~ April 23rd - 30th, 2008 ~

(the latest entries are always added to the top)

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

Wednesday April 30th 2008 – 2:30pm Sorry for not posting more onto this blog today and falling behind in answering some of my emails but this week I am trying to force myself to finish my FOR SALE catalogue and add a few hundred new items or more into it. My initial plans are to release it by Sunday which means this week will be hectic with less free time.  Mea culpa ... !

8:40am Evelyn sent me an email: "93 Jerry, Don't know if you are aware that Albert Hoffmann has just died. Thought this obituary from CNN might be of interest to your readers. Evelyn."

Father' of LSD dies at 102

April 29, 2008

NEW YORK (AP) -- Albert Hofmann, father of the mind-altering drug LSD whose medical discovery grew into a notorious "problem child," died Tuesday. He was 102. Hofmann died of a heart attack at his home in Basel, Switzerland, according to Rick Doblin, president of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, in a statement posted on the association's Web site. Hofmann's hallucinogen inspired -- and arguably corrupted -- millions in the 1960's hippie generation. For decades after LSD was banned in the late 1960s, Hofmann defended his invention. "I produced the substance as a medicine. ... It's not my fault if people abused it," he said. The Swiss chemist discovered lysergic acid diethylamide-25 in 1938 while studying the medicinal uses of a fungus found on wheat and other grains at the Sandoz pharmaceuticals firm in Basel.  ... Reply: Thanks Evelyn for letting me and my readers know about this. It's very appreciated. If you want to read the full article click here: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/04/29/hofmann.obit.ap/index.html

8:30am Today we include Part Two of a three part series titled an 'Internal Dialogue between Luna and Grady… or Washed ashore from the Sea of Binah on the Far Side of the Moon.

.....continuing

Three days passed.

Grady remembered why he woke and activated Luna.

Luna having spent three days in the drink of Binah, was side-swiped by

a rip-tide of Lethe.

Unable to maintain her direction of swim....Luna tired and gasped.

Luna swallowed a mouthful of Lethe.

Luna forgot everything.

Grady remembered everything.

.....and that is how day three (which was yesterday) went!

To be concluded in tomorrow blog.

8:15am For the history buffs: Alice Babette Toklas was born on this date in San Francisco, California in 1877. She later moved to France and became Gertrude Stein’s lifelong Paris companion. She has been described as a chain smoker with a slight mustache. She once wrote, “The French like to say that their food stems from their culture and that is has developed over centuries.” Then adding, “We foreigner living in France respect and appreciate this point of view but deplore their too strict observance of a tradition which will not admit the slightest deviation in a seasoning or the suppression of a single ingredient.” She released The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook (1954) when she was 77. It contained 300 recipes of such dishes Artichokes Stravinsky, Gigot de la Clinique and Breen Peas à la Goodwife. The book became famous because of one simple recipe which Brion Gysin had given to her which was listed as Toklas’s Haschich Fudge, or hashish brownies. In her cookbook she wrote, “this is the food of Paradise – of Baudelaire’s Artificial Paradise: it might provide an entertaining refreshment for a Ladies’ Bridge Club or a chapter meeting of the DAR ... Euphoria and brilliant storms of laughter; ecstatic reveries and extensions of one’ personality on several simultaneous planes are to be complacently expected. Almost anything St. Teresa did, you can do better ...” Needless to say, Toklas’ recipe was the first ever banned from a cookbook. The first American edition would not be released until it was removed. However, as controversial as her cookbook was, many people never heard of Toklas and her fame only spread after the release of the 1967 movie titled I Love You Alice B. Toklas. She died on March 7, 1967.  ……. And on this date in 1923, having been expelled from Sicily and ordered to leave, Aleister Crowley transferred the Abbey of Thelema over to Norman Mudd. ……. And it was on April 30, 1954 that the movie The Creature From The Black Lagoon opened in theaters. It is about a scientific expedition traveling up the Amazon River which encounters a dangerous humanoid amphibious-like monster. …..... and on April 30, 1966 or Walpurgis Nacht, shorn of locks of hair, Anton LaVey proclaimed ‘Year One’ and created the First Church of Satan on this date. …..… and finally, Alex Sanders, the Self-proclaimed “King of the Witches” who rose to fame in the 1960’s, founding a major tradition: the Alexandrian tradition, died on this date in 1988 after a long battle with lung cancer. His funeral became a mass media event, with Witches and Pagans from all over the country attending to pay their last respects.  During the course of the funeral a pre-recorded tape was played in which Alex Sanders declared that his son “Victor” should succeed him as “King of the Witches.”

Tuesday April 29th, 2008 – 10:33am Luna writes "inspired by the photo of Jerry in 1953 on his blog today" - "J 93! I see that your D.C. demon turned you into a baby and put you in the corner to sit on the "Time out bale of hay".  I guess we are that old, aren't we! No chairs were invented yet...when we were little.  ...but, if your son, Faust, is anything like my son and his friends...they don't use chairs either...they sit on the floor with their video games and magic cards" 93s )O(  ." ..... Reply:  How true! How true!! How really true!!!

10:30am Carol replied, “Gee Jer 93. So if I want to talk about and please keep this confidential, my love of [omitted graphic paragraph] you’ll play along in writing? My boyfriend says he doesn’t mind as long as my fantasies are only in writing and I am faithful to him. 93s C.”   I replied: Carol 93 I’ll buy imaginary raingear. :)-  93 93/93 Jerry 

10:00am To Carol I wrote, “Well, yes and sort of … there is a perverse sexual streak in me but I have the curse of being a Cancer ruled by the Moon which makes me walk sideways. I am more often than not reflective of my partner’s Sun (sexual proclivities) and I have a tendency to fulfill her needs or morals above my own. Damn this Crab shell! Still, sexuality, to me, means anything goes because what one culture thinks is disgusting and morally wrong in the eyes of God, another culture accepts with open arms and I see the world of ‘sexual contradictions’ as simply implying that there is no real law beyond do what thou wilt. Thus, as I embrace each new girlfriend, I accept their morals as merely being their ‘comfort zone’ which has been imposed upon them by religions, friends and family. As a Thelemite I honor this because I do not wish to mess with their Will. What this means is that I’ve been in some pretty dull relationships where sex was simply a means to get laid and playfulness or eroticism were merely words on paper while other relationships would make readers of pornographic novels blush. [big smile here as I reflect for a moment] What I’m saying is that whether or not a woman is playful in emails or in real life, I’ll participate … and it is in this light that my replies to some of the woman who write to me might seem a bit too much or sexually graphic but you forget, my mind is a terrible thing to waste ... as is the rest of me.  :)

9:40am Today we begin a three-part series about an 'Internal Dialogue between Luna and Grady…(with excerpts from Grady's poems in italics)' which is titled Washed ashore from the Sea of Binah on the Far Side of the Moon.

Luna tells Grady: "Grady, I am tired of this infernal loop I have gotten myself stuck in with you, I seem to have gone mad, I cannot get you out of my head, I think of you constantly! Grady, why did you wake me up? I have run out of road in this DreamCatcher and find myself daily going loop-dee-loop re-counting the steps that my body has walked and Panni's tired of broadcasting her story of where she/we has been, who we/she has known, and she's half pickled in gin. Grady, oh Grady I ask you again…why did you wake me up, yet again?"

Tired of having her body filibuster while she waits for an answer that she believes will not come….Luna dives from The Ship into The Sea of Binah.

Grady takes his finger. Sticks it in the pot and stirs and sings:

In clusters drift the sodden boats

Upon the bay, wet sluggish motes

They bob and dance among the waves,

To wind and tide they are as slaves

That know no motive of their own

But lie within the fluid zone

Of force that moves them as it wills

To where the rushing water stills

And spreads into a placid sea.

The pilgrims sag on bended knee

In thankfulness unto that form

Who held them thru the mortal storm;

For there, beyond the torrents roar,

In swinging tiers above the shore

Where Lethe's rolling combers break

Lies, coil on coil, our Mother Snake

Day one goes by, and Luna's deep in the undertows of Binah's drink.

Grady continues to sing and stir:

Quiet your ceaseless burbling

I am remembering

Let me sit and think

…..to be continued.   [in tomorrow's blog]

8:45am To Dave in Florida I wrote, "I did receive yours of the 25th; I’ve been ‘lost’ of late in a hectic stream of rushing water and have only today managed to grab onto a rock and pull myself to a shore called sanity. Or at least I’m calling it sanity as I talk to myself trying to figure out what to write." ... [I've omitted the rest]

8:30am Ed Wormuth from the old Syracuse days of the OTO back in the 1970s/80s writes, "Finished Volume 1 of Grady Bio yesterday afternoon. Great job of piecing together the story of the 'early years' not only of Grady, but the the OTO during that period.  I have a somewhat different and far clearer understanding of how the principals in this story fit together now. Well told! I couldn't resist picking up the 2nd volume [Well I did hold off for almost 20 minutes]. This is going to be the exciting stuff!" .... Reply: I'm glad that you are enjoying the books. Volume two should be a fun read, especially for you since it mentions some of the old Syracuse episodes. Ah, the good old days!

8:20am Luna had sent me a bunch of great emails of which I finally got around to replying to this morning - "Luna 93 From last week to this I find over a dozen emails from you; I am humbled, I have met my match at creativity. As for myself, this has probably been the most hectic, if not crazed week and weekend I’ve spent in years. Health wise I’m fine but my little brain simply started to smoke, I starred at my computer screen too long as drool dripped from the corner of my mouth to my desk and I realized that no one was home. I know that I’m not stupid but I felt that I had become possessed by a retarded spirit. If you read my blog yesterday it symbolized me simply throwing my hands up and saying OK. I quit! I haven’t done that in years. It actually felt good. [the middle of my tome to Luna I omit but I ended it with: ] Well, today I’m feeling better … I’m back to work and the spitting drooling, salivating retarded demon called GENOD (i.e. Getting Nothing Done] has been banished back to his own realm which I think is Washington D.C. ...  You have a great day … Big smiles 93 93/93 Jerry

6:40am For the history buffs: Florence Farr, died of cancer on this date in 1917, all alone in a Colombo hospital in Ceylon. Years earlier she had severed all her ties to what was left of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and, by 1912, she had moved to Ceylon. As was the Hindu custom, she was cremated and her ashes scattered in a sacred river. ……. Also, Adolf Hitler & Eva Braun died in their bunker in Berlin on this date in 1945. Aleister Crowley briefly acknowledged this in his diaries on May 2nd writing, “Hitler officially dead. Hitler & Goebbels felo de se.” …….. and it was on April 29, 1969 that the plane carrying the old Agape Lodge initiate, Grady Louis McMurtry, landed in San Francisco. Another Agape Lodge member, Phyllis Seckler, diligently waited for him at the terminal. She had driven her van all the way from Dublin with her left arm in a cast. And the rest they say is history as together, these two individuals would revive Aleister Crowley’s Ordo Templi Orientis. ……. And finally, Alfred Hitchcock died on this date in 1980 from liver failure and heart problems in Bel Air, California at age 80.  He was cremated. He has been acknowledged as being the master of the thriller genre, which he virtually invented. Although he directed many movies who could ever forget Psycho (1960) or The Birds (1963).

Monday April 28th 2008 – 2:45pm Years ago, I remember asking the little five year old daughter of a friend what she was doing as she fumbled through a pile of paperwork and junk in a small box on the coffee table. She looked up, very serious and said "Leemelone."  I did.

1:43pm  O!

11:30pm Evelyn writes, “93, Snap out of it Jerry!”

9:18pm - !

7:57am Mary writes, "???" 

6:45am "If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading." - Lao Tzu

5:45am - ?

Sunday April 27th 2008 – 5:15pm  Ever stop to think, and forget to start again? It sums my day up perfectly.

9:35am For the history buffs: The writer Frank Belknap Long was born on this date in New York in 1903. He push the boundaries of writing weird fiction, fantasy, and science fiction in such classics as The Dark Beasts: And Eight Other Stories from the Hound of Tindalos (1964) And John Carstairs: Space Detective (1949), to name but a few of his numerous of his work. He died on  January 3, 1994 in New York. ……. Also, on this date in 1923 Virginia Tighe was born in Madison, Wisconsin. In 1952 during a session of hypnotic regression under the guidance of Morey Bernstein she gave a detailed account of her past life as an Irish woman named Bridey Murphy (1798-1864). Bernstein recorded the sessions and later published them in a book titled The Search for Bridey Murphy (1956). It became a bestseller and many people took the tale as undisputed proof of reincarnation because Tighe, who had never been to Ireland, provided an abundance of commonplace details of life in 19th century Ireland. Researchers who scrutinized her life then discovered that Tighe had lived across the street from an Irish woman named Bridey Murphy Corkell when she was a child. This made many people wonder if Tighe was merely remembering child-hood stories under hypnosis, others were far more cynical and simply dismissed Bernstein and Tighe as frauds. However, regardless of the facts, many people continue to believe the Bridey Murphy case who study the paranormal. She later married and became known as Virginia Mae Morrow, she died at the the age of 70 on July 12, 1995 near Denver, Colorado. ……. And finally, on April 27, 1957 one of the founders of Agape Lodge O.T.O. in Southern California, Wilfred T. Smith, died from cancer of the Prostate. When Grady McMurtry found out about his death he penned this poem on May 14th:

  TO DREAM OF SNAILS

How long does it take a snail to die?

Slowly, slowly, hot and holy

Scrushed in its juices

Excruciatingly

Steaming and screaming

Surreptitiously

Exploding in red pain fevered

Agony 

Mangling and strangling

Silently

Almost as long as some men

To die

With a gurgling

Ay-y-y-y-lug.

Saturday April 26th 2008 – 10:50am Mike writes, “Wow, it seems to me that using the Ouija board to tap into Shells, no matter what I seek, may be the ultimate fantasy role-playing game, I think I’ll walk slowly?” … Reply: Wise man. Whatever you finally decide upon to summon you must carefully use the techniques of protection as well as other things, like the magickal circle. Never neglect these warnings and once these are understood and learned, go play and by all means contemplate the evocation of whatever you'd like through the board. However, NEVER FORGET the fine line between reality and fantasy is blurred in Ouija workings. Although you may be exploring a mere fantasy - real entities are animating the imagery. Of course, contemporary Christians will probably cringe at the idea of merging the two concepts of the Ouija board and fantasy role playing games into one. Many Christians believe that next to Rock 'N Roll music, these two items are most likely the leading factors which draw their children into the clutches of the occult. This basic Christian sentiment is bathed in the belief that these are mass recruiting tools of Satanism. I'm not sure that I'd agree with that assumption because it implies that someone who plays the board game Battleship may run off and join the Navy. It's always easier to blame inanimate objects rather than facing the reality that it was probably the parents and their own damn religion which chased its youths away.

10:30am I also received this question about Crowley's 1906 : “I only have a copy of Mr B's typescript of this. The footnote states that the "entry for the 24th (July) is marked as important", but... Mr B. has not included this entry in the typescript (as seen, or not seen, below). Do you know what the original diary entry for July 24, 1906 actually said?”  .... Ah, Mr.B aka Bill Breeze. ... Reply: This is an easy one. It is simply a typo. Look down the page and read the July 27th entry and you’ll notice a footnote next to the date or 2. ... Footnote No.2 [below] reads “entry for the 24th (July) is marked as important." ... Obviously this should read "entry for the 27th (July) is marked as important" ... I continued in my email by explaining how there is no entry from July 24th which is probably why Mr.B didn’t include it. Adding, "That is OK, Crowley has many blank entries."  I ended by pointing out "off to the left side of the typescript in AC’s handwriting is scribbled ‘Important’ with a pencil line going up to the 27th.  As I see this, since the 27th contains Perdurabo’ typed out ‘Oath’ that this is what AC meant to be ‘important.’ ... I ended by adding, "I hope this helps clarify things.  I have found literally 'hundreds' of errors amongst modern Crowley typescripts. It seems everyone and their mother who has a keyboard thinks that they have the ability to make accurate transcipts without having them carefully proofed by others before allowing them to circulate. As a Crowley scholar I put no faith in anything unless I can verify it to the original." 

10:15am In one of my emails with Richard Cole I replied: You mentioned how my “... wonderful April's fool joke mentioned a ref. to A.C.'s diary for August, 1906.”  … Reply: Yes, a good joke must have half truths sprinkled with a lot of chuckles. It’s the truths that hooks the dear fish swimming about the soggy bread. My April Fool’s joke had everyone going for awhile. In truth, Crowley’s 1906 diaries for August 5th 1906 reads “My Revelation book The Arcanum in the Adytum or the Secret of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, being a commentary upon the Apocalypse. On the cover The Secret of Jesus."  And from there I simply embellished my story as if the real document had finally been found. I though everyone would catch it for sure that I was pulling their legs but everyone took me serious. I can’t wait until next year!

9:00am Regarding yesterday’s entry of 1:30pm Jerri from Sacramento writes, “Love the metaphor - "Your thoughts seemed to be tumbling around in your head like a worn pair of underpants in a dryer without Cling Free." What an image...I almost shot my vitamin water out my nose...AND the "did someone leave the cage open" comment??! Ooh...!! I'm dying to know what she said to inspire!?”  … I sent her a copy of the woman’s email which I had added into my diary. I also noted in my email to Jerri: “I always marvel at people who think ‘swearing’ gives them an edge of superiority. I’m never really offended by it; I usually sit back and laugh my balls off. My diaries will be a thrill and a joy to read in the future.”

6:35am Here is another comment that I wrote in an email on Wednesday which adds further info to yesterday’s evoking 'Crowley through the Ouija board' thoughts. I wrote: "Yes, some individuals can unconsciously tap into Crowley's Shell, not through an Ouija board but through their own mind and because of such there is danger in them believing that they are actually the Beast. This happens more frequently than one might suspect. Instead of being obsessed with an idea, they have become possessed by it. A major problem facing mental illness is psychiatry's inability to grasp the concept of invisible currents within our minds which, although they are connected, are independent of an individual. Magicians have long known that Shells can be tapped into unconsciously without an individual being aware that they are doing such. People who focus their mind intently within often find themselves 'knowing' personal things about the individuals or subjects on which they fantasize. Often this gift perplexes the less mentally stable and they begin to wonder how they could possibly know certain things about their heroes, like Aleister Crowley. The negative effect of such inward 'revelations' is that some of these individuals begin to think that they must be the reincarnation of that person, or in some extreme cases they become that person, like a Napoleon. I remember one day, while sitting in my parlor in Connecticut with Grady Louis McMurtry, we joked about those people whom we knew who were claiming to be Aleister Crowley reincarnated. Grady said that he wanted to create a mailing list so that they all, from Canada to California, could keep in touch with each other. Regrettably he never got this plan off the ground. It would have been funny if not presently embarrassing for some who have since denied ever making such claims. Anyway, Grady used to laugh and joke about "Crowley must be backsliding!" Yes, we talked quite abit on the subject of wannabe Crowleys. Grady strongly believed that this is part of the normal thought process gone astray when working unconsciously with Shells. We think, reflecting inward on a given subject and thus we begin to understand the subject more clearly. However, some people believe their newly obtained insights prove that although they have a failed life in this incarnation, in their past life they were none other than the Great Beast, Aleister Crowley. The point I wish to make is that although psychiatry addresses these wish fulfillment's appropriately by seeking out the reason which sparked the individual to go within, it stops short of realizing the source which fueled the fire maybe the knowledge stored in the Akasha itself. This is what is manifesting and slowly possessing the person's psyche like a fungus eating at a tree. To fully grasp what I've just said, you must understand that possession and obsession really do exist whereby an energy or current external to an individual's psyche is capable of slowly burning them out. Anyway, I just wanted to point out that one doesn't necessarily need an Ouija board to tap into the Akashic Records or astral currents. We do it all the time. It's unfortunate that some people take it too seriously for their own good."

6:20am For the history buffs: William Desmond Taylor was born on this date in Carlow, Ireland in 1872. He was a former actor turned director in early Hollywood and was one of the more colorful personalities in early Hollywood. He would have all but been forgotten in history had it not been for his death. On the night of February 1, 1922, someone shot him in the back, between neck and shoulder, leaving him dead on the floor of his duplex at the Alvarado Court Apartments. There appeared to be no sign of a break-in or burglary, and cash was found in the house and on the body. It is still an unsolved crime which has continued to intrigue and tantalize people. Over the years, conspiracy theorists have drawn up a long list of potential suspects of both individuals and groups who may have had a hand in the killing William Desmond Taylor. Most seem fairly outrageous, like the rumors of drug dealing and sex perversions and dark whisperings that tied both his girlfriend and him into the occult practices of the “Ordo Templis Orientis” which was a “cult of drug-fiend satanist Aleister Crowley.” In fact, Taylor had been seen in opium dens where men smoked the pipe and had sex with each other. Some said there were “obvious clues, in the death-room, to a homosexual revenge killing.” ……. And Jess Stern was born on this date in Syracuse, New York in 1914. He was a journalist rather than an astrologer, none-the-less he played a role in widening public interest in astrology during the 1970s, especially with his book A Time For Astrology. His best-selling book, Edgar Cayce: The Sleeping Prophet, spurred major interest in spirituality. Another of his books widely read was Yoga, Youth, and Reincarnation. In all, he wrote around 30 books on the occult. He died of congestive heart failure at the age of 87 on March 27, 2002, at his home in Malibu, California. Several obituaries quoted a speech that he had given to Cayce’s A.R.E. (society) in 1990: “Death is just a comma in the book of life.” ……. And finally, it was on April 26, 1956 that the movie Godzilla, King of the Monsters opened on this date. It was originally called ‘Gojira’ in Japan. Its plot was simple; it had an American newspaper reporter, a lovely Japanese lady scientist, her brother and the entire Japanese army trying to stop a 40-story high, fire-breathing monster that was created by radiation exposure which was destined to destroy Tokyo!

Friday April 25th 2008 – 5:30pm Here is another comment that I wrote in one of Wednesday’s emails. I wrote:  "I was waiting for this question and wondering when you’d ask it. Yes, you can tap into the file, or astral current, of the Great Beast - Aleister Edward Crowley which not only contains all the knowledge of what Crowley said, thought or experienced, but it also contains all the information thought or written by newspaper reporters, his friends and the average person on the street. Everything about or by Aleister Crowley is stored in this astral current of energy around our Earth. This is, in part, what is termed the 93 Current. Much of the information put into this Shell has not been kind and some of it is downright negative paranoia spawned by what Christians 'think' the Beast is all about. This is typical of any ground breaking thinker. Some of Crowley's present day followers are even trying to change this over balanced negative concept by redirecting the image of the Beast and how he is portrayed. In fact, the late Grady Louis McMurtry, one of Crowley's students, wrote an essay almost sixty years ago titled Clear Crowley's Name Campaign. However, let me say this, before you run off to seek the Shell of Crowley you must examine your own beliefs as to why you've decided to tap into his records. An elemental will know your unconscious desires and will pull first from the records what it feels you will want to hear. Unfortunately this may not be what Crowley himself thought as much as that which others thought about him and his beliefs, including yourself. How will you be able to determine if it’s Crowley's Shell or someone else's Shell about Crowley? It all depends upon you and your questions, conscious and unconscious. Yes, there are ways to safeguard your ritual by constant query and carefully wording of your questions. For instance, elementals must tell the truth if commanded to do such under magickal circumstances and in a controlled environment like a magickal circle. Do not be so weak-minded as to believe that simply because the triangle claims it is Aleister Crowley, that it is Aleister Crowley and the views and opinions spelt out must contain some profound truth. No matter how much I stress this, there will always be some idiot who thinks otherwise - because the board told him so! This utter folly often causes a person to believe every word spewed forth through an Ouija as if it were the gospel rather than realizing an elemental might simply be feeding them a 'wish fulfillment.' A classic example of a 'wish fulfillment' regarding Crowley's Shell comes from Patricia Crowther, a famous English witch. In her biography Witch Blood! The Diary of a Witch High Priestess she tells an interesting story about communicating with the Beast's ghost shortly after his death in 1947. It's an amusing tale filled with typical ramblings by elementals through an Ouija board which one must constantly be on guard against. There is no meat or substance behind the Beast's communication. Everything told is totally superficial fluff of things the asker 'wanted to hear'. When Crowther demanded proof from the triangle that it was really Aleister Crowley everyone heard rapping on the table. It began with six distinct raps, then another six and then six more. Crowther immediately believed that since the spirit could rap out 666 it must be the old man himself. Even more humorous is when Crowley's spirit spells out OLLA which is the title of a book of poetry which he had published shortly before his death. He had personally given a copy to Crowther. Obviously this must have been meaningful to her and it appears the elemental knew this too, especially when the spirit of Crowley (wink, wink) has Crowther reading aloud from the book. As if the Beast, now dead, would have nothing better to do than wanting to hear someone read his own poetry back to him. I suspect an elemental was having fun, with its hands covering its little mouth to hide its chuckling over mortal stupidity, while saying, "Ya, ya, read me that one!"

2:45pm John had a few interesting points wondering why I jab at woman so much, asking if I thought my “previous divorce has tainted” me? ... Reply: Personally, I don’t think so. I’ve actually been divorced twice, had many girl friends over the years and I have come to the realization that there are always two sides to every split: mine and those butt head's - be that as it may, and contrary to what it may seem, I actually love those foul little creatures that we call women! They’re cuddly, cute and often, depending upon their sign, very sensitive. – and remember the old saying: “Sensitivity is toy too often ignored.” – Here is something I wrote in an email yesterday - “I am Cancer, a Jovial Moon sign who enjoys jesting and writing tongue in check humor; to me the world is my playground. I don’t take everything seriously because I know that none of us are getting out of here alive.”

1:30pm And to the ‘Anonymous Pisces woman’ who threw bad ‘foul language’ jabs at me regarding my earlier Piscean jokes. How did you find my blog, did someone leave the cage open? This is obviously your first email to me so let me help clarify my views by saying that your thoughts seemed to be tumbling around in your head like a worn pair of underpants in a dryer without Cling Free. Obviously everything I said was not clear to you so lighten up; I was joking earlier.  Ah, women!

1:20pm Mike sent an email after reading today’s blog. He comments – “To me it seems really stupid to waste your time evoking Satan. Shouldn’t you be using the board for greater personal glory?” …… Reply: I once questioned my teacher about evoking such folly through an Ouija Board, like the Christian Satan for instance. He turned to me and shook his head saying, "He who seeks Hell, finds Hell." I wrote that in my diary over thirty-five years ago but I must confess that in my youth I really didn't understand all the implications. After all, if one evoked Satan wouldn't they want to reign in his Hell? I'm not saying that I ever wanted to do such foolish things but I didn't realize that my teacher was basically telling me that if you're stupid, stupid things happen to you. He was right. After years of practice I wish to add that stupid people should never complain when what they've sought accidentally turns on them and produced violent poltergeist activities. After all, if you evoke the Christian Satan, or even the Lovecraftian god Cthulhu, do you really think they'll be nice if they become untethered? The bottom line is this - don't be an idiot. Plan carefully the direction, or Shell, you want to explore and consider all the pro's and con's of its manifestation. Not only from the point of view of what you'd like to achieve, but also of the dangers if things goes astray. Never forget the seriousness of all astral ventures when using an elemental. You should not be acting like some damn school kid trying to be cool amongst his peers. You must, and I stress must, devote time to meditate upon why you want to do a certain ritual and at no time should you just 'pick up the Ouija board' to play. You must be conscious of all the reasons and very clear as to your intent. Remember, the elemental will have access to your unconscious mind and if you're not clear as to why you're evoking a certain Shell, no telling what he'll dredge up from the depths of your psyche.

11:05am I recieved this email from my favorite Pisces, Jerri in Sacramento. She writes, "93 Jerry, Yet again, you are trying to get a rise out of me (wonder if it's working...). Now, not only in emails to me, but on the blog...I'm picturing you talking to me in the forest...and then me beating you with a tree limb. Is that wrong? Brat... 93 93/93 Love, Your future ex-wife." ... [Note: future ex-wife is an inside joke] Anyway, what she is referring to is my 8:45am blog entry where I wrote – “My Zen quote of the week: If a man is talking in the woods and no woman hears him ... is he still wrong?” … and so I replied only as a Caner sign can: “Jerri, my beloved future wife 93 Yes, it’s wrong! … Boy, do I love Pisces but always remember; do you guys want people to accept you as you are or do you want them to like you?  Beating me with a tree limb! Ouch!  I can’t wait for the honeymoon. … Really, can’t wait. :)- 93 93/93 da Brat.” ... after sending her that email I sat back in my chair and remembered that I'm seeing her tomorrow. If she walks in door carrying a tree limb, I'm climbing out the window!

9:48am Here is one last response from a question I received yesterday and then I have to get back to work. I wrote: “Yes, I agree. It is no secret that some authors throughout history have used fiction as a vehicle to express what otherwise might be shunned by society. Of course, H. P. Lovecraft claims he did not consciously do this but some authors like the magician Kenneth Grant, who was a student of Aleister Crowley, strongly believes that Lovecraft's novels and stories contain unconscious aspects of divine truth. Grant believes that Lovecraft unknowingly drew down through himself some divine knowledge of universal principles and then expressed them, albeit slightly corrupted, in his writings. This is quite possible. The creative mind does have the ability to 'channel' forces. As an example, Grant points out that Cthulhu is merely a corruption of Crowley's Tutulu (Liber Liberi vel Lapidis Lazvli, Section VII:6). Be this as it may, it could be argued that most of Lovecraft's stories then show that his receiving filter was clogged. What Lovecraft expresses is clearly tainted by personal fears rather than realizing the full possibilities of his dreams. It is difficult for me to ascertain the value of tapping into Lovecraftian concepts. There is no telling what will come through the board. Also, many real occult groups run by such notables as Kenneth Grant, Michael Bertiaux, Michael Aquino and the late founder of modern Satanism Anton LaVey, to name only a few, have utilized Lovecraft's mythos as if it were a viable magickal structure. One can only speculate as to what their membership has been adding into the Akasha on this topic. If you decide to draw down Cthulhu, or tap into his Akashic shell, you must consider all the possibilities of this deity's manifestation otherwise control could be impossible. So, if you are still going to invoke Cthulhu there is something further you need to remember. When summoning Satan it is really the Christian mind which you're invoking since their Satan isn't real. They are the God behind this entities existence in the Akasha. In Lovecraft's case, Lovecraft is the God behind Cthulhu. He wrote the stories. His life easily filters through when summoning this entity as does the Christian mind-set when invoking a demon or Satan. However, we tend to forget that Lovecraft was a bigot, expounding Nazism while hating blacks passionately and Jews alike. Yes, his science fiction is fascinating but his prejudices are legendary and equally stored in the Akasha.”

9:45am Here is another question: “Do you think Lovecraft ever actually studied magick?” …. Reply: Many have theorized whether or not Lovecraft ever studied magic but I don’t think so. Most believe he never did. Still, he did know about Aleister Crowley, but he mentions him only once amongst all his writings. In a private letter dated March 6th 1935 he writes, "In the 1890's the fashionable decadents liked to pretend that they belonged to all sorts of diabolic Black Mass cults, & possessed all sorts of frightful occult information. The only specimen of this group still active is the rather over-advertised Aleister Crowley." [Selected Letters H. P. Lovecraft, Vol. 5, Wisconsin: Arkham House Publishers, Inc., 1976, p. 120.] If Lovecraft believed that Crowley was 'over-advertised' it implies that he heard about the Beast, possibly through the news media or a friend, or both. In truth, the Beast and Lovecraft did have a mutual friend, it was George Sylvester Viereck. They both worked with Viereck on publishing endeavors and shared a deep friendship. Crowley met Viereck in 1915 during his stay in New York City while Lovecraft met him after receiving a letter in December 1926 soliciting help. It is highly unlikely, knowing the circumstances of Lovecraft's and Viereck's relationship, that the Great Beast was not occasionally discussed, especially considering the only place Lovecraft mentions Crowley is in a letter dated shortly after the period in which he knew Viereck. Unfortunately the extent to which he might have read Crowley's writings, if ever, may never know.

10:40am In one email I replied, “You are a sick bastard but I guess what makes Lovecraftian lore so tantalizing for Ouija workings is that it has become webbed with real people and facts over the years. The bridge between fantasy and reality has become blurred. For instance, Lovecraft's dreaded book which allows individuals to summon Cthulhu and his hosts is known as Al Azif, or Necronomicon. The title literally translates as The Book of Dead Names. According to Lovecraft it was written by a mad Arab named Abdul Alhazred around A.D.730 in Damascus who, eight years later, was torn apart and devoured by the very invisible demons he had evoked. Many people labor under the misconception that this is a real book which pre-dates Lovecraft and that he simply borrowed its title to use in his stories. This is not true. All published editions of this book are merely modern versions patronizing the mythos. However, this hasn't stopped some authors from claiming that a real magician named John Dee translated an actual copy of the Necronomicon into English which he had found in Prague while visiting Emperor Rudolph II. To carry this a step further, others authors would have us believe that this is not necessarily true. They claim Dee's edition is not a translation but the original itself. Some Lovecraftian scholars agree, it has long been speculated that the mad Arab is merely an alias Lovecraft uses to hide the identity of the Elizabethan magician John Dee whom he used as the source of his stories. Thus they believe the fictitious Necronomicon is a clever disguise for the actual Enochian magickal system which Dee used to summoned the angels and ancient Watchers. But is there any similarity between John Dee's Watchers and the hordes of Cthulhu? Some might argue that one is true while the other is a fantasy. However, if one studies the actual Bible, and other religious texts, they will inevitably come upon the legends which say that all the ancient Watchers, especially those whom John Dee summoned, were under the authority of a mighty archangel known as Azazel. This archangel stood by the side of God as the wisest and most beautiful. Ancient lore widely held a belief that Azazel was the original Watcher or supreme Holy Guardian Angel of our Earth itself, which he helped God create. Of course, this was Azazel before his fall from grace, when he would become the Satan and lead the hordes of Darkness against the armies of Light which stood by God. Inevitably Azazel lost and was cast out from our Earth. But, like the hordes of Cthulhu, he and his kind did not go quietly. It is said that they are forever trying to regain a footing back into our world. Does this not sound like the Cthulhu mythos? One can only wonder where fantasy ends and reality begins."

9:30am In this week’s correspondence this question came up – “If everything humanity has ever thought is stored in the Akasha then what about all those Lovecraft nuts running around thinking his books are real?  Oh my gosh, what are they tapping into? Can I summon Cthulhu?” …… Reply: This is a great question. Whether they do it with or without the board let’s explore what these people might be tapping into. Most of Lovecraft's horrifying stories center around the Old Ones who inhabit certain stars in the darkest depths of infinite space. Legends have it that they once ruled our Earth, mating with mortals and begetting monstrous offspring similar to the legends of the fallen Nephilim in the Bible. And, like the Nephilim, these Old Ones taught humanity forbidden knowledge. For their sins this ancient race of hideous god-like monsters was cast out of our world aeons ago - but they did not go quietly. They are forever seeking to regain that which they feel is rightfully theirs; meaning, of course, our Earth. Lovecraft developed this concept into a very detailed and frighteningly realistic universe which is now called the Cthulhu Mythos. With the amount of information now put into the Akasha on this mythos, it is no secret that the ancient god Cthulhu and his legions can easily be summoned through the board, if this is what you want to do but to do this safely I would first recommend that the reader read the role-playing book titled Call of Cthulhu, Fantasy Role-Playing in the Worlds of H. P. Lovecraft (California: Chaosium Inc., 1983). In this book it states that the purpose of the game is to have its players "take the part of intrepid investigators of the unknown, attempting to ferret out, understand, and eventually destroy the horrors, mysteries, and secrets of the Cthulhu mythos." Like any fantasy game, Cthulhu consists of an interaction between players who have assumed a diversity of character roles and the game moderator who runs the world in which the adventures occur. When using an Ouija board the moderator can be the person asking the questions. The participants are those people who have approached the moderator for answers to their questions in order to investigate the unknown. They explain what type of information they are seeking and the moderator asks his 'Oracle,' meaning the board and the two assistants working it. Still, the dangers are obvious. I've already pointed out that in the case of a mundane fantasy game going astray the moderator or Game-master takes charge, simply stops the play and everybody goes home. However, if you think a poltergeist can create havoc if it is unleashed from the triangle, then you haven't experienced anything until Cthulhu is running around your house late at night. It is also argued that one does not have to assume the white-light role of a player who seeks the means destroy the evil and cast it back into the stars. You can be someone who is trying to summon the Old Ones like old Whateley himself in Lovecraft's classic story The Dunwhich Horrorbut, in all honesty, I'd avoid this aspect as it implies that you are welcoming extreme, and I stress extreme, poltergeist activity into your home. And if Cthulhu calls, he’ll call collect!

9:15am On Wednesday I began a correspondence with a lady in New York about my book Aleister Crowley and the Ouija Board. Many interesting and pointed questions and answers followed; some of which I’d like to share. In one email she asked: “But do not see that the board is a fantasy game? I think it is not really that dangerous otherwise it would be pulled from the shelves of toy stores worldwide. What harm is there talking to your dead mother or realities?” … Reply: I agree, if that is all you summon but let me address one of the other most obvious fantasies often drawn through the Ouija board. This Shell may be horrendous and monstrous in scope to some. Anyone who has ever studied the Ouija will tell you horror stories of demons and, in some extreme cases, even Satan himself being summoned through the board. The religiously feeble, especially Christians, should never use the board because of all the unconscious baggage they may carry, fueled by years of religious fear and guilt. Elementals can easily tap into this unconscious dread to satisfy a person's worst nightmare. However, to a magician, the Christian Satan is not real. Does this negate what some might draw through the board? Absolutely not. Think of all the things which have been thought, said and done throughout the centuries in either Satan's name or by the Christians who fear him. All this is stored in the Akasha. Common sense dictates that if you've summoned the Shell of Satan, or some other demon, and the elemental animating this wish-fulfillment slips its tethers ... what kind of torment will be unleashed from the depths of your own subconscious, fueling the manifestation? Remember, it will be clothed in your imagery of Satan and the elemental will try to fulfill this while roaming about your house. In other words, if you are desiring to call forth Satan through the board it might be best to watch The Exorcist first. This movie clearly shows what might be necessary if such a torment is unleashed and uncontrolled to the point of a possession. Remember, if a demon manifests and you no longer want to play, you're going to have to convince the elemental to go away. Since the elemental has become Satan you must ask yourself, "How do I get rid of Satan?" 

8:45am My Zen quote of the week: If a man is talking in the woods and no woman hears him ... is he still wrong?

6:45am For the history buffs: In a letter to Lady Gregory on this date in 1900, W. B. Yeats writes, “... Crowley, a quite unspeakable person. He is I believe seeking revenge for our refusal to initiate him.  We did not admit him because we did not think a mystical society was intended to be a reformatory.”

Thursday April 24th 2008 – 1:45pm Evelyn sent an earlier email asking, “By the way, how are you're writing projects coming along?” … I replied, “Slooooooow. Too many young Asian girls distract me. It’s all their fault. They’re making me do disgusting things.” … she commented back : “… it's not so bad to be distracted in a good way - I'm sure you'll find a balance when you are ready.” ... I agree and I have already learned a vaulable lesson; chubby Asian girl in one hand will not balance a long haird skinny one in the other! ... Evelyn also writes, "As for the Congo Blog posts today, let me say that I don't share Mary's animosity towards the male member. After all, what good is a man to anyone without his 'best friend'?" ... Reply: Ouch. That hurt! 

10:49am Dave from Oakland sent me an email with just four words -  “I love Penis Stories.”

8:45am Mary saw my blog entry about her and sent a brief email – “You can post it all. Why, ya scared?” … Reply: In truth, yes. Ok, her original email reads – “Jerry 93. Love the penis story. It is every woman’s revenge dream. I wish I knew how to do that sort of magic, my s.o.b. of an ex would be in big trouble. Wait a minute. I think I see a penis thief lurking in my bedroom. Oh, wait a minute, that’s a mirror! Maybe it means I should become a penis thief but is cutting it off while he sleeps a magical act? He he he. Have a good day. Luv ya 93s Mary.”  … Reply: All acts are magickal acts according to Aleister Crowley. But Mary's comments reminded me of Lorraine and John Wayne Bobbit! To make a long story short [he he he]; Lorraine Bobbit was the woman who was arrested for chopping off her husbands penis on June 23rd 1993 after she found out that he was cheating. After assaulting him she left the apartment with the severed penis, she drove a short while, rolled down the car window and threw it out into a field. And on that note: what’s the difference between Lorraine Bobbit and a weather forcaster? ... Answer: When she says there will be 6 inchs on the ground by morning she means it!

8:20pm Mary writes “ …. I think I see a penis thief lurking in my bedroom. Oh, wait a minute, that’s a mirror!” … and the rest of her email I cannot post but it scares me.

8:15am I also sent Evelyn a brief email: “Thanks for the great article. I posted it on my blog ... I'm not going to ask how you found it."  … She replied, “93. Well Jerry, it's like this - I was reading the day's news headlines when this article just leapt out at me (no pun intended). I love these ridiculous stories, especially if there is magic involved. We need a bit of light relief after reading about killings, food shortages and financial meltdown. So the moral of the story is, don't share cabs with strange men sporting gold rings. And if they point a finger in the direction of your groin, run like hell! Hope your day is a good one, Evelyn .” …. It made me smile and I fired back, “How funny. I too love these type of articles and the reason I enjoy posting them, and jokes etc [besides the fact that I’m a Cancer with a warped sense of humor] is to lighten up my readers who constantly bombard me with somber if not serious questions. Anyway, although I think my defensive magick is very strong, to be on the safe side, I’ll be looking at everyone’s hands for now on for gold rings.”

6:30am Here is a reply to an email [which I omit quoting too much due to its mentioning names and places] : "John 93. If your AA branch is pulling a 'secrecy' head trip on you then consider what Crowley wrote, which is a profound piece of wisdom in The Confessions: "In point of fact, we may not be much better off even here. Most true tales worth telling are either incredible, improper or both. One of the reforms which I introduced into the AA was the abolition of all obligations of secrecy. They were never useful except as temptations to people to break them. The secret knowledge has quite adequate warders. I have learnt that I have only to tell the truth about almost anything to be set down at once as a liar. It is far better to throw dust in the eyes of the animals whose faces are turned to the ground, by casual frankness. If you have a secret, it is always dangerous to let people suspect that you have something to hide." (p.592) ) I'm not saying throw everything 'open' to the public but more often than not groups use the secrecy clause as a means of controlling its membership. If your AA does meet in a semi-group there is nothing wrong with this if it is on a Malkuthian level but pulling "severe secrecy clauses on higher teachings" can be dangerous due to its implied restrictions. Also, consider what Crowley wrote, "I should lose no time in forming a group, but do it on your own personal responsibility and not as for the AA because the AA discourages group working, which is only another name for slackness and gossip, but by getting people together you may be able to stimulate one or two worthy persons to take up the cause." ... Basically Crowley considers AA group meetings and rituals "most undesirable" and, in a way, I agree. Granted, my own Clerk House has meetings. But I'm not stupid. I know, as did Crowley, that as long as we have a body and we're functioning on this plane; we'll always have this need to socialize. But I remind all of Grady McMurtry's Clerk Houses that their meeting place is about 'them' and sharing 'their' research. They don’t speak for the whole. As far as your branch claiming to “own the AA copyrights” … don’t get me started. In a letter to Tranker dated February 20th, 1925 Crowley writes:  "In regards to the AA … There is no group working; the system is a chain system. There is no idea of property in the Order, so that the publications are given without questions of copyright."  Hope I’ve given you some food for thought. 93 93/93 Jerry.”

5:25am To answer an incoming email: “Mike 93, Yes Richard T. Cole’s book  Thelema Revisited is a must have. You won't be disappointed. Sorry I didn’t give more info in my April 22nd entry. Check out Cole's website: http://www.tobew.com/SR and bookmark it. Have a great day. 93 93/93 J. Edward.”

5:10am Evelyn sent me an email - "Scary magic! Thought you'd get a laugh out of this tale from the Congo." She included a link to the following article. I read it while sipping my morning coffee, after which I dropped my head down and thought to myself, “Damn, I should share this with my readers.”  So enjoy.  I'm just happy I don't live in the Congo!

Lynchings in Congo as penis theft panic hits capital

By Joe Bavier Tue Apr 22, 1:24 PM ET

KINSHASA (Reuters) - Police in Congo have arrested 13 suspected sorcerers accused of using black magic to steal or shrink men's penises after a wave of panic and attempted lynchings triggered by the alleged witchcraft. Reports of so-called penis snatching are not uncommon in West Africa, where belief in traditional religions and witchcraft remains widespread, and where ritual killings to obtain blood or body parts still occur. Rumours of penis theft began circulating last week in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo's sprawling capital of some 8 million inhabitants. They quickly dominated radio call-in shows, with listeners advised to beware of fellow passengers in communal taxis wearing gold rings. Purported victims, 14 of whom were also detained by police, claimed that sorcerers simply touched them to make their genitals shrink or disappear, in what some residents said was an attempt to extort cash with the promise of a cure. "You just have to be accused of that, and people come after you. We've had a number of attempted lynchings. ... You see them covered in marks after being beaten," Kinshasa's police chief, Jean-Dieudonne Oleko, told Reuters on Tuesday.  Police arrested the accused sorcerers and their victims in an effort to avoid the sort of bloodshed seen in Ghana a decade ago, when 12 suspected penis snatchers were beaten to death by angry mobs. The 27 men have since been released.  "I'm tempted to say it's one huge joke," Oleko said.  "But when you try to tell the victims that their penises are still there, they tell you that it's become tiny or that they've become impotent. To that I tell them, 'How do you know if you haven't gone home and tried it'," he said. Some Kinshasa residents accuse a separatist sect from nearby Bas-Congo province of being behind the witchcraft in revenge for a recent government crackdown on its members. "It's real. Just yesterday here, there was a man who was a victim. We saw. What was left was tiny," said 29-year-old Alain Kalala, who sells phone credits near a Kinshasa police station.

5:00am Robert Flores of the Aum Ha Clerk House sent the following email yesterday about Zardoz's funeral, part of which I’d like to share. He writes, “Just wanted to let you know that Chris's funeral was yesterday at 11am.  It was a very nice ceremony with many friends and family present. Andy and I went together. We were able to clear up some details; 1) his name was actually Christopher Von Dietler and 2) he actually died on Wednesday the 16th, which was the day I was first called by his girlfriend but she just was understandably a little unclear. It was a closed casket event so we could not see our brother but Kathleen told me that Chris was wearing some of his regalia (his jewel). It was an honor to give Chris his last "Rites" and clearly this meant much to him. I met both of his parents and his son wore his Dad's favorite leather jacket. Many stories were shared and Chris's father talked about how Chris would all want us to be celebrating his death and he shared a letter that Chris had written him as a young man. Essentially the letter was to inform his parents that he was leaving town to catch a rock festival on film and they are not to worry about him or try to find him, I am still trying to get a copy, but the part that hit home with me is when Chris wrote that as an artist he was a slave to it's call and he had no other recourse but to follow his calling ... a Thelemite to the core.” …… Reply: It is deeply appreciated to be kept in the loop. ... NOTE: This entry has been added to the bottom of Christopher Dietler's Memorial Page along with the last photograph taken of him shortly before he died.

4:45am For the history buffs: Shirley MacLane Beaty, would later drop her last name, slightly change her middle name and become known as Shirley MacLaine. She is the new-age author and actor, born on this date in Richmond, Virginia in 1934. In Hollywood she acted in such movies as Two Mules for Sister Sarah (1970), Coogan’s Bluff (1968), The Beguiled (1971), Dirty Harry (1972), and Escape From Alcatraz (1979). She became heavily involved in the New Age movement and produced prime time TV specials in 1986-87 discussing her views. This lead her to be called the New Age Movement’s “Chief Evangelist,” while others, primarily the skeptics and comedians, sarcastically mocked her beliefs, but she took them all in stride. Although she has written many books, Out on a Limb (1986) is the one which showed her interest in Great Pyramid, reincarnation, trance mediums, astral projection, UFOs and telepathic space aliens. As far a reincarnation: she claims in her past lives to have been everything from an Indian princess, to a peg legged pirate, to a man from Atlantis. ……. AndI should point out that approximately one month after Grady Louis McMurtry had taken Probationer 0=0 and joined the AA under his wife Phyllis Seckler, he decided to officially seek the grade of Magister Templi 8=3.  To do this he swore the Oath of the Abyss on this date in 1970 and he underwent one of the most dangerous magickal ordeals in all of Aleister Crowley’s teachings.

Wednesday April 23rd 2008 – 3:50pm Ed Wormuth received his two volume set of Grady McMurtry’s biography titled In The Name of The Beast. He writes, “Jerry, Pleasant surprise. The Grady Bio arrived today. Read the Intro [Hey, forgive my previous ignorance, but you surely do write well] and don't want to stop, but Alas work is the curse of the book-devouring class.  However it goes to the top of the list of everything I'm reading right now. That being: 3 macrobiotic books [2 by George Oshawa-well 3 if you include "You are all Sanpaku"; "Bone in the throat" by Anthony Bourdain [I'm a former Chef, you know]; The end of "you cannot be serious" by John MacEnroe, and my start on re-reading "The Baroque Cycle" by Neal Stephenson [my highest reccomendation!]  Thank you so much for getting this book into my hands,  Ed" .... Reply: I am flattered.

3:45pm Yes, John, I agree: “There is a lot of bad press still out there about Aleister Crowley.” …. Reply: A friend of Crowley’s named Percy Reginald Stephensen tried to elucidate upon this negativity as far back as 1930 in a book titled The Legend of Aleister Crowley. He cast a critical view over the treatment the Beast was being given in the press. He wrote, “For thirty years a certain spattering of mud has been thrown at him, and in recent years a complete barrage descended. Throwing mud at Aleister Crowley is quite a recognized branch of sport. What makes it easier is that he makes no attempt to dodge the muck. He seems to think it cannot reach him, and these throwers of muck, are transient phenomena, unreal stuff, of no ascertainable cosmic significance. If a journalist writes three columns of abuse identifying him with Jack the Ripper, Crowley seems to take the attitude that nobody of intelligence will believe such arrant nonsense - and the others do not matter. It is possible that Crowley underestimates the amount of unintelligence in the world.” Stephensen goes on to admit that a “great deal, a very great deal, of the guttermud thrown, has stuck.” Unfortunately what he writes is true. Even in our times many people generally believe the rumors and stories they’ve heard about Aleister Crowley without question rather than attempting to get the facts on the matter.

3:30pm Sarah asks a bunch of questions after reading my book Aleister Crowley and The Ouija Board. Most are simple and straightforward but one offers my readers important insight. She asks, “How do I know if the elemental is spelling out the truth?” ….. Reply: My own teacher once told me that a smart magician puts absolutely no importance on anything obtained through an Ouija board, spirit communications or anything in general from the invisible realms. You should review all the information as carefully as you would scrutinize the pages of an actual book written on the same subject in the real world. In other words, not everything one reads should be instantly believed and, likewise, you should not blindly cling to every word spewed forth by an Ouija board. When utilizing a Shell it is always best to remember that if what you receive can not be verified or supported by further study on the material plane then possibly what you've obtained is tainted by self-wants. Never blindly believe nor be so lazy as to ask for everything to be spelt out for you by the board. Wording of questions is paramount on every plane. Elementals, by their nature, tell you what you want to hear and, although it may contain a shred of truth, it may not be what you desire to know.

9:10am Yesterday, after a long day and night of emailing back and forth with a Pisces, I come to the conclusion that there are only a few theories suitable for arguing with a women ... and none of them work. Today, my brain hurts the way my tongue would if I accidentally stapled it to the wall.

6:30am For the history buffs: Allan Bennett, an initiate of the Hermetic Order of Golden Dawn known as Frater Iehi Aour (Let there be light), always had a strong fascination for Buddhism. At the age of 28, in 1900, he decided to travel to Ceylon to further his studies and to relieve the asthma from which he had suffered for years. He became a pupil of yogi Shri Parananda who instructed him in Hatha Yoga asanas and Pranayama and other meditation techniques. Later, while in Burma, he officially became a Buddhist monk, taking the name of Bhikku Ananda Metteya (bliss of loving kindness). He founded the International Buddhist Society in 1903. With health failing, his doctors suggested that he move to the warm climate of California. Enroute, he visited England. He arrived on April 23, 1908. Unfortunately, with failing health, he was forced to stay England and he never reached California. ……. Also, on this date in 1922 Marjorie Elizabeth Cameron, aka Candida or Candy, was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She was an accomplished painter, poet, feminist, actress and occultist. She was the wife of Jack Parsons, the famed rocket scientist and Agape Lodge Master of the Ordo Templi Orientis. When she learned that her husband had accidentally dropped a can of mercury fulminate in his ground floor laboratory and blown himself up, she supposedly, according to Jane Wolfe, “held out her hands”, open and in a gesture of shock, uttering her first words, “But how am I going to live! I don’t know how to make a living!” She also played the pivotal roll of the Scarlet Woman in Kenneth Anger’s classic film The Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome and was featured in two films by Curtis Harrington; The Wormwood Star and Nite Tide. She also appeared in John Chamberlain’s Thumbsuck. She died on July 24, 1995 in California. ……. And on April 23, 1940 the Agape Lodge initiate Frederick Mellinger, in the presence of Voluntas Perfecta Omnia Vincat, signed a pledge-form on this date to be admitted to the knowledge and conversation of the AA. His motto was Arte Unionem Manifestabo Gnosticam.  ……. And finaly, I’d like to point out that on April 23, 1979 the Brocken Mountain Lodge of The Ordo Templi Orientis was Chartered in Connecticut to J. Edward Cornelius; becoming the 4th official OTO body outside of Thelema ‘Grand’ Lodge in California.

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