Note to update: the addresses and phone numbers in these issues of the Thelema Lodge Calendars are obsolete since the closing of the Lodge. They are here for historic purposes only and should not be visited or called.
Thelema Lodge
Ordo Templi Orientis
P.O.Box 2303
Berkeley, CA 94702 USA
February 1991 e.v. at Thelema Lodge
Announcements from
Lodge Members and Officers
This year's BRIGID conjoins the Gnostic Mass on February 3rd. Show up
around 8, and don't expect Liber 15... our traditional Gnostic Masses continue
all other Sundays this month.
Our monthly Lodgemeeting has been moved to the last MONDAY of each month:
changed to February 25th, still at 8 pm. Be there! The Lodge of Perfection
will meet February 21st.
S.W.C.C. Wrestling 2/1 was announced on the January calendar - and now;
(from the same crew) Lupercalia, or: Tantra, the Two-Fisted Path. Friday,
February 15th; 8pm, Horus Temple. (shh..)
Tarot with Bill Heidrick continues February 13th and 20th with classes
focusing on the major divisions of the Tarot. Reading demonstrations, slides
and supplementary materials provided, at the Lodge, 8 PM. One class in March,
owing to the Vernal Equinox.
Our Lodgemaster's Initiation Workshop has moved to Sunday the 17th at 4:18
pm; still in Horus Temple. February Initiations are the 23rd. Want to help?
Come to the workshop, if you can.
February's Magick Theater offering is Christopher Marlowe's demonic
masterpiece Doctor Faustus (circa 1595). Dramatic reading in Horus Temple
Tuesday evening the 19th, beginning 7:30; texts provided.
Pisces Birthday Splash 2/24 at 4:18 pm - preceded by Lodge Cleanup,
starting about two in the afternoon.
coming in March - the Vernal Equinox
As space-borne fleets of Viking mariners | |
Swing round a world impregnable | |
To jettison each a cargo | |
Bomb shattering, irresistible | |
And space-marines with visored helms | |
Drop through the black | |
Of night, with strife that overwhelms | |
Upon the atom shattered wrack | |
Of worlds at war | |
So seetee sharded Adonis | |
Mills round an elder, wiser Sun | |
While astroids from her scattered hulk | |
Rust on the flame-scored plains of Mars | |
Now must we mark that cosmic war | |
When God-men stormed the Titan host | |
With atom fire-- | |
Lest darkness fall | |
And Night engulf the Citadel | |
Of Emerald Earth | |
[previously published in Kaaba #4 (April 1979 e.v.) and in The Grady Project #1 (October 1987 e.v.)]
93, Y'all, & welqome to the Qriss
Piss Qabalah Pit. In the course of this short article I will explain & expound
to you all & everything that there is to know about the Holy Mysteries of the
Sacred Hebrew Kaboolah. Fortunately, I just happen to be the World's Foremost
Authority on Thelemic Qabalah; which you are free to regard as mere "Co-
incidence" if you see fit...
CABBALLA IS COOL!!! | |
Let's talk about Gematria. |
ABRAHADABRA = 418 | |
The fact that every letter touched |
SPACE IS REAL | |
My point is that gematria can be |
THE QABALAH PIT | |
& that brings us to the CROTCH of |
THE HALF LYRE:
One star | |
in the company of stars | |
on occasion | |
and one light | |
in the loneliness of night | |
on occasion | |
and one note | |
in the key of be | |
occurs | |
continually | |
packed discretely | |
in bite-sized bundles | |
of timelessness | |
not being |
THE RITE OF JUPITER
by Bishop Mendacious
[The Temple represents the Wheel of Fortune of the Tarot. At its axle is the Altar on which sits CENTRUM IN CENTRI TRIGORNO. On the rim, SPHINX at East spoke, HERMANUBIS at North-West, TYPHON at South-West. To the West of the Wheel is the Veil.]
PART I
PROLOGUE OF THE BORED
C.I.C.T.: 1.
S.: 1.
H.: 1.
T.: 1. [Pause] Hail unto thee, thou great god Hermanubis! Art thou not the
lackey dog of Jupiter?
H.: 1. Hail unto thee, thou great god Typhon! Art thou not the harbinger of
his gnarliness?
T.: Hail unto thee, thou that hast the secret of Jupiter!
[Pause. S. stares blankly.]
H.: Hail unto thee, thou that hast the secret of Jupiter!
[Pause. T. and H. clear their throats.]
S.: [Startled] Oh! Hail! Uh...how's it goin'? [Smiles embarassedly]
T.: Brother Hermanubis, what are we doing here?
H.: Biding time till the girls show up.
T.: Brother Hermanubis, to what end?
H.: That the rite might not be over in fifteen minutes.
T.: Brother Hermanubis, why are we talking this way?
H.: Brother Typhon, I believe this to be a form of dialogue carried over from
Masonic rituals so that the mysteries might remain intact even if performed
for centuries by no one but brain dead morons.
T.: [To S.] Oracle of the Gods, are we nothing but brain dead morons?
[No answer]
T.: Brother Hermanubis, the Oracle is silent.
H.: Or perhaps she has just forgotten her lines.
T.: It is well.
H.: [Sighs]
C.I.C.T.: 1-333.
T.: Brother Hermanubis, this is of evil omen.
H.: Brother Typhon, this is indeed of evil omen. It appears that God is going
to recite a poem.
C.I.C.T.: [More insistently] 1-333.
T: Not again.
C.I.C.T.: [Clearing his throat impatiently]
I am the great god Jupiter, who loves to drink and party,
Who fills the halls of Olympus with laughter great and hearty.
The cycles that you face in life are just the way I wrote 'em,
And if you don't believe in me, I'll kick you in the scrotum.
[Pause]
H.: Brother Typhon, at least it was brief.
T.: And yet, it was particularly awful.
H.: We can't go on like this.
H. and T.: [Together] Mother of Mystery!
S.: Yo!
H.: We beseech thee to bear our petition to the center of the wheel.
S.: What is your will?
H.: That perhaps he should develop an outside interest.
T.: Maybe he could go home to Mom.
H.: In short---
H. and T.: ---Get a life!
S.: [Shocked] Hast thou no respect for the Gods?
H.: If we had respect for the Gods, we'd all be Episcopalians.
T.: And the three of us would now be playing the Three Kings of Orient in some
hokey Christmas musical.
S.: I see your point. [Makes prepatory motions, like cracking knuckles, etc.]
O Father of the Gods!
Thou Big Daddy of the Stars!
Thou totally awesome one of roundness and bigness,
Thou endless fount of Truth, Justice, and the American Way,
Who, rolling down the river, doth distill music in our hearts
To chase them naughty blues away:
Aiko! Aiko! Boop-boop-be-doop! Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay!
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah-day!
O Mightiness! O Endlessness! O ---
C.I.C.T.: [Annoyed] --- What?!
S.: [Startled] Oh! Hail! Uh...how's it goin'? [Smiles embarassedly,
again.]
C.I.C.T.: Listen. I've been eminating you bozos since before the beginning of
eternity. Whatever that means. Anyway, I know you too well to believe that
you'd go through all this invocation rigamerole just to talk about the
weather. So spill! What's on your mind?
S.: Only service to you, Lord.
C.I.C.T.: This, I'm supposed to believe.
S.: It just occurred to us out here on the periphery, that given the pressures
of your position, I mean, having omniscience all through the day, being one
with all of creation, yet transcendent to it, being pure Being-Consciousness-
Bliss and all...
C.I.C.T.: Yes?!
S.: Have you ever considered taking up a hobby?
C.I.C.T.: In case you've forgotten, O Epiglotis of the Eternal, you three are
+ my hobbies!
S.: Oh!
T.: Shit!
H.: That's right!
C.I.C.T.: That reminds me of a poem...
When the chill of earth black-breasted is uplifted at the glance ---
T.: --- Oh that the banquet of Jupiter might begin!
C.I.C.T.: [Glares, then continues.]
Of the red sun million-crested, and the forest blossoms dance ---
H.: --- Oh, that the banquet of Jupiter might begin!
C.I.C.T.: [Clears his throat and resumes.]
With the light that stirs and lustres of the dawn, and with the bloom ---
[All three grab pillows and pummel C.I.C.T. off his throne.]
H., T., and S.: --- Oh that the banquet of Jupiter might begin!
C.I.C.T.: Let the banquet of Jupiter begin.
PART II
THE BANQUET
PART III
THE GUNA SQUAD
[After the banquet the wheel is cleared, and only T. remains in his place.
Enter ALICE.]
A.: Excuse me, have you seen a large white rabbit with a pocket watch go by?
T.: No, my dear, your pretty face is the only one I've seen in quite a while.
Please, sit with me here. It's a lovely place to catch the view.
A.: No, really, I'm in a hurry ---
T.: Nonsense! Pull up a tuffet and make yourself comfortable. [A. sits.]
That's better. What's the use of being in such a rush?
A.: But I'm lost, and Mum will worry if I'm late for dinner.
T.: You may have been lost before, but I've found you now, so how can you be
lost and found at the same time? You're right here, my dear! And as for
dinner, [raises two glasses, handing one to A.] why don't we start with some
wine?
A.: Ooh! Aren't I a little too young for wine? T.: What? Perhaps one can be too old for wine, but never too young. Savor it
while you're fresh, don't you see? Here, mix wine with breath, look. [He
tastes luxuriously.] Now you try.
A.: [She sips.] Ooh! [Flustered] I feel quite warm all of a sudden.
T.: Nice though, isn't it? It's one of my favorite pastimes, to come out here,
drinking wine and savoring the changing light.
A.: [Sipping again and looking around as if for the first time] Why, it is
lovely! You know, I think I might stay here for a while.
[Bell chimes.]
T.: Pardon me for a moment, will you?
A.: What? No, don't go ---
T.: I'll be back soon, I promise. Just wait here. Watch the sunset along the
hills, it'll be a treat. [Exits.]
A.: It's true...I don't know if I've ever seen such a splendid sky. [Sips.]
With all the running around I've been doing, it's as if I had forgotten how to
enjoy myself. [She stretches, looks at ground.] What beautiful flowers! So
many colors and shapes...How very lucky I am to have found this place. And my
new friend. He seems so nice. [Sips.] I wonder... [Picks a flower, then skips
around, singing.] He loves me, he loves me not. He loves me, he loves me not.
He loves me, he loves me not. He loves me...he loves me not. [Throws flower.]
Stupid old flower! Who believes in those things anyway? I am going to stay
here! This is so much better than back home, [starts calmly, then gradually
gets angrier] with boring lessons, and bullying boys and stuck up sister and
yelling mom and daddy never having time and me being left alone all the time,
always alone! [Pause] Just like I'm being left alone right now! Where is he?!
He seemed so nice, right! All of his nice talk, "I'll be back soon." So what
happened? He lied to me! That sneak! He's probably off somewhere saying those
same things to another little girl! And when I think that I almost cared for
him ---
[T. re-appears as wolf. He roars and tries to catch A., who runs away
screaming. Lights out. Lights back up with only H. in his place. A. comes up
to him panting.]
A.: Help me! I'm being chased by a ferocious wolf!
H.: Stop.
A.: What?
H.: Look around you. [A. does so.] Do you still see a wolf?
A.: No. But he was chasing me, you should have seen him ---
H.: But he is not here now?
A.: No.
H.: Then you aren't doing yourself a favor by getting excited about it.
A.: You're right, but ---
H.: It sounds as if you've allowed yourself to become somewhat unsettled. If
you wish, you may rest here. It may help you regain your perspective.
A.: I am tired, thank you. [She sits.] I don't know, everything seemed so fine
for a while, and then...something happened, and now I feel terrible.
H.: Just a moment. Sometimes, if we are overly preoccupied with our whims and
fancies, they can crowd out everything else, so that soon our problems seem
more real then the world around us.
A.: What do you mean?
H.: This particular episode in your life is only one of a great many that you
will have. And your life is also one of many. And ultimately, what is all
life compared to the vastness of the cosmos?
A.: Well, yes, when you put it that way...But when I am troubled, or even when
I am having fun, my own situation seems bigger than the whole universe.
H.: It doesn't have to be, with practice. Here, take this pen and this book.
A.: Ooh, thank you. What book is it?
H.: This is your book. It is empty until you use it. Write down all your
moments. Make a record, then review it constantly. In this way, all of your
temporary selves become known to one another. Emotional tides begin to lose
their solidity and compelling power. Patterns may be recognized. A.: [Gaining enthusiasm.] Because the information in each of these situations,
which usually disappears rapidly with the passage of time, instead becomes
accessible at all times, enabling me to perceive underlying similarities in
seemingly different events.
H.: I think you see my point. Greater clarity is, in a sense, greater freedom.
A.: And so much seems clear to me now that before was obscure. I would like
to stay here until I can become fully grounded in this new clarity.
[Bell chimes.]
H.: I must go for a little while.
A.: Must you? It was just getting interesting!
H.: I imagine that you'll have plenty to think of for a time. I will return.
[Exits.]
A.: I've said it before, and I'll say it again --- people come and go so
quickly here! [Opens book.] Where shall I begin? Maybe I should first write
down my memories? But how accurate are they? They will at best be combinations
of the past event filtered through my perceptions at the time I'm writing.
Maybe I should begin by describing my surroundings now. But I still have no
way of independently verifying my sense impression. I therefore have no way of
knowing if what I see is real. Even as certain as logic and mathematics seem,
they could as easily be the limits of my mental processes as immutable laws of
nature. Dear me! What have I got left to rely on? There is at least my own
existence. Even in the absence of sensory data, I can't imagine that I don't
exist. [Begins to get nervous.] But...is that because it's impossible, or
because I won't consider it? Strange! The mind seems to recoil at the
thought, yet how can I be certain? Perhaps this infallible rock of mine --- my
selfhood ---is only an appearance generated by a defense against the
acceptance of nothingness. As this possibility --- this void --- looms before
my mind, I feel all of life's meaning and purpose go flat as if it has just
been a shadow play all along. Emptiness... Emptiness... What shelter do I have
now? What certainty? That precious clarity! When will it ever return?
H.: [Enters dressed as raven, laughing maniacally.] Nevermore! [H. attacks A.
with beak. A. flees. Lights down. Lights back up with only S. in her place. A.
approaches reluctantly.]
A.: Excuse me, I've got to find a way to go far away from here --- I've got a
couple of monsters chasing me. Can you help me?
S.: I can neither help nor hinder you.
A.: What?
S.: The need to find solutions is an outgrowth of the need to have problems.
You are not that one who wins or loses, who is secure or is in danger.
A.: I've already tried to analyze myself, and it only made me depressed.
S.: If you are attached to analysis, you will become the victim of analysis,
even as clinging to emotion leads to emotion clinging on to you.
A.: So what is the answer?
S.: The reflection of the question.
A.: Auggh!
S.: Here, take these beads. [A. does so.] Now, sit with your back straight but
not stiff, let go of your mind, and lightly place the attention on the breath.
[Pause.] Let the breathing do itself. [Pause.] Now, for each breath, let your
fingers count one bead. [Pause.] Watch emotion rise, then let them go.
[Pause.] Watch thoughts rise, then let them go.
A.: Attention on the breath...Attention on the breath...Maybe this will
help...Wait! Just let thoughts go...Even if this works, I'm not gonna say I'll
stay here for very long...Attention on the breath...Attention on the breath.
[Bell chimes. S. exits. A. meditates in relative silence, occasionally
saying something out loud that enters her mind, then reminding herself. After
a time, S. re-enters dressed as the Lamb of God, complete with the flag of St.
Michael. A. opens her eyes wide at the entrance.]
A.: The Lamb of God! I knew it was you all along. I accept you into my heart,
as my personal savior. [She falls to her knees.] And I will stay with you
forever. [Wraps her arms around the knees of S.] S.: [Pulls out triangle and clapper, then rings furiously.] Come an' git it!
[T. and H., as wolf and raven, enter laughing, growling, and smacking lips.
They drag A. off, who screams somewhat, then from offstage, they throw out
suggestive remnants: blood-stained clothes, a gnawed turkey leg bone, etc. A.
makes intermittent pathetic sounds while her murderers make sounds of having a
wonderful barbaric time.]
S.: I am the greatest of the deceivers, for my purity and innocence shall
seduce the pure and innocent, who but for me would come to the centre of the
wheel. The wolf betrayeth only the greedy and the treacherous; the raven
betrayeth only the melancholy and the dishonest. But I am he of whom it is
written: He shall deceive the very elect.
For in the beginning the Father of all called forth lying spirits that they
might sift the creatures of the earth in three sieves, according to the three
impure souls. And he chose the wolf for the lust of the flesh, and the raven
for the lust of the mind; but me did he choose above all to simulate the pure
prompting of the soul. Them that are fallen a prey to the wolf and the raven I
have not scathed; but them that have rejected me, I have given over to the
wrath of the raven and the wolf. And the jaws of the one have torn them, and
the beak of the other has devoured the corpse. Therefore is my flag white,
because I have left nothing upon the earth alive. I have feasted myself on the
blood of saints, but I am not suspected of men to be their enemy, for my
fleece is white and warm, and my teeth are not the teeth of one that teareth
flesh; and mine eyes are mild, and they know me not the chief of the lying
spirits that the Father of all sent forth from before his face in the
beginning.
And speaking of the father of all, it brings me great pleasure to present,
on a limited engagement from His Omniscience, the name of four letters, your
god and mine, and let me just say, a heck of a guy, the great God Jupiter!
[C.I.C.T. enters as S. exits. After thanking the congregation for being, no,
really, the greatest audience in the world, he leads them in universal song
until the girls arrive.]
As first performed, C.I.C.T. sang the Donovan song, "Happiness Runs in a Circular Motion" over the dying screams of the child Alice, then warmed to a rousing rendition of "There is Nothing Like a Dame" from South Pacific, after which the Maenads entered and the Rite proceeded as in the original script.
It is difficult to make an editorial statement on events progressing so
rapidly. By the time this issue of the Thelema Lodge Calendar reaches its
readers, the major ground offensive may have commenced; and it is even
remotely possible that the war may be in closing stages. Thelema is not a
pacifist religion by nature, but enjoins individual responsibility on all who
profess. Members of O.T.O. have been arrested in demonstrations against the
war. At least 20 O.T.O. members presently serve with the Allies in the Gulf,
mostly in combat roles. The Order can take no stand that infringes upon
personal conscience outside our nature as a body. We are all brothers and
sisters under a shadow cast by ancient hatred and greed upon the light of
universal brotherhood. That shadow will pass, and it is the duty of all
Thelemites everywhere to shine forth the light of Agape now and in the time to
come.
War is a great evil. There is no just war, despite the capitulation of
Augustine. War is a primeval, rutting demon who thirsts indifferently after
the blood of soldiers and civilians. When war is inevitable, it is better
evoked than abided. That is the only justice in waging war. Too late to
stop, it now remains for history to declare if the decision was right. After,
steps must be taken to address the injustices of the national boundaries of the region. Iraq needs access to the sea. Palestine must be reborn. Israel
must survive. Lebanon must be restored. Islam must return to the vision of
Mohammed and his dream upon the rock of Abraham. The roads of pilgrimage must
be reopened. Let those who have experienced the curse of genocide turn to
guard against genocide everywhere, not solely of their own. Let the West
remember its debt to the East and cease harassment of those who have their own
places.
I testify that there is but one utmost Deity; and those who would name or
personify that deity for all ages and peoples are worshippers of the one true
devil, a suffering darkness into which fall such as cannot accept the Chaos of
the World.
I say that the leader of Iraq makes a strange latter-day Saladin, for he
has gassed the Kurds; and Saladin was Kurdish.
I say that "A New World Order" is a disquieting slogan. Perhaps President
Bush intended to repeat the motto of the USA from the reverse of the Great
Seal, but Hitler ennobled his kampf as creating "A New World Order" --- thanks
to Heston on that point, if for nothing else save fine acting.
2/1/91 | S.W.C.C. wrestling benefit | Thelema Ldg | ||
2/3/91 | BrigidMass 8 PM | Thelema Ldg. | ||
2/10/91 | Liber XV workshop 4:18 PM | Thelema Ldg. | ||
2/10/91 | Gnostic Mass 8 PM | Thelema Ldg. | ||
2/12/91 | Mardi Gras | |||
2/13/91 | Tarot #2 with Bill 8 PM | Thelema Ldg. | ||
2/15/91 | Lupercalia 8PM | Thelema Ldg. | ||
2/17/91 | Initiation Workshop (Minerval) 4:18PM | Thelema Ldg. | ||
2/17/91 | Gnostic Mass 8 PM | Thelema Ldg. | ||
2/19/91 | Magick Theater Presents at 7:30PM Dr. Faustus | Magick Thea. | ||
2/20/91 | Tarot #3 with Bill 8 PM | Thelema Ldg. | ||
2/21/91 | Lodge of Perfection | LOP | ||
2/23/91 | Secret Meeting & Initiations | Thelema Ldg | ||
2/24/91 | Pisces Birthday party 4:18 PM | Thelema Ldg. | ||
2/24/91 | Gnostic Mass 8 PM | Thelema Ldg. | ||
2/25/91 | Thelema Lodge Meeting 8 PM | Thelema Ldg. |
The viewpoints and opinions expressed herein are the responsibility of the
contributing authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of OTO or its
officers.
Note to update: the addresses and phone numbers in these issues of the Thelema Lodge Calendars are obsolete since the closing of the Lodge. They are here for historic purposes only and should not be visited or called.
Thelema Lodge
Ordo Templi Orientis
P.O. Box 2303
Berkeley, CA 94702 USA
Phone: (510) 652-3171 (for events info and contact to Lodge)
Production and Circulation:
OTO-TLC
P.O.Box 430
Fairfax, CA 94978 USA
Internet: heidrick@well.com (Submissions and circulation only)