~ JANUARY 14th - 23rd 2010 ~
Saturday January 23rd 2010 – 5:40pm Mike sent me an email yesterday afternoon; he writes - "Today's posting was good, the one at 12:45 but Crowley still confuses the crap out of me when he starts talking about our True Will because he implies that it is whatever we do where the Universe works with us. Is it that simple?"
Reply: In a way, yes but you must never forget the fact that Aleister Crowley was a forerunner of Thelemic thought and as brilliant as he was, he obviously made numerous mistake, as do we all, myself included. One of Crowley's classic errors was not defining what the 'Will' is from a Qabalistic point-of-view rather than always trying to define how we should live in order to fulfill it. He clearly acknowledges the division of all things which emerge below the Abyss while often confusing his readers with his lack of distinguishing to which part of our Will is the positive or negative quality. More often than not he implies that our Will, or True Will, is easily grasped while ignoring the pitfalls of its opposite or the 'Want.' ... Have you read Crowley's piece title DUTY yet? I have always enjoyed this piece on our 'Duty to find ourselves.' It is a good starting point for most Thelemites. In this piece Crowley writes - "Explore the Nature and Powers of your own Being. This includes everything which is, or can be, for you: and you must accept everything exactly as it is in itself, as one of the factors which go to make up your True Self. This True Self thus ultimately includes all things soever; its discovery is Initiation (the travelling inwards) and as its Nature is to move continually, it must be understood not as static, but as dynamic, not as a Noun but as a Verb." ... In other words, our True Self encompases our entire microcosmic Tree of Life; to deny part is to deny the whole. We incarnation for an experience. To discern between good and evil. If we simply ignore part, we stand a chance of not facing the obvious lesson wherein 'change' can occur and we grow. As for Black Brother; they resist 'Change', they build a Fortress around themselves while trying to convince themselves that they are perfect exactly as they are. ... True magicians know that 'Change is stability' and that our Will is the sum total of our experience for which we incarnate. We joyfully ride out of our Castle as Grail Knights on a quest to face life both outward and inward; perfectly Balanced. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7:00am For the history buffs: Today is just one of the many recorded dates believed to be when Grigori Efimovich Rasputin was said to have been born in 1872. Although some place the date much earlier in the 1860’s. Regardless, historians all seem to agree that it took place in a small village of Pokrovskoe in Siberia. The rest is shrouded in a little historical mystery and myth. Rasputin was known as the Mad Monk. He was killed on December 17, 1917 by a cabal of aristocrats who feared Rasputin’s influence had grown too great. Rasputin’s death became the stuff of legend: assassins fed him enough poisoned cakes and wine to kill ten men and when the poison failed they shot him and beat him. Still Rasputin didn’t die, until finally he was bound and tossed into the Neva River. After his body had been recovered the autopsy showed that he drowned. …......…. Also, Dr. Tony Agpaoa, ‘The Psychic Surgeon of the Philippines’ died on this date in 1982 and was interred in a glass coffin. Many believed him to be a ‘quack’ who drove around in a gold-plated Mercedes while seemingly performing surgical services by plunging his hands into the body in order to remove cysts and to drain infected areas, all done by sleight-of-hand. In 1968 when Agpaoa visited Detroit to perform ‘surgery’ he was arrested and charged with medical fraud. Choosing not to prove his ability, he skipped his $25,000 bail and fled back to the Philippines. …......…. and keeping with the flavor of the day, Dr. George King was born on this date in Shropshire, England in 1919. Early in life his deep spiritual interests found expression in traditional Christianity, but he soon learned there was more to life and he turned to psychic phenomena and yoga. His ‘transformation’ occurred on May 8, 1954 when he was sitting alone in his London apartment. He claimed to have heard a loud distinctly human voice saying, “Prepare yourself! You are to become the voice of Interplanetary Parliament.” It came out of nowhere and ended as abruptly as it had happened. He then claimed that a few days later an unidentified world-renowned Yoga Master from India walked ‘through’ his locked door and taught him a series of highly specialized exercises which would enable him to bring about a state of consciousness necessary for the establishment of mental rapport with the Cosmic Masters who inhabit the higher planes of other planets. On their direction King founded The Aetherius Society and began publishing the journal Cosmic Voice. He lectured throughout Britain serving as the channel for numerous transmissions from Cosmic Intelligences whose messages, according to King, constitute the most priceless metaphysical library in the world, with a range and depth of spiritual teachings without equal in the annals of occult truth. In June of 1959, guided by the ‘Cosmic Authority’, Dr. King came to America where The Aetherius Society was incorporated as a non-profit organization in November of 1960. On July 12, 1997 Dr. King passed away in Santa Barbara, California. …......….. And finally, Regina Kahl was given Minerval initiation into Aleister Crowley’s O.T.O. in southern California on this date in 1931. She is most famous for the photo of her as the High Priestess sitting on the Gnostic Mass altar at Agape Lodge. Grady Louis McMurtry described her as “a big, square gal from Texas, built sort of like a rock.” She was a teacher of ‘court voice’ at UCLA campus.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday January 22nd 2010 -Tonight's OPEN HOUSE might be called off depending upon the weather, so please call in advance to verify if its on or not but if it does happen (i.e. meaning its not raining) then the meeting begins at 6:30pm; and being near supper, feel free to bring something to eat and drink and don't feel obligated to bring enough for anyone other than yourself. Although extra beer is always welcome.
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1:10pm My son Faustus and I watched the Hong Kong-Singaporean-Thai horror film named THE EYE (2002) the other day. It is the first of a trilogy directed by the Pang Brothers. I have previously reviewed EYE 2 (2004) on my Favorite Movie site. As for THE EYE, it should not be confused with the later Hollywood remake starring Jessica Alba in 2008. To me, the original version is better. It is a touching story of a young Hong Kong girl, a classical violinist named Mun, blind from the age of two, who undergoes a cornea transplant but finds her new found sight brings its own macabre rewards. Her first night in the hospital, after surgery, she begins to see a blurry image of a shadow accompanying a patient out of her hospital room. The next morning she wakes only to find that patient died during the night. She is terrified, confused and she confronts her doctor's nephew, who is a psychologist, about this and many other strange figures that she’s beginning to see through her ‘new’ eyes. At first he is hesitant to believe her but admits that in his heart she is "more than a patient" so he trusts her judgment and he even accompanies her on a trip to Thailand trying to find the donor of her eyes. Here the story starts getting really weird and scary. They track down the mother of the donor and learn that her young daughter had committed suicide by hanging herself. It seems that since childhood her daughter had been accused of being a witch and foretelling gruesome events of death and tragedy in the village. ... And Mun now has her gift and what she soon sees ... well, you should watch the movie. I rather liked it a lot.As for EYES 3 (more properly called EYES 10) released in 2005 ... loved it too! Faustus & I watched it yesterday. According to this movie there are actually 'ten ways' to see ghosts. The first movie details one method, the second movie another and the third shows us the final eight ways; all of which are based on true stories and legends from China and Thailand. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12:45pm Heather wrote to me the other day - "If "Success is your proof" then how do you define success? Society might call me an absolute failure since I am certainly competent, intelligent, and attractive enough to have chosen a lucrative career, finished college and earned a degree or three, gotten a "good" job, not been perpetually broke with horrible credit and stable enough to have bought a house, found a mate, be married with a family started etc. Thelemites might consider me a success having lived the law of "Do what thou wilt" most of my life utterly denying any expectations that didn't come from my Self... But is not failure = success and to accept only one as proof forever keep us entrapped below the Abyss? All failures allow us to gauge or to know success which brings us much joy but only temporary as the knowledge (good/evil) that a contrast exists causes our fears to manifest. It's all a lesson and the magician is to match each thought with its equal opposite therefore success could be defined as finding the balance or equilibrium or not acknowledging either cause or effect as anything less than perfect as it exists. But then Liber al also says "existence is pure joy" once again leading us into false expectations and thoughts/feelings/fears of failure once again because our human emotions are always in flux or else our hearts are not open to receive the message our Angel has for us! In order to Know Thyself one must recognize their own reflection in others but to do so is to also know their suffering, pain, fears, love, joy, success etc. How are we in this new aeon then to approach the law of Thelema? Do what thou will or do what others or rather We (all) will? Are they not inseparable then? One and the same single ultimate Will? I believe I will only know joy when all of humanity is at peace..."I replied : Heather 93 Ah, Success from a Thelemic point-of-view can only be judged by the individual; dispute not. If you’re doing your True Will the Universe works with you; if not, Chaos shrouds every part of your life. Hence the distinction. And yes, everything below the Abyss is bathed in duality and where there is success, there must be failure. Never forget that we initially incarnated in order to experience this duality between all things good and all things evil. Duality tempers our Spirit as if in an Alchemical furnace. The best that we can hope for below the Abyss is the stability of the fulcrum. At this point, when one part of the scale is tipping, we can compensate the other in order to bring ourselves back into Balance. A true magician recognizes when this unbalanced state is happening and they work accordingly to stay Balanced. The slaves, however, often panic, dig their feet in and only tip the scales further toward one extreme over the other. They don’t understand that ‘Change’ is stability. The ‘unbalanced’ fear change, for change implies surrendering part of their ego. I see existence as pure Joy and any ‘false expectation’ as merely a personal inability to realize such. Life is good. I place no importance on one thing over another for therein comes pain. Personally, as a Thelemite, I don’t care what others think; I know that in the end no one will matter to me as everything fades away upon my death or theirs. I simply live Here Now in order to experience my incarnation; listening to my inner guidance for direction. It has not failed me yet. You asked – “How are we in this new aeon then to approach the law of Thelema?” ... Always remember; “Do what thou wilt” is the over-all reason why we incarnate and it is important never to forget that it is a double-edged sword. On the one hand it implies that we’re given the license to pursue our Earthly experience as we choose but the danger in this assumption as finality is that our mercurial Soul could easily focus all its attention toward Earthly “do what thou wants” that could unconsciously steer it away from the reason why it incarnated. The fact is; below the Abyss where duality resides, we cannot separate our ‘Will’ and our ‘Want’ ... but the latter is simply a ‘reflection’ of the True Will. In other words, I want a cup of coffee. I want nice clothes. I want sex. I want this and I want that; all these wants being part of the ‘experience’ for which I incarnated. Another point to remember; if our True Will is the sum total of our incarnation then to place its attribute in any single Sephiroth on The Tree of Life automatically negates the others spheres as being unimportant to the experience. Our True Will is the ‘entire’ Tree and it is said that the ‘Knowledge’ of it resides above the Abyss and the only thing that we are capable of perceiving below is simply Wants or reflections of the True Will. ... It must be understood that the human body in ancient Greece was considered a tomb that could easily ensnare our Soul if we were not careful. A magician must learn the Laws of the Circle/Squared where one you control, the other controls you ... one is the Want, the other the Will. So how are we to approach the Law of Thelema? It takes years to understand the foundation stones and in my experience, most Thelemites totally misunderstand what ‘True Will’ implies and are simply closet Christians bordering on acting more like Satanist than Soldiers of Universal Freedom. The bottom line; it’s a difficult path. You ended your email with – “Do what thou will or do what others or rather We (all) will? Are they not inseparable then? One and the same single ultimate Will? I believe I will only know joy when all of humanity is at peace...”A ‘single’ Will of Humanity resides only above the Abyss. Below the Abyss the slaves shall serve, but as a Thelemite, why would you think that your experience or mine, or anyone’s should be connected in order to experience Joy? This is very Old Aeonic thinking. This type of thinking can only lead to one individual standing up and defining what everybody else’s incarnation should be doing because ‘he’ or ‘she’ thinks that their experience is the best experience for all to follow in order to achieve ‘Joy.’ The first Law of Thelema, according to Aleister Crowley, is that all Thelemites must let others do their Will first. We must avoid imposing Self on anyone and avoid those who do it to us. Joy, is what you make of it. Humanity at peace? Idealistically, nice ... but impossible. 93 93/93 Jerry."-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8:10am For the history buffs: There is a lot to report today so I’m going to edit out some entries and abridge others rather than making this section a tome. Francis Bacon was born on this date in 1561 at York House in London. He was an English philosopher, statesman, FreeMason, essayist and spy. It has been speculated that he ghost wrote many of the books for William Shakespeare but this assertion remains highly controversial. He did write such works as Colours of Good and Evil (1597), Meditationes Sacrae (1597) and De augmentis scientiarum (1623) to name but a few. His death had a considerable element of irony. It seems that in March of 1626, while driving his buggy one snowy day in London, he was inspired by the possibility of using snow to preserve meat. He immediately purchased a chicken to investigate this possibility but during the endeavor of stuffing it with snow he contracted a fatal case of pneumonia and died on April 9, 1626. …...…. next, Baron Karl von Reichenbach, died on this date in 1869. He was a German scientist and philosopher who coined the phrase ‘Odic Force.’ The term Odic or Od he derived from the name of the Norse god Odin, the creator of life. He used the term to refer to his theories about a hypothetical energy or life force which he believed permeated all living things from plants, animals to humans. …...…. next, Alfred R. Orage was born on this date in Yorkshire, England in 1873. His brilliant literary skills and wide range of interests led him to edit the enormously influential journal called The New Age from 1907 until 1922. Upon quitting he moved to Fontainebleau where he joined his teacher, Georgii Ivanovitch Gurdjieff. He also established The New English Weekly in April 1932 in which he had hoped to spread the words of Gurdjieff. He died on November 5, 1934. …...…. also important to mention; Karl Germer was born in Wuppertal, Germany on this date in 1885. In the early thirties Aleister Crowley stayed at his house in Germany and there, during one of his sexual adventures he allowed his ‘semen’ to stain Germer’s new black satin sheets. This was an outrage according to Karl Germer, or so he complained. Crowley found Karl Germer’s attitude absolutely ridiculous. In his private diaries Crowley writes, “I replied with the Mild Wisdom of the Sages: Since when, pray, have Cunts been water tight?” After Crowley’s death Germer assumed the position of Outer Head of the Ordo Templi Orientis, of which he held for almost fifteen years. He died on October 25, 1962 of prostate cancer. His successor, Grady Louis McMurtry, wrote that “surgeons had made the incision at the level of the Lower Penal Sign known to our Order, found that the cancer was inoperable, sewed him up, and sent him home to die. Naturally Sacha was completely incapable of changing the bandages, the wound became infected, he was taken back to the hospital, and it was while the nurses were trying to clean him that he died screaming.” …...…. also, Robert E. Howard was born on this date in 1906. Howard was a close friend of H. P. Lovecraft and is probably most famous for creating the stories of Conan the Barbarian. …...…. and to keep with today’s flavor, Douglas ‘Wrong Way’ Corrigan was born on this date in 1907. He became a legendary aviator, not so much for his accomplishments but rather because he seemingly misread his compass in 1938 and created a navigational error by flying from New York to Ireland when he was supposed to be flying from New York to California. He died on December 9, 1995. …...…. and Rupert S. Gleadow was born on this date in Leicester, England in 1909. He was a noted British sidereal Astrologer who wrote The Origin of the Zodiac (1968) and The Zodiac Revealed (1968) as well as a lengthy series of articles in American Astrology Magazine. He died on October 30, 1974. …...…. and finally, Linda Denise Blair was born on this date in St. Louis, Missouri in 1959. She was the little pea soup spitting wonder that played the possessed eleven-year old Regan MacNeil in the movie entitled The Exorcist. .... ok you can scream at me - "No More!!!!"-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday January 21st 2010 – 10:00am Rey replied to this morning posting – “Greetings in Light and Love Jerry, Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Thank you so much for the excellent words on your blog this morning. I too have very fond memories of our conversations over tasty brews and the strolling graces of fine visuals. [ha] You are a dear and beloved friend, Jerry. Thank you again for remembering this day of my Lesser Feast. Love is the law, love under will. In the Bonds of Luciferian Gnosis, Rey.”
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8:25am I wish to extend a great big 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' out to Rey DeLupos of the Queen of Heaven Clerk House in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I hope you have a great day, with lots of smiles. I'll lift a beer to you tonight, or maybe two, when Ben Hance and I meet at the old Raleigh's on Telegraph Avenue for supper. ... Rey, I still have fond memories of when you lived out here and when we'd be sitting in the window seat at this bar; eating, drinking and having great conversation while watching the sights stroll by. ... All the best to ya my friend!-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8:20am For the history buffs: On this date Rome’s third and most ruthless emperor, Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, more commonly known as Caligula, was murdered by members of his own Praetorian Guard in 41AD. He was only 28 years old. ….......... also, The Charleston Courier ran an interesting article in their paper on this date in 1843 titled The Exhibition at the Masonic Hall. It dealt with a traveling exhibition which had come to their city. It seems that in August of 1842 an English gentleman named Dr. J. Griffin arrived in New York bearing a spectacular curiosity, the body of a real mermaid. Griffin explained that he had acquired it in South America, though it had been caught near the Feejee Islands. He also claimed that he was on his way to England where the mermaid would become part of the collections of the Lyceum of Natural History. However, before traveling over seas the mermaid was first put on display in P. T. Barnum’s American Museum in New York. It drew enormous interest and was widely accepted as authentic. Soon afterwards it went on tour around the country but Southerners reached an opposite conclusion than their Northern brethren. The Charleston Courier claimed that the mermaid was a fraud perpetrated by “our Yankee neighbors.” Due to this article a heated exchanges of letters and more articles ensued which either defended or challenged the mermaid’s authenticity. It became an issue of ‘honor.' ….......... Eusapia Palladino was born on this date in 1854 in Minervo-Murge, near Bari Italy. Her mother died in childbirth. As a little girl she heard raps on the furniture, saw eyes glaring at her in the darkness and was frequently frightened in the night as invisible hands stripped off all her bedclothes. In time, she claimed to be able to communicate with these spirits and she became one of the most famous and celebrated mediums of Italy. Still, while some considered her séances genuine, many saw her as a fraud and some even went so far as to try exposing “her shenanigans.” During the course of her life she submitted herself to thirty-six research commissions between 1888 to 1909 which were investigations under the most rigorous conditions stipulated by the greatest scientists to either prove or disprove her abilities. However, before any definitive answers were ever established she died in 1918 at the age of 64. Her feats continue to provoke controversy and heated debate even to this day. ….......... On this date in 1932 just five miles north of Downingtown, Pennsylvania, John McCandless reported seeing a “Half-man, half-beast” walking through the thick underbrush. Others said it was a Bigfoot. ….......... and finally, on January 21, 1959 in Gdynia, Poland, a hemispherical-shaped UFO was observed by many witnesses as it slowly crashed, ‘bodies’ were also recovered and allegedly sent to Moscow for examination. There are no details as to where the UFO or the bodies were taken.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday January 20th 2010 – 12:50pm Ken Robinson of Massachusetts just sent me an email. He writes – “As it happens, this mornings brought our 2009 Form MA 1099-HC. For the uninitiated, this is the form that is (hopefully) sent to Mass. citizens by their health insurance carrier. Mass. residents are required to file this form with their state income tax return. Its purpose is to prove that the hapless citizen actually has the expensive health care insurance mandated by state law. If Obama's Commie-Care should successfully get pushed through the rest of the country will have the joy of filing such a form or else face a hefty financial penalty.”
Reply: Yes, people tend to think that Obama’s Health Care means free Health Care for all but it doesn't. It means that if our government can prove you are making money, they’ll force you to buy state run health insurance or be fined thousands of dollars and if you don't pay the fines you'll be thrown in jail. Under Obama's plan free Health Care is given 'only' to those who can't afford it; like the millions of illegal aliens flooding our borders! And who's paying for them? Why its all the people who are forced to buy into government Health Insurance. ... To me, forcing anyone to pay for something government run is simply 'taxation' under a different name. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9:05am Ken from Massachusetts writes - "I had this weird dream that Massachusetts' voters saved the country from Obama-Kennedy Commie-Care by electing a Republican to Teddy's senate seat. Gotta lay off that opium. Wait!! It's true!!!!Seriously, I cannot imagine Obama accepting any responsibility for this. I don't believe he has to capacity to acknowledge that he can be wrong about anything. His gilded path to power has provided him with no reality checks. Bill Clinton was capable of adjusting to changing circumstance with adroitness and even a certain raffish grace. I suspect Obama's response will be to have a mental tantrum and up his cigarette consumption.I suspect Obama's condescending, addressing-idiots-and-small-children tone will become increasingly edged with bitterness and stridency. Most Americans still claim to "like" Obama while disliking his policies. By the time he leaves office there will few people who will profess to like him. Of course, Obama may use a crisis to further his agenda (as Bush did). However, his administration's sleazy back door dealings and duplicitousness have already seriously damaged the public's trust in him. At least Bush hadn't already forfeited public trust when 9-11 occurred. I doubt that Obama's cadre of operatives will know how to proceed effectively. --Kenneth."Reply: Ouch! But true ...-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8:55am Ben writes regarding today's History Heap - "I was surprised that you didn't mention that today marks the one year anniversary of Obama taking office (and the anniversary present from Massachusetts)." ... Reply: Maybe I should bake him a cake? I can put a birthday candle on it for each campaign promise that he broke ... but then again, I would be required to make a huge cake in order to accommodate all the candles, no? -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6:45am For the history buffs: The science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein wrote a letter to a friend which was dated on this date in 1972 where he briefly discusses a verse from Aleister Crowley’s The Book of the Law, stating “Certainly ‘Do what thou wilt is the whole of the Law’ is correct when looked at properly - in fact it is a law of nature, not an injunction, nor a permission. But it is necessary to remember that it applies to everyone - including lynch mobs. The Universe is what It is, and It never forgives mistakes - not even ignorant ones.” ............ and on January 20, 1996 in Jardim Andere, Varginha, Brazil, Hildo Lucio Galindo opened his bathroom window to see a creature with oily dark brown skin crouched in a nearby alleyway. The creature had no hair, very small hands with three extremely long fingers; it wore no clothing and was about 4-5 feet tall. As soon as Hildo screamed the creature ran away. With no local police, Hildo called the fire department who said they had already received several calls about the “wild animal.” It seems three young girls reported throwing rocks at the creature, which emitted a soft buzzing sound like a bee when struck. When the fire department finally arrived to investigate they found the military already on scene. According to witnesses the military apparently had already shot and killed the creature, put it into a wooden box with a white plastic canvas cover and had transported it away by army truck. Other observers saw two F-5 aircraft moving at a very low altitude over the area. It was also reported that a total of eight creatures were captured on this day. One dead, two injured, and five were unhurt and alive. It also seems earlier that same day two farm workers had spotted a group of agitated animals running away from a wooded area, upon closer investigation they saw a gray metallic blimp shaped UFO that appeared to be in trouble, emitting smoke shortly before crashing.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday January 19th 2010 – 6:50pm My old friend Kenneth from Massachusetts just replied to my last posting - "Jerry, I agree entirely with what you have said. This was surely a referendum about Obama's commie-care health plan and his administration generally. Coakley was complacent until it was too late. She has never been in a competitive race and she did not know how to campaign. Also, she is not a pleasant figure--cold and arrogant, a typical femi-nazi. Whereas Brown has a pleasant and soothing demeanor and he ran a clean campaign. At times I thought his campaign was too laid back. But, it worked! I never would have guessed that Ted's seat would end up being filled by a Republican. Had someone suggested it when Ted shed his mortal coil I would have thought that they had ingested some potent psychoactive drug. Tomorrow will be a great day--listening to the wailing and the gnashing of teeth. Schadenfreude at its best.--Ken."
Reply: Speaking as a Thelemite, communism is slavery, Obama is pestilence. Long live my Freedom! Down with his tyranny.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6:25pm Well, the polls in Massachusetts for Ted Kennedy's Senate seat have closed and it was just announced on the News that Republican Scott Brown has won! Yes, a Republican has won in the blueist of blue states! I know alot of my readers may not care about this, nor understand the implication but myself, being from Connecticut, will tell you point blank that New England has always been a stronghold of Democratic rule; it has always been unthinkable that a Republican could win anything of worth in this area, much less a Senate seat and one so prestigious as that of the great Ted Kennedy. ... Still, regardless of what message the voters are sending, Obama will ignore them. He's a Leo. His arrogance says that he rules, he's right, everyone else is wrong and since he hasn't cared what the American people are thinking or saying about his policies so far, he'll simply make excuses as to why losing Massachusetts to Republicans means nothing. ... Mark my word; now comes the dirty politics for which the Senate Democrats are famous and they'll try to find a way not to seat Brown. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10:55am The old Brocken Mt. Lodge OTO Secretary responded to my 6:30am posting by writing - "Jerry, We've lived in Massachusetts for about 25 years now and this is the first interesting, seriously contested congressional election that we've seen. Yes, these are interesting times. Our financial woes may not be as bad as those in California but they are pretty bad. We've had government mandated health care with a "public option" for a few years now. It sucks. No one can seriously believe that it will result in anything but a decline in quality and de facto rationing. This, I believe, is the reason that this race is competitive. Even Democrats don't like our system--unless of course they are part of the Democrat government hack-o-rama (of which there are plenty) or are trust fund moonbats (of which there are plenty).When I went to vote late this morning the place was nearly empty but that is probably a good thing--this is a very Democrat intensive town. I hear that voter turnout in the suburbs in eastern Mass. is quite heavy. The Democrats have really cranked up the campaigning in the last couple of weeks. We're getting many robo-calls every day (from both the Democrats and Republicans). There are constant ads on the radio. Though Brown must be getting a lot of out of state money because he is running plenty of ads to.This is truly an interesting election!--Ken."I replied - Yes, Interesting indeed ... our original Revolution began in that state well over two hundred years ago and its only fitting that the spirit still lives on! Down with taxation and bad government; whether it be Republican or Democratic! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6:30am Two crucial long standing Democratic states turned Republican this year; both Virginia and New Jersey and today, in old Democratic Massachusetts, a special election is being held for the late Ted Kennedy’s seat in the Senate. Democrats have held this seat since 1962. But it doesn't look good for them. Massachusetts is in revolt and if the old Kennedy seat is lost to a Republican then it clearly sends a strong message that many other Democratic will be carrying with them into the general elections next November; in other words, back Obama’s health plans and your future may not be carved in stone. America is fed up with Obama’s outrageous spending, higher taxes and his blatant lies and he’s only been in office about a year ... and already long standing Democratic areas are beginning to jump ship! ... So, pay attention to tonight's News. We may be witnessing the beginning of the end of Obama. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6:20am For the history buffs: The Order of the Garter was founded by Edward the Third on this date in 1344. Many believe that Edward was a ‘witch’ and that the ‘Garter’ was really a witchcraft order. Others, however, have stated that the Order was created in 1348, that it had nothing to do with witchcraft and they point out that the garter was merely a ‘sanitary towel.’ …....…. Also, Edgar Allan Poe was born on this date in 1809. His poem, The Raven, has forever associated Poe’s name with the reputation of being the black-feathered literary master of the macabre. Throughout the 1830s and 40s Edgar Allen Poe worked on various magazines in and around Richmond, Philadelphia and New York, while publishing his disturbing short stories and poems, like The Tell-Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado and The Murders in the Rue Morgue, the latter of which is widely considered by many to be the first modern detective story. Poe was never a healthy man, while always being a heavy drinker. He died at the age of 40 under very mysterious circumstances. In regards to Edgar Allan Poe; H. P. Lovecraft wrote, “his elevation of disease, perversity, and decay to the level of artistically expressable themes was infinitely far reaching in effect.” ……..... And Dorothy Clutterbuck was born on this date in Bengal, India in 1880. She was the daughter of Ellen Anne Morgan and Capt. Thomas St Quintin Clutterbuck who was serving with the 14th Sikhs Regiment. In the early 1930s her family moved back to England where she would marry and become known as Dorothy Fordham. She is perhaps the most elusive and secretive of all witches to have figured in the rise of the modern era of witchcraft. She was the High Priestess of a coven of hereditary witches in the New Forest of England who was responsible for initiating Gerald Gardner into Witchcraft in 1939. The coven claimed a direct descent from one of the ‘Nine Covens’ founded by Old George Pickingill. Dorthy died on January 12, 1951 of “cerebral thrombosis, a stroke.” ....……. And also important to mention is the fact that Brion Gysin was born on this date in Taplow, Buckinghamshire in 1916. He was educated in England, at Downside College. Afterwards he moved to Paris where he studied at the Sorbonne and met such renowned members of the Surrealist group, including Max Ernst, Salvador and Gala Dali and Picasso. Gysin’s work was included in the 1935 Surrealist Drawings exhibition in Paris. Three years later his journey to the Algerian Sahara would have a deep and lasting influence on his life. In 1953, having returned to North Africa, Gysin opened the ‘Thousand and One Nights’ restaurant, where the Master Musicians of Joujouka played an ‘extended residency.’ He later spent a number of his years in Paris where, with William Burroughs, they both developed the cut-up technique of writing and experimented with tapes, permutations and the creation of a Dream Machine. Brion Gysin died in Paris in July of 1986. …....…. And finally, it would be negligent of me if I didn’t mention that Bhagwan or Lord Rajneesh was born Rajneesh Chandra Mohan in 1931 in a small village near Jabalput, India and he died on January 19, 1990 in Poona, India of a heart attack at the age of 58. Although taken seriously by some, he was a joke to many. After fleeing India in 1981 he acquired a 64,000-acre farm near Antelope, Oregon and turned it into his new spiritual haven which he called ‘Jajneeshpuram.’ However, his antics began fueling bizarre news stories; like how he had accumulated an absurd number of Rolls Royces from his followers, ninety-six to be exact. Unfortunately his city was doomed. It collapsed amidst rumors of militaristic ‘zombie-like’ paranoia, drugs, sexual debauchery, attempted murder, arson, wiretapping and numerous other charges. In the end Rajneesh was expelled from America. He returned to India. After his death in 1990 the Los Angeles Times referred to his final ashram and posthumous empire in India as having been taken over by financial opportunists, who have turned it into a resort for stressed out Western executives. The newspaper referred to it “Club Meditation.” -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday January 18th 2010 – 7:50am For the history buffs: Quite a cast of characters celebrate their birthday today; for starters the French mystic Louis Claude de Saint-Martin, better known by his pen-name ‘le philosophe inconnu (The Unknown Philosopher) was born on this date in Amboise in the French province of Touraine in 1743. After a short carrier as lawyer he joined the army. He became an officer. He became very active in Free-Masonry and later resigned his commission to become a disciple and the private Secretary of Martines de Pasqually whom he assisted in organizing a new system of High Masonic Degrees. Saint-Martin published many books during his life: On Errors and the Truth (1775), Natural Table of Correspondences Which Exist Between God, Man and the Universe (1778), The Man of Aspiration (1790), Ecce Homo (1792), The New Man (1792), The Spirit of Things (1800) followed by his masterpiece of philosophical synthesis, The Ministry of the Man-Spirit (1802), to name but a few. He died quietly on October 13, 1803 in Aunay. ….....… and speaking of odd gentleman, Joseph-Antoine Boullan was born on this date in 1824. He seems to have been fascinated by the human excretory organs and their functions. He often participated in rites that were ‘scatological’ in nature. Boullan took over the Satanic Church of Carmel in 1875 after the death of its founder Pierre-Michael Eugene Vintras on December 7th. It is written that “documents survive showing that Boullan and his followers of The Church of Carmel engaged in, or thought they engaged in copulation with angels, cherubim, seraphim and the spirits of famous people like Cleopatra and Alexander the Great.” Boullan died on January 4, 1893 at the climax of a ‘Battle of the Magicians’ between the Church of Carmel and the Kabbalistic Order of the Rose Croix which was run by his old foe Stanislas de Guaita. ….....… and keeping with the theme, Alfred Percy Sinnett was born on this date in London in 1840. He would become the Theosophical Society’s vice-president. He wrote The Occult World (1881) and Esoteric Buddhism (1883). He died in 1921. ….....… but most important to mention is Robert Anton Wilson, he was born on this date in Brooklyn, New York in 1932. He claimed that he had entered Chapel Perilous “quite casually one day in 1971 while reading The Book of Lies by the English mystic Aleister Crowley ... in a ‘blinding flash’ or at least a mini-Satori, I knew Crowley’s secret.” Although Wilson has written many books, the one he coauthor with Robert Shea titled Illuminatus! Trilogy (1975) has become an underground classic. A few of his other most notable books are The Cosmic Trigger (1977), Schrodinger’s Cat (1979), The New Inquisition (1986), Right Where You Are Sitting Now (1992) and Prometheus Rising (1994). In regards to The Cosmic Trigger, Wilson once wrote, “From the date of the first printing to the present, I have received more mail about Cosmic Trigger than about anything else I ever wrote, and most of this mail has been unusually intelligent and open-minded. For some reason, many readers of this book think they can write to me intimately and without fear, about subjects officially Taboo in our society. I have learned a great deal from the correspondence, and have met some wonderful new friends.” Robert Anton Wilson died on January 11th 2007 after a long illness. …….. and finally, to round off today’s cast of characters, I’d like to point out that Michael Paul Bertiaux was born on this date in Seattle Washington in 1935. He was consecrated a Bishop on January 18th 1966 by Hector-Francois Jean-Maine (born 1924) who was a Bishop of the L’Eglise Spirite Albigeoise and an initiate of the Haitian voodoo tradition. Michael Bertiaux’s responsibility was to disseminate Jean-Maine’s teachings to the white population of America. When once asked by a reporter if he was a black magician, Bertiaux simply replied, “yes ... but black magic is merely a sensational term designed to keep the frivolous away and create barriers.” Bertiaux is the author of the Voudon Gnostic Workbook (1988).
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Sunday January 17th 2010 – 11:33am An after thought to my 11:05am posting: There is a secret as to what the reversal of the numbers in the Magickal Degrees above Tiphereth mean in application and failure to Understand how can undermine a quest if you 'think' yourself presumptuous at knowing them.
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11:05am To answer an anonymous question. Basic Qabalah; never 'think' yourself beyond Tiphereth. Remember the Law - Know Thyself which includes, first and foremost, your limitations. ... Tiphereth is the decisive turning point for the Outer Adept to become an Inner Adept. It has been wisely said - "Only the presumptuous fall." -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7:45am Mike asks - "In yesterday's 7:00am posting you wrote that "Thinking moves Kundalini up and down the Tree" but if this is the case can't a person who has fallen off the Tree 'think' the Kundalini back upward again and try again from start?" Reply: Good question. In theory we can never permanently 'destroy' our psychic wires; or so the yoga masters tell us. Even if we fall the Kundalini will continue to roust daily; moving serpentine up and down the spine in order to assist us in embracing our Chakras or Sephiroth so we can function in our lives; otherwise we'll die. But the real thing to ponder is this question. If a normal psyche or nervous system is similar to twenty-two-gauge wire how much current could you draw before your wires burned out? Could your system draw one hundred amps? Of course not. A magickal burnout would be inevitable. The next question is, "What kind of damage is done?" Prior to a burnout a magician attempts to slowly prepare his wires for an influx of 'Spirit' in order to channel it (i.e Gnosis) from Above and so never forget, its a spiritual quest; it's not a quest about Self and what you think your 'rights' or 'wants' are ... its a quest for Humanity's sake. Study the Grail. It always begins with Self riding out from the Castle but inevitably, at some point, the Knight realizes that its not all about him. Fail to grasp this principle and the Grail Castle remains elusive; only the Knight Parzival truly understood this Mystery. ... be that as it may, what I am trying to say is that if a person's wires are damaged their ability to pursue the 'quest' by 'consciously' thinking the Kundalini into a specific chakra in order to obtain Gnosis is all but lost. Gnosis is 'Spirit manifested' and Spirit cannot manifest downward through an improper vehicle nor will it dwell in a decaying Grail Castle or Temple (i.e. your body). The quest itself slowly prepares the Knight (i.e. his wires) and in the legends of the Holy Grail you get only one chance to cure the Grail King and his Kingdom (i.e. Humanity)! If you fail, the Vision fails, and everything around you disappears. You then find yourself standing in the middle of an empty Hall. The best that the Knight can hope for at this point is the ability to 'think' of things from the point-of-view of an empty that Hall which we shall call Malkuth (i.e. his body); hence the curse - "From Malkuth he'll rise no further." Is it all over for the Knight? No. His quest simply changes ... he can still help humanity from the point of view of Malkuth. Is this still not a noble thing? But if the Knight's initial quest and fall was all about 'his Wants' and he still can't face that phantom ... it only further justifies the fall. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6:30am For the history buffs: Nicolas Flamel, the noted French Alchemist, successfully turned mercury into silver on his very first attempt during an alchemical experiment on this date in 1382, or so he claimed. …........... Also, Sir Francis Dashwood of the ‘Hellfire club’ would often toast to “Brother Benjamin, who remained our friend and secret ally all the time he was in the enemy camp,” or so Dashwood’s illegitimate daughter later said. She also claimed that this gentleman, or Brother Benjamin, had sent numerous ‘intelligence’ to London by devious routes and by courier from France. With this as only part of the evidence, some historians claim that she was referring to Benjamin Franklin, who was born on this date in 1706, as being the person who sold American Revolutionary secrets to the British and who was not as patriotic as some would like to believe. …........... also, Harry Price was born on this date in Shrewsbury, England in 1881. His interest in the paranormal began in 1889 when he saw his first performance by a stage magician. From that point on he became an amateur conjurer and collecting what would become an immense library of books on magic. He was known as Britain’s most famous ghost investigator and the founder of the National Laboratory of Psychical Research in 1923. He spent many hours at alleged haunted houses and in the investigation of Spiritualist and mediums. He turned his investigation into the haunting at the infamous Borley Rectory into two books titled The Most Haunted House In England (1940) and The End of Borley Rectory (1946). Both books became very popular and entrenched Price solidly as the organizer of well-run paranormal investigations. Harry Price died in March of 1948 at his home in Pulborough, West Sussex. …........... also, on this date in 1971, the ‘Duke of Madness Motors’ skit on their Dear Friends album was recorded. It was one of my all time favorite. It’s about Aleister Crowley selling used cars on the edge of the Abyss. …........... and finally, on this date in 1996 Phil Schneider was found strangled in his hospital bed with a catheter wrapped around his neck. Needless-to-say, the circumstances of his death are highly suspicious, if not controversial and some believe that he was murdered. However, the government’s position was that it was an ‘accident.’ Schneider was a self-taught geologist and explosive expert who supposedly worked on many of the U.S. government’s ‘deep underground facilities’ after World War II. One of the bases that he worked on was the secret facility outside Dulce, New Mexico where, according to Schneider, UFO ‘greys’ or humanoid extraterrestrials worked side by side with American technicians. UFO theorists claim, if Schneider was telling the truth, then he obviously broke the code of imposed silence and the penalty for that blunder was presumably termination by ‘accident.’-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday January 16th 2010 – 4:45pm Weiser Antiquarian Books Catalog # 69 'Witchcraft in New England. With subsections on Hexcraft & American Witchcraft, and Witchcraft in Literature.' A Selection of Used and Rare Books. May now be viewed at: www.weiserantiquarian.com/catalogsixtynine.
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9:30am A student who recently performed Liber Pyramidos wrote - "I have been having a constant feeling in the center of my chest where I would expect Anahatta to be. It is not entirely unpleasant but I am feeling resistant to it- like, I wish it would go away so I could feel 'normal' again. Maybe it is like a knot at times, other times it feels less like a knot. Anyway, is this normal? Is there something I can do to work through it as it doesn't seem to go away on its own. It is a real physical sensation. I suppose I should also add, that psychologically it seems that I have let go of the resentments and grudges that I have been holding onto for so long. I feel emotionally open and it seems my body feels much more relaxed, less rigid (maybe because of dissolving the hard shell, as you wrote earlier). This part of the experience, so far, is what I am valuing most."I replied: "There is little you can really do except relax, do some deep breathing exercises and go with the flow; all things will stabilize with time. As to when, no two individuals are ever alike. You may find it difficult to believe right now but in the future fleeting memories of this time will bring smiles and wishing you could experience the Kundalini with such force one more time. ... Anyway, sit back, have a glass of wine and enjoy the ‘thoughts’ ... you have activated both the Muladhara and Anja; in-between is also in motion; hence the Anahata." I then told him to hunt down a copy of Jung’s book on The Psychology of Kundalini Yoga and that it'll explain "why the Muladhara and Anja are always activated together. And why in time the Serpent will return to resting, coiled in the Muladhara or Yesod the sphere where you now reside as a Zelator. Focus on Yesod! The Serpent goes where you are 'thinking' ... (i.e. your Heart thoughts are animating it there) so, if you want it back in the Muladhara think so. Or go with the flow; try doing The Middle Pillar Ritual. It will give you amusing results right now. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7:00am James from Pennsylvania writes - "Hey Jer 93 and burr. Its cold here! Love the blog. I have some thoughts I want to share. I once knew this guy here in New York whom everyone said went crazy after claiming to have done magick beyond his grade and he fell into Chaos but I found him nice. I didnt think him all that nuts. Can everybody be that wrong about him or is it, as another friend joked, like attracts like and that I'm crazy too? Anyway, he seemed sane. Can someone walk themselves out of having done something stupid magically or are they lost always? 93 93/93 Jim"Reply: Good questions and yes, you may be nuts. Anyway, if true to form, all who fall will inevitably 'solidify' themselves back to a point of normalcy. This state is referred to by the magickal phrase "Nature rights the wrong" or in other words; since God told man that he has no right to the Tree, Nature will put him back into reality in Malkuth or on the ground where he belongs. And, unless he dies from the fall, he'll simply dust himself off and go on with his business. The greatest danger always occurs while in the state of Chaos not afterwards. As I've said, afterwards, once a magician has fallen back to Malkuth, they will return to their old haunts and in most cases they will function 100% as if nothing had ever happened. But it was while in the state of Chaos where a magician will do the most damage to themselves by saying or doing something that will haunt then the rest of their life. ... Remember, all magick must also work out of Yesod; despite whatever sphere you are presently attempting to achieve. You need the activation of the Muladhara chakra in Yesod in order for you to function on the Tree. At no time, regardless of the sphere that you are presently working, is it a sole prospect. It is always an accumulation of the spheres below. So never focus so hard on where you stand (or above) that you forget the trunk of the Tree while climbing in the branches or you'll lose your footing. Most magicians fall from the Tree not from where they are focused but rather from the Foundation that they have built for their footing. Yesod is the animalistic sphere of Nephesch the seat of our Libido. On the most lowest animalistic level this is pure ‘sexual’ energy that can be activated by ‘thinking’ too much about the opposite sex; the clue being “too much.” As I told another student just this week, it’s natures way of helping humanity unconsciously procreate and keep the species alive. Magicians, on the other hand, want to learn how to use this energy to create inward, hence the Laws of Chastity. Unfortunately, while in a state of Chaos, one of the first functions to go is always correct 'thinking' and often what one vomits in their defense can tell a teacher exactly what unresolved problems a student might have and thus the teacher can walk them out - if a student lets them. But some students will often not listen to their teacher while in a state of turmoil and they 'think' themselves into a point of no return. Then, once back to normalcy on Malkuth, they can act as if nothing ever happened and often those around them can not understand what all the fuss of the past was about; as with the case of your friend in New York. But the damage has been done. As Phyllis Seckler often said - a fruit that has fallen from the Tree does not reattach itself. The bottom line - 'Thinking' moves Kundalini up and down the Tree. Learn to think correctly and cast out all shadows and illusions of false thought which can caste you back to, or bind you upon Malkuth. This Law is so simplistic but its the downfall of more good magicians than you can shake a stick at ... and the stick is often the very branch that broke off in which the magician had thought was good footing! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5:20am For the history buffs: According to the actual Membership List of the Golden Dawn Aleister Crowley was initiated as an Adeptus Minor by MacGregor Mathers, or Frater Deo Duce Comite Ferro, in Paris on this date in 1900 and not as he remembers on February 20th, although he does get the year correct. Crowley took the magical motto of Parzival. …....… The story of the ‘New Jersey Devil’ which was seen by over 1,000 people between January 16 to the 23rd 1909 is very well documented. It began when Thack Cozzens of Woodbury saw a flying creature with glowing eyes flying down the street. Further down in Bristol, John Mcowen heard and saw the creature on the banks of the canal. A patrolman named James Sackville even fired at the creature as it flew away screaming, while E.W. Minister, the Postmaster of Bristol, saw a bird-like creature with a horse’s head that had a piercing scream. When daylight came the residents of Bristol found hoof prints in the snow. Two local trappers said they had never seen tracks like those before. On the following day the Lowdens of Burlington found hoof prints in their yard and around their trash, which was half eaten. Almost every yard in Burlington had these strange hoof prints in them. The prints went up trees, went from roof to roof, disappeared in the middle of the road, and stopped in the middle of open fields. The same tracks were also found in Columbus, Hedding, Kinhora and Rancocas. A hunt was organized to follow the tracks but the dogs wouldn’t follow the trail. …....… Also of note; Edith Starr Miller, better known by her title of Lady Queenborough, died in Paris, France on this date in 1933. Her name is often linked with the Order of the Golden Dawn and the British Fascist movement. She wrote only three books during her life. The first was called Common Sense in the Kitchen (1918), the second was titled Occult Theocrasy and published posthumously in France in 1933 and a third was simply called Judaism. Without fully realizing it, her book Occult Theocrasy relied heavily on the published works of self-described 33° freemason, Domenico Margiotta, along with the infamous hoaxers Dr. Karl Hacks and the anti-Mason Leo Taxil, Diana Vaughan and Dr. Bataille, which means that all the facts in her book are suspect. …....… And finally, Bruce King who was born in Chicago IL on July 22, 1897, died on this date in 1976. He was a well known author who published works on astrology under the Pseudonym of Zolar. He wrote the classic book The Lure of the Heavens, A History of Astrology (1972). In seems shortly before King died in 1972 he called Dr. R. Donald Papon to his apartment, held his hand, and told him that he will be the “next Zolar.”-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday January 15th 2009 – Tonight's OPEN HOUSE is closed to outsiders of our A.'.A.'., unless you have visited before. Please call in advance to verify if you are unsure if you can attend. The meeting begins at 6:30pm; and being near supper, feel free to bring something to eat and drink and don't feel obligated to bring enough for anyone other than yourself. Although extra beer is always welcomed.
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12:15pm I received an email from Dar es Alrah which has some interesting info which I'd like to pass on to other students. Yesterday I posted at 10:07am - "Sadly, no copy of Liber Mysteriorum, also known as The Book of the Mysteries, has ever survived and most historians agree that Crowley probably never wrote it. The only well known reference is where Crowley writes that an initiate - "... receives Liber Mysteriorum and obtains a perfect understanding of the Formulae of Initiation." Still, a few modern A.'.A.'. lineages have come up with their own version of this Liber but it would be disrespectful to give out copies of these.”Dar es Alrah adds - Ambrose wrote ‘On the Mysteries’ (De Mysteriis), sometime in the 4th Century. It’s about initiation of the old aeon. We may hypothesize that it is this book that was the inspiration of the other, (if extant).Enjoying your blog Jerry. Love under Will, Dar es Alrah."Reply: Thanks for the thoughts ...-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11:55am To address a question, what happens to a woman who turns her back on her Magickal Oaths in order to toy with old boyfriends? Let me quote - "Let the Scarlet Woman beware! If pity and compassion and tenderness visit her heart; if she leave my work to toy with old sweetnesses; then shall my vengeance be known. I will slay me her child: I will alienate her heart: I will cast her out from men: as a shrinking and despised harlot shall she crawl through dusk wet streets, and die cold and an-hungered." - Liber AL vel Legis III:43. ... All 'Power' comes through the Scarlet Woman and just as easily obtained, it'll be taken away. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6:05am Today, at 8:52am, Mercury will finally go Direct. The 'next' Mercury Retrograde will not occur until mid-April. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6:00am For the history buffs: Tom Longstaff, the famous mountain climber and President of the Alpine Club, was born on this date in 1875. In his biography titled This My Voyage (1950) he wrote that his old friend Aleister Crowley “was a fine climber, if an unconventional one. I have seen him go up the dangerous and difficult right (true) side of the great ice fall of the Mer de Glace below the Geant alone, just for a promenade. Probably the first and perhaps the only time this mad, dangerous and difficult route had been taken.” He died in Scotland on June 27, 1964 at the age of 89. ….....… and the only other thing I’d like to mention is that on this date in 1947 a corpse was discovered which began one of the most famous unsolved murders cases in the history of Hollywood - the Black Dahlia. The woman’s real name was Elizabeth Short. Her nude body was discovered in an empty lot in two separate pieces. It had been bisected in half at the waist and drained of all its blood. The body was also covered with numerous mutilations, cigarette burns and her mouth was cut wide open from corner to corner as if to give some frightful smile.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday January 14th 2009 – 5:18pm Regarding my 8:05am posting this morning about Crowley's The Lover's Alphabet, which stated that it has never been published, nor have I been able to identify it by another name. The Crowley scholar Andrew Drylie sent me an email . He quotes something Aleister Crowley wrote in The Confessions (1969) pg. 333 - “As in Cairo in 1902 I had started the "Lover's Alphabet", on the ground that the most primitive kind of lyrics or odes was in some way the most appealing and immortal..... This was to consist of twenty-six poems, associating a girl's name with a flower with the same initial from A to Z. One of my regular pedantic absurdities! Needless to say, it broke down. The debris is printed in my Collected Works, Vol. III, p.58 et seq." .... Reply: Thanks for the info! I love it when I learn new stuff!
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10:07am Once every blue Moon I get a a noble request for certain documents. One individual has written me today - "By my estimate, my taking the Oath of an Adeptus Minor is still a long ways off, so this is not a pressing matter on my mind, as yet. However, I would like to explore the possibility of obtaining certain materials from you which are not readily available, if your oaths would permit it. Specifically, I would like to obtain access to Liber Mysteriorum and Liber Collegii Internii." Reply: Sadly, no copy of Liber Mysteriorum, also known as The Book of the Mysteries, has ever survived and most historians agree that Crowley probably never wrote it. The only well known reference is where Crowley writes that an initiate - "... receives Liber Mysteriorum and obtains a perfect understanding of the Formulae of Initiation." Still, a few modern A.'.A.'. lineages have come up with their own version of this Liber but it would be disrespectful to give out copies of these.As for Liber Collegii Interni (Liber DCCCXI - 811), again it is often said that no full copy survives. Crowley only states that it has "Not yet published." However, like Liber Mysteriorum, there are a few modern version distributed in some branches of the A.'.A.'.: Phyllis' lineage & Grady's are almost identical.Liber Collegii Interni compliments Liber Collegii Sancti (Liber CLXXXV - 185); of the latter Crowley writes that this paper is - "the tasks of the Grades and their Oaths proper to Liber XIII. This is the official Paper of the various grades. It includes the Task and Oath of a Probationer" and in Magick in Theory & Practiceon page 240 it states in a footnote that "This book is published in The Equinox Vol.III No.2." ... Sadly, this original volume of The Equinox was never released but Liber Collegii Sancti has been published in a few other places since; most notable in Gems from The Equinox and in Jim Eshelman's book on the A.'.A.'.. This Liber details the tasks of the Grades from Probationer up to Adeptus Minor. Once you've understood these grades from A to Z it becomes fairly obvious as to what Liber Collegii Sancti details and the tasks from Adeptus Major up to and including Magister Templi. But perhaps, and I firmly believe this, that due to all the craziness of people thinking they know what it entails to take the Oath of the Abyss that it would be best not to release Liber Collegii Interni. I ended my email reply - "I do wish you luck in your travels and please hold true to the fact that if your path is true and noble, things will ALWAYS come your way when needed. The Gods deem this so ..."
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8:30am Hey all, I thought I would mention that Luna will be going into the hospital tomorrow morning for a colonoscopy exam. Everyone wish her the best with smile and send her lots of astral hugs. I replied to her last email, or "middle ager update” as she called it :93 Luna
I thought I'd tell you that I had a dream of you last night; don't remember it much but I know we were walking down Telegraph laughing ... I woke with a smile. I'd tell ya good luck tomorrow but you really won't need it, the procedure is a simple one, no biggie. They'll inspect your colon with a tiny little camera whose images will be shown on a TV monitor which you'll be able to watch yourself and see inside your butt. ... I found it rather amusing, often thinking to myself - "So, that’s what it looks like!" ... Followed by thoughts of – “I wish I had popcorn.” ... I actually wanted a copy of the film but the doctor politely said no! I thought it would be a great party favorite. I could add music to it, some super-imposed naked dancing girls and play it as background entertainment on the TV at parties. I could bill it as something like -"ASSHOLE! Inside Jerry's Butt, the untold story." People would simply mumble to themselves – “Jerry, Jerry, Jerry ... you are a sick man.” ... Anyway, I’ve had it done twice in my life so far ... both times there was no pain or any serious discomfort so just lay there and enjoy. And there is never any apology needed for sending me a “a middle ager update” because, I am a middle ager, I understand, and plus, I’ve been there, done that ... etc & etc.Love ya ... I’ll be sending you happy thoughts tomorrow, no BUTTS about it! :)93 93/93 Jerry----------------------------------------------
Hey readers, any ideas for a soundtrack had I gotten a copy of the film of my colonocospy exam? I was hedging toward using either Hearts' Barracuda or perhaps AC/DCs Highway to Hell. Then again, maybe some mellow music like the soundtrack to Gladiator?Luna replied - "The idea for the film is great!"-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8:05am To answer an email: it is believed that no copy survives of Liber IAO (Liber XVII - 17) ... In regards to this Liber Crowley has stated that it "Gives three methods of attainment through a willed series of thoughts. This book has not been published. It is the active form of Liber HHH. The article Energized Enthusiasm is an adumbration of this Book." ... and as to your other question looking for a copy of Crowley's The Lover's Alphabet, it has never been published, nor have I been able to identify it by another name. This piece is simply mentioned as a forthcoming work by Aleister Crowley in the back of The Godeater (1903). ... If any of my readers have any further info on either of these works that they'd like to pass along, please feel free to send it along.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8:00am For the history Buffs: On this date in 1892, one of the people whom Scotland Yard suspected was Jack the Ripper, slipped off into a deep permanent sleep due to a slowly induced morphine overdose. He was Prince Albert Victor or Eddy the Duke of Clarence and the future King of England, if he had lived. It is written that years later “Aleister Crowley had somehow acquired a few incriminating letters from the dead Prince to a boy who lived in Cleveland Street.” The author who over heard Crowley make these comments was St. John Terrapin who wrote, “I heard him discussing the prospects for using them to raise money from those who might want them suppressed.” What became of this blackmail scheme is not recorded if it ever took place at all. …......... and I should also point out that Gerald del Campo was born on this date in Cordoba, Argentina in 1960. He is an initiate of the Ordo Templi Orientis, ordained Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica Priest, Master of an O.T.O. Oasis and author of the book New Aeon Magick: Thelema Without Tears (1994), which one reviewer called, “An excellent straight-forward primer for the curious novice or neo-pagan who’d like to learn a bit more about Thelema without going directly through Crowley.” …......... and on January 14, 1961 Sergei Torop was born in Krasnodar, Russian. Originally he was a traffic cop in the city of Minusinsk but, after being fired in 1989, this Russian mystic began proclaiming himself the Messiah, or Jesus Christ re-born. He assumed the title Vissarion Christ. He then established the Church of the Last Testament which would boast a membership of almost 4,000 people all of whom are called Vissarionites. Unlike the first Jesus this ‘Redeemer’ has a wife and six children. …......... and finally, keeping with today’s theme, on this date in 1967 in San Francisco, the ‘Human Be-In’ took place which was attended by over 20,000 people. The promoters prepared almost 5,000 doses of DOM (STP) to distribute for free, to help promote the love-in atmosphere. Unfortunately, the dose they manufactured was approximately 15 mg, or literally 5-10 times higher than a recommended dose and hundreds of people experienced extreme ‘trips’ which, in some cases, lasted up to three days with many others ending up in the hospital.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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