A blessing for a computer

Blessings on this fine machine,
May its data all be clean.
Let the files stay where they're put,
Away from disk drives keep all soot.
From its screen shall come no whines,
Let in no spikes on power lines.
As oaks were sacred to the Druids,
Let not the keyboard suffer fluids.
Disk Full shall be nor more than rarity,
The memory shall not miss its parity.
From the modem shall come wonders,
Without line noise making blunders.
May it never catch a virus,
And all its software stay desirous.
Oh let the printer never jam,
And turn my output into spam.
I ask of Eris, noble queen,
Keep Murphy far from this machine.

Zhahai Stewart, 1988

Were Mathers and Westcott initiates of the Golden Dawn?

Were Samuel Macgregor Mathers and William Wynn Westcott actually initiates of the Hermetic Golden Dawn? At first glance, this question seems clear cut, and perhaps a little stupid. But then again, I cruise in that back corner were the clearer a question appears, the more you need to reexamine the issue to figure out what it really going on.

This particular question came about because of VH Frater SR's comment to one of my previous blog posts where I was wondering exactly who was denying the connection between Golden Dawn and Freemasonry. Once I heard his response, I realized that I am one of the people he is talking about denying the connection.

Because I do not force people to join Freemasonry, and point out that they are two different Orders, I am helping deny the connection and worth of Freemasonry. *sigh* I should have known that I was one of the deniers.

For the record, I believe that Freemasonry is valuable resource for some people. But given the fact that most of the people I know only have time to be active in one Order, and they tend to be interested in the occult, I tend to emphasize Golden Dawn over Freemasonry. I also belong to an Order with female members, therefore emphasizing Freemasonry tends to put them in a bad position (almost a second-class position if you ask me).

Also because I consider Golden Dawn starting in 1888, and having no previous lineage that has the right of rulership over the modern Golden Dawn, I am helping deny the connection. *sigh* As I said, I should have realized that I was guilty.

For the record: Yes, Westcott and Mathers were Master Masons. In Westcott's case, he was a member of a lot of Orders (not as many as Waite, but close). Yes, we have to say that part of their personal lineage comes from Freemasonry. But I am not sure that we can claim that any of their authority to rule Golden Dawn came from that particular direction. Today, we tend to think of Freemasonry as the Mother of all Orders. Perhaps it is.

Then again, I am one of the orphans who have serious doubts about the worth of an unbroken lineage. Of course, that may just because I have encountered a few people who considered their lineage better than mine, therefore they thought that they were more fit to rule than the people I answered to. I have seen the utter messes that these lineage pounders have made of their groups. Extinct groups abound that were built on the claim of lineage.

Heck, if I wanted to play that game, I could claim that part of my lineage traces though the EOEW. I could claim that based on the symbolism of the "RED" degree that I have been exposed to the Adeptus Major Grade energies...but I don't. Why? Because they are different systems.

I am sorry, but I do not buy into the idea that because Westcott and Mathers were initiates of Freemasonry, or SRIA, or fill-in-the-blank Order that they were initiates of Golden Dawn. If it doesn't work for me to shore up my lineage, it should not work for them either.

As for them being physical initiates of Golden Dawn, my answer is: No, they were not. I do not buy into the theory that they were astral initates or self-initiates either. And ultimately, it does not matter that they were not.

Mathers and Westcott had gone though lodgekit bootcamp. They had a ton of lodge experience. They knew the symbolism contained in the Cipher Manuscript. And most importantly, Golden Dawn had no lineage predating 1888. Isis-Urania was the first Golden Dawn lodge. The Golden Dawn rituals were never worked before they started to work them.

Westcott, Mathers, and Woodman did not need a lineage to open up the energies of Golden Dawn. They were the elders of the tradition; they were the ones that laid the foundation of the system. They were the ones who built the door to the system and installed the locks. It is the rest of us that follow them that need a key to open the door to the system. Fortunately, for most of us, they were not the ones who drew up the initial blueprint of the Order (the Cipher Manuscript), otherwise most of us would be stuck outside freezing.

Temporary change in layout

I have just removed the Labels from this blog. The Label section just got so huge that if a reader wanted to print any post from this blog that it would chew up a dozen pages. I have yet to figure out how I am going to deal with putting up categories to make it easy for the reader to find all posts of a topic that interests them. I apologize for the temporary inconvenience.

Looking for goats to sacrifice

Today, in the Medieval Europe history class, the subject of religion came up. This is to be expected; after all, we were discussing the Church and heresy. In the interests of being fair, the professor stated that he was aware that there were some non-Christians in the room, and he also mentioned his own beliefs. Then he noted that he sometimes wished that he could ask his students what they believed.

At this point, the class clown spoke up and said, "I am a goat sacrifing pagan. Do I need to say more?"

And yes, I am the class clown. I am also hoping that I came across as a harmless kook.

After class, the professor and I were talking, along with other student. And the professor asked me if I prefered "Live or dead goats?"

I answered (without missing a beat) that I prefered mine in pastry form.

He laughed that I probably did----I think he might have noticed the number of cupcakes I buy from the various school club fund raisers.

But this got me to thinking about something that I need to find.

I need to find either a goat shaped cake pan, or goat shaped cookie cutter. If you know where I can get one, please leave an address in the comment section. Thanks.

*drooling* "Goat shaped pastries..."

Link: I have Royal Arch tool envy and who are these deniers

As most of my readers know, I follow several blogs. Today, on Gyllene Gryningen, there is a posting that brings out the tool envy in me; such pretty tools and wands, I have not.

Now my big question is: Who are these people trying to deny the connection between Freemasonry and Golden Dawn? Outside of Howe, I can't think of any serious attempts to do so.

Of course, there are those of us who refuse to believe that a Master Mason is the equal of an Adept Minor. Those of us who refuse to answer to the Masons are simply stating that the systems have went separate ways long ago...and that is merely an administrative issue. (Some of us also refuse to be demoted because of certain curriclum changes and because our lineage is not perfect, go figure that one out...again, an administrative issue.) We are not denying the connection, merely stating that just being a Master Mason grants you no special rights in our system.

(It is much like the relationship between the Elks, Odd Fellows and the Freemasons. They are all related, but different Orders.)

In fact, I think that it is safe to say that the connection between the two systems, if it has ever really been forgotten (or downplayed) has been rediscovered in recent years. If nothing else, my own interest in the Freemasons stems from my Golden Dawn involvements.

The only thing I can think of is perhaps it is different in the circles that VH Frater SR walks in. Then again, it is probably is considering that our two circles have the promotional "free in every box of cracker jack" land mine field separating them. We also have a pond separating us...oh, wait, that is an ocean.

Nevertheless, I cannot help wondering exactly who VH Frater SH is talking about. I am quite sure that I will find out soon enough.

(And guys, if we can't joke about the distance between us, and the reasons for it, what can we joke about?)

Crowley on Coffee

O coffee! By the mighty Name of Power do I invoke thee, consecrating thee to the Service of the Magic of Light. Let the pulsations of my heart be strong and regular and slow! Let my brain be wakeful and active in its supreme task of self-control! That my desired end may be effected through Thy strength, Adonai, unto Whom be the Glory for ever! Amen without lie, and Amen, and Amen of Amen.

---The Late, Great and Current Ipsissimus, Aleister Crowley

Divination: Why I hate being right

Earlier today, I had a friend call me. "You were right," she said. After I figured out what she was talking about (my brain was still editing a webpage detailing the official lodge position on Thelema), I made that noise I occasionally make (the one that makes it sound like I am chewing on a cog---sort of a grinding teeth noise combined with a sigh).

I did not want to be right. I hoped that I was wrong. I hoped that I was wrong so much that I did not pull out my Tarot cards or any other ritual props.

It is one thing to be right about the future when you don't care about the outcome. It is another thing to be right about a situation when you actually care about one or more of the people that the outcome affects.

Occasionally being right about a situation hurts because of the pain that others are feeling.