Fuck YeaH! Dark Lords and Office Pirates…now this is what I'm talkin' about y'all!

// April 28th, 2006 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

Yes…it does smile

// April 28th, 2006 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

I love kids…

// April 28th, 2006 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

I absolutely love kids. They are so free and so full of unconditional love. They allow themselves to feel and to be cranky and to operate without much of the social veneer we all don after junior high. This picture was taken at my friend’s family home on Easter. He comes from a BIG family (5 kids in his tier…most who have spawned between 2-4 children each) and there were a bunch of little critters running about on that day. This picture is a VERY comfortable hanging chair that the kids would get in and fly around. I spent most of the day pushing them in this thing, and I enjoyed every moment. I meant to have six kids, but it didn’t work out like that. But I love all of them. Even the rotten ones! They remind me that all is all okay. They remind me of what I can be at my best.

The Reason my Back is so Bad…

// April 28th, 2006 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

I think this is me from 100 years ago. Something tells me that my name was Krys Dauchy and that I rode for a company called GT. Could be all rumour though…never can tell about these things. Whatever you do…DON’T send this photo to my orthopod. I’m still claiming not to know what happened to make my back so bad!

Buddhism: Your Daily Meditation

// April 28th, 2006 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

There seem to two kinds of searchers: those who seek to make their ego something other than it is, i.e. holy, happy, unselfish (as though you could make a fish unfish), and those who understand that all such attempts are just gesticulation and play-acting, that there is only one thing that can be done, which is to disidentify themselves with the ego, by realizing its unreality, and by becoming aware of their eternal identity with pure being.

- Fingers Pointing Toward the Moon by Wei Wu Wei

Red Thread Zen – Sacred Sexuality

// April 27th, 2006 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

Red Thread Zen
The Tao of Love, Passion, and Sex
by Subhana Barzaghi
Day 4, Spring Sesshin 1993, Gorricks Run Zendo, NSW, Australia

Most of us have arrived at this particular point in our spiritual journey with a little extra baggage about passion, love, and sex, andI have noticed that many people on the spiritual path have a tendencyin the mind to create a polarisation or a separation between thespiritual path and the sexual life. There a number of ways in whichthis polarisation and confusion is reinforced. One of those ways isthat we continue to subscribe to a collective cultural belief and mythperpetuated through Christianity, which is the predominant source ofmyth in our culture, about the fall of Eve. As you know, in thestory, Eve touched and ate of the forbidden fruit in the Garden ofEden and gave it to Adam, a symbolic gesture. Eve was portrayed as atemptress, a seducer, and she has been held responsible for the fallfrom heavenly grace; her sacred flesh has been falsely blamed for theevils of mankind for generations.This belief system is entrenched and deep-seated and runs through ourwhole society, even today. It is reflected in our present mythsaround sexual abuse and assault. In my work as a therapist in thatfield I noticed about ninety per cent of victimsprimarily womenwould often come away from an assault feeling that they were to blame.Its the only crime in our society where the victim walks away feelinglike somehow they did something wrong, that they are to blame. Theywould often say things like, If only I hadnt stayed back at thatparty, If only I hadnt walked down that street, If only I hadntworn that particular dress, If only I hadnt got in the car andtaken a lift home with that person, then maybe it wouldnt havehappened. We also hear offenders saying, She deserved it, She ledme on, She asked for it, She encouraged me. In some ways womenare still carrying the collective blame for abuse and sexual assaultin our society. All of us are still redeeming the body of Eve, eventoday: I see an enormous amount of that in therapy.Another factor that contributes to the disconnectedness ofspirituality and sexuality is the notion of a body/mind/spirit split.It is as if this kind of thinking, this compartmentalising of life, insome way perpetuates the notion that the body and the passions of theflesh belong to the lower realms, and the flesh needs to betranscended to realise the spirit. This kind of thinking is verydualistic and hierarchical in nature. The orthodox religious mind hasseparated the physical from the spiritual, the sensual from the soul.Rejection of the body became a common article of faith among theworlds religions, and orthodox religion has never managed to enjoythe innocence and delight of physical beauty and sensuality. Even inour own Zen history there is the story of a nun who was a verybeautiful woman, stunningly beautiful, and who went to the monasteryto become a nun, and who was rejected. She went three times and shewas rejected each time, because, they told her, she was too beautiful,she would corrupt the monks. The tragic story is that she was sointent on being a nun that she took a hot iron and put it to her face,scarred her face, just so that she could enter the nunnery.This repressed rejection of physical beauty and attraction by orthodoxreligious authorities has contributed to religions obsession withcelibacy and its condemnation of enjoying and beautifying the body.Not so long ago, Christian monks would have to make confession to thepriest about masturbation. It was considered a sinful act toexperience the normality of sexual arousal in the body. The flesh hadto be subdued and conquered. We can laugh about that now, but itsnot so long ago in our history.At the other end of the spectrum from the religious orthodox attitudeis our Western consumer cultures attitude to the flesh and the body,which has made a devotional practice of adorning the body. On themarket we have endless products available for every single region ofthe body, from the hair, to the skin, to the lips, to the breasts, tothe genitals, to the toenails. The human body from head to toe hasbecome an instrument of profit, a multibillion dollar industry.From these two extremes we are not modelled very healthy ways ofrelating to the physical, sensual nature of the body. On one side,the religious view of transcending the flesh and treating it assinful, and on the other side the endless adoring of the body, fussingover its appearances in order to prolong life, which denies thenatural ageing process. One of my teachers, Christopher Titmuss, whois of the Red Thread school, said, Religion has been unwilling to seethe sensual forces and the spirit as interconnected. Those who areobsessed with preserving their looks and sexual attraction cannot seepast their breasts and genitals, while others cannot see therelationship between their genitals and spirituality. Both miss amarriage of the flesh and spirit.Many years agomaybe not that many years agoI certainly engaged inwild and promiscuous sexual behaviour myself, that caused havoc withmy relationships and caused immense suffering to me and to others. Isuffer deep remorse and regret for what was clearly a breaking of thethird precept, concerning sexual misconduct. In reaction, in a way,to that part of the wild woman in me and in an attempt to make surethat conduct never happened again, I decided to install a kind ofpolicewoman in my psyche. A bit like Hannya: in Japanese temples theyhave wonderful little demons in the corner, with a sword, littlefierce demons called Hannya. So I decided to adopt one of those in mypsyche, and my policewoman was available at any moment to cut downthat sexual desire or fantasy the moment it arose. No, you are notgoing to think about that! Phoom! This went on for some time;while, as I said, I suffered deep guilt and remorse.This path eventually culminated in my taking of the robes in SriLanka, and ordaining as a Buddhist nun. I had really long hair then,longer than it is now, and I went from long hair to no hair at all. ASwiss nun had the wonderful opportunity of shaving my head. I thoughtin some way shaving my head was maybe shaving off some of my vanity.But after I shaved my head it was the most exhilarating experience. Idont know if some of you have had that experience, but the head is sosensitive when it hasnt got any hair on it, that it was like standingunder a shower where you could feel every little drop, every littledrop. So I was walking around with a smile, a grin, from ear to earfor days and days. This was a very joyous time and an incrediblysensual experiencelike being born again. So I couldnt even escapethat way. I thought I was going to be a nun; I thought I was going toescape having to deal with all that sensuality stuff; and shaving myhead ended up being one of the most sensual experiences.My policewoman served me well for about ten years. But that too haddevastating effects. In some way it was like cutting off a deep partof myself. The shadow comes back in the form of erotic fantasies,attractions, romantic projections, that haunt us until we understandthat there is something very deep there that needs our attention. Formany of us our sexual vitality is a mysterious life-force which seemsto operate under its own laws. Vows of celibacy do not subdue oursexual energies, nor are they contained in the holy vows of matrimony.Sexual feelings have a way of asserting themselves even in the mostpious minds, even in the most unlikely circumstances orsituationseven here in sesshin people have wonderful fantasies. Ifwe do not integrate the mind, body, flesh, and spirit, the spiritualwill always struggle with the physical, one attempting to claimsovereig
nty over the other, and life becomes a struggle and effort toconquer the passions in the name of the sacred. We do agree to becelibate here in sesshin, but the purpose of that is not to suppresssexual feelings or desires but simply to provide an opportunity for usto be completely alone, and experience other expressions of deepintimacy with this undivided nature.Our own lay practice has its roots in the monastic tradition andlineage of monks and nuns who take vows of celibacy, which does notreally speak to us or help us deal with the intensity of love,passion, and desire. But the intensity is there, and it rises up. Itdoes not help us deal with that energy in our daily lives. In the 17000 koans in our curriculumsome of you are looking a little amazed atthat!there are three of four koans relating to sexuality. It barelygets a mention. Yet love and sex and passion are so potent energiesthat really have a huge impact on our lives. I know that I have spentmany years at retreats and I dont think I have ever met a teacher, upuntil recently, who would open their mouth about sex and love andpassion, particularly in a retreat.So what is the Tao of love, passion, and sex? A few koans or storiesat least give us some direction or insight into the sensual nature ofthe Tao. Unfortunately these three koans get repeated every timesomeone gives a talk about this. . . . Anyway, one of themiscellaneous koans is, Why are perfectly enlightened bodhisattvasattached to the vermilion thread? The vermilion thread is the redthread, and the red thread is symbolic: I have recently learned thatit is not the line of tears , as I used to think, but it comes fromearly China, where the geisha girls and courtesans would wear a redgarter on their thigh, as the line of passions. So: Why areperfectly enlightened bodhisattvas attached to the vermilion thread?One of the characters I want to introduce you to is a wonderfulcharacter in the Zen tradition, called Ikkyu, who is one of mylongstanding and favourite Zen masters and who appeals, I guess, tothe wild woman in me. He was born in 1394 and was an illegitimate sonof the emperor Go-komatsu. He was known by some as the emperor ofrenegades, a wild wandering monk and teacher, sometimes called CrazyCloud. He was a lover, a poet, and he could write very tenderly aboutthe beauty of women. He relentlessly attacked the hypocrisy of thethen corrupt Zen establishment, and even had women as his students. Ithink he was one of the first Zen masters to have women as students;that was considered quite radical. It was in the brothels and geishahouses that he developed the Red Thread Zen, a notion he borrowed fromthe old Chinese master Kido and extended to deep and subtle levels ofrealisation. This very body is the lotus of the true law. This verybody is the lotus of the true law, linking human beings to birth anddeath by the red thread of passion. This approach was closely relatedto Tantric Buddhism, that used sexual union as a religious ritual.Ikkyus Red Thread form of Zen practice was a radical approach, anon-dualistic interpretation of the sexual act, realising this verybody is the Buddha-dharma. Ikkyu wrote a poem after his firstrealisation experience:From the world of passions returning to the world of passions:There is a moments pause.If it rains, let it rain; if the wind blows, let it blow.Ikkyus Red Thread Zen and wild, poetic, passionate nature was alsotempered, though, by his extensive training in the Rinzai school, veryintense training. Rinzai was a very strict master, and Ikkyu was verystrict and demanding with his own students.At the age of 77, Ikkyu had a passionate relationship with a mistressnamed Lady Shin. She was a blind singer and composer and a veryskilled musician, and she was in her late thirties. He wrote lots ofbeautiful graphic poetry celebrating their love, and it was in LadyShin that Ikkyu finally located his own missing female self. AsManfred Steger commented in his book Crazy Clouds, Ikkyu incorporatedbold elements of the physical relationship into his teaching of Zen,playing on koans in an erotic context, and bound the manifest andessential worlds in a love-knot. His radical methods and practiceshonoured women and the red thread that binds even the most enlightenedZen masters to passion, birth, and death. Ikkyu celebrated the joy inhuman love, and within sexuality there lies a profound sacredpractice, similar to Tantric Buddhism. He infused Zen for the firsttime with a feminine element that had long been missing. When Ikkyuwas about 80 years old that he was asked to be the abbot of Daitokoji,which is one the great temples in Japan. At that time it wascompletely in ruin from a civil war, so it was an extraordinary thingto do at 80 years old, to rebuild Daitokoji: which he did. He had anextraordinary enlightened mind.Another great character and master is Chao-chou, and he has somecomments about the passions. After master Chao-chou visited MountWu-tai, his teaching spread widely in north China. He was invited tostay at the Kuan Yin monastery in his own native town of Chao-chou.He came to the assembly and said, It is as if a transparent crystalwere held in ones hand. When a foreigner approaches it, it mirrorshim as such; when a native Chinese approaches it, it mirrors him assuch. I take a stalk of grass and let it act as a golden-bodied one,sixteen feet high, and I take a golden-bodied one, sixteen feet highand let it act as a stalk of grass. Buddhahood is passion, andpassion is Buddhahood.During his sermon a monk asked him, In whom does Buddha causepassion? Chao-chou said, Buddha causes passion in all of us.The monk asked, How do we get rid of it?Chao-chou said, Why should we get rid of it?Its not some great enlightenment verse, but it seems at least topoint some of the way in our daily lives.Another story that Aitken Roshi has told a number of times, a moreclassical story, also points at and disapproves of puritanicalreligious attitudes to sex. In ancient days an old woman madeoffering to a hermit over a period of twenty years, and one day shesent her sixteen-year-old niece to take food to the hermit, tellingher to make advances to him and to see what he would do. So the girllay her head on the hermits lap and said, How is this?The hermit said, The withered tree is rooted in an ancient rock inbitter cold during winter months; there is no warmth, no life.The girl reported this to her aunt, and the old woman said, Thatvulgarian! How outrageous! To think that I have made offerings tohim for twenty years!So she drove the hermit away and burnt down his cottage. As AitkenRoshi said in his commentary on the third precept, of sexualmisconduct, While we may question the use of the niece as bait totest the monks realisation, it is clear that the aunt fundamentallydisapproves. The monk was not responding to the human being who laydown there on his lap. He was using her to express his own asceticposition. The fire is a dream symbol of sex: You dont belong here!Sex belongs here!or at least some acknowledgment of it. So: whatwould your response be?I wish to emphasise that not cutting off the passions is not asuggestion to violate the third precept. It is not a matter of sexualmisconduct. There is a translation of the third precept by Thich NahtHanh which I think is particularly beautiful. Aware of the sufferingcaused by sexual misconduct, I vow to cultivate responsibility andlearn ways to protect the safety and integrity of individuals,couples, family, and society. I am determined not to engage in sexualrelations without love and long-term commitment. To preserve thehappiness of myself and others, I am determined to respect mycommitments and the commitments of others. I will do everything in mypower to protect children from sexual abuse and to protect couples andfamilies from being broken by sexual misconduct.Not cutting off the passions, for me now, after having gone from oneextreme to the other, is more like walking a fine line of integrity.When we deepen in our spiritual practice, our hearts become more andmore open. We have such rich and deep connections with people,
withone another, truly deep loving intimacy. So how to keep that dooropen, how to keep that heartfelt life there, but not be seduced by thepower and attraction of that intimacy?Because it is in that deepintimacy, of course, that sexual attraction and energy can arise andemerge. So how to maintain an integrity in that intimacy, and be trueto our feelings of love for one another, and not fall into that wellof sexual misconduct? My own job as a therapist and teacher, ofcourse, is to create deep connections of intimacy, and that doeshappen with many people, and it is certainly wonderful and rich.Wonderful connections with people are possible in that situation. ButI have many boundaries and ethics that I apply in those situations,particularly through my psychotherapy training. There are very strictethics around that relationship. You never engage in sexualrelationships with any client; even six months after you terminatewith a client, this is not OK. But while I can keep those strictboundaries and ethics there, when I am in those roles, outside ofthose roles it is more difficult for me. Then the heart is wide open;where then are the boundaries? I know my shadow is that I fall inlove all the time, with lots of people.Whatever emerges from our lives has its roots in Buddha-nature. Solet us gassh and be grateful for our sexuality, the creative energiesthat it releases to our receptive heart and mind. We do not need toblock our sexual energies, nor do we need to be a slave to them.Sexual energy in a loving committed relationship with its fusion oflove, play, magic, ecstasy, is life celebrating life. This respectfulcommunion of the sexual act may reveal the divine mystery rather thanjust simply be pleasurable, entertaining sensations. What makes thedifference is our intentions, our love, our faith, and the attitudesthat we bring to this experience. If we hold a reverence for life, anawareness of our interconnectedness and oneness, and we experience theother as none other than our very selves, the shared joy of lovemakingis a spiritual meeting of the flesh and spirit. The boundaries of aseparate self can fall away and life is making love with life. TheBuddha-tao is to be discovered in our daily lives, the sacred is to befound in the ordinary, and the ordinary in the sacred. ChristopherTitmuss was great on one-liners, and he said, The bedroom becomes atemple of joy, and the sacred truth can be found equally between thebedsheets as in the holy books. (I told you he was from the RedThread school.)There is a koan that I would like to finish with by Rainer Maria Rilke,just a short line out of a long poem, quoted in the book called TheEnlightened Heart:Isnt the secret intentof this great Earth, when it forces lovers together,that inside their boundless emotion all things may shudder with joy?May all beings venerate life as a state of deep spiritual intimacy.Here in the fields: just those young green fronds making their way outof the earth. This is so sensual and beautiful; this is the greatsensual nature all around us. Please enjoy it!(A Teisho given at the Spring Sesshin 1993, Gorricks Run Zendo)

Hoaxes and Urban Legends

// April 25th, 2006 // 1 Comment » // Uncategorized

If you scroll down you will find a mess of information contained in an email I just received. This is a “forwarded-forward” message about a supposed deposition from Oliver North during the Iran-Contra hearings given by Al Gore, in which Oliver North is reporting on spending $60,000 on a home security system to “protect his family from…Ossama Bin Ladin.”

It took me 15 seconds and a Google search to retrieve 5,467 hits identifying this message as an internet hoax.

I’m always amazed when people I actually know send me these forwards–>of forwards–>of forwarded email messages spreading messages of bigotry, hatred and fear without ever taking 15 seconds to validate the information before becoming one of the bigots themselves.

Like I said. These are people I know who mean well. Heck, my own mother has sent me these e-mail messages before and each and every one of them I check the content of the messages against the various internet hoax databases. More than 90% of them are bogus messages containing message of hatred and prejudice.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not big on the whole muslim terrorist thing, but I can see how “their” hatred of us is founded in a misaligned perception that all americans are gluttonous, selfish, uncharitable tyrants who must be put down because they cannot be reasoned with. Just like “our” hatred of them is founded in the fallacy that they are all ignorant, violence-loving, irrational terrorists.

We’re both wrong, and as long as we keep seeing things in terms of “us” and “them” we are destined to fail.

These chain letters are ignorant and beget more ignorance and global swallowing of the poison which will affect us all. Get past it. Past the ignorance. Past the hatred. Past the easy “hit-the-forward-button-and-pass-the-message” thought that you are somehow enlightening ANYONE by passing this nonsence forward.

It’s incorrect information.
It’s unsolicited.
It only serves to spread ignornance, hatred, seperation and further violence.

Stop it.
Check your sources.
Think.

*sigh* are we all this stupid???

Anyways…this is the message I sent in reply to the mess-of-information found at the bottom of this post.

——————–
Hoaxes and Urban Legends: The Oliver North / Osama bin Ladin / Al Gore hoax
Whenever you receive an email that urges you to immediately forward that mail to everyone you know, there is a very good chance the email is a hoax. Please take the time to verify the message by doing a Google search before you send it on to anyone else. In most cases when you take an arbitrary sentence from the message and google for it you’ll end up with many hoax warning pages as the result.
The following email is one such hoax, but with a not so subtle political agenda. It claims that Oliver North warned of Osama bin Ladin during senate hearings in 1987 but that Senator Al Gore who questioned him was opposed to his proposed solution. This hoax has been around for several years. There’s no truth to it. Oliver North did not warn of Osama bin Laden during the Irangate hearings and he was not questioned by Al Gore. North himself set the facts straight in a public statment years ago. In a similar vein, the myth that 9/11 killer Mohammed Atta was previously released after bombing a bus in Israel is untrue, see the links below.

Please review:
Oliver Twisted (snopes.com)
Atta Boy (snopes.com)

————————————————
From: Tootie12JFT@aol.com
Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2006 08:18:25 EDT
Subject: Fwd: FW: Remember this?
To: ShulammiteRose@aol.com, SUGARBARE1023@aol.com, garlandsister1@yahoo.com, JanoLOVELY2@aol.com, Jesusandbarbara@aol.com, JoelJaque@aol.com, PhilomenaDV1@aol.com, Honybaybee@aol.com, szqu45@yahoo.com, KRoy785@aol.com, KATHIPS@aol.com, Tanise75@aol.com, MACCARPETMAN@aol.com, CATSNHARMONY@MSN.COM, chinadarrington@sbcglobal.net, COYOTE0321@JUNO.COM, crewsj@playhousesquare.com

Forwarded Message

Subject: FW: Remember this?
Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2006 07:59:57 -0400
From: “Carmen Wingo -X (cwingo – Manpower at Cisco)”
To:

HTML Attachment

Food for thought!

Thank you
Carmen Wingo
Lobby Ambassador
Document Updating Remote Team
Back-up On-Call Training Team
MP-News Team Reporter
Manpower On-site @ Cisco Systems
Richfield1
(330)523-2000
Ext.2034 Vm
cwingo@cisco.com

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

SUCCESS ~~~ The achievement of something desired, intended, or attempted.

——————————————————————————–
From: dma451 [mailto:dma451@insightbb.com]
Sent: Sunday, March 26, 2006 1:27 PM
To: Loretta Evans; Dorene Baker; Jeanette Hartgraves; Joyce Baldwin; Edith Clark; Betty Cain; Jim Bartlett; Lori Gehlhausen; Denise Baker; Donna Beck
Subject: Fw: Remember this

—– Original Message —–
From: Robert Hawkins
To: Wilbur Turner ; ty holt ; tmcartor@indiana.edu ; PMCCLARY30@netscape.com ; Pavey, Donna Sue ; Patricia Stultz ; Orv Hunter ; myla.meadows@att.net ; Linda ; Jjemmons7@aol.com ; Jim Stockton ; Jack Hardy ; harold ; Dorothy May ; Donna ; Carol Mullis ; Carla Sims
Sent: Sunday, March 26, 2006 1:19 PM
Subject: Fw: Remember this?

—– Original Message —–
From: Chad & Susan Otto
To: Kathy Saliwonczyk ; Jo Clark ; Amanda R. Perkins ; Angi Brock ; Becky & Steve ; Cheryl B. ; Debbie Fox ; Duane Willliams ; Erin Mulhauser ; Heather Barbosa ; Jennifer Pemberton ; Keenan & Sabrina Yoho ; Lorri Terry ; Lorraine Woodard ; Patty ; rope ; Scott & Dawn ; Shannon Richardson ; stephen evans ; Susan Eash ; Tammy Pardue ; Ty Holt
Sent: Saturday, March 25, 2006 9:46 PM
Subject: Fw: Remember this?

—– Original Message —–
From:
Thought you might be interested in this forgotten bit of information……….

It was 1987! At a lecture the other day they were playing an old news video of Lt.Col. Oliver North testifying at the
Iran-Contra hearings during the Reagan Administration.

There was Ollie in front of God and country getting the third degree, but what he said was stunning!

He was being drilled by a senator; “Did you not recently spend close to $60,000 for a home security system?”

Ollie replied, “Yes, I did, Sir.”

The senator continued, trying to get a laugh out of the audience, “Isn’t that just a little excessive?”

“No, sir,” continued Ollie.

“No? And why not?” the senator asked.

“Because the lives of my family and I were threatened, sir.”

“Threatened? By whom?” the senator questioned.

“By a terrorist, sir” Ollie answered.

“Terrorist? What terrorist could possibly scare you that much?”

“His name is Osama bin Laden, sir” Ollie replied.

At this point the senator tried to repeat the name, but couldn’t pronounce it, which most people back then probably couldn’t. A couple of people laughed at the attempt. Then the senator continued. Why are you so afraid of this man?” the senator asked.

“Because, sir, he is the most evil person alive that I know of”, Ollie answered.

“And what do you recommend we do about him?” asked the senator.

“Well, sir, if it was up to me, I would recommend that an assassin team be formed to eliminate him and his men from the face of the earth.”

The senator disagreed with this approach, and that was all that was shown of the clip.

By the way, that senator was Al Gore!

Also:
Terrorist pilot Mohammad Atta blew up a bus in Israel in 1986. The Israelis captured, tried and imprisoned him. As part of the Oslo agreement with the Palestinians in 1993, Israel had to agree to release so-called “political prisoners.”

However, the Israelis would not release any with blood on their hands. The American President at the time, Bill Clinton, and his Secretary of State, Warren Christopher, “insisted” that all prisoners be released.

Thus Mohammad Atta was freed and eventually thanked the US by flying an airplane into Tower One of the World Trade Center. This was reported by many of the American TV networks at the time that the terrorists were first identified.
It was censored in the US from all later reports.

If you agree that the American public should be made aware of this fact, pass this on.

Subject: 9/11

Do Not Break – it is 3 years strong

This is why I always say I love YOU….

This has not been broken since 9/11/01, please keep it going…
This has been kept alive and moving since 9/11. In memory of all those who perished this morning; the passengers and the pilots on the United Air and AA flights, the workers in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and all the innocent bystanders. Our prayers go out to the friends and families of the deceased.

Send this to at least 10 people to show your support.

PLEASE DON’T BREAK IT!!!!!!

Carol A. Lingelbach

Attachments
Files:
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and another one bites the dust…

// April 24th, 2006 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

Anne M. Pennell TALLMADGE–Anne M. Pennell, age 23, passed away April 21, 2006. Anne was born in Akron and lived in the Akron/Tallmadge area, prior to that she lived in Torrance Calif. and Phoenix, Ariz. She was employed by Einstein Bros. Bagel Co., attended Univ. of Akron, was talented and very passionate about her art, and enjoyed reading. Anne was preceded in death by her maternal grandmother, Marie Starks and is survived by her mother, Carolyn and stepfather, Mark Munhall of Scottsdale, Ariz.; sisters, Victoria and Elizabeth Munhall of Scottsdale, Ariz.; maternal grandfather, Karl Starks of Tallmadge; father, Larry Pennell (Diana) of Brimfield; paternal grandmother, Eleanor Pennell of Brimfield; and many loving aunts, uncles, and cousins. Friends may call at the DONOVAN FUNERAL HOME, 17 SOUTHWEST AVE., TALLMADGE (On the Historic Tallmadge Circle) from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 25, 2006. Further services will be held at the convenience of the family in Scottsdale, Arizona. In lieu of other remembrances donations may be given to the Interval of Brotherhood Homes, 3445 S. Main St., Akron, Ohio 44319 Published in the Akron Beacon Journal from 4/24/2006 – 4/25/2006. Notice • Guest Book • Funeral home info • Flowers • Gift Shop Today’s Akron Beacon Journal obituaries Questions about obituaries or Guest Books? Contact Legacy.com obituaries nationwide

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Hoops & Yoyo – Harry Spider [Halloween 2006]

// April 24th, 2006 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

Non-Believers

// April 24th, 2006 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

Feeling the Crimp

// April 24th, 2006 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

Sunday night and I have so much that I want to write, but not enough time to actually get it all down on paper. Not all of it I even understand, but I have this feeling, this generally feeling of malaise. It happens usually before I set out to unconsciously fuck something up. Work, school, relationships, life. Something, who knows. Part of me wonders it talking about it would improve my chances of getting through it, and another part of me just knows that it is what it is, and all the talk in the word is for shite anyways.

So, my cousin TJ got married on Saturday and I’m just pleased as punch for him. TJ is about 10 years my junior and I’m really happy that he’s normal and has found someone that he wanted to marry and after years of dating is doing so. Its these little things, like marriage or having kids, the things that everyone things is such a normal part of life, that we take for granted. Only when marriage doesn’t find us, or we learn we’re unable to have children, that we begin to understand what an incredible thing these things are.

I’m trying to keep on top of things. Get settled into the new place and keep up with my studies and tasks and things of this accord, and I’m feeling a bit o the old “squeeze” lately. I enjoy spending time with my new friend, but I’m sensing that it’s a little too much, too soon. Often I feel that he’s at my place waiting for me to be free. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy his company, and I know that my life is really packed in terms of function, tasks and recreational activities. His is less so and he want me to know that when I have time, he wants to be with me…

I’ve been alone for so many years, I don’t think I know how to have a relationship. I’m a mom and I’ve always been a single parent to her, so she’s ALWAYS come first and foremost in my relationships to any others. That completely cuts of most relationships before they even start. I had pretty much resolved myself to the fact that I’m not really able to form a real relationship until Mia is grown. I figure that if I’m still alive in 2016, that I might try to figure out how to date then. This new guy was unexpected, and it was unexpected how easy it is to be with him.

So, I don’t know. It just feels weird right now. Communicate, China. That’s the best way to deal with things, right.

Test Message

// April 22nd, 2006 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

http://www.toolband.com/newsletter/

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Story – Entropy and Winter – Written by China Krys Darrington

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HumidCity BlogPost on PostK Carpetbagging in NOLA

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http://humidcity.blogspot.com/2006/04/carpetbaggers.html

Carpetbaggers

Passion of New Orleans

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The CHORONZON MACHINE

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TRUTH HERE DWELLS – A Maatian Shamanic Rite

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TRUTH HERE DWELLS A Maatian Shamanic Rite

Ille Ferrum De Horus by Frater M.E.D.

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The Sword of Horus
Ille Ferrum De Horus
by Frater M.E.D.
Kenneth Grant: Part 1

“There is great danger in me; for who doth not understand these runes shall make a great miss. He shall fall down into the pit called Because, and there he shall perish with the dogs of Reason.”
– Liber AL vel Legis Sub Figura CCXX, II.27
“But ye, o my people, rise up & awake!”
– CCXX II.34
“There is division hither homeward; there is a word not known. Spelling is defunct; all is not aught. Beware! Hold! Raise the spell of Ra-Hoor-Khuit!”
– CCXX III.2
“Now let it be first understood that I am a god of War and of Vengeance. I shall deal hardly with them.”
– CCXX III.3

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
For years I have watched Mr. Kenneth Grant, Aossic Aiwass, 718, O.H.O. of the O.T.O., as he styles himself, both in ways exoteric and esoteric, and I think that now is the time to Adjust the Scales of Balance by taking a look at this chap from an altogether, hitherto ignored, perspective.
In Magick Without Tears, the Beast 666 tells us (by way of a letter to an often confused sister of the Order) that the ultimate secret of the Ordo Templi Orientis could be used by the Black Brothers but that they would only succeed in destroying themselves with it. According to Grant, Crowley had regretted that Austin Osman Spare had become a Black Brother by

“‘shutting himself up in a tower and immersing himself in the Pool of Narcissus’, by which Crowley meant that Spare had resorted almost exclusively to the use of the magical formula known in the O.T.O. as the VIII°.”

That is to say, somewhat crudely, magical masturbation. It should here be noted that one of the greatest influences upon Grant, aside from voodoo, the Black Snake Cult, and other things which we will not go into here, has been the work of Austin Osman Spare. It should also be noted, and I refer the reader to pages 109 through 117 of Magick Without Tears (Llewellyn Publications, 1973 E.V., Letter No. 12), that a Black Magician and a Black Brother are not the same thing and should not be confused. Crowley compares them to the sneak thief and a Hitler, respectively. He tells us that one who is about to become a Black Brother constantly restricts himself, satisfied with very limited ideas and is afraid of losing his precious individuality. He goes on to say that the Black Brother probably deserts his Angel when he realizes just what must be done, i.e. the destruction of the ego and all that pertains to it, and that, perhaps, from the very beginning, it is actually his Evil Genius which he has evoked. When this is done the man breaks off all relations with the Supernal Triad and attempts to replace it by inventing a False Crown of Daäth, as it is called in Qabalistic literature. To such men as these, that is, Black Brothers, Knowledge is everything and A.C. reminds us that this Knowledge is nothing but the very soul of Illusion. These adepts-gone-wrong, as it were, abstaining from the true nourishment of the Supernal Triad, lose their structual unity and must then be fed by continual doses of dope in miserable self-preservation. They declare Choronzon to be the child of Understanding and Wisdom, when in fact “he” is the shell or excrement of the Supernal Triad, and the bastard of the Svastika. What A.C. then tells us is most important for he says that Daäth and Choronzon are the Whirlpool and the Leviathan which is written of in the Holy Qabalah.
Consider all of this as a prologue from the highest possible authority of Thelema and the 93 Current once incarnate upon this plane. Now let us examine Mr. Kenneth Grant through three of his books.
In The Magical Revival (Samuel Weiser, Inc., N.Y., 1973 E.V.), on page 2, Grant writes,

“Although having drawn upon these and other obscure sources [A.O.S., the Vama Marg, i.e. the Left Hand Path, etc. - M.E.D.], I have not overstepped the limits beyond which the occultist trespasses on grounds as unsafe to himself as to others.”

A very nice way to open a very informative book, but it seems to me that perhaps Grant has taken but one step too many and had indeed overstepped those limits. As I have said, this book, as all of Mr. Grant’s books, is very informative. Kenneth Grant is undeniably a very Knowledgeable man – and I stress that word and point out its root: KNOWLEDGE. This book is very good, certainly one of the best (if one of the few) Thelemic works ever published since the death of Aleister Crowley, although considering others this is not necessarily saying much, but in it certain odd things will be seen to emerge. One such thing is his growing obsession with the Dog Star, Sothis or Sirius. In a footnote on page 8, for example, he writes:

“The initials A.·.A.·. stand for Argenteum Astrum (the Silver Star). This is the Star of Set or Sothis (Sirius) …”
On page 52 he says that
“Crowley unequivocally [i.e. clearly - M.E.D.] identifies his Holy Guardian Angel with Sothis … or Set-Isis: ‘Aiwaz is not a mere formula,’”
he continues, quoting A.C.,
“‘like many Angelic names, but it is the true, most ancient name of the God of the Yezidi, and thus returns to the highest antiquity. Our work therefore is historically authentic; the rediscovery of the Sumerian tradition.’”

Now I won’t contest that A.C. actually said that, though I am sure he was thinking in ever ascending spiral cycles instead of flat circular cycles, but exactly how such a statement as this can Unequivocally identify Aiwaz with Sothis is beyond me. You may note that in this book Grant loves to use the word “unequivocally” often, especially when in connection with something A.C. is supposed to have, and may have, said, in order to prove one of Grant’s hazy points. You will also note that what is clear to him is not quite so clear to anyone who is capable of clear thinking and who possesses an inquiring mind.
On page 55, speaking again of this star, Sothis, he says that

“This is the One Star in Sight which forms the title of Crowley’s Manifesto of the A.·.A.·. …”

It is quite possible that A.C. did consider a special relationship between Aiwass and the Dog Star, but one thing is certain, the One Star in Sight is not any “thing” such as a star in the physical universe. The One Star in Sight is One’s own Holy Guardian Angel, True Self, Genius. “Every man and every woman is a star.” (CCXX I.3) Union with this “Star” is the only true goal in magick and once one has attained to that union the aspirant becomes one with the Order of the A.·.A.·., i.e. the aspirant becomes the Argenteum Astrum. One would almost think that with these ideas and many others, sometimes cleverly stated, Mr. Grant is actually trying to mislead the aspirant away from his Angel. Is this not exactly what we would expect from a Black Brother, who himself has abandoned his Angel and evoked his Evil Genius in its stead?
On page 78 Grant tells us that

“The thyroid gland, in the region of the larynx, is backed by the Visudha Chakra [which is attributed to Daäth - M.E.D.]. This gland, in its active state, enhances sensitivity and renders the individual hypersensitive to all kinds of physical, astral and mental sensation. If this gland is over stimulated there is danger of megalomania …”

Remember who it is who is telling you this, the one and only Outer Head of the Order, that Order being the One True Order, the Ordo Templi Orientis, or so Grant claims.
Throughout the book it is obvious that Grant is very interested in the reversal ideas of C. S. Jones (please see Liber Casus Astrum vel XCVIII of TNN I.2), the back turning of A.O.S., and the inbetweeness of fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft. From this debris Grant is destined to develope his Otherside of the Tree, but more of that later. As I have said, we will examine Spare’s Zos Kia Cultus and the others at another time as we are here limited in sp
ace.
Grant constantly misunderstands many things. To clear one such misunderstanding up: A.C. did not believe that he was the only “Beast”. The term itself merely implies that one is a priest of Thelema in the New Æon of Horus. However, he was the only “Beast 666″, that is the First Beast spoken of in Apocalypse and the first priest of the present æon.
Grant also misunderstands such things as the nature of an Ipsissimus, and what else can we expect – for he had already overstepped the limits of safety and thus we might expect him to be easily beguiled, subtly at first, by those forces which he was dealing with, i.e. the qliphothic forces. On page 210, for instance, he tells us that the Great Work

“will be achieved by a willed congress with extra-terrestrial entities of which, in a sense, Aiwaz is the immediate messenger to humanity.”

Can Aiwaz (or Aiwass) be rightly called “extra-terrestrial”? Or would “he” best be described as “suprahuman” or perhaps “preterhuman”? Is Grant confusing (note: confusing) beings such as Aiwass, whose abode, so to speak, is the Supernal Triad, with those non-beings, those shells, that excreta whose abode is in the qliphothic realms, the entrance to which is through the whirlpool of Daäth? Of the qliphoth Grant says in his glossary:

“…[it is] the name given to a world or plane of soulless entities that, as such, are not truly living, but merely lingering shells of once conscious persons … the magician is warned against trafficking with them in any way. Also of the Qliphoth are the more dangerous remnants of once highly organized elementals that drag out a twilight existence by vampirizing the living.”

It seems that this particular magician, Grant, ignored the warning. Before this in his glossary, Grant wrote:

“… Crossing the Abyss is the most critical stage upon the Spiritual Path. If the crossing is not achieved cleanly, insanity – temporary or permanent – results. A person can spend the best part of an incarnation being torn to pieces by the unresolved and irrational elements of his nature …”

I further refer the reader to several pages concerning the Abyss, Daäth and the Black Brothers, in Magick in Theory and Practice, indexed in the Samuel Weiser edition. I stress the importance of the study of such passages and others in the hope that the aspirants heed the warning and step carefully upon the Path of the Wise. In these pages Crowley tells us that in the Abyss all impressions are disconnected; that Reason is ultimately identified with the Abyss; that it is the crown of the mind, wherein all purely intellectual faculties are obtained; that it has no number because all is confusion. The Master Therion, not only from his vast intellectual attainments, but mostly from his personal experience, tells us that from the Abyss Nemo (No Man) comes forth for he has destroyed all that he is and all that he had been upon crossing (note: crossing) the Abyss and that a star is cast forth to enlighten the Earth. On the other hand, they who fail to cross the Abyss, and that implies to cross over the whirlpool called Daäth, make for themselves a false crown of the abominable horror of the Abyss and set the Dispersion of Choronzon upon their brows; they clothe themselves in form; shut themselves off to “external” influences, both above and beneath the Abyss. He also goes on to say, in many places, that though these Black Brothers may gain much, they will eventually topple like the rotting towers that they are and that their shreds, all that is left of them, will be strewn in the Abyss and lost forever. In Liber VII it is said that the aspirant must await the sword of the Beloved (i.e. the H.G.A.) and submit himself to the final stroke. It is this final destruction of Knowledge (Knowledge = Daäth = the throat centre) that opens the gate to the City of Pyramids, the next Grade of 8°=3°, Master of the Temple, and allows the aspirant to cross the Abyss and truly Become an Adept of the A.·.A.·.. But let us pass on from the words of A.C. as well as The Magical Revival and move forward in the stream of time to Cults of the Shadow (Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1976 E.V.)
Here Grant is beginning to show even more fascination with the Vama Marg, La Couleuvre Noire, and the Zos Kia Cultus. Again he begins a book with a prophetic saying:

“But if the sexual energies are not properly controlled and polarized, destruction awaits the practitioner who uses them without fully understanding the formula of the Left Hand Path which is, of all paths, the swiftest and the most dangerous.”

It should also be noted that his style of writing begins to change, to become more complex. His thoughts and ideas start to show a greater amount of Knowledge, but a good bit of confusion of expression creeps in as well. His footnotes are also increasing in size and number. Still, the book is quite valuable and should be studied with care by Thelemic students.
In Cults it seems that he began, in earnest, to play etymological and numerological games with words to prove his point. His sentences often convey the truth, but in such a way that the truth is obscured and the student is misled. For example, he tells us that “The Great Mother” was “degraded” to “The Great Whore”. Actually this is not so. The ideal of “Whore” was degraded. According to the Rev. Walter W. Skeat’s A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, the “w” in “whore” is unoriginal and that it was originally “hore”; “hora”, an adultress, feminine; “horr”, an adulterer, masculine, and related in meaning to such words as the Latin “carus”: loving, to love, I love, etc. (and Skeat goes on to say that it is certainly not allied to “hire”!). The point is that, though in a minor way, Grant has misled the unwary reader.
On pages 109 – 110, Aossic (which is, by the way, also the name of the entity that he claims is the source of much of his Knowledge) writes:

“The unenlightened are incapable of controlling their sense when swamped by the sudden access of power that freedom bestows. This is patent in mundane situations involving money, fame, authority, etc. How much more devastating is the result in cases of unbalanced spiritual illumination will be appreciated by those who have successfully performed even the simplest magical exercise. Success inflates the ego, the ego seizes more than it can properly assimilate, and the resulting implosion is correspondingly catastrophic.”

Unfortunately for Mr. Grant, his books have become quite successful and he is well known for his editing and assistance in the publication of many works by Aleister Crowley. Has success gone to Kenneth Grant’s head?
Page 113:

“the ultimate goal … requires the total abolition of personality and egoidal consciousness.”

I ask, has Mr. Grant accomplished this? I believe that the last book here to be discussed proves that he has not. But let us continue for a while with this book.
Grant loves to prove his point – no matter what he has to do to prove it. To do this in several instances he spells Od in Hebrew, Aleph, Vau, Daleth (AVD), which comes to the numeration of eleven (1 + 6 + 4 = 11), and Ob, Aleph, Vau, Beth (AVB), which equals 9 (1 + 6 + 2). It would seem that the “O” would be better represented by the Hebrew A’ain (or Ayin), giving the numerations of 74 (OD) and 72 (OB), and it should be noted that in Sepher Sephiroth Grant’s AVB is spelled OB (A’ain, Beth) and equals 72, and it should also be noted that 74 + 72 = 146, which is the numeration of SVPh, or Soph, Limit, End; Boundless, as in Ain SOPH Aur.
Throughout Cults it can also be seen that Grant makes reference to the “Inner” O.T.O. and similar subtle references, meaning, naturally, that he is of and head of the Inner Order of the O.T.O.. To me this seems like Mr. Grant has failed to enter the A.·.A.·. and, as a Black Brother, dons the False Crown of Daäth. He has created a false Inner Order, a false A.·.A.·. out of that which he calls the O.T.O..
On
page 140, unable to answer the Riddle of AL, Chapter II, Verse 76, he frustratingly begins to make himself look important (much in the tradition of A. E. Waite) by jumping into all kinds of Qabalistic and pseudo-qabalistic figuring that eventually comes to nothing. Consider this: II x 76 = 152 = HMVTzIA, The Bringing-forth One; or this: II + 76 = 78 = AIVAS, Aiwass, MZLA, Mezla, the Influence from Kether … and so on.
He is intrigued with Jones’ idea concerning the meaning of the word “manifestation” in The Book of the Law, i.e. that it refers to “Ma-Ion”. (Personally I think this goes to show just how much of a dunderhead Jones was. It would seem more natural to separate the word by its syllables, thus, if anything, obtaining “Man-Tion”, whatever that is supposed to imply.) Anyway, Grant thinks that the word “Secret” and “Secretion” (Secret-ion) may have some importance, and there is little doubt that he is correct. But again his basic obsessiveness takes charge and he sees too much of one thing at the expense of other things.
On page 166 Grant actually compares Krishnamurti and Crowley. Can you imagine how A.C. would have felt about that! While page 169 of this book says:

“Daäth … sometimes called the ‘false Sephira’…is the gateway of egress to the outerspaces beyond, or behind, the Tree itself.”

Here is where Mr. Grant truly becomes a ‘false prophet’ as envisioned by John in Revelation.

“The use of the backward paths of the Tree and the evocation of the Shadows are fraught with danger because, as noted, the qliphoth haunt those paths, many of which are dead-ends and without egress. To be trapped in any of them is to surrender one’s consciousness to the most baleful influences that a magician is ever likely to encounter. Madness and death claim those who stray into them. Also, being without outlet, if force is directed along these paths it recoils inevitably upon the magician like a boomerang charged with the additional force of the evil influences which it has gathered in its flight.”

I really do not intend to go any further with this book here. If you have not already studied it, do so. It is a very “knowledgeable” book. If you have read it, read it again with the ideas I am conveying to you kept in mind. You will, I am sure, find many other examples that fit in well with the ideas here relayed.
Finally, let us move on to Kenneth Grant’s third book. I have been told, by the way, by one of Grant’s followers, that he is at present working on another book. However, after reading this third volume I doubt very much if I want to see another book by him. Could we beg that he only publish as much of the Crowley material that he possesses that has not yet been published, and spare us any further personal revelations?
Nightside of Eden – I keep thinking Nightshade, you know, the poison – (Frederick Muller Limited, London, 1977 E.V.) quite frankly gave me a splitting headache. But I am a diehard and studied through this book, very carefully, to the bitter end. What I found was this: the book does indeed contain a handful of gems, which are, unfortunately, immersed in tons upon tons of qliphothic sewage. His information on the qliphothic forces is very informative, however, it should be remembered that, as he stated on page 152, “My sources of information are the Qliphoth, the names and sigils of which are given in Crowley’s Liber CCXXXI.” Do you really think that his sources, especially those sources, would actually be unbiased? The major problem with this book is one of being able to distinguish between fact and fancy, truth and deception. These ingredients are mixed, I must say, expertly. And there the danger lies for the student! It is true that the aspirant should contact the qliphothic elements within himself and deal with them, one by one, until he has purified, so to speak, his vehicle for higher advancement beyond the need for the vehicle. However, Grant has madly leaped within the very centre of Daäth and has naturally been sucked down through that whirlpool and into the qliphothic world of shells. In my humble opinion, he has not mastered the qliphothic elements within himself, but rather has he given himself over to them, allowing himself to be the slave of slaves while thinking, no doubt, that he is the king of kings. I am sure that he is convinced of his motives, that in his eyes they are just and righteous, but he has been beguiled into believing just that. He has, again in my opinion, become the puppet of the qliphothic forces, a Black Brother, and a source of nourishment for the soulless shells. This is all fine and good. If this be his Will, or if he believes that this is his Will, then so be it. We are informed by the Beast 666 himself that self-destruction is the final outcome. But it is not only his life, his Self, his will that motivates me to write such an article as this. What of those students out there, still young and immature, still innocent and easily beguiled, who will be irresistibly drawn forth by his words towards the brink of the Abyss? They may well come to realize what is happening to them, but they may also be unable to halt their movement towards the Abyss, due to momentum, their ignorance in technical matters, and the unbelievable strength of attraction of that whirlpool called Daäth. Why do I write this article? To save souls? Nay! If an aspirant falls he falls. But if a word by one man can cause him to fall, to keep things perfectly Balanced, perhaps a word from another man can prevent the aspirant from falling.
Let us return to The Nightside of Eden.
Grant’s obsessions are becoming stronger and more apparent in this book. His style has become so unbelievably confusing that he is nearly unreadable. His footnotes have gotten way out of hand, and only serve to mislead the reader more and more. His word and number games have become so ridiculous that some people have actually become disgusted with gematria and etymology, thinking that Grant represents the tower of authority on these subjects. Some examples (and there are better, or worse, as the case may be): Page 10, “The name of this god (Thoth) is equivalent to Doth (Daäth) …” And I suppose that Thoth is an old dust rag because it is equivalent to Cloth, which actually makes more sense than his supposition. He also constantly twists the reader’s head about with such things as: “Furthermore, 393 + 666 = 1059, which is one less than MShKN (Meshken), ‘the Tabernacle’, and two less than 1061, ‘Sunset’.” – page 73; “122 is one more than SATAN.” – page 74; and on Page 86, “Noh, 125, is one more than ODN, Eden …” This one-more-one-less thing is NOT gematria. It is not qabalah. It is the product of a mind so loaded with Knowledge that it is tripping over itself in its mad flight to prove that it is the supreme mind of the universe.
On page 8 Grant warns us that

“To go astray in this Desert of Set [i.e. the Abyss - M.E.D.] is to become what is known as a Black Brother.”

Mr. Grant said that, and it is exactly what he has done. He has not crossed the Abyss, but wandered into the Abyss until he was finally sucked down to the qliphothic realms (his “otherside of the Tree”) through the vortex called Daäth. Again, let me say that it is not his life that I care about in the least. Let him do as he pleases with his own life. The Rights of Man give him the right to live as he will and die as he will. But he exceeds those rights when he actually attempts to lure the innocent into his new world, the World of Shells.
Page 145,

“The eleventh power-zone, Daäth, is attributed to Uranus and is the Abode of the Black Brothers, when viewed from the sphere of Malkuth (Earth). The Black Brothers are represented phenomenally by those who view the universe as an objective reality. The Scientists are their prototypes. Daäth being the Gate of the Abyss is the point both of ingress into noumenon and of egress into phenomena: in other words it is the gateway of the manifestation of non-manifestation.”

Italics in this quotation a
bove are mine, made to emphasize just how he intends to mislead the would-be aspirant. And believe me, all scientists are not so limited in their ways of thinking. That is a rash generalization.
His concept of the Tree of Life is intereting: The Otherside of the Tree. This “otherside” business conveys the idea of a flat, two-dimensional Tree, or at best, a three-dimensional object. there is no “otherside”. The Tree of Life, in the first place, is only a diagram created for the better comprehension of abstract realities. It is not in itself a reality. What it does imply is not a two or three-dimensional idea, but rather a multi-dimensional concept of constantly flowing energy, for want of a better word, and thus it has no “sides” at all.
Grant also speaks of the “Tunnels of Set”, roughly, though not exactly, paralleling the Paths of the “front side” of the Tree – according to him. Here it can be seen that he may not necessarily see the Tree (Otz Chiim) as a two or three-dimensional object, yet his conception is still absurd in its immature limitations and is thus highly misleading. That is the important word: “mis-leading”. Mr. Grant has severed his connections with the Supernal Triad, abandoned his Angel and evoked his Evil Genius. He has been beguiled by the qliphothic forces. He has forsaken the “Higher” for the “lower”; abandoned Reason entirely by completelyl succumbing to it and thus becoming totally Unreasonable; he has wandered too long in the Abyss, building a monster out of his ego, and allowing it and the qliphoth to control him; he has allowed his mind to become a vehicle for confusion and dispersion, and then he plunged himself, madly, headlong into that powerful Charybdian whirlpool, the surest entrance into the qliphothic realms, Daäth, and worse, dissatisfied with his own utter destruction, he now exists for the sole purpose of enlisting others into the ranks of the qliphoth and the Black Brotherhood. (All of this is, of course, my own opinion, from my own Point of View – I politely add.)
In Grant’s O.T.O. recruitment sheet it is stated that the O.T.O. (i.e. his version of the Ordo Templi Orientis) does not put the brethren under any financial obligations, and this may very well be true. However, money does not move all men. In some cases, men are moved by ego-gratification. Furthermore, this sheet states that the O.T.O. does not undertake the training of what he calls novices. Still, I have communicated with many of Mr. Grant’s O.T.O. members, and though I have found some who are quite charming, intelligent, and not obsessed by Knowledge (yet?!), I have found many others who are not particularly intelligent (and remember, intelligence can be great without the presence of great knowledge), very neurotic and/or paranoid, and positively obsessed by one kind of Knowledge or another. (And it should be noted that obsession goes far beyond dedication.)
I truly hope that “Like attracts like”, because I would hate to see possibly sincere and dedicated Thelemites seduced to follow Mr. Grant’s path. Therefore I have written this all too brief article.
As for the books mentioned in this article – I recommend them not only for the relevant and worthwhile material within their pages, but also as a study in the pathological states of mind which can lead to Self-destruction. I would also like to thank Samuel Weiser, Inc. and Frederick Muller Ltd. for giving me permission to quote passages from these three books. Their kindness and efficiency in dealing with me will always be appreciated.
Finally I would like to stress that I care nothing for Mr. Grant and all that he does to his life, however, I do care for the innocents who could be but never shall become if led astray by these qliphothic machinations. And of course I care very much about how Mr. Grant is misrepresenting Aleister Crowley and Thelema by way of his books.
Beware! Be careful! DECIDE FOR YOURSELF.
Love is the law, love under will.

The readers of the above article are also strongly advised to read the brief article entitled “The Dangers of Mysticism” by Aleister Crowley and published in The Equinox, Volume I, Number 6, pages 153 to 158 of the 1975 E.V. Samuel Weiser edition. If it has already been read, it should be re-read.
– Editor
(TNN I.6.5-11, 10/24/78 E.V.)

Kenneth Grant and the Typhonian Ordo Templi Orientis

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http://user.cyberlink.ch/~koenig/k_grant.htm

Kenneth Grant and the
Typhonian Ordo Templi Orientis

by P.R. Koenig
Edited and with annotations by James M. Martin

Attention: this was written in 1991 and therefore does not include the recently discovered document and pertinent discussions: Aleister Crowley appointing Kenneth Grant as his “successor as Outer Head of the Order of the Templi Orientis” in 1947.

Wikipedia – Kenneth Grant

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Kenneth Grant

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The neutrality and factual accuracy of this article are disputed. Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page.

This article is about the British occultist. For the Canadian Presbyterian missionary and Trinidad and Tobago educational pioneer, see Kenneth J. Grant

Kenneth Grant is a British occultist and head of the Typhonian Ordo Templi Orientis.

Grant has much evidence to back up his claim to be the true successor to Aleister Crowley and the Typhonian OTO is considered by many to be the true OTO. The ‘official’ OTO regards Crowley’s writing as scripture and believes that Crowley’s pronouncements on magic, occultism and religion are the final word – The Typhonian OTO regard Thelema as a dynamic, changing, forward-moving current, which must be seperated from Crowley to an extent if anyting valuable is to be become of it. The TOTO places much of what Crowley said and wrote in context in terms of culture and time period and doesnt see Crowley in such black and white terms.

Grant was a great admirer and close friend of Austin Osman Spare and did much to bring his name into western occult society. Indeed, if it wasnt for Grant, it could be argued that Spare would still be languishing in obscurity.

Many of his ideas, such as the use of Lovecrafts mythology, are misunderstood. His books are often derided by people who take them literally and fail to see the broad sweep of his work. His writings are considered advanced texts and remain largely inpenetrable to “beginners”. His work is challenging and demands much of the reader but are ultimately highly original, rewarding and are some of the most important occult books of the 20th century. In fact as his Typhonian trilogies progress they become less books about magic and more as books which are fabulous magical objects in themselves, having a transformative affect on the consciousness of many readers.

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Partial bibliography

Grant published nine books in three trilogies (the Typhonian Trilogies) that span a vast number of topics. Titles include:

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The Typhonian Trilogies in order

• The Magical Revival ISBN 087728217X
• Aleister Crowley and the Hidden God ISBN 0877282501
• Cults of the Shadow
• Nightside of Eden ISBN 1871438721
• Outside the Circles of Time
• Hecate’s Fountain
• Outer Gateways ISBN 1871438128
• Beyond the Mauve Zone
• The Ninth Arch

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Other works

• Remembering Aleister Crowley ISBN 1871438128
• Hidden Lore: The Carfax Monographs by Kenneth & Steffi Grant
• Images and Oracles of Austin Osman Spare
• Zos Speaks! (Austin Osman Spare work)
• At the feet of the Guru A compilation of articles including those written for Man, Myth and Magic magazine, to be released in March 2006
• The Gulls Beak (Poetry)
• Black to Black (Poetry)
• Convolvulous (Poetry)

Kenneth Grant has also published a number of novellas and short stories. Titles include:

• The Stellar Lode
• Against the Light
• Snakewand and the Darker Strain
• The Other Child and other tales
• Gamaliel Diary of a Vampire and Dance, Doll, Dance

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Grant“

Typhonian Tomes – A Guide to the works of Kenneth Grant

// April 17th, 2006 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

This page and all contents copyright 1997-2002 by John L. Smith

Contents

0: Introduction

I: The Magical Revival

II: Aleister Crowley and the Hidden God

III: Cults of the Shadow

IV: Images and Oracles of Austin Osman Spare

V: Nightside of Eden

VI: Outside the Circles of Time

VII: Hecate’s Fountain

VIII: Remembering Aleister Crowley

IX: Outer Gateways

X: Hidden Lore

XI: The Stellar Lode

XII: Against the Light

XIII: Zos Speaks! Encounters with Austin Osman Spare

0: Introduction

Final Analysis of God

// April 13th, 2006 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

“It seems to me that God, in the final analysis,
truly does prefer the ‘natural man’ to be, as Jung has called him, ‘a
vessel for the continuing incarnation of deity’ — he who belches and
farts and scratches his ass; who is ‘a thing despised and rejected by
men’ (Isaiah 53:3); who is ‘a daily laughingstock and the butt of
everybody’s jokes’ (Jeremiah 20:7), who is ‘married to a whore’ (Hosea 1:2)
and nothing more than a common laborer (Amos 1:1) — that is, the
low-class fools and ignoramuses like you and me, and not the self-righteous,
pious, ‘guiltless ones’ like Them.”
– Reb Yakov Leib HaKohain

Byke Project

// April 12th, 2006 // 1 Comment » // Uncategorized

TCS Update from March 2006

// April 10th, 2006 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

Liber Al vel Legis – Book III [Happy Holy Day #3] Love is the Law, Love Under Will

// April 10th, 2006 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

Chapter III
1. Abrahadabra; the reward of Ra Hoor Khut.
2. There is division hither homeward; there is a word not known. Spelling is defunct; all is not aught. Beware! Hold! Raise the spell of Ra-Hoor-Khuit!
3. Now let it be first understood that I am a god of War and of Vengeance. I shall deal hardly with them.
4. Choose ye an island!
5. Fortify it!
6. Dung it about with enginery of war!
7. I will give you a war-engine.
8. With it ye shall smite the peoples; and none shall stand before you.
9. Lurk! Withdraw! Upon them! this is the Law of the Battle of Conquest: thus shall my worship be about my secret house.
10. Get the stele of revealing itself; set it in thy secret temple — and that temple is already aright disposed — & it shall be your Kiblah for ever. It shall not fade, but miraculous colour shall come back to it day after day. Close it in locked glass for a proof to the world.
11. This shall be your only proof. I forbid argument. Conquer! That is enough. I will make easy to you the abstruction from the ill-ordered house in the Victorious City. Thou shalt thyself convey it with worship, o prophet, though thou likest it not. Thou shalt have danger & trouble. Ra-Hoor-Khu is with thee. Worship me with fire & blood; worship me with swords & with spears. Let the woman be girt with a sword before me: let blood flow to my name. Trample down the Heathen; be upon them, o warrior, I will give you of their flesh to eat!
12. Sacrifice cattle, little and big: after a child.
13. But not now.
14. Ye shall see that hour, o blessed Beast, and thou the Scarlet Concubine of his desire!
15. Ye shall be sad thereof.
16. Deem not too eagerly to catch the promises; fear not to undergo the curses. Ye, even ye, know not this meaning all.
17. Fear not at all; fear neither men nor Fates, nor gods, nor anything. Money fear not, nor laughter of the folk folly, nor any other power in heaven or upon the earth or under the earth. Nu is your refuge as Hadit your light; and I am the strength, force, vigour, of your arms.
18. Mercy let be off; damn them who pity! Kill and torture; spare not; be upon them!
19. That stele they shall call the Abomination of Desolation; count well its name, & it shall be to you as 718.
20. Why? Because of the fall of Because, that he is not there again.
21. Set up my image in the East: thou shalt buy thee an image which I will show thee, especial, not unlike the one thou knowest. And it shall be suddenly easy for thee to do this.
22. The other images group around me to support me: let all be worshipped, for they shall cluster to exalt me. I am the visible object of worship; the others are secret; for the Beast & his Bride are they: and for the winners of the Ordeal x. What is this? Thou shalt know.
23. For perfume mix meal & honey & thick leavings of red wine: then oil of Abramelin and olive oil, and afterward soften & smooth down with rich fresh blood.
24. The best blood is of the moon, monthly: then the fresh blood of a child, or dropping from the host of heaven: then of enemies; then of the priest or of the worshippers: last of some beast, no matter what.
25. This burn: of this make cakes & eat unto me. This hath also another use; let it be laid before me, and kept thick with perfumes of your orison: it shall become full of beetles as it were and creeping things sacred unto me.
26. These slay, naming your enemies; & they shall fall before you.
27. Also these shall breed lust & power of lust in you at the eating thereof.
28. Also ye shall be strong in war.
29. Moreover, be they long kept, it is better; for they swell with my force. All before me.
30. My altar is of open brass work: burn thereon in silver or gold!
31. There cometh a rich man from the West who shall pour his gold upon thee.
32. From gold forge steel!
33. Be ready to fly or to smite!
34. But your holy place shall be untouched throughout the centuries: though with fire and sword it be burnt down & shattered, yet an invisible house there standeth, and shall stand until the fall of the Great Equinox; when Hrumachis shall arise and the double-wanded one assume my throne and place. Another prophet shall arise, and bring fresh fever from the skies; another woman shall awakethe lust & worship of the Snake; another soul of God and beast shall mingle in the globed priest; another sacrifice shall stain the tomb; another king shall reign; and blessing no longer be poured To the Hawk-headed mystical Lord!
35. The half of the word of Heru-ra-ha, called Hoor-pa-kraat and Ra-Hoor-Khut.
36. Then said the prophet unto the God:
37. I adore thee in the song –I am the Lord of Thebes, and IThe inspired forth-speaker of Mentu;For me unveils the veiled sky,The self-slain Ankh-af-na-khonsuWhose words are truth. I invoke, I greetThy presence, O Ra-Hoor-Khuit!
Unity uttermost showed!I adore the might of Thy breath,Supreme and terrible God,Who makest the gods and deathTo tremble before Thee: –I, I adore thee!
Appear on the throne of Ra!Open the ways of the Khu!Lighten the ways of the Ka!The ways of the Khabs run throughTo stir me or still me!Aum! let it fill me!
38. So that thy light is in me; & its red flame is as a sword in my hand to push thy order. There is a secret door that I shall make to establish thy way in all the quarters, (these are the adorations, as thou hast written), as it is said:
The light is mine; its rays consumeMe: I have made a secret doorInto the House of Ra and Tum,Of Khephra and of Ahathoor.I am thy Theban, O Mentu,The prophet Ankh-af-na-khonsu!
By Bes-na-Maut my breast I beat;By wise Ta-Nech I weave my spell.Show thy star-splendour, O Nuit!Bid me within thine House to dwell,O winged snake of light, Hadit!Abide with me, Ra-Hoor-Khuit!
39. All this and a book to say how thou didst come hither and a reproduction of this ink and paper for ever — for in it is the word secret & not only in the English — and thy comment upon this the Book of the Law shall be printed beautifully in red ink and black upon beautiful paper made by hand; and to each man and woman that thou meetest, were it but to dine or to drink at them, it is the Law to give. Then they shall chance to abide in this bliss or no; it is no odds. Do this quickly!
40. But the work of the comment? That is easy; and Hadit burning in thy heart shall make swift and secure thy pen.
41. Establish at thy Kaaba a clerk-house: all must be done well and with business way.
42. The ordeals thou shalt oversee thyself, save only the blind ones. Refuse none, but thou shalt know & destroy the traitors. I am Ra-Hoor-Khuit; and I am powerful to protect my servant. Success is thy proof: argue not; convert not; talk not over much! Them that seek to entrap thee, to overthrow thee, them attack without pity or quarter; & destroy them utterly. Swift as a trodden serpent turn and strike! Be thou yet deadlier than he! Drag down their souls to awful torment: laugh at their fear: spit upon them!
43. Let the Scarlet Woman beware! If pity and compassion and tenderness visit her heart; if she leave my work to toy with old sweetnesses; then shall my vengeance be known. I will slay me her child: I will alienate her heart: I will cast her out from men: as a shrinking and despised harlot shall she crawl through dusk wet streets, and die cold and an-hungered.
44. But let her raise herself in pride! Let her follow me in my way! Let her work the work of wickedness! Let her kill her heart! Let her be loud and adulterous! Let her be covered with jewels, and rich garments, and let her be shameless before all men!
45. Then will I lift her to pinnacles of power: then will I breed from her a chi
ld mightier than all the kings of the earth. I will fill her with joy: with my force shall she see & strike at the worship of Nu: she shall achieve Hadit.
46. I am the warrior Lord of the Forties: the Eighties cower before me, & are abased. I will bring you to victory & joy: I will be at your arms in battle & ye shall delight to slay. Success is your proof; courage is your armour; go on, go on, in my strength; & ye shall turn not back for any!
47. This book shall be translated into all tongues: but always with the original in the writing of the Beast; for in the chance shape of the letters and their position to one another: in these are mysteries that no Beast shall divine. Let him not seek to try: but one cometh after him, whence I say not, who shall discover the Key of it all. Then this line drawn is a key: then this circle squared in its failure is a key also. And Abrahadabra. It shall be his child & that strangely. Let him not seek after this; for thereby alone can he fall from it.
48. Now this mystery of the letters is done, and I want to go on to the holier place.
49. I am in a secret fourfold word, the blasphemy against all gods of men.
50. Curse them! Curse them! Curse them!
51. With my Hawk’s head I peck at the eyes of Jesus as he hangs upon the cross.
52. I flap my wings in the face of Mohammed & blind him.
53. With my claws I tear out the flesh of the Indian and the Buddhist, Mongol and Din.
54. Bahlasti! Ompehda! I spit on your crapulous creeds.
55. Let Mary inviolate be torn upon wheels: for her sake let all chaste women be utterly despised among you!
56. Also for beauty’s sake and love’s!
57. Despise also all cowards; professional soldiers who dare not fight, but play; all fools despise!
58. But the keen and the proud, the royal and the lofty; ye are brothers!
59. As brothers fight ye!
60. There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt.
61. There is an end of the word of the God enthroned in Ra’s seat, lightening the girders of the soul.
62. To Me do ye reverence! to me come ye through tribulation of ordeal, which is bliss.
63. The fool readeth this Book of the Law, and its comment; & he understandeth it not.
64. Let him come through the first ordeal, & it will be to him as silver.
65. Through the second, gold.
66. Through the third, stones of precious water.
67. Through the fourth, ultimate sparks of the intimate fire.
68. Yet to all it shall seem beautiful. Its enemies who say not so, are mere liars.
69. There is success.
70. I am the Hawk-Headed Lord of Silence & of Strength; my nemyss shrouds the night-blue sky.
71. Hail! ye twin warriors about the pillars of the world! for your time is nigh at hand.
72. I am the Lord of the Double Wand of Power; the wand of the Force of Coph Nia–but my left hand is empty, for I have crushed an Universe; & nought remains.
73. Paste the sheets from right to left and from top to bottom: then behold!
74. There is a splendour in my name hidden and glorious, as the sun of midnight is ever the son.
75. The ending of the words is the Word Abrahadabra.
The Book of the Law is Written
and Concealed.
Aum. Ha.

THE COMMENT.
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
The study of this Book is forbidden. It is wise to destroy this copy after the first reading.
Whosoever disregards this does so at his own risk and peril. These are most dire.
Those who discuss the contents of this Book are to be shunned by all, as centres of pestilence.
All questions of the Law are to be decided only by appeal to my writings, each for himself.
There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt.
Love is the law, love under will.
The priest of the princes,
Ankh-f-n-khonsu

Liber Al vel Legis – Book II | Happy Holy Days!

// April 9th, 2006 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

Chapter II
1. Nu! the hiding of Hadit.
2. Come! all ye, and learn the secret that hath not yet been revealed. I, Hadit, am the complement of Nu, my bride. I am not extended, and Khabs is the name of my House.
3. In the sphere I am everywhere the centre, as she, the circumference, is nowhere found.
4. Yet she shall be known & I never.
5. Behold! the rituals of the old time are black. Let the evil ones be cast away; let the good ones be purged by the prophet! Then shall this Knowledge go aright.
6. I am the flame that burns in every heart of man, and in the core of every star. I am Life, and the giver of Life, yet therefore is theknowledge of me the knowledge of death.
7. I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go.
8. Who worshipped Heru-pa-kraath have worshipped me; ill, for I am the worshipper.
9. Remember all ye that existence is pure joy; that all the sorrows are but as shadows; they pass & are done; but there is that which remains.
10. O prophet! thou hast ill will to learn this writing.
11. I see thee hate the hand & the pen; but I am stronger.
12. Because of me in Thee which thou knewest not.
13. for why? Because thou wast the knower, and me.
14. Now let there be a veiling of this shrine: now let the light devour men and eat them up with blindness!
15. For I am perfect, being Not; and my number is nine by the fools; but with the just I am eight, and one in eight: Which is vital, for I am none indeed. The Empress and the King are not of me; for there is a further secret.
16. I am The Empress & the Hierophant. Thus eleven, as my bride is eleven.
17. Hear me, ye people of sighing!The sorrows of pain and regretAre left to the dead and the dying,The folk that not know me as yet.
18. These are dead, these fellows; they feel not. We are not for the poor and sad: the lords of the earth are our kinsfolk.
19. Is a God to live in a dog? No! but the highest are of us. They shall rejoice, our chosen: who sorroweth is not of us.
20. Beauty and strength, leaping laughter and delicious languor, force and fire, are of us.
21. We have nothing with the outcast and the unfit: let them die in their misery. For they feel not. Compassion is the vice of kings: stamp down the wretched & the weak: this is the law of the strong: this is our law and the joy of the world. Think not, o king, upon that lie: That Thou Must Die: verily thou shalt not die, but live. Now let it be understood: If the body of the King dissolve, he shall remain in pure ecstasy for ever. Nuit! Hadit! Ra-Hoor-Khuit! The Sun, Strength & Sight, Light; these are for the servants of the Star & the Snake.
22. I am the Snake that giveth Knowledge & Delight and bright glory, and stir the hearts of men with drunkenness. To worship me take wine and strange drugs whereof I will tell my prophet, & be drunk thereof! They shall not harm ye at all. It is a lie, this folly against self. The exposure of innocence is a lie. Be strong, o man! lust, enjoy all things of sense and rapture: fear not that any God shall deny thee for this.
23. I am alone: there is no God where I am.
24. Behold! these be grave mysteries; for there are also of my friends who be hermits. Now think not to find them in the forest or on the mountain; but in beds of purple, caressed by magnificent beasts of women with large limbs, and fire and light in their eyes, and masses of flaming hair about them; there shall ye find them. Ye shall see them at rule, at victorious armies, at all the joy; and there shall be in them a joy a million times greater than this. Beware lest any force another, King against King! Love one another with burning hearts; on the low men trample in the fierce lust of your pride, in the day of your wrath.
25. Ye are against the people, O my chosen!
26. I am the secret Serpent coiled about to spring: in my coiling there is joy. If I lift up my head, I and my Nuit are one. If I droop down mine head, and shoot forth venom, then is rapture of the earth, and I and the earth are one.
27. There is great danger in me; for who doth not understand these runes shall make a great miss. He shall fall down into the pit called Because, and there he shall perish with the dogs of Reason.
28. Now a curse upon Because and his kin!
29. May Because be accursed for ever!
30. If Will stops and cries Why, invoking Because, then Will stops & does nought.
31. If Power asks why, then is Power weakness.
32. Also reason is a lie; for there is a factor infinite & unknown; & all their words are skew-wise.
33. Enough of Because! Be he damned for a dog!
34. But ye, o my people, rise up & awake!
35. Let the rituals be rightly performed with joy & beauty!
36. There are rituals of the elements and feasts of the times.
37. A feast for the first night of the Prophet and his Bride!
38. A feast for the three days of the writing of the Book of the Law.
39. A feast for Tahuti and the child of the Prophet–secret, O Prophet!
40. A feast for the Supreme Ritual, and a feast for the Equinox of the Gods.
41. A feast for fire and a feast for water; a feast for life and a greater feast for death!
42. A feast every day in your hearts in the joy of my rapture!
43. A feast every night unto Nu, and the pleasure of uttermost delight!
44. Aye! feast! rejoice! there is no dread hereafter. There is the dissolution, and eternal ecstasy in the kisses of Nu.
45. There is death for the dogs.
46. Dost thou fail? Art thou sorry? Is fear in thine heart?
47. Where I am these are not.
48. Pity not the fallen! I never knew them. I am not for them. I console not: I hate the consoled & the consoler.
49. I am unique & conqueror. I am not of the slaves that perish. Be they damned & dead! Amen. (This is of the 4: there is a fifth who is invisible, & therein am I as a babe in an egg. )
50. Blue am I and gold in the light of my bride: but the red gleam is in my eyes; & my spangles are purple & green.
51. Purple beyond purple: it is the light higher than eyesight.
52. There is a veil: that veil is black. It is the veil of the modest woman; it is the veil of sorrow, & the pall of death: this is none of me. Tear down that lying spectre of the centuries: veil not your vices in virtuous words: these vices are my service; ye do well, & I will reward you here and hereafter.
53. Fear not, o prophet, when these words are said, thou shalt not be sorry. Thou art emphatically my chosen; and blessed are the eyes that thou shalt look upon with gladness. But I will hide thee in a mask of sorrow: they that see thee shall fear thou art fallen: but I lift thee up.
54. Nor shall they who cry aloud their folly that thou meanest nought avail; thou shall reveal it: thou availest: they are the slaves of because: They are not of me. The stops as thou wilt; the letters? change them not in style or value!
55. Thou shalt obtain the order & value of the English Alphabet; thou shalt find new symbols to attribute them unto.
56. Begone! ye mockers; even though ye laugh in my honour ye shall laugh not long: then when ye are sad know that I have forsaken you.
57. He that is righteous shall be righteous still; he that is filthy shall be filthy still.
58. Yea! deem not of change: ye shall be as ye are, & not other. Therefore the kings of the earth shall be Kings for ever: the slaves shall serve. There is none that shall be cast down or lifted up: all is ever as it was. Yet there are masked ones my servants: it may be that yonder beggar is a King. A King may choose his garment as he will: there is no certain test: but a beggar cannot hide his poverty.
59. Beware therefore! Love all, lest perchance is a King concea
led! Say you so? Fool! If he be a King, thou canst not hurt him.
60. Therefore strike hard & low, and to hell with them, master!
61. There is a light before thine eyes, o prophet, a light undesired, most desirable.
62. I am uplifted in thine heart; and the kisses of the stars rain hard upon thy body.
63. Thou art exhaust in the voluptuous fullness of the inspiration; the expiration is sweeter than death, more rapid and laughterful than a caress of Hell’s own worm.
64. Oh! thou art overcome: we are upon thee; our delight is all over thee: hail! hail: prophet of Nu! prophet of Had! prophet of Ra-Hoor-Khu! Now rejoice! now come in our splendour & rapture! Come in our passionate peace, & write sweet words for the Kings.
65. I am the Master: thou art the Holy Chosen One.
66. Write, & find ecstasy in writing! Work, & be our bed in working! Thrill with the joy of life & death! Ah! thy death shall be lovely: whososeeth it shall be glad. Thy death shall be the seal of the promise of our age long love. Come! lift up thine heart & rejoice! We are one; we are none.
67. Hold! Hold! Bear up in thy rapture; fall not in swoon of the excellent kisses!
68. Harder! Hold up thyself! Lift thine head! breathe not so deep — die!
69. Ah! Ah! What do I feel? Is the word exhausted?
70. There is help & hope in other spells. Wisdom says: be strong! Then canst thou bear more joy. Be not animal; refine thy rapture! If thou drink, drink by the eight and ninety rules of art: if thou love, exceed by delicacy; and if thou do aught joyous, let there be subtlety therein!
71. But exceed! exceed!
72. Strive ever to more! and if thou art truly mine — and doubt it not, an if thou art ever joyous! — death is the crown of all.
73. Ah! Ah! Death! Death! thou shalt long for death. Death is forbidden, o man, unto thee.
74. The length of thy longing shall be the strength of its glory. He that lives long & desires death much is ever the King among the Kings.
75. Aye! listen to the numbers & the words:
76. 4 6 3 8 A B K 2 4 A L G M O R 3 Y X 24 89 R P S T O V A L. What meaneth this, o prophet? Thou knowest not; nor shalt thou know ever. There cometh one to follow thee: he shall expound it. But remember, o chose none, to be me; to follow the love of Nu in the star-lit heaven; to look forth upon men, to tell them this glad word.
77. O be thou proud and mighty among men!
78. Lift up thyself! for there is none like unto thee among men or among Gods! Lift up thyself, o my prophet, thy stature shall surpass the stars. They shall worship thy name, foursquare, mystic, wonderful, the number of the man; and the name of thy house 418.
79. The end of the hiding of Hadit; and blessing & worship to the prophet of the lovely Star!

Liber Al vel Legis – Book 1 | Happy Holy Day #1 Thelemites

// April 8th, 2006 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

Chapter I

1. Had! The manifestation of Nuit.
2. The unveiling of the company of heaven.
3. Every man and every woman is a star.
4. Every number is infinite; there is no difference.
5. Help me, o warrior lord of Thebes, in my unveiling before the Children of men!
6. Be thou Hadit, my secret centre, my heart & my tongue!
7. Behold! it is revealed by Aiwass the minister of Hoor-paar-kraat.
8. The Khabs is in the Khu, not the Khu in the Khabs.
9. Worship then the Khabs, and behold my light shed over you!
10. Let my servants be few & secret: they shall rule the many & the known.
11. These are fools that men adore; both their Gods & their men are fools.
12. Come forth, o children, under the stars, & take your fill of love!
13. I am above you and in you. My ecstasy is in yours. My joy is to see your joy.
14. Above, the gemmed azure isThe naked splendour of Nuit;She bends in ecstasy to kissThe secret ardours of Hadit.The winged globe, the starry blue,Are mine, O Ankh-af-na-khonsu!
15. Now ye shall know that the chosen priest & apostle of infinite space is the prince-priest the Beast; and in his woman called the Scarlet Woman is all power given. They shall gather my children into their fold: they shall bring the glory of the stars into the hearts of men.
16. For he is ever a sun, and she a moon. But to him is the winged secret flame, and to her the stooping starlight.
17. But ye are not so chosen.
18. Burn upon their brows, o splendrous serpent!
19. O azure-lidded woman, bend upon them!
20. The key of the rituals is in the secret word which I have given unto him.
21. With the God & the Adorer I am nothing: they do not see me. They are as upon the earth; I am Heaven, and there is no other God than me, and my lord Hadit.
22. Now, therefore, I am known to ye by my name Nuit, and to him by a secret name which I will give him when at last he knoweth me. Since I am Infinite Space, and the Infinite Stars thereof, do ye also thus. Bind nothing! Let there be no difference made among you between any one thing & any other thing; for thereby there cometh hurt.
23. But whoso availeth in this, let him be the chief of all!
24. I am Nuit, and my word is six and fifty.
25. Divide, add, multiply, and understand.
26. Then saith the prophet and slave of the beauteous one: Who am I, and what shall be the sign? So she answered him, bendingdown, a lambent flame of blue, all-touching, all penetrant, her lovely hands upon the black earth, & her lithe body arched for love, and her soft feet not hurting the little flowers: Thou knowest! And the sign shall be my ecstasy, the consciousness of the continuity of existence, the omnipresence of my body.
27. Then the priest answered & said unto the Queen of Space, kissing her lovely brows, and the dew of her light bathing his whole body in a sweet-smelling perfume of sweat: O Nuit, continuous one of Heaven, let it be ever thus; that men speak not of Thee as One but as None; and let them speak not of thee at all, since thou art continuous!
28. None, breathed the light, faint & faery, of the stars, and two.
29. For I am divided for love’s sake, for the chance of union.
30. This is the creation of the world, that the pain of division is as nothing, and the joy of dissolution all.
31. For these fools of men and their woes care not thou at all! They feel little; what is, is balanced by weak joys; but ye are my chosen ones.
32. Obey my prophet! follow out the ordeals of my knowledge! seek me only! Then the joys of my love will redeem ye from all pain. This is so: I swear it by the vault of my body; by my sacred heart and tongue; by all I can give, by all I desire of ye all.
33. Then the priest fell into a deep trance or swoon, & said unto the Queen of Heaven; Write unto us the ordeals; write unto us the rituals; write unto us the law!
34. But she said: the ordeals I write not: the rituals shall be half known and half concealed: the Law is for all.
35. This that thou writest is the threefold book of Law.
36. My scribe Ankh-af-na-khonsu, the priest of the princes, shall not in one letter change this book; but lest there be folly, he shall comment thereupon by the wisdom of Ra-Hoor-Khuit.
37. Also the mantras and spells; the obeah and the wanga; the work of the wand and the work of the sword; these he shall learn and teach.
38. He must teach; but he may make severe the ordeals.
39. The word of the Law is THELEMA.
40. Who calls us Thelemites will do no wrong, if he look but close into the word. For there are therein Three Grades, the Hermit, and the Lover, and the man of Earth. Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
41. The word of Sin is Restriction. O man! refuse not thy wife, if she will! O lover, if thou wilt, depart! There is no bond that can unite the divided but love: all else is a curse. Accursed! Accursed be it to the aeons! Hell.
42. Let it be that state of manyhood bound and loathing. So with thy all; thou hast no right but to do thy will.
43. Do that, and no other shall say nay.
44. For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is every way perfect.
45. The Perfect and the Perfect are one Perfect and not two; nay, are none!
46. Nothing is a secret key of this law. Sixty-one the Jews call it; I call it eight, eighty, four hundred & eighteen.
47. But they have the half: unite by thine art so that all disappear.
48. My prophet is a fool with his one, one, one; are not they the Ox, and none by the Book?
49. Abrogate are all rituals, all ordeals, all words and signs. Ra-Hoor-Khuit hath taken his seat in the East at the Equinox of the Gods; and let Asar be with Isa, who also are one. But they are not of me. Let Asar be the adorant, Isa the sufferer; Hoor in his secret name and splendour is the Lord initiating.
50. There is a word to say about the Hierophantic task. Behold! there are three ordeals in one, and it may be given in three ways. The gross must pass through fire; let the fine be tried in intellect, and the lofty chosen ones in the highest. Thus ye have star & star, system & system; let not one know well the other!
51. There are four gates to one palace; the floor of that palace is of silver and gold; lapis lazuli & jasper are there; and all rare scents; jasmine & rose, and the emblems of death. Let him enter in turn or at once the four gates; let him stand on the floor of the palace. Will he not sink? Amn. Ho! warrior, if thy servant sink? But there are means and means. Be goodly therefore: dress ye all in fine apparel; eat rich foods and drink sweet wines and wines that foam! Also, take your fill and will of love as ye will, when, where and with whom ye will! But always unto me.
52. If this be not aright; if ye confound the space-marks, saying: They are one; or saying, They are many; if the ritual be not ever unto me: then expect the direful judgments of Ra Hoor Khuit!
53. This sh
all regenerate the world, the little world my sister, my heart & my tongue, unto whom I send this kiss. Also, o scribe and prophet, though thou be of the princes, it shall not assuage thee nor absolve thee. But ecstasy be thine and joy of earth: ever To me! To me!
54. Change not as much as the style of a letter; for behold! thou, o prophet, shalt not behold all these mysteries hidden therein.
55. The child of thy bowels, he shall behold them.
56. Expect him not from the East, nor from the West; for from no expected house cometh that child. Aum! All words are sacred and all prophets true; save only that they understand a little; solve the first half of the equation, leave the second unattacked. But thou hast all in the clear light, and some, though not all, in the dark.
57. Invoke me under my stars! Love is the law, love under will. Nor let the fools mistake love; for there are love and love. There is the dove, and there is the serpent. Choose ye well! He, my prophet, hath chosen, knowing the law of the fortress, and the great mystery of the House of God.
All these old letters of my Book are aright; but [Tzaddi] is not the Star. This also is secret: my prophet shall reveal it to the wise.
58. I give unimaginable joys on earth: certainty, not faith, while in life, upon death; peace unutterable, rest, ecstasy; nor do I demand aught in sacrifice.
59. My incense is of resinous woods & gums; and there is no blood therein: because of my hair the trees of Eternity.
60. My number is 11, as all their numbers who are of us. The Five Pointed Star, with a Circle in the Middle, & the circle is Red. My colour is black to the blind, but the blue & gold are seen of the seeing. Also I have asecret glory for them that love me.
61. But to love me is better than all things: if under the night stars in the desert thou presently burnest mine incense before me, invoking me with a pure heart, and the Serpent flame therein, thou shalt come a little to lie in my bosom. For one kiss wilt thou then be willing to give all; but whoso gives one particle of dust shall lose all in that hour. Ye shall gather goods and store of women and spices; ye shall wear rich jewels; ye shall exceed the nations of the earth in spendour & pride; but always in the love of me, and so shall ye come to my joy. I charge you earnestly to come before me in a single robe, and covered with a rich headdress. I love you! I yearn to you! Pale or purple, veiled or voluptuous, I who am all pleasure and purple, and drunkenness of the innermost sense, desire you. Put on the wings, and arouse the coiled splendour within you: come unto me!
62. At all my meetings with you shall the priestess say — and her eyes shall burn with desire as she stands bare and rejoicing in my secret temple — To me! To me! calling forth the flame of the hearts of all in her love-chant.
63. Sing the rapturous love-song unto me! Burn to me perfumes! Wear to me jewels! Drink to me, for I love you! I love you!
64. I am the blue-lidded daughter of Sunset; I am the naked brilliance of the voluptuous night-sky.
65. To me! To me!
66. The Manifestation of Nuit is at an end.

Another one for my circle of Hell…

// April 6th, 2006 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

Everywhere is War

// April 5th, 2006 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

“Until the Philosophy that holds one man superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned everywhere is war”

~Bob Marley