A Tale of Three Perspectives

Often when occultists, pagans and witches get into a heated discussion, I have found that the reason for such strong sentiments and strident disagreements is because there are three very different and distinct philosophical perspectives being communicated. If two or more individuals talk at cross purposes with each other, and none of them understand the other person’s basic philosophical foundation, then unresolvable arguments will occur. Of course, there are more than three different philosophical perspectives, but these three usually cause the most egregious misunderstandings.

These three different philosophical perspectives are based on three different approaches to engaging with a tradition. I call these three perspectives “traditional lore,” “reconstructionist” and the middle ground of “objectified traditional lore,” or “revisionism.” If you ever wanted to be entertained, just get together three individuals who are die-hard adherents of these three different perspectives, introduce them to a strategic point of disagreement, and then let the fur fly. This could be a different way of fostering a kind of pagan “fight club.” Now that I have revealed these three perspectives, let me discuss them in detail so you will know  exactly what I am referring to by using these three terms.

Traditional Lore: This is a perspective that consists entirely of esoteric knowledge, occult liturgies, magickal or mystical rites and subjective or experiential commentaries. The only way that an individual can acquire this knowledge is to be indoctrinated or initiated into a very specific tradition, and then incrementally taught various “inside” lore, usually by a teacher or elder. All of the information included within an occult tradition is kept strictly confidential and is warded by oaths of secrecy, even if much of it is already known to the public in books and web-based files. What is important is the context of the information and the personal experiences associated with the techniques and methods taught.

Along with this knowledge and methodology is a historical narrative and an ontology, or world-view, and definitions of what could be called a “true reality.” This world view would contain a mixture of actual history, myth and allegory that is blended together to create an apparent seamless “quilt-work” reality. The context for that world-view is steeped in the lore and the personal experiences of the rites, practices and liturgies of that organization. Any examination of that lore outside of the tradition would violate the context, and render it to be less profound and meaningful than it otherwise might be. It can also make elements of that lore seem ridiculous or even completely mythical, since many traditional occult systems rely on a world-view whose foundation is on the “mind before matter” model.

Groups who espouse traditional lore are numerous, but represent the older occult organizations, such as quasi Masonic occult groups (Golden Dawn, O.T.O., etc.), various Theosophical groups and their associated off-shoot organizations, Eastern mystical traditions transplanted in the West, and even more recent groups, such as Gardnerian and Alexandrian witchcraft. Individuals who are members of such an organization would espouse a world-view and a system of occult beliefs that would be occluded by oaths of secrecy and confidentiality, and they would be highly dependent on a dense context of foundational practices and beliefs. Traditionalists would appear to have a mythical perspective of history and reality to an outsider, even though their perspectives are completely rational and objective when considered through the context of their tradition. Individuals who belong to a tradition are unable to completely justify their beliefs and practices to outsiders because they are unable to reveal the full context and justification for their beliefs. Instead, they often delight in being evasive or mysterious, much to the frustration of others who are outside of that tradition.

Reconstructionism: This is a perspective that is more recent (1990's) but has been building quite an extensive following. Reconstructionism is a methodology that relies heavily on academic writings and research to build a system of beliefs and practices based on a tradition that is either completely extinct or that exists in a very truncated form. This methodology was initially pushed by Northern European and British (Anglo Saxon) Heathenism, Nordic Asatru and Druidism. Now, some twenty years later, reconstructionism has been greatly expanded to include many other renewed pagan traditions, such as Greek, Roman, Slavic, Egyptian, Jewish, Mesopotamian (Akkadian and Sumerian), Native American, and numerous others. Because in many cases the traditional lore has been lost, adherents must rely on academic findings (archeological sites), older ethnographic studies, examination of artifacts, and where possible, written texts and fragments of rites and beliefs. Reconstructionism relies on the most current and up-to-date academic information, and when that information is adjusted or new information becomes available, then the reconstructionists have to adjust their tradition accordingly. So, a reconstructionist is someone who is building and adapting their tradition, using intuition and creative insight when there is a lack of useful or credible information.

A reconstructionist can take a very purist perspective and seek to carefully ensure that their built up tradition is closely based on academic information. Those who are less careful or who create something completely contrived have found their practices and beliefs severely questioned and even rejected by others who are more carefully following that tradition. Thus, reconstructionists will take a very scientific and academic bias and approach to their beliefs and practices. A reconstructionist would therefore find the practices and beliefs of a traditionalist to be at the very least, unwarranted, and at the worst, utter nonsense. This is because a reconstructionist relies heavily on academic information, and everything must be either verifiable, or at the very least, plausible.

What I have found is that reconstructionism has been able to reproduce pagan traditions that are very rational, acceptable and accessible to the average person. There are no secrets or oath bound beliefs and practices, since everything has its source in publically available information. What mysteries do exist in this world-view are based on the experiences of the individual or group who are able to bring an ancient tradition alive so that it can be shared with others. There are often two kinds of adherents in a reconstructed tradition - the creative tradition builder, path maker and pioneer, and the individual who takes this reconstruction and gives it a renewed life within the community. Both of these individuals are important for the successful reconstruction of an antique tradition, but sometimes the creative reconstructionist wears both hats.

As you can see, a traditionalist and a reconstructionist could have a serious problem in understanding each other. Reconstructionists require their lore to be validated by academia or at least shown to be plausible, while a traditionalist must accept most of what they are given by their elders and teachers, even if those beliefs and practices are contradicted by academics.

However, a third perspective can also occur, and that is where a traditionalist begins to validate and augment their lore by researching academic or scientific information - such a one is called a revisionist. This can cause the tradition and its lore to be adjusted, made objective and  more accessible to outside individuals. Often the very beginning of this process is started when someone within a tradition publishes its beliefs and practices, becoming a kind of oath breaker. Some have accused Aleister Crowley or Israel Regardie of being oath breakers with the Golden Dawn tradition, and others have accused Lady Sheba, Alex Sanders, Janet and Stewart Farrar of being oath breakers. Whatever you think of these individuals (and so many others), they have caused the secret lore of a tradition to become preserved for posterity, thus making it more accessible to outsiders, who, in their turn, have used parts of it to build new traditions and practices.

Other members of traditions have used their inside knowledge to gain access to other traditions or obscure academic information so as to more fully develop their own tradition, and then passing that amended lore on to their initiated progeny. Sometimes, the need to develop a hybrid tradition is caused by the fact that the original tradition was incomplete or lacking in a strategic area. This is true of both the Golden Dawn and British Traditional Witchcraft, where many hybrids and derivations have occurred, all of which were incited by the lack of a comprehensive traditional lore. In other cases, some individuals have found that the mythical and allegorical quality of the lore needs to be validated and made more rational through the inclusion and adjustment of academic and scientific information.

Those espousing a traditional occult perspective can either believe that their tradition, in whatever form it exists, must be preserved at all costs, or they can be less conservative, allowing their tradition to be augmented, adjusted and even changed when deemed necessary. Those who are comfortable with a hybridization of their tradition would undoubtedly find themselves in a difficult situation when confronted by a member of their same tradition who was against any form of revisionism. I have seen this kind of dispute rage between adherents of my own Alexandrian witchcraft tradition for days on the “Lexie” e-list, without any kind of resolution, other than the tacit admittance that there are different initiatory lines who do things differently. Some have expressed themselves as indignant protectors of the faith, while others (such as myself) are much more pragmatic.

Correspondingly, a revisionist and a reconstructionist would likely be able to agree on a number topical areas, but at some point, the revisionist would take a stand on some point of traditional lore, and the reconstructionist would not be able to understand why, especially if that bit of lore was contradicted by academia or by science. Conversely, a revisionist could have adopted some practice or lore that can’t be validated, which would then have to be rejected by the reconstructionist. However, if you got a revisionist, a reconstructionist and a hide-bound traditionalist together in a room, and their respective beliefs and practices were analogous, it wouldn’t take much to set off an emotionally heated argument. It could also produce a very enlightening exchange as well, if the individuals involved were willing to respect each others viewpoint. Most of time such an exchange produces a train wreck with a lot of hurt feelings, confusion and misunderstanding.

I believe that one way that such a conflict can be avoided is for individuals to state their perspective in a general manner first before engaging in a heated exchange. If someone tells their fellow occultists that he or she is a strict adherent of British Traditional Witchcraft, then everyone else should realize the scope and nature of the conversation. Those who are involved in a Saxon Heathen reconstruction won’t ridicule some outward belief and practice (that is not oath bound) or require the witch to validate his or her stated beliefs with some kind of academic authority. Likewise, a more lax adherent of a witchcraft tradition who has derived a hybrid system won’t snipe at the traditionalist for continuing to hold certain beliefs and practices, which he or she has abandoned. The traditionalist will understand that the other two require more outside validation than he or she, and is less comfortable with just accepting lore because it has a pedigree.

If the three of these individuals can find a common ground and focus on the fact that they are all modern pagans, then their exchange may be quite illuminating for everyone involved. This is my hope, of course, and why I believe that it’s important for individuals to understand and know where they fit in as regards to traditionalism, revisionism and reconstructionism. All three perspectives are valid and important, and they all produce an authentic experience of magick and the mysteries within a modern pagan world definition.

The bottom line is that we who practice some form of paganism in the western world are a small exclusive minority. We may differ strategically in how we worship and practice our rites, but we are all part of the same general family of religions. Therefore, we should work a little harder to respect and accept each others perspective and at the very least seek to realize that there are three different perspectives - the traditionalist, the revisionist and the reconstructionist.

As Rodney King said so many years ago, “Can’t we all just get along?”

Frater Barrabbas

Spring Magickal Workings and Other Things

Conan the Barbarian fighting the Frost Giants

Ides of March have come, but outside the world is still locked in the frigid embrace of the frost giants, who have ruled this long winter with a cruel disdain for any human creature comforts. While the snows of December and January seemed proper and picturesque, they are unwelcome and tedious now in March. More snow is on the horizon, as we who live in the Northern Midwest continue to endure a very arduous ordeal of cold, ice, snow and a lack of the solar blessings of warm and balmy breezes. Yet, even as it seems like the middle of winter outside, I know that this time of darkness and frigid weather will pass, to be replaced by warmer weather, the melting of the snow and ice, and the return of leaves, flowers and all of the outdoor wildlife represented by the growing season. Each sunny day grows brighter and warmer, melting some of the ice and snow. Yet my soul will certainly rejoice when I hear the sweet sounds of the “Spring Peepers,” the first indication that life has returned to the barren winter landscape. They usually are heard in the second or third week of April, around the time that I will be starting to complete the Abramelin Lunar Ordeal.  

Now that I have gotten the last ritual in the Abramelin Lunar Ordeal completed, I can plan for the final set of workings that will aid me in finally completing this ordeal. I started this working in November 2009, and completed the first phase at the last days of December of that year. Throughout the year of 2010, I have experienced a series of remarkable events, all of which appear to have built up to this final magickal conclusion. How odd that I have worked this ordeal for many months and experienced all of its intense phenomena at various strategic times, and now in April and May of this year I will perform the final rites in this series. This mystical and magickal journey has taken me nearly eighteen months, from beginning to end, which ironically is the same duration of the German version of the original Abramelin ordeal.

As I think and meditate on what I have experienced during the last eighteen months, I am amazed at all that has occurred to me. Certainly, I have opened doors that were not even conceivable to me. For instance, I now know that I am not alone on my spiritual and magickal quest, having received more than qualitative hints that there are individuals who know vastly more about the occult and ritual magick than I. So amidst hints and dreams of the promise of the mysterious masters (those remarkable mortal men and women), the acquisition of new knowledge, and the materialization and revelation of new friends and important contacts, I have started this year with a tremendous amount of anticipation and excitement. There are many projects that I will seek to apply some final efforts so as to realize their total fruition, and I am looking forward to their completion.

Dates for the concluding Abramelin Lunar Ordeal have been set for the full moon of April (April 16th and 17th) and just before the full moon of May (May 14th and 15th). The weekend of the full moon in April will be when I’ll perform the Ogdoadic Godhead Vortex Ritual and the Triple Tetrahedral Gate Ritual, then the next day following with the Stellar Gnostic version of the Bornless One Invocation rite. That will re-active all of the components of this ordeal that have been previously established in the workings of December of 2009. The weekend of the near full moon in May will be where I will complete the Abramelin Lunar ordeal, first with the Alchemical Hierogamy Rite of Union, and then on the following evening, the Bornless One - Rite of Envisioning. The moon will be waxing, gibbous and will have entered into the sign of Scorpio by the last night, which will be a most auspicious sign for the final rite. That final rite has been delayed all of these months, but in May, it will be finally completed.

It is my assumption that with the conclusion of this ordeal, the various powers, authorities and prerogatives of the Bornless One will be completely mine to command. I will have envisioned my higher spiritual purpose and know the ultimate meaning of my life. The magickal squares that I have chosen from the Book of Abramelin will be fully charged and activated, and I will begin to wield specific magickal spells to achieve my long term goals.    

I am planning, after this month of March, to begin some other magickal workings, research and writing. The reason why I will be starting after March is because I will have to pull together two workshops that I will be giving at Pagancon in the Twin Cities. For those who might not know about it, Pagancon is going to be held on the weekend of March 24, 25 and 26th.  I suspect that the coordinators are attempting to create a convention that will become the Midwest version of Pantheacon. I plan on being there for most of that weekend, so if you happen to live in the area, please come by and be welcomed at my classes, and while you are there, join in the other venues. I will talk more about this event in the next week or so. Needless to say, I am looking forward to it.

Some other workings that I would like to attempt would be to perform some invocations and evocation of a selection of the angles of the Shem ha-Mephorash and Daemons of the Goetia, which I would see as tying into the completion of the Abramelin Lunar ordeal. I would also like to incorporate the spirits of the Goetia Theurgia into a comprehensive system of evocation magick. In order to do this, I will need to tap into the mythic themes and underlying symbolic attributes of these spirits, probably by invoking one of the hierarchical leaders or princes, who I would seek to aid me in this project. Building a system of accessing the spirits of the Goetia Theurgia would represent the final piece of my project to present a comprehensive system of invocation and evocation for the entire spectrum of angelic and daemonic spirits in the hierarchy as I have determined it. This would also include a completed system for the Grimoire of Armadel, which I would also seek to distribute in some fashion or another.

So there is a lot on my plate for this entire year, which also includes more mundane things such as my career, family, friends and my ever important relationship with my lady. I look forward to these tasks and events with a great degree of optimism and joy. I find that I truly relish my time spent with friends, since my social life has been highly attenuated by the fact that I live so far away from the city and have so much to accomplish every day.

On another note, my newly made friend Robert, of the blog Doing Magic fame, has responded to a conversation that I had with him at Pantheacon, where I questioned him about his reports and experiences with what he calls his “Helpful Deity.” You can find the link to his blog article here. Since his descriptions and interactions with the entity have been quite suitably vague, I decided that I would question him about this spirit, since we were socializing, and engaged in face to face communication. I started my questioning by asking him if the Helpful Deity was just an aspect of himself (higher self) or a distinct deity. Thus my question began by seeking some clarifying insight. I wanted to know if the HD was completely internal (part of himself) or external (a distinct deity).

This prompted Robert to write up a blog article posing whether the HD is internal or external and by expansion, the nature and experience of spirits as a whole, which wasn’t quite what I asked. He went on to say that in his experiences, spiritual entities are both internal (subjective) experiences as well as external phenomenon that can be (objectively) experienced by others. Of course I would have to agree with him, but unfortunately that wasn’t quite the point that I was trying to make when I was questioning him. Robert did indicate to me that the HD has a distinct and specific name, as well as a mythology and lots of known attributes, but that he had not wanted to share that name in his blog, so he called it the Helpful Deity. I now know the name of the entity, but I will be discreet and not reveal it to my readers. I figure that it’s none of my business, and if Robert wants to reveal that personal bit of lore to his readers, he can do so at a time of his own choosing.

A few other controversies are raging on the web world of blogs, and I would like to mention a few comments on each.

First, it appears that the members of the second (inner) order of Robert Zink’s Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn have almost unanimously expelled him as their chief, posting a consensus based announcement as such in the blogosphere. This has been much discussed by various Golden Dawn factions, and it appears that Robert Zink has replied, although not very forcefully, saying essentially that as chief of his order, he can’t be expelled by subordinate members of that same order. Unfortunately, I would have to agree with him. The Golden Dawn, in most of its variations, is not a democratic institution, but a hierarchical organization where the top post is held by a chief (or chiefs), until he or she either retires, quits, or dies. It would be assumed in such a situation that a new chief would be named, often by the previous chief. The GD in most cases doesn’t either elicit or act on the advice of its members, even if the greater majority seek a certain direction or end, unless, of course, the actual leadership decides to do so.

Therefore, the second order members of Robert Zink’s EOGD can’t expel him or choose a new chief - it’s just not written into their bylaws, which all of them agreed to when they joined. All they can do is leave the EOGD and form a new organization, hopefully, one that won’t be modeled on any kind of autocracy. This kind of tragic situation can also be repeatedly found in pagan groups and Wiccan covens, where the leader or leaders hold a kind of absolute power over their members. In such a situation, the only recourse that a member has is to quit and found another group or work as a solitaire practitioner. None of these groups function as a democracy and they often eschew any kind of consensus. I also know that there are groups and organizations in the pagan and witchcraft world that don’t function in this manner, but the enlightenment of democracy is still spreading slowly to the rest.

What all of this brings to my mind is how important it is to establish groups and organizations based on democratic principles and consensus. We are mature adults living in the post modern era, so being a member of a group that functions as a rigorous hierarchical autocracy should probably be seen as a strange, insidious and anomalous atavism. I don’t know about you, but I, for one, wouldn’t ever join a group unless my opinions and thoughts about various internal issues were at the very least heard, if not brought into a consensus with the other members and the ruling polity. I really despise all forms of tyranny, especially those that are enforced within so-called occult spiritual and magickal organizations. The purpose of belonging to a magickal or spiritual group is mutual support, objectivity, peer review and the encouragement of transcendence and conscious evolution. So how can one engage in these activities if they are tyrannized and kept in ignorant bondage by some flawed and superficial leader? That’s the ten million dollar question!

A group that is democratic and ruled by consensus is, in my opinion, far more powerful and cohesive than one that is an autocracy, because everyone in the group feels empowered and an important part of the whole group. Such a group, as I have stated in this blog more than once, is called a Star Group, and it is much more representative of how a group should be organized and conducted in the 21st century. I believe that occult groups, temples and other organizations should be completely democratic, and if they are smaller intimate groups, they should also be egalitarian and ruled solely through consensus. Authority should be vested in the group and never in one single individual.

A Star Group avoids all of the terrible excesses of spiritual and magickal tyranny that seem to plague other types of groups or organizations. So, I guess that what is problematic about the EOGD, or other analogous groups, is that they are not run as democracies. Hierarchical organizations that are run by a single individual or an elite clique that doesn’t have any accountability, or checks or balances on that authority, are doomed to the natural corruption inherent in human nature. Even a supposed benign dictator in such a group is still a tyrant and will have to be overcome, often by one’s own feet through leaving that group, in order to facilitate actual spiritual and magickal growth.

I wish the second and inner order members of the EOGD, who have thus rebelled against their chief, good luck and good fortune as they seek to build a new consensus and a new organization. I hope that they have learned a valuable lesson from their experience and will decide to form a new organization that is democratic and ruled by consensus, instead of just choosing a new chief or a ruling clique, which will do nothing more than just start the whole mindless process all over again.

Another issue being hotly discussed in the blogosphere is the tragic event that happened at the recent Pantheacon, where some trans-gendered women were excluded from a women’s only mystery working involving the deity Lilith. There have been some rather passionate and hurtful arguments going around (and very some sober reevaluations), and the fact that I am a male might actually exclude me from even having an opinion. What I do feel is that a convention like Pantheacon should be open to all pagans and witches (or those who are sympathetic), and should exclude none. Is it a proper venue for an exclusive ritual, lecture or workshop? That question is for the Pantheacon staff to decide, who very likely seek to accommodate their fellow pagans, within reason, of course. However, to exclude trans-gendered women from a women-only rite is probably over the top, since the gathering is open to the public who are willing to pay the entry fee. If a mystery is to be presented that is so exclusive that it must exclude trans-gendered women because they are supposedly “not born women, but made so through surgery,” then I think another venue should be chosen for that same rite.

The purpose for Pantheacon is to bring all of the various pagans together into some kind of harmonious accord, not to create boundaries and exclude individuals. I can somewhat see the value of having mystery rites exclusive for certain groups, however, short of making individuals strip or somehow prove themselves as valid participants, I believe that by their will and mutual acceptance, they should be allowed to experience the mystery. Acceptance and inclusion overrules creating hurtful boundaries that cut across vague and shadowy demarcations of gender, sexual affiliation and ethnicity that affect us all, especially at a public venue like Pantheacon.

Finally, there is still more discussion going on over the great energy debate, and I think that both the Scribbler (at Magian Rumination) and Jason Miller (at Strategic Sorcery) have brought up very useful points in its defense. The first point is that the heart appears to be an incredible  source of quantifiable energy, and the second point has brought up eastern systems of healing where that healing methodology is explained by the occurrence of chi acting in the nervous system. I think that both of these articles are excellent, especially the one about the power of the heart, so I would highly recommend that you look them over here, and here. It would seem, based on these two articles, that there seems to be some kind of energy operating in these various healing techniques and the scientific examination of the greater function of the heart, and so maybe it’s not just a metaphor as some would think.

Still, it may also require a considerable advancement in science (quantum biology?) to pull all of these threads together and make overall sense of them. However, the power of the mind to conceptualize through models and function as if they were concrete facts (even when they are not) can’t be dismissed either. This brings us to the kind of vague and unsatisfying conclusion where the concept of “spiritual energy” must have a provisional definition of potentiality being a kind of energy not yet known or quantified by science, but it can also be seen as a metaphor for something that is either partially or wholly within the framework of the mind. Either perspective must also perceive the mind as being a far more powerful mechanism than previously thought.

We should also be reminded that there are two ways of looking at reality; using either the mind before matter model or the matter before mind model. Depending on which model is used will produce a very different perspective in regards to life and the boundaries of objective and subjective reality.     

Frater Barrabbas

Abramelin Lunar Ordeal - Final Ritual Completed

As I may have stated previously, I have completed the final ritual in the suite of rituals used to perform the Abramelin Lunar Ordeal. This rite was the one that has eluded me for some time, and only by receiving hints from the spirits themselves have I been able to figure out how to write this ritual. Now what remains to be done is to determine how to pick up the thread from last winter and move forward with it. I may need to re-perform a few of the rituals, and most definitely, performing the Bornless One invocation rite will be a necessary component as well. To give you an idea of how this new ritual works and its overall purpose, I decided to include the introduction to this ritual, which is called the Alchemical Hierogamy Rite of Union.

The Alchemical Hierogamy Rite of Union is the culmination of the series of rituals that make up the Abramelin Lunar Ordeal, representing the point in that ordeal where all of the elements of this working are brought into perfect and harmonious completion. The mythic theme and structure for this ritual is based upon the critical Rosicrucian document, the Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosenkruetz. Many have puzzled over this simple seven part allegory, and its simplicity belies a deep and powerful mystery that is still relevant today, even though it was first written supposedly in 1604 C.E. Still, I was fortunate in having in my library a copy of the book with a new translation by Joscelyn Godwin and a powerful commentary written by Adam McLean. It is due to Mr. McLean’s brilliant commentary that the allegory was reducible to a format that allowed it to be incorporated into this ritual. The sevenfold pattern of the allegory is analogous to the sevenfold stages of the alchemical Magnum Opus, which it was meant to illuminate as well as obfuscate.

As an historical note to this entire ordeal and its presentation, this last ritual entirely eluded me when I assembled the rituals for the Abramelin Lunar Ordeal together back in 2009. I knew that some kind of ritual marriage or union was required, but exactly how to do this was completely opaque to me. Even so, I took what rituals I had and went ahead and performed them, with the exception of the Bornless Envisioning Rite and the Assumption of Great Powers. By undergoing that ordeal in the late autumn and early winter of 2009, I was able to put into motion a process of spiritual ascension that has produced many amazing things. Still, I was not able to conclude the ordeal because I was missing the last and essential ritual. A goddess (Godhead of Water) was revealed to me in that working, as well as an image of myself as a young ageless youth (my bornless or higher self), but what I required was a method to join them together into a synthesis where they could be reborn as a singular unified expression living as my innate conscious being. Many months passed, and only a year later from the time that I began the ordeal, did the meaning and purpose of the final rite become revealed. It came in fragments, and then in whole pieces as I carefully read, studied and meditated on the translation and the commentary on the Chemical Wedding, which had been the very first clue.

The key to this mystery is that the Chemical Wedding is not really a wedding as we would understand it. It is more like an allegory of death (a voluntary execution) and an alchemical rebirth of a young King and Queen. In the process, their substances are fully commingled and jointly undergo the redemptive and creative process of complete alchemical rebirth, where their new forms are of the highest and purest nature - or Spirit residing/incarnating in nature. A traditional wedding is wholly absent from this allegory, and so is any kind of Christian symbology or allegorical tropes. The story is one that is completely alchemical and philosophical, but it hides a powerful mystery that is timeless and critical to understanding the higher processes of spiritual union.

Therefore, with this final ritual functioning as the most important keystone, I will be able to complete this ordeal and proceed from that point forward, having acquired the powerful forces freed and unleashed for all time within my spirit and being. I look forward to writing the accounts of this final working in my journal and noting the final combination of operations, which will include the Bornless Envisioning rite and the Assumption of Great Powers.

This ritual working consists of a four part layer of ritual structures that represent the Magick Castle of Mysteries, the Descending Tetrahedral Gateway or Underworld Tower of Transformation, the Inner Domain of the Crossroads and inner circle, which denotes where the core of the mystery is revealed, and then finally, the Ascending Tetrahedral Gateway or Tower of Resurrection. The central or core mystery is a simple three-way handfasting between the three elements revealed in the Abramelin Ordeal - the archetypal feminine, the archetypical masculine, and the magician, locked together in space and time. The elements of the ring, magick mirror, and the vestments of glory are blessed, empowered and sacralized so that they may be used by the high adept to represent the union of Spirit, Mind and Body - the Thricefold Initiation.
                                       
The rite is begun with a powerful introit, where the celebrant contemplates the invitation to the Alchemical Wedding of the Deity and Higher Self, these are depicted as representing polarities, the Divine King and Queen. After a suitable period of meditation, the celebrant indicates that he truly wills himself to proceed with the mystery, knowing that to do so is to incur a transformation that cannot be reversed or taken for granted.

The Magick Castle of the Mysteries is a ritual structure that consists of the four watchtowers being set with proper formulas and the device of the Rose Cross. The center of the circle is set with an inverted Rose Ankh, representing the Orb of Dominion, and with the four Rose Crosses, this construct represents the seat of the divine royalty, or Sangreal. These five structures form the outer castle structure where the outer mysteries are revealed.

There are a number of correspondences that can be used at these five points, most notable are the five classical stages in Alchemy (which predated the seven used in this rite). However, the theme of this outer vehicle is encapsulated in the formula that is used to spell the word CRUOR, which means “blood” in Latin. The castle of the mysteries is the divine Regnum, which exists everywhere but cannot be perceived except by the wise and the elect. The five-fold castle structure, which is determined by the operation of squaring the circle, represents the five qualities of the Castle depicted in the Chemical Wedding. It consists of the outer gates and antechamber, the dining hall, the garden, library (room of the great globe), and the hall of the wedding. Omitted is the hall of the Sun (where the play within a play is enacted), and the secret treasury, where the tomb of the sleeping Venus lies. This last item is alluded to in the outer rite. The magick castle could easily be seen as an analogue for the mythic Grail Castle.
     
The Descending Tetrahedral Gateway, or Tower of Trasformation, is the first of the Tetrahedral gateway structures that leads the celebrant into the underworld core of the mysteries. The descent represents the first three steps of the alchemical process - calcination, dissolution and separation. All three of these steps represent the reducing of the prima materia into its more elementary forms - symbolizing the death and reduction of the young King and Queen in the chemical wedding. The three formula letters/Tarot Cards are the Hermit (Atu IX - Yod), the Hanged Man (Atu XII - Mim) and Death (Atu XIII - Nun).

The central mystery chamber, which is the third structure, is derived from the combination of the erection of the four cross roads with a central inner circle. The theme of the mystery chamber is found in the Tarot card the Lovers (Atu VI - Zain). This is where the chemical wedding, or joining of the physical substances of the sacrificed King and Queen are combined together to form the synthesis of the material out of which they shall be reborn and resurrected. The inner mystery is also a simple wedding ceremony or “handfasting” between the Godhead aspect, the representative of one’s Higher Self, and the celebrant. It would be assumed that this mystery would be slightly different for each individual, and may involve a God aspect, instead of Goddess (as I have personally experienced it). The alchemical stage of conjunction is depicted at this point of the rite.

The fourth ritual structure is the Ascending Tetrahedral Gateway, or Tower of Resurrection. It is the second and final tetrahedral structure that leads the celebrant out of the mystery chamber and into the light of the day. This is the evolutionary arc and uses the final three stages of alchemy, which is fermentation, distillation and coagulation. All three of these steps represent the regeneration and reconstitution of the prima materia into its final formulation, the Great Work of the Philosopher’s Stone and the Universal Medicine. The formula letters/Tarot cards are Aion - Last Judgement (Atu XX - Shin), Art (Atu XIV - Samek) and the Star/Fisher King (Atu IV - Tzadi).

The circuit of seven alchemical steps represents the completion of the Great Work and the fusion of the three elements of the self into a three-fold initiatory mastery of one’s self and Spirit. Once this operation is complete and stabilized over a period of one lunar cycle, then the final rite, known as the Envisioning, can be done to completion.

The barbarous words of evocation used in the Castle of the Mysteries ritual structure are taken from the Greek Magical Papyri in Translation, section PGM-V, 1 - 53, which is the spell for the Oracle of Serapis.

Frater Barrabbas

Evocation - Purists vs. Modern Eclecticism

The virus that I am!

Someone recently left a rather tart comment on one of my old articles, raking me over the coals for blindly accepting that the “modern masonic, postmesmeric [sic] and eastern methods are better to work the Art of Ceremonial Evocation[,] which is exclusive to European midde-ages [sic] and reinessaince [sic] magic.” The article in question can be found here, where I concluded with my full analysis and examination of Joseph Lisiewski’s book. I know what you’re thinking, that the article in question was posted way back in June of last year. Anyone who would have commented one way or the other had already posted their opinion months ago - so this is really old news.

What caught my attention, besides the fact that this individual has problems with spelling and punctuation, is that I have been accused by him or her of using a modern Masonic methodology with an inclusion of Eastern methods in my techniques adapted for spirit invocation and evocation. I suspect that what he or she is referring to by “Masonic” is the Golden Dawn, and Eastern or “post Mesmeric” methods would be meditation, such as Asana, Mantram, Prana-yama, and Yantra yogic techniques. Of course, contemplation and trance techniques could be considered Western, and these are also espoused and used by me. I guess I would have to say “guilty as charged,” except for the fact that my use of these various systems is more of an appropriation and an adaptation rather than a wholesale use within their indigenous contexts. 

My rituals, if examined carefully, look like a fusion of Golden Dawn structures with a definite Wiccan perspective. (Some have even said that my magick stinks of witchcraft.) Eastern techniques, which are used for mind control and altered states of consciousness, employ methods that are obviously from the disciplines of Yoga. Of course, this makes me no different than a large population of other ceremonial and ritual magicians. I am, indeed, in good company! The fact that I also use techniques supposedly invented by Franz Bardon doesn’t get me off the hook either, because some folks could smear him with the same accusatory brush of being infected with an Eastern prejudice.

I guess you could say that I use these techniques because I have no desire to live like a monk in order to be able to perform invocation and evocation. Something else that the commentator forgot to consider is that I am not in any way, shape or form, a Christian occultist or Esoteric Christian practitioner. I am a pagan and a witch, nothing more or less, so that might exclude me from adhering to any of the Abrahamic practices associated with the old grimoires. I have the gall to think that any such rules or requirements don’t apply to me, and I suspect that they don’t apply to many others, either.

My critic goes on to state: “I’m not even going to waste my time to prove you [are] wrong, but this is hilarious. I hope that some day magical modernism will be defeated, before it corrupts Western Magic to death.” Of course, anyone who says that they won’t waste their time trying to prove me wrong is probably defending a position that is indefensible, but at least my conclusions were a source of mirth for him or her. If nothing else, my words were taken with humor and laughter by this reader.  (After all, I do try to be funny from time to time.) Still, he or she opined about the supposed evils of “modernism” corrupting the purity of Western Magic - to its utter demise.

Now it’s my turn to laugh! I hate to tell this fervent follower of the “old” ways, but Western Magick has been polluted with a lot of various hybridizations, multiple wholesale expropriating and borrowing from other systems and cultures, and a kind of modernist adaptation, which has been going on since the late 19th century! Where has this individual been hiding all of these years, in complete cultural isolation perhaps? Maybe he or she lives in a cave somewhere like some Trappist monk, and only recently got access to the internet. Yet I doubt that to be the case, since Catholic educators are known to be quite rigorous, and one of the indelible marks on their students is their innate ability to spell and write properly - not to mention thinking in a logical and coherent fashion.

So what we have here is someone who believes strongly that the “old” ways and techniques of working ceremonial magick are the only true ways, and that everything else is an evil aberration that is destroying the practice and tradition of magick, besmirching it with the stench and horrible taint of modernism. My, oh my, most of the magickal practitioners I know are so screwed, and they don’t even know it! This is the argument of the blue blood purist versus the evil eclectic - that’s me, folks. I am the primary cause of the fall of the High Art of ritual and ceremonial magick, and my ideas and practices would be laughable if they weren’t so perniciously attractive to others. I am like a virus, a disease of modernity! I should be wiped off the face of the planet before I spread my evil vapors everywhere. Although, come to think of it, I am not alone in this apostasy, there are so many of us. DOOM!!

Let’s deal with the purist perspective right here and now. First of all, I have no problem with anyone who takes a reconstructionist perspective in their practice of ritual or ceremonial magick. Some of my best friends are reconstructionists, and I am respectful and supportive of their work, as I am with anyone who is a true practitioner of magick. My single issue with reconstruction, however, is that it’s probably incapable of replicating a system of belief and practice that is holistically congruent with some past epoch. The further back you go in time, the less complete is the historical picture. To practice ceremonial magick as it was practiced, let’s say, back in the 16th century would require a veritable mountain of historical research, and the ability to surround oneself with all of the cultural accouterments of that time - a daunting proposition.

If one is electing to practice magick like John Dee in the late 16th century, then the entire belief system that John Dee espoused would have to be completely inculcated so that it represented a seamless and holistic world view. One would have to completely reject all modern inventions, perspectives, beliefs, as well as material comforts in order to completely model the mindset of a Renaissance man. I suspect that such an effort would fall short, and there would obviously be a lot of gaps in what constituted the mindset and worldview of an individual living in that time. What I am proposing here is a perfect model of a reconstruction of the English Renaissance perspective. It would require completely forgetting anything that might either abrogate or modify even in the slightest manner the entire basis of one’s religious faith. I suspect that such an attempt would be ludicrous and not very useful.

How about if we ratchet our model back somewhat in order to craft a worldview and a methodology that would have been more like what a Renaissance man might have been if that culture and time were modernized somewhat, so that one could at least consider it a purist’s perspective untainted by the evils of modernity. That leads us to thoughts about how to revive a worldview that is long since dead. Perhaps a monastic lifestyle would help, such as being partially sequestered, saying the Holy Office eight times a day, attending daily Mass, engaging in confession, penance and good works. One would also consider periodic fasting, abstaining from sexual intercourse with one’s lawful wife, or perhaps even being completely celibate. Long periods of prayer, meditation and contemplation, performing ablutions of various types and reading the scriptures would occupy the first stage of the five stages of classical evocation (i.e., consecratio). It doesn’t seem like there would be much time for building a career, but then just some good ol’ back breaking labor as a regular regimen of penance should suffice - along with wearing a “hair” undershirt. One should also avoid worldly temptations, so that would rule out theaters, television, magazines, newspapers, computers, and any books that were not sanctioned by the church. Daily penance could include flagellation, minor mortifications of the flesh or other forms of self punishment. It would be a very pious, sectarian, narrow, boring, masochistic and self-deprivating existence - one that only the unimaginative fanatic would enjoy. I, for one, wouldn’t ever choose such a life for myself, or anyone else, for that matter.

If we live in the modern world, then we can balance our spiritual and magickal lives with the requirements of living fully in that world. However, we can never emulate the piety of our ancestors of over four hundred years ago. Instead, we will need other tools to acquire the higher states of consciousness needed rather than just a regimen of prayer and religious practices. Whether one studies the Eastern systems of Yoga, or just learns to adapt the powers of breath and unwavering sight, the repetitious strains of affirmations and prayers intoned aloud, and not to mention adopting a seated posture that can endure long periods of this practice, they are one and the same.

As for the Masonic influences, considering that my rituals are based on pagan and Wiccan religious perspectives, and that the supposed Golden Dawn patterns have been completely overrun with highly complex structures and a reliance on prismatic energy patterns, I sincerely doubt that one could judge any of the rituals that I use as having been derived directly from Masonry. I may have invented a system of magick based on that which was given to me by my teachers and peers, one that mixed various systems and drew in many other sources as needed, but that is the way of the modern magician, in my humble opinion. No one really works magick as it was worked in the past, since we live in a modern world, we have adapted either an ancient tradition or built up a whole new perspective. Yet it becomes, as it is practiced by the modern magician, a new system without precedence. This is because we carry in ourselves all of the knowledge and experience of a modern existence, and there is nothing that we can do to change that. So instead of attempting to be a purist and condemning the synthesizing work of others, magicians should acknowledge that multiple applications of the practice of modern magick do and must occur.

Anyway, I have expounded a little on some of my thoughts about the opinions of this unknown individual. I not only reject his or her logic, but find it highly flawed and deeply ungenerous. Instead of just admitting that many folk practice magick differently, and that it’s OK (in fact it is a truly magnificent thing), this person has instead become so twisted that he or she has taken a very fundamentalist approach to ritual and ceremonial magick. That is a singular perspective which appears to completely confound the whole basis of the heterogeneous and syncretistic nature of the perennial philosophy, not to mention the practice of modern magick. As far as I am concerned, the person who has made these inelegant comments is both a narrow minded sectarian and a delusional practitioner of a dead end tradition. He or she has my deepest sympathy and pity. (We shall see if any more such brilliant comments are left behind, or if perhaps, it was nothing more than the periodic moaning of the winter wind.)

Frater Barrabbas

Pantheacon 2011 - Stregans, Remarkable Men and Women, and Low Magick

As you know, I was gone to Pantheacon the last few days, so that’s why there hasn’t been an article posted on this blog for that duration of time. I was also very busy at that event, so I didn’t get around to giving you a blow by blow report on what happened. So, now that I am still stuck here waiting for a late flight to get home, I thought that I would write up a report on how things went and what my experiences were like. There was a massive snow storm that shut down the Minneapolis airport for half a day on Monday, thus canceling my return flight. I had to scramble to get a replacement flight, and there wasn’t much to choose from. I will have to take a red-eye circuitous flight from San Jose, to Atlanta, then to Minneapolis, getting there Wednesday morning. Oddly, I will have flown in a triangle around the country during this entire trip.

Here are some notes that I wrote while the convention was underway.

The last affects of Pantheacon 2011 are winding down this Monday evening, and I thought that I would relate some of what I experienced while commingling with lots of strangely attired and pagan persona possessed people, including myself, of course. We descended on the few so called “normal” folks who were staying at the hotel for purely mundane reasons, and the hotel staff who expertly tolerated the crowds of unusual characters. It was fun, and it was informative - but more importantly, it met all of my expectations and exceeded them.

It would seem that Pantheacon is the kind of event that takes a few years for one to build up the kind of contacts and the social network necessary to make the con an event that is highly enjoyable and filled with the interaction of friendly and interesting folk. At least, this is true for me, an old cantankerous and dodgy sorcerer from the Midwest. It takes me a while to get to know people, and for people to get to know me - a veritable sign of the waning years of middle age. I am definitely not plugged in and hip as my much younger counter parts in the pagan world, so I stumble and creep along like some aged dinosaur, but I eventually get to where I want to go.

Anyway, as you know, I was stuck with the necessity of performing both of my presentations on Friday, which was a bit of a bother, but it turned out to be quite fortuitous. That meant that Friday was pretty much taken up with preparing for and giving the two lectures. Both were newly made and first-time presentations, but they consisted of material that I knew very well.
               
The first lecture was on the Decan Faces, a topic that is near and dear to my heart, and it went off pretty well. There was a bit too much information in the lecture notes, and it will require some tweaks to get it to a state where I will feel contented with it’s final form. This is a typical sentiment for me, being the avowed perfectionist when it suits me. One odd note was that all of the doors for the lecture rooms were locked and I had to get someone to open up the doors, and then the room wasn’t set up properly for the lecture. I guess someone thought that attendees needed their own tables to work on whatever was to be “constructed” for the workshop. My first lecture was moderately attended, and the feedback that I got was quite positive.

Later in the day I assembled my materials and went to give my second lecture, which was on Lunar Magick. Where the previous lecture was moderately attended, this lecture had more attendees than chairs, and soon the room temperature got up to the mid 80's, which was quite uncomfortable for some. This lecture was delivered adequately, although there was a bit of a problem with the end. I will probably go over the last section in the near future and iron it out, perhaps doing a bit of reorganizing. The attendees didn’t notice any of these minor issues, and the lecture was perceived as useful and successful. Some people later thanked me for this lecture and told me how significant it was. The most important point in the lecture is that using the Lunation cycle requires the witch or pagan to break their workings up into multiple sessions, so as to take better advantage of the changing lunar energy. I had stated in the beginning that I wasn’t an astrologer, and one of the questions that I took at the end was about the nodes of the Moon, which was off topic and a bit obscure for me. Thankfully, an astrologer was attending the lecture, a very learned man named Jim Schultz, who was able to answer that and a couple of other astrological questions - many thanks to him.

I also met and was introduced to Robert, the writer and owner of the “Doing Magick” blog. He was friendly and engaging, and we had some interesting conversations later on. I must admit that I was surprised at how he looked and expressed himself, all done in a down to earth and kindly manner, I guess you could say that I imagined that he would look and behave quite differently, based on the persona that I sense is projected in his writings. The reading imagination is an interesting tool when no real life imagery is supplied.

Another person that I spent a bit of time with was Ivo Dominguez Jr., who I found to be quite affable, friendly, and very humorous. Ivo is a very quiet, self disciplined and down to earth individual, but his wit and observation of human folly is quite insightful and enjoyable. Ivo is also very generous and socially accessible. I would have liked to have spent more time talking with him, but the reality of Pantheacon is unlimited distractions set within a very short time line. There were other old friends to meet and new friends to make.

One old friend that I truly enjoyed meeting again was Tony Mierzwicki and his lovely wife, Jo-Anne. Tony attended my first class and we spent some of the afternoon together getting caught up with each other. Tony is a delightful man; sensitive, highly intelligent, compassionate, and with the body of a Heracles, he presents a striking contrary image to the typical couch potato occultist. I regretfully communicated that I would miss his presentation on Monday afternoon, but as it turned out, I was able to happily attend it, and spend a good portion of the rest of the day talking with him and his wife.

Lon Milo Duquette was at the convention, of course, and I got to chat with him a few times, most notably with a well made martini in the OTO Hospitality Suite. As always, I found Lon to be eminently charming, hilariously funny, but also deeply insightful and down to earth. I picked up an autographed edition of his newest book on Low Magick, and he signed it “How Low Magick Can You Go?” I will be reading this book (and others) and will hopefully have something to relate on the comment. We both chuckled over it, and shared some other humorous observations about life in general, and occultism in particular. I bought the book a little later at the Llewellyn Author’s Presentation, which had a lot of new authors and books to examine. They also had free cake and a book raffle, but I had to leave after a short while, it was getting quite late for me. I was plagued by being two hours ahead of time in regards to my inner clock, so I found myself getting pretty sleepy by the time 11:00 pm rolled around. That would have been more like 1:00 am for me.

Saturday was the day that the del Bosco Sacro Stregan clan arrived at Pantheacon. I was very glad to meet David Griffin again, and to also meet his wife, Aegeria, and also to finally meet Dianus and Diana. Both Aegeria and Diana had been heavily afflicted with a recent bought of influenza, so that, and the long drive, slightly diminished them all with a veil of fatigue that they worked mightily to keep parted. Even despite these hardships, they were happy to be there, and that happiness was quite infectious, I must admit. They were dressed in long hooded capes and robes, and Aegeria had a drum to beat a cadence as they walked in a procession to the lecture hall. Thus, the long awaited presentation began.

The presentation of the del Bosco Sacro Stregan family was done in the style of an ethnographic interview, where Aegeria, acting as the anthropologist, asked a set of questions to Diana, which were replied by her acting spokesperson, Dianus, and translated by Lupercus (David). Questions and comments from the audience were discouraged during this presentation. This was an unusual presentation methodology, and some found it either unwarranted or unnecessary. However, I can understand why this methodology was used and I thought that was necessary, but it did place a restrictive barrier between the presenters and the audience. It made the proceedings far more formal and restrictive, and less interactive and engaging. The reason for this enforced structure was to ensure that the presentation was able to fully respond to all of the questions that were presented without detraction or disruption. It was also my understanding that the presentation was being recorded for future use. Anyway, the presentation had to be cut short due to desire of some in the audience to be able to ask questions individually, and that such a venue could not be held in the hallway after the event was completed. Aegeria’s list of questions were quite excellent, representing pretty much what everyone would have liked to have asked if they could have done so in an informal atmosphere. Afterwards, I had lunch with the whole group and was able to talk to them extensively in private, although Dianus’ command of English was limited at the present time. To communicate in any depth required David’s ever thoughtful interpretation in both directions.

Having personally met and talked and communed with Diana and Dianus, there was no question of their knowledge and abilities. They represent an authentic traditional teaching, which they were not shy to demonstrate on the following day. For a number of reasons, mostly due to fact that Diana was only recently bed ridden, the ritual event was not performed the following day. Instead, Dianus and Diana performed individual demonstrations of their techniques for a smaller and more intimate group. There were also some initiations performed, but everything was done completely on a voluntary basis, representing a very high degree of personal and spiritual integrity. I am unable to say more about this, of course, but what I saw and experienced in their company did more to eliminate any further doubts about their claims or the presentation of their knowledge. I can safely say that I am completely satisfied with what Lupercus and Aegeria are doing within the various pagan communities. All the various claims of nefarious manipulations, illegitimacy or a lack of ethical guidelines whispered by anonymous individuals can be seen for what it is, petty jealousy and spiteful judgements based on ignorance.

I must admit that I spent a lot of time with these four individuals, and got to see Diana and Dianus experience the wonders of the vender’s market place. I am certain that few Europeans would be able to see such a collection of specialized items for sale as were on display at Pantheacon. I could see the wonder in Diana’s eyes at all that she saw and got to examine in detail. That experience alone was quite a pleasurable past time for me as well as the four of them. Spending time with them meant that I didn’t get to attend as many of the workshops and lectures that I might have otherwise, but the sacrifice was well worth it. Spending time with these good friends and spiritual allies was the equivalent of attending quite a number of Pcon events.

Another interesting person that I met and had deep conversations with was Dr. Robert Word, a most pleasant fellow with a very keen intellect. Talking with him was like conversing with someone who had an almost encyclopedia like grasp of history as well as occultism. Other individuals that I met and got to talk with were Donald Frew, who was responsible for getting me deeply attached to Neoplatonism and who single handedly showed me that my intuitive spiritual perspectives and beliefs were based on the various teachings within that discipline. I also talked briefly with John Michael Greer (I promised him a drink, which I didn’t get a chance to honor), and I look forward with talking with him at the upcoming Pagancon in the Twin Cities.

I also attended the author’s panel put on by Weiser, and the theme for that panel was the republication of the book “Demon Lover” by Dion Fortune.  The author panel was supposed to have read the book and to comment on it. Although the authors presented a number of interesting and engaging perspectives about the book, little was actually said of Dion Fortune. I felt that many of the pagans who may have attended that panel would have only known Dion Fortune by her rather pagan books, such as the Sea Priestess, Moon Magic and the Goatfoot God. Demon Lover was a more obscure fictional story written by Fortune early in her career. However, Fortune’s fictional work was quite different than her non-fiction occult writings, both publically and within her spiritual order. I would have hoped that the panel would have started off with a short biographical note about who Dionne Fortune was, when she lived, died, and her overall contribution to occultism and esoteric studies. For instance, her actual name was Violet Firth, and she was much more known for her occult practices that mixed Christianity with forms of Theosophy than she was for her Golden Dawn or pagan associations. I think that Dion Fortune wouldn’t have liked to be referred to as a pagan occultist. Anyway, I was a bit disappointed by this omission, and was even asked to add some biographical detail off of the top of my head, which was kind of embarrassing, since I was hardly prepared to do so. Yet I managed to speak intelligently, although briefly, about Dion Fortune. Perhaps I may write a blog article about her in the future.

Because my flight was canceled, I got to attend Tony Mierzwicki’s presentation on Greek Religion and witness his invocation of Athena. I thought that it was an excellent lecture, facilitated with an eye-catching power point presentation and an English translation of the Orphic Hymn to Athena. I also spent some of the afternoon with Tony and Jo-Anne, walking in the lovely sunshine and proto-spring like weather outside. It was an enjoyable afternoon and evening, but the next day (Tuesday) saw few if any of the attendees left over. I had a quiet day of reflecting on what I had experienced, and some time to continue my reading of Jake Stratton Kent’s new book, volume one of Geosophia.

It was grand time of reflection, only interrupted when I had to undergo the horrifically torturous process of flying home. The only flight that I could find that was reasonable (only one stop over) traveled to Atlanta from San Jose, and then to Minneapolis. My journey was triangular, so that was kind of a bit of ironic humor. I had to endure a nearly four hour flight sitting next to an older unshaven man, with a bush hat and redneck teeth, who was traveling back to Ashville. While he wasn’t rattling the mucous in his throat, loudly snoring while sleeping, he was alternatingly coughing, sneezing or blowing his nose. He even spit some of what he was coughing up into an empty peanut bag, much to my horror and disgust. At least by the end of the flight I had discovered his middle name - it was Phlegm. Needless to say, I got no sleep on that flight, nor on the next, stuck and cramped as I was in the middle of the row. By the time I got home the following morning, I was quite tired and a bit cranky. I got over it all and settled into a pleasant sleepless reverie until my significant other came to pick me a couple of hours later.

So that was my Pantheacon experience - of course there were lots of other events and details that I have left out, but I think that I shared enough of it to give an idea of what it was like. Perhaps you might consider going there yourself someday, if you weren’t there when I was there. Anyway, time to get back to work and some more mundane things to occupy me for the nonce. There will certainly be more articles coming up, but for now, I need to do some writing and researching, punctuated with some fond memories.

Frater Barrabbas    

Leaving for Pantheacon Today - See You There!

I wanted to post this article tomorrow, which is Thursday, but decided to post it tonight instead. I begin my travels to Pantheacon tomorrow afternoon, but I figured that I wouldn’t have enough time to do everything that needs to be done before leaving.

Today is the day that I pack up my hoard of occult loot (arrgh!) and board a plane for San Jose to attend my third Pantheacon. I am very excited and happy to get out of the frozen tundra for a few days, and of course, the weather here is oddly heating up and melting all of the snow. It will probably be only a little warmer there than here - although there won’t be any snow, just rain.

Meanwhile on the blogosphere there has been a friendly dust up between Frater A.I,T., Rufus Opus, Jason Miller and Balthazar - all of it over whether or not energy work is an important part of magick or just a load of manure, as R.O. has so eloquently put it. For me, I look at this argument as kind of puzzling. Energy work is only important if the Energy Model of magick has precedence in one’s magickal work - if it doesn’t, then the whole argument is rather moot. You can find them here, here, here and here.       
   
(Although why I give PR to blogs that don’t link to mine is a puzzling conundrum. I guess I haven’t been invited to that exclusive club just yet. The exception, of course, is Frater A.I.T. - many thanks to him for linking to my blog.)

You could imagine two magicians, one working through the Energy Model, the other, the Spirit Model, arguing with each other about how important energy working is in the practice of magick. Obviously, they both wouldn’t agree - ever! (Do magician’s ever agree with each other?) It would be just an exchange of two individuals talking in a different language at each other. Then Mr. Miller, ever the wise conciliator, has to chime in to show that both approaches are correct, but not absolutely so. He takes the middle path, which is not too surprising, considering the influence of Tibetan Buddhism in his spiritual and magickal perspective. 

Not to be outdone, Balthazar disparagingly (but respectfully) piles on with the fact that most forms of modern magick and occultism are the product of massive cultural appropriation and western imperialism. Balthazar is correct in saying that the Energy Model of magick is a recent addition to the collection of practices that make up some forms of the Western tradition of magick, although the Energy Model itself is quite ancient, such as with concepts like Chi or Mana, both of which are not western. The western energy model appears to use a metaphor of electricity to define and develop that particular theme in the practice of magick.

However, Balthazar appears to miss a major point that all forms of magick in the world are the product of cultural or religious appropriation, and that it is human nature to borrow ideas and concepts, often completely out of context, and use them in new and different ways. So, yes, we are all pirates at various points of our magickal career, and especially so were the founders of the various traditions of magick! Sometimes that process works to produce some very interesting results, other times it appears to be contrived and ridiculous. Yet it doesn’t matter whether one is a member of the “dominator” culture or part of the third world, human beings copy each other and exchange and spread ideas much more rapidly than any other kind of actual cultural change, whether due to internal or external forces. In the age of the internet and the world wide web, that process of exchange is happening at an even faster pace. After all, we are just hominids, so you know, monkey see, monkey do! Do we condemn that practice, or just examine the lore of a given tradition and judge it for its effectiveness? I’ll let you be the judge of that particular question.

Anyway, I suspect that this discussion will go back and forth for the next few days. So grab a bag of popcorn and enjoy the heated but respectful exchange. It’s doubtful that any of them will actually get nasty, call each other names and engage in ad hominem attacks, but you never know. 

Moving back to the topic at hand, I also answered a series of questions for an online text interview for Pantheacon. It would appear that many of the presenters are given this opportunity to share their ideas with the Pantheacon attendees. You can find the web site with all of the interviews here, but I don’t know if you have to register and create a logon account to access them or not. Anyway, give it shot - if it’s open to the general public, then you will find all sorts of interviews with some very remarkable individuals.

I am going to attempt to write a short article for each day that I am at Pantheacon, to describe some of the presentations that I will be witnessing and give you an idea of what it’s like to hang out with over 3,000 pagans of every sort imaginable. It will be crowded at times, but definitely not at all boring.

Here is the interview. Included in this interview are the questions that the Pantheacon staff wrote up, and my answers. These questions may reflect some of the things that you might have wanted to know as well, so I thought that it would be a good idea to include the interview here.


What are you presenting this year?

This is the third Pantheacon that I have attended in the last three years, and I am really looking forward to it. I am presenting two workshops this year, and both of them are occurring on Friday, February 18, the first day of the convention. The first workshop will be held at 1:30 pm in the Santa Clara room, it’s called “Key to Evocation: Zodiacal Decans,” and the second workshop will be held at 7:00 pm, again, in the Santa Clara room, it’s called “Lunar Magick.” I will briefly discuss both workshops.

Key to Evocation: Zodiacal Decans:

We will examine various source documents to show a strong case that the astrological decans are the key to organizing and giving meaning to the spirits lists of the angels of the ha-Shemhamphorash and the daemons of the Goetia.

We will look at the definitions of the 36 decans and how they relate to the quinarians, as well as discuss the methodologies of performing invocations and evocations through a structured matrix of definitions. It is my opinion that taking such path will allow the magician to both control what is conjured as well as understand the implications of that action.

Lunar Magick:

We will look at the phenomena of the Moon from a scientific and occultic perspective to examine how the Lunar phases affect the workings of ritual magick, and how we can incorporate the Lunar Mysteries into our liturgical workings. The moon is both a clock for active magickal workings and an core object of our liturgical mysteries.

The object of this workshop to understand the phases, to know the timing of practical magick and how to write a lunar mystery working. (A layout of a lunar mystery working is in the handout.)

We will be examining the factors associated with timing, not with how to either work magick or perform lunar based liturgies.


Is there anything you're excited about attending at PantheaCon?

I am most excited by the introduction to the national pagan and witchcraft community of two individuals who have traveled from Italy to share with us their knowledge and lore of European Stregheria. I am, of course, referring to the arch high priestess, Diana, and her husband, arch high priest Dianus, of the del Bosco Sacro of Benevento Stregan family. I think that this is quite an amazing occurrence! It is certainly historic and unprecedented.

Their first presentation will be at 9:00 AM Saturday morning in the large Fir room, and it is called “The Great Rite and the True Sabbat.” The second presentation that Diana and Dianus is giving will be on Sunday at 1:30 pm in the Fir room, and it is called “Stregan Invocation of Our Pre-pagan Shamanic Roots.” Both Diana and Dianus are not fluent yet in English, so they will be assisted by their translator, Lupercus, who is known to many occultists on the west coast as David Griffin.

I hope that many people will attend these two incredible presentations, since I will most certainly be there as well.


How do you feel ritual magic needs to be modernized?

That’s a pretty tough subject to discuss in only a few words, but let me give it a shot. First off, I differentiate between ritual magick and ceremonial magick. As a witch and a pagan, I work my magick within a boundary that holds things within it, and does not act as a barrier between myself and the spiritual domains. Secondly, I perform all of my magick in the guise of a godhead assumption, so whatever differences and variations occur in the rite, they are done through the aegis of my personal aspect of the Godhead. (Christian ceremonialists wouldn’t even think of assuming their Godhead, since for them there is too much distance and difference between them.) I think that ritual magick, which uses a very modern pagan perspective, is already quite modern. Ceremonial magick, on the other hand, requires a high degree of orthodox piety in order to prepare the operator for invocation or evocation in the classical definition of that procedure.

To a witch or a pagan, there is often little difference between practicing liturgies and practicing magick, they are even sometimes one and the same. A ceremonial magician, on the other hand, has to engage in liturgy, prayer and contemplation outside of magick in order to maintain the correct degree of piety.

Then there is the issue of whether or not to use the old grimoires in one’s magick, and that can take two different approaches. I was fortunate enough to be able to create a system of magick that can do pretty much everything that the old grimoires claim to do, such as make talismans, project elemental forces, invoke and evoke various spirits. What I use is modern and part of the combined traditions of the Golden Dawn and British Traditional Witchcraft. If I use any of the material from the old grimoires, it’s to decorate my personal magick with archaic components - a kind of post modern approach to magick. Others have decided that the old grimoires are the end all and be all of high magick, and they are wedded to them in a manner that I find incompatible with my own magick.


You've studied multiple types of occultism, how do you find they combine?

Whatever I do, I am first and foremost a Witch and a Pagan. The core of my beliefs and practices are steeped in modern paganism. What I look for, and what I have looked for, are occult systems that are compatible with my pagan outlook and beliefs. Qabalah is something that I work with, but mostly in a Neopythagorean and Neoplatonic manner, since I don’t relate well to Talmudic or Christian theological tropes. Astrology is essential to me because it tells us when to do magick - the timing. I am rather interested and fascinated with Hindu forms of Tantra and Sacred Sexuality, since there is a lot less material in the West that I can draw on. Yet it is the practice and perfection of ritual magick that really concerns me, and my ultimate goal is to experience conscious union with my Godhead, to be illuminated and enlightened. In that fashion, I am also like a lot of mystics and other religious devotees.


Tell us about the E.S.S.G.

The E.S.S.G. stands for Egregore Sancta Stella Gnostica, which is translated as the Egregore or Group Mind of the Sacred Stellar Gnosis. This is a magickal order or organization that is dedicated to the practice of ritual magick for the obtainment of Gnosis (spiritual wisdom), and that the emphasis of the empowerment and enrichment of the individual greatly aids in the development and evolution of the group. We call this organization, the Order of the Gnostic Star.

Unlike every other magickal order, this group consists of autonomous temples that are internally self determined through the power of consensus, producing a kind of group that I call a “Star Group.” Each and every member is important and considered an integral part of the whole organization, so that no one person has the right or even the ability to dominate or rule over others. Some people hate consensus, but I think that it is highly important for any mature group of spiritual seekers. There is no grand lodge, no autocratic leaders, and the hierarchy of each group is rotated annually. Group leaders have all of the responsibility and zero authority, which is vested in the group as a whole. Leaders in this organization are really just facilitators. So what these temples are practicing is a form of spiritual egalitarianism, which I consider to be essential for unfettered individual growth and balanced interpersonal relations.

The organization is nominally pagan and uses the Grail as it’s focal symbol. I suspect that pagans and witches would find this order to be quite comfortable for them, as well as Thelemites and even occultic Christians and Jews. Since each temple is autonomous, the temple group determines by consensus its spiritual and magickal direction, spiritual perspective and group religious practices.

At this time, there are over a hundred different rituals and rites, documents and other material that are part of the order’s lore. There are also seven degrees fully documented and organized by ordeals. (We believe in initiation and elevation by individual work and merit - the group decides by consensus who is to be elevated and when.)

Individuals can form a working group of five members and petition me for the materials to begin forming their own temple. If that’s not possible, then individuals can seek and gain an affiliate membership and work as a solitaire practitioner, although the order’s bylaws do specify a preference for working magick in a group. Joining the order requires no fees or dues, since this is an issue that must be determined through consensus by the group. Otherwise, I typically offer this lore at no charge to individuals who have shown themselves to be interested and capable of doing the work.

The Order of the Gnostic Star was started in 1988 in Kansas City, and had several years of growth, spawning one or two groups off of the mother temple. It became dormant through the latter period of the 1990's and the first decade of the 2000's. I am happy to report that there is now a new temple in Southeastern Massachusetts, and the mother temple is undergoing a resurgence and rebirth in Kansas City.

You can find more information about the Order of the Gnostic Star at the website here, which was assembled for various interested individuals.


What new projects are you working on?
I have four books in print right now, and I am in the process of writing four more, and they are in various stages of development. I am seeking to publish the basic lore for the Order of the Gnostic Star, and I also want to start writing occult and pagan fiction stories. I am also developing a battery of lectures and workshops that I intend to present to individuals who want to approach performing high magick from their Wiccan roots. Besides all of this, I am also working my own form of ritual magick, reading and research, as well as pursuing my career and having a quality relationship with my Significant Other.

Frater Barrabbas

Much To Do - So Little Time To Do It

Next week Friday begins Pantheacon, and I will be there presenting two workshops. I will be out of town and out of pocket for five days, so I have a lot of tasks, both domestic and occult, to accomplish both before and after that event. I am really looking forward to Pantheacon, perhaps more than at any previous year because I will get some time to talk and hang out with David Griffin and his newly adopted Stregan clan, the del Bosco Sacro family. I will also get to meet Diana and Dianus and attend their presentations. David has become something of a good friend and a mentor to me, even though I am about as outside of the Golden Dawn tradition as one could possibly be.

I will also get a chance to hang out with my other good friend and mentor, Tony Mierzwicki, whose friendship and insights I have relied on for over two years. Tony has not only given me sage advice about magickal and occult subjects, he also helped my literary career along as well. I owe a great debt of gratitude to him and his lovely wife, who is something of a master at the art of laying out books for publication. It will be good to see Tony and Jo-Anne, and to talk to them face to face instead of only through the media of phone and email.

Pantheacon will also give me an opportunity to reacquaint myself with Lon Milo DuQuette, Athena W. and Ivo Dominguez Jr. I have been reading Ivo’s book “Spirit Speak” and have enjoyed it immensely. I have found him to be incredibly brilliant and deeply informed, both from a scholarly point of view as well as an experiential one. Athena is a very accomplished goetic sorceress and an enochian magician - she will be presenting a workshop on BDSM at Pantheacon, so that will be quite interesting. Athena also has a great sense of humor and is also quite down to earth. I hope to share a few jokes and stories with Lon, because he is one person where humor can not only be shared but also inspired. Lon’s wit, humor, and common sense approach to life in general is always thoroughly appreciated.

I hope to also get a chance to say hello and a hug to Oberon Zell Ravenheart, head master of the Grey School of Magic. I enjoyed hanging around and chatting with him at Heartland last year, and I hope to renew my acquaintance with him. Since the passing of Isaac Bonewits last August, I have felt the need to be more appreciative of the pioneers and trail blazers of my religious movement because it seems that fate has begun to claim some of them from our midst, and what time remains should be seen as precious. When I was young, all of these founders were also still fairly young and healthy, and it seemed like we had nearly forever to do our thing and get on in the world. Now it seems as if fate and irony have intervened to let us all know that our time in this world is quite limited.

So I am looking forward to having a great time seeing all of these folks and meeting new ones. I am also looking forward to presenting my two classes and having a meeting of minds with those who attend. There’s a lot of preparations, packing, buying things, organizing, cleaning, and spending some quality time with my significant other, who I am sad to say, won’t be attending this year’s event with me.

I also wanted to write a few comments about the latest post that Mr. Eckstein quoted in his blog “Gleaming of the Golden Dawn,” which were from Patrick Zalewski and his Golden Dawn Yahoo Group - you can find it here. Patrick has said, once again, that he doesn’t believe that there are any secret chiefs, and that such a belief is a myth and even a distraction to the work of a Golden Dawn initiate. I can understand his perspective and also why he stated this so emphatically. There are two sides to this issue, and these two sides not only don’t agree with each other, but they have been engaged a very hotly contested argument.

There is another side that says that there were and still are secret chiefs and that the order of the Golden Dawn has proceeded in an orderly manner from the basic cipher manuscripts and permissions from the German adept Ms. Sprengle that were granted to the three chiefs of the original Golden Dawn. Whether you believe that this was true or just made up to foster a fake legitimacy as far as the Golden Dawn is concerned doesn’t negate the reality and the importance of the Golden Dawn today. However, there is an important implication in either denying or accepting the validity of the secret chiefs, and this is what I wanted to articulate to my readers.

If Patrick Zalewski is correct, and there are no secret chiefs, then the implication is that there is no third order of the Golden Dawn and that the current founders and their second order adepts are all that there is to the Golden Dawn teachings and practices. It also forces the Golden Dawn to be much more engaged in authentic practices than legitimacy, since such an opinion presumes that the original founders would have supposedly just invented the Order based on their own studies and imagination. So that is the world according to Patrick Zalewski, and it is a kind of dull and sad world bereft of mystery and any real higher magick. There are no masters, so whatever we have in regards to lore and occult knowledge represents the very limit of what is known or even capable of being known. It almost seems to make the Golden Dawn into an occult dead end with little prospect of anything new or startling coming to light.

I find that all rather disheartening, but it is no different than my own current situation, although I have plenty of other occult practitioners and scholars who know much more than I do - there is still something yet for me to learn and creatively adapt into my own spiritual and magickal process. There are also quite a number of spirits and entities to engage and communicate with throughout the Inner Planes. I am also not limited to just occultism and the practice of ritual magick. Life itself is a great teacher, and there are remarkable men and women everywhere one looks, and from time to time, I have been lucky enough to meet a few of them.

Yet something to consider in Pat Zalewski’s words brings about the other possibility that we need to at least admit to ourselves. The other possibility is that there are secret chiefs, and perhaps if we listen to the leaders of one branch of the Golden Dawn (HOGD), it would seem even very likely. It means that the Golden Dawn is an organization that is both legitimate and authentic, and that there is indeed a third order above and beyond the second order practices and lore.

I for one find that a much more happier prospect! Suddenly the world is much more romantic, mysterious and nearly limitless in regards to occult teachings and self mastery. It means that there is a possibility of finding an obscure great teacher and actually learning new and more vital occult lore and practices. To believe that there is someone in the world who might know a whole lot more about the Western occult tradition than I do, breathtakingly more, is quite exciting and gratifying. If it’s a false notion, then nothing is really lost, since it will, at the very least, cause me and many others to perfect ourselves for the sake of admittance to an organization of masters.

So I don’t agree with Pat saying that such a belief is a distraction, that it somehow interferes with one’s growth or impairs the work of the practicing adept. Believing such a thing can only inspire one to do greater things.

Still, if Pat is dead wrong and the secret chiefs do indeed exist, then he, and all the others who agree that such a premise is false, are promoting an occult path that leads to nowhere except what one is capable of achieving alone and without aid. That aid might really exist, and individuals like Pat Zalewski are turning their backs to it without even testing their theory. It seems pretty foolish to me. We can stubbornly refuse any help from those who have a superior skill and knowledge for the sake of being independent and self directed, but at some point, everyone needs a helping hand to get beyond some personal conundrum or overcome obstacles. To steadfastly refuse even when that help is offered could be considered a form of obstinate stupidity, which can either be admired, laughed at or perceived as a tragic and fatal personal flaw. I would tend to see it as a tragic and fatal flaw, and I am happy to say that I am not so afflicted. If given the opportunity, I will gladly accept someone’s help, and I would be particularly gratified if that person was a supposed master or secret chief.

It reminds me of the often quoted Irishman who said in a dissembling manner: “Well, I don’t be saying that I believe in the little people, and then again, I don’t be saying that I don’t believe in them, either.” We can hedge our bets and believe in the secret chiefs and not be hurt by such a supposition if it's wrong, but we may also be greatly rewarded if it's true. I would rather behave as if the proposition is true so that I might someday actually be rewarded by the discovery of a pot of gold at the end of rainbow. Would I refuse to accept it if I found it, hell no! I would fill my pockets and hands with all I could carry!

Do I believe in deathless, omniscient and omnipresent masters, such as are celebrated in some Theosophical or New Age groups? No - I really don’t believe in that myth. However, I do believe in remarkable men and women, and that the average human life span affords some the time to perfect far beyond the ordinary lot in life. I also believe that there are a lot of secret and obscure lore that is not available to the public in the form of published books or web based information.

There are real mysteries in the world, and real individuals who live and work their secret purposes in the powerful shadows of those mysteries. I also believe that I am living at a time in my life when some of those mysterious shadows may open to me and reveal some of their secrets, and that I may indeed meet some very remarkable men and women who might just have something very critical and important to teach me. I optimistically look forward to that time, and I do believe that it will happen someday.

Meanwhile, there is so much work to do, things to write, presentations to put together and magick to practice. So much to do, and so little time to do it all. Life is fleeting, and I am not getting any younger - but I have hope that circumstances will all come together and reveal to me my ultimate destiny, long before I die.

Frater Barrabbas