~ JANUARY 24th - 31st 2010 ~
Sunday January 31st 2010 – 7:30pm This is to let my readers know that Weiser Antiquarian Books Catalog # 70 - Winter Miscellany; February 2010 can be viewed at www.weiserantiquarian.com/catalog. Check it out!
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6:00am For the history buffs : Dr. John ‘Cunningham’ Fian, an alleged leader of the North Berwick Witches, was arrested on the 26th and tortured for days, but he refused to confess to the twenty counts charged against him, such crimes as: “Conspiracy with Satan to wreck the ship carrying King James to Norway, on a visit to his future queen, by throwing a dead cat into the sea.” He was finally found guilty and executed in Scotland on this day. As was the general custom, he was first strangled and then “immediately put into a great fire, being ready provided for that purpose, and there burned in the Castle Hill of Edinburgh, on a Saturday in the end of January last past.” Historically, the date of his death has been listed as either being on the 30th or 31st. ........... Merwan Sheriar Irani more commonly known as Meher Baba the ‘Compassionate Father’ died on this date in 1969 at the age of seventy five. His followers merely claimed he ‘dropped the body’ which is a euphemism used by the Baba lovers. In 1925 he took a vow of silence ‘to save mankind from the monumental forces of ignorance’ and although many of his followers hoped he’d break his silence before death they were greatly mistaken. He uttered no last words of wisdom and so the world remains ignorant. .......... The Slack Guru J. R. ‘Bob’ Dobbs was tragically assassinated in San Francisco on this date in 1984 by his evil twin brother the Anti-Bob, or Dick Dobbs who wanted to take over the Texas based Church of the Sub-Genius. Woodman Atwell was named the assassin. He had legally changed his name to ‘Puzzling Evidence.’ He never stood trial and to this day he is a free man. Bob Dobbs is the epitome of the eternal slack master and his Church claims that he was an actual real person, an aluminum siding salesman, who had started on the path to Subgenius in the late 1950's. However, in truth, Bob is merely a figment of church founders’ Rev. Ivan Stang and Dr. Philo Drummond chemically-enhanced imaginations. .......... Near Romatambo, Peru, at a remote mountain village several Quechua Indian shepherds tending their flocks watched six UFOs flying over the area on this date in 1996. According to a forty year old witness, Silvia Bedoya, the UFOs apparently emerged from nearby Lake Cococha and formed what seemed to be a protective circle around a larger mother-ship. The flight of the objects illuminated the whole valley in an eerie deep purple type of light. They also said that they watched the ‘mother ship’ landed upriver from the village and saw two occupants emerge who were only about three or four feet tall, with large oversized heads, long spindly arms and short bandy legs. They wore gun metal gray helmets and matching one-piece coveralls. The humanoids took out transparent containers and, ignoring the people watching them, they collected many samples, like soil, grass, mountain weeds, & water from the nearby river. After awhile the humanoids reentered the large object and all the UFOs shot away into space at a high speed. .......... and finally, on this date in 2009 an old OTO friend here in the Bay Area named Steven J. Cohen aka Shadow Igitur passed away.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday January 30th 2010 – 12:15pm Every now and then comes a movie which many will simply say has absolutely no redeeming value or taste and to which I can only smile and reply - "Thank you Jesus!" I'm referring to ONECHANBARA or Samurai Bikini Squad (Japanese 2008). Let me try to describe the plot. First, I always thought the word 'squad' referred to more than one person but in this case it simply refers to a sexy young girl named Aya who makes it her personal mission to track down her father's killer and so, with a big samurai sword in one hand and wearing nothing but a tiny little red bikini, a cowboy hat, cowboy boots and a long feather boa, she sets off to settle the score. Her father's killers are a mysterious scientist named Sugita who has raised an army of zombies to destroy the world and her half-sister named Saki who wears a rather cute little school girl uniform. All in all Aya unleashes a unique lethal brand of martial arts mayhem with glee as she hacks and slashes her way through a sea of the undead. And did I mention she does this while wearing a cute little red bikini? Anyway, in the end, the two sisters have a rather climatic samurai sword battle which is, well ... wow! I rather liked this movie; it was pure mindless entertainment. If you want to read my full review, click HERE.
Dave from Florida writes - "Watched the movie.. Saki gets my vote..."-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6:40am For the history buffs: Ivan T. Sanderson was born on this date in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1911. In his early career Sanderson was a nature writer but soon became an enthusiastic Fortean author; devoting the majority of all his later books and articles to mysterious phenomena of all kinds from strange monsters, sea serpents to Bigfoot. He was the founder of The Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained. Some of his most notable books were Uninvited Visitors (1967), Things (1967), More Things (1969), Invisible Residents (1970) and Investigating the Unexplained (1972). He died of cancer on February 19, 1973 at the age of 62. ….......... also, Zsusanna Budapest (aka Zsusanna Mokcsay) was born on this date in Budapest, Hungary in 1940. She is a Wiccan psychic in San Francisco and a prolific author on the topic of female spirituality. She has authored of such books as Grandmother Moon (1991), The Goddess in the Office (1993), The Goddess in the Bedroom (1995) and The Holy Book of Women’s Mysteries (1989).-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday January 29th 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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2:42am For the history buffs: Jeanne de Anges died peaceably on this date in 1665. She was a Nun of an Ursuline convent in Loudun, France. Some thirty years earlier her demonic possession was considered by some to be the most classic case in the annals of European witchcraft history. The priest in charge of the convent, Urbain Grandier, was accused of bewitching her with the aid of the demon Asmodeus, to compel her to ‘think and do’ impure thoughts. Under torture Grandier supposedly confessed and was burned alive in 1634. .......… also, Emanuel Swedenborg was born as Emanuel Swedberg (or Svedberg) on this date in Stockholm, Sweden in 1688. He was an inventor, author, philosopher and mystic who devoted his life to studying the Holy Scripture and publishing eighteen theological titles. These works present a unique Christian perspective on the nature of God, the spiritual world around us, the human mind and the path to salvation. He was also deeply involved in FreeMasonry and established what is now called the Swedenborgian Rite. Aleister Crowley was so impressed by his writings that he personally believed Swedenborg was at least an Adeptus Exemptus since he had published his thesis on the ‘nebular hypothesis’ to explain the birth of the planets and the universe. Swedenborg died in London on March 29th, 1772, at the age of eighty-four. .......… but on a more serious note; the comic actor William Claude Dukenfield was born on this date in Philadelphia in 1880. He later changed his name to W. C. Fields. He was legendary for his dislike of small children and dogs; he was also an alcoholic famous for such quotes as “Everyone must believe in something. I believe I’ll have another drink.” Throughout his life Fields despised religions, observing that “...more people are driven insane through religious hysteria than by drinking alcohol.” In the end one of the last people to see him alive was his friend and fellow actor Thomas Mitchell. Standing next to the bed Mitchell noticed a small black book protruding out from under the blanket. Upon investigation he saw that it was The Holy Bible. Astonished, he asked Fields, “Your reading the Bible, Bill. Why?” Fields, in his typical dry manner, simply looked up and replied, “I was looking for loopholes.” In a last bit of irony, Fields died in 1946 on the one holiday that he despised the most Christmas. .......… And finally, solely for my own amusement, I’d like to mention that on this date in 1979, it being a Monday morning, seventeen year old Brenda Spencer of San Diego California took up a position outside the Cleveland Elementary School and waited for the principal to unlock the front doors. She was armed with a .22 semi-automatic and 500 rounds of ammo which was given too her as a loving Christmas gift by her father. When the children started showing up, Brenda opened fire. For 20 minutes she had the students, teachers, and even the crossing guard pinned down. In that time she managed to kill the Principal and school caretaker, also injuring nine kids, aged between 6 and 12. Once tired of the game, she simply went home and waited for the police. The only explanation she could give for her actions was: “I just started shooting, that’s it. I just did it for the fun of it. I just don’t like Mondays. ... I just did it because it’s a way to cheer the day up. Nobody likes Mondays.” Her story inspired the classic 1980 song titled “I don’t like Mondays” by the Irish band known as the Boomtown Rats.And all the playing's stopped in the playground nowShe wants to play with the toys a whileAnd school's out early and soon we'll be learningAnd the lesson today is how to die-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday January 28th 2010 – 10:50am Jerome David Salinger was born on January 1st, 1919, in New York City. He was more commonly known simply as J. D. Salinger the author who wrote the now infamous book, Catcher in the Rye, ... he died of natural causes at his home yesterday at the age of 91. ... I loved his book with its immortal teenage protagonist, the twisted, rebellious Holden Caulfiel. It was released the year that I was born, or in 1951. It was a period of Cold War conformity and the dawn of modern adolescence. The character Holden, who was enraged by all the "phonies" who made him "so depressed I go crazy," soon became American literature's most famous anti-hero since Huckleberry Finn.
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10:02am Two of my nieces were bantering back and forth on-line. I especially liked it when one of them rather sarcastically told the other, who is much younger - “When I was your age I had a CD Player. Not one of those IPod things.” Yes, I guess I’m just getting too old. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6:20am For the history heap: Not much to report today except for the fact that on this date in 1975 at 2:12pm, Billy” Eduard Albert Meier of Switzerland began a series of physical and telepathic contacts with extraterrestrial beings from the planet Erra in the Pleiades. One of the space women told him, “I am called Semjase.” Billy was even allowed to photograph her “beamship” during its flight maneuvers. He took over 1,000 of the clearest photos of extraterrestrial spacecraft ever seen, others disagree and argue that he took over 1,000 of the most obvious fraudulent photos ever taken. Be that as it may, since this date in 1989, Billy supposedly has had about four contacts a year with Ptaah, the father of Semjase as well as with other aliens. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday January 27th 2010 – 6:50pm Luna writes – “J 93! Hi there! I'm on day 11 no smokes, and next Thurs. I get my new hip....haven't been online much at all because it triggers my urge to light up. Hope you and Faustus are happy and well. I hope to come to Berkeley one time before the 4th but I may not have time. The pain meds I take are really taking their toll on my creativity and hypo mania....totally knocked it out of me...I'm on month 9 of taking the darn pills...but can't walk without them, so ... ....I am really looking forward to a month and a half or so from now when I will be off of the meds completely....and back to the hypo mania and creativity. Miss you. Hi to The Kids. Xoxoxo 93s )O(."
Reply: .... deepest smiles are floating your way. Even if you’re not emailing a lot of late, you’re always in my heart ... take it easy and as always, if you need any help, let me know. Love, astral hugs & etc.”-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5:35pm The petite actress Zelda Rubinstein who stood just 4 feet, 3 inches and who played Tangina, the psychic who tried to calm the family inhabiting a haunted house in Steven Spielberg's cult 1982 film Poltergeist has passed away of natural causes in Los Angeles early this morning; she was 76-years-old. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12:15pm If you would like to read a great biographical piece that was just posted this morning on Skuidoo about my old friend Alan Cabal, then click on - http://www.squidoo.com/Alan_Cabal-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7:30am In regards to my 6:22am posting; to address a bunch of incoming emails all at once. No, I don't think it wise to explain the anomaly in birth charts which all individuals have who have successfully sworn the Oath of Abyss; not because it's secret but rather because it's complicated and it would require a lengthy explanation. Furthermore, if you are one of those rare individuals who actually have the aspect in their Birth Chart you might be stupid enough to simply take the Oath of the Abyss thinking it a guarantee rather than laying a carefully Foundation to warrant its success. Besides, if the anomaly is there, I would rather see my students focus on the branch of the Tree where they are presently standing rather than on any possibilities in their future. And to address other thoughts; if you don't have this aspect in your chart, so what? Still strive upward and remember, EVERYONE has the ability to at least reach Tiphereth the seat of your Star and the 93 Current. Is this not a great goal for Thelemites? Solar Consciousness? ... Robert Flores said that if he could not achieve the Oath of the Abyss he'd quit and he made good on his threats. Tiphereth wasn't good enough for him and he did not consider his accomplishing this sphere to be of any good for humanity. He wanted to be God or nothing. It reminds me how the Directory of the U.S.Patent Office in Washington D.C. sent in his resignation in 1875 citing - "There was nothing left to invent!" -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6:35am I uploaded the next in the 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 Petros for making this page possible by scanning the original and computer entering it into a Word file. The latest installment was originally published in The Magickal Link, Volume Vol. IV, No.6 June 1984ev and is titled ON BORIC ACID & THE COCKROACH EFFECT. To further understand this article and the previous installment you might want to read Red Flame No.13 In The Name of The Beast Vol.II, pgs. 207 and 215. To read the latest installment, click HERE for details.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6:22am To address an issue. Yes, we can say, with all certainty, that our astrological Birth Chart easily fits upon the Otz Chim (עץ החיים), or the Tree of Life. It's only common sense. If the Law is correct or ‘As Above, So Below’ and that God used the same blueprint to create everything from the most exalted to the infinitesimal and to study any part on one Tree will reveal, simply by analogy, the other; then our Birth Chart must fit upon the Tree. And it does. Understanding how will enable a magician to determine whether or not they have the ability to spiritually climb the Tree of Life and how far up. As an example, had the fallen student Robert Flores (Frater Orpheus) approached me and told me his 'aspirations' to take the Oath of the Abyss I would have explained to him that he did not have the specific aspect in his chart dictating success in this area. And so, he fell accordingly. ... Admittedly, there are quite a few people who actually have this anomaly in their birth chart but it seems many do not ‘fulfill’ the spiritual aspiration in the early part of the Tree to warrant success in the upper branches. But what is obvious is that ALL those who have actually sworn the Oath of the Abyss and succeeded in becoming a ‘vehicle’ of Higher Gnosis, all carry the same unique anomaly in regards to their Birth Chart and the Abyss itself ... for instance; Aleister Crowley, Jack Parsons, Grady McMurtry, myself and even Luis Alvarado all have one specific thing in common in our charts. Flores does not. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6:20am For the history buffs: The renowned Victorian author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson more commonly known by his pseudonym of Lewis Carroll was born on this date in 1832 in Daresbury, Cheshire, England, the son of a clergyman. Although multi-talented in many areas he achieved lasting fame as the author of Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871). He died in Guildford on January 14, 1898. …........ and finally, John Francis Toye was born on this date in England in 1883. He was the cousin of the noted artist Gerald Kelly, whose sister Rose misguidedly married Aleister Crowley. Toye once wrote, “Of all the extraordinary people I met … undoubtedly the most extraordinary was Aleister Crowley. Crowley, like the author of Hadrian VII, whom in many ways he much resembled, was a genius gone wrong, with a remarkable talent for Browningesque verse, a soaring imagination, and a sense of humour altogether exceptional. Indeed, in retrospect, his sense of humour stands out as his most striking attribute.” He goes on to give an example of Crowley’s humor by telling us that when Crowley bought his estate in Scotland, on Loch Ness, he posted signs saying “Beware of the Ichthyosaurus!” and “The Donotheriums are out today!” John Francis Toye died in 1964.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday January 26th 2010 – 4:18pm Richard Cole replied to this morning's email writing - "Jerry, As always, it is a real pleasure to hear from you. Am very sorry to hear the gods are currently putting your aura through a mangle. At least you know when the spin cycle ends and, come April, will emerge on the other side crease free, self-glittering and smelling slightly of Ambrosia brand fabric conditioner. Am also concerned about your impending homelessness. Don't worry, I booked you passage to England as part of a travelling vegan awareness group of teetotal feminists. They're lovely people and will welcome you with open courgettes. ;) Glad my belated outbreak of seasonal frivolity reached you safely and most encouraged by attempts to make some sense of it all. My team of psychotherapists seem well out of their depth... For anyone who may have an interest, I've posted a free PDF download of The Golden Drawn booklet" Click HERE. He then adds "Cole on the Couch is the full text of an interview I recently did with Robert Sherry, for the Current (Number 44) issue of Behutet magazine ... Take the very best care of yourself. Yours, RTC."
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9:55am I sent the author Richard Cole an email this morning - "Richard 93 Well, its been pouring here for almost two weeks and I’m building an ark. We also had a small earthquake hit today and, be that as it may, I’m finally catching up on all the craziness of the last few weeks. Life has truly tortured me on a personal level, and probably will continue to do such until late March. Sometimes the Gods are cruel, other times they’re sleeping. Anyway, I want to thank you kindly for the copies of The Golden Drawn, Cole on the Couch and the postcards. You are truly a mad genius and I am often humbled by the way your mind thinks. Everyone here at our Open Houses spends untold hours muddling through the stuff that you send; laughing, smiling and toasting you. Again, I thank you for your kindness. 93 93/93 Jerry."-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9:20am Ken Robinson of Massachusetts, my ex-Secretary to Brocken Mt. Lodge OTO from the late 70s, sent me an email under the subject "I gotta escape the Happy Valley." He writes - "Sometimes this areas moonbatism is too much to handle. This morning's Daily Hampshire Gazette as a front page, above the fold "news" story, complete with photograph, about a woman whose car was destroyed in the arson outbreak that recently occurred in Northampton. The article is entitled: "Requiem For A Subaru-Altar helps keep car lost to arson in owner's life." The photo shows Ms. Julie Robbins next to her Subaru altar. I see the license plate, the keys, car parts, rocks and crystals, driftwood, a photo----and insanity. But maybe that's just me." .... Check it out: http://www.gazettenet.com/2010/01/26/requiem-subaru. ... Reply: It's good to see that the crazies are not just in Berkeley! Maybe it has to do with Global Warming and brain cells? -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7:45am NEWS: A small earthquake, magnitude 2.3, hit Berkeley this morning at around 4:53am. I slept through it. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7:40am A student wrote to a teacher - "I have a quick question about the motto. When one chooses a motto it should reflect what they see their aspiration as correct? So in choosing a motto for the man of Earth grade is one to encompass the whole of the aspiration or just that part of it that accomplishes this particular phase?" ..... Frater Petros replied :93
Do you have a copy of Eshelman's The Magical and Mystical System of the A.'.A.'.? If so there is a brief subsection "The Aspiration Name" on p. 61. I believe you own the big blue brick (Liber ABA edited by H.B.) so you will want to read part 2, cap. 6 especially p. 63, but read the whole chapter.Now to your question, yes you are correct. The motto should reflect your highest aspiration as you can conceive of it. I have been thinking about writing a brief paper on this topic, but I'm a little backed up at the moment. If I get some time I'll make it a priority for your benefit. Basically the motto seems to hang some people up and to me it is not that complicated, but I do have a couple of things for you to keep in mind.1. I believe the magician is influenced by the motto in the same way that Magus' word affects the world. This is exactly what is happening but microcosmically, or "as below." Be very specific and take great care when choosing a motto. Take your time here. Reread whatever you can find by Crowley on the "Word" of the magician as this is the first step on the path of the Probationer. Again, the care taken here says a lot about you. If it is going to be in a language that you don't speak make sure of your translation. You don't want to stumble coming out of the starting gate, right?
2. Be very careful about choosing a motto that has any kind of common currency to it. As an example, let's take "Orpheus." Robert (Flores) chose this probably because he fashions himself a musician (and he is fairly prolific), I don't know but I intend to ask him the next time I see him. Anyway if you know the myth of Orpheus it has uncanny parallels to Robert's career within our A.'.A.'. In the myth Orpheus fails in his quest from the underworld just before he is to be successful. After that he is finally destroyed by women. I believe that Robert was unable to escape the centuries of intention and belief poured into the archetypal idea of "Orpheus."
3. When it comes time to sign the MoE document, make sure you don't misspell your motto. The one Student that I had, that did, suffered a rather ignominious defeat at his own hand.
Anyway, I hope all else is well.
93 93/93 Frater Petros
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7:25am Michael from Oregon had previously order copies of Red Flame, they arrived and he sent me this kind email - "93 Jerry. I just received those lovely Red Flame books today. Thank you so much. They are well put together and I cannot wait to dig into them. At present I'm reading "White Teeth" by Zadie Smith, a funny and sharp british novel, and "Eros and Magic in the Renaissance" by Ioan Couliano, a wee bit harder (understatement) to read but well worth investing the time. I totally appreciate the archive of your blog also. I'm working my way through 2007 right now. It's really something I look forward to in the morning with my cup of coffee before I head off to a job. Thanks for your workaholic habits that keep writing and sharing. 93 93/93 Michael ."-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7:20am For the history buffs: Hans Holzer was born on this date in Vienna, Austria in 1920. He is a world-renowned parapsychologist, lecturer and author of more than 119 books dealing with paranormal phenomena, witchcraft and UFOs. He has been an active writer in television and films. He was a TV producer of the In Search Of series. A few of his classics books are Ghost Hunter (1965) Ghosts I’ve Met (1965), Yankee Ghosts (1966) and The Lively Ghosts of Ireland (1967). …............ also, Andrew Standish was born on this date in 1930. Approximately nine months earlier his mother, Stella Taylor, reportedly cheated on her husband Len Standish. She had an affair with Aleister Crowley while the latter was briefly visiting Brussels. Unfortunately, Mr. Crowley, who kept extensive diaries about all his affairs and often dropped names like water; never once mentions either Stella or ‘his’ new son anywhere. Be that as it may, when young Andrew grew up he decided to claim his ‘rightful heritage’ by changing his name to Amado Crowley. However, he has never offered one shred of evidence to prove his claims about being Aleister Crowley’s illegitimate son. He is the author of such books as The Secrets of Aleister Crowley (1991), The Riddles of Aleister Crowley (1992) and The Wrath of Aleister Crowley (1994). …............ Also, for the wiccans, Roy Bowers was born into a Methodist family in London, England on this date in 1931. He is more commonly known as Robert Cochrane. He was a practicing English ‘hereditary witch’ who in the early fifties founded his own coven based on his family tradition; calling his group the Clan of Tubal Cain. The noted witch Doreen Valiente was initiated into his group in 1964 but soon became disillusioned with Cochrane as she realized he was more fiction than fact. To this day, many of his hereditary claims have yet to be proved. He died in 1966 on the eve of Summer Solstice in what some have claimed was a ritual suicide after ingesting belladonna, more commonly known as Deadly Nightshade. Others claim it was simply an accident. …............ and finally, for the UFO hunters; Bob Lazar was born on this date in Coral Gables, Florida, to unknown parents in 1959. He was adopted by Albert Lazar and his wife. Bob Lazar gained world wide notoriety in November of 1989 by going on a Las Vegas television station and announcing to the world that he was a physicist who worked at the top secret Area 51 involving ‘Flying Saucers.’ He claimed to have seen a total of nine flying saucers housed in hangars built into a hillside. He even said that he had hands-on experience with one of the craft and he could describe its propulsion system in detail. Lazar says he read briefing papers about the alien presence but that he saw no aliens himself, aside from a fleeting glimpse of a small figure through a window at the facility. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday January 25th 2010 – 6:45am Yesterday I uploaded the 30th installment of the series which Frater Hymenaeus Alpha 777 (Grady Louis McMurtry) wrote on magick and philosophy titled FROM THE CALIPH. It appeared in March of 1984. ... However, when the April 1984 issue of The Magickal Link appeared (Vol. IV, No.4 April 1984) there was no installment of this series; Grady was busy and he failed to write one ... but the following month, the series reappeared. I have uploaded today the next installment which had appeared in The Magickal Link, Vol. IV, No.5 May 1984 titled - ON “IT’S A HEAVY METAL UNIVERSE, CHARLIE BROWN!” ... I wish to thank Frater Petros for making this page possible by scanning the original and computer entering it into a Word file. ... Click HERE for details. ... You'll also notice in the CONTENTS page that I have added the titles of the last twelve articles which we have yet to uploaded; they have all been computer entered and scanned by Frater Petros. After these are formatted we will have completed the entire series. ... Grady's final article would appear in the June issue of The Magickal Link Vol. V, No.5. The following month, or the July issue, would carry a lengthy article titled The Caliph’s Health. It graphically described how Grady's health was failing and how he was not expected to live much longer. Then, on July 12, before most members of the OTO had even received their copy of the July issue, Grady Louis McMurtry passed away. He was sixty-six years old. He was lying in his hospital bed at Brookside Hospital in San Pablo, discussing forms of meditation with a friend when he softly said, “I think my path is more the Sufi Path.”
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6:30am For the history heap: A lot has happened; I'm only listing a few events. First, on this date, every year, Scotland celebrates the birth of its greatest poet, Robert Burns on what it calls Burn’s Night (b. January 25, 1759). This night is chosen because Robert Burns was born at Alloway, near Ayr, on this date. The typical dish served on this holiday is haggis but before one can eat it one must read to it assorted poetry by Robert Burns. Haggis is simply a traditional Scottish dish of sheep’s stomach stuffed with seasoned meat, oatmeal and barley. Crowley played a rather funny practical joke on a friend who was visiting Boleskine, his home in Scotland. One evening, just as they were about to sit down to dinner, Crowley’s servant, primed of course beforehand, ran into the room and, dropping on one knee explained, “‘My lord, my lord! The haggis is on the hill!” Crowley and his unsuspecting friend snatched their guns and rushed out. It was beginning to get dark but there was still light enough to distinguish not far away an animal with a pair of horns. Crowley’s friend fired both his barrels and immediately killed the animal. He yelled with delight and was about to run forward to claim his prize when Crowley stopped him with a warning that according to local tradition the haggis must never be approached by ‘him who has killed it.’ He went on to say that the carcass would be brought to the hall later, after it was cleaned. So the two went back to their dinner, and, sure enough, later a small procession led by a piper entered the dining hall carrying the now skinned animal. After several perambulations of the table, the horns ‘of the haggis’ were ceremoniously presented to Crowley’s friend. He promised to take them back to Switzerland and affixed them, duly labeled and dated, to the wall of his villa. In truth the horns were merely that of an elderly ram procured for the occasion because, as everyone knows, a haggis is not an animal at all, which was part of Crowley’s joke on his friend. Still, it has been suggested that Crowley’s killing of the haggis never really happened, that it was simply an allegory that he told to imply that Burns is dead and there is a greater poet to whom Scotland should honor. Meaning, of course, himself. ............ also, Antoine Court de Gebelin was born on this date in France in 1728, although some authorities place the year of his birth from anywhere between 1719 to 1728. He was a preacher early in his life, and afterward he devoted himself to the study of antiquity and mythology. Although ridiculed by some, his books were the very first to raise the supposition that the Tarot is actually a ‘book’ containing the purest doctrine of the Ancient Egyptians which has somehow escaped the destruction of the Library of Alexandria. He saw the Tarot cards as being a contemporarily pictorial embodiment of this occult wisdom and a tangible link with the past. He died in Paris on May 10, 1784. ............ and Somerset Maugham was born on this date inside the British Embassy in Paris, France in 1874. He spoke only French until he was orphaned at the age of eleven, after which he was sent to England to be raised by an uncle, a clergyman. Like many writers, Maugham once found himself with a writer’s block. At the age of thirty he decided the best way to stimulate his creativity was to do what he knew best, to travel and so he headed to Paris where he took a small apartment near the Lion de Belfort. He described his first meeting with Aleister Crowley in the story titled A Fragment of Autobiography; “Soon after my arrival, Gerald Kelly took me to a restaurant called Le Chat Blanc in the Rue d’Odessa, near the Gare Montparnasse, where a number of artists were in the habit of dining: and from then on I dined there every night ... one of the casual visitors was Aleister Crowley. He was spending the winter in Paris. I took an immediate dislike to him, but he interested and amused me ... at the time I knew he was dabbling in Satanism, magic and the occult.” In 1906, while in England, he wrote the novel The Magician but it would not be released until November of 1908. One of the main characters in this book was based on Aleister Crowley even though Maugham shared only a brief acquaintance with him. Maugham later wrote, “I do not remember how I came to think that Aleister Crowley might serve as the model for the character whom I called Oliver Haddo; nor, indeed, how I came to think of writing that particular novel at all ... though Aleister Crowley served, as I have said, as the model for Oliver Haddo, it is by no means a portrait of him. I made my character more striking in appearance, more sinister and more ruthless than Crowley ever was. I gave him magical powers that Crowley, though he claimed them, certainly never possessed.” Aleister Crowley bought the book in late November of 1908 when it first hit the stores. He wrote, “The title attracted me strongly, The Magician. The author, bless my soul! No other than my old and valued friend, William Somerset Maugham, my nice young doctor whom I remembered so well from the dear old days of the Chat Blanc. Yes, I did myself proud, for the Magician, Oliver Haddo, was Aleister Crowley; his house ‘Skene’ was Boleskine. The hero’s witty remarks were, many of them, my own. He had, like Arnold Bennett, not spared his shirt cuff.” Maugham died on December 15, 1965.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday January 24th 2010 – 11:20am I uploaded the next installment of the series which Frater Hymenaeus Alpha 777 (Grady Louis McMurtry) wrote on magick and philosophy. The series is titled FROM THE CALIPH. The first article appeared in The Magickal Link in October of 1981. The latest installment was originally published in The Magickal Link, Volume IV No.3 March 1984e.v. and is titled ON 144,000 CHRISTIAN GOLDBRICKS IN HEAVEN ... I wish to thank Frater Petros for making this page possible by scanning the original and computer entering it into a Word file. ... Click HERE for details.
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8:40am My son Faustus presented me with a great gift this weekend. It was a Yu-Gi-Oh card titled ‘ORICHALCOS SHUNOROS.’ Damn, I always wanted one of these demon cards for my demented collection. Some might wonder why ... but this demon first appeared in Season Four of the anime series titled ‘Waking the Dragon’ which aired on September 18th in 2004 (Episodes 145-184). It detailed the now infamous ‘Seal Of Orichalcos’ card which has never been released to gamers. The characters upon the outer circle of card that Faustus gave me are actually Enochian and what is more amusing, but difficult to see in this particular card, is that behind the image of the demon is a Unicursal Hexagram that was designed by none other than the blatant summoner of demons himself, Aleister Crowley. And, as everyone knows, Crowley was a great believer in Enochian Magic and he used these characters to summon beings from the spiritual world, among them no less than Choronzon, a powerful demon often said to be bent on destroying mankind. These are the exact same elements that are being sought after by our children who play this particular Yu-Gi-Oh game while using the Seal of Orichalcos card. So is it a game? And should I mention that there is a character in this series named Aleister? Or the fact that the name ‘Orichalcos' is said to mean 'a transparent changeable substance'? And they wonder why our children are seemingly going crazy and acting as if possessed by demons ...we're training them!-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7:35am My son Faustus and I watched the movie DORORO, The Quest of a Samurai Warrior (Japanese 2007) last night while having supper. It starts with Lord Kagemitsu Daigo who is attempting to rule the world by selling his yet to be born son to forty-eight demons who are in a sealed temple. The demons agree to help Daigo and they divide up the child into 48 parts, a piece going to each of them. This enables the demons to roam free and commit atrocities throughout the countryside. However, unwilling to allow her power mad husband to kill the remaining body of the wretched child upon birth, his wife places the malformed, featureless stump of the newborn in a basket and just like Moses, she floats him down the river and hopefully toward safety. He is, of course, saved by a supernaturally gifted doctor name Honma who has been studying the science of re-growing or crafting limbs from the remains of children who had died in the war. And, upon replacing all of his missing body parts, he raises the child as his own. Naming him Hyakkimaru. As a grown man Hyakkimaru decides to hunt down the demons who stole his body and each time that he slays one of the demons his original body is given back to him. Along the way he meets a nameless female thief played by super-charming pop singing idol Kou Shibasaki [born August 5, 1981]. Shibasaki plays an uncultured, annoying and obnoxious but gutsy young girl who happens upon the hero as he is slaying a demon in a bar. She decides to follow him, hoping to take his sword which she discovers is embedded in his elbow with his phony forearm which acts like a pseudo-flesh sheath. Anyway, after he had mentioned the name ‘Dororo’ as something that he had once been called by villagers, she takes a liking to it; steals the name like a thief and assumes it as her own. She later learns the name means ‘little monster’. It turns out that the name is quite appropriate for her.And then the plot thickens because she too, like Hyakkimaru, has a grudge to settle. It seems Lord Daigo had killed her mother and father and so inevitably she joins Hyakkimaru in his quest seeking revenge against the Daigo's clan. In their travels they fight a variety of demons ranging from a blade-wielding gargoyle, to an awesome looking crab woman, to a gigantic monstrous tree and even lizard monster that would have looked cheap and even out-of-place if it were battling Godzilla back in the 1960's. ... I found this movie very entertaining. ... Click HERE to read my entire review.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7:10am HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRYAN! ... Bryan Randall Olson was born on January 24, 1970 in Rome, New York. He has been an AA initiate since the early 1990s; duly recognized and Chartered to run the Star-Splendour Clerk House in Sacramento, California of Grady Louis McMurtry's AA lineage. The name was chosen from Liber AL vel Legis III:38 “Show thy star-splendour, O Nuit!”-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7:05am For the history buffs: The German astrologer Louis de Wohl was born on this date in Berlin in 1903. He later escaped from the Nazis and fled to England where he helped the war effort by producing bogus translations of Nostradamus which were used to spread subversive rumors throughout Germany of their impending doom. ….......... also amusing, on this date in 1923, while sailing around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, the Second Officer Bennett, the Fourth Officer N. K. Stone, a Cadet and a Helmsman on a schooner reported seeing the infamous Flying Dutchman which is a ghost ship that sails the tip of Africa. They said that the ship moved quickly and silently, disappearing as suddenly as it had appeared. …......... and the actress Sharon Marie Tate was born in Dallas, Texas on this date in 1943. She starred in many movies but who can ever forget her role as Jennifer North in the Valley of the Dolls (1967), or her other role in the cult classic The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967). Notoriety overtook her in August of 1969 in the form of Tex Watson and Susan ‘Sadie’ Atkins, the latter licking the blood from her hands after Sharon had been stabbed 16 times. . …......... And finally, Lafayette Ron Hubbard, the hack science fiction writer and pop psychologist, died in hiding on this date in California in 1986. According to a devoted follower who knew Hubbard well - “he was a mixture of Adolf Hitler, Charlie Chaplin, and Baron Munchhausen. In short, he was a con man.”-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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