1201 13.

Always rememberthat allman ind and allcreatures areequally childrenof theGoddess;therefore neverboastor threaten,or do anything that mightdisgrace Her oryour brothers and sisters in the Craft. Toblatherthoughtlesslyaboutthe Craft,especiallytopersons who have no business nowing about your coven's affairs, not only drains your own energy and that of your coven, but also is a form of boasting, of using the Craft for self-aggrandizement, that will get you into the bad headspace law #3 warns about. More obviously, threatening to "hex" someone, even though you THINK you have no intention of doing so, violates the intent of laws 1 through 4, because you are playing games with the Lady, who just might decide to act on the threat, and because you are using the Craft (especially if you are nown to be a Witch) to influence another against his will and to get your own way; furthermore, ma ing such a threat reinforces the false impression most people have of the Craft, and so disgraces the Goddess. Again, since anyone could learn to do anything you can do, being a Witch doesn't ma e you any better than anyone else; put on airs, and the Lady will deflate you. Perhaps a good rule of thumb about discussing the Craft with outsiders is this: once you are convinced that someone's interest is sincere, then answer questions, fully and freely; but don't just volunteer information that has in no way been as ed for, else you ris burdening that person with more information than he or she is able to cope with.

1202 THE ABBREVIATED LAWS 'Tis the Old Law, and the most important of all Laws, that no one may do anything which will endanger the Craft, or bring us into contact with the law of the land or any of our persecutors. *Be it ardane that noneshall use the Art (magic )in any way to do ll to any. 8 words the Wiccan Rede fulfil: An it harm none, do what ye will. * Respect the privacy of other Coveners. You may reveal the involvement of no person save yourself. In case of trouble, the Coven will be disbanded. Should this happen, all Coveners are to avoid one another for the safety and well-being of all. Should this happen, refer to the Old Laws. *Never accept moneyfor the useof the Art, formoney ever smears the ta er (and clouds ethical judgement). For all things magic al, pay the full price as ed without haggling. If it is unaffordable, it is probably inappropriate in some hidden way. * In case of dispute, the High Priestess is the final arbiter. Within the Craft, no law save Craft Law may be invo ed. Any who will not agree, or who will not wor under this HPs, may and shall remove themselves from the Coven. Any of the third (L.T. Initiates OK) may form a new Coven. * The traditional way to hear complaints is this: Before the High Priestess and any other Elders shall come first one, then the other, then both together to be heard. The decision may be rendered immediately, one lunar month later, or whenever the time of waiting is filled. * The year-and-a-day rules pertains to: The minimum time between Progressions; The final time of all Leavings; The closings of all cycles. THE TEMPLE LAWS * Inorder of precedence, you areaccountable to: The Gods, your Self, your High Priestess, your Teacher. Initiates are also accountable to the Craft as a whole. * "Pagan Standard Time" gives you 15 minutes leeway for an announced class or ritual. If you'll be any later or won't ma e it, CALL! * Questions are expected, desired, and anticipated.. The only "dumb question" is the one the student doesn't as . * Commoncourtesy in all things. Whenin doubt, it is preferable to err on the side of caution and silence. * Ultimately, you are responsible for your own development. Independent thought and research are strongly encouraged.

1203 Comments on The Abbreviated Laws by J. Random Fol singer The Wiccan Rede, while it has been taught widely, is not a part of the Laws, although it may be considered derivative of them. There is nothing in the Laws that says that "in case of trouble, the Coven will be disbanded". There are, in fact, quite a few possible solutions to specific instances, not just for "trouble".

The traditional way to hear complaints, at least in my set of the Old Laws, is for the High Priest or High Priestess to convene the Elders. It says nothing about whether the HP or HPs are included in this group, but it is assumed that BOTH, not just the HPs, are so included. There is also nothing in the Old Laws about a "time of waiting" for a decision. In the Old Laws, the only thing the year-and-a-day rule pertains to is the leaving of a High Priestess. Everything in the "Temple Laws" falls in the good-to-very-good category of advice; NONE of it is in the Old Laws. And I have nown a good many pagans to ta e PST to mean anytime during the calendar DAY. There are a number of teachers in my experience to whom you NEVER as a question, at penalty of being ic ed out of the class; still, a teacher who can accept this rule is probably a good teacher.

In general, this sheet appears to be a wor sheet handed to new students and gone over with them for a quic rundown of the Craft in order to go on to other things; in my opinion, giving them this sheet and NOT reviewing the entire set of the Old Laws (in whatever form) is doing the students a disservice; having this sheet around for later reference, on the other hand, is probably a Good Thing.

There is nothing in the Laws about unaffordability equalling inappropriateness in the purchase of a magic al tool. What the hec are "L.T. Initiates"? Long Term? Why is is OK for them to form a Coven when it is plain that you have to be of the Third Degree?

1204 THE LAW The Law was made and ardane about a wee from last Wednesday. The Law was made for the Wiccca, in order that they should develop a nice longhand style from copying it. TheWicccashouldgive dueworshiptotheGodz, presumingthey believe the Godz exist and aren't just metaphors; and obey Their Will, which the HPS of the Coven will ma e up as she goes along, for it was made for the purpose of ego-tripping and wild parties. The worship of the Wiccca is good for the owners of Occult Supply Stores, for the owners of Occult Supply Stores love the money of the Wiccca. Asa manlovetha womanusingthe Wiccca should shaft their fellows and other ly. And it is necessary that the Magic cipal difference between a Wicccan rite and all Wiccca properly purified to enter it gallons of Ripple each and not throw up.

TheHPSshallr/u/i/n/ rulehercovenasthe localrepresentative of the Goddess, and choose whomever she is sleeping with this wee to be her HP...or her Maiden. Andremember that the Wiccca would have it that The God Himself issed her feet and gave up the position of Ringmaster to her because of her arbitrariness and autocracy, her spite and unreason, her mysteriousness and ignorance: so the HP is expected to go as far away as possible and not even show up for Sabbats. It is the greatest virtue of a HPS that she turn as many of her Covenors into closet Xtians as possible, for the true HPS realizes that anyone with the sense Goddess gave a goose is not going to stic around without having a death wish. * * * * * In the Olden Days when Wiccca extended far, we were free and had reservations in all the best restaurants. But these days, we eat at McDonald's. SO BE IT ARDANE, that nonebut the Wiccca shall ever be invited to dinner, for people who ignore us are many, and if they ever found out what we are really up to, they would giggle. SO BE ITARDANE, that no Coven shall nowwhere the next Coven bide, nor who its member be, save anybody who loo s in Circle Newsletter and the hit team we send out to sanction them. SOBEITARDANE, thatnoone shalltellanyoneanything, least of all thy fellows in the Craft, for fear one of you will learn something; because as it is truly writ: Gerald wrote it, I believe it, that settles it. Andif anybrea these Laws,theywill havetostart theirown Tradition and ma e up their own Grandmother. Leteach HPSgovernherCoven asshedamn'well please,riding rough-shod over the Covenors as long as they will stand for it.

missionaryposition, sothe total strangers frequentCircle which is the prina frat party be cast and so they can drin five

1205 Butitmust berecognized thatsooner orlater theywill get mad and stop bringing the Ripple to Coven meetings. When this happens, it hath ever been the Old Law that the HPS will Elevate them to the Third Degree and ic them out, and promise them the rest of the Boo ...someday. Anyone ofanydegree ornonemay founda Coven,providedthey thin they can get away with it and can create a convincing Grandmother. They mayraidother Covensformembers aslongas noone nows where to find them.

If you should eep a Blac Boo , let it be in your own hand of write, except for the parts you xerox out of Lady Sheba. Or better yet, tell everybody they're not of a high enough degree to see it. ProclaimyourWicccahoodloudly, andoften;youmaybe ableto do a bris trade in spells, psychic fairs, and tal shows. If nobody believs you, try holding a public s yclad circle. If all else fails, hire a press agent and advertise in the National Inquirer. If they try to ma e you tal of the Brotherhood, lay it on with a trowel. Ancient Atlantis is always good for a five-minute spot on the six o' cloc news. Not all interviewers are bad; some may even flash your business address on the screen for a few seconds. * * * *

To avoid discovery, let your wor ing tools be ordinary stuff such as any may have around the house: AR-15's, Patton Tan s, Howitzers (let's see how far we can stretch that First Amendment, gang!). Have no names or signs on anuything, and remove the ones they came with, as otherwise this can lead to a charge of receiving stolen property. LetthePentacles bemadeof waxunlesssomethingelse ismore convenient. Haveno sword, unlessyou are inthe SCA ora collector of WWII memorabilia. Writethe namesand signson agummed labelsothat itcan be peeled off immediately afterwards; remember that not guilty by reason of insanity is not a valid defense in cases of this ind. Everrememberthatyou aretheHiddenChildrenof theGoddess; when you can ta e time out from Karma Dumping Runs, Psychic Vendettas, Banishing each other from the Coven and discussing how much fun it would be to persecute the Xtians, remember never to do anything to disgrace Her. Or Them, if that's possible.

But splitting the Covenoft means new opportunities for evading the consequences of your actions, so the wise HPS will thin of it first.

1206 * * * * *

In the Olden Days, when we had Power, we could use the Art against any who ill-treated us; but these days a whispering campaign wor s better. Remember always that there are a lot of fla y people out there, and for this reason it is best to give a fa e name and a Post Office Box address. Someone is always going to blame you for something. SO BEIT ARDANE: HARMNONE, or atleast have agood alibi. Never brea this law, or people who get burned along with you will come after you with baseball bats, and you will never be able to score any decent hash again. AnyHPSwho doessomethingyou don'tli eyou canwal out on, but be sure to clout the Coven Boo on the way to the door and set up in business for yourself (Learn Witchcraft From The Experts!).

'Tis the Old Law and most important of all the Laws that no one may do anything that will endanger any of the Craft. Unless there's money in it, or it's to someone you thin deserves it, and anyway, "endanger" is in the eye of the beholder. In anydispute betweenthe Wiccca,no onemayinvo e anyLaw but that of the Craft. However, you can brea into your opponent's home and mess up his stuff.. after all, it says right here they can't go to the Police.

It is ever the way with men and with women that they are ruled by their glands. At any moment your HPS may run off and become a Rosicrucian. And the way of Resignation is this: if she doesn't answer her phone for two wee s and is never home when you drive by, you can declare her outcast from the Coven and ta e it over yourself, with as many as will have you. But if she comes bac she will probably ta e of the Coven again, or start another one in the same building and declare you Invalid, and there's not much you can do about it. Learn to live with anxiety. Get everything in writing. * * * * *

It hath been found that two people sitting around with a bottle of Chianti discussing Atlantean Grandmothers will become fond of each

Neverbargain orhaggle whenyou buybythe Art;most Occult Store owners will just throw you out and everyone else will thin you're a nut.

Alwaysaccept moneyfor useofthe Art,but Gypsy Laws. In some states, Barter wor s better. All for their own advantage; remember, quic and dirty wor can lay off Karma on the Coven. If that doesn't wor in the mailbox.

eep aneye onthe may use the Art s best, and you , try dead cats

other, if only because of the Stoc holm Syndrome. Therefore, let it be resolved that a human being shall be taught in the Craft only by another human being, and screw the middle-class morality of the nineteen-fifties.

1207 * * * * *

And the Curses of the Mighty Ones be on all who try to ta e this seriously, or the Craft seriously, or the Wiccca seriously. Caveat Lector, and May The Force Be With You!

1208 Karma, The Three Fold Law, & Grace "As you sew, so shall ye reap". "What goes around, comes around". "Whatever you send out returns three times". These are all sayings very familiar to all of us, all of them examples of a supposedly Universal Law of cause and effect, action and reaction. Of course many of the religious systems try to furnish us with some sort of "escape clause" that will allow man to either alleviate suffering fo past misdeeds, or to escape responsibility totally. Let us ta e a little closer loo at these three ideas and ther inter-reationship. It seems that, on one level, we do live ina mechanistic universe, one pretty much ruled by cause-and-efect. This Newtonian universe seems to react in a very mechanical fashion, i.e. every action "produces an equal and opposite reaction". A good analogy for this is the example of one billiard ball stri ing another. The energy from the stri ing billiard ball is transfered to the one struc and is used to push against the first, imparting motion in the same direction. This brings the second law into play, i.e. an object in motion tends to stay in motion untill acted upon by an outside force. The principle of Karma basically says the same thing; i.e. any negative or positive action or thought remains that way, until it expends its energy by acting upon the originator. Of course this also ma es implicit the idea that thoughts or mental energy have a reality of their own, one that interacts with the physical universe. If this idea is accepted, it then implies the existence of at least one more "world" or order of the universe, one with a non physical "reality", and one where the basic fundamental rules of physics (as we now them) may not truly apply. The magician can bedescribed as one who "wal sbetween" these two worlds. "Wal ing between two worlds" implies that an individal is connected with both and can move between them at will. The purpose of magic is to manipulate one world for the benefit of the other, i.e. to manipulate the unseen world for the express purpose of influencing events in the physical. Unfortunately there does not seem to be a "free ride" anywhere in the universe, and when an individual acquires the power to do this, they also aquire a great deal of responsibility! By accepting the power to exert "leverage" in the unseen world, an individual seems to also accept a multiplied succeptibility to influences initiated in that world. This is why negative wor ings are so dangerous! This may also be the reasoning behind the "law of three fold return". Now comesthe hard part! Ifall of this causeand effect stuff is absolute, how can any individual ever hope to "pay off" the debts for all of the "stupid" things they have done not only in this lifetime, but in many others? Must we "pay off" all past transgressions on a one for one basis? Is there no ecape clause in this "contract" we seem to have for living in the universe? This "escape clause" is called Grace by the Christians and by other names in other systems, but it does exist in all. Basically, the idea is this: "Once a lesson is completely learned and one grows beyond a need for this lesson, it need not be repeated, even if the

'boo s' are not balanced". This is the "Enlightenment" sought by the Buddhist that allows the "brea ing" of the wheel. EXEGESIS ON THE WICCAN REDE

1209 by Judy Harrow originally published in HARVEST - Volume 5, Number 3 (Oimelc, 1985) second publication: THE HIDDEN PATH - Volume X, Number 2 Beltane, 1987) All religions began with somebody's sudden flashing insight, enlightenment, a shining vision. Some mystic found the way and the words to share the vision, and, sharing it, attracted followers. The followers may repeat those precise and poetic words about the vision until they congeal into set phrases, fused language, repeated by rote and without understanding. Cliches begin as great wisdom - that's why they spread so fast and end as ritual phrases, heard but not understood. Living spirituality so easily hardens to boring religious routine, maintained through guilt and fear, or habit and social opportunism - any reason but joy. We cometo the Craftwith a firstgeneration's joy ofdiscovery, and a first generation's memory of bored hours of routine worship in our childhood. Because we have nown the difference, it is our particular challenge to find or ma e ways to eep the Craft a living, real experience for our grandchildren and for the students of our students. Ithin the best of these safeguardsis already built into the Craft as we now it, put there by our own good teachers. On our Path, the mystic experience itself is shared, not just the fruits of mysticism. We give all our students the techniques, and the protective/supportive environment that enable almost every one of them to Draw the Moon and/or Invo e the God. This is an incredibly radical change from older religions, even older Pagan religions, in which the only permissible source of inspiration has been to endlessly reinterpret and reapply the vision of the Founder (the Bible, the Boo of the Law, the Koran, ... ). The practice of Drawing the Moon is the brilliant crown of the Craft. But notice how often, in the old myths, every treasure has its pitfalls? I thin I'm beginning to see one of ours. Between the normal process of original visions clotting into cliche, and our perpetual flow of new inspiration, we are in danger of losing the special wisdom of those who founded the modern Craft. I do not thin we should assiduously preserve every precious word. My love for my own Gardnerian tradition does not blind me to our sexist and heterosexist roots. And yet, I want us to remain identifiably Witches and not meld into some homogeneous "New Age" sludge. For this, I thin we need some sort of anchoring in tradition to give us a sense of identity. Some of the old sayings really do crystallize great wisdom as well, life-affirming Pagan wisdom that our culture needs to hear.

1210 So I thin it's time for a little creative borrowing from our neighbors. Christians do something they call "exegesis;" Jews have a somewhat similar process called "midrash." What it is is something between interpretation and meditation, a very concentrated examination of a particular text. The assumption often is that every single word has meaning (cabalists even loo at the individual letters). Out of this inspired combination of scholarship and daydream comes the vitality of those paths whose canon is closed. The contemporary example, of course, is Christian Liberation Theology, based on a re-visioning of Jesus that would utterly shoc John Calvin. Although our canonis not closed- and theday it isis the dayI quit -I'm suggesting that we can use a similar process to renew the life of the older parts of our own still-young heritage. So, I'dli e totry doingsome exegesison an essentialstatement of the Craft way of life. Every religion has some sort of ethic, some guideline for what it means to live in accordance with this particular mythos, this worldview. Ours, called the Wiccan Rede, is one of the most elegant statements I've heard of the principle of situational ethics. Rather than placing the power and duty to decide about behavior with teachers or ruleboo s, the Rede places it exactly where it belongs, with the actor. eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill: AN IT HARM NONE, DO WHAT YOU WILL. I'd li e to start with the second phrase first, and to ta e it almost word by word. do what YOU will. This is the challenge to self-direction, to figure out what we want, and not what somebody else wants for us or from us. All of us are subject to tremendous role expectations and pressures, coming from our families, our employers, our friends, society in general. It's easy to just be molded, deceptively easy to become acompulsive rebel and reflexively do the opposite of whatever "they" seem to want. Living by the Rede means accepting the responsibility to assess the results of our actions and to choose when we will obey, confront or evade the rules. Do what you WILL. This is the challenge to introspection, to now what we really want beyond the whim of the moment. The classic example is that of the student who chooses to study for an exam rather than go to a party, because what she really wants is to be a doctor. Again, balance is needed. Always going to the library rather than the movies is the road to burnout, not the road to a Nobel. What's more, there are others values in life, such as sensuality, intimacy, spirituality, that get ignored in a compulsively long-term orientation. So, our responsibility is not to mechanically follow some rule li e "always choose to defer gratification in your own long-term self interest," but to really listen within, and to really choose, each time.

1211 DO what you will. This is the challenge to action. Don't wait for Prince Charming or the revolution. Don't blame your mother or the system. Ma e a realistic plan that includes all your assets. Be sure to include magic, both the deeper insights and wisdoms of divination and the focusing of will and energy that comes from active wor ings. Then ta e the first steps right now. But, beware of thoughtless action, which is equally dangerous. For example, daydreaming is needed, to envision a goal, to project the results of actions, to chec progress against goals, sometimes to revise goals. Thin ing and planning are necessary parts of personal progress. Action and thought are complementary; neither can replace the other. When youreally loo atit, wordby word, itsounds li ea subtle and profound guide for life, does it not? Is it complete? Shall "do what you will" in fact be "the whole of the law" for us? I thin not. The second phrase of the Rede discusses the individual out of context. Ta en by itself, DO WHAT YOU WILL" would produce a nastily competitive society, a "war of each against all" more bitter than what we now endure. That is, it would if it were possible. Happily, it's just plain not. Pagan myth andmodern biology ali e teach us thatour Earth is one interconnected living sphere, a whole system in which the actions of each affect all (and this is emphatically not limited to human ind) through intrinsic, organic feedbac paths. As our technology amplifies the effects of our individual actions, it becomes increasingly critical to understand that these actions have consequences beyond the individual; consequences that, by the very nature of things, come bac to the individual as well. Cooperation, once "merely" an ethical ideal, has become a survival imperative. Life is relational, contextual. Exclusive focus on the individual Will is a lie and a deathtrap. The qualifying "AN IT HARM NONE," draws a Circle around the individual Will and places each of us firmly within the dual contexts of the human community and the complex life-form that is Mother Gaia. The first phrase of the Rede directs us to be aware of results of our actions projected not only in time, as long-term personal outcomes, but in space - to consider how actions may effect our families, co-wor ers, community, and the life of the Earth as a whole, and to ta e those projections into account in our decisions. But, li e the rest of the Rede, "an it harm none" cannot be followed unthin ingly. It is simply impossible for creatures who eat to harm none. Any refusal to decide or act for fear of harming someone is also a decision and an action, and will create results of some ind. When you consider that "none" also includes ourselves, it becomes clear that what we have here is a goal and an ideal, not a rule. The Craft, assumingethical adulthood, offersus no roterules. We will always be wor ing on incomplete nowledge. We will sometimes just plain ma e mista es. Life itself, and life-affirming religion, still demands that we learn, decide, act, and accept the results. Judy Harrow

1212 JOAN on the Witch Laws 8/22/81

Note: These are the comments of one of the early members of Proteus Coven on what we gave her to read about ethics and laws. All the material she had is still here, although a good deal has been added since then, so I thought her comments would also be interesting. Judy Harrow -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*Reaction to "Traditional" - i.e. essentially Gardnerian - format In many respects, as constricting as Catholocism without the administrative experience, intellectual prowess, or verbal expertise of Catholicism. If current researchers are correct, what we have is one man's fantasy (with jumbled and s ewed sources) made everyone's obligation. Maybedealtwith mosteffectively-especiallyas regardsthe reality of current practice and expectation - by juxtaposition with Lady I and hop's masterful irony.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*Reaction to Aporrheton 5 - [generally very good thin ing, but still more traditional than my preference] ParagraphTwo: Good thin ingon nature ofGoddess -or any divinity. My agreement is reserved, uncertain, withheld. Paragraph Three: Claims to have arrived at FIRMLY ("no bending") UNDISPROVEN hypotheses. This arouses natural suspicion in me. I disagree with some of his perceptions of FACTS. Idisagree violently withLaws 5 +6. Heterosexuality isa strength, but not an essential. POLARITY OPERATES OUTSIDE [or INSIDE] BOUNDARIES OF ANATOMICAL EQUIPMENT AND HORMONES. AND THE CHARACTER THE SACRED CHARACTER - OF THE WITCH IS WITHIN THE AT ONCE TRANSCENDANT AND DISCIPLINED SELF. Law #7 is unnecessary. A silly bow to a misunderstood "Trad" law. Law #8 islargely true, but ma es no allowancefor valid, honest (fair to all), and necessary transitional states many must pass through. Also stic s on "authority" peg, which has some necessity/validity but can easily get out of hand. I find HONESTY + COURTESY better yardstic s. Law #9. True.But much of interpersonaltension (inevitable) can be wor ed out of God/dess' love and coven support-with-discipline prevail.

1213 Law #10. TheGreat Mysteries mustbe livedout. And, withoutusing Craft parlance, if another needs to hear them, they MUST BE VERBALIZED. TO DO LESS IS HARM. i.e., it is to allow another to drown when you're on shore and have a rope. But no missionary zeal! No proseletyzing!!! That for which others are unready is foolishness for them and foolishness for the Witch. (It may also be subconscious power tripping. See agreement in Law #13.) Law #11 - I agree with paragraphs one and two. Paragraph3:saying thatonlythe HPsincarnatesthe Goddess is inappropriate and - in my firm opinion - NOT FACTUAL. (note from Judy - as I interpret what he says there, it's that only WOMEN incarnate the Goddess. I also disagree with that, but it's less bad than Joan's reading that he limits it to the HPs only.) The Goddess is not bound by ceremonial elevations. She incarnates where and when She Damn Well Pleases! Re:"all initiations..."- etc.-Ritual iscrystallization of preexistent, potential, incipient reality and this actualization is not trivial. Law #12 - Goodcaution on limits (ill defined whereemotion runs high) or self-defense. But assumption rules out solo magic (his previous premise is that it isn't Wiccan) by corollary of group responsibility / group danger to all action. "Return to sender" is generally agreed as rule-of-thumb for defense. Practice has not disproven. This is a difficult area to define. Probably group consensus on this would help. Does"impossibility factor" negatedanger? How about the verbal escape clause sometimes used? Obviously,I'mless sureofboundarieson thisonethan onany other. Law #13 - Good idea. Rather an ideal than a norm. OMISSION: APORRHETON does not mention Balance or Polarity concept except in male/female context. But these are valuable and central concepts. I got the feeling this person is still ruled by fragments of left-over fear. -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*Starhaw is GREAT. But many people will need more codification than she offers.

1214 From: L.A. HUSSEY To: J_RANDOM FOLKSINGER Subj: THE LAWS I am disturbed and disappointed. "The Christians are our enemies." "They will torture you to ma e you tal about the Craft." "Lie about the Craft." "Covens splitting up ma es for bad feelings." What depressing garbage. This is the 20th century, and this is America, this is not Inquisition days. The more we eep secret, the more the ignorant will assume that we have horrible secrets to eep. The true secrets of the Gods cannot be given away, because they cannot be spo en -- they are beyond all language. And as for bad feelings when covens brea up, maybe that is how it is where you are, but around here, there is rejoicing when one coven becomes two. Seems to me li e my best possible response to your "Laws" is the following song: BURNING TIMES The songs are sung to rouse our anger of martyred Witches gone to the fires, But what is served by righteous singing, if all we do is stew in our ire? Nine million dead in four hundred years; More in that time simply died of disease. Why do we dwell on long past dead When we are alive in times li e these? (cho) Rise up, Witches, throw off your mas s And cease crying guilt for ancient crimes. Earth and all Her children need us For ALL face now the Burning Times. In the face of that hostile power, how did the old nowledge stay alive? How have we still a Craft to practise? Our ancestors new how to fight and survive! How do we honour our blessed dead? Slavery threatens us all but few. We must teach their cunning ways -EVERYONE needs the s ills they new! (cho2) Rise up, Witches, gather your strength, And let your power spread and climb; Earth and all Her children need us For ALL face now the Burning Times. I will not cast off Science's wor s -- Witches all forces to Will can bend; I'll not accuse for war and waste some patriarchy of faceless men. Men do not cast the only votes; Women alone do not demonstrate. Rather than shut out half the race, Who if not we will change that state? (cho2)

1215 I will not blame a Father's Church -- blame and guilt are their tools, not mine, And even in the shuls and churches, allies there will I see , and find! I will not answer hate with fear, Nor with a smug, chee -turning love. I will not answer hate with rage; By strength alone will I not be moved! (cho2) I will not hide in my sacred grove -- the fact'ries and cities yet ring me about; I will not climb my ivory tower -- the real world exists tho' I shut it out. I will not wor for Church nor State Who serve themselves while they serve us lies, Nor only for my Witchen in, But for the family of all alive! (cho2) So if rebellion means to fight a State lost sight of why it was built, If heresy's to reject a Church that rules with force or fear or guilt, Then let us all be rebels proud, And shameless heretics by creed -A tyrant's hand subjects the Earth, More heretic rebels are what She needs! (cho2) Did it ever occur to the writers of your antique laws that the Craft might actually be WELCOMED by a great number of people? That there might actually be more of us than of those who wish us ill? That the only reason those who fear us are so active nowadays is because they see us becoming more and more welcomed by more people? As I say in another song, "When fol in sorrow turn away/ From paths that lead to misery/ And see new ways for wholeness' sa e/ Then waiting, ready shall we be." All I can say is, I'm Goddess-glad I'm not in your tradition. B*B Leigh Ann To this I would add only one more admonishment, based on my own experience: It is as important not to ta e oneself, one's power, and one's Craft too seriously as it is not to ta e them too lightly. Moderation in all things, including moderation. And remember that all acts of love and pleasure are the rites of the Goddess, and this includes HAVING FUN. B*B Leigh Ann

1216 A RESPONSE TO "CRAFT ETHICS OF THE COVENANT OF THE DOVES" It has always been my view that the Earth Traditions, both in the Wiccan (European Shamanic) and Neo-Native Shamanic senses, are seeing their rebirth out of a true need to heal this wounded Mother of ours, and to stay Her hand, for Her anger is growing. It is quite possible that without this renewed spirit of reverence and worship of Earth and S y and the True Source of All that Is, humanity as a species would be made as extinct as the Passenger Pigeon and the Dodo Bird. Therefore,as a Pagan and asa follower of theWays of the Chiricahua Teneh Nation, I cringe whenever I see restrictions and requirements that are, for all intents and purposes, useless today, and only hamper the mission we have of encouraging others to wal in a more sacred way on the Body of Our Mother. I see the power trips, the "I'm the High Priest(ess), that's why" crap and the games driving more and more Pagans solitary, when we should be uniting. And I was extremely angered when I read the published "ethics" of one organization, the Covenant of the Doves, now nown as the United Wiccan Church. I have listed the salient points that disturb me the most, and will respond to them one by one. > No woman shall be a Maiden who has not been in her courses. MK-H: I guess that's fair enough. But whether or not a woman is currently menstruating is none of the Coven's business. > No woman shall be ordained unless she has passed her 17th year, > nor shall she have her ordination recognized until that time. MK-H: No coven has any business ordaining a person, woman or man, before the legal Age of Consent, unless the minor is legally emancipated, and can produce their emancipation papers. To do otherwise is a wonderful excuse for prosecution if the persecution that File 18 and other Fundie hate articles I have been compiling in my XIANHATE series of files seem to augur comes to pass. > No womanshall have herordination recognized unless sheis in her courses, has ten fingers, ten toes, two eyes, two ears, a > nose. Her generative organs andbreasts must becomplete. The > honorable loss of limbs or the effects of torture following > ordination shall not invalidate the ordination. MK-H: So you would deny ordination to a woman who is handicapped, or blind, or deaf, or has suffered the effects of cancer and may have had a hysterectomy, a mastectomy or even the less-invasive "lumpectomy" done on her to save her life? That is bigoted and totally without reason in this day and age. And what if she is past Menopause? Would you deny ordination to a woman who may be past her fertile years? That's wholly disrespectful to the Elders who hold so much wisdom that could be an asset to a Circle. > > No woman shall be a Nymph who has not coupled. MK-H: Again, this is none of the Coven's business whether or not a woman has had sex.

1217 > No woman shall be a Crone who has not given birth. MK-H: Some have chosen NOT to bear children, out of either financial necessity, or conviction that this society is not the place to raise ids in. And some have recognized that they simply do not have the temperment for child-rearing (myself included in that category.) Some are infertile, through no fault of their own. And some, through either psychological or physical drives, prefer other women. There are a great deal of Lesbians in the Wiccan movement. Would you write them off as nonexistant? > No man shall be a Magician who has not healed. MK-H: Healing is not necessarily the only talent the God and Goddess give to people. Therefore, if a person does not have that talent, that does not mean that they aren't useful to the Circle in other capacities. And why is this criterion only applied to MALE postulants? Some of the best healers I now are female. > Noman shall beordained unless he haspassed his 33rdyear, nor > shall he have his ordination recognized until that time. MK-H: Why a double standard on when a man should be ordained? 18 is just fine for an eligability date. > No man shall have his ordination recognized unless he is the > father ofa living child, has ten fingers andten toes, two > eyes, two ears and a nose and generative organs complete. The > honorable loss of limbs or the effects of torture following > ordination shall not invalidate the ordination. MK-H: Again I voice my objections about the anti-Physically Challenged bias that this requirement implies. And I suspect that the requirement of being "the father of a living child" is there for only one reason--that it is a legally permissable way of stating "No Pooftahs". Just as the childbearing requirement is discriminatory to Lesbians, the fatherhood requirement is discriminatory to Gays. So what would I myself as of postulants wishing initiation? In my theoretical Circle, I would as them to attest, under pain of disfellowship, that they are not law enforcement officers joining the Circle for espionage purposes, nor are they there for sabotage or infiltration purposes under religious grounds. Furthermore, they should affirm their allegience to The Earth Mother, The S y Father, and Their Ultimate Source, forswearing allegiance to other deities. (primarily to weed out Christian or "satanist" infiltrators) They should have completed their Vision Quest, and have contacted their Lower Self in the form of their Power Animal(s), and their Higher Self in the form of the Shaman or Teacher Within. They also should not show outward or inward signs of being mentally unbalanced (something that would require a lot of trusting one's gut, although a psychologically-based questionnaire might be a good way of confirming it) or overly concerned with "finding power". They must also, for legal reasons, be either over 18 or legally Emancipated. Furthermore, there will be only ONE degree in my Circle--that of Kin. Anyone who is initiated is theoretically ready to act as ceremonial facilitator, and that duty will be rotated to them as the rotation goes around the Circle. Decisions should be made by consen-

sus, with one person having only one vote.

1218 I as you, James...does notthe Mother and the Father decreethat we should all be free and equal to one another? Is that not why you opt to have your Coven be na ed in their rite? (Due to the fact that the Chiricahua Teneh never performed ceremonials in the nude, I would myself opt for robed wor , even to the point of people wor ing in comfortable street clothes.) So why all this bloody RESTRICTION? Why all these trivial, and sometimes even discriminatory rules and regulations? Your ancestor Aleister once said "The word for Sin is Restriction." It's a good rule of thumb. Respectfully, Michelle Chihacou White Puma Klein-Hass

1219 SPELL TO EASE A BROKEN HEART* John Shaman You will need the following ingredients (be sure to charge them all before you begin): strawberry tea (one bag) Small wand or stic from a willow tree sea salt 2 pin candles a mirror one pin drawstring bag one quartz crystal a copper penny a bowl made of china or crystal that is special to you 1 teaspoon dried jasmine 1 teaspoon orris-root powder 1 tsp. strawberry leaves 1 teaspoon yarrow 10 plus drops apple-blossom oil or peach oil 10 plus drops strawberry oil On a Friday morning or evening (the day sacred to Venus) ta e a bath in sea salt in the light of a pin candle. As you dry off and dress, sip the strawberry tea. Use a dab of strawberry oil as perfume or cologne. Apply ma eup or groom yourself to loo your best. Cast a circle with the willow wand around a table the the other ingredients. Light the second pin candle. Mix all oils and herbs in the bowl. While you stir loo at yourself in the mirror and say aloud: "Oh, Great Mother Goddess, enclose me in your loving arms and nurture and bring forth the Goddess within me." Gaze deeply into the mirror after you have finished mixing the ingredients and say aloud, "I represent the Great Goddess, Mother of all things. I shine in the light of the Golden Wings of Isis. All that is great and loving only belongs to me." Then put half the mixture in the pin bag and add the penny and crystal. Carry it with you always [or until you find another love]. Leave the other half of the potion in the bowl, out in a room where you will smell the fragrance. Repeat this ritual every Friday if necessary. *From Laurie Cabot's "Power of the Witch" Brac ets mine. Needless to say, you should replace the goddess name with one that you attune to.

1220 STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES AND ETHICS--LIFEWAY SHAMANIC FELLOWSHIP By Usen's grace, Ho-dah.... 1.) PURPOSES: This is an era of decision. Do we allow ourselves to cut the throat of the Mother Who has nourished us as a species since we "came down from the trees"? Or do we wor to wal in Beauty and Harmony with Her, and cherish Her, and wor to see Her healed? The resurgence of Shamanism, the primal Earth Religion of practically all of the Earth's pre-Agrarian cultures, is an important thing, foretold by the Paiute prophet Wovo a and in the Hopi Prophecies. It was said that both the Red Man would return to the Ways of the Old Ones and that the non-Native would also embrace the Lifeway. There are non-Natives who respectfully have chosen these Ways, and are carrying them on in a reverent way. If the Lifeway was only given for the Native peoples, it would die out within our lifetime. There are simply not enough traditional Elders left. It has been shown to some of us that Our Mother The Earth is not willing to die quietly. She has demonstrated this by the increase in natural disasters of the past decade, which continue day by day. The Hopi prophecies state that, when the "bowl full of ashes" (most interpret this as the Thermonuclear Bomb) is overturned, that Our Mother shall rise up in Her righteous anger and destroy humanity. This prophecy is coming true, although it may yet be reversable. Perhaps it is we who reverence the Ways and wal in harmony with Our Mother that may stay Her hand. The Lifeway Fellowship is here for those who wish to honor Our Mother and Our Father, Earth and S y, and to honor The Giver Of Life, from whence all things flow in the Universe. Our world-view is primarily allied with that of the Navajo/Dineh, Apache/Teneh, and Hopi peoples. However we do not represent ourselves as the eepers of those ways. The secrets of those Nations are for them alone, unless Usen' wishes to reveal them to us. Our mission is to help heal Our Mother, The Earth, and to help each other wal in closer harmony with Her. We also exist to provide a way for urban and sub-urban people to learn and practice the root Shamanic techniques that aid us in finding our True Vision and True Way of Power, and following that Vision and that Way. We identify ourselves as Pagan (Webster's New World Dictionary "1. b)...a person who is not a Christian, Moslem, or Jew (by faith); heathen. Pagan specifically refers to one of the ancient polytheistic (or pantheistic) peoples.") and as unashamed Pantheists and Polytheists. The Lifeway is truly a religious commitment. No-one can ma e a commitment to the Lifeway and to the worship of Life Giver, The Earth Mother and The S y Father and remain a worshiper of other Paradigms of the Deity, much as one cannot be a Christian

and worship the Greco-Roman pantheon. However this does not imply the condemnation of other Paradigms, nor impel a duty to "convert" others.

1221 We stand by other Pagans who do not share our paradigms, IE. Wiccans, Asatruans, Hellenists, and other Shamanic traditions, (African and neo-African(Santeria & Voudoun), Australian, Siberian, Traditional Native American, and Polynesian, to name a few) and even though we may disagree with some or all of their practices and beliefs, they are Brothers, Sisters and Cousins, and in times of persecution as well as times of goodwill we must defend them. We may even share in their open rituals and allow them to share in our open ceremonials. But that which is ours must remain ours, just as that which is theirs must remain theirs. 2.) THE(A)OLOGY: As our Fellowship is inherently religious, we must declare a The(a)ology. (The strange spelling refers to the fact that we ac nowledge a Goddess as well as a God) This is summed up very easily. There are three main powers we worship, Usen' the Life Giver, The Earth Mother, and The S y Father. The latter Two are emanations of the First, as all, including the God and the Goddess, are emanations from Usen', which is the primaeval First Cause. Usen': One cannot loo upon The Life Giver as either Male or Female, for The Life Giver is beyond those distinctions. Usen', and The Life Giver, are names for this First Cause, this Force that pervades all and caused all to come into being. From Usen', the God, S y Father, and the Goddess, Earth Mother, emanate, as the lesser Deities emanate from Them. The Earth Mother: We live and wal and are sustained from The Earth Mother, which is our Earth. She is alive, and we all exist within Her as part of Her structure. Science, through the Gaea Hypothesis, has finally ac nowledged Her existence, and some even have learnt the lesson that our duty in this life is to care for and honor Her. This is a lesson that all must learn, for as long as we despoil Her, we ris Her wrath. She is expressed through the faces of White Painted Woman, Who is The Woman Warrior, through Corn Mother, Who is The Nourishing Mother, and through Spider Woman, Who is The Wise Woman, The Ancient One, The Custodian of Wisdom. Women are ac nowledged as being human representatives of The Earth Mother. The S y Father: Just as among we Humans, there is both Man and Woman, so there is no Earth Mother without S y Father. S y Father is the air we breathe, the flame that gives us warmth and coo s our food, and brings forth the rain that fertilizes Our Mother and allows Her to provide us with the crops and animals that sustain us. S y Father is also expressed as The Hunter, The Warrior, and First Shaman, and is also expressed in Killer Of Enemies and The Child Of Water. He is also present and ac nowledged as being present in every Man.

1222 There are other spirits that exist in the Universe, some beneficient, some maleficient. But most important is Usen', Earth Mother, and S y Father. By wal ing in harmony with the God(esse)s, one can tell the Good from the Evil, welcoming in Good, and protecting each other from Evil. 3.) ETHICS: We have our code of Ethics. It is neither lengthy nor overly restrictive. We do not include ancient taboos in this list, such as Mother-In-Law avoidance or the taboo against Fish, because they may not apply nowadays. If you wish to not eat fish or to avoid your Mother-In-Law for religious reasons, it is your perogative. But it is not a requirement. 1.) If the action does not harm yourself, other people or intelligent beings, or Our Mother The Earth, you are free to do as you wish. 2.) To charge for healings, sweats or ceremonials is totally wrong and extremely offensive. Also, to charge excessively for teaching is equally offensive, but a modest fee over expenses is allowable. Your conscience is the best guide, that and the Will of the Deities. 3.) Magic should be limited only to protection of Self and Loved Ones, and to healing and helping those in need, provided that permission is given by the patient and that help other than healing does not interfere with the Will of others. Magic that is used in a coercive (IE. Love spells) or destructive (harming or illing magic ) way is patently wrong and is considered Blac Magic . 4.) Contact of spirits by any means other than Shamanic journeying or the Vision Quest is very ris y, and Possession is a real possibility. The practice of mediumship, or "channeling" has no place in the Lifeway, and exposes not only Self but others to danger. 5.) Permission must always be as ed of the spirits of plants and/or animals before ta ing them for either sustenance or for medicine. 6.) One's visions and one's personal ceremonies are one's own. Personal visions should not be spo en of, but shared visions are for all of the group. 7.) It is wrong to criticise another within the group or outside the group. Racism, sexism, xenophobia or general disrespect of others has no place in the Fellowship. Individual decisions about lifestyle and other ethical issues not covered here are an individual's own affair.

1223 4.):GROUP STRUCTURE AND INITIATION PRACTICES There is only one Initiation, which is the Initiation that ma es one Kin within the group and in the sight of The Deities. It is given after one has ta en their first Vision Quest, has found their Power Animal(s) and has met the Shaman Within. It can only be denied to those who have met these requirements, is younger than the legal Age Of Consent (in most places, 18 years) is not of sound mind, and/or is under suspicion of being a Law Enforcement Officer or other person antipathetic to Pagan and/or Shamanic belief who requests initiation for fraudulent purposes (usually to infilitrate to either sabotage or publically discredit the Fellowship) Initiation must not be denied on account of physical disabilities, blindness, deafness, or sterility, nor on account of sex, race, nationality, political belief, or sexual preference. There are no set offices within the Fellowship. Ideally, leadership should be by consensus, with true leaders being temporary and purpose-oriented. Facilitation of rituals may be done by any Initiate of the Fellowship. ANYONE WHO REPRESENTS THEMSELVES AS A HIGH PRIEST/ESS OF THE LIFEWAY SHAMANIC FELLOWSHIP IS A FRAUD, AND IS DOING SO CONTRARY TO THIS STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES AND ETHICS. Support of the Fellowship is done on a purely voluntary and mutual basis. No tithe or dues should be assessed unless they have been agreed upon by all members, initiates and non-initiates ali e. Membership is extended to all. But initiation is reserved for those who meet the criteria mentioned above. Non-initiates can participate in open ceremonials and in basic wor shops, but may be denied participation in certain ceremonials and advanced wor shops.

1224 5.) THE QUESTION OF RECOGNIZING SHAMANS In traditional societies, the title Shaman was not just an honorific, or recognition of talents. Nor was it the highest initiatory level in a Shamanic society. The Shaman was, in most cases, above the Chief in decision-ma ing power and was judge, doctor, father-confessor, and intercessor with the Deities for the tribe. Some Shamanic societies are now providing their membership with "Shaman training seminars" and "Shaman apprenticeships" that can be had for an exorbitant price. This implies that the cost of being a Shaman can be paid in money and in a set amount of time. This is not the case. Many tribes believe that the office of Shaman is not one that is earned, but one that one is born into. Certainly, the s ills are never something one is born with, and this is not merely hereditary. Rather, when a child is born, the current Shaman would recognize that the child had the POTENTIAL of being the next one, and the child's training would begin when they were considered ready by the Shaman. At adulthood, they would be tested. If they passed the test, they would become the next Shaman. If they failed, usually the test was such that they would either die outright, or they would go insane. Many "heroic quest" tales, and most notably the Arthurian legends have echoes of this practice within the ancient Shamanic traditions of Europe. But the point that is being made here is that we should not go bac to that sort of way of doing things, because in this society it is nigh on impossible. The stand I am offering here is that recognition as a Shaman can be conferred only through shared vision, and signs from the Deities. It is not my place to say what the signs are...it will be obvious to the Fellowship. I am not Shaman myself, and will not broo anyone calling me that. This is something I place in the lap of the Deities to decide. I cannot do anything more. It is a moc ery of those people that can truly be called Shamans, who are respected, powerful people of traditional tribes, to do anything less. In any event, to claim such a title is definately not enough, and is punishable by withdrawing Fellowship from the one who claims to be Shaman falsely. 6.) FESTIVALS AND WORSHIP DAYS The festivals are rec oned as they have been for centuries by most Southwestern tribes, by both the Sun and the Moon. The seasons begin on the first full moon after a Solstice or an Equinox. The Solstices and Equinoxes themselves are times of celebration as well, and perhaps the period between the two (which usually wor s out to be no more than a wee or so) could be considered a time of Holiday. Lesser ceremonials are held on New Moons and Full Moons between the first Full Moons of the seasons. Optionally certain Pagan festivals could be celebrated in conjunction with other

groups, but they are not to be adopted as official Lifeway Fellowship ceremonial days.

1225 There are other ceremonials that are personal in nature, and can be held at any time, although synchronizing them with the Festivals and the New and Full Moons is advisable. They are Naming, where a newborn child is named in the presence of the group and their Life-beads given; Coming Of Age, where the child's physical maturity is ac nowledged, and where, for a short time, they become Child of the Water (if a boy) or White Painted Woman (if a girl); Initiation, where a person becomes a full-fledged member of the group, given after a person becomes a legal adult; Joining, where a man and a woman consent to be married; Unjoining, where a man and woman who are married consent to have the bond dissolved, which is to be done only after four reconciliation attempts fail or after evidence of marital infidelity or abuse is given before the group; the Moonlodge, which is a special sweat for women in their Moon-time; and Release, where a ceremony for a dead member of the Fellowship is done to guide their soul Bac Home. Other ceremonials that are dreamed or envisioned by a person or group are also encouraged. 7.) SUMMING UP A few quic ones: One can be either clothed or unclothed at ceremonies, but it should be nown that none of the Southwestern tribes did ceremonies in the nude. However, one should disrobe for the sweat lodge, as clothes are not only uncomfortable within the sweat lodge, but interfere with the cleansing process of the lodge. This Statement can be accepted or rejected by individual groups that federate themselves with Lifeway Fellowship. But federation can be denied to those groups who stray too far from some of the basic guidelines, or do anything that would sully the reputation of the Fellowship in general. Hi-dicho...this is finished. May these proceeds please Life Giver Usen', and the Mother and the Father. ENJU! Chihacou White-Puma, 1988.

1226 THE LAST DRAGON by Gerald del Campo In the land of Oz He was loved by destroyed the Last oppression and the lived a great Wizard named Albert Creemshaw. everyone, and became quite popular when he Dragon in a great battle between the forces of powers of Freedom.

When the villagers heard that the monster had been illed they rushed the mountain side where the Dragon had its nest and proceeded to brea the eggs; thereby insuring the destruction of the creatures forever. What they did not now, was that Albert had snuc one of the eggs out before the villagers got there. He cared for it in his Castle and through his great magical ability he was able to genetically alter the dragon fetus so that it would soon be the watcher of the people; a symbol of freedom and great strength. But he ept this a secret from the people because they were not ready yet for the trial which awaited them; they would just have ganged up and tried to ill the Little Dragon. He became a Hermit and loved the little creature. One day the Wizard received a message from his God that he would have to move on, and release his body the way that a butterfly sheds its cocoon. So Albert called for the Council of The Sword and Shield, a ruling body of his most trusted students, and told them about the little dragon. At first they were repulsed by the idea of bringing up the offspring of the object of their misery; but the Magician persuaded them by telling them that the little dragon would soon be the symbol of freedom and strength: they swore by the Warrior Gods they would care for it. The following evening, while the Full Moon shined on the peaceful waters of Oz, Albert and his God left forever. Upon finding their Master dead, the Council released the information about the Little Dragon to the people of Oz. The people of Oz loved Albert as much as he loved them, and after they saw how fragile this poor orphaned creature was they decided amongst themselves that they would honor those raising the little dragon, for the dragon would represent all of the things Albert himself stood for.

1227 Things went well, for a while. The favoritism displayed by the people of Oz towards the Priests and Priestesses that cared for the Dragon created turmoil: all of the sudden there were power struggles within the Council, its members were fighting over who would supervise the education of the Little Dragon, who would feed it, who would educate it. They set up rules specifically designed to ma e it impossible for others to reach the grades appropiate to caring for the Dragon so that only a few on top could reap the benefits associated with caring for the Little Dragon. One would say: "I have ris ed my life and given all so that the little dragon could have food", and his ego was pleased. The other would say: "While you first despised the dragon I stood fast in my duty to care for it, for I have ept my word", and her ego was satisfied. The people were so impressed by the "devotion and selflessness" of The Council that certain members were given gifts of silver, gold, spices, and women. Treated as Gods for their sense of duty. Everyone at The Council became so preoccupied with the power struggle, and with eeping their peers in lower positions that they forgot about the little, fragile Dragon. When they finally gained their senses, and returned to the Castle where it was guarded they found it dead, starved from attention and sustenance. They then realized that empty, lost feeling Albert himself would have felt, if HE had illed the Last Dragon.

1228 Circle casting Dragon style Cameron Mandra e I just thought I'd drop a note on the traditional Dragon Tradition Circle casting. The circle is cast with the Blade, the Cup and the Censor. The Priest starts with the Blade in the north and draws the boundry of the circle. As he does he recites "I tread this Path for the Elements, that which comprises all that we see." The HPS ta es to sprin ling the boundries with the Cup filled with salted water. She recites "I tread this Path for Self, a reflection of the Divine." The HP then ta es the censor and carries the smo eto the boundries of the circle in a deosil direction. He recites "I tread this Path for Spirit, that which unites all things." The HP or HPS then state the charge of our Circle. It is as follows. "Our Circle is a place where hearts and minds can meet and share in the wonder and empowerment of a living and loving Goddess. We are a coven of friends, but above all things we are Family. Our Love and our Magic binds us together and our Circle eeps us and nurtures us. We are blessed. Blessed Be!" The Dragon Guardians are then invo ed. EAST Mighty Dragon, Guardian of the realms of the East. Your tongue is a sharp sword, cutting with the nowledge of the arcane. Your spirit flows as graceful as a swift in flight. Purify us with truth. Blessed Be. SOUTH Mighty Dragon, Guardian of the realms of the South, your breath is aflame with the fires of inspiration and passion. Your spirit is searing and fervent. Purify us with Love. Blessed Be. WEST Mighty Dragon, Guardian of the realms of the West, your coils are the cleansing healing waves that nurture the soul. Your spirit lunges, leaps and splashes li e a Talbot at play. Purify us with pulsing tides. Blessed Be. NORTH Mighty Dragon, Guardian of the realms of the North, your talons run li e roots into the earth, giving you infinite strength. Your spirit is substantial, hard and pure li e a clear crystal. Purify us with persistant wisdom. Blessed Be. Each of these Dragons has a secret name that they are also invo ed with. A suggestion is that anyone using these invocations meditate to find an appropriate name for each Guardian and use it along with or instead of the words "Mighty Dragon".

1229 I find that the Circle charge sets the mood for the Circle and I change it to suit the situation. If anyone has ideas for a Circle charge, I'd li e to hear them. I have a number of Circle charges that I use but fresh ones always are nice. Blessed Be. Cameron Mandra e ... Copyright 1992 - DragonHart Coven - All Rights Reserved

1230 ON THE NUMBER 451 (The true nature of the A.`. A.'.) Publication in Class B ORDO ARGENTUM ASTRUM Anthra Andromda The number is a very interesting one indeed. Originally suggested by David Cherubim, in connection with the "true" meaning of the initials A.`. A.'.. At first glance there doesn't seem to be much there...BUT! 451 = 4 + 5 + 1 = 10 = 1. A glyph of the cycle. The monad starting its tre through experience in the infinite body of Nuith and returning to this supreme Unity. 451 = ATh HADM. The essence of Man. Also Ath ADMH (a Temurah), The essence of the attained Man. ADMH also means "Red Earth" in the traditional sense. However, there is a rather 'new' qabalistic operation at wor here, that of fusing or synthesis.That of two words joining to ma e a new one (or an old one) with a new meaning. Here we have 'ADM' and 'MH'. Both words add to 45, which may be a ey to the way things are wor ing here. ADM, Man and MH, Yetzirah. In this case we have man identified with Yetzirah to which he aspires. Crowley says of this number, "Thus 45 baffles the accuser, but only by affirmation of progress. It cannot help that progress." Quite true, it baffles! ADMH is 50, and is "red earth". This would seem to have little to do with the foregoing. However, consider this; in the word ADMH we have the 'H' appended. This would place the number five behind the Man, and would have the effect of giving him motion in a forward direction (indicating progressive motion). When the number 451 is divided by the number 51 (451/51) the result is 8.02. Perhaps not much here, but! The number 802 is twice that of 401 (essences) and is defined in 'Sepher Sephiroth' as; "401 X 2 = The Reflection of 401, which is the (Th a), alpha and omega". It also refers to the three grades of A.`. A.'. above the abyss. As to the number 8.02; the number 8 is that of Ch = Chith = 418. And the 2 represents the 'extended' monad proceeding from the infinitely small and un-extended point. Thus it is representative of the 'human' Star, the true essences of Man that aspires to the higher, or in Enochian terms; That Star (monad) that aspires, and is driven, to a higher place in the hierarchy of the Universe. This is accomplished by the motion imparted to it by the 'H' which gives the Star motion so that it may gain in experience. Now, 401 = 5 = Motion. And, 50 = 5 = Motion, and is also the 14th letter of the Hebrew alphabet; Nun. The mystic number of 'Nun' is 300, which is the number of the 21st letter of the Hebrew alphabet 'Sh' Shin. Shin refers Yetziratically to fire, and is symbolic of the 'Holy Spirit' and therefore is the letter and number of 'Spirit'. Spirit is unmanifested energy, and matter is manifested energy (another possibility for the 2 of 8.02) which is, in a sense, the whole nature of

Man. This duality of man is shown in dual nature of his motion. The 401 which is the essences of his motion (the higher) and the 50 which is the manifestation of this motion.

1231 CROWLEY'S ESSAY on MAN. "The Mind of the Father riding on the subtle guiders which glitter with the inflexible tracings of relentless fire." ZOROASTER. MAN. "What is man, that thou art mindful of him?" Man being the subject of these Essays, it is first proper to explain what will be meant therein by the word. Man is a microcosm: that is, an image (concentrated around the point of consciousness) of the macrocosm, or Universe. This Theorem is guaranteed by the hylo-idealistic demonstration that the perceptible Universe is an extension, or phantasm, of the nervous system. It follows that all phenomena, internal and external, may be classified for the purpose of discussing their observed relations, in any manner which experience may show to be the most convenient. (Examples: the elaborate classifications of science, chemical, physical, etc., etc. There is no essential truth in any of these aids to thin ing: convenience is the sole measure.) Now for the purposes of analysing the spiritual nature of man, of recording and measuring his experiences in this ind, of planning his progress to loftier heights of attainment, several systems have been devised. That of the Abhidhamma is on the surface ali e the most practical, the most scientific, and the most real; but for European students it is certainly far too unwieldly, to say nothing of other lines of criticism. Therefore, despite the danger of vagueness involved in the use of a system whose terms are largely symbolic, I have, for many reasons, preferred to present to the world as an international basis for classification, the classico-mathematical system which is vulgarly and erroneously (though conveniently) called the Qabalah. The Qabalah, that is, the Jewish Tradition concerning the initiated interpretation of their Scriptures, is mostly either unintelligible or nonsense. But it contains as it ground-plan the most precious jewel of human thought, that geometrical arrangement of names and numbers which is called the Tree of Life. I call it the most precious, because I have found it the most convenient method hitherto discovered of classifying the phenomena of the Universe, and recording their relations. Whereof the proof is the amazing fertility of thought which has followed my adoption of this scheme. Since all phenomena soever may be referred to the Tree of Life (which may be multiplied or subdivided at will for convenience' sa e) it is evidently useless to attempt any complete account of it. The correspondences of each unit -- the Ten Sephiroth and the Two-and-Twenty Paths -- are infinite. The art of using it consists principally in referring all our ideas to it, discovering thus the common nature of certain things and the essential differences between others, so that ultimately one obtains a simple view of the incalculably vast complexity of the Universe.

1232 The whole subject must be studied in the Boo 777, and the main attributions committed to memory: then when by constant use the system is at last understood -- as opposed to being merely memorized -- the student will find fresh light brea in on him at every turn as he continues to measure every item of new nowledge that he attains by this Standard. For to him the Universe will then begin to appear as a coherent and a necessary Whole. For the purpose of studying these Little Essays, it will be sufficient if a bare outline of the Cosmic Theory which they imply be given: but it may be added that, the fuller the comprehension of the Tree of Life which the reader brings to them, the clearer will their thought appear, and the more cogent their conclusions. (1) Jechidah This is the quintessential principle of the Soul, that which ma es man at the same time identical with every other spar of Godhead, and different (as regards his point-of-view, and the Universe of which it is the centre) from all others. It is a Point, possessing only position; and that position is only definable by reference to co-ordinate axes, to secondary principles, which only pertain to it per accidents, and must be postulated as our conception grows. (2) Chiah. This is the Creative Impulse or Will of Jechidah, the energy which demands the formulation of the co-ordinate axes aforesaid, so that Jechidah may obtain self-realization, a formal understanding of what is implicit in its nature, of its possible qualities. (3) Neschamah. This is the faculty of understanding the Word of Chiah. It is the intelligence or intuition of what Jechidah wishes to discover about itself. These three principles constitute a Trinity; they are one, because they represent the being, and apparatus which will ma e the manifestation possible, of a God, in manhood. But they are only, so to spea , the mathematical structure of man's nature. One might compare them with the laws of physics as they are before they are discovered. There are as yet no data by whose examination they may be discerned.

This triune principle being wholly spiritual, all that can be said about it is really negative. And it is complete in itself. Beyond it stretches what is called The Abyss. This doctrine is extremely difficult to explain; but it corresponds more or less to the gap in thought between the Real, which is ideal, and the Unreal, which is actual. In the Abyss all things exist, indeed, at least in posse, but

A conscious man, according, cannot possibly now anything of these three principles, although they constitute his essence. It is the wor of Initiation to journey inwards to them. See, in the Oath of a Probationer of A.`. A.'. "I pledge myself to discover the nature and powers of my own Being."

are without any possible meaning; for they lac the substratum of spiritual Reality. They are appearances without Law. They are thus Insane Delusions.

1233 Now the Abyss being thus the great storehouse of Phenomena, it is the source of all impressions. And the Triune Principle has intended a machine for investigating the Universe; and this machine is the fourth Principle of Man. (4) Ruach This may be translated Mind, Spirit, or Intellect: none of these is satisfactory, the connotation varying with every writer. The Ruach is a closely- nitted group of Five Moral and Intellectual principles, concentrated on their core, Tiphareth, the Principle of Harmony, the Human Consciousness and Will of which the four other Sephiroth are (so to spea ) the feelers. And these five principles culminate in a sixth, Da(acu)ath, Knowledge. But this is not really a principle; it contains in itself the germ of self-contradiction and so of self-destruction. It is a false principle: for. as soon as Knowledge is analysed, it brea s up into the irrational dust of the Abyss. Man's aspiration to Knowledge is thus simply a false road: it is to spin ropes of sand. We cannot here enter into the doctrine of the "Fall of Adam," invented to explain in parable how it is that the Universe is so unfortunately constituted. We are concerned only with the observed facts. All these mental and moral faculties of the Ruach, while not purely spiritual li e the Supernal Triad, are still, as it were, "in the air." To be of use, they need a basis through which to receive impressions, much as a machine requires fuel and fodder before it can manufacture the article which it is designed to produce. (5) Nephesch. This is usually translated the "Animal Soul." It is the vehicle of the Ruach, the instrument by which the Mind is brought into contact with the dust of Matter in the Abyss, that it may feel it, judge it, and react to it. This is itself a principle still spiritual, in a sense; the actual body of man as composed of the dust of Matter, temporarily held together by the Principles which inform it, for their own purposes, and ultimately for the supreme purposes of self-realization of Jechidah. But Nephesch, devised as it is with no other object that the direct traffic with Matter, tends to parta e of its incoherence. Its faculties of perceiving pain and pleasure lure it into paying undue attention to one set of phenomena, into shunning another. Hence, for the Nephesch to do its wor as it should, it requires to be dominated by the severest discipline. Nor is the Ruach itself to be trusted in this matter. It has its own tendencies to wea ness and injustice. It tries every tric -- and it is diabolically clever -- to arrange its business with Matter in the sense most convenient to its inertia, without the smallest consideration of its duty to the Supernal Triad, cut off as that is from its comprehension; indeed, unsuspecting as it normally is of its existence.

1234 What then determines Tiphareth, the Human Will, to aspire to comprehend Neschamah, to submit itself to the divine Will of Chiah? Nothing but the realization, born sooner or later of agonizing experience, that its whole relation through Ruach and Nephesch with Matter, i.e.,with the Universe, is, and must be, only painful. The senselessness of the whole procedure sic ens it. It begins to see for some menstruum in which the Universe may become intelligible, useful and enjoyable. In Qabalistic language, it aspires to Neschamah. This is what we mean in saying that the Trance of Sorrow is the motive of the Great Wor .

Finally, realizing Chiah as the dynamic aspect of Jechidah, he becomes that pure Being, at once universal and individual, equally nothing, One, and All. It is of the essence of the Ideas of the Supernal Triad that the Laws of Reason which apply to intellectual functions are no longer operative. Hence it is impossible to convey the nature of these Experiences in rational language. Further, their scope is infinite in every direction, so that it would be futile to attempt to enumerate or to describe them in detail. All that one can do is to note the common types in very general language, and to indicate what experience has shown to be the most useful main lines of research. The Quest of the Holy Grail, the Search for the Stone of the Philosophers -- by whatever name we choose to call the Great Wor -is therefore endless. Success only opens up new avenues of brilliant possibility. Yea, verily, and Amen! the tas is tireless and its joys without bounds; for the whole Universe, and all that in it is, what is it but the infinite playground of the Crowned and Conquering Child, of the insatiable, the innocent, the ever-rejoicing Heir of Space and Eternity, whose name is MAN? In Enochian Physics Man is nown as 'the monad', we shall discuss the nature of the monad or 'Star' from the Enochian view. MONAD MODEL. In conjunctionwith theCosmic Planes andElements Model, Enochian Physics proposes the Enochian Monad Model. These two models are not meant to be independent, rather they are inclusive and are only separated for convience.

This "Trance of Sorrow" (which must be well-distinguished from any petty personal despair, and "conviction of sin," or other blac magical imitations) being cosmic in scope, comprehending all phenomena actual or potential, is then already an Opening of the Sphere of Neschamah. The awareness of one's misfortune is itself an indication of the remedy. It sets the see er on the right road, and as he develops his Neschamah he soon attains other Experiences of this high order. Her learns the meaning of his own true Will, to pronounce his own Word, to identify himself with Chiah.

1235 A monad isdefined asan indivisible unit(Hadit), but,is used in the sense that a monad is the infinitely small conscious point of every entity. The only difference between monads is experience. Giordano Bruno taught that the monad was the ultimate spiritual particle and that all entities had a monad at their center, the core of their being. Every monad is monastic above the first Aethyr (LIL), and is dualistic below. This duality ta es many forms as the monad manifests itself downward. Basically, it consists of a subjective self in the center of an objective world. Figure 2 shows a pictorial representation of this model. 000000000 0 0 INDIVISIBLE MONAD 0 monadic 0 0 essence 0 000000000 | +-----------------------+ | ring-pass-not | +-----------------------+ | LIL - first Aethyr 000000000 0 0 DUALIST Watchtowers 0 I 0 MONAD (Life-atom) | 0 0 | 000000000 <-- NOT-I (world) TIME SPACE FORM FIG. 2 ENOCHIAN AXIOMS. 1. Man, and every entity (thing) in existence, is in his (its) essence a monad. This monadic essence expresses itself as a subjective 'I' and an objective 'NOT-I'. 2. A monad's geometric equivalent is the sphere. The center is the 'I'. The surface of the sphere is the 'NOT-I'. 3. The 'I' is conscious individuality. 4. The 'NOT-I' is the world in which the 'I' finds itself at any given point in time and space. 5. Everygeometric pointinspace isan 'I-NOT-I'monad in some stage of self-expression. 6. Any'I'can communicatewith anyother 'I'onlyin sofar as their 'NOT-I's' intersect. 7. A world is defined as a set of intersections of a host of 'NOT-I's' at any given point in time and space.

8. Subsets of 'I's' are mutually exclusive. 9. Subsets of 'NOT-I's' may be either exclusive or inclusive.

1236 10. The monadic essence of each monad allows multitudinous expression, but no 'I' can ever separate itself from or exist independently of its 'NOT-I'. THEOREMS OF ENOCHIAN PHYSICS. 1. Every person is an 'I-NOT-I' monad. 2. Every point in space is a consciousness center. 3. Energy flows from one cosmic plane or sub-plane to an adjacent cosmic plane or sub-plane through Laya centers, dimensionless points of space which serve as channels for the flow of energies and forces. 4.Spirit isunmanifested energy.Matter ismanifested energy. 5. Every manifestation within space and time is dualistic. 6. Space, time, and consciousness come into existance simultaneously. 7. Every energy field and every force in our universe is directed by the True Will.

THE FORCES OF MAGICK. There aresix Magic al forcesthat aremanifested inexistance. These six forces, by necessity, manifest in dual triads, the upper, and the lower. THE UPPER TRIAD; 1.Divine Force. This is said to be the "Supreme Force" relative to our universe. This so-called 'Supreme Force' is nown as 'The TRUE WILL'. It is the 'Divine' driving force of Hadit. 2.CreativeForce.TheKundaliniofEasternthought,manifesting, below the Abyss, as electromagnetic energy. 3.Thought Force.This isthe occultforce thatoften ta es the form of projection, and continually projects fundamental subjective ideas of the 'I' outward into the 'NOT-I'.

1237 THE LOWER TRIAD; 1.MindForce.Thisforceshouldproperlybecalled 'Intellectual', and would be attributed to Mercury. This is the reasoning and logical powers of the intelligent entity. This force also includes all of the senses. 2.Will Force.Thisis thelowermanifestation ofthe'Divine Force'. This force is what drives us in a physical sense, it is our outer needs and desires. It is what most 'men' perceive as their 'will', however it is frequently the opposite side of the 'Will Duality'. 3.Word Force.Wordsand Letters,speechand physicalaction ma e up this aspect of the magic al forces. It is the power of sound, which has long been nown in the west. God is said to create by uttering His Word. Consider this; some politicians are virtual masters of this magic al force. As can beseen thereis little realdifference betweenthe Enochian view of man and that of the Thelemic Magician, with the main differences being that of nomenclature. It can also be seen that the six 'magical forces' generally correspond to the five divisions of man as set forth by Crowley, with the exception of the sixth 'force'. This extra point is comprised of the actions performed by the first five. If we thin of man as a hexagram, instead of a pentagram, we have the four elements, spirit, and motion. The elementsand spiritma eup theessential man,but heis still static. With the addition of the sixth, he becomes dynamic, capable of experience. It is then this 'man' that has the 'essences of man', for until he becomes dynamic by virtue of his motion, and gains in experience, he is incapable of attainment. As wasstatedabove, Man'saspirationis toahigher placein the hierarchy of the universe. Here then are the Laws of Hierarchies, they will show, though perhaps not directly, how this ascension (attainment) is made possible. HIERARCHIES LawofHierarchies. Fromthe highestrealmsof spiritto the lowest levels of matter, everything in between is composed of a host of gods, monads or life atoms arranged in a myriad of hierarchies. The following rules apply: 1.All aggregatesare composedof hierarchies.All things, save Hadit, are aggregates. We see in our world complete structures, which are composed of molecules, atoms, and sub-atomic particles in one direction. And planets, solar systems, and galaxies in another. Thus science has enabled us to see, on a mundane level, that our physical universe is composed of some basic hierarchies. Though from rules 3 and 4 we see that these hierarchies continue unto infinity.

1238 2.Foreveryhierarchy thereisagoverningruler orhierarch. On our personal level we have that which is referred to as our Holy Guardian Angel. Aswe descend to the atomic level, we have the >nucleus< of the atom. Each component of that atom has, in turn, its own hierarch. In our worldly governments we see examples of these hierarchs; mayors, governors, presidents, etc. And we can begin to see our place in the physical manifestation of these hierarchies. We are also members of hierarchies on less physical, or spiritual levels, though little is nown of these. 3.Hierarchiesdescendinfinitelyintomatter.Again,fromour 'middle world, we see the manifestation of yet smaller structures or hierarchies, which descend to the smallest particles which science is able to see or theorize. 4.Hierarchiesascendinfinitelyinto spirit.Ontheselevels little is nown, science has or can not enter into the realm of spirit. We do now, however, that our own personal hierarch is our H.G.A., and that logically we are but a component part of some yet higher structure or hierarchy. 5.The universehas ahierarchicalstructure, interlin ing groups of entities living and wor ing together. If we loo s y-ward we can begin to see something of this structure on a physical level. Out stellar universe is made up of planets, solar systems, stellar clusters, galaxies, and on and on. While earth is not yet wor ing with other groups of entities on a stellar level (as far as we are allowed to now), it is clear that we must share the same stellar environment with others. We can, however, observe this 'wor ing together' here on planet earth. We can see the governments of cities, counties, states, and countries wor ing toward what is perceived as the common good (at least in most cases). 6.Hierarchies areborn,evolve, anddie.The bestexampleof this, I thin , is ourselves. We are born into this world, grow and experience (evolve) over some period of time then die, this is all a part of what we call 'life'. Other examples of this rule may be seen in various extinct forms of animal life, which came into existance, evolved over time, then died out. We can also see examples on the stellar level, stars which are born from collections of gases, grow and evolve into fiery furnaces, then die out. 7.Worlds arecreatedby hierarchiesof cosmicbuilders and architects acting together. 8. Everyworld containshierarchies of recorderswho constitute the forces of armic history. 9. Thecosmic elementsand planesarecomposed ofcountless hosts of evolving hierarchies. Theselast tworules are forthe mostpart redundant(see 3 and 4 above); they serve to stress the fact that hierarchies do, in fact, extend infinitely in all directions. 10. Every hierarchyis composedof a hostof smallerhier-

archies. 11. Every hierarchy is a component part of a larger hierarchy.

1239 Thuswehave theEnochianview onthe nature,place,and path of Man. To better understand this mystery of the true meaning of A.`. A.'. and this nature of man we may now loo at some of the Temurahs of the number 451. These are;451, 415,541, 514,145, and154. Weshall start with the least of these. The number 145; InSepher Sephiroth it is definedas the numerical value of the 13 paths of the Beard of Microprosopus. Thenumber 154;Againfrom SepherSephiroth;it is'Elohimof Loves', and we are referred to the number 149. The reference in 149 is to 'The living GODS'. Inthese two numbers we have references to Man and this 'Starry' nature. Though in the number 149 it is perhaps more direct. 'The living GODS', indeed, the most tangible lin between man and GOD is this 'Starry' essence. Both Man and ANY GOD that one cares to thin of are at the core one and the same, that is to say, that we are all made of the same stuff, we are all MONADS at some level of evolution. But, on we go. Thenumber415;Still againfromSepherSephiroth. Thenumber is that of the Voice of the Chief Seer and also 'The Holy One'. Stillagainsubtle referencestothis 'Star'naturewhich we have already examined. The number 514and 541. Hereare references thatare abit more obscure. 514 gives reference to 'KABBALA DENUDATA', a reference that unfortunately I will have to pass on due to a mis-fortune beyond my control. The number 541 refers to 'Israel', which at first may seem strange, but, historically Israel is/are 'Gods' chosen people. We may ta e this to mean 'Free Man' in the Thelemic sense. The number is thus indicating Man, or rather those Men that have risen above the slavery of the old aeon and have begun to ascend/aspire to Yetzirah. Those Men who have realized some small part of their true essence. So A.`. A.'. the MONAD! to explain

then! Just what he hell is the true meaning of the initials and the number 451? It is no more and surely no less than Though others may use different words and different systems this, their meaning will of necessity be the same.

1240 CHAOS vs THELEMA ? Alistair Livingstone Inspired, no doubt foolishly, by a new moon and the Cramps`"Psychedelic Jungle", I have decided to enter the Thelema vs Chaos debate. This is of course an impossible tas , which is no doubt why it appeals to me. Firstly, what is it that distinguishes Thelma from Chaos? In Starfire, Mic Staley attempts to distinguish Thelema from Crowleyanity. Thelema he suggested pre-existed Crowley`s formulation of it. This immediately causes problems, since for the majority of magicians, Crowley = Thelema. But if it can be accepted that there is a something which exists independently of Crowley`s writings, then it must be this something (Thelema) which is to be contrasted with Chaos Magic . The core of this something, I suggest, is the Will. Is this idea of the Will in any way opposed to Chaos? What is Chaos then? For the purposes of this argument I will interpret Chaos as follows: that the familiar world of everyday experience has its roots in Chaos. So that any attempt to understand the world via reason reaches a boundary, on the other side of which lies Chaos, a state of existence/non-existence which cannot be understood by the rational ego. However, through the techniques of ritual, that state can be manifest in the everyday world, suspending the accepted "laws" of common sense and allowing magic to occur. Furthermore, perhaps as a result of the practice Chaos magic , the idea of Chaos is slowly entering the popular imagination via science. This refutes classical science, which is based on the belief that if the structure of the physical world could be sufficiently precisely modelled in a mathematical form, it would be possible to predict the future state of various systems (wheather, for example) which ma e up the physical world. However, it is now grudgingly admitted that this would require a precision of measurement which it is impossible to achieve. Engineers have long since had to accept this uncertainty - that all measurement is limited by the accuracy of the measuring device. Absolute precision is an impossible goal. There is always a degree of uncertainty, an instability, and by focusing the Will upon this either/or region, the magician can exert an influence upon the world at this level, which when it occurs, can produce the Willed outcome. To the extent that Chaos is a form of magic , ie. it see s to exert an influence upon the world of erveryday consciousness, it must involve the Will. Otherwise it would be closer to a form of mysticism, that is the attempt to "go with the flow" of the experienced world without see ing to influence the direction of that flow. In this form, Chaos is closer to a "higher form of order", that is that the apparent random or chance events of one`s experience of existence are in fact the result of some greater existence than that of the individual. And that by disengaging the desires of the ego-self, one can experience this greater existence, interpreting the obstacles and blows of everyday existence as a stimulus to the development of a "Stoic" consciousness, which will

enable the self to eventually swimm freely as a fish in the river of the Tao, or Chaos.

1241 The idea which this is based on tends to be that of the hermit, the forest sage of Hinduism, the solitary adept of High Magic . No doubt if it was possible in this present age, one could experience such an existence if one could remove the self from the rest of human existence. But such a model is no longer valid, since the growth of human consciousness is such that there is no virgin wilderness left in which to underta e such a quest. We are forced to contend with the results of the human desire for nowledge, power, control and security. This is perhaps the crucial difference between Chaos magic and Thelema. Thelema, as developed by Crowley into a form suitable for the 20th century, contains a whole heritage of experience and practice which reaches bac through the Golden Dawn through hermeticism to Egypt and Sumeria, which in turn drew on the beliefs of our nameless ancestors who struggled to create models of the world, cosmologies and creation myths within which to ma e sense of their being in the world. Crowley`s tas , as had been of Mathers and Eliphas Levi before him, was to synthesize this vast body of conscious/unconscious nowledge and represent it in a way understandable by at least a few of his contemporaries. Partly it is a question of language. Unfortunately the language of magic was limited by the dominance of Judeao-Christianity on the one hand and Reason on the other. Our everyday language derives from our perception of a world made up of distinguishable objects, and on the faculty of sight primarily. But as soon as we move into the more subjective sphere of magic , problems arise. To what extent do we share the same magic al reality and use words such as "the Will" in the same way? The problem is not confined to magic . For a time I wor ed in quality control at London Rubber. Periodically I had to compare my wor with others to ma e sure we were all applying the same so that I was not rejecting condoms that another person was passing. In science the theory is that one person`s wor is critically examined by their peer group. The difficulty is that as soon as creativity enters the picture, it will tend to disrupt this process. The test of any form of magic should be "does it wor ?". But how can that be judged, since the results of a ritual may not become apparent for some time. In the early eighties, much wor was done to halt the expansion of nuclear weaponry. But it is only now, as profound changes occur in Eastern Europe, that this can be judged a success. And the changes may yet be lost by a failure of imagination and the difficulty of challenging the parasitic military-industrial complexes of both East and West. Thelema may be saddled with the archaic terminology inherited via Crowley from the Golden Dawn, but at its heart lies a crucial bullshit detector. I have found that the question "what is your Will?" directed at any group or individual who claims to be desiring change is a very effective challenge. What is unsettling, however, is the discovery that in most cases it evo es only silence, or at best a string of evasions.

1242 This I feel is the most damaging criticism of Thelema, that it has failed to cross over from magic into the diverse pool of "alternative" beliefs which see to reshape society. This is hardly a question of mere academic interest, as Green issues emerge and loo set to dominate the next decade, the "spiritual", that is neo-pagan, belief structures which infest Green consciousness are also going to exert a growing influence. We may yet discover that the future, as the Dead Kennedy predicted, will be "California ber Alles". Can Chaos magic then succeed where Thelema has not (yet)? I doubt it, since the reaction to both by the average alternative type (let alone Joe Normal) is that it is "too dar ". The very word "Chaos" tends to get tagged with "anarchy" and evo e nightmare visions of mad-axemen running wild in the street. Of course, for some this may be its very appeal, anything so bad must be good... No, somehow we have to achieve the Sysphean tas of applying the notion of Will li e Occam`s razor to the fast mulitiplying dualistic entities of New Age (un)awareness. In practical terms I understand this to mean directing our Wills at and with the growing Green movement, so that rather than disappearing into a fog of "good intentions", it becomes a real and willed critique of consumer culture. Just as Marxism failed to achieve its desires, since the wor ing class had already been "mobilizised" by the capitalists, so magic fails since the energies of the mass unconscious have already been tapped by advertising, via the mass media. The energy tending towards change of consciousness (evolution) has been subverted by consumer culture into the desire to possess an unending stream of glass beads and cheap cottons, or in our case, microwave ovens and min belly-button brushes. The whole thrust of advertising is to bypass our logic circuits and touch directly our desire for status and security. We don`t just buy the product, we buy the dream, maya the illusion of success. It is, however much we may protest, a form of magic . I may be an impoverished squatter in a third world shanty town, but if I can buy a bottle of Co e, I believe I possess the whole dream of the richest American millionaire. I may be a Trabant owning East German, but by crossing the (former) abyss of the Wall I become a potential Porsche possessor. But if you loo at those already possess such dreams, what do you find? That it is, as in California, these same people who turn to the most ridiculous New Age bullshit in order to satisfy their craving for something more, for something to fill up the endless aching void they feel scratching and gnawing li e some Charles Manson nightmare outside the walls of their Beverly Hills mansions. But of course, the last thing they want to hear is "the truth". Better to create a multi-billion dollar New Age industry than accept that within the richest mansions lies the reality of Chaos, of that Void which spins around itself the veils of maya, the dance of illusion, in which one is equally a starving beggar and a voluptuous moviestar. "What is your Will?".

1243 Of course I am somewhat prejudiced for all I used to sing along with Bowie on Ziggy Stardust (I could ma e it all worthwhile as a roc n roll star) I chose magic as a path. Through experiences both beautiful and terrifying I have come to understand the human condition as but one aspect of a continuum of consciousness. For me, the whole universe is a living entity which I interact with in the fleeting streams of energies which inspire my awareness. Both rationally and poetically I perceive my brain, my body as part of the very substance of the universe and not distinguishable from it (ie NUIT). For me, the human condition is part tragedy, part farce. We are semi-intelligent apes who have been driven by fleeting glimpses of what might be, to create this world, our reality. But in our ignorance, we mista e the glimpse for the whole, the ego for the self. We strive for "order" and create a chaos, and then recognize in chaos a "higher form of order". "Knowledge is power, power is control, control is security". Oh yeah? But nowledge is also pleasure, a pleasure more intense than any created by security. Security is sterility, sterility is death. We pay lip service to evolution, but cannot accept that evolution implies change, and change denise security. What do we will? If our will is security, stability, then that we shall have, as so many fossils. To embrace Chaos (Thelema) is to renounce such false gods and accept that our actions as magicians will change not only ourselves, but our world. Insofar as both Chaos and Thelema are valid paths, thus far will they change us. To cling to an identity, however pleasing or fulfilling, is a denial of magic . Magic is about change, the only constant factor in the unfolding of the implicate order/chaos of the universe. Along with Thelema and Chaos, I also practise the magic of Maat. To the Egyptians Maat was the "right order of the universe". The contrast is between the familiar Hindu concept of " arma", which deals with our human existence and the less familiar concept of "rta" which deals with our aspects as forms of (universal) consciousness. Magic diverged from science some 300 years ago. Science sought to discover "the hand of god" in the natural world; magic sought to become the equal of the gods. Now we witness the overlapping of these paths. We are no longer the creations of some distant god, but the natural products of the universe. We have "evolved" out of a handful of organic chemicals. Now we have the ability, through the replication of DNA to evolve ourselves. We have, literally, the powers of a god. What we lac , and what magic must see to provide, is the intelligence to use (or refuse) such power. The way to achieve this is to as the question: "what is our will?" Are our genes our motivating force, or is there something else which I call "consciousness"? This consciousness I hold to be implicit in the structure of the universe, and has been revealed as such by quantum physics, however difficult such a realisation may be for us. It may be unprovable/undeniable, and therefore unscientific, but I suggest that our so-called consciousness is a quantum phenomena.

1244 This is what Crowley experienced as the interplay of Nuit and Hadit in the Boo of the Law. It is also the root of Chaos. So that Thelema and Chaos are but different aspects of a single (multiple) experience, expressed in languages appropriate to their different times and ambiences. Alone I cannot fully express the complexity of these possibilities, and yet we must each try to do so. Only by placing them at the heart of our experience of being in the world, can we hope to create a society which will survive rather than perish under its unconscious contradictions. As yet we are but "na ed apes", but we are apes with sufficiently complex brains to at least glimpse the possibility of being more than we are and become "homo veritas", that is truly human at last. As we are, we cannot fully now this to be true, only with our imagination can we glimpse the potential implied. It is my Will to bring this about, this is why I write these words, that they have touch and stimulate whoever may read them. So mote it be. On rereading the above, I feel the need to expand the argument somewhat. Having bashed my way through an anthropological essay on nationality and the state, it struc me that recent events in Eastern Eurpe have many consequences. The whole point of the "iron curtain", was to allow East to develop its alternative economic system, as spelt out by Marx. What is happening now is the incorporation of that economic system into a global economy, which implies the failure of Marxism. This failure leaves a power vacuum. The majority of critiques of the Western power structure have come from Marxism. But if it is now seen to have failed, the possibility exists for a more powerful critique to arise. Where will we find this critique - in magic . Of course this requires magicians to adopt a more rigorous intellectual approach to their beliefs, but surely that is what Chaos/Thelema argument is about, with each side arguing that the other is deceiving itself as regards the "true" form of magic . What I am suggesting is that magicians start to ta e magic seriously as "energy directed (willed) towards change". Rather than as an escapist belief system parasitic upon the economic success of capitalism. To practise magic we must surely believe that we inhabit a magical, rather than a strictly economic universe. How much more effective would our magic be then if we could replace the belief system of economic society with that of a society rooted in a magic al conception of reality. Such is the apple with which I tempt you - do you dare taste the forbidden fruit ? Alistair Livingston ---I do now him personally and am glad to meet him again in summer. A. Livingstone is a pseudonym of Ramsey Du es (which is a pseudonym too :-)). He is member of the OTO and made a lot of Chaos wor ing & theory. He wrote some very genuine boo s about magic (Liber SGDSMEE,

Thunderquea ), is now concerned with KI (Words Made Flesh). You can contact him via: T.M.T.S., Wharf Mill, Winchester, Hants, SO23 9NJ, England With fractalic greetings and laughter * Fra.: Apfelmann *

1245 Notes on the role of the historical Egregore in modern Magic by Fra.: U.D. It is quite easy to po e fun at the historical claims of most magical and mystical orders, especially when they purport to have derived from "very ancient", possible even "Atlantean" or, to top it all, "preAtlantean" brotherhoods for whose existence even the most sypathetic historical scholar worth his name would be very hard pressed to find any significant proof. Actually, it is rather a cheap jo e to cite, for example, AMORC`s claims that even good old Socrates or Ramses II (of all people!) were "Rosicrucians". However, the trouble only starts when adepts mista e these contentions for _literal_ truths. "Literal", of course, derives from literacy and the letters of the alphabet. And, as Marshall MacLuhan has justly in his "Understanding Media" and perhaps even more so in "The Gutenberg Galaxy", western civilisation has a very strong tendency towards _linear_ thin ing, very probably due to - at least in part - the linear or non-pictographic nature of our alphabet. The very structure of this alphabet informs us at quite a tender age to thin in terms of linear logics such as cause and effect, or, more intersetingly in our context, PAST-PRESENT-FUTURE. This is not at all a "natural necessity" as most people are wont to thin , for the ideographic or pictographic "alphabets" as used for example in ancient Egypt or even modern China and Japan tend to bias the correspondingly acculturalised mind towards what MacLuhan terms "iconic thin ing" - a perception of holistic factors rather than the systematisation into seperate (preferably indivisible) single units. Western thought has formulated this problem as the dichtonomy of the _analytic_ and the _synthetic_ approach. But it is perhaps no coincidence that our contemporary culture tends to associate "synthetic" with "artificial" , vide modern chemistry. Now magical and mystical thin ing is quite different; in fact it is not half as interested in causality as is linear thought. Rather, it strives to give us an overalll, holistic view of processes within our perceived space-time continuum; an overall view which includes the psychology of the observer to a far stronger degree than even modern physics seems to have achieved in spite of Heisenberg`s uncertainity principle and Einstein`s earlier theory of relativity. In other words, mythological thin ing is not so much about literal ("alphabetic"?) truth but rather about the "feel" of things. For example, a shaman may claim that the current rain is due to the rain goddess weeping because of some sad event. He might predict that her phase of mourning will be over in two days` time and that the deluge will then end. A Western meteorologist might possibly come to similar prognoses, but he will of course indignantly deny using any of "this mystic stuff" in the process. His rain godess ta es the form of barometric pressure, wind velocity and direction, air humidity and the li e - but who is to say which view is the "truer" one, as long as abstract and mystic predictions prove to be accurate? From an unbiased standpoint, the modern demons "barometric pressure", "wind velocity" and factors of a similar li e are just as abstract and mythic as the shaman`s hypothetical rain goddess - especially so for us laymen who religiously follow the daily indoctrination via the TV weather forecasts and satellite photograph divination: all we can do is _believe_ in what the expert tells us is the truth. The non-shaman in a shamanic society shares a very similar fate when he has to believe simply that the rain goddess wants to be comforted say, by a substantial donation of meat or tobacco in the course of a fully fledged tribal ritual.

1246 There _is_ an important difference however. If we accept the model (strongly propagated by A.O. Spare, who was, of course, in his very special manner, quite an orthodox Freudian) of magic primarily ta ing place within the subconscious (Freud) or, less ambiguous, the unconscious (Jung); and if we furthermore agree that said unconscious is not only the source of personal magical energy (mana, or, as I prefer to term it, _magis_) but tends to thin and act in symbols and images, we might come to the conclusion that our shaman`s explanation may perhaps not be scientiffical more satisfying in Western terms, but it is surely more in accord with the way our unconscious tends to perceive reality. In that sense it is not only more "natural" but, one suspects, even downright _healthier_ for psychic hygiene. It is, so to spea , more "ecological and holistic" in terms of psychic structure. As an aside I might mention that it is the better explanation for practical magical reasons as well. For at least rain goddesses can be cajoled into happiness by magical technique, ritual trance and the li e until they stop weeping, a tas a meteorologist will hardly be able to imitate. (Actually I have preferred the magic of rain prevention to the more classical example of rain ma ing because it is far more relevant to our own geography and experience). In recent years Rupert Sheldra e`s theory of morphogentic fields has raised quite a hue and cry, not only within the confines of the scientific community but strangely enough among occultists too. I find this latter reaction quite astonishing, because a lot of what Mr. Sheldra e basically claims is nothing more than the old, not to say ancient, tenet of philosophical idealism: namely that there is what in both German and English is called "Zeitgeist", a form of unique time-cum-thought quality, leading to surprisingly similar albeit completely independent models of thought, technical inventions, political truths and so on. One would rather expect the people to be profoundly intrigued to be among materialist/positivist biologists or physicist rather that occultists who have traded in the Zeitgeist principle ever since occult thought proper as we understand it arose in the Renaissance. From a pragmatic point of view Mr. Sheldra e is behaving very much li e our meteorologist, replacing mythic explanations with crypto-mythic "scientific" factors. Unfortunately, most scientific scholars tend to fear a devaluation of scientific termini tecnici; once they are mentioned in the wrong "context" (almost invariably meaning: by "wrong" people) they are readily labelled as "non-" or "pseudo-" scientific - which is, after all, precisely what happened to poor Mr. Sheldra e amongst his peers in spite of all his academic qualifications. This example goes to show how very much estranged occultists can be from their oown sources even when wor ing with them daily. Reality too is always the reality of its description: we are mar ing our pasts, presents and futures as we go along - and we are doing it all the time, whether we are conscious of the fact or not, whether we li e it or not, we are constantly reinventing our personal and collective space-time continuum.

1247 Space seems rather solid and unbudging; even magic can do very little it seems to overcome its buttresses of solidity and apparent inertia, occasional exceptions included. (May it be noted that I include matter in this space paradigm, because solid matter is usually defined by the very same factors as is space - namely width, length and height.) Time, on the other hand, is much more volatile and abstract, so much so in fact that it is widely considered to be basically an illusion, even among non-occultist laymen. And indeed in his famous novel "1984" George Orwell has beautifully, albeit perhaps unwillingly, illustrated that history is very little more than purely the _description of history_. (Which is why it has to be rewritten so often. It seems that man ind is not very happy with an "objective past" and prefers to dabble in "correcting" it over and again. This is quite an important point I shall refer to again later on.) History is, after all, the defining of our past own roots and our _present_ position within our linear space-time continuum in relation to past and future. Very often, unfortunately, the description and interpretation of history seem little more pathetic endeavour to obtain at least a minimum of objectivity in a basically chaotic universe. The expression "ordo ab chao" is more or less a summary of Western thought and Weltanschauung, of the issues straining and stressing the Western mind since ancient Greece. Chaos is considered "evil", order on the other hand is "good" - then the political philosophy, if you care to dignify it by this terms, of "law and order", appeals to people`s deeply rooted fears of loss of stability and calculability. ("Anarchy" is another widely misunderstood case in point.) The ontological fact that everything is transitory has never been particular well-received in Western philosophy and theology. Now before you get the impression that I am only trying to impose a typical exercise in heavyhanded Teutonic style philosophical rambling upon your overbusy reading mind, let me hasten to point out that if past, present and future are, at least in principle, totally subjective, we as magicians are locally perfectly free to do what we li e with them. For the magician is a) the supreme creator of his own universe and b) the master of Illusion (ref. the Tarot card "The Magician/Juggler"). This freedom of historical choice, however, is seldom realised let alone actively applied by the average magician. Maybe one of the reasons for this has to do with the somewhat pathetic fact that most of us tend to live our lives in a more or less manner, being mild eccentrics at best, distinctly avoiding becoming too much over the top. There are a number of possible explanations for this, ranging from "every magician is just another guy/gal li e me" to "prevention of insanity". As we deal all the time with insanity - i.e. extremely unorthodox states of consciousness by bourgeois standarts, we magicians prefer some stability in our everyday lives and ma eups, but this is not really our topic. Rather than delve into social normality of the average magician I should li e to investigate the many bogus claims to antiquity as put forward by a multiple of magical and mystical orders from this point of view. Such orders range from Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism and Theosophy to such venerable institutions as the O.T.O., the Golden Dawn and many others. Their historical claims are usually quite stereotyped: the spectrum covered includes Atlantis, Lemuria, Mu, Solomon, Moses, Dr. Faustus, St. Germain, the Gnostics, the Knight Templar,the Cathars, the Illuminati, the Holy Grail myth, prehistoric witchcraft, matriarchy, shamanism etc.

1248 Now it is quite common for shamans, to cite one example, to claim that in the good old days (usually, of course, dating bac to a non-calibrated, non-defined time immemorial) things used to be much, much better. One of the more profane reasons for this contention may be the fact that most of these shamans have already achieved quite a venerable age in their trade; and don`t we all now the typical attitude of old crones towards modernity ? It may not sound particular spiritual or holy but maybe all we are seeing here is the primitive`s parallel to the "Now when I was in Poona with Royal Indian Army, young lad..." reported occasionally to be heard in some of today`s pubs. But there is more to it, I thin . By calling up "bogus" ancestors from Moses via Solomon to Dr. Faustus and St. Germain, the magician not only reinvents his own history, he also is summoning up the egregore of these "entities" (along with all their powers and inhibitions of course) - or, to put into Mr. Sheldra e`s terminology, their morphic fields. By violating all the painsta eing endeavours of the meticulous historian, by simply ignoring a number of tedious and possibly contradictory facts and questions (such as whether Moses and Solomon have ever _really_ been sorcerers of some standing in their own time) the magician becomes God in the fullest sense of the expression: not only does he choose his relatives in spirit quite arbitrarily, he even claims the right to do what not even the judaeo-christian god of the old testament is ever described as doing, namely changing "objective past" at will. This type of creative historicism appeals, so it seems, very strongly to the unconscious mind, supplying it with a great deal of ideological bac -up information, thus reducing its conscious-mind-imposed limits of "objectivity" to at least some modicum of superficial probability. It is only when the occultist mixes up the different planes of reference, when he purports to spea of "objective linear truth", instead of mythic or symbological, decidedly non-linear truth, that serious problems arise.This should be avoided at all costs in order not to strain our psychic set-up by contradictory evidence, which can easily result in an unwilled-for neutralisation of all magic powers. But this, of course, is the same problem as with occult scientism. "Rays" are quite a convincing hypothesis to base telepathic experiments on, as long as you don`t try to overdefine said rays by epitheta such as "electromagnetic" or the li e. For if you do, you become the victim of scientists`zealous inquisition boards. Or, as Oscar Wilde might have put it, it is not truth which liberates man`s mind but lying. (Which, again, is one of the reasons why Aleister Crowley entitled his magnum opus "The Boo of Lies" in the first place...)

1249 Let us then resort to _creative historicism_ whenever we find it useful. Let us not have "historical objectivity" dictated to us by the powers that be. Let us accept our fuzziness of expression which is, after all, little more than a honest ac nowledgement of the fact that symbols and images are always more than just a little ambiguous, as our dreams well prove every night. As in divination, it does not pay to become overprecise in magic: the more you try to define a spell, the higher probability of failure. It is quite easy to charge a wor ing talisman quite generally "for wealth"; it is quite another to charge it to "obtain the sum of $347.67 on March 13th at 4.06 p.m. in 93, Jermyn Street, 3rd floor" and still expect success. While the latter may strangely enough succeed occasionally, this is usually only the frea exception of the rule. However, by systematically rewriting our past in fuzzy terms, possibly eventing past lives and biographies for ourselves consciously or arbitrarily, we are fulfilling the final demand of Granddaddy Lucifer`s "non serviam". Let nobody impose his or her time and history parameters on you! And for practical exercise, allow your cloc occasionally to be well in advance of your contemporaries`; let it sometimes lay behind for a few hours _and_ minutes (do not just change the hour hand as this would ma e it easy to recalculate into demiurge`s "real" space-time continuum, ma ing you yet again its slave!) Do this to learn about your former ill-advised humility towards the current time paradigm - and about the illusory character of time and its measurement in general. Rewrite your personal and family history daily, invent your own in and ancestors. "Problems with Mom and Dad? Pic a new couple!" Experiment with retroactive spells, try to heal your friend`s flu before he even contracted it. But do this in a playful spirit lest your censor should whac you for your constant violations of the rules of this game by again confusing the frames of reference. Jump from one parallel universe to the next one, never permit yourself to stand still and become enmeshed by Maya`s veil (you are supposed to be the _Master_ of illusion, remember?). And don`t panic: for nothing is true, everything is permitted.

1250 The Nemesis Conjuration In this ritual the Gree Goddess Nemesis, a deity of fate and vengeance, is seen in the role of being the complementary opposite of ones ego referring to the inner self as the centre of both personalitties. Habits and actions ta en against ones real desires create the opposite to the same degree and thereby form an anti-personality of ones ego, which in this case is identified with the principle of Nemesis. Disturbances on the plane of reality due to actions against ones subconscious desires can be eliminated by ritual union with this personal demon-sister/brother and enable one to reach ones inner self, which is defined as the mean value of both the personalities. The effect of this ritual, if performed correctly, would by definition be fatal. Therefore the operation is strictly limited to the part of the psyche which the magician wishes to explore. A sigil representing this portion of the psyche is forcibly activated during the ritual in order that the magician may see answers to his problems within the chosen area in the personality. No specific wishes or desires can be used for this purpose, only general ones. This is a necessary restriction to avoid being overwhelmed by any unpleasant effects. The magician should be aware of this when constructing the sigil. Nemesis Conjuration: 1.Banishing. 2.The ritual is performed sitting on the ground in the posture of the Rune PERDRO. The head may rest on the lower part of the arms, and the face should be covered by the cowl of the robe. 3.Statementof intent: IT IS MY WILL TO TAKE A STEP TOWARDS THE CENTRE OF MY SELF BY UNION WITH MY OPPOSITE THROUGH THIS SIGIL! 4.The incantation is given while visualising a winged figure of opposite sex who approaches the magician. The figure wears the chosen sigil on his/her breast and is both beautiful and terrifying at the same time. 5.Incantation: Come to me oh Nemesis, mighty, terrifying and beloved sister. Come to me oh Nemesis, you, who are the goddess of my god, you, who are the demon of my demon. Come to me oh Nemesis, you, who are the demon of my god, you, who are the goddess of my demon. Come to me oh Nemesis, you, who are part of me which I am not, you, who are the counterbalance on the scales of my fate. Come to me oh Nemesis, you, whose wings carry us to our mutual central Kia. Come to me oh Nemesis, you, who are my ultimate fear, you, who are my ultimate desire. you, with whom to unite is the sigh of ecstacy and the silence of death. Come to me oh Nemesis, for you are my path and I am our aim I call upon you to meet me in this sigil. Come to me oh Nemesis and guide me through this sigil to our mutual central Kia !

1251 Start hyperventilation during the reading out of the incantation. The visualised figure with the sigil coming closer and closer to finally melt into your own body. When this point is reached shout out: ZodACAM VaPAAHe ANANAEL ZoDA Ah! (I move the wings of the secret wisdom within me!) 6.Banishing and/or laughter. With fractalic greetings and laughter * Fra.: Apfelmann *

1252 IDEOLOGY 0 The human mind see s to create order out of Chaos It is in the nature of humanity to attempt to formulate laws from experience as a guide to future action. Acting as a feedbac -response mechanism, the mind considers the results of previous behaviour and creates laws of action in an attempt to repeat past good results and avoid bad results. In the individual this is nown as personality, in the communal world it is nown as science. 1 All scientific laws are false Science attempts to map the universe as a result of previous collective experience. Since this is limited to what has actually been experienced so far, it is always inadequate, and since it is not what has been experienced it is always human-centred. It cannot be objective because the object does not experience, only the subject, humanity, experiences. Two approaches have been used to tac le this problem. The philosophy of the western world posits that an external, objective world interacts with us through scientific experiment, thus science creates objectively true laws. Other European philosophy holds, correctly in my view, that tal of an objective reality is beyond experience and is thus meaningless babble. Moreover, scientific experiment is no more objective than a childs attempt to wal . To Know is not a high ideal, it is an instinct born of our particular way of survival, and is thus survival-centred. Science is our Elephant Trun , our Giraffe Nec , and since it is inherently inadequate, it is a belief system, a set of interconnected ideas-about-things. In terms of European, Post-Hegelian philosophy, it is an ideology. 2 All idealogies are subject to chaotic dissolution Every idealogy, whether science, Christianity or whatever, see s to and succeeds in creating a coherent view of reality that satisfies its believers. The problem is that there is inevitably a gulf between the idealogy and reality. Ideologies are fixed; reality is fluid. Thus all ideologies are subject to readjustment when a new discovery challenges the existing view. The rediscovery of the Gree text of the New Testament and the discovery of the non-existence of the Ether each corroded the existing ideologies of their day. The Christian world responded with Reformation and Counter-Reformation. (Historical note: Counter-Reformation was the Reformation of the Catholic Church rather than an attac on the Protestant Reformation.) Science responded with Einsteinian relativity. These new elements are Chaotic. The extent to which the ideology can reform depends on how deep the Chaotic element bites into the ideological structure. Every ideology has central tenets upon which the rest depend: so the discovery that Jesus was actually stoned to death rather than crucified would cause major rumblings; the discovery that he was a woman would cause deeper rumblings; but the discovery that he was a spaceman carrying out a standard sociological experiment would bring down the ideology entire. Several ideologies have completely collapsed in the

past, such as Ptolomaic astronomy, and it can happen again. Moreover, the spread of a unified ideology over the whole globe, Western Democracy, leaves the way open to a bigger collapse than ever before.

1253 3 There is no such thing as innate value All present Western ideologies depend upon a concept of innate worth, whereby certain things are automatically "better" than others. The White Race, Men, Adults, all have had their "innate" value noc ed for six. Even the Animal Kingdom is no longer seen as of higher worth than the Vegetable as the spread of the Gaia hypothesis shows. This is the Chaotic element that can bring down a whole pac of cards. There is no ethical reference point, no beginning from which to derive an end to aim for, to praise, to wor towards. As it says in Liber Al: "let there be no difference made between one thing and another". The result is a confusion of belief as people scramble to find a new ideology. Fundamentalists choose deliberate blindness and perverse stupidity. Thelemites choose "pure will, unassuaged of purpose". Chaoists worship the confusion itself as the only "true thing" left. Pagans begin to construct a new ideology based on the absence of heirarchy and turn to cyclical and egalitarian beliefs. That a new ideology, or many, will arise is inevitable; even the truth of Chaos is only true to us, in our experience. But so what. All things considered, I thin that things are going pretty well. Further readings: Knowledge and Human Interest, J.Habermas, 1967 Differance, translated as Language and Difference, Derrida, 1959 Anything by Sir Karl Popper for the view from the opposition With fractalic greetings and laughter * Fra.: Apfelmann *

1254 Thunder, Perfect Mind or How did all these people get into my room? Tony Iannotti Thetext called _Thunder, PerfectMind_ is a composite document, composed of three distinct types of writing. These types of writing can be compared to the Isis aretalogies, Hebrew wisdom literature, and Platonic dialogue.{FN:1} The composite nature of the text is clearer when the three strands are separated and reconstructed, each by themselves. The three resultant texts can be found below.{FN:2} If the document isto be considered agnostic document, adefinition of gnostic must be tendered first. For now, the definition of Theodotus will be used, that "what liberates us is the nowledge of who we were, what we became; where we were, whereunto we have been thrown; whereunto we speed, wherefrom we are redeemed; what birth is, and what rebirth."{FN:3} The Thunder, Perfect Mind_ answers some of these questions, but not others. The questions dealingwith self- nowledge aredealt with veryfully in the text. The tradition of Isis aretalogies is one of self-definition, aretalogies being strings of "I am" statements. The part of the text li e an Isis aretalogy describes the spea er in paradoxical but full detail. The very first section of the aretalogy text answers the questions of where the spea er comes from, where she has come to, and where she might be found. There is a slight deviation, in that she has actively come to "those who reflect" upon her, rather than "being thrown" to them, but the idea of being removed from one's original habitation is there. In the sixth section of this part she says that she is an alien, as well as a citizen. This bringsup the question ofwhat the point ofthe dichotomies in the aretalogy section is. They range from philosophical, political and social opposites to sexual and familial polarities. In each opposition of polarity, the spea er maintains that she encompasses both poles, or roles. She is "the whore and the holy one."{FN:4} She is "the barren one, and she whose sons are many."{FN:5} She is "Knowledge and ignorance."{FN:6} And she is "the one whom they call Law, and you have called Lawlessness."{FN:7} In the last dichotomy, the difference may be ascribed to the people who call her either Law or Lawlessness, either "they" or "you." Similar distinctions are made in other seemingly paradoxical statements in terms of temporal placement. The tenses change, for instance, in the fifth section in many statements, such as "I am the one who is hated everywhere, and who has been loved everywhere.", "I am the one whom you have despised, and you reflect upon me." and "I am the one whom you have hidden from, and you appear to me." These distinctions, either temporal or nominal, are subservient to the larger message that the spea er is a very diverse personality. They are also only possible to discern in a small percentage of the proffered paradoxes{FN:8} The main attempt is to define herself, not to set up distinctions in time

or peoples. There is almost no cosmology or anthropology in this text, and this is a clue to the nature of the message of the text. The emphasis is on the person, not the cosmos; on the self, and not the environment.

1255 In thisaretalogy third ofthe text, therean attemptto transcend the intellect through intellectual paradox. By setting up identities between polar opposites the mind is set in circles, as it is by the Zen _ oans_, until it is driven into the bric wall of impossibility. In the introduction to his translation of this text, MacRae states that "...the particular significance of the self-proclamations of _Thunder, Perfect Mind_ may be found in their antithetical character."{FN:9} One might rather say that the significance _must_ be found in their antithetical character. There is no other common denominator. The second type of writing seen in this text is comparable to Hebrew wisdom literature. The excerpted and reconnected text is a series of hortatory instructions for those who would be _gnosti oi_, in the form of very short injunctions to "Loo upon me"{FN:10} , "Hear me"{FN:11} , "Do not be arrogant to me"{FN:12} , etc. The spea er exhorts the reader to be on his guard twice, and not to be ignorant of her twice. This emphasis on care and awareness augments the intellectual exercises of the aretalogy section. One could easily s im over the polarities and not stop to reflect on them or their import, in which case their efficacy of liberation would be severely diminished. All three parts of this text wor together. The exhortationsgo on to impressupon the reader thathe must be aware that the spea er encompasses all things, great and small, as well as left and right, male and female, royal and base, rich and poor. There is an element of the union of opposites here as well, the spea er saying she is compassionate and cruel, and obedient and self-controlled.{FN:13} In the thirdsection of this part of the text, the instructions are to "come forward to me, you who now me ... and establish the great ones among the small first creatures." Here is some evidence of an organised attempt to proselytise, or establish a group of those who now the spea er. The fourth section also calls to "you, who now me." They are told to learn the spea er's words, while those "hearers" are told simply to hear. This suggests some form of hierarchy among the "hearers" and the " nowers". The first step would seem to be that one must hear the voice, and then come to now it. This could be a sign of the initiatory path, along which one must pass to come to _gnosis_ As noted above, the simple act of hearing the message intellectually would not be enough. One must pay special care to the paradoxes presented, and reflect upon them until illumination comes. The process can again be compared to the effect of _ oans_, where one perceives them first as outright nonsense, "the sound of one hand clapping,"_ etc._, until one comes to the crux of where they attempt to fix the mind.{FN:14} Where the _Thunder, Perfect Mind_ would fix the mind is on a realisation of the transcendence of the spea er, and eventually on the identification of the spea er with the hearer when that hearer becomes a nower. As it says in the sixth section of the aretalogy part, "I am the nowledge of my inquiry, and the finding of those who see after me, ... and of the spirits of every who exists with me, and of the

women who dwell within me." The path to _gnosis_ and the traveler on that path are both played here by the character of the spea er.

1256 Another point madeby this partof thetext li e wisdomliterature is that manifestation implies duality, and that to perceive in the world implies discrimination. The nature of the spea er comprehends all things, but to appear in the world she must choose one of the two halves of all those things through which to appear. As a complete being she would be both invisible and insensible in any way, since to contain both poles of being, such as 1 and -1, would be to equal 0. This has a parallel in the way of the Tao, in which one of the aims is to do everything by doing nothing. One might hear the spea er saying "I am she who does everything, and nothing." The idea is to incorporate in oneself a balance between action and non-action, yin and yang, and by doing such one gets beyond having to struggle with the world. There will be no antagonism between the person and then environment, once that person becomes one with the environment. (Or a reflection of it, by incorporating or epitomising all its elements.) This shows the less ascetic nature of the text _Thunder, Perfect Mind_. The world is not actively evil, but rather simply distracting due to its incomplete nature. When one gets beyond this, then one has improved, but there is no shame in being merely a "hearer," and not a " nower." The only desiderata are to hear and then to now, to balance oneself according to what one comes to now, and despise nothing along the way, for every thing is part of the transcendent whole. Here one could draw Deist parallels, intensifying the impression that the writers of this text did not see the world as inherently evil. It is ourperception of theworld that causesthe apparent evilof the world. To perceive something is to discriminate between it and its context. It is this separation or ma ing of differences that allows us to operate in the world, but also that enslaves us to it by monopolising our attention. _Thunder, Perfect Mind_ insists that only by seeing the larger picture of unions of all opposites can we escape this servitude to the world. In other words, what liberates us is the nowledge of into what we have been thrown, or have come. The last section, the fifth of this part of the text, is a final exhortation to the reader to "loo ," "give heed" and be aware of who spea s and what that means, that by encompassing all things she is "the one who alone exists," comprising all, "and ... no one who will judge" her exists outside her. This extreme recognition of the unity of oneself with the cosmos, of subject with object, and of positive and negative, leads to an extension of the self to the limits of perception. Sometimes this continues to the point that manifestation requires a relimitation by definition of person. As the spea er has done this, the extension and then the relimitation in order to communicate, she also implies that it is an achievement attainable by all, if one will just "hear" and " now." The third part of the text represents Greece, as the first two reflect the Egyptian and Judaic strands of the Hellenistic world.{FN:15} It consists of questions and answers, not always on philosophical subjects, but always leading to philosophical points. It is similar in

many ways to the prototypical Platonic dialogue in which the interlocutor is led to the truth of the matter by way of dialectic. Another parallel would be the dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna in that chariot.

1257 There are six sections to this partof the text, as it has been cut up and fitted to the other two parts, and the first five display an elegant ring composition. Section one is a question and amplification of the question, while section five is the answer to it. Section two is another question and amplification, answered by section four. Section three is the center point, pointing out the union of the two questions and their respective answers. Section six is a conclusion of sorts, resuming that which the dialogue has attempted to draw. The first question is why the reader, and people in general, display contradictory behavior. This is not a psychological type of inquiry, into the roots of irrationality, but rather another attempt to unveil the nature of the spea er. The contradictory behavior referred to deals with the reader's reaction to the spea er, and the nature of complete being in general.{FN:16} If complete being entails all things, then it elicits all responses, each of which will have an opposite reaction that will be elicited simultaneously (or thereabouts). Love and hate, truth and lie, nowledge and ignorance are all part of man's reactions to the world. The answer to this problem is contained in section five. The incompleteness of things, inside and outside, judge and judged, condemning and acquitting; these distinctions elicit opposite responses to each of their halves, yet both halves are only that: halves of a whole, which elicits both love and hate, fear and confidence, and obedience and self-control. The way out of the world of appearances is again to realise the unity of opposites. that what is seen inside is what is outside also. The second question is directed toward the question of the ignorance of these unions of opposites. "Why have you hated me," as s the unity, "Because I am a barbarian among barbarians?"{FN:17} Because I don't spea the language of any specific nation, not even those who don't spea you language? Because I spea of universals? The answer is that "those who are without association with me are ignorant of me, and those who are in my substance are the ones who now me."{FN:18} Those who now, now; those who don't don't. One cannot understand the nature of the spea er or the world until one becomes a part of it, and all the parts of it. The antithetical and polarised nature continues to be shown, "On the day when I am close to you, you are far away from me, and on the day when I am far away from you, I am close to you."{FN:19} Thethird section unitesthese two questionsof the manifestation of opposites, and the difficulty of perception of perfection. (not to mention perfection of perception!) Both problems stem from human nature in the world of manifestation. The separation of opposites, needed for perception of manifested things, is necessary to operate in the world as humans with human limitations, as these limitations are usually counted. But the spea er here says the real need ideally is not to separate, and thus to come to a realisation of the unity. This is similar to the idea of _samadhi_, where the subject and object of contemplation are united in a flash of illumination.

1258 Section six concludes, saying that the worldly forms are pleasant, but numerous, disgraceful, and fleeting. When men "become sober and go up to their resting place.... they will find me there, and they will live, and they will not die again." This implies the possibility of a permanent state of comprehension of the unity of opposites. Nowwe can seewhere Theodotus' definitionof gnosticismis and is not exemplified by _Thunder, Perfect Mind_. The writers of this text were concerned with most of Theodotus' questions, but not all. They provide answers for where we have come from, and whereunto we have been thrown. They address the question of who we were, what we have become, but not really what birth is, and what rebirth. Nor do they proffer answers to whereunto we speed, or wherefrom we are redeemed, beyond the answers to the first questions of where we were and where we are. The answers that are offered deal with personal rather than cosmological questions (if there is a difference). The issue is primarily one of self-liberation, rather thanredemption, unless the reception of the "good news" of unity is to be considered redemption. This difference of degree of activity and passivity between Theodotus and the spea er of _Thunder, Perfect Mind_ is revealed in the answers to whereunto we have been thrown, and wherefrom we are redeemed.{FN:20} In _Thunder, Perfect_ _Mind's_ view we came ourselves to this world, and liberate ourselves through Hearing and Knowing. What liberates us is still the nowledge, but the nowledge of slightly different things. The lac of cosmology or theology in the text, compared to other texts in the Nag Hammadi library, suggests the comparison rather to the more psychological sect of Buddhism in contrast to the majority of Mahayana that has absorbed local religious or theological superstructure. The path suggested by the text towards illumination is a strictly intellectual path to the transcendence of intellect. Through the mortification of the mind rather than of the flesh one may achieve _gnosis_. There is therefore no need for a theology on which to hang precepts of asceticism. The authors of the text say simply that when one understands the facts, one gives up the preoccupation of the world as incomplete. The gnosticism exemplified by this text then, is transcendental, syncretic, and hortatory. It is transcendent in that it loo s at the world and insists that there is a larger reality beyond what we see as separate, discrete things. It is syncretic in that it uses three distinct literary styles to get across its point. These three texts may have been actual texts on their own before incorporation into this text, or they may not. They fit so smoothly into each other in terms of subject continuity that were they originally distinct texts, they must have been revised for the purpose. The authors are hortatory as opposed to imperative in that they say that if you come to their idea of unity, then you will be less confused by the complexity of the world. If you do not, then you will stic to all those pleasant forms of passions and fleeting pleasures, and simply not achieve peace. They do not threaten any punishment for ignorance, only a perpetuation of a potentially temporary confusion.

1259 The comparisons ofthe threestyles of writingsis profitableonly in so far as it serves to conveniently categorise the material. Too strict ananalog y to the three styles would be blinding as well. The content is radically different in message from the usual content of any of the borrowed forms. Again, what must be loo ed at to explain the meaning of the text is the antithetical nature of the "I am" statements, and their commentary in the other two styles of text. The medium (in this case) is not the message. The function of the text must be considered to be not philosophical speculation, theological or moral exhortation or religious definition, as the borrowed types were, but rather psychological revelation, buttressed by practical exhortation and logical proof. What really qualifies the author or authors of this text for consideration as excellent and true gnostics is their appropriation of existing forms, whether myths, ritual speeches, or philosophical methods, and turning them to their own ends. _The text li e an Isis Aretalogy_ 1) I was sent forth from the power, and I have come to those who reflect upon me, and I have been found among those who see after me. 2) For I am the first and the last. I am the honored one and the scorned one. I am the whore and the holy one. I am the wife and the virgin. I am the mother and the daughter. I am the members of my mother. I am the barren one and many are her sons. I am she whose wedding is great, and I have not ta en a husband. I am the midwife and she who does not bear. I am the solace of my labour pains. I am the bride and the bridegroom, and it is my husband who begot me. I am the mother of my father and the sister of my husband, and he is my offspring. I am the slave of him who prepared me. I am the ruler of my offspring. But he is the one who begot me before a time on a birthday. And he is my offspring in due time and my power is from him. I am the staff of his power in his youth, and he is the rod of my old age. And whatever he wills happens to me. I am the voice whose sound is manifold and the word whose appearance is multiple. I am the utterance of my name. 3) For I am nowledge and ignorance. I am shame and boldness. I am shameless, I am ashamed. I am strength and I am fear. I am war and peace. Give heed to me. I am the one who is disgraced and the great one. 4) But I am she who exists in all fears and strength in trembling. I am she who is wea , and I am well in a pleasant place. I am senseless and I am wise.

1260 5) For I am the wisdom of the Gree s and the nowledge of the barbarians. I am the judgment of the Gree s and the barbarians. I am the one whose image is great in Egypt and the one who as no image among the barbarians. I am the one who is hated everywhere and who has been loved everywhere. I am the one whom they call Law, and you have called Lawlessness. I am the one whom they call Life, and you have called Death. I am the one whom you have pursued, and I am the one whom you have seized. I am the one you have scattered and you have gathered me together. I am the one before whom you have been ashamed, and you have been shameless to me. I am she who does not eep festival, and I am she whose festivals are many. I, I am godless, and I am one whose God is great. I am the one whom you have reflected upon, and you have scorned me. I am unlearned, and they learn from me. I am the one whom you have despised, and you reflect upon me. I am the one whom you have hidden from, and you appear to me. But whenever you hide yourselves, I myself will appear. 6) But I am the mind of ... and the rest of .... I am the nowledge of my inquiry, and the finding of those who see after, and the command of those who as of me, and the power of the powers in my nowledge of the angels, who have been sent at my word, and of the gods in their seasons by my counsel, and of the spirits of every man who exists with me, and of the women who dwell within me. I am the one who is honored, and who is praised, and who is despised scornfully. I am peace, and war has come because of me. I am an alien and a citizen. I am the substance and the one who has no substance. 7) I am ... within. I am ...of the natures. I am ... of the creation of the spirits. ... request of souls. I am control and the uncontrollable. I am the union and the dissolution. I am the abiding and the dissolving. I am the one below, and they come up to me. I am the judgment and the acquittal. I, I and sinless, and the root of sin derives from me. I am lust in outward appearance, and interior self-control exists within me. I am the hearing that is attainable to everyone, and the speech that cannot be grasped. I am a mute who does not spea , and great is the multitude of my words. Hear me in gentleness, and learn of me in roughness. I am she who cries out, and I am cast out on the face of the earth. I prepare the bread and my mind within. I am the nowledge of my name. I am one who cries out, and I listen. I appear and ... wal in ... seal of my ... I am ... the defense ... I am the one who is called Truth, and iniquity .... 8) I am the hearing that is attainable toeverything; I am the speech that can not be grasped. I am the name of the sound, and the sound of the name. I am the sign of the letter and the designation of the division. And I .... ... light .... ... hearers ... to you ... the great power. And ... will not move the name. ... to the one who created me. And I will spea his name.

1261 _The text li e a Hebrew Wisdom Text._ 1) Loo upon me and reflect upon me, and you hearers. hear me. You who are waiting for me, ta e to yourselves. And do not banish me from your sight. And do not ma e your voices hate me, nor your hearing. Do not be ignorant of me any where or any time. Be on your guard! Do not be ignorant of me. 2) Give heed to my poverty and my wealth. Do not be arrogant to me when I am cast out upon the earth, and you will find me in those who are to come. And do not loo upon me on the dung heap nor go and leave me cast out, and you will find me in the ingdoms. And do not loo upon me when I am cast out among those who are disgraced and in the least places, nor laugh at me. And do not cast me out among those who are slain in violence. But I, I am compassionate and I am cruel. Be on your guard! Do not hate my obedience, and do not love my self-control. In my wea ness do not forsa e me, and do not be afraid of my power. For why do you despise my fear and curse my pride?

3) Those who have ... to it ... senselessly.... Ta e me ... understanding from grief, and ta e me to yourselves from understanding and grief. And ta e me to yourselves from places that are ugly and in ruin, and rob from those which are good, even though in ugliness. Out of shame, ta e me to yourselves shamelessly; and out of shamelessness and shame, upbraid my members in yourselves. And come forward to me, you who now me and who now my members, and establish the great ones among the first small creatures. Come forward to childhood, and do not despise it because it is small and it is little. And do not turn away greatnesses in some parts from the smallnesses, for the smallnesses are nown from the greatnesses.

5) Loo then at his words and all the writings which have been completed. Give heed then you hearers and you also the angels and those who have been sent, and you spirits who have arisen from the dead. For I am the one who alone exists, and I have no one who will judge me.

4) Hear me you hearers. and learn of my words, you who

now me.

1262 _The text li e a Platonic Dialogue._ 1) Why, you who hate me, do you love me, and you hate those who love me? You who deny me, confess me, and you who confess me deny me. You who tell the truth about me lie about me, and you who have lied about me tell the truth about me. You who now me, be ignorant of me, and those who have not nown me, let them now me. 2) Why have you hated me in your counsels? For I shall be silent among those who are silent, and I shall appear and spea . Why then have you hated me, you Gree s? Because I am a barbarian among the barbarians? 3) Why do you curse me and honor me? You have wounded and you have had mercy. Do not separate me from the first ones whom you have nown. And do not cast anyone out nor turn anyone away ... turn you away and ... now him not ... him. What is mine.... I now the first one and those after now me. 4) Those who are without association with me are ignorant of me, and those who are in my substance are the ones who now me. Those who are close to me have been ignorant of me, and those who are far away from me are the ones who have nown me. On the day when I am close to you, you are far away from me, and on the day when I am far away from you, I am close to you. 5) You honor me ... and you whisper against me. ... victorious over them. Judge then before they give judgment against you, because the judge and the partiality exist within you. If you are condemned by this one, who will acquit you? Or if you are acquitted by him who will be able to detain you. For what is in side of you is what is outside of you, and the one who fashions you on the outside of you is the one who shaped the inside of you. And what you see inside of you, you see outside of you; it is visible and it is your garment. 6) For many are the pleasant forms which exist in numerous sins, and incontinencies, and disgraceful passions, and fleeting pleasures, which men embrace until they become sober and go up to their resting place. And they will find me there, and they will live, and they will not die again.

1263 1) For examples of aretalogies see Grant, F.C.; _Hellenistic Religions: The Age__of Syncretism._ 2) The text _Thunder, Perfect Mind_ is CG VI, 2. The aretalogy-li e material's sections are; 1. 13,1-13,6 2. 13,16-14,15 3. 14,25-15,1 4. 15,25-15,30 5. 16,5-17,1 6. 18,10-18,30 7. 19,5-20,10 8. 20,29-21,12 The wisdom literature styled section are; 1. 13,6-13,15 2. 15,1-15,25 3. 17,1-17,32 4. 20,26-20,28 5. 21,12-21,20 The dialogue material comes from; 1. 14,15-14,25 2. 15,30-16,5 3. 17,32-18,10 4. 18,30-19,5 5. 20,10-20,25 6. 21,20-21,32 3) This definition of Theodotus is cited in Clemens Alexandrinus,_ Excerpta ex__Theodoto_ 78.2. 4) IA 2(Sections will be referred to by their section number prefixed by IA for aretalogy sections, WT for wisdom sections, and PD for the dialogue sections.) 5) IA 2 6) IA 2 7) IA 5 8) Only in 9 out of 68 complete paradox statements does there occur temporal or nominal changes along with alteration of description. (Interestingly, all occur in sections IA 2 & IA 5, two sections of 8) 9) Robinson, James M., ed.; _The Nag Hamadi Library in English_, (Harper & Row: San Fransisco) 1977/81, p. 271 10) WT 1 11) WT 1 12) WT 2 13) WT 2. In the sentence regarding obedience and self-control, the point is also to have no reactive emotions to these things, as the emotions form attachment to objects. This advice towards detachment, reminiscent of Eastern philosophies more often than Western, shows up in the dialogue sections more obviously. 14) _i.e.,_ where the subject of the nowledge they are designed to impart lies.

1264 15) The Macedonian, Seleucid, and Ptolomaic Kingdoms made up the Hellenistic world, _per se_, though external contact with Europe, Asia, and Africa was constant. Of course, all three nations were also assimilating parts of each other's cultures, creating the international and cosmopolitan atmosphere necessary for the creation of our text, and the sources are named after the originating national culture for convenience only. 16) "Complete being" refers to the unified spea er and world. (1)+(-1)=(0). 17) PD 2 18) PD 4 19) PD 4 20) These two questions presuppose a passive role on our part, which may or may not refer to the Gnostic Redeemer as well as us regular joes, the recipiants of the redeeming message. In this text, however, there is no strong distinction between the spea ers and the hearers on the basis of origin; only on the level of nowledge. We may be assumed to have the same genesis as she, and she states that she had an active role in coming into the world. This only difference is that she nows this, and presumably we do not.

1265 Treatise on Mind From: The Tigress Fromthe moment that 2cells form a zygote, wesee the interaction of informational process - recognition, communication, interaction, integration, re-stabilization and reproduction and or re-structurization. This cycle of life can be see from the barest combinations of any two elemental components beginning at the lowest atomic designations of energy and throughout the continuum of increasing complexity - perhaps far beyond our capabilities to understand. *** If consciousness can be defined as an awareness

of integrity through this process of self recognition; then consciousness can be easily applied to that which is non-human.***

From the most basicinteractions of chemistry, wefind that evenon an atomic level there is to be found this type of consciousness. We have become aware of the atom's necessary maintenance of it's own structure through the evidence of necessary balancing of protons, neutrons and electrons; the importance of electron shell valences is also a reminder of this type of integrity. Even on an atomic level,

there is a form of awareness of self-integrity in order to maintain structure and identity.

This process ofawareness is alsoa geniusof discrimination. A form of identification of self & non self on an energetic level. There is a borrowing, and sometimes a sharing energetically, yet when this process of self recognition begins to fail we see the destruction of the matter it involves <this is evident with atomic structure and also evident at the human level in the study of cancer.> Therefore we

might loo at this process of self-recognition and maintenance and examine it's nature in order to find its function and capabilities.

1266

When we loo at different typesof matter, wefind that themore simple the atomic structure of the mass, the less complex its process of "consciousness" needs to be. Things which are comprised of only one atomic component do not need complex processes of communication between those components. Thus the level of consciousness is rather

low on an evolutionary scale of creativity, yet we also see that these types of things are far more stable in regards to their integrity -

ously concentrated force of heat to brea the integrity of an atom...yet a mere 2000 degree flame will not only destroy the integrity of human consciousness, but also destroy the integrity of the individual component molecules which form the material mass of a human to their lowest forms as individual atoms.

far less vulnerable to destruction.

In example, it ta es an enorm-

1267 Whenwe loo at theforces involved incommunication of energy, we see a flowing medium of different frequencies within a single spectrum of energetic potential. Elemental energies and forces magnetism, electricity...>

<light, sound, temperature, pressure,

differentiate and vary in intensity and frequency yet are very ali e in that they are all means of transferring energy as a form of communication which can be informative/stabilizing or disinformative/destructive, depending on the structure of the "consciousness" they encounter. It may be perceived that the more complex the structure, the lower the frequency of the integrity of that structure and the more vulnerable that structure is to disinformation.

The more diverse the components are that are included within a thing, and the more efficient the means of communication within the structure of that thing; the lower the common denomination of frequency of integrity must be in order that the informational frequency will not be destructive to any of the component parts. To analyze this statement we must loo at other analogies within our environment. Firstly I would li e to examine the nature of sound.

1268 Sound waves come in varying frequencies and modulations, and as humans we assign different notes to those steps within the frequency spectrum which we can differentiate and perceive. If we play several notes simultaneously, we find that in order to maintain a balance harmonically, we must play notes that match each others modulation. You can play a "C" note at any octave and in fact play all "C" notes simultaneously and you will find that within the frequency range these notes will compliment each other, in fact they will contribute/share energy with each other. WE find similar matching if we loo at musical chording. If you play the notes "F" and "C" , the sharing of energy vibrationally between those two ranges of frequency will in fact create the note of "A" in the range in which the two notes frequencies overlap. In this way communication is informative and in fact the "whole is greater" than the sum of its parts. Similarly,

playing two notes which lie in the same modulation frequencies simultaneously will increase the duration of the vibration compared to the duration if each note were played alone.

When we examine the sharing of electrical information at an atomic level, we see that through the temporary sharing of electrons in a phase path also indicates something that we might consider as investing a thing <atom> with more than the sum of its parts. Similarly in using electric frequencies in a series, we store information on silicon chips which invest them with more than they would be if one simply loo ed at the electrical and silicon components alone. This transference of energy is also a transference of information in frequencies which in many ways we are still attempting to understand.

1269 Simple, one component things, can sustain far higher frequencies of energetic transmission than can complex components of things. Frequencies which pass freely through atoms ultimately destroy complex things such as humans when they are subject to them. It appears that

the more complex the union of the components, the slower and more tediously complex the transformation of data must be. The more

complex a thing is, the lower the vibrational capability it sustains in order to maintain the integrity of its own structure.

Energetic communication exists infinitely throughout the universe. The transference of information through radio waves and light

Big Bang. It may be that in the future we will find that in the same way gravity and electromagnetism are also continuums of information from times long past. Scientifically we study these energetic con-

tinuums and yet we doubt and deny the holistic communicative nature of the universe. We search for causes and effects within the realms of our limited perceptions and are amazed when we can find no causal effects to explain change.

waves continues bac

in time to the occasion of what was nown as the

1270

When we examine biological life, we find that each evolutionary adaptation seems to be an extension of the process of self/non self awareness and maintenance of integrity. Not only do we see intensification of sensory perceptual abilities, but also we note that the integrational and responsive/reactive components of the process also

have to evolve and adapt in order to stay integrated with the rest of the "consciousness". Amoebas are "simple" life forms, and yet we can

examine them and see that each organic component within that life form serves as an informational and communicative component within the process of maintaining the integrity <life> of the whole. When this communication process or any part of it ceases, the organization of the organism begins to deteriorate and eventually ceases and dies. In biological life, we find that though we have maintained the use of electronic communication on some neural levels, we have sun to the depths of transferring actual molecular compounds <proteins, amino acids...> in most of our organic processes. Even the human brain,

supposed highest achievement of organic life forms, requires base molecular salts in order to process electrical information. complexity denies us the speed of light, radio, and other faster and higher frequency modes of communication except from outside of ourselves. Our

1271

The human consciousness is a genius of discrimination.

We use

the abilities of discrimination to identify those stimuli which come from outside of our biological forms in order to protect and maintain our integrity <life. We use our senses <inefficient though they may

be> to gather and interpret pure energetic communications such as the radiated energy of sunlight and we are so inefficient at interpreting that data that we can only sense light and heat and it destroys those sensors that gather that information through blindness and sunburn if we continue too long in our attempts. Yet, conversely , we need the information from sunlight which stimulates our organic forms into producing vitamin D <without which we would die>. Is this a remnant of photosynthetic capabilities from lessor complex integrations, or merely a new attempt at further increasing our potential?

1272 As organic forms of consciousness, we are sorely limited in our perceptions of the universe. Limited in exploring the possibly

limitless ranges of energetic exchange simply due to the limits placed upon communication due to the complexity of our component structure.

through the development of tools made from things less complex than ourselves. In the laboratory, we use light waves and shaped silicon

to create microscopes to increase our sense of visual acuity within the spectrum of visible radiation imaging. In the studio, we use

simple cones flattened vegetable matter and electronic amplification to create tools to compensate for our limited aural perception. We

have created many tools out of simpler and less complex components in order to reach those higher frequencies of information which are either so far removed from us as to be imperceptible, or so destructive to us that we dare not experience them ourselves.

The human zygote from the moment of conception is a discriminating consciousness which is involved in the differentialization of its components in order to develop finer levels of complexity. This fetus is also even before

birth learning to interpret communicative energies from the outer world in order to begin definition of itself, its integrity and its maintenance of self apart from the influence of "other". Cells,

joining together in communication to form co-operative systems each with separate responsibilities to the whole. Organs with specific functions supporting the organism in its fight to maintain its integrity. Consciousness of Mind, determining the difference between self

and non self, regulating the integrity of the whole. This harmony of

Yet rather than admit to our limitations, we see

further exploration

components within a symphony of orchestration, this is the matter of being alive.

1273 Despite our complexities, despite recognition of our vulnerabilities and limitations; we as humans are beings of arrogant mind. We claim supremacy over all biological organisms and claim the sole right to conscious thought <as if we were the only from of communication we wished to recognize.> We deny our insecurities and lay claims to

great understandings concerning the universe, when we in fact do not even understand the actual wor ings of our own process of integration and communication within our own biological forms. We claim ownership of consciousness, yet we do not even pretend to truly evaluate the process of consciousness nor its beginnings. Despite our inadequacies, we assume to now the nature of the

prime causation for all that exists> and we claim title to superiority in emulation of this "God" - above and beyond all other forms of life

the midst of our fear, our inadequacies, our vulnerabilities; by developing a system of belief which guarantees our security in a place beyond our perception. We see safety and foundation at the same time that we reach outward to claim flight amongst the stars. This is the paradox on humanity, of mind. Complexity found in simplicity... using simplicity to explore a universe beyond the range of our complex integrity. Our complex integrity vulnerable to all but the simplest energies, while we lay grasp to use complex energies which would destroy us in order to prove our strength. What it is we

see what really is.

those who lay claim to nowledge for they have closed their minds to further learning, and that the most wise are those who claim

loo

for, we eventually find at the expense of closing our senses to Perhaps it is true that the most foolish are

or integrity. An egotistic lot are we, who strive to see

beginnings of all life.

We claim to

now the "mind" of "God" <the

security in

nowledge of no thing, that they may learn all.

1274

Copyright (c) 1988 by Phil Hansford. This article is is licenced for free non-commercial distribution only.

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** MAGICK 1 -- WHY MAGICK **

tures. And although we are concerned with living in the physical world, we are mental beings. The fact is we are thin ing all the time. We plan, we brood, we get depressed or elated -- all of it is thought. But the universe is mental too, and if we could control our thin ing we would see magnificent results in the everyday world.

Manysystems have been developedover the agesto help us

around in an attempt to ma e us into better people. Magic (the occult ind, spelled with a ' ') is one of the oldest and most general of

It uses mental training, concentration, and a system of symbols to

environment according to the will.

Mostofthe magic wesee todaycomesto usfromancient Egypt and Chaldea. The Chinese, Hindus, and Tibetans developed their own

unique types of magic . Western magic

program the mind. The purpose of magic

these systems. Magic

is the study and application of psychic forces.

is to alter the self and the

was loc ed up by the Egyptian

control our thoughts. A great amount of dogma too has been

ic ed

Theability tothin

seems toset usapart fromother crea-

priests for thousands of years and then supressed by the rise of

Christianity. It was not until medieval Europe that magical

nowledge

was rediscovered by the alchemists and Cabalists. Only during the past hundred years or so has western culture been open minded enough to permit widespread investigation of the subject. Only since the start of the twentieth century has science shown much interest in it al all.

PARAPSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIC PHENOMENA

Through parapsychology, weare gaining insightsinto the hidden nature of man. Parapsychology is a branch of psychology which studies psychic phenomena. It remains something of a frontier, even today. Perhaps one reason for this is that psychic phenomena are somewhat inconsistent. Nevertheless, there is strong evidence from numerous cases and experiments in support of psychic phenomena. Somehow, under the right conditions, the mind can directly affect the environment.

Wemaytheorize thatthehumanmind andbodybroadcasts a ind of psychic energy or force, much li e a radio station. Kirlian photography, temperature effects, cloud chamber tests, and other experiments tend to support this theory. Although the exact nature of this psychic force is subtle and un nown, it is undoubtedly the energy behind all psychic phenomena and magic . However, it is *not* a radio wave, since it

1275

behaves somewhat differently. The psychic force is too wea

to be

psychic ability. There are numerous types of psychic phenomena. Parapsychology separates them into two groups: ESP and PK...

EXAMPLES OF ESP

ESP,theabreviation forextrasensoryperception, meansthe reception of information through paranormal means (ie. not regular physical senses of sight, sound, touch, smell, or taste). In theory, this is accomplished by receiving psychic force from outside the body. Here are some examples of ESP: 1)Clairvoyance,orRemote Viewing--the abilitytosense or 'see' (non-physically) distant objects, places, and people. Individuals who see ghosts and spirits are probably clairvoyant. 2) Clairaudience, or remote hearing -- the 'hearing' of paranormal information. 3)AstralProjection(OOBE)or TravelingClairvoyance--Full experience at a remote location while the physical body sleeps. 4) Psychometry -- the reading of information by the touch of physical objects. 5) Telepathicreceiver --the ability todirectly receive thought (communication) at a distance, with no physical connection to the sender. There are many everyday examples of this, in which we 1276

measured directly (at least so far as we

now). Everyone has some

thin something just as another person is about to say it. This is an easy one to test for through experiment. Very dramatic cases of telepathy have been recorded; there is often an emotional element in such cases. 6) A 'channel'or medium, asin a seance,who is indirect communication with a 'spirit' or entity. 7) Experiencewith a Ouija board,pendulum, or automatic writing. 8) Precognition--to forseethefuture. Again,highlyemotional events are the ones most li ely to be 'tuned in'. 9) Retrocognition-- nowledgeof the past,by paranormal means.

EXAMPLES OF PK

PK, the abreviation forpsycho inesis, is the active or sending side of psychic phenomena. The theory here is that psychic force is sent out from the individual. Examples of PK include: 1)Telepathicsender --thetransmitterin thetelepathyjust discussed. 2)Psycho inesis (ortele inesis) proper-- theability to move objects by means of psychic force. 3)Somewhatalong thesamelinesarepoltergeist(noisyghost) phenomena in which objects move of their own accord or noises are 1277

heard. There is always a human agent involved -- frequently a teenage girl -- who appears to be the source of psychic energy. 4)Psychic healing-- theability toheal variousillnesses and infirmities. There are many documented cases of this. Usually it involves a healer and a subject, although there are recent cases invloving cancer patients learning to heal themselves. 5)Teleportation, apportation,andlevitation. Someoccultists feel a magician producing PK effects is simply a channel for universal energy. Others thin the force originates some way directly within the magician.

THE SUBCONSCIOUS

Postulated byFreud andothers, theconcept of thesubconscious mind is an important one. Basicly, this is the idea that part of the mind normally operates below or outside of ordinary consciousness and awareness. Dreams and hypnosis are examples of this. Also subconscious are the many automatic functions of the physical body such as respiration and digestion.

1278

WHY DO MAGICK?

Magic encompassesmanythings-- scienceandart,philosophy

adventure at the borderlands of the un nown. It can fit the pieces of the puzzel of life into a meaningful whole.

consciousness without drugs. Gain new experiences. Fantacy can come alive through magic . Psychic phenomena can be controlled and be fun and helpful.

health, and bring you good luc . With magic life runs smoothly; life is good. Also use magic for personality improvement, to control bad habits and to develop new motivations. *Magic ipowerful*.Neverunderestimatethetremendouspower s

an influence over people and phenomena. But power for its own sa e is self defeating. The power which magic can give you should not be your primary reason for studying it.

MAGICK AND WITCHCRAFT

1279

of magic . Use magic

to alter events and to achieve your goals. Exert

*Magic

isbeneficial*. It canhelp you tohave excellent

*Magic is fun*and interesting. Usemagic

to helpraise

and metaphysics, psychology and comparative religion. Magic

is an

A numberof other occult disciplinesare prevalent today besides magic . There are many cults and sects which profess their own views, but there are really few differences between them. One popular area in the occult today is witchcraft. This is far removed from the cliche of devil worship. Real witchcraft is a nature religion (pagan). Witchcraft has much in common with magic .

Alchemy alsohas muchin common withmagic . It'sheritage comes from the middle ages. Alchemy fathered chemistry and the physical sciences. But the avowed purpose of alchemy, turning lead into gold, is too limiting to be called magic . Sometimes the goal of alchemy is interpreted in another way, as the transformation of man into a spiritual being.

Thentherearethe numerousmodernday seersor'pychics', as they li e to be called, who operate within their own somewhat unique systems. Although many of these people are deluded frauds, some are very powerful occultists indeed.

1280

Of course,everything Ihavesaid hereis ageneralization. Magic , witchcraft, alchemy, or any occult field are complex subjects.

Crowley wrote, "The method of science -- the aim of religion."

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1) Define magic . 2) Define ESP and PK. Give examples. 3) What is the subconsicous?

BOOK LIST

Hal N. Ban s, An Introduction to Psychic Studies. Annie Besant, Thought Power. Michael H. Brown, PK, A Report on the Power of Psycho inesis. Richard Cavendish, The Blac Arts. Alexandira David-Neel, Magic and Mystery in Tibet. Raynor C. Johnson, The Imprisoned Splendour. Janet Lee Mitchell, "Is Anything Out There?", Fate magazine, May 1988. 1281

magic

is undoubtedly a philosophy which has, as the late Aleister

Suffice it to say that magic

includes them all (it is eclectic). For

Ostrander and Shroeder, Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtan.

======== Phil Hansford, 4/88 Mysteria (818) 353-8891 (modem) P.O. Box 83 Tujunga, CA 91042

1282

Copyright (c) 1988 by Phil Hansford. This article is is licenced for free non-commercial distribution only.

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** MAGICK 2 -- THE SUBJECTIVITY OF EXPERIENCE -- **

' The universe is a projection of ourselves; an image as unreal as that of our faces in a mirror....We cannot affirm any quality in an object as being independent of our sensorium, or as being in itself that which it seems to us. Nor can we assume that what we cognize is more than a partial phantom of its cause.' ( --Aleister Crowley, Magic , p. 110)

Yourawarenessofthe physicalworldand ofyourplace within it is mostly based upon the physical senses(hearing, sight, smell, touch, taste). These five senses continually send information to the mind, and it is up to the mind to select and interpret them. If you could not do so, your senses would overwhelm you and be meaningless. Selection and interpretation of your sensory inputs is essentially an automatic, mostly

1283

subconscious function of the mind. The program or map which the subconscious follows as its reference point is called a 'model'. The model is a subconscious mental photograph of how you believe the world loo s (ie. worldview, mindset, egregore, or belief system). It was built up from an early age by your religious and cultural bac ground through interaction with family and others. It contains your experiences, attitudes, and habits. And whether you realize it or not, most of your behavior, thoughts, feelings, and habits are based upon and conditioned by that model; even personality. The model is one of the mind's master programs. Change in behavior generally requires a change in the model. These limitations built into our way of thin ing cause our perceptions to be subjective. That is why Hindu philosophy loo s upon the world as illusory (maya); the world itself (object) is not an illusion, however from our viewpoint through perception (subject) it is.

Thus weare allconditioned byexperience. Exceptthat our perceptions, hence our experiences, are first conditioned and limited by the model. Our perceptions and experiences tend to conform to what we expect. We tend to misinterpret or ignore things which do not match our preconcieved notions about them. This is automatic. 1284

THE TRUE WILL

The forgoingdemonstrates how itis thatthere are somany different versions of 'truth'. One's particular view is almost arbitrary. Although numerous religions, philosophies, and occult systems abound, they do not contradict one and other as much as it might appear. Rather, they describe the same (universal) reality ta en from different perspectives. For there can be no ultimate truth in the physical world. We can only base our actions upon assumptions and

universe as something indescribable, perhaps a 4-dimentional 'thing'.

something changes and we only see an aspect of the big picture. Just as a photograph can only show us a flat *representation* of a greater thing, so it is with any attempt to describe *spiritual reality* in physical terms. Yet,there isa separatereality withineach of uswhich is

the 'true will'. The true will is the center of consciousness and identity. It is the 'real you'. Everything else is an interface or

based upon our model, it is conditoned and may sometimes produce false information. 'Do what thou wilt' (Crowley) is an axiom of magic ; for

1285

lin

to it from the outer (illusory) world. Since that interface is

often ignored unless we see

it. This inner self is in magic called

As soon as we attempt to put it into our 3-dimentional

nowledge-base,

agreements. All experience is subjective. I li e to thin

of the

the true will expresses our exact desires. And what we truly want ('down deep') we tend to automatically get. This isn't always in our best interests, since the true will can be conditioned (tric ed) by the illusion; and then we might desire and obtain that which is not ultimately good for us. (Karma stri es

of the true will, to be free of conditioning, and thereby to transcend maya. ('My will unconditioned is magical' -- Spare).

1286

again!) The tas

of the magician therefor is to awa en his awareneess

HAPPINESS IS BEING HAPPY

Thereis nogreatsecretto changingbehaviororhabits. Itis largely a matter of determination. It equires that you ignore the 'pull' of the model when you strive for changes within yourself. The model is, after all, a collection of 'habits', some of which must be unlearned for permananent change to occur. There are two ways to do this: direct, through will power and awareness alone -- observing and acting out in an unattached or indifferent manner; and indirect -- through conditioning such as affirmation (explained later), self-hypnosis, and magic . Meditation may help too, by relaxing tension and conflict.

you will tend to feel and be happy. The same is also true for other emotions. Also, emotions can be purposely used (or programed) to replace other emotions. li e an actor in that he learns how to turn his emotions on and off at will. Note that this is not 'fa eing it'; the magician is probably more in touch with his true feelings than most people. And for these reasons we say that happiness is being happy. Using this technique, a magician is somewhat

Emotionsfollowphysical expression:smileandact happyand

1287

SYSTEMS OF MAGICK

Magic alwaysinvolvesself-hypnosis.However, itmaybemore than that. For one thing, there are objective forces involved (or so it would seem). Deities, spirits, and cosmic force can have an independent existence. And the repetitive physical movement sometimes involved in ritual can itself generate PK force. On the other hand, it could be argued that all of this is subjective to the magician. Or that the deities and spirits are nothing more than architypes or cosmic patterns which the magician energizes with his own vitality. Perhaps all magical effects could be produced through hypnosis alone. But the effects are certainly real.

1288

Greatcomplexityisnotnecessaryinmagic .Although basicly

cosmological system will wor from Cabala to Star Wars. We usually use the medieval one in magic because it is convenient and traditional, and because it seems to fit our thought processes well. Traditional

symbols have greater emotional effect on the magician than modern ones because of his familiarity with them. What really matters is that the model of the magician be understood and programmed, and thus that the model and the cosmological system do correspond.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1) Contrast subjective with objective. 2) What is a 'model'? 3) Explain the tas of the magician.

BOOK LIST

Eric Berne, Games People Play. Fritjof Capra, The Tao of Physics. Carlos Castaneda, The Fire From Within. Arthur Koestler, The Roots of Coincidence. 1289

magic

is a medieval system of symbolism (in a modern context), any

John C. Lilly, The Center of the Cyclone. ------, Programming and Metaprogramming in the Human Biocomputer. ------, Simulations of God -- The Science of Belief.

======== Phil Hansford, 4/88 Mysteria (818) 353-8891 (modem) P.O. Box 83 Tujunga, CA 91042

1290

Alan Watts, The Boo

(on the taboo against nowing who you are).

Copyright (c) 1988 by Phil Hansford. This article is is licenced for free non-commercial distribution only.

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** MAGICK 3 -- THE FOUR WORLDS **

Theancientsdescribed manasmind, body,andsoul. Psychologists of the twentieth century added the subconscious to that deffinition. This produces a four-fold classification. The universe is also divided into four corresponding parts ('worlds'), as shown below:

WORLD =====

BODY ====

QUALITY =======

mental world astral world physical world

mental body (conscious mind) astral body (subconscious) physical body

Theastral body(subconscious)is theintermediary forintuition, magical and psychic phenomena, and is the 'psychic lin ' to the physical world. J.H. Brennan says that the astral is the realm of

1291

spiritual world

spiritual body (soul or

ia)

intuition rationalthought emotions physical senses

visual imagination. It seems to be both a 'place' and a 'state of mind' at the same time. Most occult and magical phenomena originate in the invisible, non-sensate, non-physical realm (ie. without physical senses). Each of the four worlds interacts with the other worlds. Psychic energy flows from the spiritual to mental to astral to physical. The physical world is a projection (manifestation, reflection, or shadow) of the higher worlds. Our center of consciousness is generally within

Police, "spirits in the material world".

1292

these higher worlds. "We are", to quote the roc

music group the

Therearemanysimilar termsusedby otheroccultgroups. For example, 'astral light' is another name for astral world, although it may sometimes also refer to the entire non-physical realm, as may 'inner planes' or 'the invisible world'. Planes are essentially the same as worlds. Vehicles or sheaths are the same as bodies. Some groups include an etheric or vital body between physical and astral: it is mostly 'physical' with a little of the lower 'astral' besides. And sometimes astral and mental are each divided into two parts (upper and lower). The 'causal body' is the upper 'mental'.

MICROCOSM AND MACROCOSM

Wehavebeendescribing'traditonal'occultphilosophy here, and certainly an important part of the tradition is the idea (and

*macrocosm*, includes everything that exists. It corresponds with the *microcosm*, or tiny universe, ie. man -- who is thought of as a miniature replica of the macrocosm (whole universe). This basic magical relationship is demonstrated in the Bible (Genesis 1.27), where God is the macrocosm; and in the writing of Trismegistus ("As above so below"). Since man is in the image of God (universe) it follows that God is in the image of man (in other words, man and the God/universe match each other). 1293

terms) microcosm and macrocosm. The greater universe,

nown as the

The magician, as a microcosm is thus connected with the macrocosm. There is an intimate relationship of energies between you and everything else. The universe is reflected within us and we are projected and

astrology.

MAGICK WHITE AND BLACK

'Personalmagic ' is thatmagic used toaffect the self; often involving affirmation, self-suggestion, and self-hypnosis.

'Active magic ' is outer directed magic (as in PK) used to affect someone or thing, or to bring about an event. 'Passive magic ' is to be affected (as in ESP) by an outside non-physical cause. Everyone possesses some magical (and psychic) potential. Some are especially gifted. Usually people are better at one ind of magic (ie. active or passive) than they are at the other ind; only rarely does an individual excell at both. Traning and practice will, of course, improve ability somewhat.

1294

into the universe. This is an important theory behind magic

ta e on the qualities of good and evil. There is so-called white

for unselfish purposes, also healing and mental influence with spec-

There are also some people on the occult fringe who claim to be,

magicians. These people are most li ely charlatans, hoaxters, dabblers, or merely misinformed. They may be attracted by the 'art' of blac magic , or even by the 'glamor' of doing something

magic ' as having *unselfish intent*, and (in the extreme case) of 'blac magic ' as being actual Satan worship, human or animal sacrifice, dangerous unconventional magical practices, and other bizarre stuff as ma es a nightmare. It is all a matter of degree. Most mild self-interest magic (one of the most common inds) would be called 'gray'. Better terms may be *constructive magic * as being beneficial; and *aversive magic * as

magic

intended to wor against the natural order, and to tear down. 1295

Because he has dedicated his life to evil. We usually thin

against the 'rules'. But a real blac

magician is very dangerous. of 'white

possibly even thin they are, 'Satanists', devil worshipers, or blac

forcefully control another's will is, in a sense, blac magic

too.

est and healing *without* specific permission.

ific permission. By blac

magic they refer to magic for self-interUsing magic to

between them. When many people refer to white magic they mean magic

magic

or good magic , blac magic

Although the forces of magic

are neutral, various systems may

or evil magic , and gray magic

There is also the *high magic * of spiritual alchemy (ie. spiritual growth), also nown as 'the Great Wor '; and conversely there is 'low magic ' which is concerned with materiality.

Any magic actisli elyto producesideeffectsregardlessof whether or not the desired result is achieved. Such side effects are no problem for constructive magic , since they are benificial as well. However, aversive magic can produce aversive side effects which may even harm the magician -- aversive magic is dangerous!

1296

MAGICK IS A CONTINUOUS PROCESS

Whatwe havebeencalling 'magic 'is actuallya continuous process. Since your subconscious never rests, your environment is continually being shifted into line with your model. This is true whether you study magic or not. For most people, these effects are usually very subtle, and they are probably not aware of them. However,

with the occult, the flow of psychic energy and your awareness of it increases. Your true will is more li ely to be strongly expressed.

Remember, our lives tend to follow what we want down deep. That is why a positive outloo is so very beneficial to us.

THE MAGICAL DIARY

experiments and research. Such a diary should include the date,

have a relationship to what you are doing). This is also a good time 1297

perhaps even some astrological data (or anything else you thin

Your luc

may be affected (either in a positive or a negative way).

Sometimes it ishelpful to

as you wor

eep a diary of your magical

may

to begin recording your dreams -- at least the important ones -- in a dream diary. Your dreams can tell you a great deal about yourself, and may sometimes reveal premonitions. Dreams are personal. Don't fall for the commercial 'dream boo ' gimmic .

AFFIRMATIONS

Themind is always open to suggestion -- especially the subconscious. Most of the time we censor any suggestions according to the model; but one way to brea through the censor is with repetition. An affirmation does this exactly. By suggestion, we mean any statement which is capable of affecting your model. Usually suggestion is in the form of a positive statement (such as the hypnotist's patter -- " You

positive suggestion, which you repeat (affirm) to yourself aloud or silently (for example, "I remember my dreams"). If there is some quality you wish to change or develope within yourself, an affirmation is ideal. Repeat it several times every day at several different times throughout the day, expecially when you go to bed. Affirmations are subtle and may require a few months to wor . Use them for changes, not miracles.

SIMPLE BANISHING TECHNIQUE 1298

are becomming sleepy"). An affirmation is the same

ind of thing -- a

Visualizationisanotherimportantmethod weusetoinfluence the subconscious. A good example of this is the simple banishing technique which follows. Banishing is used in magic to 'clear the air' of negative 'vibes' and interference...

Visualize astrong white lightflowing outthe top ofyour head, flowing down around you and covering you. At the same time imagine you are throwing away any 'problem' vibes. visualization for a half a minute or longer. Maintain the

Good way to help you

handle your emotions, and to control worry or anger.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1) What is a microcosm? 2) List the four worlds. Explain. 3) What is an affirmation? Give an example.

BOOK LIST Geoffry Hodson, Theosophy Answers Some Problems of Life. Marc Edmund Jones, Key Truths of Occult Philosophy. Marion Weinstein, Positive Magic. Nelson & Ann White, The Wizard's Apprentice. Beatrice Bruteau, The Psychic Grid. 1299

======== Phil Hansford, 4/88 Mysteria (818) 353-8891 (modem) P.O. Box 83 Tujunga, CA 91042

1300