~ SEPTEMBER 1st - 10th, 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 September 10th 2008 – 4:05am For the history buffs: Lady Godiva supposedly died on this date in 1067. According to the legends Lady Godiva was married to Leofric, the Earl of Mercia. Around 1057, she and Leofric got in a heated dispute over the taxes that he had levied on the growing city of Coventry. During the course of the argument he challenged her to ride naked through the marketplace, promising to ease the tax burden if she did so. Lady Godiva took the challenge and became legend. In the 17th century a detail was added to the Lady Godiva story which stated that she had instructed the townsfolk to stay indoors during her ride and not look at her nude body, but that a man named Tom peeked at her naked body and hence the term “peeping tom” was born. …….. also, on September 10, 1930, Carl Llewellyn Weschcke was born into a Roman Catholic family in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is president of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd, one of the largest publishers of occult and New Age books in the world. He is also a practicing magician and a former Wiccan High Priest who played a leading role in the rise and spreading of witchcraft and neo-paganism throughout America during the 1960s and 70s. …….. and finally, on this date in 1966 Walter Siegmeister died of pneumonia while searching for the tunnel openings to the interior of the Earth in South America. He is more commonly known by is pen name; Dr. Raymond Bernard, the author of the classic book titled The Hollow Earth. His theories claim that the Earth is hollow with openings at both the north and south pole. Where a race of supermen live in total peace, health and abundance, flying around in UFO’s watching over the surface dwellers in awe.

Tuesday September 9th 2008 – 2:30pm John from Deleware asks, "Who are these Tree Sitters that you talked about?" .....Reply: These Tree-sitters are a group of idiots out here in Berkeley who have occupied a grove of trees on U.C.Berkeley Campus since December 1, 2006, hoping to prevent the campus from removing the trees as part of the proposed construction project.  ...  They failed!

1:45pm It’s over! …. Since it was only a few blocks from my apartment and since there was nothing good on TV, I decided to take a walk and see the ‘demise’ of the infamous Berkeley Tree Sitters! It was a good crowd; the supporters were maybe a few dozen, it was mostly hundreds of curiosity seekers like myself and I think I might be on the NEWS because they were filming a group of us chanting ‘Jump!” I am so ashamed of myself; I started mumbling it just under my breath 'Jump, Jump, Jump ..." and a bunch of College guys joined in and we got louder and louder. Anyway, most people whom I chatted with thought the Tree Sitters were fools and wanted this whole thing to end. So how did it end? This morning the Berkeley Police started assembling a scaffold and platform, layer by layer reaching all the way to the top of the red wood; with each level that they went up they cut off all the limbs with chainsaws and chased the remaining few ‘sitdiots’ higher and higher until, with no where to go, they finally surrendered. It was rather anti-climatic.

10:50an Here is a rare photo taken back in the 1940s of LAM's birthday party. They are all wearing Lam's Hats which Crowley drew in the original picture but the hat was removed when the picture was published in The 'Blue' Equinox Vol.I No.III. ... Why was it removed? My personal thought - obviously it is a secret receiver of alien transmissions.  No?  

8:25am To answer a question: naturally, I write to male students differently than female students; simply due to our sexual differences. We are ‘wired’ differently both anatomically, physiologically and mentally, and because of such we have distinctive challenges. Man are 'positive' currents manifested and 'negative' within, while this is reversed in a woman who has 'negative' currents manifested and carries all Power within. ... In other words, trying to discuss with a woman about the quest to ‘Know Thyself’ or the quest of Union is different than discussing such with a man … this is also due, more often than not, with a flirtatious behavior which can develop either consciously or unconsciously between a man and a woman. This is obvious in my own case when reviewing some of my emails; especially since I have a Pisces Rising and especially if such a woman is HOT. … Now don’t get me wrong, this is not a bad thing, in fact, in magick it can be a plus if there is excitement between opposite sexes with student-teacher. But most male magicians who try teaching woman often get ‘caught up in the moment’ and will throw everything out the window and ‘Earth-out’ their magick in the hopes to nail new pootang. Yes, men are dogs! Many live by Meatloaf’s song ‘Paradise by the Dashboard Light’ (1977). ... It’s a fine line to walk when teaching opposite sexes … the energy exchange on the astral between a man and a woman is something that is not experience between male to male student-teachers (at least in my case) Male students are often forced (due mostly to being positive on this plane and negative within) to find their own way on Malkuth. … But female students (negative manifested, positive within) can literally ‘ride the coat-tail’ of the magician who is already establish (positive) on Malkuth. Remember, the energy goes from Sun to Moon and back again and this is what fuels the libido or what Crowley calls “energized enthusiasm” or the fuel of Genius and it is achieved in both individuals at the same time. … Learning how to utilize this energy is what sex magick details but there are grave dangers. Believe it or not, although a woman can obtain far quicker than men, study Crowley’s life and you’ll quickly realize that most of his women went mad or they burned out after working with him. How not to burn out is something that we must carefully discuss some day but in brief; the 'positive' in both sexes is all Powerful and if it is not kept in check, it'll consume and eat away at the 'negative.' ... For a man, if Power is not kept under check, he simply loses the 'bridge' to within, spirituality becomes fleeting and he becomes a bigger egotist than he already was as he tries to convince the world of his greatness. The affect on his wife, girlfriend or lover is only felt in the here-now and if she can deal with him, so be it. He is still a 'positive', she a 'negative.' ... but for women, who are 'positive' within; if Power is not kept in check, it consumes her 'negative' and like a magnet her polarity reverses. Such reversal, if left unchecked, can become destructive to herself and others on Malkuth and her behavior will have no trouble destroying Universes (i.e. relationships) because remember the law of magnets – Opposite charges attract; similar charges Repulse. If she has become ‘positive’ manifested how is this going to relate to her husband, boyfriend or lover? … The Key is for the woman to learn how to ‘manifest’ without destroying her ‘Foundation.’  (Yesod)

AL I: 16 - For he is ever a sun, and she a moon.

8:15am Weiser Antiquarian Books Catalog Forty-Four: Spiritualism & the Spiritualists (Part III) has beebn released!!! Check it out guys! Click HERE for deatils.

7:30am I received these thoughts on Grady Louis McMurtry's bio titled IN THE NAME OF THE BEAST [click HERE] from Jerri in Sacramento after she had finished the books. - "The first message I got from the book came in the form of a warning. The path up the Holy Mountain is treacherous and filled with many pitfalls to distract you from your goal. Not only that but in all of our striving to attain, to achieve and understand, to learn, live and to will; we are but mere mortals and our lives reflect our folly. It was certainly so with Grady, as it was with every other Magician that appeared in the book. The path is difficult and solitary. We are delving into the recesses of our hearts and minds to tear away the veil of separation. It’s a path of illumination and often times, deception. No one can do any of the work for you, so you’d better be up to the task because you will be tried at every turn … I also learned that Grady who was clearly a successful Magician, ended up manifesting on Malkuth the realized OTO that Crowley dreamed of. Granted, perhaps bathed in Chaos, but still manifest. I thought it a lovely twist that was his Will considering he had no Earth in his chart. Logic suggests that his Word might have been that of a concept or a philosophy rather than that of a mundane Order. But, no one can assume to know the Will of another and certainly no 2 Stars are alike. Our lives are our art and art doesn’t follow the dictates of the logical or the expected. .... Through Grady’s story, In the Name of the Beast, ... I’ve also gotten a glimpse of the nature of the Magickal journey up the Mountain. I see that one’s Will, our art through our lives can be understood more with our hearts than our minds. In some ways, this book also taught me that there is no finish line, but only the journey. I am excited to see where the adventure will take me next." ...... Reply: Nicely said.  :)

6:35am For the history buffs: On this date in 1603 Else Pfraum, a baker from Koppern, Germany, was sentenced to death for witchcraft. ……… but more important and very tragic is that on September 9, 1967 Snippy, a beautiful young appaloosa pony, who had been missing for two days, was found laying on its side dead!  Some claim that it was the victim of a UFO attack, as an experiment on Earth life-forms.  UFO sightings had been going on in the area for over five years. The actual remains of the horse had no blood, all its flesh was removed, or pealed back off its head down to the neck. The bones of her neck and skull were as white as if they had bleached in the sun for years. The outer body was left alone except for most of the vital organs were removed. No brain, or spinal fluids were ever found. Odd wounds were noticed on the horse’s sides. The official US Government verdict was that the horse was struck by lightning! Poor Snippy.  :(

Monday September 8th 2008 – 7:25am For the history buffs: Simon Forman accurately predicted through the use of astrology the exact moment of his own death and on that ill fated day while rowing down the Thames he fell dead at the oars.  Yes, it happened on this date in 1611. Some historians have claimed he committed suicide. …......... and Charles Julius Guiteau was born on this date in Freeport, Illinois in 1841, the fourth of six children of Luther Wilson Guiteau and Jane Howe. In 1860, Charles Guiteau joined the infamous ‘sex cult’ known as Oneida Community in New York, having an on and off relationship with this group for many years. On July 2, 1881 he gained infamy by assassinating President James Abram Garfield after having invisible sexual intercourse with a Spirit called ‘Lordy’ who commanded him to kill the President. At his interrogation he told the police, “Get acquainted with the science of Spiritology” and you’ll understand why I did it. His trial was one of the first in American history where ‘insanity’ became a defense. He claimed that he was innocent, and that “Lordy made him do it!” He was hanged on June 30, 1882. …...…. And how can I not mention Annie, aka Dark Annie, Chapman who was born Eliza Anne Smith in September 1841. She was the second victim of ‘Jack the Ripper’ and her body was found murdered in the back yard of the house on 29 Hanbury Street on this date in 1888. Examination of the body showed “... the intestines, severed from the mesenteric attachments had been lifted out of the body and placed on the shoulders of the corpse.” One of her friends described her as “sober, steady going woman who seldom took any drink,” but others point out that she was known to have a taste for rum. …...…. And continuing with today’s flavor, Sean Seller killed Robert Bower, a store owner and also his own mother and stepfather in Oklahoma on this date in 1985 claiming later that, “Satanism has made me a better person. I am free. I can kill without remorse.” He was executed on February 4, 1999 for the murders. …….… and finally, as I continue to dig for more nuts in the bag, I come across Rulon Jeffs who died on this date in 1986 at the age of 92. He was the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints. Some believe he ran the largest polygamist family in the United States with 19 wives and over 60 children. He was born in 1909 in Utah.

Sunday September 7th 2008 – 6:30am For the history buffs: On this date in 1875, in New York City, The Theosophical Society was founded by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and Henry Steele Olcott. Its International Headquarters is presently located in Chennai (Madras), India. Theosophical Society was established with three main objects: To form a nucleus of the Universal Brotherhood of humanity without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or color. To encourage the study of comparative religion, philosophy and science and to investigate the unexplained laws of nature and the powers latent in man. …….. and Dame Edith Sitwell was born on this date in Scarbourough England in 1887. For whatever reasons, Aleister Crowley tried in vain to make a friendship with her and her brother Osbert. Regarding this Edith Sitwell wrote in her autobiography, “Although Mr. Crowley did his best to pursue an acquaintance with my brother and myself, I did not at the time wish to know him. But when, later on, I read about the sacrifice of a wretched cat, who was not properly killed during one of the obscene rites he practiced, anger made me wish I had taken the opportunity. It would have given me pleasure to have said to him: Mr. Crowley, you will go straight to hell and you will meet only yourself, over and over again.”  Now there is a thought. …….. and finally on September 7, 1953 Karl Germer officially closed Agape Lodge in southern California. The O.T.O. in the United States, for all practical purposes, no longer had an officially Chartered meeting place. The last Lodge Master was Jane Wolfe.

Saturday September 6th 2008 – 5:00pm On the 4th the noted author Richard Cole asked a good question about Crowley’s 1927-29 diaries or the entry on April 30, which states:

Note on Lying.

1. It is clearly useless to tell people what they will not believe.

2. They will never believe the truth.

3. The only way of conveying the truth is to invent a lie that will

have the effect of producing the right conviction.

(Was it necessary to write 12 long books to prove this,

Robert?)"

He asked “Do you know either who Robert (Cecil?) is, or if Crowley's "Priest of the Priests" head is confessing that the "twelve long books" (Holy Books?) are merely scaffold propping up "a lie", which surely refers to Al?” ....... Reply: Well, how can I reply to this?  Without knowing exactly who ‘Robert’ is we are at a loss and speculation can lead us down a tricky road if we consider Crowley’s statement implying a ‘deception’ regarding our Holy Books. I read this statement and, to me, I see Crowley asking Robert if it was necessary for him to write twelve books to prove his point and I don’t see it as a reference to Crowley’s Holy Books. … Basically, we need to discover who Robert is so we can study his life and see if he’s written ’12 books’ and if not, then we can reflect upon Crowley statement in a different light but for now its too ambiguous." .... My readers have any views?

10:50am I have added a new Epistle onto our website. It's called AN OPEN EPISTLE ON THE CLERK HOUSE.  This details a little bit about the Lover grade.  Enjoy.

7:25am For the history buffs: Not much to report except the fact that Aleister Crowley’s Scarlet Woman, Dorothy Olson, was born on this date in Chicago, Illinois in 1892. She assumed the role of Scarlet Woman after Leah Hirsig resigned it.

Friday September 5th 20008 - 9:08pm WOW we just got hit with a 4.0 earthquake during our Friday Night Gathering! As we were chatting - POW! - what a shaker! It caused no damage outside of nerves but there was a delayed reaction as Ben's beer later jumped from his hand and was spilled! .... & at 9:15pm, we just got a follow up aftershock, a 1.9 earthquake. ... Wow! ... Within the hour we were hit by two more aftershocks. Yes, Berkeley is shaking tonight!

4:00pm Jerri of Sacramento writes, "You're in a feisty mood today! It was the picture that really made that joke priceless!! What a visual."

12:45pm It seems Berkeley had a 2.0 magnitude earthquake this morning around 3:30am. I slept through it …

8:30am I received this email from Richard

re: my 7:50am posting: "Jerry, Here's the

accompanying pic. Taken by an anonymous

4th member of the menag e a quatre! :). " 

Reply: I guess the joke has to be true! Pictures

don't lie!

7:50am I received an email which stated, "Dear Jerry 93, A rather awful Crowley joke is doing the rounds in several versions.  This is about the best put together one that I've seen. Don't blame me. Cheers 93 93/93 Keith." .... It had me in stitches, so dear readers enjoy.

One evening Aleister Crowley and Leah Hirsig are sitting around the kitchen table at the

Abbey in Cefalu, throwing down glasses of cognac.  Crowley, who is also absent-mindedly

patting a goat, suddenly leans across the table, and slurs "Leah, it's time to perform another

ritual."  Leah looks back at him through bloodshot eyes and say "Oh heavens no.  I'm

exhausted and half asleep. Not now."  ... To this Crowley replies: "Listen you're the Scarlet

Woman, the Whore of Babalon, you can't refuse, however ..." a gleam comes into his eyes "I

suppose if you were to give me a blow job ... or take it per vas nefandum (up the back

passage) we could consecrate it to Nuit, and that would do."  After a moment's hesitation

Leah says, "I tell you what, let me have a nap, and then I'll decide."  She goes off to the

Chambre des Cauchemars and falls asleep.  Some time later she wakes up, and there's

Crowley, sitting at the end of the bed, still patting the goat.  "Well, what's it to be?" he asks.

"Oh dear." she said "I really couldn't face another ritual, and I'm still having trouble sitting after

the last time we did it PVN, so I guess it will have to be a blow job." ... Hearing this Crowley

undid his flies, and pulled out his penis, and Leah leaned forward and took it in her mouth.

She had hardly closed her lips around it when suddenly she jerked back violently, spitting and

making gagging noises. "Ugh," she said, "What the hell have you been doing?  It tastes vile,

and smells worse, like it's been dipped in shit." ... "Ah well" said Crowley with a twinkle in his

eye, "the goat didn't want to perform another ritual either ..."

7:40an For the history buffs: Aleister Crowley, using ‘magical memory’ during a retreat on Esopus Island in NY, discovered on this date in 1918 that he was the incarnation of the magician who worked with John Dee, namely Edward Kelly. ……. And I should point out that John (Jack) Paul Rosenberg was born on this date in Philadelphia in 1935. Inevitably, this used car salesman, abandoned his wife and four kids and ran off to San Francisco with his mistress. Here he changed his name to Werner Hans Erhard and, not yet being divorced from his first wife, he remarried. In 1971 he founded the worldwide self-awareness movement called EST. His ‘Erhard Seminar Training’ camps ironically were aimed at “helping you take responsibility for your own life.” After allegations of domestic violence, child abuse and tax fraud, which he claimed was nothing more than a plot to undermine him by Scientologists, Erhard sold EST. He then left the country, moving first to Russia, then Ireland, Costa Rica, the Cayman Islands and other places remote where he again changed his name. He is now known as Werner Spits. ……… and finally, on this date in 1975 the red-haired Manson follower Lynette ‘Squeaky’ Fromme is quoted as having turned to a bystander saying, “What a beautiful day.” She then pulled a gun and pointed in at President Ford in an attempt to assassinate him. Luckily the gun didn’t go off and she was thrown to the ground screaming, “Easy guys. Don’t batter me. The gun didn’t go off. The country is a mess. This man is not your President!”

Thursday September 4th 2008 – 7:45pm Jay, of Leaping Laughter Clerk House, sent me an email regarding my 8:00am posting, he writes, "93 Jer, That message you posted really is rather amusing. I love the closing "if Crowley were alive"  and "I don't have any confidence in any of you." He's obviously just an internetard as you pointed out, but it interesting to consider what drives somebody to make such an ignorant and unwarranted attack. I personally think it's a combination of envy (cuz he cain't git into our cool club) and cop-out, that is, a means of justifying why  he himself can't accomplish anything magickally or hold an asana position. Anyway, worth a laugh. Thanks for sharing." ... He also added re: my 8:57am posting, "I also found the discussion on the Man of Earth obligations interesting. I've especially put a lot of thought into the zeal in service to others. It does seem important to note-- and something that seems to be overlooked among a lot of the Thelemic community--  that our spiritual elevation is a means of helping to elevate the spirit of humanity at large. Personally, this is often how I've conceived of The Great Work." ... Reply: Bravo!

4:45pm Last week on the 27th John wrote, "I don't see Clear Light Clerk House listed anymore on your AA webpage. Is it still active?" ... Reply: NO. It was established by Marlene Cornelius who was unanimously EXPELLED from the A.'.A.'. in a 45 page document.

1:11pm My friend Dave Hohl in San Francisco sent an email - "Greetings and Salutations! Out of a large international group of submissions, In Search of Lovecraft was chosen as one of six features to show at this years' HP Lovecraft Film Festival. Our film will premier at the historic Hollywood Theatre in Portland Oregon on October 4th and 5th, 2008.  This is the 15th year for this infamous festival. Three thousand attendees are expected at the weekend long festival and convention. Here is a link to the website: http://hplfilmfestival.com/feature-films-and-lovecraft-movies - David."

10:00am On the 29th my friend Greig wrote, "Hi Jerry, 93 I have been reading your blog for about the last year and I must say I am enjoying it very much. You have talked a lot about aspects of various astrological signs, but I haven't seen much about Taureans. Any insight on this sign at all? As you may have guessed, I am a Taurean myself :) Thanks, and all the best 93 93/93 Greig." ... Reply: I like Taurus', some of my best friends are Taurus like Luis Alvarado. Send me your birth data so I can draw up a chart. In the latestest issue of CORNELIA No.19 I wrote an article called ZODIAC SIGNS AND THEIR SEXUAL PROCLIVITES. In this issue I wrote: Taurus is the most difficult sign of the Zodiac when it comes to talking about sex. It is the most sensual of all the signs which is distinctly different than being ‘sexual.’ But don’t take that statement wrong, although Taurus as a whole are usually late bloomers they are driven by a strong libido and because of such they inevitably love sex, enjoy sex and more sex and have I mentioned, “They like sex?” Their directness is often a turn off to some people. A Taurus has no problem spying what it likes in a crowded bar, walking up to the individual and simply asking, “Do you wanna fuck?” This sign can easily rent a night in a hotel room and, in fact, it’s joked that at least half of all MasterCard's business at hotels is done by Tauruses. But once they are with the right partner, someone who is gentle and considerate to their stubborn Taurean needs; things change due to the sensual Venus side driving their libido. A Taurus can easily put aside their party tricks and spend a quiet evening with good conversation, tasty food and companionship and they are the one sign which won’t be offended if an evening’s escapades lead to little more than a good night kiss. Still, don’t count them out, remember, this sign does love its sex. However, if they find the right caring and loving partner and if they should fall in love with that person, they’ll fall hard. And being a Fixed Sign, a stubborn Bull, if their partner doesn’t feel the same way and if they ever leave them, the Taurus can easily become an old maid. In their mind love is a commitment not given out easily and once uttered, it’s for life. Taureans take ‘love’ more serious than any other sign. Also, because Taureans love food as much as they do sex, any form of sex-play which involves copious amounts of ice-cream, chocolate syrup or yogurt is always sure to be a hit; which is why Taurus is occasionally referred to as the ‘whipped cream and cherry sign’ - but don’t let anything drip onto the floor because your sex play will be interrupted by the Taurean need to clean up the mess. Still, as blunt as this Earth sign can be, a Taureans is really quite modest and shy which is why they are more apt to wait for the right time before having sex. Some astrologers point out this hesitation is often fueled by the fact that this sign, more so than any other, suffers from impotence on a regular basis but for a Taurus, impotence doesn’t negate their going out and having a good time as much as it dictates how they act once they’ve gotten where they are going. Still, other astrologers disagree and point out that this apparent ‘lust under control behavior’ has nothing to do with impotency as much the fact that a Taurus waits patiently simply because they also like being “Asked.” 

9:25am To my dear friend Ed I replied, ".... glad you’ve gotten the astrology books and hopefully you are ‘exploring' your chart. It’s a never ending quest to discover its secrets. I’m still discovering things about myself by reviewing my own chart. Remember, if the Tree of Life is the sum total of the Universe in a glyph and hardly something that we can ever fully understand in one lifetime, then how much less is our own birth chart which is a map of our incarnation from beginning to end? 

8:57am Regarding an email that I received from a student on the 22nd; he wrote, “On returning home I began to think more and more about the Oath of the Man of Earth and it's meaning. One thing that struck me was how "attaining the knowledge of the nature and powers of the self" implies Will while "denying oneself utterly for the sake of others" implies Love. The wide range of meaning that could be found in the "denying of the self utterly for others" made me curious as to what insight you could offer towards clarifying that.” ….. Reply: Remember, the A.'.A.'. is in service to humanity. In the early stages we learn to discover ourselves but inevitably we are all building blocks to the spirituality of those around us. Crowley, in a letter to Grady in 1944, wrote “Trust not a stranger: fail not of an heir.” In other words, all students, even yonder beggars, might well be Kings and become the heir to a lineage and the only way for a teacher to be sure that he fails not an heir is to teach all his students well. He also asked, “One thought that came to mind was that aside from that related to finding the powers and nature of your being, you let others come first. Any thoughts?” ... Reply: Grady reiterated Crowley’s thoughts that one of the rules of any Thelemites is to let others do their Will first, above their own. This way Universes never collide.

8:00am I thought I'd share this email with my readers because every now and then I get the most unintelligent and childlike babbling that it makes me smile and it amuses me. I think my readers might enjoy a good laugh as well. Anyway, whoever this young pup is, he thinks it important to 'rant' but never once uses proper Thelemic Greeting to show he's capable of understanding us or our magickal ways. He also does not bother to give his name, preferring to hide under anonymous, but he forgot that he left his email address or 'anthonybush93@hotmail.com' so at least we know whose incoming email to delete from here on in without having to open it. ... Anyway, he writes - "Hello. I was looking at your website. About the lineage. I thought mcmurtry was motta's student. Also why do you bother mentioning you are A.A. if you don't take students? What is the point? What happened to your association with p.r. koenig? Did the caliph give in ? If the A.A. exists then is there an head of the order? Should'nt there be? I mean the A.A. is an initiatory order that means some one must be up there in the grade department. How far along was mcmurtry? or phylis or jane wolfe? I believe Karl Germer was a Master of the Temple so who were his students? If there were no M.A.A.T. after Germer then who gets to advance people? Do they confer grades upon themselves? Would'nt that be comparable to promoting yourself to blackbelt? What is frustrating for me is that I think you are all bogus. I include all the cast of A.A. characters like g.m. kelly, motta's people too. You might have paperwork and knew someone, but it means nothing. If all of you people are what you say you are then that means you can do all the things in the Libers. I'll bet not a single one of you can produce results. I want to see one of you A.A. champs do the Ibis for an hour or any of the other excercises exactly as they are required. If Crowley were alive not a single one of you could make the grade. I don't have any confidence in any of you. bye." ........ Reply: OK my readers, stop laughing! Granted this young pup lacks the chela approach of Bahkti yoga, or basic AA 101, which precludes him from most serious magickal fraternities but let’s get down to seriousness; most of his question show pure stupidity that a basic historian would never make, nor dare ask. We call his type 'Internet-read idiots' or someone who knows enough to make themselves look stupid ... and as far as ‘not taking on students’, this is not true. We still take on students. In fact, I brought in a bunch just last weekend. But the main reason that I am even bringing up his email is to show a classic example of why we avoid ‘internet’ inquires and have closed our AA on-line. ... and as far as being called 'bogus', the only thing ‘bogus’ is this poor child whose diapers are soiled and in need of changing.

6:00am For the history buffs: Ivan IV Vasiljevich, more commonly known as ‘The Terrible’ and the first Russian ruler to be crowned Tsar, was born on this date at six o’clock in the evening in 1530. He passed the first official law in 1547 after crowning himself Tsar which made torture legal in Russia against its own people as well as the enemy, letting all share in the fun equally. ……. And the actor Max Schreck, being his real name, was born on this date in Berlin, Germany in 1879 and ironically his surname means ‘terror’ in German. He is most famous for his portrayal of Count Graf Orlock in the 1922 vampire film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror  (Nosferatu: Eine Symphonie des Grauens). The film was based on Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, but sadly the filmmakers failed to get permission from Stoker’s widow which was a problem that kept the movie from audiences for decades. ……. And I should also like to point out that Antonin Artaud was born on this date in Marseille, France in 1896. He was a state-declared madman, a dramatist, poet and actor who was a theoretician of the Surrealist movement and who tried to replace “bourgeois” classical theatre with a primitive display of ceremonies in his “Theatre of Cruelty,” for which he wrote the First Manifesto in 1932. This was his most cherished dream, to establish a new type of theatre in which would be, not necessarily an artistic spectacle, but a communion between spectators and actors. As in primitive societies it would be an initiatory spectacle of magic, even a mass participation in which the entire audience would find its vitality and its truest expression. He died on March 4, 1948 in Ivry-sur-Seine. …….. and finally, Charles Henry Maxwell Knight was born in Mitcham, Surrey on this date in 1900. He became one of Britain’s favorite radio and television naturalists, and it was said that any visitor “to his home at Camberley might find him nursing a bush-baby, feeding a giant toad, raising young cuckoos, or ‘engaging in masculine repartee with a vastly experienced grey parrot.” He was also considered an excellent jazz musician who loved playing the clarinet, an avid cricketer and someone who had a keen interest in the occult. He was also a British spy-master during World War II, having joined MI5 in April of 1925. Knight’s close friend in MI5 was Ian Fleming, the author of numerous books about James Bond. In fact Fleming based the character for Bond’s boss, whom he simply named ‘M’, on Knight. Knight’s strong interest in the occult inevitable lead him to the writings of Aleister Crowley. He met the Beast around 1937, being introduced to him by his dear friend, Dennis Wheatley. Knight would later describe Crowley as “a well-dressed middle-aged eccentric with the manner of an Oxford don.” There are rumors that both Wheatley and Maxwell Knight jointly applied to Crowley as novices and were accepted. Although others are quick to point out that Knight’s “interest-and also Wheatley’s-was purely academic.” According to Dennis Wheatley, he was merely studying magic for use in his novels. In fact, Aleister Crowley would later become a model for some of the characters in Wheatley’s books. Some writers have suggested there were more sinister reasons why Knight wanted to meet Crowley other than ‘occult interest.’ Hinting that Knight’s first wife, Gwladys Poole, who apparently knew Crowley before marrying Knight, had a bad personal experience with the Beast. What actually transpired between the two is not recorded but some have gone so far as stating that this experience with Crowley might be indirectly responsible for her suicide on November 17th 1934, but there is absolutely no evidence to support this outlandish claim. On Wednesday January 27, 1968 Maxwell Knight died peaceably of heart failure in a hospital at the age of sixty-eight.

Wednesday September 3rd 2008 – 9:30am Mike writes - “I find it sad that a friend would rip you off. I know you keep great diaries, you must have suspects? Why don't you approach them and ask for the album back?" .... Reply: Good questions. But I am an optimist and I always try to see the good in humanity. And yes I have suspects, about three, all of whom I still write to and see. I have always been hoping that they merely picked up the photo album by accident and have not had the opportunity to sneak it back into my apartment. If they return it, it’ll be a dead subject never to be brought up again and it won’t have damaged our relationship. Shit happens and friendship is more important that material possessions.

8:50am Well, after about a week of digging through the remainder of my storage area in my apartment it has been confirmed; someone walked off with my Jane Wolfe photo album containing dozens of rare pictures of her from childhood on up. It’s a tragic loss. I know about when it was taken last year, I even know the last date when I showed it to a group of friends and my diaries are so accurate I can pinpoint about when it disappeared within a three week period; as to when I showed it and when I couldn't find it. I have always held out hope that I was wrong and that it would miraculously show up some day but my greatest fears were confirmed this week. I’ve always been so careful with whom I invite into my apartment so it grieves me to think someone close to me might have taken it. I only hope that the person who took this album will anonymously drop it in the mail back to me the next time they’re in Berkeley. It would be greatly appreciated.  ... Don't make me curse you!   /:)

7:00am I want to wish a Happy Birthday to my dear friend Robert Flores who was born on this date in 1969. He’s a Virgo but that’s OK. He runs the AUM HA Clerk House here in California of Grady Louis McMurtry’s A.’.A.’..

6:45am For the history buffs: John Humphrey Noyes was born on this date in Brattleboro, Vermont in 1811. In his youth he became swept up into religion, but lost his license to preach because of his “perfectionist” doctrine. He took its name of The Perfectionists from Mathew 5.48 and was based on the belief that man’s innate sinlessness could be regained through communion with Christ. He established the first Perfectionist commune in Putney Vermont in 1839 but because of his views on polygamy, which aroused the neighbors sense of moral ethics, Noyes was forced to flee. In 1848 he established his community at Oneida, N.Y. where he continued to develop his religious and social experiments in communal living and, for approximately 30 years, they lived in a gigantic group marriage of over 200, with shared property in larger units of group-family and group-family life. They avoided the ‘back to the land’ fantasies which were so prevalent in 1800’s communes, and which typically resulted in city people trying to be farmers and failing miserably, instead they founded businesses in and around the area. They had a complex marriage arrangement where they believed that every man and every woman was married to each other. Monogamy was considered harmful because it excluded others from sharing in connubial affection and therefore it was abolished. The idea was to engage in as many sexual relations as possible in order to keep any two members from falling in love. In these relationships they could engage in sexual intercourse, but the men were forbidden to ejaculate, either during intercourse or after withdrawal. Although, in all honesty, men were permitting to achieve ejaculation with post menopausal women and thus the Perfectionists not only were employing a novel level of birth control, but were also found a novel approach of providing older women with sexual partners. Noyes was the first to use the term “free love.” He died on April 13, 1886 in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. ……….. and it was on September 3, 1967 that the widow of Karl Germer, Sascha Germer heard someone knocking at her front door. When she asked who it was, a reply was heard that it was a member of the O.T.O.. Unfortunately, when she opened the door she was immediately sprayed in the face with some kind of a gas or acid, knocked to the floor and overpowered. A drug was then injected by a syringe that totally knocked her out cold. When she came to, she found that her house had been ransacked and that many books in the library on the second floor had been stolen. Also missing were Aleister Crowley’s personal robes, various O.T.O. documents and ritual papers. Sascha tried to call the police but found that the phone lines had been cut. When she finally did notify the local Constable, he took her story, along with a few photographs but no fingerprints were taken or any serious research done. Phyllis Seckler has stated that it was obvious that “they put her story down to the wanderings of the demented mind of a lady who had been alone too long.” In other words, they didn’t believe her. They felt her house was dirty and normally in disarray. Tragically, they were not even sure her house was actually burglarized.

Tuesday September 2nd 2008 – 4:55pm I want to thank everyone for being patient with me for 'again' falling behind in answering emails etc but I’ve been dealing with a lot of issues of late;  lots of medical paperwork, doctor stuff, lawyers and other mental preoccupations. Yes, it’s been a long two weeks. I’m finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel but it’ll be a few more days. Can anyone say aughhhhhhhhh!

6:20am For the history buffs: R. H. Bruce Lockhart was born in Anstruther in the county of Fife on this date in 1887. His father was a preparatory schoolmaster, who had migrated to England in 1906. He became Britain’s first envoy to the Bolsheviks (Russia) in January of 1912 and, for a time during 1918, he was confined in the Kremlin as their prisoner. When Aleister Crowley took his Theatrical Tour to Russia in 1913 he met with Lockart and his old friend Walter Duranty, who much admired the Russian dictator Joseph Stalin. It has long been known that Lockhart had connections both with the intelligence services and occultism, but little survives of the exact nature of his personal exploits. He wrote the classic book Memoirs of a British Agent, being an account of the author's early life in many lands and of his official mission to Moscow in 1918 (1932). Lockhart died in 1970. ……….. and it was on September 2, 1996, at night, in Iporanga Brazil, when three local police officers watched a UFO land near Serro das Mottas. They approached the area in order to obtain a better look at the object when suddenly it emitted two bright flashes of light and two small humanoids suddenly appeared. The humanoids had human-like faces with large luminous eyes and as they approached the officers decided to quickly leave the area. They did not stick around to see either the UFO or humanoids depart.

Monday September 1st 2008 – 6:45am For the history buffs: Carl Kellner was born on this date in Vienna, Austria in 1851. He was a wealthy Austrian paper chemist and a student of Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism and Eastern mysticism, who had traveled extensively throughout Europe, America and Asia Minor. During his travels, he claimed to have made contact with three Adepts (a Sufi, Soliman ben Aifa, and two Hindu Tantrics, Bhima Sena Pratapa of Lahore and Sri Mahatma Agamya Paramahamsa) who supposedly taught him his ‘sexual secrets.’ In 1895, he began to discuss the idea of creating an ‘Academia Masonica’ with his associate Theodor Reuss which became known as the “Oriental Templar Order.” He died on June 7, 1905 of a mysterious illness, which no doctor was ever able to diagnose. …………. and Edgar Rice Burroughs was born on this date in Chicago, Illinois in 1875. He was the author best known for creating the jungle hero named Tarzan. He also wrote popular westerns and historical romances, but his science fiction/fantasy stories involving earthly adventurers transported to various planets, to lost islands, and even into the interior of the hollow earth, is what he is best remembered for, like his series of novels about the fictitious John Carter of Mars and his adventures on the planet Barsoom (Mars). Burroughs died in Encino, California. …………. And speaking of birthdays, John Frederick Charles ‘Boney’ Fuller was born on this date in Chichester, West Sussex, S England in 1878. He wrote the now classic book titled The Star in the West, A Critical Essay upon the Works of Aleister Crowley (1907. He was also a British general and military thinker who wrote such notable books as Tanks in the Great War (1920), On Future Warfare (1928), Foundations of the Science of War (1926), The Dragon’s Teeth (1932), War and Western Civilization (1932), A Military History of the Western World (3 vol., 1954-56), The Generalship of Ulysses S. Grant (2d ed. 1958) and The Second World War. However, after reading Fuller’s book The Secret Wisdom of the Qabalah, Aleister Crowley wrote in his diary that it is a “turgid unintelligible rant: no idea of what he’s driving at. It is a damnable shame-he did start so well.” Fuller died on February 10th in1966. ……….. and to keep up with the flavor of the day I must add that they chant, dance, beat drums and torment people at airports singing “Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Hare Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama ...” and their founder, the Swami Prabhupada, was born on this date in Calcutta, India in 1896. ……….. and finally, on September 1, 1939, the comedian and actress Lily Tomlin was born in Detroit, Michigan on this date. In 1985 she began performing her one-woman stage show titled ‘In Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe’ for which many profound and deeply philosophical statements were uttered, like: “When we talk to God, we’re praying. When God talks to us, we’re schizophrenic.”

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