July 1994 e.v. Thelema Lodge Calendar/Newsletter Mailed free within 100 miles of San Francisco California Printed edition otherwise: $12 per year North America, $12 per year surface overseas, $24 per year air mail overseas. Copyright (c) O.T.O. and the Individual Authors, 1994 e.v. Limited license is hereby granted to reproduce this file without fee, with this message intact. This license expires July 1995 e.v. unless renewed in writing. No charge other than reproduction costs is permitted under this license to the receivers of copies of this file without O.T.O. written permission. This file is not to be altered or incorporated in whole or in part within another electronic or printed publication without written permission by O.T.O. Ordo Templi Orientis P.O. Box 2303 Berkeley, CA 94702 USA Production Editor and Circulation: OTO-TLC Editor P.O.Box 430 Fairfax, CA 94978 (CIS 72105,1351) (AOL B Heidrick) Phone: (510) 652-3171. Compuserve: 72105,1351 (Editor and circulation only) America on Line: B Heidrick " " " " Calendar events in the San Francisco Bay Area for July 1994 e.v., in brief. Always call the contact phone number before attending. Some are limited in size, change location and may be subject to other adjustments. When you call, you don't get lost or disappointed. Initiations are private. Donations at all OTO events are welcome. ************************************************************************* Thelema Lodge Events mostly at Horus Temple, 5977 Keith Ave. Oakland, but some are elsewhere. The listed phone numbers for events are specific to locations of those events. Please see the top and bottom of this file for general Thelema Lodge phones. 7/3/94 Gnostic Mass 8:00PM Horus Temple (510) 652-3171 Thelema Ldg. 7/5/94 Aleph Group practice and Discussion (510) 652-3171 Thelema Ldg. 8 PM 7/7/94 Library Night 8 PM (510) 652-3171 Thelema Ldg. 7/9/94 Rite of Saturn 8:30 PM in Berkeley (510) 652-3171 & (510) 843-7827 7/10/94 Supporting Members Brunch 1PM (510) 652-3171 Thelema Ldg. 7/10/94 Gnostic Mss 8:00PM Horus Temple (510) 652-3171 Thelema Ldg. 7/11/94 Thelema Lodge Meeting 8:00PM (510) 652-3171 Thelema Ldg. 7/12/94 Greater Feast of Hymenaeus Alpha (510) 652-3171 Thelema Ldg. 7:00PM 7/13/94 Thelemic Magick Workshop 8:00PM (510) 527-2855 Sirius Oasis in Berkeley 7/16/94 Aleph Group Workshop 11:00AM (510) 652-3171 Thelema Ldg. 7/17/94 Gnostic Mass 8:00PM Horus Temple (510) 652-3171 Thelema Ldg. 7/18/94 Section Rwo Reading Group at OZ (510) 654-3580 Thelema Ldg. House with Caitlin 8:00PM 7/20/94 Magick in Theory and Practice class (415) 454-5176 Thelema Ldg. with Bill in San Anselmo 7:30PM 7/21/94 Rite of Jupiter 8:00PM (510) 527-2855 Sirius Oasis & (510) 652-3171 7/23/94 "Cyber Sabbath" occult information (510) 652-3171 Thelema Ldg. processing 8:00PM 7/24/94 Gnostic Mass 8:00PM Horus Temple (510) 652-3171 Thelema Ldg. 7/25/94 Butterfly Net Computer Group 8:00PM (510) 652-3171 Thelema Ldg. 7/27/94 Liber XV Study Group w. Bp. T (510) 652-3171 Thelema Ldg. Dionysys 8:00PM 7/28/94 Library Night 8 PM (510) 652-3171 Thelema Ldg. 7/29/94 Astrology of Leo with Grace 7:00PM (510) 843-7827 Thelema Ldg. in Berkeley, call to attend. 7/30/94 777 Poetry Society 7:30PM w.Fr.P.I. (510) 652-3171 Thelema Ldg. 7/31/94 Gnostic Mass 8:00PM Horus Temple (510) 652-3171 Thelema Ldg. ************************************************************************* Rites of Eleusis This year's production of Aleister Crowley's ritual cycle "The Rites of Eleusis" extends over twelve weeks from July to September. Most of the performances will be held in Berkeley in members' homes. Our schedule is a modification of last year's successful innovation, with the planetary rites performed at twelve-day intervals (an idea originally proposed by Brother Jim Graeb). We will begin with Saturn at the dark of the moon on Saturday 9th July, and wind down in classical planetary order to the Rite of Luna at full moon on Monday 19th September. An additional Rite of Earth, as yet undetermined, may be added for Saturday 1st October. Members and guests at these open dramatic rituals are requested to wear colors appropriate to the planets being celebrated, and to contribute libation and light food donations to the events whenever possible. Call Thelema Lodge at (510) 652-3171 for locations and additional information. The performances this month will be the Rite of Saturn (wear black), scheduled for Grace's back garden on Saturday 9th July at 8:30, and the Rite of Jupiter (dress in blue and bring wine!) on Thursday 21st July at Sirius Oasis, beginning at 8:00. Call Grace at (510) 843-7827 and Sirius Oasis at (510) 527-2855 for directions. Plan ahead for the Rite of Mars on Tuesday evening 2nd August at 8:00, also at Sirius Oasis. Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica Horus Temple, located in the Thelema Lodge facility at 5977 Keith Avenue in the Rockridge area of north-eastern Oakland, is the site for our weekly celebration of Aleister Crowley's Gnostic Mass, beginning at nightfall each Sunday evening. All attending are expected to participate in the communion at the culmination of the ritual. The mass is open to guests and interested members of the public; please call ahead for information and directions when joining us for the first time. 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. Events and Classes Most Thelema Lodge events are free and open to the public, with voluntary donations requested to offset rental expenses for our temple and library facilities. Members and friends who are not in frequent contact with the lodge are requested to call ahead when planning to attend, in case of late scheduling changes and specific suggestions for participation in particular events. Not all events are held at the Keith Avenue location, and when individual members are inviting us into their homes it is especially important to contact them before arriving. 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. ************************************************************************* Crowley Classics This article originally appeared in "Viereck's The American Weekly" 6:11 (New York: 18 May 1917). England's Blind Spot by Aleister Crowley 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! Finis ************************************************************************* from the Grady Project: Urnie 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! -- Grady L. McMurtry 2/18/1942 e.v. Previously published in "Ecclesia Gnostica" 1:4 (1985) and in "The Grady Project" (March 1988). ************************************************************************* An Abramelin Ramble, with visits to roadside attractions along the way and sundry personal advice. PART V -- How to find & care for your Adonai. Derived from a lecture on 7/22/87 e.v. by Bill Heidrick Copyright (c) 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. (to be continued) ************************************************************************* Primary Sources Grady McMurtry, Hymenaeus Alpha rises. Following a time of increasing tension between Grady McMurtry and Karl Germer, as noted in this column last issue, Grady took a job in Washington D.C. In the course of time, Karl died (1962 e.v.); but Grady heard nothing about the Greater Feast for several years. Called back to California by Soror Meral, Grady investigated a theft of O.T.O. archives from the Germer home. By the end of that investigation, the 60's were nearing a close. Grady activated his credentials from Crowley, and the few remaining O.T.O. still in touch members were polled on the idea of resurrecting the Order. Here are two letters from that moment in time. The first is from Jean Schivonen, since deceased. Here are selected excerpts: -oOo- 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 -oOo- P.O.Box 76 Daly City, Calif. 1 July, 1969 Dear Grady: Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. After so many years, it was good to hear you are again in this area. Last night, while I was sound asleep after being on the go all day, I heard from Mildred via the telephone and was given your mailing address; and it is within the bonds of fraternity of the Order, that I write to you these few lines, primarily to ask a favor of you. Mildred wrote to me about a month ago telling me about your visit to her place in Mount Shasta and about your hopes to get Thelema on the move. On 8 June she wrote again stating she would be in this area during the latter part of the month and would get in touch with me in order that she and I get together for a long and fraternal interview. Our meeting, for reasons beyond my control did not take place; I did my part, and no doubt she did also. During our phone conversation of last night, I did not quite understand whether she would remain in the area for a while, or return to Mount Shasta within a few days as soon as her car was repaired. In any event, I was left with the impression that she is in financial need, and since I do not know where to reach her, I wonder if you would do me the favor of seeing that she gets the enclosure; it isn't much, but it might help her in some way. 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.'. A.'. remain silent and buried in the past. Please excuse having extended myself so much. Love is the law, love under will Sincerely and Fraternally, {signed} Monty .'. -oOo- 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. ************************************************************************* From the Outbasket Continuing a look at Computer access services, here's a bit that links with the current class at Thelema Lodge on "Magick in Theory and Practice". AOL (America on Line) has a Forum or section called "Religion & Ethics". Within that forum, there are message boards called "folders" along with downloadable file Libraries. Quite as few O.T.O. members and Thelemites generally read and post messages in the two "Pagan" message boards there, notably in the folder titled "Crowley". Yes, I know that "Pagan" doesn't entirely suit Thelema and Crowley as topics, but you take 'em as you find 'em. Anyway, recently I was asked to experiment with a sort of topical class on "MTP" in the "Crowley" message folder. I don't know what may come of the experiment, but here is an edited version of my starter post there. If those of our readers who happen to subscribe to AOL would like to drop by in the "Crowley" folder, who knows? We might start something new. For Compuserve subscribers, don't feel left out. O.T.O. members LAW and Rodney host a weekly Ceremonial Magick live conference every Sunday on Compuserve, New Age Forum. The conference has been meeting at 3PM Eastern US time every Sunday and will move to 5PM EDT in July. The topic is presently on YHShVH and the "Star Ruby"; also to be found in "MTP". Both Compuserve and AOL have many Crowley texts available for downloading. Likewise, in larger numbers, the 93Net BBS's. For those who are local to the SF Bay Area, my class on "Magick in Theory and Practice" meets once a month and in San Anselmo. See above for the description and time/place of the next meeting. The text below has been slightly modified to make better sense in this present context. -oOo- 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". -oOo- 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. -- TSG (Bill Heidrick) ************************************************************************* July 1994 e.v. Thelema Lodge Calendar Mailed free within 100 miles of San Francisco California Ordo Templi Orientis P.O. Box 2303 Berkeley, CA 94702 USA Production Editor and Circulation: OTO-TLC Editor P.O.Box 430 Fairfax, CA 94978 (CIS 72105,1351) (AOL B Heidrick) Lodge Location: 5977 Keith Avenue, Oakland. Various locations for individual events for July Phone: (510) 652-3171 ************************************************************************* Please feel free to forward this file to any BBS willing to take it 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, fo