Why I blog about politics and other distasteful stuff (why should those people have all the fun)

One of the questions I occasionally get asked is: "Why do you blog so much about politics and other distasteful things? Shouldn't you be focused on magic and whatnot? Or at least, satire and humor? After all, that is what you claim this blog is about."


And I would focus on humor and the occult if only certain other occult authorities would shut up about politics and whatnot, and focus solely on magic and the occult instead.


Unfortunately, these other occult authorities insist on preaching that everyone needs a gun, that Hillary Clinton should be shot as a traitor, that the news media needs to be put under government control, that Muslims should be put into concentration camps, that global warming is a Chinese hoax, that chem-trails are real, that free trade agreements are bad, that all immigrants are evil criminals, that you are not allowed to protest the actions taken by your government, that there are some nice people who just happen to also be Neo-Nazis, that there is an evil conspiracy of black magicians controlling the parts of the government that they disagree with, and that President Donald "Jesus" Trump is the greatest President ever.


If these dozen or so Big Name Occultists, all who claim that they speak for (and lead) the entire esoteric occult community, would shut up, I would be inclined to restrict my political commentary to my satires. But they won't, so either will I.


In fact, they believe that because they are the Heads of Great Traditions Going Back To The Stone Age And The Garden Of Eden, that not only are their opinions right, but that everyone who studies under them, and who comments on their pages, blogs, and groups, should be forced to think and believe exactly like they do.


If you think that I am wrong, just tell one of them in one of their forums that they are wrong--and see how quickly you get banned and expelled from their Holiest of Groups for disagreeing with their political opinions.


Quite honestly, I don't want you to think that they speak for all of us. Or at least, I don't want you to think that they speak for me.


So until they shut up about such matters, either will I.

I blog about politics because I disagree with the opinions of others.

Evil Antifa I am (Super magician might be a Fascist)

Let me see if I understand this correctly--I am an enemy because I am against Fascism. Why is Fascism a good thing?!? And why does this make me a worse person than the person who just implied that they are a Fascist (or at least, has no problem with their leaders being Fascists)? This sounds an awful lot like saying that someone is an enemy because they do not support Nazis and Neo-Nazis, and Stalin-era style Communism. And how the f**k is this person considered a better Rosicrucian than I am?

Seriously, he says that I am an Antifa...wait, what the hell is an Antifa?

I will admit that I had to look up the word--Antifa. Yes, that is right--I had no clue what he was saying about me...which is most of the time. Honestly, I avoid reading his stuff because it tends to make me wonder how this person has been elevated to the highest position in the Golden Dawn and the Western Mystery Traditions, including witchcraft and Wicca.

The short answer to that question is that he conned or self-appointed himself into high positions, misrepresented his contacts (puffing them up to be uber-secret-special-contacts), and used a free lawyer to try to destroy his competition. What he did--anyone could do--it just requires one to be a little bit of d**k***d.

And he claims to be able to speak for all of the Western Mystery Tradition. So just remember that He. Speaks. For. You. 

The insult of the week is Antifa.

And he says that I am an enemy of you and the entire world because I am an Antifa.

So basically, he believes that nations (and esoteric Orders and traditions, for that matter) should be ruled by ruthless people who crush their competition, can do whatever they want, and are in constant competition to destroy one another (in other words, he is all about the "winning" and does not care how much damage is done to other people and communities as long as his community is the Best and Greatest).

(No wonder he hates binding spells--how can people do whatever they like to, including all the nasty bad things, if they have restrictions imposed upon them?) 

Free trade agreements are bad. Efforts to stop global warming are bad. He was literally throwing his hands in the air, thanking Trump for making America great again. He believes that the United States is the greatest country in the world, and the rest of the world can go f**k itself.

I, on the other hand, am a global Rosicrucian--a lot of the problems I am seeing, in my opinion, require a global solution. And yes, that makes me your enemy.

Worried about other countries manufacturing your goods--encourage fair wages and working conditions in those foreign countries. Worried about refugees coming into your country--encourage better living conditions in those countries, and consider removing "strong arm" governments from having power there. Worried about climate change--well, it is going to require a global solution.

He will have none of this because all that matters is the short term Winning of the greatest country in the world, the United States of America. He does not care about the long term results and problems facing this world--because he is going to ascend into a glorious solar body while the rest of us drown in sorrows. He is checking out; he is not sticking around.

I, on the other hand, am coming back to this world. This world is my heaven and my underworld. I reincarnate. So the problems of today just grow into the problems of my future lives. Yes, you can embrace Heaven and skip away, or ascend in your glorious solar body with him, or make things so bad that the Messiah has to come to fix things. I don't have that option. Nor do I want it. I am a Wiccan, and my reward and punishment is to come back, to reincarnate in this world.

And because of that, I want things to improve here, on this world.

(I would also like to see mankind travel to and colonize other planets and solar systems, but that is a topic for another time.)

But that is wrong because...he says that it is wrong. And who are you to disobey your glorious leader? Go on goose-step with him into your glorious solar body evolution where you can watch and laugh as this planet drowns and humanity burns.

Remember that you have to hate Antifa because he might be a fascist.

(And even if I don't reincarnate--what type of person wants to keep the world in its current sad state of affairs? Or worse, is perfectly ok with making things worse? I believe that the term rhymes with E**l B*****d.)  

Super magician issues magical call to arms (lets hang those traitors)

David Griffin and his Witch Queen wife have issued a call for a magical militia to protect the freedoms that we enjoy in the United States.

Yes, that's right--you can join them and protect America freedom by meeting them at the astral Liberty Tree at midnight on July 25th.

Protect liberty for all unless...

You are a journalist--f**k you, you don't deserve freedom.

A Satanist--remember that Freedom of Religion bit in the Constitution? F**k you, you don't deserve freedom.

A witch who does not believe that the Threefold Law actually applies to you. F**k you for noticing that it is not a real karmic universal law and that you can do whatever you want to. Why are you not a slave to the rules that your witchy leaders put into the system to control you. F**k you for thinking that "harm none" applied to protecting people from a politician gone mad (and don't you dare read what the story actually says--because all witches forever and ever have honored the political rulers of the lands they live in--f**k you if you remember the teachings of Wicca and witchcraft differently than we do).

A daemonolator--f**k you for using demons for anything--and pay no attention to the lore of countless magicians and witches before you that said that demons could be used for something other than evil. (And f**k you if you seem to think that I once said that the qlippoth is the root of the Tree of Life, and that a magician had to learn to use those forces.) And f**k you if you remember that Christians turned your gods and goddesses into demons to destroy your freedom to worship the Old Gods.

Banks--f**k you for making us all wage slaves--we will get you m*****f***ers. 

Dislike Trump and what he is doing. F**k you, he is properly elected, and you don't deserve the freedom to express your dislike of him, especially if it takes the form of a binding ritual that those traitorous journalists are amused by.

Liberty for all, except these bad people!!!!

(And please ignore how we totally agreed that gun owners should march on Washington if Hillary Clinton won...because guns!! and militias!! and we are great leaders!!! Hillary deserved to be hanged because she was a liberal traitor just like you are. And we consider it act of treason if you voted for her, so f**k you.)

Yes, we will hang you someday like the traitors you are...because you are exercising freedoms that we believe you are using for evil purposes of enslaving humanity. Forget that you live in America and the Constitution says that you have a right to do these things. And don't you dare comment that once the government makes it illegal to perform black magic, that we will be burning on the stake right next to you--because we are patriots and you are traitors. How dare you exercise your freedoms without the express permission of the greatest Rosicrucian Imperator and Witch Queen to ever live.

Did we say f**k you? F**k you for pointing out our double standard on the issue of freedom. Just f**k you and your misuse of your freedoms!!!

Nice going--you scared my cat.

ROGD website shut down by trademark threat

On October 28, 2015, the Golden Dawn Order ROGD website was shut down by their ISP (internet service provider) upon the receivership of a notice from the lawyers of the AMORC (Ancient and Mystical Order Rosae Crucis).

The ISP was given a notice that the ROGD was engaged in "Trademark infringement, Unfair competition, and Deceptive trade practices concerning the ROSICRUCIAN ORDER phrase." Furthermore, the ISP was informed that no one has successfully stood up in court against AMORC. AMORC lawyers closed the notice with a note saying that the letter was written without prejudice (a funny sounding legal term) and that "[AMORC lawyers] look forward to your favorable replies by no later than November 15, 2015, including confirmation that you will no longer use or assist with the use on any website or otherwise of the phrase ROSICRUCIAN ORDER in or with any name or trademark."

Now, for those who do not know AMORC was a business for its founder; and at one time, advertised in all the major and most of the minor magazine markets. And I am positive that its current board is making a fair living from the Order.

(I have said it before and I will say it again--the use of trademarks makes an organization a business for the Head(s) of that organization, and is only used to make sure that an organization has the sole monopoly on a spiritual system. I only know of one instance, just one, where the taking out of and the defense of a trademark was not done for strictly business purposes. When trademarks come into play, spiritual organizations cease to be spiritual and become nothing more than money printing presses for the Head(s) of the trademarked Orders.)

When news of the ROGD website shutdown appeared on Facebook, AMORC members leaped to the defense of AMORC. Some AMORC members tried to get the notices taken down by arguing that the moderators and owners of various FB pages and groups were not doing their job and breaking the rules of FB groups. Some people reported the notices (FB and group moderators ignored the reports). And at least one AMORC member reported that a moderator under the "real name" policy (too bad for them that the moderator was actually using their real name).

Then when this kind of tactic failed, the AMORC members declared that this takedown had nothing to do with AMORC (in FB groups that are focused on Golden Dawn and general Rosicrucian studies) and that the notice had to be taken down on those grounds.

And when that failed to work, the mob declared that ROGD was actually guilty of deceptive spiritual practices because AMORC never takes other Rosicrucian Orders to court (funny, I know at least one such legal action has been taken, and the letter implies that such actions have indeed occurred). Furthermore, the defenders declared that AMORC is the one and only Rosicrucian Order in the world today....therefore, no one else is actually Roscicrucian.

All of which scores high on my "if it acts like a cult, it probably is" scale.

Just because you are a good person in an Order that claims to be spirtual, mystic, magical, or whatnot, that does not mean that the people at the top of the system are pure in spirit. And people pointing out the dubious behavior of the leadership of the organization you belong to is not an attack about you. But when you rush to the defense of such an Order, especially blindly, well, then we will point out that perhaps you are a little brainwashed. And what is the first sign of a cult?! Yeah, that's right---check your brain at the door.

The official announcement from the ROGD website.

Plans and lessons (31-HP Day 14)

Dear Brother of the Art,

Question of redemption

Read the trestle board
Dance the cards and stars
Adam Primus
So Above, So Below
Build the Tree within
Climb up from the Kingdom
Upwards to the Crown
Rung by rung
Step by step
Day by day
Hour by hour
Gather Mercury, Sulphur
And Salt
Grind and distill
Until the Great Work
Is completed
Strive to be
More than Human

Sincerely, an Adept

Of the Rosy Cross

My favorite charity

We support Trap-Neuter-Return programs.

One of the questions that a global Rosicrucian has to struggle with is: Who should recieve my compassion and charity? We swear to help "heal" the world; but unless we are a member of the medical profession, our oath focuses more on healing the minds and general conditions of the world than it does the physical well-being of individual bodies.

Part of the question that we must struggle with is the fact that the entire world is in trouble. There are more people who need help than there is help available; you will never run out of people who need help. You can always give more...until you have nothing left to give.

(Jeff Goins talks some about this in his book Wrecked: When a Broken World Slams into your Comfortable Life.)

So we must decide where to focus our attention. Some people choose to focus on the global level, or the needs of the citizens of other countries. And that is ok.

I, on the other hand, chose to focus more locally. Part of the reason for this is simply the fact that I grew up poor. I was one of those kids who ended up eating free school lunches, and ate stuff from the local food banks. And if I was not redirected to another charity, I would probably be focused on helping a local food bank.

But I got side-tracked into a different type of charity and healing work. A type of healing work that does not involve human beings. That is right; I ended up working with cats.

How it happened was simple. When my wife and I brought our house, it came complete with a feral cat colony. The problem with feral colonies is that unless someone becomes their care-taker, the cats in a colony will continue to breed and overpopulate an area. This results in many deaths by stravation and disease among the poor cats caught in the situation.

The easiest way to deal with the problem (besides people not abandoning un-fixed and fertile cats in the first place) is to control the colony. Relocation does not work because more feral cats will just move into the area if a colony disappears; the same thing happens if you completely destory a colony. The only way to control a colony is to take care of it. And the first step in caring for a feral cat colony is to neuter and spay the existing members of a colony.

Once my wife and I became aware of the feral cat colony, we started to rescue the kittens who could be tamed, and fix the cats who could not be. Several males had to be put to sleep due to disease. Since then, we had to do several more rounds of trap-neuter-return. We also have to make sure that the colony gets fed--ask me about my cat food bill; it is like feeding a four-legged army.

The two cats in the picture that accompanies this post are two of the cats that we rescued as kittens two years ago when a new round of feral cats came into our neighborhood. They are really sweet cats. You really cannot see it in this picture, but both of their left ears are nipped (this is to let colony care-takers and other people know that these cats have already been fixed). We did not originally think that the two brothers would be tamable, but they seem to like being petted, fed, and allowed to lay on the sofa. I would be hard-pressed to tell that they were originally ferals if I did not already know.

So that is the type of charity that I am involved with--a local cat charity. It is not better than those people who work with people, either locally or internationally. Nor is it worse. It is just the type of charity that I am best suited to work with. And in the end, that is what determines the type of charity and healing a Rosicrucian does--the personality and skills of a Rosicrucian determines the type of healing that they do. Therefore, a difficult question turns out to be very easy to answer once one knows oneself.

Debating what model scale to use

Vault of the Adepts Sun Wall color study 2000 MDE.

When I did my color study of the coloring of the Vault of the Adepts back in 2000, I kicked around making a scale model of the Vault of the Adepts. Blame it on my days of playing table top wargames (remember FASA?) & Dungeons and Dragons. Or on the fact that I used to build model kits when I was a kid.

Periodically, I revisit the idea. A couple of weeks ago (or was it a month or two?), someone shared a link to a paper model (insert tab Y into slot Y) of the Rosicrucian Vault as described in some of the older RC material. And once again, I got the urge to make a scale model of the Golden Dawn version (RC et AC) of the Vault.

I would not be the first one to do so. A few years ago, I know that someone did one for a Golden Dawn conference (I have seen some of the pictures of the model). And let's be honest, I won't be the last person to do so.

Given my strong urge to do so, I think that I am going to add it to my list of things to do once the semester is over. I am going to need something to break up the paying work (yes, more dating site adcopy). And I can always use the model for studying the movements of the Adept rituals.

So the big question becomes what scale to use. Should I do it index card size? Or maybe 1:12 scale (an inch to a foot)? Or maybe 1:24 (half an inch to a foot)?

Both the index card size and the 1:12 scales would be okay for just myself. But the 1:24 would be better if I decide to assemble it into a small ebook to share with the rest of the universe.

Decisions, decisions.

You do not have to out yourself

One of the traditions that the BIORC holds to, enforced by our secrecy oath, is that only the individual member themselves have the right to reveal their membership in the tradition. Unless the member themselves steps out of the broom closet or the Vault, their membership is considered a SECRET.

Furthermore, the details of their lives and how much they share about themselves is determined by themselves. In addition, they have the right to write under a motto and never have to reveal their real legal name or any other identifiying information to the public.

(I am sure that I do not have to remind anyone of what happened to Westcott according to the famous story told by Crowley.)

This is a really old custom if you believe the history of the Rosicrucian tradition. Think about it. How much do you really know about the founder of the RC tradition? Do you ever know his name? Do you know anything about him beyond the information contained in the three original RC manifestoes?

Why no name change for this RC reformation?

One of the questions that I often kick around is: How much change has to happen before a Order becomes a new Order?

Is changing the Grade Signs enourgh?

The Passwords?

The Rituals?

The Oath of Obligation?

Curriclum?

The ultimate secret?

The focus of the system?

At what point in time, do the changes add up to a new Order? When does an Order have to adapt a new name because it is no longer the old Order?

Looking over the history of the Rosicrucian periodic reformations, we see the rituals change, the focus change, and we ALWAYS see a name change. Except for this time. This time, we saw the group claiming the reformation trademark the name and change everything else. Why?

The entire system has been changed (to keep the Current and Tradition pure from traitors to the system), but they are still using the same old name. And when one starts to kick around the possible reasons, well, I can't think of a good reason for the old name to be used with what is essentially a brand-new system.

Could it be that the Rosicrucian reformation is actually happening in another group? Could it be that the Golden Dawn is not where the reformation is happening?

It is something to think about.

Shocking truth of the Shroud of Frater RC

[Thanks to Ananael for calling my attention to the latest research on the Shroud of Turin; you can go to his blog Augoeides to read his reaction to the research.]



Full length negatives of the Shroud of Turin.

The latest research on the subject of the Shroud of Turin reveals that the image could have been made by a flash of ultraviolet light. Of course, this leaves two problems for those who believe that the Shroud of Turin is the shroud that Jesus Christ was buried in: One, where did Jesus find a ultraviolent laser in his time period; and two, why does the carbon dating of the shroud place the Shroud's origin between 1260 and 1390?

Being the mad occultist I am, I think I have a solution; but the Christians are not going to like it. I don't think that the Shroud of Turin is actually the burial cloth of Jesus Christ. Instead, I propose it is the burial cloth of the founder of the Rosicrucian movement, the burial cloth of Frater RC himself.

My theory has the benefit of bringing the Shroud into a myth that uses temporal dates much closer to the carbon dating results. Plus my theory has the additional benefit of explaining how the lasering of the cloth occurred---quite simply, when Frater RC died and assumed his rightful place in the Rosicrucian hierarchy as a solar being, his corpse emitted a flash of ultraviolet light which imprinted his image onto the burial cloth.

Therefore, the Italian scientific community has proved evidence that not only was Frater RC a real person, they have also provided proof that ascension into the solar body is possible. Sounds like a win-win to me...unless you are a Christian that believes the myth that Jesus was buried in the Shroud of Turin.

Shroud of Turin before its 2002 restoration.

For the lack of a better translation

It has been an interesting day. Besides recieving one of the nasty and demanding private messages ever, I did learn something today. The English translation of the Fama Fraternitatis that all the English and American Orders use is flawed compared to the German version (or so I have been informed).

(Actually, I do trust the opinion on the translation error--after all, I have seen some blunders when Hebrew is translated into English---why should German to English be any different?)

Personally, I was unable to find a German version of the Fama that was not set in the alphabet form that I struggle with, not alone a copy that might be accessible with the help of a translation program and a German to English dictionary by one's side. And it does amuse me that the one Order that I would have been expecting to use a different translation only has the same flawed English translation up on their website.

(One can only hope that one of their members does a full translation of it someday and allows those of us with limited language skills to see it. Oh who am I kidding---non-members will never be allowed to see it.)

So given that us the English Orders have been using a flawed translation, does this mean that our Rosicrucian philosophy is wrong? Of course, it does---or so I have been told. I am just not convinced that it as wrong as the person would like me to think it is. Then again, I am not convinced that we are even in the same tradition anymore---at a certain point, enourgh errors and differences of opinion create whole new systems.

(Of course, my real crime of the day was that I forgot to undermine my own authority by including fifteen million mentions of the fact that I am a wrongfully trained scholar---something that I am so sick and tired of doing in the name of peace.)

Now, I am willing to accept that the translation that we have been using loses something in the translation. But I am not sure that I am willing to bow down and toss out the version that the English and American schools have been using for a three and a half centuries. Especially in the light that it is only English version that I was able to find after two hours of internet searching.

The flawed English translation is the only version I have been exposed to in the various groups that I have belonged to over the years. It is the same version that I discuss with students when the subject comes up. And heavens knows that I have a hard enourgh time trying to maintain the little French and Hebrew that I know in the midst of my wife's plot to secretly teach me Spanish, that the very thought of trying to learn more German than the little bit I picked up studying the World Wars turns my stomach.

(Yes, I choose languages that utterly useless when it comes to the study of the Rosicrucian movement...is anyone really surprised by that?! If only I would have known in high school that I needed to make a different set of choices.)

So until I get my hands on a dual language scholar's edition, I have two choices: Keep using the flawed translation and NEVER discuss Rosicrucian philosophy ever again in public (especially if I want to keep a certain letter writer happy) or completely toss them out and make up something to replace them with. It is not a good set of choices at all, is it?

I was not talking about the Third Order

I am annoyed---very annoyed.

It has came to my attention that my previous blog post (Get paid to do the Great Work) has been read as a criticism of Griffin and company's Third Order. It was not talking about them. I did not mean for it to be read in that manner.

I was merely trying to come to a conclusion about whether or not, anything that we can call the Great Work, can be done as a form of paid employment.

And I thought it was important to include the fact that the Fama stated (or at least, the English version that I am familiar with) that physical immortality was not allowed to the members of the RC. Hence anyone who is promising to provide you with physical immortality shouldn't get paid to do that type of work if they are a member of the Fraternity; this has no bearing on spiritual immortality.

(I am sorry that I am restricted to English, bad English, bad French and bad Hebrew--and that I forget that you can not be a real Rosicrucian while being a poorly educated American. I did mention that I was restricted to an English translation.)

This fact about the fact that original Brotherhood not being able to cheat physical death really has no bearing on my personal beliefs about an afterlife, or whether or not a person can gain conscious, controllable existence after the death of their physical body. Nor does it represent a criticism of the HOGD/A&O and their Third Order.

I am sorry that I forgot that any reading of the RC documents has to be ran by Griffin's Third Order because they are the only ones with the correct reading. And yes, I am getting annoyed with the fact that one cannot write about the Golden Dawn and the Rosicrucians and come to a conclusion different from the HOGD/A&O official party line without being accused of criticising Griffin's group. In this case, I did not realize that my conclusion would go against their official version. (They really need to issue a complete manual on what one is allowed to say and not say.) And I especially annoyed because I did not think that my conclusion about employment had any bearing on what the HOGD/A&O is promising about spiritual immortality.

I was talking about the types of gainful employment open to a member of the RC Brotherhood. That is what I was concerned with, that is what I cared about, and that what I wanted the discussion to be about. Not every discussion has to end up reaffirming that Griffin's Third Order is the only correct method to gain spiritual immortality. Some of us, such as myself, are concerned with other Rosicrucian matters, such as one's proper place in the physical world, which includes the issue of employment.

Maybe I should have defaulted to using Crowley or the New Age materials instead. Oh wait, that material is only used by villians. Is it wrong to once again ask Griffin's Third Order to openly declare me an outlaw, so that I can focus on the work that concerns me?

Did I mention that I am annoyed? Very annoyed?

Get paid to do Great Work

Last night, one of my friends asked if there was any way to get paid to do the Great Work. Is it possible to make your livelihood doing the Great Work? or helping others do the Great Work?

Now, being a Rosicrucian, my answer is based on the Fama Fraternitatis. In this founding document of the Rosicrucian movement (which Golden Dawn and the BIORC may or may not be a part of--depending upon who you ask), we learn the original Brotherhood bound itself by six rules.

First, That none of them should profess any other thing than to cure the sick, and that gratis.

Second, None of the posterity should be constrained to wear one certain kind of habit, but therein to follow the custom of the country.

Third, That every year, upon the day C., they should meet together at the house Sancti Spiritus, or write the cause of his absence.

Fourth, Every Brother should look about for a worthy person who, after his decease, might succeed him.

Fifth, The word R. C. should be their seal, mark, and character.

Sixth, The Fraternity should remain secret one hundred years.

It is the first and second clauses that has the most bearing on this particular question.

Let's start with the second clause, which states that no future generation of the Order will be forced to wear a particular style of clothes, that they will adopt the customs of the country that they are living in. The extension of this clause to this question is the implication that if one normally gets paid for a profession in the country that one is living in, then a Rosicrucian is also entitled to charge for that service or product.

It is the first clause that complicates matters. There are three parts of it that we need to understand, for it applies to all in the Fraternity.

The first part is "profess"--which is not only to claim, but it is also related to the words professor and profession. It also relates to taking the vows of a religious Order. So does this mean that the only profession that a member of the RC can take is that of a doctor? Or that is the only subject that they can teach? Or are they only allowed to join religious Orders and tradtions that are focused on healing? Or something else?

The seond part we need to understand is what is meant by "cure the sick." Is this referring to physical sickness? Or to mental sickness? Or to societial sickness? Or all three?

We do know one thing that it does not refer to---the members of the Brotherhood are not allowed to cheat death. Even though they are allowed to live life free from disease and pain, "they could not live and pass their time appointed by God." Even the most learned of them, the very founder of the Fraternity, Brother R.C. dies. Yet the fact that they live from from illnesses and pain indicates that curing the sick does include the physical. So must the members of the RC be doctors and nurses? or must they be some form of healer which work affects the physical body? Ironically if the latter, it would mean that a member of the RC can work in any profession that provides care and substance to the physical body, or that has a positive effect on the human body---this would include cooks and writers.

The last and third part, we must understand is what is meant by "gratis." This word is related both to grace and to gratuity (aka tips). At the very least, the members of the RC are allowed to take tips for their work. The implication is that a member of the RC is not allowed to withhold their services from those who are unable to pay; but they are also allowed to accept payment, or at least tips, for the work that they are doing.

So given that the members of the Fraternity are allowed to adopt the customs of the country they are living in, the range of activities that could lead to healing, and the fact that the membership is allowed to take tips---yes, you can get paid to do the Great Work; just remember to have a sliding scale on your fee structure.

If you disagree with me, because you speak the original language and I am using an English translation, remember that I am allowed to adopt the customs of the United States of America which is the country I am living in. Also bear in mind that I would like to keep a roof over my head and food on the table without having to resort to robbing banks or begging on the street. Nevertheless, feel free to criticize my reading of the material---you can't possibly disagree with me more than the professors at the University of Colorado do.

Dont care about the state of your soul

This is one of those full disclosure updates type of things.

Quite simply, I do not care about my reader's souls.

Proof? I have not been approving comments from Christians who believe that all magicians and witches should give up magic and return to the arms of Christ.

Sorry.

My personal belief is that Jesus was a magician, that he would have willingly sat down to have dinner with witches, and that he was not the messiah. Furthermore, I do not believe that he would have condemned me, or any other witch or magician to harsh punishments (including imprisonment, stoning, burning at the stake, and banishment to the worst locations in the afterlife).

(And no, I do not consider it necessary to be a Christian to be a member of the RC---go figure.)

And yes, I am well aware that makes me an evil person.

Are posts about the Freemasons coming?

Freemasonry meets the RC Society

Tonight, I was posting back and forth with someone on Facebook. They are doing a bit of research on Freemasonry and world history. I wish them luck on that topic---it is far outside of my expertise. Nevertheless, I find myself with the urge to write something about the Freemasons.

Now, my opinion about the Freemasons is based not on rumor; it is based on first hand experience of knowing Freemasons. I think everyone inside of the esoteric lodge system knows at least one Freemason---it is an occuptional hazard if you are a member of a group that has lodge meetings.

Before anyone asks---no, I am not a Freemason.

I have mixed feelingss about the Freemasons, especially when it comes to the esoteric Orders. Which is probably better than the opinions they have of me---I tend exhibit signs of adult ADHD, and I have no truck with people who are merely interested in collecting more Degrees and Grades. I also have an opinion about how much the Freemasons have to say about what goes on in the esoteric Orders, and I tend to be loud about that opinion. There is also my wicked witch ethics and beliefs.

These opinions and character flaws do not prevent me from having friends who are Freemasons; they merely prevent me from being a Freemason.

Nevertheless, I have done some study of their Order. Partially, because it is the proto-type for all lodge based systems including Golden Dawn and British Wicca (though some will argue that they are not); and partially because if you are a history student, they are really the only lodge system that you are allowed to study (if you are allowed to study them at all---the couple of papers I have done on them in college, I had to fight to do). Freemasonry to the history student is like Golden Dawn is to the literature student (the only reason you can study Golden Dawn as a literature student is that Yeats was a member).

I also collect the occasional odd bit of literature and gear that comes my way. For instance, the photo for this blog is from my collection---there is a history behind this piece of artwork; some of it personal.

Anyways, I am happening this post worked the bug out of my system because otherwise I will be boring you with other posts about the Freemasons. And no one wants that, including me.

Quote of the day Four Tablets from Waite FRC

There are four tablets mentioned in the "elemental" rituals of A.E. Waite's Fellowship of the Rosy Cross (Holy Order of the Golden Dawn).

From the Zelator initiation ritual:

The four-square tablet that stands in the middle west of the temple contains divine and angelical names referable to the western quarter of the heavens and, by correspondence, to the element of Earth. They teach us that the universe and man who dwells therein are encompassed by the powers and the providences, the graces and benedictions of the Divine. They serve, moreover, to remind us that God has given His angels charge over all those who work for the hidden wisdom and follow the quest of him.

From the Theoricus initiation ritual:

The four-square tablet that stands in the middle of the temple, containing divine and angelic names referable to the eastern quarter of the heaven, is in correspondence with the element of Air, and is set up as a symbol in our temple for the sancification of the mind in man.

From the Practicus initiation ritual:

The four-square tablet that is placed in the middle north of the temple containing Divine and angelic names referable to the northern quarter of the heavens, is in correspondence with the element of Water, and is set up as a symbol in our temple for the sanctification of the heart of man...

From the Philosophus initiation ritual:

The four-square tablet that is placed in the middle south of the temple containing Divine and angelic names referable to the southern quarter of the heavens, is in correspendence with the element of Fire, and is set up as a symbol in our temple for the sanctification of the will of man.

From the Complete Rosicrucian Initiations of the Fellowship of the Rosy Cross [also previously published as Inner and Outer Order Initiations of the Holy Order of the Golden Dawn (2005)] pages 58, 89, 121, & 150.

Still mixing Wicca with Golden Dawn

There are moments I can tell that I am my mother's son; today is one of those moments. Yesterday, I was told by a couple of people that, in their humble opinions, I should not be mixing Wicca with Golden Dawn. In their opinion, the traditions need to be kept separate.

I tried a subtle "Gee, I guess that I am going to have to resign from one or the other." My friends probably caught the tone I used. No one else did.

This morning I realized that the only way to keep a tradition pure is to create separate communities for the traditions. Outside influences must be banned.

"Here is your copy of Regardie big book. This is the only book that you are allowed to read and use during your entire esoteric career. No reading of books by other writers, no talking to members of other groups or traditions, and do not ever shake hands with anybody."

The reason for such extreme measures? Simply, the "physical" body of the traditions (egregores) are human beings. Unfortunately, human beings cannot isolate experiences in separate files like computers do.

Human beings are organic computers that always have all their files open. Every experience we have touches all our other experiences. We are a holographic computer, reflecting everything that we have ever experienced.

And the only way to keep the traditions pure is to isolate its members (perhaps from birth) from the members of all other traditions. No TV, no books, and no internet. If someone is interacting with people who are not of your tradition, then you are going to have corruption of your tradition. The only way to keep a tradition pure is to make sure that your membership never deals with the information contained in the other traditions.

Radical? Yes. True? Hell yes.

I do not believe in pure traditions. I am a Global Rosicrucian. I am still mixing Wicca with Golden Dawn, Runes with Geomantic Glyphs, Chaos with Discordianism, alchemy with paints. I am a citizen of the planet Earth. I am not a nationalist, not a purist, not an isolatist.

And if you are a believer in maintaining a pure tradition, a pure egregore, you really should not be reading my blog or any of my writings.