Michael Wynn's Occult Reference Library
CHRISTIANITY

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on the central pillar of the tree. zohar: the book of splendor, the principal book of the qabalah. it is thought to have been written by moses de leon and was first circulated around 1280-1290 a.d. in guadalajara. it included commentaries on the torah. gnosticism: gnosis is a greek term for knowledge. the term gnosis applies to certain religious sects that emerged during the early formative years christianity, and which believed in hidden spiritual knowledge. the main factor that differentiated them from christianity was their emphasis on knowledge rather than faith. the christian church fathers considered the gnostics heretical, or heretics. kether: the first emanation on the tree of life. occultists identify kether as the state of consciousness where creation merges with the veils of non

18276066 GRIMM JACOB TEUTONIC MYTHOLOGY VOL 1

d to include what he expressly intends it to include the netherlands and england; for the english are sunply a branch of the low german race which happened to cross the sea. i have therefore thought, that for the english ear the more comprehensive title was truer to the facts on the whole than the more limited one would have been. r vl chapter i. inteoduction.i from the westernmost shore of asia, christianity had turned at once to the opposite one of europe. the wide soil of the continent which had given it birth could not supply it long with nourishment; neither did it strike deep root in the north of africa. europe soon became, and remained, its proper dwelling-place and home. it is worthy of notice, that the direction in which the new faith worked its way, from south to north, is contra

hose the most important, yet not all (see suppl. from greece and italy the christian faith passed into gaul first of all, in the second and thiid centuries. about the year 300, or soon after, we find here and there a christian among the germans on the ehine, especially the alamanni; and about the same time or a little earlier^ among the goths. the goths were the first teutonic people amongst whom christianity gained a firm footing; this occurred in the course of the fourth century, the west-goths leading the way and the east-goths following; and after them the vandals, gepida^ and eugii were converted. all these races held by the arian doctrine. the burgundians in gaul became catholic at the beginning of the fifth century, then arian under their visigoth rulers, and catholic again at the c

ians in gaul became catholic at the beginning of the fifth century, then arian under their visigoth rulers, and catholic again at the commencement of the sixth century, the suevi in spain were at first catholic, then arian (about 469, until in the sixth century they, with all the west-goths, went over likewise to the catholic church. not till the end of the fifth or the beginning of the sixth did christianity win the eranks, soon after that the alamanni, and after them the langobardi. the bavarians were converted in the seventh and eighth centuries, the frisians, hessians and thuringians in the eighth, the saxons about the ninth. christianity had early found entrance into britain, but was checked by the irruption of the heathen anglo-saxons. towards the close of the sixth and in the course

e twelfth and thirteenth, lithuanians not even till the commencement of the fifteenth. all these data are only to be taken as true in the main; they neither exclude some earlier conversions, nor a longer and later adherence to heathenism in limited areas. eemoteness and independence might protect the time-honoured religion of a tribe. apostates too would often attempt at least a partial reaction. christianity would sometimes lead captive the minds of the rich and great, by whose example the common people were carried away; sometimes it affected first the poor and lowly. when chlodowig (clovis) received baptism, and the salian franks followed his lead, individuals out of all the frankish tribes had already set the example. intercourse with burgundians and west-goths had inclined them to the

henism lingered on among the frisians into the ninth century, among the saxons into the tenth, and in like manner among the normans and swedes into the eleventh and twelfth^ here and there among the northern slavs idolatry was not extinct in the twelfth century, and not universally so among the finns and lithuanians in the sixteenth and seventeenth; nay, the remotest laplanders cling to it still. christianity was not popular. it came from abroad, it aimed at supplanting the time-honoured indigenous gods whom the country revered and loved. these gods and their worship were part and parcel of the people's traditions, customs and constitution. their names had their roots in the people's language, and were hallowed by antiquity; kings and princes traced their lineage back to individual gods; f

A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO WITCHCRAFT AND MAGICK SPELLS

onsider the goddess to be of greater significance than her male counterpart. others regard them as equal, assuming different aspects according to the season and ritual: she as the earth or moon deity, ruler of the summer months, he as the sun or corn god, ruler of winter and lord of the underworld after his death. along with other nature deities, the horned god became demonised with the advent of christianity, and the goddess was either depicted as a wicked witch or downgraded to the status of a faerie. thus the celtic warrior goddess maeve became the faerie mab, described thus by mercutio in shakespeare's romeo and juliet: she is the fairy's midwife, and she comes in shape no bigger than an agate-stone on the fore-finger of an alderman. contrary to popular belief, wiccans do not 'hex (cas

formal ritual, you may wish to add god/goddess-power forms as an interspersed chant, with the voices of the group ebbing and rising in waves. you may wish to welcome the archangels, or guardians of the four watchtowers at the four compass points as you cast your circle (the archangels represent the celestial beings that feature in the cosmologies of the three main religions of the western world -christianity, judaism and islam. for more information, see pages 200 and 236. alternatively, you may wish to call upon powerful goddess forms: isis, ishtar, cerridwen, innana, shakti, yoruba, danu, kali and aine, protect, empower and inspire this magical endeavour. you can embellish the casting ceremony as much as you like, perhaps drawing pentagrams in the air at the four main compass points, and

represented by these four suits, is associated with one of the treasures of the celts. the treasures belonged to the celtic father god, dagda, and are said to be guarded in the otherworld by merlin. there were 13 treasures in total, but four have come into pre-eminence in magick and tarot reading. these four main sacred artefacts- swords, pentacles, wands and cups, or chalices- have parallels in christianity and were associated with the legendary quest of the knights of king arthur, who attempted to find them. the grail cup was the most famous of these. the christian sword of king david, identified in legend with arthur's sword excalibur, appears in celtic tradition as the sword of nuada whose hand was cut off in battle. with a new hand fashioned from silver, he went on to lead his people

vegetation. mabon, or maponus, was another form of lugh, and was regarded as the son of the earth mother and known as the liberator-prisoner. the corn god lies fallow in the womb of the mother. but because his sacrifice was willing, death has no dominion over him and he grows stronger. this is the time of the second harvest of vegetables, fruit and remaining crops, the harvest home that pre-dates christianity. on the day when equal night and day heralded winter, the feast formed a sympathetic magical gesture to ensure that there would be enough food during the winter, by displaying and then eating in celebration the finest fruits of the harvest. druids traditionally climb to the top of a hill to take leave of the summer sun as the nights will get longer. michaelmas, the day of st michael

ld be enough food during the winter, by displaying and then eating in celebration the finest fruits of the harvest. druids traditionally climb to the top of a hill to take leave of the summer sun as the nights will get longer. michaelmas, the day of st michael, the archangel of the sun, is celebrated on 29 september. st michael was patron saint of high places and replaced the pagan sun deities in christianity. today, global rituals concentrate on positive steps to ensure enough food, shelter and resources for vulnerable communities and individuals, relief of flood and famine, protection of endangered water creatures, dolphin, whales and fish whose death involves great suffering; they also look for peace especially where initiatives are already in motion. on a personal level, autumn equinox

ALEISTER CROWLEY AD MEIORUM CTHULHI GLORIAM

cult lodges in the early days after the first war; the symbol of one of these, the thule gesellschaft which preached a doctrine of aryan racial superiority, was the infamous swastika which hitler was later to adopt as the symbol of the forms, however, is evident in many of his writings, notably the essays written in the late 'thirties. crowley seemed to regard the nazi phenomenon as a creature of christianity, in it's anti-semitism and sever moral restrictions concerning its adherents, which lead to various types of lunacies and "hangups" that characterised many of the reich's leadership. yet, there can be perhaps little doubt that the chaos which engulfed the world in those years was prefigured, and predicted, in crowley's liber al vel legis; the book of the law. the mythos and the magick

ychic leeches, ghastly forms accost the aspiring magician from every angle, from every quarter around the circumference of the magick circle, and they must be destroyed lest they devour the magician himself. when crowley professed to have passed the obstacles, and crossed the abyss of knowledge, and found his true self, he found it was identical with the beast of the book of revelation, 666, whom christianity considers to represent the devil. indeed, crowley had nothing but admiration for the shaitan (satan) of the so-called "devil-worshipping" cult of the yezidis of mesopotamia, knowledge of which led him to declare the lines that open this introduction. for he saw that the yezidis possess a great secret and a great tradition that extends far back into time, beyond the origin of the sun c

real. her powers can be tapped by the knowledgeable "who are skilful to rouse leviathan" although the christian religion has gone to great lengths to prove that the devil is inferior to god and exists solely for his purpose, as the tempter of man- surely a dubious raison d'etre- the sumerian tradition acknowledges that the person of "evil" is actually the oldest, most ancient of the gods. whereas christianity states that lucifer was a rebel in heaven, and fell from god's grace to ignominy below, the original story was that marduk was the rebel, and severed the body of the ancient of ancient ones to create the cosmos in other words, the precise reverse of the judeo-christian dogma. the elder gods evidently possessed a certain wisdom that was not held by their parents, yet their parents held

ALEISTER CROWLEY BOOK OF LIES

f the sun in the macrocosm, and in the microcosm of the lingam in conjunction with the yoni. this word alpha-iota-theta-eta-rho (aethyr) is therefore a perfect hierogly ph of the cosmos in terms of gnostic theology. the reader should consult la messe et ses mysteres, par jean 'marie de v (paris et nancy, 1844, for a complete demonstration of the incorporation of the solar and phallic mysteries in christianity. book of lies get any book for free on: www.abika.com 180 [183] 87 kappa-epsilon-phi-alpha-lambda-eta pi-zeta mandarin-meals there is a dish of sharks' fins and of sea-slug, well set in birds' nests..oh! also there is a souffle most exquisite of chow-chow. these did i devise. but i have never tasted anything to match the) which she gave me before she went away. march 22, 1912. e. v. b

ALEISTER CROWLEY MAGICK IN THEORY AND PRACTICE

is the dramatic" perhaps the most attractive of all; certainly it is so to the artist's temperament, for it appeals to his imagination through his aesthetic sense. its disadvantage lies principally in the difficulty of its performance by a single person. but it has the sanction of the highest antiquity, and is probably the most useful for the foundation of a religion. it is the method of catholic christianity, and consists in the dramatization of the legend of the god. the bacchae of euripides is a magnificent example of such a ritual; so also, through in a less degree, is the mass. we may also mention many of the degrees in freemasonry, particularly the third. the 5 degree= 6square ritual published in no. iii of the equinox is another example. in the case of bacchus, one commemorates firs

ven the formula of osiris. kin to them are the "once-born" of william james, who are incapable of philosophy, magick, or even religion, but seek instinctively a refuge from the horror of contemplating nature, which they do not comprehend, in soothing-syrup affirmations such as those of christian science, spiritualism, and all the sham 'occult' creeds, as well as the emasculated forms of so-called christianity. as zoroaster says "explore the river of the soul; whence and in what order thou has come" one cannot do one's true will intelligently unless one knows what it is. liber thisarb, equinox i, vii, give instructions for determining this by calculating the resultant of the forces which have made one what one is. but this practice is confined to one's present incarnation. if one were to wa

ending forth of the master therion by the a. a. and an explanation of his mission. equinox vi, p. 3 "liber xi. liber nv" an instruction for attaining nuit. equinox vii, p. 11 "liber xiii. graduum montis abiegni" an account of the task of the aspirant from probationer to adept. equinox iii, p. 3 "liber xv. ecclesiae gnosticae catholicae cannon missae" represents the original and true pre-christian christianity. equinox xi (vol. iii, part 1) and appendix vi of this book. 216 "liber xvi. liber turris vel domus dei" an instruction for attainment by the direct destruction of thoughts as they arise in the mind. equinox vi, p. 9 "liber xvii. liber i.a.o" gives three methods of attainment through a willed series of thoughts. unpublished. it is the active form of liber ccclxi "liber xxi. the classi

n st. john" the record of the magical retirement of g. h. frater o. m. a model of what a magical record should be, so far as accurate analysis and fullness of description are concerned. equinox i, supplement. 227 "liber dccclxviii. liber viarum viae" a graphical account of magical powers classified under the tarot trumps. equinox vii, p. 101 "liber dccclxxxviii" a complete study of the origins of christianity. unpublished "liber cmxiii. liber viae memoriae" gives methods for attaining the magical memory, or memory of past lives, and an insight into the function of the aspirant in this present life. equinox vii, p. 105 "liber cmxxxiv. the cactus" an elaborate study of the psychological effects produced by "anhalonium lewinii (mescal buttons, compiled from the actual records of some hundreds

ALEISTER CROWLEY MAGICK WITHOUT TEARS

one obtains perfect freedom on this plane of discs. all the serious orders of the world, or nearly all, begin by insisting that the aspirant should take a vow of poverty; a buddhist bhikku, for example, can own only nine objects- his three robes, begging bowl, a fan, toothbrush, and so on. the hindu and mohammedan orders have similar regulations; and so do all the important orders of monkhood in christianity. our own order is the only exception of importance; and the reason for this is that it is much more difficult to retain one's purity if one is living in the world than if one simply cuts oneself off from it. it is far easier magic without tears get any book for free on: www.abika.com 12 to achieve technical attainments if one is unhampered by any such considerations. these regulations

they shall both fall into the ditch" if you had seen 1% of the mischief that i have seen, you would freeze to the marrow of your bones at the mere idea of seeing another member through the telescope! well, i employ the figure of hyperbole, that i admit; but it really won't do to have a dozen cooks at the broth! if you're working with me, you'll have no time to waste on other people. i fear your "christianity" is like that of most other folk. you pick out one or two of the figures from which the alexandrines concocted "jesus (too many cooks, again, with a vengeance) and neglect the others. the zionist christ of matthew can have no value for you; nor can the asiatic "dying-god- compiled from melcarth, mithras, adonis, bacchus, osiris, attis, krishna, and others- who supplied the miraculous

ool being debased by nature, is not so far removed from conventional religion as either the white or the yellow. most primitive fetishistic religions may, in fact, be considered fairly faithful representatives of this philosophy. where animism holds sway, the "medicine-man" personifies this universal evil, and seeks to propitiate it by human sacrifice. the early forms of judaism, and that type of christianity which we associate with the salvation army, billy sunday and the fundamentalists of the back-blocks of america, are sufficiently simple cases of religion whose essence is the propitiation of a malignant demon. when the light of intelligence begins to dawn dimly through many fogs upon these savages, we reach a second stage. bold spirits master courage to assert that the evil which is s

ed her veil. the basis of the black philosophy is not impossibly mere climate, with its resulting etiolation of the native, its languid, bilious, anaemic, fever-prostrated, emasculation of the soul of man. we accordingly find few true equivalents of this school in europe. in greek philosophy there is no trace of any such doctrine. the poison in its foulest and most virulent form only entered with christianity33. but even so, few men of any real eminence were found to take the axioms of pessimism seriously. huxley, for all of his harping on the minor key, was an eupeptic tory. the culmination of the black philosophy is only found in schopenhauer, and we may regard him as having been obsessed, on the one hand, by the despair born of that false scepticism which he learnt from the bankruptcy o

perusal is not favourable to the inception of that mood which should lead every truly courageous intelligence to the determination to escape from the 33* anti-semite writers in europe- e.g. weininger- call the black theory and practice judaism, while by a curious confusion, the same ideas are called christian among anglo-saxons. in 1936 e.v. the "nazi" school began to observe this fact. 34* n.b. christianity was in its first stage a jewish communism, hardly distinguishable from marxism. 52 magic without tears get any book for free on: www.abika.com 93 ferule of the black schoolmaster to the outstretched arms of the white mistress of life. let us leave the sinister figure of schopenhauer for the mysteriously radiant shape of spinoza! this latter philosopher, in respect at least of his pant

ALEISTER CROWLEY MEDITATION

ritual, and fifty years hence will have a proper name based on an understanding of the phenomenon which occurred. theorists have not been at a loss to explain; but they differ. the mohammedan insists that god is, and did really send gabriel with messages for mohammed: but all others contradict him. and from the nature of the case proof is impossible. the lack of proof has been so severely felt by christianity (and in a much less degree by islam) that fresh miracles have been manufactured almost daily to support the tottering structure. modern thought, rejecting these miracles, has adopted theories involving epilepsy and madness. as if organization could spring from disorganization! even if epilepsy were the cause of these great movements which have caused civilization after civilization to

a mass of putrid pulp, and a complete lack of social status, education, and moral character, did more in the religious world than any other person had done for generations. she, and she alone, made theosophy possible, and without theosophy the world-wide interest in similar matters would never have been aroused. this interest is to the law of thelema what the preaching of john the baptist was to christianity. we are now in a position to say what happened to mohammed. somehow or another his phenomenon happened in his mind. more ignorant than anna kingsford, though, fortunately, more moral, he connected it with the story of the "annunciation" which he had undoubtedly heard in his boyhood, and said "gabriel appeared to me" but in spite of his ignorance, his total misconception of the truth

ore moral, he connected it with the story of the "annunciation" which he had undoubtedly heard in his boyhood, and said "gabriel appeared to me" but in spite of his ignorance, his total misconception of the truth, the power of the vision was such that he was enabled to persist through the usual persecution, and founded a religion to which even to-day one man in every eight belongs. the history of christianity shows precisely the same remarkable fact. jesus christ was brought up on the fables of the "old testament" and so was compelled to ascribe his experiences to "jehovah" although his gentle spirit could have had nothing in common with the monster who was always commanding the rape of virgins and the murder of little children, and whose rites were then, and still are, celebrated by human

, and many thoughtful persons propose to experiment on professor metchnikoff. but the worst of all phantasms are the moral ideas and the religious ideas. sanity consists in the faculty of adjusting ideas in proper proportion. any one who accepts a moral or religious truth without understanding it is only kept out of the asylum because he does not follow it out logically. if one really believed in christianity<bible seriously; but to take it seriously one must be already mad "crowley> if one really thought that the majority of mankind was doomed to eternal punishment, one would go raving about the world trying to "save" people. sleep would not be possible until the horror of the mind left the body exhausted. otherwise, one must be morally insane

ALEISTER CROWLEY TAO TEH KING

not doing so; at the hour of writing, an xv sun in scorpio, we are facing the fulfilment of most of this prophecy. and still we make haste to arm) 23 chapter xx the withdrawal from the common way. 1. to forget learning is to end trouble. the smallest difference in words, such as 'yes' and 'yea, can make endless controversy for the scholar((consider the 'homoiousios- homoiousios' quarrel of early christianity) fearful indeed is death, since all men fear it; but the abyss of questionings, shoreless and bottomless, is worse! 2. consider the profane man, how he preeneth, as if at feast, or gazing upon spring from a tower! but as for me, i am as one who yawneth, without any trace of desire. i am like a babe before its first smile. i appear sad and forlorn, like a man homeless. the profane man

ALEISTER CROWLEY THE BANNED LECTURE

dirt, disease, debauchery, poverty and ignorance, which seems to mr. g. k. chesterton the one ideal state of society, it must have been a little difficult to carry out abductions and murders on such wholsale principles. whenever questions arise with regard to black magic or black masses, invocations of the devil, etc, etc, it must never be forgotten that these practices are strictly functions of christianity. where ignorant savages perform propitiatory rites, there and there only christianity takes hold. but under the great systems of the civilised parts of the world, there is no trace of any such perversion in religious feeling. it is only the bloodthirsty and futile jehovah who has achieved such monstrous births. such upas-trees can only grow in the poisonous mire of fear and shame wher

t savages perform propitiatory rites, there and there only christianity takes hold. but under the great systems of the civilised parts of the world, there is no trace of any such perversion in religious feeling. it is only the bloodthirsty and futile jehovah who has achieved such monstrous births. such upas-trees can only grow in the poisonous mire of fear and shame where thought has putrefied to christianity. there is thus no antecedent improbability that gilles de rais (or any other person of that place and period) was addicted to black magical practices, for they were all catholics. the power of the church was, at that time, absolute, and even research was limited by the arbitrary theology imposed upon the mind of everyone. the abomination was at its height. but its decline has been rap

yterian pulpiteers, but the time was already predictable when their best was for undergraduates to be bluffed by homosexual ecclesiastics. i suppose it is ll in the family. while these profound thoughts were producing a hypochondriac obnubilation of my mental faculties, it suddently occured to me that after all, i had heard this story before. and i saw the connection. in the pitch-dark ages, when christianity held unchallenged sway over those portions of this globe which it had sufficiently corrupted, the pursuit of knowledge knowledge of any kind was justly estimated by the people in power as the one and only dangerous pursuit. even so, as late as 300 years ago, it was not considered very gentlemanly to be able to read and write. i am not sure that it is. in any case, it is a great error

as late as 300 years ago, it was not considered very gentlemanly to be able to read and write. i am not sure that it is. in any case, it is a great error in education to teach these things. grammar, we must never forget, appears in the word "gramarye" beloved of sir walter scott, and "grimoire" a black magical ritual that is to say, any written document. precious little knowledge filtered through christianity. it was against the interests of the church, and in those times it was much easier to suppress people and ideas than it is now, though even today we find priests at least in oxford who appear not to have heard of a certain recent invention by a notorious magician inspired by the devil the printing press. but they feared. so those who pursued knowledge were at the best under strong sus

ALEISTER CROWLEY THE LOST CONTINENT

ider a sentence complete. he would introduce them into a discussion on the most material subjects "the immoral snub-nose "the unprogressive teeth "lascivious music "reactionary eyebrows--such were phrases familiar to all "to eat again, to sleep again, to work again, to find the light--that is liberty, that is progress" was a proverb common in every mouth. the religion of the people was protestant christianity in all essentials, but with an even closer dependence upon god. they asserted its formulae, without attaching any meaning to the words, in a manner both reverent and passionate. sexual life was entirely forbidden to the workers, a single breach implying relegation to the phosphorus works. in every field was, however, an enormous tablet of rock, carved on one side with a representation

ever the nature of these may be, and i by no means concur in the opinion of sinistrari, and that they welcomed such with eagerness. nay, darker legends tell of infamous commerce and intercourse with demons foul and malicious, and pretend that the power of atlas was devilish, and that the catastrophe was the judgement of god. these mediaeval fables of the debased and perverted phallicism miscalled christianity are unworthy even to be refuted, founded as they are on hypotheses contrary to common sense. nor would they who knew themselves masters of the earth have deigned to degrade themselves, and moreover to vitiate their whole work by commerce with inferiors. if there be any truth whatever in these stories, it will then be more easily supposable that the atlanteans aspiring to journey sunwa

ALEISTER CROWLEY THE OLD AND NEW COMMENTARIES TO LIBER AL

all things of sense and rapture: fear not that any god shall deny thee for this" the old comment 22. hadit now identifies himself with the kundalini, the central magical force in man. this privilege of using wine and strange drugs has been confirmed; the drugs were indeed revealed (p.s. and they have not harmed those who have used them in this law) follows a curse against the cringing altruism of christianity the yielding of the self to external impressions, the smothering of the babe of bliss beneath the flabby old nurse convention. the new comment drunkeness is a curse and a hindrance only to slaves. shelley's couriers were 'drunk on the wind of their own speed' any one who is doing his true will is drunk with the delight of life. wine and strange drugs do not harm people who are doing t

but also our law teaches that a star often veils itself from its nature. thus the vast bulk of humanity is obsessed by an abject fear of freedom; the principal objections hitherto urged against my law have been those of people who cannot bear to imagine the horrors which would result if they were free to do their own wills. the sense of sin, shame, self-distrust, this is what makes folk cling to christianity-slavery. people believe in a medicine just in so far as it is nasty; the metaphysical root of this idea is in sexual degeneracy of the masochistic type. now "the law is for all; but such defectives will refuse it, and serve us who are free with a fidelity the more dog-like as the simplicity of our freedom denotes their abjection. even such shallow soapsudmongers as sir walter besant a

urvived because they were able to adapt themselves to their environment; their rivals failed to breed, and so "good" qualities are transmitted, while 'bad' are sterile. thus the race-thought, subconscious, tells a man that he must have a son, cost what it may. rome was founded on the rape of the sabine women. would a reasoner have advocated that rape? was it 'justice' or 'mercy' or 'morality' or 'christianity. there is much on the ethics of this point in chapter ii of this book. thomas henry huxley in his essay "ethics and evolution" pointed out the antithesis between these two ideas; and concluded that evolution was bound to beat ethics in the long run. he was apparently unable to see, or unwilling to admit, that his argument proved ethics (as understood by victorians) to be false. the et

d their currish conception of themselves as 'born in sin 'miserable sinners' with 'no health in us' al iii,53 "with my claws i tear out the flesh of the indian and the buddhist, mongol and din" the new comment "the indian" the religion of hindustan, metaphysically and mystically comprehensive enough to assure itself the possession of much truth, is in practice almost as superstitious and false as christianity, a faith of slaves, liars and dastards. the same remarks apply roughly to buddhism 'mongol" presumably the reference is to confucianism, whose metaphysical and ethical flawlessness has not saved its adherents from losing those ruder virtues which are proper to a fighting animal, and thus yielding at last a civilization coeval with history itself to the barbarous tribes of europe "din

saved its adherents from losing those ruder virtues which are proper to a fighting animal, and thus yielding at last a civilization coeval with history itself to the barbarous tribes of europe "din 'severity' or 'judgment' may refer to the jewish law, rather than to the faith (ad 'din) of islam. assuming this, the six religions whose flesh must be torn out cover the whole globe outside islam and christianity. why assault their flesh rather than their eyes, as in the other cases? because the metaphysics, or point of view, is correct- i take judaism as qabalistic- but the practice imperfect. al iii,54 "bahlasti! ompehda! i spit on your crapulous creeds" the old comment 54. appears to be a plain instruction in theology and ethics. i do not understand "din. bahlasti= 358, and ompehda perhaps

ALEISTER CROWLEY THE QABALAH

saw that israel would accept the law. in this connection i may give six very interesting specimens of notariqon formed from this same word tycarb by solom meir ben moses, a jewish qabalist, who embraced the christian faith in 1665, and took the name of prosper rugere. these all have a christian tendency, and by their means prosper converted another jew, who had previously been bitterly opposed to christianity. the first is \ymt djy \tcwlc ba jwr b, ben ruach ab, shaloshethem yechad themim: the son, the spirit, the father, their trinity, perfect unity. the second is wdwbut djy \tcwlc ba jwr b, ben ruach ab, shaloshethem yechad thaubodo: the son, the spirit, the father, ye shall equally worship their trinity. the third is wdwbut uwcy wmc rca ywncar yrwkb, bekori rashuni asher shamo yeshuah t

betulah raviah abachar shethaled yeshuah thrashroah, i will choose a virgin worthy to bring forth jesus, and ye shall call her blessed. the sixth is, wlksy uwcy ypwgc rttsa \ypxr tgwub, beaugoth ratzephim assattar shegopi yeshuah thakelo, i will hide mayself in cake (baked with) coals, for ye shall eat jesus, my body. the qabalistical importance of these sentences as bearing upon the doctrines of christianity can hardly be overrated. the second form of notariqon is the exact reverse of the first. by this the initial or finals or both, or the medials, of a sentence, are taken to form a word or words. thus the qabalah is called hrtsn hmkj, chokham nesethrah, the secret wisdom; and if we take the initials of these two words j and n we form by the second kind of notariqon the word j, chen, gra

ALEISTER CROWLEY THE SWORD OF SONG

ot be determined. the religion, ceasing to be a tangible thing, an object uniform for all sane eyes, becomes rather that mist whereon the sun of the soul casts up, like brocken spectres, certain vast and vague images of the beholder himself, with or without a glory encompassing them. the function of the facts is then quite passive: it matters little or nothing whether the cloud be the red mist of christianity, or the glimmering silver-white of celtic paganism; the hard grey dim-gilded of buddhism, the fleecy opacity of islam, or the mysterious medium of those ancient faiths which come up in as many colours as their investigator has moods* in order to get over the ethical difficulties presented by the na ve naturalism of many parts of those scriptures, in the divine authority of which he fi

nce of what the last would lead to. god is indeed cut away a cancer from the breast of truth. of those philosophers, who from unassailable premisses draw by righteous deduction a conclusion against god, and then for his sake overturn their whole structure by an act of will, like a child breaking an ingenious toy, i take mansel as my type* now, however, let us consider the esoteric idea-mongers of christianity, swedenborg, anna kingsford, deussen and the like, of whom i have taken caird as my example. i wish to unmask these people: i perfectly agree with nearly everything they say, but their claim to be christians is utterly confusing, and lends a lustre to christianity which is quite foreign. deussen, for example, coolly discards nearly all the old testament, and, picking a few new testame

, of whom i have taken caird as my example. i wish to unmask these people: i perfectly agree with nearly everything they say, but their claim to be christians is utterly confusing, and lends a lustre to christianity which is quite foreign. deussen, for example, coolly discards nearly all the old testament, and, picking a few new testament passages, often out of their context, claims his system as christianity. luther discards james. kingsford calls paul the arch heretic. my friend the christian clergyman accepted mark and acts until pushed. yet deussen is honest enough to admit that vedanta teaching is identical, but clearer! and he quite clearly and sensibly defines faith surely the most essential quality for the adherent to christian dogma as being convinced on insufficient evidence. sim

clergyman accepted mark and acts until pushed. yet deussen is honest enough to admit that vedanta teaching is identical, but clearer! and he quite clearly and sensibly defines faith surely the most essential quality for the adherent to christian dogma as being convinced on insufficient evidence. similarly the dying-to-live idea of hegel (and schopenhauer) claimed by caird as the central spirit of christianity is far older, in the osiris myth of the egyptians. these ideas are all right, but they have no more to do with christianity than the metric system with the great pyramid. but see piazzi smyth! henry morley has even the audacity to claim shelley shelley! as a christian in spirit. talking of shelley: with regard to my open denial of the personal christian god, may it not be laid to my c

especially the latter) is its weakness: it is possible that the mind of the reader, lost in the sensuous, nay! even in the moral beauty of the words, may fail to be impressed by their most important meaning. shelley himself recognised this later: hence the direct and simple vigour of the masque of anarchy. it has often puzzled atheists that a man of milton s genius could have written as he did of christianity. but we must not forget that milton lived immediately after the most important revolution in religion and politics of modern times: shelley on the brink of such another political upheaval. shakespeare alone sat enthroned above it all like a god, and is not lost in the mire of controversy* this, also, though i m no shakespeare, as too probable, i have endeavoured to avoid: yet i cannot

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQ I 1

tunes from the cripple, and forty-two from the one-eyed man; but when the hunchback comes, say 'allah our aid" arab proverb i inquiry. let us inquire in the first place: what is scepticism? the word means looking, questioning, investigating. one must pass by contemptuously the christian liar's gloss which interprets "sceptic" as "mocker; though in a sense it is true for him, since to inquire into christianity is assuredly to mock at it; but i am concerned to intensify the etymological connotation in several respects. first, i do not regard mere incredulity as necessary to the idea, though credulity is incompatible with it. incredulity implies a prejudice in favour of a negative conclusion; and the true sceptic should be perfectly unbiassed. second, i exclude "vital scepticism" what's the g

nd in the east, from the most remote antiquity to the present day, scientific systems of illuminism have been in daily practice from the highest to the lowest in the land; though, as we consider, much corrupted by an ignorant priestcraft, by absurd superstitions and by a science which fell to a divine revelation in place of rising to a sublime art. in the west, for some fifteen hundred years now, christianity has swayed the minds of men from the arctic seas to the mediterranean. at first but one of many small excrescent faiths, which sprang up like fungi amongst the superb "d bris" of the religions of egypt, babylonia, and greece, it was not long before (on account of its warlike tenets and the deeply magical nature of its rites1) it forced its head and then its arms above the shoulders of

swayed the minds of men from the arctic seas to the mediterranean. at first but one of many small excrescent faiths, which sprang up like fungi amongst the superb "d bris" of the religions of egypt, babylonia, and greece, it was not long before (on account of its warlike tenets and the deeply magical nature of its rites1) it forced its head and then its arms above the shoulders of its 1 primitive christianity had a greater adaptability than any other contemporary religion of assimilating to itself all that was more particularly pagan in polytheism; the result being that it won over the great masses of the people, who then were, as they are now, inherently conservative. weaker brothers; and when once in a position to strike, so thoroughly bullied all competitors that the few who inwardly st

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQ I 5

verted another jew, who had previously been bitterly opposed 1 weh note: plagiarized entire from ginsburg's "the kabbalah. 2 weh note: better: his purported translation of three of the more obscure books of the zohar. 3 weh note: this observation led mathers to miss-identify a picture of moses as metatron in his edition (not translation, the mss were in english) of "the greater key of solomon" to christianity. the first is, bn rvch ab shlvshthm ichd thmim, ben, ruach, ab, shaloshethem yechad thaubodo "the son, the spirit, the father, ye shall equally worship their trinity" the third is bkvri rashvni ashr shmv ishvo thobvdv, bekori rashuni asher shamo yeshuah thaubodo "ye shall worship my first-born, my first, whose name is jesus" the fourth is, bbva rbn ashr shmv ishvo thobvdv, beboa rabba

thulh raviah abachar shethaled yeshuah thashroah "i will choose a virgin worthy to bring forth jesus, and ye shall call her belssed" the sixth is, bovgth rtzpim asththr shgvpi ishvo thaklv, beaugoth ratzephim asattar shgopi yeshuah thakelo "i will hid myself in cake (baked with) coals, for ye shall eat jesus, my body" the qabalistical importance of these sentences as bearing upon the doctrines of christianity can hardly be overrated. the second form of the notariqon is the exact reverse of the first. by this the initials or finals, or both, or the medials, of a sentence, are taken to form a word or words. thus the qabalah is called chkmh nsthrh, chokhmah nesthrah "the secret wisdom; and if we take the initials of these two words ch and n, we form by the second king of notariqon the word ch

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQ I 5

diates a blaze of light, too dazzling to make out the characters, and a voice says "non haec piscis omnium (to interpret that, we must think of 'iota chi theta upsilon sigma, which does not conceal "iesous christos theon uios soter" as traditionally asserted, but is a mystery of the letter nun and the letter qoph, as may be seen by adding it up 'iota chi theta upsilon sigma is only connected with christianity because it was a hieroglyph of syphilis, which the romans supposed to have been brought from syria; and it seems to have been confounded with leprosy, which also they thought was caused by fish-eating. 50 one important meaning of 'iota chi theta upsilon sigma: it is formed of the initials of five egyptian deities and also of five greek deities: in both cases a magic formula of tremend

at i have been saying. all i can say is, that there is a sort of dew, like mist, upon the stone, and yet it has become hot to the touch. 149 all i get is that the apocalypse was the recension of a dozen or so totally disconnected allegories, that were pieced together, and ruthlessly planed down to make them into a connected account; and that recension was re-written and edited in the interests of christianity, because people were complaining that christianity could show no true spiritual knowledge, or any food for the best minds: nothing but miracles, which only deceived the most ignorant, and theology, which only suited pedants.23 so a man got hold of this recension, and turned it christian, and imitated the style of john. and this explains why the end of the world does not happen every f

ergy and poetic feeling are united so happily as in this little book "the morning leader" there is promise and some fine lines in these verses "the times""ready march 6th. crown" 8"vo. cloth gilt. about" 280 "pp "the new god" and other essays. by ralph shirley (editor of the "occult review_ contents: the new god- prophets and prophecies- prophecies and anticipations- julian the apostate- mystical christianity- the perfect way- relationship of christianity to gnostic faiths- early christian evidences- new testament authorities- friedrich nietzsche- the strange case of lurancy vennum- cagliostro_ a manual of occultism. a complete exposition of the occult arts and sciences by sepharial, author of "a manual of astrology "prognostic astronomy "kabalistic astrology" etc. etc. with numerous diagr

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQUINOX EQ I 4 2

t because buddhists are incapable of enjoying themselves. 292 buddhism as a schism from the brahminical religion may in many respects be compared with lutheranism as a schism from the catholic church. both buddha and luther set aside the authority of miracles, and appealed to the reason of the middle classes of their day. the vedas were the outcome of aristocratic thought; and so in truth was the christianity of constantine and the popes, that full-blooded christianity which so soon swallowed the mystical christ and the anaemic communism of the "canaille" which followed him. conventional buddhism is pre-eminently the "nice" religion of the bourgeoisie; it neither panders to the superstition of the masses nor palliates the gallantries of the the dogmatism of literal buddhism appalled him. t

boulter. i am coming round to the belief that the best test of a religion is the manhood of its adherents rather than its truth. better believe a lie than act like a coward! and of all the pusillanimous puppies i have ever heard of, there are none to beat the undergraduates who wagged their rudimentary tails round the toothless old hound that yelped "dare to be wise" on last 8th december. i hate christianity as socialists hate soap; but i would rather be saved 239 with livingstone and gordon, havelock and nicholson, than damned with charles watts and john mctaggart ellis mctaggart doctor in letters fellow and lecturer of trinity college in cambridge, and fellow of the berritish ac-ad-em-y. i wonder, by the way, whether "letters" isn't a misprint. if not, did he really qualify at the sorbo

t of it all is the very perfection of the wrappings. what a poet thompson might have been if he had never heard of christ or opium; if he had revelled in venice with its courtesans of ruddy hair, swan gracefulness, and tiger soul! instead, he sold matches in the streets of london; from which abyss a church meant warmth, light, incense, music, and a pageant of hope. to-day, as in the days of nero, christianity is no more than the slum-born shriek of the degenerate and undersized starvelings that inhabit the inferno of industrialism. so also thompson, impotent from abuse of opium, reviles shelley and byron for virility "o che sciagura essere senza cog- dirt, dogma, drugs! what wonder and what hope lies in the soul of man if from such ingredients can be distilled such wine as "the dream tryst

. this is a most learned work; the author holds solomon only knows how many exalted degrees; but besides the title-page there is much of interest to masons in this little volume. some of the ancient charges are quite amusing "that no fellow go into town in the night time without a fellow to bear witness that he hath been in honest company" seems, however, a bit rough on the girls. f. paganism and christianity. by j. a. farrar. watts and co. 6"d" a good book which makes us wish we had been born before christ. a. q. the white slave traffic. published at the offices of m. a. p. 6"d" at one time i was acquainted with many of our london demi-mondaines, and many a charming girl and good-hearted woman had i the pleasure of meeting 336- and clean-minded withal. to say that all end in the lock or t

an civilization. it is a melancholy fact that though amongst the rudest of rude savages secrets have been kept and great systems maintained for hundreds of thousands of years, the "clever" children of the present with all their arts and crafts are only destroyers of the past. we defame antiquity, annihilate those who still venerate it- mentally we destroy their minds with a corrupt and idolatrous christianity, a veritable haggis of guts and blood, and their bodies with gunpowder and loathsome diseases. in a few years all will have gone; but (say you) all will be saved, stored in our libraries and museums. but, we answer, even these in a few centuries will be dust and ashes; the very paper of this book which we are reviewing, beautiful though it be, will, like a girl's beauty, vanish before

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQUINOX EQ I 4

enter into the darkness. omnia vincam. 23 how to keep fit, by c.t.schofield, m.d. w. rider and sons. 1"s" net. there is a deal of sound sense in this little manual. the author castigates faddists, though to my mind not severely enough. however, i suppose that in this mealy-mouthed age the truth is not printable. it is a little amusing, though, to see how he tries to make his commonsense fit into christianity. it is the puritan theory that theological sin, which means everything you like, is bad for you, that is responsible, according to statistics, for 79.403% of all the misery in england. i suppose the bulk of the rest is due to having to review the outfall of the r.p.a. a.c. the literary guide. march-september, 1910. we regret that the r.p.a. disliked our reviews of their sewerage. the

e objection to emerson is that he thinks all men know this oversoul. they don't. it's a few holy illuminated men of god, and i hope that this includes john m. watkins. a.c. vol. i, no. 2. june, 1910. a true christian. by jacob boehme. a most exquisite treatise on the life of the soul. boehme is a passive mystic, or quietist, of the very first water; he really perceives the underlying realities of christianity, a religion which is so hidden by mounds of dirt and rubbish that it needs a very great mystic to get to the bottom of things without becoming defiled. i hope mr. watkins is a true christian. v. b. n. the porch. vol. i, no. 3. on the good, or the one. by plotinus. we took up this book with avidity, thinking from the title that it was about mr. watkins. but no; at least not under that

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQUINOX EQ I 6 2

n- xi. psychological and physical marvels- xii. the "impassible chasm- xiii. realities and illusion- xiv. egyptian wisdom- xv. india the cradle of the race. vol. ii- i. the church; where is it- ii. christian crimes and heathen virtues- iii. divisions amongst the early christians- iv. oriental cosmogonies and bible-records- v. mysteries of the kabala- vi. esoteric doctrines of buddhism parodied in christianity- vii. early christian heresies and secret societies- viii. jesuitry and masonry- ix. the vedas an the bible- x. the devil myth- xi. comparative results of buddhism and christianity- xii. conclusions and illustrations. transcendental magic: its doctrine and ritual. by eliphas levi (a complete translation of "dogme et rituel de la haute magie, with a biographical preface by arthur e. wa

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQUINOX EQ I 6

gs and have the time to study them, it is a mine of information "the academy "a well-furnished store of information for students of the occult arts and sciences "light" the new god and other essays. by ralph shirley, editor of the "occult review" crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 248 pp, 3"s" 6"d" net. contents the new god- prophets and prophecies- prophecies and anticipations- julian the apostate- mystical christianity- the perfect way- relationship of christianity to gnostic faiths- early christian evidences- founders of orthodox christianity- friedrich nietzsche- the strange case of lurancy vennum- cagliostro. dr. alfred russel wallace, writing to the author, characterises this book as "excellent both in style and matter "mr havelock ellis writes to the author "i have read your brilliant and stimu

ALEX SANDERS THE KING OF THE WITCHES

ere brought to trial for making wax images of the pharaoh to the accompaniment of magic incantations. these images were fith-faths, still used by witches today against their enemies. history shows that, as a new religion succeeds the old, the i gods of the latter are invariably condemned as the devils of the former, and it was thus that the pagan god became the christian devil. ill spite of this, christianity and witchcraft co-existed peaceably for centuries. in britain, for instance, london was still heathen six hundred years after the birth of christ, and although augustine managed to convert the king of kent to christianity, the rest of the country preferred pagan rites of witchcraft. but as the 'establishment' became christian, the old religion fell into disrepute,and in a.d. 668 the a

ony as personal asinitiation. a few days later the young man returned and asked if alex would accompany him to the home of some friends who might be able to help 'they are devout christians, evangelists, but they are eager to obey the teachings of the old testament and talk with angels, and they might be prepared to use witchcraft to do so' bill and eunice turned out to be crusaders in revivalist christianity and while bill was quite willing to invoke alien gods, his wife wasreluctant. she felt it disobeyed.the teachings of christ 'but the apostles themselves said "seek ye good gifts, alex told her 'and one ofthe gifts they listed was to speak with angels. would you deny your husband the right to obey, just because you are bigoted' she admitted her bias but asked for more details before co

de initiation, and thus sex would play no part. when the day came alex followed the exact ritual but. instead of telling the rest of the coven to leave the room. he commanded paul to lay his body on maxine's without passion or lust, so that she would remain a virgin but would be initiated symbolically. after the ceremony, when they sat down to the feast-known as the mass long before the advent of christianity-alex told her that he would be marrying her later in the year. ibut why not now' she asked. she loved him and could see no reason for postponing the wedding, alex then told her of her mother's impending death which, of course. she had seen so often in the tarot cards 'your mother will never approve of witchcraft. and it is your duty to do the best you can to makeher happy. these last

easing monthly. q: how many hereditary witches are there besides yourself? a: five that i know of. two in scotland, others in lancashire. sussex and cornwall. q: what does it cost to join. a: nothing. witches are not allowed to receive money for membership. those who call afford to, buy their own robes and weapons; others make do with those discarded by the coven. q: is witchcraft compatible with christianity and other religions? a: yes, so long as christians recognize that their god is also ours. q: how much time must members devote to the cult? a: a minimum of one evening a week plus the night of the full moon each month. experience has shown that most witches enjoy the company of their fellows and make friends within the coven. quite a few marry each other. q: is there any age limit? a:

ALICE A BAILEY01 THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE ATOM

had something of this sort in mind when he spoke about the heavenly man. by the "body of christ" he surely means all those units of the human family who are held within his sphere of influence, and who go to the constitution of his body, as the aggregate of the physical cells form the physical body of the man. what is needed in these days of religious upheaval is that these fundamental truths of christianity should be demonstrated to be scientific truths. we need to make religion scientific. there is a very interesting sanskrit writing, many thousands of years old, which i am venturing to quote here. it says "every form on earth, and every speck (atom) in space, strives in its efforts towards self-formation, and to follow the model placed for it in the heavenly man. the involution and the

department of thought, are disintegrating, but only in order that the life which gave them being may escape, and build for itself that which will be more satisfactory and adequate. take, for instance, the old religious form of the christian faith. here i must warn you- 23- the consciousness of the atom copyright 1998 lucis trust not to misunderstand me. i am not trying to prove that the spirit of christianity is inadequate, and i am not seeking to demonstrate that its well-tried and well-proven truths are erroneous. i am only trying to point out that the form through which that spirit seeks to express itself has somewhat served its purpose, and is proving a limitation. those same great truths, and those same basic ideas, require a more adequate vehicle through which to function. christian

nd well-proven truths are erroneous. i am only trying to point out that the form through which that spirit seeks to express itself has somewhat served its purpose, and is proving a limitation. those same great truths, and those same basic ideas, require a more adequate vehicle through which to function. christian thinkers at this time need to distinguish very carefully between the vital truths of christianity and the crystallised form of theology. the living impulse was given by the christ. he enunciated these great and eternal truths, and sent them forth to take form and meet the need of a suffering world. they were limited by the form, and there came a long period wherein that form (religious dogmas and doctrines) gradually grew and took shape. centuries ensued wherein the form and the l

ALICE A BAILEY02 INITIATION HUMAN AND SOLAR

acher presides over the destiny of the great religions through the medium of a group of masters and initiates who direct the activities of these different schools of thought. in illustration: the master jesus, the inspirer and director of the christian churches everywhere, though an adept on the sixth ray under the department of the mahachohan, works at present under the christ for the welfare of christianity; other masters hold similar posts in relation to the great oriental faiths, and the various occidental schools of thought. in the department of the mahachohan a large number of masters, in fivefold division, work in connection with the deva evolution, and with the intelligence aspect in man. their divisions follow those of the four minor rays of attribute: 1. the ray of harmony or bea

ALICE A BAILEY05 THE LIGHT OF THE SOUL

aja yoga school- 4- the light of the soul copyright 1998 lucis trust the system, however, has been in use since the very beginning of the aryan race. the yoga sutras are the basic teaching of the trans-himalayan school to which many of the masters of the wisdom belong, and many students hold that the essenes and other schools of mystical training and thought, closely connected with the founder of christianity and the early christians, are based upon the same system and that their teachers were trained in the great trans-himalayan school. it should be stated here that the sutras have been dictated and paraphrased by the tibetan brother and the commentary upon them has been written by myself, and subjected to revision and comment by the tibetan. it should be noted that the translation is not

ALICE A BAILEY07 FROM INTELLECT TO INTUITION

d perfect contemplation' annihilation of the lower soul is to be attained only by concentration of thought; loss of the natural powers only by affirmation of the divine majesty, which involves the destruction of all that is other than god; purity of the inmost heart only by love; and perfect contemplation only by purity of the inmost heart."15(127) thus again we have the same truth. the method in christianity it is, of course, easy to find many passages which link the way of the christian knower with that of his brother in the east. they bear witness to the same efficacy of method and they too use the intellect just as far as it will go and then suspend all effort whilst a new condition of being is instituted and a new state of awareness supervenes. st. augustine says "just as that is inef

nscending his angelic mode and guided by the intellect, pierces to the source whence flowed the soul. intellect itself is left outside with all named things. so the soul is merged into pure unity."16(128) thus, the great schools of intellectual meditation (devoid in the final stages of feeling and emotion) all lead to the same point. from the standpoint of buddhism, of hinduism, of sufism, and of christianity, there is the same basic goal: unification with deity; there is the same transcendence of the senses, the same focussing of the mind at its highest point, the same apparent futility of the mind beyond that point to carry the aspirant to his objective; there is the same entering into the state of contemplation of reality, the same assimilation into god, and awareness of identity with g

ALICE A BAILEY08 A TREATISE ON WHITE MAGIC

dalini fire from the base of the spine to the exit in the head. such teachers are found by the pupil when he has carried forward his life work under the direction of his soul, when he has grasped the theory of the science of the centres, and has mastered and controlled the astral nature and its corresponding centre, the solar plexus. the emphasis laid upon the dominance of the christ principle by christianity has laid a sure foundation for the work to be done. this truth is curiously substantiated in a study of the number "eight" in connection with the centres which, we are told, is the number of the christ. there are eight centres if the spleen is counted, all of them are multiples of eight with the exception of the centre at the base of the spine which has four petals, one half of eight

ALICE A BAILEY09 A TREATISE ON THE SEVEN RAYS VOLUME I ESOTERIC PSYCHOLOGY I

ed progress which will fit you for more active and useful service. that none of you may be hindered by the past or by the present, but may live as onlookers, is the prayer, constant and believing, of your teacher. the tibetan. i. introductory remarks. 1. the three objectives in studying the rays. 2. definition of the words: life-quality-appearance. 3. the seven rays enumerated. 4. the function of christianity. chapter i introductory remarks i. the three objectives in studying the rays the study of the rays, and a true and deep comprehension of the inner significance of the teaching, will do for us three things: a. it will throw much light upon the times and cycles in the unfolding panorama of history. in the last analysis, history is an account of the growth and development of man from the

express his quality and appear phenomenally according to the point in evolutionary expression which has been reached "as he is, so are we in this world" but only as yet potentially, the goal of evolution being to make the potential into the real, and the latent into the expressed. the work of the esotericist is just this very thing: to bring out of latency, the hidden quality. 4. the function of christianity- 23- a treatise on the seven rays- volume i: esoteric psychology i copyright 1998 lucis trust i have now laid down the basic premise that all that is known to us is a manifesting divine entity, expressing itself through three aspects which (for the purposes of this treatise and because they are more in line with the terminology of emerging modern thought) i choose to call life-quality

re but other names for the trinity of all the great religions, and are synonymous with the christian phrase, father, son and holy ghost (those old anthropomorphic terms; with spirit, soul and body, the current phraseology; and with the life, consciousness and form of the indian philosophy. may i interpolate here the comment that modern thinkers would do well to bear in mind that the importance of christianity lies in the realisation that it is a bridging religion. this is symbolised for us by the fact that the master of all the masters took incarnation in palestine, that slice of land which is midway between asia and europe, and which partakes of the character of both. christianity is the religion of the transitional period which links the era of self-conscious existence with that of a gro

antaskarana (the bridge between the personality consciousness and the soul consciousness, a.a.b) then shall men be known by their knowledge, be coloured by the despair of desire unappeased, be divided into those who recognise their dharma (meet all implied obligations and duties) and those who only see the working out of karma, and from the very nature of their need find light and peace at last" christianity is primarily a religion of cleavage, demonstrating to man his duality and so laying the foundation for future unity. this is a most needed stage and has served humanity well; the purpose and intent of christianity has been definite and high, and it has done its divine work. today it is in the process of being superseded, but by what new formulation of truth is not yet revealed. the li

ys- volume i: esoteric psychology i copyright 1998 lucis trust note that the term "sub-ray" is used merely for convenience to designate the shorter period of influence, not as indicating any difference in the nature of the ray. we are told that the dominant ray at the present time, though passing out, is the sixth, the ray of devotion, and that this ray was already in operation before the dawn of christianity; also that the seventh sub-ray became the modifying influence about seventy-five years ago (1860, and of course will continue as such. the first outcome of this seventh subray influence was the ecumenical council at rome (1870, with its declaration of papal infallibility. the tractarian movement in england started at the same time, whilst the progress of the seventh sub-ray influence

ALICE A BAILEY10 FROM BETHLEHEM TO CALVARY

y lucis trust foreword this book goes out with the earnest wish that its effect may be wholly constructive and result in a deepening of our belief in christ and a broader recognition of the work which he came to initiate. many years of work as an evangelist and as a teacher in the field of christian principles, and a difficult cycle in which i faced the problem of my own relation to christ and to christianity, have brought me to two definitely clear and clean-cut recognitions: first, a recognition of the reality of the individuality of christ and of his mission; and secondly, a recognition that the development of the christ consciousness and the christ nature in individual man, and in the race as a whole, carries with it the solution of our world problem. most heartily do i endorse the wor

mpression than they are at this time, and the door into the very centre of reality stands wide open. paralleling, however, this significant development is a trend in the counter direction, and materialistic philosophies and doctrines of negation are becoming increasingly prevalent. to many, the whole question of the validity of the christian religion remains to be determined. claims are made that christianity has failed and that man does not need the gospel story with its implications of divinity and its urge to service and sacrifice. is the gospel story historically true? is it a mystical tale of great beauty and of real teaching value but nevertheless of no vital import to the intelligent men and women of today, who pride themselves on their reasoning powers and upon their independence o

historically true? is it a mystical tale of great beauty and of real teaching value but nevertheless of no vital import to the intelligent men and women of today, who pride themselves on their reasoning powers and upon their independence of ancient mental trammels and of old and dusty traditions? as to the perfection of the portrayed character of christ there is never any question. the enemies of christianity admit his uniqueness, his basic profundity and his understanding of the hearts of men. they recognise the intelligence of his ideas and sponsor them in their own philosophies. the developments which the carpenter of nazareth brought about in the fabric of human life, his social and economic ideals, and the beauty of the civilisation which could be founded upon the ethical teaching of

otism and a "way of escape" from the difficulties and problems of daily life. the effort to understand, to experiment, to experience and to express what is known and believed is frequently too difficult for the majority, and they then fall back upon a belief which is based upon the testimony of the trusted, as the easiest way out of the impasse. the problem of religion and the problem of orthodox christianity are not one and the same thing. much that we see around us today of unbelief and criticism, and the negation of our so-called truths, is based upon the fact that religion has been largely superseded by creed, and doctrine has taken the place of living experience. it is this living experience which is the keynote of this book. perhaps another reason why humanity at this time believes s

he negation of our so-called truths, is based upon the fact that religion has been largely superseded by creed, and doctrine has taken the place of living experience. it is this living experience which is the keynote of this book. perhaps another reason why humanity at this time believes so little, or questions so unhappily what is believed, may be the fact that theologians have attempted to lift christianity out of its- 4- from bethlehem to calvary copyright 1998 lucis trust place in the scheme of things and have overlooked its position in the great continuity of divine revelation. they have endeavoured to emphasise its uniqueness, and to regard it as an isolated and entirely separated expression of spiritual religion. they thereby destroy its background, remove its foundations, and make

ALICE A BAILEY11 A TREATISE ON THE SEVEN RAYS VOLUME II ESOTERIC PSYCHOLOGY II

sacrifice if it were expressed through synonymous words and terms. a. the significance of the law of sacrifice it means the impulse of giving. the whole secret of the doctrines of "the forgiveness of sins" and of the "at-onement" lies hid in this simple phrase. it is the basis of the christian doctrine of love and sacrifice. hence the emphasis laid, in the piscean age and through the influence of christianity, upon just these two things, forgiveness and atonement. that man, as usual, distorted and misinterpreted the teaching and the truth, and that it fell, as does all else at present, under the glamour and illusion of the astral plane, plus the piscean influence, is true. man's thought dominated and distorted the ideal and produced such a damnable doctrine as the elect of god, the chosen

erge with that underlying consciousness of the whole, which recognises no pain or sorrow and has, therefore, slipped out of the realisation which predominantly governs the consciousness of the three great lives in our solar system. 5. it is this dimly sensed truth which lies behind the highest type of metaphysical thought, such as christian science, unity, divine science, and the emphasis laid by christianity and the esoteric schools upon the at-one-ment. this instinct towards betterment through sacrifice is itself diverse. there is, first of all, the instinct towards individual betterment, which leads to selfishness, to a grasping, and to an orientation of the materially-minded towards material possessions. there is, secondly, the instinct towards an ameliorating of the conditions of othe

is today in process of being carried forward. c. the approach of enlightenment carries the disciple through the gate of initiation, and is the effect of the same energy playing upon the personalities of the disciples of the world, and transforming their spirit of aspiration into the light of initiation. the mysteries of the world, the flesh and the devil (to use the symbolic formal terminology of christianity) are to be transmuted with rapidity into those of the mysteries of the kingdom of god, the energy of the soul, and the revelation of divinity. the secret hid by the inverted lotus (the world) is to be revealed by the opened lotus of the kingdom of souls. the secret of the flesh, which is the prison of the soul, is revealed by the perfume of the unfolding lotus of the soul. the mystery

ALICE A BAILEY12 DISCIPLESHIP IN THE NEW AGE VOLUME I

new age- volume i copyright 1998 lucis trust of souls and servers" which will make possible the merging of the inner subjective hierarchy of souls and the outer world of humanity. this will constitute an actual fusion or blending and will mark the initiation of the human family through the achievement of its foremost pioneering members. this is the true "marriage in the heavens" of which mystical christianity speaks and the result of this fusion will be the manifestation of the fifth kingdom in nature, the kingdom of god. in the past history of the race, a great event occurred which brought into manifestation the fourth kingdom in nature, the human kingdom. we stand now on the verge of a similar but still more momentous event the appearance of the fifth kingdom, as a result of the planned

seen. they should prove helpful to all who read them. was the task helpful to you? did the answering of those questions bring you illumination and those moments of self-revelation which are not easy for men of your type? when they come, they come on the wings of blinding light. a study of st. paul, his revelation and his way of truth, his logical tenacity (no matter what its disastrous effects on christianity may have been) and his impersonality should give you much of encouragement, of warning, of truth and of necessity. you could, my brother, with ease have written the epistle to the romans. will you find out why? the work of this group of disciples with whom you are associated is growing and your balanced judgment and clear vision may be needed in time to come. give full measure of advi

ALICE A BAILEY13 PROBLEMS OF HUMANITY

ife of its peoples. 2. to foster the spirit of right relations. this is accomplished by the recognition of the one world of which it is a part. this later involves also the taking of those steps which would enable it to enrich the whole world with its own individual contribution. these two activities national and international must proceed side by side with the emphasis upon the work of practical christianity, and not by dominant theologies and subtly imposed church controls. from the angle of the spiritual forces of light, the immediate world process should include: 1. the impending crisis of freedom. this involves free elections in all countries to determine the type of government, the national boundaries (where that problem exists) and a plebiscite of the people to determine their natio

ce or nation as a whole are correct, true and verifiable. perhaps the major factor which has made the jew separative and which has cultivated in him the superiority complex which distinguishes him (under an outer inferiority) in his religious faith. this faith is one of the oldest in the world; it is older than buddhism by centuries; older than many of the hindu faiths, and much more ancient than christianity, and there are features in it which have definitely made the jew what he is. it is a religion of taboos, built up carefully to protect the wandering jew as he drifted from one community to another; it is a religion with a distinctly material basis, emphasizing the "land flowing with milk and honey; this was not symbolic in the days of its use, but a presented objective of his travels

t of god, the fact of christ, the fact of men's spiritual approach to divinity, the fact of the deathlessness of the spirit, the fact of spiritual opportunity and the fact of man's relation to god and to his fellowmen upon these we can take our stand. we should emphasize also the evolutionary presentation of truth and its constant adaptation to the need of humanity at any given period in history. christianity is an expression in essence, if not yet factually of the love of god, immanent in his created universe. churchianity has, however, laid itself open to attack and the mass of thinking people know this; unfortunately, these thinking people are a small minority. for the sake of clarity and in order that the outline of the facts and of the potentialities may emerge clearly, we will divide

ave taken the bibles of the world and have attempted to explain them, passing the ideas they find through the filter of their own minds and brains and in the process inevitably stepping down the meaning. not content with this, their followers have forced these man-evolved interpretations upon the unthinking and the ignorant. every religion buddhism, hinduism in its many aspects, mohammedanism and christianity has produced a flock of outstanding minds who have sought (usually quite sincerely) to understand what god is supposed to have said, who have formulated doctrines and dogmas on this basis of what they thought god meant and their words and ideas have, therefore, become religious law and the irrefutable truths of countless millions. in the last analysis, what have you? the ideas of some

o daily affairs. the negativity of the theological interpretations of the buddhist and hindu scriptures have kept the people in a quiescent condition from which they are slowly beginning to emerge. the mohammedan faith is, like the christian, a positive presentation of truth though very materialistic; both these faiths have been militant and political in their activities. the great western faith, christianity, has been definitely objective in its presentation of truth; this was needed. it has been militant, fanatical, grossly materialistic and ambitious. it has combined political objectives with pomp and ceremony, with great stone structures, with power and an imposed authority of a most cramping nature. the early christian church (which was relatively pure in its presentation of truth and

ALICE A BAILEY14 THE REAPPEARANCE OF THE CHRIST

cognition is the great need today in preparation for his reappearance; no one knows in what nation he will come; he may appear as an englishman, a russian, a negro, a latin, a turk, a hindu, or any other nationality. who can say which? he may be a christian or a hindu by faith, a buddhist or of no particular faith at all; he will not come as the restorer of any of the ancient religions, including christianity, but he will come to restore man's faith in the father's love, in the fact of the livingness of the christ and in the close, subjective and unbreakable relationship of all men everywhere. the facilities of the entire world of contact and relation will be at his disposal; that will be part of the uniqueness of his opportunity and for this he too must prepare. another unique factor whic

tives are using it and it can be seen on the desks of great executives in our major cities; it goes forth over the radio in europe and in america and there is no country or island in the world where its use is unknown. all this has taken place in the space of eighteen months. this new invocation, if given widespread distribution, can be to the new world religion what the lord's prayer has been to christianity and the 23rd psalm has been to the spiritually minded jew. there are three approaches to this great prayer or invocation: 1. that of the general public. 2. that of the esotericists, or of the aspirants and the disciples of the world. 3. that of the members of the hierarchy. first, the general public will regard it as a prayer to god transcendent. they will not recognise him yet as imm

us, with his work unfinished and his vision for mankind not yet consummated. for two thousand years it has seemed as if all his work had been blocked, frustrated, and of no avail, for the growth of the churches during the centuries is no guarantee of the spiritual success at which he aimed. it needed more than theological interpretations and the numerical growth of the world religions (including christianity and buddhism) to prove his world mission successfully carried forward. it all seemed impossible, necessitating three conditions; under these a test of his work could be attempted; today these three conditions are proven facts. first, as we have seen, a general planetary condition which has unfortunately (owing to man's selfishness) proved to be so catastrophic in nature that humanity

ually resurrected, leaving humanity in order to "sit on the right hand of god" in austere and distant pomp. likewise, all the other approaches to god by any other people, at any time and in any country, are regarded by the orthodox christian as wrong approaches, as being practised by so-called "heathen" and as requiring christian interference. every possible effort has been made to force orthodox christianity on those who accept the inspiration and the teachings of the buddha or of others who have been responsible for preserving the divine continuity of revelation. the emphasis has been, as we all well know, upon the "blood sacrifice of the christ" upon the cross and upon a salvation dependent upon the recognition and acceptance of that sacrifice. the vicarious at-one-ment has been substit

e universal father will, in the near future, no longer be regarded as a beautiful, mystical and symbolic statement, but will be regarded as a proved scientific pronouncement. our universal brotherhood and our essential immortality will be proven to be facts in nature. the ground is being prepared at this time for the great restoration which the christ will engineer. the world religions (including christianity) and masonry are today before the judgment seat of humanity's critical mind; the word has gone forth almost unanimously that both of them have failed in their divinely assigned tasks. it is realised everywhere that new life must be poured in, but this will take a new vision and a new approach to living conditions and this only the appearance of the christ can teach and help us bring a

ALICE A BAILEY15 THE DESTINY OF THE NATIONS

t resistance which is not available to the masters of the great white lodge. this danger is, however, lessening decade by decade. let me illustrate these facts for you by means of the two rays which are our immediate consideration. both of them as is ever the law express themselves through a higher and lower form or forms. one of the higher expressions of the out-going sixth ray is to be found in christianity, the spirit and principles of which were embodied for us in the life of the master jesus, who was, in his turn, inspired and over-shadowed and used by his great ideal, the christ. in the word "idealism" you have the keynote of this ray idealism taking form, providing a living example and indicating to the race of men their own divine potentialities. in the appearance of the christ, th

and working in cooperation with, the hierarchy. hercules has gone over into the shamballa centre, but still works in a basic association with the buddha who is one of the forces linking shamballa and the hierarchy. pure religion, undefiled and spiritually focussed, is the higher expression of the sixth ray (working as is ever the case under the influence and potency of the second ray) and for us christianity in its earlier days was the great and inspiring symbol. in the same connection, among the lower aspects of the sixth ray are to be found all forms of dogmatic, authoritative religion as expressed by the organised and orthodox churches. all formulated theologies are the lower expression of the higher spiritual truths because they embody the mind reactions of the religious man, his conf

hrist. theologians have lost (if they ever possessed it) the "mind that is in christ" and the outstanding need of the church today is to relinquish theology, to let go all doctrine and dogma and to turn upon the world the light that is in christ, and thus demonstrate the fact of christ's eternal livingness, and the beauty and the love which it can reflect from its contact with him, the founder of christianity but not of churchianity. i generalise. there are those in the church today who do express all that i have stated and who are reflections in the truest sense of the living christ. they relegate theology and authority to their rightful place and regard the discussions of theologians as simply expressions of perhaps needed mental gymnastics and as incentives to thought, but they do not r

e is regarded consequently as a basic essential. the seventh ray influence is that which will produce in a peculiar and unexpected sense the western school of occultism just as the sixth ray impulse has produced the eastern school of occultism the latter bringing the light down on to the astral plane and the new incoming influence carrying it down on to the physical. the eastern teaching affected christianity and indicated and determined the lines of its development and christianity is definitely a bridging religion. the roles will eventually be reversed and the shift of the "light in the east" will be over europe and america. this will inevitably bring about the needed and desired synthesis of the mystical way and the occult path. it will lead later to the formulation of the higher way; o

overning the development of the sixth ray disciple, was expressed for him in the words of christ when he said "i, if i be lifted up, will draw all men" the emphasis of all sixth ray work is attraction and repulsion hence division and cleavage, producing eventually a realisation of the necessity for a consciously undertaken synthesis and integration, mentally motivated and produced. the history of christianity (which is the history of europe) will stand illumined if the law of attraction and repulsion is studied in connection with its eventful past. the use and misuse of this law and its constant interpretations in terms of material desire, personal ambitions, and territorial control produced the many schisms and cleavages and will account for much that happened. under the seventh ray influ

ALICE A BAILEY18 A TREATISE ON THE SEVEN RAYS VOLUME III ESOTERIC ASTROLOGY

place as a consequence of overcoming the "serpent of evil (the form nature with its promptings and demands) by the means of the "serpent of wisdom" which is the esoteric name oft given to the soul. in connection with the symbolic connection between mars and the blood, producing the resultant conflict between life and death (for scorpio is one of the signs of death, it is interesting to note that christianity is governed by mars. one is apt to recognise with ease that the sixth ray- 127- a treatise on the seven rays- volume iii: esoteric astrology copyright 1998 lucis trust working through mars, rules christianity. it is a religion of devotion, fanaticism, of high courage, of idealism, of the spiritual emphasis upon the individual and his worth and problem, of conflict and of death. all th

natures are concerned; it has regarded the sex relation as one of the primary evils in the world and has laid the emphasis upon the inviolable nature of the marriage bond when endorsed by the church. this has all been the result of the beneficent or the malefic effect of the impact of sixth ray force upon the form nature. little emphasis has been laid nevertheless upon the influence of mars upon christianity, making it a definitely militant religion, oft cruel and sadistic (as witness the murders and tortures carried out in the name of christ, who was the outstanding representative of god's love. throughout the teaching of christian theology, the theme of blood runs ceaselessly and the source of salvation is laid upon the blood relationship and not upon the life aspect which the blood vei

(as witness the murders and tortures carried out in the name of christ, who was the outstanding representative of god's love. throughout the teaching of christian theology, the theme of blood runs ceaselessly and the source of salvation is laid upon the blood relationship and not upon the life aspect which the blood veils and symbolises. it is the creed of a crucified and dead christ which rules christianity and not that of the risen master. one of the reasons for this travesty of the truth has been that st. paul, that great initiate, prior to taking the third initiation which he did at the time he was functioning as related in the acts of the apostles, was potently under martian influence and was born in scorpio; a study of his horoscope would demonstrate this were you in a position to s

nator of some work for the hierarchy passes over to the other side through death or relinquishes his task in order to take up other duties. the blood theme and the death theme, the suffering and the dire testing of the disciple, the value of the individual conflict and the consciousness of the misery of existence are basically due to the combined influences of scorpio and of mars which have ruled christianity for so long and which are only now beginning somewhat to lose their influence. a study of the processes of death as the sign scorpio conditions them and the processes of death as we see them working out in the sign pisces would be of very real value. death through the influences of pluto and death through the influences of mars are widely different. death in pisces through the energy

ty and after the killing out of desire goes on towards pisces where again he dies "unto an eternal resurrection" in scorpio there is the death of the personality, with its longings, desires, ambitions and pride. in pisces there is the death of all attachments and the liberation of the soul for service upon an universal scale. christ, in pisces, exemplified the substitution of love for attachment. christianity exemplifies the death of the personality, with individual and not universal implications; love has been conspicuously lacking and the controlling colour of christianity has indeed been red. it is not christ's expression but the scorpio-mars presentation of st. paul. mars has ruled christianity because st. paul misinterpreted the esoteric significances of the new testament message and

ALICE A BAILEY19 THE UNFINISHED AUTOBIOGRAPHY

orthodox christian worker could become a well-known occult teacher. people might learn much by discovering how a theologically minded bible student could come to the firm conviction that the teachings of the east and of the west must be fused and blended before the true and universal religion for which the world waits could appear on earth. there is value in knowing that the love of god antedates christianity and recognises no boundaries. this was the first and most difficult lesson i had to learn and it took me a long time. it takes all fundamentalists much time to learn that god is love. they assert it but do not believe it in practice, god's practice i mean. i would like, among other things, to show how the world of human beings opened up to a very class-conscious english woman and how

ked to come into the world but here i was. i was just 15. nobody loved me and i knew i had a hateful disposition and so was not surprised that life was difficult. there was no future ahead of me, except marriage and the humdrum life of my caste and set. i hated everybody (except two or three people) and i was jealous of my sister, her brains and good looks. i had been taught the narrowest kind of christianity; unless people thought as i did, they could not be saved. the church of england was divided into the high church party which was almost anglo-catholic and the low church party which believed in a hell for those who did not accept certain tenets and a heaven for those who did. i belonged for six months of the year to one party and for six months of the year (when i was not in scotland

else's. i remember pondering one day on the verse in the bible "the very hairs of your head are all numbered" it seemed to me that god was keeping a lot of statistics. i consulted a theologian in the seminary and found that his answer was that this biblical statement proved that god was not conditioned by time. i discovered next that the cross was not a christian symbol but that it long antedated christianity and this was a final blow- 72- the unfinished autobiography copyright 1998 lucis trust i was, therefore, completely disillusioned by life, by religion with its orthodox presentation and by people, particularly my own husband whom i had idealised. no one needed me, except three babies, and i used to be needed by hundreds and thousands. only a small handful of people cared in their busy

g the line of united public work and we were planning and arranging for the future. the t.s. situation was getting more and more difficult and plans were being made already for the convention of 1920, where the whole situation blew up. speaking of my interior experience, i had become as disillusioned with the t.s. as i had with- 91- the unfinished autobiography copyright 1998 lucis trust orthodox christianity but the situation was not so acute because great and basic truths had come to have meaning to me and i was not alone because foster and i were already planning to get married. i now come to a happening in my life about which i hesitate to speak. it concerns the work which i have done for the past twenty-seven years. this work has received world-wide recognition and has evoked world-wi

ALICE A BAILEY20 A TREATISE ON THE SEVEN RAYS VOLUME IV ESOTERIC HEALING

nough to regard this presentation as acceptable, and of course among those we must class the unthinking people who escape from mental responsibility into blind belief in theological pronouncements. the christian interpretation as given by the orthodox and the fundamentalist schools proves untenable when submitted to clear reasoning; among the arguments which negate its accuracy lies the fact that christianity posits a long future but no past; it is likewise a future entirely dependent upon the activities of this present life episode and accounts in no way for the distinctions and differences which distinguish humanity. it is only tenable upon the theory of an anthropomorphic deity whose will as it works out in practice gives a present that has no past but only a future; the injustice of th

tion to its precipitation (the related gland, then the form responds and ill health disappears. one of the interesting factors which students should note is the doctrine of intermediaries which is to be found in such rich abundance and is regarded as of such vital importance in all occult teaching. it has been emphasised (though erroneously interpreted) in the christian teaching anent the christ; christianity has presented him as acting as the intermediary between an angry god and a pitiful and ignorant humanity. such was by no means the intent of his coming or of his work, but into the real meaning i need not enter here. i have dealt with this theme elsewhere in- 364- a treatise on the seven rays- volume iv: esoteric healing copyright 1998 lucis trust connection with the new world religio

atient-occultly and occasionally produces sufficient energy stimulation to bring about a cure where a cure in any case was inevitable. it has simply been a hastening process. this is not, however, a true occult healing and no true occult healing methods were employed or involved. psychologically, the same thing can be seen taking place in the case of a "conversion" as the fundamentalist school of christianity calls it. the faith of the person and the faith of the evangelist, plus the faith of the audience (where there is one) bring about a psychological healing along the line of resolving cleavages, or produce an at-one-ment, even if only of a temporary nature. it must be increasingly borne in mind that there is nothing in the created world but energy in motion, and that every thought dire

not know, but were entirely preoccupied with their own grief. the evocation, had they attempted it, would have been useless, but the good that might have- 387- a treatise on the seven rays- volume iv: esoteric healing copyright 1998 lucis trust come to them and the revelation they might have received as to the deathlessness of the soul would have greatly illuminated them and might have produced a christianity built around a living christ and not around a dead christ. in radiatory healing, we are told that "the healer must seek to link his soul, his brain, his heart and auric emanation" you will note two points connected with this particular instruction which differ from that given in the case of magnetic healing: 1. the order of the triangle of energies created is different. 2. the means o

ALICE A BAILEY22 DISCIPLESHIP IN THE NEW AGE VOLUME II

that the inertia so prevalent among spiritual people is overcome. there is divine indication of coming events and a planned progress towards them, and this is already arousing interest among thinkers in many lands. however, the necessary responsive planning is still lacking. this new invocation, if given widespread distribution, can be to the new world religion what the lord's prayer has been to christianity and the twenty-third psalm has been to the spiritually minded jew. i would like to indicate to you three approaches to the subject of this invocation. i will do so briefly, as time lacks. it is for you to arrive according to your evolutionary status and the depth of your reflection at what i may leave unsaid. these three approaches are: 1. that of the general public. 2. that of the es

ALICE A BAILEY23 THE EXTERNALISATION OF THE HIERARCHY

rought under the german sphere of influence. the totalitarian powers will dominate the economic system of the world and control all imports and exports. the standard of living in both hemispheres will be lowered; everything will be related to the good of germany, and no other nation will be considered. christian teaching and christian ethics must necessarily be eliminated, because germany regards christianity and its divine founder as effeminate and weak, as emphasising the softer qualities of human nature, and as responsible for the decadence of all nations, except germany. christianity must also be overthrown because it is based on jewish sources; the rule of christ must come to an end, because only the rule of force is right. in the world order of the axis powers, the individual has no

he voice of the people as a whole. it is that voice (usually sound in its pronouncements) which must be evoked, recognised and listened to, and not the voices of the separative exponents of any ideology, of any form of government, religion or party. the objective of those who are entrusted with the straightening out of the world is not the imposition of democracy upon the entire world or to force christianity upon a world of diversified religions. it is surely to foster the best elements in any national government to which the people may subscribe, or which they intelligently endorse. each nation should recognise that its form of government may be suited to it and quite unsuited to another nation; it should be taught that the function of each nation is the perfecting of its national life

at any one time. the whole subject of discipleship has been distorted by theological definitions, based upon sweetness of character, which often works singularly for ineffectiveness. the long cycle of ecclesiastical rule has biased human thinking so that the nature of spiritual strength and effectiveness is interpreted in terms of religion and in the terminology of churchianity (i did not say, of christianity, or in the phraseology of a marked pacifism or a dominating, religious, temporal control. the long rule of the various churches is over. this should be grasped. they have done their work in the early stages very good work, in the middle stages a necessary consolidating work, and in the modern stage a crystallising and reactionary work. the rule of the churches is over, but not the pre

ity, or in the phraseology of a marked pacifism or a dominating, religious, temporal control. the long rule of the various churches is over. this should be grasped. they have done their work in the early stages very good work, in the middle stages a necessary consolidating work, and in the modern stage a crystallising and reactionary work. the rule of the churches is over, but not the precepts of christianity or the example of the christ. he is, however, responsible for a newer and more effective presentation of the coming world religion, and for that the churches should prepare, if they have enough illumination to recognise their need and his effort to meet that need. today a balance must be reached, and this will take place through the medium of an enlightened statesmanship and through a

recipitation upon the physical plane. their lineaments can already be discerned. the wise guides of the race, working under the christ and having in view the need of the public for a form, seek at this time to hold just as much as may be of the old form and lineaments, as much, that is, as is consistent with evolution and progress. in the west, what the great ones seek to break is not the form of christianity but the grip of the churches on the minds of the masses. the old forms of thought and of interpretation are now too restricted and too tightening in their hold upon the imprisoned and struggling life. that life must break forth. it cannot be confined by the ancient restrictions. yet at this time there does not exist the need for an utterly new venture or for an entirely new presentati

ALICE A BAILEY24 A TREATISE ON THE SEVEN RAYS VOLUME V THE RAYS AND THE INITIATIONS

with ideas rather than ideals, and with essential truth rather than with carefully formulated theologies. christ expressed in himself and refrained from putting it into form; he himself was the truth, yet inevitably (because of its inherent life) that which he expressed took form and has greatly modified and coloured human thinking and planning, and this will be increasingly so. as the essence of christianity emerges into expression (and in so doing destroys churchianity) you have again a striking illustration of the truth of what i am seeking to emphasise. in the christian church, men have expressed themselves, not the christ; they have imposed their interpretations of truth on truth itself; they have created a massive organisation in every land but a living organism is non-existent. in t

n so doing destroys churchianity) you have again a striking illustration of the truth of what i am seeking to emphasise. in the christian church, men have expressed themselves, not the christ; they have imposed their interpretations of truth on truth itself; they have created a massive organisation in every land but a living organism is non-existent. in the new world religion which is on its way, christianity will be expressed through the creative activity of the christ spirit through the medium of the world disciples and initiates; we shall then see the full expression of hierarchical truth of which the christ today is the symbol and exponent. neophytes and aspirants have "touched" that for which the christ stood, and have then attempted to impose their comprehension of that which they co

symbol of the essential dualism of spirit and matter, as embodied in a world saviour. 2. christ appearing to the disciples in the upper room, symbolising the zodiac, for judas iscariot was there, standing for the sign at the time in power; the other eleven disciples representing the remaining signs through which the sun must pass. 3. pentecost. this event does not portray the triumph of orthodox christianity (as the theologians believe and teach, but signifies the universal dissemination of the christ consciousness throughout all time in the heart of every human being; to this the words and promise "lo, i am with you all the days, even until the end of the world" bear witness. it is owing to the deeply esoteric meaning of the resurrection and the ascension and their major significance, re

the early part of the next century) a group of enlightened masons will re-arrange the rituals and adapt the present forms and formulas in such a manner that the spiritual possibilities, symbolically indicated, will emerge with greater clarity and a deepened spiritual potency; the coming form of masonry in the new age will necessarily rest upon the foundation of a newly interpreted and enlightened christianity, having no relation to theology and being universal in nature. its present form, resting as it does on a jewish foundation which is nearly five thousand years old, must disappear. this must take place, not because it is jewish, but because it is old and reactionary and has not followed the evolutionary passage of the sun through the zodiac. that passage should and does symbolise human

cian in either group, for usually only his own selfish ambition and the desire to preserve a certain political ideology which has put him into power are the goal of his efforts. the principle of conflict is working also in the churches, but more slowly, unfortunately, owing to the corruption and soporific effect of theological churchianity; i would have you note my choice of words; i said not "of christianity" for true christianity, as christ taught it, is free from theological abuses and must and will be restored or perhaps more accurately reach its first stage of expression. everywhere the fourth ray of harmony through conflict is active in the human family and is dominating human affairs; everywhere in the life of the individual, in the lives of groups, organisations and churches, in th

ALICE BAILEY THE LABOURS OF HERCULES

so goes the world disciple, initiate in capricorn, on his way to serve humanity in [179] aquarius. in that sign he cleans the augean stables (of the karma of all past ignorance and error, the dweller on the threshold) and so becomes in pisces a world savior. one remembers that the last act of the christ on his way to gethsemane and calvary was to wash the feet of his disciples. it has been said "christianity has not failed: it has never been tried" are we now, after two thousand years, really beginning to try, individually and in group formation? this is the work that makes it possible for the christ to reappear and also which prepares humanity to recognize him and to be able to endure the quality of the emanations that attend his coming- 103- the labours of hercules (amplification of eso

attle, the form aspect, was also killed but the shepherd and the cattle were raised up in the golden cup. here you have the holy grail; and so the work was accomplished. the world savior had fulfiled his [199] function. he had lifted up humanity. that is what all world saviors have done. they- 114- the labours of hercules all did what, to a greater extent, christ did. we hear about the failure of christianity. i do not see failure anywhere in the great plan. perhaps slowness, but do you know how disastrous it would be if evolution were too rapid, how dangerous it would be if people were over-stimulated before they were ready? all teachers know the dangers of over-stimulation, the disasters that occur when a person makes certain contacts before the mechanism is sufficiently tuned up. world

roblem and we are told that it is possible even for a high initiate son of god to drop back from the path of attainment. his failure is, however, only temporary. fresh opportunities occur. the consequence of his mistake has been delay, but the day of restoration and of renewal inevitably recurs. in virgo we have depicted the preparation for the first initiation, the birth of the christ, called in christianity the birth of the christ in the heart. this is a physical plane- 131- the labours of hercules happening as well as a transcendental one, as we find when we study the signs of virgo and of capricorn. in libra (september 22- october 21, the balance, hercules captures the boar and, through the performance of this labor, demonstrates his fitness to take the second initiation, which concern

ARADIA GOSPEL OF THE WITCHES

n which adeep and intelligent interest in the subject is well supported by extensive knowledge. what will be tothe reader of my book particularly interesting is the amount of information which mr. rolfe givesregarding the connection of dianawith witchcraft, and how many of her attributes became those ofthe madonna. the worship of diana, as he says, prevailed very extensively. so much so, thatwhen christianity superseded paganism, much of the heathen symbolism was adapted to the newrites, and the transition from the worship of diana to that of the madonna was made comparativelysimple. mr. rolfe speaks of the key, rue, and verbena as symbols of diana; of all of these i haveincantations, apparently very ancient, and identified with diana. i have often found ruein houses inflorence, and had it

itch sorcery it is the female who is the primitive principle. wheneverin history there is a period of radical intellectual rebellion against long-established conservatism,hierarchy, and the like, there is always an effort to regard woman as the fully equal, which meansthe superior sex. thus in the extraordinary war of conflicting elements, strange schools of sorcery,neo-platonism, cabala, heretic christianity, gnosticism, persian magism and dualism, with theremains of old greek and egyptian theologies in the third and fourth centuries at alexandria, and inthe house of light of cairo in the ninth, the equality of woman was a prominent doctrine. it wassophia or helena, the enfranchised, who was then the true christ who was to save mankind. page 64 the supper of the witches, the cakes of meal

condi-tions of life. even the best reform brings pain with it, and the great awakening of man was accompa-nied with griefs, many of which even yet endure. pessimism is the result of too much culture andintroversion.it appears to be strangely out of sight and out of mind with all historians, that the sufferings of thevast majority of mankind, or the enslaved and poor, were far greater under early christianity, or tillthe end of the middle ages and the emancipation of serfs, than they were before. the reason forthis was that in the old heathen time the humble did not know, or even dream, that all are equalbefore god, or that they had many rights, even here on earth, as slaves; for, in fact, the whole moraltendency of the new t estament is utterly opposed to slavery, or even severe servitude

nd when arousedthe flying tempest calls with awful joyand echoes as it strikes the mountain-side,then crashes in the forest. hear the cry!surely a god hath set his lions looseand laughs to hear them as they rage afar. c. g. leland.the following story does not belong to the gospel of the witches, but i add it as it confirms the factthat the worship of dianaexisted for a long time contemporary with christianity. its full title in theoriginal ms, which was written out by maddalena, after hearing it from a man who was a native ofvolterra, is la pellegrina della casa al vento the female pilgrim of the house of the wind. itmay be added that, as the tale declares, the house in question is still standing.there is a peasants house at the beginning of the hill or ascent leading to volterra, and it i

BALANONES TEMPLE OF SET FAQ

wed by setians, many people will call the temple of set "satanic" many setians do, too, but not all "satan" is a name given to the prince of darkness, just like "set" is a name given to the prince of darkness. however "set" is a name given by a religion which found setian principles attractive and noble, and which honored the prince of darkness "satan" is a name given to the prince of darkness by christianity out of fear and revulsion. the christian satan is a twisted bastardization of the true prince of darkness "satanism" is a term used by many to describe the left hand path in the west. we are a proud part of the tradition of spiritual dissent, differing philosophically from the church of satan. their take on the left hand path is the immanent path wherein godhood is achieved by the wor

"satanists" against the christian majority? i've never understood why wiccans, druids, and others might think we want their defending. there are ethical and social reasons to do it, and that's why setians generally defend other pagans against discrimination and other forms of attack, but satanists don't need others to defend them- satanists would be happy if other pagans would simply stop buying christianity's lies and attacking the satanists as if allied with christianity's blind bigots. there's a little more discussion of this in the ref document "are you witches" that depends upon your definition of a "witch" we do explore activities which many people would call "magic" such as telepathy, divination, and methods of strengthening our souls and spirits through mental and spiritual discip

BEHOLDERS OF NIGHT

originally intended to be a shadow unto light way of living, from which the essence of the self is propagated in ones own will, desire and belief. as time moved forward, a watered down version of the craft from which was passed down from hermetic occultism and other pagan practices, brought much of the public essence of witchcraft to be a watered-down, sometimes spiritually impotent off shoot of christianity, which seemed to plague much of all western culture. in our primal selves, the forgotten areas deep within the mind, from which christianity could not pervert, leviathan guarded the gateway, and soon lilith and samael again emerged from the light of azazel, called lucifer, the bringer of light. that the challenge of the initiate to the adept is the very self, that the dark wells of th

even more so is the gift of freedom. freedom is the chance to progress and develop ones own life in accordance to desire. a responsible and free individual stands at the gateway of possibility, from which limits are only placed by ones mind. to align ones own self with the natural order is to dissolve the essence, from which the consciousness would be devoured by the mind numbing devourer called christianity, or the right hand path. this is the very silk masked murdered of the self, which would caress us into the arms of the scorpion, which would destroy all of which we are to sacrifice the mind to the void of non-being. the left hand path is the strengthening of the mind, and the possibility of one becoming as a separate being, not in order with the natural universe, that he or she is un

BLACK SERPENT1

ck, over all the earth and over all the creatures that move along the ground (niv) 12 dominionist theologians believe that it is their responsibility, as christians, to bring the entire world- all countries, societies, and governments- under the "word of god" they are also postmillennialists, meaning they believe jesus christ will only return to earth after most of the world has been converted to christianity. under a dominionist society, mainline and liberal christian churches would be prohibited from holding services or proselytizing. all non-religious groups would also be prohibited from such. perhaps you might be able to worship the demons inside the privacy of your own home, but if you even breathe a word of it outside your home, you would be tried for idolatry and put to death. likew

ent, as their numbers grow larger. the dominionists believe that they will not have to forcefully take over the country. they expect that people will naturally and peacefully convert to their way of doing things. it's only a matter of "spreading the power of god's word" in other words, it's a matter of milking the first amendment for all it's worth and proselytizing until this particular brand of christianity grows to become the largest in the u.s; then, once they have become the majority, remove the first amendment and begin incorporating biblical commandments and punishments into american law. now i bet that many of my demonolator and satanist readers are probably sweating at the brow by now. however, let's keep a good head on our shoulders. there are certain things we need to keep in mi

they have become the majority, remove the first amendment and begin incorporating biblical commandments and punishments into american law. now i bet that many of my demonolator and satanist readers are probably sweating at the brow by now. however, let's keep a good head on our shoulders. there are certain things we need to keep in mind about these dominionists and their relations to the rest of christianity. for one thing, it is important to acknowledge that, unlike most other forms of fundamentalist christianity, dominionists stress the importance of the hebrew scriptures (i.e, the old testament) over the christian scriptures (i.e, the new testament. this is a highly unusual position for fundamentalist christians to take. usually it is believed among the more conservative christians tha

most conservative fundamentalist sects, it is generally believed by most that proselytizing against other religions is preferable to killing people. you will not typically hear of southern baptist preachers calling for the merciless execution of minority religions. they would much rather just proselytize. this again is a demonstration that dominionists do not represent the norm in fundamentalist christianity. 13 perhaps one of the most important theological differences between dominionists and other fundamentalists is that, as postmillenialists, they do not believe jesus will return until far in the future. this is a significantly big difference; most fundamentalist christian groups are premillenialists, who believe that the requirements for jesus' return have mostly been fulfilled alread

un-christian. even ralph reed of the conservative christian coalition has characterized christian reconstructionism as "an authoritarian ideology that threatens the most basic civil liberties of a free and democratic society" now that we have established who is pushing for a christian theocracy in the u.s (i.e, dominionists, and now that we have considered the size of their sphere on influence in christianity (i.e, not very large at all- yet, we may next ask ourselves the question "what can demonolators and satanists do to prevent such a thing from happening" we must keep in mind that dominionists want to change the constitution to fit their own beliefs. this in itself will be a difficult task for them, but we can make it even more difficult by voting for representatives who do not make a

BLAVATSKY H P ANTHROPOGENESIS

he emanations of ain-soph "generation" god (see book i, part 2 "deus lunus) it is a fact well known to every conscientious student of the kabala, that the deeper he dives into it, the more he feels convinced that unless the kabala- or what is left of it- is read by the light of the eastern esoteric philosophy, its study leads only to the discovery that, on the lines traced by exoteric judaism and christianity, the monotheism of both is nothing more exalted than ancient astrolatry, now vindicated by modern astronomy. the kabalists never cease to repeat that primal intelligence can never be understood. it cannot be comprehended, nor can it be located, therefore it has to remain nameless and negative. hence the ain-soph- the "unknowable" and the "unnameable- which, as it could not be made man

ttled and agreed that satan with his fallen angels belonged to the earliest creation, satan being the first-created, the wisest and most beautiful of god's archangels, the word was given, the key-note struck. henceforth all the pagan scriptures were made to yield the same meaning, and all were shown to be demoniacal, and it was and is claimed that truth and fact belong to, and commence only with, christianity. even the orientalists and mythologists, some of them no christians at all but "infidels" or men of science, entered unconsciously to themselves, and by the mere force of association of ideas and habit, into the theological groove. purely brahmanical considerations, based on greed of power and ambition, allowed the masses to remain in ignorance of great truths; and the same causes led

more philosophical meaning will be better understood if the reader thinks carefully over the myth of prometheus. it is examined[[vol. 2, page] 101 the divine babe, agni. further on in the light of the hindu pramantha. degraded into a purely physiological symbol by some orientalists, and taken in connection with terrestrial fire only, their interpretation is an insult to every religion, including christianity, whose greatest mystery is thus dragged down to matter. the "friction" of divine pramantha and arani could suggest itself under this image only to the brutal conceptions of the german materialists- than whom there are none worse. it is true that the divine babe, agni with the sanskrit-speaking race, who became ignis with the latins, is born from the conjunction of pramantha and arani

wledge of good and evil" i.e, with divine wisdom, as without the former the latter is impossible* repeating iamblichus, champollion shows him to be "the deity called[[eichton (or the fire of the celestial gods- the great* thot[[footnote(s* this is about as just as though- a few millenniums hence- a fanatic of some future new creed, who was bent on glorifying his religion at the expense of ancient christianity, were to say "everywhere the quadruped lamb was adored. the nun placed it, calling it the agnus, on her bosom; the priest laid it on the altar. it figured in every paschal meal, and was glorified loudly in every temple. and yet the christians dreaded it and hated it, for they slew and devoured it" heathens, at any rate, do not eat their sacred symbols. we know of no serpent, or reptil

y of the ages" and even of the "light of asia! the author notes the "avowed origin (of theosophy) from the "descending angels" from the "nephilim" or the angels of the vith ch. of genesis, and the giants. he ought to note his own descent from them also, as the present secret doctrine endeavours to show- unless he refuses to belong to the present humanity[[vol. 2, page] 230 the secret doctrine. to christianity; furthermore, he believes that this book was written "at the beginning of the christian era, when. the customs and religion of the egyptians fell into decadency! this is hardly possible, since jude quotes in his epistle from the "book of enoch (verse 14; and, therefore, as archbishop laurence, the translator of the book of enoch from the ethiopic version, remarks, it "could not have b

BLAVATSKY H P COSMOGENESIS

ial attention being paid to some facts which have been seized upon by various writers, and distorted out of all resemblance to the truth. but it is perhaps desirable to state unequivocally that the teachings, however fragmentary and incomplete, contained in these volumes, belong neither to the hindu, the zoroastrian, the chaldean, nor the egyptian religion, neither to buddhism, islam, judaism nor christianity exclusively. the secret doctrine is the essence of all these. sprung from it in their origins, the various religious schemes are now made to merge back into their original element, out of which every mystery and dogma has grown, developed, and become materialised. it is more than probable that the book will be regarded by a large section of the public as a romance of the wildest kind;

max muller) but they have not fathomed it- and this is the complaint of the confucianists, as a very learned member of that body, in paris, complained in 1881[[vol. 1, page] xxvi introductory. if one turns to the ancient literature of the semitic religions, to the chaldean scriptures, the elder sister and instructress, if not the fountain-head of the mosaic bible, the basis and starting-point of christianity, what do the scholars find? to perpetuate the memory of the ancient religions of babylon; to record the vast cycle of astronomical observations of the chaldean magi; to justify the tradition of their splendid and eminently occult literature, what now remains- only a few fragments, said to be by berosus. these, however, are almost valueless, even as a clue to the character of what has

he memory of men of the real nature of initiation and the sacred science. from that time its teachings became occult, and magic sailed but too often under the venerable but frequently misleading name of hermetic philosophy. as real occultism had been prevalent among the mystics during the centuries that preceded our era, so magic, or rather sorcery, with its occult arts, followed the beginning of christianity. however great and zealous the fanatical efforts, during those early centuries, to obliterate every trace of the mental and intellectual labour of the pagans, it was a failure; but the same spirit of the dark demon of bigotry and intolerance has perverted systematically and ever since, every bright page written in the pre-christian periods. even in her uncertain records, history has p

in, valleys and highlands, seeking for and eager to destroy every obelisk and pillar, scroll or parchment they could lay their hands on, if it only bore the symbol of the tau, or any other sign borrowed and appropriated by the new faith; and he will then see plainly how it is that so little has remained of the records of the past. verily, the fiendish spirits of fanaticism, of early and mediaeval christianity and of islam, have from the first loved to dwell in darkness and ignorance; and both have made- the sun like blood, the earth a tomb, the tomb a hell, and hell itself a murkier gloom" both creeds have won their proselytes at the point of the sword; both have built their churches on heaven-kissing hecatombs of human victims. over the gateway of century i. of our era, the ominous words

in the eternal justice of things. says faigi diwan, the "witness to the wonderful speeches of a free-thinker who belongs to a thousand sects "in the assembly of the day of resurrection, when past things shall be forgiven, the sins of the ka'bah will be forgiven for the sake of the dust of christian churches" to this, professor max muller replies "the sins of islam are as worthless as the dust of christianity. on the day of resurrection both muhammadans and christians will see the vanity of their religious doctrines. men fight about religion on earth- in heaven they shall find out that there is only one true religion- the worship of god's spirit* in other words "there is no religion (or law) higher than truth "satyat nasti paro dharmah- the motto of the maharajah of benares, adopted by the

BLUE EQUINOX

morn the artist represents the dawn of the day following the witches. rout. the witch is hanged, and the satyr joyfully looks out from behind the tree; in the background all is spring, and the nymph dances joyfully to the piping of the shepherd. the picture is symbolical of the new aeon. from the blasted stump of dogma, the poison oak of .original sin. is hanged the hag with dyed and bloody hair, christianity, the glyph thus commemorating .sa vie horizontale et sa mort verticale. the satyr, a portrait of frater d.d.s, one of the teachers of the master therion, represents the soul of the new aeon, whose word is do what thou wilt; for the satyr is the true nature of every man and every woman; and every man and every woman is a star. the shepherd and the nymph in the background represents the

i rend everlasting, world without end, mannikin, maiden, maenad, man, in the might of pan. io pan! io pan pan! pan! io pan! 9 editorial do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law the world needs religion. religion must represent truth, and celebrate it. this truth is of two orders: one, concerning nature external to man; two, concerning nature internal to man. existing religions, especially christianity, are based on primitive ignorance of the facts, particularly of external nature. celebrations must conform to the custom and nature of the people. christianity has destroyed the joyful celebrations, characterised by music, dancing, feasting and making love, and has kept only the melancholy. the law of thelema offers a religion which fulfills all necessary conditions. the philosophy an

. the book of lies, falsely so called: with an extended commentary by the master therion. this book contains some of the most valuable mystic epigrams ever written, and also some very important secret rituals. it is the official text-book of a.a. for .babes of the abyss. liber xv: the canon of the mass, according to the gnostic catholic church, which represents the original and true pre-christian christianity. liber li. the lost continent. an account of the continent of atlantis: the manners and customs, magical rites and opinions of its people, together with a true account of the catastrophe, so called, which ended in its disappearance. liber cvi. a treatise on the nature of death, and the proper attitude to be taken towards it. liber dccclxxxviii. a complete study of the origins of chris

orders of military monks, like the templars, who grew and prospered exceedingly. you recall that the order of the temple was only overthrown by a liber clxi 229 treacherous coup d. tat on the part of a king and of a pope who saw their reactionary, obscurantist, and tyrannical programme menaced by those knights who did not scruple to add the wisdom of the east to their own large interpretation of christianity, and who represented in that time a movement towards the light of learning and of science, which has been brought to fruition in our own times by the labours of the orientalist from von hammer-purgstall and sir william jones to professer rhys davids and madame blavastsky, to say nothing of such philosophers as schopenhauer, on the one hand; and by the heroic efforts of darwin, huxley

erious drawback still is the confusion of thought caused by his early training. he is a sublime initiate, but he is trying to put his quart of champagne into the pint pot of the language of christian mysticism. he has not seen the necessity of discarding this deuce and trey. he stands pat on his three aces instead of trying to catch the fourth or maybe a pair of kings in the draw. the language of christianity, particularly pauline christianity, is hopelessly mired in the slough of the idea of original sin. reviews 305 mr. klein disavows this idea with noble boldness as freely as we ourselves of the a.a. would do. he has accepted the law of thelema. he understands that there is no law beyond .do what thou wilt. he states it almost in so many words. and yet his congenital fetter seems to gal

BUCKLAND RAYMOND COMPLETE BOOK OF WITCHCRAFT

is to give this necessary information. with it, you as an individual or (with like-minded friends) as a group can then either do your own thing, happy in the knowledge that it is at least as valid as any of the more established traditions, or you can, on locating a coven, become an initiated participant with training and knowledge as good as (if not better than) any of the other coven members. in christianity there are many denominations (e.g. episcopalian, roman catholic, baptist, methodist. so it is in witchcraft. just as there is no one religion that is right for all people, there is no one denomination of witchcraft that is right for all witches. and that is as it should be. we are all different. our backgrounds both ethnic and social vary greatly. it has often been said that there are

ill be explained shortly but a few of the more recently published ones have told the story accurately. or as accurately as we can determine. the late dr. margaret murray traced back and saw witchcraft's origins in palaeolithic times; 25,000 years ago. she saw it as a more or less unbroken line through to the present, and as a fully organized religion throughout western europe for centuries before christianity. recently scholars have disputed much of what murray said. she did, however, present some tangible evidence and much thought-provoking material. as a probable development of religio-magick (rather than witchcraft, per se, her theories are still respected. twenty-five thousand years ago palaeolithic wo/man depended upon hunting to survive. only by success in the hunt could there be foo

the witan; the council of wise ones. and indeed the wicca did have to be wise. they not only led the religious rites but also had to have knowledge of herbal lore, magick and divination; they had to be doctor, lawyer, magician, priest. to the people the wicca were plenipotentiaries between them and the gods. but, at the great festivals, they almost became like gods themselves. with the coming of christianity there was not the immediate mass-conversion that is often suggested. christianity was a man-made religion. it had not evolved gradually and naturally over thousands of years, as we have seen that the old religion did. whole countries were classed as christian when in actuality it was only the rulers who had adopted the new religion, and often only superficially at that. throughout eur

gion. it had not evolved gradually and naturally over thousands of years, as we have seen that the old religion did. whole countries were classed as christian when in actuality it was only the rulers who had adopted the new religion, and often only superficially at that. throughout europe generally the old religion, in its many and varied forms, was still prominent for the first thousand years of christianity. an attempt at mass conversion was made by pope gregory the great. he thought that one way to get the people to attend the new christian churches was to have them built on the sites of the older temples, where the people were accustomed to gathering together to worship. he instructed his bishops to smash any "idols" and to sprinkle the temples with holy water and rededicate them. to a

shiela-na-gigs. the god is shown as a horned head surrounded by foliage; known as a "foliate mask, and also sometimes referred to as "jack of the green" or "robin o' the woods. incidentally, these carvings of the old god should not be confused with gargoyles. the latter are the hideous faces and figures carved on the four corners of church towers to frighten away demons. in those early days, when christianity was slowly growing in strength, the old religion the wiccans and other pagans was one of its rivals. it is only natural to want to get rid of a rival and the church pulled no punches to do just that. it has frequently been said that the gods of an old religion become the devils of a new. this was certainly the case here. the god of the old religion was a horned god. so, apparently, wa

CASSANDRA EASON A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO WITCHCRAFT AND MAGIC

onsider the goddess to be of greater significance than her male counterpart. others regard them as equal, assuming different aspects according to the season and ritual: she as the earth or moon deity, ruler of the summer months, he as the sun or corn god, ruler of winter and lord of the underworld after his death. along with other nature deities, the horned god became demonised with the advent of christianity, and the goddess was either depicted as a wicked witch or downgraded to the status of a faerie. thus the celtic warrior goddess maeve became the faerie mab, described thus by mercutio in shakespeare's romeo and juliet: she is the fairy's midwife, and she comes in shape no bigger than an agate-stone on the fore-finger of an alderman [insert pic p022- contrary to popular belief, wiccans

formal ritual, you may wish to add god/goddess-power forms as an interspersed chant, with the voices of the group ebbing and rising in waves. you may wish to welcome the archangels, or guardians of the four watchtowers at the four compass points as you cast your circle (the archangels represent the celestial beings that feature in the cosmologies of the three main religions of the western world -christianity, judaism and islam. for more information, see pages 200 and 236. alternatively, you may wish to call upon powerful goddess forms: isis, ishtar, cerridwen, innana, shakti, yoruba, danu, kali and aine, protect, empower and inspire this magical endeavour. you can embellish the casting ceremony as much as you like, perhaps drawing pentagrams in the air at the four main compass points, and

represented by these four suits, is associated with one of the treasures of the celts. the treasures belonged to the celtic father god, dagda, and are said to be guarded in the otherworld by merlin. there were 13 treasures in total, but four have come into pre-eminence in magick and tarot reading. these four main sacred artefacts- swords, pentacles, wands and cups, or chalices- have parallels in christianity and were associated with the legendary quest of the knights of king arthur, who attempted to find them. the grail cup was the most famous of these. the christian sword of king david, identified in legend with arthur's sword excalibur, appears in celtic tradition as the sword of nuada whose hand was cut off in battle. with a new hand fashioned from silver, he went on to lead his people

t pic p268- mabon, or maponus, was another form of lugh, and was regarded as the son of the earth mother and known as the liberator-prisoner. the corn god lies fallow in the womb of the mother. but because his sacrifice was willing, death has no dominion over him and he grows stronger. this is the time of the second harvest of vegetables, fruit and remaining crops, the harvest home that pre-dates christianity. on the day when equal night and day heralded winter, the feast formed a sympathetic magical gesture to ensure that there would be enough food during the winter, by displaying and then eating in celebration the finest fruits of the harvest. druids traditionally climb to the top of a hill to take leave of the summer sun as the nights will get longer. michaelmas, the day of st michael

ld be enough food during the winter, by displaying and then eating in celebration the finest fruits of the harvest. druids traditionally climb to the top of a hill to take leave of the summer sun as the nights will get longer. michaelmas, the day of st michael, the archangel of the sun, is celebrated on 29 september. st michael was patron saint of high places and replaced the pagan sun deities in christianity. today, global rituals concentrate on positive steps to ensure enough food, shelter and resources for vulnerable communities and individuals, relief of flood and famine, protection of endangered water creatures, dolphin, whales and fish whose seite 163 wicca01.txt death involves great suffering; they also look for peace especially where initiatives are already in motion. on a personal

CHIREAU YVONNE BLACK MAGIC RELIGION AND THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CONJURING TRADITION

and meaning. it is about magic, as that term refers to the beliefs and actions by which human beings interact with an invisible reality. but it is also about religion, which may be defined as a viable system of ideas and activities by which humans mediate the sacred realm. in some african american spiritual traditions, ideas about magical and religious practice can enclose identical experiences. christianity may presume a person's acceptance of a kind of supernaturalism, as a religion that calls upon god, jesus, and the holy ghost to directly intervene, when petitioned, in the life of the believer. individuals may utilize the rhetoric of miracle to characterize this kind of spiritual efficacy, or they may adopt a lexicon that is associated with\ 3\ magic. or they may choose both. a fixed

aking people of the sea islands, the book's focus is not on that territory, nor on any single region or population where african american supernatural traditions are found.not even new orleans, a demographically unique city that is more often associated with black "magic" than any other. rather, i argue that widespread affinities are\ 7\ manifested in black folk traditions, be they practices from christianity in its numerous sectarian forms, or spiritual traditions such as supernatural healing and divination. the conclusion that i have arrived at is this: african american "religion" is not always distinct from what others call "magic" instead, these are complementary categories, and they have historically exhibited complementary forms in african american culture. the chapters in this book

nd concepts of spiritual intervention. elements of the older african worldview also intersected with black magic page 7 of 144 http//content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docid=kt600020q0&chunk.id=0&doc.view=print 7/14/2006 a network of anglo-american supernatural traditions. the simultaneous emergence of african-based supernaturalism (later identified as conjure and hoodoo) and black americans f embrace of christianity resulted in the reinforcement of magic and religion as convergent phenomena. chapters 3 and 4 examine the contours of african american folk tradition as exemplified in supernatural harming and healing practices. supernatural harming is usually called voodoo, which is also the name of an african-derived religion originating on the island of haiti. voodoo, as it is used in the american

anuals of european christian extraction, such as this english translation of john george hohman, der lange verborgene freund (the long lost friend; 1856. courtesy of the library company of philadelphia, rare books division\ 11\ 1 "our religion and superstition was all mixed up" black magic page 9 of 144 http//content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docid=kt600020q0&chunk.id=0&doc.view=print 7/14/2006 conjure, christianity, and african american supernatural traditions henry abraham, an african american farmer, migrated from the lowcountry plantations of south carolina to the pine fields of florida early in the twentieth century. a story tells that one day he was sent to draft some laborers for work in the turpentine camps. approaching a truckload of potential recruits, abraham tried to persuade them to

although it is not clear that henry abraham would have claimed the title, his career manifests strong parallels with those of other african american supernatural healers, the conjurers. conjure is a magical tradition in which spiritual power is invoked for various purposes, such as healing, protection, and self defense. the relationship between conjure and african american religion.in particular, christianity.is somewhat ambiguous. conjure is usually associated with magical practices, unlike christianity, which is seen as a "religion" a dichotomy that suggests that they are in conflict with one another. yet from slavery days to the present, many african americans have readily moved between christianity, conjure, and other forms of supernaturalism with little concern for their purported inc

CHRONOLOGIA RORISPERGIUS

s earlier. 86-82 bc rhetorica ad herennium latin rhetorical treatise on the classical art of memory attributed to marcus tullius cicero. 70-19 virgil 67 pirates based in cilicia (a province on the southeastern coast of asia minor) were practicing secret rites of mithras. 46-120 plutarch 20 bc- 45 philo of alexandria, jewish platonic philosopher 10 bce apollonius of tyana 4? bce-33 ce jesus founds christianity. diamond sutra. heart sutra. 1st century ce apollonius of tyana flourished. nagarjuna- first order 4 magic square, in india. 1st to 3rd ce) testament of solomon composed 17 egyptian zodiac at denderah is erected. 30-96 new testament. 50-63 (n.t) colossians, philemon, ephesians, philippians. c.50 chaeremon egyptian stoic philosopher and grammarian, superintendent of the alexandrian lib

clement of alexandria stromata book 6 chap.4 describes sacred ceremonial procession of egyptian priests carrying the 42 books of hermes(emanation of re) 215-220: origen (185-253/4, then catechist for the christian community of alexandria, preaches his homilies on genesis along with a lot of other works 216 to 276- life of mani, the illuminator, who founded manicheism, based on ideas from judaism, christianity, zoroasterism, gnosticism, etc. 244-261 mani sent a mission to egypt under adda and patteg reaching as far as alexandria and another mission was led by ammo penetrating to the far north-east of the empire, to parthia and marv and beyond where he founded communities. 250-325 ce iamblicus, neoplatonic philosopher, was born in chalcis, coele-syria 261-62 manichaean mission, led by adda a

emical work connected with the third century gnostic alchemist zosimos of panopolis, in whom he placed the historical point of the convergence of gnosticism and alchemy. zosimos accepted the hermetic teaching that the origin of the term "chemae" was from the books of the divine art of attaining immortality given to man by the fallen angels. 313: under emperor constantine, the edict of milan makes christianity a legal religion throughout the empire. a few years later, constantine begins building a new imperial capital on the bosphorus, which he modestly names constantinople. c.318 pachomius left his hermitage at an old serapis temple and founded the first known cenobitical or "communal type" monastery at tabennis near denderah, egypt. 325 council of nicea, can. of christian bible (to 13th c

etosiris on detailed eclipse delineation. preserves an ancient egyptian method of prediction using the dog-star alone. c.380 sepher ha-razim (the book of the mysteries) a jewish mystical and magical grimoire from egypt. related to the sepher raziel. 385 d. st. gregory of nyssa 386: augustine (354-430, a rhetorician of north african descent currently working in milan, accepts baptism into catholic christianity from bishop ambrose of milan. 391 second burning of library at alexandria (by christians. 401 confessions of st. augustine. 404 cod. of the vulgate (latin bible. jerome (345-420) produces a new translation (from both greek and hebrew) of most of the christian scriptures into latin. 410-485 proclus: epistles on alchemy. commentary on euclid's elements. 411: rome is sacked by alaric the

each gift dominating a different age of church history" 1075-1160 abelard of bath translates euclid into latin from arabic 1076-1153 shahrastani refers to sabian "philosophers" 1080-1167 bernard sylvestris school of chartres philosopher of neo-platonic and neo-pythagoreanism tendencies probably influenced by the writings of eriugena. 1080-1154 william of conches rectification of neoplatonism and christianity- school of chartres. 1090 fr res d'orient("the brothers of the east) established at constantinople, ancestor of novo cabalae philosophorum incognuorum dignissimo sodali (society of unknown philosophers "is it possible that a group of bogdadiens/harranians/sabians migrated to constantinople, and eventually established the brothers of the east? is it possible that the brothers of the ea

CULTUS SABBATI

n pragmatic deeds of healing, love-magic, wortcunning, curing and cursing. where the practices of cunning-folk overlapped with those of the high ritual magic traditions, the calling of angels, the apparatus of astrology, and latin incantations were integrated into the magic of the everyday. notably, these rituals, spells and formulae employed the idiom of the predominant religious culture, namely christianity, often melding folk religiosity in a seamless blend unique to each individual practitioner. although ritual magicians and cunning-folk alike used christian formulae in their praxes, one could argue that this religious language was naturally the timely idiom of narration for magical rites. however, beneath the shifting of language and culture, the immemorial methodologies and tools of

DAVID ICKE AND THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE

n mind as they sought to control this dimension. the potential for manipulating humanity with such technology is simply limitless. what better way to control people, close down their minds and divide and rule, than to create a series of dogmatic religions based on extraterrestrial special effects? look at the pain, misery, and inter-generational ignorance that has been visited upon this planet by christianity, islam, judaism, and all the rest. if you want to shut down someone's consciousness so they stop thinking for themselves and delink their minds from their infinite potential, sell them a dogmatic religion or some other form of rigid dogma. they are then putty in your hands. i think the takeover of planet earth was achieved by what i call the luciferic consciousness. i use this as an o

on? it is certainly a possibility. the native american tribe, the iroquois, have a legend of an iroquois maiden marrying the chief of the sky people. the geologist, christian o'brien, suggested that hebrew and sumerian texts refer to a race of beings known as the 'shining ones, a term he connects with the hebrew word, elohim. it is no coincidence that the devas from the sanskrit and the angels of christianity are also 'shining ones. the incas of peru referred to 'shining ones' too. o'brien says that it was the beings known as the elohim which created modern humanity from early human forms through genetic manipulation. he adds that some of them, the 'watchers' in the book of enoch, mated with humans and he believes that the alleged founders of the semitic race, shemjaza and yahweh, were amo

humanity tends to cling to both until its knuckles turn white. dogmas take endless forms and when you can persuade different people to hold opposing dogmas, the manipulation of conflict and control through 'divide and rule' becomes easy. it is happening today in the same way- more so, in fact- as it has throughout the period of the vibratory prison. to a manipulator, judaism is just as useful as christianity and islam; the political 'left' is just as important as the political 'right. you need two dogmas to play off against each other. the most effective dogmas over thousands of years have been the religions. one generation takes on a narrow view of life and themselves (a religion) and imposes it on their children, who then do the same to their children, and so it goes on into the modern

succeeding generations, and the original clarity was lost in the repeated communication. the knowledge also became a vehicle for control, and it was accordingly changed to suit those in power at any given time. this is why you still find elements of this knowledge in all religions. the original core knowledge has been diluted and diverted in countless directions, to manifest as religions such as christianity, islam, judaism, paganism, hinduism, etc. all have retained the themes of the knowledge to some extent, while often destroying its true meaning with dogma, myth, and manipulated make-believe. ironically, paganism has retained far more of the original knowledge than those religions (such as christianity) which condemn it as 'evil. the fourth dimensional prison warders wish to prevent u

t they are going to do. soon they will be able to do anything they want! let us go down and mix up their language so they will not understand one another' so the lord scattered them all over the earth, and they stopped building the city. the city was called babylon, because there the lord mixed up the language of all the people, and from there he scattered them all over the earth" genesis, 11:1-9 christianity sees those people in a highly negative light when, i believe, it was actually the other way around. they were rebelling against the control. after atlantis, other civilisations began to emerge from the reincarnation of atlantean consciousness. the knowledge they passed on through the generations, and extraterrestrial intervention, was both positive and negative. there was the civilisa

DAVID ICKE CHILDREN OF THE MATRIX

diluted by breeding outside of their hybrid circle. in the ancient world, one of the headquarters for the secret society network or illuminati, through which these bloodlines manipulate humanity, was babylon, also in the lands of sumer. this illuminati network then moved its headquarters to rome and during that time came the roman empire and the creation of the roman church, or institutionalised christianity. the headquarters moved on into northern europe after the fall of the roman empire and for a period was based in amsterdam, the netherlands. this was when the dutch began to build their empire through the dutch east india company and they settled south africa. in 1688, one of these hybrid bloodlines, william of orange, invaded england from the netherlands and took the british throne a

y of london funded all "sides" in the two world wars and that's provable (see..and the truth shall set you free. so let us summarise the scam (a) you need to first imprison the human mind with a rigid belief and a fundamentally limited sense of reality- the sheep pen. it doesn't much matter what these beliefs may be, so long as they are rigid and discourage free thought and open-minded questions. christianity, judaism, islam, hinduism, and all the rest, each make their contribution to human servitude while apparently claiming different "truths (b) you encourage those who follow these rigid beliefs to impose them on others and make life very difficult and unpleasant for anyone who does not conform (c) you bring these beliefs into conflict, so ensuring the divide and rule you so desperately

; his body was symbolised as bread and eaten by those who worshipped him' jesus, yes? no, no. all of this was said about the saviour son of god called attis who was worshipped by the phrygians, one of the oldest races in asia minor, now turkey, well over a thousand years before the manufacture of "jesus. it is just one of countless symbolic deities of whom the same story was told millennia before christianity. others are accepted to have been myths and not to have literally existed. but not jesus. while christians laugh at those "pagan" tales and condemn them as evil, they ask the rest of the world to believe, indeed have insisted on pain of torture and death, that their version of the same story is somehow literally true while all the others are not. yeah, right. to understand how the rep

sus. while christians laugh at those "pagan" tales and condemn them as evil, they ask the rest of the world to believe, indeed have insisted on pain of torture and death, that their version of the same story is somehow literally true while all the others are not. yeah, right. to understand how the repeat of an ancient, endlessly recurring story could be transformed into the prison-religion called christianity, and to see the source of global control today, we have to research our ancient origins. when we do that with an open mind and without preconceived dogma, a very different human history emerges. one that is not taught in the schools and universities of the world or revealed through the mainstream media. it is a story that not only makes sense of the past, but opens your eyes to the st

ia in egypt was destroyed in ad391.46 once we know of these advanced civilisations that lasted hundreds of thousands of years, and the extraterrestrial involvement in their creation and demise, our whole view of the world and ourselves will change. so will our understanding of what is happening and who is controlling us today. the destruction of ancient knowledge all over the world in the name of christianity was the illuminati, or the temple of the sun, destroying the true accounts, not only of history, but also the law of one. so what happened to mars? there is increasing acceptance that the earth has suffered some colossal geological upheavals. the debate (and often hostility) comes with the question of when and why. these upheavals have obviously involved the solar system as a whole be

DAVID ICKE THE BIGGEST SECRET

raditioncome from babylon. easter comes from another face of queen semiramis- ishtar -andit is from this, and possibly another brotherhood deity, ashtaroth, that we get the nameof ashtar as in ashtar command, a completely manipulated new age belief in anextraterrestrial hero who has come to save us. the babylonian myths and symbolismprovided the foundations for all the major religions, especially christianity. the romanchurch was the creation of the babylonian brotherhood and the pope still wears a mitreshaped like a fish head to symbolise nimrod. this is also the significance of hisfishermans ring. the chair of st peter in the v atican was claimed to be a holy relic, butin 1968 it was exposed by a scientific commission as being no older than the 9th centurymore significantly, according to

erful example of this technique. merely to speak about esoteric matterswas to sign your own death warrant. this scam has been so effective that still todayyou have christians condemning esoteric information as the devil when this sameknowledge is the very foundation of their religion. if you want to know wherechristianity really came from, stick around. it is recycled paganism and provably so.yet christianity has been used quite brilliantly as the major vehicle for removing vitalknowledge from the public domain. whenever christianity and other religions tookcontrol of a country or region, the ancient texts and records were removed ordestroyed. this took out of circulation the very knowledge the reptilians have used58and still use to manipulate an ignorant population. it was also in the nam

we live within the planets magnetic field. when it changes,we change. if you live in water and the water changes, you are fundamentally affectedand it is the same with the energy ocean that we occupy. thus you have the movementof the planets affecting the earths magnetic field and through that affecting us. thebrotherhood dont want us to know any of this and so they have used their religions,like christianity, to condemn astrology as the work of the devil and their science todismiss it as mumbo-jumbo.the mystery stone circles and structures are much less mysterious when you seekanswers with open minded research. the evidence strongly suggests that they were builtby the phoenician-aryans who came here from the middle and near east. it is the samewith the mystery white horses scored into the

hoenicia, as did an adjoining port called phoenice.40 by this time the phoenicians hadorganised the tin trade, from their mines in cornwall in the west of england acrossgaul/france to marseilles, from where it was taken by sea to the lands of themediterranean and aegean. the first phoenician tin-port in cornwall was ictis or stmichaels mount in penzance bay. st michael, one of the great heroes of christianity,was in truth a phoenician deity.there is endless evidence to prove the ancient link between the british isles andireland and the culture of north africa and the near east. they say if you want toexpose corruption, follow the money. well if you want to identify the passage of peopleand cultures, follow the language. the irish language today is english which replacedgaelic and gaelic it

ian patriot movementwhich has seen through many other smokescreens and identified many aspects of thebrotherhood conspiracy. what they cannot face, however, is that their own religion is amassive part of that conspiracy.that is not to condemn all people who call themselves christian. there are many whoexpress a loving spirituality through their christian beliefs. i am talking of the institutionof christianity and its arrogant indoctrination and imposition of its desperately limitedvision of life which has created a mind-prison for literally billions of people over almost2,000 years. all the worlds major religions, hinduism, christianity, judaism and islam,came out of the very same region of the middle and near east from which the aryanrace and the reptile crossbreeds emerged after the cata

DAVID ICKE RELATED THE HIDDEN GEARS OF FREEMASONRY

t evidences of satanism all over the world. there are numerous masonic/satanic symbols on this web site, all of which originate from this secret society called "the brotherhood of the serpent/snake" many call it "big brother" without even realizing its extraterrestrial origins. it was also known in ancient egypt as "the mystery schools" freemasonry is the secret organization famous for its use of christianity as a tool for control. the king james version of the bible, edited by sir francis bacon (a 33rd degree freemason, is used to create order in society through the implementation of a belief system geared towards their fascist ideologies. the chaos is carefully orchestrated to insure the passing of more and more laws that will (eventually) completely destroy freedom. this is why there is

eal. that numbering system was not based on ten, but on six. for example "600" would be 1000 "60" would be 100 and "6" would be 10. the occult is trinitarian, i.e. it's main teachings are grouped in three's. the number sequence "93 and 93, 93; or 600, 60, and 6 is the "current" of the new age of aquarius- the water bearer, which heralds the end of the age of pisces- the fishes (an early symbol of christianity) in the teachings of the order of the eastern templars or o.tur147 preface by jerry w. decker www.keelynet.com po box 111786 carrollton, tx 75011 there are fields of study which are relatively unknown to the general public. though 'pyramid power' is well known, few have pursued it to other geometric forms and the phenomena which can be produced by understanding what is happening. some

DAVIDSON DAN SHAPE POWER

your home, office, and your general well being. xvii shape power has been used throughout known history and back into remotest antiquity. its most common manifestation has been in the use of amulets, ceremonial magic, and occult practices. symbols such as the square, cross, and triangle occur regularly in occult symbols. the cross has an uncountable number of permutations and its association with christianity is a recent phenomenon in known history. in this modern day, most people do not associate symbols as foci of energy and power. for them, a symbol is nothing more than an artistic or common figure which may or may not have any meaning and if they do have any association of power with respect to a symbol, it is merely the idea of possible power associated with an organization or activit

DEITUS

h experience. satanists do not burn candles of various colors for various wishes, or sing ring around the rosy while dancing clockwise in a circle holding hands. those who want to practice magic but cannot divorce themselves from the stigma attached to the practice of witchcraft and sorcery, call themselves white witches and base eighty percent of their philosophy on the guild-ridden doctrines of christianity. the satanist looks with contempt upon these hypocrites who denounce satan with one breath while attempting to practice the very art which historically has been attributed to the dark lord. the satanist recognizes that magic is magic, be it used to help or to hinder. the last page of the demonic bible is a diagram entitled the map of the spheres. the spheres illustrated are essentiall

DEMONIC BIBLE

e given by the romans to the morning star venus when it appeared in the eastern sky in the hours before dawn. lucifer, the light-bearer, the morning star, personified enlightenment, wisdom, and beauty. the cult of lucifer was associated with the worship of venus or aphrodite, the goddess of love and passion, and involved sexual acts of which the early christians did not approve. the acceptance of christianity as the official religion of rome, and subsequent conversion of pagans to the new faith, resulted in the name lucifer becoming associated with the devil satan. if jesus is the light and truth, reasoned the christian, then lucifer must be a false light, a deceiver, even a fallen angel. christianity condemned paganism, goddess-worship, and sexuality as evil; and the cult of lucifer could

-mazda and satan assuming the part of the serpent ahriman. satan, a minor angel in hebrew mythology, became equal in power with god. the belief of a war in heaven between god and satan was carried into europe by the early christians. in christian mythology, lucifer became the highest of the angels, created in the perfect image of god, who fell from grace because of his pride. during the spread of christianity in europe the devil began to take on the form most often associated with him today. christians gave him the attributes of many of the old pagan gods: horns, tail, and cloven hooves. he became the god of fertility, the god of lust, the god of the dead, and the god of magic. devil worshippers and luciferans to facilitate conversion, pagan holy days became christian holy days. pagan temp

y, the god of lust, the god of the dead, and the god of magic. devil worshippers and luciferans to facilitate conversion, pagan holy days became christian holy days. pagan temples were destroyed and became the sites of christian churches. the less demonic looking gods were converted into angels in god s armies as pagans were converted en masse to the new religion. the mass conversion of pagans to christianity was not entirely successful, however. in many countries, the people worshipped christ alongside the old gods. by the twelfth century there were a number of gnostic heresies which threatened the power of the church in rome. one gnostic sect was known as the luciferans. the luciferans believed that lucifer was the true god and yahweh was the devil. another gnostic sect, better known, wa

n-natural evolution of man. the aeon of isis was a time when man lived in close harmony with the natural world and the dominant religions involved the worship of nature. this was characterized by the pre-christian pagan world. the aeon of osiris, which followed the aeon of isis, was a time when man rejected the natural world, accepting self-denial and sacrifice of the flesh and body as the ideal. christianity rose as the dominant religion in the west during the aeon of osiris. crowley, who came to believe that he was the beast described in the book of the revelation of jesus to st. john the apostle, wrote the book of the law, which he claimed was revealed to him by the spirit aiwass and was a true revelation from the egyptian deities nuit, hadit, and ra hoor khut. in the book of the law we

and thereby become a more powerful force to affect change. thirdly, work with other satanic groups and organizations to promote unity and diversity within the satanic community. fourthly, to establish an independent and sovereign state modeled after the city-states of the pre-christian pagan world with a system of government and law based upon satanic ethics rather than the outdated moral code of christianity. and fifthly, serve as a diplomatic embassy of this future satanic state. these goals fall into two broad roles which may be summarized as the role of the eol as a magical and philosophical temple and the role of the eol as a political and diplomatic organization. as a magical and philosophical temple, the eol draws heavily from the philosophy of those temples which preceded it (the t

DIABOLUS

he luciferian and sethian potential. the witch cult in the 60 s was a growing scene of exploring hermetic occultists who have not yet thrown the drape of dullness which wicca later became. charles pace wrote to anton lavey in 1974 about gardner and wicca, mentioning that wiccan is a saxon word which means enlightened ones and not wise ones, referring to those who were enlightened from paganism to christianity. pace suggested that he gave the word wicca along with his associates to gardner, apparently as a joke. gerald gardner did not get the joke. obviously, charles pace was meaning that light heartened as he was a high priest in a coven under the wiccan and gardner concepts, even though he had a nasty falling out when them in the mid 70 s. in necrominion, the book of shades it is reportab

DICTIONARY GLOSSARY OF OCCULT TERMINOLOGY

freely. sanders, alex: the founder of a tradition of wicca (q.v) known as alexandrian wicca (q.v. called by his followers "the king of the witches" satan: in the christian, jewish, and islamic religions, the supreme arch-foe of god. the prince of darkness, the adversary of god. in modern thought, the lord of evil. satanism: a religion that basis it's beliefs on reverse and backward principles of christianity. the worship of satan, the arch-foe of christ, through such practices as the black mass, sexual perversion, drug taking, violence, mutilation, killing, and sacrilege. in reality, most people who call themselves satanists are simply neoeppicurianists, hedonists or egotists. the few who are truly dedicated to an evil entity they call "satan" are shunned by most occultists. satanism has

chalice. waxing (moon: the moon from when the new moon can just be seen to the time of the full moon. western occultism: the magick of europe and english speaking nations around the world that has descended from the magick of sumeria, babylonia, egypt, greece, rome, the arabs and the jews, as well as from the indigenous european magick of ancient times. it's range is roughly coequal with that of christianity. the kabbalah is said to be the heart of modern western occultism. white magick: 1) the science and art of causing change (in reality or in consciousness) in conformity with will, using means not currently understood by traditional western science, for the purpose of obtaining the knowledge and conversation of your holy guardian angel (q.v. also known as experiential mysticism. 2) in

DION FORTUNE MYSTICAL QABALA

o john to be baptised in the jordan before commencing his mission at the age of thirty. be that as it may, the closing clause of the lord's prayer is pure qabalism. malkuth, the kingdom, hod, the power, netzach, the glory, form the basal triangle of the tree of life, with yesod, the foundation, or receptacle of influences, as the central point. whoever formulated that prayer knew his qabalah. 13. christianity had its esotericism in the gnosis, which owed much to both greek and egyptian thought. in the system of pythagoras we see an adaptation of the qabalistic principles to greek mysticism. 14. the exoteric, state-organised section of the christian church persecuted and stamped out the esoteric section, destroying every trace of its literature upon which it could lay hands in striving to e

ess though a somewhat naive conception of the psychology thereof, thus revealing the poverty of a system which does not avail itself of the experience of tradition. 17. the bhakti yoga of the catholic church is only suitable for those whose temperament is naturally devotional [page 6] and who find their readiest expression in loving self-sacrifice. but it is not everybody who is of this type, and christianity is unfortunate in not having any choice of systems to offer its aspirants. the east, being tolerant, is wise, and has developed various yoga methods, each of which is pursued by its adherents to the exclusion of the others, and yet none would deny that the other methods are also paths to god for those to whom they are suited. 18. in consequence of this deplorable limitation on the par

gony as is found in the stanzas of dyzan, which were the basis of mme blavatsky's work. herein she found the framework of traditional doctrine which she expounded in her great book, the 5ecret doctrine. this qabalistic cosmogony is the christian gnosis. without it we have an incomplete system in our religion, and it is' this mystical qabala page 21 incomplete system which has been the weakness of christianity. the early fathers, in the homely metaphor, threw away the baby with the bath-water. a very cursory acquaintance with the qabalah serves to show that here we have the essential keys to the riddles of scripture in general and the prophetic books in particular. is there any good [page 28] reason why initiates of the present day should put all this knowledge into a secret box and sit upo

general concept, much of that time will be wasted because the bearing of that concept on the scheme as a whole will not be understood. the rabbis themselves apply to kether the titles, concealed of the concealed, and the inscrutable height, hinting that there is not a great deal that the human mind can hope to know about kether. 11. it is worthy of note that exoteric judaism, to whose liabilities christianity is the not altogether fortunate heir, does not contain any concept of the emanations, or overflowing of the sephiroth one from another. it declares that god made the sea and the hills and the beasts of the field, and we visualise this process, if we visualise it at all, as the work of a celestial craftsman fashioning each new phase of manifestation and putting the finished product in

athetic observer who wins the conbdence of the exponents of these systems and succeeds in being received into their holy of holies as a friend, and who goes to learn instead of merely to observe and ridicule, and in another way to the "beef-fed zealot" who walks into the holy place in his dirty boots and gets stoned by the indignant worshippers. 8. in judging these things let us consider the form christianity would present if approached in the same way. unsympathetic observers would probably conclude that we worshipped a sheep, and the holy ghost would yield some spectacular interpretations. let us credit other people with using metaphors if we do not expect to be taken literally our-selves. the outer form of the ancient pagan faiths is no cruder than christianity in backward latin countri

DION FORTUNE PSYCHIC SELF DEFENSE

of the ancient world all had their evil gods as well as their beneficent deities, and they did not call these evil gods devils. in hinduism we have shiva and kali; in the egyptian system we have set and besz and typhon; in the grecian pantheon there are pluto and hecate. all the other faiths, also, have their angelic choirs, their archons, or builders, and all the hierarchy of heaven. protestant christianity alone has forgotten its angiology, the creator has to be both architect of the universe and bricklayer, forming man from the dust of the ground without assistance. if we refer to paradise lost, however, we shall find that milton was familiar with both divine and infernal hierarchies, and that these were graded and charted according to a definite system. anyone who is acquainted with t

uences of these spheres play upon them. now the occultist working under a proper system, knowing that he has got to meet these forces sooner or later, picks them up one by one voluntarily and by means of the appropriate rituals, and synthesises them within his own nature. he knows too that each aspect has its obverse. the virgin mary is reflected in lilith. the older faiths knew this, but popular christianity, which has no roots in tradition, has forgotten it. protestant christianity threw away its occult aspect at the reformation. all the pagan pantheons have gross aspects of divinities as well as etherial ones. we need to search the refuse-heap of history for the lost parts of our own tradition if our faith is to be complete, and the most profitable line of search is in the qabalah and t

ndicated any centralised control, whether for good or for evil. everything, in fact, points the other way, and indicates that there is no connecting link save that of a common literature, a common idealism, and a set of symbols which, if not common to all sections, are readily translatable by means of well-understood equivalents. the position in the occult field is analogous to that of protestant christianity, not roman christianity. occultism has no pope. nor do i think that bolshevism ever gained any foothold in the lodges, though i believe it tried; as witness the application to my own fraternity. the average occultist is not interested in politics, his concern is with things invisible. moreover, the occult fraternities are too inco-ordinated and scattered to be formidable political wea

DONALDTYSON BLACKMAS

the late anton szandor lavey and his los angeles based church of satan, founded in the 1960s, in the sense that these rituals were performed in honor of the devil and involved a parody of the church mass. however, lavey always asserted that his black mass was not intended to defile the christian god, because he denied the existence of such a god. since the deliberate degradation and defilement of christianity is one of the key features of the true black mass, the mass performed in the church of satan falls short of perfection. the concept of the black mass has no meaning outside of christianity. it was a fantasy created by the priests of the inquisition as the worst thing they could possibly accuse supposed witches of doing. after it became a part of the literature of the witch craze in va

ons recreated from these accounts and performed by groups of 18th and 19th century decadents looking for magical power and cheap sexual thrills. the black mass only ever truly existed in all its dark glory in the form of these staged re-creations. the belief was that the black mass derived its efficacy from the esoteric energy of the catholic mass perverted to evil ends. in modern times, now that christianity has lost so much of its spiritual and temporal power, there is very little reason for any group to perform the black mass. it will probably always remain merely an anomaly in the history of the occult. those interested in this subject may wish to read h. t. f. rhodes' the satanic mass, published by rider and company in 1954, and reprinted by arrow books of london in 1973. return h hho

DONALDTYSON DEMON

n of the gods and goddesses of other cultures. many of the medieval demons mentioned in the old testament, such as ashtaroth and baal, are the gods of middle eastern peoples other than the hebrews. the modern concept of demons owes many of its key features to the influence of christian folklore and theological doctrine, which were heavily influenced by jewish beliefs through the old testament. in christianity, a demon is not just a malicious spirit, but a spirit of hell sent to earth by the devil to enforce his authority or to carry out his purposes. just as angels are the agents of god who act with divine authority to do good works among men, so demons are the agents of lucifer who act with infernal authority to do works of evil. indeed, in jewish, islamic and christian mythology, lucifer

EGYPTIAN BOOK OF THE DEAD PAPYRUS OF ANI MALESTROM

t: the legend of osiris. the versions of the book of the dead. http//www.sacred-texts.com/egy/ebod/ebod03.htm (36 of 36 [8/10/2001 11:22:57 am] sacred texts egypt index previous next the legend of osiris. the main features of the egyptian religion constant. the chief features of the egyptian religion remained unchanged from the vth and vith dynasties down to the period when the egyptians embraced christianity, after the preaching of st. mark the apostle in alexandria, a.d. 69, so firmly had the early beliefs taken possession of the egyptian mind; and the christians in egypt, or copts as they are commonly called, the racial descendants of the ancient egyptians, seem never to have succeeded in divesting themselves of the superstitious and weird mythological conceptions which they inherited f

of the oldest parts of the funeral literature of the egyptians, and we find from the later editions of the book of the dead and certain coptic works that the dread of the serpent as the emblem of physical and moral evil existed among the egyptians in all generations, and that, as will be seen later, the belief in a limbo filled with snakes swayed their minds long after they had been converted to christianity. the charms against serpents in the pyramid texts of the vth and vith dynasties have their equivalents in the xxxist and xxxiiird chapters of the book of the dead, which are found on coffins of the xith and xiith dynasties;[2] and in the xviiith dynasty we find vignettes in which the deceased is depicted in the act of spearing a crocodile[3] and of slaughtering serpents.[4] in the the

[1. see below, p. 258. 2. naville, todtenbuch, bd. i, bl. 49. 3. lepsius, todtenbuch, bl. 17. 4. naville, todtenbuch, bd. i, bl. 184. 5. see maspero, les hypog es royaux de th bes, p. 76. 6. see lef bure, book of hades (records of the past, vol. x, p. 84] p. cxxxi traditions about hell preserved in coptic times. of ra; and we may see from the literature of the copts, or egyptians who had embraced christianity, how long the belief in a hell of fire and torturing fiends survived. thus in the life of abba shenuti,[1] a man is told that the" executioners of amenti will not show compassion upon thy wretched sol"[2] and in the history of pisentios, a bishop of coptos in the seventh century of our era, we have a series of details which reflect the tuat of the ancient egyptians in a remarkable man

ELLIS LOW TWELVE 1907

of the pacific and indian oceans, as at ceylon, sumatra, st. helena, mauritius, madagascar; the sandwich group; in all the principal settlements of australia, as at adelaide, melbourne, parramatta, sidney, new zealand; in greece, where there is a grand lodge; in algeria, in tunis, in the empire of morocco, and wherever else in the old world the genius of civilization has obtained a standpoint, or christianity has erected the banner of the cross "in all the west india islands and in various parts of south america, as in peru, venezuela, new granada, guiana, brazil, chile, etc, masonry is prospering as never before. in mexico, even, respectable lodges are maintained, despite the opposition of a bigoted priesthood; and in all british america, from newfoundland, through nova scotia and the can

le he gazed thoughtfully at the opposite side of the room "i hardly know how to answer your question. there are mighty few indians that can be trusted. i have met a few noble characters, but i can't name an apache who is fireproof. i may be doing chato injustice, but it seems to me impossible for an indian who has been as devilish as he to become thoroughly changed. nothing except a conversion to christianity will do that. you mustn't be surprised if some day you discover that there is a perfect understanding between geronimo and chato, and the warm spring leader receives through some means timely warning of all your campaigns against him" this statement made me uneasy. it was not the first time i had heard it; it was shared by more than one of our officers, and, as i have said, that sagac

EMPERORS NEW RELIGION CHURCH OF SATAN

l and haunting picture of a person qualified as no less than the devil s right hand man. the strong publicity that the church of satan and its founder have received is itself no indication that the church of satan represents satanism beyond its own claim to the title as the devil s henchmen, however. it can be argued that because in certain aspects of its literature the church of satan references christianity in its departure from the creeds usually associated with common christian ideology, in that sense at least it qualifies as an anti- christian organization and hence by christian definition, satanic. in particular, the first section (most of which was adapted with few modifications from ragnar redbeard s might is right [5) of the satanic bible [6] by anton lavey has strong anti-christi

f individualism, not demanding that all its members have some kind of lockstep sameness [18] the emperor s new religion copyright 2002 ole wolf page 5 of 30 different and contrary individual interpretations do not warrant religious unity, however. people do not unite in disagreement not unless they join hands in a shared disagreement with something entirely different, such as satanists pet demon: christianity. if the church of satan does indeed unite its followers despite opposing interpretations, their unity is not about its ideology at all. 1.3 satanic rituals and magic the satanic bible formally defines magic as: the change in situations or events in accordance with one s will, which would, using normally accepted methods, be unchangeable [6, p. 110] the statement echoes aleister crowle

t anton lavey filed for bankruptcy as a result of his and diane hegarty s divorce. the bankruptcy was eventually completed after lengthy trials, and included the liquidation of the church of satan [2, pp. 427 429. hence, the church of satan cannot demand payment from anyone, because there is no organization to receive the payment. only it name exists as a group description, somewhat like the term christianity can exist without a living christ. church of satan officials and members argue that evidently the church of satan exists, because the members are right there to argue its existence. this is a valid argument, but it addresses a quite different issue. the argument proves that followers exist that embrace the satanic ideology (ambiguous as it may be, but it provides no proof that the chu

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF OCCULTISM AND PARAPSYCHOLOGY VOL 1

cs. esotericism, in contrast to bible-based religions and philosophies, is considered a third force in western thought. the esotericists approach to life is generated from human experience, in which, people spontaneously encounter psychic and mystic moments, seek magical means of forecasting the future, and act upon intuitive insights that seem to defy rational thought. beginning with the rise of christianity in the west, esoteric traditions were routinely persecuted, with many of its representative communities destroyed and their members imprisoned and/or killed. their ways were viewed as being evil and outside the conventions of society. in the last two centuries, society has continued to perpetuate an intolerance toward those drawn to an esoteric perspective. after its suppression, esot

ry of this region, the basically pantheistic and polytheistic religions have also been cross-fertilized with islamic and christian teachings, creating new beliefs and modifying old ones. today a large but undetermined number of africans follow traditional beliefs involving deities, ghosts, and spirits as well as an array of special powers in nature presided over by the supreme entity adopted from christianity and islam. the latter, somewhat remote from everyday problems, is believed to largely operate on humans through the many other deities. southern africa among the zulu and other bantu tribes of equatorial and southern africa, witchcraft or malevolent sorcery was traditionally practiced.in secret, for the results of detection were terrible. tribes instituted a caste of witchfinders assi

nd, he walked to and fro, until, singing all the while, he laid the tiger skin at the feet of the witch. at the conclusion of his song the people seized the witch and put him or her in chains, saying, if you don t restore our brother to health, we will kill you. western occultism in africa today more than 100 million africans follow a form of islamic faith, and an almost equal number some form of christianity. in addition to roman catholic and protestant faiths, there are many variant forms of christianity, and many christian groups have become independent of the older missionary churches and reorganized as indigenous religious bodies. the religious picture has been confused in recent years as a result of the unrest attending the throwing off of colonial regimes and the establishment of au

south africa, the central african states, and such west african nations as ghana and nigeria. since world war ii there has been a noticeable popular response to such ideas. as early as 1925 the rosicrucians were present in west africa, and new thought was introduced into africa in the 1930s when several american teachers toured the country and assisted in the formation of the school of practical christianity in 1937 (now known as the school of truth. today a broad range of such groups as the church of religious science, the unity school of christianity, swedenborgians, and the church universal and triumphant are in existence. in the last two decades, guru-oriented groups such as eckankar, subud, and the grail movement, and some of the new japanese religions have appeared. numerous gurus

hindu teacher operating in the senegal, where he teaches what he terms egyptian yoga. east and west come together in these new movements in a mutual affirmation of astrology, divination, spiritual healing, and an esoteric approach to life. these indigenous have also become an avenue for the advancement of women who often must assume a secondary role in traditional african religions as well as in christianity and islam. sources: gardiner, john. the new age cult in south africa. cape town: stuikhof, 1991. hackett, rosalind i. j. new age trends in nigeria: ancestral and or alien religion? in perspectives on the new age, edited by james r. lewis and j. gordon melton. albany: state university of new york press, 1992. religion in calabar: the religious life and history of a nigerian town. berli

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF OCCULTISM AND PARAPSYCHOLOGY VOL 2

ries of newsletters under the title madonna ministry that explored mary s role as a consciousness of unconditioned love who represents the feminine-mothering aspect of god. in the mid-1980s he retired from the religious science ministry and accepted consecration as a bishop by archbishop warren watters of the independent church of antioch, a church that combines a gnostic theosophical approach to christianity with an apostolic lineage through the non- chalcedonian churches in the middle east. michael founded the church of the talking pines before he died in 1987. two years later he was succeeded by bishop charles sommers, who had also been consecrated by archbishop watters. in 1990, the church of the talking pines changed its name to madonna ministry. the church continues a major focus on

italy whose members worshiped and idealized nature. it seems to have been founded by members of the ancient italian priesthood. it had a tradition that one of the popes became a member of the fraternity, and there appears to be some documentary evidence for this claim. the society accepted the allegorical interpretation that the neoplatonists placed upon the pagan creeds during the first ages of christianity. maeterlinck, maurice (1862.1949) famous belgian writer and poet and winner of the nobel prize in literature in 1911. he was born in ghent, belgium, on august 29, 1862, and educated at the college sainte-barbe and the university of ghent. for a time he lived in paris, where he became associated with the symbolist school of french poetry. his first publication was serres chaudes, a vol

ithuna 969 major exponent having been aleister crowley. this system is often seen as a derivative of tantra, but in fact has quite different origins. since the 1970s, western sex magick and tantra have been the subject of many books and articles, and sycretistic forms of sexually oriented practices have begun to emerge. maitland, edward (1824.1897) co-founder with anna bonus kingsford of esoteric christianity and the hermetic society. born october 27, 1824, at ipswich, england, maitland graduated from caius college, cambridge, 1847. he intended to become a clergyman, but had many reservations about the church, and instead spent some years traveling in california and australia, studying life firsthand. upon returning to england, he devoted himself to developing the intuitional faculty as to

, and instead spent some years traveling in california and australia, studying life firsthand. upon returning to england, he devoted himself to developing the intuitional faculty as to find the solution of all problems having their basis in man s spiritual nature. through his close friendship with anna kingsford, he became an ardent vegetarian and the interpreter of her highly individual mystical christianity. he collaborated with her on the writing of the perfect way; or, the finding of christ (london, 1882) and related books. after kingsford s death in 1888, maitland published her biography, anna kingsford: her life, letters, diary (1896. he died in the following year on october 2, 1897. sources: kingsford, anna. clothed with the sun. london: john m. watkins, 1889. kingsford, anna, and e

e italian society for parapsychology (july.december 1959. sogno paragnosico (paragnostic dreams. parapsicologia di minerva medica (june 1957. la telapatia (telepathy. metapsichica 1.4 (1953. una nuova esp? bulletin of the italian society for parapsychology (january.june 1959. maranos a term that generally referred to the secret jews of portugal and spain in the fifteenth century, who converted to christianity when their religion was outlawed, but who continued to practice their religion in the privacy of their families. the existence of such jews was amply demonstrated by jews who migrated and soon afterward reemerged to practice publicly the jewish faith. the term was also applied to a jewish secret fraternity that arose in spain in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. its members met

ESOTERISM AND THE LEFT HAND PATH

ivre explains: the diffuse etymological derivation of the word indicates that one can only find the keys to the symbols, myths and reality by individual progression where one reaches illumination step by step, in a hermeneutic way. there is no outmost secret if one believes that all is basically secret. esoterism denotes something inner and mysterious, unlike the exoteric which is the outer form. christianity with its outer dogmas and ceremonies could be called exoteric, while gnosticism could be viewed as esoteric. in the same way satanism could be described as exoteric, and the left hand path as esoteric. faivre presents his explanation for the work esoterism: the word esoterism is derived from eso which means inside and ter which leads one to the word opposition. the diffuse etymology o

FAUST

s glow. margaret that s all quite nice and good to know; much the same way the preacher talks of it, only in words that differ just a bit. faust wherever the light of heaven doth shine, all hearts repeat it, everywhere, and each in its own speech; then why not i in mine? margaret to hear it thus, it s passable, and still i doubt it; in spite of it all there is some hitch about it, for you have no christianity. faust dear child! margaret it long has been a grief to me that i see you in such company. faust how so? margaret the man who is with you as your mate, deep in my inmost soul i hate. in all my whole life there s not a thing that s given my heart so sharp a sting as that man s hostile face has done. faust don t fear him, my precious one! margaret his presence makes my blood run so chil

FELDMAN DANIEL QABALAH THE MYSTICAL HERITAGE OF THE CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM

2:e 8% yeshuvah (jesus) really about xa call for a new direction in judaism or for a return to its original roots? was master mohammed really the last in the line of the shemite prophets, and the qur an its final revelation? when regarded outside the context of the dogmas that developed to support the orthodox authority of their respective conventional religions, do the mystical qabalah, mystical christianity, and sufism present successive fresh versions of the same underlying tradition? who were the karaites and why did they maintain a strong voice in the jewish community for almost seven centuries? what mystical doctrines and meditation practices were prevalent among qabalists in medieval and renaissance times? why was sabbatai zevi regarded as such a threat by the orthodox establishment

e 8 (jesus, and mohammad. the ensuing discussion addresses a number of basic questions: e what is the universal mystical qabalah of the children of abraham? e in what ways is the mystical qabalah distinct from the practical or hermetic kabbalah? e in what ways is the mystical qabalah distinct from the rabbinical jewish kabbalah? e what is the relationship between the mystical qabalah and mystical christianity? e what is the relationship between the mystical qabalah and sufism? e what are the similarities between the mystical qabalah and north indian tantra? chapter one concludes with a comparison between the qabalistic teachings regarding the work of creation (ma aseh b reshith) and the work of the chariot (ma aseh merkabah, and contemporary ideas in modern scientific cosmology. chapter tw

d little known heritage upon which the fabric of the judaic, christian, islamic, and perhaps even the tantric religions are woven. in this book, that heritage is called the mystical qabalah.1 within the context of rabbinical judaism, this mystical tradition has come to be known as the jewish kabbalah, and in islam, as sufism (arabic tasawwuf. the christian cabala emerged from the mystical side of christianity, which developed as a parallel tradition to pauline dogma as it diverged and became estranged from its judaic roots. the christian cabala evolved as a way to harmonize jewish kabbalistic doctrines with christian theology. the precise usage of the word qabalah to denote the ideas and practices of the esoteric teachings and the secrets of the torah emerged from the circle of yitza aq th

tion as a great unity in the name hvhy rooted in the negatively existent substratum. from this perspective, the mysterious unknown (called ayn lit. nothing in the qabalah, which is itself eternally devoid of attributes, exists in divine sport as always possessed of all attributes. in this respect, sufism distinguishes between the divine essence (fana) and the divine attributes (fala, and mystical christianity between the father and the son. in hindu mystical scriptures, this is called swagatabheda xliterally a difference within itself. this difference is said to spontaneously arise as a sort of whim of the divine to know itself. in the mystical qabalah, the difference within itself is alluded to by a doctrine that distinguishes the mysterious unknown (ayn) as having two aspects described a

s 8- f e of ideas can arise from and return to nowhere like a dream, and in which all name and form emanate, manifest, and dissolve. in the qabalah, the lord hvhy is the immense i-ness that knows itself as pure being in the unmanifest supernal realm, and pervades everything from elohim down to the lowest creature in the lower worlds of manifestation. this supreme, unifying i-ness is worshipped in christianity as christos, in islam as allah, and in the tantras as the divine mother kali. it is worshipped in hinduism as ishvara, in tibetan buddhism as vajradhara or avalokiteshvara, in taoism as the divine mother kwan yin, and in the polynesian kahuna tradition as the goddess pele.9 an individual with this level of awareness directly perceives the innate identity of themselves and all beings w

FRANCIS A YATES GIORDANO BRUNO AND THE HERMETIC TRADITION

ons. these are truisms, and it is also obvious that both these great returning movements were not mistaken as to the date of the earlier, better period to which they turned. the humanist knew the date of cicero, knew the correct date of his golden age of classical culture; the reformer, even if not clear as to the date of the gospels, knew that he was trying to return to the earliest centuries of christianity. but the returning movement of the renaissance with which this book will be concerned, the return to a pure golden age of magic, was based on a radical error in dating. i he great forward movements of the renaissance all derive their vigour, their emotional impulse, from looking backwards. the cyclic view of time as a perpetual movement from pristine golden ages of purity and hermes t

und antiquity, were really written in the second to the third centuries a.d. he was not returning to an egyptian wisdom, not much later than the wisdom of the hebrew patriarchs and prophets, and much earlier than plato and the other philosophers of greek antiquity, who had all so the renaissance magus firmly believed drunk from its sacred fountain. he is returning to the pagan background of early christianity, to that religion of the world, strongly tinged with magic and oriental influences, which was the gnostic version of greek philosophy, and the refuge of weary pagans seeking an answer to life's problems other than that offered by their contemporaries, the early christians. the egyptian god, thoth, the scribe of the gods and the divinity of wisdom, was identified by the greeks with the

tius would place hermes trismegistus and his books may be inferred from a remark in his de ira dei where he says that trismegistus is much more ancient than plato andpythagoras.3 there are many other quotations from, and references to hermes trismegistus in lactantius' institutes. he evidently thought that hermes was a valuable ally in his campaign of using pagan wisdom in support of the truth of christianity. in the quotation just made, he has pointed out that hermes, like the christians, speaks of god as "father; and in fact the word father is not infrequently used of the supreme being in the hermetic writings. still more telling, however, was hermes' use of the expression "son of god" for the demiurge. to demonstrate this remarkable confirmation of the truth of christianity by this most

trismegistus. he was doubtless thinking of the passage on the creative word as the son of god in the pimander, and he adds that "trismegistus, who by some means or other searched into almost all truth, often described the excellence and the majesty of the word."3 indeed, lactantius regards hermes trismegistus as one of the most important of the gentile seers and prophets who foresaw the coming of christianity, because he spoke of the son of god and of the word. in three passages of the institutes he cites trismegistus with the sibyls as testifying to the coming of christ.4 lactantius nowhere says anything against hermes trismegistus. he is always the most ancient and all-wise writer, the tenor of whose works is agreeable to christianity and whose mention of god the son places him with the

ians for the magic by which they drew such spirits or demons into the statues of their gods, thus animating the statues, or making them into gods. here he quotes verbally the god-making passage in the asclepius. he then discusses the prophecy that the egyptian religion will come to an end, and the lament for its passing, which he interprets as a prophecy of the ending of idolatry by the coming of christianity. here too, therefore, hermes trismegistus is a prophet of the coming of christianity, but all credit for this is taken away by augustine's statement that he had this foreknowledge of the future from the demons whom he worshipped. hermes presages these things as the devil's confederate, suppressing the evidence of the christian name, and yet foretelling with a sorrowful intimation, tha

FRATER TENEBROUS CULTS OF CTHULHU

nterstellar space (or in lovecraft s terminology, the audient void. shub-niggurath is the black goat of the woods with a thousand young a title inferring the geometric proliferation of creatures upon the earth. he is the horned god of the pagan agricultural societies of the ancient world, representing fertility and sexual energy. in greek mythology his archetype is pan, half-man and half-goat. as christianity began to replace paganism, the pan-image became the prototype for the christian devil, and was associated with the practise of satanism, though the worship of the horned god had pre-dated christianity by at least a thousand years. in 1919, aleister crowley published a poem entitled a hymn to pan, in which he evoked this current of sexual energy as it pertains to ceremonial magic, and

FREEMASONS SATANISM AND SYMBOLISM

mael. thus, hall is admitting that freemasonry is the worst kind of black magick satanism possible! now you should no longer be deceived, no matter what propaganda freemasonry is trying to put forth to deceive you! freemasonry proven to worship satan, as it adores and worships the serpent part 4 of 5 serpent worship in freemasonry the serpent is a very important symbol within both freemasonry and christianity. it was also important in ancient civilizations. it shouldn't be a shock to you to learn that freemasonry worships the serpent. most pagan groups have done this for the past 5,000 years. remember the serpent in eden? albert pike speaks greatly about the importance of the worship of the serpent in morals& dogma in the various pagan mysteries' religions of antiquity. you will recall tha

ees of aristaeus, the emblems of nature's abundance, are destroyed through the agency of the serpent, and regenerated within the entrails of the vernal bull. the sun-god is finally victorious [ibid] note that masonry also identifies itself with the pagans who divine the future by studying the entrails of a bull. you consistently see the symbol of the bees and their beehive throughout freemasonry. christianity does not use this symbol "purity" and "salvation" are depicted by the honey. purity is depicted within the bible as either jesus himself or as white wool or as a white garment. salvation is depicted as the cross or jesus arising from the grave. but, the pagans are surely true to the biblical description of them as "worshipping the creature rather than the creator [romans 1:25] the jul

d on them. second, notice the sun over head in this picture. just as the egyptians did in the days when god cursed them and their religion, freemasons worship the sun in general and the egyptian sun god, ra, particularly. finally, note that the sharp end of the square is driving deeply into the holy bible beneath. as christian author, ralph epperson proves in his book, masonry: conspiracy against christianity, the #1 top secret of masonry is not that they worship satan/lucifer; rather, the #1 secret of freemasonry is that they plan to eradicate christianity in complete fulfillment of end time prophecies! this symbol captures this goal perfectly. sex in masonic temple- and the pomegranate "the lodge is a representation of king solomon's temple and the temple was calculated to symbolize the

FULLER J F C SECRET WISDOM OF THE QABALAH

lance between the spiritual and the mundane. like all other peoples, the jews realized this, and long before the qabalah was known as an occult science, the mysteries of creation, evolution, and dissolution were locked up in their sacred writings. then came the great dispersion: a small people bereft of nationship was cast into a dissolving world, and almost simultaneously a new cult arose called christianity- a jewish heresy. the reaction on orthodox jewry was instantaneous; for a tension was established which later on led to the persecution of the jews, whereupon the secrecy of the doctrines took on an accentuated form, for self-preservation had now to be added to non-revelation. this led to the growth of oral traditions. the secret doctrines were passed from mouth to mouth and were lock

haff in the qabalah, a medley of wisdom and nonsense which often defies separation. the outstanding advantage of this plagiarizing is that it offers something to everyone; consequently the qabalah has developed into a world-embracing philosophy well adapted to the ideals of a world-scattered race. in secret wisdom of the qabalah page 13 it will be found hinduism, taoism, buddhism, zoroastrianism, christianity, theism, deism, dualism, agnosticism, pantheism, satanism, spiritualism, and atheism; for every cult, except polytheism, has burnt offerings on the altar of the qabalistic mystery- magically depicted in the form of the pan-like baphomet. it is this extraordinary universality which it is important to remember, for it has been the binding force which has kept judaism intact; it has wate

visible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: and he is before all things, and by him all things consist [exist. 15 many other comparisons could be given, but the above must suffice to show how deep-rooted are the origins of the sephirotic scheme, and how surely they have branched upwards into the mystical foundations of christianity. the ten sephiroth (1) ruk kether, the crown. as we have explained, this first sephirah represents gi am h as being, secret wisdom of the qabalah page 28 that is as pure existence. it is neither positive nor negative, but, and though sexless it is androgenous. though the primordial point of light, it is nevertheless the circumference of all things, the centre of which is nowhere becau

unities: they see good as god and evil as satan. consequently they love the one and hate the other, and so establish a disunity within and among themselves. this is the foundation of manichaeism. they cannot see, as the mishna says, that ggod has placed in all things one to oppose the other h and that ggood purifies evil and evil purifies good h 10. this is the essential ignorance which separates christianity from judaism; for to the christians salvation consists in the conquest of evil- that is, in its separation from the good. secret wisdom of the qabalah page 39 the evolution of satan. the personification of evil in the form of satan as the god of evil is the heresy which separates christianity from judaism; consequently, in order to understand what this heresy entails, it is of vital i

his return to egypt such was his power that not only did he to all intents and purposes found the jewish religion, but he succeeded in turning egyptian society upside down. st. paul journeying to damascus saw a vision of jesus christ, was filled with the holy ghost, and retired into the desert of arabia, and on his return he began to undermine the power of rome and more than any other man founded christianity. simon ben yohai, the traditional composer of the zohar, retired with his son to a cave and as legend affirms gsat in the sand up to their necks h for twelve or thirteen years gstudying the law h. 10 also ramon lulle, the qabalist, in preparing himself for revelation and for the union with god. sought the loneliest places and the most arduous ways. he withdrew far from the multitude

GAMBLE ELIZA BURT THE GOD IDEA OF THE ANCIENTS OR SEX IN RELIGION

-the dual god of the ancients a trinity also v--separation of the female and make elements in the deity vi--civilization of an ancient race vii--concealment of the early doctrines viii--the original god-idea of the israelites ix--the phoenician and hebrew god set or seth x--ancient speculations concerning creation xi--fire and phallic worship xii--an attempt to purify the sensualized faiths xiii--christianity a continuation of paganism xiv--christianity a continuation of paganism-(continued) xv--christianity in ireland xvi--stones or columns as the deity xvii--sacrifices xviii--the cross and a dying savior the god-idea of the ancients. introduction. through a study of the primitive god-idea as manifested in monumental records in various parts of the world; through scientific investigation

inds of poison. the branches of the mistletoe were then distributed among the faithful, each cherishing the token as the most sacred emblem of his faith. it is thought that the christmas tree is a remnant of this custom. although the christbaum of the germans, the yggdrasill of the scandinavians, and the christmas tree of the english speaking nations are still regarded as belonging exclusively to christianity, their birthplace was the far east, and their origin long anterior to our present era. this subject will be referred to later in these pages. the palm, which in course of time became the most sacred tree of egypt, is said to have put forth a shoot every month during the year. at christmas tide, or at the winter solstice, a branch from this tree was used as a symbol of the renewal of t

we would scarcely expect to find the high and mighty male potentate which was subsequently worshipped as the lord of the israelites laying aside his usual "i the lord" simply out of deference to the animals. in christian countries, during the past eighteen hundred years, the greatest care has been exercised to conceal the fact that sun-worship underlies all forms of religion, and under protestant christianity no pains has been spared in eliminating the female element from the god-idea; hence the ignorance which prevails at the present time in relation to the fact that the creator once comprehended the forces of nature, which by an older race were worshipped as female. chapter iv. the dual god of the ancients a trinity also. although the god of the most ancient people was a dual unity, in l

aning of the latter being concealed. the masses of the people, who had grown too sensualized and ignorant to receive the higher divine "mysteries" and too gross to be entrusted with their true significance, had become idolaters. not only the egyptian and chaldean priests, but moses and the jewish doctors were well versed in religious symbolism. the fact is observed, also, that as late as medieval christianity, the fathers in the church, the christian painters, sculptors, and architects, still employed signs and symbols to set forth their religious doctrines. even at the present time, many of the emblems representing certain ideas connected with the creative principles, and which were part and parcel of the pagan worship, are still in use. the masses of the people, however, are without a kn

erator which had previously come to embody all the powers of the creator and preserver. the fact has been observed that the very ancient philosophers believed matter to be eternal, hence, seeming death, or destruction, was necessary to renewed life or regeneration. in other words, creation was but continuous change in the form of matter. of the doctrines of the sethians extant at the beginning of christianity, hippolytus says that their system "is made up of tenets from natural philosophers. these tenets embrace a belief in the eternal logos--darkness, mist, and tempest" these elements subsequently became identified with the evil principle, or the devil. the cold of winter, the darkness of night, and water, were finally set forth as the trinity. regarding cold, darkness, and water, or dark

GILBERT AE WAITE A MAGICIAN OF MANY PARTS

attackuponthe reformation:centuries had taught the children of this world the lesson that thischurchcouldnotbe crushedoutwithfire and sword.thespiritofevil is persevering, and it thereforeturnedabout forothermeans,and by a masterstroke of fiendishingenuitytheydevised a plan for setting up a secular religion in the place of the priestly 'sacerdotalism'and a humanchristianity in place of the divine christianity of the church. to answer their vile ends, the whole spirit of christianity was alteredordistorted, itsmostdistinctive features struckoutand only a few broadtruthsretained..such a heresywhichbegan by denying half thetruthsofgod, wasnotlikely to improvewith satanwhohad inspired had a far deeper intentionthanhewhobegan it, or the princeswhofostered it..in the present day it is developed

le and bad company;whichotherwise theymighthave avoided.andcannothingbe done? i amlothtothinkso.muchas hemightencourage others, however, hetookno action himself, and in time hedidlose hisfaith-thoughby a processofgradual erosion rather thanthroughany sudden rejection following his sister's death,andthechurchofromealways remained for him, for allthathe had left it,theonly valid formofinstitutional christianity.thereformed churches he loathed: the kindestcommenthe couldbringhimself to make aboutthemwas a descriptionofthemas'aleanmethodofobservance and worshipwhichfinds the soul in nudity and cares for itwithoutclothing it',11his uncompromising attitude is perhaps best summed up by oneofhis aphorisms fromstepstothecrown,inwhichhesays.,protestantism isnotsomucha derelictionofcreed as a virus.o

developed in the early centuriesofthis era (its origins lie in the earlier merkabah (chariot) mysticism, reached its zenith in the late medieval periodwiththesepherhazohar(bookofsplendour, and fascinated renaissance figures such as reuchlin and pico della mirandola,whobelieved, quite erroneously, that kabbalistic texts contained trinitarian doctrine andwouldprovide a meansofconverting the jews to christianity. from the sixteenth century onwardsthestrange and complex symbolismofthe kabbalah had been utilized frequently by occultists, and by the nineteenth century it had come to be associated largely(butunjustly)withmagic. waite made his acquaintancewiththekabbalahthroughthefantasiesofeliphas levi, buthe had senseenoughto dismiss levi's bizarre misunderstandings of kabbalistic texts, to seek

GILBERT THE GOLDEN DAWN TWILIGHT OF THE MAGICIANS

on was abhorrent to studentsofthe occult arts and sciences in england, whatever the tradition they followed. thus, ebenezer sibly, physician and astrologer ex255 traordinary, dedicated his massiveillustrationoftheoccultsciences(1784)to the freemasons, praising the 'moral rectitude and purityofdesign'oftheir fraternity, and he took great pains to show the14thegoldendawnconformity of astrology with christianity and to urge 'the young student in astrology' to lead an upright and sober life. similarly, francis barrett, when advertising for students in the pages of his textbookofceremonial magic,themagus,orcelestialintelligencer(1801),gave as two of the purposes of his school 'to promote the discoveryof whatever may conduce to the perfection of man' and 'the promulgationofwhatever may conduce t

eosophists on thestromataof clemens alexandrinus, and on regeneration, by which term she meant an esoteric form of christian redemp-j tion. since many of the members of the scottish lodge ofthe ;theosophical society were also members of the amen-ratem-aple, the paper was probably heard with less hostility thanhave been expected from a theosophical audience facedwithallecture on the superiority of christianity overits rivals.herfellow4magicians doubtless appreciated the reference tomystery!!schools 'there, however, was one great secret and sacredj lodge, an inner circle, in possession of the great secrets ofj human generation and human regeneration; something, though! far in degree, different from our notions of an inner circle. it was from this source that the final consummation of the new

GILBERT THE MAGICAL MASON

is apologetic, and the other is history or fableat least a narrative. so much for the history of the founding of the order, now what is stated of the tenets? we must presume that an order founded on a basis of philosophy gathered in arabia and africa was not simply a christian one. the claim alsoto magical power negatives the idea that the doctrines were orthodox; and yet we find a profession of christianity running through the volume. we must remember that c.r. began life as a pupil in a cloister, and was the associate in early life of monks: we must bear in mind that out of europe, in the east, christianity was gnostic,22themagical masonand that the gnostics and neo-platonists, although to a roman catholic or protestant decidedly heretical, were yet inspired by christian ideals- althoug

o conclude with a short summary, and with the analogies between the origin of the order of r.c. and the theosophical society. as a critic, then, of the rosicrucians, viewed from the standpoint of thefama fraternitatis -their own manifesto tochristian rosenkreuz2s the world- it seemsthattheorder was essentially a brother255 hoodofphilosophers living in a christian country, and professing a nominal christianity of gnostic type, yet essen255 tially abandof studentsoforiental lore and eastern magical arts, professing and practising kabalah divination and the knowledgeoftheultra-natural planes of being. as such theyhadto encountertherampanthostilityofthe orthodoxyoftheir time, and hence needed to shroud them255 selvesunderan impenetrable veil of seclusion; they only appeared in public singly, a

cidate the ideas respecting the devil and beings who are of an evil nature, who may have an evil and malicious effect on human life and progress.thechristian religion has inherited from the jewish faith its belief in satan as the arch devil of our environment, and it is also assumed that satan works by means of his inferior malefic assistants, to lead many astray from the path of virtue.ourmodern christianity does not, however, specify names for any other individual devils, nor even classes of them, as did the old jewish rabbis. hebrew rabbinic theology teems with names of evil spirits, classing them, and narrating episodes in great variety of their malice, and success in leading men into sin and danger.italso enters into minute details of the many forms of hell, in which are their dwellin

pharaoh, and nebuchadnezzar. the new testament has a mention of one dream of great interest, that of the wife of pontius pilate in matthew xxvii. 19, and of the five dreams of joseph the husband of mary and mother of jesus, announcing the conception, and warning him against herod, telling him to flee into egypt, and again to return to the land of israel, and lastly to go to the town of nazareth. christianity the whole tendency of the teachings of the christian faith has beentocondemn as unholy all magical arts and all attempts atdivination and its history 209divination of future events, and to impress upon believers that faith and good works are alone necessary to salvation, and that god always sends to man that which is most fitting for him in this life, and as he hides from us the fate

rome itself as famous as that of its egyptian competitor the cult of serapis, it extended over a great part of south and western europe and even reached britain, being spread by the roman soldiers who adopted the worship of mithra in great numbers; they were introduced to this cult at the period of pompey in his wars with cilicia. both of these cults were, however, abolished by the domination of christianity under the emperor constantine abouta.d.330.thegod of this world, according to zoroaster, was ahura mazda, king of light and spirit of the sun, often called ormuzd by english authors- a great being having many resemblances to the old hebrew mosaic ideal of jehovah.thecult was at first, at any rate, a monotheistic one,butlater became dualistic, prominence being given to the existence an

GILBERT THE SORCERER AND HIS APPRENTICE

h a far larger, if less inspired, literaryoutputthan his chief. he was born in 1848 at, milton brodie, near forres in morayshire, studied law at cambridgeandmoved to edinburgh, where he practisedbothlaw and occultism with equal enthusiasm helping to found the scottishlodgeof the theosophical society in 1884, to maintain its independence fromthelondonlodges and to preserve its emphasis on esoteric christianity. in 1890 he joined the isis-uraniatempleofthegolden dawn.iprogres255 sing wellenough to become imperator of the amen-ra temple when it was founded at edinburgh in 1893.norhadhe neglected his more general hermetic studies, contributing regularly to thetransactionsoithe, scottish lodge (of which he was now president) and issuing a strange book onthetrue churchofchrist(1893. his path thr

' and 'divine pymander' scattered sentences containing great wisdom,butalmost. unintelligible. if we want to interpret them, we must look to egypt for a clue, which we find in thehieroglyphics-as, for example,inillustrating the passage of the soul after death; and in connection with that, one cannotbutbe struck with the similarity of the teachings of these hieroglyphics and the great doctrines of christianity, a similarity so evident astoseem to indicate prophetic foresight. long before the time of moses, these egyptians had as160 the sorcerer and his apprenticeclearly as possible the idea of the fall of man, of the redemption of man, of the atonement by sacrifice, and of an incarnation. besides hieroglyphics, we have the 'book of thedead',thegreat ritual which was buried with every mummy

greatest buddhistic centre in the east. and this domination is not merely. physical, for we are teaching the indians their religion. the teaching of the purethehermetic system163buddhistic faith in.india, and the establishment and mainte255 nance of buddhistic schools in ceylon, have been largely due totheenergy of english and american theosophists. we should not try to getbuddhists converted to christianity,butfirst endeavour to make them.good buddhists. the buddhisthasdeveloped himsellas far asma,nas,buthehas not developed the principle of buddhi. to makehima christian before he has developed the principle of buddhi would be to make himithypocrite.thatprinciple must be calledintoaction.ifwe read the most esotericofthe eastern writings, we find that the mysteries of buddhiare only commun

GLOBAL FREEMASONRY

e crusades were military expeditions carried out in the name of the christian faith, fundamentally, they were undertaken for material gain. in a period when europe was experiencing great poverty and misery, the prosperity and wealth of the east, especially of the muslim in the middle east, attracted the europeans. this inclination took on a religious facade, and was ornamented with the symbols of christianity, though, in actuality, the idea of the crusades was born out of a desire for worldly gain. this was the reason for the sudden change among christians of europe from their former pacifist policies, in earlier periods of their history, towards military aggression. the founder of the crusades was pope urban ii. he summoned the council of clermont, in 1095, in which the former pacifist do

itiatic-esoteric line belonged to templars and its end-point belonged to freemasons.11 finally, we say, it is clear that the roots of freemasonry stretch back to the order of templars, and that the masons have adopted the philosophy of this order. masons themselves accept this. but certainly, the important matter for our consideration is the nature of this philosophy. why did the templars abandon christianity and become a heretical order? what led them to this? why did they undergo such a change in jerusalem? through the agency of masonry, what has been the effect on the world of this philosophy adopted by the templars? the templars and the kabbalah a book written by two masons, christopher knight and robert lomas, entitled the hiram key reveals some important facts about the roots of free

of pressure exerted on baron oliver st.claire of rosslyn, the chapel's pagan-style altar was destroyed (tamer ayan "the oldest known masonic institution-the scottish royal order" mimar sinan, 1998, no.110, pp.18-19) rosslyn chapel at the present time and an example of its pagan symbols. according to their thesis, the templars underwent a great change while they were in jerusalem. in the place of christianity, they adopted other doctrines. at the root of this lies a secret that they discovered in the temple of solomon in jerusalem, whose ruins they had set out to investigate. the writers explain that the templars used their purported role as protectors of christian pilgrims visiting palestine as a pretense, but that their real aim was quite different: there is no evidence that these foundi

ut result; that the order discovered in jerusalem certain relics that changed the way they saw the world. in addition, many researchers are of the same opinion. there must have been something that led the templars, despite the fact that they had previously been christian and came from a christian part of the world, to adopt a system of beliefs and a philosophy so completely different from that of christianity, celebrate heretical masses, and perform rituals of black magic. according to the common views of many researchers, this "something" was the kabbalah. the meaning of the word kabbalah is "oral tradition" encyclopedias and dictionaries define it as an esoteric, mystical branch of jewish religion. according to this definition, the kabbalah investigates the hidden meaning of the torah an

of masonry. we have seen that, although fe the "world-view" of ancient egypt did not remain buried with these statues, but was carried down to the present day. by those secret societies that see themselves as the heirs of ancient egypt global freemasonry the templars were founded as a christian order, they were affected by some secret doctrines that they discovered in jerusalem, totally abandoned christianity and became an anti-religious organization practicing heretical rites. 2. when we asked what this doctrine was that influenced the templars, we found that it was basically the kabbalah. 3. when we examined the kabbalah, we found proof that, however much it may resemble jewish mysticism, it is a pagan doctrine older than judaism, that later entered the religion, and that its true roots

GNOSTIC HANDBOOK

he iconography of judaism played a small part but was insignificant in comparison to, for example, the greek mystery cult tradition. to understand this nexus of the gnosis we really need to jettison the old model which sees gnosticism as a jewish or christian heresy. as has been documented in such texts as the jesus mystery and jesus christ, sun of god+ it is more likely that rabbinic judaism and christianity are pagan and gnostic heresies! while there may be vigorous complaints and denials it is now even well known that so-called jewish kabbalah primarily derived from a reworking of neo platonic mysticism which into jewish religious language. these teachings, however, did not remain available forever. as society changed and a new regime came to power the teachings of jesus were suppressed

ch into jewish religious language. these teachings, however, did not remain available forever. as society changed and a new regime came to power the teachings of jesus were suppressed and replaced with the political faith of emperor constantine, and accordingly the gnosis went underground to ensure its survival. what we have in today's religious movements are not the original forms of judaism and christianity, but apostate faiths masquerading in their place. the bible itself has been tampered with to the gnostic handbook page 8 such an extent that only through much critical study can we restore just some of its inner meaning. the institute upholds the original inner teachings of jesus as part of a continuum of wisdom which spans from pagan to so-called christian sources. but it is perhaps

inner meaning. the institute upholds the original inner teachings of jesus as part of a continuum of wisdom which spans from pagan to so-called christian sources. but it is perhaps desirable to state unequivocally that the teachings here, however, fragmentary and incomplete belong neither to the hindu's, the zoroastrian, the chaldean, nor the egyptian religion, nor to buddhism, islam, judaism or christianity exclusively. the secret doctrine is the essence of all these. the secret doctrine, madame blavaskty. behind the veil of all the hieratic and mystical allegories of ancient doctrines, behind the darkness and strange ordeals of all initiations, under the deal of all sacred writings, in the ruins of nineveh or thebes, on the crumbling stones of old temples and on the blackened visage of

n the zoroastrian tradition in mythology it is sometimes the pre existed state of the son of god. there are many positions in the great chain of being for the logos and sophia and as we study further complex myths and legends of their power will be discussed. however, in their most primal form they work within the triangle of force in the upper world. what about jesus? one of the major debates in christianity has been about the nature of jesus. however, when we examine the new testament in a critical manner some important facts come to light. jesus over and over again claimed to be the messiah and a son of god, but not god himself. he prayed to the father and spoke of god as a separate entity to whom he was obedient. in the gospel of john the identity of jesus is the central theme, the aim

all cultures, one of the most potent icons is that of satan. it is a difficult image because most people do not appreciate the various motifs which have been woven together to make the one figure. it is quite clear from old and new testament sources (as well as apocryphal texts) that satan meant something very different at various times. these differences have been overlooked within contemporary christianity due to its desire to frighten the sinner into salvation. for the esotericist it is imperative to decode these perennial motifs are they solve once and for all the mystery of evil. the image of satan has three primary motifs within it, these can be found in the old testament, apocryphal sources (with some ot/nt references) and within the new testament. these are mirrored in other esote

GNOSTIC STUDIES THE GNOSTIC HANDBOOK II GNOSTIC THEURGY

efs and mental structures mankind has are artificial, they have evolved as the "powers that be" would like them to evolve. hence to really understand what we are talking about you need to put aside your pre-conceptions. now this will be difficult, so many words have connotations which have been deliberately programmed to have us react in certain ways. we have developed certain "understandings" of christianity, judaism, hinduism, democracy, politics etc. all of which may or may not be true, but nevertheless all of which probably originated from the system around us, rather than from within ourselves. it is always important to realise the extent to which language can be moulded to suit different worldviews and used to create specific reactions and impressions. in some ways we might agree wit

ciate the gnostic worldview you will need to put aside your beliefs and assumptions and reconsider most of what you have been taught. it is imperative that you understand the terms we use and the context they are used in. many of the words and concepts we present, though obviously from the language of the christian tradition, have little or no connection to the concepts of the same name in modern christianity! through our research, we have begun to reconstruct the mystery teachings, the inner teachings of the gnosis. hence, what we have discovered is very different from what the "so called" christian churches, occult organisations and other organised religions and philosophies teach today. now, stop for a moment and consider the fact that we have already used a number of these programmed "

ack, to return to the source or origin. these teachings are those which lead back to the spiritual world, the treasury of light from which we have become alienated. but it is perhaps desirable to state unequivocally that the teachings here, however fragmentary and incomplete, belong neither to the hindus, the zoroastrian, the chaldean, nor the egyptian religion, nor to buddhism, islam, judaism or christianity exclusively. the secret doctrine is the essence of all these. madame blavaskty. behind the veil of the hieratic and mystical allegories of ancient doctrines, behind the darkness and strange ordeals of all initiations, under the deal of all sacred writings, in the ruins of nineveh or thebes, on the crumbling stones of old temples and on the blackened visage of the assyrian or egyptian

scious and by correspondence, on the astral worlds. some of the more unusual eggregores are those which are religious in nature. many gods are artificial and created out of fear and insecurity, such gods and deities are real in a psychological sense, but since they lack connection to the light world, they tend to work in destructive and neurotic ways. the degeneration of god-images in judaism and christianity can be clearly seen with the replacement of real spiritual forms with psychologically projected (neurotic) forms, or eggregores. the difference between these is important and can be readily illustrated. take for example, a historical figure. after his death we have the facts about the historical figure and perceptions of that figure. after a period of time we may even have conflicting

, it is said, they have more in common with the turkish people than with the original people of israel (by the way, koestler is not some rabid anti-semite, he is jewish. the relevance of this is not to illustrate some wild historical polemic, but to show the difference between sethian and cainite kabbalah. this is not simply a racial or cultural debate, but a discussion on the origins of judaism, christianity and kabbalah. just as the gnostics rejected christianity as a distortion of the true faith, they totally rejected talmudic judaism as a demiurgic creation. further to this, we know that the essenes were a small group of the lost ten tribes who returned to israel after the captivity and that they saw the pharisees and saduccees as being of a dissimilar culture, race and spiritual herit

GOETIA LUCIFERIAN

f lucifer, the angel perfected. the luciferian spirit is fire born, alive, vigorous and strong in will and pride. lucifer ascends in the sun, and falls with the darkening of the moon. this is the path of magick itself as above, so below. the luciferian model is presented strongly in this book, as this is a gateway or key to the mind expanding and developing. no longer shall the horrid sickness of christianity be brought down in the goetic work no longer shall the weak of mind approach this tome without duress. the walls are torn down yet they are at the same time built higher than they ever have been before. goetic sorcery should in itself be the grammar and foundation for the arte of magick, which is to ascend in the light and warmth of the sun. in order to fully understand and perceive t

GRAHAM HANCOCK FINGERPRINTS OF THE GODS

ain, particularly at the northern approach to puma punku, this symbol always took the same form: a double crucifix with pure clean lines, perfectly balanced and harmonious, deeply recessed into the hard grey stone. even according to orthodox historical chronology these crosses were not less than 1500 years old. in other words, they had been carved here, by a people with absolutely no knowledge of christianity, a full millennium before the arrival of the first spanish missionaries on the altiplano. where, come to that, had the christians obtained their crosses? not only from the shape of the structure to which jesus christ was nailed, i thought, but from some much older source as well. hadn t the ancient egyptians, for example, used a hieroglyph very like a cross (the ankh, or crux ansata)

n july 1562, for example, in the main square of mani (just south of modern merida in yucatan province) fr. diego de landa burned thousands of maya codices, story paintings and hieroglyphs inscribed on rolled-up deer skins. he also destroyed countless idols and altars, all of which he described as works of the devil, designed by the evil one to delude the indians and to prevent them from accepting christianity. 10 elsewhere he elaborated on the same theme: we found great numbers of books [written in the characters of the indians] but as they contained nothing but superstitions and falsehoods of the devil we burned them all, which the natives took most grievously, and which gave them great pain.11 not only the natives should have felt this pain but anyone and everyone then and now who would

first century bc) as a remarkable structure built of solid stone [containing] a spring which lies at a great depth, so that one descends to it down vaulted galleries made of monoliths of surpassing size and workmanship. there is a canal leading to the place from the great river. 10 a few hundred years after strabo s visit, when the religion of ancient egypt had been supplanted by the new cult of christianity, the silt of the river and the sands of the desert began to drift into the osirieon, filling it foot by foot, century by century, until its upright monoliths and huge lintels were buried and forgotten. and so it remained, out of sight and out of mind, until the beginning of the twentieth century, when the archaeologists flinders petrie and margaret murray began excavations. in their 1

ostensibly built by khafre it s been buried to its neck for as much as 3300 years.3 that means that in all this time there has 3 west s detailed evidence is set out in serpent in the sky, pp. 184-20. concerning the covering of the sphinx by sand he arrives at the following table: sphinx buried chephren-tuthmosis iv c. 1300 years 1000 years thuthmosis iv-ptolemies c. 1100 years 800 years ptolemies-christianity c. 600 years 0 years christianity-present day c. 1700 years 1500 years graham hancock fingerprints of the gods 405 only been a cumulative total of just over 1000 years in which its body has been susceptible to wind-erosion; all the rest of the time it s been protected from the desert winds by an enormous blanket of sand. the point is that if the sphinx was really built by khafre in th

secret of what happened was never entirely forgotten because a record of those distant first times was preserved, until the coming of the spaniards, in the sacred texts of the original popol vuh. the abuses of the conquest made it necessary for that primordial document to be concealed from all but the most highly-initiated sages and replaced with a watered-down substitute written under the law of christianity :16 no longer can be seen the book of popol vuh which the kings had in olden times. the original book, written long ago, existed but now its sight is hidden to the searcher and to the thinker. 17 on the other side of the world, among the myths and traditions of the indian subcontinent, there are further tantalizing suggestions of hidden secrets. in the puranic version of the universal

GREENFIELD ALLEN SECRET CIPHER OF THE UFONAUTS

en h. greenfield the reality of the secret chiefs the mythology of the secret masters or chiefs and the myth of the black lodge form an archetypal substratum of modern magical lore which is almost a necessity if magick is not to drift into a kind of bland parapsychological secular humanism or offbeat psychology on the one hand, or a religious fundamentalism grounded in a new faith substituted for christianity. but one should at least allow that the legend of secret chiefs may have some rather literal basis in fact; that there are high masters of the art scattered around the world, that they are in communication with one another, and that how they use their illumination depends upon their character and predisposition. this is all that one must grant to consider the great brotherhood, or sec

GRERALD SCHUELER AN ADVANCED GUIDE TO ENOCHIAN MAGICK

ade or eccentric by society and has historically been feared and shunned through misunderstanding. he is portrayed as the evil wizard with a pointed hat and flowing beard who speaks in ambiguities and casts curses and evil spells on the townfolk at a whim. middle age literature has stereotyped him into either a witch or warlock depending on sex. because 2 5 8 259 he/she is always speaking against christianity, he/she is 'ipso facto' evil. the truth, as is often the case, is not what it seems on the surface. the vrelp is equivalent to an exempt adept( the adeptus exemptus of the golden dawn. as such he (or she as the case might be) has realized that right and wrong are relative views and that morality itself is a yardstick devised by society and used by society for society. he sees himself

GRIMM JACOB TEUTONIC MYTHOLOGY VOL 3

names of peoples and places that lead back to gods, ingaevones, iscaevones, herminones, asciburgium. christian authors also, writing in latin, prefer the roman names, yet, when occasion calls, wodan, thunar, frea, sahsnot cannot be avoided. the refined language of the goths, and the framework of their hero-legend, lead us to imagine a very full development of their faith, then just giving way to christianity, though to us it has sunk into such utter darkness: such expressions as frauja, halja, sibja, unhul ?o, skohsl, anz, fairguni, sauil (as well as sunna, vaihts, alhs, gudja, hunsl, dulj^s, jiuleis, midjun-gards, aiihns, a]7n, blotan, inveitan, must have heathen notions lying at their base, and these would offer themselves far more abundantly if portions of the gothic old testament had

heir destinies in one. from their combinations will come unexpected results, whose gain deserves to be weighed against the loss entailed by the suppression of the domestic element. if the language, literature and faith of our forefathers could at no time resist at all points the pressure of the foreign, they have one and all undergone the most disruptive revolution by the people^s passing over to christianity, we had long plagued ourselves to derive all languages from the far-off hebrew; it was only by closely studying the history preface. xxv of the european idioms near at band, that a safe road was at length thrown open, which, leaving on one side for the moment the semitic province, leads farther on into the heart of asia. between the indian and zendic languages and the majority of thos

in innocent unconsciousness: there is about it something soft and agreeable to the feelings; but it will, when the intellect is roused, revert to the monotheism from which it started. no one taunts the catholic doctrine with teaching many gods, yet one can see in what respect catholics stand in the same relation to heathens as protestants do to catholics. heathenism bowed before the power of pure christianity; in course of time heathenish movements broke out in the church afresh, and from these the eeformation strove to purify it. the polytheistic principle, still working on, had fastened on two points mainly, the worship of saints, of which i have spoken, and that of relics (conf. gds. p. 149. a stifling smell of the grave pervades the medieval churches and chapels from an adoring of dead

des the medieval churches and chapels from an adoring of dead bones, whose genuineness and miraculous power seem rarely well attested, and sometimes quite impossible. the weightiest affairs of life, oathtakings, illnesses, required a touching of these sanctities, and all historical documents bear witness to their widely extended use, a use justified by nothing in the bible, and alien to primitive christianity (conf. p. 1179. but in idololatria and saint-worship the dominion of the priesthood found its main stay. of dualism proper i have acquitted our heathenism (pp. 895-6. 984. unlike polytheism, it seems to me to take its rise, not in gradual corruption, but in conscious, perhaps moral, reflexion, and at a later time. polytheism is tolerant and friendly; he to whom all he looks at is eith

r is faith likely to topple over into denial and abuse of the old gods; striking evidences of such atheistic sentiment scandinavia itself supplies, both in undisguised mockery, and in reposing confidence in one's own strength and virtue (p. 6. the former is expressed in 0. norse by gosga (irrisio deorum, o.h. germ, kotscelta (blasphemia. and this revolt of heathens against heathenism increased as christianity came nearer: thus the nialssaga cap. 105 says of hialti, that he was charged with scofiing at the gods' vai'5 sekr a j>ingi um gosga; conf. laxd. p. 180. kristnisaga c, 9. an element atoc^elov, vtroataatf) is firm ground, basis, for which the goth still has a good teutonic name' stabs- staff, whence the romance stoffa, etoflfe, and so our stuff again, or 'stoma (whence our ungestiim

GRIMM TEUTONIC MYTHOLOGY VOL 2 1883 COMPLETE

heir way through. there are other instances in which the giantess, like the elfin, is described with spindle and distaff: tolv troldqvinder (12 trold-women) de stode for hannem med rok og ten (danske viser 1, 94, 1 close to the romsdalshorn in norway is a mountain called troldtinder, whose jutting crags are due to giants whom olaf converted into stones, because they tried to prevent his preaching christianity in romsdal.2 it would appear, from ssem. 145b, that giants, like dwarfs, have reason to dread the daylight, and if surprised by the break of day, they turn into stone: dagr er nu/ cries atli to hrimgersr, hafnar mark j;yckir hlcegeligt vera, pars pu i steins liki stendr. grotesque humanlike shapes assumed by stalactite, flint and bakestone on the small scale, and by basalt and granite

ve ye hallowed, many a whole-hoofed horse have ye dropped alive in his eddies; and pausan. viii. 7,2: to be ap^awv kaoiecrav e? ttjv aeivrjv (a water in argolis, conn, with o7i/o9) tco tioa-ei^wvl ittttovs ol apyeloi, icekoo-jjievovs &gt;%d\ivols. horace, od. 3, 13: fons bandusiae, non sine floribus eras donaberis haedo (see suppl. it is pretty well known, that even before the introduction of christianity or christian baptism, the heathen norsemen had a hallowing of new-born infants by means of water; they called this vatni ausa, sprinkling with water. very likely the same ceremony was practised by all other teutons, and they may have ascribed a peculiar virtue to the water used in it, as christians do to baptismal water (superst. swed. 116. after a christening, the esthonians will bri

d of the kalmuks appears worthy of notice. among them you see numbers of scaffolds erected, bearing horses hides and heads, the remains of former sacrifices. by the direction of the horse s head to east or west, you can tell if the sacrifice was offered to a good or evil spirit. 2 on the one hand it suggests that sacrificial fixing of horses heads in a particular direction in germany, which under christianity was treated as wicked sorcery; and on the other hand the pira equinis sellis constructa in jornandes, and the o"fj/j,a of the scythian kings in herodotus (see ra. 676, and suppl. 3 of honours paid to oxen i have not so much to tell, though they are not at all a matter of doubt, if only because bullocks were sacrificed, and bulls drew the car of the frankish kings, ra. 262. war-ch

e tail of this bridge 1 extends to himinbiorg, heimdalfs dwelling (sn. 21, and heimdallr is the appointed keeper of the bridge; he guards it against hrimthurses and mountain-giants, 2 lest they make their way over the bridge into heaven, sn. 18. 30. the whole conception is in keeping with the cars in which the gods journey through heaven, and the roads that stretch across it (conf. p. 361. it was christianity that first introduced the 0. test, notion of the celestial hew being a sign of the covenant which god made with men after the rain of the deluge: ohg. reganpocjo, as. scurboga, shower-bow, csedm. 93, 5. meanwhile some ancient superstitions linger still. the simple folk imagine, that on the spot where the rainbow springs out of the ground, there is a golden dish, or a treasure lies bur

a neighbouring height called the todtenstein, where formerly a god s image is said to have stood; they lit their torches on the top, and turned home singing, with constant repetition of the words: we have driven out death, we bring back summer/ 3 so it is not everywhere that the banished idol represented winter or death in the abstract; in some cases it is still the heathen divinity giving way to christianity, whom the people thrust out half in sorrow, and uttering songs of sadness. 1 lausitz. mag. for 1770, p. 84-5, from a ms. of abraham frencel. 2 chr. arnold s append, to alex. eossen s unterschiedn. gottesdienst, heidelb. 1674. p. 135. 3 anton s first versuch iiber die alten slaven, p. 73-4. expulsion of gods. 773 dlugosz, 1 and others after him, report that by order of king miecislaus

HAMIL THE ROSICRUCIAN SEER

coming possessed by an intuitive perception of the floating ideas of other coexistent souls, thus accounting for the phenomenon of jacobbehmen-arude, unlettered shoemaker-who, falling, like hispredecessor255mahomet, and his successor-swedenborg, into a 'quasi255 mesmeric state' produced those admirable and voluminous works, theteutonicphilosophy,which thus engendered were merely the reflex of the christianity of his time mixed up with the then all-engrossing theories of the triune, body, soul, andspirit-thesulphur, salt, and mercury of the magi-alchemical philosophers, andexpressedin their peculiar language and phraseology. thus swedenborg anticipated, in his revelations,"zschokke in hisselbstschaustates 'it has happened to me occasionally, at the first meeting with a total stranger, when

up my minutes, iwillforward them for your perusal. i am, dear sir, yours faithfully, robert owen, esq.f.h.180therosicrucianseerenlightened him upon the subject of the atonement and redemption of mankind through jesus christ?c.a.-hisbeliefissomuch nearer to the right path, than it was at first, that i firmly believe the time will come when he will be thoroughly convincedofall the true doctrines of christianity.4.-theanswer you have given me as to this spiritual vision is so surprising, that i beg you will give me some further explanation or reason for its appearance.c.a.-greatpurposes are used to meet great ends.iftwo founders of great and distinct sects of religionists needed assurance of things which they may doubt, nothing would be too great that conduces to that end. under these circums

inced as i have for many years been, that human ideas and actions, once formed, become existing entities, capable of being repro255 duced, not only to the individual mind that gave them birth, but to the mind, and by the crystal to the vision, ofothers,-ican easily imagine that those wandering spirits,166therosicrucianseerdenying spiritual intelligence altogether, profess to ultra255 christianise christianity by leaving out christ. equally impotent would it be on my part to attempt to discuss the truths of the theorems contained in paper a. of your pamphlet, when the piety and learning of the christian world has been engaged thereon for so many centuries.thepurport of my present letter is deferentially yet earnestly to suggest that yourself and friends, before placing implicit faith in the

not give further answers to questions stated by him to be based on error. i therefore submit it for your judgment. i also enclose the two parts of the'sacredcircle,'for which i am much obliged to you; and also return you the pamphlet called the'harmonialphilosophy.'and you will perceive in my minutes, which i have also sent herewith, that i selected from that pamphlet the 'seven theoremsofpopular christianity' and the 'seven theorems on spiritual philosophy' and submitted them to the c. a. and the responses thereto obtained will, i feel sure, be read by you with great interest. i must premise that my seer had no possible ideaofwhat i was going to ask until the theorems were proposed; and the answers came so much faster than i could write, that i find a word or two in my rough copy which i

HANDBOOK OF EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY

ebrated the created world as part of the divine order. manicheism, a religious movement that originated in iran, was more sympathetic. its emphasis on a perpetual struggle between the forces of darkness and light could be seen by egyptians as a version of their unending war between chaos and order. the real challenge to traditional egyptian beliefs, however, was to come from another new religion: christianity. at first christianity was just one of many religions thriving in egypt. during the second and third centuries ce, christians were brutally persecuted for refusing to acknowledge that the roman emperors were gods. some early christian writers, such as the second-century ce bishop clement of alexandria, are useful though hostile witnesses on egyptian religion. during the fourth century

tianity. at first christianity was just one of many religions thriving in egypt. during the second and third centuries ce, christians were brutally persecuted for refusing to acknowledge that the roman emperors were gods. some early christian writers, such as the second-century ce bishop clement of alexandria, are useful though hostile witnesses on egyptian religion. during the fourth century ce, christianity became the dominant religion of the roman empire. the date usually given for the end of pharaonic culture is 395 ce. this was the year when the roman empire was divided into two. egypt became part of the eastern, or byzantine, empire, and most of its pagan temples were closed down by order of the emperor. the isis temple at philae on egypt s southern border stayed open until the sixth

generally identified with the granaries of joseph. a crucial part of the renaissance, which began in fourteenth- century ce italy, was the rediscovery of classical texts. during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries ce, hermetica from egypt were wrongly thought to be the world s most ancient religious documents. this aroused great interest in egyptian religion and its relationship to judaism and christianity. the myths of osiris, isis, and horus became the subject of sermons and essays. from the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries ce, there were many attempts to decipher egyptian hieroglyphs.111 46 handbook of egyptian mythology figure 10. the memphis decree of 196 bce inscribed in three scripts on the rosetta stone: top, hieroglyphic; center, demotic; bottom, greek (british museum

rld and decreed that men should love women and children should love their parents. all other goddesses became merely names of isis. in his book concerning isis and osiris, plutarch suggested that the all-powerful isis allowed herself to be portrayed as a woman of sorrows to console suffering humanity. this, and her promise to believers of a happy afterlife, made the isis cult the closest rival to christianity in the early centuries of the first millennium ce. see also anti; birds; cattle; eyes of horus; horus; horus the child; min; nephthys; osiris; stars and planets deities, themes, and concepts 151 references and further reading: c. j. bleeker. isis as a saviour-goddess. in the saviour god, edited by s. g. f. brandon. manchester: 1963, 1 16. b. s. lesko. isis, great of magic. in the grea

HELENA BLAVATSKY THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY

, who was called theodidaktos "god-taught"-such as plotinus and his follower porphyry-rejected theurgy at first, but were finally reconciled to it through iamblichus, who wrote a work to that effect entitled de mysteriis, under the name of his own master, a famous egyptian priest called abammon. ammonius saccas was the son of christian parents, and, having been repelled by dogmatic spiritualistic christianity from his childhood, became a neo-platonist, and like j. bo hme and other great seers and mystics, is said to have had divine wisdom revealed to him in dreams and visions. hence his name of theodidaktos. he resolved to reconcile every system of religion, and by demonstrating their identical origin to establish one universal creed based on ethics. his life was so blameless and pure, his

ue, the academy and the groves, and while he taught a common doctrine for all, we, his followers on the same line, receive no recognition, but, on the contrary, are abused and persecuted. people 1,500 years ago are thus shown to have been more tolerant than they are in this enlightened century. q. was he encouraged and supported by the church because, notwithstanding his heresies, ammonius taught christianity and was a christian? a. not at all. he was born a christian, but never accepted church christianity. as said of him by the same writer: he had but to propound his instructions according to the ancient pillars of hermes, which plato and pythagoras knew before, and from them constituted their philosophy. finding the same in the prologue of the gospel according to st. john, he very prope

ys of old, in the possession only of the hierogrammatists, or initiated egyptian priests. ammonius saccas, as his biographers tell us, bound his pupils by oath not to divulge his higher doctrines except to those who had already been instructed in preliminary knowledge, and who were also bound by a pledge. finally, do we not find the page 8 the key to theosophy- hp blavatsky.txt same even in early christianity, among the gnostics, and even in the teachings of christ? did he not speak to the multitudes in parables which had a two-fold meaning, and explain his reasons only to his disciples? he says: to you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven; but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables the essenes of judea and carmel made similar distinctions

nscendent importance is recognized, may be seen in the diversity of opinion and fictitious interpretations regarding the theosophical society. this society was organized on this one principle, the essential brotherhood of man, as herein briefly outlined and imperfectly set forth. it has been assailed as buddhist and anti-christian, as though it could be both these together, when both buddhism and christianity, as set forth by their inspired founders, make brotherhood the one essential of doctrine and of life. theosophy has been also regarded as something new under the sun, or, at best as old mysticism masquerading under a new name. while it is true that many societies founded upon, and united to support, the principles of altruism, or essential brotherhood, have borne various names, it is

t in the hands of unscrupulous persons? and please to remember that this is only one of the minor branches of occultism. q. but are not all these occult sciences, magic, and sorcery, considered by the most cultured and learned people as relics of ancient ignorance and superstition? a. let me remind you that this remark of yours cuts both ways. the "most cultured and learned" among you regard also christianity and every other religion as a relic of ignorance and superstition. people begin to believe now, at any rate, in hypnotism, and some-even of the most cultured-in theosophy and phenomena. but who among them, except preachers and blind fanatics, will confess to a belief in biblical miracles? and this is where the point of difference comes in. there are very good and pure theosophists who

HINE P OVEN READY CHAOS

k of several explanations for it. these explanations should contain at least one each of the following types: i. an explanation based on the parameters of the magical system that you have been employing. ii.strict materialism iii. something exceptionally silly. 2. when you have been experimenting with belief-shifting for a while, try contemplating two which appear to be mutually exclusive such as christianity and tantra, islam and radical feminism, new age celtic revivals and marxism. 3. meditations in menzies. read specialist magazines that you have no interest in, especially those written by enthusiastic amateurs. also read publications with oppposing views in quick succession, such as playboy and spare rib, or andrea 42 phil hine dworkin and the marquis de sade. 4. do not put live toads

HUEBNER LOUISE WITCHCRAFT FOR ALL WICCA 04

rested, a witch has to be personally motivated to dp anything, anything at all, even to get up in the morning. witches do not go anywhere they don't want to go or do anything they don't want to do. this kind of an approach to living would naturally enrage churchmen who demand strict obedience to their rigid laws and condemn the nonconformers as satanic or evil. actually, there were witches before christianity came along, and although there have always been evil gods in religions in all parts of the world, satan exists only in limited areas. so who would witches be in cahoots with in, say, china? selfish, yes; in league with the devil, no. many similarities can be seen between the attitudes of witches and those people who are successful doing anything. there's a big difference between havin

INITIATION INTO HERMETICS

hing else but regard it again from his own standpoint. therefore it would be useless to argue with non-professionals on higher kinds of truth, except people eager to search the heights of truth and beginning to ripen for it. anything else would be a profanation and, from the magical point o view, absolutely incorrect. at this point, all of us will have to remember the words of the great master of christianity: cast not your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet. to truth belongs also the capacity of correctly differentiating among knowledge and wisdom. knowledge depends, in all domains of the human existence, on the maturity, receptivity and understanding of the mind, and the memory without regard to whether or not we have been able to enrich our knowledge by reading

n will confess his faith to a universal religion. he will find out that every religion has good points as well as bad ones. he will therefore keep the best of it for himself and ignore the weak points, which does not necessarily mean that he must profess a religion, but he shall express awe to each for of worship, for each religion has its proper principle of god, whether the point in question be christianity, buddhism, islam or any other kind of religion. fundamentally he may be faithful to his own religion. but he will not be satisfied with the official doctrines of his church, and will try to penetrate deeper into god s workshop. and such is the purpose of our initiation. according to the universal laws, the magician will form his own point of view about the universe which henceforth wi

e your eyes. you may give the impression of saying a prayer before eating your meal, a gesture that is quite true, as a matter of fact. then eat your food slowly but consciously with the intrinsic conviction that, together with your food, your desire actually is passing into your whole body, down to the finest nerves. the taking of food ought to be a sacred act to you, similar to the communion of christianity. for the magic constitution it is not advisable to eat in a hurry. all kinds of food and beverages are suitable for the magic impregnation with desires. yet all the impregnated foods and drinks have to be consumed entirely, and nothing should be left over. do not read during a meal. unfortunately a great many people are in this bad habit. any kind of conversation is also undesirable

IRISH WITCHCRAFT AND DEMONOLOGY

it had not sufficient strength to make the belief general throughout the country. p. 10 a third reason that may be brought forward to account for the comparative immunity of ireland was the total absence of literature on the subject. the diffusion of books and pamphlets throughout a country or district is one of the recognised ways of propagating any particular creed; the friends and opponents of christianity have equally recognised the truth of this, and have always utilised it to the fullest extent. now in england from the sixteenth century we find an enormous literary output relative to witchcraft, the majority of the works being in support of that belief. many of these were small pamphlets, which served as the "yellow press" of the day; they were well calculated to arouse the superstit

ISIS UNVEILED

n 216 the booii of omint a compilation of old-world trends 217 the trinity of the kabala 222 gnostic and-naaarene systems coatiasted with hindo myths 225 kabaliim in the book of etdeui 232 story of the reantrection of jainu's daiuhter found in the history of krislina 241 untnutwcvth^ teadungs of the early fathera 248 thdr pcnecuting spirit 249 chapter vi esoteric doctrines op buddhism parodied in christianity dccimons of nicene cooudl, how arrived at 251 murder of hypatia 252 origin of the eab- ymbdoctrine al cosmogony 264 diagrams of hindfl and cbaldaeo-jewish systems 265 ten mythical avatarv of viahnu 274 trinity of man uught by paul 281 sooatea and i^to on soul and spirit 283 ?ftue buddhism, what it is 288 digitizecoy google contents chapter vn early cheistia

rious example of that prophet of nazareth, by whose mouth the spirit of truth spake loudly to humanity. sueh there have been at all times. history preserves the names of many as heroes, philosophers, philan- thropists, martyrs, and holy men and women; but how many more have lived and died, unknown but to their intimate acquaintance, unblessed but by their humble beneficiaries! these have ennobled christianity, but would have shed the same luster upon any other faith they might have professed for they were higher than thdr creed. the benevo- lence of peter cooper and elizabeth thompson, of america, who are not orthodox christians, is no less christ-like than that of the baroness angela burdett-coutts, of en^nd, who is one. and yet, in comparison with the millions who have been accounted chr

n which embraced him. the scene and ceremony were both solemn and highly refreshing to our religious feelings. for there stood the image of the goddess in its niche, surrounded with a row of ever-burning lamps, the flames of which, flickering in the breeze, infect god's pure air with an offensive smell of olive oil. the mother and son truly represent the two most conspicuous idols of monoiheittic christianity! for a companion to the idol of the poor amtadini of bari, go to the rich city of bio de janeiro. in the church of the domo da candelaria, in a long hall running along one side of the church, there might he seen a few years ago another madonna. along the walls of the hall there is a line of saints, each standing on a contribution-box, which thus forms a fit pedestal. in the center of

ancients some of the poetic sentiment in their religions, and the innate veneration they entertained for their symbols. it is but fair to say at once that the last of the true christians died with the last of the direct apostles. max mtlller forcibly asks "how can a missionary in such circumstances meet the surprise and questions of his pupils, unless he may point to that seed" and tell them what christianity was meant to be; unless he may show that, like all other reu- gions, christianity, too, has had its history; that the christianity of the nineteenth century is not the christianity of the middle ages, and that the christianity of the middle ages was not that of the early councils; that the christianity of the early councils was not that of the apostles, and that what has been said by

ad its history; that the christianity of the nineteenth century is not the christianity of the middle ages, and that the christianity of the middle ages was not that of the early councils; that the christianity of the early councils was not that of the apostles, and that what has been said by christ, that alone was well said" thus we may infer that the only characteristic difference between modem christianity and the old heathen faiths is the beuef of the former in a personal devil and in hell "the aryan nations had no devil" says max mtlller "pluto, though of a somber character, was a very 13. the fact ii ^ven to ui bf ui eye-mtnesb who hu vuited the church aero! times, a bombn catholic, who fdt perfectly horrified, aa be eipressed it 14. refening to the aeed planted by jesui and his apoa

JASMUHEEN THE FOOD OF GODS

een some of the more traditional yogic practices as each has a role in our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual preparation for tuning to the divine nutrition channel. yoga is a metaphysical art that comes from india and tibet, china, japan, egypt and also persia and all religions have their own form of yoga. for example the practice of adoration, prayer, contemplation and devotion to god in christianity is known as bhaktiyoga in india. bhakti-yoga is the yoga of devotion and spiritual love. without devotion to our dow and our desire to feel its love, we cannot begin to connect to the divine nutrition channel, for devotion to the experience of divine love attracts the food of the gods. the divine nutrition: the madonna frequency& the food of gods with jasmuheen 100 experience of devot

JENNINGS HARGRAVE ROSICRUCIANS RITES MYSTERIES

eur-de-lis. the english broad arrow the mark or sign of the royal property, is variously depicted, similarly to the following marks: fig 1. fig 2. fig 3. fig 4. fig 5. the english broad arrow. 49 fig. 6. these are the three nails of the passion. in figs, 1 and 2 they are unmistakably so, with the points downwards. figs. 3 and 4 have the significant horizontal mark which, in the first centuries of christianity, stood for the second (with feminine meanings) person of the trinity; but the points of the spikes (spicce, or thorns) are gathered upwards in the centre. in fig. 5 there are still the three nails; but a suggestive similarity to be remarked in this figure is a disposition resembling the crux-ansata an incessant symbol, always reappearing in egyptian sculptures and hieroglyphics. there

s place, called o piers shonkes. he flourished ann. a conquestu, vicesimo primo -weever, p. 549. the personation of a dog their invariable accompaniment, as it is also found amongst the sculptures of persepolis, and in other places in the east would in itself be sufficient to fix the heathen appropriation of these crosses (the ancient irish crosses, as that animal can have no possible relation to christianity; whereas, by the tuath-de-danaans, it was accounted sacred, and its maintenance enjoined by the ordinances of the state, as it is still in the zend books, which remain after zoroaster. o brien's round towers of ireland, 1834, p. 359. i apprehend the word sin came to mean lion when the lion was the emblem of the sun at his summer solstice, 136 the rosicrucians. when he was in his glory

tic system was not derived either from the kabala, or from the grecian philosophy, but from the east, as mosheim long ago maintained: so declares the author of the gnostics and their remains; but it is a thorough mistake, both in his authority (mosheim, and also in himself. we shall successfully show this before we have done. as soon as jesus was born, according to the gnostic speculative view of christianity, christos, uniting himself with sophia (holy wisdom, descended through the seven planetary regions, assuming in each an analogous form to the region, and concealing his true nature from its genii, whilst he attracted into himself the sparks of divine light they severally retained in their angelic essence. thus christos, having passed through the seven angelic regions before the throne

ists, and, if possible, still more remarkably by the early christian fathers, we desire to disclaim any participation with them. our personal belief of these theories must not be necessarily supposed from our seeming to advocate them. there is no doubt that they were very acute and profound persons who undertook the examination and reconcilement of the philosophical systems at the introduction of christianity. the succeeding array of phallic figures will be found interesting, as tracing out to its progenitor or prototype that symbol which we call the upright this architectural descent we shall call the genealogy of the tower or steeple. the architectural genealogy of the tower or steeple (so to speak) is full of suggestion, and is closely connected with the story of the phallus. the insign

yond all question as self-evident. a certain class of philosophers have made no .scruple to call a woman an imperfect and even monstrous animal. these have affirmed that nature, in generation, always intends a male, and that it is only from mistake or deficiency, either of the matter or the faculty, that a woman is produced. the oriental ethics have degraded woman to the level of a chattel. it is christianity alone, in the discovery of the divine mary virgin- mother, mother-virgin that has elevated woman, and found for her a possible place (of course as a sexed-sexless, sexless- sexed idea, in heaven or in that state other than this state; irradiated with the light, breathing with the breath of divinity. almaricus, a doctor at paris in the twelfth century, advances an opinion that, had the

K AMBER THE BASICS OF MAGICK

ion, and a system of symbols to program the mind. the purpose of magick is to alter the self and the environment according to the will. most of the magick we see today comes to us from ancient egypt and chaldea. the chinese, hindus, and tibetans developed their own unique types of magick. western magick was locked up by the egyptian priests for thousands of years and then supressed by the rise of christianity. it was not until medieval europe that magical knowledge was rediscovered by the alchemists and cabalists. only during the past hundred years or so has western culture been open minded enough to permit widespread investigation of the subject. only since the start of the twentieth century has science shown much interest in it al all. parapsychology and psychic phenomena through parapsy

KARR DON NOTES ON THE STUDY OF EARLY KABBALAH JEWISH MYSTICISM IN ENGLISH

, when grouped together with a somewhat irregular splay of wisdom literature, psalms, testaments, prayers, and other material, are referred to as the pseudepigrapha. two fine introductions to apocalyptic are 1. russell, d. s. the method and message of jewish apocalyptic. philadelphia: westminster press, 1964. 2. collins, john j. the apocalyptic imagination: an introduction to the jewish matrix of christianity. new york: crossroad, grand rapids: wm. b. eerdmans publishing co, 1984; rpt. 1998* refer to my gkabbalah study: jewish mysticism in english h (1996-8, appended below, where there is a section offering suggestions for a survey of jewish mysticism, one segment of which parallels the outline presented here. alternative titles are discussed. 20081 15 another strand begun in the bible, in

between qumran and enochic judaism. grand rapids: wm. b. eerdmans publishing co, 1998. davidson, maxwell j. angels at qumran: a comparative study of 1 enoch 1-36, 72-108 and sectarian writings from qumran [journal for the study of pseudepigrapha series, 11. sheffield: sheffield academic press, 1992. schiffman, lawrence h. reclaiming the dead sea scrolls. the history of judaism, the background of christianity, the lost library of qumran. philadelphia: the jewish publication society, 1994. the most gmystical h of the qumran texts.those having the most in common with subsequent hekhalot literature.are the berakhot and the songs of the sabbath sacrifice. on these, see james r. davila, liturgical works. grand rapids. cambridge: wm. b. eerdmans publishing, 2000; and alexander, philip. the mysti

e ancient jewish mystics associated with the merkabah and hekhalot, a most informative source is martha himmelfarb fs ascent to heaven in jewish and christian apocalypses (new york/ oxford: oxford university press, 1993. on a somewhat different tack, though holding onto the thread begun with the last two selections, is markus n.a. bockmuehl fs revelation and mystery in ancient judaism and pauline christianity [wissenschaftliche untersuchungen zum neuen testament. 2. reihe 36 (tuebingen: j.c.b. mohr [paul siebeck, 1990)14 assuming that the reader is reasonably familiar with the hebrew bible, the next step would be to acquire some knowledge of early rabbinic thought and method. the sages by e. e. urbach (see note 2) is an excellent start. three anthologies serve as introductions to their res

).the best work on this topic which i have seen. foundations is the first of a four-volume series. an interesting supplement to mcginn is guy g. stroumsa fs hidden wisdom: esoteric traditions and the roots of christian mysticism [studies in the history of religions (numen book series, volume lxx (leiden/new york/koln, e.j. brill, 1996. following mystical trends inevitably leads through apocryphal christianity into gnosticism. for an overview of this complex subject, see gnosis: the nature and history of gnosticism, by kurt rudolph (edinburgh: t&t clark ltd, 1984; new york: harper and row, 1987. for texts, see (forgive the title) the gnostic scriptures: ancient wisdom for the new age, translated, annotated, and introduced by bentley layton (new york: doubleday, 1987, and the gnostic bible

LAITMAN M FROM CHAOS TO HARMONY

t not rely on any one nation to assist us, or hope that the world s approach toward us will change for the better. on the contrary, hatred toward us will arise even in countries that today seem supportive of us, unless we begin to realize our destination. t h e r i s e o f t h e i s l am besides increasing anti-semitism, there is another recent phenomenon that is strongly affecting our situation: christianity is surrendering its domination to fundaisrael s role 179 mentalist islam. this process is described in the book of zohar as part of the processes that will occur when israel returns to its land: and the children of ishmael are destined to evoke great wars in the world, and the children of edom will gather over them and they will wage war with them (zohar, vaera, item 203. when we stud

ines in the middle, meaning use the ego altruistically. corresponding to those lines is a system intended to sustain them, like a rind that guards the fruit within it. for this reason, the system is named, the klipot (shells, peels) system. its task is to guarantee the functioning of the lines. the consequences of the work of the forces of the right and the left in the human society are islam and christianity, respectively. israel s role 181 the left and right lines help israel keep a straight course in the middle line toward the realization of nature s plan. during the exile, the force that operated on israel came primarily from the left line. but toward the end of the correction of the collective human egoism, the right line is becoming increasingly active. during the exile, the evolutio

the centuries of exile. however, since the end of the exile, this was no longer sufficient. now the right klipa, the force that stands opposite the balancing force, must be awakened and goad israel to acquire the real quality of altruism. nature s inherent forces operate the elements in human society: the nations, the countries, and so on. hence, since the time of israel s exile, the left klipa, christianity, dominated our world. it took the place of athens and rome (which were not religions, or klipot, dominated the world and suppressed all other methods. but as the time approaches when israel must correct itself and ordain the quality of altruism over ego, the domination of the force of the klipa of the right is appearing in the world. this is what we feel today as a global intensificat

ld. it took the place of athens and rome (which were not religions, or klipot, dominated the world and suppressed all other methods. but as the time approaches when israel must correct itself and ordain the quality of altruism over ego, the domination of the force of the klipa of the right is appearing in the world. this is what we feel today as a global intensification of the power of islam over christianity. 182 from chaos to harmony when the people of israel begin to tackle the two klipot and stabilize themselves in the middle line, they will encounter the klipa of the middle line. it resides within them, in their own religion, and they will have to distinguish it, separate it, and uproot it from the world. we should be aware that all the wars that kabbalists describe can be decided at

LAITMAN M KABBALAH SCIENCE AND THE MEANING OF LIFE

o r c e 55 higher elements, in the sense that they precede all religions and belief systems. kabbalah is about the two working forces of reality, the giving force, called creator, and the receiving force, called creature. kabbalah has nothing to do with any religion or any faith. i do not want to compare kabbalah to other teachings, nor do i wish to discuss any religion, be it hinduism, judaism, christianity, or islam. after all, why deal with religion when we can discuss the physics of the upper world? the challenge in explaining this material is that we cannot compare our emotions. we cannot say that the term, upper force that one person feels is identical to the term, upper force that another person feels. hence, trying to compare this or that teaching to the kabbalah is pointless. kab

LEADBEATER C W THE HIDDEN LIFE IN FREEMASONRY 2E

, and bounded his actions by duty and destiny, he could not err. 115. the same device also signifies the first manifest-ation of the deity. it was held by the egyptians there were three successive manifestations; the first aspect far above our reach, the second and third successively lower, and their conception of these three was very similar to that of the three persons of the blessed trinity in christianity and the trimurti among the hindus; in fact, practically all philosophical religions have recognized the triple manifestation of the deity. in the book of dzyan the same emblem, but without the two lines, was used to denote the same reality, the first logos or word; while in christian mysticism it signifies the christ within the bosom of the father. it was also considered to be a refle

have to take the same precaution. in both cases we invoke the aid of non-human entities- the inhabitants of those subtler planes, who are thoroughly accustomed to deal with and control the forces belonging to their respective levels; but there is a certain difference between the methods adopted in the christian religion, and in the old egyptian mystery-faith from which masonry is derived. 352. in christianity we invoke great angels who are far above us in spiritual unfoldment, and place ourselves to a considerable extent in their hands, supplying them with the material of love and devotion and aspiration which the service calls forth from us, and leaving them largely to do the form-building and the distribution. 353. in freemasonry also we invoke angelic aid, but those upon whom we call ar

easuring it, so must the e.a. in speculative masonry train himself perfectly in morality. in ancient egypt the apprentice remained in that condition usually for seven years, until he satisfied those in authority that he was fit to pass on to the second degree. in the present day the qualifications have become little more than the lapse of time and the answering of certain questions. 546. in early christianity there were three recognized stages through which everyone had to pass who wished to make progress- purification, illumination and perfection. st. paul said: gwe speak wisdom among them that are perfect. h this is often misunderstood. obviously, if the people were perfect in the modern sense of the term, they would not need to be taught at all. these words are not used in their ordinar

hose who have attained the degree of perfection, h or, as a mason would put it, the degree of the m.m, because those three stages correspond in a general way to the three degrees in masonry. nowadays, the christian church seems to stop at the first stage. purification- and to regard it as its greatest work to make people saints. that is indeed a very high and noble thing, but in the older days of christianity, to make a man a saint was only a preliminary stage. st. clement of alexandria, one of the greatest of the christian fathers, says: gpurity- that is only a negative virtue valuable chiefly as a condition of insight. h when the man had made himself perfectly pure and holy in his life, he was eligible for the second stage, that of illumination, and only after he was fully illuminated co

s the general effect of it, but there were many verses. when that was finished, the r.w.m. said: gbring in the offerings h; and his acolytes went off to his pedestal and produced them. 875. the children brought him two golden vessels, which bore some resemblance to those used in the christian eucharistic service, and evidently to a certain extent corresponded to them. this ceremony long antedated christianity, so it is by no means impossible that some of its features may have been absorbed by the later religion. we may clearly regard this as the egyptian form of the eucharist, for its object was identical; the brn. offered themselves, body, soul and spirit, to god, he entered into them in an especial manner in return, and they then acted as the channels of his bounty to the world. 876. the

LEADBEATER CW GLIMPSES OF MASONIC HISTORY

ns. the mithraic rites. the roman collegia. the work of king numa. the colleges and the legions. the introduction of the jewish form. the transition to the operatives. chapter vii craft masonry in mediaeval times evolutionary methods. the withdrawal of the mysteries. the christian mysteries. the repression of the mysteries. the crossing of traditions. the two lines of descent. the culdees. celtic christianity in britain. the druidic mysteries. the holy grail. heredom. chapter viii operative masonry in the middle ages the temporary custodians. decline of the collegia. the comacini. the comacine lodges. other survivals of the collegia. the compagnonnage. the stonemasons of germany. the english guilds. the rise of gothic architecture. the old charges. chapter ix the transition from operative

f the holy royal arch(*book of constitutions, 1884, p. 16) all other degrees and rites are, among the more rigid followers of this school, looked upon as continental innovations and are accordingly rejected as spurious masonry. 10. as far as interpretation goes, the authentics have ventured but little further than a moralization upon the symbols and ceremonies of masonry as an adjunct to anglican christianity. 11. the anthropological school 12. a second school, still only in process of development, is applying the discoveries of anthropology to a study of masonic history, with remarkable results. a vast amount of information upon the religious and initiatory customs of many peoples, both ancient and modern, has been gathered by anthropologists; and masonic students in this field have found

he stages on the path: masonic degrees mysteries the path e.a. f.c. m.m. isis serapis osiris probationer initiate arhat 202. the fifth initiation and beyond 203. only one more stage remains before human perfection is reached- that which is typified by the ascension into heaven. at this fifth initiation the adept ascends above all earthly life and becomes one with that aspect of the deity which in christianity we call god the holy ghost(*see the masters and the path) 204. and still there are higher stages, greater steps upon the path, though belonging no longer to human evolution but to the development of the superman. even here our masonic ceremonies reflect in symbol something of those higher glories, giving the key to the whole vast plan. far above the grade of adept, he who is the chris

eredom; but the forces flow-ing through it have been modified to some extent, so that instead of a brotherhood of arms we have now a brotherhood of love. the power of love takes the place of the military influence of courage, although the method of consecration in the higher worlds is the same. this is due to a blending with the egyptian line of tradition. 424. the analogies between mithraism and christianity are very close; they are well summarized thus in the encyclopedia britannica: 425. the fraternal and democratic spirit of the first communities, and their humble origin; the identification of the object of adoration with light and the sun; the legends of the shepherds with their gifts and adoration, the flood, and the ark; the representation in art of the fiery chariot, the drawing of

soul, the last judgment, the resurrection of the flesh and the fiery destruction of the universe- these are some of the resemblances at their root lay a common eastern origin rather than any borrowing(*ency. brit (11th edn, art. mithras) 426. the great powers behind evolution appear at one time to have thought seriously of making mithraism the religion of the fifth sub-race instead of the maimed christianity which had rejected its own gnosis and put aside its mysteries. but the ideal of mithraic purity was so high that it would probably have been impossible for men to follow it during the dark ages; and another very serious objection to the system was that it absolutely excluded women. mithraism was allowed therefore to sink into the background and finally to pass out of sight of the oute

LEFT HAND PATH AND RIGHT HAND PATH

borrowed the terms from the kabbalah, which speaks of the left hand pillar of serverity, the middle pillar of balance, and the right hand pillar of mercy. while this usage of the terms is still current in some occult circles, many occultists now see the left-hand path as encompassing all modern occult practices, while the right- hand path is considered to encompass traditional religions, such as christianity, though most christians would disagree with such a classification. new religious movements which describe themselves as followers of the left-hand path inverted much of the symbolism that they associate with the more "traditional" right- hand path, such as the following biblical passage: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats. and

LETTER FROM A LUCIFEREAN

ad removed all absolutes and givens. everything which i had been brought up to take for granted was shaken- the firm foundations of my world crumbled in that instant, and i was lost, as it were. some months later, i fell into a conversation with a chap i met in the central library. i expounded my somewhat idealistic conviction that science would usher in an age of rationality, and that the age of christianity s grip upon the world was passing away. he asked me if i had heard of the evil aleister crowley, who had declared that "there is no god but man" i had heard of crowley- indeed my father had once burnt a copy of the news of the world which had somehow found its way into the house which made much of his death and the devilworshippers who attended his funeral in hastings. my new friend w

uciferean life-spark. moreover, the sharing of passions within the group serves to kindle the group s alchemica- the sense of, and experience of power which is built up and can be tapped, during ritual work. needless to say, all ritual work (be it group or individual) was performed naked- all the better to draw on the power of the personal- or interpersonal- erotic impulse. since i have mentioned christianity in passing, i will now deal with the question of the relationship between christianity and satanism. i make no bones of the fact that i was a christian before i became a satanist, as were, to varying degrees i suppose, my colleagues. i have seen, time and time again, the charge by modern neo-pagans that satanists are merely inverted christians. to some extent, this charge is fell-foun

l now deal with the question of the relationship between christianity and satanism. i make no bones of the fact that i was a christian before i became a satanist, as were, to varying degrees i suppose, my colleagues. i have seen, time and time again, the charge by modern neo-pagans that satanists are merely inverted christians. to some extent, this charge is fell-founded. the relationship between christianity and satanism is very much like the relationship between the various schools of tantrism and orthodox vedanta. after all, the tantric s use of meat, wine, and sexual intercourse are only shocking within the context of orthodox belief. in the west, we think nothing of wining and dining as a prelude to sexual intercourse- providing of course that the lady pays! in the same way, satanism

LEWIS JAMES SATANISM TODAY AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION FOLKLORE AND POPULAR CULTURE

characterizes as satan chic, asserts that satan is by definition evil. hence modern satanism s effort to recover the positive satan of the romantic poets is inherently meaningless because it contradicts itself. alternately, in the same section where he discounts lavey and others as pseudo-satanists, russell characterizes jim jones s people s temple as a satanic group that merely used the name of christianity to disguise its true diabolism as if to imply that no truly christian organization could do anything bad or evil. the problem with this analysis is that western society is long past the stage in its cultural history where satan and satanism can unambiguously be equated with evil. the difficulties inherent in russell s assertion become evident as soon as one entertains its corollary, n

se its true diabolism as if to imply that no truly christian organization could do anything bad or evil. the problem with this analysis is that western society is long past the stage in its cultural history where satan and satanism can unambiguously be equated with evil. the difficulties inherent in russell s assertion become evident as soon as one entertains its corollary, namely that christ and christianity are by definition good.however positively we might regard christianity, few of us would be willing to characterize the influence of the christian tradition as an unalloyed good. although we might wish we could make such simple, straightforward associations, the fact of the matter is that the cultural images of satanism and christianity we have inherited are complex and ambiguous. we d

world, and angra mainyu (later ahriman, the god of darkness and the lower world. partially because of a friendly link with the persians, judaism took in influences from zoroastrianism. thus satan, the closest thing the jews had to an evil spirit, was reconceived in the mold of angra mainyu as god s enemy. this portrait of an evil divinity locked in a cosmic war against god was later bequeathed to christianity. early christianity arose as a jewish sect during the apocalyptic period. the first christians strongly believed in the imminent second coming of christ (within their lifetimes, which would be accompanied by the resurrection of the dead, a final judgment, the defeat of satan, and the end of this world. with these apocalyptic additions, the christian devil remained essentially unchange

spots in forests, mountains, caves, or some other remote area, often by flying, to diabolical celebrations. satan himself presided over the assembly while seated on a throne. participants divested themselves of their clothing and copulated with demons. the core of the meeting often involved the sacrifice of a human being. babies were usually cooked and eaten. new witches signed a pact, renounced christianity, trampled on a cross, and received a mark on their bodies from satan s claw. although they are associated with the middle ages in most people s minds, the deadliest witchhunts were conducted in the twilight of the medieval world. it has been suggested that witchhunting was, in fact, a displaced reaction to the breakup of medievalism and the emergence of the modern world. whatever the

lthough they are associated with the middle ages in most people s minds, the deadliest witchhunts were conducted in the twilight of the medieval world. it has been suggested that witchhunting was, in fact, a displaced reaction to the breakup of medievalism and the emergence of the modern world. whatever the factors at work in this phenomenon, the witch-hunts came to represent the worst aspects of christianity an important component of a new image of the church as a corrupt, evil institution that repressed and executed innocent people. if, then, christianity was bad, perhaps the devil was not so bad or even good. in the postmedieval world, particularly in romantic literary circles, poets like william blake often used infernal imagery to represent aspects of the human being such as sensualit

LIBER ALEPH

s come to pass. now then the poet is interpreter of the hieroglyphs of the hidden will of man in many a matter, some light, some deep, as it may be given unto him to do. moreover, it is not altogether in the word of any poem, but in the quintessential flavour of the poet, that thou mayst seek this prophecy. and this is an art most necessary to every statesman. who but shelley foretold the fall of christianity, and the organisation of labour, and the freedom of woman; who but nietzsche declared the principle at the root of the world-war? see thou clearly then that in these men were the keys of the dark gates of the future; should not the kings and their ministers have taken heed thereto, fulfilling their word without conflict? f liber aleph vel cxi 68 bo de magis ordinis a. a. quibus caro f

LIBER CXLVIII SOLDIER AND THE HUNCHBACK

m the cripple, and forty-two from the one-eyed man; but when the hunchback comes, say eallah our aid. f h arab proverb. i inquiry. let us inquire in the first place: what is scepticism? the word means looking, questioning, investigating. one must pass by contemptuously the christian liar fs gloss which interprets gsceptic h as gmocker h; though in a sense it is true for him, since to inquire into christianity is assuredly to mock at it; but i am concerned to intensify the etymological connotation in several respects. first, i do not regard mere incredulity as necessary to the idea, though credulity is incompatible with it. incredulity implies a prejudice in favour of a negative conclusion; and the true sceptic should be perfectly unbiassed. second, i exclude gvital scepticism. h what fs th

LIBER LVII

saw that israel would accept the law. in this connection i may give six very interesting specimens of notariqon formed from this same word tycarb by solom meir ben moses, a jewish qabalist, who embraced the christian faith in 1665, and took the name of prosper rugere. these all have a christian tendency, and by their means prosper converted another jew, who had previously been bitterly opposed to christianity. the first is \ymt djy \tcwlc ba jwr b, ben ruach ab, shaloshethem yechad themim .the son, the spirit, the father, their trinity, perfect unity. the second is wdwbot djy \tcwlc ba jwr b, ben ruach ab, shaloshethem yechad thaubodo .the son, the spirit, the father, ye shall equally worship their trinity. the third is wdwbot owcy wmc rca ywncar yrwkb, bekori rashuni asher shamo yeshuah t

ephim assattar shegopi yeshuah thakelo .i will hide mayself in cake (baked with) coals, for ye shall eat jesus, my body. 4 [the quote from genesis, in jacob.s blessing to judah, is generally taken as the earliest reference to the messiah. other meanings of 358 are discussed later in this article. t.s] on the qabalah 7 the qabalistical importance of these sentences as bearing upon the doctrines of christianity can hardly be overrated. the second form of notariqon is the exact reverse of the first. by this the initial or finals or both, or the medials, of a sentence, are taken to form a word or words. thus the qabalah is called hrtsn hmkj, chokham nesethrah .the secret wisdom; and if we take the initials of these two words j and n we form by the second kind of notariqon the word j, chen .gra

LIBER LXVII THE SWORD OF SONG

t be determined. the religion, ceasing to be a tangible thing, an object uniform for all sane eyes, becomes rather that mist whereon the sun of the soul casts up, like brocken spectres, certain vast and vague images of the beholder himself, with or without a glory en-compassing them. the function of the facts is then quite passive: it matters little or nothing whether the cloud be the red mist of christianity, or the glimmering silver-white of celtic paganism; the hard grey dim-gilded of buddhism, the fleecy opacity of islam, or the mysterious medium of those ancient faiths which come up in as many colours as their investigator has moods .in order to get over the ethical difficulties presented by the na ve naturalism of many parts of those scriptures, in the divine authority of which he fi

ce of what the last would lead to. god is indeed cut away. a cancer from the breast of truth. of those philosophers, who from unassailable premisses draw by righteous deduction a conclusion against god, and then for his sake overturn their whole structure by an act of will, like a child breaking an ingenious toy, i take mansel as my type* now, however, let us consider the esoteric idea-mongers of christianity, swedenborg, anna kingsford, deussen and the like, of whom i have taken caird as my example. i wish to unmask these people: i perfectly agree with nearly everything they say, but their claim to be christians is utterly confusing, and lends a lustre to christianity which is quite foreign. deussen, for example, coolly discards nearly all the old testament, and, picking a few new testame

, of whom i have taken caird as my example. i wish to unmask these people: i perfectly agree with nearly everything they say, but their claim to be christians is utterly confusing, and lends a lustre to christianity which is quite foreign. deussen, for example, coolly discards nearly all the old testament, and, picking a few new testament passages, often out of their context, claims his system as christianity. luther discards james. kingsford calls paul the arch heretic. my friend the .christian clergyman. accepted mark and acts.until pushed. yet deussen is honest enough to admit that vedanta teaching is identical, but clearer! and he quite clearly and sensibly defines faith.surely the most essential quality for the adherent to christian dogma .as .being convinced on insufficient evidence

rgyman. accepted mark and acts.until pushed. yet deussen is honest enough to admit that vedanta teaching is identical, but clearer! and he quite clearly and sensibly defines faith.surely the most essential quality for the adherent to christian dogma .as .being convinced on insufficient evidence. similarly the dying-to-live idea of hegel (and schopenhauer) claimed by caird as the central spirit of christianity is far older, in the osiris myth of the egyptians. these ideas are all right, but they have no more to do with christianity than the metric system with the great pyramid. but see piazzi smyth. henry morley has even the audacity to claim shelley.shelley!.as a christian .in spirit. talking of shelley:.with regard to my open denial of the personal christian god, may it not be laid to my

specially the latter) is its weakness: it is possible that the mind of the reader, lost in the sensuous, nay! even in the moral beauty of the words, may fail to be impressed by their most important meaning. shelley himself recognised this later: hence the direct and simple vigour of the .masque of anarchy. it has often puzzled atheists that a man of milton.s genius could have written as he did of christianity. but we must not forget that milton lived immediately after the most important revolution in religion and politics of modern times: shelley on the brink of such another political upheaval. shakespeare alone sat enthroned above it all like a god, and is not lost in the mire of controversy* this, also, though .i.m no shakespeare, as too probable. i have endeavoured to avoid: yet i canno

LIBER V VEL REGULI

the beast. figure. 12 the mtp printing altered this to. sacred and worthy of honour as such. the editor of the blue brick argues that this, along with the omission of the figures of the pentagrams, was due to gerald yorke (frater v.i) who did uncredited editorial work on the first edition and in correspondence with crowley had argued for removing or toning down hostile and sarcastic references to christianity. 13 the printed edition (and indeed the syracuse ts, according to an editorial note in the blue brick) had .aleph-zero. the reference is to the infinite set of cardinal numbers, the smallest infinite set, more usually pronounced .aleph-null. a set is said to have a0 members if its members can be put into one to one correspondence with the set of natural numbers (0, 1, 2, 3. hence ther

LINDOW JOHN NORSE MYTHOLOGY A GUIDE TO THE GODS HEROES RITUALS AND BELIEFS

ning of the period, as we have seen, is portrayed by those who wrote the history, the literate members of the christian church, as a meeting between pagan and christian, and it was only natural that as time passed attempts would be made to convert the scandinavians, as charlemagne had converted the saxons. indeed, those scandinavians who traded or settled in christian lands had ample contact with christianity, and many of them either converted or had themselves gprime-signed, h that is, they accepted the sign of the cross, the first step toward baptism, so that they could do business with christians. furthermore, the gradual emergence of european nationstates in scandinavia during the viking age and their increasing integration with europe made it inevitable that the issue would arise at t

composed by introduction 9 illustration from flateyjarbok, a late-fourteenth-century icelandic manuscript. the scene may depict st. olaf killing a monster (bob krist/corbis) christians in iceland, and snorri sturluson made extensive use of the mythology in his writings. thus scandinavian mythology was, with virtually no exception, written down by christians, and there is no reason to believe that christianity in iceland was any different from christianity anywhere else in western europe during the high middle ages. although the earliest bishops were sent out from norway, quite soon the bishops were native born, and by the end of the eleventh century there were two episcopal sees, the original one at skalholt and a new one for the north at holar. there were several monasteries, adhering bot

nd there was also one nunnery in iceland before the demise of the commonwealth in 1262.1264. at least some of the monks were literate, and they composed both latin and icelandic texts. some lay persons of higher status were also apparently literate, at least in icelandic, but all writing, whether in the international language of the church or in the vernacular, was the result of the conversion to christianity, which brought with it the technology of manuscript writing. before and after the church brought manuscript writing to the north, there was some writing using the native runic writing system. since in the older runic alphabet there are no horizontal strokes, it is assumed that the system was originally invented for scratching the letters on wooden sticks, whose grain would obscure hor

rig fs rhymed list, which tells of the origins of the human social order, is found in a manuscript of snorri fs edda. each eddic poem had its own history before it was written down, and there has been much speculation about the dates and origins of the various poems. most scholars believe strongly in the possibility that some of the mythological poems were composed, after iceland fs conversion to christianity, by antiquarians secure enough in their christianity to be able to compose in the old form about the old gods. thrymskvida is the poem most often mentioned in this context, but there are many others. on the other hand, there is no way to tell whether a poem, even one that looks as young as thrymskvida, might have been composed during the viking age or even, theoretically, earlier, and

for woman.can give us some indication as to whether the figure in question was at all known. skaldic poetry, then, was a showy, ornate oral poetry, which must have taken much time to master; indeed, it is clear that a certain amount of training would have been needed just to understand it as a member of the audience. it is certainly possible that knowledge of the myths survived the conversion to christianity because of the value early christian iceland placed on the skaldic poems about kings and rulers. in other words, it is possible that the continued transmission of poetry about early kings and battles as historical sources required a continuing knowledge of heroic legend and of myth, not as the object of belief or as something associated with cult but simply as stories that people inte

LUCIFERIAN SORCERY AND SET TYPHON

ht, luciferian fire and divinity) and the infernal (the lower aspects, the daemonic. what the witches' sabbat is the spiritual transference from the waking flesh (everyday life) to the astral/dream rite (the gathering of witches and sorcerer in the arena of the dream. the sabbat has been explored since before the middle ages, in the form of the infernal, daemonic and often demoting in the lens of christianity. it was austin osman spare, in his one room apartment in london, awakened to the gathering of spirits, fornicating and procreating the inherent wish of each sorcerer. spare considered the sabbat most healthy, and noted an increase in mental and physical health and vigor. spare around this time, in the early 1950's, drew numerous illustrations of the sabbat in various forms, including

LURQUIN STONE EVOLUTION AND RELIGIOUS CREATION MYTHS

tural traditions, as far as we know, there is not a concern with a real-time framework for acts of creation. creation is considered to have occurred in some cosmic time, outside a sense of time as we know it. creation versus evolution in other world religions as we mentioned above, id proponents and creationists in the united states are followers of particular versions of the christian faith. but christianity is far from being the only religion accepted and practiced by people on earth. therefore, let us now see how major religious traditions, other than christianity, view the process of evolution. not all religions or religious accounts of divine creation conflict with evolution. thus, before moving on to the science of evolution, we end this chapter with a section addressing an interesti

being the only religion accepted and practiced by people on earth. therefore, let us now see how major religious traditions, other than christianity, view the process of evolution. not all religions or religious accounts of divine creation conflict with evolution. thus, before moving on to the science of evolution, we end this chapter with a section addressing an interesting question: aside from christianity, how do other major world religions view the issues of scientific evolution and divine creation? to what extent are 20 evolution and religious creation myths there conflicts between the two in these religions? and are creationist movements present within world religions outside christianity? in what follows, we discuss these matters in relation to islam, judaism, hinduism, and buddhis

s of islam (1) the witness i witness that there is no god but allah; i witness that muhammad is his prophet (2) five daily prayers to allah (3) the giving of alms to the less fortunate (4) fasting, as an expression of gratitude to allah, especially during the month of ramadan; and (5) a pilgrimage, if feasible, to the holy sites in the city of mecca in saudi arabia once in one s lifetime. as with christianity, there is within the vast world of islama wide spectrum of opinions on evolution versus creationism or id. on the one hand, many muslims around the world maintain that there is no conflict whatsoever between evolution and the tenets of islam. at the other end of the spectrum, the teaching of evolution is forbidden in the islamic nation of saudi arabia. in addition, muslim followers of

nd religious creation myths the quran is less detailed than the bible in its account of the origins of life and the universe (the quran mentions adam and his spouse who is not referred to as eve but does not specify how the universe was created. as a result, muslims generally have no qualms with the idea of an old earth. on the other hand, islam can be fertile ground for id principles, as much as christianity is. harun yahya s anti-evolution web page is extremely similar to christian creationist and id pages. these might as well be copies of one another. the same misrepresentations of evolution are offered, in the same sequence, and using the same examples. also, harun yahya vilifies darwinism, making it responsible for, among others, terrorism and fascism. of course, american creationists

t far, although some u.s. evangelical leaders have blamed the 9/11 attacks on our materialistic society, no doubt further vitiated by darwinian ideology. harun yahya promulgates that schoolchildren be instilled with the fear of god, a fear supposedly diminished by pernicious and godless darwinism. judaism judaism is the oldest monotheistic religion still in existence today. like islam, but unlike christianity, it rejects any pictorial representation of god. but unlike both christianity and islam, judaism does not affirm that satan is the inventor of evil. jews and christians alike recognize the old testament, in particular, its first five books, called the torah in hebrew. thus, there exists in judaismalso the potential for a literal interpretation of the genesis creation myth. on the othe

MANLY P HALL THE SECRET TEACHINGS OF ALL AGES

rines and tenets fifteen rosicrucian and qabbalistic diagrams alchemy and its exponents the theory and practice of alchemy: part one the theory and practice of alchemy: part two the hermetic and alchemical figures of claudius de dominico celentano vallis novi the chemical marriage bacon, shakspere, and the rosicrucians the cryptogram as a factor in symbolic philosophy freemasonic symbolism mystic christianity the cross and the crucifixion the mystery of the apocalypse the faith of islam american indian symbolism the mysteries and their emissaries conclusion the secret teachings of all ages an encyclopedic outline of masonic, hermetic, qabbalistic and rosicrucian symbolical philosophy being an interpretation of the secret teachings concealed within the rituals, allegories, and mysteries of

--the passageways and chambers of the great pyramid--the riddle of the sphinx--the pyramid mysteries--the secret of the pyramid coffer-the dwelling place of the hidden god. 41 isis, the virgin of the world the birthdays of the gods--the murder of osiris--the hermetic isis--the symbols peculiar to isis--the troubadours--the mummification of the dead. 45 the sun, a universal deity the solar trinity-christianity and the sun--the birthday of the sun--the three suns- the celestial inhabitants of the sun--the midnight sun. 49 the zodiac and its signs primitive astronomical instruments--the equinoxes and solstices--the astrological ages of the world--the circular zodiac of tentyra--an interpretation of the zodiacal signs- the horoscope of the world. 53 the bembine table of isis plato's initiation

ogram as a factor in symbolic philosophy secret alphabets--the biliteral cipher--pictorial ciphers--acroamatic ciphers--numerical and musical ciphers--code ciphers. 169 freemasonic symbolism the pillars raised by the sons of seth--enoch and the royal arches--the dionysiac architects--the roman collegia--solomon, the personification of universal wisdom- freemasonry's priceless heritage. 173 mystic christianity st. iran us on the life of christ--the original name of jesus--the christened man--the essenes--the arthurian cycle--merlin the mage. 177 the cross and the crucifixion the aurea legenda--the lost libraries of alexandria--the cross in pagan symbolism- the crucifixion, a cosmic allegory--the crucifixion of quetzalcoatl--the nails of the passion. 181 the mystery of the apocalypse the sac

the mysteries--those secret schools into whose profundities of idealism nearly all of the first philosophers of antiquity were initiated. when the physical body of pagan thought collapsed, an attempt was made to resurrect the form by instilling new life into it by the unveiling of its mystical truths. this effort apparently was barren of results. despite the antagonism, however, between pristine christianity and neo-platonism many basic tenets of the latter were accepted by the former and woven into the fabric of patristic philosophy. briefly described, neo-platonism is a philosophic code which conceives every physical or concrete body of doctrine to be merely the shell of a spiritual verity which may be discovered through meditation and certain exercises of a mystic nature. in comparison

ere considered relatively of little value. likewise, no emphasis was placed upon the material sciences. the term patristic is employed to designate the philosophy of the fathers of the early christian church. patristic philosophy is divided into two general epochs: ante-nicene and post-nicene. the ante-nicene period in the main was devoted to attacks upon paganism and to apologies and defenses of christianity. the entire structure of pagan philosophy was assailed and the dictates of faith elevated above those of reason. in some instances efforts were made to reconcile the evident truths of paganism with christian revelation. eminent among the ante-nicene fathers were st. iren us, clement of alexandria, and justin martyr. in the post-nicene period more emphasis was placed upon the unfoldmen

MASTERING WITCHCRAFT

they were known in the old english tongue, the wicce and wicca, wizards and witches. the legend of the elvenfolk's ancestry still survived, however, in heavily christianized form. they were the remaining offspring of the fallen angels. neither devils, like satan and his cohorts, nor angels, but somewhere between the two. neither good nor bad, merely indifferent. it is at this point that organized christianity began to take a hand, and bore down heavily on all those suspected of either having consorted with or actually being elves or "faery folk" the heresy trials of the waldenses, albigenses, and knights templar had spanned the twelfth, thirteen, and fourteenth centuries, as mother church consolidated herself and waged war against the forces of dissolution and darkness manifesting as rival

e" here and now it will be sufficient for you to make a symbolic gesture which will ceremonially demonstrate your severance from old restraints and inhibitions that in the past have acted as the main obstacles to the development of the powers within you. basically, these restraints can be symbolized as the yoke imposed by such established systems of irrational thought as organized religion, be it christianity, judaism, or buddhism. organized religion, let me emphasize. of course, there are many other ironclad systems of thought without occult bases which have been imposed upon the public mind from time to time, such as communism, fascism, or capitalism, but these at least function under the pretence of ministering to the bodies of mankind rather than to the good of the soul, whatever that

of styles and cultures. all that matters is the item's effect on you and your deep mind. while on the subject of religious components "words of power" cabalistic names of god and the like, here is a tip for the wise witch: better results will always be obtained if you happen to subscribe to the religion from which your words of power derive, in the case of the cabala, judaism, or maybe unorthodox christianity. however, always remember, it is only the awe, the shiver of emotional excitement, aroused by the name or quotation, which is its chief magical value. if you can do this with an arabic name of god, roman catholic saint, or tibetan demon, so much the better. go ahead and use it. likewise, the name of your husband, wife, lover, favourite politician, film star, or most hated dictator wil

s always potent for stirring the depths, especially when there is a certain amount of frenzied repetition involved. in view of this particular attitude to incantation, most of the processes of medieval sorcery that are now available to the general public are seen by the average witch as extremely clumsy and, as such, highly unsuitable for performance. not only are they closely bound up with judeo-christianity, but they are also always bogged down with endless preachy pages of invocation, as you will see if you ever consult one, which, far from awakening the deep mind of the operating witch, will generally tend to send it even more securely to sleep. apropos of religious beliefs, the modern witch tends to "reserve judgement" generally; there are those who devote themselves entirely to the f

be of considerable help to the lustful though maybe as yet unfascinating practitioner. the rituals themselves in this area of magic are ruled by a very different power to habondia. in fact, we are dealing with her consort, the horned one, in medieval times claimed by the church to be none other than satan himself. the attribution is merely scholarly, however, as the horned one existed long before christianity came into existence, with its concept of the devil. whereas habondia's symbol is the dove, old horny's is the goat. to students of symbolism, this attribute should speak for itself. the goat is the age-old representative of lust and debauchery, and cernunnos himself, for such is his witch name, is frequently represented as possessing the cloven hooves, horns, and erect phallus of his

MEANING OF MASONRY

s, and still is, we will consider presently so far as we are able to speak of it, and so far as masonry gives expression to it. for the moment let me merely say that behind all the official religious systems of the world, and behind all the great moral movements and developments in the history of humanity, have stood what st. paul called the keepers or" stewards of the mysteries" from that source christianity itself came into the world. from them originated the great school of kabalism, that marvellous system of secret, oral tradition of the hebrews, a strong element of which has been introduced into our masonic system. from them, too, also issued many fraternities and orders, such, for instance, as the great o rders of chivalry and of the rosicrucians, and the school of spiritual alchemy

alt through turning back in desire to what she ought to have renounced altogether, so in trying to serve mammon and god at the same time the roman church has failed in both and, as the result of the false steps and abuses of centuries. the world is to-day a chaos of disunited sects and popular religious teaching is as materialistic as masonry. it is a pity, for in its original design and practice christianity was intended to serve as a system of initiation upon a catholic or universal scale, and to take over, supersede and amplify all that previously was taught, in a less efficacious way and to a more restricted public, in the ancient mysteries. it is not possible here to enter upon the extremely interesting questions involved in the transition from pre-christian to christian religion, or

sting questions involved in the transition from pre-christian to christian religion, or to explain why and how the christian mysteries are the efflorescence of the earlier ones and transcend them. in their central teachings, as in the philosophic method of life they demand, the two methods are identical. the differences between them are only such as are due to amplification and formal expression. christianity came not to destroy, but to fulfil and expand. that fulfilment and expansion were consequent upon an event of cosmic importance which we speak of as the incarnation. by that event something had happened affecting the very fabric of our planet and every item of the human family. what that something was and the nature of the change it wrought is too great and deep a theme to develop now

r masons. their first degree was that of a rebirth and purification of the heart; their second related to the illumination of the intelligence; and their third to a total death unto sin and a new birth unto righteousness, i n which the candidate died with christ on the cross, as with us he is made to imitate the death of hiram, and was raised to that higher order of life which is mastership. when christianity became a state-religion and the church a world-power, the materialization of its doctrine proceeded apace and has only increased with the centuries. instead of becoming the unifying force its leaders meant it to be, its association with" worldly possessions" has resulted in making it a disintegrative one. abuses led to schisms and sectarianism, and whilst the parent body, in the form

MICHAEL FORD A RITE OF THE WEREWOLF

is sheep in the forest around the year of 1521, becoming distressed when unable to find them. three black riders approached him, the third saying whither away, you seem to be in trouble, the rider then told the boy not to worry that his master may take care of him and his flock, saving them from the attack of wolves. his name was revealed as moyset, he initiated pierre by the young man renouncing christianity, kissing moyset s left hand (which was black and as cold as a corpse) and giving an oath to his lord the devil. after a time pierre went back into the service of his community and was reinitiated by a man named michel verdung. verdung took pierre to a sabbat ritual, where they met in the woods near chastel charnon. each danced about with a green candle with a blue flame, and then smea

MICHAEL FORD WITCHMOON

ding to the sheep in his herd. from the woods rode three men each dressed in black and deathly pale. the leader of the men, who called himself moyset, told pierre that his men would watch over his herd and give unto him a great fortune if he would obey his wishes. pierre agreed and in their next meeting moyset inquired upon pierre's religious beliefs. upon finding that pierre was one who accepted christianity he commanded him to reject jesus christ, the holy virgin and his baptism. burgot then accepted his suggestions and gave an oath by kissing moysets' hand, which was as cold as the hand of a corpse. it was years later when the rider returned and gave burgot an ointment to smear upon himself. this 14 14 act was done along with pierre's friend verdun, who smeared himself with this foul sm

rnications, from which the blood of the saints dwelled. those who transverse and persevered through the path of thelema or holy magick might offer their blood to the great cup, opening themselves to the glory of babalon. babalon is the beautiful goddess of an opened spirit, the luciferian mind. she is the exact opposite of mary, for the christians goddess is the mother of the black brotherhood of christianity in many aspects, she is closed therefore non existent to those who seek the light of god (lucifer. john whiteside parsons wrote much, and dedicated a majority of his short life to babalon. marjorie cameron parsons was said to be an avatar of this goddess, and lived her life expressing the importance of individual thought and goddess worship through her art and talks. the babalon worki

MICHAEL TSARION ATLANTIS ALIEN VISITATION AND GENETIC MANIPULATION

ndrums. for 2,000 years, christianityand the major religions have sought to account for the presence of evil. they have notsucceeded in giving us any clear answer. in attempting to answer one question, theyhave fostered thousands of new ones. and some might argue that along with science,religion is one of the most adroit exponents of evil in the world today. and indeed,when we review the canon of christianity, we have good reason to feel frustrated. onemay well ask, what is going on in the bible? let us then take a brief look. we are told by the religions that man has two natures, good and evil. one is then com-pelled to ask why god would instill such propensities in his own creations who aremade in his image? we read that god created man and woman. this implies that god is not man or woma

evil, the one who acts it out, or the one who created the propensityin the first place? does it not seem strange that the god who promised to take care of all his people andnever bring another deluge would be so conspicuously absent during all the subse-quent horrors of history? so it goes on and on throughout the bible text. no wonder that pliny the y oungerwhen asked by the emperor trajan about christianity replied that it was a..degenerate sort of cult taken to extravagant lengths.i do not believe in the creed professed by the jewish church, by the roman church, by thegreek church, by the turkish church, by the protestant church, nor by any church that iknow of..each of those churches accuse the other of unbelief; and for my own part, i disbe-lieve them all (thomas paine)atlantis, alien

hegreek church, by the turkish church, by the protestant church, nor by any church that iknow of..each of those churches accuse the other of unbelief; and for my own part, i disbe-lieve them all (thomas paine)atlantis, alien visitation, and genetic manipulation71 what goes on in the bible? i have examined all the known superstitions of the world, and i do not find in our particularsuperstition of christianity one redeeming feature. they are all alike founded on fables andmythology. millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of chris-tianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned. what has been the effect of thiscoercion? to make one-half the world fools and the other half hypocrites; to support rogueryand error all over the earth (thomas jefferson)the cl

to wring themost possible profit from every conceivable circumstance. the body and spirit both rebel.(david watson, the pathology of civilization)atlantis, alien visitation, and genetic manipulation147 epilogue: time to change the road youre on what does it matter if one is free or slave in this vale of tears? the essential thing is to get toheaven, and resignation is one more means towards that. christianity preaches only servi-tude and dependence. its spirit is so favorable to tyranny that tyranny always exploits it.true christians are made to be slaves, they know it, and they are not concerned by that: thisshort life is too unimportant in their eyes (jean jacques rousseau, the social contract,4.8).our present servitude is due to the acquiescence of our post-diluvian ancestors who,after

-sels that were therein (the elucidation)as civilizations became corrupted by the infusion of alien elements and influences, theconnection to and respect for nature and, for that matter woman, drastically waned.man's present disconnect from earth and from nature arises from his subconsciousidentification with his extraterrestrial masters and their millennia old insinuations. two-thousand years of christianity has indoctrinated the world with the perniciousfallacies regarding nature's ambient divinity. this ideology persists despite the valiantepilogue: time to change the road youre on150atlantis, alien visitation, and genetic manipulation attempts of the great savants and adepts. from lucretius, plotinus, shakespeare,blake, rousseau, spinoza, schelling, coleridge, wordsworth, shelley, swam

MICHAEL W FORD THE VAMPIRE GATE

adept, to compliment an independent and opposer type of individual. by all accounts the botd is indeed a black school lessons are given in darkness, there is no visible master yet under this scope of study does the shadow cast down upon the ground in which the adept treads. knowledge of the enemy is essential. the luciferian must study the ways of the enemy monotheistic right hand path religions christianity, et al. such belief indoctrinates the weak and ignorant, thus should be kept out of the mind entirely, save it poison you to spiritual death. if anything, the luciferian should seek to devour the very essence of the tribal christian god, 47 to drink deep of its knowledge of war, chaos, natural disaster, disease. if you compare the realities of our world with the christian concept, the

MICHAEL WYNN THE SOUL TRAVELERS

our lifeforce that gives the demon substance and energy. these spirits can become powerful if allowed to continue feeding in the material plane. although capable of wearing many forms, demons tend to prefer arriving as hideous forms, with voices and odors that humans find disagreeable. the jinn [2.6] the word jinn is arabic for demon, and it is where we get the word genie. unlike many religions (christianity to name one, muslims have been given more detailed information regarding the beings in the spirit world, and since much of these details are echoed by those in the occult, the muslim perspective regarding the spirit world is worth reviewing here. muslims believe that the jinn were created before mankind and are beings are free-will (to an extent. the bodies of the jinn are said to be

ily the most enigmatic character in all the occult and mythology; no character out there is more shrouded in a cloak of names. i admit much remaining confusion regarding the details of this character because of the name game that magicians tend to play regarding his different aspects. the first thing you should do is free yourself from the mindset that this character satan has anything to do with christianity, for it is often accused that christians have fabricated stories of this character as a scapegoat for the evils that beset the heavens and the--michael wynn's "the soul travelers" 82 earth. perish the thought! this satan character has a name in every religion and mythology on the planet and, because of spiritual merging that i just spoke about, may be connected with multiple gods in t

MICHAEL W FORD NOX UMBRA

is a development from the sabbat- the infernal awakening of the sorcerer as a shadow-manifestation of ahriman, the persian- zoroastrian sorcerous being who was evil, or adversarial chaos embodied. black magic has long been viewed as a self-centered and selfish area of study, which often causes obsession and destruction. this, if looked through a rhp (right hand path) or path of disillusion (i.e. christianity) this is accurate according to the belief structure. keep in mind that religious pathways such as christianity hold no adversarial view piont rather than the extremes of the exact opposite side- which is not a natural point of study in itself. can the buddhist understand christian thinking inherently and objectively? yes, this path allows psychologically the ability to perceive and un

self. can the buddhist understand christian thinking inherently and objectively? yes, this path allows psychologically the ability to perceive and understand other views, while still limiting material control and destroing the self in the natural order. could christians understand a buddhist view point-as a majority, no. can a lhp (left hand path) practitioner understand the religious doctrine of christianity- yes, while most of us find subservient behaviour abhorrently disgusting. yet christians still view our walk as the opposite of what it actually is! a luciferian loves life, seeks to strengthen it by self-perception devoid of unnecessary egotistical thought. the sethian/luciferian understands life is a great opportunity to come into being as something greater. the primal sense of diss

MOODY RAYMOND A LIFE AFTER LIFE

he encounter with the being of light in near death experiences. first of all, the being is endowed with personality, though no physical form is seen, and a "voice" which asks a question and issues instructions emanates from it. when paul tries to' tell others, he is mocked and labeled as "insane" nonetheless, the vision changed the course of his life: he henceforth became the leading proponent of christianity as a way of life, entailing love of others. there are differences, too, of course. paul did not come near death in the course of his vision also, interestingly enough, paul reports that he was blinded by the light and was unable to see for three days afterward. this runs contrary to the reports of those who say that though the light was indescribably brilliant, it in no way blinded th

MORALS AND DOGMA

re willing to make the common people co-proprietors with themselves of philosophical truth. masonry is not the coliseum in ruins. it is rather a roman palace of the middle ages, disfigured by modern architectural improvements, yet built on a cyclop an foundation laid by the etruscans, and with many a stone of the superstructure taken from dwellings and temples of the age of hadrian and antoninus. christianity taught the doctrine of fraternity; but repudiated that of political equality, by continually inculcating obedience to caesar, and to those lawfully in authority. masonry was the first apostle of equality. in the monastery there is _fraternity_ and _equality, but no _liberty. masonry added that also, and claimed for man the three-fold heritage, liberty, equality, and fraternity. it was

the wisest statesman england ever had, rose to speak, the house of commons was depopulated as upon an agreed signal. there is as little sympathy between the mass and the highest truths. the highest truth, being incomprehensible to the man of realities, as the highest man is, and largely above his level, will be a great unreality and falsehood to an unintellectual man. the profoundest doctrines of christianity and philosophy would be mere jargon and babble to a potawatomie indian. the popular explanations of the symbols of masonry are fitting for the multitude that have swarmed into the temples--being fully up to the level of their capacity. catholicism was a vital truth in its earliest ages, but it became obsolete, and protestantism arose, flourished, and deteriorated. the doctrines of zor

in the laws of the heavenly bodies, in the properties of earthly elements, in geography, chemistry, geology, and all the material sciences. things are symbols of truths. properties are symbols of truths. science, not teaching moral and spiritual truths, is dead and dry, of little more real value than to commit to the memory a long row of unconnected dates, or of the names of bugs or butterflies. christianity, it is said, begins from the burning of the false gods by the people themselves. education begins with the burning of our intellectual and moral idols: our prejudices, notions, conceits, our worthless or ignoble purposes. especially it is necessary to shake off the love of worldly gain. with freedom comes the longing for worldly advancement. in that race men are ever falling, rising

nt and less honest, despair not of the final result. the terrible teacher, experience, writing his lessons on hearts desolated with calamity and wrung by agony, will make them wiser in time. pretence and grimace and sordid beggary for votes will some day cease to avail. have faith, and struggle on, against all evil influences and discouragements! faith is the saviour and redeemer of nations. when christianity had grown weak, profitless, and powerless, the arab restorer and iconoclast came, like a cleansing hurricane. when the battle of damascus was about to be fought, the christian bishop, at the early dawn, in his robes, at the head of his clergy, with the cross once so triumphant raised in the air, came down to the gates of the city, and laid open before the army the testament of christ

f the kabalah in regard to the divinity by egyptian symbols, also represented the intelligence by the figure of the magical star adored under the name of _remphan, science under the emblem of anubis, whose name they changed to _nibbas, and the vulgar faith or credulity under the figure of _thartac, a god represented with a book, a cloak, and the head of an ass. according to the samaritan doctors, christianity was the reign of _thartac, blind faith and vulgar credulity erected into a universal oracle, and preferred to intelligence and science. synesius, bishop of ptolema s, a great kabalist, but of doubtful orthodoxy, wrote "the people will always mock at things easy to be misunderstood; it must needs have impostures "a spirit" he said "that loves wisdom and contemplates the truth close at

MOTTA MARCELO THE COMMENTARIES OF AL

later mary attributed her condition to the agency of a spirit spiritus, breath, or air in the shape of a dove (simple-minded readers must not think for one moment that a. c. is here "admitting the historical existence of the virgin mary; on the contrary, he is obviously putting her on the same footing with europa, semele and others. the virgin birth, like the dying god, is a much older myth than christianity; and the virgin was usually seeded by a god under the form of a beast. far from being original, christian theology is a pot-pourri of stolen goods) but the "small person" of hindu mysticism, the dwarf insane, yet crafty, of many legends in many lands,is also this same "holy ghost, or silent self of a man, or his holy guardian angel. he is almost the "unconscious" of freud, unknown una

religion was osirian, or, as they called it, christian. the exception is turkey, which foolishly abandoned the principles of islam to form an unholy alliance with the giaour. abdul hamid would never have made such an ass of himself as the degenerate gang of "liberty and progress; may jackals defile the pyres of their dog fathers! because of his early christian upbringing, crowley over-reacted to christianity in his thirties and early forties. all religions are cursed by ra-hoor-khuit, including islam; and as time has proved, all nations in the world must suffer the impact of the lord of the aeon. the god of vengeance is in greek aleister. for some reason which i have not been able to trace, this god became alastor, the desert daemon of the rabbins, later the "spirit of solitude" of shelle

urvived because they were able to adapt themselves to their environment; their rivals failed to breed, and so "good" qualities are transmitted, while 'bad' are sterile. thus the race-thought, subconscious, tells a man that he must have a son, cost what it may. rome was founded on the rape of the sabine women. would a reasoner have advocated that rape? was it 'justice' or 'mercy' or 'morality' or 'christianity? there is much on the ethics of this point in chapter ii of this book. thomas henry huxley in his essay "ethics and evolution" pointed out the antithesis between these two ideas; and concluded that evolution was bound to beat ethics in the long run. he was apparently unable to see, or unwilling to admit, that his argument proved ethics (as understood by victorians) to be false. the et

vicarious sacrifice, and their currish conception of themselves as 'born in sin 'miserable sinners' with 'no health in us. 53. with my claws i tear out the flesh of the indian and the buddhist, mongol and din "the indian. the religion of hindustan, metaphysically and mystically comprehensive enough to assure itself the possession of much truth, is in practice almost as superstitious and false as christianity, a faith of slaves, liars and dastards. the same remarks apply roughly to buddhism "mongol: presumably the reference is to confucianism, whose metaphysical and ethical flawlessness has not saved its adherents from losing those ruder virtues which are proper to a fighting animal, and thus yielding at last a civilization coeval with history itself to the barbarous tribes of europe "din

saved its adherents from losing those ruder virtues which are proper to a fighting animal, and thus yielding at last a civilization coeval with history itself to the barbarous tribes of europe "din 'severity' or 'judgment' may refer to the jewish law, rather than to the faith (ad 'din) of islam. assuming this, the six religions whose flesh must be torn out cover the whole globe outside islam and christianity. it should be noted that these religions are mentioned impersonally, while christianity and islam are mentioned in the person of their founders, or alleged founders. obviously 'din' refers to mosaic law; islam has already been disposed of in the previous verse. why assault their flesh rather than their eyes, as in the other cases? because the metaphysics, or point of view, is correct

NAGEL CARL AMAZING SECRETS OF OCCULT POWER

anation) until you achieve union with god in kether the crown. an interesting aspect of the cabala is that the achieving of knowledge is likened to sexual union with shekinah, a female personification of wisdom. this is similar to the gnostic sophia, wisdom given a female personification, only with a much stronger sexual connection since she was a prostitute. gnosticism was the main competitor to christianity in ancient rome. the gnostics believed that the christian jehovah was not the real god but an evil creator of an evil world. the power of the spheres sit or lie down, whichever you find most comfortable, at the center of your witching circle. if you choose the latter, use a rug or blanket as a mattress. now begin to breathe rhythmically until the rhythm is established. while inhaling

NAUDON PAUL THE SECRET HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY

ether in pious solidarity on certain days. one of the principal rites was the repas presided over by a magister coenoe. there can be no doubt that these meals had religious meaning, at least originally. their degeneration into something lesser did not occur until later and was one reason why the julia law (67-64 b.c) limited their number. professional worship in the collegia and the conversion to christianity we now return to the fundamental nature of ancient trades. originally, as was the case in other cultures, the laws and institutions of roman society were essentially based on religion. this was also true for the collegia, whose activity was dominated by professional worship. it was natural and indispensable for each roman collegium to have its tutelary deities, just as every family ha

lmost all the minor crafts. the syrus (oriental in the broad sense of the term) entered everywhere, introducing with him the tongue and mores of his country."11 indeed* for more on the symbolic myth of hercules and its connection with builders, see my book les loges de saint-jean (paris: editions dervy, 1995, 71 ff. the ancient corporations: colleges of builders in rome 13 the best propagators of christianity in the working classes were the syrians "christianity in the third and fourth centuries was preeminently the religion of syria. after palestine, syria played the greatest role in its foundation."12 the community of worship and more or less religious or ritual practices had the natural effect of strengthening the ties bonding the faithful. a kind of solidarity compelled members of the

widely during the middle ages. law 5, for instance de pistoribus offers the example of a kind of adoption performed by craftsmen of certain collegia if a colleague left any orphans upon his death. as a testament to the collegiates' relationship and the charity it inspired, these colleagues are described as brothers (fratibus suis) in an inscription of the collegium of velabre from the time before christianity. at the death of one of its members, the collegium could be counted on to step in to ensure honorable obsequy and to oversee the fulfillment of the prescribed rites. among the romans, the sepulcher, intimately connected to the sacra gentilitia, or family rites, held great importance. people wanted assurance that they would not be tossed into one of the atrocious mass graves common to

nnected to the sacra gentilitia, or family rites, held great importance. people wanted assurance that they would not be tossed into one of the atrocious mass graves common to that era and that their college would see to their funeral arrangements.those who were buried together contracted a kind of intimate fraternity and kinship.13 the sacred character attached to labor continued with the rise of christianity and in fact was reinvigorated and rejuvenated by the new religion, which enabled labor subsequently to acquire an even higher value. this effect, which is often overlooked, is of the utmost importance, for it appears in all the social and political upheavals that have taken place throughout the history of labor. throughout the centuries the church unfailingly proclaimed and continuall

ciples of social organization. even at the beginning of the fifteenth century, fra angelico's contemporaries would say that angels came down to paint his painting during the inspired slumber of this incomparable dominican monk. on the social and practical plane, it is not out of the question that traditional rites of the collegia survived during the time of the late empire, despite the triumph of christianity and its transformation into the state religion. with their initiatory and sacred value adapted to the new spirit of the age, these rites had in their favor the strength of popular custom and the people's interest in retaining them as signs of identification and professional secrets. it is generally thought that it was for reasons of this nature that early christianity readily adopted

NEW WORLD ORDER OR OCCULT SECRET DESTINY

christ. for the gate is small, and narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it (matt. 7:14) the bible states that this is in reality the broad way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter it (matt. 7:13) therefore, the only religion not compatible with the new age, and hence the coming new world order, is the belief and strict adherence in the word god with traditional christianity being looked upon as particularly pernicious. in dark secrets of the new age, texe marrs wrote: the new age is a universal open-arms religion that excludes from its ranks only those who believe in jesus christ and a personal god. buddhists, shintoist, satanists, secular humanists, witches, witch doctors and shamans all who reject christianity are invited to become trusted members of t

ONYX TABLET OF SET

ndless seekers who try out new religions as a hobby. i get worried about people who are true believers in set even before they have ever experienced a single pylon meeting, read the crystal tablet or even think about what set might be. fanatics can be easily disappointed as their expectations are so unreasonable. a setian can begin from any background but those who come to us filled with hate for christianity or other religions may only be reactionaries incapable of becoming. we don't base our metaphysical conclusions on faith and those accustomed to that kind of thinking are poor candidates. with the obvious remark that we don't want habitual criminals, the mentally ill or the infiltrator with an anti-setian agenda, i have trust in the heightened awareness of the setian priesthood to not

these cults are pervasive, merciless, and untiring. they must be fought in all of their manifestations. their names are the cult of stupidity, the cult of conventionality, and the cult of the victim. you should record each of your victories over hem in your magical diary- your victory book. your life should be a series of victories over these cults; do not be distracted and think minor cults like christianity are our enemies. this is the trinity we oppose: the cult of stupidity teaches that it is a bad thing to be smart. the cult begins in secondary school where smart people are held not to be popular. it uses words like "nerds "geeks" and even "brains"to exclude those individuals who concern themselves with the mysteries. it exists in the workplace where many topics are deemed "too deep"

PATRON OF SORCERY

f european tradition found its prototype in the "magical cookbook" approach exemplified by the theban papyri. thus the written magical tradition of europe began under the auspices of set-typhon, and provided the matrix for the remanifestation of setian thought hundreds of years later. that the papyri themselves survived roman suppression, a ferocious campaign of destruction of magical books under christianity (acts 19:19, and the rise of islam, may itself be reckoned to border on magic. what the papyri may yet reveal of the original cult of set- and of such survivals as have found their way into the wellsprings of western thought--remains to be seen. xeper. compiled by dakhla sba special thanks to the order of setne khamuast for their help in researching this page. revised 13 march 1997 th

PHILIP NEIL MYTHS LEGENDS EXPLAINED

and direct. a song collected by frances densmore from wounded face of the black mouth society of the mandan translates in its entirety: earth always endures. grizzly bears two men dressed as grizzly bears sit by the big canoe, threatening to devour anyone who comes near them, and generally disrupting the ceremony. women bring them dishes of meat to appease them. the legend of madoc t he echoes of christianity in mandan mythology and culture, and the similarity of the circular mandan bull boat to the welsh coracle, struck george catlin who lived among the mandan. he suggested that the mandan were descended from a lost expedition of welshmen under the command of madoc, a prince who sailed from north wales to america in 1170 and founded a colony there. however, the madoc legend is dubious and

PHOSPHORUS THE SHADOWING FORTH OF LUCIFER

il. shaitan was the base for this materization, which means to oppose, to accuse. lucifer was invariably the first rebel. lucifer is of the spirit of light, from which the foundation of luciferic magick is to ascend towards godhead. the light of the spirit is based within perception and the clarity of an awakened self. perception is the vehicle of knowledge and what the individual can understand. christianity teaches the annihilation of perception and the repression of the awakened mind. the enthusiasm of the driven conscious, charged with the bright luciferian light; leads all individuals towards god itself. lucifer is the fallen angel of light. born strong in the light of the god spirit, his crown held the most beautiful jewels from the earth. his essence was of the sun and divine wisdom

PIKE CUMMINGS THE SPURIOUS RITES OF MEMPHIS AND MISRAIM

e sanctuary of memphis, by j. e. marconis, the author, who styles himself the founder of the rite in question, thus briefly gives an account of its origin. the rite of memphis, or oriental rite, was introduced into europe by, ormus, a seraphic priest of alexandria, and egyptian sage,who had been converted by st.mark, and reformed the doctrines of the egyptians in accordance with the principles of christianity. the disciples of ormus continued, until b b b i, to be the sole guardians of ancient egyptian wisdom as purified by christianity, and solomonian science. this science they communicated to the templars.they were then known by the title of knights of palestine or brethren rose-croix of the east. in them, the rite of memphis recognizes its immediate founders. in defining the object and

RABBI AMIRAM MARKEL MARKEL THE KNOWLEDGE OF G D VOL 1

en swear by it. furthermore, if one were to tell them otherwise, their emotions would be ignited with fiery indignation and they would consider him to be an unenlightened ignoramus and a boor etc. nonetheless, they cannot logically explain the truth of their position. their emotions are merely operating on the basis that "science" says so, and therefore it must be true. another example of this is christianity. millions upon millions of people believe in christianity blindly without ever having examined the truth or falseness of it, and yet they have fiery emotions about it. these emotions are not the result of their own intellectual investigation and understanding, but are the result of the "conclusions" of previous generations etc. they just "take their word for it" as absolute truth, wit

RABBI MOSHE WISNEFSKY APPLES FROM THE ORCHARD THE ARIZAL ON THE PARASHAH

persia [clothed] the garms h [of holiness; this is why they are counted as two, inasmuch as there are two arms. greece [clothed] the gtorso h; it is therefore counted as one [in] the present exile [evil clothes] the legs [of holiness, there are therefore two [aspects to it] edom and ishmael, corresponding to the two legs and feet. the former roman empire (europe and north africa) was inhereted by christianity and islam. this is alluded to in the verse: g cwho have defamed the heels of your messiah, h8 since this exile is that of the feet. that is why it is written, gand [the stone] smote the image on its feet. h9 this exile is the final one before the advent of the messiah. both christianity and islam have corrupted the doctrine of the messiah. the downfall of the whole stature/statue of e

RELIGIOUS TENANTS OF THE YEZIDI

tion in the secret assemblies of the modern yezeedees. the worship of a bird appears to have been a most ancient species of idolatry; it in condemned expressly in dent. iv. 16, 17 "lest ye corrupt yourselves and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure the likeness of any fowl that flieth in the air" p. 128 i am of opinion, however, that the modern yezeedees have borrowed little from christianity beyond what was incorporated into their system by their more learned and zealous forefathers, when the gospel was first proclaimed in these parts. their professed reverence for our blessed lord seems to arise more from the difficulty of withholding from him the honour which is universally ascribed to his character and dignity, than from any knowledge which they possess of his person o

from any knowledge which they possess of his person or mission. in this respect, indeed, they are profoundly ignorant, and their confession of isa, the son of mary, is much more undefined and imperfect than that of the mohammedans. it is true that they affect more attachment to christians than to mussulmans; but this may be fully accounted for on other ground than that of any sincere respect for christianity. for ages the christians have been co-sufferers with them, they have lived under the same yoke of bondage and oppression, and this community of endurance has doubtless tended to engender something akin to sympathy between the two parties. beyond this vague acknowledgment of the saviour of mankind, and an equally uncertain homage which they profess to render to the prophets arid apostl

y conviction is that they present the most unpromising field i know of for missionary exertion. they are ignorant to a proverb, and entertain the strongest prejudices against learning of every kind. they are neither communicative nor frank when inquired of respecting their own religious system, and manifest the greatest indifference whenever any attempt is made to expound to them the doctrines of christianity. with god all things are possible; but humanly speaking there seems little hope of the conversion of these heathen until the native churches shall have risen from sleep, and again trimmed their lamps with a zeal and love such as were exhibited in the early nestorian missionaries, who earned the glad tidings of the gospel into the wilds of tartary, and planted the banner of the cross a

RITUEL ET DOGME DE LA HAUTE MAGIE BY ELIPHAS LEVI PART I

ses of all forms and confers beauty or ugliness; with the wand of circe it changes men into brutes and animals alternately into men; it disposes even of life and death, can confer wealth on its adepts by the transmutation of metals and immortality by its quintessence or elixir, compounded of gold and light. such was magic from zoroaster to manes, from orpheus to apollonius of tyana, when positive christianity, victorious at length over the brilliant dreams and titanic aspirations of the alexandrian school, dared to launch its anathemas publicly against this philosophy, and thus forced it to become more occult and mysterious than ever. moreover, strange and alarming rumours began to circulate concerning initiates or adepts; they were surrounded every where by an ominous influence, and they

o the lions with the christians! now the multitude never conspires except against real powers; it does not know what is true, but it has the instinct of what is strong. it remained for the eighteenth century to deride both christians and magic, while infatuated with the disquisitions of rousseau and the illusions of cagliostro. science, notwithstanding, is at the basis of magic, as at the root of christianity there is love, and in the gospel symbols we find the word incarnate adored in his cradle by three magi, led thither by a star the triad and the sign of the microcosm and receiving their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, a second mysterious triplicity, under which emblem the highest secrets of the kabalah are allegorically contained. christianity owes therefore no hatred to magic

by the learned william postel; it is a unique test, whereof the initial characters alone plunged into ecstasy the devout spirit of saint-martin, and might have restored reason to the sublime and unfortunate swedenborg. we shall recur to this book later on, for its mathematical and precise explanation will be the complement and crown of our conscientious undertaking. the original alliance between christianity and the science of the magi, once demonstrated fully, will be a discovery of no second-rate importance, and we do not doubt that the serious study of magic and the kabalah will lead earnest minds to a reconciliation of science and dogma, of reason and faith, heretofore regarded as impossible. we have said that the church, whose special office is the custody of the keys, does not prete

f christian sacerdotalism. the church ignores magic for she must either ignore it or perish, as we shall prove later on; yet she does not recognize the less that her mysterious founder was saluted in his cradle by three magi that is to say, by the hieratic ambassadors of the three parts of the known world and the three analogical worlds of occult philosophy. in the school of alexandria, magic and christianity almost joined hands under the auspices of ammonius saccas and of plato; the doctrine of hermes is found almost in its entirety in the writings attributed to dionysius the areopagite; synesius outlined the plan of a treatise on dreams, which was annotated subsequently by cardan, and composed hymns that might have served for the liturgy of the church of swedenborg, could a church of the

dreams, which was annotated subsequently by cardan, and composed hymns that might have served for the liturgy of the church of swedenborg, could a church of the illuminated possess a liturgy. with this period of fiery abstractions and impassioned warfare of words there must be connected also the philosophic reign of julian, called the apostate because in his youth he made unwilling profession of christianity. everyone is aware that julian had the misfortune to be a hero out of season of plutarch, and that he was, if one may say so, the don quixote of roman chivalry; but what most people do not know is that he was one of the illuminated and an initiate of the first order: that he believed in the unity of god and in the 4 the doctrine of transcendental magic universal doctrine of the trinit

RITUEL ET DOGME DE LA HAUTE MAGIE BY ELIPHAS LEVI PART II

tendencies of the heresiarchs in the early centuries. some, like the ophites, adored the demon under the figure of a serpent; others, like the cainites, justified the rebellion of the first angel and that of the first murderer. all those errors, all those shadows, all those monstrous idols of anarchy which india opposes in its symbols to the magical trimurti, have found priests and worshippers in christianity. the demon is mentioned nowhere in genesis; an allegorical serpent deceives our first parents. here is the common translation of the sacred text: gnow, the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the lord god had made. h but this is what moses says: this signifies, according to the version of fabre d'olivet: gnow, original attraction (cupidity) was the entraining pas

tating socrates, prepared altars for that unity of god, of which israel had been the mysterious preserver. but the synagogue denied its messiah, and the hebrew letters were effaced, at least for the blinded eyes of the jews. the roman persecutors dishonoured hellenism, and it could not be restored by the false moderation of the philosopher julian, surnamed perhaps unjustly the apostate, since his christianity was never sincere. the ignorance of the middle ages followed, opposing saints and virgins to gods, goddesses and nymphs; the deep sense of the hellenic mysteries was less understood than ever; greece herself did not only lose the traditions of her ancient cultus but separated from the latin church; and thus, for latin eyes, the greek letters were blotted out, as the latin letters disa

thought. he perceives the water agitated and, as it were, bubbling of itself, the fire blazing up or going out suddenly, the leaves of garlands rustling, the magical rod moving spontaneously and strange, unknown voices passing through the air. it was in such evocations that julian beheld the beloved phantoms of his dethroned gods, and was appalled at their decrepitude and pallor. i am aware that christianity has for ever suppressed ceremonial magic, and that it proscribes the evocations and sacrifices of the old world. it is not therefore our intention to furnish a new basis for their existence by revealing their antique mysteries after the lapse of so many centuries. even in the order of facts, our experiments have been learned researches and nothing more. we have verified facts that we

eir antique mysteries after the lapse of so many centuries. even in the order of facts, our experiments have been learned researches and nothing more. we have verified facts that we might appreciate causes, and it has not been our pretension to restore rites which are for ever destroyed. the orthodoxy of israel, that religion which is so rational, so divine and so ill known, condemns no less than christianity the mysteries of ceremonial magic. from the standpoint of the tribe of levi, the exercise of transcendental magic must be considered as a usurpation of the magical equilibrium 21 priesthood; and the same reason has caused the proscription of operative magic by every official cultus. to demonstrate the natural foundation of the marvellous and to produce it at will is to annihilate for

t, and if we raise ourselves morally higher along the same line, we shall draw the spirit away with us, and it will serve us. to conjure is to oppose the resistance of a current and a chain to an isolated spirit-cum-jurare, to swear together, that is, to make a common act of faith. the greater the strength and enthusiasm of this faith, the more efficacious is the conjuration. this is why new-born christianity silenced the oracles; it alone possessed inspiration, it only force. later on, when st. peter grew old, that is, when the world believed that it had a legal case against the papacy, the spirit of prophecy came to replace the oracles. savonarola, joachim of flores, john huss and so many others influenced by turns the minds of men and interpreted, by lamentations and menaces, the secret

ROBERT KIRK WALKER BETWEEN WORLDS

seventeenth-century scottish clergyman. his major literary work, now virtually forgotten, though of revolutionary importance in his own day, consisted of translating psalms into gaelic, and supervising a gaelic edition of the bible. but he also collected the beliefs of his gaelic-speaking parishioners, and argued that such beliefs were not idle superstition but were compatible with the basics of christianity. his secret commonwealth has long been one of the major sources for fairy lore and the second sight though kirk wrote this short book not as a 'folklore' collection but as a general survey of the relationship between seership, second sight, and multifold worlds or dimensions- a survey which he held to contain truth, enduring tradition, and fragments of ancient wisdom. for the modern r

, though there is no doubt whatsoever that kirk affirms the second sight and the existence of the fairy race, using all the scholarly logical and philosophical techniques, citations and arguments at his disposal to do so. and as we shall discover, he also argues that there is no contradiction between contact with the secret introduction 2 commonwealth and its inhabitants, and the practice of good christianity. the collective traditions which kirk discusses were extensively found: we need only turn to w.y. evens wentz' lengthy study of the fairy faith in celtic countries written in the early twentieth century,[5] to find many examples from direct contact with irish or breton people, who could not possibly have read or even known of kirk's book, which are either identical or very close to th

s of daily life, as they are in spiritualism. they are frequently of a terrifying and cathartic nature rather than reassuring and kindly. all of the foregoing will unfold as we progress through kirk's text, as will other strands of magical tradition, for like all collective lore, there are several traditions interwoven almost inseparably, and coexisting quite comfortably with one another and with christianity. the christianity is often, as kirk describes, and as is well known from the work of other collectors [9] of a very unorthodox and semi-pagan nature. the purpose of kirk's book http//www.dreampower.com/kirk_wbw/pg_1.htm (6 of 8 [10/9/2001 12:33:52 am] robert kirk- walker between worlds(pages 1-9) it is easy to confuse robert kirk's aims in writing his book with a number of quite diffe

and angels. the similarity between this subterranean people and daemones is clearly defined, and reinforced by his description which follows (see pages 22-23. throughout the secret commonwealth kirk makes a distinction between fairies or subterraneans which have many similar attributes to daemones or advisory entities, and devils or demons, which are historically a later concept within developing christianity. at various stages in his exposition he suggests (page 57) that the nature of an otherworld or fairy contact is defined by the inner condition of the seer: evil or corrupt actions and thoughts will drive away a beneficial advisory entity or companion; conversely, evil, lustful or negative thoughts and emotions will attract vicious or malicious entities. the original daemones in the cl

he author is discussing epiphanies, the appearance of supernatural beings, a subject which also appears extensively in celtic tradition preserved in early literature from wales and ireland, though generally in a less formalized http//www.dreampower.com/kirk_wbw/pg_72.htm (3 of 10 [10/9/2001 12:35:48 am] robert kirk- walker between worlds(pages 72-81) presentation, due to the influence of dominant christianity. in the case of gods and goddesses they sometimes cover the whole sky and the sun and the moon, whilst the earth can no longer remain steady when they descend. when archangels appear, certain portions of the world are agitated, and their arrival is heralded by a divided light. the archangels differ in magnitude according to the size of the provinces over which they rule. angels are di

RUBY TABLET OF SET

litism, while he himself defends the concept of natural slavery. aristotle may be credited with endeavoring to interrelate many fields of knowledge carefully and systematically. otherwise he is as beholden to plato as plato is to pythagoras. aristotle conceptualized a universe of motion and causes (mechanism, which can be traced back to an "unmoved mover" this is not the personalized god of judao-christianity, but an impersonal force. individual immortality did not play a part in aristotle's cosmology. here he broke with pythagoras and plato. the aristotelian soul perished with the mortal body, save for its "creative reason" which was a universal rather than an individual, egocentric feature. in his metaphysics aristotle mounts an attack on the pythagorean/platonic theory of the forms. ari

hurch, and marked ultimately by rejection of the supremacy of the pope, rejection or modification of much of roman catholic doctrine, and establishment of the protestant churches. the reformation's key proponents were martin luther (1483-1546) in germany and john calvin (1509-1564) in switzerland. while there were a number of sub-movements throughout europe, they generally agreed upon fundamental christianity as characterized by (1) the finality and ultimate authority of the bible (2) denial of the authority of the church bureaucracy to interpret the bible (3) repudiation of reason and affirmation of faith instead (4) condemnation of the use of force for religious conversion, and (5 "the two realms [spiritual grace and political power] concept, which licenses unchristian acts if commanded

ne wrath. so the "confused" climate of hobbes' era continued to pervade much of locke's. it may be hypothesized that the forthcoming age of revolutions was energized by the spread of enlightenment techniques among a general populace insufficiently educated and enlightened to handle them save through oversimplified, extreme, violent methods. john locke (1632-1704) was an advocate of a "reasonable" christianity, admitting pro forma the possibility of revelation but not taking it into political account. his religious toleration was noteworthy but limited, excluding as it did atheists and catholics. locke saw humanity as having begun in a "state of nature "men living together according to reason, without a common superior on earth with authority to judge between them, is properly the state of

them; i do not wish to recognize them in return. thus there comes into being the political "master/slave relationship" the next step in the dialectic involves a personal internalization of the master/slave relationship, as exemplified in hellenistic stoicism and skepticism. the inconsistency this produces between internal and external life goes on to produce the rages and hypocrisies of medieval christianity. in the reformation the internal is seen as relevant to, and in command of the external. there is still the problem of conflict between individual wills, which, if undisciplined through organization and government, would run wild in anarchy. since any institution whatever is antagonistic to the abstract self-consciousness of equality" as consciousness gives way to self-consciousness

ly the failures of things, unconsciously neglecting their positive legacy. nietzsche interprets hegel as saying that history had now reached its perfection in the contemporary german state system. nietzsche sees danger in this because it would lead to lassitude on the part of modern man, who would feel "there is nothing more to be done [compare the "last days" sects of early, medieval, and modern christianity, as well as the "ecological doomsday" ideologies of the late 20th century] man differs from other animals, says nietzsche, in that he has the power to "create horizons. to construct visions, ideas, and ultimately philosophical systems. these horizons are meaningful to him unless he perceives them as artificial constructs. in that case he either destroys them in favor of newer, larger

SATANGEL

andom into a page of the bible, and the result interpreted as the answer to whatever question is being asked. an alternative is to tie the bible up in a garter, which is held at the top by the ring. this is then used like a pendulum, with answers being interpreted from the direction that the bible begins to turn. the book of enoch the greatest single source of angelology as recognised in orthodox christianity and the tradition of goetic magick are the three chronicles of enoch. although declared apocryphal and thus destroyed by the church these were most influential from around the 13th century onwards. a full version only appeared around the 18th century when an original copy was discovered which had been preserved by the ethiopic-church. according to this text enoch had been chosen by th

own, as well as many new names and titles. amongst them is the father of lies, and it is said that the greatest trick he ever played was convincing us that he does not exist. not even his servants seem to actually believe in him anymore- such is as he has commanded. as with all liars his story is inconsistent, and there are many conflicting versions of how he and his fellows came to exist. later christianity adopted the legend of the fall, a theme most popular throughout the middle east. the following canaanite scripture was recorded five centuries before the hebrew scribes produced the old testament, and concerns the legend of shaher, who was born of the pit, helel, which is the womb of the mother goddess. compare with isaiah 14:12-14 as we know it now; how hast thou fallen from heaven

empts men to pretence and fraud. lahash once led 184 spirits to prevent the prayers of moses from reaching god, and was thus expelled from the presence. leraikha, leraje, leraie (goetia, 14th spirit. marquis commanding 30 legions. appears as an archer dressed all in green. causes battles and contests, festers arrow wounds. leviathan, livjatan (phoenician. who is a form of the devil in apocalyptic christianity, monstrous she-dragon of chaos (psalm 74:14, the crooked serpent (isiah 27:1. admiral of the devil s navy. created with behemoth on the fifth day. on judgement day, all but the saved will be swallowed by leviathan. lilin (aramaic. succubi spawn of lilith, one of four classes of spirits, the others being mazziqin, ruachin, and shedim. lilith (aramaic. mother of the lilim and all succub

SATANIC BIBLE

f the twentieth century, the press publicized aleister crowley as the "wickedest man in the world. and there were hints in the 1920s and '30s of a "black order" in germany. to this seemingly old story lavey and his organization of contemporary faustians offered two strikingly new chapters. first, they blasphemously represented themselves as a "church, a term previously confined to the branches of christianity, instead of the traditional coven of satanism and witchcraft lore. second, they practiced their black magic openly instead of underground. rather than arrange a preliminary interview with lavey for discussion of his heretical innovations, my usual first step in research, i decided to watch and listen to him as an unidentified member of an audience. he was described in some newspapers

l desires. and the next saturday night they'd be back at the carnival or some other place of indulgence. i knew then that the christian church thrives on hypocrisy, and that man's carnal nature will out no matter how much it is purged or scourged by any white-light religion" though lavey did not realize it then, he was on his way toward formulating a religion that would serve as the antithesis of christianity and its judaic heritage. it was an old religion, older than christianity or judaism. but it had never been formalized, arranged into a body of thought and ritual. that was to become lavey's role in twentieth-century civilization. after lavey became a married man himself in 1951, at age twenty-one, he abandoned the wondrous world of the carnival to settle into a career better suited fo

aw the need for a church that would recapture man's mind and carnal desires as objects of celebration. rational self-interest would be encouraged and a healthy ego championed. he began to realize that the old concept of a black mass to satirize christian services was outmoded or, as he put it "beating a dead horse. in the church of satan, lavey initiated some exhilarating psychodramas, in lieu of christianity's self-debasing services, thereby exorcising repressions and inhibitations fostered by white-light religions. there was a revolution in the christian church itself against orthodox rites and traditions. it had become popular to declare that "god is dead. so, the alternative rites that lavey worked out, while still maintaining some of the trappings of ancient ceremonies, were changed f

il whom they must please, as he is the one who rules their lives while here on earth. they believe so strongly that god will forgive all of their sins once they have been given the last rites, that they feel no need to concern themselves with the opinion god may hold of them while they live) with all of the contradictions in the christian scriptures, many people currently cannot rationally accept christianity the way it has been practiced in the past. great numbers of people are beginning to doubt the existence of god, in the established christian sense of the word. so, they have taken to calling themselves "christian atheists. true, the christian bible is a mass of contradictions; but what could be more contradictory than the term "christian atheist? if prominent leaders of the christian

dly. but, if the world has changed so much, why continue to grasp at the threads of a dying faith? if many religions are denying their own scriptures because they are out of date, and are preaching the philosophies of satanism, why not call it by its rightful name- satanism? certainly it would be far less hypocritical. in recent years there has been an attempt to humanize the spiritual concept of christianity. this has manifested itself in the most obvious non-spiritual means. masses which had been said in latin are now said in native languages- which only succeeds in making the nonsense easier to understand, and at the same time robs the ceremony of the esoteric nature which is consistent with the tenets of the dogma. it is much simpler to obtain an emotional reaction using words and phra

SATANIC RITUALS

les of his creativity. the old belief that a supreme being created man and man's thinking brain will be recognized as an illogical sham. it is altogether too easy to dismiss satanism as a total invention of the christian church. it is said that the principles of satanism did not exist before sectarian propaganda invented satan. historically, the word satan did not have a villainous meaning before christianity. the "safe" schools of witchcraft, with their strict adherence to their horned-god-fertility-symbol syndrome, consider the words devil and satan anathema. they disclaim any association. they wish no comparisons to be drawn linking their murrayite- gardnerian-"neo-pagan-"traditional" beliefs with diabolism. they have expunged devil arid satan from their vocabulary, and have waged a tir

e dangerously skeptical and subsequently irreverent! thus there was always a supply of "depraved" priests ready and willing to celebrate satanic rites. history has, in fact, produced entire sects and monastic orders that fell into humanistic and iconoclastic fever. think about it; you personally may have known of a priest or minister who wasn't quite what he should have been! today, of course, in christianity's death throes, anything goes in the clergy, and priests once tortured and executed for "vile heresies (urban grandier, for example) would seem like boy scouts by current standards of pastoral conduct. the seventeenth century priests who celebrated the black mass need not have been intrinsically evil: heretical, most certainly; perverse, definitely; but harmfully evil, probably not. t

necessary to make it effective psychodrama, it does not dwell on inversion purely for the sake of blasphemy, but elevates the concepts of satanism to a noble and rational degree. this ritual is a psychodrama in the truest sense. its prime purpose is to reduce or negate stigma acquired through past indoctrination. it is also a vehicle for retaliation against unjust acts perpetrated in the name of christianity. perhaps the most potent sentence in the entire mass follows the desecration of the host "vanish into the void of thy empty heaven, for thou wert never, nor shall thou ever be" the possibility that christ was a total invention has occurred to investigators with increasing frequency. many once existing social ramifications might have made this feasible. perhaps the recent last ditch "c

t was destined to become one of the most significant rites of satanism. martyrdom, once believed desirable, was considered with disgust and ridicule, and fierce pride was to become the templars' last image to the world. the philosophy of sheik adi and the yezidis, applied to the already acquired wealth and physical resources of the templars, might have eventually drawn the western world away from christianity if not stopped. even with the banishment of the templars, their combination of prideful, life-adoring principles joined with western goal-oriented materialism did not wholly succumb, as borne out by any history of post- templar fraternal orders. as the templars had gained power, they had become more materialistic and less spiritual minded. rites such as the stifling air, therefore, pr

SATANICON

ight 1993 by adrian clavex. satanicon: the book of evil revised and expanded edition copyright 1996 by adrian claves. all rights reserved. printed in the usa -iii- prelude to evil: hell! hell isn t such a bad place. hell is our creed. hell is the satanic black chapel; a place to be alone to ponder; to ritualize, guided by waxen flames of darkness. hell is our interlude, a moment away from people, christianity, moralism, crime, complaints and despair, politics and newspapers, problems great and small. hell is where we consume the smokish flavours of incense and soothing melodies of bach and berlioz. hell is where we re sympathetic to darkened images, shadows on the walls, spectres out of our minds. hell is where we yearn as we will; where we indulge in whatever vice desired. hell is where o

SATANISM AN EXAMINATION OF SATANIC BLACK MAGIC

number of purposes and even though some groups- such as the society of dark lily- regard its cathartic use as something of the past, such catharsis being performed intellectually- it still remains one of the most potent and blasphemous rites of black magic. one form of modern blasphemy is the mass of heresy of the order of nine angles. the theory behind this mass is based upon the assumption that christianity has produced an effect not only on the magical or psychic level of human life but also on the sociological level. this social aspect of christianity is considered to be manifest mainly in the political forms of communism and liberalism. the concept of equality of races and sexes, the goal of eternal peace and the upholding of jewish state from which christianity is assured a firm foun

main functions. firstly it provides a release of any sexual repression, be it conscious or unconscious, that has been acquired during and prior to the individual's puberty. this period of sexual development has largely been corrupted, according to satanists, by the rise of christian morality concerning sexuality. by virtue of this repression during the most important period of sexual development, christianity has distorted numerous psyches with an un-insightful advocation of celibacy that does not lead one to self-knowledge but to psychical disorder. this repression is therefore inevitably sublimated in numerous ways. accordingly some individuals may sublimate the sexual energy in such a manner that they orientate towards sexual criminality. the role of the satanic orgy is therefore to ind

pelt backwards" was effective (though "devil" on the same principle put us in the past tense) but its shock value and therefore usefulness has long since receded. it is now counter-productive if being evil is regarded as a necessary qualification to be a follower of the left hand path. so let us relegate that myth to the junk-heap, along with the other nonsense about satanism being an offshoot of christianity (even the christians' bible testifies against that. satanism is no longer a hook upon which the unenlightened can hang their guilt complexes. two thousand years of being the "scapegoat" has inevitably left us on the defensive. in any statements for public consumption, we have expanded too much time and energy in explaining what we are not, and this preponderance of the negative has cr

SCHLAGER NEIL WORLD RELIGIONS REFERENCE LIBRARY

library. the set also includes a twovolume set of biographies and one volume of primary source documents: world religions: biographies (two volumes) presents the biographies of fifty men and women who have played a critical role in the world s religions throughout history. among those profiled are abraham, whose influence is seen in three of the modern world s most influential religions: judaism, christianity, and islam; muhammad, considered the final and most important prophet by muslims; and siddhartha gautama, who became known as the buddha. modern figures include the hindu teacher swami vivekananda and baha u lla h, the founder of the baha faith. women who made significant impacts on religion are also featured, including mother maria skobtsova, an orthodox christian nun who worked to s

roops crush the great revolt by occupying jerusalem, massacring jews, and destroying the second temple. 142 revelations given to the holy man zhang daoling (also spelled chang tao-ling, who becomes the first of the great celestial masters in daoism. 224 651 during the sassanid dynasty, zoroastrianism spreads aggressively throughout the persian empire. 313 the roman emperor constantine converts to christianity. 380 the emperor theodosius i declares christianity the official religion of the roman empire. 610 according to islamic belief, the prophet muhammad begins receiving revelations and prophecies from the archangel jabra il (gabriel. 632 the death of muhammad marks the beginning of a long period of islamic civil war and separation of islam into sunni and shiite sects. xii world religions

es, a series of military campaigns in which european christians attempt to take control of the holy land from muslims. 1391 1474 life span of gedun drub, considered the first dalai lama in tibetan history. 1469 1538 life span of nanak dev ji, the founder of sikhism. 1492 jews are expelled from spain. 1517 the german augustinian monk martin luther launches the protestant reformation, which divides christianity into two main denominations, or branches: catholicism and protestantism. 1817 92 life span of mirza husayn ali nuri, later known as baha u lla h, who was the founder of the baha faith. 1844 the german philosopher karl marx makes his famous statement that religion is the opium of the people. 1867 beginning of the meiji restoration in japan, during which shinto is made the official stat

logy: the study of the movement of the planets and stars in relation to one another in order to predict future events. ataraxia: serenity, tranquility, or peace of mind. atheism: a disbelief in the existence of god or a belief that there is no god. atomism: the belief that matter is composed of simple, indivisible, physical particles that are too tiny to be observed by human beings. atonement: in christianity, the sacrifice and death of jesus to redeem humankind from its sins. aum: often spelled om, the sacred syllable and symbol of hinduism; a symbol of the unknowable nature of brahma. avesta: the chief sacred scripture of zoroastrianism. xvi world religions: almanac words to know baptism: a religious ceremony in which a person is dipped in or sprinkled with water as a sign of being clean

ypeople; jains who are not monks or nuns. idol: a statue or other image that is worshipped as a god. imbolc: neo-pagan holiday generally held on february 2 to mark the lengthening of the days and the emergence of the world from winter. immaculate conception: the principle of the roman catholic church that mary, the mother of jesus, was conceived with a soul free from original sin. incarnation: in christianity, the belief that god took on bodily form through jesus, making jesus fully human and fully divine. indigenous: a word that describes a people, culture, or religion that is native to a particular geographical region. indulgence: in the roman catholic church, the belief that paying money to the church would allow a person to get into heaven or be forgiven for sins that were not yet comm

SETH IN THE MAGICKAL TEXTS

steries derives from gnostic and.ultimately.jewish sources.22 he also states that this theme appears to be otherwise unknown in the magical texts.23 this appears to be right, but we should note that it is found in a non-magical and non-gnostic text known as the martyrdom of chamoul: here seth is said to be the one "to whom god showed the mysteries of life."24 thus, in different branches of coptic christianity, the jewish figure of seth was seen as a recipient of divine mysteries. in this capacity, however, he was never equated with the egyptian god seth-typhon. 19 between these two phrases, we find another iao formula which begins "the great power (dynamis) of heaven, iao iao machael (col. i, 15-16. the name, machael, apparently is to be understood as michael. in an alleged quotation from

e understood as michael. in an alleged quotation from the gospel according to the hebrews preserved in a coptic translation of a homily attributed to cyril of jerusalem, the angel michael is called a "great power (dynamis) in heaven (e.a. wallis budge, miscellaneous coptic texts, 2 vols, coptic texts v [london 1915, reprinted new york 1977] 1.60. for the assimilation of christ to michael in early christianity, see j. danielou, the theology of jewish christianity, the development of christian doctrine before the council of nicaea i; trans. j.a. baker (london 1964) 121-127 (theologie du judeo-christianisme, histoire des doctrines chretiennes avant nicee, i, bibliotheque de theologie [tournai 1958] 171-177. 20 see kropp, zaubertexte 1.25. f.j. dolger, ixyu, 5 vols (munster 1928-43) 1.267-268

at our disposal) that in a coptic magical text "biblical seth" occurs in a list of names including, inter alia, adam, seth, noah, methusala (maqousa a; die kopischen zaubertexte der sammlung papyrus erzherzog rainer in wien, ed. v. stegemann, sb. heid. ak. d. wiss, phil.-hist. kl. 1933/4, 1 [heidelberg 1934] 70 xlv [108. lists of the biblical heroes from adam to moses play a great role in jewish christianity; see c. gieschen "the seven pillars of the world: ideal figures lists in the true prophet christology of the pseudo-clementine literature, journal for the study of the pseudepigrapha, forthcoming. 24 w.c. crum, catalogue of the coptic manuscripts in the british museum (london 1905) 147. seth in the magical texts 91 we have still to discuss doresse's reference to the existence of certa

SIR EDWARD BULWER LYTTON ZANONI A ROSICRUCIAN TALE

; his sentiments may pervade the universe, and inspire generations till the day of doom. all our virtues, all our laws, are drawn from books and maxims, which are sentiments, not from deeds. in conduct, julian had the virtues of a christian, and constantine the vices of a pagan. the sentiments of julian reconverted thousands to paganism; those of constantine helped, under heaven's will, to bow to christianity the nations of the earth. in conduct, the humblest fisherman on yonder sea, who believes in the miracles of san gennaro, may be a better man than luther; to the sentiments of luther the mind of modern europe is indebted for the noblest revolution it has known. our opinions, young englishman, are the angel part of us; our acts, the earthly "you have reflected deeply for an italian" sai

SIR WALLIS BUDGE EGYPTIAN MAGIC

ilization. we may think that such ideas and beliefs are both childish and foolish, but there is no possible reason for doubting that they were very real things to those who held them, and whether they are childish or foolish or both they certainly passed into the religion of the people of egypt, wherein they grew and flourished, and were, at least many of them, adopted by the egyptian converts to christianity, or copts. reference is made to them in the best classical works of the ancient egyptians, and it is more than probable that from them they found their way into the literatures of the other great nations of antiquity, and through the greeks, romans, arabs, and others into the countries of europe. in the following pages an attempt will be made to place in the reader's hands the evidenc

ect whatsoever, upon which was inscribed the name of a god or his emblem, or picture, became an amulet with protective powers; and it seems that these powers remained active as long as the substance lasted and as long as the name, or emblem, or picture, was not p. 64 erased from it. the use of amulets was common in egypt from the earliest times to the roman period, and when the egyptians embraced christianity, they, in common with the gnostics and semi-christian sects, imported into their new faith many of the views and beliefs which their so-called heathen ancestors had held, and with them the use of the names of ancient egyptian gods, and goddesses, and demons, and formula, which they employed in much the same way as they were employed in the days of old. footnotes 27:1 i.e, chapter xxiv

SPENSER THE CULT OF THE ALL SEEING EYE 1960

od. its leaders tell its initiates that the doctrine of the cull is based on a hidden master religion in which all men can agree because it is founded on pre-christian, pagan models that appear not to be in conflict with reputable faiths. this offspring of the ancient idolatrous mystery cults has existed in america for centuries, but its leaders have never dared to admit that they hope to replace christianity with the cult. however, in recent years, they have dared to establish small, public temples in the united states: namely, the meditation rooms in the united nations and at wainwright house, rye, new york, and the prayer room in the u.s. capitol. their great temple of understanding is soon to be erected in washington, d.c. the strange, fascinating history of the great seal of the unite

4, 1957, as first payment on $25,000 needed to remodel and enlarge the room.8 the movement has issued "u.n. meditation room identification cards [to] 300 men and women who go periodically to this room for prayer (see un room, by this group. i it once issued prayer cards to visitors containing prayers from the "world's great living religions" namely, hinduism, buddhism. judaism, islamism, sikhism, christianity and st. francis of assisi. the friends held vigils of prayer in the room in 1953 and 1954. back in 1946 the movement had sent dr. frank laubach, union theological seminary graduate and author of "letters of a modern mystic" to the paris peace conference to lobby for the establishment of the meditation room- 1 1- speakers for the movement's meetings have included norman cousins, ralph

therein designed by the artist, fritz eichenberg. his bookplate "depicts the ancient cross in the shape of a t, surrounded by a serpent symbolizing wisdom and healing, and forming the letter s. the- 12- t and s, thomas sugrue's initials, are crowned by the lotus, vedantic representation of all being. in the background lies the city of jerusalem over which shine two stars, the star of the east of christianity and six-pointed star of judaism. a flame spreads an arc of light above, proclaiming the continuity of life and the immortality of the soul (ibid, march-april 1960, pp. 6-7) m. oldfield howey tells us in the encircled serpent (david mackay co, philadelphia, pa, 192, p. 84, that in the symbolism of egypt the "serpent is constantly represented as surmounting a cross. the brazen serpent

brazen serpent as the 'word1."63 it must also be mentioned that the olive branch on the coat of arms. the emblem of peace. traces directly back to the olive wand of the caduceus.64 the cao dai god symbol: the all-seeing eye today, in south viet nam in south-east asia there exists a very real cult of the all-seeing eye. it is called cao dai. it is a bizarre blend of buddhism, confucianism, taoism, christianity, and animism. the last named doctrine refers to the anima mundi, the idea that phenomena of animal life are produced by an immaterial soul. ophiolatry is a component part of the cao dai "religion" which is symbolized by the god symbol of the all-seeing eye in -35- the triangle (see illustration. the eye. neither right nor left, has a thick black eyebrow above it. sixteen rays emanate

STEINER RUDOLF CHRISTIANITY AS MYSTICAL FACT

ipants lo take the lead in raising funds for a house of prayer that would be open to persons of all faiths at all times (n.y. times, 2/6/64) he did not make a direct reference to the temple. nevertheless, his statement was interpreted by temple sponsors as pre-arranged support for their project, and as evidence of their immense influence in washington -hofurther reading 233 index 235 introduction christianity as mystical fact was a significant book in rudolf steiner s biography, being the first in which the well-known philosopher of freedom and goethe scholar came forward with an interpretation of christian beginnings and of the continuing relevance of christianity to modern life an interpretation he continued to develop and deepen over the next twenty-five years.1 but it was even more sig

biography, being the first in which the well-known philosopher of freedom and goethe scholar came forward with an interpretation of christian beginnings and of the continuing relevance of christianity to modern life an interpretation he continued to develop and deepen over the next twenty-five years.1 but it was even more significant for raising issues that have dominated the whole discussion of christianity in the remainder of our century. it was among the first books to confront the crisis of the evidence about christianity that had been uncovered by the biblical criticism of the last century, and even more the questioning of the uniqueness 1. important landmarks in the development of his ideas are in particular his lectures on the gospels: the gospel of st. john (two cycles, 1908 1909

(1909, anthroposophic press, 1988; the gospel of st. matthew (1910, anthroposophic press, 1985; and the gospel of st. mark (1910 1911, anthroposophic press, 1986; also from jesus to christ (1911, rudolf steiner press, london, 1991; building stones for an understanding of the mystery of golgotha (1917, rudolf steiner press, 1985. see also the bibliographical suggestions at the end of this book. x christianity as mystical fact of christianity which resulted from researches in comparative religion, the rediscovery in the west of buddhism, hinduism, and so on. it is a great book, perhaps because it combines the personal authenticity of that moment when its author, as he put it in the course of my life, stood before the mystery of golgotha in a solemn festival of knowledge, and the awareness o

head and heart. if early christian texts present jesus in cosmic terms, relating stories that are less history than myths like those about the pagan savior-gods, or like the apocalyptic figures anticipated by the essenes, these must be seen as unfortunate vestiges in the christian message of former superstitious and unrealistic times. the response of christian theologians must be to demythologize christianity a program relentlessly pursued by bultmann and his many followers in particular, but tacitly followed by many more.2 and what has the result been? stripped bare of its cosmic imagery, of its relationship to the forces that early christians imagined were going to bring about the imminent transformation of the world, christianity has turned in upon itself, lost the initiative, lost its

w synthesis that took seriously the insights both of buddhism and the evolutionary science of the west, the evidence of recurring 2. rudolf bultmann (1884 1976, a german theologian and professor who attempted to demythologize the new testament by utilizing the modern terminology of existentialist philosophy; his theories became the starting point for most twentieth-century theological debate. xii christianity as mystical fact patterns in myth and research into the hidden structures of the mind. h. p. blavatsky s idea of a unity behind it all touched a nerve of the age, and an attempt to explain the extraordinary and undeniable unity of religious phenomena has remained a central strand in twentieth-century thought, persisting far outside the theosophical circles where it was first nurtured

SYMBOLISM OF THE BANNERS

he banner of the east, the triangles come together in the form of a hexagram, thus containing the power of the equilibrium while maintaining their individual meaning. so first, as brethren of the fraternity, we shall look at various arrangements of those simple geometrical figures and their mystical meanings. the first symbol would be that of the cross. this symbol is upheld very highly by modern christianity. a cross is a figure made by two lines bisecting each other. when at right angles, it is the calvary cross or also called, the crux simplex. unknown to many modern christians, the symbol of the cross in its various shapes is far older than that of the christian era. for it was in use amongst the pagans of western asia and europe many centuries before the death of christ. as such, to m

SZYMANSKI GREG SEARCHING FOR THE ILLUMINATI DEEP WITHIN THE BOWELS OF THE VATICAN

ystery religions of egypt, ancient babylon, and even mesopotamia. out of these ancient religions, which were practiced secretly over hundreds and hundreds of years, there arose esoteric groups which continued to practice the rites, traditions, and enculturation brought in from the original groups "over the centuries, these groups practiced openly in some countries, and covertly in countries where christianity or other religions opposed their practices. some of the groups which came out of these ancient roots included the order of the knights templar, rosicrucian's, baphetomism, and druidic cults. these groups were the forerunners, or roots, of modern day illuminism. the original illuministic leaders chose to take what they felt were the best practices of each root religion, combine them in

TECHNICIANS GUIDE TO THE LEFT HAND PATH

o-egyptian magic, despite roman persecution, saw an expansion of both the philosophical and magical aspects of this tradition as far north as britain. the third century of the common era was the height of setian hermeticism. for useful magical and cultural background on that time of super-individuation, see especially spiritual guides of the third century by richard valantasis. with the coming of christianity as a state religion, individualism was again despised. the coptic fathers identified set with satan, and he almost disappears as a figure in egyptian magic. the european manuals gave away to medieval grimoires and perhaps the last practicing setian, the 8th century abulfaiz dhu l nun, changed his name to thuban the black (thuban being the name of the star alpha draconis. thuban as pir

TEXE MARRS CODEX MAGICA SECRET SIGNS MYSTERIOUS SYMBOLS AND HIDDEN CODES OF THE ILLUMINATI

ments. alex jones, well-known radio personality and top-notch producer of many videos documenting the rise of the police state. dr. cathy burns, author of the excellent masonic and occult symbols illustrated, as well as the hidden secrets of the eastern star. dean grace, author of a little guide to the all-seeing eye symbol on our dollar bill. ralph epperson, author of masonry: conspiracy against christianity, the unseen hand, and other fine books. dr. gail riplinger, author of the bestselling classic, new age bible versions. david meyer, occult researcher and publisher of last trumpet newsletter. michael hoffman, ii, author of the groundbreaking book, secret societies and psychological warfare. fritz springmeier, author of bloodlines of the illuminati and other revealing works. robert gay

be judged, so that god "shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth" power the hunger for power motivates the human disciples in the illuminati structure. because they serve satan, they instinctually know they are also serving the will of his human hierarchy. they expect to be rewarded for this service to the evil side. george bernard shaw, who maintained an overwhelming hatred for god and for christianity, wrote of a "will" incarnated in higher consciousness man (the elite) that shall "finally mould chaos itself into a race of gods."5 to fancy yourself as in a state of becoming divine, as so superhuman, special and superior you shall achieve elevation as one of a "race of gods" is an intoxicating prospect "do as thou wilt" the bible says of the antichrist, he "shall do according to his

w of naphtali."5 note that robinson makes mention of the "penal sign, the hand signal based on the penalty of the master mason's oath" in codex magica, you will see several examples of this signal, including a photo of soviet dictator joseph stalin and one of former house speaker newt gingrich. in his book freemasonry, jack harris, a former master mason who renounced the order after converting to christianity, quotes at length the ritual according to the state of maryland's masonic manual.6 that manual assures the mason that at his death, if his good works are sufficient "a kind messenger from the supreme grand master will be sent to translate us to that all perfect, glorious and celestial lodge above, where the supreme architect of the universe presides" according to harris the ritual con

the late english renaissance, was a rosicrucian and practitioner of the magical arts who emphasized the power of visual and imaginative symbols. 320 codex magica michael servetus who, in 1555, was burned at the stake by calvinists for having published a treatise disagreeing with the doctrine of the trinity. servetus, an enemy of christ, was an llluminist who worked to bring in heresies to pollute christianity. he has been called "the father of unitarianism" a top official of the orthodox hierarchy in greece gives the initiate sign. the pope with palestinian leader yassar arafat, at the vatican on september 15, 1982. eugene vintras, a frenchman who taught occult spiritual philosophy, wears the upside down cross on his religious robe and presents the sigil (hand sign) of his order. vintras g

triangles, triangles all around 329 years as white house astrologer to nancy and ronald reagan.5 as it turns out, the astrological symbol for a grand trine is a triangle inside a circle. this is the same symbol configuration adapted by alcoholics anonymous (aa) founder bill wilson to be the official logo of aa. my extensive research of bill wilson's life documents he was an occultist. he despised christianity and adopted aa's concept of worship of an unnamed "higher power" to substitute for jesus. wilson came up with the logo for aa from a dream he had in which he saw the image of the triangle within a circle and knew it was to become the logo for aa.6 do the llluminati secretly worship the great goddess? it is interesting that in the jewish cabala, we again find use of the triangle as a f

THE BLACK LODGE

8 "who worshiped heru-pa-kraath have worshiped me; ill, for i am the worshiper" heru-pa-kraath, the babe on the lotus, represents the eternal child, that is, the spiritual seed of our species; he is identical to hadit. it is foolish to worship this child. we are this child. the child hoor and the child jesus are the same child, and this symbol of the eternal child is thousands of years older than christianity. it already existed in china and india when the jews had not yet become organized as a cultural group. we already said that the false masters and the false initiatic organizations offer candidates every possible advantage but one: the true initiation; what is true initiation? it is that which made a sea mammal come out of the sea. it is that which made a monkey come down from the tree

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and effort to their eternal wellbeing, and they were not the only early civilization to be concerned about an afterlife. with all their diversity of beliefs, the major religions of today are in accord in one essential teaching: human beings are immortal and their spirit comes from a divine world and may eventually return there. the part of the human being that survives death is known in judaism, christianity, and islam as the soul the very essence of the individual person that must answer for its earthly deeds, good or bad. hinduism perceives this spiritual essence as the divine self, the atman, and buddhism believes it to be the summation of conditions and causes. of the major world religions, only buddhism does not perceive an eternal metaphysical aspect of the human personality in the

ld, is today regarded by many as simply a philanthropic and fraternal organization. another secret society, the illuminati, deemed by many conspiracy buffs to be the most insidious of all, faded into obscurity in the late eighteenth century. however, there is always a new secret society that seeks to divine arcane and forbidden avenues to wealth and power. sorcery, alchemy and witchcraft although christianity affirms the existence of a transcendent reality, it has always t h e g a l e e n c y c l o p e d i a o f t h e u n u s u a l a n d u n e x p l a i n e d xviii introduction distinguished between religio (reverence for god) and superstitio, which in latin means unreasonable religious belief. christianity became the state religion of the roman empire in 395 c.e, and in 525 the council of

ned begins with the greatest question of all: do humans survive physical death? and if so, are they born again? the mystery of what lies on the other side of death has given birth to humankind s magic, mysticisms, religions, and all the diverse creatures of light and darkness that populate the mysterious regions in between. 1 chapter exploration how the major religions view the afterlife buddhism christianity hinduism islam judaism ancient egypt and the afterlife egyptian book of the dead osiris: death and resurrection pyramid texts individual human experience with death and the afterlife deathbed visions near-death experiences the mystery schools dionysian mysteries eleusinian mysteries hermetic mysteries orphic mysteries pythagorus tribal religions burial mounds land of the grandparents

d the afterlife egyptian book of the dead osiris: death and resurrection pyramid texts individual human experience with death and the afterlife deathbed visions near-death experiences the mystery schools dionysian mysteries eleusinian mysteries hermetic mysteries orphic mysteries pythagorus tribal religions burial mounds land of the grandparents how the major religions view reincarnation buddhism christianity hinduism islam judaism contemporary mystery schools and reincarnation akashic records anthroposophy association for research and enlightenment theosophy experiential quests into past lives hypnotic regression into past lives bridey murphy past-life therapy ian stevenson introduction children take the continuity of life for granted. it is the fact of death that has to be taught. self-p

ide the dead indicates that these prehistoric people believed that death was not the end. the member of the tribe or clan who was no longer among the living still required nourishment, clothing, and protection to journey safely in another kind of existence beyond the grave. somehow, there was some part of the person that survived death. that part of the human being that survives death is known in christianity, islam, and judaism as the soul, the very essence of the individual person that must answer for its earthly deeds, good or bad. hinduism perceives this spiritual essence as the divine part of a living being, the atman, which is eternal and seeks to be united with the universal soul, or the brahman. buddhism teaches that an individual is but a transient combination of t h e g a l e e n

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and effort to their eternal wellbeing, and they were not the only early civilization to be concerned about an afterlife. with all their diversity of beliefs, the major religions of today are in accord in one essential teaching: human beings are immortal and their spirit comes from a divine world and may eventually return there. the part of the human being that survives death is known in judaism, christianity, and islam as the soul the very essence of the individual person that must answer for its earthly deeds, good or bad. hinduism perceives this spiritual essence as the divine self, the atman, and buddhism believes it to be the summation of conditions and causes. of the major world religions, only buddhism does not perceive an eternal metaphysical aspect of the human personality in the

ld, is today regarded by many as simply a philanthropic and fraternal organization. another secret society, the illuminati, deemed by many conspiracy buffs to be the most insidious of all, faded into obscurity in the late eighteenth century. however, there is always a new secret society that seeks to divine arcane and forbidden avenues to wealth and power. sorcery, alchemy and witchcraft although christianity affirms the existence of a transcendent reality, it has always t h e g a l e e n c y c l o p e d i a o f t h e u n u s u a l a n d u n e x p l a i n e d xviii introduction distinguished between religio (reverence for god) and superstitio, which in latin means unreasonable religious belief. christianity became the state religion of the roman empire in 395 c.e, and in 525 the council of

sional guest, quartrozieme, can be called on short notice so a host can avoid having only 13 people at dinner party. death or resurrection of jesus. christian tradition borrowed the symbols of a rabbit and colored eggs for children to hunt on easter morning from an even older religious tradition in northern europe that portrayed the rabbit as the escort of the fertility goddess eastre (easter. as christianity spread through europe, the adaptation and incorporation of the rites and symbols of eastre into the celebration of jesus resurrection transferred to the rabbit the dubious distinction of people attributing good fortune to the act of removing one of his hind legs and carry it on their person. sneezing many people believed that the soul was located inside the head, so they regarded the

the screams, tears, and struggles of the bride among various peoples are known to be merely a part of the marriage routine; yet they are considered absolutely essential to show her bashfulness and modesty. the conscious or unconscious simulation of capture as retained in later systems of marriage appears to be due to a much earlier concept of modesty and delicacy. even after the establishment of christianity had abolished marriage by capture throughout all of europe, the anglo-saxons persisted in simulating the capture of the bride. among the arabs of the sinai peninsula, a girl acquires a permanent reputation of chastity and modesty in proportion to her tears and her struggles of resistance on her marriage day. in many irish traditions, a marriage is considered scarcely legal unless the

o p e d i a o f t h e u n u s u a l a n d u n e x p l a i n e d 204 superstitions, strange customs, taboos, and urban legends thescreams, tears, and struggles of the bride shows her bashfulness and modesty. gave as a pledge to acquire his bride from her father. from wed is derived the later idea of wedding or pledging the bride to the man who promises to provide her future security. the spread of christianity throughout europe dealt a fatal blow to the custom of marriage by purchase and brought about a more wholesome attitude toward women, as well. but it required several generations before the civilized world was largely freed from the demeaning customs of wife purchase and woman barter, although it is known that in some more primitive regions of the world, such practices continue today

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and effort to their eternal wellbeing, and they were not the only early civilization to be concerned about an afterlife. with all their diversity of beliefs, the major religions of today are in accord in one essential teaching: human beings are immortal and their spirit comes from a divine world and may eventually return there. the part of the human being that survives death is known in judaism, christianity, and islam as the soul.the very essence of the individual person that must answer for its earthly deeds, good or bad. hinduism perceives this spiritual essence as the divine self, the atman, and buddhism believes it to be the summation of conditions and causes. of the major world religions, only buddhism does not perceive an eternal metaphysical aspect of the human personality in the

ld, is today regarded by many as simply a philanthropic and fraternal organization. another secret society, the illuminati, deemed by many conspiracy buffs to be the most insidious of all, faded into obscurity in the late eighteenth century. however, there is always a new secret society that seeks to divine arcane and forbidden avenues to wealth and power. sorcery, alchemy and witchcraft although christianity affirms the existence of a transcendent reality, it has always t h e g a l e e n c y c l o p e d i a o f t h e u n u s u a l a n d u n e x p l a i n e d xviii introduction distinguished between religio (reverence for god) and superstitio, which in latin means gunreasonable religious belief. h christianity became the state religion of the roman empire in 395 c.e, and in 525 the council

ns, secretly manipulating every level of government and every facet of society. almost without exception, each of the secret societies presented in this chapter began with serious religious aspirations, which slowly disintegrated into political ambitions, and eventually deteriorated into criminal activities. the garduna and the holy vehm had their birth in mystical visions and a passion to defend christianity from those who would seek to destroy it. regardless of its founders f noble intentions, both groups were used to further political ambitions and soon become nothing more than outlaw gangs. the chinese tongs and triads began as protective associations for merchants and laborers who were being exploited by the ruling establishment or, in the united states, by the dominant white society

nd take turns riding it. centuries later, when the knights templar had become the wealthiest and most powerful order in all of europe, it was decided by church and state that the once godly christian soldiers had acquired their earthly treasure and power by worshipping satan and committing the most foul acts of desecration and blasphemy. the order of knights that had once served as the bulwark of christianity during the crusades to protect the holy land was ordered disbanded by papal decree, and its members tortured and burned at the stake. history has not yet determined the degree of their true guilt as heretics, but it is unlikely the knights templar deserved such an ignoble end. while there was never any clear evidence to prove that the knights templar committed the acts of human sacrif

ch and state. for more than 100 years, the garduna murdered, raped, and looted on the orders of the inquisition. their victims were always non- christians or those suspected of being heretics. by 1670, the inquisition withdrew its support from the garduna, but the holy warriors became a secret cult within the church and continued their attacks against all those deemed contrary to the teachings of christianity. when the church itself withdrew its recognition of the garduna, they became a secret society, maintaining always that everything they did was an expression of god fs will and any alleged crime they might commit was free of the taint of any sin. during the eighteenth century, the garduna had expanded its parameters of potential victims to include christians, as well as unbelievers, an

THE GOD OF THE WITCHES

y press, 1921) the bibliography is chiefly of the britishisles, france, belgium, and sweden.though i am concerned with the existence through the middle ages of a primitive religion in westerneurope only, there is no doubt that the cult was spread in early times through central and eastern europe andthe near east. there it survived, underlying, as in the west, the official religion of the country, christianity ineurope, islam and sometimes christianity in the east. the literati of those countries were of the faith there inthe ascendant, consequently the old religion was seldom recorded, for paganism belonged there as here tothe inarticulate uneducated masses who remained for many centuries untouched by the new religion. i havenot attempted to give every known instance of the beliefs and rit

velopment of the palaeolithic and neolithic peoples can be traced. but the religion of those early times hasbeen entirely neglected, with the exception of a few references to mother-goddesses and to burial customs.the student of early religion begins his subject in the early bronze-age of the near east and totally ignoreswestern europe in the stone-ages; he ends his study with the introduction of christianity, as the study of thatreligion is known as theology. there is, however, a continuity of belief and ritual which can be traced fromthe palaeolithic period down to modern times. it is only by the anthropological method that the study ofreligions, whether ancient or modern, can be advanced.the attitude of all writers towards the post-christian era in europe, especially towards the middle

palaeolithic people were hunters, the neolithic andbronze-age people were pastoral and agricultural. among all these races the horned god was pre-eminent,for alike to hunting and pastoral folk animals were essential for life. after the general introduction ofagriculture, the horned god remained as a great deity, and was not dethroned even by the coming of theiron-age. it was not till the rise of christianity, with its fundamental doctrine that a non-christian deity wasa devil, that the cult of the horned god fell into disrepute.the idea of dividing the power beyond into two, one good and one evil, belongs to an advanced andsophisticated religion. in the more primitive cults the deity is in himself the author of all, whether good orbad. the monotheism -of early religions is very marked, ea

rce unaffected byforeign influence. the temple built on the summit of the puy de dome was dedicated to a god called by theromans mercurius, to his worshippers he was known as dumus; cernunnos, in spite of his latinised name,was found in all parts of gaul. few of the names of the indigenous deities of great britain have survived, andthe ritual received scant attention from the roman recorders.when christianity first arrived in great britain it came in from the west and established itself among thepeople rather than the rulers. centuries later other missionaries entered on the east. the christian church hadby this time become more organised, more dogmatic, more bent on proselytising. the main attack, therefore,was not on the people but on the royal families, particularly on the queens whose

organised, more dogmatic, more bent on proselytising. the main attack, therefore,was not on the people but on the royal families, particularly on the queens whose influence was wellunderstood. paganism, however, received continual reinforcements in the successive invasions of heathenpeoples; danes, norsemen, angles, jutes and saxons poured in and took possession. in judging of the historyof early christianity in britain it must always be remembered that the people who brought it in on the eastcoast were foreigners, who never amalgamated with the natives. augustine was italian, and for more than acentury no native britons were advanced to high places in the church. theodore of tarsus, with the aid of the god of the witchesintroduction3hadrian, the negro, organised the church in england in t

THE GOLDEN ESSENCE

oundlessly communicates. awareness, after all, is needed to reap the full benefit of the mysteries; as we will soon see, it is awareness that is the center and the very point of the entire system, both the human system of craft, and the entire divine world and universe itself. the housle rite is the very sum of all craft mysteries, and all western pagan mystery religions besides, including primal christianity. the holy meal, or the sacrament of bread and wine was absorbed into the primal christian stream at a very early date, from the pagan tradition. this does not change the power of this ancient ritual consumption of bread and drink; the flaw in christianity is that the christians do not understand the depth of symbolism behind and within the sacred meal. their lack of awareness, as we s

ps it was thought that humans too were reborn or renewed in some manner at the transformation of death. the basic notion that all things come into being, exist, pass away finally, and experience regeneration or renewal, is the basic and central concept that is behind all indo-european pagan mythology (the same mythological tradition that is the true ancestor of the old faith or witchcraft. primal christianity, influenced mainly by the primal tradition of ancestral veneration and regeneration of pagan europe, likewise embraced (in their own peculiar way) a central theme of life, sacrifice, and regeneration, with their ultimate eschatological concept of resurrection and a new heaven and earth. the more ancient and wise indo-european mythology taught that the universe was generated from the g

an moralism- again, regeneration was not a certainty, but a special state achieved by performing particularly christian moral actions and deeds, avoiding thoughts and deeds that the christians decided were immoral, and the firm acceptance of and adherence to christian doctrines. these unfortunate facts, coupled with the christian animosity towards non-christian mysteries, would result in exoteric christianity losing any ability to induce the spiritual renewal in their following, and replacing what was meant to be a truly universal, worldshaking experience in the here and now with a simple faith-based guarantee that the renewal of the faithful christian and his loved ones would take place on the last day or at some point after death. what was meant to be a direct experience of reality becam

ed this universal being into the historical limitations of a little-known jewish prophet/cult leader, they ceased being a true mystery religion, and became a social control organization, that could do nothing more than inculcate people with their own morbid and extreme sense of morality, restrict people s divine creative expressions, and make promises of happy afterlives for all believers. though christianity still retained many of the necessary metaphorical symbols in their mythology, including the mother of god, the divine child, the sacrifice and resurrection, these things, bereft of wisdom and the insights of the mysteries, had become nothing more than objects and puzzles of faith, still full of a mysterious and indescribable allure for some, but lacking the power to lead people to the

s the horned one, with a torch or light between his horns, and was venerated as the source of the cunning light or fire that was embedded within the essential being of humans, and which made craft possible. what is important to realize here is that he is the source of the light- the light itself, and the being who shared it with mankind, was the son of this being. harmonics to this can be seen in christianity- lucifer was the son of god, his firstborn archangel who then led a rebellion, and in so doing, underwent a fall into the world, where he brought the serpent s gift to the primal parents of humankind- granting them cunning, the power to recognize good and evil, and to shape the world in accordance with their own desires and wishes, on their own power. just as the fire-bearing daughter

THE KEY TO THE MYSTERIES

which he was the most famous member. when a man becomes a magician he looks about him for a magical weapon; and, being probably endowed with that human frailty called laziness, he hopes to find a weapon ready made. thus we find the christian magus who imposed his power upon the world taking the existing worships and making a single system combining all their merits. there is no single feature in christianity which has not been taken bodily from the worship of isis, or of mithras, or of bacchus, or of adonis, or of osiris. in modern times again we find frater iehi aour trying to handle buddhism. others again have attempted to use freemasonry. there have been even exceptionally foolish magicians who have tried to use a sword long since rusted. wagner illustrates this point very clearly in "

n, in fine, do these two words not find an answer? what is god for us, if not the spirit of charity? what is orthodoxy? is it not the spirit of charity which refuses to discuss faith lest it should trouble the confidence of simple souls, and disturb the peace of universal communion<christianity for disturbing the peace of paganism "or" indicates that christianity is but syncreticeclectic paganism, and defends it on this ground- o.m> and the universal church, is it any other thing than a communion in the spirit of charity? it is by the spirit of charity that the church is infallible. it is the spirit of charity which is the divine virtue of the priesthood. duty of man, guaran

ay, we create ourselves in the image of our ideal "those who make their gods become like unto them" says the psalmist "and all they that put their trust in them" the divine ideal of the ancient world made the civilization which came to an end, and one must not despair of seeing the god of our barbarous fathers become the devil of our more enlightened children. one makes devils with cast-off gods<<christianity has fallen, and so christ has already become the 'devil' to such thinkers as nietzsche and crowley- o.m> and satan is only so incoherent and so formless because he is made up of all the rags of ancient theogonies. he is the sphinx without a secret, the riddle without an answer, the mystery without truth, the absolute without reality and without light. man is the son of god because god

wedding garment. 20 the great week of creation has been imitated by human genius, divining the forms of nature. every day has furnished a new revelation, every new king of the world has been for a day the image and the incarnation of god! sublime dream which explains the mysteries of india, and justifies all symbolisms! the lofty conception of the man-god corresponds to the creation of adam, and christianity, like the first days of man in the earthly paradise, has been only an aspiration and a widowhood. we wait for the worship of the bride and of the mother; we shall aspire to the wedding of the new covenant. then the poor, the blind, the outlaws of the old world will be invited to the feast, and will receive a wedding garment. they will gaze the one upon the other with inexpressible ten

ould brand your forehead! do not approach your lips to the heart of god, he would feel your sting! do not drink the blood of the christ, it will burn your entrails; it is quite sufficient that it should have flowed uselessly for you! viii the number eight the ogdoad is the number of reaction and of equilibrating justice. 37 every action produces a reaction. this is the universal law of the world. christianity must needs produce anti-christianity. antichrist is the shadow, the foil, the proof of christ. antichrist already produced itself in the church in the time of the apostles: st. paul said "for the mystery of iniquity doth already work; only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. and then shall that wicked one be revealed<<2 thess. ii. 7,8. this passage is presum

THE MAGICIAN S KABBALAH

ketch some of the significant points at which it passed through to the occult tradition, particularly in europe, and thence to the modern magician. the kabbalah and its teachings passed across into the magical philosophy primarily by transition through medieval christian thinkers who saw in kabbalah a model and validation for their own tradition. from the late fifteenth century jewish converts to christianity brought kabbalistic views to the attention of other theologians. a platonic academy in florence, founded by giovanni mirandola (1463-94) furthered research and discussion of kabbalah amongst the philosophers of the time. the later publication of the shaarey orah "gates of light" in latin (1516) brought further interest in the teachings of the bahir and the fundamental plan of the tree

here. perhaps we can also see this pattern at work in that minute accidents of fate are often more influential in the causing of large divergences of personal and world history than pre-arranged grand events organised specifically to alter such things. examples include the vision of the roman emperor constantine, which radically affected the history of the world by his subsequent consolidation of christianity as state religion for rome from circa 325 ad, or the assassination of the austrian politician which sparked the first world war. this idea is used to effect in many fiction books, notably "the muller-fokker effect" by john sladek "the stochastic man" by robert silverberg, and the "illuminati" trilogy by robert anton wilson and robert shea. the magician can tremble such a web of recurs

em, and discover who or what is functioning as the tiphareth centre of the group. note how much the social order and the actions of the group revolve from the tiphareth location. where does the tiphareth individual get his inspiration from in order to influence the group? 3. collect images of the heart from any sources you have available to you. the religious systems of ancient egypt and medieval christianity provide useful sources, as do the ancient mexican religions of the toltecs and mayans. what does the heart symbolise? chapter seven 1. make a study of the relationship between religion and love. the raptures of christian mystics, the experiences and stories told by the sufi schools, and the devotional work of magicians such as aleister crowley will provide numerous examples of how lov

THE MIDDLE PILLAR

gardie discontinued h s practice and joined the army, something he later considered a huge mistake. when the war was over, he continued his studies and received a doctorate in psychology. for a time he explored christian mysticism with as much energy as he had previously pursued hindu, jewish, and buddhist systems. he was especially drawn to christian science, new thought, and the unity school of christianity, which taught that faith, belief, and the power of positive thinking could cure physical illnesses. he concluded that the healing techniques taught by these different schools had validity, and he explored these ideas in the romance of metaphysics (1946).5 in 1947, regardie relocated to california and set up practice as a chiropractor and a reichian therapist. he also taught psychiatry

inly no progress in that path wluch leads to the knowledge of the higher self. silence with reference to symptoms and results is therefore most desirable. endnotes 1. ths is daath, which is not a sephirah, but rather a conjunction of chokmah and binah. 2. from the neophyte ritual. see regardie, the golden dawn, 129. 3. the symbol of the rosicrucians. rosicrucianism is a form of mystic or esoteric christianity whose teachings embrace the hermetic sciences. 4. the philosopher's stone is an alchemical symbol of true spiritual attainment. the search for the philosopher's stone is the search for truth and illumination. 5. along the same lines, each letter of the hebrew alphabet has a musical note attributed to it. thus each divine name in hebrew can be sung or played on a musical instrument. se

THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES

of well-documented instances they suddenly rise above their previous mediocre lives and become out-standing statesmen, scientists, poets and writers, even soldiers. in religious lore, being belted by one of these light beams causes "mystical illumination" when saul, a jewish tent-maker, was zapped by one of these beams on the road to damascus it blinded him for three days and he was converted to christianity on the spot and became st. paul. the second part of the phenomenon consists of the cover or camouflage for the first part, the "meandering nocturnal lights" as the air force has labeled them. if these lights appeared in cycles, year after year, century after century without any accompanying explanatory manifestations they would cause much greater fear and concern. but explanatory mani

THE NECRONOMICON SIMON VERSION

cult lodges in the early days after the first war; the symbol of one of these, the thule gesellschaft which preached a doctrine of aryan racial superiority, was the infamous swastika which hitler was later to adopt as the symbol of the forms, however, is evident in many of his writings, notably the essays written in the late 'thirties. crowley seemed to regard the nazi phenomenon as a creature of christianity, in it's anti-semitism and sever moral restrictions concerning its adherents, which lead to various types of lunacies and "hangups" that characterised many of the reich's leadership. yet, there can be perhaps little doubt that the chaos which engulfed the world in those years was prefigured, and predicted, in crowley's liber al vel legis; the book of the law. the mythos and the magick

ychic leeches, ghastly forms accost the aspiring magician from every angle, from every quarter around the circumference of the magick circle, and they must be destroyed lest they devour the magician himself. when crowley professed to have passed the obstacles, and crossed the abyss of knowledge, and found his true self, he found it was identical with the beast of the book of revelation, 666, whom christianity considers to represent the devil. indeed, crowley had nothing but admiration for the shaitan (satan) of the so-called "devil-worshipping" cult of the yezidis of mesopotamia, knowledge of which led him to declare the lines that open this introduction. for he saw that the yezidis possess a great secret and a great tradition that extends far back into time, beyond the origin of the sun c

real. her powers can be tapped by the knowledgeable "who are skilful to rouse leviathan" although the christian religion has gone to great lengths to prove that the devil is inferior to god and exists solely for his purpose, as the tempter of man- surely a dubious raison d'etre- the sumerian tradition acknowledges that the person of "evil" is actually the oldest, most ancient of the gods. whereas christianity states that lucifer was a rebel in heaven, and fell from god's grace to ignominy below, the original story was that marduk was the rebel, and severed the body of the ancient of ancient ones to create the cosmos in other words, the precise reverse of the judeo-christian dogma. the elder gods evidently possessed a certain wisdom that was not held by their parents, yet their parents held

THE STAR IN THE WEST BY CAPTAIN FULLER A CRITICAL ESSAY ON THE WORKS OF ALEISTER CROWLEY

haplet, molten in the fire, sealed in the sea, betokened by the wind: gthere is one god, the spirit of mankind! h *mysteries: lyrical and dramatic, vol. i, pp. 105, 107. the sacred pledge of the rosicrucians was: gman is god and son of god, and there is no other god but man. h such is aleister crowley fs magnificent contempt for the god ideals of man, and the christ ideals of a demented mob. that christianity has been for the greater part of fifteen hundred years an immense power, few can deny; that it has been a power of good, few will deny, though not a few would like to; that it has been a dragonading power of harm few will assert, and still fewer are aware of; for it has ever been the craft of the christian church to pass off on her paramours her worn-out old body as that of untasted v

windlers mocked as a mountebank, and his power as a gbarren staff. h*1. in gascension day h the whole christian church as a lie, gabortion and iniquity, h*2. whose soldiers are no ardent warriors in triple steel, but loathly and disgusting worms,*3. who only show fight when cornered and not always then. gspeared wild cats bravely spit. h*4. neither does crowley spare that anachronism, present-day christianity, which fondly imagines it has succeeded in solving the problem of how to sit on two sides of the fence at one and the same time, to offer christ to the simple-minded with the one hand and drain their pockets with the other. amennatep fs description of the pathic ratoum in gthe fatal force h may fitly be quoted here as an apt description of modern-day christianity: her power is gone, a

this day*1. there has been born in albion a greater than david hume, and a more illustrious than david home,*2. even had he been genuine *1. 12th october, 1875 *2. d.d. home, the medium. and he shall be called gimmanuel, h that is ggod with us, h or being interpreted aleister crowley, the spiritual son of immanuel whose surname was cant* and as the doctrine taught by jesus christ became known as christianity, so let this theurgy, as expounded by this marvellous being, be known as crowleyanity: or in other words, according to the mind of the reader. pyrrhonic-zoroastrianism, pyrrhonic-mysticism, sceptical- transcendentalism, sceptical- theurgy, sceptical-energy, scientific- illuminism, or what you will; for in short it is the conscious communion with god on the part of an atheist, a transc

god, they then proceeded to enlarge their enemy into a devil. this gross materialism in accordance with the universal law of polarity, set in motion by the hand of idealism, produced as effect a fanciful spiritualism, which sought in the mysteries of life an answer that lay still on the cold lips of death. these two powers, the pantheonic materialism and the gnostic spiritualism, bore the hybrid. christianity. as all religions have finally become subservient to an interested priesthood, so have all religions (however spiritual they may have been in their youth) been materialized and sacrificed on the altar of gain. to this rule christianity forms no exception; once crudely and sincerely spiritual, it has become deceitfully materialistic. god, who was formerly an almighty pleroma, is now bu

their youth) been materialized and sacrificed on the altar of gain. to this rule christianity forms no exception; once crudely and sincerely spiritual, it has become deceitfully materialistic. god, who was formerly an almighty pleroma, is now but the moke which carries the priest fs eggs to market; and christ, the saviour and redeemer, the stick with which the wretched old jennet is beaten along. christianity is no longer what its name implies, the system of doctrines as taught by christ, but diametrically the reverse, the system of desires as wrought by man. it is no longer gsell all, h but gseize all h; or ggive all, h but gget all. h mammon is the god of to-day, and modern christianity is absolute and unadulterated materialism. as such it is not necessary to look far for its antithesis

THE ABYSS AND TABAET

hcraft and liber hvhi provide a foundation of sorcery which incorporates an interwoven praxis of antinomianism and self-deification, the essential origins of the daemonic feminine and masculine should be further understood by its origins. what is regarded as common knowledge depicts that the luciferian spirit, what is found are the associative traits and that the adversary has existed long before christianity. the avestan texts as well as the denkard provide a wealth of knowledge of ahriman from a right hand path point of view, consider as such a veil which can only be passed through by the great work of initiation. the names and cultural expressions of the adversary are briefly explored as an introduction, from the ancient persian, hebraic and even norse, the adversary appears in each. as

ominus muscarum is also a translation of the title of beelzebub, meaning lord of flies and relates to the adversary being in part a spirit of the air. baal-zebub as the name of a god worshipped in the philistine city of ekron around 850 b.c. and was considered a controller of flies and perhaps plague. if the initiate of the luciferian path looks deep within the history of the adversary, little of christianity may be needed. the adversary is no christian creation, nor does it need the concept of god as so many have decried. in the west, all gods and demons have been transformed to suit whatever they need it for, such is known as a mild case of chaos magick and thus may be useful. the luciferian knows the importance of discipline, if you build yourself in the image of the adversary with the

THE SECRET RITUALS OF THE OTO

to be grand master of the order. the order of the temple saw itself as the true church of christ, preserving through the centuries a true egyptian gnostic christian tradition. it claimed that the son of god. was brought up in the schools of alexandria. he was able to reach all the degrees of egyptian initiation. jesus conferred evangelical initiation on his apostles and disciples. how this mystic christianity had supposedly passed on to the templars was recounted in the order s legend: file//c /documents%20and%20settings/michael..0secret%20rituals%20of%20the%20o.t.o/p1c2.html (4 of 5 [12/28/2001 2:01:22 pm] the secret rituals of the o.t.o. up to the year 1118 the mysteries and the hierarchic order of the initiation of egypt, transmitted to the jews by moses, then to the christians by jesus

ing the mystery of the measure of heaven and earth that lieth behind this secret of the vii concerning the unity of god. and ye have verily reason from the crowns of your heads to the soles of your feet to remember how this is the origin of all our tragedy. thus therefore, sir knights valorous and noble, war constantly on all tyranny and superstition, and mostly against bigotries such as orthodox christianity as interpreted in its material sense, old wives tales and foolish fables, the immoral doctrines of original sin and vicarious atonement, and the most hideous eschatology in the history of false religion. nor can much less be averred against all other orthodoxies, with their fables equally absurd, their postulates equally immoral. but also let there be war upon those who seek to refine

uary of the gnosis to the perfectly illuminated adepts of the secret areopagus of the eighth degree, pontiffis and epopts of the illuminati, greeting and peace. under the seal of the obligation of the viii. i of chastity dearly beloved, in that war of the brethren of the left hand path against the gnosis whose first phase ended in the establishment of that tyranny and superstition which is called christianity, much truth was stolen by the black lodge, and perverted to its vile uses. and most noxious in its corruption is that castration of man called chastity, the atrophy of those noblest parts of the body which are the proper organs of redemption both gaian and ouranian. we then who in the seventh degree were sworn most solemnly to chastity in the inmost as in the outermost, who have now a

neophyte of the order of a\a\ appeareth a demon in the form of a woman to pervert him; within our own knowledge have not less than nine brethren been utterly cast out thereby. there are also vain loves, as that of ixion for hera, of actaeon for artemis. consider of this. vii of certain greek rites among the peoples of the balkan peninsula and especially the greeks, beneath the bush of their false christianity, is hidden the wheat of demeter. and even as the muslim trust to be united by death to the hur al ayn of paradise, so do these others yet think that earthly marriage is but fornication, for that death is a nuptial wherein the soul is united to that god or goddess to whom on earth his lust aspired. thus, even in the embraces of their lovers, their hearts were fixed on artemis or on aph

TRUE HISTORY OF WITCHCRAFT

ior to the 1940s; that is, prior to the meeting of minds between the old magus and venerable prophet of the occult world aleister crowley, and the first popularizer, if not outright inventor of modern wicca, gerald brosseau gardner? there is certainly no doubt that bits and pieces of ancient paganism survived into modern times in folklore and, for that matter, in the very practices and beliefs of christianity. further, there appears to be some evidence that `old george' pickingill and others were practicing some form of folk magick as early as the latter part of the last century, though even this has recently been brought into question. wiccan writers have made much of this in the past, but just what `old george' was into is subject to much debate. doreen valiente, an astute wiccan writer

his has recently been brought into question. wiccan writers have made much of this in the past, but just what `old george' was into is subject to much debate. doreen valiente, an astute wiccan writer and one-time intimate of the late dr. gardner (and, in fact, the author of some rituals now thought by others to be of "ancient origin, says of pickingill that so "fierce was `old george's dislike of christianity that he would even collaborate with avowed satanists (tomorrow, p 20. what george pickingill was doing is simply not clear. he is said to have had some interaction with a host of figures in the occult revival of the late nineteenth century, including perhaps even crowley and his friend bennett. it seems possible that gardner, about the time of meeting crowley, had some involvement wit

. the devil, you say before we move on, though, in light of the furor over real and imagined "satanism" that has overtaken parts of the popular press in recent years, i would feel a bit remiss in this account if i did not take momentary note of that other strain of left-handed occult mythology, satanism. wiccans are correct when they say that modern wicca is not satanic, that satanism is "reverse christianity" whereas wicca is a separate, nonchristian religion. still, it should be noted, so much of our society has been grounded in the repressiveness and authoritarian moralism of christianity that a liberal dose of "counterchristianity" is to a true history of witchcraft get any book for free on: www.abika.com 11 be expected. the pat robertsons of the world make possible the anton levays. i

tory of the origins of the modern witch cult and the book of shadows "it was one of the secret doctrines of paganism that the sun was the source, not only of light, but of life..the invasion of classical beliefs by the religions of syria and egypt which were principally solar, gradually affected the conception of apollo, and there is a certain later identification of him with the suffering god of christianity, free- masonry and similar cults" aleister crowley in astrology, 1974..if gbg and crowley only knew each other for a short year or a true history of witchcraft get any book for free on: www.abika.com 13 two, do you think that would be long enough for them to become such good friends that gifts of personal value would be exchanged several times, and that gbg would have been able to aqu

them intriguing. rumor #1, of course, is that which accompanied the birth (or, depending on how one looked at it, the revival) of modern wicca, the contemporary successor of ancient fertility cults. it revolved around elemental rituals, secret rites of passage and a mythos of goddess and god that seemed attractive to me as a psychologically valid alternative to the austere, antisexual moralism of christianity. the book of shadows, in this context, was the `holy book' of wicca, copied out by hand by new initiates of the cult with a history stretching back at least to the era of witchburnings. rumor number #2, which i had tended to credit, had it that gerald gardner, the `father of modern wicca' had paid aleister crowley in his final years to write the book of shadows, perhaps whole cloth. t

TWO ESSAYS ON THE WORSHIP OF PRIAPUS

ent author and antiquarian, thomas wright;1 assisted by john camden hotten, the publisher of the 1865 edition. in their work they had the benefit of the real additions made during this century to the literature of the subject, and of 1 perhaps no englishmen of modern times, or of any time, has intelligently treated so many different departments of literary research: arch ology, art, bibliography, christianity, customs, heraldry, literary history, philology, topography, and travels, are among the topics illustrated by the learning, zeal and industry of mr. thomas wright. s. austen allibone. preface to this edition iii the discoveries of objects of antiquity at herculaneum and pompeii, also in france, germany, belguim, england, ireland, and in fact in nearly every country in europe, illustra

kind, and are properly invocations or prayers used in the orphic mysteries, and seem nearly of the same class as the psalms of the hebrews. the reason why they are so seldom mentioned by any of the early writers, and so perpetually referred to by the later, is that they belonged to the mystic worship, where everything was kept concealed under the strictest oaths of secrecy. but after the rise of christianity, this sacred silence was broken by the greek converts who revealed everything which they thought would depreciate the old religion or recommend the now; whilst the heathen priests revealed whatever they thought would have contrary tendency; and endeavoured to show, by publishing the real mystic creed of their religion, that the principles of it were not so absurd as its outward struct

ity i earnestly recommend it, only observing that this modern acceptation of the symbol is of considerable antiquity, for it is mentioned as proverbial in the oneirocritics of artemidorus;1 and that it is not now confined to great britain, but prevails in most parts of christendom, as the ancient acceptation of it did formerly in most parts of the world, even among that people from whose religion christianity is derived; for it is a common mode of expression in the old testament, to say that the horns of any one shall be exalted, in order to signify that he shall be raised into power or pre-eminence; and when moses descended from the mount with the spirit of god still upon him, his head appeared horned.2 to the head of the bull was sometimes joined the organ of generation, which represente

s 1 ver. 703. 2 pindar, olymp. i. ver. 1. diodor, sic. lib. i. p. 11. 3 il. x, ver 246, and f, ver. 196. 4 clementina, hom. xii. arnob. adv. gentes, lib. ii. 5 see plate v. fig 1. the original is among the antiquities found in herculaneum, now in the museum of portici. 6 matth. c. iii. 7 it is the avowed intention of the learned and excellent work of grotius, to prove that there is nothing new in christianity. what i have here adduced, may serve to 38 on the worship again addressed in salaminian chorus of the same tragedy of sophocles, by the titles of author and director of the dances of the gods (qewn coropoi' anax, as being the author and disposer of the regular motions of the universe, of which these divine dances were symbols, which are said in the same passage to be (autodah) self-ta

rel on one side, and on the other an obelisc terminating in a cross, the least explicit representation of the male organs of generation.5 this has exactly the appearance of one of those crosses, which were erected in church-yards and cross roads for the adoration of devout persons, when devotion was more prevalent than at present. many of these were undoubtedly erected before the establishment of christianity, and converted, together with their worshippers, to the true faith. anciently they represented the generative power of light, the essence of god; for god is light, and never but in unapproached light dwelt from eternity, says milton, who in this, as well as many other instances, has followed the ammonian platonics, who were both the restorers and corrupters of the ancient theology. th

TYSON DONALD NEW MILLENNIUM MAGIC

pyramid from the out- side or the inside, which are very different points of view, and must choose one or the other alternative. a necessary evolution of the basic concept of choice was the varieties of possi- bility inherent in any decision. every question can yield three possible answers: yes; no; and yesino. this triplicity is expressed in all the holy trinities of gods the world has known. in christianity it is father, holy ghost, and son. in hinduism it is brahma, shiva, and vishnu. tn the faith of the ancient egyptians it was osiris, isis, and horus. symbolically it is embodied in the triskelion, a design of three appendages radiating from a center point, which occurs in such diverse cultures as the celtic, greek, and native american. 7: affirmation the seventh point is the essential

ted by the first ray seeks its balance. so it happens that a balancing arc is mentally cast across the path of the sun, further dividing the world into hemispheres of east and west. this is how the four points of the compass originally came into being. mankind could not conceive of the division into east and west until it had perceived the polarity of north and south. the cross is much older than christianity, indeed as old as time, for it is a uni- versal symbol that conveys an unchanging meaning to all peoples, whatever the outward interpretation that may be forced upon it. the pattern the titan prometheus took when bound to the pillar by zeus was a cross. the teutonic god woden, or odin, crucified himself on the eternal ash yggdrasill in order to peer into the mysteries of the timeless

christ over the passive, feminine side. the vertical ray is akin to the primal lightning and is always the male principle. the horizontal ray sug- gests the surface of the primal sea and is always female. also, the intersection point of the christian cross is near the top, indicating a movement toward the light. for these reasons it emphasizes triumph and victory. not surprisingly, the history of christianity has been one of male rule and military conquest. the pagan and christian views of the cross find an interesting union in this lyric of cynewulf, an anglo-saxon poet who lived around a.d. 750. this descrip- tion is taken from the dream of the rood: methought on a sudden i saw a cross upreared in the sky, and radiant with light. brightest of trees, that beauteous beacon was dipped in go

l be observed. remnants of goddess worship are evident in the adoration of the virgin mary among christians, the veneration of the matronit and shekhinah among jews, the worship of shakti among hindus. the women's movement has sparked a revival of interest in the goddess. the contemporary pagan religion of wicca wor- ships the earth mother in her many guises. as for the worship of god as a child, christianity is the most obvious example. in the middle ages, jesus was often depicted as a babe in arms with a wise adult head, or as a slender effeminate figure with a narrow waist and broad hips. child- god cultures are characterized by an ambivalence between the active and passive impulses. no question is more puzzling to christians than when, and if, they should turn the other cheek. the west

uth that all spirit is one flowers forth, timeless and renewed, each time a prophet is born. but in the world of forms, the hexagram is traditionally thought of as the sign of god and the pentagram as the sign of man. kabbalistically, the hexagram is the heart of adam kadmon, the microproso- pos, or lesser countenance. hermetically, it is the union of opposites, the mating of the sun and moon. in christianity it is jesus christ. magically, it is linked to the table of hexagram 8 planets colors motions elements directions senses body trees music sun yellow v vibratory@ spirit up sight head apple trumpet mars red linear n fire south hearing right leg yew drum venus green 0 circular v water west taste left arm birch guitar jupiter orange linear a air north smell right arm oak organ saturn blu

TYSON DONALD SOUL FLIGHT

ins the sacred stone of destiny (lia fail, a phallic standing stone on which the ancient kings of ireland were crowned. the stone is not in its original location, but was moved and re-erected. it was fabled to roar when a rightful king stood upon it. also upon the hill of tara was a great banqueting hall some 759 feet long by 46 feet wide. for centuries, kings ruled and made their laws here. when christianity came to ireland, the priests condemned tara as a seat of druidism and idolatry, and around the year ad 560 it was cursed by saint ruadan, and was abandoned by the irish in fear of the curse, leaving it as the habitation of the fairies. fairies were closely linked by the celts to the souls of the dead, so both virgil's sunny meadow of elysium where the dead sing and sport, and the larg

astral projection. similar events are recorded in the lives of saint severus of ravenna, saint ambrose, saint clement of rome, and saint alphonsus liguori, who while in prison at arezzo, took no food and went into a kind of trance state for five days. when he awoke, he stated that he had been at the bedside of the dying pope clement xiv. his statement was later onfirmed. joan of arc historically, christianity has had an ambivalent attitude toward projections of the astral body into other realms and communication with spiritual beings. when it is done by someone outside the authority of the church, it is almost invariably condemned as occult and devilish. however, when it is experienced by a member of the church hierarchy, or by someone regarded by the church as favored by god, public knowl

t previously had only been experienced by priests, nuns, saints, and others involved in the church. the best known is emanuel swedenborg (1688-1772, a swedish mystic who wrote entire books describing his astral travels to heaven and hell, and his interactions with angels. he was a prominent scientist who in the year 1743 believed that he had received a mission from god to reveal a new doctrine of christianity to the world. he was instructed by angels during astral journeys, and wrote more than forty books on 66. brewer, dictionary of miracles, 310. chapter four: religious bilocation 59 the subject. these books formed the basis for the church of new jerusalem, also called the new church, which was established in london in 1778. swedenborg distinguished several types of astral perception. th

123 is interesting in the context of the belief of writer gerald suster that hitler was the living fulfillment of the prophetic document received by aleister crowley titled the book of the law. this document, transmitted to crowley psychically by his guardian angel aiwass in 1904, formed the basis for crowley's later cult of thelema. it foretells of the coming of the age of horus that will sweep christianity off the face of the world in a holocaust of warfare and bloodshed. summing up his views on the almost ceaseless military conflicts that characterized the twentieth century in the context of hitler's rise to political power, suster wrote, at the conclusion of his book hitler and the age of horus, of his conviction that the violence had at its root a mysterious hidden force unknown to s

y the nuclear holocaust of a third world war, but by the collapse of the soviet empire and the destruction of the iron curtain. it might be speculated that it is in this way that horus asserts that the 1980s "cower before me and are abased" 176. crowley, book of the law, 734. chapter nine: ufo abductions 145 as can be seen from the quotation, crowley predicted a violent antagonism toward not only christianity but toward all the major world religions. how much of a part adolf hitler plays in this unfolding of the transition between the age of pisces and the age of aquarius, and whether he is the magical child of crowley predicted in the book of the law who would fulfill its prophecies, as suggested by gerald suster, is a matter of conjecture. my own view is that crowley's magical child has

TYSON DONALD THE POWER OF THE WORD

and magic. the greek sage pythagoras graphically captured this eternal marriage of three and four in his famous tetractys, a triangle formed out of ten dots, with four dots at its base. for centuries occultists have used the hebrew letters of ihvh in place of the dots, which lends the tetractys a much more intricate and organic aspect: three is divine and heavenly; four is mundane and earthly. in christianity, there are the three persons in god, namely the father, son, and holy ghost, and the four evangelists, matthew, mark, luke, and john, who make manifest or establish the law of heaven upon the earth. three is perfect and sacred; four is flawed and profane. carpenters know this from experience. the triangle is the strongest geometric shape in construction correspondences squaring the ci

e of pentagrammaton was further enhanced by the venetian francesco giorgi (1456-1540, who, in his book de harmonia mundi (on the harmony of the world, published at venice in 1525, demonstrated the ideas of pico and reuchlin through the use of kabbalistic numerology. these christian kabbalists and others who followed in their footsteps were greatly aided by several jewish scholars who converted to christianity, such as flavius mithridates, who translated many kabbalistic texts for pico, and paulus ricius, the private physician to the german emperor maximilian, who published rabbi joseph gikatilla's influential portae lucis (the gates of light) at augsburg in 1516. concerning the power of the fivefold name of jesus, cornelius agrippa quotes directly from the conclusions of pico della mirando

of magic and commanded all the spirits and demons of the world. the last monarch ruled for a thousand years. some scholars believe that these mythical persian kings are unconnected with the biblical solomon but became merged with him due to the similarity of names. however it may have happened, the fables of solomon as a wonderworker have always been much more popular in islam than in judaism or christianity. according to arab and jewish legends, solomon had the power to control the four winds of the world. borne upon the wind, he flew sitting upon his throne across the face of the whole earth each day, then returned each night to jerusalem. the wind was able to accomplish this amazing feat because the throne rested upon an enormous green carpet, which the wind blew under and lifted. 88 t

tionally said to be the home of winter and the deadly north wind, the bringer of winter storms. therefore it is fitting that the tree of woe should be located there. the tree is often interpreted as a substitute for the cross upon which jesus died, and indeed the imagery of a tree is used in this way in early saxon poetry (see cynewulf's "dream of the rood. but the symbolisn o f the tree predates christianity. it is one of the archetypal patterns for the universe itself, and in this sense occurs both in the magic of the northern runes and in the mysticism of the kabbalah. the reference to twenty-two is highly significant, because there are twenty-two chapters in the book of revelation. therefore, the nests of woe upon the tree lament the destruction of the world, which in ancient times was

UNCLE SETNAKT SEZ BECOME EVIL AND RULE THE WORLD2

about a reversal of morality. we could seek out all those things denied us by christ and freud. we no longer hid our fetishes- we flaunted them. we could even admit to greed (note how deeply the word of indulgence has penetrated our society- evangelists now preach the love of money, no doubt to the puzzlement of the pale nazarene. but we escaped from the trap of being a simple antithesis to judeo-christianity; in x we received the word of xeper. we now go beyond external systems of good and evil. just as our feminist sisters are beginning to achieve freedom of their bodies, we are achieving freedom of our whole being. 5. satanism has common aspects with situationism. the criticism of the french new left has begun to ask, what is the self in a commodified economy? what are we in a society w

UNCLE SETNAKT SEZ PRACTICE DIVINITY IN YOUR OWN LIFE

come your way because some one you do not know (directly) has been told you're a worthy individual by some one else you do not know directly. this will show that your presence is equal in force to any mankind's created gods that faith in you is strong to create a missionary movement. of course this should be done secretly and subtly. if you outwardly proclaim your godhood crucifixion can result. christianity may be understood as one self deified individual letting his practices get out of hand. jesus is an example of a black magician without ethics. 6. practice your godhood among your followers. when one of your fans is in trouble, magically use the power of your name to help him. not out of pity or compassion but to understand the nature of the name of a divine being. once again keep thi

UNLEASHING THE BEAST

ies of western christian society and open the way for a whole new era of human history. to conclude, i will suggest that crowley not only reflected his own era and the sexual anxieties of the late victorian era, but also foreshadowed much of our own era and our own sexual obsessions at the dawn of the new millennium. i. the new aeon: crowley and the end of the victorian age the nightmare world of christianity vanished at the dawn.[t]he detestable mysteries of sex were transformed into joy and beauty. the obsession of sin fell from my shoulders into the sea of oblivion- the confessions of aleister crowleyxii the point about crowley is that he seems to contain all these sorts of ideas and identities indeed most of the vices of the twentieth century and he was dead at the end of 1947- snoo wi

aiwass, appeared to him and dictated the book of the law (liber al vel legis).xviii his most famous work, the book of the law announces the dawn of the third aeon of mankind: the first aeon was that of the goddess isis, centered around matriarchy and the worship of the great mother; the second aeon was that of osiris, during which the patriarchal religions of suffering and death- i.e, judaism and christianity- rose to power. finally, with the revelation of the book of the law, a new aeon of the son, horus, was born "in this aeon the emphasis is on the self or will, not on anything external such as gods and priests."xix the peak of his magical career- and also of his infamy as the wickedest man alive- was in the period after 1920, when he founded his own ideal spiritual community called the

145- thus we might say that crowley really epitomizes what foucault calls the "repressive hypothesis- that is, the belief that the modern western world has painfully repressed and denied sexuality, and that what is most needed now is the fullest affirmation and liberation of the sexual instinct. as crowley himself put it in his confessions "my sexual life was very intense..love was a challenge to christianity. it was a degradation and damnation."xxxiii yet as foucault points out, it is really inaccurate to say that the victorian era was one of repression and silence about sex. on the contrary, western culture was in fact saturated with a kind of "hyper-development of discourse about sexuality" which was now classified and categorized in endless detail "paradoxically, it was during the nine

p conventional social boundaries.cxv crowley, conversely, set out deliberately to overthrow, tear down and supplant the entire religious, social and moral world in which he was raised. from the revelation of his book of the law and continuing throughout his life, he set out to deconstruct an entire worldview and social order- what he regarded as the effete, corrupt and bankrupt world dominated by christianity- and to set up in its place a new order based on the law of the thelema. in other words, both the sakta tantrikas and crowley made use of explicit inversions of conventional morality and sexual taboos, but they did so for very different, even opposite reasons- the one to reinforce the existing social order and status quo, and the other to destroy it -167- conclusions "after the orgy

of the thelema. in other words, both the sakta tantrikas and crowley made use of explicit inversions of conventional morality and sexual taboos, but they did so for very different, even opposite reasons- the one to reinforce the existing social order and status quo, and the other to destroy it -167- conclusions "after the orgy- sex and liberation in a post-victorian era i say today: to hell with christianity, rationalism, buddhism all the lumber of the centuries. i bring you a positive and primaeval fact, magic by name: and with this i will build me a new heaven and a new earth. i want none of your faint approval or faint dispraise; i want blasphemy, murder, rape, revolution, anything, bad or good but strong- crowley, letter to brother in law, gerald kelly,cxvi if it were necessary to cha

VOX SABBATUM

ntelligence. 2 the antinomianian path of self-deification, isolating the psyche from the natural order of self- dissolution. 3 from oz, or azazel the fire djinn and first born of light. 4 leviathan, see the grimoire abramelin. 5 called iblis or is the same as shaitan in islamic sufism. vox sabbatum the witches sabbat 3 and hell below. he in his late teens or early twenties rebels from the norm of christianity and adopts a so-called satanic or even an atheistic belief system. by the time he becomes old, 50 s plus he begins reverting back to the christian beliefs which were embedded from his childhood. he dies a christian due as he views his body crumbling and his fears grow close he is not sure of himself or what he has done with his life. the will grows broken through years of having the s

indicate isolate consciousness and intelligence, a sense of the forbidden 2) by inventing such aspects of the sabbat and the devil, they fleshed out a powerful and adverse initiatory model of luciferian self-deification. we have in fact become their demons by expanding from this practice. the same may be said in current times, those who walk secrecy in the religious path of self-destruction (i.e. christianity or the right hand path) laugh at those who point their fingers and invent our evils, have also a duty of fighting or toying with the religious nazis of christianity. we openly support same sex marriages7, the slow and careful destruction of the church and the principles of responsibility for the responsible 8 to the masses. modern times have different measures of practice; however the

d exhaustion. if attending a dreaming sabbat, these steps should be followed as well. keep a diary by your bedside for a clear record upon waking. it is possible in the infernal sabbat to visualize the osculum infame, the obscene kiss of the devil or man in black. if the rite is solitary, or before dreaming, you may visualize going before the sigil of desire, being the devil, and announce- i deny christianity and the path of self- disillusion, i affirm life and flesh, i affirm spirit and desire, i seek the path of sorcery and vox sabbatum the witches sabbat 20 the knowledge of being. i kiss the reversed and opposing face of shaitan, that by darkness i shall awaken to the light of self-love and the wisdom of the black flame. with regard to the witches sabbat, it is pertinent to follow the b

earth gods are beholders of this force, it has become through them just as it shall become through he or she who assumes the mask of the black man. the black riders of poligny, by one named moyset, was known to have initiated pierre bourgot into a coven of werewolves and sorcerers he began a point of initiation by pierre kissing his left hand, which was black and as cold as the dead, and denying christianity. he was led to a sabbat rite which others had green candles with blue flames. the sabbatic goat or black man is the focus point of the ritual sabbatum, the very act against the natural order which aligns the mind with the path of the serpent and dragon. the daemon may appear as one clothed in black, a toad or a cat traditionally. as the black man of the sabbat, one should seek to cont

WICCA EIGHT SABBATS OF WITCHCRAFT

t a single day off work. christmas, in the middle ages, was not a single day, but rather a period of twelve days, from december 25 to january 6. the twelve days of christmas, in fact. it is certainly lamentable that the modern world has abandoned this approach, along with the popular twelfth night celebrations. of course, the christian version of the holiday spread to manycountries no faster than christianity itself, which means that 'christmas' wasn't celebrated in ireland until the late fifth century; in england, switzerland, and austria until the seventh; in germany until the eighth; and in the slavic lands until the ninth and tenth. not that these countries lacked their own mid-winter celebrations of yuletide. long before the world had heard of jesus, pagans had been observing the seas

the yule log had been the center of the celebration. it was lighted on the eve of the solstice (it should light on the first try) and must be kept burning for twelve hours, for good luck. it should eight sabbats of witchcraft get any book for free on: www.abika.com 9 be made of ash. later, the yule log was replaced by the yule tree but, instead of burning it, burning candles were placed on it. in christianity, protestants might claim that martin luther invented the custom, and catholics might grant st. boniface the honor, but the custom can demonstrably be traced back through the roman saturnalia all the way to ancient egypt. needless to say, such a tree should be cut down rather than purchased, and should be disposed of by burning, the proper way to dispatch any sacred object. along with

lternate date, astrologically determined by the sun's reaching 15-degrees aquarius, or candlemas old style (in 1988, february 3rd, at 9:03 am cst. another holiday that gets mixed up in this is valentine's day. ozark folklorist vance randolf makes this quite clear by noting that the old-timers used to celebrate groundhog's day on february 14th. this same displacement is evident in eastern orthodox christianity as well. their habit of celebrating the birth of jesus on january 6th, with a similar post-dated shift in the six-week period that follows it, puts the feast of the purification of mary on february 14th. it is amazing to think that the same confusion and lateral displacement of one of the old folk holidays can be seen from the russian steppes to the ozark hills, but such seems to be t

WICCA WITCHCRAFT TODAY

e induced intoxication by drinking wine, and so making themselves one with their god. dr. gardner has shown in his book how much of the so-called 'witchcraft' is descended from ancient rituals, and has nothing to do with spell-casting and other evil practices, but is the sincere expression of that feeling towards god which is expressed, perhaps more decorously though not more sincerely, by modern christianity in church services. but the processional dances of the drunken bacchantes, the wild prancings round the holy sepulchre as recorded by maundrell at the end of the seventeenth century, the jumping dance of the mediaeval 'witches, the solemn zikr of the egyptian peasant, the whirling of the dancing dervishes, all have their origin in the desire to be 'nearer, my god, to thee, and to show

primitive hunters' cult. this is simply a wild guess on my part, and i give these personal opinions because i am not permitted to detail the rites and prayers on which i base them. and, of course, the reverse may have happened; it may have been an orthodox celtic cult into which more primitive beliefs and practices infiltrated during the crash following the roman invasion and the introduction of christianity, and we must take into account the effects of the greek and roman mystery religions. after the saxon invasion there probably was an influx of roman-british nominal christians, who entered the witch-cult thinking that the invasion was a punishment for deserting the old gods, and that the witches' gods were the true ancient gods with other names. it may only be a coincidence that in mex

to some that any cult could have preserved its identity and teachings for so long; yet you must remember that it is not merely the religious legend which is preserved but also the rite, the conditioning and the effect that it produces. the religion may change, the race may change, the language may change, but the cause and effect remain, and it is this which tends to keep the legend unchanged. as christianity came in witchcraft had to be concealed. under the saxons it continued in out-of-theway communities, or was driven to wales, cornwall and brittany. many of the cult members, together with remnants of the earlier inhabitants, would live in places to which the conquering race did not go. after a few generations of scanty food a naturally small race, probably intermarrying with picts and

send back the spirits of your beloved dead to rejoice with you at your festivals. that they believe something of this sort is clear from the myth of the goddess which forms the central part of one of their rituals. it is a sort of primitive spiritualism. witches have no books on theology, so it is difficult for me to discover all they actually believe. with all the thousands of books there are on christianity i find it difficult to define christian beliefs. transubstantiation, for instance. on the other hand, it is easy to give the central idea or myth, which i believe is defined as being a story which affects people's actions. strictly speaking, in this sense the myth of christianity lies in the crucifixion and resurrection, and few christians differ about this. the myth of witchcraft see

rly worshipped the old gods before they were initiated. to people like the romans and romano-britons it would only be worshipping their own gods who had become identified with celtic ones, so there would be nothing to repudiate. possibly during the persecution times if unknown people turned up at a big religious meeting they would be questioned to see if they were spies and might be asked to deny christianity, as a sort of test. they would never initiate anyone, take him into the circle, unless they knew him well as one of the old faith. when the persecution grew fierce, the cult dived underground and practically only children, born and bred into the cult, were ever initiated. i can well believe that sometimes, if someone not of the blood wished to come in, he might be questioned; but it i

WICCA MAGICK OCCULT THREE GREEN BOOKS DRUIDISM

own sentience. but would god not have created sentient creatures once god thought of even their possible existence? god loves even the smallest most imperfect creatures. some christian thoughts john shea mystery: an unauthorized biography of god, pg. 26. the following passage starts the dutch catechism: in a.d. 627 the monk paulinus visited king edwin in northern england to persuade him to accept christianity. he hesitated and decided to summon his advisers. at the meeting one of them stood up and said: your majesty, when you sit at table with your lords and vassals, in the winter when the fire burns warm and bright on the hearth and the storm is snowing outside, bringing the snow and the rain, it happens of a sudden that a little bird flies into the hall. it comes in at one door and flies

port 297 man is a religious animal. man is the only religious animal. he is the only animal that has the true religion several of them. he is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself and cuts his throat if his theology isn t straight. mark twain provide a religious organization with wealth and power and it begins to change into a secular agency. edmund a. opitz fantastic doctrines (like christianity or islam or marxism) require unanimity of belief. one dissenter casts doubt on the creed of millions. thus the fear and the hate; thus the torture chamber, the iron stake, the gallows, the labor camp, the psychiatric ward. planet steward, stephen levine metaphysics is a cobweb the mind weaves around things. planet steward, stephen levine questions are more likely to make good communic

WILLIAM WESCOTT NUMBERS THEIR OCCULT POWER AND MYSTIC VIRTUES

ven sleepers. 2. ass of balaam. 3. ant of solomon. 4. whale of jonah. 5. the calf (not ram) offered to jehovah by abraham instead of isaac, his son. 6. the ox of moses. 7. the camel of the prophet salech. 8. the cuckoo of belkis. 9. the ram of ishmael. 10. al borek, the animal which conveyed mahomet. 95. we find 10 generations from adam to noah, 10 from shem to abraham. the 10 spiritual graces of christianity are love, joy, peace long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, prudence, meekness and temperature, says numbers--th eir occu lt power an d mys tic vir tu es by w. wyn n wes tcott dr. g. oliver; although where he gets 10 generations from adam to noah, i know not. under 10 also falls the mention of the pythagorean triangle, tetractys, consisting of an equilateral triangle enclosing t

WOLFSON ELLIOT ALEF MEM TAU KABBALISTIC MUSINGS ON TIME TRUTH AND DEATH

de-yihuda. surely, i am not advocating a dualism when i speak of two vectors nor do i deny that kabbalistic tradition presumes an analogical relation between the two spheres such that one gains knowledge of the latent from the manifest and of the manifest from the latent an ancient hermetic teaching with roots in platonic philosophy that had a profound impact on the esoteric teachings of judaism, christianity, and islam as they evolved in the middle ages. it is worthwhile mentioning one extract from cordovero where he frames the kabbalistic teaching in these terms: from the lower beings we discern the supernal beings, as it says from my flesh i would behold god (job 19:26, and by means of them a man can discern divinity. after a man contemplates the supernal beings from the lower beings, h

xpression the estranged woman, ishshah zarah. it is written they offered a strange fire before the lord (lev 10:1; it is written here strange fire and it is written there to guard you from the estranged woman (prov 7:5, and it is all one matter. 247 in the symbolic imaginary of the zoharic kabbalists, the expression from proverbs ishshah zarah alludes more specifically to the christian woman, for christianity, the prototypical idolatrous religion (the faith and piety of sitra ahra, is associated with sensual lust, the power of eros from the left, which parallels the power of eros from the right, manifest most ideally in the yearning to cleave to the divine through contemplative prayer and study. indeed, as i have analyzed at length in an earlier study, there is a homology between the lure

istianity, the prototypical idolatrous religion (the faith and piety of sitra ahra, is associated with sensual lust, the power of eros from the left, which parallels the power of eros from the right, manifest most ideally in the yearning to cleave to the divine through contemplative prayer and study. indeed, as i have analyzed at length in an earlier study, there is a homology between the lure of christianity as idolatry in the theological plane and as the crux of sexual seduction in the social sphere.248 moreover, as yitzhak baer observed long ago, zoharic homilies well attest that for kabbalists in northern spain in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, one of the greatest challenges for the male jew was not to succumb to the attraction of christianity in either domain.249 nadab and a

manifestation in the sefirotic pleroma, arikh anpin, a term derived from the scriptural elocution erekh appayim in exodus 34:6,298 the place that is pure mercy and consequently beyond the strictures of law and its implied system of reward and punishment.299 needless to say, the position articulated by shneur zalman should not be confused with the pauline argument so influential in the history of christianity that circumcision of the spirit (identified with the rite of baptism) replaces circumcision of the flesh. for shneur zalman, there is no substitution or replacement; to locate the circumcision of the heart in a gradation superior to the law of dichotomy implies not an abrogation of that law but rather a deepening of it by adhering to its source in keter, the realm of unmitigated mercy

the incarnation was based on an appeal to observable natural phenomena perceived by the senses and understood by reason.43 the remark that the messiah must be propagated through the conjunction of masculine and feminine (sarikh lihyot al yedei zakhar u-neqevah) appears to be a direct challenge to the foundational dogma of the church.44 needless to say, in the period of the redaction of the bahir, christianity was not monolithic indeed, at no time in history has it been and surely some authors could have accommodated the notion that jesus came to be from the union of male and female. none, however, could have comfortably interpreted the matter somatically, presuming thereby that jesus was conceived in a womb fertilized by semen discharged physically by an actual man.45 but it is precisely t

WORKBOOK FOR GRADE 0 VOID AND THE ABYSS

iscovering the holy guardian angel (an alternate path of the witches sabbath) and the evil genius. seek union with the lilitu, within and without. one mystery of the two is that they are called the eternal couple and are symbolized in the zohar as the evil couple (evil is therefore described as the left hand path approach, isolating the self which was contrary to many of the founders of religious christianity. samael is then revealed as asmodeus and lilith the mother of fornication. samael and lilith are the keys of infernal, or daemonic union. it is by the combination of these forces which are the sun and moon respectively that we may emerge from which 23 the familiar and exterior daemon may seek further sexual congress via dreams. the sigil of infernal union is the gateway towards qlippo

ZALEWSKI SECRET INNER ORDER RITUALS OF THE GOLDEN DAWN OCR

ondemn it immediately in their eyes and so kept such men from clamouring for admission) for be it remembered, the fama was an official manifesto; the publication of which was authorized by the (raters then empowered. subsequently, on account of the great stir roused by its publication, and especially on the assertion that the principles of the order were subversive to the simple orthodox faith of christianity, its publication by valentine andreas was authorized (in 1615) with a supplement under the title of "confession fraternitatis r.c. ad erudotos europa" this was prefaced by an advertisement to the effect that the "gentle reader should find incorporated in our confession 37 reasons of our purpose and intention, the which according to they pleasure mayest seek out and compare together, c

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