~ July 17th - 31st, 2008 ~

(the latest entries are always added to the top)

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

Thursday July 31st 2008 – 6:00pm Wow, I was going over my files just now and I realized that I forgot to send a big Happy Birthday out to David Solina in Florida. His birthday was on the 28th!  He's a Leo. I thought he was born in August. :/  Can we say oppps?  ... Happy Be-lated Brthdaty Dave!

5:30pm Ah, Kimberly writes regarding my 4:50pm posting - "I have a hard time imagining you wanting to discard a woman after a night of rugged sex. You know, crabs are pretty helpless when they're on their back - they kick and squirm yet their feet can't find purchase on solid ground to run away. 'wink wink' May you know a life filled with hand holding, sweet rainshowers and smiles." ... Reply: Yes, I am a helpless creature on my back, my side, standing on my head and swinging from a trapeeze or from anything else the woman may want to put me through ...   :)-

5:15pm To answer an email: Yes, I primarily enjoy talking with woman more than with men about sex magick; most guys are like troglodytes, they boast high magickal aspirations but the second you mention the word 'vagina' they 'imagine it', become excited and off they go pounding their chest while dragging a club around in circles. At this point they are often blinded by the urge to ‘earth-it-out’ by having sex; the need to get laid as a ‘climax’ out weighs all else. Have you ever heard the old Meatloaf song Paradise by the Dashboard light? Anyway, it is frustrating teaching guys. Men intellectually understand the principles easy enough but most cannot grasp the simplest practical secrets of the Holy Grail; or that reaching the Grail Castle at the summit of the mountain is not as important as the quest itself. Most will stop their quest for a night at Castle Anthrax with the first cute Kundry, like Zoot, who shines a Grail-shaped light into the sky. Yes, I can hear it now as another woman utters - "Oh, wicked, wicked Zoot. Oh, she is a naughty person and she must pay the penalty, and here in Castle Anthrax, we have but one punishment for setting alight the grail-shaped beacon: you must tie her down on a bed and spank her."  ... and, as men, we oblige. We'll continue the quest in the morning.

5:10pm Carol, my favorite little Aries from the state of Arizona writes, I'll have sex with you in the shower but only if I can pee on you!" ... Reply:   :) 

4:55pm And here is an excerpt from another email that I sent off today. - "In the Introduction to my autobiography I wrote: “… like many adolescence of my period I had this thirst to learn about intimacy with these foul creatures that we call women. …. So in my youth I set out on my own to explore the vast unknown and to learn where I had come from. Some people might be foolish enough to believe that this means that I wanted to explore my historical roots. In a way that was true, yet in my own literal sense I knew that my real roots were within the female herself, from which I had been born. Yes, this autobiography deals with those travels and those explorations in these fleshy matters, amongst many others things that inspired me over the years, or at least sidetracked me from the one spiritual quest that dominated the majority of my life.”  … Ah, and in my quest for the opposite sex I found myself unhappy ... or at least until I realized that what I was really seeking lies within. Once I became aware of this my outer world became my playground and although I still look for true love, a mate and a good woman who likes sex in the shower, I am no longer willing to sell my Soul to obtain it."

4:50pm I received this email from another woman who writes, "I can't explain your draw to Pisces women except for it's your rising, which appears to make you very sensitive, but I believe you are acutely aware of your fragility and my impressions are that you're quite guarded with your heart. … I smiled and replied, “Ah, I wish I was guarded with my heart. I’m a Cancer, a romantic and it doesn’t take much for some cute thing to smile to get my blood pumping and for me to see stars. It has been my curse my whole life, I love too easily. I wish I could simply have sex like some guys and then discard the woman like old clothes. Sex for me is driven by the perversity of my Pisces Rising but this is but a precursor to my Cancer Sun kicking in with the need to hold hands, walk in the rain and share a life filled with smiles. In a way that is why I’m so guarded; I’m very careful about which Zodiac signs I get involved with. A one night stand driven by my Rising Sign, of Piscean pleasure, can often lead to months of torment as this Crab walks sideways back and forth dodging bullets. Thank the Gods for my Scorpio Moon; it allows me to be vicious and flee as the need arises!"

4:40pm Here is a reply that I sent to a young lady - "Previously you asked “if an Angel can fall, a Demon must also be able to rise” and I explained that although the Abramelin book is brilliant, it is so because it clearly shows the division of the daimon into two poles of good/evil thanks to Christianity … but in truth the daimon is a neutral entity and we are the natural bridge or fulcrum between the two extremes. If we learn to balance our daimon or genii, and even accept his guidance, we can become possessed by creative powers, the source of which the ancients called ‘genius.’ The reason I am so creative is because I learned a long time ago something which both OTO sex magick and psychology agree upon, or that eroticism, especially imagination, fuel one’s libido which in turn is the very essence that establishes our daimon’s guidance. ... You must grasp that simple secret and not fall sway of the pure or perfect Soul which Christianity projects as a requirement to spirituality. Now don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying that you should run out, become a whore and have sex to find your daimon but you must explore what fuels your libido as I have done as a Cancer, or Crab. We know that people who deny and try to conceal their sexuality (libido) are often the most uncreative in society. This is because they are ‘destroying the very bridge’ between themselves and their daimon. Such people often go about the Earth in day to day drudgery and, oddly, even though they can find success in the mundane, they never really achieve anything inward or of a spiritual nature ... which for the magician this is truly death. The secret to obtaining our Angel’s (daimon) guidance is so simple; sexuality is the mortar that builds the bridge. This is why I originally researched and wrote the article on the sexuality of each Zodiac sign. If each one of us picked our incarnation, then we picked our sign knowing full well that it concealed not only the nature of our human consciousness, our spirituality but more important, our libido. Carl Jung, who wrote so much about the libido, was an avid astrologer. He wrote: “We are born at a given moment in a given place and like vintage years of wine we have the qualities of the year and of the season in which we are born. Astrology does not lay claim to anything else.”

2:50pm After reading this morning's 6:40am entry, Kimberly writes, "I can think of only about one scenario that prompted this 'gem' - and I'll bet she was a Pisces too :)."  ... Reply: You're probably right. 

6:40am I found this odd little gem of an entry in Crowley's unpublished diaries [December 22nd 1938] but he gives no reason as to what prompted it. He simply writes, "Why do women resent being praised for their fucking? What else is there to praise?" ... You got to love Uncle Al! He was a romantic.

6:30am For the history buffs: Today is the official day that we honor the trickster god Loki and his consort Sigyn. ……… also, Ignatius of Loyala, born in the Loyala family castle in Guipúzcoa, Spain, the youngest of 13 children, died on this date in 1556. He was the founder of an order called The Society of Jesus, or Jesuit Order. He was canonized in 1622; declared by Pope Pius XI to be the patron of spiritual exercises and retreats.

Wednesday July 30th 2008 – 5:15am For the history buffs: On this date in 1390 the trial of Marion la Droituriere began. She was accused of hiring Margot de la Barre to make her ex-lover impotent. ……… and it was on this date in 1925, Dr William Wynn Westcott, who was a dedicated physician and Coroner for North East London, died in Durban, Republic of  South Africa of Bright’s disease. He was the author of several medical texts, an active Freemason, and is best remembered for having created the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (HOGD) with Samuel Liddel Mathers and Dr. William Woodman, sometime before February 12, 1888.

Tuesday July 29th 2008 – 5:45am For the history buffs: On this date in 1566 Agnes Waterhouse was hanged. She and her daughter Elizabeth, were two of the Chelmsford Witches tried in the first major trial after the institution of the Elizabethan statute against Witchcraft in 1563. Agnes was originally accused of bewitching a child and of other wicked deeds but in her confession, obtained through torture, she told tales of worshipping Satan, who appeared to her in the form of a spotted cat, and later as a toad. Satan taught her and her daughter how to do many evil deeds from murder to bewitchment. Agnes also claimed that they both fed their own blood to the cat after pricking herself. This was proved by the shape of certain blemishes on both of their bodies. In the end, Agnes was hanged on this date and Elizabeth, seemingly acquitted now, was hanged thirteen years later in a second trial. …...…. Also, Pascal Beverly Randolph, the 19th Century Adept and author of The Magia Sexualis, shot himself in head and died on this date in 1875 in Toledo Ohio. He is credited with being the first overt spokesman in the west of sexual ‘gnosis’ which he claimed had been hidden for centuries in layers of religious symbolism. He is said to be the founder of The Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor (c.1881) which is also known as the Brotherhood of Eulis. After his death he was succeeded by a Mr. Freeman B Dowd on April 15, 1907, who was succeeded by Dr. Edward H. Brown, who in turn was succeeded by R. Swinburne Clymer. …...…. And it was on July 29, 1924 that Elizabeth Virginia Short was born to Cleo and Phoebe Short in Hyde Park, Massachusetts. During the Depression the family fell on hard times and Cleo simply abandoned his wife and five daughters by faking his suicide. His empty car was discovered near a bridge and the authorities believed that he had jumped into the river below. Years later, when he resurfaced in California, Elizabeth, who always wanted to be an actress, came out and briefly stayed with him. Her claim to fame came on January 15, 1947 when a passerby spotted a nude body in a vacant lot near Hollywood. The dead woman seemed posed, lying on her back with her arms raised over her shoulders, her legs spread eagled. She had been cut in half at the waist. Her face and body had been slashed viciously. Rope marks on her ankles, wrists and neck suggested a very nasty scene before she died. After she was identified as Elizabeth Short the press dubbed her The Black Dahlia because of her black hair and black attire. Her murder still haunts the Los Angeles Police Department since the heinous crime was first committed back in 1947. …...…. And finally, Stanton T. Friedman was born on this date in New Jersey in 1934. He worked fourteen years as a nuclear physicist with highly classified, eventually cancelled projects as nuclear aircraft, fission and fusion rockets, and nuclear power plants for space. He has always been interested in Flying Saucers and since 1967 he has lectured on the topic “Flying Saucers ARE Real” at more than 600 colleges and over 100 professional groups in 50 states, 9 Provinces, England, Italy, Turkey, Germany, Holland, France, Finland, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, Korea, Mexico and Israel. He has published more than 70 papers on UFOs besides his dozens of conventional articles, and appeared on hundreds of radio and TV shows. He wrote the book The Quest for Truth about UFOs (2003).

History Heap continued: I almost forgot to mention that July 29th is the celebration of Saint Martha & the Dragon. Martha was the sister of Mary Magdalene and Lazarus. Remember, in John’s gospel he writes, “Jesus loved Martha and Mary and Lazarus.” Yet after the crucifixion, according to some legends, Martha, her brother, sister, and others were set adrift, from what is now Israel, without a rudder, sail or food. However, they inevitably survived and landed safely in Marseilles, France. They then traveled inland to Aix where Martha’s preaching converted many a heathen to Christianity. When Martha arrived in Nerluc, near Saintes Marie de la Mer, she found a town plagued for over twenty years by a hideous beast-like dragon which the townsfolk called the Tarasque. Martha listens to their stories about this beast and then sets out, bear-footed, to search for the creature. When she finds it, she makes the sign of a cross which, according to legend, stops the dragon as if it were pierced by a sword, while sprinkling Holy Water upon it to quench his ‘fire’ breathing antics and make him submissive. She then uses his sharp tooth to cut off her own braids which she then uses as a bridle to lead him back in town, tame as a lamb. However, the townspeople went berserk upon seeing the dragon and they kills the Tarasque with a shower of stones and, although Martha weeps, she forgives the people’s action because she understands their long-time suffering. Legends describes the dragon as being enormous with a body like an ox but with six short bear-like legs with enormous claws. On his body he has two shields like those of a turtle but covered with curved spikes, and the rest of his body is covered with closely overlapping scales that formed his armor. His tail is long and curved like a scorpion. His head is that of a lion, yet with a horse’s ears, but his face, with eyebrows and mustache, is that of a sad and bitter old man. The Tarasque was described as being an evil fire-breathing beast.

Monday July 28th 2008 – 6:00am For the history buffs: Nuit Ma Ahathoor Hecate Sappho Jezebel Lilith was born on this date in 1904 to Aleister Crowley and his wife Rose. Sadly she would not live long and she died shortly afterwards. Duncombe Jewell remarked later that she had died of “acute nomenclature.”

Sunday July 27th 2008 – 8:00am For the history buffs: Dr. William Moriarty, the real figure on whom Dion Fortune based her character called Dr. Taverner in her book titled The Secrets of Dr. Taverner, was born in Dublin, Ireland on this date in 1873. Contrary to popular opinion, Dr. Taverner was not based upon Aleister Crowley. It has been written that “Moriarty was not an MD. He was not even a PhD. He just fibbed a little.” …..…. And Robert ‘Bobby’ Kenneth Beausoleil, aka Cupid, Jasper, Cherub, Robert Lee Hardy and Jason Lee Daniels, killed Gary Hinman on this date in California in 1969. Beausoleil was part of Charles Manson’s Family. He was eventually convicted and sentenced to death but it was commuted to Life when California briefly outlawed the death penalty in 1972. In the sixties he had briefly been the lover of the underground film producer Kenneth Anger and had even supplied him with the soundtrack for his film Lucifer Rising. Beausoleil also acted in the original film version of Lucifer Rising which later mysteriously disappeared. He played the part of Lucifer. After their falling out, Kenneth Anger began referring to him as ‘The Toad.’ …….... also, on July 27, 1979 the movie The Amityville Horror opened in theaters. It is tenuously based on a true story about a large haunted house on the coast of Long Island in which George and Kathy Lutz and their three children move into. They are unaware that all the strange happenings might be caused by the fact that a murder took place in the house several years back. The Lutz family inevitably turns to their family priest Father Delaney who performs an exorcism but the evil spirit in the house causes him to become blind and makes him very ill. George and Kathy with the help of another priest Father Bolen, and a police detective, face the fears of the house, but are yet unaware that the spirit is planning to possess George and then kill the children.  …...…. And finally, on July 27, 2003 Helen Parsons Smith, the ex-wife of both Wilfred T. Smith and Jack Parsons of Agape Lodge O.T.O. fame, died at the age of 93 in California. Her body was cremated and her ashes scattered over Lake Tahoe.

Saturday July 26th 2008 – 6:35am The movie Brideshead Visited is opening in theaters this weekend. Critics really love it so far; the reviews are good. The movie is based on a book by Evelyn Waugh who was born in London into a comfortable middle-class family on October 28th 1903. Waugh spent the majority of his life writing, drinking and engaging in homosexual romance. It has always been debated whether or not he personally knew Aleister Crowley and it is doubtful that the movie will have any of the ‘Crowleyean’ overtones as does his book. … The first inkling of any interest in Crowleyism on Waugh’s part appeared in a short story in 1933 titled A Step Off The Map, subtitle: An Experiment Begun in Shaftesbury Avenue and Ended in Time. It was published in Harper’s Bazaar (London) in December of 1933. It was later edited and released in a book titled Mr Loveday’s Little Outing and other Sad Stories (1936). It was also renamed Out of Depth. The story describes a dinner party attended by an American whose name, believe it or not, is Rip van Winkle. In this story there is another character named Doctor Kakophililos, which is Greek for a “Lover of Evil.” Dr. Kakophililos is said to be “a great magician” and is described as “an elderly man, quite bald, with a vast white face that spread down and out far beyond the normal limits.” After Rip introduces himself, the doctor replies in a typical Crowley fashion - “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.”  To which Rip simply utters, “Eh?” The rest of the story goes down hill from there. In Aleister Crowley’s 1936 diary he acknowledges on July 1st of knowing about Mr Loveday’s Little Outing but regrettably he gives no indication of his views. …. The next book worth mentioning, now made into a movie, is Brideshead Visited, The Sacred and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder. It was released in 1945. It is a nostalgic story about beauty and corruption depicting the story of a wealthy Roman Catholic family named Marchmain whose ancestral house lies just outside of Brideshead. The story is told by a friend of the family named Charles Ryder who, while attending Oxford, meets Sebastian Flyte, the younger son of the Marquis of Marchmain. At one point we learn that Sebastian might have Crowleyean connections because he sends Charles a letter ending with an odd one line comment stating, “Love or what you will.” This obviously is a corruption of “Love is the law, love under will” which Aleister Crowley always used in ending his own letters. Another character in the book is Anthony Blanche, a flamboyant homosexual who is described as having “practised black art in Cefalu,” a reference to Aleister Crowley’s Abbey of Thelema. Like many authors, Waugh relied heavily on his own experiences and the people around him as source material for his stories and novels but besides a few slight innuendoes in Brideshead Visited and other works, the Crowleyism is so vague that it is most likely just gratuitous over-lays taken from what he read in the newspapers about the scandalous activities at Crowley’s infamous Abbey of Thelema. Some of Waugh’s other intimate acquaintances, who also knew of Aleister Crowley, were Mary Butts, Gwen Otter and Ronald Firbank, whose name he drops in Brideshead Visited. In the end, Evelyn Waugh died in his bathroom after attending Mass with his family on Easter Day 1966.

6:25am For the history buffs: George Bernard Shaw was born on this date at 3 Upper Synge Street in Dublin Ireland in 1856. He was a noted Irish dramatist, literary critic, a socialist spokesman, and a leading figure in the 20th century theater. He was a man of whom Aleister Crowley wrote, “... was engaged in public exhibitions of rapier play; his subtlety made his colleagues doubt his sincerity.” ……… also, Carl Jung was born on this date in Kesswil, a Swiss hamlet near the falls of the Rhine in 1875. His grandfather, a Rosicrucian freethinker was reputed to have been an illegitimate son of Goethe. He was one of the great explorers on our “inner space” and, besides a strong background in Freudian theory, he had an apparently inexhaustible knowledge of mythology, religion, and philosophy in general. Jung was especially knowledgeable in the symbolism of complex mystical traditions such as Gnosticism, Alchemy, Kabala, and similar traditions in Hinduism and Buddhism, all of which he brought into his theories about human archetypes. …….. and Aldous Huxley was born on this date in Surrey, England in 1894. He was a novelist best known for his books titled The Devils of Loudun (1952), The Doors of Perception (1954) and Heaven and Hell (1956). Numerous historians and biographers of this gentleman have always stated that there is absolutely no proof to even support any allegations that Aleister Crowley ever met Huxley and, least of all, that Huxley would become fascinated with altered states of consciousness after dropping mescaline given to him by the Great Beast. But let’s reflect upon some of the facts. We know that Aldous Huxley was visiting Berlin while Aleister Crowley was living in the city. This fact is mentioned in one of Huxley’s biographies where it states that “Aldous had gone on to Berlin and Paris, accompanying his friend Sullivan on a ‘tour of great men’ - a most entertaining piece of sightseeing.” This was in late September, early October of 1930. It appears that Huxley was traveling with his dear friend John William Navin Sullivan (1886-1937) who at the time was on ‘a tour of great men’ - interviewing as many eminent scientists as he could find for an upcoming book. We also know, Sullivan was a friend of Aleister Crowley’s. In fact, in Crowley’s unpublished diaries on October 2nd 1930 he mentions that he received a “letter from Sullivan - who arrives tonight with Aldous Huxley” According to other diary entries he had “dinner & Mikado &c with Sullivan & Huxley,” and again on another day, “Spent evening with Huxley & Sullivan at Muenchner Hofbraeu one of those large mediocre places which delight the grossness of Sullivan ... Huxley improves on acquaintance. We left him, very tired, at 1 A.M. Sunday.” So we can put to rest some of the stories by saying that Aleister Crowley definitely did meet Aldous Huxley. Although there is no indication in Crowley’s diaries as to what they discussed, it is highly unlikely that magick, drugs or Liber AL vel Legis were not mentioned, these being Crowley’s favorite topics of discussion. As far as Huxley being introduced to mescaline, although Crowley’s diaries do not specifically mention Anhalonium lewinii (peyote cactus), this was his drug of choice during that period of his life, and it is safe to assume that he shared with his friends. There is story worth mentioning. Aldous Huxley died on November 22nd 1963, shortly after his wife Laura gave him LSD for the ‘passage.’ ……… and finally, on this date in 1943 Michael Phillip Jagger was born on this date in Dartford, Kent, England. He dropped out of London’s School of Economics to be a rock star and he formed The Rolling Stones which began recording in 1963. The band struck stardom in 1965 with their international hit  (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction. During the late 60’s Mick Jagger became associated with the underground film producer, and avid Crowleyite, Ken Anger and he did the music for Anger’s 1969 film version of Invocation of My Demon Brother.

Friday July 25th 2008 – 6:25am I received an email last night with this question - "I came across the name Beresford Egan, who is he and what is his connection to Aleister Crowley" ... Reply: Egan was born in 1905 and grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he later worked as a sports cartoonist for the Rand Daily Mail. He left South Africa for England in July of 1926, and quickly established himself in the artistic and literary atmosphere of London. His first work was a collaboration with the Australian writer P. R. Stephensen which appeared in The Sink of Solitude (1928). He also worked with Stephensen on The Policeman of the Lord (1929). Both were satires based on the controversy surrounding the publication of Radclyffe Hall’s novel The Well of Loneliness. Egan’s illustrations soon appeared in an edition of Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mals (1929). He also illustrated several works of the French writer Pierre Louys which was published by The Fortune Press in the late 1920’s. He met the Great Beast through his friend P. R. Stephensen. Egan recorded a brief account of what transpired, “In 1931 I designed the bookjacket for Crowley’s Moonchild - also in coloured inks. Later I was asked by Mandrake Press to illustrate Crowley’s Verse Play The Angel of Venice, which came to nothing because, when P. R. Stephensen (who was much impressed by Aleister Crowley) invited us to lunch at some Bloomsbury ‘local’, Crowley took an instant dislike to me, which I found vastly amusing - considering what a devil-man he was reputed to be. The original drawing for the frontpiece (coloured inks again) of The Angel of Venice, which was never submitted and has never been published, passed out of my hands last year together with the bulk of my early work.” [Beresford Egan, An Introduction to His Work by Paul Allen, England: Scorpion Press 1966 p.17.] Beresford Egan died in 1984.

6:10am The First Law of Philosophy : For every philosopher, there exists an equal and opposite philosopher.

The Second Law of Philosophy: They're both wrong.

6:00am For the history buffs: On this date in 1928 Moina, the wife of Samuel L. MacGregor Mathers, died at the age of sixty-three at Saint Mary’s Hospital in London. Her body was cremated. After her death all the magickal furniture of Moina’s Golden Dawn Temple, as well as her writings and private papers, were burned per the orders that she received from the Secret Chiefs. It an odd twisted way it was fulfilling her magickal motto of Vestigia Nulla Retrorsun which means “I leave no trace behind.” ……. And on this date in Elizabeth, Illinois in 1929, a “huge gorilla” was seen by many witnesses wandering in woods near town. Others determined it was a Bigfoot.

Thursday July 24th 2008 – 12:30pm I came across the story in the NEWS today of a family court judge in New Zealand who "has had enough with parents giving their children bizarre names" and ordered the parents of a nine-year old girl, as of today, to rename her. The parents named their child 'Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii.' ... Also, the "Registration officials blocked some names, including Fish and Chips, Yeah Detroit, Keenan Got Lucy and Sex Fruit" but oddly other names "were allowed, including Number 16 Bus Shelter and "Violence." ... Thank the lucky stars we're not in France which apparently has 'anti-teasing' Laws where parents must choose baby names from an approved list. An 'approved list'???  I'm not sure I would have ever been able to name my son Faustus Cornelius! I named him after a Roman Centurion named 'Faustus Cornelius' who put siege to and conquered Jerusalem in 64BC. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, it was Faustus who was the first man over the wall, leading his men to sack the Holy Mount ... then again, it was also Faustus, who sold his soul to the devil Mephistopheles in exchange for youth, power and knowledge and a girl named Gretchen. ... Here is a poem I wrote before my son was born:

To Faustus in the Womb

Oh Faustus,

young Faustus, of your Soul I can't tell.

Whether it'll be conquering Jerusalem,

    or burning in Hell.

For futures are something not etched in stone,

unless there be a 'Gretchen' whose twitching your bone.

Then hopefully in youth I'll have taught you well,

go for the wall - you've got nothing to sell!

                                              Crowleymas 1995ev

9:45am Dave writes re: my 7:35am posting - "All the best. you brave Cancer." .... I replied as a Crab: "93 It's been quiet lately ... I like stirring up the mud; it brings the food to the surface!"

7:35am Here is a thought to muddle over by the Great Beast 666 [aka Mr. Crowley] on women - "In Berlin all the whores look like 'respectable women'; in New York all the 'respectable women' look like whores. Reflection: they're all whores, anyhow." [from AC unpublished diaries January 4th 1931]

7:20am For the history buffs: Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, the 18th Baron Dunsany, whose family seat is in County Meath, northwest of Dublin was born on this date in London in 1978. Dunsany was one of the harbingers of modern fantasy and, in the words of the ardent admirer H.P. Lovecraft, “To the truly imaginative he is a talisman and a key unlocking rich storehouses of dream.” …....…. And it was on this date in 1955 that the world’s most secret Air Force Base known as Area 51, aka Dreamland, which is part of the Nellis Air Force Range and Nuclear Test Site just northwest of Las Vegas, was supposedly established. At first it was a test site for U-2 spy planes and later for the investigation of the technology obtained from crashed UFOs since the Roswell incident. To this day this remote and mysterious dry lake bed is still reporting sightings of UFO’s in and around what has become known as Area 51. …....…. And finally, on July 24, 1995, Marjorie Cameron, aka Candida or Candy, who was an accomplished painter, poet, feminist, actress and occultist, died in California. She was the wife of Jack Parsons, the famed rocket scientist and Agape Lodge Master of the Ordo Templi Orientis. 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.

Wednesday July 23rd 2008 – 4:30pm Jerri replied to my 2:20pm posting. I think she's beginning to figure me out!  Damn that Cancer Moon of hers!  It's so sad. I am just going to sit here, drink a few beers and plot my next torturous move.

2:50pm Carol writes about Jerri and me, part of which states: "You know I'm an Aquarius, you water signs sometimes make me sick! Enough! Bring on the magical talks and intellectual stuff. Something I can sink my teeth into. "  ..... Reply: Carol be nice. We water signs are entitled to our humor and emotions.

2:20pm I just got back from running errands and found an email from Jerri. She replies - "93 You!! While it is definitely true that we Pisces take things too personally...I'm on to you, Mr. Cancer sidestep. I'm on to you... 93 93/93 :-) Jerri." ...... Reply: If only you lived closer; you can be onto me all you want ... but I can see both of us sitting in the bar, or sipping coffee at the local restaurant and torturing each other. But I'm not big on sushi; I like my fish cooked and smeared with tartar sauce!

12:10pm Jerri replied to this morning's 7:45am posting - "You know perfectly well that we are not living together! Just as you know we are just friends. But, to add some fuel to the fire here----you know I'm a Pisces. Major no no's are some of my most favorite things...and we certainly have a draw to pain and suffering (sounds like a Virgo would be perfect...hahahaha...)!" ..... Reply: Pisces are the number one sign that, quote, "takes everything too personal." Of course I know that you two aren't living together, never said you were. :) You both have your own apartments and you're now just living closer to each other. You like no no's, hummmm, my little Cancer mind is a swimming with that one, I have a Pisces Rising!

10:30am I sent this email reply to Michael McMurtrey: Wow – “a distant cousin” of Grady’s! Are you a descendant from George or Joseph McMurtry who settled in Oklahoma just after the Civil War?  All of Grady’s kith and kin derive from these two bloodlines. Anyway, it is always interesting to meet his relatives. I take it that you’ve read my two-volume biography on him? … You asked – “The original spelling is 'McMurtrey' (as I and most members of the family spell it). Did he drop the 'e' in order to distance himself from his father?” … Grady loved his father dearly and I have vivid memories of him talking fondly about him and defending his actions. By all indications, Grady’s name, his father’s and his grandparents were always spelt ‘McMurtry.’ I have a bunch of old family letters and all his relatives spell it ‘McMurtry.’ However, they were not the most educated of families and many of the letters border on a first-to-third grade education. I think at this point in time it could be anyone’s guess as to which is, or if both, spellings are correct. We would need a ‘smoking gun’ from around the time just after the Civil War to determine when and if a mutation occurred. It could well be that yours is the mutation but, then again, the name is Scottish in origin, but this is of little help since it is spelt both ‘McMurtry’ and ‘McMurtrey’ in this country. ........ and Michael replied: "Actually, its more tenuous than that. Grady and I would be third cousins as we share the same great-great-grandfather, Alexander Campbell McMurtrey. But great-great-grandpa Alex had two wives; Grady is descended from one, I from the other. So we're half-third cousins! … I have only read the summaries on your web site, plus other biographical info on line elsewhere. I have to admit I was totally unfamiliar with him, his involvement with Aleister Crowley, and Thelema and O.T.O. until starting this genealogical research. … I am 99% certain that the original spelling is 'McMurtrey,' but I have seen it both ways among members of the family. When I scrawl my signature it looks like 'McMurtry' or even 'McMurty,' and I suspect that bad handwriting, misspelling by census takers and tombstone carvers, or, as you point out, a lack of education, may be responsible for the variation. … Regardless of how he spelled the name, cousin Grady was obviously a complex and fascinating individual, and I wish I could have known him personally. At least, however, I have met him and learned something about him through your web site. … Thanks for your reply. Your timing was perfect, as I was sitting at my computer working on genealogy when I got it. Best wishes."

7:45am Jerri wrote yesterday, “Hope you are doing well...sounds like I missed a good party! I'll be sure to make the next one. You want to start spreading rumors?”  ....... Reply: It's no rumor; you and Robert Flores moved at the same time to the same city. Right? And what are we to infer from that? I should mention that of all the astrological combinations, Pisces and Virgos are a major no no. It’s like a Cancer-Aries combination; lots of fun at first but too volatile in the long run. Moral: Remain just friends. How’s this blog entry for starting rumors?  

7:15am Mary asks "When I asked you about your views on D--- S------ you used the phrase that they're notorious for doing 'The Teabury Shuffle.' What does that mean?" .... Reply: Ah, silly me. It's one of my Jerryisms. I keep forgetting that people close to me know my 'catch phrases' but those of distance read some of my stuff and only get befuddled. I use the phrase Teaberry Shuffle to refer to someone who loves 'dancing' and who always avoids telling a straight forward and honest answer to an simple question. Actually, the Teaberry Shuffle refers to a cute little dance that a bunch of girls did in TV commercials for Teaberry gum years ago to 'distract the viewer' from the fact that their product sucks! I tried the gum, hated it. Kinda says alot, no?

7:00am I forgot to mention that Luna sent me an email on Sunday. My life these last few days, besides being a blur, is playing catch-up. Anyway, Luna writes about my Birthday Party, “J 93! Steven, Dragon, Ed, and I had a wonderful time yesterday. I've been re-running the tape in my head, and I am listening to your words to me closely.  One part of my brain, or one of my muses gleened a lot of importance from your words on how every manifestation will come to an end (something like that). So....everything you said to me yesterday is being re-listened to and computed now. Dragon had a great time and couldn't stop talking about you to his wife Rhiannon.  It was important to me that you and Dragon got to meet. So......onto and into a new chapter now. I'm clearing my slate and drawing table and will put my hand to a new illo for a Grady poem tonight. You are much LOVED JERRY! P.S.  Too bad you don't remember getting that birthday spanking from me!!!!  it was the best part of the party, and, you liked it! 93s   )O(.” ........ Reply: I enjoyed all of your company too. It was a delight meeting both Dragon & Ed; I enjoy making new friends. I felt quite at home with both. ... Ah, "every manifestation will come to an end", yes, I remember the talk well. Basically, everything that manifests must follow the course of the Sun. It's born (east), it lives it's life (south), it's dies (west) and out of the ashes in the underworld (north) it will be born a new in the east. Too many magicians fall by the wayside because they achieve something quiet brilliant but they refuse to let it die. They keep harping on the same 'achievement' over and over as if stuck in the groove of a broken record. They fail to realize that everything that we do are but building stones of many and, never forgetting the importance of any given stone, you must learn to build off of them. Place no importance on one over the other. Even if the 'new' birth is 100% different from one's previous achievements, who are we to judge the Gods?  Go with the flow.

6:45am For the history buffs: Today in 1865 Max Heindel was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was a Theosophist and later founding the Rosicrucian Fellowship of the U.S., which is a non-profit foundation in Oceanside, California. He was a prolific writer. He died on January 6, 1919. …..…. Also, on July 23, 1874 Rose Edith Kelly was born in England. She was the older sister of Sir Gerald Festus Kelly, later President of the Royal academy of Art in England. She would later marry the notorious black magician Aleister Edward Crowley on August 12, 1903 and become known as ‘Ouarda’, the seer, which is an Arabic word for ‘Rose.’ On July 28, 1904 the couple had a daughter. She was named Nuit Ma Ahathoor Hecate Sappho Jezebel Lilith Crowley. She died young. In 1906 Rose gave birth to their second daughter Lola Zaza. The best quote regarding Rose is from a book titled The Demon Lovers (1969) by Joseph R. Rosenberger. It takes place on the night of her honeymoon with Aleister. It goes as follows: “Rose stripped off her clothes and stood before Crowley in all her nudity. Her breasts were perfect cones, high and firm. Her waist was trim and her hips nicely rounded. She was a true red head all the way.” …...… and speaking of odd things, on July 23, 1886 Steve Brodie, a Brooklyn bookmaker, wrote his name in history as being the first person ever to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge and live. The bridge, which had been built across the East River between lower Manhattan and Brooklyn in New York, had just been completed a few years earlier. He became an immediate hero and New York sightseers flocked to a tavern that he opened in the Bowery to drink and share stories with this now famous ‘bridge jumper.’ However, years later it was revealed that it was a weighted dummy that people saw falling from the bridge and not Brodie. It was all a publicity stunt. Brodie died in 1901. …….... And on July 23, 1920 Jane Wolfe arrived at the Abbey of Thelema in Cefalu from America. She was hoping that Aleister Crowley might cure her sickness. William Seabrook, a very close friend of Wolfe, stated that she was suffering from “... an unrequited passion for some homme fatale of the speakeasy epoch, from too much bathroom gin, despondency, and a couple of other depressants which ... included veronal.”

Tuesday July 22nd 2008 – 6:15pm Luis sent an article:

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Woman runs sword into foot

during Wiccan ceremony

  (07-22) 13:52 PDT Lebanon, Ind. (AP) --

A woman accidentally stabbed herself in the foot with a 3-foot-long sword while performing a Wiccan good luck ritual at a central Indiana cemetery. Katherine Gunther, 36, of Lebanon, pierced her left foot with the sword while performing the rite at Oak Hill Cemetery, police said. Gunther said she was performing the ceremony to give thanks for a recent run of good luck. The ceremony involves the use of candles, incense and driving swords into the ground during the full moon. Gunther said was aiming to put the sword in the ground, but hit her foot instead. "It wasn't the first time I performed the ritual, but it was the first time I put a sword through my foot," she said. Gunther immediately pulled the sword out of her foot, and her companions took her to Witham Memorial Hospital, where she was kept a couple days for treatment. No charges were filed, police said. The Wiccans were warned that being in the cemetery in the city about 20 miles northwest of Indianapolis after posted visiting hours constitutes trespassing. Wicca is a nature-based religion based on respect for the earth, nature and the cycle of the seasons.

6:15am My dear friend Ricardo Flores sent me an email this morning. Definitely check it out! He writes, "A friend sent me these videos he put in Youtube.  The first one, After the Revolution, was made from a ritual I performed and directed in 2005 at a gallery in San Francisco.  I was attempting to work with the elements of war I went through when growing up in El Salvador.  The second one is an excerpt from an impromptu interview I made with RU Sirius.  The third one is an invocational ritual we did as part of an experimental dance/theatre/ritualistic performances incorporating participatory audience, live music and improvisational video feed. We called this series Via Siniestra.  This one is one of the first ones I brought my students to perform in San Francisco.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwXKJaBgIYk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOBHrCeMWdo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X6JTdh4B3Y

I’m of course the one with the black hat."

6:10am One of the fine gentleman who attended my birthday thingy on Saturday, Brian ‘Dragon’ Spurlock has an interesting website; check it out: http://pictdom.org/

6:00am Sorry for not answering everyone’s emails yesterday and etcs but I had doctor’s visits, test & etc, all heart relating stuff and, like the weekend in general, it was simply a blur of day gone by. I’m entitled to be a zombie every now and then. Since Friday I've accomplished little and I've fallen behind in my obligations, like mailing packages and answering phone calls, letters, emails etc & etc. Mea Culpas! But about yesterday, I’m doing OK. Don’t panic. It was simply a regular scheduled doctor's visit. ... [p.s. and to those whose phone calls from Saturday night to Sunday around noon I didn't answer - sorry - my battery died. My base could record incoming messages but the phone itself was sucking pond water until the battery recharged. Sorry.]

5:50am For the history buffs: On this date in 1892, as two boys trolled for bass near the south shore of Lake Geneva, Switzerland, they were startled to see the head of a huge serpent like creature rise out of the water about twenty-five yards away. It opened its huge mouth, revealing several rows of sharp, hooked teeth, and focused its fierce eyes on the terrified onlookers. It began swimming toward them, and the boys, literally paralyzed with fear, were unable to move. Fortunately for them, the creature executed an abrupt turn when it got within a few feet of them and swam back toward the middle of the lake. The boys later said  that it was at least 100 feet long and three feet around. …...... and it was on July 22, 1921 that Frank Bennett, Frater Progradior, signed the Oath of Zelator in the AA. …….... And it was on July 22, 1941Vaughn Bode was born in Utica, New York. He was the infamous underground cartoonist who created a unique little wizard who always wore a huge pointed hat. His comic strip began by stating, “...once upon a time at 2:30 in the afternoon there lived a wise and benevolent wizard that went by the handle Cheech Wizard.” The inspiration for the wizard’s name was a can of Cheechy Nuts. In 1972, Cheech Wizard appears for the first time in the National Lampoon magazine. Bode once commented that he was as “an extremely introverted kid, completely unable to relate to the world around me...I started creating my own fantasy world populated with my own little creatures.” He died in San Francisco of ‘accidental strangulation’ on July 18, 1975. Some claim from a mystic 'sexual' experiment gone wrong. He was just 34. ……… and to keep up with the flavor of today’s oddities I must note that on July 22, 1996 aan reported to the local authorities that he was at a summer cottage outside Ontario, Canada when he experienced two hours of ‘missing time’ and he told them that he had vague memories of lying on a table were several short gray figures were standing around him. He also pointed out an X-pattern of red marks on his hand as proof to his alien abduction. ……. And finally, on July 22, 1996,late at night near Vicenza Italy, two local youngsters reported, while sleeping on the grassy slopes of Monte Berici, that they suddenly noticed the total lack of any animal noises. Everything became eerily quiet. Soon they heard a sort of modulated scraping metallic sound followed by the sounds of something moving in the forest. When they looked towards the sound they noticed two dark red gleaming eyes staring at them. The girl screamed, became frightened and covered herself with a blanket; the boy reported that he saw what appeared to be a large form, like a white-silvery blanket approaching from a nearby hill. Suddenly the bizarre robotic creature seemed to shrink up within itself and then disappeared into the woods. Other people in the area also reported hearing loud noises coming from the woods.

Monday July 21st 2008 – 5:08am For the history buffs: After eating an English missionary on this day in 1867, contrite villagers in Fiji are now eating humble pie and want to say sorry. Rev Thomas Baker, from Playden, East Sussex, was cooked and eaten by the people of the remote mountain village of Navatusila. They only thing left of Mr Baker, a clergyman with the Wesleyan Methodist Church, were his leather boots - and they even attempted to chew them. The people of Navatusila believe they were cursed because of the actions of their cannibal ancesters. They have no electricity, no passable road leading out of the jungle, and down the years they have suffered a series of misfortunes. In a bid to break that curse they have invited the cleric's descendants to attend a special ceremony of atonement, where they plan to offer an apology for the sins of their ancestors. But whether it will break their run of bad luck is another matter. They have apologized to no avail before, when they presented the Methodist Church of Fiji with Mr Baker's overlooked and partly chewed boots in 1993. The 35-year-old Mr Baker is the only European to have been cooked and eaten in Fiji. His death helped to create an image of missionaries as blundering proselytisers who ended up in a cooking pot as the natives' next meal. ……... And Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Illinois on this date in 1899. Like many writers of the period he was fascinated by the evils of Aleister Crowley and incorporated him into one of his stories. An unpublished version of The Sun Also Rises it contained a short story based on an incident where Ford Madox Ford snubbed Hilaire Belloc only for Hemingway to later realize that Ford had mistaken the identity of the individual whom he had snubbed. It was actually Aleister Crowley whom Ford snubbed. Hemingway describes the incident where he was sitting in a café in Paris in the twenties when “a tall, gray, lantern-jawed man” walked by, adding that Crowley was “walking with a tall woman wearing a blue Italian infantry cape.” On July 2, 1961, like his father who had committed suicide some thirty years earlier, Ernest Hemingway died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 61. He had rose early, as he had done most of his entire adult life, he selected a shotgun from a closet in the basement and went upstairs to a spot near the entrance-way of the house and shot himself in the head. If he had waited a little more than two weeks he could have celebrated 62nd birthday. …...… and Martin P. Starr was born on this date in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1959. He is an author and lecturer who researches western esotericism with a particular interest in Freemasonry, Theosophy and Thelema and related movements. He is the author of The Unknown God : W.T. Smith and the Thelemites (2003). …….... And finally, on July 21, 1980 Gerard Croiset, the Dutch psychic died at the age of 71. Croiset’s versatile psychic abilities enabled him to locate missing persons, find lost objects and also to solve crimes when called upon by police departments. The accuracy of his descriptions of various locations was amazing as was other information he was able to offer. He was able to tell people their life histories by just holding an object that belonged to them. This is a skill is known as Psychometry. He became well known for his gifts, even appearing being interviewed by the BBC.

Saturday July 20th 2008 – 8:45am It must have been a good party yesterday; my eyes hurt, aspirin isn't helping, neither is an icepack and a shower only exasperated the problem as I was painfully aware of each and every drop of water that was hitting my head; like little pins stabbing into my brain. Ah, the Gods are cruel! Thanks to all who attended, I'd say for making it a memorable day, but I only remember about of half it and then only bits and pieces. Much love to you all and special thanks goes out to Ben Hance of Leaping Laughter Clerk House for hosting it; even though I've been cursing him all morning for the pain he's induced upon me :)  ... Finally, a great big astral hug goes to Luna; being a Cancer the Moon is always a precious thing to me and thanks for bringing Dragon and Ed; both really nice guys. I enjoyed meeting them. And to our regular cast of characters who attended - thanks. ... I even got a hug from Marlene. That I remember!

8:15am For the history buffs: On this date in 1955 Kenneth Grant sent Karl Germer his ‘Manifesto to the New Isis Lodge, O.T.O.’ along with a letter which explains that for the preservation of secrecy it was not possible for Germer, the O.H.O. of the Ordo Templi Orientis, to see copies of the ‘new’ O.T.O. Initiation Rituals which he has written. Germer referred to it a “crazy Manifesto” and was infuriated that Grant had proclaimed himself a divine “priest” of a planet that he discovered and named “Isis.” Germer wrote, “It seems blasphemy to me.” Especially blasphemous was that Grant had signed this document “entirely unauthorized” as X O.T.O. & O.H.O, both the degree and title of which he simply ‘assumed.’ Germer, thinking Grant had gone mad, immediately fired off a registered letter on this date, of July 20th 1955, which was Grant’s Notification of Expulsion. Grant was thrown out of the Order.

Saturday July 19th 2008 – 6:20am I want to remind my readers that today we are having a party at Leaping Laughter Clerk House, a few blocks from my apartment here in Berkeley, starting at about 3:00pm until whenever. Contact me for details. Oddly, the name ‘Ben’ adds Qabalistically to 57 and it might be just a coincidence but I turned 57 earlier this week. Hummmm. I wonder if there is a connection? Of interest: 'Heinz 57' was originally an old slogan for the ketchup company but it also refers to any mixed breed of dog or mutt. I guess at my age I’ll accept any compliment that I can get; besides, being married twice, I’ve been called much worse. ... Anyway, all are welcomed! Hope to se ya later today!

6:00am For the history buffs: From June through September of 1692, nineteen men and women, all having been identified and convicted of witchcraft, were carted off to Gallows Hill which was  a barren slope near Salem Village, to be hanged. Another man of over eighty years was pressed to death under heavy stones for refusing to submit to a trial on witchcraft charges. Hundreds of others faced accusations of witchcraft; dozens languished in jail for months without trials until the hysteria that swept through Puritan Massachusetts subsided. On this particular date, of July 19, 1692, five of the key figures were executed; Rebecca Nurse, Susannah Martin, Elizabeth Howe, Sarah Good, and Sarah Wildes. ……… and to continue on with the flavor of the day, Lizzie Borden was born in Fall River, Massachusetts on this date in 1860. She is mostly likely remembered as taking an axe, and giving her mother forty whacks and when the job was nicely done, she gave her father forty one! Yes, everyone in Fall River knew that she chopped up her father, Andrew Jackson Borden, and step-mother, Sarah Anthong Morse-Borden, in August of 1892 but without sufficient evidence, she was actually found not guilty. …..… and Jorg Lanz von Liebenfels, aka Adolf Josef Lanz, was born on this date in 1874. He was a former monk who on December 25, 1900 founded the Order of the New Templars.  He said that he set himself up as the order’s Grand Master and adopted the swastika as his emblem. He published a right-wing anti-Semitic magazine called Ostara. He later founded the German religious movement known as Theozoology (c.1904) which advocated sterilization of the sick and the “lower races” as well as castration for all forced laborers, while glorifying the “Aryan race” as “Gottmenschen” (god men). He justified his racial ideology with imaginary biblical evidence which claimed that the original blonde woman, Eve, whom he described as being divine, had become involved with a demon, got pregnant and then gave birth to the “lower races.” His theory stated that if the true Aryan masters could “once again rule the dark-skinned beastmen” they would ultimately achieve “divinity.” In 1907 Jorg Lanz von Liebenfels, with the aid of his wealthy friends, purchases the ruins of an ancient medieval castle, Burg Werfenstein, just outside the village of Struden near Grein in Upper Austria. Lanz soon converted the castle into the headquarters of the Order of the New Templars (ONT). …..…. And it was on July 19, 1918 that Aleister Crowley began his retreat on Esopus Island in the Hudson River area of New York with Charles Stansfeld Jones, aka Frater Achad. In his diary Crowley simply wrote, “July 19. Began Great Magical Retirement in canoe on Hudson.” The author William Seabrook later commented that Crowley hadn’t bought so much as a can of beans or a loaf of bread. He had nothing in his pockets except the ticket for the trip up the river.” As the boat was leaving Crowley waved good-bye with a slight grin. Seabrook yelled, “What are you going to eat, for crying out loud?” to which Crowley replied, in his heaviest pontifical manner, “My children, I am going to Esopus Island, and I will be fed as Elijah was fed by the ravens.” Seabrook just shook his head and yelled back, “Are you coming back in a chariot of fire, or in a Black Maria?” …...… and finally, on July 19, 1969 Grady Louis McMurtry, Phyllis Seckler and Mildred Burlingame officially re-activated the Ordo Templi Orientis in the state of California, using Grady’s “emergency powers” that were given to him by Aleister Crowley. The Order had remained dormant since the death of Karl Germer in October of 1962.

Friday July 18th 2008 – 6:45pm Here is a great article of an incident occuring last March. How did we miss reporting it?

MAN FACES CHARGES

FOR HAVING SEX WITH PICNIC TABLE

Friday, March 28, 2008

Ohio police have arrested a man who was caught on tape allegedly having sex with a picnic table. Art Price Jr., 40, of Bellevue, Ohio, was arrested after a neighbor videotaped him engaged sexually with the metal table, according to a report Price was seen on four separate occasions, always between 10:30 a.m. and noon, having sex with the picnic table, Bellevue Police Capt. Matt Johnson told the TV station. "The first video we had, he was completely nude," Johnson said, noting the table in question had a hole in the middle intended to hold an umbrella. According to NBC Toledo, Ohio, affiliate WNWO-TV, the videos show Price tilting the metal round picnic table on its side and then laying up against it to have sexual intercourse with the table. Afterward, he can then be seen cleaning the table and the deck. During questioning, he reportedly admitted to having sex with the table. Police said he also admitted to bringing the table inside his home for sex. Price faces four counts of public indecency. He was freed after posting $20,000 bond, authorities said. Price, a married father of three school-age kids, faces felony counts of public indecency because his house is near an elementary school, according to the report.

10:00am It would be utterly negligeant of me if I didn’t send out a great big thanks to my old friend Andrew Drylie for the delightful gift of the book titled Peintures Inconnues D’Aleister Crowley; La collection de Palerme.(2008) Great pictures. Thanks!

9:50am I recently received two beautiful books as a birthday present From Keith and Marilyn of Weiser in Maine. They couldn’t have sent a more appropriate gift. Something that brings a big smile to this old Cancer is always cherished. The first book I was utterly blown away by. It is titled Three Essays on Freedom by John W. Parsons which is a hardback that is published out of The Teitan Press (2008). Limited Edition of 418 copies. Damn, it’s beautiful! On the back cover it states: "This book comprises three essays by Parsons: the never-before published 'Freedom is a Lonely Star,' his better known work 'Freedom is a Two-Edged Sword' (previously published only in softcover) and a short piece entitled 'Doing Your Will' (previously published only in a limited-circulation journal)." It’s a must to have in a Thelemic library. The other hardback book is equally beautiful. It is titled A Complete Book of Magic Science by Frederick Hockley. It too is published by The Teitan Press (2008). A description: A Complete Book of Magic Science. Containing the Method of Constraining and Exorcising Spirits to Appearance, the Consecration of Magic Circles, and The Form of a Bond of Spirits Transcribed From An Ancient Manuscript Grimoire. Until this edition, the grimoire has existed only in manuscript form apparently derived from 'an ancient Latin manuscript,' said to date from 1519. The work is clearly related to the book known as 'The Secret Grimoire of Turiel,' although it is lengthier and contains much additional material. This First Edition of A Complete Book of Magic Science faithfully reproduces the text and diagrams of Hockley's manuscript. It is prefaced with an Introduction by Dietrich Bergman, who has also carefully analyzed the text in comparison to that of 'The Secret Grimoire of Turiel,' and annotated it accordingly." …. Great color reproductions!!!! ... You can order both of these books directly via Weiser Antiquarian website: http://www.weiserantiquarian.com or email them at: books@weiserantiquarian.com. .... Much love and deepest thanks to Keith and Marilyn for their kindness on my birthday.

8:00am Here is a note from my old friend John Crow's latest newsletter HRILIU No.3 which I'd like to pass along. It's about the movie titled Chemical Wedding – A Movie Inspired by Aleister Crowley - "Chemical Wedding is a supernatural horror film produced with the London-based Focus Films. Simon Callow stars as a Professor Oliver Haddo, a modern Cambridge scholar who becomes possessed by Aleister Crowley, the famous occultist. The plot concerns Crowley being implanted into Haddo when Haddo entered a virtual reality machine and supercomputer, which has been corrupted by a follower of Crowley, and how he creates havoc in the surrounding area and university campus. (Wikipedia)" The movie had its theatrical release last May and will be coming to DVD on September 8, 2008." Orders can be placed HERE. More information is available on the movie website; click HERE.

Of note: Anyone with a valid email address can receive

the newsletter HRILIU free on-line. To subscribe

go to http://www.thelema.nu/hriliu/

7:45am For the history buffs: On this date in 64AD Rome burned, Nero fiddled. ……. Also, on this date in 1952, at 8:30pm, the National Airport Control Tower in Washington, D.C. confirmed with ‘blip’ on its radar that Unidentified Flying Objects were over the U. S. Capitol. All night long glowing lights were being reported in the night sky by residents as well as by airline pilots. The U. S. Air force was immediately notified of the possibly of a threat to the U.S. government. Fighter planes were then scrambled from a base in Delaware to fly to the U. S. Capital and intercept the UFOs but were unable to make contact. On the following night seven more UFOs returned and were detected near Andrews AFB. The radar blips were clocked at moving up to 7,000 mph. They would also suddenly stop and accelerate again. Again, a jet interceptor was dispatched but nothing was found. …….. and I should like to report that on July 18, 2003 the newspapers reported that government officials discovered that a distraught mother in the town of Pavlodar, in northern Kazakhstan, had kept her daughter’s mummified body in her apartment for three years, with withered limbs and parched skin, lying on a plain bed in the flat. It seems the 27 year old mother, named Olga, belonged to a weird sect preaching a ‘cosmology’ that promised the resurrection of her child with the help of ‘Aliens’ and the use of a ‘third cosmic eye.’ Government officials were not amused and the daughter’s remains were given a proper burial.

Thursday July 17th 2008 – 7:00am For the history buffs: On this date in 1921 Frank Bennett arrived at Aleister Crowley’s Abbey of Thelema at Cefalu causing a schism with C. F. Russell. Russell would soon leave Cefalu for America where he would start his own magical fraternity known as the G.B.G., the meaning of these initials are still being speculated upon to this date, although some claim it’s the ‘Great Brotherhood of God’. …..…. And it was on July 17, 1923 that the anti-Semitic leader of the infamous List Society, Philipp Stauff, committed suicide in Germany. Many suspected foul play because of his continuing exposure of prominent Germans with Jewish roots in his newspaper. …..…. And it was on this date in 1959 that Mr. and Mrs. R. H. Miller and Mr. and Mrs. Pat Marten saw a tremendous creature with a snake-like head and a blunt nose swimming some 250 feet behind their motor boat on British Columbia’s Okanagan Lake. The group watched ‘Ogopogo’ for over almost three minutes before it submerged. ……. And on July 17, 1981 Maurice Barbanell, editor & founder of the British magazine called the Psychic News, died at the age of 79. …….. and finally, on July 17, 2003 the newspapers in Scotland reported that a fossil from a 150-million-year-old water-dwelling dinosaur, possibly a plesiosaur, had been found on the banks of Scotland’s Loch Ness. However, scientists were quick to point out that the bones were definitely not those of Nessie, the lake’s legendary monster. While the fossil is about 150 million years old, Loch Ness was formed only 10,000 years ago, at the end of the last Ice Age.

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