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Dear Friends,
You are cordially invited to the Launch party for The Red Goddess at midday on the Summer Solstice Saturday June 21 at Atlantis Bookshop in London, England.
Please be prompt as from there we will be proceeding to the British Museum for a ritual reading at the John Dee exhibit.
We are deliberately evoking BABALON on this date at this time in this location.
We will then be returning to Atlantis for champagne cocktails and spirited discussion.
To reserve your place please call 020 7405 2120 or email info@theatlantisbookshop.com
We look forward to seeing you there.
If you cannot make it, do a raise a glass to Her at the Solstice.
In Nomine Babalon
Scarlet Imprint x
We have also attached the public press release below for The Red Goddess, if you belong to any online groups or are the webmaster of a news site, please feel free to post. We very much appreciate your support.
Dear Friends,
Scarlet Imprint are delighted to announce the publication of: The Red Goddess for midday Summer Solstice June 21.
This title is now available for you to order.
The Red Goddess is an octavo book of 260pp, printed throughout in red and black ink, and with four luscious plates.
The standard edition is strikingly bound in white book cloth, scarlet endpapers, and embossed with the seven pointed star of BABALON. Each and every book is perfumed and consecrated.
It is being prepared in a strictly limited and hand-numbered edition of seven hundred and seventy-seven copies.
A copy can be yours for thirty-seven English pounds plus postage.
In addition, 49 devotee copies of The Red Goddess are being quarter bound in black moroccan goat and finished in scarlet silk with hand marbled endpapers. These fine books will be bound by Brian Settle. Each one a work of art and rare beauty in a world of mass production. We will only sell these direct to individuals who contact us and explain why they wish to own a copy, a necessary step given the speculators who seek to profit from our work.
These are magickal books, for a magickal purpose, and that is their value.
We do accept installments, as we want our books to reach the right people.
The devotee copies will each cost an hundred and fifty six English pounds plus secure delivery.
The Red Goddess is an ecstatic journey through the unheard history of BABALON, from Revelations back through the Ishtar Gate and forward into a living modern magickal current.
This is an explicit and challenging vision of a very modern Goddess coming into power. This is more than a history, it is a passionate account of living magick and the transcendent power of Love.
The epic sweep of the text takes us from Babylon to Jerusalem to Rome, and onwards to Apocalypse.
It looks at the angelic work of renaissance mage John Dee.
It lays bare the excesses of Aleister Crowley, and unlocks the secrets of Waratah Blossoms.
It explains the immolation of the Californian antichrist-superstar Jack Parsons and his relationship with Scientology founder L.Ron Hubbard.
This is the missing history of the Holy Whore.
Thirteen essays conclude the book on subjects including: roses, mirror magick, BDSM, aphrodisiac drugs, the information age, love vs lust, and the meaning of apocalypse.
Intelligent and balanced reviews for the previous edition from both readers and people of standing in the occult community can be found at www.scarletimprint.com
Those working with Ishtar, Inanna, Lilith, Kali, Sekhmet, Bast, Freya, Pomba Gira, Erzulie, witchcraft, Tantra, sacred sex and ritual transgression will find much here to intrigue, inspire and challenge them.
The Red Goddess is suitable for anyone with blood in their veins, regardless of tradition, background or experience.
It is a Love story.
To secure your copy please credit our paypal account for £37 plus postage scarletimprint@gmail.com
Postage rates are:
UK First Class £4
Europe £6
Worldwide £10
If you do not have a paypal account and wish to pay by cheque (uk residents only), please email us and we will forward you our postal address.
If you need our IBAN and SWIFT numbers for an international bank transfer again, email us and we will provide you with them.
Full details can be found at www.scarletimprint.com
This is an important book for these times.
In Nomine Babalon
Scarlet Imprint x
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Hello, readers-
This has been a very quiet community, and I have not been doing as much to promote and enliven it as I should. That is going to be changing- as is this community, starting in the new year. I will be moving AE to Insane Journal, and closing it down here.
Ars Esoterica at Insane Journal
Please consider joining us there.
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Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
Mons Abiegnus Oasis will be celebrating Liber XV, the liturgy of the Gnostic Mass as written by Saint Edward Alexander Crowley, on Sunday, September 2, 2007 at 4:18 P.M.( Read more... )
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93,
Sunday, August 19 in our beautiful San Francisco location... Please join us for two presentations:
( Read more... )
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Scarlet Imprint announces the publication of: The Red Goddess by Peter Grey on 07/07/07 A strictly limited talismanic publication in an edition of an hundred and fifty and six copies.
All copies are hardback slip cased and 156pp, professionally printed, bound, consecrated, numbered, signed and sealed. The contents and conclusions of this book have never been published elsewhere.
The Red Goddess takes you through a tale of sex, drugs and violence.
This is an ecstatic journey through the unheard history of BABALON from Revelations, back through the Ishtar Gate and forward into a living modern magickal current.
This is an explicit and challenging vision of a very modern goddess coming into power.
This is more than a history, it is a passionate account of living magick and the transcendent power of Love.
The Red Goddess answers the fundamental questions: Who is BABALON?
Why should we care?
Where did She come from and where is She going?
Does Revelations have anything to tell us?
Is there a hidden western tradition of sacred sex?
The epic sweep of the text takes us from Babylon to Jerusalem to Rome, and onwards to Apocalypse.
It looks at the angelic work of renaissance mage John Dee.
It delivers a devastating exegisis on the excesses of Aleister Crowley, and unlocks the secrets of Waratah Blossoms.
It explains the immolation of the Californian antichrist-superstar Jack Parsons and his relationship with Scientology founder L.Ron Hubbard.
There is also a full supporting cast of Solomon, Simon Magus, St John the Divine, Earl Bothwell, the Templars, Mary, the Magdalene and countless others. This is the missing history of the Holy Whore.
Thirteen essays conclude the book on subjects including: roses, mirror magick, BDSM, aphrodisiac drugs, the information age, love vs lust, and the meaning of apocalypse.
Those working with Ishtar, Inanna, Lilith, Kali, Sekhmet, Bast, Freya, Pomba Gira, Erzulie, witchcraft, tibetan tantra, sacred sex and transgression will find much here to intrigue and inspire them.
The Red Goddess is suitable for anyone with blood in their veins, regardless of tradition, background or experience. It is a Love story. Full information at www.scarletimprint.com In Nomine Babalon Alkistis Dimech x Editrix
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93--Come combat the Dread Magickal Armchair with our interactive workshops! All are welcome. ( Read more... )
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The Global Library is another treasure trove of spiritual books.
From their homepage:
We offer an ever-changing collection of files. Use this site for your spiritual nourishment and the occasional mystical candy.
We offer all these spiritual writings without comment because we believe that Jesus came to take away our sins, not our minds. Amen!
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I've been cleaning out the archives of a former Yahoo group, and added links to live sites that might be of interest to students of esoteric studies. Feel free to suggest other links, too.
I also found some interesting old articles that I might also post here, too.
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Someone, some time back, what superstitions I had. My response was that I didn't have any--later realizing there was one. For me, a very quiet New Year's Eve is a must.--else, the new does not go as smoothly. Even if there are great things during the year, what was happening at midnight is gone.
So, New Year's Eve was spent very quietly alone with a little port watching television--mainly The Family Channel (Ugly Betty is great). There were also some great movies on the TV, also. Had a sparse dinner at home which is my way of asking for prosperity. The next day I found two beautiful, boned rib steaks which I marinated in a nice pesto (green for money) which I bought at the Gilroy Garlic Festival and served with a crock pot stew of carrots, yellow onion, potato, garlic, and black-eyed peas (for luck) in chicken broth. There was enough stew to be used for soup in subsequent days. Since my friend doesn't like to drink the night before going back to work, we had Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Cider. So you see, New Year's Day is celebrated.
While astrology should not be used for fortune telling, many aspects of astrology have a philosophical importance and can be used to understand things a little better. Right now pluto is conjunct my sun and has been conjunct or approaching my natal sun for sometime. There is no need to fear Pluto as it merely clears away anything that stands in the way of progress--which it has been doing plenty in the past few years. Fighting with Pluto makes things worse. The only way to receive the benefits without losing more than what is necessary is to go along with making the best life possible. Basically Pluto is really beneficial with making a better life with much learning; which is what we are supposed to do anyway according to many different schools including Christianity.
Saturn is conjunct my natal Saturn--which actually goes along with my Pluto-natal Sun aspect. Saturn conjunct natal-Saturn has to do with going over your life and understanding how you got there and through reevaluation of your life making positive changes. This conjunction has been going on a while and many things are happening for the better.
Many of my outmoded ideas have been resolved. I am overcoming my fears of relationships which resulted in my having harmful, inferior relationships. And, now many of the experiences which I really wanted are happening through remembering why a lot of things that would have beneficial were not done. So my experiences now are much more fulfilling.
For the first time since my teenage years, I have wanted to be a Roman Catholic--now being inside the Church instead of from the outside looking in (which was the feeling at Dignity, and other adult experiences in the Church. My roles in the Church will be Eucharistic minister both at Most Holy Redeemer and bringing the Eucharist to shut-ins and senior citizens--especially people with AIDS with the Most Holy Redeemer AIDS Support Group. Also, the role of Lecturer is very enjoyable and entertaining. Most Holy Redeemer is a very nice and active church in the Heart of the Castro and the people are wonderful and the volunteers are never to be abused.
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As a Cranky Old TechMage, the dearth of Occult oriented sites that go beyond Flufficana 101 has always been frustrating to me. I've often thought about attempting to start one myself, but then I look at all the other projects I am doing- like ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) dark_christian, gardening and other offline work, and realized that I could not put the proper time and energy into such an endeavor. Maybe later, but not now. Successful communities require dedication and hard work and lots of nurturing from their founders in their earliest days. It takes an average of 18 months to get a properly tended community on its feet and viable to the point of generating its own buzz and being self-sustaining.
So I was gratified to see an announcement for the soon-to-be-opened siteRending the Veil. It's in a 'pre-grand opening' mode right now, and they're looking for folks to write for them. Folks like many of the readers here.
From their post:
We envision a periodical for ceremonial magicians, hermeticists, alchemists, and other occultists who are insufficiently represented on the market right now. There is very little in periodicals and on the Internet for these people, at least very little of worth or note.
***
Submissions will be on a tentative basis, at first. Since we do not have many established writers available to us at this time, we will have to judge each submission individually. If a given person's submissions are consistently well-written, interesting, and useful, we may ask that person to write a regular column. For a more comprehensive list of what they're looking for, visit the first link above. That they're including Franz Bardon in their list is promising- Bardon was an incredible Magus. (I still need to get his other three books...) I sincerely hope that this site is successful. While it might take them some time to coax our sometimes snake-bitten peers out of their hermitages, once they find a place that really wants them, they'll come, stay, and tell their friends. That was my major frustration with The Witches Voice- they were not at all interested in non-Neopagan/Wiccan stuff. And AMORC has lists that can be moribund for months. So, check this out- it really looks promising.
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Off and on from the 1970's I have been a member of the Rosicrucian Order AMORC in San Jose. I have really enjoyed my member ship in the Order and learned a great deal from them so I rejoined yesterday. I rejoined because someone mentioned them yesterday gnosticismin and I had been thinking about joining them for a while. I also then joined ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
I am very happy to have rejoined the Rosicrucian Order as they have always done great work--expecially considering all the tension in the world, the progress in space exploration, and the problems with global warming. The Rosicrucian Order have always striven to advance society and science, work for world peace, and generally make a better world.
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There is nothing you are supposed to do: only that which you want to do...
The Secret
You'll need to download the Google player and find 90 monutes to watch this. You'll be glad you did. It's the Kybalion and the Hermetic laws all in one beautifully presented package. And no, they aren't trying to sell you anything.
And here's a community with more films to watch.
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February already? That means that spring is about 6 weeks away, no matter what any ground-dwelling critters might say.
I found an interesting site with some great links to sites about The Golden Dawn, Hermeticism, Rosicrucianism, and similar practices. It might come in handy for those of you who seek after additional information on these subjects.
Golden Dawn Resources and Links
And here's the home page:
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
Enjoy!
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This post on pagan_skeptics had an interesting question: Does one need a 'backstory'- some genetic or familial quirk, or para-human 'othersoul' or some spectacular earlier incarnation in order to achieve 'occult power' and/or 'cred' in metaphysical/occult practice?
In other words, does claiming to be part dragon or something like that add a 'boost' to your magical prowess and occult street cred?
Or does it mark you as someone who might need to step away from the anime and bad fanfic? And who needs some expensive Big Pharma treatment?
I'd say the latter. What the hell is wrong with being a boring old totally human being with no memories of past incarnations, no soul melds with extraterrestrial beings, and no 'family tradition' of some kind of super-mega-woo psychic trait?
I mean, what's wrong with good old fashioned study, learning, screwing up, taking your lumps, learning more and doing better in a gradual manner over several decades? Too slow? Too boring? Too... realistic?
I guess it's fun to claim that you're part hobbitdragonelftigerET and that you have way cool spidey senses and can 'call the lightning' or some such stuff, but if I hand you a voltmeter, and you can't wiggle the needle, even on its lowest setting, I'm going to call your bluff. Then, I'll make the needle wiggle, and laugh my ass off at your boggle-eyed reaction. And hey- I have a 'spidey-sense', too. I can always tell when one of the little buggers is crawling on me. Those eight legs tickle!
But what is wrong with being just an ordinary human with no hobbits, dragons, elves, angels, gods, or anime characters clouding the essence of your humanity with their hoopty powers? Didn't anyone teach people like that how to fine tune their own senses or exercise their inborn psionic capacities? Or maybe that book or teacher was too boring because they required you to actually work at your gifts.
I'll admit that OldGods actually converse with me through small holes in the multiverse. Sometimes they say stuff that I'll share with others. Sometimes I won't share- who wants to worry about an asteroid headed our way in 15 years? Find a hole to hide in in the spring of 2021. A deep one. If you start digging now, it might be deep enough for you and a seedbank and some neighbors. And your cat.
I digress. Crosstalk between universes happens. There are about 11 of them that physicists believe exist, but my OldGod neighbors assure me that the actual number is 35. OK. Maybe our 'werepeople' are listening to leaks in other universes. Or maybe they just need attention, because no one has taught them that being a boring old human is the pinnacle of existance. My hole-in-the multiverse OldGod neigbors say that being a star- a genuine burning ball of whateverthehell stars are made of- is the true pennacle- but being human is the next step down. Whatever.
I like being a boring old human, rather than a catgirl. Not much fun waking up with fur all over me- no, wait- I sleep with two cats- scratch that. And my 'occult power' is between my ears. No dragon scales necessary. If my OldGod neighbors laugh at my technique, at least I've entertained them. If I really hose it up, they'll tell me that I hosed it up, then drop books on my head with hints about how to fix what I did. These books vary from "A+ for Dummies" to Gaiman's "Sandman" series. They definitely have a sense of humor. I am still trying to figure out what my Asian cookbook has to do with local geomancy.
A little woo-woo is good for the soul- at least entertainment wise. Too much will land you in Big Pharma country.
Be a plain old boring human. I dare you. The OldGods will appreciate it.
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rialian pointed this site out on his blog:
Institute for Hermetic Studies
This appears to be a different Hermetic Studies school than the one that I briefly joined and studied with about 4 years ago. That one (the Dario Salas Institute) was based in NYC, and this one is in PA, and has different people running it.
I left the former one because its founder had some rather unfortunate ideas about gender. Hopefully, this one will be more enlightened.
I'll see...
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I belong to a group of SF fans who have a biweekly meeting at the local Barns & Yarns, but only one other person showed up last night. While this rather dampened any way to plan for our holiday party, it was an opportunity to get to know this person better, and we had a really nice visit. We talked about everything from family to religion, and I now understand where she comes from a lot better. And I think that she understands me better, too, which is good for both of us. I can take her particular religious sensitivities and background into consideration now that I know more about them, and not accidentaly offend her. I believe that I have deepened a friendship.
It was interesting, though, learning about her point of view and what motivated her particular fears and sensitivities to certain subjects. I know that a lot of Evangelical Protestant sects make a big deal out of staying away from things like divination, psychics and all that, but I never really delved into why. As a former Catholic, no one really forbade such things when I went to church- in some ways, they were part and parcel of our faith, as the staunch and very overt Catholicism of many residential tarot readers and psychics seemed to suggest. In my earliest days on the Path, and away from home, I sought out these psychics and readers, with their rooms full of special 'washing water', 'hot foot powders' lucky number books and novena candles with various things inscribed on them. There were things with images of saints on them, little figures to carry around, and lots and lots of little prayer cards to use when things got itchy. There was always an elaborate altar somewhere in view. It was an interesting experience- even though they treated me warily, they had to tell me that I was destinied for 'great things'. These people of course wanted to keep me at their level, telling me that I needed to come back regularly and get this scent and that potion, but even then, I understood that this was the gateway, and that I needed to go beyond this level. I listened to the one and only reader who told me that her 'spirit guide' told her to tell me that I needed to continue down my path and not get 'stuck' in this place. I could see her face as she said this, and the understanding that her words would make her lose a customer.
I never knew any readers of this type who were Christian and who were not Catholic. I think that I understand why. The Catholic church teaches about the Devil, but doesn't make him as prominent or as all invasive as some of the Protestant sects do. The whole interface in Catholicism is cushioned in the ritual and mysteries, creating a space between 'the world' that certain Protestant (mostly Pentecostal and AoG) sects so deeply detest, and the world of mystical experience. For the Pentecostals, it's all or nothing- no in between.
Perhaps this is why the most successful Pagans and Wiccans are former Catholics- they understand nuance in a way that the Fundementalist- fleeing newcomers to the Path do not. I've noted that Pagan zealots were most likely Fundementalist zealots, or came from that black-and-white background- they can't help themselves. It's what they know.
It saddens me that some Christian sects teach fear as the primary motivator and guide in life rather than love. Love is much more freeing and protective than fear. But the fear of the devil, of the Other, of the mysterious, of anything extra-Biblical... that serves to close the eyes of the mind and heart, and lock that soul into a prison of fear. Worse, the discouragement of curiosity and learning serves to lock that person inside that fear, never escaping it.
The key to escape is knowledge. Knowledge dissipates fear, builds power and confidence, and adds light to things. The most fear-based faiths also seem to be the most sharply divorced from gaining real knowledge and insight, and in fact shun such things as being 'worldly'- outside their ability to cope.
It would be so easy for me to become an evangelist or prosetlyzer for metaphysical knowledge- to force open these prisons of real fear and ignorance and free the people within. But doing so would violate my own tenets- to be the Teacher Who Appears- but only when that person is ready to be shown the key to freedom. I cannot force anyone to see what they do not or are not ready yet to see- that would violate their soveriegnity. They have the right to be fearful and ignorant, and when they've had enough of that, and their soul is tired of it, they have the right to ask for help and assistance. People like me happen along and tell them, "Look, here is the key to free you. You can pick it up and open the door to freedom from your old fears. If you can set aside your fear of change, and the fear of what knowledge will bring to you, you can move beyond your prison, and become your own person."
That is the job and responsibility of the Teacher Who Appears. We do not hold hands, coddle, or forcibly try to make people see things our way. Our Celestial counterparts can drop books into peoples' hands, but they cannot make them read them. (I am trying to find a particular book about magic in the ancient world that was pointed out to me by one of my guides, but I could not afford it at the time.) We can suggest, but not command. This can sometimes be frustrating, but when that happens, we have to give the ego that is causing this frustration the bum's rush. It isn't about us, ultimately. It's about the universe. We can answer questions that we are asked. It is up to our seekers to ask the right ones, and to keep asking thereafter. If that spark is lit and catches, the light floods in, and the questions flood out, and the teachings continue. They have to hear and heed that Calling that resides in all souls, listen to that still, small voice that beckons them to step beyond the bounds of conventional understanding and insight. Once they do, once they cross that threshold, a whole new life awaits them.
It happened to me, at a very young age. Most people hear that calling around the age of 12, and I count my whole Path from that age. My formal training did not begin until I was 19, after I left home and its constraints. I had to be on my own in order to escape the limitations of parental oversight, discouragement and control, and to be able to learn, err, and grow on my own. I was 20 when I joined AMORC, and started learning things that became the foundation of my understanding of things. Once I acknowledged and accepted my Teachers- both earthly and Celestial, there was no going back. Even in my 'down' times, that yearning to go and grow kept the fire from going out totally.
So, if fear is what keeps you back, ask yourself what it is that you fear. It's probably change, and a peeling away of what is familar and comforting to you. When you face that fear, and move beyond it, you will find freedom.
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To do list:
Create online style for community that includes link sidebar and tag system.
Consider setting up a "Library Thing" account for community.
Set up email address for community.
Research links to sources of online texts: Nag Hammadi, Kybalion, Hermetic, Rosicrucian, etc.
Go through own library for reference materials.
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contemplative