~ FEBRUARY 1st - 14th 2009 ~

Saturday February 14th 2009 – 8:25am 93 ALL ... I thought I'd share this photo of a Valentine oil painting that I did back in 1991 for my then girlfriend Kris Mills. Its my version of a heart with an arrow through it, how romantic.

7:00am My phone died yesterday morning, it then worked awhile, then died, worked most of the afternoon but then it died again toward evening. I think its the battery. Anyway, this meant that anyone who came over last night to the OPEN HOUSE could not reach me to be 'buzzed' up. Ouch!!! Sadly, I didn't realize my phone was dead until almost an hour after anyone was suppose to start arriving! Ouch!!! Ouch!!! I hope, simply because the weather was so bad, that most of you stayed home anyways. So much for Friday the 13th! ... Also, there are no more OPEN HOUSES scheduled in February.

6:50am We have up-loaded the next installment of a series which Frater Hymenaeus Alpha 777 (Grady Louis McMurtry) wrote on magick and philosophy. The series is titled FROM THE CALIPH. The first installment appeared in The Magickal Link in October of 1981. I wish to thank Frater Orpheus for making this page and the other pages possible in this series. The latest installment was originally published in The Magickal Link, Vol. II, No. 9 September 1982e.v. and is titled ON THE PHYSICS OF METAPHYSICS. ... Click HERE and enjoy.

6:45am For the history buffs: Frank Harris was born on this date in Galway, Ireland in 1856. In early 1869 he immigrated to the United States. In 1882 he returned to England to become an editor on the London Evening News and other such periodicals like Fortnightly Review and Saturday Review. During World War I he returned to the U.S. where he became the editor of Pearson’s Magazine. While living in New York at the St. Regis Hotel his old friend Aleister Crowley would often stop by. Harris supposedly claimed that Crowley with his ‘phlebitis’ looked “more like an Egyptian than ever” uring this period. It seemed Crowley enjoyed going over to Harris’ apartment for a ‘petite verre of brandy’ and of course a conversation. Harris even jokingly wrote how his dear “left a string of worthless cheques” behind upon leaving America bound for England in 1919. A few years later Harris traveled to Berlin where the first volume of My Life and Loves was published. There would be three more volumes published between 1922 and 1927. Some claim his notoriety as a braggart and liar are epitomized in these books. In January of 1924 Aleister Crowley briefly lived with Frank Harris. According to one source, they both shared similar ‘money troubles” and were ‘equal hypochondriacs.’ On January 2nd 1924 Aleister Crowley recorded this bit of wisdom in his private diary about him: “Lunched with Frank Harris. ... But I’m not doubtful about Frank Harris. He is insane.” Harris died in France on August 26, 1931 of a heart attack. ............ another old Crowley friend, Nina Hamnett was born on this date in Tenby, South Wales in 1890. She attended the Royal School in Bath, and later studied at the Dublin School of Art, the Pelham Art School and the London School of Art. Her studies primarily revolved around portraits and landscapes. She exhibited her works at the New English Art Club, the Royal Academy and the London Group in England, as well as at the Salon d’Automne in Paris. She taught at the Westminster Technical Institute from 1917 to 1918. She was a talented artist and writer. She was immortalized in the paintings, sculptures, novels, poems and memoirs of her contemporaries in both London and Paris. In 1932 she published a classic memoir titled Laughing Torso, containing reminiscences of her bohemian life, which immediately became a bestseller in England and America. Aleister Crowley unsuccessfully tried to sue her for slander over a comment she made in this book that he “had a temple in Cefalu in Sicily. He was supposed to practice Black Magic there, and one day a baby was said to have disappeared mysteriously. There was also a goat there.” He lost the lawsuit. She lived in London and Paris most of her life. She died on Sunday December 16th 1956 from complications after falling out her apartment window and being impaled on the iron fence forty feet below. The great debate has always been whether or not it was a failed suicide attempt or merely a drunken accident. Her last words were, “Why don’t they let me die?” ............ And to continue with the birthdays, the former Episcopal Bishop James Albert Pike was born on this date in 1913.  He is probably most famous for holding the televised séance in Toronto where he, acting as a medium, contacted the spirit of Harry Houdini. It is further reported that Houdini during this séance actually informed Pike of the hidden coded message which he and his wife used during their stage acts. Other’s totally disagree. In 1969, following numerous attempts to contact his own dead son, Pike and his wife drove into the Israeli desert for a spiritual retreat. They were unprepared for the journey, and when their car broke down they separated in order to search for help. His wife escaped the ordeal but he died of exposure sometime between September 2nd and 9th. His body was recovered and buried in the Protestant cemetery in Jaffa, Israel. ............ and finally, it was on February 14, 1945 that the body of 74 years old Charles Walton was discovered in Lower Quinton England. He had been brutally murdered. His body was pinned to the ground with a hayfork. A large cross had been carved deeply into his chest and neck.  It might be worth considering a quote from an old book titled Folklore, Old Customs and Superstitions in Shakespeareland which had been written by J. Harvey Bloom, a local vicar, in 1929. He wrote how, in 1875, “a weak minded young man killed a woman named Ann Turner with a hayfork because he believed she had bewitched him” To this day, Walton’s killer has never been found and the only clue is the rumors which persist that Walton was a ‘witch.’

Friday the 13th of February 2009 – 11:45am An anonymous asks - "You seem to be dancing all the time by revealing lots of sex magic info on your blog while telling other students you can not talk about it. Where do you drawn the line." ........ Reply: Damn, this is a good question but I didn't appreciate being called a 'hypocrite" in another sentence. Be that as it may, throughout my blog I write to all my students in a very matter of fact, almost Malkuthian point-of-view that might inspire them to go off and study. It is my job to inspire, not to spoon feed too much. But every now and then a student starts thinking on a subject purely from the Ruach, or areas in their mind which reflect symbols, shapes and images and, unless they have a good firm foundation in Malkuth, their walking dangerously close to psycho babble. It is my duty to rope these wayward souls and pull them back down to reality; choking and gagging if need be. All my students in the lower degree must learn to express themselves in the 'language of men' and it should not be my responsibility to assume what they mean when they drop names, god forms or Qabalistic terms. Grady McMurtry use to have me spell everything out until it was 100% clear in my mind and then in his, as to what I was implying. Magickal psycho babble is merely a student's unconscious laziness hoping that their teacher will offer them assurance in reality to something fleeting in their own mind which they are unable to articulate.

11:15am I wrote an email just now to a student containing a lesson for all. I wrote: "I will not go into discussing all of your email but it holds valuable lessons for all new magicians. Still, I did enjoy when you used the analogy how “... it gives us the rewarding pursuit of figuring out how to build airplanes. Speaking of which Pilot Inspektor Cornelius how is this plane looking? Do these plans look sound or do I need to make some adjustments to the schematic to avoid a crash? Keeping in mind that it seems like you'd have to be in Upper Tiphereth at least for this to really work” .... Well, student pilot. I hope you brought your parachute. ...  Why are so many people so pre-occupied with learning the formulas of sex magick even though they fully realize that it cannot be understood in the man of Earth grade because you are, as Crowley has noted – “not wholly emancipated from the obsession of sex.” ... So why do you guys keep trying to put your head in clouds? ... Personal, I see you as yet another failure waiting to happen simply because you are constantly falling short of focusing on where you are on the Tree, rather than where you’d like to be and, like so many other young magicians, sooner or later I will have to scrap you up off the rocks after you’ve walked off a cliff. ... In the VIIth Degree Grade Paper De Natura Deorum it clearly informs us “For all attempts to initiate even the worthy before they initiate themselves are folly and fatality. The Secret of the Wise, although known of them, are not to be expressed in the language of common men.”  In other words, I cannot teach you these Mysteries, you either know them or you don’t. Ah, the Catch 22 rabbit! ... Sooner or later, in your studies, you will have an epiphany. I cannot give that to you, but when it happens, all that is written will then make sense."

10:45am I received a question which I basically answered in another email to a student. I cannot, unfortunately, give you the new question that was asked because it is personal from a magickal point-of-view but here is some thing I wrote which is generic enough to give everyone some amusing tidbits to think about. Anyway, I wrote to a student – And The Book of Lies also informs us – “The brothers of A.’.A.’. are Women: the Aspirants to A.’.A.’. are Men.” ... This quote is from the chapter titled The Oyster which, according to Crowley, gives “an initiated feminine point of view” ... This single chapter has confused more people but it is actually quite easy to understand. The initiated feminine point of view is not from Malkuth; nor is it something solely for women. ... In Qabalah once an initiate, either a man or a woman, crosses the Abyss their formula of attainment becomes ‘feminine’.... below the Abyss, the formula is always ‘masculine’ for both man and women.  Above the Abyss our attainment is rooted in the Stars but below the Abyss it is rooted in the ‘one’ Star of our Universe, i.e. our Sun. ... This is part of the Upper Degree Secrets of OTO and why the order works primarily through phallicism. Remember, although the formula of ON contains both male and female qualities (formulas) it is primarily a ‘Solar’ formula teaching the generative powers of the actual Sun which both you and I experience on a daily basis. ... In Crowley’s Gnostic Masses you hear the Priest, with arms outstretched, saying, “Let this offering be borne upon the waves of Aethyr to our Lord and Father the Sun that travelleth over the Heavens in his name ON.” ... However, VIIth Degree OTO teaches us that the study of the generative powers of the Sun, who is the center of our Solar System in the Microcosm has an opposite “in the Microcosm, which is Man, the viceregent of the Sun, sole giver of Life, is the Phallus.”  ... Remember this rule: 1. Stars above the Abyss. 2. Sun below the Abyss in the middle. 3. and the Phallus on Malkuth.

7:43am HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Heather Deyo, our favorite little Aquarian up in Seattle! Hope you’re having a great ‘Friday the 13th!  We’ll all toast a beer to you tonight at our Open House!

7:40am Up kinda late; I have this unbelievably bad headache. Anyway, for the history buffs: Antoine-Joseph Pernety the founder of the French order known as The Illumine’s d’Avignon was born on this date in 1716 and, although this group is presumed to have been dissolved shortly after his death, its influence is still found in modern Masonic Fraternities. The highest title conferred by Pernety’s order was known as Chevalier du Soleil which are today attributed to two Masonic Degrees, the 27th and 28th, of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. ............ Another amusing piece of history took place on February 13, 1902; this is when Aleister Crowley, with recently shaved head, arrived in Kandy, Burma. He was there to look up his old friend, Allan Bennett. Besides learning about laudanum Crowley also bought over twenty five pipes of opium and smoked such with absolutely no results. But like a true scientist he continued his experiments and realized his problem. His solution was simply; he wasn’t inhaling. He admits after this realization that he began to enjoy the pleasures of the drug. ............ And it was on February 13, 1925 that the self-styled apostle, evangelist and Bronx house painter named Robert Reidt proclaimed the second coming of Jesus Christ. He become convince of this event after reading how a young girl named Margaret Rowan in California talked with the Archangel Gabriel who had told her about the end of the world. So convinced was Reidt about this information that he spent his life savings taking out one newspaper ad after another and posting throughout New York handbills asking for people to join him in a massive showing of faith on a particular hilltop on the impending day of doom. Needless-to-say, he got quite a turnout plus hundreds of reporters. However, as the hours rolled by and with Jesus not showing, Reidt ‘angrily’ yelled at the top of his lungs, while pointing his finger at all the photographers, “You ruined it with the flashbulbs from your cameras!” ............ And it would be Thelemically negligent of me if I didn’t mention that one of the previous world leaders of the Ordo Templi Orientis, Karl Germer, was arrested on this date in 1935 on the grounds of “having continued communication with Aleister Crowley” and thus spent his first stay in a Nazi Concentration Camp, this one called Esterwegen.

Thursday February 12th 2009 – 6:30am For the history buffs: Cotton Mather was born on this date in Boston, of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1686. After he graduated from Harvard College in 1678 he became assistant minister of his father’s North Church. Many writers acknowledge Cotton Mather as an essential figure behind the Salem Witch trials but this is inaccurate. In truth, he had a relatively minor role in the entire Salem affair. He simply offered ‘spiritual’ advice in Court on one occasion and later attended the hangings in which he addressed the crowd after George Burroughs’ execution. It must be understood that Mather wrote at length about New England in over 500 books and pamphlets trying to show how the holy Puritan task in this new wilderness land was to establish God’s kingdom. His Salem connection would have inevitably fallen by the wayside had it not been for his own need to write about his experience at the trials. His brief account, titled Wonders of the Invisible World, was, admittedly, unfeeling and very slanted toward the condemned witches. This irritated one individual named Robert Calef who proceeded to write More Wonders of the Invisible World which attacked Mather’s character and his reputation as a ‘witch’ expert; a blow from which Mather’s would never recover and to which his name now irretrievably became linked as a ‘central’ figure behind the trials. He died on February 13, 1727. ............  Also, the famous English witch, Gerald Gardner, died at the breakfast table on board a ship after suffering a fatal heart attack on this date in 1964. The following day he was buried on shore in Tunis, his funeral was attended only by the Captain of the ship in which he traveled. Some historians claim that Aleister Crowley was paid a suitably large fee from Gerald Gardner to compose rituals which could be used in his new Gardnerian witch-cult although many modern Gardnerian Witches try to deny this fact as if trying to distance themselves from the evils of Old Crow. Is there a connection between the two?  There is, in fact, an actual OTO Charter reportedly given to Gerald Gardner from Crowley giving him the right to begin an O.T.O. Camp but under careful scrutiny this document becomes suspect. First of all, the document is written completely in Gardner’s handwriting with the exception of the signature of ‘Baphomet.’ Second, the official greeting which Crowley always methodical uses is quoted incorrect as ‘Do what thou Wilt shall be the law,’ which is something Old Crow would never do. There are other obvious uncertainties, like Crowley calling Gardner ‘beloved son’ - which is also highly unlikely.

Wednesday February 11th 2009 – 6:50am Without any indication of what was on his mind which might have prompted him to write such, Aleister Crowley has the following brief entry in his diary on February 11, 1938: “Never run after a woman. You many possibly catch her.” A short but truly essential piece of wisdom for all men to appreciate and I should know!

6:45am For the history buffs: Karl Germer’s divorced his first wife, Marie Wys, while he was in Mexico in order to marry Cora Eaton. His second marriage took place on January 15th 1929 in New York but Cora died on July 13th 1942. Two months later he married his third wife, a Vienna piano teacher named Sascha Ernestine Andre. Sascha was born on this date in 1891. She is probably most noted historically as being the woman who took Aleister Crowley’s urn, filled with his ashes, and strewed its contents into the mud at the base of a tree in Hampton, New Jersey. Gerald Yorke would point out later that the ‘Aleister tree’ died. Calling it, “a nice Crowleyan touch.” Karl Germer died in 1962. The greatest tragedy during her life occurred on September 3, 1967. This is when she heard someone knocking at her front door. When she asked who it was, a reply was heard that it was a member of the OTO. Unfortunately, when she opened the door she was immediately sprayed in the face with some kind of a gas or acid, knocked to the floor and overpowered. A drug was then injected by a syringe that totally knocked her out cold. When she came to she discovered her house had been ransacked and that many books in the library on the second floor had been stolen. Also missing were Aleister Crowley’s personal robes, various OTO documents and ritual papers. Sascha tried to call the police but found that the phone lines had been cut. When she finally notified the local Constable, he took her story, along with a few photographs but no fingerprints were taken or any serious research done. It has stated that it was obvious that “they put her story down to the wanderings of the demented mind of a lady who had been alone too long.” In other words, they didn’t believe her. They felt her house was dirty and normally in disarray. Tragically, they were not even sure her house was actually burglarized. Sascha Germer died on  April 1, 1975. ............  Also, Thomas Alva Edison was born on this date to middle-class parents in the bustling port of Milan, Ohio in 1897. Toward the end of his life, around 1920, Edison became obsessed with communication with the spirits and he came to believe that he could build anything if he had the right components to do it and he took this belief one step further by announcing that he intended to invent a machine that could communicate with the spirit world. Edison strongly believed that when a person dies, the body decays but the intelligence that it possesses lives on into the so-called spirit world, which is a limbo where disembodied ‘intelligence’ waits to move on. He believed that this intelligence involved billions of sub-particles of matter like electrons that travel in space which combined into colonies to make up the sum total of our spirit. He called each of these intelligence particles “little people” and he believed that these little people stay united after a person dies and that they eventually settle into another person at birth. Henry Ford also believed in Edison’s ideas and argued that the mind contains “millions of entities” and he felt that people, like Edison, received more ‘entities’ (i.e. genius particles) than most of us because he has, as Ford said, “a properly tuned antenna.” On October 18, 1931 Edison awoke from the coma in which he had previous slipped and quietly whispered to his wife Mina — “It is very beautiful over there.” He then closed his eyes and died. He was 84 years of age. ............  And it was on this date in 1906 that Aleister Crowley assumed the Oath of Adeptus Minor in the AA, taking the motto ‘Christeos Luciftias.’ Outside of an unpublished diary one of the only other places where he uses this motto appears at the beginning of a piece titled Ambrossii Magi Hortus Rosarum which is found in The Collected Works although this creates a small historical problem. He wrote this piece in 1902 four years before he took the Oath of Adeptus Minor.

Tuesday February 10th 2009 – 11:45am Yesterday we up-loaded Part II of the three part article that began in The Magickal Link, Vol. II, No.6 in June of  1982 titled ON TECHNICAL INFORMATION. It was written by Frater Hymenaeus Alpha 777 (Grady Louis McMurtry). Today, we have up-loadedthe third and final part of ON TECHNICAL INFORMATION which appeared in The Magickal Link, Vol. II, No.8 August 1982e.v. ...know  I some idiots in past have referred this series written by Grady as drug-induced ramblings which are impossible to understand but  in this latestest article Grady offers a great tidbit about them when he writes - "When I submitted ON TECHNICAL INFORMATION (2), der Heidrick said, “Grady, this is impossibly compressed.” ... Grady replied, "How many kids do you think will get it?" ... Heidrick said, "About a quarter." ... and then Grady said, "That’s the whole idea.  The bright ones will get it; the rest will ask questions.  That’s why they invented dictionaries.  It’s time we get them out of the sand box 1.  They want to be Thelemic Magicians.  Let them learn how to organise the material of their discipline so they can apply it.  For our purposes Magick is defined The Physics of Metaphysics." ... Kinda says it all. ... Anyway, we wish to thank Frater Orpheus for making this page and all the other pages possible in this series. ... Click HERE for details on the latest article. ... We hope to have the next in the series titled ON THE PHYSICS OF METAPHYSICS unloaded by the weekend. I hope our readers have been enjoying this series as much as we have had in bringing it to you. Let us know what you think. We love feedback.

9:00am In regard to my 7:55am posting on the 6th, Ricky replies - "You say that "Grady believed the fourth chapter was between you and the Gods. No one else. Secret oh man!" All I can say is that this is probably one of the most profoundly beautiful ideas that I have heard. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and Grady's with us all."

7:40am I was asked my opinion over the weekend about a verse from Liber AL vel Legis I:8 - "The Khabs is in the Khu, not the Khu in the Khabs." .... In many ways this verse is a reference to our Spirit and its daimon. Crowley clearly implies this, or that our Star, or Khabs, is our divine Spirit, which is actually Akashic in origin and the Khu is the Magickal Essence, or daimon, which follows us into our incarnation and by which our Khabs gains experience. The Khu is Prana-like, if not elemental in substance. With this in mind; the verse is telling us that the Magickal Essence (i.e. daimon) is not something found within the Star (Spirit) but the other way around. The Star is already Perfect, it finds expression within the Khu (i.e. Light) in order to ‘Illuminate’ and gain experience on Malkuth, without which our Star is but a dark empty void. ....  About AC’s comment to this verse: “I think that we are warned against the idea of a pleroma, a flame of which we are Sparks, and to which we return when we ‘attain.’ That would indeed be to make the whole curse of separate existence ridiculous, a senseless and inexcusable folly. It would throw us back on the dilemma of Manichaeism. The idea of incarnations ‘perfecting’ a thing originally perfect by definition is imbecile. The only sane solution is ... to suppose that the Perfect enjoys experience of (apparent) Imperfection. (There are deeper resolutions to this problem appropriate to the highest grades of initiation, but the above should suffice the average intelligence).” ... I find this fairly easy, but complicated to explain; if that makes any sense even though many of the comments in his Commentaries are priceless in that they exposes his inner struggle with Old Aeonic ideas of God, Heaven and why are we here. Often his solutions, by his own admittance, fall back into un-Thelemic concepts, if not bordering on the patronization of an Old Aeonic Satan. He came to realize there are many misconceptions, if not blatant errors, within the Commentaries. Many of the obvious inaccuracy are clearly Old Aeonic thinking based in Crowley’s Christian archetype which are priceless tidbits of thought, which Thelemites in general often ask about and must address in order to understand the New Aeon. Reading AC’s Commentaries offers Thelemites great contradictions, which hopefully will make them think. If they blindly accept everything in the book and all its contents, it kinda says a lot. .... Next, what is Plermo?  First, Elemental theory teaches us that there is no such thing as empty space in the Universe but there are only two ‘quintessentials’ that compose our entire Universe. The first is a substance known as Akasha, which is a Sanskrit word literally meaning ‘luminous,’ similar to the Greek auge, which means a bright light. Akasha is a very old Sanskrit word and, like most ancient words, it has undergone numerous evolutionary transitions in regards to its meaning. Most authorities agree that Akasha is the ‘Universal Soul,’ not to be confused with our personal Soul. The Greeks referred to Akasha as Pleroma, which literally implies a ‘fullness’ or, as in the Pistis Sophia, it is the substance that encompasses the ‘sum total’ of all space and manifestations both outward and especially inward within our Universe and within all the different Heavens. However, the finer subtleties of interpreting Pleroma vary widely depending upon the Gnostic sect but most agree that it refers to the world of Light or, as with Akasha, it is the Universal Soul. … It is from this Universal Soul that our personal Soul is birthed in a ‘black egg’ and to which, according to some ancient beliefs, it shall later return. But Crowley writes, “I think that we are warned against the idea of a pleroma, a flame of which we are Sparks, and to which we return when we attain.”  It is no secret that Crowley deplored Christianity and many of its views which state that our Spirit (i.e. Khabs) originated in a Heaven and to this Heaven we shall later return. But AC’s further comment reveals a personal quirk to his nature by stating, “The idea of incarnations ‘perfecting’ a thing originally perfect by definition is imbecile. The only sane solution is ... to suppose that the Perfect enjoys experience of (apparent) Imperfection.”  Here Crowley is not denying the idea behind reincarnation. He is even agreeing with most faiths, which acknowledge that our Spirit (Khabs) is ‘perfect’ before it incarnates, which I too agree. What he is disagreeing with is the Theosophical/Christian idea of the motive behind reincarnation which states that the inevitable Perfect Spirit strives to become ‘more perfect’ in order for it to return to heaven, or within the Akasha, or Pleroma … but there is a problem with this statement. It must be remembered that Crowley’s thinking about the HGA in his Commentaries clearly shows that he believed the HGA merely to be the Higher Self and not necessarily as an independent entity. He would not embrace this concept until Magick Without Tears. For now he still believed in the concept of ‘here now’ and as our Spirit (being Perfect) being born simply to embrace the World. .... Furthermore, it must be remembered that everything above the Abyss is only One, Unity, or Perfect, and thus our Spirit is said to require the descent into flesh for the experience. Again, Crowley does not disagree with this. However, most viewpoints about reincarnation clearly tell us that our Spirit/Soul, which is Perfect, desires the experience of our plane in order to gain knowledge of a balance ‘between both good and evil.’ The Angels cannot fully understand their own Perfection until they embrace ‘both’ extremes. However, Crowley’s view in his Commentary to this verse seems to say that we don’t need to realize the ‘good’ since our Spirit is already Perfect. He argues that our Spirit incarnates simply out of a want to embrace Imperfection. It’s all semantics and although this sounds logical, it reveals more about ‘his’ archetype as a bad-boy rebelling against Christianity rather than giving us a way in which we should really perceive things. ... One must always remember that below the Abyss there is only duality in which we, as individuals, must reconcile until All disappears before we can remain above the Abyss. There can be no avoidance of one pole over the other. We must embrace both Light & darkness, Good and Evil, “Perfection and Imperfection,” or the Angel and the Demon. ... So, what is Crowley telling us? Or is he simply trying to condone his actions at Cefalu, which is where he wrote his Commentaries and where it is no secret, he wallowed in every form of imperfection, perversity, sexual degradation, animal sacrifice and other forms of debauchery imaginable by man. Have you ever read Leah Sublime? ... OK ... enough is enough on this subject.

7:30am For the history buffs: It was on this date in 1840 that Fraulein Anna Sprengel supposedly took the Oath of 5=6 assuming the motto of Soror Sapiens Dominabitur Astris. Most historians claim that she was the prominent Rosicrucian German adept who allegedly had handed Dr. Wynn Wescott a bunch of pseudo-Masonic rituals and told him to start up an order, an English version of the “Goldene Dammerung.” However, others will adamantly argue that Fraulein Sprengel, and all claims related to her, were simply an invention to give credence to the newly formed Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. ............ Also, Lon Chaney Jr. was born Creighton Tull Chaney on this date in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1906. Although he played numerous roles in Hollywood pictures he is probably most famous for being the Werewolf. Lon Chaney Jr. came into the world prematurely at seven months, lifeless, on a cold winter day. After repeated attempts by the doctor to resuscitate the infant, his father grabbed the lifeless body and ran outside, where he submerged it into the icy waters of Belle Isle Lake which ‘jump started’ the seemingly dead child. Lon Chaney Jr. died on July 12, 1973 in San Clemente, California of a heart attack after many years of poor health. As he had requested, his body was donated to University of Southern California to be chopped up for research. ............ and speaking of birthdays, some claim that Helen Parsons-Smith was born on this date in Chicago, Illinois in 1910, others disagree claiming it was the 6th. ............ and Alex Comfort was born on this date in 1920. He is most famous for his ground-breaking explicit sex manual titled The Joy of Sex (1972) which gain world wide distribution. He died on March 26, 2000 of complications from a stroke. ............  And for the OTO historians, my old friend Rusty Sporer was born on this date in Chicago, Illinois at 3:44am in 1937. ............  And to continue, the man who was both a friend of Aleister Crowley and Adolf Hitler, John Frederick Charles Fuller died on this date in 1966. Aleister Crowley, after reading Fuller’s book The Secret Wisdom of the Qabalah, wrote in his diary that it is a “turgid unintelligible rant: no idea of what he’s driving at. It is a damnable shame-he did start so well.” ............  And finally, the California based goddess-worshipper Zsuzsanna Budapest was arrested in Los Angeles on this date in 1975 for fortune telling after she gave an undercover policewoman a tarot card reading. In court she was given a $300 fine and probation.

Monday February 9th 2009 – 10:50am In regards to today’s 9:35am posting Mike asks, "I think I get it but what does 'not to be expressed in the language of common men' mean? Is there a secret magickal dialect? The idea fascinates me.” ....... Reply: Yes and no. The ‘language’ of man is of mundane utterance; read The Hawk and the Blindworm from The Book of Lies. Then realize that once within our Ruach language become dream-like, archetypal; bathed in symbols, concepts and ideas. These are often difficult to express due to their personal nature and in truth, they are of no one’s business but yourself. 

9:35am To address a question regarding the 'seven' I am simply going to quote from Magick in Theory & Practice, Chapter XX – “OF THE EUCHARIST AND OF THE ART OF ALCHEMY” [see below] because I think by pointing this out it might also benefit others if they only understood it's IXth Degree OTO connection in a section titled 'Of The Alchymists' which appears in Agape vel Liber C vel Azoth. As for the rest of my readers, sorry if I lost you. This entry is not meant for everyone and all I can say is that in the VIIth Degree Grade Paper De Natura Deorum, Section III De Natura Dei Soli it clearly informs us to “make no attempt to disclose this inner Truth to the profane” ... adding - “For all attempts to initiate even the worthy before they initiate themselves are folly and fatality. The Secret of the Wise, although known of them, are not to be expressed in the language of common men.” ... [The above quotes are  from Francis King's The Secret Rituals of the O.T.O. 1973]

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The Eucharist of seven elements is mystically identical with that of one.

Of the method of consecrating the elements it is only necessary to say that they should be treated as talismans. The circle and other furniture of the Temple should receive the usual benefit of the banishings and consecrations. The Oath should be taken and the Invocations made. When the divine force manifests in the elements, they should be solemnly consumed. There is also a simpler method of consecration reserved for initiates of high rank, of which it is here unlawful to speak.

According to the nature of the Sacrament, so will its results be. In some one may receive a mystic grace, culminating in Samadhi; in others a simpler and more material benefit may be obtained.

The highest sacrament, that of One element, is universal in its operation; according to the declared purpose of the work so will the result be. It is a universal Key of all Magick.

These secrets are of supreme practical importance, and are guarded in the Sanctuary with a two-edged sword flaming every way; for this sacrament is the Tree of Life itself, and whoso partaketh of the fruit thereof shall never die.

Unless he so will. Who would not rather work through incarnation; a real renewal of body and brain, than content himself with a stagnant immortality upon this mote in the Sunlight of the Universe which we call earth?

With regard to the preparations for such Sacraments, the Catholic Church has maintained well enough the traditions of the true Gnostic Church in whose keeping the secrets are. (1)

Chastity (2) is a condition; fasting for some hours previous is a condition; an earnest and continual aspiration is a condition. Without these antecedents even the Eucharist of the One and Seven is partially --- though such is its intrinsic virtue that it can never be wholly --- baulked of its effect. 

A Eucharist of some sort should most assuredly be consummated daily by every magician, and he should regard it as the main sustenance of his magical life. It is of more importance than any other magical ceremony, because it is a complete circle. The whole of the force expended is completely re-absorbed; yet the virtue is that vast gain represented by the abyss between Man and God.

The magician becomes filled with God, fed upon God, intoxicated with God. Little by little his body will become purified by the internal lustration of God; day by day his mortal frame, shedding its earthly elements, will become in very truth the Temple of the Holy Ghost. Day by day matter is replaced by Spirit, the human by the divine; ultimately the change will be complete; God manifest in flesh will be his name.

This is the most important of all magical secrets that ever were or are or can be. To a Magician thus renewed the attainment of the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel becomes an inevitable task; every force of his nature, unhindered, tends to that aim and goal of whose nature neither man nor god may speak, for that it is infinitely beyond speech or thought or ecstasy or silence. Samadhi and Nibbana are but its shadows cast upon the universe.

1. Study, in the Roman Missal, the Canon of the Mass, and the chapter of "defects".

2. The Word Chastity is used by initiates to signify a certain state of soul and of mind

determinant of a certain habit of body which is nowise identical with what is commonly

understood. Chastity in the true magical sense of the word is inconceivable to those who are

not wholly emancipated from the obsession of sex.

7:45am Our student Andy, from Japan, asks a good question and since it is occasionally brought up by others, I thought I'd address it. He writes - "Have you thought about using blogging software that people can make comments about/discuss what you post? I think it'd be a neat way for your readers to connect. Just a thought.” ..... Reply: Years back, I was on numerous ‘private’ OTO live journals and blogs which discussed magick in theory and practice. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to quickly realize that the majority of people out there and I do mean the majority, are psycho-babblers who rarely offer serious discussion and simply love to fill a blog with worthless conversation. I quickly got bored. The internet is truly a modern ‘Kundry’ or waste of good time and energy as one peruses down an endless row of entered mud looking for gems. It doesn’t really help magicians, it distracts from the path. Now don’t get me wrong, if that is where a person wishes to be, then who am I to debate their Will but it’s not something I want to advocate on my website. If students want to get in touch or connect with others within our man of Grade grade, or from this blog, all they have to do is write and I’ll put them in touch with the other person. They can email back and forth all they want but at least emailing (hopefully) will take time to formulate a descent thought. ... and then Andy writes – “Also, keep us updated on your embracing of greens and the health rewards that you get to reap from it :) .” .... Reply: ya, sure. I had pepperoni pizza Saturday night with my son and last night I had a ham and cheese sub; but it had lettuce so does that count as sufficient greens?

6:55am On the 5th we up-loaded Part I of the three part article that began in The Magickal Link, Vol. II, No.6 in June of  1982 titled ON TECHNICAL INFORMATION. It was written by Frater Hymenaeus Alpha 777 (Grady Louis McMurtry). It was the latest installment of a lengthy series titled FROM THE CALIPH which Grady had begun in 1981. Today, we have up-loaded Part II of ON TECHNICAL INFORMATIONwhich appeared in The Magickal Link, Vol. II, No.7 July 1982e.v. ... We wish to thank Frater Orpheus for making this page and all the other pages possible in this series. He's been computer entering all the articles and proofing them. He also wrote to me just last night - "I'm loving this stuff! One thing that is clear to me is that Grady clearly spent much time inside of 777 and you must read these articles with yours in hand in order to fully appreciate what he is saying. There is so much Magickal thought in Theory here it's amazing to me that this stuff hasn't been more noticed, but maybe its better that way. Either which way he is constantly dropping gems giving much insight into the OTO mysteries. He clearly knew what he was doing when he put this collections articles together and much like I've seen you do with your blog was planting seeds for those who had eyes to see it." ...  Reply: How true. ... Click HERE for details on the latest article. ... We also hope to have the final part or Part III of ON TECHNICAL INFORMATION uploaded by Tuesday; followed by a great article titled ON THE PHYSICS OF METAPHYSICS and this to followed by an article on The Holy Books. And there is alot more. Finally, I hope our readers have been enjoying this series as much as we have had in bringing it to you. Let us know what you think. We love feedback.

6:45am David Hohl, Producer, from Hohlographic Productions, LLC in San Francisco writes - "Just wanted to let you know In Search of Lovecraft is releasing March 3."  Click HERE for details. Personally, I can't wait to see it!

6:35am I’d like to extend a great big 31st HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Paul Hohlt of Love Sake Clerk House here in Berkeley. Hope you have a joyous day. I’ll toast a beer to you tonight! 

6:30am For the history buffs: Aleister Crowley left for Cairo on this date in 1904 after having arrived the day before at Port Said in the Suez. In Cairo he would rent a small corner apartment where he turned the room, which faced north, into a Temple. It was here that his wife Rose Kelly, known as ‘Ouarda the Seer,’ kept repeating; “They are waiting for you.” At first Crowley believed his wife’s hysterical state of mind was brought on by either being constantly drunk all the time or because she was pregnant.  It turned out that the Gods did want to talk with Aleister Crowley and inevitable an invisible entity named Aiwass dictated to him The Book of the Law, also called Liber AL vel Legis. ............  also, on February 9th 2008 Dr. Christopher Hyatt (whose real name was Alan Ronald Miller) passed away in Scottsdale, Arizona. He was born in Chicago on July 12, 1943. Most people know that he was a student of Israel Regardie, that he founded Falcon Press, later changed it to New Falcon Publications and that he published numerous books and co-authored many others like: Undoing Yourself Too (1988), Psychopath’s Bible (1999), Tantra Without Tears (2001) and To Lie is human: Not to get caught is Diving (2004).

Sunday February 8th 2009 – 6:50am For the history buffs: This is the ‘real’ birthday of the astrologer Evangeline Adams, who was born in Jersey City, New Jersey on this date in 1868. She often lied about which year she was born. She would later released three rather popular books titled Astrology, Your Place In The Sun (1927), followed by Astrology, Your Place Among The Stars (1930) and then Astrology for Everyone (1931). Many people and astrologers did not know at the time but her first two books were entirely ghost-written by Aleister Crowley. ............ also, Eliphas Levi, who was christened Alphonse-Louis Constant, was born on this date in Paris, France in 1810. Levi was largely responsible for the revival of interest in magic in the 19th century. Although he admittedly studied magic and strongly believed in it, he often considered himself more of a commentator than and adept, though he did claim to practice necromancy on several occasions. His first and probably most important work was The Dogma and Ritual of High Magic (1861). It was followed by A History of Magic, Transcendental Magic, The Key of Great Mysteries. Aleister Crowley claimed that this gentleman was one of his previous incarnations. Levi died on May 31, 1875. ............ And I’d also like to mention that Jules Gabriel Verne, the father of modern science fiction, was born on this date in the port of Nantes, France in 1828. He wrote such classics as From the Earth to the Moon (1865) and A Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873). Many of his ideas were hailed as being far ahead of their time, if not prophetic. On March 24, 1905, while ill with diabetes, Verne died at his home, 44 Boulevard Longueville, Amiens. ............ and finally, it was on this date in 1855 in the town of Devonshire, England that everyone awoke to find strange footprints in the freshly fallen snow. Their shape was forming a ‘U’ which quickly spread rumors and panic throughout the small village that the Devil had visited Devonshire during the night.

Saturday February 7th, 2009 –

Friday February 6th 2009 – 1:50pm Miguel writes - "93 Jerry, Been regularly reading the blog as well and completly sympathize with the details of bachelor living. I personally have a routine going between a chinese delivery place and couple of pizza places every week depending on the craving for the night. My fridge is currently stocked with Trader Joes warm and eat meals so I can be a little frugal and not as unhealthy as getting the sodium and fat levels one can from the traditional T.V. dinners. I do order salads regularly from the pizza places though; the spinach salad (has bacon n toasted pine nuts with Feta) at Amici's is to die for and the Thai chicken at Extreme pizza(mandarine oranges and marinated chicken breast) is really quite delicious. Besides this learning to wrap a burger (turkey or chicken more than beef) in lettuce (romaine) instead of a bun has also been a positve as well as learning to make hearty vegetarian soups; large pot, last a few days for on the spot gobbling. Will eat gourmet cheeses n deli meats to add variety on occasion. Discovered an EXCELLENT vegetarian chili recipe ( titled worlds best vege chilli) on the site Rey recommends that I can't speak highly enough about. I make a giant pot of it every couple of months ; uses vege meat crumbles and you really wouldn't know the difference. ... Managing a weekly schedule that takes me out of the house at 7:30am and brings me back at 8pm four days a week I don't wanna be cooking nuthin when I get home! I do however have to acknowledge the genetic limits I chose to work within for this incarnation ( gout, hypertension, borderline diabetes), especially as I'm getting older. As a Scorpio though I must confess that I do occasionally indulge my self in the sensuous flavors of Brazillian steak houses, the delicacies of Indian butter chicken, and the amazing creme filled pasteries they sell at the Mexican market on the corner. I've had days where I ate in Mexico for breakfast, Japan for lunch and India for dinner, but too much of a good thing and the next you know your off your feet and in the hospital beging for people to stop poking and proding you with stuff and to just give you something so that you can be a somewhat cordial and pain free person again. :-)  93;93/93 M." .......... Reply: Good to hear from you. So much of what you say about bachelorhood is so true; everybody wants to change my eating habits but it's hard; they go home; the Chinese and Korean restaurants are next door and the smell is truly mouth watering. But life goes on, I am trying to change .... a little at a time. I ate salad the other day, just a bowl of cereal yesterday and today, well, it's Friday night ... who knows?

9:20am Rey DeLupos of The Queen of Heaven Clerk House writes - "Greetings Jerry, 93! It has been too long since I have sent you a post -- which is completely the impact of my obligations to a loving wife, a rambunctious son, a demanding work place and the endless tasks that have become commonplace for me.  That said, I have been keeping pace with your always revealing journal. [smile]  I also noted your love for stuffed bell peppers during a recent blog entry and wanted to share a healthy, wholesome and potentially tasty food choice for you: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Tofu-and-Rice-Stuffed-Peppers/Detail.aspx.  I have tried this one before and found it remarkably tasty -- granted I do enjoy tofu.   YMMV.  :)  Anyway, dear friend I am sending you loving thoughts and wish you much happiness on Mr. Toad's Wilde Ride [a.k.a, Life] 93, 93/93 Rey." ........ Reply: I too love tofu if seasoned well. I got a taste for it when living with a health food nut down in New Orleans. For a while it was my substitute for meat but coming to California in 1989 got me going back to old habits! Part of the problem is being a bachelor; you get lazy, you just don't put your all into cooking and you simply forge when hungry. Plus, being a Cancer, a Crab, I am a bottom feeder who eats whatever is available in front of him. That my dear friend is the problem. Walk six blocks to the grocery store, walk back and then spend an hour cooking or walk next door to the Korean restaurant and get an order of barbecued pork and rice to go in less than ten. Still, I am a great cook, I love cooking but when you're single, well, its just not worth it all the time.

7:55am On February 2nd Ricky asked – “I am perplexed. But, at the risk of asking a stupid question, here goes. In your "Epistle on the Tree fold structure of the A.'.A.'." you site the Book of the Law as being broken down as: 1st chapter Hadit and 2nd Nuit. Why is this? I have been wondering this for some time now and the only thing I can come up with is that one must acquire Point of View of Hadit to fully address Nuit and vice versa.  This idea brings up an interesting method on my quest to reflect on my life, by seeing the whole as the interplay of these two forces. Then also if this is the case with the first two chapters what does it mean for the third? That the 'secret forth chapter' be that of Hoor Pa Kraat? The work accomplished is silence?”  ......... Reply: There are two ways of viewing the first two chapters whereas both are attributed to either God; Nuit and Hadit. Most of us in the early years of Grady were taught this belief; exactly where it originated, good question but if you read both chapters the over-all flavor of each does seem to imply ‘Earth’ then ‘Heaven’ and the interaction between the two being the ‘reward.’ ... Within A.’.A.’ teachings when a magician reaches Dominus Liminis (the ‘Portal Degree’ between 4=7 and 5=6) he, as an aspirant acts as ‘Hadit’ in order to obtain an understanding of the First Chapter, which he memorizes and he achieves this by the practice of the ritual of Liber NV, Sub Figvra XI. And in the same grade, once the first has fully been achieved the aspirant then acts as ‘Nuit’ and practices Liber HAD, sub figvra DLX while memorizing the Second Chapter of Liber AL vel Legis. ... as for the third; what lies between Heaven and Earth but the Sun? Is this not Ra-Hoor-Khuit? And yes, many do believe the  'secret forth chapter'  to be that of Hoor-paar-Kraat but to push this belief is ‘blasphemous.’ To speak it, or even openly publish such implies ‘manifestation’ or speech, this is the Law of Ra-Hoor-Khuit, not that of Hoor-paar-Kraat which is ‘Silence’ ... Grady believed the fourth chapter was between you and the Gods. No one else. Secret oh man!

6:50am Yes John, you are right, I did write about how Grady achieved the 'bridge' in Chapter 21 in volume II of my bio on his life; In The Name of the Beast. However, no two people obtain the bridge the same way; we each build it differently depending upon the circumstances of our life. To think, or even be so stupid as to try to duplicate Grady's experience is utter folly.  Magicians in the early stages of learning may not fully heed this warning, any more that warnings against taking the Oath of the Abyss prematurely but I advise climbing the Tree step by step and preparing a suitable foundation or understanding of 'your' incarnation before thinking that someone else's bridge is OK to use.  There are no short cuts. How you move 'through' the Sun will be different than me, Grady or others.

6:20am John writes, “If as you say Crowley is wrong about obtaining his Angel in Tiphereth, what does he strive for as a magician in the grade of Adeptus Minor?” ....... Reply: Sorry for not replying sooner but life has been hectic of late. You ask a good question. Lets first mention that Aleister Crowley wrote in ONE STAR IN SIGHT : “The Grade of Adeptus Minor is the main theme of the instructions of the A.'. A.'. It is characterised by the Attainment of the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel. (See the Equinox, The Temple of Solomon the King; The Vision and the Voice 8th Aethyr; also Liber Samekh, etc. etc.) This is the essential work of every man; none other ranks with it either for personal progress or for power to help one's fellows. This unachieved, man is no more than the unhappiest and blindest of animals. He is conscious of his own incomprehensible calamity, and clumsily incapable of repairing it. Achieved, he is no less than the co-heir of gods, a Lord of Light. He is conscious of his own consecrated course, and confidently ready to run it. The Adeptus Minor needs little help or guidance even from his superiors in our Order.” ... However, years later he realized that most of his previous thoughts regarding the HGA and Higher Self were confused. Read Magick Without Tears. It is a consistent theme in this book and discussed at length in our series on the HGA in our publication CORNELIA where we analyzed in-depth Crowley’s opinion on this subject from his earliest writings until death. Crowley came to realize that the HGA and the Higher Self are two distinct and separate things. In all his earlier writings when Crowley writes about the HGA in Tiphereth he later acknowledged this to be wrong. It’s a misconception that he learned through The Golden Dawn. What the Adeptus Minor obtains in Tiphereth is the Higher Self or the ‘bridge’ between the Lower Adept and Higher Adept, not the HGA. A magician cannot go higher up the Tree unless he's established the 'bridge' which allows him to understands why and how the numbers reverse in the magickal degrees of the ‘circle squared.’ ... Or metaphorically and with common sense; he must learn how to stare at the Sun and go through it in order to find himself in the company of Stars.   

6:00am Mary, there is no good way to answer your question; although there are implied magickal thoughts in your email you’re obviously looking for answers about your own relationship between ‘men and women’. All I can say is that we all incarnate to go through certain experiences. Crowley writes it best when he says – “Love may best be defined as the passion of Hatred inflamed to the point of madness, when it takes refuge in Self-destruction.”  [Little Essays Toward Truth] ... I've been married twice, have had numerous girlfriends and although some of my readers may disagree with Crowley's assessment, I smile and understand where he's coming from.

5:50am Here is a reply to a student: Aughhhhhh! More idiot questions about the sphere of Daath!!! Stop reading modern psycho-babble; go back to the original sources. First, I'd suggest going into our BLOG ARCHIVE and review these four dates: Monday April 30th 2007 5:15am, Sunday July 29th 2007 10:45am, Thursday August 23rd 2007 9:00am and Wednesday December 5th 2007 9:00am. This will give you a footing on my beliefs and from here we have a foundation to talk. I will not address 'phantoms' created by modern writers who chase windmills thinking them dragons. ... Then I want you to consider these verses from the Zohar; The Book of Concealed Mystery:

38. "The tongue speaketh great things." ...  "And by the tongue is understood the

foundation"

39. "This tongue is hidden between I, Yod, and H, He. For father and mother are perpetually

conjoined in ISVD, Yesod, the foundation, but concealed under the mystery of Daath or

of knowledge."

40. "... through Daath, or knowledge, whereby wisdom is combined with the understanding,

and the beautiful path with his bride the queen." ... "Daath is the beautiful path."

And these verses from the Zohar; The Lesser Holy Assembly:

293. "And when all things are comprehended, they are comprehended therein, and are called by

the that name of Father, Mother and Son."

294. "And these are ChKMH; Wisdom, Father; BINAH, Understanding, Mother, DOTh, Daath,

Knowledge." 

296. "And since He is called first-born, therefore it implieth dual offspring." 

300.  Daath - "He receiveth the inheritance of His Father and of His Mother."

301. "What is the inheritance? These two crowns, which are hidden within Them, which They

pass on in succession to his Son."

302. "From the side of the Father (Chockmah) there is one Crown concealed therein, which is

called Chesed."

303. "And from the side of the Mother (Binah) there is one Crown, which is called Geburah."

322. Through Daath are His palaces filled, at it is written, Prov.xxix.: "And in Daath shall the

chambers be filled."

323. "And therefore Daath is not furthermore revealed, for it occulty pervadeth Him inwardly."

708. "The masculine power is extended through Daath; and the Assemblies and Conclaves are

filled."

709. "It commenceth from the beginning of the skull, and it is extended throughout the whole

body, through the breast, and through the arms, and through all the other parts."

738 "Through Daath are his inner parts formed, and they fill the Assemblies and Conclaves. "

5:30am For the history buffs: On this day Adam Weishaupt was born at Ingoldstadt in 1748. He was later educated by the Jesuits and appointed Professor of Natural and Canon Law at the University of Ingoldstadt in 1775. He is the founder of the Order of the Illuminati. He died on November 18, 1811. ............ Helen Northrup was born on this date in Chicago, Illinois in 1910. Some authorities place her birthdate on the 10th. She was the ex-wife of both OTO Agape Lodge Masters Jack Parsons and Wilfred T. Smith and became known later in life as Helen Parsons-Smith. She published Crowleyanity for years, releasing such works as Shih Yi (1971), Liber AL vel Legis (1973), The Soul of the Desert (1974), Liber XXI Khing Kang King (1974) and The Tao Teh King (1975), to mention but a few. She was the founder of Thelema Publications. She died on July 27, 2003 at the age of 93 in California. Her body was cremated and her ashes scattered over Lake Tahoe. ............ Also, James Thomas Graeb was born on this date in Hempstead, New York in 1954. He grew up in Branford, Connecticut. He took initiation into Aleister Crowley’s Ordo Templi Orientis on November 18, 1977 in Syracuse New York and shortly thereafter he moved to Berkeley, California. While in Law School Graeb helped with the new O.T.O. Bylaws and Incorporation papers which were signed on March 20, 1979. On February 16, 1980 Graeb was Chartered to run the Heru-pa-kraat Encampment in San Francisco and three months later, on May 24, 1980 he resigned the post of SGS. He was expelled from the O.T.O. in winter of 2004.

Thursday February 5th 2009 – 10:25am The Steven J. Cohen Memorial Page is now listed on the right side of this blog in red.

10:00am As many of you know, we have been up-loading a lengthy series which Frater Hymenaeus Alpha 777 (Grady Louis McMurtry) wrote on magick and philosophy. The series is titled FROM THE CALIPH. The first installment appeared in The Magickal Link in October of 1981. I wish to thank Frater Orpheus for making this page and the other pages possible in this series. The latest installment was originally published in The Magickal Link, Vol. II, No.6 June 1982e.v. and titled ON TECHNICAL INFORMATION. ... Click HERE and enjoy. .....

4:45am For the history buffs: Charles-Marie-Georges Huysmans was born on this date in Paris in 1848. He later changed his name to Joris-Karl Huysmans, then simply to J-K Huysmans. Although he wrote many books he is most famous for his serial exposing ‘Satanism’ titled La Bas which appeared in French newspaper in 1891. It deals primarily with the spiritual quest of a man named Durtal, which was in reality Huysmans’ fictional alter ego. In the story Durtal decides to write a biography about Gilles de Rais (1404-1440) the French marshal who was accused of Satanism and who was briefly associated with Joan of Arc. In the story Durtal is taken to witness a Black Mass. Because of the vivid descriptions of this Black Mass, La Bas has become a key work promoting the sensational mythology of this ritual. Although it has been argued that Huysmans never really saw an actual Black Mass others are quick to point out that one of his dearest friend, Abbe Joseph Boullan (1824-1893) was in fact a real life practicing Satanist who’s Black Masses did indeed stir the Paris gossip circles. Abbe Boullan also served as the model for Dr Johannes in La Bas. Ironically, he is portrayed as a priest who practices magic to counter Satanism. Huysmans died from cancer of the mouth on May 12, 1907. He had complained of a toothache for years and eventually it was diagnosed as incurable cancer. To further complicate the tragedy of his last days, he was so afflicted with the infection moving up into his eyes that it became necessary to sew his eyelids shut. ............ Also, Violet & Daisy Hilton the famous Siamese twins of the carnival circuit were born on this date in England in 1908.  Remarkably both sisters found husbands and were married although they remained joined together. Anton LaVey who knew them well seemed to believe “that the girls shared mutual sensations” and further LaVey states, “I think they were jealous of each other’s husband.” It seems that if one was having sex with her husband the other often “enjoyed it more” through their joined sensations.  ............  And it would be negligent of me if I didn’t mention that William Seward Burroughs was born on this date in St Louis, Missouri in 1914. By the 1940’s he was addicted to heroin. He became associated with Jack Kerouac and the poet Allen Ginsberg but tragedy struck in 1951 when a drug-addled Burroughs recklessly shot and accidentally killed his wife while playing William Tell in Mexico. In 1959 William S. Burroughs published his now classic Naked Lunch which pioneered a ground-breaking cut-and-paste technique that would be credited as a major influence on many cyberpunk and avant garde authors and, because of such, he has become an underground celebrity, a literary guru and pop culture philosopher who continued to write and record right up to his death of a heart attack on August 2, 1997.  ............  Also born on February 5 is H. R. Giger, who was born on in Chur, Switzerland in 1940. He is considered one of the world’s foremost artists of ‘Fantastic Realism.’  His third book titled Necronomicon (1977) was the visual inspiration for director Ridley Scott’s blockbuster movie Alien. One of Giger’s drawings, or No.274, is simply called ‘Crowley’ (The Beast 666), 1975. Crowleyites have longed looked at the drawing and wondered, outside of the its name, what is the connection?

Wednesday February 4th 2009 – 6:40pm Mari writes, re: Jerri's 9:50am posting - "You should receive Jerri's offers no matter what. Rejection always makes huge upset on Piscians. We do what we can do, so if impossible, we won't do. American guys are poisoned to be machoism, so they always try to show their machoness but if they need a help and people around him offer, to receive their offer with compassion with them is real macho." ........ Reply: No macho here, just independent, stubborn, a pain-in-the-ass and grumpy old man.

1:20pm Sorry Mike, it is as you suspected; the best personal one-on-one magickal correspondence is never published here in this blog. Occasionally I will pull a paragraph or two out of an email and post it anonymously if I thought the info could benefit others but in truth, most of my correspondence is usually kept quiet. And sorry I haven’t answered sooner; I know you asked this question last week but with so much personal stuff going on in my life over these last four or five days I have found myself way behind in my correspondence again.

9:50am Although I have now taken the picture down which showed the huge Garden Salad I had for supper; Jerri saw it first and responds - "93 Jerry, WOOHOO!!!! I am jumping for joy. You have made my whole week!! That salad looked wonderful and I am so, so happy that you have decided to be reasonable!!! It's not that bad, is it (never mind...don't answer that)? Yay you!!! Very, very good. My plan is to make/buy you many, many delicious veggie plates, bring them to you and have you sample them. When we discover what you find tasty (and yes, I promise, there will be something) we will begin with the bi-weekly/weekly deliveries. There are a couple of ways in which this can happen which we can discuss in detail later, but, it'll be fun-and it will give you options so you don't get bored. You have a microwave, right? Shall we commence with the vegetable taste-testing festivities in a couple few weeks or so?? I miss you and want to see you anyway. Say yes! 93 93/93 Jerri :-)." ........ Reply: Although I'd love to see you, rather than making a long trip from Sacramento to Berkeley, how about if I send you a 'partial' list of things that I absolutely will NOT eat under any condition. Like; green beans, lima beans, peas, broccoli, collard greens, spinach, artichokes, asparagus, Brussels sprouts etc ... on a positive side I love bell peppers, especially stuffed, and salads are almost always safe because I eat most kinds of lettuce. ... and yes, I have a small microwave. It might be best to simply come down, we'll go to the grocery store and make an 'event of it' discussing possibilities? .. I miss you too, I need a hug ...

9:40am I started a new section on our website titled - LETTER FILES. It will include actual scans of letters, along with historical data, which we feel might help individuals to appreciate and understand the legacy of Grady Louis McMurtry, Frater Hymenaeus Alpha 777. This will be an on-going project and whenever time permits we'll add new letter. A few important Caliphate Letters have already been added. I hope you enjoy them. A link to this page has been added onto our CONTENTS PAGE.

letters etc.

8:50am Mari quickly replied to my 7:40 posting - “Korean barbecued pork and rice, or Chinese Popcorn fried Chicken. These are NOT what Korean and Chinese eat in their countries, Jerry. It's arranged for Americans who are fast food eaters and hadn't noticed there's 6th taste (Wiki is wrong, though. We already knew there' re 5 tastes from the Ancient theory. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umami). Korean, Chinese and Japanese eat veggies a lot. Our food cultures are precious  We know how to cook veggies to be delicious. So, please don't misunderstand they are Asian foods. It's American. Have a nice day Sincerely, Mari.” ....... Reply: You take all the fun out of me thinking I’m eating something foreign and exotic.  :(

7:40am Andy from Japan writes - "I'm glad the operation went okay. Also, I'm happy to see some vegetables on your plate. I didn't think it looked bad at all. I have to say... I do believe there is a difference between being stubborn and being suicidal (your current eating habits appearing rather suicidal)" ......  Reply: What is wrong with a huge plate of Korean barbecued pork and rice, or Chinese Popcorn fried Chicken? Those taste a heck of a lot better with beer than the Garden Salad. But, be that as it may, I am trying to mix-up my diet and eat better.  OK?

4:15pm We have posted a brand new Grady McMurtry piece onto our website titled RAP WITH THE CALIPH. It is originally found in the O.T.O. Newsletter, Berkeley, California, Vol. I, No.1 An. LXXIIIe.n. May 1977, pgs. 3-7. We wish to thank Jerri Judd for making this page possible.We hope you enjoy it.

4:00am For the history buffs: Gerald Suster, the esteemed British writer, occultist and historian was born in 1951 and he died on this date in London in 2001. His body was cremated. He wrote such books as Hitler: The Occult Messiah (1981), The Legacy of the Beast: The Life, Work and Influence of Aleister Crowley (1984) and John Dee, Essential Readings (1986), to name but a few.

Tuesday February 3rd 2009 – 4:50pm OK, my supper tonight is a great big Garden Salad. I hope you're all satisfied. I wasn't going to tell anyone but Jay and Jennifer caught me sneaking it back to my apartment ... so it's bound to get out.

4:15pm Antiquarian Books is pleased to announce the release of their Fifty-Second on-line catalog; this time it is devoted to used and rare books, journals, and other material relating to renaissance scholar and occultist John Dee. You may view it at: www.weiserantiquarian.com/catalogfiftytwo

3:50pm http://www.usess.co.cc/  Will the lawsuits ever end?

3:30pm After reading the blog Alan ‘The Mad Duck’ Cabal writes – “Fuckin'- A! Glad to hear you're okay. Congrats on besting that Berkeley skell that tried to jump you. ... Change your diet. Don't be an asshole. You still have important work to do. 93! –Al.”

2:50pm Mari, the cute Japanese woman, read today's blog and writes, "Dear Jerry.  Jerri, she is a lovely Piscian, right? She really tried to help you. Very Piscian. You are lucky to have good friends. I am a practitioner, so I experienced a LOT with my patients who just can't change their life styles and they are welcome to recurrent conditions. So, I am more cool minded. Many petients let MD, nurses, practitioners, therapists down with it. We advised with our hearts that we want to help people but we are just ignored.  I also told my father, "Dad, because you like these salty and chemical foods that brought your symptoms. Disease is the result of how you have lived. You tried to blame your childhood but you can't do it because since you became adult, it's your choice." ... So, Jerry, you can't blame your mother and your childhood...It WAS the Past. ... And being Cancerian, You kept saying to me  "Mari, Every Cancerian is different", so don't use it for the reason, please. It's not logical for me as a scientist. ... My Ex is double Cancer and even though I suggested him many times to eat meats because he needed it for his health condition but he couldn't stop being Hare Krishna devotee whose diet is just wrong. ... He was used to be a fashion model, so he was very beautiful man who could made people look back to him on the Streets in Berkeley but he lost tons of weight and now, his hair went backward very much with many wrinkles and looked like he is in mid-40's!(He's mid-30's, though) I'm sorry for him but it's his choice. And I left him as my choice. ... You said you are Cancerian but you are different from him, I clearly remembered, Jerry. ... Welcome to 2nd Saturn return to you, Jerry. Good luck for your life. Your health is in your hands. You can hold it or it will be falling between your fingers. Sincerely, Mari ." ..... Reply: yes Jeri, like you, is a Pisces. Both of you have your heart in the right place.  You both are right, you both bring smiles and that is sometimes the best medicine.

2:49pm My dear friend Nikolai writes - "Dear Jerry:  93 !!! I understand your dilema.  I had six procedures last year and am due for another one this year.  You are one of my most valued teachers and friends, and a good Brother.  My heartfelt thanks for your friendship and my blessings towards your happiness, good health and speedy recovery. 93 93/93-Nikolai Nikolayevich Guliaeff."

2:47pm Jerri replies to the 11:50am posting - "93 My Dear, I really don't want to make you angry with all of my pestering here...I just want you to be ok. I know that you understand this... You agreed, your reasoning is simply an excuse and we have many options at our disposal (seriously...I have many thoughts to get this done for you-involving little to no effort on your part. All you have to do is EAT!). I FULLY understand being disgusted by canned food. I would NEVER suggest consuming anything like that!!! But you must also acknowledge, that something's got to give--and personally, I would prefer it were your habits rather than your body. Ya know? I'm not being unreasonable, right?! ... Ok...so tell me. Seriously. I will make it happen--and literally all you have to do is try what is being offered. I WANT to. You really do NEED it...and you should just accept it...it's my new mission, in fact :) Will ya (pretty please)?! We will play around with what is acceptable to you taste wise until we find some items which you like...You said that you eat salads on occasion? What do you put on them? I'm not going to go into the practicalities of the how's yet. Just know, I've got several ideas. ALL of which will work-you will have deliveries to your door. Just consume. Try it? Think about it anyway? It'll make you feel better-which, in turn, will make me feel better. ... I love you lots too!  93 93/93 Jerri."   ....... Reply: What do you suggest?

2:40pm Jay read today's blog and writes - "I'm glad to hear that that's all it is (I take it from your posting that it's conclusively not cancer). Yaay! But I am, to certain degree, going to have to jump on Jerri's wagon here, not so much for the selfish purpose but for simply wanting you to feel better. You are very likely one of the greatest living Thelemites, but I would think you could hardly maintain your level of work, personal, public or otherwise while feeling unnecessarily like crap. No? But there is no law beyond do what thout wilt. So if you decide you might try some green foods I would more than happily whip you up some baddass salad with plenty of meat, cheese etc.-- something even you could manage to choke down." .......... Reply: Is it OK if I leave the left-over KFC out for a few days until it turns a little green?

11:50am Jerri from Sacramento writes - "93 First and foremost, I am glad to hear that you are doing well after your procedure. That is good and as much as I am very happy about that, it is now time for the lecture (which you inevitably knew you would get)!!! Diverticulitis is a very serious condition, Jerry. This can sometimes result in death. Now I know what you are going to say...that life results in death. Yes, yes...but come on, sir, PLEASE!!! It is now my personal quest in life to get you to eat some f*&#ing vegetables! There are truly so many things that we could do with them to make them tasty. We could even make them pork flavored if it would help!!! Diverticulitis can cause much of the symptoms you are experiencing, and if you could simply eat a few things out of the ordinary, you would feel better. Do you want to feel better? ... I know that we have joked about your diet now for quite some time and you don't want to change...but change is stability-and now is the time. The writing is on the wall Jerry, and everyone wants you around for as long as possible. Perhaps we are selfish. But I don't care! Every time we turn around, there is new ailment going on with you. It's not like I'm suggesting you to give up the drinking!!!! Just a couple of leafy things to consume in concert. Perhaps even switch to wine (rather than beer)?! Blasphemy? Perhaps...but Jerry I love you...and you're just being stubborn about this. I just don't understand it. What if you could simply reverse many of the health problems that you are experiencing with diet (you can, by the way). Food is the fuel for our bodies. Quality fuel must go into the tank to make the body run properly-and heal. ... KFC? WHAT THE FREAKING HELL??!!!  ... I am saying all of this because I care about you and want you to get better. I'm sorry (well, not really...actually, I don't feel very sorry at all...) for being a nag. Ultimately, if I can bring up this veggie thing several times a day for the next few months, maybe you will get sick of hearing about it and you might actually eat them just to shut me up (well, a girl can dream, can't she?). Why are you making this so difficult? Is it the oral fixation factor of a Cancer? You can't bear the taste of veggies? What if we could make them pussy flavored? Would THAT help, for crying out loud?!  ...and after all of that, as always, it's do what thou wilt (do you wilt yet?). 93 93/93 Jerri ." ....... Reply: I know that I joke about my diet alot, I'm a Cancer and it's our nature to see the funny side of life. In truth, there is simply not enough appeal or ability here on the Avenue to change my eating habit from A to Z.  I’m a ‘grab and eat’ as my stomach growls kinda guy. I have almost nothing in the house to eat and when hungry I simply go out and forge as my caveman ancestors use to do. But, as you know, most of the restaurants around here are simply not healthy and those which are charge an arm and leg. ... You’re probably right; it is “the oral fixation factor of a Cancer” rooted deep in my psyche which detests “the taste of veggies.” I grew up in the early fifties in one of those families that thought canned food was the latest cat’s pajamas. My mother who grew up in the depression era also believed strongly in waste not, want not. So everything on your plate had to be eaten even if it took you all night sitting there. As you may be aware, canned goods today are not great, canned goods fifty years go were HORRIBLE. Green beans actually tasted like rubber. Anyway, I simply have this deep-seated aversion to even the smell of certain veggies. It has always been a dilemma for me; not easily resolved. ... I liked what you wrote, “... What if we could make them pussy flavored? Would THAT help, for crying out loud?!” .... This brought a great big smile. Ah, a Cancer’s imagination is a terrible thing to waste. ... I know that you mean well, you are such a sweetie with a great heart chakra but me being alone, a grumpy old bachelor; it is difficult to sometimes change. It’s easier to make jokes which are admittedly just excuses. Love ya lots.

10:00am A note to a student: I’d suggest studying Ida Craddock who was born in Philadelphia on August 1, 1857. She published a great book in 1893 titled Heavenly Bridegrooms. Aleister Crowley reviewed this book in his Equinox Vol. III No.1 pg. 280 and wrote, “I am very far from agreeing with all that this most talented woman sets forth in her paper, but she certainly obtained initiated knowledge of extraordinary depth. She seems to have had access to certain most concealed sanctuaries. ... She has put down statements in plain English which are positively staggering. This book is of incalculable value to every student of occult matters. No Magick library is complete without it.” ... Her work titled Psychic Wedlock describes a three-degree sexual system of initiation by sexual means. The first degree is called Alphaism and details the development of self control. The second degree is called Dianism where “sex union is enjoined in absolute self-control and aspiration to the highest”  and the Third Degree she describes “communion with Deity as the third partner in marital union.” Those of you who are familiar with Louis Culling’s book Sex Magick will recognize these degree titles.

9:45am Click HERE to view the beginning of our Steven Cohen memorial page. If you have any information or additions that you'd like to add; like photos, a biographical sketch of Steve etc, or just a brief story of your memories ... please forward it on to Cornelius93@aol.com.

8:45am OK folks; here it is. If you have weak stomach or don't like to read graphic details about hospitals and surgery then skip this entry. Anyway, here is something that I wrote in my personal diary yesterday: - 9:10am Luis Alvarado picked me up for my 10:00am appointment at Highland Hospital/Open Colonoscopy at 1411 E 31st Street, Oakland (510-437-4015) 1st Floor, K Building, Endoscopy Suite Room 1108. Predictably, the state hospital was a zoo and it was an ordeal finding the room; up one elevator, down another but we finally got there at 9:40pm. Then the waiting game; I wasn’t taken in until almost eleven. ... After being brought inside for preparations, which is simply having you get undressed and into a hospital gown, giving you a bed, having you fill out tons of paperwork and then waiting for almost an hour and a half; they finally took me into the operation room at 12:45pm! For those who don’t know what a Colonoscopy is, it’s an endoscopic examination of your large colon and part of your small intestines using a fiber optic camera on a flexible tube which is passed throughout your anal opening. It’s the second time that I’ve had this procedure; the first being when I turn fifty which is, as everyone should know, an almost mandatory procedure at that age for all men and women. It’s actually quite easy and painless but I wondered what type of man actually wanted to do this job? I couldn’t see myself in childhood say, “What do I want to be in life?” ... Anyway, with a rich history of deaths in my family of colon cancer; my mother, grandmother & others, my regular doctor was extremely worried about the amount of blood in my stool over the last year or so. It could be a serious indication of cancer and so tests needed to be run and this is why I found myself at Highland Hospital. ... Its kinda interesting; you're laying on a gurney, or hospital bed on your left side facing a huge monitor screen. In front of you is a nurse who attaches and I.V. [intravenous vein) to your arms and feeds you drugs through a tube. These drugs don’t really knock you out but numb your insides. Behind you, no pun intended, is the doctor. At this point the procedure begins, if you are faint at heart you should close your eyes but if you’ve been bored for the last two or more hours as I was, you might want to watch the screen. It’s not often that you get to see what your insides look like. Yes, I was amused. Well, it didn’t take brain surgeon, again no pun intended, to realize that I had polyps. What are these little critters you might ask? These are a fleshy growths occurring on the lining of the colon which if left untreated can develop, or have developed, into colorectal cancer. I had all the symptoms for them being cancerous; rectal bleeding, bloody stool, occasional constipation and diarrhea, abdominal pains and weekly fatigue which often, and has, led to anemia. Have I grossed you out yet? Anyway, polyps can be removed during a colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy using a wire loop like a lasso that once in place, cuts the stalk of the polyp, yanks them out and cauterizes the remaining tissue to prevent bleeding. This was a rather fun thing to watch. Yes, I have a sick sense of humor. I wanted to tell the doctor, "Lasso those little bastards, ride em’ like a cowboy and then slap my ass and scream Yahoo!" Wisely I kept my mouth shut; I kinda knew it was the drugs doing my thinking for me at this point. ... Anyway, they took out four polyps and will run biopsies on them to see if I got cancer but it may take a month to get the results. ... Besides polyps I also have what the doctors call diverticulosis. When told this I thought to myself "Diving whats?" but I never got a chance to ask because I was immediately informed that this refers to having pockets gouged out just inside the colon entrance which is a weakening of the wall’s lining. Its usually cause by a diet which is low in fiber content or high in fat, often filled primarily with meat and no veggies. What can I say? I don’t like veggies and if I can chase a cow around a field and bite it on its ass I would. Damn it, I am a meataterian! Be that as it may, they want to put me on a special diet, I smiled, agreed and in my mind I said, ‘Ya right.” ... But, this problem, if left unchecked could lead to hemorrhoids which are swelling and inflammation of veins in the rectum and anus. And thus, now we know from whence I bleed! Yes, all this just to learn that I got hemorrhoids! ... in ending all I can say is that I, like millions of other people who got one, learned more about my ass than I cared to know. It wasn’t as invasive as when I had kidney stones and had a tiny camera inserted up my penis assisted by a cute Asian nurse but it’s right up there. ... I wouldn’t mind but after the procedure, when I was in the recovery room, I was hoping for a copy of the video, some flowers and candy but instead a nurse kindly brought me a cup of soup, crackers and apple juice. ... Finally, taking the doctor’s dietary advice I had Luis stopped at KFC on the way home so I could buy a bucket of 10 piece extra crispy chicken to last me tonight and tomorrow. I got home at 3:15pm. Ate and went to bed." ........... How's that for a diary entry?

8:12am I got up last night finally around ten, had a beer and updated my blog but I forgot to post it! Oppps!!! All the entries between 10:40-11:00pm were actually added then, but will appear now. I even have a few emails that I typed out and forgot to send. They went out this morning. I should have just stayed in bed.

8:10am For the history buffs: Kenneth Wilbur Anglemyer, better known as Kenneth Anger, was born on this date in Santa Monica, California in 1930. He became fascinated with film making at the early age of four after he had a small role as the Changeling Prince in Max Reinhardt's version of A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935). He is considered to be one of American’s most unique independent avant-garde filmmakers. After graduating from Beverly Hills High School he directed and starred in his first successful film, Fireworks (1947). He later released such classic films as Scorpio Rising (1963), Kustom Kar Kommandos, Lucifer Rising (1966) and Invocation of My Demon Brother (1969). Anger had become utterly fascinated with Aleister Crowley after reading John Symonds’ biography, The Great Beast, The Life of Aleister Crowley (1951). He gained further fame and notoriety from the publication of Hollywood Babylon in 1958, a tell-all book of the scandals of Hollywood's rich and famous. ….........  and to keep with the flavor of the day; Eduard Albert ‘Billy’ Meier, whose real full name is Eduard Albert Meier-Zafiriou, was born on this date in Bülach, Switzerland in 1937. For over 56 years he maintained that he was receiving, both physically and telepathically, communications with extraterrestrial beings, or Pleiadians, who claim to have come from the planet Erra in the Plejares (Pleiades ) star cluster. Although the visits supposedly began when Billy was only five; it was in January of 1975 that they escalated and it was during these visits that he was allowed to film and photograph the “beamship” during flight maneuvers. He took well over a thousand of the clearest UFO pictures ever seen. The actual contact conversations were also carefully written down word-for-word and they contain many interesting facts about Earth’s history, humanities, sciences and spiritual topics. As a rule, most people believe Billy Meier to be an out-right fraud but he has an unbelievable following who will argue otherwise.

Monday February 2nd 2009 – 11:00pm Robert Flores writes - “93 Jerry! Heard about the fight! Crazy... hope your procedure went well?  I'm sure it was intrusive and you need some rest. Hope to hear from you soon maybe visit in about two weeks. Let me know if you need anything. 93 93/93 Robert..”

10:50pm Carol writes - "Take care of yourself big guy." and then she adds stuff I can't print, or shouldn't.  :)-

10:48pm Ed Warmuth writes - "“93 Jerry, I hadn't got to the computer much this last weekend and just now read your blog.  Way to turn that ambush into a rout! That'll teach him to mistake a King for a beggar like himself. I apologize that it took this attack to prompt me to communicate; it has been a slow time for me in my quest to be a FKIA ([fucking-know-it-all]- I think I do qualify to be a FKIA J.G.,however), although I have been thoroughly enjoying the writing style and content of Mary Butts' novel "ARMED WITH MADNESS" that I read about in your blog. I see you are going in for some of your medical treatment.--"be Strong, o man" Hope to be able to get up there for an open house in the next month or so. Love is the Law, love under will, Ed” ......... Reply: WOW! You're the only other person I know whom has read anything by Mary Butts. She's fantastic. Sadly, strapped for money, my novel section and biographies got sold off a few years back. The only book about her that I refused to sell was a biographical study by Rosylun Reso For titled 'Ritual, Myth, and Mysticism in the works of Mary Butts; between Feminism and Modernism' [The University of Arkansas Press 2000]. It's fantastic. Lots of Aleister Crowley.  If you can find a copy, you'd really enjoy it.

10:45pm Jerri from Sacramento writesw, “93 Jerry, Geez. I can't believe these contemptable people. A sucker punch? How charming...Good thing you have been fighting since you were young!!! It's paying off now...that is for certain. Glad that you are ok.  I know that today's your surgery. Just wanted you to know that you are in my heart and thoughts.  Love you  93 93/93 Jerri”

10:40pm Dave Solinas writes - "Glad to hear you came out on top.. nothing like a warrior mystic to surprise the bottom feeders. If you need back up just give the ninjas a call, so far sounds like you are doing just fine."

4:50am Today is the rite of Candlemas, or Imbolg, which literally means ‘in the belly’ since this day represents the first fetal stirring of Spring from the womb of Mother Earth.

4:45am I forgot, I’d like to mention that it has been 50 years since a single-engine plane crashed into a snow-covered Iowa field, instantly killing three men whose names would become enshrined in the history of rock 'n' roll. The passing decades haven't diminished fascination with that night on Feb. 2, 1959, when 22-year-old Buddy Holly, 28-year-old J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson and 17-year-old Ritchie Valens performed in Clear Lake and then boarded the plane for a planned 300-mile flight that lasted only minutes. "It was really like the first rock 'n' roll landmark; the first death," said rock historian Jim Dawson. The crash site is on private property, a five-mile drive from Clear Lake and half-mile walk off the road. Corn grows high in adjacent fields during the summer, but in winter the fields are covered with snow and a path to the small memorial is often thick with ice. The memorial features a small cross and thin metal guitar and records, all of which are draped in flowers during the summer. "It's a much nicer trip in the summer," said Jeff Nicholas, a longtime Clear Lake resident who heads the Surf Ballroom's board of directors. "But in the winter, you get more of a feel of what it was like." Then 12 years later the crash was immortalized as "the day the music died" in McLean's 1971 song, "American Pie."

4:40am 4:40am For the history buffs: Walter Yeeling Evans-Wentz was born on this date in Trenton, New Jersey in 1878. He translated the famous Tibetan ‘death text’ known as The Great Liberation. He called his English edition The Tibetan Book of the Dead (1927) because of its parallels with the writings of the Egyptian Book of the Dead. He died in 1965. …......... also, James Joyce was born on this date in Dublin, Ireland in 1882. He originally studied in Dublin and then went to Paris in 1902 primarily to study medicine but also took up voice training for a concert career. His early works includes the short stories, Dubliners (1914), and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1914-15). His best-known book was Ulysses which was based upon a single day in Dublin (June 16th 1904). The book appeared in Paris in 1922, but was quickly banned in both England and the USA where it remained banned until 1936. He also wrote Finnegans Wake (1939). Joyce has been hailed as the father of literary modernism. His work revolutionized the form of novels, partly through the abandonment of an ordinary plot for a “stream of consciousness” type narrative, but more fundamentally through his unprecedented exploration of language.  He died in  Zürich in 1941. …....... and to continue with birthdates; Carroll Righter was born on this date in Salem, New Jersey in 1900. He was an attorney who originally set out to disprove astrology but ultimately became one of its most influential promoters. He was the student of the famous astrologer Evangeline Adams and he was President Ronald Reagan’s astrologer for 45 years. He wrote such books as Astrology and You (1958), Your Astrological Gyuide to Health and Diet (1967), The Astrological Guide to Marriage and Family Relations (1969) and Dollar Signs: How to Increase Your Personal Worth by Astrology (1971). He died of cancer on April 30, 1988 in Santa Monica California at the age of 88…....... also, Alissa ‘Alice’ Zinovievna Rosenbaum was born on this date in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1905. She is more commonly known as Ayn Rand and her novels focusing on reason and individualism have become a great source of personal inspiration for many people. Her futuristic science-fiction novel Anthem (1938) is considered by many to be a classic. She died of heart failure on March 6, 1982 in New York City. She is famous for the quote – “Money is the root of all good.” …....... and there are more birthdays to report; according to H. P. Lovecraft, Wilbur Whateley was born on this date in Dunwich, Massachusetts in 1913. Historians claimed that Whateley used the imperfect translation made by John Dee of the Necronomicon bequeathed to him by his grandfather to call down the ‘Old Ones’, which inevitably caused him tumultuous grief. …....... but with all births, I must report at least one death. It was on February 2, 1969 that Boris Karloff, the ultimate icon of classic horror films, who made Frankenstein a house hold name, died. 

Sunday February 1st 2009 – 2:50pm Mari writes - "Dear Jerry Oh, MY GOD!, Jerry  From last night, I felt something weird, so I should have warned you.......I very much regretted now. Therefore, I kep saying , please be kind to your self and take good care of yourself and sent the pic of praying cat. Oh, no.......I'm sorry you got injury because of the stupid guy. Are you OK to go to the hospital tomorrow?  Somebody will be with you???? Please take a rest...... Sincerely, Mari .” ....... Reply: Thanks for the concern; I am banged up but he is worse. It is a good thing that I have a sense of humor. .... I have a friend picking me up to go the hospital in the morning for my exploratory surgery, perhaps I should have them check out my latest injuries? 

2:35pm Jay writes - "What a fucker! At least you showed him what's what. It sounds like he wouldn't have even got a hit in if he hadn't sucker punched you. At what point do these guys get kicked off of Telegraph altogether for constantly starting shit? Was it that red-head guy with the beard? I can't believe the nerve of these gutter trash; they get piss drunk, hang out on your doorsteps, beg for change, pass out in the middle of the sidewalk, and then attack you as though it's your fault that they're worthless scum." ...... Reply: Its almost impossible to get the trash off the avenue thanks to all the bleeding-heart liberal Laws here in Berkeley; unless they assault someone and even then its only temporary. Its an endless cycle, I had one arrested years ago, his friend is pissed and comes at me last month; he ended up in jail and his friend now feels the need to vindicate his buddy and so he attacks me; now he goes to jail. Who next? So far I have been victories in battle!  Yes, I'm even getting the scars to prove it!

2:30pm Luna replied - "Jerry 93! GOOD GAWD!!!!!!  We are all rooting for you here, Jerry! R! You Go Tiger! 93s )O(." ......... Reply: You'd think at my age I stop fighting and causing trouble?

2:10pm I chatted with Cranny for awhile, he’s the vendor down here on the avenue, said the fight occurred because I drank too much sake on Friday night and I felt that I needed to sake someone.

1:50pm Well, I’m getting quite a reputation down here off Telegraph Avenue. I had just left Jay and Jennifer at the Café Mediterranean this morning when I was attacked on Durant by a drunken homeless person who seemingly has it out for me because I had his friend arrested. I had just opened the front door to my building when he rushed up the stairs behind me and tried hit me from behind, it knocked me against the wall, cutting my right ear pretty good, my blood every where, I got a scratched under my eye and it gave me a dent in my forehead. Ouch! But the guy wasn’t expecting me to hit the floor, jump up and be on him like flies on shit. I was pissed. I punched him in the face then grabbed him around the neck, threw him down and from behind I got him in a choke hold. Gagging, literally foaming, he kept screaming “Ok, let go, I’ll leave.” However, tenants were coming out of their apartment and I yelled for one of them to call 911. I refused to let him go. I informed he’s going nowhere but jail. Needless-to-say, cops arrived and its been a long morning. ... I'm getting battle scars!

5:45am For the history buffs: Jane Cheron, one of Aleister Crowley’s mistresses, had allowed her home to be used for one of the infamous Paris Working Rituals in which Crowley and Walter Duranty performed acts of buggery to the God Mercury. But on this particular date in  1920 she would give Aleister Crowley a beautiful embroidered silk tapestry of the Stele of Ankh-f-n-Khonsu which she had recently finished. …....... also, Frater Saturnus, Karl Germer the Grand Treasurer General of the O.T.O. was released by the Nazis from a concentration camp on this date in 1941. He had been held since May 10th 1940, when the Germans first marched into Belgium. In March, Crowley received a letter from Karl Germer who informed him of his liberation from the Nazis. Crowley records in his diary on the 14th, “Great ‘havings’ indeed - a letter from Germer, who is safe after all. The happiest evening of my life!” He further adds, “This is a stunning joy. Life has again immediate value; the future is all sunrise on translucent wings.” …....... And when the Nazis began bombing London during World War II it forced Aleister Crowley from his apartment at 93 Jermyn Street into a new residence. On this date in 1945, at the age of seventy, Aleister Crowley moved into his last boarding house at Netherwood, Hastings and it is here where he would shed his earthly vehicle in 1947. …....... And finally, Anton LaVey, the Black Pope, held the infamous Satanic wedding of John Raymond and Judith Case on this date in 1967 which turned into an unbelievable media sensation. The photographer who was assigned by the San Francisco Chronicle to cover this story was Joe Rosenthal; the man who also took the immortal shot of the soldiers raising the American flag on Iwo Jima during World War II.

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