Aeon of Horus

The Aeons and Mankind

noreply@blogger.com (EthanMGallagher) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 00:27:00 +0000

The concept of Aeons is a discussion about the philosophical and religious development of mankind. As it's subject has within its domain many different cultures and peoples, it is necessarily conducted in general terms. The vital points in man's spiritual/philosophical past have been extracted out so that their conceptual and causal relationships may be articulated in a manner which allows for their meaning to be observed. We begin with the unknown, vast and monotonous period of man's pre-history.

The Age of the Sacred Earth Goddess-Aeon of Isis

The pre-dawn dark of man's early history stretches back many thousands of years, before mankind possessed the written word with which to record the flow of history. In this darkness, we know that man lived in nomadic bands, hunting and foraging in order to sustain life.

Nourishment was taken from the flesh of beasts, in large part. Life sustained life through death. Man did not yet possess knowledge of anatomy nor physiology, but he did know one thing, that all things living poured forth hot red blood when pierced or cut, and with the leaking of this fluid the being ceased to be alive. Blood was the elixir of life, that which animated matter and gave it breath.

Man also knew that all life came forth from the body of the female. Society at this point was unstructured, free from laws and from established custom--mating took place freely and regularly from the time a child began flowering into an adult till they died. The link between the male's seed and the growth of a child had yet to be deduced, to the best of anyone's knowledge children were the product of woman's body and that alone. New life came forth through the vagina, which also poured forth blood--the elixir of life--once per cycle of the moon. Indeed, it is no accident or mere chance that the word 'menstruation" is derived from the ancient Greek word for "moon".

This is the age of the sacred, undifferentiated female. All life, all things poured forth from the female, as the world itself was considered a goddess, now called "Gaia" after the Greek deity, though she no doubt took innumerable forms. Female was both active and passive, force and fluidity. It is from this period that figures of the sacred fertility goddess come, crudely carved out of stone and--to our modern eyes at least--grotesquely obese, her large size representative of natural bounty and abundance.

The Coming of The Father God, and the Emergence of Monotheism-Aeon of Osiris

After eons of a nomadic hunter-gatherer existence, a new type of life emerged in certain fertile and temperate lands. Gradually, man mastered plants and livestock, and lost his nomadic existence. From hunting and foraging, he progressed to agriculture. This new form of life demanded greater structure and planning, on both the individual and communal scale. People paired up and spread out, no longer living together communally in one place. Crops grew and were harvested in concert with the cycles of the sun, no longer was the lunar cycle--which represented to bounty of the female's body--of paramount importance.

True monogamy emerged as people spread out and built permanent structures, and with it came the realization that the seed of the man was what induced pregnancy in the female's body. Likewise, both the coming of the rains and the presence of the sun where what brought forth crops from the earth. The father god appeared, first perhaps in the visage of the "Storm God", then in that of the "Sun God", both of which dwelt in the skies above. Where before there was only Mother Earth, now there was also Father Sky.

Culture changed as well, authority, structure and normative values all began to overtake the animal instincts which man had previously indulged freely. The concept of "Reason"--structured and purposeful thought--emerged as a tool to navigate this new world with. With this new tool, and the advent of the Father God, man conceived of reality as being composed of dual and opposing forces. Summer and winter, life and death, earth and sky, good and evil. From this concept of duality emerged Logic, Patriarchy, the State, Organized Religion etc. etc.

Sometime during this period, the storm and sun gods where combined into one and set above all other deities in importance by a Semitic people who lived somewhere in the vicinity of Cannan. In a similar but anticipatory manner, a great magi named Zoroaster conceived of a monotheistic deity in the Near East, the first religion of its kind to emerge. There was only one god, and all good things flowed forth from him. Disorder, destruction, death--these where all the product of some supremely malevolent being, a flaw in the perfect order of the creator deity.
This new way of thinking led to a rejection of life, a turning inward. Life was seen as flawed in some deep way, and so Man dreamed of a second, more perfect creation. If one where to live their life in accordance with the good, it was supposed, then all their suffering and weakness would be abolished by the creator deity after their passing.

As well as in Life, there was also evil in man. He was a deeply flawed being, it was supposed, in need of perfection, alteration, salvation. Man turned against himself, against the animal nature that he had embraced in the old way of life, which he now saw as an evil mode of existence in which reality was seen as one whole, and not two opposite forces.

Continued in part two, where the Advent of the Dying God and the Aeon of Horus are discussed.

__________________

Of Slaves and Slave-Masters

noreply@blogger.com (EthanMGallagher) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 22:40:00 +0000

Slavery, in its purest form, is the most opposed of all states to the natural form and function of man--for man, being alive and an expression of the love and beauty of the universal divine, is--like all life--naturally active in the most broad and powerful sense of that word. As well as this it may be observed that man, possessing consciousness of a degree and a type higher than that of any other animal which has ever stepped forth on the land, swam through the waters, or glided through the skies of this great and vibrant sphere we call Earth is gifted with the ability to experience and participate in the universal unfolding of being more than any other conscious being we know of.

It is thus a truth that in order to enslave a man, one must chain him--for man unchained sets no limit on his activity, whether physical or purely mental. But use of the chain and whip demands advantage of force, and when the slaves outnumber the slave masters by a wide margin no such strength exists.

Better, then, to have the slave chain and whip himself, to enforce his own bondage, if one wishes to exert such control over him. This requires new chains and implements of brutality, which produce through their use a submission of a more sublimated degree, wherein the slave does not even realize his bondage, but rather is deceived into thinking himself free. The chains of slavery being restrictions placed upon man's true nature, and the crime of slavery being the utmost of all blasphemies which may be performed, it is thus said that the word of sin is restriction.

But man, being no automaton, can never be truly fooled. Though he may not know that he is truly a slave, he often glimpses snatches of the world beyond his small cell, and suspects that things are not as they seem.

" WHO has not, at some period during his life, experienced that strange sensation of utter bewilderment on being awakened by the sudden approach of a bright light across the curtained threshold of slumber; that intoxicating sense of wonderment, that hopeless inability to to open wide the blinded eyes before the dazzling flame which has swept night into the corners and crannies of the dark bedchamber of sleep?"

But as these snatches of light are but dreams, glimpses of a reality beyond that in which the slave lives, they appear a strange, distorted, or frightening visions, and are themselves no true knowledge. The slave, desperate for freedom to his core, is prone to accepting as his creed what in truth may be no more than a reflection, distorted like one's image seen through a polished bronze mirror:

"Yet as the moments speed by the sight grows accustomed to the dazzling intruder; and as the blinding, shimmering web of silver which he has thrown around us melts like a network of snow before the awakening fire of our eyes, we perceive that the white flame of bewilderment which had but a moment ago enwrapped us as a mantle of lightnings, is, but in truth, a flickering rushlight fitfully expiring in an ill-shapen socket of clay. And likewise in the darkness, as we pass along the unlit arches of the vault, or the lampless recesses which, toad-like, squat here and there in the gloom, dimly at first do the mouldings of the roof and the cornices of the {167} walls creep forth; and then, as the twilight becomes more certain, do they twist and writhe into weirdly shapen arabesques, into fanciful figures, and contorted faces; which, as we advance, bat-like flit into the depths of a deeper darkness beyond."

Such is the depravity and soullessness of the slave-masters that even these glimpses of the world as it truly is are corrupted, and put to their own, special use. For the slave-masters themselves seldom sleep, in their Dark Temple. For though men need rest, and the slave-masters have many puppets among our kind, they themselves are not our ken.

Man is chained through culture, through his idea of self and the demands society places upon it, through philosophy, through society, and through religion. His languages, his sciences, his philosophies, his creeds, they are all implicit in his enslavement, for they all demand restriction of thought through adherence to them. Even reason, the long trumpeted savior of man, is in truth but another jailer, one more servant of twilight:

"Words! ... words! ... words! They have shackled and chained you, O children of the mists and the mountains; they have imprisoned you, and walled you up in the dungeon of a lightless reason. Fancy has been burnt at the stake of Fact; and the imagination cramped in the irons of tort and quibble. O vanity of vain words! O cozening, deceitful art! Nimbly do the great ones of to-day wrestle with the evil-smelling breath of their mouths, twisting and contorting it into beguilements, bastardising and corrupting the essence of things, sucking as a greedy vampire the blood from your hearts, and breathing into your nostrils the rigid symbols of law and of order, begotten on the death-bed of their understanding."

Law and order. The very name on the foul temple of incest from which the slave-masters blaspheme and corrupt mankind. All powers which are complicit with it are demons to be cast down into the pit. He who revolts for the sake of social or political ideals does naught but rearrange the order and design of the false idols which stand within the Dark Temple.

The enemy is legion, he can be found wherever union between opposites is resisted, wherever the universal nature of all things being one as god is denied. He who becomes free in himself is a slave no longer, and forever--for he has realized that he is human, and cannot truly be made slave unless he is asleep. He was always a King, as he possessed the spirit and will to free himself, he had but to realize it. Those who lack the spirit and will are doomed to sleep forever, and know only slavery.

"Yea! deem not of change: ye shall be as ye are, & not other. Therefore the kings of the earth shall be Kings for ever: the slaves shall serve. There is none that shall be cast down or lifted up: all is ever as it was. Yet there are masked ones my servants: it may be that yonder beggar is a King. A King may choose his garment as he will: there is no certain test: but a beggar cannot hide his poverty."

The war against the Dark Temple is not fought through force of arms, or political action. For these things are and will always be of the slave and slave-master. For they are lies which use man up for their own ends, and leave his soul empty at the end. Instead, it is fought within the soul of man, who becomes a King by taking all opposites into himself, thus joining (but not becoming) god.

"As a slave who is bold becomes a warrior, so a warrior who is fearless becomes a king, changing his battered helm of strength for a glittering crown of light; and as the warrior walks upright with the fearlessness of disdain in his eyes, so does the king walk with bowed head, finding love and beauty wherever he goeth, and whatever he doeth is true and lovely, for having conquered his self, he ruleth over his self by love alone, and not by the laws of good and evil, neither proudly nor disdainfully, neither by justice nor by mercy. Good and Evil is not his, for he hath become as an Higher Intelligence, {216} as an Art enshrined in the mind; and in his kingdom actions no longer defile, and whatever his heart inclineth him to do, that he doeth purely and with joy....for he is free-born from the delusions and the dream of opposites, and sees things as they are, and not as the five senses reflect them on the mirror of the mind."

To become free is to unite with god, to enter the true Heaven. To do this, one must experience death, though their physical body is stilled not, but still beats with life. One such as this creates meaning through their own action, they sever their chains and turn them against the slave-masters themselves. No longer bound to the restrictions of their culture and society, they conquer, and their strength serves as a beacon, lighting the way through the Dark Temple for their brothers and sisters who seek freedom.

"Life is a horror, a writhing of famished serpents, yet I care not, for I laugh. The deserts awe me not, neither do the seas restrain the purpose of my mirth. Life is as prisoner in a dungeon, still I laugh; for I, in my strength, have begotten a might beyond the walls of prisons; for life and death have become one to me --- as little children gambolling on the sands and splashing in the wavelets of the sea. I laugh at their pretty play, and upon the billows of my laughter do I build up the Kingdom of the Great in which all carouse at one table. Here virgins mingle with courtesans, and the youth and the old man know neither wisdom nor folly.

I have conquered the deserts and the forests, the valleys and the mountains, the seas and the lands. My palace is built of fire and water, of earth and of air, and the secret place within the sanctuary of my temple is as the abode of everlasting mirth. All is love, life, and laugher; death and decay are not: all is joy, purity, and freedom; all is as the fire of mystery; all is all; for my kingdom is known as the City of God"

References:

-The Temple of Solomon the King, Part I. Crowley, Aleister

-The Book of The Law. Crowley, Aleister

Excerpt From a Discussion

noreply@blogger.com (EthanMGallagher) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 22:49:00 +0000

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ruprecht

Well, because the beliefs of individuals are usually forged through social interaction and participation.
Usually it’s those shared conceptions, the web of culturally defined beliefs, and the interactions which form and propagate them, which both define the limitations, and enable the process, of our creation of beliefs and identity.
At least in your individualistic version of the practice, your process seems removed from that. Like a fantasist or schizoid.

(Before we go any further, I’d like to clear up what I meant with regards to individualistic…mainly that I don’t limit myself to any one particular dogma or philosophy, but rather utilize things from literally any source that I find work for me. I didn’t mean to imply that I don’t interact with, and at times collaborate with other occultists or similar-minded people. )

Usually, but it is not the case that if an individual does not form their beliefs in this way then they are a “fantasist or schizoid”, or prone to a psychotic break. One does not imply the other.

This social process of identity and worldview creation is exactly the type of thing traditions like the occult, yoga and Buddhism seek to break the individual out of, as a matter of fact. The ‘self’ which the individual forms over time in response to early-life imprinting and the socialization process is constituted of self-referential beliefs which determine such things as whether the individual is self-confident or anxious, whether they are independent or dependent, if they are the type of person that responds to orders or gives them etc. etc. — the whole identity is created this way. It seems real, so real people think it is what they actually are. Social reality is no different, as I’m sure you are already aware.

Psychosis is actually a useful illustration of what is wrong with this social process from the occult point of view. Both a “normal” individual and a psychotic one share a rigid belief structure which determines how they experience the world around them and what they identify themselves as being. The difference lies in the psychotic’s inability to function within socially created reality. If there were a group of people who all shared a functionally equivalent psychosis, and a “normal” person was inserted within them, then it is they would be considered insane.

The problem is that in both cases, the “reality-tunnel” through which the individual views the world is mistaken for reality itself. This is where the occultist differs, as they understand that any reality-tunnel is not reality itself but only a model of it, and also posses the means to manipulate this model as needed. “The map/model is not the territory.”

Now, it is relatively clear that socially-created reality results in models that are somewhat more functional and perhaps more congruent with “objective-reality” (if such a thing even exists in a way we could understand), but this is the result of the fact that cognitively, psychotic individuals suffer from significant functional deficits which impair their ability to interpret sensory information into coherent structures of meaning. This does not mean that socially-created reality is the “right” one, it just means it’s more functional. There is no “correct” model, there are only more or less functional ones.

Now, an experience of gnosis, such as someone may experience through magick or other spiritual technologies, primarily consists in one becoming aware that the “reality” they’ve inhabited all their lives largely consists of a set of beliefs internalized by their consciousness. This is not an intellectual awareness, it penetrates downwards throughout the consciousness. Just knowing this fact is like having a map of an area, another model — gnosis is like climbing to the top of a mountain which lies right in the middle of it an looking around. “The map is not the territory”

It’s after this that one begins to accumulate an awareness that they’ve spent their entire lives trying to fulfill, improve, and protect an idea of themselves which isn’t who they actually are. They adhered to these beliefs even when it prevented them from experiencing that which they truly desired, when it caused them incredible pain, or filled them with hatred and despair. (this is the Tower of the Tarot, if you remember from the other thread)

Of course they never doubted it for a second, for who would be crazy enough to think that they actually aren’t what they think they are, that they’ve been deceived and deceived themselves their entire lives? And not only that, but that everyone does it, that society itself is constituted on this basis?

(BTW, this is not equivalent to ego-death, or Crossing the Abyss, which I posted about earlier in this thread.)

This is why “special means” are required, unless one wishes to spend decades in meditation.

...

Thelema Projects 1

noreply@blogger.com (EthanMGallagher) — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 20:26:00 +0000

This is a really cool way to store Tarot cards or other small items you use in your work, or anything else really. You could even use it as a humidor, which is what it was made from anyway. It's a nice peice to put on a desk or coffee table, and people don't have to know what the symbols are to appreciate it.
Qabbalah/Thelema Desk Box
Materials:
Wooden Desktop Humidor
Sandpaper - Rough to smooth grades (ex. 180 - 15000, one sheet each)
Spray Paint:
1 Can Primer
1 Can each of preferred colors (Preferrably one light and one dark)
1 Can Gloss Enamel Finish
Painter's Tape
Hobby Knife/Scissors and One-sided adhesive paper
Instructions:
-Dissasemble the humidor by removing hinges with a screwdriver.
-Sand both halves of the humidor thouroughly, until all surfaces feel rough and granular. It may not be possible to remove all the finish/paint on the box, don't worry if this happens. The surface just needs to be exposed a bit so the primer will stick
-In an area with good ventilation, spray a heavy coat of primer onto all surfaces which you intend to paint. Err on the side off too much primer, as we'll be sanding it later. It may be necessary to use painter's tape here if the humidor has a raised inner edge, like this:

-After primer is dry, lightly sand it starting with a lighter grade of sandpaper, 400 grade or above. Don't sand too vigorously or you'll take off all the primer. Use lighter and ligther grades until the surface is completely smooth.
-Next, apply a coat of the color you chose for your design. Apply at least two coats. If you have extremely fine grain sandpaper (800+) you may want to sand again after the paint completely dries, as spraypaint always goes on kind of roughly.
-Apply a light coat of protective enamel on the surfaces you intend use stencils on. This protects the paint from being pulled off by the adhesive.
-Print or draw an outline of your designs onto a sheet of one-sided adhesive paper. Cut out with hobby knife or scissors and gently press them onto the box.
-Apply top color. One heavy coat is sufficient, although you can apply more if you want.
-Remove stencils. Adhesive paper can be tricky to remove. If some of it remains adhered to the box after you pull your stencils off, wait a couple of hours so that the paint dries completely, then gently rub with a moistened scrub pad. It may take some time, but it will all come off.
(I chose to use this kind of stencil because it avoids the problems of overspray, which makes designs look fuzzy, and light spray paint not covering darker colors very well.)
-Lastly, apply a solid coat of protective gloss enamel onto all painted surfaces. It protects the paint and makes it all shiny and purty and stuff. After everything dries, put the humidor back together and enjoy.
Tips:
-For best results, use Rustoleum or Krylon paint. Cheapo brands look like shit, are more toxic to inhale, result in a grainy feel and are more likely to come off the wood.
-Don't get frustrated if you can't cut out perfectly straight lines, no one can.

Thelema and Escapism

noreply@blogger.com (EthanMGallagher) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 18:30:00 +0000

Unfortunately, the history and nature of magick makes it susceptible to being used as a form of escapism and validation for the ego. It is quite easy for someone to feel as if they posses "secret knowledge" just because they have read a couple of books about Magick, and then to delude themselves into thinking they are some sort of spiritual master. The fact that genuine spiriual attainment, whether it comes from Magick, Buddhism or any other practice is so rare doesn't help. Falling into this trap results in the exact opposite of progress, as it serves only to strengthen the illusion of the false self, and shield the individual from any need to actually put any effort towards improving themselves.

Spiritual attainment that is not accompanied by a corresponding success outside of ritual practice is not genuine attainment, it is delusion. Thelema is a comprehensive life philosophy -- it involves more than just performing rituals and memorizing occult knowledge. Every personal weakness must be turned into a strength, every psychological complex resolved into unity, every fault in the will bolstered, every obstruction in the mind cleared, every illusion of a limit in the self obliterated through experience. If you are living in your parent's basement and spending all your time doing ritual work, reading obscure texts and arguing about subtle points of doctrine on the internet instead of actually interacting with the world around you, then you are deluding yourself.

As an example, lets say there is a certain aspirant who has always had difficulty with social interaction, due to a lack of confidence and self-limiting beliefs about they are percieved by others. Simply performing a ritual to remove the complex is not sufficient. The aspirant must seek out the very experience they were restricted from before, in this case social interaction, in order to judge their degree of success. Even this, however, is not enough. Removing a complex is not enough, where there was a weakness a strength must be developed to a degree that is proportionate to the whole.

Always strive for balance, for more experience, more success. As Uncle Al said:

"There is little danger that any student, however idle or stupid, will fail to get some result; but there is great danger that he will be led astray, obsessed and overwhelmed by his results, even though it be by those which it is necessary that he should attain. Too often, moreover, he mistaketh the first resting-place for the goal, and taketh off his armour as if he were a victor ere the fight is well begun.

It is desirable that the student should never attach to any result the importance which it at first seems to possess."

-Aleister Crowley, Liber O

Graffit

noreply@blogger.com (EthanMGallagher) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 17:03:00 +0000

Graffiti art is a hobby of mine, though I'm not one of those people that puts stuff up on private property etc. I've been practicing on this board in my yard fr about a month now. I finally found my digital camera the other day, so I decided to start putting my peices up online to keep a visual record. I'm planning on buying a bigger piece of plywood, as this one is just too small to do a detailed piece on.

Berserk is the best shit ever

noreply@blogger.com (EthanMGallagher) — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 12:43:00 +0000

Yeah, only someone born from a corpse can ever hope to be this bad-ass. The rest of us just have to live with it.

Insomniac

noreply@blogger.com (EthanMGallagher) — Tue, 04 May 2010 08:48:00 +0000

Second draft of Sleep is good mmkay...

shaking insomniac pulling cigarettes out of a pack
sanity trespassed, neurons collapse under rotten synapse
on track for a premature death via heart attack
only regret stated as "I let my best thoughts lapse"

on his face fatigue marked like cracks in a vase
cracks that form a fracture-filled mind when traced
decorating conscious state like blood-soaked lace
what once was a self with funereal agent replaced

despite lonely late-night light, luminous like no other
out of the dark vast come shadows best left uncovered
repressed psyche specter, familiar like a long-dead lover
whispers, "you thought we were done, now we'll start all over"

day's weak light breaks blue and cold across eastern skies
still no sight of respite or the goal for which he strives
his will like bones burned black in the blazing flame of his eyes
forget-me-not: a soul that is broken is a soul that has died

The Ten Commandments of Amphetamine Use

noreply@blogger.com (EthanMGallagher) — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 07:55:00 +0000

I've been prescribed amphetamine salts to treat my ADD for several years now. Amphetamine is an interesting chemical. If properly used, it can enhance your abilities to an almost super-human level--especially if you actually have ADD and weren't just prescribed it by some script-happy MD. If improperly used...well...the result is total destruction and degradation of the person in question.

Here's some wisdom I've accumulated over my years of being on this medication, cast into the form of religious commandments. This list isn't written in a very serious manner, but every single commandment is true -- especially if from time to time you need to take more of your medication than is prescribed.

The Ten Commandments of Amphetamine Use

1. Thou shalt eat before partaking of the sacrament

2. Thou shalt measure out the portion of the sacrament desired, and diminish this portion by one-fourth

3. Thou shalt not partake of the sacrament after a night of sleep has been lost to the sacrament's powers

4. Thou shalt not take the sacrament through the nose, or the ass, of through thy veins, or by burning it and inhaling the fumes. For all who partake of the sacrament in such ways are truly lost on the path.

5. Thou shalt drink the pure waters while partaking of the sacrament, lest thou fucking die

6. Thou shalt measure out a portion of magnesium, and one of ascorbic acid, and a third of n-acetyl-cysteine, so that thou mind be not defiled.

7. Thou shalt not corrupt the sacrament by gazing upon graven images of human flesh, for surely the evil one shall tempt thee into marathon wanking sessions

8. Thou shalt ignore feelings of euphoria produced by partaking in the sacrament, for these are but illusions and lead not to good works.

9. Thou shalt respect the sacrament at all times, for it is truly a double edged blade. Those who adhere to the true and holy path shall receive a great blessing and their hands shall do great work. Those who fall into darkness and temptation risk the ultimate destruction of their soul.

10. Thou shalt never share of the sacrament with they neighbor who hast no need, for he shall surely covet it and become as the degenerate speed freak who sucks cock for meth

Sleep is good mmkay

noreply@blogger.com (EthanMGallagher) — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 02:28:00 +0000

insomniac pulling cigarettes out of a pack

sanity trespass, neurons collapse under rotten synape

on track for premature death via heart attack

only regret stated as “I let my best thoughts lapse”

ward off the black - fight out the night

burn the candle at both ends bright

stay in the light of the true suns light

despite this strife and tension device of life

i’ll finish it the next time I’m almost driven insane by sleep deprivation. Probably going to chop the entire second stanza, it's what you call weaksauce

Teachers hate creativity? from Technoccult

noreply@blogger.com (EthanMGallagher) — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 15:07:00 +0000

Teachers hate creativity?

Excerpt:

While the teachers said they wanted creative kids in their classroom, they actually didn’t. In fact, when they were asked to rate their students on a variety of personality measures – the list included everything from “individualistic” to “risk-seeking” to “accepting of authority” – the traits mostly closely aligned with creative thinking were also closely associated with their “least favorite” students.

As if we needed more proof that schools are a horrible place to receive an education

Nietzsche and Amor Fati

noreply@blogger.com (EthanMGallagher) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 20:47:00 +0000

An in-depth discussion of Nietzsche's concept of "love of fate" from Nietzsche Circle

First paragraph:

"There is in Nietzsche an unequivocal affirmation of life, and it would be precisely wrong to say, “notwithstanding the equivocality that he injects into his every assertion,” for there is nothing in Nietzsche that withstands his equivocality. Yet, it speaks to the essence of Nietzsche’s posture to observe that there is nothing diffident or less than forthright in his work—he makes assertions, enormously complex assertions, and they are clearly intended to be taken as asserted. Nietzsche means what he says. It is his saying that bears the complexity in its method, which practices the undermining and enhancing of inherited terminology and philosophical principles, often in ploys of overt contradiction, to propose what is unequivocally meant. One must follow him in his every move, through each verbal gambit, to get at a meaning that always constitutes straight answers to straight questions, at a meaning that presumably requires the richness of literary strategy, of complicated saying, to be formulated at all. The idea dissolves without the verbal underpinning. It evaporates in the absence of his statement. It is so subtle, even as it is so clear and unequivocal once grasped. In short, nothing in Nietzsche goes without saying."

The True Will and the Mind

noreply@blogger.com (EthanMGallagher) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:01:00 +0000

It has often been said that one's true opponent exists within their own mind. Doubtlessly, the illusion of the ego-concept allows all manner of psychological patterns and residues to masquerade as one's true self, and the path of any seeker is thus as a perilous trail along a steep mountainside. To quote Jake Green from Guy Ritchie's revolver,

"The greatest enemy will hide in the last place you would ever look. "

Erwin Hessle has posted a rigorous investigation of one of the most common deceptions the aspirant may fall prey to here.

Excerpt from Hessle's "The path of least resistance"

What really happens here is that the mind seduces one with thoughts such as “wouldn’t life be so much nicer if you didn’t have to struggle like this to achieve your goals? Why not just let it go?” The mind seduces the self into something resembling a financial loan, where a significant amount of resistance is avoided up front but it ultimately paid for, with interest, by many cumulative small amounts of resistance in the days to come. Accomplishing the task, on the other hand, might require an upfront investment of effort, but this investment frees one of having to incur the greater cost of meeting those repayments, with interest, into perpetuity.

On a practical level, then, “discovering the will” involves discerning these genuine “urges” from the false urges presented by the mind. The mind tries to tell you that life would be better if you avoided this effort, but the mind’s misrepresentation can be discovered by simply observing the ongoing commitment of resistance that remains present after the decision to refrain from action. If one acts and finds that such residual resistance is no longer present, however, then one knows one is ahead. It is equally possible, of course, that one does not really want to create a masterpiece – to continue the example – at all, and that this is merely a phantasm created by the mind. In such a case, the accomplishment – if it is even possible – will not remove this residual resistance. Thus, by observing critically the effects of one’s actions on the amount of residual resistance – or restriction – remains, one can infer something about the will. If one is on the right track, then one would expect that, over time, the overall level of resistance and restriction in one’s life would decrease, even if physical and practical difficulties in accomplishing one’s tasks remain. It is the difference between the joyous exercise of energies, and the grudging exercise of them; even if the actual exercise of those energies does not seem particularly pleasant at the time, the satisfaction – or lack of it – which comes from completion will reveal the difference.

The Dark Night of the Soul

noreply@blogger.com (EthanMGallagher) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:23:00 +0000

Magic of the Ordinary posted a great piece on what is often called "the dark night of the soul", an unavoidable and perilous period in any seeker's spiritual development. The piece is titled To reach the dark once more and I highly recommend it, though it does seem a tad bit too Judeo-Christian oriented for me to actually rave about.

Excerpt:

There comes at least one occasion in everyone’s spiritual unfoldment when the darkness arises, the moon ceases to shine and the stars fail one by one. It seems we are cut off or even expelled from all our sources of grace, wisdom and beauty and there is nothing to stop the process. On a different arc, psychologically we accept and make terms with our Shadow, where there be buried as much gold as dragons. There are many names and terms for this process; confronting the Dweller on the Threshold, entering the Dark Woodland etc. But hey, when in the dark wood finding a name is the least of our concerns

Aleister Crowley doing a funky pose

noreply@blogger.com (EthanMGallagher) — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 23:51:00 +0000

Some shit I wrote on drugs two years ago

noreply@blogger.com (EthanMGallagher) — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 22:21:00 +0000

Time has passed. Thoughts and paradigms have been entombed beneath new layers of crystalline conceptual structures. Still, what is already known and what much be known should always be expressed succinctly. What must be done is performed not through script but through the fist which grasps the blade, held low.

I am no more. That haphazard amalgate of ill-fitted parts and tawdry relics saved like dirt under fingernaills --- I stretched it out before me like a winged appendage -- and cut. Hacking bespeaks unstill intent. Surgeons slice their mark with efficient movement and thus they preserve life. Nature abhors sloppy craftmanship.

A raven sits on a fencepost. Between you lies a field of wheat, painted white by the falling snow. You feel warm despite winter's grasp. Beginning to walk, you feel a cold hand pull on your heel. You fall, and weakly rise back to your feet. One more step and the world warps and twists around you. You fall again and after this there is only the black.

Crushed like pale hands shielding paler face from the falling ceiling of a collapsing cavern. Torn like an atom in an atom bomb. An amnesiac with sweating hand writing in a book before sleep.

Look through the porthole. From where you were it looked so small, like you would barely be able to press your face against it. As you neared it grew. Soon stark stars sat around you rather than above, soon the outer edge of that ouroburos was lost into the night. Don't look down, for only the abyss will greet you. Lay to rest on that narrow porthole edge, a curve reduced to a flat line. Let your feet dangle over the edge while you watch the moon transverse the sky. Feel your other eye begin to open.

Augustus

noreply@blogger.com (EthanMGallagher) — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 21:47:00 +0000

Was it man or monster that moved in your bones
that placed you upon your iron throne
that grasped the reigns of majestic Rome
and concealed within a heart of stone?

tyrant - genius - god and actor
dieing with smile and eerie laughter
an exit applauded by all those fools who
called themselves friends and thought they knew

what stirred behind those placid eyes
what terrible will dwelt deep inside
to shape world and defy the sky
to master the art of man and his lie?

a mask of plaster is brittle and breaks
but a mask of flesh is forever a face
and though beautiful is never opaque
but may only reflect the soul encased

man, monster, beast and god
a nature blurred, a path singly trod
such words are but molds too rigid to hold
forces of fierce heat and inhuman cold

Three new ebooks for download

noreply@blogger.com (EthanMGallagher) — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 04:27:00 +0000

Prometheus Rising - Robert Anton Wilson

The Philosopher's Stone - Israel Regardie

Liber 148 "The Soldier and the Hunchback" - Aleister Crowley

Are all now available for download from my box.net widget. These are all very good and informative texts. If you enjoy them and find them useful, please purchase a hard copy to support the author or their estate.

IAO 131

noreply@blogger.com (EthanMGallagher) — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 04:04:00 +0000

If you're into Thelema, the occult or consider yourself spiritual in general have a look of IAO 131's interpretation of Thelemic philosophy over here

Excerpts:

"
Each person must destroy their ego self and come to identify with the True Self. Every man and woman must "break down the fortress of thine Individual Self, that thy Truth may spring free from the ruins" (The Heart of the Master). This necessarily involves the death or dissolution of the ego ("thine Individual Self") to which many people are strongly attached. This is why death is seen as catastrophic: people view losses as catastrophic and the greatest lost to people is the loss of their ego. In both the Old and New Aeons, the ego must experience death in process of Initiation. The difference is the view of this phenomenon: the Old Aeon views death as a cataclysmic event whereas the New Aeon views it as a necessary step in the progress of Growth. As Crowley explains, "The Ego fears to lose control of the course of the mind... The Ego is justly apprehensive, for this ecstasy will lead to a situation when its annhilation will be decreed... Remember that the Ego is not really the centre and crown of the individual; indeed the whole trouble arises from its false claim to be so" (Commentary to "Liber LXV" I:60). Before the individual personally experiences the dissolution of their own ego, they must assimilate this New Aeon idea that "there is that which remains" after this death. Each person then must come to directly experience and even embody this truth - that is, each individual must come to know this truth through their own experience. "Faith must be slain by certainty," as Crowley wrote (The Book of Thoth). We might even say that each person is psychologically stuck in the Old Aeon paradigm until they have this experience of the death of the ego. Only then can they be "freed of the obsession of the doom of the Ego in Death" (Little Essays Toward Truth, "Mastery"). Only then can the individual identify with "that which remains," which transcends but contains both Life and Death. In the New Aeon, each person "Let[s] the Illusion of the World pass over thee, unheeded, as thou goest from Midnight to the Morning. " (The Heart of the Master).
"

This series is truly a great interpretation of Crowley's thought

parts 2 and 3

Conan

noreply@blogger.com (EthanMGallagher) — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 03:57:00 +0000

Nietzsche

noreply@blogger.com (EthanMGallagher) — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 03:54:00 +0000

My armor is contempt...

noreply@blogger.com (EthanMGallagher) — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 03:53:00 +0000

Fermenta��o de Boleskine/cerveja inglesa de Crowle Camiseta de Zazzle.com.br

noreply@blogger.com (EthanMGallagher) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 23:48:00 +0000

Fermenta��o de Boleskine/cerveja inglesa de Crowle Camiseta de Zazzle.com.br.

I want this shirt so bad

On the Nature of God

noreply@blogger.com (EthanMGallagher) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 17:55:00 +0000

By god it is meant --- the concept of some supreme principle, spiritual truth, entity, or set of entities that exists within the subjective consciousness of the individual who is aware of it. (By god it is not meant --- a single individual residing on a throne somewhere and randomly causing natural disasters to alleviate boredom.) The existence of god outside of subjective awareness is not relevant here --- it is enough that the idea of a god or a pantheon of gods is a ubiquitous feature of the human experience, and that it has perhaps been the most influential of all human ideas both on the individual scale and on that of it's aggregate, the history of humanity as a whole.

"God" exists for man regardless of whether or not god exists outside of man --- as "god" is present in our consciousness. Countless fools have wasted precious energy debating on the so-called 'objective' existence, or lack thereof, of their pet deity. To do so is to miss the nature and utility of human spirituality completely. Let it be said once again, and a thousand times more, the question is irrelevant and unanswerable.

The nature of god has been approached many times and in many ways --- almost always with a differing result. Needless to say, a concept such as god cannot be defined discretely and there is no one proper way to describe it. (Of course, if you over there want to continue insisting you're consuming the blood of a long-dead Jew, and you over there want to continue praying to a fucking rock, and you want to kill each other over the issue feel free.) An explanation of what "god" is will, by necessity, be an expression of the subjective consciousness which formulates it and of how that consciousness understands the universe and its own place within it.

That is not to say that no two people will be able to agree on a definition, or that there is no incorrect definition, but merely that any single definition or description of the idea called "god" will be to some degree individualistic and thus cannot be normative. Rather that it must be understood that a description of the nature of god can never be more than a language-game of sorts, and that the purpose of the game is to express one's conceptual understanding of reality and their own consciousness in mythological terms.

What is god then, for the person who now speaks?

God is the actor present in the mind who, when posed with a question, always returns the correct answer. The nature of these questions is not that of an inquiry into a piece of trivia or a divination of future events, in fact the questions we speak of here are seldom (if ever) consciously asked --- though they recur constantly throughout waking life. The questions of what to do is the only question with which god is concerned.

All things are in constant flux --- nothing may maintain identity with itself across two discrete points in time. Whatever situation the individual may find themselves in will be constantly changing --- even though appears to be relatively static. And so the individual is constantly re-evaluating their surroundings and own thoughts so that they may adapt their behaviors and conceptual understanding to their environment. In much more simplistic terms, they are conscious and taking part in life. It is here that the question is posed, in the space between some new eventuality or realization and the performance of a willed action. (It should be noted here that these willed and performed actions are not only physical but mental, for example accepting or discarding a certain thought or impression such as "I feel like x" or better yet, "This affect, idea or evaluation x is part of what I am")

It is at this point that the individual is presented with answers in the form of potential actions. Usually one answer is presented almost immediately, and this is commonly, and incorrectly, assumed to be the answer given by the conscious individual him or her-self. This is usually not the case, as anyone who has gained insight into the nature of the ego and their own mind may ascertain providing they are aware and capable of lucid thought. In actuality, this is often (though not by any means necessarily) the answer of the individual's oldest and greatest enemies --- and is thus the deadliest of all known poisons. The voices/conceptual circuits/learned thought patterns which return answers are not part of the individual's true nature, though they seek to disguise themselves as such --- and it is for this reason that they are called actors.

To restate the definition: "God" is the actor present in the mind who, when posed with a question, always returns the correct answer. The nature of the questions posed ensures that there is always a correct answer, though it can never be an ideal answer. In the plurality of possible courses of actions to take there is one path which resonates with the individuals purest and strongest nature--no matter how forgotten and tarnished this nature may be, nor how far the individual has strayed out under the cloudy skies of twilight. It is often the case that in order to even hear this answer one must exert themselves greatly --- and even then it may not be heard. But it is always given, and if it is not heard above the din it is because one does not know how to hear it.

As to why a certain answer may be correct and another not, or to what defines and composes this "more true nature" it is beyond the scope of this post to address. Suffice to say there is a single rule which all correct answers will abide by, which is:

"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law"

Thoughts before bed, 10/6

noreply@blogger.com (EthanMGallagher) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 03:13:00 +0000

There is a moment which lies at the foothills of action, a brief interlude which--like a shape in the corner of your eye--flees when you turn to face it directly. Only the fates can tell of the great multitudes who have smashed the hulls of their greatest intentions on this elusive shore.

Here man finds himself set against that most worthy of all combatants: his own inertia and hesitation. Faced with the negative reflection of his own self; an entity as cold as the darkest space when his soul throws off flame like a sun and vacuous when the fountain of his life overflows onto the marble beneath. Two equal and diametrically opposed forces can only cancel each other out, negating their respective potentials.

Only by himself of his own darkness and cold can such a man rise above the spectre of his own death with great bouyancy. Only by consumption and digestion of his own fear may he hope to tip the scales.