~ FEBRUARY 1st -17th, 2008 ~

(the latest entries are always added to the top)

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

Sunday February 17th 2008 – 5:45pm Ok, I admit it, I'm posting the history information kinda late. Today I got up after nine, I was moving slow and fighting off a head cold. Can we say, "Aughhh!' .... anyway, yesterday I listed primarily births, today it’s deaths. The Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno died on this date in 1600. He had refused to retract any of his philosophical opinions before the Inquisition of Rome and was condemned as ‘an impenitent and pertinacious heretic.’ He was publicly burned at the stake on this date in a place called Campo dei Fiori (Square of Flowers) Rome. ……. And Colonel Henry Steel Olcott, one of the founding members of the Theosophical Society with Madame Blavatsky, died on this date in 1907. ……. And it was on February 17, 1986 that Jiddu Krishnamurti died at the age of 90 in Ojai, California. One of his students once commented that “Listening to Krishnamurti speak was like eating a sandwich made of bread and sand.” Although his writings are far more clear; like when he wrote, “All authority of any kind, especially in the field of thought and understanding, is the most destructive, evil thing. Leaders destroy the followers and followers destroy the leaders. You have to be your own teacher and your own disciple. You have to question everything that man has accepted as valuable, as necessary.”

Saturday February 16th 2008 – For the history buffs: Christopher Marlowe, the English dramatist and poet, was born on this date in Canterbury, England in 1564, the son of a shoemaker. He was expected to enter his father’s business but instead he was offered a scholarship by the Archbishop of Canterbury and entered Cambridge University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in 1584 and a master’s in 1587. However, instead of entering the clergy as expected, Marlowe headed off to London and the theatre. He was soon writing plays for an acting company called the Admiral’s Men. Although he also wrote light verse, like The Passionate Shepherd to His Love, his major works were tragedies, for which he is best known, like Doctor Faustus. His death on May 30 1593 is shrouded in mystery. The long-accepted version is that he and two close friends were dinning in a tavern in Deptford. The two quarreled over paying the bill, and in the fight that followed, Marlowe grabbed for his friend’s dagger and attacked him. However, his friend managed to wrestle the dagger from Marlowe and stabbed the author fatally in the eye. Marlowe was buried on June 1, 1593. ……. Also, Charles Webster Leadbeater was born on this date in 1854. Ironically, he often wrote, for no apparent reason, that he was actually born on February 17, 1847 yet his surviving birth records clearly point out that this was not the case. He claimed to have been trained for clairvoyance by an Indian Master and later he became one of the prominent researchers in the field of human consciousness. He applied his knowledge by supporting several occult movements, particularly the Theosophical Society where he was a close associate of Annie Besant. He was also a Rosicrucian, a Martinist, and a prominent member of the Egyptian Rite of Memphis-Misraïm. He was even ordained an Anglican priest. Then in 1906 he was arrested. On May 16th he went on trial for sexually abusing childrem. He claimed that his clairvoyant examination of little boys simply enabled him to know when the children were having ‘sexual difficulties’ and in need of advice. Others argued that his advice was merely an excuse to masturbate the boys. Due to his proclivities Leadbeater was forced to resign from the Theosophical Society. However, over the objections of some members, he was readmitted three years later. Aleister Crowley, of all people, condemned Leadbeater in The Equinox Vol.I No.X as a “senile sex-maniac.” He died on March 1, 1934. …..... and on February 16, 1878 Pamela Colman Smith, nicknamed ‘Pixie,’ was born in England to American parents. She grew up in Jamaica but later returned to England. In the late 1890’s she joined the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn where she met Arthur Edward Waite. At the time she was a struggling artist, illustrator, and writer but her chief claim to fame was designing the Tarot deck used by Arthur Edward Waite and later referred to as the Rider-Waite deck. She also did illustrations for the works of William Butler Yeats. She died  on September 18, 1951. ……. But also important to mention, Raoul Loveday, Frater AUD, aka Adonis, died at the Abbey of Cefalu on this date in 1923. Some claim that his death had to do with drinking cat’s blood, others claim in was drinking ‘bad water.’ Three days earlier Crowley recorded in his Magical Record that he felt a current of magical force, “heavy black and silent” threatening the Abbey.

Friday February 15th 2008 – For the history buffs: on this date in 1750 the author Richard Payne Knight was born at Wormesley Grange in Herefordshire, England. He was a classical scholar best known for his interest in ancient phallic imagery and for his book titled The Worship of Priapus. He died on April 23, 1824. ……. The author Arthur Sarsfield Ward was born on this date in Birmingham, Englandin 1883.  He is probably most famous as the creator of Fu-Manchu, using the pen name of Sax Rohmer. Some historians have claimed that he was a member of The Hermetic Order of The Golden dawn but there isn’t the slightest evidence to support this claim. He died on June 1, 1959 in White Plains, New York of pneumonia and a stroke. ….... it was on February 15, 1891 that the first installment of Joris-Karl Huysman’s LA BAS appeared in a newspaper in France exposing ‘Satanism’. Aleister Crowley would later comment in a letter to his student Jane Wolfe, dated November 20th 1928, that “Huysman’s ‘La Bas’ was written entirely about me. He was even thoughtful enough to do it thirty years before I was born. I was very touched by the attention.” ……. And finally, on February 15, 1941 Jack & Helen Parsons join the Ordo Templi Orientis taking Minerval & First Degree on the same evening at the Agape Lodge in southern California. Jack would later take the Oath of a Probationer in the AA under Wilfred T. Smith on March 22nd. He took the magickal motto of ‘Thelema Obtentum Procedero Amoris Nuptiae’, which Crowley later commented was “couched in a language beyond my powers of understanding.”

Thursday February 14th 2008 – 7:10am Jerri saw the Jesus switchplate and sent me this blurb yesterday, "HAHAHAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA...it really doesn't get much better than that lightswitch plate. A little disturbing, like most things Christian, but entirely funny...ushering those innocent children a little closer to his.......JESUS! They should put them throughout all of the Catholic diocese throughout the world...not only will your priests screw you, but your God will too! That's too good...and the best part is that children are only safe in the dark, when Jesus is in the off position. Perfect. I've got to get one." ...... Reply: We've been looking for where we can buy them but to no avail; I want one and lots of my friends seem to want one.

7:00am For the history buffs: the author Frank Harris was born on this date in Galway, Ireland in 1856. In early 1869 he immigrated to the United States. In 1882 he returned to England to become an editor on the London Evening News and other such periodicals like Fortnightly Review and Saturday Review. During World War I he returned to the U.S. where he became the editor of Pearson’s Magazine. While living in New York at the St. Regis Hotel his old friend Aleister Crowley would often stop by. Harris supposedly claimed that Crowley with his ‘phlebitis’ looked “more like an Egyptian than ever” uring this period. It seemed Crowley enjoyed going over to Harris’ apartment for a ‘petite verre of brandy’ and of course a conversation. Harris even jokingly wrote how his dear “left a string of worthless cheques” behind upon leaving America bound for England in 1919. A few years later Harris traveled to Berlin where the first volume of My Life and Loves was published. There would be three more volumes published between 1922 and 1927. Some claim his notoriety as a braggart and liar are epitomized in these books. In January of 1924 Aleister Crowley briefly lived with Frank Harris. According to one source, they both shared similar ‘money troubles” and were ‘equal hypochondriacs.’ On January 2nd 1924 Aleister Crowley recorded this bit of wisdom in his private diary about him: “Lunched with Frank Harris. But I’m not doubtful about Frank Harris. He is insane.” Harris died in France on August 26, 1931 of a heart attack. …… another old Crowlet friend, Nina Hamnett was born on this date in Tenby, South Wales in 1890. She attended the Royal School in Bath, and later studied at the Dublin School of Art, the Pelham Art School and the London School of Art. Her studies primarily revolved around portraits and landscapes. She exhibited her works at the New English Art Club, the Royal Academy and the London Group in England, as well as at the Salon d’Automne in Paris. She taught at the Westminster Technical Institute from 1917 to 1918. She was a talented artist and writer. She was immortalized in the paintings, sculptures, novels, poems and memoirs of her contemporaries in both London and Paris. In 1932 she published a classic memoir titled Laughing Torso, containing reminiscences of her bohemian life, which immediately became a bestseller in England and America. Aleister Crowley unsuccessfully tried to sue her for slander over a comment she made in this book that he “had a temple in Cefalu in Sicily. He was supposed to practice Black Magic there, and one day a baby was said to have disappeared mysteriously. There was also a goat there.” He lost the lawsuit. She lived in London and Paris most of her life. She died on Sunday December 16th 1956 from complications after falling out her apartment window and being impaled on the iron fence forty feet below. The great debate has always been whether or not it was a failed suicide attempt or merely a drunken accident. Her last words were, “Why don’t they let me die?” ……. And to continue with the birthdays, the former Episcopal Bishop James Albert Pike was born on this date in 1913.  He is probably most famous for holding the televised séance in Toronto where he, acting as a medium, contacted the spirit of Harry Houdini. It is further reported that Houdini during this séance actually informed Pike of the hidden coded message which he and his wife used during their stage acts. Other’s totally disagree. In 1969, following numerous attempts to contact his own dead son, Pike and his wife drove into the Israeli desert for a spiritual retreat. They were unprepared for the journey, and when their car broke down they separated in order to search for help. His wife escaped the ordeal but he died of exposure sometime between September 2nd and 9th. His body was recovered and buried in the Protestant cemetery in Jaffa, Israel. …..... and finally, it was on February 14, 1945 that the body of 74 years old Charles Walton was discovered in Lower Quinton England. He had been brutally murdered. His body was pinned to the ground with a hayfork. A large cross had been carved deeply into his chest and neck.  It might be worth considering a quote from an old book titled Folklore, Old Customs and Superstitions in Shakespeareland which had been written by J. Harvey Bloom, a local vicar, in 1929. He wrote how, in 1875, “a weak minded young man killed a woman named Ann Turner with a hayfork because he believed she had bewitched him” To this day, Walton’s killer has never been found and the only clue is the rumors which persist that Walton was a ‘witch.’

Wednesday February 13th 2008 – 10:00pm A big HAPPY BIRTHDAY goes out to Heather Deyo up in Seattle! She's a really neat Aquarius and has posted before on this blog; I'll toast a beer to her tonight at the local bar! If she were here, we'd share a pitcher!

7:30am For the history buffs: Antoine-Joseph Pernety the founder of the French order known as The Illumine’s d’Avignon was born on this date in 1716 and, although this group is presumed to have been dissolved shortly after his death, its influence is still found in modern Masonic Fraternities. The highest title conferred by Pernety’s order was known as Chevalier du Soleil which are today attributed to two Masonic Degrees, the 27th and 28th, of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. ……. Another amusing piece of history took place on February 13, 1902; this is when Aleister Crowley, with recently shaved head, arrived in Kandy, Burma. He was there to look up his old friend, Allan Bennett. Besides learning about laudanum Crowley also bought over twenty five pipes of opium and smoked such with absolutely no results. But like a true scientist he continued his experiments and realized his problem. His solution was simply; he wasn’t inhaling. He admits after this realization that he began to enjoy the pleasures of the drug. ……. And it was on February 13, 1925 that the self-styled apostle, evangelist and Bronx house painter named Robert Reidt proclaimed the second coming of Jesus Christ. He become convince of this event after reading how a young girl named Margaret Rowan in California talked with the Archangel Gabriel who had told her about the end of the world. So convinced was Reidt about this information that he spent his life savings taking out one newspaper ad after another and posting throughout New York handbills asking for people to join him in a massive showing of faith on a particular hilltop on the impending day of doom. Needless-to-say, he got quite a turnout plus hundreds of reporters. However, as the hours rolled by and with Jesus not showing, Reidt ‘angrily’ yelled at the top of his lungs, while pointing his finger at all the photographers, “You ruined it with the flashbulbs from your cameras!” ……. And it would be Thelemically negligent of me if I didn’t mention that one of the previous world leaders of the Ordo Templi Orientis, Karl Germer, was arrested on this date in 1935 on the grounds of “having continued communication with Aleister Crowley” and thus spent his first stay in a Nazi Concentration Camp, this one called Esterwegen.

Tuesday February 12th 2008 – 11:30am I just posted a bunch of new stuff throughout my FOR SALE catalogue pages.

7:30am The following blurb is from the back cover of Michael  Moorcock's classic sci-fi book THE CORNELIUS CHRONICLES [NY: Avon paperback 1977). It reads: “Jerry Cornelius copulates, hallucinates, devastates, dies and comes back from the dead … frequently.” .....… Reply: I kinda like it   :)   but in truth, I'm the original Jerry Cornelius and arguably, they broke the mold after I was born!

6:40am I would like to let my readers know of the passing of Dr. Christopher Hyatt (whose real name was Alan Ronald Miller). He celebrated his Greater Feast on Saturday February 9th in Scottsdale, Arizona. Like myself, he was a Crab, a fellow Cancer born in Chicago on July 12, 1943. I didn't know him that well but he was one of those unique individuals who affected everyone who was lucky enough to come into contact with him. Most people know that he was a student of Israel Regardie. He founded Falcon Press, later changed it to New Falcon Publications. He published numerous books and co-authored many others. Some of my favorite are Undoing Yourself Too (1988), Psychopath’s Bible (1999), Tantra Without Tears (2001) and To Lie is human: Not to get caught is Diving (2004). Yes, there is much that can be said of this man but it best to simply say - he will be missed.

6:30am Regarding the Jesus switchplate in the upper left hand corner of this blog; Luna writes, “93! Gut GAWD!  If doodling the "4 6 3 A B ..." string made my brain somewhat blank....well the Jesus Loves Me This I know/Jesus Love the Little Children switchplate totally blanked out me brian!!! Where the heck was that piece of schlock manufactured?  I'd really like to know...I'd like to peruse their entire catalogue...someone could make a fortune buying up the old stock from that factory and selling it on The Ave. HA! :)! 93s )O(.”

5:30am For the history buffs: Cotton Mather was born on this date in Boston, of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1686. After he graduated from Harvard College in 1678 he became assistant minister of his father’s North Church. Many writers acknowledge Cotton Mather as an essential figure behind the Salem Witch trials but this is inaccurate. In truth, he had a relatively minor role in the entire Salem affair. He simply offered ‘spiritual’ advice in Court on one occasion and later attended the hangings in which he addressed the crowd after George Burroughs’ execution. It must be understood that Mather wrote at length about New England in over 500 books and pamphlets trying to show how the holy Puritan task in this new wilderness land was to establish God’s kingdom. His Salem connection would have inevitably fallen by the wayside had it not been for his own need to write about his experience at the trials. His brief account, titled Wonders of the Invisible World, was, admittedly, unfeeling and very slanted toward the condemned witches. This irritated one individual named Robert Calef who proceeded to write More Wonders of the Invisible World which attacked Mather’s character and his reputation as a ‘witch’ expert; a blow from which Mather’s would never recover and to which his name now irretrievably became linked as a ‘central’ figure behind the trials. He died on February 13, 1727. …….  Also, the famous English witch, Gerald Gardner, died at the breakfast table on board a ship after suffering a fatal heart attack on this date in 1964. The following day he was buried on shore in Tunis, his funeral was attended only by the Captain of the ship in which he traveled. Some historians claim that Aleister Crowley was paid a suitably large fee from Gerald Gardner to compose rituals which could be used in his new Gardnerian witch-cult although many modern Gardnerian Witches try to deny this fact as if trying to distance themselves from the evils of Old Crow. Is there a connection between the two?  There is, in fact, an actual OTO Charter reportedly given to Gerald Gardner from Crowley giving him the right to begin an O.T.O. Camp but under careful scrutiny this document becomes suspect. First of all, the document is written completely in Gardner’s handwriting with the exception of the signature of ‘Baphomet.’ Second, the official greeting which Crowley always methodical uses is quoted incorrect as ‘Do what thou Wilt shall be the law,’ which is something Old Crow would never do. There are other obvious uncertainties, like Crowley calling Gardner ‘beloved son’ - which is also highly unlikely.

Monday February 11th 2008 – 5:30pm A local friend named Aubrey sent me a brief email. He writes, " I thought you might dig this site since you’re into Rome and Jesus. It might be complete BS but it seems to hold water. http://www.carotta.de/eindex.html" .... Reply: I found it amusing. What do the readers of my blog think?

4:00pm 93 ALL! SORRY FOR NOT POSTING MORE OR ANSWERING SOME OF MY EMAILS BUT I'VE BEEN PREOCCUPIED TODAY WITH GETTING THE NEXT 'FOR SALE' CATALOG READY TO PUBLISH, WHICH I HOPE TO HAVE ON-LINE BEFORE THE WEEKEND.

3:50pm Jerri from Sacramento writes, "I was looking at your blog, and wanting to refer back to some previously written materials, and it looks like February 1st-8th is missing when I try to look through the archive. Just thought I'd mention it...I remember some good stuff in there...have I jumped on it too late??!!  The picture of the alien inside your stomach seemed to have quite the effect on me...I came down with the plague (48 hr. flu), which seemed to cause a similar, heaving effect on my own anatomy...glad it's over. Take care of yourself and the alien--don't let it give you too much trouble-it's a nasty little bugger! ..... Answer: Wow! I checked the link and you're right! I simply skipped the first week of February and link my main blog page to January. Can I say mea culpa to all my readers? I have corrected it. Thanks for pointing this out to me. I would have never noticed it. ... And yes, I can't wait until the alien is born! I wonder who'll it'll look like? ... I'm glad you're feeling better. Alot of people are sick of late from my son, to Luna to Miero and others. Whatever it is, it's going around with a vengeance! 

6:00am Mary writes, “I know he claimed Magister Templi but did Grady McMurtry ever write a Magical Thesis? ….. Reply: Good question. Yes, it's pretty much standard history. Toward the end of Chapter Fifteen in Grady McMurtry’s biography, In The Name of The Beast, I expressed his views on his magickal universe and how he came to believe that his cycle of poetry known as The Angel and the Abyss, A Cycle of 22 Poems in honor of Our Maid of the Star Drifts” represented his Magickal Thesis. Grady believed that each of the 22 poems symbolized one particular major Arcanum in Aleister Crowley’s Thoth deck but he did not put pen to paper in the traditional order of the Fool being first, followed by the Magus and so forth. Grady let his Holy Guardian Angel guide him as to which card or poem was to be first, second and so forth. To the reader this order may appear randomly produced. However, they are not. Just before the end of his life Grady interpreted each poem as representing a specific period in his life, or his universe similar to the poem. The first chapter is titled The Star which was the first poem that manifested in the cycle and it represented his his family, birth etc. Underneath this title are a few appropriate verses from this poem. All the chapters in Grady McMurtry’s biography follow the manifestation of his universe [life] as depicted poem by poem from The Angel and the Abyss. It is highly recommended that the reader contemplate the excerpts from each poem before and after reading a chapter. It is no secret that to understand Grady’s magick is to understand his poetry. Unfortunately, due to lack of space, we could not reproduce each of the twenty-two poems in their entirety. If you wish to fully appreciate these and many other poems mentioned throughout this biography they should consult Red Flame No.1 The Poetry of Grady Louis McMurtry.

5:40am Without any indication of what was on his mind which might have prompted him to write such, Aleister Crowley has the following brief entry in his diary on February 11, 1938: “Never run after a woman. You many possibly catch her.” A short but truly essential piece of wisdom for all men to appreciate.

5:30am For the history buffs: Karl Germer’s divorced his first wife, Marie Wys, while he was in Mexico in order to marry Cora Eaton. His second marriage took place on January 15th 1929 in New York but Cora died on July 13th 1942. Two months later he married his third wife, a Vienna piano teacher named Sascha Ernestine Andre. Sascha was born on this date in 1891. She is probably most noted historically as being the woman who took Aleister Crowley’s urn, filled with his ashes, and strewed its contents into the mud at the base of a tree in Hampton, New Jersey. Gerald Yorke would point out later that the ‘Aleister tree’ died. Calling it, “a nice Crowleyan touch.” Karl Germer died in 1962. The greatest tragedy during her life occurred on September 3, 1967. This is when she heard someone knocking at her front door. When she asked who it was, a reply was heard that it was a member of the OTO. Unfortunately, when she opened the door she was immediately sprayed in the face with some kind of a gas or acid, knocked to the floor and overpowered. A drug was then injected by a syringe that totally knocked her out cold. When she came to she discovered her house had been ransacked and that many books in the library on the second floor had been stolen. Also missing were Aleister Crowley’s personal robes, various OTO documents and ritual papers. Sascha tried to call the police but found that the phone lines had been cut. When she finally notified the local Constable, he took her story, along with a few photographs but no fingerprints were taken or any serious research done. It has stated that it was obvious that “they put her story down to the wanderings of the demented mind of a lady who had been alone too long.” In other words, they didn’t believe her. They felt her house was dirty and normally in disarray. Tragically, they were not even sure her house was actually burglarized. Sascha Germer died on  April 1, 1975. ……. Also, Thomas Alva Edison was born on this date to middle-class parents in the bustling port of Milan, Ohio in 1897. Toward the end of his life, around 1920, Edison became obsessed with communication with the spirits and he came to believe that he could build anything if he had the right components to do it and he took this belief one step further by announcing that he intended to invent a machine that could communicate with the spirit world. Edison strongly believed that when a person dies, the body decays but the intelligence that it possesses lives on into the so-called spirit world, which is a limbo where disembodied ‘intelligence’ waits to move on. He believed that this intelligence involved billions of sub-particles of matter like electrons that travel in space which combined into colonies to make up the sum total of our spirit. He called each of these intelligence particles “little people” and he believed that these little people stay united after a person dies and that they eventually settle into another person at birth. Henry Ford also believed in Edison’s ideas and argued that the mind contains “millions of entities” and he felt that people, like Edison, received more ‘entities’ (i.e. genius particles) than most of us because he has, as Ford said, “a properly tuned antenna.” On October 18, 1931 Edison awoke from the coma in which he had previous slipped and quietly whispered to his wife Mina — “It is very beautiful over there.” He then closed his eyes and died. He was 84 years of age. ……. And it was on this date in 1906 that Aleister Crowley assumed the Oath of Adeptus Minor in the AA, taking the motto ‘Christeos Luciftias.’ Outside of an unpublished diary one of the only other places where he uses this motto appears at the beginning of a piece titled Ambrossii Magi Hortus Rosarum which is found in The Collected Works although this creates a small historical problem. He wrote this piece in 1902 four years before he took the Oath of Adeptus Minor.

Sunday February 10th 2008 – 8:20am I added more Info and a second page onto my Epistle on the Solar Lodge. 

7:15am For the history buffs: It was on this date in 1840 that Fraulein Anna Sprengel supposedly took the Oath of 5=6 assuming the motto of Soror Sapiens Dominabitur Astris. Most historians claim that she was the prominent Rosicrucian German adept who allegedly had handed Dr. Wynn Wescott a bunch of pseudo-Masonic rituals and told him to start up an order, an English version of the “Goldene Dammerung.” However, others will adamantly argue that Fraulein Sprengel, and all claims related to her, were simply an invention to give credence to the newly formed Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. ……. Also, Lon Chaney Jr. was born Creighton Tull Chaney on this date in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1906. Although he played numerous roles in Hollywood pictures he is probably most famous for being the Werewolf. Lon Chaney Jr. came into the world prematurely at seven months, lifeless, on a cold winter day. After repeated attempts by the doctor to resuscitate the infant, his father grabbed the lifeless body and ran outside, where he submerged it into the icy waters of Belle Isle Lake which ‘jump started’ the seemingly dead child. Lon Chaney Jr. died on July 12, 1973 in San Clemente, California of a heart attack after many years of poor health. As he had requested, his body was donated to University of Southern California to be chopped up for research. ….. and speaking of birthdays, some claim that Helen Parsons-Smith was born on this date in Chicago, Illinois in 1910, others disagree. See February 6, 1910. ……. and Alex Comfort was born on this date in 1920. He is most famous for his ground-breaking explicit sex manual titled The Joy of Sex (1972) which gain world wide distribution. He died on March 26, 2000 of complications from a stroke. ……. And for the OTO historians, my old friend Rusty Sporer was born on this date in Chicago, Illinois at 3:44am in 1937. ……. And to continue, the man who was both a friend of Aleister Crowley and Adolf Hitler, John Frederick Charles Fuller died on this date in 1966. Aleister Crowley, after reading Fuller’s book The Secret Wisdom of the Qabalah, wrote in his diary that it is a “turgid unintelligible rant: no idea of what he’s driving at. It is a damnable shame-he did start so well.” ……. And finally, the California based goddess-worshipper Zsuzsanna Budapest was arrested in Los Angeles on this date in 1975 for fortune telling after she gave an undercover policewoman a tarot card reading. In court she was given a $300 fine and probation.

Saturday February 9th 2008 – 3:15pm Evelyn from Belgium sent the above photo of the Jesus light switch. I was in stitches when I saw it ... there is just something wrong about it, very sick and obviously the makers were unaware of it when they produced it.   :)    Thank you, thank you, thank you for the great photo, it brightened my day! .... p.s. if anyone knows where I can buy one, let me know! I want one!!!

8:40am I’d like to send a ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY’ to Paul Hohlt; born in San Rafael, California in 1968.

5:15am Mike writes: "My girlfriend and I are 'disagreeing' on whether-or-not Crowley ever sacrificed anything other than a frog or a chicken. I have a vague memory of reading something about a goat. Do you know about this?" .... Answer: The 'frog incident' in New Hampshire is, of course, quite famous. And besides sacrificing a chicken (pg.43 of Crowley's 1921 Diaries ) during a ritual and using its blood in the Cakes of Light as a Christian thing for Cecil Maitland, Crowley did, in fact, sacrifice a goat. It is discussed in Mary Butts, Scenes from the Life by Nathalie Blondel (1998) ... it occurred late July. Mary Butts left the Abbey on Sept.16th 1921. It states in her biography: "Mary Butts and Cecil Maitland witnessed an attempt at copulation set up by Crowley between the 'Body  of Babylon (Leah Hirsig) and the Virgin He-Goat.' In the ritual the goat refused to co-operate and according to Crowley's biographer, "immediately afterwards, the Beast had cut the goats throat and the blood spurted over Leah's bare back. In an aside, she asked Mary, 'what shall I do now?' And Mary replied, 'I'd have a bath if I were you.'  (pp 105 and106)." The author mentioned is of course John Symonds who only briefly mentions the goat incident in his AC bio, The Great Beast: "They [Butts & Maitland] had seen many a wonderful spectacle in the Abbey, such as a goat, symbol of generative power, possessing the Scarlet Woman, and, immediately afterwards, The Beast cutting its throat so that the blood spurted over Alostrael's fair, white back." (p.177) … The incident is known as the 'Seth Ceremony.' It is also mentioned in Lawrence Sutin's AC bio Do What Thou Wilt, A Life of Aleister Crowley on page 293.  ….. Even better yet ... let me quote from Crowley's diaries, on page 56 (Sat. July 30th 1921) he writes: "Considerations of the Seth Ceremony. We want the horns to represent Aiwaz, the skin for [left blank] , the blood for cake of light, & as the sacrament in the rite itself. The Oath to be: [left blank] We, the undersigned Members of the Abbey of Thelema at Cepaloedium, hereby pledge ourselves to devote our whole lives to the establishment of the Law of Thelema; whereto we invoke Aiwaz as witness by the Rite of the Slaying of the Goat that hath lain with the Woman, sealing our names with his blood, & drinking thereof from the Cup of Our Lady of Whoredom." …. I also know the ritual was actually mentioned in newspapers of the period, I’ll hunt for some sources … and post them if I find them.      

4:50am For the history buffs: Aleister Crowley left for Cairo on this date in 1904 after having arrived the day before at Port Said in the Suez. In Cairo he would rent a small corner apartment where he turned the room, which faced north, into a Temple. It was here that his wife Rose Kelly, known as ‘Ouarda the Seer,’ kept repeating; “They are waiting for you.” At first Crowley believed his wife’s hysterical state of mind was brought on by either being constantly drunk all the time or because she was pregnant. It turned out that the Gods did want to talk with Aleister Crowley and inevitable an invisible entity named Aiwass dictated to him The Book of the Law, also called Liber AL vel Legis.

Friday February 8th 2008 – 5:30pm From the transcript of the first day of the libel action against Nina Hamnett before Mr. Justice Swift and a Special Jury, London, April 11th 1934:

Mr. Hilbery: What does "Therium" mean?

Crowley: Great wild beast.

Mr. Hilbery: Do these titles convey a fair expression of your

practice and outlook on life?

Crowley: "The Beast, 666" only means "sunlight". You can call me

"little sunshine."

10:30am A note to Frank: Of all the Zodiac signs that I study, it is Cancer, my own sign that I delve into with the most fury. I want to intimately know its proclivities, its good points and it’s bad; where I am strongest, and where I am the weakest. My goal has always been ‘Know Thyself.’ I am fully aware that most people unconsciously follow the traits of their sign as if caught up in a rapidly moving river with no control but I want to be charge of my behavior; especially at the weakest points when I need self-control the most. It amazes me how often I chatter with astrologers who simply want to babble out facts and data about ‘others’ rather than apply what they've learned to Self. In some ways it reminds me of those Qabalists who study the entire Tree of Life as if they are already sitting in lofty branches. They become intellects at best because more often than not their Kundry is excessive information which distracts them from their true needs. They should study just Malkuth and Yesod the two spheres closest to their reality and no more. The same goes with Astrology. Yes, I agree, an over-view of any mystical art is required but there comes the time when too much is too much. The best way to figure this out is to ask yourself, “Is what I am reading really helping me ‘Know Thyself’ or am I merely becoming an intellectual at best?”

7:00am The new picture in the upper left corner of this blog was the very first drawing my son Faustus ever did of me. After he had handed it to me I smiled and asked him why I had so many fingers? He looked up at me and replied, “Those aren’t fingers. They're hair.”  All I could do was smile, he drew me bald and the hair once on my head has now shifted down to me arms! From the eyes of a child, go figure? I suppose it could have been worse. And I always thought I had shorter legs? At least he drew me with a big smile; this is something I usually wear when around him. Anyway, I love this picture. It hangs proudly in a glass frame on my wall for all to see.

6:35am Evelyn replied late last night to yesterday's posting. She comments, "Hi Jerry. No, you are right - it's about your "birth". In that case, tell Aisha to get a back-up TV crew and a team from Ripley's Believe it or Not. Don't disappoint us though. Wouldn't like to think it was just something disagreeable you ate for lunch. I'm thinking more along the lines of a combination of  Rosemary's Baby and Alien for 2008. And now for the battle over the film rights begins..." ...... Answer:  Now I'm getting scared.  :(    What'll happen if the doctor's won't let me have a C-Section?

6:30am For the history buffs: This is the ‘real’ birthday of the astrologer Evangeline Adams, who was born in Jersey City, New Jersey on this date in 1868. She often lied about which year she was born. She would later released three rather popular books titled Astrology, Your Place In The Sun (1927), followed by Astrology, Your Place Among The Stars (1930) and then Astrology for Everyone (1931). Many people and astrologers did not know at the time but her first two books were entirely ghost-written by Aleister Crowley. ….. also, Eliphas Levi, who was christened Alphonse-Louis Constant, was born on this date in Paris, France in 1810. Levi was largely responsible for the revival of interest in magic in the 19th century. Although he admittedly studied magic and strongly believed in it, he often considered himself more of a commentator than and adept, though he did claim to practice necromancy on several occasions. His first and probably most important work was The Dogma and Ritual of High Magic (1861). It was followed by A History of Magic, Transcendental Magic, The Key of Great Mysteries. Aleister Crowley claimed that this gentleman was one of his previous incarnations. Levi died on May 31, 1875. …..…. And I’d also like to mention that Jules Gabriel Verne, the father of modern science fiction, was born on this date in the port of Nantes, France in 1828. He wrote such classics as From the Earth to the Moon (1865) and A Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873). Many of his ideas were hailed as being far ahead of their time, if not prophetic. On March 24, 1905, while ill with diabetes, Verne died at his home, 44 Boulevard Longueville, Amiens. ….... and finally, it was on this date in 1855 in the town of Devonshire, England that everyone awoke to find strange footprints in the freshly fallen snow. Their shape was forming a ‘U’ which quickly spread rumors and panic throughout the small village that the Devil had visited Devonshire during the night.

Thursday February 7th, 2008 - 5:30pm My dear Aquarian friend Heather writes this comment about my pregnant picture -"93 Would that be the Christ child or the Anti? Congratulations on reaching the second level of the trinity! A task beyond me...  : ) "

5:00pm My friend Robert from Sacromento writes, “Reflection can be a tough thing; I personally am in a mode of constant self reflection and often we get tripped up in dealing with issues that we thought we were already ‘passed’.  In truth I am not certain that we ever fully conquer our demons, so to say; but instead we must always be aware of our proclivities and realize that they can sneak up on us at any time! Often rearing their ugly heads after a long period of absence. In other words "Balance" is not something that once "achieved" one can just throw their arms up in the air and say I'm done, but instead the Magician must always work at maintaining balance. Since we are human there will be times, no matter who we are, that we will act a fool or make a mistake; even Jesus lost his cool a couple of times and Crowley...well don't even get me started... but the key is how will he handle it now?” ….. Reply: Yes, I agree completely with what you are saying or how we never ‘conquer our demons’, but this is a term I try to avoid using. Remember the axiom ‘One we control, while the other controls us’ in regards to the 'Demon and our Angel. To imply ‘conquering’ the demon is misleading because it gives us a false sense of a finality but saying that we must ‘control’ it, being that the Kundry is a wily little creature, means that it is a daily struggle or fight against him/her escaping and tempting us in Earthly or mundane ways.

4:30pm Alan Cabal, the Mad Duck of Thelema, my old friend for almost thirty years, saw my 'pregnant' image and he writes, "Doesn't Billy Breeze own the copyright on that yet?"

4:10pm Evelyn writes back, "Tell Aisha she's too late for the filming by several years, but isn't it enough that I lived to tell the tale?"  ... Ah, very true but I replied back, " ... but knowing Aisha she was probably referring to filming 'my' giving birth!"  

              

3:00pm Aisha sent a blurb - "Can I film the birth?"

2:30pm Evelyn writes, "Wasn't me - but for some horrible reason it reminds me of the birth of my last child."

11:15am And Carol replied briefly in regards to my 10:50 posting ... "Nope, it's not the one.  :)."

11:10am A friend wondered why Crowley shared everyone’s diaries and letters openly; adding that nothing seemed secret amongst his followers, especially each other’s folly. I tried explaining that magick isn’t simply sitting around commiserating over the folly of others but rather learning from their behavior so that you might best learn from the experience … but this knowledge cannot be reduced to fuel gossip or toward trying to learn things that can be held against those whom you dislike. This type of insipid behavior is typical of those who function on the lowest levels of Malkuth - or as the slaves and pawns to Maya. These type of people forget that everyone has done stupid things, have screwed up in their relationships or jobs, Aleister Crowley and Grady McMurtry included. They weren't born perfect, nor were they even close to such when they died ... yet it is tragic that some of my students haven't learned from my talks about not acting like one of Crowley’s or Grady's dissenters and trashing them but instead looking past their folly as being part of their personal experience, not yours. Where am I going with this? It’s simple; again I repeat, no one, myself included, is perfect. I wish some of my students would remember that rather than looking at the faults of other AA students as proof at their ‘unworthiness’ to stand by their side as a friend. In truth, their stubbornness reveals more about their own short-comings rather than the folly of others.

10:50am Carol writes, "What kind of girl do you think I am?" and after adding a few other statements which I cannot print, she continues, "Send me a picture of your penis and I'll tell you if it is the one I imagine when, you know ..."  [picture sent]

10:10am Peter Koenig sent an email with another ‘moving’ picture of me, writing, “… resist choronzon's revenge ;-).”  ... Answer: You can click HERE for details as to what he's implying but all I can say is - "I want the woman who is responsible for this astral sex attack to do the right thing and step up to the plate!" 

6:45am According to the Chinese Zodiac today is CHINESE NEW YEARS; it begins the Year of the Rat! The Rat [Earth] begins the sequence of animal signs and it recurs every twelfth year. It is a time of hard work, activity and renewal. It is suppose to bring fortune and richness. This is a good year to begin a new job, get married, launch a product or make a fresh start. It is said that ventures which are started now may not yield fast returns, but opportunities will come for people who are well prepared and resourceful. The best way for you to succeed is to be patient, let things develop slowly, and make the most of every opening you can find. … And for the record, the famous gangster actor of the 1930s, James Cagney, never uttered those infamous words in any movie which are often attributed to him – “You dirty rat.” 

6:30am For the history heap. On this date in 2000 Stewart Farrar died and passed on into the next world. He was the author of such book as The Witches Speak (1976), The Secrets of Ancient Witchcraft (1974), Witchcraft in Yorkshire (1973), High Priestess (1998), The Zodiac Experience (1995), One Witch’s World (1998) and Witches Were for Hanging (1999) of which I might add about the last title, personally knowing a few local witches here in Berkeley, I'd agree!

Wednesday February 6th 2009 – 8:57pm Another email came in from LUNA, she writes, "93! I omitted the "93 JerRymn Street 93 93/93" when I scanned this drawing...but up in the right hand corner you can see your address...2525 rendered in there.  I omitted it because I thought that people might think that I was in some sort of "Jerry E. Cornelius Love-Fest" or something....that my GraYdy-itis was out of Control!!!!!!!!!! But, you know, who gives a chit' mon????  OK?!  I LOVE the fact that connecting to you has been the most awesome component to me re-finding myself....2+5=7...2+5=7...77 = my address....OK?! my brother Luv/Lux....all is gut here...Domino and Io are in a deep conversation about Sirius and I am jest here typing away on our Saturday night....and I kid you not, reading King Peter's site was the last thing I was doing before I did the Grady collage.......23 Skiddooooooo...93s )O(" .......Reply: BIG SMILES!

8:40pm LUNA sent a great email. She writes, "Master Gerald 93! ARR!  O, by the way.....while reading Peter's website I went into a trance...which led me to the creation of 777 The Flaming Sword!...I think that Grady Flaming Away in the middle of People's Park is TerrifyinglyTerrific! ... DREAMCATHER by King Peter ROCKS! ... 23 Skiddooo and all that Jazz! 93 93/93 Ill Luna Naughty, agent 003 the Bush From Bavaria!!! P.S.  Charles walked across the street in front of us as we were looking for a place to park to visit Dragon today...but we don't think he recognized us.." ...... Answer: Yes, I too love Peter's art! When he sent it I simply could not get it to work on my website but a friend today finally talked me through what I was doing wrong and I up-loaded it. ... Also, Charles has been in a fog of late: besides the Mercury Retrograding hitting him up-side the head like a wet Piscean fish dripping seaweed with a hook in its mouth, he's also in love with a really cute little thing named Miero; a Virgo! He hasn't even been doing any Tarot readings on Telegraph Avenue in weeks. Isn't love grand?

8:35pm A student directed me to a website where an author was discussing his views on the English Qabalah. He asked, “I was wondering what you would think of it. They seem to want to rewrite what we know of Gematria and rework the Tree. How I wish you would publish your work on English Qabalah! But I appreciate you sharing what you've shared with me.” ….. Answer: I don’t really like his work one Iota; he creates a 'personal code' and then tries to convince the World that everyone must follow it. Ah, shades of Frater Achad! Qabalah teaches us that if you research any topic deep enough you'll find synchronicity which appears profound but these type of ‘revelations’ unravel SELF and are not necessarily for anyone else. I wrote an article which I posted on-line about my views and Grady McMurtry’s views on the English Qabalah: http://cornelius93.com/EpistleEnglishQabalah.html. ... Publishing my English Qabalah? I don't think that it's of any interest to others; it has helped me understand the subtleties behind my thoughts and offers me the means to commune with my daimon and I would not degrade it by imply its worth to anyone outside myself.

8:00pm A student writes, “I certainly hope this doesn't fall under the category of stupid questions (if it does I have obviously missed something quite essential), but you said at the HGA lecture that we need to believe in god. Indeed, I get this impression even from a ritual as basic as the Qabalistic Cross; this god seems to be who we address with Ateh and from whom we aim to draw divine energy. Just one question: who is this god? Nuit? Ra? Thoth? Certainly not that slave monger Jehovah!” …… Answer: No, this is a good question. Ateh literally mean ‘Thou Art’ and refers to the God-Head within us, not necessarily anything outside of us. It represents Kether, the first sphere on the Tree of Life, as well as those forces directly above the head. It properly refers to the Crown chakra. Thus the God it refers to … is us!

2:42pm Evelyn adds, "As for teeth, I meant metaphorically "down there" as in the case of some scary women. That is, we're not all so horrid - even when you sometimes say unkind things about us (especially Scorpios)! Glad to see you're feeling better." ....... Answer: What unkind things have I ever said about Scorpios?

1:00pm Evelyn from Belgium writes, "Judging from today's blog entries, a little feminine energy has managed to sooth you somewhat and restore your sense of humour. See, we're not all so bad and we don't all have teeth down there! I think the girls are right - bring back a little frivolity and fun into the blog until everything is as it should be again. Nice to see new art work posted on the site as well." ..... Reply: Yes, I agree. You're all not bad and a little 'feminine energy' does go a long way! ... But when you wrote - "we don't all have teeth down there" - were you referring to part of me or you?  ... I'll have to ponder upon this but in either case I do find the images amusing ... :)- 

12:45pm Peter Koenig sent a really neat piece of computer art of the photo of me looking through my 'Dream Catcher.' I love it! And guess what images have been captured in my Soul?  Click Here for details.

10:40am Luna sent a great email detailing her artwork that I posted this morning. She writes “Jerry 93! The collages are mainly ‘pirate art’. For the Jane Wolfe piece, I went into Google Images, closed my eyes stood backwards and tapped onto the keyboard with my left hand upside down and I first go into a light trance (really). … I let "Jane" pick out the images for the collage.  There is one little spirit joke in the collage that I didn't get until Leigh pointed it out to me a few days later.  The first page of images I got came from a random tapping of keys that created something like "a sp 7" (if I recall, I didn't write it down).  I looked and thought "Oh, asp, "Jane" is going in the direction of snakes". But "she" didn't want any images of snakes.  I clicked on the image and printed it. I continued to do this, gathered all the images and put the thing together.  I went into Leigh's office a day or so after and he had the collage up on his computer screen.  He said "Do you know what this gun is? It is very rare. I was made by a company called Devil, but they pronounced it "Deville" and the model is an Asp.".  (and of course ,I did not know this).  I think that Leila Waddell's current might have been  in the mix for this pick. There were many other little "spirit jokes" that came through for The Warrior. ….. The Grady collage is a more blatant piece of pirate art.  I do not know the artist's name who did the painting of Horus the Sun, and this piece was done while visualizing and projecting Grady (as seen in the collage) standing in the middle of People's Park as 777 The Flaming Sword. OK?! I'm glad you like them. 93 93/93 xxxxx,)O("   .......... Reply. I love getting this woman's emails!

8:45am Aisha writes a brief email, "93 Yo Jer, you seemed happier when you chatted about sex and women's anatomy. Shake off this Mercury Retrograde and get with the program, your blog fans miss you. I love Luna's art! 93s A." ..... Answer: Ha! Ha! Ha! Words of Wisdom from a cute young thing! 

7:20am Today's headlines read - 'Beatles' Renowned Guru Dies' and it goes on to say, "Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a guru to the Beatles who introduced the West to transcendental meditation, died Tuesday at his home in the Dutch town of Vlodrop, a spokesman said. He was thought to be 91 years old."  He died peacefully at about 7 p.m. He taught what has become known as 'Transcendental Meditation' [TM] and I like the quote in today's News which states: "Over the years, Maharishi also was accused of fraud by former pupils who claim he failed to teach them to fly. 'Yogic flying,' showcased as the ultimate level of transcendence, was never witnessed as anything more than TM followers sitting in the cross-legged lotus position and bouncing across spongy mats."

5:40am I asked LUNA yesterday if I could post a few more pieces of her artwork. She replied, "Of Course! Jerry E. Cornelius...you imaginary science fiction creation/character!  You can do any damnations anything you want with my work....it's all in the LOVE!." ..... Ah, she is such a 'bringer of smiles', her email made my morning and so I have added two new pieces of her artwork. Check out her page HERE. Then go to page two and see her work on Jane Wolfe and page three which is of Grady Louis McMurtry.  Hope you guys enjoy it as much as I do.  Let me know.

5:15am For the history buffs: On this day Adam Weishaupt was born at Ingoldstadt in 1748. He was later educated by the Jesuits and appointed Professor of Natural and Canon Law at the University of Ingoldstadt in 1775. He is the founder of the Order of the Illuminati. He died on November 18, 1811. …… Helen Northrup was born on this date in Chicago, Illinois in 1910. Some authorities place her birthdate on the 10th. She was the ex-wife of both OTO Agape Lodge Masters Jack Parsons and Wilfred T. Smith and became known later in life as Helen Parsons-Smith. She published Crowleyanity for years, releasing such works as Shih Yi (1971), Liber AL vel Legis (1973), The Soul of the Desert (1974), Liber XXI Khing Kang King (1974) and The Tao Teh King (1975), to mention but a few. She was the founder of Thelema Publications. She died on July 27, 2003 at the age of 93 in California. Her body was cremated and her ashes scattered over Lake Tahoe. ……. Also, James Thomas Graeb was born on this date in Hempstead, New York in 1954. He grew up in Branford, Connecticut. He took initiation into Aleister Crowley’s Ordo Templi Orientis on November 18, 1977 in Syracuse New York and shortly thereafter he moved to Berkeley, California. While in Law School Graeb helped with the new O.T.O. Bylaws and Incorporation papers which were signed on March 20, 1979. On February 16, 1980 Graeb was Chartered to run the Heru-pa-kraat Encampment in San Francisco and three months later, on May 24, 1980 he resigned the post of SGS. He was expelled from the O.T.O. in winter of 2004

Tuesday February 5th 2008 – 10:00am Aisha surfaces and writes a lengthy tome; part of which reads - "Sorry to hear about the meltdown between your friends and you being dragged in the middle. Did one of them really repeat over and over "So you say" to everything you were telling him? Doesn't he know that kind of behavior went out in elementary school? How old is he? I am surprised you didn't say that he also stamped his feet and stuck his tongue out at you, hee hee. How's your health over this?" ...... Answer: Nope, no tongue sticking or foot stomping. My health has not been the best. The stress is taking its toll and I'm just taking it easy today.

7:45am For the history buffs: Charles-Marie-Georges Huysmans was born on this date in Paris in 1848. He later changed his name to Joris-Karl Huysmans, then simply to J-K Huysmans. Although he wrote many books he is most famous for his serial exposing ‘Satanism’ titled La Bas which appeared in French newspaper in 1891. It deals primarily with the spiritual quest of a man named Durtal, which was in reality Huysmans’ fictional alter ego. In the story Durtal decides to write a biography about Gilles de Rais (1404-1440) the French marshal who was accused of Satanism and who was briefly associated with Joan of Arc. In the story Durtal is taken to witness a Black Mass. Because of the vivid descriptions of this Black Mass, La Bas has become a key work promoting the sensational mythology of this ritual. Although it has been argued that Huysmans never really saw an actual Black Mass others are quick to point out that one of his dearest friend, Abbe Joseph Boullan (1824-1893) was in fact a real life practicing Satanist who’s Black Masses did indeed stir the Paris gossip circles. Abbe Boullan also served as the model for Dr Johannes in La Bas. Ironically, he is portrayed as a priest who practices magic to counter Satanism. Huysmans died from cancer of the mouth on May 12, 1907. He had complained of a toothache for years and eventually it was diagnosed as incurable cancer. To further complicate the tragedy of his last days, he was so afflicted with the infection moving up into his eyes that it became necessary to sew his eyelids shut. ……. Also, Violet & Daisy Hilton the famous Siamese twins of the carnival circuit were born on this date in England in 1908.  Remarkably both sisters found husbands and were married although they remained joined together. Anton LaVey who knew them well seemed to believe “that the girls shared mutual sensations” and further LaVey states, “I think they were jealous of each other’s husband.” It seems that if one was having sex with her husband the other often “enjoyed it more” through their joined sensations. ……. And it would be negligent of me if I didn’t mention that William Seward Burroughs was born on this date in St Louis, Missouri in 1914. By the 1940’s he was addicted to heroin. He became associated with Jack Kerouac and the poet Allen Ginsberg but tragedy struck in 1951 when a drug-addled Burroughs recklessly shot and accidentally killed his wife while playing William Tell in Mexico. In 1959 William S. Burroughs published his now classic Naked Lunch which pioneered a ground-breaking cut-and-paste technique that would be credited as a major influence on many cyberpunk and avant garde authors and, because of such, he has become an underground celebrity, a literary guru and pop culture philosopher who continued to write and record right up to his death of a heart attack on August 2, 1997. ……. Also born on February 5 is H. R. Giger, who was born on in Chur, Switzerland in 1940. He is considered one of the world’s foremost artists of ‘Fantastic Realism.’  His third book titled Necronomicon (1977) was the visual inspiration for director Ridley Scott’s blockbuster movie Alien. One of Giger’s drawings, or No.274, is simply called ‘Crowley’ (The Beast 666), 1975. Crowleyites have longed looked at the drawing and wondered, outside of the its name, what is the connection?

Monday February 4th 2008 – 1:30pm My friend Robert from Sacramento writes, in regards to last Friday's debacle at my apartment, "Looks like I missed a crazy night, but then again it is probably better that I did as dealing with craziness is not my strength; I can often lose patience and put my foot in my mouth! I have no idea of the details other than what is on your blog but I am sorry that it has led to your apartment being off limits? I can understand you not wanting the craziness in your home however. Is this a temporary situation? " ..... Answer: Yes, it wasn't as bad for me as it was for others. I simply have better things to do than deal with mundane pettiness between children; especially if they're not going to listen. As far as not letting people over, my notice clearly says - "By Invite Only."  In other words; nothing has changed, we'll still meet and lecture and talk on magick and AA matters etc ... except for those who acted inappropriately need to call each other up, get together and work out their differences so that neither party will again bring astral baggage into my apartment. The bottom line; I am not going to worry myself sick wondering if they're both going to show up every Friday and I'm not going to ban one over the other. They both made this mess, let them resolve it.

12:45am Carol writes, "I am back home. Had a great time at your place last Thursday. Sorry I had to run off the next morning. You're a great guy. Dump the idiots who started trouble last Friday and preserve your peace." ..... Note: This is not the Carol who usually writes about magick; it's an old flame who one lived briefly in this apartment building.

7:10am For the history buffs: Gerald Suster, the esteemed British writer, occultist and historian who was born in 1951 and he died on this date in London in 2001. His body was cremated. He wrote such books as Hitler: The Occult Messiah (1981), The Legacy of the Beast: The Life, Work and Influence of Aleister Crowley (1984) and John Dee, Essential Readings (1986), to name but a few.

Sunday February 3rd 2008 – For the history buffs: Kenneth Wilbur Anglemyer, better known as Kenneth Anger, was born on this date in Santa Monica, California in 1930. He became fascinated with film making at the early age of four after he had a small role as the Changeling Prince in Max Reinhardt's version of A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935). He is considered to be one of American’s most unique independent avant-garde filmmakers. After graduating from Beverly Hills High School he directed and starred in his first successful film, Fireworks (1947). He later released such classic films as Scorpio Rising (1963), Kustom Kar Kommandos, Lucifer Rising (1966) and Invocation of My Demon Brother (1969). Anger had become utterly fascinated with Aleister Crowley after reading John Symonds’ biography, The Great Beast, The Life of Aleister Crowley (1951). He gained further fame and notoriety from the publication of Hollywood Babylon in 1958, a tell-all book of the scandals of Hollywood's rich and famous. ….... and to keep with the flavor of the day; Eduard Albert ‘Billy’ Meier, whose real full name is Eduard Albert Meier-Zafiriou, was born on this date in Bülach, Switzerland in 1937. For over 56 years he maintained that he was receiving, both physically and telepathically, communications with extraterrestrial beings, or Pleiadians, who claim to have come from the planet Erra in the Plejares (Pleiades ) star cluster. Although the visits supposedly began when Billy was only five; it was in January of 1975 that they escalated and it was during these visits that he was allowed to film and photograph the “beamship” during flight maneuvers. He took well over a thousand of the clearest UFO pictures ever seen. The actual contact conversations were also carefully written down word-for-word and they contain many interesting facts about Earth’s history, humanities, sciences and spiritual topics. As a rule, most people believe Billy Meier to be an out-right fraud but he has an unbelievable following who will argue otherwise.

Saturday February 2nd 2008 – 10:45am Another student present at last night's Aquarian meltdown writes - “It's really unbelievable how exactly last night's debacle exemplified everything you had been saying about Mercury retrograde. I think the point that you just made on your blog is most troubling, that as magician really ought to be more than a pawn to the fates... I think I am better groking the notion of the magician rising above the hoi polloi. I wonder if it's worth noting that Mercury is in Aquarius right now? [He] seems to have everything stacked against him especially if he's not wearing the proper magical helmets. Anyway, I wish him the best. I really don't want to see him dig himself down another six inches.” ..... I replied, "Yes but tragically I can see no easy solution. After you left last night I did up a chart of the moment and was surprised to see Mercury retrograding in Aquarius. He is exceptionally vulnerable right now and one can only hope that he can walk himself out of a bad situation where diarrhea of the mouth has allowed him to say things and believe in things which are detrimental to his Temple. Now it’s up to ‘ego’ … and since his opposite sign in the Zodiac Wheel is Leo, he may dig his feet in and continually roar his ‘rightness.’ He forgets, a lion is a solitary creature, an Aquarian is not. I can only hope that seeds planted bear the fruit that he wanted. These are lessons that all magicians must learn but it is easier to watch the folly of others and learn from such rather than having the experience thrust upon yourself. Keep that in mind. "

7:30am This is the third AA student in the last few weeks since Mercury started to go retrograde that has had their foot in their mouth while being defensive about their actions … why do they want to learn magick if on the most mundane level they are still pawns to the Fates?

7:00am I asked a student last night, "What does PAX TEMPLI really mean?" He said he knew but his words implied otherwise. ... Basically, it is a Latin phrase meaning 'Peace within the Temple.' In 'horizontal fraternities' it implies that there must be peace in both action and speech within the temple or apartment, house, building etc ... but within 'Vertical Schools' the Temple is our body. Peace within the Temple implies a deeper obligation to ourselves as to how we think because, as magicians, we know that our 'thoughts' are like seeds planted in a field that will grow into 'issues' in our reality. Anyway, an issue had arisen between him and another student. Whether who was right or wrong it matters not to me; mundane details are like a spider's web woven to entrap weary souls. Anyway, this student babbled endlessly that he could treat the other student in a civil manner in my apartment, as if this were enough. But this does not cut it; especially if he's in the AA. His mind was obviously still in turmoil; the waters were not calm and the atmosphere around him could be cut with a knife as he sat opposite the other. I knew unless the issue was addressed that it would continually rise to the surface if given half a chance. After the other student had left I tried to make the student understand that he must find neutrality within in order to keep the pendulum or Scales from tiping in one direction over another. I reminded him that everything below the Abyss is bathed in duality; everything is right, everything is wrong, there is NO truth below the Abyss. Has he not learned that? And in this light it is important for him, as a magician, as a Knight in quest of the Grail, to avoid taking 'mundane' sides too seriously with some issues out of the fear that one side of the scale may become a Kundry to the other. If this happens a magician will often argue endlessly in a pit of Because in order to prove that his side of the scale is right and the others worthless. ... Still, when I reflect upon this student's behavior of last night, what was the greatest tragedy? It is a lesson all students must learn which is why I am writing this out. It has nothing to do with mundane issues of who is right or wrong; he could not see that because he blinded by anger. However, within the AA we attempt to teach and guide our students through the maze of their phantoms in the hopes that they might better 'Know Thyself.' In most cases the students easily understands the positives but it is the negatives that they must really focus upon. He is an Aquarius, its the Leo that'll rear its ugly head in a negative fashion; its the opposite of his sign in the Zodiac wheel. But where does he learn about these forces that are in play? After all, most people are in utter denial of their negative behavior. ... We teach our students about these behaviors within the AA and this is where a teacher comes in. However, no matter how hard I tried to make this student see his Leo-like folly, he built a wall and all he could growl was "So you say" over and over to everything I was saying as if to tell me that no matter what I said, he was still right and he was going to ignore me. It was insulting. ... Anyway, you know what I'm saying this morning? This was the very first time that I ever had to discuss with him about a negative behavior ... and he failed miserably.

"He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty;

and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city." - Proverbs 16:32

6:35am Today is the rite of Candlemas, or Imbolg, which literally means ‘in the belly’ since this day represents the first fetal stirring of Spring from the womb of Mother Earth.

6:30am For the history buffs: Walter Yeeling Evans-Wentz was born on this date in Trenton, New Jersey in 1878. He translated the famous Tibetan ‘death text’ known as The Great Liberation. He called his English edition The Tibetan Book of the Dead (1927) because of its parallels with the writings of the Egyptian Book of the Dead. He died in 1965. ….. also, James Joyce was born on this date in Dublin, Ireland in 1882. He originally studied in Dublin and then went to Paris in 1902 primarily to study medicine but also took up voice training for a concert career. His early works includes the short stories, Dubliners (1914), and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1914-15). His best-known book was Ulysses which was based upon a single day in Dublin (June 16th 1904). The book appeared in Paris in 1922, but was quickly banned in both England and the USA where it remained banned until 1936. He also wrote Finnegans Wake (1939). Joyce has been hailed as the father of literary modernism. His work revolutionized the form of novels, partly through the abandonment of an ordinary plot for a “stream of consciousness” type narrative, but more fundamentally through his unprecedented exploration of language.  He died in  Zürich in 1941. ….. and to continue with birthdates; Carroll Righter was born on this date in Salem, New Jersey in 1900. He was an attorney who originally set out to disprove astrology but ultimately became one of its most influential promoters. He was the student of the famous astrologer Evangeline Adams and he was President Ronald Reagan’s astrologer for 45 years. He wrote such books Astrology and You (1958), Your Astrological Gyuide to Health and Diet (1967), The Astrological Guide to Marriage and Family Relations (1969) and Dollar Signs: How to Increase Your Personal Worth by Astrology (1971). He died of cancer on April 30, 1988 in Santa Monica California at the age of 88. ….... also, Alissa ‘Alice’ Zinovievna Rosenbaum was born on this date in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1905. She is more commonly known as Ayn Rand and her novels focusing on reason and individualism have become a great source of personal inspiration for many people. Her futuristic science-fiction novel Anthem (1938) is considered by many to be a classic. She died of heart failure on March 6, 1982 in New York City. She is famous for the quote – “Money is the root of all good.” …… and there are more birthdays to report; according to H. P. Lovecraft, Wilbur Whateley was born on this date in Dunwich, Massachusetts in 1913. Historians claimed that Whateley used the imperfect translation made by John Dee of the Necronomicon bequeathed to him by his grandfather to call down the ‘Old Ones’, which inevitably caused him tumultuous grief. …… but with all births, I must report at least one death. It was on February 2, 1969 that Boris Karloff, the ultimate icon of classic horror films, who made Frankenstein a house hold name, died. 

Friday February 1st 2008 – 11:15am To answer another part of Carl’s email from this morning: I find magicians in general an insipid lot; even amongst most AA branches, my own included. Time and time again I get complainers who argue this or that and whose lives are a tumultuous roller coaster ride of ups and downs. Most don’t live by what they study and most rarely study the things that are important. Everyone wants to play ‘scary occultist’ and delve into Goetia, Enochian or some such Art as if that is going to teach them about themselves. Most are idiots and fools who will sooner or later fall by the wayside or become intellects. Very rarely do I find magicians reviewing astrological changes in relationship to their sign or reflecting upon their actions past and present in order to plot a proper course into the unchartered waters of their inner Soul; most are no better than the animals that walk the Earth in quest of food, shelter and a good lay. Then, like the Christians every Sunday, these same magicians show up at a magickal lecture or a Gnostic Mass and think themselves accomplishing something. Silly little rabbits, tricks are for kids.

8:50pn Carl asks, "Is there are particular thing in my chart that I should look out for with a retrograde?" ..... Answer: I would carefully review the whole chart; paying attention in particular as to which house Mercury is in. It some schools of thought the retrograde hits particularly hard the fixed signs: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius, so in your case I wouldn't worry too much since you're a cardinal sign, a Libra. Just pay attention to your actions and think before doing anything.

7:15am Well Carl, your girlfriend in right. Mercury began retrograding on January 28th and it won’t stop until February 19th. It’s going to happen three times this year, again in May and then September. You asked, "... she cannot give me a straight answer as to what this means for a magician." As one magician to another, I’d highly recommend understanding this influence, more so than others in order to take advantage of it. It is definitely good for some actions, really really bad for others. Basically what ‘retrograding’ means is that a planet begins moving backwards but of course, Mercury doesn’t change its orbit, it’s just the way we see it from Earth. It has something to do with the way we view the combined movement of our planet and Mercury around the Sun. Anyway, Mercury rules our mind, how we perceive things, how we process and disseminate information; all forms of communication, job, education and travel or transportation; all of which become problematic when Mercury reverses its direction. People tend to make more errors in judgment ‘externally’ as communication skills wax. I’d be very careful making any decisions where communication can lead to a foot in mouth disease; even such mundane things as signing contracts, moving, attending a new school and job will experience difficulties. Read the fine print to everything. Some astrologers joke that more computers crash during a Mercury Retrograde than any other period. … But most important, Mercury is a trickster … he loves gossip so beware of your chatter. It could come back to haunt you and a few moment of blithering amusement of sharing info could take months of anguish to undo. ... On the positive side; many people unconsciously begin focusing inward; sometimes this is due to their own foot in mouth experiences which forces them to reflect on their behavior. As for magicians, we should consciously spend this time focusing inward, rather than toward outer things, in order to carefully analyze our thoughts and thinking patterns. It's a period when this process comes easiest; so use it. In a way, you should review where you’ve been and plot a course for tomorrow. It can be a powerful tool for a magician's growth in Knowing Thyself.

7:00am Luna sent an email last night but I just read it now. She writes, "You look great in your 70s gear! Thanks for sharing."  She is referring to the new picture I posted in the upper left hand corner of my blog. She ended her email by adding, "anyway ... love your outfit! Post more photos of you in the 70s!" ..... Answer: Glad you enjoyed it. I'll try to dig up a few more! I was quite the little hippe!

6:45am For the history buffs: Jane Cheron, one of Aleister Crowley’s mistresses, had allowed her home to be used for one of the infamous Paris Working Rituals in which Crowley and Walter Duranty performed acts of buggery to the God Mercury. But on this particular date in  1920 she would give Aleister Crowley a beautiful embroidered silk tapestry of the Stele of Ankh-f-n-Khonsu which she had recently finished. ….... also, Frater Saturnus, Karl Germer the Grand Treasurer General of the O.T.O. was released by the Nazis from a concentration camp on this date in 1941. He had been held since May 10th 1940, when the Germans first marched into Belgium. In March, Crowley received a letter from Karl Germer who informed him of his liberation from the Nazis. Crowley records in his diary on the 14th, “Great ‘havings’ indeed - a letter from Germer, who is safe after all. The happiest evening of my life!” He further adds, “This is a stunning joy. Life has again immediate value; the future is all sunrise on translucent wings.” ……. And when the Nazis began bombing London during World War II it forced Aleister Crowley from his apartment at 93 Jermyn Street into a new residence. On this date in 1945, at the age of seventy, Aleister Crowley moved into his last boarding house at Netherwood, Hastings and it is here where he would shed his earthly vehicle in 1947. ……. And finally, Anton LaVey, the Black Pope, held the infamous Satanic wedding of John Raymond and Judith Case on this date in 1967 which turned into an unbelievable media sensation. The photographer who was assigned by the San Francisco Chronicle to cover this story was Joe Rosenthal; the man who also took the immortal shot of the soldiers raising the American flag on Iwo Jima during World War II.

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