about? ... Anyway, I just wanted to apologize to everyone for not replying to your emails these last few days, nor getting out a few of the packages needing to be sent but I promise to catch up on everything by later today, or Wednesday morning at the latest. I am simply swamped with work and in need of a secretary.

6:45am For the history buffs: Saint Augustine was born in a mountain village in Numidia (now Algeria) on this date in 354AD to a woman who was later canonized as St. Monica. Although he was raised a devout Christian he strayed from his early teachings and became a licentious youth, which included fathering an illegitimate child. He later returned to Christianity, became a priest and eventually became Bishop of Hippo which was located in present-day Annaba, Algeria, where he lived out the rest of his life. He is considered one of the most influential thinkers in Christian history and he produced some classic works, including his famous Confessions and The City of God. In the latter book, Augustine laid out a compelling interpretation of world history, arguing that there has always been and will always be two ‘cities’ struggling for dominance in the life of mankind. The entire book is based on an intriguing chiastic premise: “Two cities have been formed by two loves: the earthly city by the love of self, even to the contempt of God, and the heavenly city by the love of God, even to the contempt of self.” ...... also, on this date in 1913 the last initiation of a new member occurred into Arthur Edward Waite’s Independent & Rectified Order, RR et AC. He was John T. P. Phythian-Adams, an archeologist from Liverpool, known now as Frater Damianus. Shortly thereafter Waite closed down the Rites due to ‘internal feuding,’ but a couple of years later it re-emerged as the Fellowship of the Rosy Cross, which abandoned the Golden Dawn tradition of magical training in favor of Christian mystical discussion. ..... and finally, Margaret Alice Murray, who wrote such books as The Witch-cult in Western Europe (1921), The God of the Witches (1933), The Divine King in England (1954), died on this date in 1963.

Monday November 12th 2007 – For the history buffs: Charles Manson was born on this date in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1934. He was asked about the Great Beast in an interview in 1985 and he replied, “....I can tell you simply that Hinman was killed because of a bagpipe. It comes to music, a French whorehouse and the three numbers 666. Aleister Crowley from Ireland died in a French whorehouse. The French owed Scotland money in occult matters, spiritual world, or however you want to call it.” And there you have it! ..... and equally important,

Sunday November 11th 2007 - For the history buffs: oddly, this is one of those rare days where there is absolutely nothing of any worth to report happening. I have no important birthdays, deaths, ghosts, or even UFO stories to tell my readers about.

Saturday November 10th 2007 – 6:40am Regarding yesterdays 'For the History Buffs' entry, Peter Koenig sent a brief email with just "You seem to be badly informed," and then he includes a link where I can go and do research to correct  all the data and facts on the Thule Society. OK, thanks, but simply giving me a 'link' to study my errors does me no good. Remember, these entries are taken from a lengthy unpublished book of mine titled THE FRINGE DATEBOOK. My intro read:

I began this book some thirty ago. I was looking at my desk calendar and reading the fine

print at the bottom of one of those little dated square with a magnifying glass. I read the name of

an actor and a politician. I yawned and was not impressed. I wondered about these people but I

was not motivated enough to seek answers. I had other interests. I bathe in the fringes of society

and walk in the shadows of dark alleys. I take great pleasure in subjects that are usually ignored

as being the actions or babblings of crazy and delusional people. But it is in these people, their

bizarre exploits and strange tales where I found my solace. That is when my curiosity was

sparked into wondering what happened on this particular date that I might find some relevance or

interest? In my drooling moods of salivation I have a passion to study religion, the weirder the

better, as I do with researching Masonry, occult fraternities, Satanism and witchcraft. I take great

pleasure in reading about bizarre experiences with UFOs, or sightings of Bigfoot, of the Loch

Ness Monster and the Chupacabra. I find fascination in the mind of the serial killer, amusement in

the life of the physically deformed and laughter in the antics of the insane practical jokers. It is

these sorts of stories that constantly caused me to question my reality, to sharpen my wit and to

realize how little I knew of the world around me. It was these sorts of stories that I started jotting

down in a huge blank book. Its taken me years but little by little, with each new entry, the book

grew and grew until one day I realized that I had created a monster while gleefully admitting that

it has been nothing less than pure frivolity that drove me into producing it.

In other words, over the years every book that I read where I came across a date with data etc I simply jotted down the information in a huge book. Obviously, some books are better than others. What book I got the Thule information from is now but a fleeting memory! And time has shown that some info that was collected thirty plus years ago has need to be 'up-dated' thanks to new historical info on the subject surfacing but do I have the time to research every entry? NO. I try to tell all my readers that if you see historical errors and want to help me correct them, please take the time and write out the correct info and I'll glady make the changes. 

6:30am For the history buffs: Jacob Epstein was born on this date in 1880. He studied art in New York  (1896-1902) and then in Paris (1902-04). He moved to London in 1905 where he lived for the rest of his life. His early religious subjects, such as Genesis (1930), were viciously attacked as being both indecent and blasphemous. His busts of contemporary notables were done in a moderately modernist style. The English generally held him in higher regard than did his American critics. He also designed the burial tomb of Oscar Wilde which outraged many for its obvious and blatant display of a male organ on the naked figure. Inevitable a ‘plaque’ was placed over the offending part, hung in the fashion of a fig leaf. However, the plaque did not remain there long as some poets and artists raided the cemetery and removed it. Not long afterward the noted magician Aleister Crowley approached Epstein in the Cafe Royal with it dangling round his neck. Then, after taking the plaque off, Crowley presented it to Epstein as a gift. Epstein was knighted in 1954 and he died five years later on August 19, 1959. ..... Also, Frederick Hockley a Rosicrucian seer died on this date in 1885.  He was unable to see anything in his ‘crystal’ and appears he met with greater success when using others, like little girls, particularly one Emma Leigh who was thirteen when Hockley used her to act as his ‘seer.’ ..... and finally, the earliest known Golden Dawn’s Flying Roll is recorded & dated on November 10, 1892. In all, 34 Rolls were issued.

Friday November 9th 2007 There is a New Moon today in Scorpio! BEWARE! ... For the history buffs: I’m editing a bunch of events out because so much has happened on this date that if I include everything, I’ll be writing a tome! Here are some of my favorites: ..... For starters, people of New York were shocked on this date in 1874 as they read the New York Hearld headlines about animals escaping from the Central Park Zoo. The article told how animals had escaped from their cages and were rampaging throughout the city. It said that the police and even the national guard were reported to be battling the beasts, but already twenty-seven people were known dead and over 200 injured. It was “a bloody and fearful carnival.” It went on to warn the citizens of New York that many wild animals were still on the loose! Obviously many readers panicked and soon armed mobs swarmed into the streets with guns, ready to defend their homes. Of course, had people been less excitable and simply read the end of the article they would have realized that the entire story was a fabrication. It seems the author and editor simply wanted to use the scenario to draw attention to the dangerous conditions at the zoo and were rather surprised when their article provoked such an enormous reaction. This ‘hoax’ has come to be known in history as the Central Park Menagerie Scare of 1874. ..... also on November 9, 1875 Baron Rudolf von Sebottendorf, whose real name was Adam Alfred Rudolf Glauer, was born in Dresden, Germany. He is reported as being one of the founders of the Thule Society but by the late 20s he would lose controlling reign of the group to Anton Drexler. He would transfer the order over to Adolf Hitler in 1921 under the guise of ‘National Socialist Party’. On May 9, 1945 he committed suicide by jumping off a bridge into the river Bosporus. He was the man known to have provided an ideological basis to Nazism by combining the anti-Semitic activities prevalent in Germany with occultist ideas. His Thule Society slowly transformed from being a religious cult into that of an organization of political activists. ..... and I should point out that on November 9, 1910 The rite of Sol was performed at Caxton Hall.  Later Crowley blamed the failure of this ritual on  “... too hasty preparation of the texts, not enough rehearsal, and his misguided belief that the public were gifted with reverence, intelligence, imagination and (the ability to interpret) the most obscure symbolism.”  ..... It was on this date in 1918 that a letter was sent from eleven year old Frances Griffiths of Cottingly, England to a close friend living in South Africa in which she wrote, “I am sending two photos, both of me, one of me in a bathing costume in our back yard, Uncle Arthur took that, while the other is me with some fairies up the beck, Elsie took that one.” The five photographs had been taken in the summer of 1917 and appeared to show small humans-like fairies with period style haircuts, dressed in filmy gowns, and with large wings on their backs and playfully dancing. The photographs known as the ‘Cottingley Fairies’ were accepted as genuine by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Their authenticity would remain debatably for over sixty years, until the two cousins finally revealed the truth in 1981. Although they both claimed that they always saw fairies, they admitted that were unable to take pictures of them. That is when one of them drew the fairies from a book called Princess Mary's Gift Book by Arthur Shepperson and they simply photographed ..... and on November 9, 1934 Carl Sagan was born in Brooklyn, New York. After earning his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1960, he taught briefly at U.C. Berkeley and then Harvard before becoming an astrophysicist at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, where he divided his time between planetary astronomy and work on the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) project.  In 1968 he became director of the Laboratory of Planetary Studies at Cornell University, where he consulted on several U. S. unmanned space missions to Venus and Mars. His best-selling books and popular television series ‘Cosmos’ introduced the general public to many scientific concepts and controversies. He once wrote, “But the fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright Brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown.” Sagan died on December 20, 1996. ..... and I should point out that the movie A Nightmare on Elm Street opened on this date in 1984. It begins with a young girl named Nancy who is having nightmares about a frightening badly-scarred figure who wears a glove with razor-sharp finger-like knives. She soon discovers that many of her closest friends are also having similar violent nightmares. When they start dying, murdered one by one, she realizes that she must stay awake in order to survive. Uncovering the secret identity of the dream killer and his connection with the children of Elm Street, the Nancy plots to draw him out into the real world and discovers his name, Freddy Krueger. ...... and it was on November 9, 1994 that the noted author Francis Xavier King, born on January 10, 1934, died in England. He has written such books as Ritual Magic in England, Techniques of High Magic, The Magical World of Aleister Crowley and Sexuality, Magic and Perversion. Of course, his infamy came in occult circles when he edited and released the now classic thorn titled The Secret Rituals of the O.T.O. (1974) which contained all the secret initiation rituals and many of the upper degree sexual Grade Papers of the Ordo Templi Orientis.  ..... and finally, on this date in 1996 near Isola Verde, Italy, Alessandro Boscolo and two friends were driving back home near this location when Boscolo stopped the vehicle to perform a certain biological function. All of a sudden, while relieving himself, he became illuminated. Quickly retreating back into the vehicle with his two friends, they all noticed that the light was coming from a UFO that had instantaneously appeared in a nearby field. They watched as small gray figures, with large oval shaped heads scampered at incredible speed from some nearby trees towards the UFO. Needless to say, frightened, Boscolo and his friends drove away from the area at a high speed.

Thursday November 8th 2007 – For the history buffs: A lot has happened on this date so let’s get started! ... Dr. Simon Read, a London physician evoked a ‘spirit’ on this date in 1607 in order to obtain information regarding the theft of cash from his friend Toby Matthew. When it was discovered that Read was doing such vile acts he was denounced and condemned but Read was later granted a ‘Royal Pardon’ by James I and thus avoided prison or even worse. ...... also, John Milton died on this date at the age of 65 in 1674.  He was educated at Christ’s College, Cambridge, where students referred to him as “The Lady” supposedly because of his delicate features. He went on to become the most famous poet and essayist of his time and one of the giants in literary history.  Suffering from poor vision from childhood, Milton became blind in middle age, and wrote his greatest works with the help of a secretary. While actively involved in the major political and religious controversies of his day, he is best remembered as the author of Paradise Lost (1667), which is considered the greatest epic poem in the English language. The work contains some remarkable psychological insights, and some of the most famous chiastic passages in poetic history, like: “The mind is its own place, and in itself, Can make a Heav’n of Hell, a Hell of Heav’n.” ...... and Abraham Stoker was born on this date in Dublin Ireland in 1847 but everyone most likely remembers him as Bram Stoker the author of Dracula. He is rumored to have been a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn although it is more likely he merely attended the ‘Sette of Odd Volumes’ with J. W. Brodie-Innes which was a group of people who sat around and did little more than ‘discuss’ occult topics. ...... and on November 8, 1886 the champion British jockey, Fred Archer, shot himself in Falmouth House and committed suicide. He was just 29 years old. Soon afterward people started to report seeing his ghost at Hamilton Stud Lane, Newmarket, in Suffolk, England. One woman reported seeing him riding towards her and her daughter, and then disappearing a few yards from them, others reported that they, too, had seen the figure of Fred Archer on a phantom mount at the same spot. His ghost has also been blamed for various mishaps that have taken place at Newmarket Racecourse, where horses have been seen to swerve, stop or fall at a certain spot, the same spot where, on several occasions, jockeys have reported a white shape that just hung in the air, five feet from the ground. ..... and it would be negligent of me if I didn’t mention that the last victim of Jack the Ripper, Mary Kelly is found murdered in Whitechapel in her own apartment on this day in 1888. The body lay on the bed, the flesh from her legs, thighs, breast & nose was neatly cut off and placed on the table, many other parts of her body were never found. ...... and to keep the flavour of today’s date running I should point out that on this date in Kennsington, Minnesota in 1898, a farmer named Olaf Ohman, along with several of his sons, and other men from neighboring farms were clearing lumber and pulling stumps in a field in preparation for plowing. One particular stump caused everyone considerable difficulty and when it was finally uproot it was discovered that entwined in the roots was a huge roughly rectangular 200 pound slab of graywacke. The stone was found face down in the soil, about six inches below ground level and when it was hauled out it was discovered that it was covered in runes. When the runes on the face were translated historians were shocked to read: “Eight Goths and 22 Norwegians on a journey of exploration from Vinland very far west. We had camp by 2 rocky islands one day's journey north from this stone. We were out fishing one day. After we came home we found 10 men red with blood and dead. AVM save from evil.” Along the edge of the stone where runes that read, “Have 10 men by the sea to look after our ships 14 days' journey from this island. Year 1362.” The inscription, if it is genuine, would be one of the longest ancient runic inscriptions found in the world. The ‘Kennsington Runestone’, as it has come to be called, is certainly one of the most controversial finds since it implies that Viking explorers were able to penetrate nearly halfway across North America. ..... and finally, it was on November 8, 1969 that the pilot for Rod Serling’s Night Gallery debuts on TV. The actual series ran from 1971 to 1973. Each episode would begin with Rod Serling entering an eerie art gallery filled with a fanciful array of strange paintings where he would begin introducing a trilogy of tales each with a bizarre twist. The first episode began, “Good evening, and welcome to a private showing of three paintings, displayed here for the first time. Each is a collector’s item in its own way, not because of any special artistic quality, but because each captures on a canvas, suspends in time and space, a frozen moment of a nightmare. Our initial offering: a small gothic item in blacks and grays. A piece of the past known as the family crypt. This one we call simply, The Cemetery ... Offered to you now, six feet of earth and all that it contains. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Night Gallery.”

Wednesday November 7th 2007 – I won't be adding as much into my blog this week except for the daily History Heap because I'll be working on my For Sale Catalogue quite alot; hopefully adding over two hundred new items by next weekend. I've already started posting some new items.  Drool if you want!

8:45am FOR THE AMUSEMENT OF THE READERS OF MY BLOG; CLICK HEREAND TAKE THE 'ENLIGHTENMENT TEST.'

7:45am For the history buffs: Palmer Thomas joins the Order of The Golden Dawn on this date in 1896  He was the man who persuaded A.E.Waite to rejoin the order stating that he  “... was missing experiences he would value and of which he could not have known when he resigned.” ...... also, on November 7, 1903 the official Constitution under A. E. Waite, W. A. Ayton and M. W. Blackden of the Independent & Rectified Order R.R. et A.C. along with its new outer order of the Morgen Rothe  (German for ‘Golden Dawn’)  was signed.  In their first year this Golden Dawn schism grew from 14 to 22 inner order members and many of them survived for ten years or so together.  Leading members included Algernon Blackwood, Arthur Machen, Julien Baker & the famous Soror Shemeber (Mrs.Pamela Bullock) who was appointed ‘Burser’ of the Order. ...... and finally, I should mention that on November 7, 1975 the Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana experienced a series of strange encounters with UFOs. Strategic Air Command teams reported visual sightings of the object, but when F-106s were dispatched, the objects would turn off their lights and be all but invisible. Then, when the F-106s left the area, the objects would turn back on their lights. This type of activity had been reported in the Malmstrom area for several days.

Tuesday November 6th 2007 – 9:45am Evelyn writes, "Hope you do not think me pedantic but in a recent blog posting you stated that Rosaleen Norton was born in Dunedin, Australia. That should read Dunedin, New Zealand. She later emigrated to Australia with her family.” ... Thank you, thank you! I’m far from perfect and if errors slip in I like to correct them. The entry in question was on October 2nd, which has now been duly changed! Again, much thanks!

6:10am For the history buffs: On this date in Merom, Indiana in 1957, Rene Gilham, 33, saw a brightly luminous UFO hovering overhead which he estimated its size as 40 feet in diameter and its altitude as 1000 feet. The next day, after starring up at the UFO, Gilham's face began to itch and redden and that night the "sunburn" was so painful that he was forced to go to the hospital. The physician, Dr. Joseph Drake, found that Gilham's condition was not a rash such as might be caused by poison ivy or an allergy but a real burn, "similar to the burns that are inflicted on the face and eyes when working near an arc welder without a face mask".  ..... and I should point out that on this date in 2000 the American science fiction writer L. Sprague de Camp dies in Plano, Texas. He was born on November 27th 1907 in New York. In a writing career spanning fifty years he wrote over one hundred books, including both novels and notable works of nonfiction, such as biographies of other important fantasy authors like H. P. Lovecraft.

Monday November 5th 2007 – The sale fell through for the oil painting which is titled 'ON DEW DROPS' by Frater Achad Osher 583 [CA: Berkeley, September 24th 2007, large 18" x 24"] It is again available if anyone is interested. Click HERE for details.

For the history buffs: November 5, 1779 Captain John Cleves Symmes was born on this date in Sussex County, New Jersey. He was a unique philosopher who originated the “Symmes Theory of Concentric Spheres and Polar Voids” which stated that the earth was hollow, habitable and is composed of five hollow, concentric spheres, with space between each, and habitable upon both convex and concave surfaces. At the North Pole, he supposed there was an opening four thousand miles in diameter; and at the South, six thousand miles. In 1823 Symmes petitioned Congress to send an exploring expedition to test his theory and he actually got twenty-five affirmative votes. Symmes’ theory spawned a number of books including novels. The first was Symzonia (1820) by Captain Adam Seaborn. Edgar Allen Poe’s two stories,  MS Found in a Bottle (1833) and Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, both owe something to Symmes. The theory had its loyal adherents right up until William Peary’s reported discovery of the North Pole. ..... and I should also point out that Ninette Fraux Shumway, the Scarlet Woman whose name was ‘Beauty’ was banished from the Abbey of Thelema on November 5, 1920 as an ‘intruding demon’ in the eighth month of her pregnancy. The Beast instructed her to maintain her diary, have her baby at the primitive Cefalu hospital and then submit the diary for his judgment before returning, so that he might “reconsider things.”

Sunday November 4th 2007 – For the history buffs: In 1891 a young Englishman named Howard Carter arrived in Egypt convinced that there was at least one undiscovered tomb, that of the almost unknown King named Tutankhamen. Carter found a backer for his quest in the wealthy Lord Carnarvon. On this particular date, on November 4th 1922, Carter’s workmen discovered a step cut into the rock that had been hidden by debris left over from the building of the tomb of Ramesses IV and digging further they discovered stairs that lead to an ancient doorway that appeared to be still sealed. On the doorway was the name Tutankhamen. That evening, when Carter arrived home, his servant, wide eyed with fear, met him at the door. In his hand were a few yellow feathers. He proceeded to tell Carter that his pet canary had been killed by a cobra. Carter, looking at the feathers, simply asked if the snake was out of the house but his servant replied by grabbing his sleeve and saying, “The pharaoh’s serpent ate the bird because it led us to the hidden tomb! You must not disturb the tomb!” After the tomb was opened, a few months later, Lord Carnarvon, 57, was taken ill and rushed to Cairo. He died a few days later. The exact cause of death has never been determined but it seemed to be from an infection started by an insect bite. Legend has it that when he died there was a power failure and all the lights throughout Cairo went out and, at the same moment back on his private estate back in England, his favorite dog howled and dropped dead. Even more strange, when the mummy of Tutankhamen was finally unwrapped in 1925, it was found to have a wound on the left cheek. A wound which was in the same exact position as the insect bite on Carnarvon that lead to his death. All in all, by 1935 twenty-one people who were connected, or indirectly connected, with the discovery of the Tomb had all died of unnatural causes. The press followed each death carefully; attributing them to the “Mummy’s Curse.” Still, Howard Carter, who had actually discovered the tomb, lived to a reasonably old age of 66 before dying of entirely natural causes.

Saturday November 3rd 2007 – 4:30pm I’d like to point out that the first Saturday in November is officially ‘Sadie Dawkins Day’ ... it was established in Li’l Abner comic strip back in the 1930s by Al Capp. It is supposedly the one day a year when all women, especially the ‘coyote-uglies’ *, are allowed to take ‘initiative’ and ask any man of their choice for a date or marriage

* coyote-ugly is when a guy wakes up in the morning and realizes the

girl he picked up at the bar is a dog but his arm is under her neck and

rather than wake her, he’ll chew it off  in order to escape.

10:00am FRIDAY NIGHT GATHERINGS : A few important notices: There will be no gathering on Friday November 23rd or the day after Thanksgiving. Also, beginning in December our open houses will be held just twice a month for awhile until further notice; or on December 7th & 22nd; same time: 7:00pm. The Friday’s in-between these two dates are for private sessions. Inquiries welcomed.

7:45am For the history buffs: Ignatius Donnelly was born in Philadelphia on this date in 1831. He studied law, was admitted to the bar, and practiced briefly in Philadelphia until he went to Minnesota in 1857. Here, Donnelly was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1859, and again in 1861. He was later elected to Congress as a Republican, serving from December 7, 1863, till March 3, 1869. Besides doing journalistic work he has written an Essay on the Sonnets of Shakespeare and, for which he is most known, a book titled Atlantis, the Antediluvian World (1882), in which he attempts to demonstrate that there once existed in the Atlantic Ocean, opposite the straits of Gibraltar, a large island, known to the ancients as Atlantis. His next book titled Ragnarok (1883) he tried to prove that the deposits of clay, gravel, and decomposed rocks, characteristic of the drift age, were the result of contact between the earth and a comet. Donnelly died in Minneapolis, Minnesota on January 1, 1901 and was buried in Calvary Cemetery, St. Paul, Minnesota. ..... also, Franklin Jones was born on this date in 1939. He would become a follower for a while of Swami Mukananda, who gave him the name ‘Dhyanananda’ which means “he whose bliss comes through meditation.” Muktananda authorized him to teach then, but Da did not do so because he felt that his enlightenment was incomplete. Da’s enlightenment took place in the Vedanta Society temple in Los Angeles in September 1970. It was only several years later that he changed his name to Bubba Free John and then to Da Free John. He died in 2003. ..... and finally, on a sad note, Dr. Wilhelm Reich died in prison at Lewisburg, Pennsylvania on this date in 1957. Many of his experiments were designed to ascertain whether sexual excitement was associated with an increase of bio-electric charges in the genitals & erogenous zones.  He believed this to be true.

Friday November 2nd 2007 – For the history buffs: ‘Buck’ Whaley, of the Hellfire Club, died on this date in 1800. His father was another notorious member whose antic, after performing a Black Mass at  Mountpelier House, cost the building to be burned down, killing many a member who was too drunk after the evening’s revelries to escape. It was said that local people watched the blazing pyre convinced that God had taken revenge. Whaley’s son, Thomas ‘Buck’ Whaley was to become, in his short life, far more famous and flamboyant than his father. He rallied the Hell-Fire club from the low ebb to which it had sunk after the fire by openly declaring his intention of ‘defying God and man in nightly revels.’ Black Masses and homosexual orgies were the principal features of his nightly debaucheries. However, years later, repentance and remorse began to enter into his mind and so he resolved to seek absolution for his sins. It is said that while kneeling in the darkened nave in St Audoen’s Church he had a vision of the Devil creeping down the aisle towards him. Seized with terror, Whaley ran from the church and fled Ireland forever. He lived a few more years but finally died at the age of 34 of sclerosis of the liver. In his memoirs, a repentant ‘Buck’ Whaley wrote that he felt “no trifling sensation from the prospect that this simple narrative may persuade the young and inexperienced, if the language of truth has the power of persuasion, that a life of dissipation can produce no enjoyment, and that tumultuous pleasures afford no real happiness.” ..... and “... amid choking clouds of incense, varied by barbaric dances, sensational interludes of melodrama, blasphemy and erotic suggestion” The Rite of Mars of Eleusis is performed at Caxton Hall by Aleister Crowley & Co on this date in 1910. ..... and I would also like to point out that Aleister Crowley’s private diary has the following entry on this date in 1931: “... He gave us lots of bad cognac. We went crazy. Instantly. We got home I got down on S.W. She pissed gallons -- we tore off our clothes & fucked & fucked & fucked. She tore my lips & my tongue - the blood streamed all over her face. We fucked. And suddenly she got a jealous fit about 3 cheap whores at Brunnigs & I strangled her …” Isn’t love grand? SW means his Scarlet Woman. ..... and finally, on November 2, 1950 George Bernard Shaw died at Ayot St. Lawrence, Hertfordshire. His body was cremated and, per his wishes, his ashes were mixed with those of his wife, Charlotte, who had died seven years before. In his lifetime Shaw was an Irish dramatist, literary critic, a socialist spokesman, and a leading figure in the 20th century theater. Shaw was a freethinker, defender of women’s rights, and advocate of equality of income.

Thursday November 1st 2007 – For the history buffs: William John Warner  was born on this date in Dublin, Ireland in 1866. The world knows him as Cheiro. He also went by the name Count Louis Hamon, claiming a noble ancestry that may or may not have been accurate. He is most likely the world’s greatest palmist. Cheiro was also a friend of the magician Aleister Crowley and even joined his AA in 1913, the same day as Nina Hamnett and Gwedoline Otter. Cheiro died on October 8, 1936, in Hollywood, CA, at the age of 69. ..... also, on November 1, 1922 visitors to the beach at Margate, South Africa, were treated to an amazing spectacle happening just off shore on this date. Two whales were clearly observed by many people seemingly engaged in battle with a bizarre sea monster with snowy-white fur and a huge elephantine trunk. As the battle progressed the monster seemed to weaken and three hours into the battle it disappeared. Then, during the evening, its lifeless body was washed ashore and proved to be truly colossal, measuring just over 47 feet in length, and including a 10 foot long tail. Apart from it’s luxuriant 8-inch long fur, the most remarkable feature about this creature was that it did not possess a distinct head but had a trunk-like appendage about 5 feet long, that had been visible during its fatal encounter with the whales. This creature was dubbed “Trunko.” Sadly, even though the creature’s corpse spent ten days on the Margate beach not one scientist came by to see it, or give it the time of day. Finally the sea reclaimed Trunko’s body.

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