~ FEBRUARY 1st - 15th 2010 ~
Monday February 15th 2010 – 11:25am Some News in honor of President's Day : The Democratic Indiana Senator Evan Bayes announced today that he’s stepping down and retiring. His opponent Sen. Dan Coat, a Republican, is said to be a shoe-in. Ah, yes, the Democratic are like rats jumping off a sinking ship. Everyone and their mother is trying to distant their careers from Obama before November's upcoming Senatorial races. Bayes joins the ranks of veteran Democrats like Christopher Dodd of Connecticut who announced on Jan. 6th that he would not seek re-election and Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island who said the same thing on Feb.12th. Obama’s Senate Majority, which is the Party that holds the most seats in the Senate, is slowly being whittled down from within. His own party is abandoning him.
Ken replied - "I have little use for the Republicans but I can only cheer with joy to see the Democrats loose seats (and power). The Dems went with a trendy, unseasoned, ultra-left, affirmative action hustler and got the moron majority to go along on a post-racial wave of euphoria. Now the party is over and everyone has a nasty hangover. Time to clean up the mess as best we can."Reply: Ouch.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8:15am For the history buffs: on this date in 1750 the author Richard Payne Knight was born at Wormesley Grange in Herefordshire, England. He was a classical scholar best known for his interest in ancient phallic imagery and for his book titled The Worship of Priapus. He died on April 23, 1824. ….....…. The author Arthur Sarsfield Ward was born on this date in Birmingham, Englandin 1883. He is probably most famous as the creator of Fu-Manchu, using the pen name of Sax Rohmer. Some historians have claimed that he was a member of The Hermetic Order of The Golden dawn but there isn’t the slightest evidence to support this claim. He died on June 1, 1959 in White Plains, New York of pneumonia and a stroke. …......... it was on February 15, 1891 that the first installment of Joris-Karl Huysman’s LA BAS appeared in a newspaper in France exposing ‘Satanism’. Aleister Crowley would later comment in a letter to his student Jane Wolfe, dated November 20th 1928, that “Huysman’s ‘La Bas’ was written entirely about me. He was even thoughtful enough to do it thirty years before I was born. I was very touched by the attention.” …......…. And finally, on February 15, 1941 Jack & Helen Parsons join the Ordo Templi Orientis taking Minerval & First Degree on the same evening at the Agape Lodge in southern California. Jack would later take the Oath of a Probationer in the AA under Wilfred T. Smith on March 22nd. He took the magickal motto of ‘Thelema Obtentum Procedero Amoris Nuptiae’, which Crowley later commented was “couched in a language beyond my powers of understanding.”-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday February 14th 2009 - 8:00am According to the Chinese Zodiac the Year of the Tiger begins today and it will end on February 2, 2011. Drama, intensity, change and travel will be the keywords this year. Unfortunately, world conflicts and disasters tend to feature during Tiger years also, so it won’t be a dull twelve months for anyone. The Year of the Tiger will also bring far reaching changes for everyone. New inventions and incredible technological advances have a good chance of occurring. For all of the Chinese horoscope signs, this year is one to be active – seizing opportunities and making the most of our personal and very individual talents. Everything happens quickly and dramatically in a Tiger year – blink and you could miss an important chance of a lifetime! ... As for myself, I am a Rabbit. Here is what they say about Rabbits in the year of a Tiger:
The Rabbit (born 1951)
Cuddly, warm and affectionate are the attributes of the Rabbit. Mysterious and a great party-giver and host, the Rabbit enjoys being the centre of attention once in a while. The Rabbit is occasionally over cautious and can be a bit boring. He is also one of the luckiest signs in the Chinese Astrology chart. ... Forecast for 2010: the focus will be on the Rabbit’s career and job prospects during the Year of the Tiger, with unexpected promotions and recognition very likely. Travel is also highlighted, with short breaks and spontaneous, fun trips featuring during the late Spring and early Summer. Health wise, the Rabbit could find the speed of the Tiger year exhausting and it’s important he balance work with rest and relaxation. Promotion at work or in the Rabbit’s career will be sure to feature and they need to act quickly – no hanging back to see what happens! Some Rabbits will be dissatisfied with their current living arrangements and the perfect new home may appear most unexpectedly – they must act quickly and not miss out! Friendships will play a big role during 2010 with possibly one or two friends needing extra care and help. May and October to January will bring special and fun social gatherings. February and March will be significant and fortunate for those looking to change jobs while July and August will be most auspicious for single Rabbits looking for love – an unexpected liaison could result from a work related social event.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7:55am For the history buffs: Frank Harris was born on this date in Galway, Ireland in 1856. In early 1869 he immigrated to the United States. In 1882 he returned to England to become an editor on the London Evening News and other such periodicals like Fortnightly Review and Saturday Review. During World War I he returned to the U.S. where he became the editor of Pearson’s Magazine. While living in New York at the St. Regis Hotel his old friend Aleister Crowley would often stop by. Harris supposedly claimed that Crowley with his ‘phlebitis’ looked “more like an Egyptian than ever” during this period. It seemed Crowley enjoyed going over to Harris’ apartment for a ‘petite verre of brandy’ and of course a conversation. Harris even jokingly wrote how his dear “left a string of worthless cheques” behind upon leaving America bound for England in 1919. A few years later Harris traveled to Berlin where the first volume of My Life and Loves was published. There would be three more volumes published between 1922 and 1927. Some claim his notoriety as a braggart and liar are epitomized in these books. In January of 1924 Aleister Crowley briefly lived with Frank Harris. According to one source, they both shared similar ‘money troubles” and were ‘equal hypochondriacs.’ On January 2nd 1924 Aleister Crowley recorded this bit of wisdom in his private diary about him: “Lunched with Frank Harris. ... But I’m not doubtful about Frank Harris. He is insane.” Harris died in France on August 26, 1931 of a heart attack. …......… another old Crowley friend, Nina Hamnett was born on this date in Tenby, South Wales in 1890. She attended the Royal School in Bath, and later studied at the Dublin School of Art, the Pelham Art School and the London School of Art. Her studies primarily revolved around portraits and landscapes. She exhibited her works at the New English Art Club, the Royal Academy and the London Group in England, as well as at the Salon d’Automne in Paris. She taught at the Westminster Technical Institute from 1917 to 1918. She was a talented artist and writer. She was immortalized in the paintings, sculptures, novels, poems and memoirs of her contemporaries in both London and Paris. In 1932 she published a classic memoir titled Laughing Torso, containing reminiscences of her bohemian life, which immediately became a bestseller in England and America. Aleister Crowley unsuccessfully tried to sue her for slander over a comment she made in this book that he “had a temple in Cefalu in Sicily. He was supposed to practice Black Magic there, and one day a baby was said to have disappeared mysteriously. There was also a goat there.” He lost the lawsuit. She lived in London and Paris most of her life. She died on Sunday December 16th 1956 from complications after falling out her apartment window and being impaled on the iron fence forty feet below. The great debate has always been whether or not it was a failed suicide attempt or merely a drunken accident. Her last words were, “Why don’t they let me die?” …......…And to continue with the birthdays, the former Episcopal Bishop James Albert Pike was born on this date in 1913. He is probably most famous for holding the televised séance in Toronto where he, acting as a medium, contacted the spirit of Harry Houdini. It is further reported that Houdini during this séance actually informed Pike of the hidden coded message which he and his wife used during their stage acts. Other’s totally disagree. In 1969, following numerous attempts to contact his own dead son, Pike and his wife drove into the Israeli desert for a spiritual retreat. They were unprepared for the journey, and when their car broke down they separated in order to search for help. His wife escaped the ordeal but he died of exposure sometime between September 2nd and 9th. His body was recovered and buried in the Protestant cemetery in Jaffa, Israel. …......… and finally, it was on February 14, 1945 that the body of 74 years old Charles Walton was discovered in Lower Quinton England. He had been brutally murdered. His body was pinned to the ground with a hayfork. A large cross had been carved deeply into his chest and neck. It might be worth considering a quote from an old book titled Folklore, Old Customs and Superstitions in Shakespeareland which had been written by J. Harvey Bloom, a local vicar, in 1929. He wrote how, in 1875, “a weak minded young man killed a woman named Ann Turner with a hayfork because he believed she had bewitched him” To this day, Walton’s killer has never been found and the only clue is the rumors which persist that Walton was a ‘witch.’-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday February 13th 2010 - 11:00am Bryan Olson sent an email. He attended last night's lecture. He writes - "Jerry, 93! After the brilliant lecture from last night, I had the deep inspiration that led me to contemplate the following quotes.
"I am," I saidTo no one thereAnd no one heard at allNot even the chair"I am," I cried"I am," said IAnd I am lost, and I can't even say whyLeavin' me lonely stillDid you ever read about a frog who dreamed of bein' a king And then became one Well except for the names and a few other changes If you talk about me, the story's the same oneI think that last verse definitely indicates Neil Diamond not only had an “I AM” experience, but also had more than a passing familiarity with Crowley’s attempt to crucify a frog as part of a rehearsal of the life of Jesus in the Gospels, and probably undertook said operation himself.And who could deny the brilliance of “I AM” from Monty Python?Brian: ...Will you please listen? I'm not the Messiah! Do you understand? Honestly!Woman: Only the true Messiah denies his divinity!Brian: What? Well, what sort of chance does that give me? All right, I am the Messiah!Crowd: He is! He is the Messiah!Brian: Now fuck off![Silence]Arthur: How shall we fuck off, oh Lord?Have a great day, Jerry! 93, 93/93 Bryan."Reply: I Am. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8:10am A great big HAPPY BIRTHDAY goes out to Heather Deyo, our favorite little Aquarian up in Seattle! Hope you’re having a great day, I’ll toast a beer to you tonight and send it with smiles.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8:00am For the history buffs: Antoine-Joseph Pernety the founder of the French order known as The Illumine’s d’Avignon was born on this date in 1716 and, although this group is presumed to have been dissolved shortly after his death, its influence is still found in modern Masonic Fraternities. The highest title conferred by Pernety’s order was known as Chevalier du Soleil which are today attributed to two Masonic Degrees, the 27th and 28th, of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. ….......…. Another amusing piece of history took place on February 13, 1902; this is when Aleister Crowley, with recently shaved head, arrived in Kandy, Burma. He was there to look up his old friend, Allan Bennett. Besides learning about laudanum Crowley also bought over twenty five pipes of opium and smoked such with absolutely no results. But like a true scientist he continued his experiments and realized his problem. His solution was simply; he wasn’t inhaling. He admits after this realization that he began to enjoy the pleasures of the drug. ….......…. And it was on February 13, 1925 that the self-styled apostle, evangelist and Bronx house painter named Robert Reidt proclaimed the second coming of Jesus Christ. He become convince of this event after reading how a young girl named Margaret Rowan in California talked with the Archangel Gabriel who had told her about the end of the world. So convinced was Reidt about this information that he spent his life savings taking out one newspaper ad after another and posting throughout New York handbills asking for people to join him in a massive showing of faith on a particular hilltop on the impending day of doom. Needless-to-say, he got quite a turnout plus hundreds of reporters. However, as the hours rolled by and with Jesus not showing, Reidt ‘angrily’ yelled at the top of his lungs, while pointing his finger at all the photographers, “You ruined it with the flashbulbs from your cameras!” ….......…. And it would be Thelemically negligent of me if I didn’t mention that one of the previous world leaders of the Ordo Templi Orientis, Karl Germer, was arrested on this date in 1935 on the grounds of “having continued communication with Aleister Crowley” and thus spent his first stay in a Nazi Concentration Camp, this one called Esterwegen.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday February 12th 2010 – Tonight's OPEN HOUSE will begin 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. ... I am planning to have an A.'.A.'. talk on the topic of the Oath of the Abyss, its final secrets and how to determine according to your Birth Chart whether or not you've got the capability for success. Hopefully this will, once and for all, steer off those who's egos think otherwise and assist others who might have this anomaly in their Birth Chart and who need to buckle down. But not everyone has the ability to achieve the Abyss and its ludicrous to think otherwise.
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8:20am Tragically, the inventor Walter Frederick Morrison has passed away today at his home in Utah at the age of 90. His most famous invention was the 'Frisbee' ... a little piece of triva; the origins of this toy can be traced back to students in Connecticut, who would play with empty pie tins from the nearby Frisbee Baking Company. In 1948 Morrison developed the idea further into a commercial product, making use of a remarkable new postWorld War II substance called "plastic".-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5:30am For the history buffs: Cotton Mather was born on this date in Boston, of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1686. After he graduated from Harvard College in 1678 he became assistant minister of his father’s North Church. Many writers acknowledge Cotton Mather as an essential figure behind the Salem Witch trials but this is inaccurate. In truth, he had a relatively minor role in the entire Salem affair. He simply offered ‘spiritual’ advice in Court on one occasion and later attended the hangings in which he addressed the crowd after George Burroughs’ execution. It must be understood that Mather wrote at length about New England in over 500 books and pamphlets trying to show how the holy Puritan task in this new wilderness land was to establish God’s kingdom. His Salem connection would have inevitably fallen by the wayside had it not been for his own need to write about his experience at the trials. His brief account, titled Wonders of the Invisible World, was, admittedly, unfeeling and very slanted toward the condemned witches. This irritated one individual named Robert Calef who proceeded to write More Wonders of the Invisible World which attacked Mather’s character and his reputation as a ‘witch’ expert; a blow from which Mather’s would never recover and to which his name now irretrievably became linked as a ‘central’ figure behind the trials. He died on February 13, 1727. ….....…. Also, the famous English witch, Gerald Gardner, died at the breakfast table on board a ship after suffering a fatal heart attack on this date in 1964. The following day he was buried on shore in Tunis, his funeral was attended only by the Captain of the ship in which he traveled. Some historians claim that Aleister Crowley was paid a suitably large fee from Gerald Gardner to compose rituals which could be used in his new Gardnerian witch-cult although many modern Gardnerian Witches try to deny this fact as if trying to distance themselves from the evils of Old Crow. Is there a connection between the two? There is, in fact, an actual OTO Charter reportedly given to Gerald Gardner from Crowley giving him the right to begin an O.T.O. Camp but under careful scrutiny this document becomes suspect. First of all, the document is written completely in Gardner’s handwriting with the exception of the signature of ‘Baphomet.’ Second, the official greeting which Crowley always methodical uses is quoted incorrect as ‘Do what thou Wilt shall be the law,’ which is something Old Crow would never do. There are other obvious uncertainties, like Crowley calling Gardner ‘beloved son’ - which is also highly unlikely.
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Thursday February 11th 2010 – 3:15am For the history buffs: Karl Germer’s divorced his first wife, Marie Wys, while he was in Mexico in order to marry Cora Eaton. His second marriage took place on January 15th 1929 in New York but Cora died on July 13th 1942. Two months later he married his third wife, a Vienna piano teacher named Sascha Ernestine Andre. Sascha was born on this date in 1891. She is probably most noted historically as being the woman who took Aleister Crowley’s urn, filled with his ashes, and strewed its contents into the mud at the base of a tree in Hampton, New Jersey. Gerald Yorke would point out later that the ‘Aleister tree’ died. Calling it, “a nice Crowleyan touch.” Karl Germer died in 1962. The greatest tragedy during her life occurred on September 3, 1967. This is when she heard someone knocking at her front door. When she asked who it was, a reply was heard that it was a member of the OTO. Unfortunately, when she opened the door she was immediately sprayed in the face with some kind of a gas or acid, knocked to the floor and overpowered. A drug was then injected by a syringe that totally knocked her out cold. When she came to she discovered her house had been ransacked and that many books in the library on the second floor had been stolen. Also missing were Aleister Crowley’s personal robes, various OTO documents and ritual papers. Sascha tried to call the police but found that the phone lines had been cut. When she finally notified the local Constable, he took her story, along with a few photographs but no fingerprints were taken or any serious research done. It has stated that it was obvious that “they put her story down to the wanderings of the demented mind of a lady who had been alone too long.” In other words, they didn’t believe her. They felt her house was dirty and normally in disarray. Tragically, they were not even sure her house was actually burglarized. Sascha Germer died on April 1, 1975. …......…. Also, Thomas Alva Edison was born on this date to middle-class parents in the bustling port of Milan, Ohio in 1897. Toward the end of his life, around 1920, Edison became obsessed with communication with the spirits and he came to believe that he could build anything if he had the right components to do it and he took this belief one step further by announcing that he intended to invent a machine that could communicate with the spirit world. Edison strongly believed that when a person dies, the body decays but the intelligence that it possesses lives on into the so-called spirit world, which is a limbo where disembodied ‘intelligence’ waits to move on. He believed that this intelligence involved billions of sub-particles of matter like electrons that travel in space which combined into colonies to make up the sum total of our spirit. He called each of these intelligence particles “little people” and he believed that these little people stay united after a person dies and that they eventually settle into another person at birth. Henry Ford also believed in Edison’s ideas and argued that the mind contains “millions of entities” and he felt that people, like Edison, received more ‘entities’ (i.e. genius particles) than most of us because he has, as Ford said, “a properly tuned antenna.” On October 18, 1931 Edison awoke from the coma in which he had previous slipped and quietly whispered to his wife Mina — “It is very beautiful over there.” He then closed his eyes and died. He was 84 years of age. ….....…. And it was on this date in 1906 that Aleister Crowley assumed the Oath of Adeptus Minor in the AA, taking the motto ‘Christeos Luciftias.’ Outside of an unpublished diary one of the only other places where he uses this motto appears at the beginning of a piece titled Ambrossii Magi Hortus Rosarum which is found in The Collected Works although this creates a small historical problem. He wrote this piece in 1902 four years before he took the Oath of Adeptus Minor.
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Wednesday February 10th 2010 – 5:10pm I have received a bunch of emails since my book's release today at 1:13pm. The first comments about the book were from Ben Hance, Luis Alvarado, Mike Kolson and of course Marlene. A few of the other messages are:
Ken Robinson – “Congrats and I've already placed my o.”
Dave Solina – “93 Awesome, ordered it no 33 Can't wait.”
Gregory Seewald – “Hey Jerry; 93 Looks great - what a pleasant surprise!
Matt Marcus – “Great news!
Frank – “Wow! Got mine ordered. Thanks for telling me before they sold out.”
Dave the owner of Fields Book in SF writes –, “Congratulations on the new book! Glad to see
some of the Red Flame material making its way out again through new channels. Carl Mullinax – “What a pleasant surprise! Now the only thing I'm wondering is what
number I am going to get. Mary writes, two words – “Congradulation Jer!” ...
Ed Wormuth – “93 Jerry, Well, congratulations! This must have kept you busy for a while
and as it seems that the source copies of Red Flame are unavailable or exorbitantly pricedI'm ordering one right now..” Ed Grey writes – “W00t! Bought. 93's ~~~Ed.”
Rey DeLupos - Excellent news! This has been a long time coming and I am very happy to see
it issued. Mick Roche – “93 Jerry. Congrats on yr new book! I just ordered up a copy.
Aubrey – “Ordered!
Travis Fargher – “i just ordered the book. i'm exited to receive it.
... and to all of the others not mentioned who have been emailing me, thanks! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1:13pm My new book has just been release. It is called THE MAGICKAL ESSENCE OF ALEISTER CROWLEY ... I have decided that there was quite enough work writing and privately publishing the book without having to deal with all the sales and shipping stuff, so sales are being handled by my friends at Weiser Antiquarian (weiserantiquarian.com). Copies can be ordered direct from them, and eventually from other good booksellers. Please, do not write and ask if you can directly order it from me, I have no copies to sell ... thank you. ...The Weiser's Antiquarian listing for my book is as follows: J. Edward Cornelius, The Magickal Essence of Aleister Crowley. Berkeley, CA: Privately Published, 2010. First Edition thus. Hardcover. 8vo. x + 246pp. Black cloth with gilt titling to spine. Full color dustjacket. B&w frontis, appendixes, index. Edition limited to 777 numbered copies. The Magickal Essence of Aleister Crowley focuses on the central philosophies and practices of Magick, in particular the "attainment of the knowledge and conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel," and the secrets that lie at the heart of Crowley's Liber Aleph and The Book of Lies. The text has its origins in a series of instructions that Aleister Crowley gave to an American disciple, Grady Louis McMurtry, during the last years of the Second World War. McMurtry returned to the United States, and in his later years went on to head both the O.T.O. and his own lineage of the A.'. A.'. He became both friend and mentor to the author of this book, J. Edward Cornelius, to whom he confided the secrets and teachings that he had received from Crowley. ... Following McMurtry's death, Cornelius explored these insights in a series of "Epistles" that were privately circulated amongst his own students. In 1999, he made a synthesis of these teachings, which he published in the Red Flame series of journals under the title The Magickal Essence of Aleister Crowley. It sold out rapidly, and soon became one of the most sought after modern explorations of Crowley's work. In the decade that has elapsed since the publication of the original Red Flame edition of the book, Cornelius has carefully reworked the text, removing sections that he no longer felt to be of relevance, clarifying passages that some of his students found difficult or perplexing, and extensively revising and augmenting the rest. In the process he has added fifteen new chapters, effectively reshaping the entire publication, and filling it with new insights for those interested in the Magick of "the Beast." ISBN: 9780692007327. New book thus Fine in fine dust jacket. (38029) $45.00-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7:30pm In regards to Friday Feb 5th posting about Liber RESH vel Helios by Marlene, Ben Hance replied to it yesterday, writing - "Marlene, 93 I was reading through the blog (I haven't read much lately as I was sick) and noticed your question about the second adoration following Resh. I had the opportunity the ask Phyllis about this in 1988 e.v. She told me "It came from Jane from the Cefalu period." In retrospect I wish that I had pressed for more details, but that answered my question at the time. Hope that helps. 93 93/93 Ben." ....... and Marlene replied back this morning - "93 Ben, Thank you for the info... I suspected it came from something Phyllis remembered that Jane experienced at Cefalu. I will certainly be looking for source material as I dive into Phyllis' diaries... .However, it is 'funny' there is no mention of it by AC or other visitors to the Abbey. Being a Profess House, Crowley experimented with group rituals at the Abbey... not Celebrating Liber XV as we know it or as written, but taking large sections from it for his 'daily ritual' which required 4 officers f'instance. I can easily see him adding things to Resh in that environment. However, it is important to me that we remember they are added-on. ... BTW, there is also circulating a "convention" that "it has always been" to give the 4 signs of LVX before the rubric, then sign of silence, then the verses from AL and then the 'sigh of your grade' or whatever. Suddenly a simple ritual acknowledging the individual's relation with the position of the Sun becomes a large social event - :( I am pursuing more information from other 'scholar' sources and will let you both know if I discover any, you know, evidence that AC envisioned it that way ;>93 93/93 m."
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7:25am For the history buffs: It was on this date in 1840 that Fraulein Anna Sprengel supposedly took the Oath of 5=6 assuming the motto of Soror Sapiens Dominabitur Astris. Most historians claim that she was the prominent Rosicrucian German adept who allegedly had handed Dr. Wynn Wescott a bunch of pseudo-Masonic rituals and told him to start up an order, an English version of the “Goldene Dammerung.” However, others will adamantly argue that Fraulein Sprengel, and all claims related to her, were simply an invention to give credence to the newly formed Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. ……..... Also, Lon Chaney Jr. was born Creighton Tull Chaney on this date in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1906. Although he played numerous roles in Hollywood pictures he is probably most famous for being the Werewolf. Lon Chaney Jr. came into the world prematurely at seven months, lifeless, on a cold winter day. After repeated attempts by the doctor to resuscitate the infant, his father grabbed the lifeless body and ran outside, where he submerged it into the icy waters of Belle Isle Lake which ‘jump started’ the seemingly dead child. Lon Chaney Jr. died on July 12, 1973 in San Clemente, California of a heart attack after many years of poor health. As he had requested, his body was donated to University of Southern California to be chopped up for research. ……..... and speaking of birthdays, some claim that Helen Parsons-Smith was born on this date in Chicago, Illinois in 1910, others disagree. See February 6, 1910 ……..... and Alex Comfort was born on this date in 1920. He is most famous for his ground-breaking explicit sex manual titled The Joy of Sex (1972) which gain world wide distribution. He died on March 26, 2000 of complications from a stroke. ……..... And for the OTO historians, my old friend Rusty Sporer was born on this date in Chicago, Illinois at 3:44am in 1937. ……..... And to continue, the man who was both a friend of Aleister Crowley and Adolf Hitler, John Frederick Charles Fuller died on this date in 1966. Aleister Crowley, after reading Fuller’s book The Secret Wisdom of the Qabalah, wrote in his diary that it is a “turgid unintelligible rant: no idea of what he’s driving at. It is a damnable shame-he did start so well.” ……..... And finally, the California based goddess-worshipper Zsuzsanna Budapest was arrested in Los Angeles on this date in 1975 for fortune telling after she gave an undercover policewoman a tarot card reading. In court she was given a $300 fine and probation. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday February 9th 2010 – 7:10am John wants to know, amongst other things, did "Alarh reply to your posting yesterday of 2:00pm?" .... Reply: yes, briefly but he did not really address anything that I posted yesterday and he ends his email – “I’ll reply to the rest of your comments later on.” ... However, I had told him previously to use proper Thelemic Greeting, again he didn't, so I simply replied – “Don't bother, you're emails won't be opened from here on out. They will simply be deleted.” This is a lesson everyone should take to heart who writes me. I am a stickler for details and I won't tolerate sloppiness when it comes to certain things.
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5:55am I want to remind a small handful of people who keep writing asking why I answer their emails in private and don't posted them. Well, good question. First, it's my blog and second this is not an 'Open' forum. It is primarily a blog designed to reach the members of Grady McMurtry's A.'.A.'. worldwide with information; at the same time. If outsiders read the blog and find solace, so be it. But I will not allow the blog to be reduced to psychobabble and a tit for tat pissing match kind of comments by outsiders that some people love to get involved with. This is not productive and it's not the purpose of this blog. If any of you ask questions that I feel require a descent reply but won't be fruitful to my members then I'll answer them in private. I don't want to post too many distractions. Those distractions which I do post, regarding my personal life, bizarre article, jokes etc & etc, believe it or not, are directed toward specific individuals in our lineage. The bottom line, this not an 'Open' forum, its 100% about Grady McMurtry's A.'.A.'. and of things 'we' would like to share. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5:05am And I would like to extend a great big HAPPY BIRTHDAY out to Paul Hohlt of Love Sake Clerk House here in Berkeley. Hope you have a joyous day. I’ll toast a few beers to you tonight! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5:00am For the history buffs: Aleister Crowley left for Cairo on this date in 1904 after having arrived the day before at Port Said in the Suez. In Cairo he would rent a small corner apartment where he turned the room, which faced north, into a Temple. It was here that his wife Rose Kelly, known as ‘Ouarda the Seer,’ kept repeating; “They are waiting for you.” At first Crowley believed his wife’s hysterical state of mind was brought on by either being constantly drunk all the time or because she was pregnant. It turned out that the Gods did want to talk with Aleister Crowley and inevitable an invisible entity named Aiwass dictated to him The Book of the Law, also called Liber AL vel Legis. ............. also, on February 9th 2008 Dr. Christopher Hyatt (whose real name was Alan Ronald Miller) passed away in Scottsdale, Arizona. He was born in Chicago on July 12, 1943. Most people know that he was a student of Israel Regardie, that he founded Falcon Press, later changed it to New Falcon Publications and that he published numerous books and co-authored many others like: Undoing Yourself Too (1988), Psychopath’s Bible (1999), Tantra Without Tears (2001) and To Lie is human: Not to get caught is Diving (2004).-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday February 8th 2010 – 6:25pm Just got home from drinking with Ben, et Tristan at Manny's ...Paul Hohlt sent a great email. He writes:
93 Hi Jerry, RE: Resh and Liber Al vel LegisI seem to remember Ebony Anpu aka Charles Reese adding the Stele paraphrase when he would do Liber Resh. He was the first person I'd ever seen pound their chest during "by Bes-na-maut my breast I beat". Here are some interesting things I've found while reading William James' The Varieties of Religious ExperienceRE: Orison, I'd come across this term in Crowley's writings but didn't have a clear idea of the meaning until I read this on Page 311/312"In the Christian church there have always been mystics. Although many of them have been viewed with suspicion, some have gained favor in the eyes of the authorities. The experiences of these have been treated as precedents, and a codified system of mystical theology has been based upon them, in which everything legitimate finds its place. The basis of the system is 'orison' or meditation, the methodical elevation of the soul towards God. Through the practice of orison the higher levels of mystical experience may be attained." RE: Karl KellnerThis is one of the few references I've come across to the writings of Kellner in English, its a note in reference to the paragraph below from page 308 of Varieties:"The Vedantists say that one may stumble into superconsciousness sporadically, without the previous discipline, but it is then impure. Their test of its purity, like our test of religion's value, is empirical: its fruits must be good for life. When a man comes out of Samadhi, they assure us that he remains "enlightened, a sage, a prophet, a saint, his whole character changed, his life changed, illumined." 21[Footenote: 21 A european witness, after carefully comparing the results of Yoga with those of the hypnotic or dreamy states artificially producible by us, says: "It makes of its true disciples good, healthy, and happy men. ...Through the mastery which the yogi attains over his thoughts and his body, he grows into a 'character.' By the subjection of his impulses and propensities to his will, and the fixing of the latter upon the ideal of goodness, he becomes a 'personality' hard to influence by others, and thus almost the opposite of what we usually imagine a 'medium' so-called, or 'psychic subject' to be. - Karl Kellner: Yoga: Eine Skizze, Munchen, 1896 PG 21]
Love ya,See you soon,p 93 93/93-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2:00pm I got back awhile ago from the morning doctor's visit for my heart, blood pressure and other bodily explorations. I'm expected to live. Good. ... In regards to my 2:50pm posting yesterday, I received this reply: "Don’t get your pincers in a flap. I’ll explain:Traditionally in Bhakti Yoga, a Chela starts training under a Yogi as a child, and teachers naturally require obedience from children. By the time they are adults the Chela has transferred their natural love and respect for the authority of the Yogi (acting in loco parentis) to that of the divinity as their sovereign. However - Crowley’s observation that “The pupil must do instantly what the teacher happens to order without reference whatever to the character of the order" – betrays a certain ignorance of his subject. These arrangements between teacher and pupil are rather contractual, requiring extensive discourse and agreement as to the terms and expectations of both parties prior to any actual teaching taking place. There are limits imposed to protect both the student and the teacher from falling into abusive practises. Crowley either did not know this or chose to ignore it in favour of having a certain sadistic fun at his Chela’s expense (i.e. Neuburg). Furthermore – to insist upon unquestioning obedience in an adult student is to infantilise them, and while some students (those who have ‘issues’ with their parents) may briefly benefit from this when done carefully (and preferably by someone also qualified in psychotherapy) then the risks have to be considered in balance with the benefits. Giving up autonomy and responsibility for ones actions, is - for some people enormously attractive and people will flock to cults and dodgy teachers in order to relinquish it. They get a psychological ‘hit’ by the release of pressure upon the psyche and end up doing all manner of silly things that are worthless to the work. A culture of unquestioning obedience promotes sycophantic attachments in both individual and groups. It’s the hallmark of the insular ‘in-group’, and a vice of Netzach, because those following the authority of the teacher unquestioningly can feel that this gives them a certain in-group status. They are ‘paying their dues’ for membership with the coin of obedience, and the secret ego feeds on this while the teacher is unwittingly promoting it in the student. Catch 22. As Tom Schuler put it in his lectures on the Sephiroth: “The most destructive aspect of the vice of Netzach is the insularity of the in-group. It is xenophobia, intolerance of strangers, the rejection of other groups by defining them as "bad" as opposed to the in-group's "good". Racial and religious intolerance are manifestations of the vice of Netzach. So also is the cult mentality, wherein all worth and value comes from within the cult and all outside it are the cult's enemies and are demonized and dehumanized. Those within are "sacred". Those without are "profane". The way you reacted to my insult yesterday is very revealing to how insidious these dynamics can be, Jerry. If even you react to my questioning your authority with a comment suggesting I’ll never find a good teacher or questioning my practise of non-attachment, then how are things working out further down the ranks?The potential dangers of ego inflation do not justify handing over autonomy to the teacher. If ego inflation is the worry then students can be sensitised to that, but ultimately it is they, and not the teacher who must take responsibility for control of their ego. If a teacher cannot accept that then they need to re-examine their attachment to the role and to their students. Love under Will,Alrah (name not motto btwJ )"Reply: You obviously don't get it, probably never will. Your comment about the way that I reacted to your "insults" yesterday, which was “very revealing to how insidious these dynamics can be, Jerry.” … I can only answer: Hardly. My responce was more of a valid reaction to a short, brief innocuous jabs sent to me without meat. I simply replied in relationship to what I received of which ended “Over and Out” as if to imply that what you wrote was an end all, or a definitive statement. Normally I would have simply ignore idiot emails but I was in a jovial mood to play …. Anyway, had you sent me the email that you sent today which has some good points in it, I would have answered accordingly ... regardless of the fact that the comments are totally unrelated to A.'.A.'. studies. ... But for the record, all my students love to question my authority and my teachings, there is no blind obedience of the nature that you seem to imply, so please don’t assume things about Grady McMurtry’s A.’.A.’. lineage. You cannot find one A.’.A.’. student in our lineage who will support your views regarding the act of “Blind Obedience” as being insidious, or evil in the way that we use it. With freedom comes great responsibility, of discipline and organization, this being the first lesson taught in many Fraternities; neither of which is something to be ‘defined’ by beginners or outsiders. You wrote – “The potential dangers of ego inflation do not justify handing over autonomy to the teacher. If ego inflation is the worry then students can be sensitised to that, but ultimately it is they, and not the teacher who must take responsibility for control of their ego. If a teacher cannot accept that then they need to re-examine their attachment to the role and to their students.”Reply: Anyone who has ever studied magick knows that the art not only deals with areas of the mind wherein serious mental afflictions can easily occur but it also deals with the utilization of our psychic system, our sexuality and our chakras. Therein lies the greatest danger, not with the ‘inflation of an ego’. The latter is merely the first ‘obvious’ symptom or signs of the possibility of psychic damage occurring to our 'wires' which, if the behavior is not altered, will become permanent. As a teacher I need to recognize these symptoms … and I also need to know that if one of my students is going off that they’ll understand what “Blind Obedience” is, so that I can pull rank and walk them out of a bad situation without a song and dance. Otherwise they are simply wasting my time. And besides, wouldn’t it be irresponsible of me not to step in? … Anyway, “Blind Obedience”, like all things below the Abyss, is bathed in duality of both good and bad qualities and it does not always have to do with creating cults as you seem to imply, nor is it something that a worthy teacher demands daily. Those types of schools should be avoided like the plague. ... “Blind Obedience” is simply a ‘tool’ required to assist a student if needed, but for the record, 99% of all students never are called to the task. And the question is not for the teacher to ever have to re-examine his role to that of the student but rather, if the student doesn't feel like playing by the rules set by the teacher then maybe they shouldn't be involved with the teachings? If you entered a College with that kind of attitude you'd be bounced out in one semester. The rules are always dictated from 'Above' down, not the other way around. ... If you don't understand that then maybe you should enter therapy in order to come to some kind of realizatioas as to why you have issues with 'authority figures'? And when you wrote that “to insist upon unquestioning obedience in an adult student is to infantilise them” … is a generic statement presuming to know the general Will of others. In other words, how can you or anyone generalize all ‘adults’ into one category as if they are all capable of achieving the same thing … some need certain lessons that others learn in childhood. Finally, I’d suggest in the future that if you are going to address a Thelemite that you learn to use correct greetings; not partially picking and choosing parts thereof. To begin an email without even a greeting at all and jump straight into a jab-like statement is inappropriate in any context and to use only part of the ending is also wrong. I’m not required to answer anyone who is ignorant of Thelemic Law nor who refuses to identify themselves ... but I am adding your reply into my blog this time simply because it addresss some good points. Who is this Tom Schuler? Never heard of him. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5:00am For the history buffs: This is the ‘real’ birthday of the astrologer Evangeline Adams, who was born in Jersey City, New Jersey on this date in 1868. She often lied about which year she was born. She would later released three rather popular books titled Astrology, Your Place In The Sun (1927), followed by Astrology, Your Place Among The Stars (1930) and then Astrology for Everyone (1931). Many people and astrologers did not know at the time but her first two books were entirely ghost-written by Aleister Crowley. ….......... also, Eliphas Levi, who was christened Alphonse-Louis Constant, was born on this date in Paris, France in 1810. Levi was largely responsible for the revival of interest in magic in the 19th century. Although he admittedly studied magic and strongly believed in it, he often considered himself more of a commentator than and adept, though he did claim to practice necromancy on several occasions. His first and probably most important work was The Dogma and Ritual of High Magic (1861). It was followed by A History of Magic, Transcendental Magic, The Key of Great Mysteries. Aleister Crowley claimed that this gentleman was one of his previous incarnations. Levi died on May 31, 1875. ….......... And I’d also like to mention that Jules Gabriel Verne, the father of modern science fiction, was born on this date in the port of Nantes, France in 1828. He wrote such classics as From the Earth to the Moon (1865) and A Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873). Many of his ideas were hailed as being far ahead of their time, if not prophetic. On March 24, 1905, while ill with diabetes, Verne died at his home, 44 Boulevard Longueville, Amiens. ….......... and finally, it was on this date in 1855 in the town of Devonshire, England that everyone awoke to find strange footprints in the freshly fallen snow. Their shape was forming a ‘U’ which quickly spread rumors and panic throughout the small village that the Devil had visited Devonshire during the night.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday February 7th, 2010 – 6:55pm Here is an excerpt from my diary of this morning. I wrote - "It's official as of today. My fourteen year old son Faustus and I, both bare footed, stood side by side in front of the full length mirror. And ... yes, it has finally happened, he’s taller than me!"
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2:50pm Wow, I must have struck a nerve with my 8:35am posting. Most incoming emails liked the posting but one person, who chose to hide behind a Motto, writes a brief snippet - "I’m sorry Jerry, but your recent post was unmitigated and unbridled bs. Relinquishing sovereignty to a teacher is a betrayal of the teachings both taught and received. Over and Out." ..... Reply: I don't know who you are nor do you give any substantiated data as to why you found the need to simply be verbally offensive the way that you did. Was it too hot in the sand box today? You obviously did not understand my posting nor Aleister Crowley's views on the subject so my advice: keep picking and choosing the info as you 'Want' from whom ever is stupid enough to teach you ... it'll get you far and when you get there, I'll take two double cheeseburgers, a large order of fries and small coke. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2:30am Ah, to address an email regarding 'Restrictions' ... yes, there are a few section in Liber LXI vel Causae which may no longer be valid do to their 'implied' restrictive nature; like where Crowley writes - "Whosoever knows any member of that Order as such, can never know another, until he too has attained to mastery." This has never been followed since day one. It reeks of 'restrictions' in a Thelemic Order. ... Also, we must question where it states - "Listen, we pray you, with attention: for once only does the Great Order knock at any one door." Is this statement valid and to what does Crowley precisely speak? Is he referring to the A.'.A.'. in general on the entire Tree of Life or just the Silver Star (Argentium Astrum) which lies above the Abyss? Of course, A.'.A.'. lineages are in disgreement as to which the statement implies.But logic dictates that no one, not even the Gods can ever ban someone from working the Tree of Life below the Abyss. Otherwise Death would ensue. So this implies, contrary to what Phyllis Seckler, myself and others often state, or that fruit that falls from the tree doesn't reattach itself, there must be a secret somewhere that is not openly revealed as to what we imply. And its actually quite simple. First, when studying the Qabalah you'll learn that everyone requires specific types of energy and emotions daily which each sphere contains in order for us to function; at no time is just 'one' Sephiroth ever activated; nor part of the lower Tree ever fully denied. Another misconceptions is about the Kundalini itself; or that she always sleeps and only a spiritual person can awaken her. In truth; the Kundalini rousts daily; moving serpentine up and down the spine as she assists us in embracing our Chakras or Sephiroth throughout our day in order for us to experience Life. So, if the fruit 'falls off the Tree' how can we experience the types of energy required to function daily? Ah, there must be a secret somewhere, no? So, on the lower Tree, below the Abyss, can a student ever redeem themselves and come back into the fold? Some lineages will say absolutely not but I say their is always the possibility, but ... will the ego of the 'fallen' ever allow them to admit to a mistake and then go about 'fixing' all the problems that they created on the lowest of spheres or Malkuth in the macrocosm and on the horizontal plane? That is the first step, of many, toward redemption but I've yet to see one student who has ever fallen being capable of facing their own phantoms. Hence, the reason why we say that a fruit that has fallen from the Tree doesn't go about re-attaching itself which really means the person is incapable of returning to work the Sephiroth from A to Z properly. ... Not impossible, but ...they can't get up into branches until the Foundation is reestablished. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8:35am Ah, I received a good question on Teacher-Student relationships and "are A.'.A.'. teachers suppose to be harsh?" ... Answer: Yes and no. ... in the early stages an A.'.A.'. teacher should be like a father teaching a young child but that must end at some point. For example; students in the A.'.A.'. upon entering Netzach must study and live Bhakti Yoga, this is no idle task for they must have a clear understanding of Holy Obedience. Aleister Crowley wrote an unpublished essay titled On the Vow of Holy Obedience [The Unknown God, Martin P. Starr, 2003. footnote pg 277]. Crowley stated that the 'essence' of this practice was simple - "The pupil must do instantly what the teacher happens to order without reference whatever to the character of the order." In one of my phone conversations with Grady McMurtry he once had me collect weeping willow leaves at a specific date and time; it being during a Full Moon and in the middle of the night. He also included a simple ritual for me to do. I did not question him as to why he required such, I simply wrote down the details and followed them through. When Grady flew out from California to visit me I proudly handed him the package of leaves and told him that I had collected them to the letter as he requested. He smiled and without saying a word he walked over to the side of the porch, opened the envelop and dumped the contents. Admittedly, I was shocked. To this day I have a clear image of him smiling and saying - "Good, you paid attention." I know some people might wonder where I'm going with this but on that day Grady informed me, if I REALLY wanted to learn magick, he needed to know if I was listening and capable of stopping or starting any given magickal practice instantly. Anyone can be an 'Intellect" (i.e. working out of Hod) at best but he wanted to know that if I were going astray or if my ego was inflating to the point where what I "wanted to be" interfered with my True Will, then I must be ready to act on his advice instantly, without question and without rhetoric. Grady never abused this practice ... no teacher should. But a person joins an Order like A.'.A.'. to learn, not pick and choose what you want to know, but what a teacher has to offer.This is a lesson some students never learn. ... especially those trying to move into Netzach. It is here on the Right Hand Pillar, not on the Left Hand Pillar, that the lesser Goddess prepares you for the ascent upward into the branches of the Tree of Life - toward SHE who resides above the Abyss. This lesser Goddess in Netzach needs to know if you're willing to accept the fact that your True Will is Universal, not personal and she is a harsh task master, she is one who works the path of Nun (i.e. Death) and she'll throw out the unworthy in a Heart beat who place themselves all important over others; especially one's teacher. Ego is an important driving factor of who we are but it must be put under control. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5:45am I was sent a link to an on-line Fox News article titled PINK OUIJA BOARD TARGETING YOUNG GIRLS RILES CRITICS... Click HERE to read the whole article. It begins - "The children's sleepover staple — sold by Hasbro since 1967 — now comes in hot pink ..." and the article then goes on to say the "Toy Industry Association said the game is among thousands of options to bring "fun and excitement" to children." -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday February 6th 2010 – 8:05am Last night around 10:43pm, while Paul Hohlt & I were watching the classic Japanese movie titled AZUMI 2, our neighboring town of Oakland was hit by a little earthquake, a magnitude 1.7 to be exact. We had already watched the Chinese thriller AB-NORMAL BEAUTY, had drank alot, chatted etc & etc so we weren't feeling much either physically or earth moving wise ... it was a fun night. I should also like to point out that it was just Paul & I who initially began these Open House nights years, and I mean years ago ... all the two of us did in the beginning was drink, talk about life, magick, books and movies; all the while watching really cheesy Japanese or Chinese movies. Yes, last night brought back memories and smiles.
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7:50am For the history buffs: On this day Adam Weishaupt was born at Ingoldstadt in 1748. He was later educated by the Jesuits and appointed Professor of Natural and Canon Law at the University of Ingoldstadt in 1775. He is the founder of the Order of the Illuminati. He died on November 18, 1811. …......…. Helen Northrup was born on this date in Chicago, Illinois in 1910. Some authorities place her birthdate on the 10th. She was the ex-wife of both OTO Agape Lodge Masters Jack Parsons and Wilfred T. Smith and became known later in life as Helen Parsons-Smith. She published Crowleyanity for years, releasing such works as Shih Yi (1971), Liber AL vel Legis (1973), The Soul of the Desert (1974), Liber XXI Khing Kang King (1974) and The Tao Teh King (1975), to mention but a few. She was the founder of Thelema Publications. She died on July 27, 2003 at the age of 93 in California. Her body was cremated and her ashes scattered over Lake Tahoe. …......…. Also, James Thomas Graeb was born on this date in Hempstead, New York in 1954. He grew up in Branford, Connecticut. He took initiation into Aleister Crowley’s Ordo Templi Orientis on November 18, 1977 in Syracuse New York and shortly thereafter he moved to Berkeley, California. While in Law School Graeb helped with the new O.T.O. Bylaws and Incorporation papers which were signed on March 20, 1979. On February 16, 1980 Graeb was Chartered to run the Heru-pa-kraat Encampment in San Francisco and three months later, on May 24, 1980 he resigned the post of SGS. He was expelled from the O.T.O. in winter of 2004. …......…. On this date in 1996 a nineteen year old farm boy named Louis Boisvert was attempting to plow a field in the town of Buckingham, Quebec. As he looked up he saw a very large metallic triangular UFO hovering over his barn. The craft seemed to be slowly moving and the red light coming from the object did not illuminate the ground or even the roof of the barn. After the craft left Boisvert and his father noticed that their electric water pump would not function. The troubling part of the incident began with recurring dreams that so plagued Boisvert that he decided to undergo hypnotic regressing. He was able to recall jumping off the tractor and running into the barn where his father was working. He then remembered seeing his father just standing there with a blank expression on his face. Besides him stood two reptilian looking creatures, with long faces, scaled leathery skin, black eyes, clawed hands, and gaunt arms and legs. Boisvert then remembers that both he and his father were taken onboard the triangular object by the humanoids.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday February 5th 2010- [Editorial Note: As with every Friday, this notice about my OPEN HOUSE will remain at the top of today's listing and new entries will be added underneath it. But thank you to those who thought I "messed up."]
Well, it looks like no rain today so tonight's OPEN HOUSE will begin 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. There is no scheduled lecture tonight, maybe we'll just watch a movie starting around 7:30pm. Anyone up for the Japanese movie ONECHANBARA, Samurai Bikini Squad? or do you want to watch a Japanese psychodrama like Strange Circus or Ab-Normormal Beauty?Thanks to my 8:14am posting today I've decided that next week we will have a scheduled A.'.A.'. talk on the topic of the Oath of the Abyss, its final secrets and how to determine according to your Birth Chart whether or not you've got the capability for success. Hopefully this will, once and for all, steer off those who's egos think otherwise and assist others who might have this anomaly in their Birth Chart and who need to buckle down. But not everyone has the ability to achieve the Abyss and its ludicrous to think otherwise. Remember, the distance between Earth and Sun is 93 million miles ... achieving this is what Solar Consciousness and the 93 Current is all about. Thus, it could be said that the natural stopping point on the Tree of Life is Tiphereth for most individuals and is this not higher up into the branches of the Tree than the vast majority of all magicians ever achieve? It should be, in everyone's mind, an honored goal.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11:32am Ricky quickly replied - "Understandable, that is a good reason not to openly discuss such things."Reply: Here is an after thought: always remember that astrology is not really the means to predict the future. If something is meant to be, so be it. All forms of true astrology can only detail how one 'should' act in order to achieve their destiny. And oddly, the real path is rarely what a person thinks or wants it to be, nor is the answer readily understood. In fact, it’s usually something totally different. The obvious fact; if they already knew the answer, why consult their Birth Chart? This means, in regards to the Abyss; if your Birth Chart has the anomoly it won'tt tell you how to get from Point A to Point B. ... Always remember the lesson of The Fool card - don't let your head get so lost in the clouds that you walk off a cliff. Pay attention to where you are, focus on one step after another ... and in the end, you'll have walked farther than most. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11:11am Ricky writes - "Hi Jerry 93! There's no way to say this without sounding ego-driven which is unfortunate for me. But do you think that you'll do a Blog discussion on the Final Secrets of the Oath of the Abyss and the Birth Chart phenomena that you spoke of? It sounds like a very interesting topic and might give some insight into the way a Birth Chart should be viewed.. About the Sun, I've always found it immensely intriguing that we are 93 million miles away from it. This thought extended the other day when i was watching a documentary on 2012. As you know this is when the Sun will come into alignment with the Galactic center of our Galaxy. What struck me about this was placing the event on the Otz Chiim. The Earth is Malkuth and the Sun being Tiphareth comes in line with the Galactic center which some believe is a Super Massive Black Hole in effect kinda completes the Middle Pillar of the Tree. Not sure if this has any significance and it probably doesn't but it was a neat thought. Also the estimated distance from the Sun to the Galactic Center is approximately 26,000 Light years... Give or take 1400... 93 93/93 Ricky."Reply: Maybe some day, but not soon. My big fear has always been that if someone sees the anomaly in their Birth Chart they might automatically be stupid and 'jump' rather than do the leg work to achieve it. Still, it is my view that ALL people should ultimately strive to achieve this goal but they should do it properly. ... and they shouldn't ever be upset when told that the natural stopping point to this goal for most appears to be in Tiphereth. It's like the pioneers of the old west who left the east coast heading for California ... some simply stopped half way, got off their wagons, looked around, nodded and said to themselves - "Iowa is good." And then they prospered. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9:40am To answer a bunch of incoming emails as to my 8:14am post - NO, the unidentified person swearing the Oath of the Abyss in January 2001 is NOT Robert Flores; his failures began just last year and besides, by his own admission, he never swore the Oath. And second, since I didn't identify the Hermit in the previous posting, why would I tell you guys now. Is it your business? So please people, stop writing about this ...-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8:14am Yesterday, to another Hermit, I wrote - "I enjoyed your ‘dream’ of January 31st; have read it through several times. I only wish Grady had lived longer; he told me that it took him about ‘ten years’ to fully start working the ‘wires’ or Sephiroth on the Tree of Life from the above (i.e. out of Kether) all the way downward into Malkuth (after swearing the Oath of the Abyss) and he joked about this often. Once ‘connected’ we’ll start changing our point-of-view from personal wants to Universal Will. We become the actual living aspect of Kether which means we are a vehicle of She at this point or the Goddess above the Abyss. Your mantra at this point is the God Name of Kether – I AM. Think about it!Arguably, we can’t stay above the Abyss upon swearing the Oath but when do we actually descend ‘Below’? Is it immediate? No. Grady believed it took ten years and then the magicians reestablishes themselves in a Sphere below the Abyss to their liking to which epitomizes their over-all incarnation.Crowley swore the Oath in 1906 and didn’t fully start ‘receiving’ until about ten years. The direction of his writings definitely started changing around 1916. Many believe he positioned himself in Chesed.Grady, upon swearing the Oath on April 24, 1970, took about ten years for his ‘writings’ and attitude to begin changing from Self importance to the Goddess; or destiny of humanity over Self. Grady positioned himself in Geburah.I swore the Oath on April 22, 1984. This would imply that 1994 is about when I should have begun my epiphanies; or descending Gnosis. And it did, I saw Grady’s talks about changing the A.’.A.’. as being important. I have always stated that 1994-96 are some of my most pivotal years in my life. You swore the Oath on March 26th 2000 so your ten year period of ‘epiphanies’ is about to begin too. (------------) swore the Oath of the Abyss on January 24, 2001; he should be feeling pull soon to shit or get off the pot.All in all, what occurs after ten years is what I like to call my ‘Lighten Up’ botton goes on ... I think I started to realize that I came into this incarnation to experience a certain life style, why fight it? My birth chart gave me all the clues as to what type of experience I wanted. It is different than everybody else’s. And, if I constantly worry about what others have, or what I don’t have, or material things in general, I’m stuck in ‘Wants’ and this distracts me from fulfilling my experience. Its nice to have ‘toys’ but you can’t take them with you. Once immersed in trying to simply ‘experience’ I, as a Magister Templi, acknowledged that everything below the Abyss is bathed in duality; Yin and Yang. Are either of these polarities wrong? No. Those residing below the Abyss love to pick one over the other but I see both Yin and Yang as important aspects of the whole. I think after ten years I stopped being ‘intellectual’ about this Knowledge and started living it."-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8:00am Marlene writes - "Just to set the record straight... I was at Soror Meral's home many times in the 90's and on numerous occassions I personally saw her using the verses from Liber AL after Resh. The only question in my mind is whether it originated with her, alone, or with others from way-back-in-the-day. Do you have any references to Resh from other residents of the original Agape Lodge?"Reply: No evidence. It may well have originated with her and remember, she did almost no magickal ritual until she hooked up with Grady in 1969. Of the two, the only serious ritualist from the old Agape Lodge days was him and his teachings do no reflect adding verses from Liber AL vel Legis into the ritual of RESH and he was taught this ritual 'personally' by Aleister Crowley as Crowley's own letters attest. Anyway, its no secret she added alot of strange things into A.'.A.'. curriculum and rituals. Still, I've seen and done Liber Resh with her on a couple of occasions back in the early nineties and I never once saw her add a verse from Liber AL. ... so I am perplexed. Anyway, I stand by my views ... there is no law but do what thou wilt.Still, it would be negligent of me if I did not mention some facts that we do know ... The ritual was first published in The Equinox Vol.I No.6, pg.29 by Weiland & Company, London in 1911; later it appeared in MTP. And in all my research I've never seen Crowley identify what he meant by "adoration that is taught thee by thy Superior." However, let's look at this logically. Did Crowley have a problem quoting Liber AL vel Legis in writing? No. Did Crowley ever not direct students to use this book at every occasion when the need arises? No. ... So why would he not add something so 'simple' into the ritual itself? ... the answer: because it's an A.'.A.'. ritual required in the Probationer's (0=0) Syllabus and whatever a "Superior" taught had to relate to an A.'.A.'. Grade oriented practice - i.e. like the God Forms acknowledging their position in the Universe.Still, if modern OTO is taught otherwise, it kinda makes sense. If their initiates are now being taught to openly do and talk about Liber Resh they'd obviously switch any A.'.A.'. related practice into something more generic.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7:50am Jay replied to yesterday's 7:05pm posting - "93 Jerry, Yes, I'm certainly confused now. I know for myself that I got it from somewhere, but I certainly have no evidence it necessarily came from Phyllis... 93 93/93 Love, Jay."-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7:45am Carl writes - "Jerry, 93. Very interesting discussion about Liber Resh. There are very definitely a large percentage of people who now use the Liber AL verses as "the Adoration" following Liber Resh.When I first came into contact with the OTO I remember being in the car with a Brother (just after I’d bought that sweet Teitan press edition of Konx Om Pax, as an aside) and we were talking about Resh. He said that he'd been carrying around Liber AL so that he could learn the verses in question, and that once he'd been sort of questioned about that by an old school OTO member whose only response was "But Liber Resh isn't in the Book of the Law!" To me that suggestively alludes that, yeah, pre-2000 those verses weren’t involved in Liber Resh.It's also interesting, perhaps ironic, to note that the verse of Liber AL III: 38. So that thy light is in me; & its red flame is as a sword in my hand to push thy order. There is a secret door that I shall make to establish thy way in all the quarters, (these are the adorations, as thou hast written), as it is said:is the one portion of AL sandwiched right in the middle of the verses and which is almost universally omitted from what is used in Liber Resh these days. It may simultaneously allude to the confusion regarding “adorations” and to “red flame” which may remind one of very enjoyable books and a certain Mr. Cornelius. I started out using Resh without any Liber AL material and having tried it both ways I vastly prefer the No Liber AL Verses version of Liber Resh. 93 93/93 Carl Reply: I'm only posting some of the many emails coming in saying that they too have been adding Liber AL into their ritual but, in truth, none seem to be aware as to when this practice, or where it started. It's not Crowley, nor Grady but regardless, there is no law beyond do what thou wilt. And remember 'success is your proof.' If it works ... well, do it. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7:40am For the history buffs: Charles-Marie-Georges Huysmans was born on this date in Paris in 1848. He later changed his name to Joris-Karl Huysmans, then simply to J-K Huysmans. Although he wrote many books he is most famous for his serial exposing ‘Satanism’ titled La Bas which appeared in French newspaper in 1891. It deals primarily with the spiritual quest of a man named Durtal, which was in reality Huysmans’ fictional alter ego. In the story Durtal decides to write a biography about Gilles de Rais (1404-1440) the French marshal who was accused of Satanism and who was briefly associated with Joan of Arc. In the story Durtal is taken to witness a Black Mass. Because of the vivid descriptions of this Black Mass, La Bas has become a key work promoting the sensational mythology of this ritual. Although it has been argued that Huysmans never really saw an actual Black Mass others are quick to point out that one of his dearest friend, Abbe Joseph Boullan (1824-1893) was in fact a real life practicing Satanist who’s Black Masses did indeed stir the Paris gossip circles. Abbe Boullan also served as the model for Dr Johannes in La Bas. Ironically, he is portrayed as a priest who practices magic to counter Satanism. Huysmans died from cancer of the mouth on May 12, 1907. He had complained of a toothache for years and eventually it was diagnosed as incurable cancer. To further complicate the tragedy of his last days, he was so afflicted with the infection moving up into his eyes that it became necessary to sew his eyelids shut. …......…. Also, Violet & Daisy Hilton the famous Siamese twins of the carnival circuit were born on this date in England in 1908. Remarkably both sisters found husbands and were married although they remained joined together. Anton LaVey who knew them well seemed to believe “that the girls shared mutual sensations” and further LaVey states, “I think they were jealous of each other’s husband.” It seems that if one was having sex with her husband the other often “enjoyed it more” through their joined sensations. ….......…. And it would be negligent of me if I didn’t mention that William Seward Burroughs was born on this date in St Louis, Missouri in 1914. By the 1940’s he was addicted to heroin. He became associated with Jack Kerouac and the poet Allen Ginsberg but tragedy struck in 1951 when a drug-addled Burroughs recklessly shot and accidentally killed his wife while playing William Tell in Mexico. In 1959 William S. Burroughs published his now classic Naked Lunch which pioneered a ground-breaking cut-and-paste technique that would be credited as a major influence on many cyberpunk and avant garde authors and, because of such, he has become an underground celebrity, a literary guru and pop culture philosopher who continued to write and record right up to his death of a heart attack on August 2, 1997. ….....…. Also born on February 5 is H. R. Giger, who was born on in Chur, Switzerland in 1940. He is considered one of the world’s foremost artists of ‘Fantastic Realism.’ His third book titled Necronomicon (1977) was the visual inspiration for director Ridley Scott’s blockbuster movie Alien. One of Giger’s drawings, or No.274, is simply called ‘Crowley’ (The Beast 666), 1975. Crowleyites have longed looked at the drawing and wondered, outside of the its name, what is the connection?-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday February 4th 2010 – 7:05pm Jay wrrites - "Funny that you say you've never heard of recitation from Liber Al during Resh as I myself always use "Unity uttermost showed/I adore the might of thy breath...". In fact, I'm pretty sure I learned that from Frater Petros who said (if memory serves) that it came from Soror Meral's lineage. Also, I've seen Charles do the same, recited all the way through "to stir me or still me!/ Aum! let is fill me."
Reply: I'll still stick by my statements; knowing Phyllis since the mid-70s, I never personally heard her say this about Liber Resh. NEVER!! This sounds far more like a Shoemaker twist than anything else and since he's running a Phyllis' lineage its just assumed to be originating from her, not him. Where is the evidence? Show me one shred of paper pre-2000 which suggests reciting Liber AL while doing Liber RESH! I might be wrong, but ... again ... show me the evidence! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6:50pm Andrew Walker writes - "I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my questions about Liber Resh vel Helios. Honestly, the response I got from you is kind of what I was expecting to hear - maybe I've read too much of your writings :) I know what your other "student" is talking about with Soror Meral's students using those lines. Recently, David Shoemaker created a segment on a podcast talking about Liber Resh vel Helios where he mentions using those adorations and he's a student of the Soror Meral school. I've read of others using similar lines from Liber AL too."-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1:00pm A strong 6.0 magnitude earthquake occurred at 12:20pm today just off shore near the northern California border! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12:30pm The student replied to my 10:40am posting - "93 Jer, Yeah, I know it is kinda funny how things "always were" which none of us ever knew ;> The verses I referred to are the ones which AC wrote paraphrases for ... "I shall make a secret door, etc...". I do know that Phyllis taught her kids to do them, but it seems that now it is commonly understood to have always been that way - LOL! I remember the story you quoted. I was just wondering if there were any other references you may have turned up in your Grady files ;> Thanks for the info!."-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10:40am Regarding my 6:35am posting a student writes - "I saw your posting on the "special adoration's" after Resh... Recently someone asked me this same thing since it is now oh-so-popular for the OTO folk to add the verses from AL after their Resh (some use more verses than others). Apparently the prevalent story is that those verses are the "special adoration's" ?! I know that Soror Meral taught her people to use the verses. Is it common practice among the other AA lineages? Also, is there any reference(s) about this from when Grady knew/saw Crowley doing Resh? Thank you for any information you could provide."Reply: In all my years of being OTO an A.'.A.'. and its well over thirty, I have never, not once, heard of anyone using quotes from Liber AL vel Legis in conjunction with Liber RESH. This must be something new ... I think it might be a Soror Meral thing, after all, that woman had memorized the entire book and loved citing passages whenever moved. Anyway, it must be remembered that the word 'adoration' merely implies an "act of worship." Now whether that is verbal act, an actual action itself as in a ritual or simply the use of a God Form, there is no law beyond do what thou wilt. I stand my Grady's view - God forms as an affirmation of where one stands on the Tree of Life. Yes, Grady McMurtry tells a great story about when he first saw the Great Beast doing Liber Resh but I don't think it'll settle any questions. Still, it's worth repeating. While they both were in London Grady writes that, "We had taken one of those big red double-decker buses and were sitting on the bottom level on the left about half way. We were sitting there talking, when suddenly Crowley glanced up to the left, said, 'Pardon me a moment', closed his eyes, made some mystic passes with the fingers of his right hand, and mumbled something unintelligible. Unintelligible to me, anyway. It wasn't until later that I figured out that he had been doing the noon Liber Resh. The thing that is so striking is that he was so quiet about it. To hear some people talk you would think that he would have rushed up to the top deck and shouted it 'from the housetops' to all of greater London. There may have been times when he did, but he didn't do it that day." [Hymenaeus Alpha 777, "On Knowing Aleister Crowley Personally" O.T.O. Newsletter, Vol.II Nos. 7 & 8, Berkeley, California May 1979, p. 6.]-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6:40am Michael writes - "I'm excited to read "ALEISTER CROWLEY AND THE OUIJA BOARD". I had listened to a podcast awhile ago (Thelema Coast to Coast) in which you were interviewed about this book. I'd thought about getting it then but spaced it out. Have you any favorite movies that have a ouija board in it? Or music? What about in any fiction? If you already wrote about it your archive I apologize for being redundant and I'll get to it."Reply: I can't think of too many books or songs that I'd recommend but of course my all time favorite movie which has an Ouija board in it is The Exorcist (1973) ... and then I'd had to mention the classic 1960’s movie Thirteen Ghosts which had a brief Ouija board scene where the ghost tells the family that it was going to kill one of them. ... The board has also played a key role in the movie The Devil’s Gift (1984). The plot is simple. A mother looking for a gift for her son’s birthday finds a cute toy, a little cymbal-playing monkey in a second hand store and buys it. What she doesn’t know is that an evil spirit had been conjured through an Ouija board and now resides in this little toy which, when angry, becomes a bad monkey. ... Also, the Witchboard series of movies that portrays the board as a means of conjuring evil spirits. Yes, there are many movies that have used the board as a means of explaining how an evil entity was able to manifest and cause havoc in our world. ... The list just goes on and on. No single mass-produced object has ever captured the imagination of the public like an Ouija board. However, not all the movies portray the board as an evil implement. Closer to the truth, in regards to a positive application of an Ouija board, is seen in the movie Awakenings (1990). Here a doctor (played by Robin Williams) is experimenting with catatonic patients. While using an Ouija board with one of his non-responsive patients (Robert De Niro), he discovers that the man is actually functioning at a deep subconscious level. Unfortunately, as good as the movie may or may not be, it does not put to rest all the bad publicity that surrounds the board. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6:35am A student writes how they’ve been doing the four adorations as given in Liber CC and then they quote Line 5 which reads : “5. And after each of these invocations thou shalt give the sign of silence, and afterward thou shalt perform the adoration that is taught thee by thy Superior. And then do thou compose Thyself to holy meditation.” ... And so he asks “What is this specific adoration that is taught in this lineage? I guess I never paid much attention to it but when going back through it, this comment has been bugging me. Even without doing anything else (on top of the four adorations), the real intent of the ritual seems fulfilled to me.”Reply: In the old days an A.’.A.’. student under Grady McMurtry was taught the ‘Signs of their Grade” which are found in the front of Magick In Theory & Practice as ten black & white hooded figures. The very bottom figure is titled “Earth: the God Set Fighting.” This corresponds to the Grade 1=10 or the sphere of Malkuth. .... When a person has been moved forward into Yesod they would use “Air: the God Shu, supporting the Sky” .... and etc. These Signs were used as an ‘Adoration’ after doing Liber Resh but they are no longer used once we streamlined the grades to reflect The Book of The Law I:40, or the three grades. Basically, all we use now are the Four God Forms toward each direction; or numbers 7-10 in MTP ... these being followed by the mysterious ‘11th’ figure not shown in MTP which represents 0=0 or the sign of Harpocrates (Heru-Paar-Kraat) the God of Silence. Both acknowledging where you stand on The Tree of Life and then bringing you back down to reality to ‘Seal’ the energy within your shell that you’ve just evoked. But, if a student still wants to use these old ‘Grade Signs’, more so as a reference to the Qabalistic sphere where they reside, this is fine. There is no law beyond do what thou wilt.
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6:30am For the history buffs: Gerald Suster, the esteemed British writer, occultist and historian who was born in 1951 and he died on this date in London in 2001. His body was cremated. He wrote such books as Hitler: The Occult Messiah (1981), The Legacy of the Beast: The Life, Work and Influence of Aleister Crowley (1984) and John Dee, Essential Readings (1986), to name but a few.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday February 3rd 2010 – 11:25am Here are a few good JOKES:
President Obama decided to do one of his public addresses against the backdrop of an American farm, but the ceremony couldn't get started because of all the flies buzzing around his head. Obama demanded to know why the flies wouldn't leave, so the farmer explained to him, "Well, those are called circle flies. They always circle around the back end of horses." Obama angrily replied, "Hey, are you saying that I'm a horse's ass?" The farmer answered, "No Sir, Mister President. I would never call someone a horse's ass. But it's hard to fool them flies though."or how about this one:Barack Obama, at a recent rural elementary school assembly in East Texas, asked the audience for total quiet. Then, in the silence, he started to slowly clap his hands once every few seconds, holding the audience in total silence. Then Obama said into the microphone, "Children, uh, every time I, uh, clap my hands together, a, uh, child in America dies from, uh, gun violence." Little Richard Earl, with a proud East Texas drawl, pierced the quiet and said, ''Well, dummy, stop clapping!"Or this:Q. Why did Obama cross the road?A. Actually, Obama promised to cross the road, but then he didn't.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7:20am Michael from Grants Pass, Oregon writes - "93 Jerry. I am loving "In The Name of the Beast; a biography of Grady Louis McMurtry". It really does a wonderful job in showing his whole nature. It must have been brutal on him to move so often. Man, I thought I moved alot when I was a kid. And his Dad! What a story. I'm now on a mission to find more of Grady's poems too. Parsons always fascinated me and it's enjoyable to read about him in this book also. As well as the rest of the characters of that time. Besides that, I truly enjoy your writing style and want to purchase more. I'd like to get "Aleister Crowley and the Ouija Board" and issues 1 thru 20 of Cornelia, if you still have those issues available. I understand it's $9 an issue and the book is $15. Just send me the total and I'll mail you a check. Thank you for time and help. I'm reading your archive as well. I'm in Feb of 2008 now. I have to take my time because I don't want to catch up to where I left off too soon. But I can't help myself. It's like renting the whole season of The Wire or Deadwood and watching it in a marathon sitting. One right after the other. My eyes are getting glassy. My mind is doing widdershins around my brain stem. Anyway, I'm sending healing thoughts towards you so your heart and health keeps improving. Not just for you, but selfishly, for all of us who enjoy you! 93 93/93 Michael." Reply: You are too kind. I'm glad that you are enjoying the books and the website. It has all been a labour of love.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6:50am For the history buffs: Kenneth Wilbur Anglemyer, better known as Kenneth Anger, was born on this date in Santa Monica, California in 1930. He became fascinated with film making at the early age of four after he had a small role as the Changeling Prince in Max Reinhardt's version of A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935). He is considered to be one of American’s most unique independent avant-garde filmmakers. After graduating from Beverly Hills High School he directed and starred in his first successful film, Fireworks (1947). He later released such classic films as Scorpio Rising (1963), Kustom Kar Kommandos, Lucifer Rising (1966) and Invocation of My Demon Brother (1969). Anger had become utterly fascinated with Aleister Crowley after reading John Symonds’ biography, The Great Beast, The Life of Aleister Crowley (1951). He gained further fame and notoriety from the publication of Hollywood Babylon in 1958, a tell-all book of the scandals of Hollywood's rich and famous. ............... and to keep with the flavor of the day; Eduard Albert ‘Billy’ Meier, whose real full name is Eduard Albert Meier-Zafiriou, was born on this date in Bülach, Switzerland in 1937. For over 56 years he maintained that he was receiving, both physically and telepathically, communications with extraterrestrial beings, or Pleiadians, who claim to have come from the planet Erra in the Plejares (Pleiades ) star cluster. Although the visits supposedly began when Billy was only five; it was in January of 1975 that they escalated and it was during these visits that he was allowed to film and photograph the “beamship” during flight maneuvers. He took well over a thousand of the clearest UFO pictures ever seen. The actual contact conversations were also carefully written down word-for-word and they contain many interesting facts about Earth’s history, humanities, sciences and spiritual topics. As a rule, most people believe Billy Meier to be an out-right fraud but he has an unbelievable following who will argue otherwise. ............... and I should like to point out that no single event in popular culture symbolizes ‘greatness’ cut short more than the plane crash that killed Buddy, Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper on this date backing 1959. ............... and this year I'd like to add Eihi Shiina into my history buff section. She is a fashion model and actress from Fukuoka, Japan. She was born on this date in 1976. She is most recognized internationally for her role as the psycho-Jap named Asami Yamazaki in Takashi Miike’s classic cult movie - Audition (1999). This movie was based on a Ryu Murakami novel by the same name. It is a sick psychodrama not for the squeamish. When it was shown at the Rottterdam Film Festival in 2000 one enraged female viewer confronted Miike afterwards by shouting at him: "You're evil!" Anyway, Eihi also appeared in another of my favorite movies titled Tokyo Gore Police (2008) as a cop named Ruka. Both of these movies I have reviewed in my Favorite Movie section. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday February 2nd 2010 – 7:15pm NEWS: It was just announced that the Republican Mark Kirk won Obama’s old Democratic Senate Seat in Illinois. Its another blow to the Democrats! American are standing up and telling it like it is and sending a clear message to the White House - Obama Sucks!
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12:20pm In regards to my 7:25am posting Ken Robinson from Massachusetts writes - "Jerry, I've been cynically disengaged from politics for a long time. But, the stakes are might high these days. BTW, the usual suspects here in Mass. haven't learned a damn thing from their senate loss. They continue to beat their breasts shouting for Obama to charge ahead with his uber left agenda. Indeed, the local newspaper wants to go even further to the left. Their utter cluelessness gives me some hope for the future. But, I do have a high level of confidence that the Republicans will somehow mange to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. The sad reality is that they are just differently corrupt and slimy from the Dems. On that cheerful note.... Kenneth." Reply: Politics today reminds me of the ancient Roman Republic and its basic two-party system known properly as the Optimates (who were rich) and Populares (the poor, or pro-plebeians). History is repeating itself today. It seems we've learned nothing. In ancient Rome people started to realize that both parties really didn't give a rat's ass about them; they both lied and they both were into politics for personal gain and 'their' party over the other party. Nothing more! ...This lead way for the collapse of the Republican period allowing Julius Caesar to begin a civil war in 49 BC from which he would emerge as the unrivaled leader of the Roman world. And so, what was the inevitable solution in ancient Rome to a greedy two party system? - Caesar as dictator - but had the two parties known that this would give way to the likes of Tiberius, Nero, Caligula and others ... they might have tried to work together a little harder! ... I wonder if the Republicans and Democrats today will ever learn this lesson?Ken quickly replied - "The short answer--No! ;-) "-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7:45am HAPPY CANDLEMAS!-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7:30am It's Groundhog Day! ... The NEWS reads - "As far as B-list celebrities go, Staten Island Chuck isn't all that famous of a groundhog. He lacks the powerful PR machine of Punxsutawney Phil, America's favorite groundhog who hails from Pennsylvania." ... Chuck, however, has been at the job for 29 years. He has predicted the weather correctly 22 of those years, giving him a respectable 76 percent accuracy. Phil, on the other hand, is right only 39 percent of the time. So, what did they predict today? Admittedly, the Groundhogs offered contradictory rulings ... when Chuck lumbered out of his burrow Mayor Bloomberg turned to the expectant crowd and announced, "No shadow; spring is coming" ... as for Punxsutawney Phil, he predicted six weeks more of winter. ... I think I'll just flip a coin. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7:25am Another major primary occurs today; this one in the State of Illinois. President Obama’s old Senate seat is up for grabs. If Obama’s home state, an old Democratic stronghold, turns Republican like Virginia, Delaware and Massachusetts ... its yet another indication that the winds are shifting. Roosevelt University political analyst Paul Green has emphatically stated: "These Tea Party guys are riding high right now. But Illinois is a coffee state; there aren't going to be a lot of tea drinkers here." ... I had to chuckle, didn't the Democrats also predict that Massachusetts would be an easy win?-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7:20am For the history buffs: Walter Yeeling Evans-Wentz was born on this date in Trenton, New Jersey in 1878. He translated the famous Tibetan ‘death text’ known as The Great Liberation. He called his English edition The Tibetan Book of the Dead (1927) because of its parallels with the writings of the Egyptian Book of the Dead. He died in 1965. …........ also, James Joyce was born on this date in Dublin, Ireland in 1882. He originally studied in Dublin and then went to Paris in 1902 primarily to study medicine but also took up voice training for a concert career. His early works includes the short stories, Dubliners (1914), and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1914-15). His best-known book was Ulysses which was based upon a single day in Dublin (June 16th 1904). The book appeared in Paris in 1922, but was quickly banned in both England and the USA where it remained banned until 1936. He also wrote Finnegans Wake (1939). Joyce has been hailed as the father of literary modernism. His work revolutionized the form of novels, partly through the abandonment of an ordinary plot for a “stream of consciousness” type narrative, but more fundamentally through his unprecedented exploration of language. He died in Zürich in 1941. …........ and to continue with birthdates; Carroll Righter was born on this date in Salem, New Jersey in 1900. He was an attorney who originally set out to disprove astrology but ultimately became one of its most influential promoters. He was the student of the famous astrologer Evangeline Adams and he was President Ronald Reagan’s astrologer for 45 years. He wrote such books Astrology and You (1958), Your Astrological Guide to Health and Diet (1967), The Astrological Guide to Marriage and Family Relations (1969) and Dollar Signs: How to Increase Your Personal Worth by Astrology (1971). He died of cancer on April 30, 1988 in Santa Monica California at the age of 88. …........ also, Alissa ‘Alice’ Zinovievna Rosenbaum was born on this date in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1905. She is more commonly known as Ayn Rand and her novels focusing on reason and individualism have become a great source of personal inspiration for many people. Her futuristic science-fiction novel Anthem (1938) is considered by many to be a classic. She died of heart failure on March 6, 1982 in New York City. She is famous for the quote – “Money is the root of all good.” …........ and there are more birthdays to report; according to H. P. Lovecraft, Wilbur Whateley was born on this date in Dunwich, Massachusetts in 1913. Historians claimed that Whateley used the imperfect translation made by John Dee of the Necronomicon bequeathed to him by his grandfather to call down the ‘Old Ones’, which inevitably caused him tumultuous grief. …........ but with all births, I must report at least one death. It was on February 2, 1969 that Boris Karloff, the ultimate icon of classic horror films, who made Frankenstein a house hold name, died. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday February 1st 2009 – 6:45am For the history buffs: Jane Cheron, one of Aleister Crowley’s mistresses, had allowed her home to be used for one of the infamous Paris Working Rituals in which Crowley and Walter Duranty performed acts of buggery to the God Mercury. But on this particular date in 1920 she would give Aleister Crowley a beautiful embroidered silk tapestry of the Stele of Ankh-f-n-Khonsu which she had recently finished. ….......... also, Frater Saturnus, Karl Germer the Grand Treasurer General of the O.T.O. was released by the Nazis from a concentration camp on this date in 1941. He had been held since May 10th 1940, when the Germans first marched into Belgium. In March, Crowley received a letter from Karl Germer who informed him of his liberation from the Nazis. Crowley records in his diary on the 14th, “Great ‘havings’ indeed - a letter from Germer, who is safe after all. The happiest evening of my life!” He further adds, “This is a stunning joy. Life has again immediate value; the future is all sunrise on translucent wings.” ….......... And when the Nazis began bombing London during World War II it forced Aleister Crowley from his apartment at 93 Jermyn Street into a new residence. On this date in 1945, at the age of seventy, Aleister Crowley moved into his last boarding house at Netherwood, Hastings and it is here where he would shed his earthly vehicle in 1947. ….......... And finally, Anton LaVey, the Black Pope, held the infamous Satanic wedding of John Raymond and Judith Case on this date in 1967 which turned into an unbelievable media sensation. The photographer who was assigned by the San Francisco Chronicle to cover this story was Joe Rosenthal; the man who also took the immortal shot of the soldiers raising the American flag on Iwo Jima during World War II.
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