The sexual misdeeds of Aleister Crowley (Creepy Uncle of Wicca and Golden Dawn)

The other day, some imp forwarded a Facebook notification to me--someone declared that it was time to reveal Aleister Crowley's sexual abuse of....


*yawn*


Seriously, is there any occultist alive today who does not know the legend of Wicca and Golden Dawn's creepy family member, the randy Aleister Crowley? Of the hearts he broke? Of the demons and drugs he ingested? Of the goats he touched?


It is not news that he did such things. In fact, I am fairly sure that he bragged about doing such things. I could be wrong about the bragging; I haven't read any of his works in over a decade.*


[*Yes, I know--I have to turn in my magical union card right now, for ignoring all the great things found in Crowley's works. But I have been busy: hexing Presidents; causing tires to fall off the back of trucks; cleaning litter boxes; debating about whether or not, I want to go back to university to earn my Masters degree; writing a horrible satire about the true history of the modern occult world--you know--unimportant stuff.]


My rule of thumb: Assume Crowley sexually harassed everyone he ever met. And that he porked everyone who didn't run away fast enough. If he was alive today, he would still be the creepy uncle saying, "You are sexy. Want to do drugs and make out?"**


[**It should be noted that there are a couple of people in the modern occult community that I think that even Crowley would say, "Thanks, but no thanks" to if the possibility of porking them ever came up. In fact, some of his greatest haters fall under the label: "So fugly that even Aleister Crowley would not do them."]


The wonderfulness about my rule of thumb is that I do not have to waste time wondering if he sexually harassed, and possibly porked someone. I can go directly to the question that his lifestyle always generates: "Could Creepy Uncle Al be right about the nature of the universe?"


And the question comes up a lot.


The genius occult leader who came out and shouted, "It is time to reveal Crowley's worst sexual misdeeds!!!" is a little late to the party.*** I understand that talking about powerful men abusing their positions and grabbing pussy while stroking their pickle is the hot topic of the month. Yes, let's hop on that flaming dumpster fire of a parade float, shall we?


[***In all fairness, the occult leader may have gone on to do something witty, like post pictures of cute goats--I don't know--I do not read his posts because: 1--I am not interested in Alt-Right politics, 2--He has been making up lies for nearly twenty years about all the greatest occultists, 3--It is more fun to clean out the litter boxes, and 4--I am banned and blocked from his Facebook group. The most important reason for not reading his stuff is number three; least important is four...because I could make a sock if I really, really wanted to read his posts.]


 That flaming dumpster fire of a parade float comes by once a day if you live near the intersection of MagicIsFun and CrowleyWasTheGreatestAdeptEver. And it has been running for years--it is more reliable than any bus or train I have ever encountered. At least once a day on the internet, someone says...


"Aleister Crowley was a sexual predator; and therefore, we should toss all his stuff into a dumpster and set fire to it because there is absolutely no way that a pervert could create a decent occult system with any merit in it."


Wait, that sounded too educated. Let me try again...


"Crowley! Sex! Drugs! Satan! Bad! Very bad! Run away!"


This is the type of person who does not listen to eighties hair metal because the musicians are indulging in Sex! Drugs! Satan!...and maybe Crowley!


Because nothing entertaining and interesting has ever been created from that evils of a rock and roll lifestyle.


And Aleister Crowley was definitely someone who lived a rock and roll lifestyle. It is expected that such people live such a outrageous lifestyle. If you met Crowley, you would be disappointed if he didn't offer you some candy and a ride in his van. (You don't want to be one of the fugly people, do you?)


So the real issue is not that Aleister Crowley was a sexual menace to society, but rather "Does the work of Aleister Crowley contribute to our knowledge of the occult sciences and its history?"


And the answer to that is: Yes.****


[****More so than photocopying the same ritual fifteen times, and declaring it a masterpiece.]


Like it or not, Crowley contributed ideas and beliefs to the modern occult world. He is a source for what the early Golden Dawn looked like. His works have been raided for lessons and rituals by many modern occultists. He influenced a lot of people, including members of both modern Golden Dawn and Wicca. He is important.


And not liking his rock and roll lifestyle does not change that fact.


Sorry.


Next time you want the internet to go wild, I suggest posting pictures of cute goats.

If you do not find Aleister Crowley sexy, then there is something wrong with you...like you have eyes.

Mix and match divination (just toss everything into the pot)

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Welcome to another round of the Tarot Blog Hop. Today's theme is the simple question: 

"Do you combine Tarot with any other divination system? Why or why not?"

Short answer: Yes...because I am a member of the Golden Dawn tradition.

Long answer: Well, let me illustrate what I am doing. 

Golden Dawn, a system of lodge initiations and magical instruction, founded in 1888, has mixing the Tarot with other forms of divination built into the system since day one. The common method of associating the Tarot cards with astrology that many of us know, actually first appears in the Cipher Manuscript of Golden Dawn. The Cipher Manuscript, the foundational document of Golden Dawn, lists the associations for the Major Arcana with the planets and zodiac signs. It also shows a connection of astrology with the system of divination known as geomancy.

Whoever created the Cipher Manuscript, probably the Victorian Masonic authority and writer, Kenneth Mackenzie, worked out a system of correspondence between the Kabbalah, the geomantic symbols, Tarot, and astrology. The connection between the Tarot, kabbalah, and astrology (& geomancy with astrology) was not a new idea, but the Cipher Manuscript arrangement was the one that ended up in Golden Dawn, and then spread outward into the general esoteric occult community, through the works of A. E. Waite and Aleister Crowley, and became the standard in the English branch of the Western Mystery Traditions.

(Recently, I saw an argument that claimed that Mackenzie [or whoever created the Cipher Manuscript] got his system of Tarot to astrology associations from Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers [one of the co-chiefs of the original Golden Dawn]--there is only one problem with this idea: Whoever created the Cipher Manuscript actually first assigned Strength and Justice one way to astrology, and then changed their mind in a later section--hardly what you would do if you inherited the system from someone else.)

Astrological decans and the Tarot (Golden Dawn tradition).

Thanks to the student of Golden Dawn learning these associations, they tend to explain the occult symbols in a great circle, going from one system of esoteric modeling to another, eventually ending up back at the beginning of the circle which is to say they continue to go around in a circle.

One of the exercises required from the practicing Adept Minor is to perform three operations for the same subject of a divination. In other words, the Adept Minor asks a question, and creates a geomantic shield, an astrological (horary) chart, and does a Tarot spread (Opening of the Key) for the question--comparing the three readings with one another.

It should be noted that once one passes their Adept Minor exams, that one often just sticks with a single style of divination after that point. But there are always those who continue to mix and match divination systems...

...freaks like myself.

As an example of a mix and match operation, let's look at one of my ongoing projects--the examination of astrology charts using the symbols of the Tarot and geomancy to extract meaning--a form of mediation on parts of an astrology chart.

For instance, in my birth chart, I have my natal Moon in the sign of Scorpio. Using the Tarot, the astrological position of the Moon in my birth chart can be depicted by the High Priestess (Moon), Death (Scorpio), and the fact that the moon is in the 20th degree of Scorpio with the Seven of Cups (the Minor Arcana associated with the third decan of Scorpio).

(A point of interest is that not only do I suffer a Moon in Scorpio, so did my mother and her sister, making an interesting familial dynamic.)

Stage one of this odd method--with Via, Populus and Rebis for Moon in Scorpio.

Now, my Moon is squared to my Mercury in Leo, my only planet in a Fire sign, which can be depicted with the Magician (Mercury), Strength (Leo), and the Seven of Wands (for the 21st degree of Leo which is in the third decan of the sign).

(Interestingly enough, my mother's Mercury is also in a Fire sign, that of Aries. If you ignore Pluto, it is her only planet in a Fire sign. By the way, the more I examine the charts of my relatives, the more such similarities I have discovered.) 

Stage two with Albus, Conjuntio, Fortuna Major, and Fortuna Minor for Mercury in Leo.

Now, taking the associated geomancy symbols for the planets and signs, I can further extend the symbolism by treating the geomantic symbols as part of a geomantic shield. (A geomantic shield is like a Tarot spread, but with geomancy.)

Adding and combining the points of the geomantic symbols (a standard procedure in geomancy), I end up with two more bits of information, the geomantic symbols of the Moon and Aquarius. Interestingly enough, one of the decans of Aquarius is sub-ruled by the Moon, so I end up with another symbol to add to the mix.

So I end up with another High Priestess (Moon), as well as the Star (Aquarius) and the Seven of Swords (another third decan card). 

Stage three with Via and Tristitia representing the dynamic of the Square aspect.

Now does any of this make sense? Maybe. Maybe not.

But I do exhibit a pattern of being argumentative when the (current) Moon is in Scorpio or in a Square aspect to that, especially when it comes to defending my ideals; and when I realize that it is once again that time of the month, I tend to wander off without another word rather than continue to abuse other people.

In the end, it does not matter if it is nonsense or not--what matters is that it allows me to examine parts of horoscopes from a different angle.

Blessed be.

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Are binding spells evil? (Especially if it is binding President Trump)

One of the objections that I have encountered about the idea of binding President Trump and his administration is the idea that because binding spells seek to restrict their actions, binding spells are automatically black magic full of evil intent.

In other words, if it is the Trump's administration's will to destroy religious freedom and civil rights while making the worthless poor give more money to the rich, then we just have to sit here and soak up the damage like good little wage-slaves--because it is Trump's True Will.

By the logic of "it is wrong to try to derail the True Will of another person," we are not allowed any magic at all. So you are not allowed to protect yourselves against rapists, murderers, terrorists, abusive relationships, evil (or just plain incompetent self-serving) politicians because you might stop them from fulfilling their True Will.

Or to put it in really simple terms, in order to allow them to fulfill their True Will, you have to willingly be a victim. Yes, your True Will is supposed to be all about letting others walk all over you, causing whatever injury they like to you because we don't want to hurt someone else trying to fulfill their own True Will. 

(For the one person who does not know why I keep capitalizing "True Will": It is a concept that was popularized by the late great occultist Aleister Crowley. Essentially, you are on the Earth to fulfill some purpose, and that is your True Will. And your only right is to fulfill that True Will. Unfortunately, many people have used the concept to argue that whatever whim they currently feel is their True Will. Want to divorce your wife? True Will. Want to not pay your bills? True Will. Want to call other people names? True Will. Want to use nuclear weapons? True Will. And because it is your True Will, no one else can tell you that you are wrong. Plus they have to let you do it, no matter what the consequences. Neat, isn't it? You can be a total bastard, causing harm to lots of other people, and be fulfilling your life's purpose at the same time.)

The punchline of this objection to the Global Binding Ritual of the orange ferret-wearing shitgibbon is that some of the very people who have put forth this objection have done public and private rituals to limit the actions of other people.

Laundry list time!!! Rites to restrict the actions of the leaders of other spiritual groups (sometimes, violent rites using watermelons); global rites to restrict ISIL and protect the women and witches living in their domain; rituals to protect clean water and prevent oil pipelines (opps, you were wrong to do that, according to the Great and Powerful Donald "Jesus" Trump); rites to protect gun rights; rites to make politicians overturn the right for women to have abortions; rituals to stop people from committing terrorism and murders; rituals to...well, you get the point.

And if you follow the logic of "you can't restrict the will of another person," then society is not allowed to have prisons, schools, laws and regulations, or even a f***ing government in the first place.

"But Trump was elected by the American people..." Or maybe he was elected by the Russians. Either way, over half the votes went to the other candidate. And many of the promises that Trump used to get elected, he has no intention of fulfilling--because it might interfere with his desire to make himself and his friends even richer and more in control than they already are.

"But we would have not protested if Hillary won..." says those who were openly talking about pressing their Representatives to investigate and impeach Hillary Clinton if she won the election, who talked about going out in the streets and screaming at her until she did exactly want they wanted her to do (resign from the presidency), who talked about being willing to take up arms and fight a civil war to remove her from power if she became President.

No, no, no.

The problem here is not that binding spells are automatically evil and the protests wrong. It is the fact that we are binding someone that they feel is somehow going to make them rich and powerful while getting rid of all those nasty people who do not think like they do. They would have been perfectly fine binding Hillary (in fact, many talked about doing exactly that if she won), but we are not allowed to touch their poster child of whatever privilege they cling to.

Double standard, much?!?

If Trump decides to summon Cthulhu, you are not allowed to do anything about it--because it is Trump, and he can do whatever he wants in his quest to destroy reality as we know it. Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!!! Trump nom kav!!! Cthulhu nom kav Trump!!!

Dates for future Global Bind Donald J. Trump rituals 

[Asterisked * dates are slightly moved from the last quarter crescent moon to occur on significant dates.]

2017

February 24; March 26; April 24; May 23; *June 21* (*Summer Solstice*); July 21; August 19; September 18; October 17; November 16; December 16

I think that the Cthulhu R'lyeh chant is a nice touch.

2018

January 14; February 13; March 15; April 13; June 11; July 11; August 9; September 7; October 7; November 5; December 5

2019

January 4; February 2; March 4; April 3; May 2; June 1; June 30; July 30; August 28; September 26; October 26; November 24; December 24

2020

January 22; February 21; March 22; April 20; May 20; June 18; July 18; August 23; September 15; October 14; November 13; December 12

2021 (Oh my god--you are predicting that he is going to be re-elected for a second term.)

January 13; February 9; March 11; April 9; May 9; June 7; July 7; August 6; September 4; October 4; November 2; December 2; December 31

2022

January 30; February 28; March 29; April 28; May 27; June 26; July 26; August 24; September 23; October 23; November 21; December 21

2023

January 19; February 18; March 19; April 17; May 17; *June 14* (*Donald J. Trump’s 77th birthday*); July 15; August 13; September 12; October 12; November 10; December 10

2024

January 9; February 7; March 8; April 6; May 6; June 4; *July 4* (*Independence Day*); *August 1* (*Lammas*); August 31; September 30; October 30; November 28; December 28

[The compiler of this list offered to continue on, but I had to kill them for even joking about the possibility of Trump somehow getting a third term.]

Happy death-day Aliester Crowley

On this day, December 1st, in 1947, the Great Beast Aliester Crowley died. (In Thelemic circles, today is called the Greater Feast of Aliester Crowley.)

One of my favorite pictures of the Most Evil Man in the world.

People are still using him as an example of a really powerful magician.

Crowley is Day and EAK (yes, I said that)

Today, in a Facebook discussion, I said that Aleister Crowley was the Christian Day and E.A. Koetting of his day (lawsuit happy, insulting, drug-using glory hound who insisted that the world rotated around his revelations and teachings). Now, I realize that this was an unfair comparison; but damn it, I could not come up with a better one to illustrate how Crowley acted in his lifetime.

And now for some memes...

Would Crowley do Miley? Maybe if she sounded like a goat.

Mandatory Koetting joke with that age old question. 

Sorry, this Christian Day meme always makes me laugh. 

Now to be fair, I do think that two of these three would be interesting to have a drink with. The third one, well, I am fortunate that I never have to worry about running into him.

And speaking of people I won't drink with: Why did I not include [name redacted]? Because no one knows who the fuck he is! I was trying to illustrate why Crowley was so scandalous in his lifetime--not make him roll over in his grave--and a complete unknown (outside of those circles) does not serve the purpose of the joke, even if he does like to claim that he is more famous than Crowley. Remember any joke you have to explain does not work (with the exceptation of Eddie Izzard, who is great at making jokes that need explaination work).

And this concludes today's edition of "Yes, I fucking said that." Tune in tomorrow when I go on to makes jokes about how Cthulhu would make a better President than anyone currently running.

Flash review of Liber L vel Bogus

Today, I received my review copy of Liber L. vel Bogus--The Real Confession of Aleister Crowley (Richard T. Cole).  The basic premise of the book is that Crowley faked the receivership of the Book of the Law. And here is a flash review of the book that I posted to YouTube.

That's a paddin! (Things not to say in Golden Dawn forums)

Go ahead---use those Bible quotes to prove that you are right.

Last night, I had an encounter with a troll on one of the Facebook Golden Dawn groups. In honor of this brave troll (he was proud to be Norse--which made him better than the members of the Golden Dawn), I present ten things to say if you want to get a paddlin' and booted from a group that I moderate (and yes, I do moderate a couple of Facebook groups).

1: I have never opened a book on Golden Dawn, but I know that Golden Dawn members are doing it wrong.

2: Golden Dawn Orders are the babysitters of the occult.

3: Aleister Crowley was (and will always be) the most important member of Golden Dawn.

4. Golden Dawn magic obviously does not work because none of the Golden Dawn members are lottery winners.

5. Golden Dawn, the magical Order, is the same as the Greek political party, Chrysi Augi.

6. Come join my vastly superior magical Order.

7. The magicians of Golden Dawn are nothing more than cry baby divas.

8. Master Magicians and Adepts are fighting with one another for the privilege to teach me.

9. Golden Dawn is the Satanist pawn of the SRIA Illuminati.

10. I know the answer to your question. It is in my expensive book that I have written---go buy it right now!  

And if this was not enough to inspire your trollish nature, and you want to go for the ultimate trolling status and that honorable banned trophy, watch this important instructional video by JP Sears. 

International Talk Like A Pirate Day

Pirate Kitty would like some rum cooked shrimp for his dinner.

Hi everyone! Today be September 19, and that means that it be International Talk Like A Pirate Day.

And let's be honest, everyone in Golden Dawn be a pirate. It be a long and noble tradition we have.

Don't believe me? Well, consider this.

Sometime before 1888, a mesterious man wrote down t' treaayes o' a secret lodge tradition in a document that we now call t' Cipher Manuscript. This was probably Kenneth MacKenzie. Some claim that this system was stolen from a previous system o' lodge initiation. Maybe even from Freemasons or t' evil SRIA. Therefore, MacKenzie be a pirate.

MacKenzie went t' Davy Jones' locker. Leavin' his widow with a pile o' papers that she did not want. Enter William Westcott, a man o' knowledge, and a conjuror of dead men ghosts.

Westcott convinces MacKenzie's bonnie lass that she should give him t' papers, because he belongs t' t' SRIA. T' Cipher Manuscript was not t' booty o' t' SRIA (accordin' t' some). Sad Widow gives up t' papers t' Westcott, a crime o' petty copyrites infrin'ement. Therefore, Westcott be a bigger pirate than MacKenzie.

Westcott then ropes a nice young man by t' name o' Samuel Mathers t' help recruit members t' work this awesome system o' spiritual advancement. Westcott also creates a set o' letters from a person who does not exist to shore up his claim t' t' treaaye. Mathers knows that t' letters be fake. Therefore, Mathers be a pirate.

Later, Mathers fights Westcott. T' prize? Complete control o' t' good Order o' t' Ancient Golden Dawn. Mathers does this by twirlin' a cutlas around while shoutin' that Westcott be a liar. Mathers sails t' France, gets involved in politics and bebuckos t' sinister Aleister Crowley. Mathers be even bigger pirate than Westcott.

Mathers t' keep his crew obeyin' his orders, then created a set o' invisible buckos who told him how wonderful he was, and how his students were t' pay him their last bit of gold. Mathers not only be big pirate, but a delusional creator o' tall tales and creepy ghost stories too.

Crowley a kind young man who fancied everythin' that moved includin' both your grandmother and grandfather, thought that this was bad behavior on t' part o' Mathers. So Crowley fought Mathers. T' prize? T' hearts and minds o' young men and beauties everywhere. And maybe their sex too. And their goats. Crowley shot at Mathers usin' a self-published set o' books, a new system o' attainment, and a boatful o' lawyers. Crowley also had invisible buckos, who told him that he was t' Messiah and t' best thin' since white bread. Crowley liked t' feed his followers t' demons and sharks. He also like t' be in t' newspapers very much. He reveled in his wickedness by writin' prose and poetry for young scallywags. Crowley be even bigger pirate than Mathers, and more drunk than a skunk to boot, but was very sexy.

In t' meantime, several other people started t' run businesses based on t' rituals and lessons o' t' Golden Dawn. Some o' them were con-beauties, and some were scurvy dogs. They all claimed t' gold o' t' seekers o' t' Golden Dawn. They were all pirates.

Then along came a nice Jewish lad by t' name o' Israel Regardie. He saw all t' pirates as dubious crew who should be made t' walk t' plank. He stole their rituals and lectures, hence robbin' them o' their hard-earned gold. He published as did t' wicked Crowley. This made many people upset with him. They claimed that he was a bigger pirate than they were.

Many students and seekers found t' writin's o' Crowley and Mathers and searched for t' treaaye o' Golden Dawn. Some o' them had lawyers and tame sharks and claimed t' be t' sole heirs o' Westcott, Mathers and Crowley. Others just dug a lot o' holes. Obviously, all o' these men and beauties were pirates also.

T' recap, six men sat on a dead man's chest and refused to share the loot. Six pirates, seven--counting you!

Pass the rum, and give another shrimp to the cat.

Happy International Talk Like A Pirate Day!

777 Book of Correspondences

This is my 777th blog post, so today I chose to talk about (drum roll please)...777.

777 is Aleister Crowley's expanded and modified version of the Golden Dawn document known as The Book of Correspondences. Just like the guide sheet for the creation of Godforms seems to have been restricted to the office of Hierophant, the Book of Correspondence seems to been restricted to the office of Praemonstrator. This is not to say that other members did not know of its existence. Parts of it was spoon-fed to the students of the system in the Knowledge Lectures of the various Grades. By the time that one was an Adept Minor, one had a large part of the Book of Correspondences available to them. Inside the Order, one could assemble the known parts that were circulated among the Knowledge Lectures, and add to it, making a personal copy of the document (much like the members of BOTA end up with a Book of Numbers--think Sepher Sephiroth). Or at least, that is the way I understand the extent of its circulation among the Order.

Crowley was most likely working from Allen Bennett's personal copy. Today, most ceremonial magicians own a copy issued though Weiser. I brought my copy back in September 1994; it is now held together with packing tape. I filled a couple of hardbound journals with some additional material that I mapped to the paths of the Tree of Life.

777 was not the first set of correspondences to be published. Agrippa and several magical calendars predate Crowley's publication, as do some materials focused on astrology. But I will admit that for organization, Crowley is the winner.

In recent times, there have been several books that have expanded the possibilities of information to be included in one's personal copy of the Book of Correspondences. These include The Magician's Companion: A Practical Encyclopdic Guide to Magical & Religious Symbolism (Bill Whitcomb) and The Magician's Tables: A Complete Book of Correspondences (Alan Richardson).

The best expansion of 777 (at this time) is Stephen Skinner's The Complete Magician's Tables. Not all the tables in Skinner's work agree with Crowley's--but that is ok. And I love randomly googling names from his Uniform Timeline.

Needless to say, my favorite version is my own. I think most working magicians and witches would say the same. After all, it is the version that corresponds exactly with the associations that I use in my own personal magical workings.

Ultimate extreme of secrecy

Here is a comment that I made on another blog that I want to expand on:

By the extreme rule of secrecy, everything is oath-bound and nothing can ever be said (or written) unless the person you are talking to was involved in an intiation or ritual that you were physically present at.

In other words, anything that was ever secret is still considered oathbound. And nothing can ever be removed from the oathbound category once it was declared oathbound.

By the way, this means that not only were Israel Regardie and Aleister Crowley oathbreakers, but so was William Wynn Westcott and Samuel Liddell (MacGregor) Mathers...because they all wrote about things that at one time was covered under the secrecy oaths of a previous esoteric tradition or society.

This is the ultimate extreme of secrecy. It is the extreme rule that says that if you are involved in the esoteric, you never, ever talk about it in public. The only time you talk about the esoteric and oathbound material is behind closed doors with a guard outside.

This is a level of secrecy that no esoteric writer (or blogger) can actually uphold. You cannot even advertise your own esoteric society if you are obeying this extreme understanding of secrecy.

Therefore, I honestly do not know anyone who goes this extreme route...except for those who would like no one else to talk about the esoteric. These are typically students who think that they understand the real purpose of secrecy, and have missed the boat. I think that we have all dealt with these people at one time or another.

By the way, one of the weird things about this level of secrecy is that stuff that the esoteric traditions adapt and take into their system also becomes oathbound. For the instance, the Hebrew alphabet, invented for things like accounting, once taken into an esoteric system (Kabbalah) is now considered oathbound and secret. Therefore even the proper order of the Hebrew Alphabet cannot be discussed if you are an initiate of an extreme secrecy tradition without a guard at the door.

Basic math, the ability to start a fire, most mythology, color theory---all these subjects you have to quit talking about if you are a member of the extreme secrecy camp.

If you find this extreme level of secrecy silly, you are not alone. But just remember there are those students out there, who despite discovering the first hints of the esoteric traditions from books, who believe that this is the level of secrecy that the esoteric traditions have to adhere to.

Good luck with your meat fight!



One of my favorite scenes from Dharma and Greg.

Ok, I have hit the point where I firmly suspect that I am going to be blacklisted because I refuse to see that Nick Farrell was only bad-mouthing one particular group that claims AO descent in the introduction to King Over the Water: Samuel Mathers and the Golden Dawn. Furthermore, I refuse to retract my good review of the book.

Let me be clear, I have personnally seen other groups doing this...aka in living memory and within the last decade. The trademark did not stop this from happening; it merely removed it from public view. Some of these leaders were bad. And just because your group is good today, it does not mean that it will be good tommorrow. Therefore, I see the need for the warning, and I have serious doubts that it was only referring to one particular group. And no, I do not believe that descent from the original Order, or communication with Secret Chiefs, automatically makes you good guys.

I am not interested in your proof that you are real and your leader pure---let me be clear---I have personnally been buried by people claiming descent from the AO; I have also been burned by people claiming to be communicating with the Secret Chiefs (Third Order). I do not need to see Farrell's proof that people have abused the vaccuum that a lack of information has generated---I have experienced the abuse first hand.

I may not only have a Crowley in my woodpile; I may also have a Mathers in my woodpile. I have been told that my lineage traces through Mathers. Of course, because I am not a member of the trademarked organization, therefore I am no longer AO.

When you demand that Farrell apologizes to everyone in the AO community, am I one of the people he is supposed to apologize to? No. Because I am not a card-carrying member of the trademarked Order.

Therefore, forgive me...and go ahead blacklist me...because I am just as AO as the rest of you (according to some of the people who I have dealt with) and I do not see the need for Farrell to apologize to me (because of abuse by people who claimed to be AO).

Good luck with your meat fight!

Concord and Peace of the Three

S.R. just posted an appeal for peace in the Golden Dawn community. Having experienced the Denver Witch War of the 80s and having been an "active bystander" in the flaming Golden Dawn feud of the last decade (only half of its length), I doubt peace will actually occur. I honestly do not see any chance for peace in the Golden Dawn community until one of the camps steps completely away from the Golden Dawn label, especially considering how wide the gap is between the perception of the two parties of what Golden Dawn is about.

As proof that such a peace is possible, S.R. notes that he was taught that Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers (Head of the Rosicrucian Order of the Alpha et Omega), Dr. Robert William Felkin (Head of the Stella Matutina), and Arthur Edward Waite (Head of the Holy Order of the Golden Dawn) met and agreed to mutually recognize each other's Orders.

This is only partially true. A "working truce" occurred, but there is no evidence that it ever was a formal meeting and recognition between the three. And it fall apart quickly.

Initially, there was a concord between the Stella Matutina and the Independent and Rectified Rite (Waite). This concord broke because Waite discovered that Felkin was communicating with J.W. Brodie-Innes, Mathers, and Westcott. Waite could not tolerate peace with Mathers or any of his supporters.

And officially, there is a lack of peace between the three Orders.

When the Fellowship of the Rosy Cross formed in 1915, after the Independent Rite suffered a series of schisms, its constitution said "The Independent and Rectified Rite, with its dependencies, if any, in so far as now in activity, and the Stella Matutina Temple, together with its dependencies, are not in communion with the Fellowship of the Rosy Cross, and cannot be Visited or Joined."

Likewise, the 1916 New Constitution of the Stella Matutina says, "Members of any other Temples applying for admission, must be clearly warned that they will be required to give a definite pledge not to work in future with or under D.D.C.F. [Deo Duce Comite Ferro--Mathers], S.R. [Sacramentum Regis---Waite], Sub Spe, or Dr B. [Brodie-Innes]." Furthermore, in the section about the conditions where expulsion of memebrs is talked about, besides mentioning that six members were expelled when the Order broke with D.D.C.F., it says, "I have had to ask one Member to resign, because she told me she intended to join S.R.'s new Society."

And people outside the Concord of the Three did not foresee lasting peace between them. For instance, Westcott presumed that after his death that the Three, along with "Crowley and Co." would "make claims on my G.D. properties and may each make public claims derogatory to my historical interests in the G.D. and Isis [Urania] Temple."

Based on all this, if there was ever a meeting between Mathers, Felkin and Waite, the resulting peace did not last very long (and I really doubt that the meeting actually happened). And can you really picture Mathers agreeing that anyone else was legit?!

As for a possible peace between the two current Golden Dawn camps, I will not hold my breath; for the one side will only allow peace when the other side acknowledges their absolute right to rule the entire tradition, and the other side refuses to allow themselves to be repeatedly trashed as being less than fully Golden Dawn. That is how I see it. If you disagree, you know where to comment.

AoW Crowley in the Woodpile

A week ago (or was it two weeks ago?) I openly noted that I was kicking around the question of how one's lineage was affected by having a villian in your lineage. "Does having Aleister Crowley in your lineage make you less of an Adept?"

The reason that I started thinking about this question again (it is a periodic re-occurring question) was that I had encountered some blog posts about lineage that were arguing that you could not have an initiation higher than the person's initiating you; furthermore, Grades are actually a measure of spiritual development--and NOT magical development. Therefore, it is doubtful that a sinner could initiate someone into Neophyte even.

Now, this is always an interesting question for me...because if you believe the story that I was told by one of my initiators, part of my lineage actually traces back through the infamous Aleister Crowley. That is right, my lineage may go back to Crowley and MacGregor Mathers.

Of course, if you believe that a sinner like Crowley cannot pass on a lineage, then the initiations I got from that lineage does not count. In fact, I can point to dubious characters in all the other lineages that I supposely have. Therefore by the logic and beliefs of many people, I am not an initiate at all.

To add a cherry on top, having sat in the hot seat and initiated people myself into the Golden Dawn system, there are people who trace their GD lineage through me. While I am not as bad as Crowley, there are some people who think that I am more than slightly evil.

And there are some people who do not even know that their lineage traces through me. (Oh, you know how that happens.) One should really pity those poor souls.

When I openly started kicking around this question this time around, someone pointed out that the question is really about the spiritual technology and not the person giving the initiation. That answer is fine...provided that there is only one true Golden Dawn, and everyone outside of the real Golden Dawn is not an initate at all.

(Please remember that everyone in the 80s and 90s claimed to be the one and only true Golden Dawn. Someone obviously had to be lying. My membership in an Order was based more on who I discovered first than on what they claimed to offer.)

Problem is that I do not believe that there is only one true Golden Dawn. I believe that all initiations have an effect on the person undergoing them. Therefore, the question is really about how badly does it affect someone to undergo an initiation where the officers are not ALL SAINTS armed with the COMPLETE KNOWLEDGE OF THE 10=1. Yes, I am serious. Saints who are 10=1s would be the ultimate initiation team.

(Of course, given the fact that there are only allowed to be twelve/twenty-four/thirty-six/seventy-two/whater-your-number-is Magus 9=2s in the entire world at any one time, logic tells us that the perfect initiation team is more myth than actual fact. Especially when you consider the number of groups that claim that there is only one 10=1 alive at any one time. And this is not even accounting for the groups who do not believe that Third Order Grades can be held by living physical human beings.)

Everyone who suffered with a team of initiators who were less than full 10=1s has been dealt a lineage with holes and problems in it. (I do mean the whole team has to be 10=1s--therefore the Neophyte Grade needs eleven 10=1s to man all the officer stations in order to properly do the Neophyte initiation.)

Lesser members do not have the full spiritual technology. Therefore, by logic of the spiritual technology model combined with the idea that officers must know and master it all (otherwise their ritual performances are flawed), only a person with access and mastery of the complete system, aka a 10=1, can provide a complete initiation. Logically by this style of thinking, only Third Order, and only those of the very highest Grade, should be giving initiations to anyone.

Yet we live in a world that this is not true. For instance, in the very first days of the Golden Dawn, there was only three officers and (let's be honest) they were not yet fully instructed in the system yet. Their rituals were flawed...their initiates were flawed...and the cycle goes on and on. Therefore, most initiates in Golden Dawn have undergone flawed initations.

So the real question becomes how do you deal with the fact that you have a Crowley in the woodpile. The answer is keep collecting lineages (to better your chances of connecting to a better stocked lineage) aka "healing your lineage" and/or by doing the advanced work of the system. The latter unfortunately requires finding the correct work to do, which also leads to collecting multiple lineages. Hence the only way to make sure that the rot of Crowley (or whoever your favorite villian is) does not bog you down is to join every Golden Dawn Order that will let you in the door. And don't trust anyone who claims to possess the only correct way to do things...because they might be wrong. You must collect all the lineages if you want to be absolutely sure that you have the correct spiritual technology.

Of course, if you are like me, a poor college student with little spare time and money, that is not really an option. In that case, you just have to make your best guess and cross your fingers. And in my case, let's be honest, everyone knows how incorrect my decision was.

"What the hell?! It is a tadpole--I wanted a dragon." "That is not a tadpole; that's a baby salmander." "A baby salmander?! I wanted a dragon." "Patience, patience, patience."

Rule 1 of magical mottos

[Here is a peek of one of the small ebooks that I am currently working on.]

The first rule to remember about your motto is that it is supposed to be personal to you. The motto represents a channel which the spiritual and magical energies that you are exposed to during initiations and your private magical work are directed through. This channel should represent your spiritual aspirations, and not those of another person.


The fact that it should represent your own spiritual aspirations, and not another person’s, means that being given a motto by someone else, whether a guru or Order superior, is undesirable. After all, who knows your personal spiritual aspirations best? Hopefully, it is you.

Likewise, recycling the motto of a previous member of the Order is unwise, for the mottos of previous members represent their spiritual aspirations, not yours. Furthermore, a recycled motto carries with it part of the karma of its original possessor. A common initiate that many people recycle mottos from is Aleister Crowley, the founder of Thelema. While it is true that Crowley was a great Adept, and perhaps even the higher Grade that he claimed to possess, his mottos come with a heavy price. Before even remotely considering recycling a previously used motto, one needs to consider if they are willing to help another initiate (living or deceased) work on their karma while ignoring one’s own karma and aspirations.

QoW A Crowley in the Woodpile

Question of the week: If one's lineage goes through Aleister Crowley,* are you somehow less of an initiate because of it? If so, why? If not, why not?

*Or whoever your favorite villian is (Pat Zalewski, Nick Farrell, Robert Zink, David Griffin, Chic Cicero, Israel Regardie, or that bloke in Denver Colorado).

Disclosure Update 2012

Happy Secular New Year!

Once again, it is time to publish an update to the myriad of disclosure statements that I already have on this blog.

[This disclosure is aimed at a particular school of thought---I am sorry, but I disagree with you. Yet given the fact that you have objected to my book reviews and tried to get me to issue a disclosure on every book review stating (more or less) that the reader should not read my book reviews because of my lack of membership in a correct and true Golden Dawn Order, I feel that I must issue this disclosure before you insist that I issue one.]

Over the past year, it has been revealed that the Secret Chiefs (Third Order) broke contact with Mathers in 1906 when Crowley published the Golden Dawn rituals and the first two rituals of the RR et AC, along with some of the teachings developed by Mathers. The reasons for this severing of contact was that Mathers allowed an untrustworthy member into his Order, one who broke his secrecy oaths, and that Mathers had went too far in his mixing of egregores (lores, traditions, currents, energies) that were never meant to be mixed. In other words, the Third Order had no clue what Mathers was doing until Crowley published the rituals and Inner Order material which just added to the insult that someone had broken their secrecy oath.

The reason that I must issue a disclosure update is that the fact that I rather like the mixing of traditions and lores. And in the interests of keeping you safe and ensuring that you only become a member of legitimate and recognized Orders (which the BIOGD/BIORC is not), so that you might someday be allowed into the glories of Third Order, you must be warned not to consider joining the Order I belong to.

Remember the words of an acknowledged expert in this matter:

"[The] fact is that the Third Order must find you...if you are deemed worthy they will eventually contact you. [The] only way in being spotted by them is by joining any of the true and authentic Rosicrucian bodies."

The fact that I do not think that Mathers went too far, besides being a working writer, ensures that I will never be contacted by the Third Order. If you ever hope to be contacted by them, you really should not be reading anything that I write. This is especially true considering that a lot of my work over the years has been involved in expanding the results of this errorous set of teachings. And whatever you do, resist the urge to come back tomorrow to read my post about the mixing of symbols as revealed by the Cipher Manuscript.

Ye have been warned.

Happy Day of the Dead

There are days that I can't help thinking about what my ancestors (both physical and spiritual) would think of my current activities. Today is one of those days. Today is Dia de los Muertos, (Day of the Dead).

What would my ancestors think of me, a non-traditional university student who seems to think that cats are the Secret Chiefs and that writing essays about the occult and posting them in public is perfectly fine?

Ironically, the two physical ancestors that I would most be concerned with their opinion, probably would have no problem with my activities. One of them used to ask why it was ok to have pictures of Jesus everywhere, but not pictures of the horned god. The other one would only find fault in the fact that it took me so long to enroll in college, and that I am not treating my business as a writer as seriously as I should.

No, it is the spiritual ancestors that would have a problem with me. Mathers would hate me for not believing many of his claims (my left foot is more Scottish than you are). Westcott would hate me because I am not as serious in lodge as I should be.  Yeats would hate me for not studying more poetry.

And of the spiritual ancestors that would sort of approve of me, Crowley is hardly a prize. In fact, Crowley would think that I need to annoy more people.

As for my living spiritual ancestors, who know who they are, I am quite sure that there are days they wonder how I managed to get into the clubhouse.

Of course, someday I will be dead, and someone's ancestor...I plan on haunting that person a lot.

I swore I have earned the love of my ancestors---sort of.

Mathers made a mess of things

The Secret Chiefs are not amused

There are some things that one does not do on the blogosphere and the forums if one does not want to be accused of being a flaming troll. One of which is to point out that certain people made a royal mess of the system. This list includes MacGregor Mathers, Moina Mathers, Aleister Crowley, Wynn Westcott, and Paul Foster Case.

Call any of these people less than perfect, and you find yourself met with a mob armed with pitchforks and flaming torches. Each one of these people have been enshrined in the Hall of Perfect Adepts, and no lesser mortal is allowed to point out that their product could be improved upon.

Given that fact, the most that you can do is edge up and hint at the fact that product improvement could happen. And even that will get you a "Shut up! You are just trying to destory the Orders built upon their work."

So I felt a certain amount of amusement...and a certain amount of anger...when I saw today who admitted that Mathers screwed some things up. Yes, they have been part of the mob of angry villagers. I guess it is ok for them to say it, but not the rest of us.

They are not revealing anything by stating this fact. They are not the first to say this. They have merely trained the rest of us to avoid the subject like the plague when it comes up in the public sphere.

The rest of us only talk about this fact in private. One of my instructors has several lessons that are designed to help the Adept Minor realize that perhaps Mathers' work is not up to par. And the members of my own lodge have heard me state several times that there are problems with the Mathers' material.

Of course, my opinion cannot be stated out loud in public because I do not have the sanction of the Third Order. If I would have said this, I would have sensative body parts nailed to the wall.

I am annoyed; I am pissed; and I wonder how one gets the right to blackmail the rest of the community to shut up, so that one can be the first to say something publically that the rest of us have been saying in private for a long time.

(Oh, I am not being completely truthful here. An unholy trio have been calling Mathers "a masonic loon" publically for some time because of the mess he made of the system. I guess not everyone cares if they are set on fire by an angry mob.)

Why is Crowley taboo

One of the comments to my previous post (about having read Crowley on occasion) brought up the question of why some Golden Dawn members and leaders loathe Aleister Crowley. (I am using the word "loathe" because I like the word, and I think their feelings go well beyond "dislike" and "hate.") Here are some of my current thoughts about the question.

One, Crowley is a hard act to follow. The man produced a lot of material. And he was producing material until the end of his life.

Two, Crowley was an occultist and seeker all his adult life. It was a lifestyle, not a temporary act with a definite goal on the end.

Three, Crowley published---a lot. He also stole material and published it as his own. Plus, he produced new things too.

Four, Crowley followers are not good followers. Thelemics are more goats than sheep. Some of them are slightly dark (possible understatement), and all of them are argumental.

Five, Crowley was anti-secrecy. At least when it comes to the teachings.

Six, Crowley was anti-guru and Order. The AA is built more like a resistance movement than a fraternal Order.

Seven, Crowley thought his system was better than the original Golden Dawn. And maybe, he was right...in a sense.

Eight, his followers tend to think that his way of doing things are the best way. And they loudly say so.

Nine, his system produces people who declare themselves prophets. They tend to declare new laws. Thelema and the Book of the Law was merely the beginning of heretics and radicals.

Ten, Crowley was truly running a non-profit organization. Crowley often had a real day-job.

Bottom-line, you do not want people who follow Crowley or use him as a good example in your organization. Especially if you are looking for sheep that need looking after. Thelemites are dangerous to anyone managing a "shut up and follow" Order.

I used to read Crowley

Every once in awhile, I have to admit that I used to read the works of Aleister Crowley. This tends to get me some black looks in Golden Dawn circles. The official word from on-high is that Crowley is a taboo subject---not that I have ever been much on obeying the edicts of the upper echelon, hence the occasional admission of past guilt.

Am I still guilty of reading Crowley? I am in Golden Dawn---what do you think?

Crowley has been placed in the biggest traitor category, thanks to his publishing of some of the early Golden Dawn rituals and teachings---but he also provides us with a baseline of what was actually being done at the time that he was in the Golden Dawn. In fact, he is the baseline that all students of the system can locate.

Crowley has been placed in the category of the biggest charlatan---but we actually have evidence that he was actually working the tradition, even after he officially left the system.

Crowley has been placed in the category of the biggest show-off that Golden Dawn ever produced---are we really sure that is true anymore?

Crowley has been placed in the category of one of the worst things to happen to occultism, but how many of us started off reading him?

There are some that believe that we should automatically reject the applications of anyone that admits to reading Crowley. I am not one of those people.