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
July 1994 e.v. at Thelema Lodge
Announcements from
Lodge Members and Officers
Members of the O.T.O. interested in performing mass at Thelema Lodge are
invited to contact the Lodge Master with a proposed mass team and schedule a
date. Tuition for prospective gnostic celebrants is available from a number
of local bishops, priests, and priestesses of E.G.C. Arrangements may be made
on a personal basis, or contact the lodge master for an introduction.
Priestess Caitlin Aliciane extends a general offer to instruct celebrants in
the preparation and use of Cakes of Light for the mass; she may be contacted
through Thelema Lodge or at Oz House.
Bishop T Dionysus offers a regular Gnostic Mass Study Group, meeting this
month on Wednesday evening 27th July at 8:00 in the Thelema Lodge library.
This group has prepared a new edition of Liber XV (Aleister Crowley's mass of
Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica), and is now engaged in assembling commentary and
explanatory material for a complete annotated edition of our gnostic liturgy.
Participation is open to all, with celebrants of the mass especially invited
to contribute from their individual understanding of the ritual.
Lodge members are encouraged to offer or request classes, ritual events,
and other activities to share their interests and current magical pursuits
with the Thelemic community. The Lodge Meeting on Monday evening 11th July is
our regular forum for these arrangements, and for coordination of other lodge
activities. Lodge Meeting is scheduled one week later than usual this month
in order to ensure that the fireworks of our business and scheduling do not
drown out the celebration of Independence Day. If unable to attend, contact
the lodge master before-hand. For events on the lodge calendar, information
and descriptive notes must reach the lodge master by mid-month at the latest.
On Tuesday 12th July Thelema Lodge will observe the Greater Feast of Caliph
Hymenaeus Alpha 777, with an evening of Grady stories and reminiscences,
beginning early at 7:00 in the lodge library. The founder of our lodge and
the leader of the Order's revival in the 1970s e.v., Grady Louis McMurtry
passed beyond the veil of life on this date in 1985 e.v. Brother Bill
Heidrick will be on hand to share memories of Grady, along with other lodge
members who knew him.
Oz House and Thelema Lodge will be instituting a new monthly series on
Monday evening 18th July, when Caitlin will be our host for an exploration of
the Qabalistic possibilities presented in the works of Lewis Carroll. This
new "Section Two Reading Group" will offer free-form discussion of selected
works from the second section of the A A
curriculum as outlined in Liber
CCVII. We will begin with Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking-Glass, and
"The Hunting of the Snark", each of which Crowley recommended to his students
as "valuable to those who understand the Qabalah." Meet at Oz House at 8:00;
for information call Thelema Lodge at (510) 652-3171, or Oz at (510) 654-3580.
Next month's meeting will examine The Golden Ass of Apuleius, and further
reading will be open to suggestions from participants.
The acceleration of information and technology is opening up new and
unexpected dimensions within the human psyche. On Saturday evening 23rd July
at 8:00 we will hold "Cyber-Sabbath" at Thelema Lodge, an exploration of the
common ground between ancient Occult knowledge and the media and techniques of
the onrushing future. Turn on, jack in, and invoke often!
In other Techno developments, the Thelema Lodge Butterfly Net is now on-
line. It's crude at this point, but it's usable. What we most need now are
participants! For a limited time only, non-members can access the first level
of the Net. Call (510) 601-9393 by voice at first: if no one answers but
static and squeaks, you're ready to go; if Michael answers, ask him not to
pick up the phone as you call in by modem. Upload content, or if that's not
available to you, upload discontent! As users start logging on, we can start
getting fancy. In the meantime, join the Butterfly Net and come to our
meeting on Monday evening 25th July at 8:00. (Note the change of day from our
former schedule.) There are plenty of projects waiting for volunteers wishing
to gain experience in desktop publishing, multimedia, and more.
The Aleph Group will meet for the last time in its established Tuesday
evening time slot on 5th July at 8:00. A week and a half later, beginning at
11:00 on Saturday morning 16th July, the group will meet for an all-day
workshop on the curriculum "De Cultu," with practice in asana, pranayama,
concentration, visualization, astral visioning, qabalah, and ritual. As in
all previous Aleph meetings, bring your journal and wear loose-fitting
clothing. Following this 16th July workshop, the group plans to conduct less
structured meetings, with reading and discussion only, every Saturday
afternoon at 2:00 in the Edible Complex at 5600 College Avenue in Oakland. Newcomers are encouraged to attend. Contact Michael Sanborn at Thelema Lodge
for further developments.
Join Bill Heidrick at his home in Marin for the Thelema Lodge Magick in Theory and Practice Series on Wednesday evening 20th July at 7:30. Discussion
will center on chapter XVIII (the Moon chapter), "Of Clairvoyance and . . .
Divination", and a review of this especially important (and extensive) section
is suggested to those desiring to prepare ahead for the meeting. Call Bill
for further information at (415) 454-5176.
Sirius Oasis offers another Thelemic Magick workshop at the regular Oasis
meeting this month in Berkeley, on Wednesday evening 13th July, beginning at
8:00. We will focus on the various pentagram rituals which Crowley taught to
beginning students of magick. To attend please contact the Oasis Master at
(510) 527-2855.
"The Astrology of Leo" with Grace will meet from 7:00 to 9:00 on Friday
evening 29th July in Berkeley. The lazy, intolerant, and cruel king of
beasts, ruled by the sun, embodies a majestic pride and enthusiastic self-
assurance hardly comprehensible to those who see the creature merely as an
over-grown kitty. This month's astrological workshop will explore the
nobility and pomposity of the fiery feline, with litter-box jokes strongly
discouraged. All attending are requested to contact Grace at (510) 843-7827
before setting forth for this event.
Poetry Night at Thelema Lodge is Saturday evening 30th July, when Frater
P.I. will be on hand to facilitate the Grady Louis McMurtry Poetry Society in
the lodge library at 7:30. Verse is as much a pattern of sound as of sense,
and is best experienced as an oral performance. We welcome all readers (and
listeners); bring your most interesting poems, whether they're your own
originals, old favorites, or selections from your recent reading, to read
aloud for the group.
Library Nights at Thelema Lodge are scheduled for Thursday evenings 7th and
28th July. Please call to confirm these dates, which are sometimes
rescheduled for the convenience of those expressing an interest in assisting
with library work, or arranging to use the lodge library facilities for their
own research.
The Thelema Lodge Sustaining Members Brunch will begin at 1:00 PM (a couple
hours later than in previous months) on Sunday 10th July. This group of
especially generous lodge supporters commits to a $30 monthly donation, and in
appreciation the lodge entertains them with special activities, previews of
coming attractions, and our monthly brunch meeting. Members and friends of
the lodge who are able to participate at this level are invited to contact
Michael Sanborn for further information.
FIVE years ago any Englishman who felt in need of indulging the more
diabolical type of national pride had only to cross a strip of water, very choppy most of the time, but well worth crossing. He could then hear the most
sincere of fulsome flattery about the Machiavellianism of "perfide Albion."
Any travelling Germans, Russians, or Italians who happened to overhear could
be relied upon to swell the chorus of approval; growl as it was, it sounded
like divinest music in British ears. For its refrain was that the Englishman
was the most devilishly clever diplomat in the world. He was the
Mephistopheles of politics. If the continent had had the Anglo-Saxon trick of
following its opponents in fiction, the British spy would have been to it what
the German spy, the Japanese spy, the Mexican spy are to our modern movie
fans.
This estimate was a good one. England, with minuscule resources, has
always managed to outmaneuver the cleverest enemies, against incredible odds.
The policies of Elizabeth, of Cromwell, of Pitt stood as the David-Goliath
victories of all time. There is no parallel in history. Greece resisted
Persia by superior valour; Rome grew by conquest and assimilation; England's
Empire, alone, is the creation of sheer statecraft.
But just as Herod in his pride was doomed to be slain by the smallest of
all God's creatures, so England. Infernally clever as she is in all other
respects, in one point she is more stupid than one could think possible. That
nation is Ireland. It is not a story of one foolish minister; it is a tale of
seven hundred years of consistent imbecility. King after king broke his shins
by stumbling against the Irish bog-oak; Richard II lost his crown, and plunged
England into a century of civil war, over his Irish wars. Statesman after
statesman lost his reputation and his head, over Ireland; general after
general buried his fame there. The Stuarts foundered there, even they; but
for Stafford and the Irish tangle, Charles I would have been the "Beloved";
and Cromwell, astute and unscrupulous as he was, could do nothing in the Green
Isle but massacre. Since his time the British policy had been one of frank
extermination. 125 years ago the population of Ireland was greater than that
of the United States; the ratio is now 4 to 100.
THE English deliberately laid Ireland waste by land laws which made
agriculture economically impossible, so as to force an emigration; in the
Black Year the relief ships were held upon technicalities that the people
might starve. One can buy an estate of many thousand acres with a fine house
in Ireland for five to ten thousand dollars. It was a commonplace of my
boyhood to say that the Irish question could be settled easily by putting the
island under water for 24 hours.
The official English apologist of these best years, Gilbert Keith
Chesterton, has shown up an indictment of British rule in Ireland which makes
the alleged German atrocities in Belgium read like harmless practical jokes,
and he excuses England by saying that it was not "England, but only England's
hired Prussian soldiers" that were responsible. The British are sometimes
almost too ingenious!
Now all this trouble is only a trouble of temperament. It is a profound
misunderstanding. I --- moi qui vous parle --- can trace back my Irish blood on
the father's side to the Egyptians, my English blood on the mother's side to
the Phoenicians; so I understand where the mischief lies. Vigorously pro-Ally
as I am in the present juncture, I cannot place the whole blame of the recent
revolution in Ireland upon the Irish.
ON July 3, 1915, I proclaimed the Independence of Ireland at the foot of the
Statue of Liberty. But I did not intend to interpret that "independence" as
"dependence on Germany!" The German temperament is surely the one thing more
antagonistic to the Irish than the English temperament. There is no sense of
what a German would call order in the Irish mind; all Irishmen have genius in
its worst form! Hence it was utterly ridiculous of the English to try to
prove that the martyrs of last Easter were "bribed by the Germans." For one
thing, you can't bribe people whose action, if successful, gives them control
of the wealth of a whole country, whose failure dooms them to the gallows. But British stupidity never hesitated. While all America, even violently pro-
Ally America, was vomiting with horror and disgust at the murders of Pearse,
Conolly, Skeffington and the rest, she calmly proceeded to vilify her victims.
She did not even have the sense to see that the mere date of the Revolution ---
Holy Week --- would inevitable link Pearse in the Catholic mind with the hero
of the "World's Tragedy," and so make his name a rallying-cry of anti-English
sentiment for the lifetime of Christianity.
Not content with hanging Casement in cold blood, though every one even in
England knew him for a harmless idealist with a touch of the crank in him, she
branded him by secret slander --- not daring to publish the alleged evidence
against him --- as "immoral" in a particular sense which to all informed
memories merely recalled the theft of the Crown Jewels of Dublin Castle by the
servants of the crown.
TO attribute what the French call "le vice anglais" to Casement was too funny.
If they had laughed, it would not have been so bad; but they kept the veil of
hypocrisy upon their faces, not knowing what word some rude little boy had
written there.
For an Englishman not only "never knows when he is beaten"; he also never
knows when he is found out. It is difficult to say how far this may be an
advantage; but he has lied so long that he now lies in all sincerity; he has
lost the sense of what truth is.
Therefore I do not say that the English were not sincere in their
denunciation of those lofty souls who heard the clarion call of my Declaration
of Independence, and sprang to arms. The tragedy of it is that they were.
They had not imagination enough to put themselves in the place of any Home
Rule Irishman. Let us give a sketch of the history of the movement.
1. It goes on rather hopelessly for 50 years or so after the treacherous
destruction of Graham's Parliament.
2. Parnell takes hold, and forces the government to offer a measure. The
government splits rather than pass it.
3. Parnell renews his efforts. This time, despite his own fill, the bill
goes through the Commons. The Lords throw it out.
4. Another rally. The veto of the Lords is destroyed, principally in
order to pass Home Rule.
5. The bill passes. Sir Edward Carson revolts, drills men, runs guns,
with the Government and the army for his accomplices. England, even the anti-
Home-Rule section, is aghast.
6. The King signs the bill. General relief; "Oh well, that's done with,
thank God! It's law now; but we needn't enforce it, need we?"
But now? Yes: even now a frank acceptance of the Law of England might save
England. Let Dublin Castle be abolished; perhaps no other act would be
necessary. Ulster and Rebel Cork have learnt to understand each other in the
last two years, to some extent. Home Rule is now possible as never before.
At least a fair trial would be evidence of England's good intentions.
Or is her Blind Spot "a spot that is always barred"? Oh William Schwenk
Gilbert!
People often have declaimed, | |
Hardly are they to be blamed, | |
That, if after they have died | |
Relatives should have them fried | |
They would turn, | |
In their urn. | |
I, upon the other hand, | |
Highly rate the blazing brand, | |
Wonder how the dust will sift | |
As I idly pile and drift. | |
Will I learn, | |
In my urn? | |
Should I awake when I'm dead, | |
Find the sod above my head, | |
I will haunt and make them go | |
Dig me up and fry me, so | |
I can churn, | |
In my urn! | |
Previously published in Ecclesia Gnostica 1:4 (1985) and in The Grady Project (March 1988).
Derived from a lecture on 7/22/87 e.v. by Bill Heidrick
Copyright © Bill Heidrick
TRAINING TIPS:
The key to working the Abramelin system is to isolate yourself so that you
can change yourself, so that you are not kept unchanged by the pressure of
social interaction. Once isolated, proceed with the discipline and increase
it gradually. Depending on the success that you have with these things, it
will take more or less time. There is no upper limit to the amount of time.
The beginning of this process must be very tight. It commences with light
discipline, neither complex nor onerous; but what little there is must be
rigidly maintained. That's quite important and not well emphasized in the
book. The Abramelin book lays out a simple instruction. Since most of us
would have to go at the task in a more round-about way, there is a problem.
Once you have attained the Knowledge and the Conversation, once the "voice"
that's has always been there for you suddenly becomes something realized and
recognized, then you have begun in earnest. This is not something you get.
This is something to which you awaken yourself. In many cultures a big thing
is made of attracting a spirit of this kind. In the rite of Confirmation used
by some forms of Christianity, a saint's spirit is attracted to the person to
be confirmed. The newly confirmed Christian is given the name of that saint.
Other cultures say that a god is attracted. A Christian saint is a god. It's
amazing what people do with words, isn't it? Words and cultural taboos about
words can distract. It's all the same sort of approach. The Guardian Angel,
or Neshamah as it's called in Qabalah, is part of you. This whole process is
a waking up to the fact that you've always had such a thing. There has always
been the voice that advises, the voice to which you have been too frightened
or too busy to listen. It's always there. It will always be there. This
communication needs tuning. The voice doesn't know how to talk to you. You
don't know how to listen to it. You've got to fix that. You will have to
isolate yourself and regularize your thinking. You can make it easier for the
spirit to adapt to you. You need to adjust yourself so that you are not
distracted. Then you may hear the spirit that is part of you or attached to
you, whatever you want to call it.
PAPER TRAINING 1A:
Be careful. The spirit appears unsophisticated when it comes to mundane
things. The Holy Guardian Angel doesn't come from here. It does not speak
worldly language very clearly. You may find that this spirit acts hastily.
It discovers ways that it can get your attention, like having your car rear-
ended or causing an arm to be detached. You need to inform the spirit that
such methods are not desirable. In many ways this relationship begins like a
new friendship between children. Children are pure, beautiful and deadly.
They don't know when to quit or what they mustn't do. They haven't been here
long enough to find out. You have to occasionally say to children; "Stop
that!" Try not to dislocate an arm or fracture an emotion when you assist
their understanding. It's the same with the Guardian Angel. This is a part
of you that you have shut off from the day-to-day world. It doesn't know how
things go here. If you tell it, it'll catch on real quick. If you say: "No,
I don't need to learn by catching the Hong Kong flu every second week. I
realize that this makes me real quiet so that I can listen to you; but this
does not really serve the purpose that you seek. Let's try to work out
something better." A person can get the impression that this is some horribly
dangerous thing. It is possible, by prejudicing yourself, to get that effect.
If you think you are trying to conjure up the very Devil, whatever the Hell
that is, your Holy Guardian Angel is going to think: "Well, I guess that's
what he wants me to do." Maintain a positive outlook in these proceedings.
You are training yourself as well as your spirit. This spirit will never do
anything to harm you, if you tell it what doesn't work. If you ask it to
protect you, it will. In the process of asking, you open yourself up and the
parts of you that have been separated are able to work together. There is a
passivity in that form of request. If it is made without reservation, the
mind communicates what is needed. If you demand and compel, or say: "Give me
this!". You will get what you ask, not what you need. The fine print won't
be right if you don't open up enough to provide detail. In working by
traditional methods with demons (horrible imaginary things with terrible teeth
and bad breath) you need all kinds of protection. If you relax that
protection for a moment, you have big problems. Those problems come from
working with some part of yourself that doesn't hook up very well. That's
what most of these negative demons are. They are parts of you, parts of the
culture, and things in the world that don't get along very well. Demons (not
the classical Daemons), terrible monsters or whatever you find in these old
books, are of that nature. They represent sickness. They represent mental
disorder. They represent pain, suffering, fear, all those negative emotions.
That's why they are called devils. Work with them very, very carefully. It's
sometimes convenient to go through an elaborate change of things, a magical
circle, rituals performed just for this sort of purpose, special tools and so
forth. When you cease doing such an evocation, you do not want to have
anything around that can bring the accompanying thoughts back again. Don't go
to the Holy Guardian Angel as though it were that kind of thing. You will
have enough trouble with this klutz. The gods have big feet and know not
where they step. They don't notice things until after they have stepped on
them and say: "Ulp, did I un-create something? Oh', I'm sorry. What were
you?" Don't get into that kind of thing. Housebrake the Holy Guardian Angel,
so that it no longer messes up your mundane life to get your attention. If
you get too eager, you may loose connection a little bit. You can't get
everything: "I want lots of money!". "Money? I don't know money. We don't
have that here." You have to use something that's within you, and you have
got to open up to communicate it.
SPEND SOME QUALITY TIME WITH ADONAI.
Once you have this much worked out, you've got the knowledge. You've got
the conversation; you've worked out a way to get along. Now it's time to take a better look at the problems. What are they? They are the needs that made
you do this cockamamy thing in the first place. Maybe there's somebody that's
beating you up all the time. Maybe your family is in trouble with back-taxes.
Maybe you would like to learn something or improve your love life. Whatever
it is, those aren't things that are proper to the Holy Guardian Angel. The
Whole Thing is proper to the H.G.A. Details are work for secondary spirits.
You can say that they are part of you too, or you can deal with them as
separate things. That doesn't matter. Once you have something going that you
can trust, the Holy Guardian Angel, you can command any needful spirit. The
tradition is to go after the worst ones first: the Kings of the Four Quarters,
the terrible things that bring death and destruction in the world in the form
of storms and all the ills that can come from the four quarters of the earth.
If you read the old books closely, you will find that the four demon kings of
the elements usually relate to the four directions. Some of their names are
old terms from maps, referring to north, south, east or west. These things
are the next to master. You use the connection that you have developed with
your Holy Guardian Angel to compel the great terrors of the world to heel.
After that you don't want to deal with them much any more. Once you have
conquered the terrors of the world, you ask them to send more mild spirits.
Something like the damagers of the world, not the terrors, please. These are
lesser spirits. You master them and go on down the line. The Abramelin book
says you can ultimately get four servants. These aren't particularly nasty,
but they are in the chain of command. You have established that chain of
command. They can go and fetch bigger things as needed. These are four
elemental servants that will attend you.
PEDIGREES:
These things are abstractions. The higher up the line you get, the more
abstract they are. The further down the line you get, the more they are like
a busted foot, one of the least abstract things you're likely to find short of
a stomach ache. An archangel is the next thing to a god. An archangel
commands great things. Detroit might have an angel. A family might have a
spirit. A nation might have an archangel. In that way, an archangel is a
spirit common to all the people in a nation. An angel corresponds to a
smaller class, like a few people, an extended family, village or city. For an
immediate family, especially in the sense of the way things are done and
believed in such a family, there is a spirit of that family. What's the
spirit of the family? "Gens" is used in anthropology to refer to a group of
related people. It is also a word meaning a daemon. "Genius" is a word for a
person who's intelligence influences large numbers of people. "Genius" is
also a word meaning a particular and personal "Spirit" or "Daemon", in the
sense of the guiding intelligence inside a person. The higher up we go, from
spirit to angel to archangel, the more powerful they are. It's like the idea
of soul as root and tree. A tree divides near the trunk; that's solid, the
archangel. When it divides again into smaller parts that correspond to
angels. The rootlets and foliage of a tree are groups of spirits. Beyond
that, there are tiny little things in the ground that don't look like much of
anything, places where roots died, demons. Fallen leaves are the same.
Disease is part of life. It's the most tangible part because it's the hardest
to overlook. Ultimately, you want to go out from your center, the Holy
Guardian Angel. Find the great divisions of pain in your life, and master
them. This is described in a way that seems an allegory or myth, but actually
is not. People are conditioned to view this approach in that way. There's no
reason on earth why you can't personify things. Maybe they have "Person".
Animals don't have souls; or do they? If you have a pet, you may find
otherwise.
KITTY JUST ATE THE NEIGHBOR'S DOG:
It's possible to make a mistake and pick the wrong spirit, instead of the
Holy Guardian Angel. The H.G.A. is something that you can release yourself to
completely and still end up being the same individual you were in the
beginning. People tend to get a little weird doing a magical retirement, so
it's a good idea to keep a diary. With a diary, you can read old entries and
figure out how you got to where you are now. If necessary, you can go back
again. My favorite test is to take a break once in a while and go into a
Safeway or something like that. If you can stand it, you're still sane.
That's the definition of sanity in this culture, able to take care of the
minimum. Being able to endure a supermarket long enough to harmlessly obtain
food is pretty minimal. There is a thing called a lemure or Larva. You can
attract a hungry spirit, usually a wandering Nephesh, something that is
dependent on somebody else to stay around. You're "it"; you've volunteered as
life-support. Such a spirit is willing to pretend to be anything in order to
keep on sucking. That's not the H.G.A. That's just a trap that people fall
into, because they have been told that's all there is. The majority of those
cases are what the Romans would call lemures or larvae, the Tibetans hungry
ghosts, and the Hassids Dibukim. Such spirits need attention to live. It is
just like a failed relationship with a mate. If that other person is
dependent on you for shelter and food or for some important but less tangible
thing, they'll do anything up to the limits of their nature to keep you the
way you are. If you want them to be something, they will turn into it. If
you are angry, you will tend to evoke greater anger from them, resulting in
passive reaction on your part. The partner in such a dysfunctional
relationship may realize: "if this guy gets out of hand, all I have to do is
yell at him. All I have to do is hit 'em once and 'es just as quiet as
anything." People will usually do the things that get them what they want.
Not every one, sometimes people are remarkably stuck in one track. These are
lesser spirits, whatever you want to call them, hungry ghosts, vampires...
that's what the word "vampire" really meant. It was a member of the family
who hung around after he died, as long as you gave him useful things to do
that weren't too difficult. Vampires aren't always considered to be monsters
who make life terrible for you; they can be good to have around. They chase
off peddlers, robbers, whatnot. When a stranger comes to the house, the
vampire will feel very protective of the family. A "vampire" will pick up on
it if a person doesn't like them: "O'h, 'don't like' means I get attention!"
Then they will proceed to do more irritating things to that person. Keeping
peace with the spirits of the ancestors is very important in cultures around
the world. The Romans called the friendly ancestral spirits Lares and the
pesky ones Larvae. You want Great Grand Mother's ghost to bark at strangers,
not at reasonably behaved family members. This kind of thing isn't the Holy
Guardian Angel. This kind of thing is what happens when something eats off of
you. A certain amount of this is harmless, but you want to make sure that you
are in charge. In some states of mind people leak like a sieve. A lot of
life is being generated, not being used by the person generating it, and it's
there for the taking. Something comes and says: "This is lunch. How do we
make this a 24 hour diner? Very simple. Every time this person thinks; 'O'h
God if I haven't ...!', he turns loose all this energy. So, let's see: 'Hay!
God I haven't!' or 'Why did I do that!' --- that's a new one. That tastes
better. 'Your such a bummer' --- works too. Hot damn! 'You hate hating
yourself, don't you!' More food!". If you ever get really depressed, between
sobs, wrenches and tremors, pick up on what you are saying to yourself. Maybe
it isn't you talking. Maybe it's some astral clown saying: "Watch him go!"
This kind of thing is often marked by painful ideas that relay back inwardly
to create more painful ideas. In order to get rid of a depression feedback
loop, you've got to realize that this isn't you. The destructive voice is not
really rational. Jokes and humorous self-observations, the more tasteless and
jolting the better, will break this sort of cycle. If you get that kind of thing going, realize it isn't the Holy Guardian Angel. That is a wrong turn.
Go back and try again. That is a demon, and that is one of the things that
the Holy Guardian Angel is supposed to help you with. It's probably a very
stupid demon, who is only good at picking up on things to say.
Next month: A bit more on dealing with vampires and then on to some sight-seeing.
32500 Hinkley Rd., Rte 1 Barstow, CA 92311 June 9, 1969 | ||
Dear Grady: Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Received your long letter and was glad to hear from you. I had no idea you were returning to California and was happy to hear that you are here. ... Regarding your visit --- I would certainly like to see you --- all of you folks. However, I cannot sleep you as my Mother is with me. ... I don't know what your plans are, but under the circumstances perhaps it would be better if you made your visit to Barstow after your Mexico visit. ... When you come, please don't mention my living with Max. T. and I decided that the past is past and we don't allow it to come into the present. Refer to him as a teacher, which he was. T. knows of course about my being married to Ero because he worked with him at the Center. He knows nothing of Aleister Ataturk {Ed: Crowley's son.} I have not told my husband a lot of things. I am introducing him to Thelema eventually. He is very interested in searching for truth but he is not familiar with the Occult, Magick, etc. He is a wonderful person... Frankly, I am not interest in being connected with the establishment of an organization at the present time. I spent many years with Max, Ero and A. A., and much of the time under the aura of the OTO and all its complications. I want to work under the A. A. and not the O.T.O. right now. I don't want T. involved in an outer order at this time. I am sure you can understand. You had your period away from it and so did P. I may be interested later. Re the thefts -- it is certainly a mystery and to what end? I know all about Mildred's case but didn't know about Sascha's. It sounds fantastic. her accusation of P.'s daughter is ridiculous. I wonder if she didn't contact P. to take suspicion off herself? Did she call the police? She could have sold all the material and made it look like some else stole it. ... Reea has been in contact with Regardie -- could she have sent the anonymous letter? .... Yes, Max made A. C.'s ring. I don't recall whether Max designed it or whether A. C. sent him a design, or whether Max particularly designed it. ... Love is the law, love under will, {signed} My best wishes, always, | ||
Jean |
P.O.Box 76 Daly City, Calif. 1 July, 1969 | ||
Dear Grady:
In one of my last letters to Mildred, I expressed my desire to meet with you
for an exchange of impressions with the good of the Order in mind, and in the
hope that I could perhaps be of service somehow. Now, I realize that if you
were to start or head a Thelemic movement and needed my help, you would so
inform me; nevertheless, so great is my desire to see that justice is done to
the Order and to The Master Therion, that I thought it proper to take the
initiative. These years since I last saw you have not been wasted, and I have
learned many lessons and gained much experience; no doubt it has been the same
with you. For now, I shall limit myself in stating that I know what is taking
place in the world regarding Thelema and the Order, adding that now is the
time to set things aright. Regarding the literary works of the Master
Therion, wish to say the following: A small de-luxe edition of the Book of
Thoth which will sell for $50.00 per volume is coming out in New York, it
should be out in August or September. 777 was just reproduced by an outfit in
Chico, California; Jerry Kaye, who published sometime last year a cheap
clandestine reproduction of The Book of the Law, is coming out with another
edition; also his own version of the Tarot Cards, and as I understand it,
proposes more publications, this fellow is either in Los Angeles or North
Hollywood; a 25 page introduction to Therion's "AHA" is soon to be reproduced
from another source also. You see, the new off-set printing process makes the
business of reproducing rather easy. Anyway, all this goes on while we, the
true heirs to the O.T.O. and the Holy Order of A Please excuse having extended myself so much.
Sincerely and Fraternally, |
Monty died before being able to attend an organizational meeting; and of those who could be found, some were not ready. Ultimately, Grady, P.S., H.S. and Mildred Burlingame formed the O.T.O. Association in California, parent to the present O.T.O. Grady had already been at work, the Chico Liber 777
mentioned above by Br. Montenegro being one product of his labors.
Following up on the idea of a sort of rolling class and discussion on
Crowley's Magick in Theory and Practice, here's a test text. This is from MTP
Chapter VIII, "Of Equilibrium, and of the General and Particular Method of
Preparation of the Furniture of the Temple and of the Instruments of Art",
part I, 4th paragraph (page 61 in the Castle Books edition) has this:
"Again, the arrangement of the weapons of the altar must be such that they
"look" balanced. Nor should the magician have any unbalanced ornament. If he
have the wand in his right hand, let him have the Ring(1) on his left, or let
him take the Ankh, or the Bell, or the Cup. And however little he move to the
right, let him balance it by an equivalent movement to the left; or if
forwards, backwards; and *let him correct each idea by implying the
contradictory contained herein.* If he invoke Severity, let him recount that
Severity is the instrument of Mercy,(2) if Stability, let him show the basis
of that Stability to be constant change, just as the stability of a molecule
is secured by the momentum of the swift atoms contained in it.(3)"
Notes below text in MTP:
(1) The Ring has not been described in Part II of this book, for reasons which
may not be apparent to the reader. It is the symbol of Nuit, the totality of
the possible ways in which he may represent himself and fulfill himself.
(2) For example, as when Firmness with one's self or another is the truest
kindness; or when amputation saves life.
(3) See Liber 418, 11th Aethyr.
Notes to the notes:
(1) Max Schneider made such a ring for Crowley at Agape Lodge in California
about a decade after this passage was written. It consists of a flat table
with the cartouche in Egyptian hieroglyphs of the name Ankh-af-na-Khonsu in
red gold on a yellow gold band carved in the shape of the goddess Nuit. See
the mention above in the "Primary Sources" column, this issue of the TLC.
(3) Liber 418 is also called the Vision and Voice.
Here's what I am after. Many of Crowley's passages in MTP require some help
to trace references or to get at the direct meaning. Beyond that, some
passages have a notable hidden or second meaning. I would like to find the
best approach for the most participants in this discussion. This sample
passage can be handled in quite a few ways; here are some approaches:
A. General discussion of the purpose and physical (or simple) nature of the subject --- here Crowley is describing one aspect of layout of magical equipment. How are these things used and why?
B. Discussion of the direct meaning and subject --- Balance in ritual through arrangement of the objects used.
C. Details that may be obscure in the passage, including definition of words and names and the sort of thing above in my "Notes to the notes."
D. What does each detail (Ankh, Bell &c) mean simply.
E. What is the trend of the passage --- here Crowley begins with physical object arrangement, goes on to motions, proceeds next to ideas, after to invocations, last to philosophy and example quite beyond the simple title of the chapter. Notably, marked in *'s here, one passage is printed in darker type in the book.
F. This passage describes a general principle further discussed in Crowley's Liber Librae sub figura XXX (in Equinox vol. I, #1) and from a more subtle perspective in Liber A vel Armorum sub figura XXXXII, last item in MTP). These can be explored.
G. What is the general principle of discussing a point on several levels, as in this case? That could lead to a discussion here of the method called PARDIS, analysis of meaning according to the four worlds in Qabalah.
H. The specific mental technique implied by this passage could be discussed. It is known as "Antinomy", union of opposite ideas. There are warnings and best techniques involved in this practice of mental discipline. This discipline has benefits and deficits inherent in it. Further, there are theories of Psychology of consciousness that employ a related idea, which could be discussed.
I. "To what end" --- i.e., why does Crowley place importance on this passage, and what is his intent in bringing it up?
J. Many passages in MTP can serve as "seeds" for discussion and mediation, ultimately capable of generating Crowley's entire Magical and Moral philosophy. This is one such. How do these passages work in that manner, and how does the development proceed in this instance?
----- Well, that's a starter, ten points for the ten Sephirot of the Qabalistic Tree of Life on the passage, starting with Malkut on "A" and ending in Keter for "J". Let's see if there's any interest in pursuing this through discussion on one or more of these points.
7/3/94 | Gnostic Mass 8:00PM Horus Temple | Thelema Ldg. | ||
7/5/94 | Aleph Group practice and Discussion 8 PM | Thelema Ldg. | ||
7/7/94 | Library Night 8 PM | Thelema Ldg. | ||
7/9/94 | Rite of Saturn 8:30 PM in Berkeley | |||
7/10/94 | Supporting Members Brunch 1PM | Thelema Ldg. | ||
7/10/94 | Gnostic Mss 8:00PM Horus Temple | Thelema Ldg. | ||
7/11/94 | Thelema Lodge Meeting 8:00PM | Thelema Ldg. | ||
7/12/94 | Greater Feast of Hymenaeus Alpha 7:00PM | Thelema Ldg. | ||
7/13/94 | Thelemic Magick Workshop 8:00PM in Berkeley | Sirius Oasis | ||
7/16/94 | Aleph Group Workshop 11:00AM | Thelema Ldg. | ||
7/17/94 | Gnostic Mass 8:00PM Horus Temple | Thelema Ldg. | ||
7/18/94 | Section Two Reading Group at OZ House with Caitlin 8:00PM | Thelema Ldg. | ||
7/20/94 | Magick in Theory and Practice class with Bill in San Anselmo 7:30PM | Thelema Ldg. | ||
7/21/94 | Rite of Jupiter 8:00PM | Sirius Oasis | ||
7/23/94 | "Cyber Sabbath" occult information processing 8:00PM | Thelema Ldg. | ||
7/24/94 | Gnostic Mass 8:00PM Horus Temple | Thelema Ldg. | ||
7/25/94 | Butterfly Net Computer Group 8:00PM | Thelema Ldg. | ||
7/27/94 | Liber XV Study Group w. Bp. T Dionysys 8:00PM | Thelema Ldg. | ||
7/28/94 | Library Night 8 PM | Thelema Ldg. | ||
7/29/94 | Astrology of Leo with Grace 7:00PM in Berkeley, call to attend. | Thelema Ldg. | ||
7/30/94 | 777 Poetry Society 7:30PM w.Fr.P.I. | Thelema Ldg. | ||
7/31/94 | Gnostic Mass 8:00PM Horus Temple | 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.